The Cock and the Fox

   Upon a tree there mounted guard

      A veteran Cock, adroit¹ and cunning;

    When to the roots a Fox up running,

  Spoke² thus, in tones of kind regard:

    "Our quarrel, brother, 's at an end;

    Henceforth I hope to live your friend;

        For peace now reigns³

      Throughout the animal domains⁴.

    I bear the news—come down, I pray,

      And give me the embrace fraternal;

    And please, my brother, don't delay.

      So much the tidings do concern all,

    That I must spread them far to-day.

    Now you and yours can take your walks

    Without a fear or thought of hawks⁵.

  And should you clash with them or others,

  In us you'll find the best of brothers;

    For which you may, this joyful⁶ night,

    Your merry bonfires light.

      But, first, let's seal the bliss⁷

      With one fraternal kiss."

    The Cock replied, "Upon my word,

    A better thing I never heard;

      And doubly I rejoice

      To hear it from your voice;

    There really must be something in it,

  For yonder come two greyhounds, which I flatter

  Myself are couriers on this very matter.

    They come so fast, they'll be here in a minute.

  I'll down, and all of us will seal the blessing⁸

    With general kissing and caressing⁹."

    "Adieu," said Fox; "my errand's pressing;

      I'll hurry on my way,

      And we'll rejoice some other day."

  So off the fellow scampered¹⁰, quick and light,

  To gain the fox-holes of a neighbouring height,

  Less happy in his stratagem¹¹ than flight.

    The Cock laugh'd sweetly in his sleeve—

    'Tis doubly sweet deceiver to deceive.

 

1 adroit   

adj.熟练的，灵巧的

参考例句：

• Jamie was adroit at flattering others.杰米很会拍马屁。
• His adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers.他对质问者的机敏应答使他赢得了很多追随者。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

4 domains   

n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产

参考例句：

• The theory of thermodynamics links the macroscopic and submicroscopic domains. 热力学把宏观世界同亚微观世界联系起来。 来自辞典例句
• All three flow domains are indicated by shading. 所有三个流动区域都是用阴影部分表示的。 来自辞典例句

5 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

6 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

7 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

8 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

9 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

10 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 stratagem   

n.诡计，计谋

参考例句：

• Knit the brows and a stratagem comes to mind.眉头一皱，计上心来。
• Trade discounts may be used as a competitive stratagem to secure customer loyalty.商业折扣可以用作维护顾客忠诚度的一种竞争策略。