LITTLE SIR CAT

 Little Sir Cat Tries to Comfort Bo-Peep

Often while with the soldiers Little Sir Cat thought of his dear home at the castle and the quiet silver moat full of silver fish that darted¹ here and there in the sparkling water, and maybe he wished he was back at the castle, but he was too brave a kitten to say so, you may be sure.

 

Day after day they drilled and marched, and at last they came up with the enemy again and there was a dreadful battle and, when it was all over, Little Sir Cat found himself at the edge of a wood with a bullet wound in his leg. He couldn't march any more, so they left him alone with his little drum, and when night came down he was faint and hungry and very miserable².

Well, by and by, when the big moon was high in the sky, and all was quiet, except for a little breeze that wouldn't go to sleep, but played hide and seek among the leaves on the tall dark trees, a little owl³ said to him:

 

"Cheer up, little comrade,

And beat your little drum,

For nothing now shall hurt you

Since I to you have come,

For I will bring you comfort,

So never, never fear.

Cheer up, little comrade,

For help is very near."

And when morning came Little Jenny Wren⁴ gave him a wonderful herb that cured his leg in less than five hundred short seconds. So he started off again on his journey and pretty soon he met Little Bo Peep. "I've lost my sheep and cannot tell where to find them."

 

"Leave them alone and they'll come home, bringing their tails behind them," shouted Little Boy Blue, as he passed by with his bright yellow horn hung over his shoulder. "My sheep get into the meadow every day and my cows get in the corn, but they always come home at night, bringing their tails behind them."

 

"That's because you wake up in time to blow your horn," answered Bo Peep between her sobs⁵; "but I've no horn and—boo, hoo—no more sheep and little lambs—boo, hoo"——

 

"Don't cry, I'll help you find them," said Little Sir Cat.

 

Well, they hadn't gone very far when they saw little pieces of wool clinging to the bramble bushes.

 

"Here are their little tails!" shouted Bo Peep. "They can't be far away!" And sure enough, in a few minutes they saw the sheep and the little lambs in a meadow.

 

Oh, Little Bo Peep

Has found her sheep

And now she'll take care to mind them.

No more will they roam,

For she'll lead them home

Bringing their tails behind them.

And pretty soon you will find another story about Little Sir Cat—

 

Unless you lose this pretty book

And cannot find it tho' you look

Inside the silver sugar bowl

And down the cellar in the coal.

1 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

3 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。

4 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

5 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。