CHAPTER XXXVI THE EXPERIMENT WITH THE CAT

THE wind blew cold and dry. The storm of the day before had brought it on. Uncle Paul took this pretext¹ to have the kitchen stove lighted in spite of Mother Ambroisine’s remarks, who cried out at the unseasonableness of making a fire.

“Light up the stove in summer!” said she; “did one ever see the like? No one but our master would have such a notion. We shall be roasted.”

Uncle Paul let her talk; he had his own idea. They sat down at the table. After eating its supper the big cat, never too warm, settled itself on a chair by the side of the stove, and soon, with its back turned to the warm sheet-iron, began to purr with happiness. All was going as desired; Uncle Paul’s projects were taking an excellent turn. There was some complaint of the heat, but he took no notice.

“Ah! do you think it is for you the stove is lighted?” said he to the children. “Undeceive yourselves, my little friends: it is for the cat, the cat alone. It is so chilly², poor thing; see how happy it is on its chair.”

Emile was on the point of laughing at his uncle’s kindly³ attentions to the tom-cat, but Claire, who suspected serious designs, nudged him with her elbow. Claire’s suspicions were well founded. When they had finished supper they resumed the subject of thunder. Uncle Paul began:

“This morning I promised to show you, with the cat’s help, some very curious things. The time has come for keeping my word, provided Puss is agreeable.”

He took the cat, whose hair was burning hot, and put it on his knees. The children drew near.

“Jules, put out the lamp; we must be in the dark.”

The lamp put out, Uncle Paul passed and repassed his hand over the tom-cat’s back. Oh! oh! wonderful! the beast’s hair is streaming with bright beads⁴; little flashes of white light appear, crackle, and disappear as the hand rubs; you would have said that sparks of fireworks were bursting out from the fur. All looked on in wonder at the tom-cat’s splendor⁵.

“That puts the finishing touch! Here is our cat making fire!” cried Mother Ambroisine.

“Does that fire burn, Uncle?” asked Jules. “The cat does not cry out, and you stroke him without being afraid.”

“Those sparks are not fire,” replied Uncle Paul. “You all remember the stick of sealing-wax which, after being rubbed on cloth, attracts little pieces of straw and paper. I told you that electricity, aroused by friction⁶, is what makes the paper draw to the wax. Well, in rubbing the cat’s back with my hand I produce electricity, but in greater abundance, so much so that it becomes visible where it was at first invisible, and bursts forth⁷ in sparks.”

“If it doesn’t burn, let me try,” pleaded Jules.

Jules passed his hand over the cat’s fur. The bright beads and their cracklings began again still stronger. Emile and Claire did the same. Mother Ambroisine was afraid. The worthy⁸ woman perhaps saw some witchcraft⁹ in the bright sparkles from her cat. The cat was then let loose. Besides, the experiment was beginning to give annoyance¹⁰, and if Uncle Paul had not held the animal fast perhaps it would have begun to scratch.

1 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

2 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

5 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

6 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

10 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。