The Monkey and the Leopard

   A Monkey and a Leopard¹ were

    The rivals at a country fair.

  Each advertised his own attractions.

    Said one, "Good sirs, the highest place

    My merit knows; for, of his grace,

    The King hath seen me face to face;

  And, judging by his looks and actions,

  I gave the best of satisfactions.

  When I am dead, 'tis plain enough,

  My skin will make his royal muff.

  So richly is it streak'd and spotted²,

  So delicately waved and dotted,

  Its various beauty cannot fail to please."

  And, thus invited, everybody sees;

  But soon they see, and soon depart.

  The Monkey's show-bill to the mart

  His merits thus sets forth³ the while,

  All in his own peculiar⁴ style:

  "Come, gentlemen, I pray you, come;

  In magic arts I am at home.

  The whole variety in which

  My neighbour boasts himself so rich

  Is to his simple skin confined,

  While mine is living in the mind.

  For I can speak, you understand;

  Can dance, and practise sleight-of-hand;

  Can jump through hoops⁵, and balance sticks;

  In short, can do a thousand tricks;

  One penny is my charge to you,

  And, if you think the price won't do,

  When you have seen, then I'll restore,

  Each man his money at the door."

 

    The Ape was not to reason blind;

    For who in wealth of dress can find

    Such charms as dwell in wealth of mind?

    One meets our ever-new desires,

    The other in a moment tires.

    Alas⁶! how many lords there are,

      Of mighty⁷ sway and lofty mien⁸,

    Who, like this Leopard at the fair,

      Show all their talents on the skin!

1 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

5 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

6 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

7 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

8 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。