7. THE END OF PUSSY.

 1. "But I should like them to stay little always," said the queen, after she had been told that the kittens would soon grow big enough to catch mice.

 

2. "That is a foolish remark, my love," said the king. "They are here to kill[Pg 25] mice, and the sooner they get big, the better.

 

3. "And you forget that they will have kittens by-and-by," added¹ the king. "In time we shall have,—what is their name? oh, cats.

 

4. "Well, we shall have cats enough to keep the whole land free from mice and rats." And he was ready to dance and[Pg 26] clap his hands. Only that would not have been proper for a king.

 

5. The end of it was that Dick and the captain set sail for England with a shipload of gold, and puss went with them, with her one baby. She did not miss the rest much after a time.

 

6. When Dick reached London again, he was very rich indeed. But as he grew older he learned³ that money cannot make people happy, unless they do good to others with it.

 

7. He gave his friend the captain a handsome present of gold, and he did not forget one of his old friends at home. To each one he gave what they most needed.

 

8. Even the cross cook was not passed over, for Dick thought that her bad temper⁴ might be made better by a gift, and so it was.

 

9. But there was one above all to whom he showed the greatest care. This was his cat. Of course she did not live so long as Dick did, for the lives of cats do not often last more than about sixteen years.[Pg 27]

 

10. By the time that Dick was the father of some dear little children, his faithful⁵ old puss was very very old and weak. Alice was now his wife.

 

11. Pussy⁶ spent all her time by the warm fire, and she had all she wanted. No one was ever unkind⁷ to her, and though she was not able to catch mice any more, she was treated with great honour.

 

12. One day, as Dick, now a fine rich man in good clothes and in a grand⁸ house, was sitting in his arm-chair, his old puss dragged herself slowly up to his feet.

 

13. She begged to get on his lap² once more. Dick, who knew well what she meant, though she could not speak, stooped⁹ and lifted her up.

 

14. Pussy purred, as she lifted her dim¹⁰ eyes to his face, gave one sigh, and lay quite still. She was dead, and Dick buried her himself, under a laurel tree in his garden.

 

15. "If it had not been for her I might have died in the streets myself," said he. "It was puss who made my fortune, and I[Pg 28] am certain of this one thing: those who show mercy¹¹ and love, will have the same shown to them."

 

Write: Dick sold his kittens for gold. But he let the mother-cat keep one. At last his cat died of old age. Dick was kind to her to the end of her life.

 

Questions: 1. What did the Queen want the kittens to do? 2. What did Dick find out about money as he grew older? 3. To whom did he show the greatest care? 4. What about the cross cook? 5. What did the old cat do one day? 6. What did Dick say that he was quite certain of?

1 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

2 lap   

n.(坐立时)大腿的前部，膝部；(跑道的)一圈

参考例句：

• She is still going strong on the last lap.她在跑最后一圈时仍然劲头很足。
• She was sitting with her hands on her lap.她坐着，把手放到膝上。

3 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

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 faithful   

adj.守信的，忠实的，如实的，可靠的

参考例句：

• They promised to be faithful to their ideal for ever.他们保证永远忠于自己的理想。
• We must be honest and faithful to the people.我们对人民必须忠诚老实。

6 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。

7 unkind   

adj.不仁慈的，不和善的

参考例句：

• He was never unkind to her.他从未亏待过她。
• Unkindness often reacts on the unkind person.恶人有恶报。

8 grand   

adj.豪华的，宏伟的，壮丽的，主要的，重大的；n.(美俚)一千美元

参考例句：

• The pianist played several pieces of music on a grand piano.钢琴家在一架大钢琴上弹了几首乐曲。
• Come on,I'll give you the grand tour of the backyard.跟我来，我带你去后院来一次盛大的旅游。

9 stooped   

adj.弯腰的，曲背的v.弯腰( stoop的过去式和过去分词 )；屈身；俯首；屈尊

参考例句：

• She stooped down to pick up the child. 她俯身抱起孩子。
• All his fellows stooped to look under the carriage. 他的伙伴们也都弯下腰看车下。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

10 dim   

adj.昏暗的；朦胧的；v.(使)暗淡，(使)模糊

参考例句：

• The light is too dim for me to read easily.光线太暗，我很难阅读。
• I was so tired that my eyesight grew dim.我太累了，眼睛有点发花。

11 mercy   

n.仁慈，宽恕，怜悯

参考例句：

• Mercy to the enemies means cruelty to the people.对敌人的仁慈就意味着对人民的残忍。
• It is a mercy that you did not go.你幸好没有去。