The Eagle and the Owl

     The Eagle and the Owl¹, resolved to cease

    Their war, embraced in pledge of peace.

  On faith of King, on faith of Owl, they swore

  That they would eat each other's chicks no more.

    "But know you mine?" said Wisdom's bird.

      "Not I, indeed," the Eagle cried.

      "The worse for that," the Owl replied:

    "I fear your oath's a useless word;

      I fear that you, as king, will not

      Consider duly who or what:

    Adieu, my young, if you should meet them!"

  "Describe them, then, and I'll not eat them,"

  The Eagle said. The Owl replied:

  "My little ones, I say with pride,

  For grace of form cannot be match'd—

  The prettiest birds that e'er were hatch'd;

  By this you cannot fail to know them;

  'Tis needless, therefore, that I show them."

  At length God gives the Owl some heirs,

  And while at early eve abroad he fares,

    In quest of birds and mice for food,

    Our Eagle haply spies the brood,

    As on some craggy rock they sprawl²,

    Or nestle in some ruined wall,

    (But which it matters not at all,)

    And thinks them ugly little frights,

    Grim, sad, with voice like shrieking³ sprites.

  "These chicks," says he, "with looks almost infernal,

  Can't be the darlings of our friend nocturnal.

  I'll sup of them." And so he did, not slightly:

  He never sups, if he can help it, lightly.

    The Owl return'd; and, sad, he found

    Nought⁴ left but claws upon the ground.

  He pray'd the gods above and gods below

  To smite⁵ the brigand⁶ who had caused his woe⁷.

  Quoth one, "On you alone the blame must fall;

  Thinking your like the loveliest of all,

  You told the Eagle of your young ones' graces;

    You gave the picture of their faces:

    Had it of likeness⁸ any traces?"

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 sprawl   

vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延

参考例句：

• In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里，灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
• He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。

3 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

5 smite   

v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿

参考例句：

• The wise know how to teach,the fool how to smite.智者知道如何教导，愚者知道怎样破坏。
• God will smite our enemies.上帝将击溃我们的敌人。

6 brigand   

n.土匪，强盗

参考例句：

• This wallace is a brigand,nothing more.华莱士只不过是个土匪。
• How would you deal with this brigand?你要如何对付这个土匪？

7 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

8 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。