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CHAPTER VIII The Mussel
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 The next evening, the reed-warbler peeped down into the water.
 
The fresh-water mussel was sitting there and yawning as usual. There was nothing out of the way about him.
 
"Good-evening," said the reed-warbler. "How are you, after your friend's unhappy end?"
 
"Thank you," replied the mussel. "It has not disturbed my composure in the least. Generally speaking, nothing disturbs my composure. Only, if any one sticks something between my shells, I become furious and I pinch."
 
"I should do the same in your place," said the reed-warbler. "And your equanimity1 is really quite enviable. But still I think that the misfortune of one's neighbour ... of your intimate friend."
 
"I have no neighbour," said the mussel. "And the carp was not my intimate friend. We were not rivals, that is all. In a case like that, it's easy to be friends. I was often amused at the carp's way of talking. But I never contradict, except when any one sticks something between my shells. The carp had had to do with human beings; that's what it was. It always makes animals so ridiculous. You're the same, for that matter."
 
"I look upon that as a compliment," said the reed-warbler, who was a little offended but did not wish to show it. "However, I have nothing to do with human beings, except that they protect me and have not the heart to do me harm, because of my pretty voice. They stop and listen to me as they pass. Many a poet has written beautiful lines about me."
 
"Oh, really?" said the mussel. "Upon my word, they did something of the sort about me too. But what they said was lies."
 
"What did they say?"
 
"There was a lot of rubbish about pearls."
 
"Oh, have you pearls? Wife! Wife! The mussel has pearls!"
 
"Not a bit of it," said the fresh-water mussel. "Do stop shouting like that. You can be heard all over the pond. If any one overheard you, I should be in danger of being fished up. Thank goodness, there are no pearls formed on me!"
 
"O-oh!" said the reed-warbler, in a disappointed tone.
 
"It's just the pearls the poets talk their nonsense about. They sing of how happy the mussel is with the precious pearl he guards, and all that sort of thing.... Do you know what a pearl is?"
 
"No," said the reed-warbler.
 
"It's a nasty, pushing parasite2 ... something like the double-animal that hurt the carp. When it comes into us, it hurts us, of course. Then we cover the brute3 with mother of pearl till it dies. And then it sits on our shell and plays at being a pearl."
 
"Oh!" said the reed-warbler. "Do you hear that, wife? All our illusions are vanishing one by one. Soon there will be nothing but vacancy4 around us."
 
"Oh, it won't be vacant so long as we have those five greedy children!" said she. "They are crying for more."
 
"They shall have no more to-day," he answered, crossly. "You and I have been running and flying about for them all day long. Now, upon my word, I intend to be left in peace to have a chat with the neighbours. Let's give them a flogging."
 
And a flogging they got. And then they cried still more and then they went to sleep.
 
"You hinted last night that you were not born here, in the pond," said the reed-warbler. "Tell us where you come from."
 
"With pleasure," replied the mussel. "I am fond of a gossip in the evening myself. And no one will believe that I have had any experience, because I move about so little.... But wait a bit. There's a saucy5 person there I want a word with...."
 
It was no other than Goody Cray-Fish.
 
She had crawled nearer and was fumbling6 at the mussel with her legs. Now he slammed his shell down upon one of them and cut it off in the middle. Goody screamed like one possessed7 and hammered away at the mussel with her claws, but he only laughed.
 
"What a common fellow!" cried Goody. "Can't he leave a respectable woman alone?"
 
"Aye," said the mussel, "when she doesn't go for me!"
 
"A wretched mussel like that!" she screamed. "A mollusc! He is much lower in rank than I and he dares to be impertinent. I have twenty-one pairs of legs and he knows it: how many has he?"
 
"Come along, with all the one-and-twenty!" said the mussel.
 
Goody went on scolding and then the reed-warbler interfered9:
 
"drop that strong language now," he said. "It doesn't matter about those legs. I have only two myself."
 
"I should be sorry to be found lacking in respect for you, Mr. Reed-Warbler," said the cray-fish. "I know who are my betters, right enough. But I can't understand how a fine gentleman like you can care to talk to one of those molluscs."
 
Scolding and grumbling10, she withdrew to her hole, but left her head and claws hanging outside. The mussel opened his shell, but kept four or five of his eyes constantly fixed11 on Goody. These eyes were on the edge of the mantle12 which lay in the slit13 between the shells. As soon as the cray-fish made the slightest movement, he closed his shells at once:
 
"One's soft inside all right," he said. "But one shows the hard shell to the world."
 
"Go on with your story," said the reed-warbler.
 
"I was born in another pond, far from here," said the mussel. "I can't give you a detailed14 description of it, because, as you will understand, one in my position does not have many opportunities of looking about him. It was not as grand as in the high-class carp-pond, that's sure enough. To be honest with you, I think it was much the same as here—an awful heap of rabble15 of every kind, but lots of mussels in particular. They sat in the mud as close as paving-stones and took the bread out of one another's mouths. If you had a mouthful of water, it was generally mere8 swipes. Some one else had sucked all the goodness out of it, you see."
 
"What did you do then?" asked the reed-warbler.
 
"I did nothing," replied the mussel. "I never do anything, except when any one sticks something between my shells. Then I become furious and I pinch.... Hullo, are you there again, Goody Cray-Fish? Do you want one of your little legs amputated, eh?"
 
"The wind-bag!" said the cray-fish.
 
"But you might have died of hunger," said the reed-warbler.
 
"One doesn't die so easily as that," replied the mussel. "Unless an accident befalls one, as in the case of our poor carp. In fact, I once lay for a whole year on a table in a room."
 
"Goodness gracious!" said the reed-warbler. "How did you get there?"
 
"I was fished up by a student or somebody. He wrapped me in a piece of paper and put me on the table. He wanted to see how long I could live. Every Saturday, he unpacked16 me and poured a little water over me; and that was enough to keep me alive."
 
"But how did you escape from him?"
 
"Well," said the mussel, "it was when he got engaged. People used to come and see him sometimes, you know, and, of course, they all had to look at the wonderful mussel that refused to die. There was a young girl among them who was very cross with him for teasing me so. But he only laughed at her. Well, when I had been there a year, he got engaged to her.... They were sitting on the sofa just by me, when it happened, and I was not so dead but that I could lift my shells a little and see the whole thing: they're funny creatures, those human beings! Well, then he asked her if there was anything she would like on that joyful17 day. Yes, she would like me to be put back in the water again. He laughed at her. But off they went with me to the very pond where I was fished up and threw me in. Then I settled down among the other fellows and began all over again."
 
"Yes ... love!" said the reed-warbler, looking round at his wife.
 
"Ah ... love!" said she, returning his glance.
 
"I have nothing to say against it," said the mussel. "But, as a matter of fact, I have no personal experience of it."
 
"Surely you have a wife," said the reed-warbler. "Or, perhaps ... perhaps you are a lady ...?"
 
"I am neither one or the other. I am just a mussel. And I lay my eggs and then that's done!"
 
"Do you look after your children nicely?" asked the reed-warbler.
 
"What next!" exclaimed the mussel. "My children are very remarkable18 individuals. They are sailors."
 
"Sailors?"
 
"Yes, they are indeed. As soon as they come out of the egg, they hoist19 a great sail and put out. It's only when they grow older, if they haven't been eaten by that time, that they settle down as decent mussels with shells upon them and philosophy in their constitutions."
 
"Don't let us talk about children," said the reed-warbler. "It always upsets my wife so. Tell us now how you found your way to this pond."
 
"Ah," said the mussel, "that comes of a peculiarity20 I possess of becoming furious when any one sticks something between my shells. I don't know if I told you that I possess that peculiarity?"
 
"You've told me several times," answered the reed-warbler. "I shall never forget it; I shall take care, be sure of that."
 
"Mind you do," said the mussel. "You know, it was one of your sort that managed my removal."
 
"A reed-warbler?"
 
"I don't exactly know if it was a reed-warbler. I can't see very well outside the water.... Good-day to you, good-day to you, Goody Cray-Fish! I can always see you!... And to me one bird is much like another. However, it must have been a gull21. Well, I was sitting at the bottom and yawning, as I usually do. Just above me was a little roach. Then, suddenly, splash came the gull and seized the roach. He swooped22 down at such a pace that he plumped right to the bottom. One of his little toes stuck between my shells and I pinched. The gull tugged23 and pulled, but I am strong when I become furious and I held tight. He was the stronger, in a way, nevertheless. For he pulled me off the bottom and then I went up through the water and into the air."
 
"Why, it's quite a fairy-tale!" said the reed-warbler.
 
"We flew a good distance," the mussel continued, "high above the fields and woods. I could just peep out, for my shells were ajar because of the bird's toe. We lost the fish on the way, but I held on, however much the gull might struggle and kick. Of course, I did not mean to hang on for ever, you know, but I wanted to have my say as to where we should alight. Suppose I had been dropped into a tall tree and had to hang there and wait until a student came and got engaged...."
 
"He would have come all right," said the reed-warbler. "I've travelled a great deal, but I have never been anywhere that there wasn't a student who got engaged."
 
"Well, in my case, it would have been rather uncertain," said the mussel. "And so, when I looked down and saw that there was blue underneath24 me, I let go and fell here, into the pond."
 
"And are you satisfied?"
 
"Yes, for the present. I have seen no other mussels, so it is a good deal pleasanter than in the other place."
 
"That's a curious story," said the reed-warbler.
 
Then he sat and fell a-thinking and night came.
 
But Mrs. Reed-Warbler ran down the reed and peered into the dark water:
 
"Are you there, my little grub?" she asked.
 
"Yes, thank you," said the May-fly grub.
 
"Have you had a good time to-day?"
 
"Yes, thank you. I was only nearly eaten up by the perch25; and then there was a duckling after me and a horrid26 dragon-fly grub and a water-beetle. Otherwise everything was very nice indeed."

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 equanimity Z7Vyz     
n.沉着,镇定
参考例句:
  • She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏,而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
  • The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。
2 parasite U4lzN     
n.寄生虫;寄生菌;食客
参考例句:
  • The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
  • I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫,我要自己养活自己。
3 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。
4 vacancy EHpy7     
n.(旅馆的)空位,空房,(职务的)空缺
参考例句:
  • Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
  • The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。
5 saucy wDMyK     
adj.无礼的;俊俏的;活泼的
参考例句:
  • He was saucy and mischievous when he was working.他工作时总爱调皮捣蛋。
  • It was saucy of you to contradict your father.你顶撞父亲,真是无礼。
6 fumbling fumbling     
n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理
参考例句:
  • If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动,经常这样结束。
  • If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动,经常这样结束。
7 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
8 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
9 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 grumbling grumbling     
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的
参考例句:
  • She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
  • We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。
11 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
12 mantle Y7tzs     
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红
参考例句:
  • The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
  • The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。
13 slit tE0yW     
n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂
参考例句:
  • The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
  • He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。
14 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
15 rabble LCEy9     
n.乌合之众,暴民;下等人
参考例句:
  • They formed an army out of rabble.他们用乌合之众组成一支军队。
  • Poverty in itself does not make men into a rabble.贫困自身并不能使人成为贱民。
16 unpacked 78a068b187a564f21b93e72acffcebc3     
v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李,整理衣物。
  • Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒,并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句
17 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
18 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
19 hoist rdizD     
n.升高,起重机,推动;v.升起,升高,举起
参考例句:
  • By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
  • Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗!
20 peculiarity GiWyp     
n.独特性,特色;特殊的东西;怪癖
参考例句:
  • Each country has its own peculiarity.每个国家都有自己的独特之处。
  • The peculiarity of this shop is its day and nigth service.这家商店的特点是昼夜服务。
21 gull meKzM     
n.鸥;受骗的人;v.欺诈
参考例句:
  • The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。
  • You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。
22 swooped 33b84cab2ba3813062b6e35dccf6ee5b     
俯冲,猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
23 tugged 8a37eb349f3c6615c56706726966d38e     
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
  • A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
25 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。
26 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。


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