XIV ONE OR TWO BLUNDERS

 Jolly Robin¹’s cousin, the Hermit², seemed much disappointed because Jolly did not weep after hearing the beautiful, sad song. But no matter how mournful a song might be, Jolly Robin could no more have shed tears over it than a fish could have. Naturally, a fish never weeps, because it would be a silly thing to do. Surrounded by water as he is, a fish could never see his own tears. And so all the weeping he might do would be merely wasted.

 

Not wanting to hurt his cousin’s feelings, Jolly Robin said that he would try to weep after he went home. And that 70made the Hermit feel happier once more.

 

“Perhaps you’d like to see our eggs?” he suggested.

 

And since Jolly Robin said he would be delighted to look at them, if the Hermit’s wife had no objection, his cousin led him further into the swamp. And there, in a nest of moss⁴ and leaves, lined with pine needles, the Hermit proudly pointed³ to three greenish blue eggs, somewhat smaller than those in Jolly’s own nest in Farmer Green’s orchard⁵.

 

Jolly Robin stared at the nest in amazement⁶. And pretty soon the Hermit grew quite uncomfortable.

 

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “You seem surprised.”

 

“I certainly am!” Jolly Robin cried. “How do you dare do it?”

 

“Do what?” his cousin inquired uneasily.

 

“Why, you and your wife have built your nest on the ground!”

 

“Well, why shouldn’t we?” the Hermit asked. And he looked the least bit angry.

 

“But everybody knows that the best place for a nest is in a tree,” Jolly Robin told him.

 

His cousin shook his head at that.

 

“It’s a matter of taste,” he said. “Our family have always preferred to build their nests on the ground. And as for me, I shall continue to follow their example.... It suits me very well,” he added.

 

Jolly Robin couldn’t help laughing, the sight struck him as being such an odd one.

 

“It’s a wonder—” he remarked—“it’s a wonder your wife doesn’t bury her eggs in the sand beside the creek⁷, like old Mrs. Turtle.”

 

“I’d thank you,” said the Hermit, stiffly, “not to say such things about my wife.” And though he spoke⁸ politely enough, his manner was quite cold. It was clear that he felt terribly insulted.

 

Jolly Robin saw that he had blundered. And wishing to change the subject, he said hastily:

 

“Won’t you sing another song?”

 

So the Hermit cleared his throat and began to sing again.

 

Although this song was not so sad as the first one, Jolly Robin did not like it half so well. The chorus, especially, he considered quite offensive. And it is not surprising, perhaps, that it displeased⁹ him, for this is the way it went:

 

“Any old vest

May do for the rest;

But I like a spotted¹⁰ one best!”

 

 

If it hadn’t been for that song, Jolly Robin would not have remembered that he had intended to speak to his cousin about his spotted waistcoat. Jolly had been so interested in the nest on the ground that the matter of the waistcoat had slipped out of his mind. But now he suddenly recalled the reason why he had come to see the Hermit. And he disliked his cousin’s spotted finery more than ever.

 

Thereupon, he resolved that he would speak about it, too.

 

1 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

2 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

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 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

5 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

6 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

10 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。