The Story of Tommy

 ONCE there was a little boy called Tommy. His Mother sent him one day into the town to buy some needles. On his way home he got tired of carrying them, so when he saw a hay¹-cart which he knew would pass his Mother’s door he stuck the needles into a bundle² of hay. When he got home his Mother said: “Well, Tommy, and where are the needles?”

 

“Oh! Mother, they will be here directly³. I was tired of carrying them, so I stuck them into a hay-cart which is coming this way, and it will soon be here.”

 

“Oh, you stupid boy, Tommy! you stupid boy! If you were tired of carrying the needles you should have stuck them into your coat.”

 

“I’ll do better next time, Mother; I’ll do better next time.”

 

A few days after, his Mother said: “Tommy, will you go into the town and fetch a pound of butter?”

 

Off went Tommy, bought the pound of butter, and put it all over his coat. When he got home his Mother said: “Well, Tommy, and where’s the butter?”

 

“I put it all over my coat, but the sun melted⁴ it.”

 

“Oh! you stupid boy, Tommy! You should have put it on a nice white plate and covered it with a piece of white paper.”

 

“Oh! I’ll do better next time, Mother; I’ll do better next time.”

 

A few days after, his Mother said: “Tommy, Farmer Jones has given us a little hen. Will you go and fetch it?”

 

“Oh! yes,” said Tommy. Off he went, fetched the little hen, and put it on a white plate; but before he could put a nice piece of white paper over it, it had flown quite away!

 

When he got home, his Mother said: “Well, Tommy, and where is the little hen?”

 

“Oh! Mother, I did what you told me; I put it on a white plate, but before I could cover it with a piece of paper it flew quite away.”

 

“Oh! you stupid boy, Tommy! You stupid boy! You ought to have put it in a wicker basket and shut down the lid⁵.”

 

“I’ll do better next time, Mother; I’ll do better next time.”

 

A few days after, his Mother said: “Tommy, there is a plum pudding for dinner. Go and fetch a pound of brown sugar.”

 

Off went Tommy, bought the pound of sugar, and put it in a wicker basket, and shut the lid down tight⁶. When he got home his Mother said: “Well, Tommy, and where’s the sugar?”

 

“Here it is, Mother, here it is.” And he opened the basket, but it was quite empty, for all the sugar had tumbled⁷ through the holes in the wicker-work!

 

“Oh! you stupid boy, Tommy! You should have put the sugar in a paper bag and tied a piece of string very tightly⁸ round it.”

 

“I’ll do better next time, Mother; I’ll do better next time.”

 

Some time after, his Mother said: “Tommy, Farmer Jones has promised us a dear little puppy⁹ dog. Will you go and fetch it?”

 

“Oh! yes,” said Tommy. So off he went, fetched the little puppy dog, put it in a paper bag, and tied a piece of string very tightly round its neck. When he got home and opened the bag, the poor little puppy was quite dead.

 

“Oh! you stupid boy, Tommy! You stupid boy! You should have tied a string quite loosely round the little dog’s neck, and let it run after you, and you should have called, 'Hi, little dog!’”

 

“I’ll do better next time, Mother,” said Tommy, crying.

 

A long time after, his Mother said: “Tommy, will you go into the town and fetch a leg of mutton? Now, mind you bring it home very carefully.”

 

“Oh! yes,” said Tommy. So off he went, bought a leg of mutton, tied a piece of string round it, and dragged it after him on the ground, and said: “Hi, little dog! Ho, little dog!” and all the little dogs in the town came after him and ate the mutton, and when he got home there was nothing left but the bone!

 

When his Mother saw it, she said: “Really, Tommy, you are too stupid; you really are quite a goose.”

 

A little while after, Tommy was nowhere to be found. His Mother hunted everywhere for him; she cried “Tommy!” here and “Tommy!” there, but she could not find him. As she was coming through the yard and crying and calling, “Tommy! where’s my boy Tommy?” she heard a little voice that seemed to come from the poultry-house: “Here I am, Mother; here I am!”

 

She opened the door, and there was Tommy sitting on the goose’s nest. She asked him what he was doing, and he said: “Oh! Mother, you said I was quite a goose, so I thought I had better come and sit on the goose’s nest, and I’ve broken all the eggs!”

 

Wasn’t he a silly boy?

 

Constance Milman.

1 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

2 bundle   

n.捆，包，束；一堆，一批；v.把…扎成一捆

参考例句：

• My uncle sent me a large bundle on my birthday.我生日时叔父给我寄来一个大包裹。
• Dad found a bundle of spelling mistakes in my composition.爸爸在我作文里找出一大堆拼写错误。

3 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

4 melted   

v.（使）融[溶，熔]化( melt的过去式和过去分词 )；溶解；（使）消散，消失；（使）软化，变得温柔

参考例句：

• Melted wax dribbled down the side of the candle. 熔化了的蜡一滴滴从蜡烛边上流下。
• The crowd quickly melted away when the storm broke. 暴风雨袭来时人群很快地四散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lid   

n.盖子，眼睑；v.加盖，盖上；制止，取缔

参考例句：

• She shut the lid down.她扣上了盖儿。
• Put the lid on the garbage can.把盖子盖在垃圾筒上。

6 tight   

adj.紧的；难解的；紧密的

参考例句：

• Time is going to be tight,so you'd better hurry.时间很紧，你最好抓紧一点。
• The box is so tight that I can't open it.这个盒子太紧，我打不开。

7 tumbled   

v.倒塌( tumble的过去式和过去分词 )；翻滚；突然摔倒；恍然大悟

参考例句：

• He slipped and tumbled down the stairs. 他脚一滑滚下了楼梯。
• A hundred and fifty empty bottles tumbled onto the floor. 150个空瓶子滚落到地板上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

9 puppy   

n.小狗，幼犬

参考例句：

• You must school your puppy to obey you.你要训练你的小狗服从你。
• Their lively puppy frisks all over the house.他们的小狗在屋里到处欢快地蹦跳。