THE ASTRONOMER

 I ONLY said, "When in the evening the round full moon gets entangled¹ among the branches of that Kadam tree, couldn't somebody catch it?"

 

But dâdâ [elder brother] laughed at me and said, "Baby, you are the silliest child I have ever known. The moon is ever so far from us, how could anybody catch it?"

 

I said, "Dâdâ how foolish you are! When mother looks out of her window and smiles down at us playing, would you call her far away?"

 

Still said, "You are a stupid child! But, baby, where could you find a net big enough to catch the moon with?"

 

I said, "Surely you could catch it with your hands."

 

But dâdâ laughed and said, "You are the silliest child I have known. If it came nearer, you would see how big the moon is."

 

I said, "Dâdâ, what nonsense² they teach at your school! When mother bends her face down to kiss us does her face look very big?"

 

But still dâdâ says, "You are a stupid child."

1 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 nonsense   

n.胡说，废话

参考例句：

• Go along with you! What you say is all nonsense!去你的！你说的全是废话！
• "Don't talk nonsense",she said sharply.“别胡扯”，她严厉地说。