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CHAPTER VII The Carp
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 The summer wore on and things grew worse and worse.
 
No end of young had come out of the eggs and they filled the whole pond. Out in the middle it was quite green with millions of little water-weeds, which died and rotted and reeked1 till seven big perch2 died of it and floated on their backs.
 
"The pond's blossoming!" sneered3 the rushes.
 
"There's a horrid4 smell here," said Mrs. Reed-Warbler.
 
"I think, considering all things, that it's delightful5 here," said the carp.
 
The carp swam a little way in among the reeds. He had made a friend there, in the shape of the fresh-water mussel, who waded6 ever so slowly through the mud, or else settled on the bottom and yawned.
 
They suited each other, these two, for they were quiet and sedate7 people, who led the same sort of life.
 
"I don't care to go hunting wildly for food," said the carp. "I open my mouth where the water is moderately thick and let whatever there is run in. Something always sticks. Then one needn't kill people and one doesn't see all that misery8."
 
"It's just so with us," said the fresh-water mussel. "I employ exactly the same methods. It's more gentlemanly and I have grown stout9 on it."
 
Then the two sat and talked and yawned all the time and amused themselves capitally notwithstanding.
 
"Mind you don't go too near them," said Mrs. Reed-Warbler to the May-fly grub.
 
"Yes, I will; thanks very much," said the grub.
 
"The carp and the mussel are nicer than the others, I think," said Mrs. Reed-Warbler to her husband.
 
"Really? And why, pray, madam?" asked the eel10, who was always where he was least expected. "Surely they do just the same as all of us ... only the animals which they eat are smaller."
 
"There is a difference, my good fellow," said the reed-warbler. "It's only your lack of refinement11 that prevents your seeing it."
 
"Yes, wriggle12 and twist!" said the eel.
 
The reed-warbler did not condescend13 to answer him, but turned to the carp and the mussel, struck up a little trill and said politely:
 
"My wife and I have the honour to bid you good-morning, gentlemen. We are delighted to observe that you lead your lives in a more mannerly way than most of the other inhabitants of the pond. We have suffered greatly at the sight of the extraordinary cruelty ..." he paused, caught a blue-bottle, and tossed it to his children in the nest ... "of the extraordinary cruelty that prevails in society here. It cannot but be extremely unpleasant for well-bred people to witness the cynical14 and unveiled brutality15 with which every one satisfies his app— ..." Here he seized a caddis-fly, ate it, wiped his mouth, and continued, "satisfies his appetite. You, gentlemen, are different. If you had wings, I should be inclined to believe that originally you did not belong to this company at all."
 
"Your presumption16 is absolutely correct," replied the carp, waving his fins17 complacently18.
 
"You are quite right," said the mussel, yawning politely.
 
"I was born in another pond," said the carp, "but I must confess that I have no distinct recollection of it. I only know that they did not lead such a wild, brigand's life there as here. For instance, I don't think there were any fish but carp in the pond, which, of course, improved the tone, you know. No doubt it was a nobleman's carp-pond. We were fed five times a day and everything was removed that could inconvenience us in any way. Until I came here, I had never set eyes on such things as pikes, water-spiders or that horrible bladder-wort."
 
"It must have been idyllic19 there," said the reed-warbler. "May I ask, were there no reed-warblers?"
 
"Oh, yes!" said the carp, "I think they had permission to build in the reeds. And then there were a good many frogs, probably to cheer us up with their croaking20."
 
"Then how did you come here?"
 
"A-ah," said the carp, "that's not an easy question for me to answer. You see, we came in a basket, I and a large number of my friends. And then we were tilted21 out into the pond. I can't think of any other reason than that they wished to improve the tone here. We had nothing to complain of where we were before. Did you hear anything about well-bred people in this place expressing such a wish?"
 
"No," said the reed-warbler. "It didn't happen in my time. But I have only been here since the spring."
 
"Oh, I see," said the carp. "Yes, I've been here four years. I wish I were anywhere else. One lives in everlasting22 terror of the pike. A number of my friends have disappeared in an utterly23 incomprehensible manner and, I believe, saving your presence, that the pike has eaten them. And then, as you very properly observed, the prevailing24 tone here is rather ill-bred. But it doesn't matter much to you. I presume you go away in the autumn?"
 
"A little trip to Italy," said the reed-warbler, "with my family."
 
The carp waited and thought for a while. He yawned once or twice, then said:
 
"You might be able to do me a service ... it occurred to me when I saw that nice, pointed25 beak26 of yours."
 
"Delighted, I'm sure," said the reed-warbler.
 
"You see, every one has his cross to bear and mine is in my gills. Would you care to see?..."
 
He opened one of his gill-lids and the reed-warbler ran down the reed and peeped in:
 
"Yes, upon my word," he said, "there's a cross there."
 
"That's the double-animal," said the carp with a deep sigh.
 
"The what?..."
 
"The double-animal. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I brought him with me from the otherwise first-rate, high-class carp-pond which I was telling you about. The pain he caused me even then was great, but lately it has become almost unendurable. You must know, the animal consists originally of two worms ... of the kind, you know, that don't care to work for themselves, but take up their quarters with respectable people and suck at them. I have a couple of dozen of those in my stomach, but they don't inconvenience me anything like so much as the double-animal. You see, to increase the meanness of the proceeding27, these scoundrels have a trick of fastening together in pairs, cross-wise. They suck themselves firmly on to each other, until they grow into one, and then they suck at me with united strength."
 
"I never heard anything like it!" said the reed-warbler.
 
"I have one like it on the other side of my head, in my other gill," said the carp. "We can talk about him later. Meanwhile, may I ask you if you would kindly28 try to remove the brute29 with your beak? I should be exceedingly grateful to you. I am in such pain that I would rather die than go on living like this."
 
At that moment, it was as though the world were coming to an end.
 
The reed-bank heaved and swayed, the reeds snapped. The reed-warblers screamed, all the seven of them; the water spurted30 up; the mussel rolled over; the spider's parlour was smashed.
 
"At last!... At last!..."
 
It was the pike's voice.
 
"Spare my life! Spare my life!" yelled the carp.
 
What happened next no one was ever able properly to describe.
 
The carp cracked and crunched31 between the pike's teeth, and all who were near thought their last day had come. But, a little after, it grew still and, when the reed-warblers had recovered themselves, the pike was gone, and the carp's tail-fin lay and floated on the water.
 
The reed-warblers' nest had dropped down on one side and they had to work for some time before they got it right. However, all the children were safe and sound and gradually they recovered from their alarm. The water grew clear again and the mussel sat down below and yawned.
 
"That was a noble character, that friend of yours who has been taken from us," said the reed-warbler.
 
"Yes," said the mussel. "For that matter, I have had experiences of my own...."
 
"We shall look forward to hearing your story to-morrow," said the reed-warbler. "We are too much upset to talk any more to-day."
 
Just then, the carp's tail sank to the bottom.
 
Goody Cray-Fish caught it and dragged it to her hole.
 
"Poor people must be content with crumbs32 from the rich man's table," said she.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 reeked eec3a20cf06a5da2657f6426748446ba     
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象)
参考例句:
  • His breath reeked of tobacco. 他满嘴烟臭味。
  • His breath reeked of tobacco. 他满嘴烟臭味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 perch 5u1yp     
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于
参考例句:
  • The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
  • Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。
3 sneered 0e3b5b35e54fb2ad006040792a867d9f     
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
  • It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。
4 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的
参考例句:
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
5 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
6 waded e8d8bc55cdc9612ad0bc65820a4ceac6     
(从水、泥等)蹚,走过,跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
  • He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。
7 sedate dDfzH     
adj.沉着的,镇静的,安静的
参考例句:
  • After the accident,the doctor gave her some pills to sedate her.事故发生后,医生让她服了些药片使她镇静下来。
  • We spent a sedate evening at home.我们在家里过了一个恬静的夜晚。
8 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
9     
参考例句:
10 eel bjAzz     
n.鳗鲡
参考例句:
  • He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
  • In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆,他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。
11 refinement kinyX     
n.文雅;高尚;精美;精制;精炼
参考例句:
  • Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
  • Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。
12 wriggle wf4yr     
v./n.蠕动,扭动;蜿蜒
参考例句:
  • I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
  • Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。
13 condescend np7zo     
v.俯就,屈尊;堕落,丢丑
参考例句:
  • Would you condescend to accompany me?你肯屈尊陪我吗?
  • He did not condescend to answer.He turned his back on me.他不愿屈尊回答我的问题。他不理睬我。
14 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的
参考例句:
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
15 brutality MSbyb     
n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮
参考例句:
  • The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
  • a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军
16 presumption XQcxl     
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定
参考例句:
  • Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
  • I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。
17 fins 6a19adaf8b48d5db4b49aef2b7e46ade     
[医]散热片;鱼鳍;飞边;鸭掌
参考例句:
  • The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关,与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
  • Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句
18 complacently complacently     
adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地
参考例句:
  • He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
  • "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装,"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
19 idyllic lk1yv     
adj.质朴宜人的,田园风光的
参考例句:
  • These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
  • Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。
20 croaking croaking     
v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 );用粗的声音说
参考例句:
  • the croaking of frogs 蛙鸣
  • I could hear croaking of the frogs. 我能听到青蛙呱呱的叫声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
22 everlasting Insx7     
adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的
参考例句:
  • These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
  • He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。
23 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地,绝对地
参考例句:
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
24 prevailing E1ozF     
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的
参考例句:
  • She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
  • This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。
25 pointed Il8zB4     
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。
26 beak 8y1zGA     
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
参考例句:
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
27 proceeding Vktzvu     
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报
参考例句:
  • This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
  • The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。
28 kindly tpUzhQ     
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。
29 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
30 spurted bdaf82c28db295715c49389b8ce69a92     
(液体,火焰等)喷出,(使)涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 ); (短暂地)加速前进,冲刺
参考例句:
  • Water spurted out of the hole. 水从小孔中喷出来。
  • Their guns spurted fire. 他们的枪喷射出火焰。
31 crunched adc2876f632a087c0c8d7d68ab7543dc     
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 );嘎吱作响;(快速大量地)处理信息;数字捣弄
参考例句:
  • Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头,使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
32 crumbs crumbs     
int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式
参考例句:
  • She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
  • Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊,天哪!都这会儿啦?


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