5. THE KING'S DINNER.

 1. The ship, with Dick and his cat on board, was soon at sea. But Dick began to think that worse luck than ever was going to befall him.[Pg 16]

 

2. For there was a heavy storm, and the ship was nearly wrecked¹ on the coast of a land then unknown to the English. This land was filled with black people called Moors².

 

3. When the captain and his men, with Dick and the cat, landed on this shore, the natives came in great numbers to gaze at them. They had never seen people with white faces before.

 

4. As they came to know the captain and his sailors better, these black men would go on board the ship. The English sailors showed them all the goods which they had brought from England.

 

5. The black men wished to buy them. As they had gold in great lumps and heaps, they were willing to give a high price for what the servants had sent out from the merchant's house.

 

6. The captain, seeing how much pleasure the things gave, sent some of the goods to the king of the country. He was so much pleased with them that he sent for the captain and his friends to the palace.

 

7. As Dick and his cat had been very[Pg 17] useful on the voyage, the captain took them with him, and they soon reached the palace.

 

8. Here they sat on cushions and carpets made of rich silk and worked in gold and silver. And the king and queen being seated at the upper end of the table, the dinner was brought in.

 

9. But no sooner were the dishes set in front of them, in plates of gold and silver, than a rushing sound was heard. In an[Pg 18] instant a whole army of mice and rats came running in.

 

10. They were so bold that they leaped on the table and began to devour³ the food from the king's own plate. In a few minutes nothing would have been left.

 

11. The guests had to drive them away, and snatch⁴ a few hasty⁵ morsels⁶ before they came back again. But the creatures seemed to care for nothing, for they ran back as fast as they were made to go.

 

12. The captain was full of surprise. "Are not these mice and rats a great trouble to you?" he asked the king. "Oh yes, they are indeed!" said he.

 

13. "They not only eat up almost all we have, but they disturb us even in our own bedrooms. We are sadly afraid that there will be a famine next year, for they are eating up all the seed and corn in the land."

 

14. The captain was ready to jump for joy when he heard this, for he called to mind the cat, which Dick had left in the ship.

 

15. As it was not far off, he bade Dick run and fetch her at once. "I think we[Pg 19] can help you," he said to the king; but he only shook his head, for he had tried all ways to get rid of the rats and mice, without success.

 

Write: The captain sold the goods for a good price. He went to see the king of that land. He found that there were many rats and mice at the palace.

 

Questions: 1. What misfortune⁷ happened to the ship? 2. What sort of people did the captain find on the coast where he landed? 3. What did they give instead of the goods? 4. Where did the captain go with his friends next? 5. What went on at the king's dinner-table? 6. What did the captain tell Dick to fetch?

1 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

2 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

4 snatch   

n.抢夺，碎片，一阵，一瞬间，一点点；v.夺取，抢劫，抓住

参考例句：

• The magazine was snatch from my hand before I could read it.我还没来得及看那期杂志，就被从我手里抢走了。
• He had a snatch of sleep sitting in his chair.他坐在椅子里稍睡片刻。

5 hasty   

adj.草率的，急速的，匆忙的，仓促完成的

参考例句：

• She's too hasty;she should learn to think before speaking.她太轻率了，她应该学会话出口前想一想。
• You will have time for a hasty snack before the train leaves.火车离站前你还能抓紧时间吃一顿快餐。

6 morsels   

n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑

参考例句：

• They are the most delicate morsels. 这些确是最好吃的部分。 来自辞典例句
• Foxes will scratch up grass to find tasty bug and beetle morsels. 狐狸会挖草地，寻找美味的虫子和甲壳虫。 来自互联网

7 misfortune   

n.不幸，厄运，逆境，不幸事故，灾难

参考例句：

• It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被认为是一种不幸的先兆。
• She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔断了腿。