LITTLE SIR CAT

 Little Sir Cat Kills the Wolf

"Hello!" exclaimed Little Sir Cat, "if that isn't Little Red Riding Hood¹." Sure enough it was. Just in front of him, tripping along the path, was a little girl dressed in a red cape² and hood.

 

"May I help you carry your basket?" he asked politely.

 

"Oh, dear!" screamed Little Red Riding Hood.

 

But when she saw Little Sir Cat, she said, with a sigh of relief, "I thought you were the Big Gray Wolf!"

 

Well, pretty soon they reached her Grandmother's house, and, knowing that old women usually like cats, Little Sir Kitten made up his mind to be very nice indeed to Little Red Riding Hood's Grandmother.

 

So he wiped his boots carefully on the doormat, and, with his cap held politely in his paw, waited in the hall while Little Red Riding Hood ran upstairs.

 

"Come up, Kitten," she called down in a few minutes; "Grandma, wants to see you. Hang your cap on the hat-rack."

 

Then Little Red Riding Hood took hold of his paw, and led him into a sunny room, where in a big easy-chair by the window her Grandmother sat knitting.

 

"Come here, Sir Kitten, and let me see your nice red top boots," said her Grandmother. "I always did like cats." And just then the little canary bird began to sing:

 

"Look out for the Big Gray Wolf, my dears.

He has long sharp teeth and pointed³ ears,

And he roams through the forest dark and dim.

Be careful you don't get caught by him!"

So Little Red Riding Hood kissed her Grandma good-by and with Little Sir Cat started for home. But, oh, dear me! They had gone only a little way when they heard a noise.

 

"Look," whispered Little Sir Cat, "there's the wolf."

 

"What shall we do?" sobbed⁴ Little Red Riding Hood.

 

"Trust to me," replied Sir Cat, "I have my trusty staff. But let's hurry," and taking hold of her hand they started off on a brisk run.

 

Nearer and nearer came a dark shadow, and all of a sudden, with a dismal⁵ howl, the Big Gray Wolf leaped on the path just in front of them. His cruel jaws⁶ were wide open and his long, white teeth snapped with a dreadful sound. But Little Sir Cat wasn't afraid. He swung his staff and hit the Big Gray Wolf a tremendous blow on the head.

 

"Oh, you brave kitten!" she cried, "you have saved my life!" But Sir Cat merely smiled and said: "That's nothing, my dear; my father once killed an ogre!"

 

And then Little Sir Cat once more set off to find his fortune, and pretty soon you will hear something more about him, if

 

A little dog doesn't tie a can

On the tip of his waggy tail,

And a tiny minnow in the brook⁷

Swallow a great big whale.

1 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

2 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

5 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。