Lumai, the house-master and family head, unlike most Malaitans, was fat. And of his fatness it would seem had been begotten4 his good nature with its allied5 laziness. But as the fly in his ointment6 of jovial7 irresponsibility was his wife, Lenerengo—the prize shrew of Somo, who was as lean about the middle and all the rest of her as her husband was rotund; who was as remarkably8 sharp-spoken as he was soft-spoken; who was as ceaselessly energetic as he was unceasingly idle; and who had been born with a taste for the world as sour in her mouth as it was sweet in his.
The boy merely peered into the house as he passed around it to the rear, and he saw his father and mother, at opposite corners, sleeping without covering, and, in the middle of the floor, his four naked brothers and sisters curled together in a tangle10 like a litter of puppies. All about the house, which in truth was scarcely more than an animal lair11, was an earthly paradise. The air was spicily12 and sweetly heavy with the scents14 of wild aromatic15 plants and gorgeous tropic blooms. Overhead three breadfruit trees interlaced their noble branches. Banana and plantain trees were burdened with great bunches of ripening16 fruit. And huge, golden melons of the papaia, ready for the eating, globuled directly from the slender-trunked trees not one-tenth the girth of the fruits they bore. And, for Jerry, most delightful17 of all, there was the gurgle and plash of a brooklet18 that pursued its invisible way over mossy stones under a garmenture of tender and delicate ferns. No conservatory20 of a king could compare with this wild wantonness of sun-generous vegetation.
Maddened by the sound of the water, Jerry had first to endure an embracing and hugging from the boy, who, squatted21 on his hams, rocked back and forth22 and mumbled23 a strange little crooning song. And Jerry, lacking articulate speech, had no way of telling him of the thirst of which he was perishing.
Next, Lamai tied him securely with a sennit cord about the neck and untied24 the cords that bit into his legs. So numb25 was Jerry from lack of circulation, and so weak from lack of water through part of a tropic day and all of a tropic night, that he stood up, tottered26 and fell, and, time and again, essaying to stand, floundered and fell. And Lamai understood, or tentatively guessed. He caught up a coconut27 calabash attached to the end of a stick of bamboo, dipped into the greenery of ferns, and presented to Jerry the calabash brimming with the precious water.
Jerry lay on his side at first as he drank, until, with the moisture, life flowed back into the parched28 channels of him, so that, soon, still weak and shaky, he was up and braced29 on all his four wide-spread legs and still eagerly lapping. The boy chuckled30 and chirped31 his delight in the spectacle, and Jerry found surcease and easement sufficient to enable him to speak with his tongue after the heart-eloquent manner of dogs. He took his nose out of the calabash and with his rose-ribbon strip of tongue licked Lamai’s hand. And Lamai, in ecstasy32 over this establishment of common speech, urged the calabash back under Jerry’s nose, and Jerry drank again.
He continued to drink. He drank until his sun-shrunken sides stood out like the walls of a balloon, although longer were the intervals33 from the drinking in which, with his tongue of gratefulness, he spoke9 against the black skin of Lamai’s hand. And all went well, and would have continued to go well, had not Lamai’s mother, Lenerengo, just awakened34, stepped across her black litter of progeny35 and raised her voice in shrill36 protest against her eldest37 born’s introducing of one more mouth and much more nuisance into the household.
A squabble of human speech followed, of which Jerry knew no word but of which he sensed the significance. Lamai was with him and for him. Lamai’s mother was against him. She shrilled38 and shrewed her firm conviction that her son was a fool and worse because he had neither the consideration nor the silly sense of a fool’s solicitude39 for a hard-worked mother. She appealed to the sleeping Lumai, who awoke heavily and fatly, who muttered and mumbled easy terms of Somo dialect to the effect that it was a most decent world, that all puppy dogs and eldest-born sons were right delightful things to possess, that he had never yet starved to death, and that peace and sleep were the finest things that ever befell the lot of mortal man—and, in token thereof, back into the peace of sleep, he snuggled his nose into the biceps of his arm for a pillow and proceeded to snore.
But Lamai, eyes stubbornly sullen40, with mutinous41 foot-stampings and a perfect knowledge that all was clear behind him to leap and flee away if his mother rushed upon him, persisted in retaining his puppy dog. In the end, after an harangue42 upon the worthlessness of Lamai’s father, she went back to sleep.
Ideas beget43 ideas. Lamai had learned how astonishingly thirsty Jerry had been. This engendered44 the idea that he might be equally hungry. So he applied45 dry branches of wood to the smouldering coals he dug out of the ashes of the cooking-fire, and builded a large fire. Into this, as it gained strength, he placed many stones from a convenient pile, each fire-blackened in token that it had been similarly used many times. Next, hidden under the water of the brook19 in a netted hand-bag, he brought to light the carcass of a fat wood-pigeon he had snared46 the previous day. He wrapped the pigeon in green leaves, and, surrounding it with the hot stones from the fire, covered pigeon and stones with earth.
When, after a time, he removed the pigeon and stripped from it the scorched47 wrappings of leaves, it gave forth a scent13 so savoury as to prick48 up Jerry’s ears and set his nostrils49 to quivering. When the boy had torn the steaming carcass across and cooled it, Jerry’s meal began; nor did the meal cease till the last sliver50 of meat had been stripped and tongued from the bones and the bones crunched51 and crackled to fragments and swallowed. And throughout the meal Lamai made love to Jerry, crooning over and over his little song, and patting and caressing52 him.
On the other hand, refreshed by the water and the meat, Jerry did not reciprocate53 so heartily54 in the love-making. He was polite, and received his petting with soft-shining eyes, tail-waggings and the customary body-wrigglings; but he was restless, and continually listened to distant sounds and yearned55 away to be gone. This was not lost upon the boy, who, before he curled himself down to sleep, securely tied to a tree the end of the cord that was about Jerry’s neck.
After straining against the cord for a time, Jerry surrendered and slept. But not for long. Skipper was too much with him. He knew, and yet he did not know, the irretrievable ultimate disaster to Skipper. So it was, after low whinings and whimperings, that he applied his sharp first-teeth to the sennit cord and chewed upon it till it parted.
Free, like a homing pigeon, he headed blindly and directly for the beach and the salt sea over which had floated the Arangi, on her deck Skipper in command. Somo was largely deserted56, and those that were in it were sunk in sleep. So no one vexed57 him as he trotted58 through the winding59 pathways between the many houses and past the obscene kingposts of totemic heraldry, where the forms of men, carved from single tree trunks, were seated in the gaping60 jaws61 of carved sharks. For Somo, tracing back to Somo its founder62, worshipped the shark-god and the salt-water deities63 as well as the deities of the bush and swamp and mountain.
Turning to the right until he was past the sea-wall, Jerry came on down to the beach. No Arangi was to be seen on the placid64 surface of the lagoon65. All about him was the debris66 of the feast, and he scented67 the smouldering odours of dying fires and burnt meat. Many of the feasters had not troubled to return to their houses, but lay about on the sand, in the mid-morning sunshine, men, women, and children and entire families, wherever they had yielded to slumber68.
Down by the water’s edge, so close that his fore-feet rested in the water, Jerry sat down, his heart bursting for Skipper, thrust his nose heavenward at the sun, and wailed69 his woe70 as dogs have ever wailed since they came in from the wild woods to the fires of men.
And here Lamai found him, hushed his grief against his breast with cuddling arms, and carried him back to the grass house by the brook. Water he offered, but Jerry could drink no more. Love he offered, but Jerry could not forget his torment71 of desire for Skipper. In the end, disgusted with so unreasonable72 a puppy, Lamai forgot his love in his boyish savageness73, clouted74 Jerry over the head, right side and left, and tied him as few whites men’s dogs have ever been tied. For, in his way, Lamai was a genius. He had never seen the thing done with any dog, yet he devised, on the spur of the moment, the invention of tying Jerry with a stick. The stick was of bamboo, four feet long. One end he tied shortly to Jerry’s neck, the other end, just as shortly to a tree. All that Jerry’s teeth could reach was the stick, and dry and seasoned bamboo can defy the teeth of any dog.
点击收听单词发音
1 filth | |
n.肮脏,污物,污秽;淫猥 | |
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2 spawn | |
n.卵,产物,后代,结果;vt.产卵,种菌丝于,产生,造成;vi.产卵,大量生产 | |
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3 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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4 begotten | |
v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 );产生,引起 | |
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5 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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6 ointment | |
n.药膏,油膏,软膏 | |
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7 jovial | |
adj.快乐的,好交际的 | |
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8 remarkably | |
ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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9 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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10 tangle | |
n.纠缠;缠结;混乱;v.(使)缠绕;变乱 | |
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11 lair | |
n.野兽的巢穴;躲藏处 | |
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12 spicily | |
adv.香地;讽刺地;痛快地;下流地 | |
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13 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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14 scents | |
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉 | |
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15 aromatic | |
adj.芳香的,有香味的 | |
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16 ripening | |
v.成熟,使熟( ripen的现在分词 );熟化;熟成 | |
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17 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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18 brooklet | |
n. 细流, 小河 | |
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19 brook | |
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让 | |
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20 conservatory | |
n.温室,音乐学院;adj.保存性的,有保存力的 | |
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21 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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22 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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23 mumbled | |
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 untied | |
松开,解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 ); 解除,使自由; 解决 | |
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25 numb | |
adj.麻木的,失去感觉的;v.使麻木 | |
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26 tottered | |
v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 );踉跄;蹒跚;摇摇欲坠 | |
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27 coconut | |
n.椰子 | |
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28 parched | |
adj.焦干的;极渴的;v.(使)焦干 | |
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29 braced | |
adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 );撑牢;使自己站稳;振作起来 | |
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30 chuckled | |
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31 chirped | |
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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32 ecstasy | |
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷 | |
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33 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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34 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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35 progeny | |
n.后代,子孙;结果 | |
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36 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
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37 eldest | |
adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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38 shrilled | |
(声音)尖锐的,刺耳的,高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 solicitude | |
n.焦虑 | |
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40 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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41 mutinous | |
adj.叛变的,反抗的;adv.反抗地,叛变地;n.反抗,叛变 | |
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42 harangue | |
n.慷慨冗长的训话,言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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43 beget | |
v.引起;产生 | |
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44 engendered | |
v.产生(某形势或状况),造成,引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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46 snared | |
v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47 scorched | |
烧焦,烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(植物)枯萎,把…晒枯; 高速行驶; 枯焦 | |
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48 prick | |
v.刺伤,刺痛,刺孔;n.刺伤,刺痛 | |
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49 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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50 sliver | |
n.裂片,细片,梳毛;v.纵切,切成长片,剖开 | |
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51 crunched | |
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 | |
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52 caressing | |
爱抚的,表现爱情的,亲切的 | |
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53 reciprocate | |
v.往复运动;互换;回报,酬答 | |
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54 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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55 yearned | |
渴望,切盼,向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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57 vexed | |
adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论 | |
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58 trotted | |
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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59 winding | |
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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60 gaping | |
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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61 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
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62 Founder | |
n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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63 deities | |
n.神,女神( deity的名词复数 );神祗;神灵;神明 | |
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64 placid | |
adj.安静的,平和的 | |
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65 lagoon | |
n.泻湖,咸水湖 | |
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66 debris | |
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片 | |
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67 scented | |
adj.有香味的;洒香水的;有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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68 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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69 wailed | |
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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71 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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72 unreasonable | |
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的 | |
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73 savageness | |
天然,野蛮 | |
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74 clouted | |
adj.缀补的,凝固的v.(尤指用手)猛击,重打( clout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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