The Monkey and the Cat

 

 

  Sly Bertrand and Ratto in company sat,

  (The one was a Monkey, the other a Cat,)

    Co-servants and lodgers¹:

    More mischievous² codgers

  Ne'er mess'd from a platter, since platters were flat.

  Was anything wrong in the house or about it,

  The neighbours were blameless—no mortal could doubt it;

  For Bertrand was thievish, and Ratto so nice,

  More attentive³ to cheese than he was to the mice.

  One day the two plunderers sat by the fire,

  Where chestnuts⁴ were roasting, with looks of desire.

  To steal them would be a right noble affair.

  A double inducement our heroes drew there—

  'Twould benefit them, could they swallow their fill,

  And then 'twould occasion to somebody ill.

  Said Bertrand to Ratto, "My brother, to-day

  Exhibit your powers in a masterly way,

    And take me these chestnuts, I pray.

    Which were I but otherwise fitted

    (As I am ingeniously wilted)

    For pulling things out of the flame,

    Would stand but a pitiful game."

  "'Tis done," replied Ratto, all prompt to obey;

  And thrust out his paw in a delicate way.

    First giving the ashes a scratch,

    He open'd the coveted⁵ batch⁶;

    Then lightly and quickly impinging,

    He drew out, in spite of the singeing⁷,

  One after another, the chestnuts at last—

  While Bertrand contrived⁸ to devour⁹ them as fast.

    A servant girl enters. Adieu to the fun.

    Our Ratto was hardly contented¹⁰, says one.

 

    No more are the princes, by flattery paid

    For furnishing help in a different trade,

      And burning their fingers to bring

      More power to some mightier¹¹ king.

1 lodgers   

n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He takes in lodgers. 他招收房客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A good proportion of my lodgers is connected with the theaters. 住客里面有不少人是跟戏院子有往来的。 来自辞典例句

2 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

3 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

4 chestnuts   

n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马

参考例句：

• A man in the street was selling bags of hot chestnuts. 街上有个男人在卖一包包热栗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Talk of chestnuts loosened the tongue of this inarticulate young man. 因为栗子，正苦无话可说的年青人，得到同情他的人了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

7 singeing   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的现在分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]；烧毛

参考例句：

• The smell of the singeing clothes and burning leather was horrible. 衣服烧焦和皮革燃烧的味儿十分浓烈。 来自辞典例句
• I can smell something singeing. 有东西烧焦了。 来自互联网

8 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

9 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

10 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

11 mightier   

adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其

参考例句：

• But it ever rises up again, stronger, firmer, mightier. 但是，这种组织总是重新产生，并且一次比一次更强大，更坚固，更有力。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
• Do you believe that the pen is mightier than the sword? 你相信笔杆的威力大于武力吗？