3. THE CROSS COOK.

 1. As Dick came up to the merchant, his knees trembled under him, and he looked very ill and weak. He had put the little cat under his jacket, so that the merchant did not notice her.

 

2. "You seem half starved," said the merchant. And he told the cook to give Dick a good meal at once, make him up a bed in the garret, and let him stay with them.

 

3. He might do what dirty work in the kitchen he could for the cook. Little Dick would have been very happy now, but for the cross cook, who was finding¹ fault and scolding all the day long.

 

4. She would rush at poor Dick with her broom, and hit him hard on the head. And what was worse, she chased² his poor little cat right out of the house, and said she would have no cats there.

 

5. Dick found his pussy³ again, and took her up into his own bare and empty garret, where she was safe, for the cook never[Pg 10] went there. And pussy was his only friend at that time.

 

6. Dick was careful to carry food to his cat, of which there was always plenty to be had in that house. But things became worse and worse in the kitchen.

 

7. The temper⁴ of the cross cook was tried more and more by the little mice, which ran over all her nice pies and puddings, and spoilt⁵ them as fast as she made them.

 

8. She flew into a passion with Dick twenty times a day, but it was of no use to do this. She set traps for the mice, but they soon found out the trick, and would not go near them.

 

9. The cunning⁶ little things laughed at cook and her clumsy⁷ traps, and made merry all night long over the floor of her room, running races, and keeping her awake.

 

10. So she grew crosser and crosser, till at last Dick felt as if he could not stand it much longer. But his master was always kind, and he thought that he would never leave him if he could help it.[Pg 11]

 

11. He thought that things might mend and he tried to be patient. And his cat was always ready with a loving greeting for Dick when he came to his room.

 

12. At last one day Dick's master called all his servants upstairs into his room. He said that a ship of his was going to sail for a foreign land in a few days.

 

13. He asked them if any of them would like to send some things out in the ship to be sold. In those days much money was to be made by selling English goods in other lands.

 

14. All said that they would like to send something. But poor little Dick said not a word. He had nothing in the world but the clothes he had on, and his cat.

 

Write: Dick was told that he might do work for the cook. But she was very cross to him and to his cat. He kept puss in his own room and took care to feed her.

 

Questions: 1. What did the merchant say about Dick? 2. What did the cook say about the cat? 3. Where did Dick keep her? 4. What was he careful to carry up for his cat? 5. What did the merchant ask his servants? 6. Why did Dick say nothing when all the rest spoke⁸?

1 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

2 chased   

vt.追捕（chase的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The boy chased his sister in and out among the bushes. 那个男孩在灌木丛里跟着他姐姐追过来追过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy chased the decoys down to the place of ambush. 敌人将诱骗者一直追到伏兵所在地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

4 temper   

n.恶劣的心情，心绪焦躁；性情，脾气

参考例句：

• The man lost his temper and struck out wildly.那人因发怒而大打出手。
• One day the man flew at me in a temper.一天,那个人冲着我大发脾气。

5 spoilt   

adj.（孩子）宠坏的；惯坏的；（食物）变质的；spoil的过去式和过去分词v.变质( spoil的过去式和过去分词 )；损坏；毁掉；破坏

参考例句：

• The film is spoilt by unrealistic contrivances of plot. 这部电影被不实际的牵强情节给毁了。
• Our camping trip was spoilt by bad weather. 天气不好，破坏了我们的露营旅行。

6 cunning   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；n.狡猾，奸诈

参考例句：

• A spy used cunning means to find out secrets.间谍使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• The fox is known for its cleverness and cunning.狐狸的机敏和狡猾是人所共知的。

7 clumsy   

adj.笨手笨脚；不圆滑的，缺乏技巧的

参考例句：

• He is clumsy with his hands.他的一双手很笨。
• Its body looks heavy and clumsy when it has eaten its fill.它步态蹒跚，吃饱了的身体更显得笨拙可笑。

8 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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。