LITTLE SIR CAT

 Little Sir Cat Visits Mrs. Porker

As Little Sir Cat and Piggie Porker traveled on they met Sir Launcelot, the noble Knight¹ of good King Arthur's round table, riding a great horse with Miss Muffet in the saddle². Well, by-and-by, along came old Dame³ Trot⁴ with a basket of eggs on her arm. She was singing in a high cracked voice a funny song that went like this:

 

"Who wants to buy some nice fresh eggs

Laid by a hen with yellow legs,

Yellow legs and a bright red comb,

In a little round nest in my own dear home?"

"How much are they?" asked Sir Launcelot, taking a gold piece from his purse. And of course, she didn't answer but handed the basket to him with a curtsy. "They are yours, Sir Knight," and, taking the gold piece, she wrapped it up in her handkerchief and put it away in the pocket of her short green skirt.

 

Sir Launcelot laughed, for he knew that a gold piece was too much to pay for the eggs, but he was such a generous knight he didn't care.

 

Then Piggie took Little Sir Kitten home with him to meet Mrs. Porker and the little Porkers. And after a while Little Sir Cat set out again to find his fortune.

 

Well, by-and-by, he came to a tall flag-pole at the top of which floated a beautiful flag with red stripes⁵ and silver stars. But Little Sir Cat didn't know what flag this was, for he had never crossed the ocean blue, and Mother Goose Land is not on this side of the water, you know. And then a big bird said, "Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue!" He was the big American Eagle, only, of course, Little Sir Cat didn't know that either; he only knew Mother Goose people, you see.

 

"Why, I didn't think you could cheer so well," said Little Sir Cat, and he opened his knapsack and took out a red, white and blue lollypop and gave it to him, and wasn't that eagle pleased? Well, I should say he was. He flapped⁶ his wings and began to sing:

 

"Oh, I'm the bird as you all have heard

Who fights for the U. S. A.

I love the stars on our beautiful flag

As I watch it wave from my lonely crag,

And I give a screech⁷ that is heard afar,

Three cheers for every silver star,

And the bands of red and white and blue,

And the soldier boys who are brave and true,

And the sailor lads on the deep wide sea,

Oh, the U. S. A. is the land for me!"

And when he finished he said to Little Sir Cat, "Climb on my back and we'll fly away, far away, across the water wild with spray⁸, way, way off to the U. S. A."

 

Isn't it wonderful how an eagle could say things like this in rhyme? It must have been because he was in Mother Goose Land where everybody talks in poetry.

 

"I'm afraid I can't," replied Little Sir Cat. "My mother would worry if I went so far away." So the big eagle said good-by, but before he left, he pinned a tiny red, white and blue flag on the little Kitten's coat.

 

On another page of this jolly⁹ book,

If you just turn over the pages and look,

You'll find a story about Sir Cat

And the Cow that jumped over the Moon Man's Hat.

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 saddle   

n.鞍，车座，山脊，拖具；vt.装以马鞍，使负担；vi.装马鞍

参考例句：

• The bicycle saddle is too high for this child.这辆自行车车座对这孩子来说太高了。
• We got the order to saddle up just after dawn.我们得到命令,天一亮就要上好马鞍。

3 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

4 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

5 stripes   

n.（与底色不同的）条纹( stripe的名词复数 )；（军装或警服上表示等级的）臂章；纹理

参考例句：

• The plant's stem is marked with thin green longitudinal stripes. 这种植物的茎上长有绿色细长条纹。
• a zebra's black and white stripes 斑马的黑白条纹

6 flapped   

（使）上下左右移动( flap的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻拍； 焦急，焦虑； 振（翅）

参考例句：

• The swan flapped its wings noisily. 天鹅大声地拍打着翅膀。
• He flapped the flies away with a fan. 他用扇子把苍蝇拍走。

7 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

8 spray   

v.喷，(使)溅散；n.浪花，飞沫；喷雾

参考例句：

• The liquid came out of the bottle in a spray.液体从瓶子里呈雾状喷出。
• We were wet with the sea spray.我们被海水的浪花溅湿。

9 jolly   

adj.快乐的，高兴的；adv.很；vt.劝服，哄

参考例句：

• That day they got together and had a jolly time.那天他们聚在一起热闹了一番。
• She was a jolly,kindhearted woman.她是个整天乐呵呵心地善良的女人。