The Prerogative of Might

A Slander¹ travelling rapidly through the land upon its joyous² mission was accosted³ by a Retraction⁴ and commanded to halt and be killed.

“Your career of mischief⁵ is at an end,” said the Retraction, drawing his club, rolling up his sleeves, and spitting on his hands.

“Why should you slay⁶ me?” protested the Slander. “Whatever my intentions were, I have been innocuous, for you have dogged my strides and counteracted⁷ my influence.”

“Dogged your grandmother!” said the Retraction, with contemptuous vulgarity of speech. “In the order of nature it is appointed that we two shall never travel the same road.”

“How then,” the Slander asked, triumphantly⁸, “have you overtaken me?”

“I have not,” replied the Retraction; “we have accidentally met. I came round the world the other way.”

But when he tried to execute his fell purpose he found that in the order of nature it was appointed that he himself perish miserably⁹ in the encounter.

1 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

2 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

3 accosted   

v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭

参考例句：

• She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger. 在街上，一个完全陌生的人贸然走到她跟前搭讪。
• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 retraction   

n.撤消；收回

参考例句：

• He demanded a full retraction of the allegations against him.他要求完全收回针对他的言论。
• The newspaper published a retraction of the erroneous report.那家报纸声明撤回那篇错误的报道。

5 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

6 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

7 counteracted   

对抗，抵消( counteract的过去式 )

参考例句：

• This can be counteracted only by very effective insulation. 这只能用非常有效的绝缘来防止。
• The effect of his preaching was counteracted by the looseness of his behavior. 他讲道的效果被他放荡的生活所抵消了。

8 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

9 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》