The Old Woman's Cat

 In former times there lived an old woman in a state of extreme debility. She possessed¹ a cot more narrow than the heart of the ignorant and darker than the miser's grave; and a Cat was her companion, which had never seen, even in the mirror of imagination, the face of a loaf, nor had heard from friend or stranger the name of meat. It was content if occasionally it smelt² the odour of a mouse from its hole, or saw the print of the foot of one on the surface of a board, and if, on some rare occasion, by the aid of good fortune one fell into its claws, it subsisted³ a whole week, more or less, on that amount of food.

 

And, inasmuch as the house of the old woman was the famine-year of that Cat, it was always miserable⁴ and thin, and from a distance appeared like an idea.

 

One day, through excessive weakness, it had, with the utmost difficulty, mounted on the top of the roof; thence it beheld⁵ a Cat which walked proudly on the wall of a neighbouring house, and after the fashion of a destroying lion advanced with measured steps, and from excessive fat lifted its feet slowly. When the Cat of the old woman saw this, it was astonished and cried out, saying: "Thou, whose state is thus pleasant, whence art thou? and since it appears that thou comest from the banquet-chamber of the Khan of Khata, whence is this sleekness⁶ of thine, and from what cause this thy grandeur⁷ and strength?"

 

The Neighbour-Cat replied: "I am the crumb-eater of the tray of the Sultan. Every morning I attend on the court of the king, and when they spread the tray of invitation, I display boldness and daring, and in general I snatch off some morsels⁹ of fat meats, and of loaves made of the finest flour; and thus I pass my time happy and satisfied till the next day."

 

The Cat of the old woman inquired: "What sort of a thing may fat meat be? and what kind of relish¹⁰ has bread, made of fine flour? I, during my whole life, have never seen nor tasted aught save the old woman's broths¹¹, and mouse's flesh."

 

The Neighbour-Cat laughed, and said: "Therefore it is that one cannot distinguish thee from a spider, and this form and appearance that thou hast is a reproach to our whole race. If thou shouldst see the court of the Sultan and smell the odour of those delicious viands¹², thou wouldst acquire a fresh form."

 

The Cat of the old woman, said, most beseechingly¹³, "O brother! thou art bound to me by neighbourship and kinship; why not this time, when thou goest, take me with thee? Perchance, by thy good fortune, I may obtain food."

 

The heart of the Neighbour-Cat melted at the speaker's lamentable¹⁴ position, and he resolved that he would not attend the feast without him. The Cat of the old woman felt new life at these tidings, and descending¹⁵ from the roof stated the case to his mistress. The old dame¹⁶ began to advise the Cat, saying: "O kind companion, be not deceived by the words of worldly people and abandon not the corner of content, for the vessel¹⁷ of covetousness¹⁸ is not filled save with the dust of the grave." But the Cat had taken into its head such a longing¹⁹ for the delicacies²⁰ of the Sultan's table that the medicine of advice was not profitable to it.

 

In short, the next day, along with its neighbour, the old woman's Cat, with tottering²¹ steps conveyed itself to court, but before it could arrive there ill-fortune had poured the water of disappointment on the fire of its wish, and the reason was as follows:

 

The day before, the cats had made a general onslaught on the table, and raised an uproar²² beyond bounds, and annoyed, to the last degree, the guests and their host. Wherefore, on this day, the Sultan had commanded that a band of archers²³, standing²⁴ in ambush²⁵, should watch, so that for every cat who, holding before its face the buckler of impudence²⁶ should enter the plain of audacity²⁷, the very first morsel⁸ that it ate should be a liver-piercing shaft²⁸.

 

The old woman's Cat, ignorant of this circumstance, as soon as it smelt the odour of the viands, turned its face like a falcon²⁹ to the hunting-ground of the table, and the scale of the balance of appetite had not yet been weighted by heavy mouthfuls, when the heart-piercing arrow quivered in its breast.

 

  Dear friend! the honey pays not for the sting,

  Content with syrup³⁰ is a better thing.

1 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

2 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

3 subsisted   

v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Before liberation he subsisted on wild potatoes. 解放前他靠吃野薯度日。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Survivors of the air crash subsisted on wild fruits. 空难事件的幸存者以野果维持生命。 来自辞典例句

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

6 sleekness   

油滑； 油光发亮； 时髦阔气； 线条明快

参考例句：

• The sleekness of his appearance reminded me of his financial successes. 他着装的光鲜告诉我他财大气粗。
• Urban sleekness and traditional quaintness highlight the contrasts of Hong Kong. 城市的优美造型和传统的古雅情趣突出了香港的种种反差。

7 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

8 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

9 morsels   

n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑

参考例句：

• They are the most delicate morsels. 这些确是最好吃的部分。 来自辞典例句
• Foxes will scratch up grass to find tasty bug and beetle morsels. 狐狸会挖草地，寻找美味的虫子和甲壳虫。 来自互联网

10 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

11 broths   

n.肉汤( broth的名词复数 )；厨师多了烧坏汤；人多手杂反坏事；人多添乱

参考例句：

• Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include rice, flour and grains. 其它用来使羹汤或高汤变浓的配料通常包括米，面粉和谷物。 来自互联网
• When meat products, especially broths, are cooked, they often have lower oxidation-reduction potentials. 肉制品尤其是当肉汤被蒸煮时，它们经常有较低的氧化还原电势。 来自互联网

12 viands   

n.食品，食物

参考例句：

• Greek slaves supplied them with exquisite viands at the slightest nod.只要他们轻轻点点头希腊奴隶就会供奉给他们精美的食品。
• The family sat down to table,and a frugal meal of cold viands was deposited beforethem.一家老少，都围着桌子坐下，几样简单的冷食，摆在他们面前。

13 beseechingly   

adv. 恳求地

参考例句：

• She stood up, and almost beseechingly, asked her husband,'shall we go now?" 她站起身来，几乎是恳求似地问丈夫：“我们现在就走吧？”
• Narcissa began to cry in earnest, gazing beseechingly all the while at Snape. 纳西莎伤心地哭了起来，乞求地盯着斯内普。

14 lamentable   

adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的

参考例句：

• This lamentable state of affairs lasted until 1947.这一令人遗憾的事态一直持续至1947年。
• His practice of inebriation was lamentable.他的酗酒常闹得别人束手无策。

15 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

16 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

17 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

18 covetousness   

参考例句：

• As covetousness is the root of all evil, so poverty is the worst of all snares. 正如贪婪是万恶之源一样，贫穷是最坏的陷阱。 来自辞典例句
• Poverty want many thing, but covetousness all. 贫穷可满足；欲望却难填。 来自互联网

19 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

20 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

21 tottering   

adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• the tottering walls of the castle 古城堡摇摇欲坠的墙壁
• With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe. 宜将剩勇追穷寇。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

23 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

24 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

25 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

26 impudence   

n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼

参考例句：

• His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。
• What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。

27 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

28 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

29 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

30 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。