Up to now I had been kept as much as possible with Beatrice; but when she was better and able to come down, I realised that there were three children in the house—my old friend Rosamond, of course, and two others, Amerye and Kitty, whom I had hardly seen at all.
Heaps of people kept cropping up. There was Miss Grueber, their governess, and Annie, their schoolroom-maid. After Beatrice had been downstairs and 'on the sofa' a week, her mother-in-law, Tom's mother, a Mrs. Gilmour, came, and I scratched her.
She made the most fearful fuss, and I am ready to declare that my claw was not shot out with any degree of violence, nor did it penetrate1 more than the eighth of an inch into her hand. But she said her arm would mortify2. She complained of a twisting sort of pain reaching up as far as her elbow, and wore her arm in a sling3 to keep the blood out of it. She said there was poison in cat's nails as well as in that of human beings, only their nails don't affect you unless that human being is in a rage. She went about with a 'poor-poor' face, and requested that I might be removed if I happened to be in the room when she came into it. I often hid when she was there, for though I disliked her and would not ever go near her again, or play with her bobbly fringe or the ends of her fur stole, I found her amusing and liked to listen to the absurd things she said and the stories she told, although I hardly believed them. She said she herself was indifferent to cats if they didn't come near her, but there were people who fainted away if a cat came into the room where they were. That I afterwards had reason to know was true, for it coloured my whole life.
One day Beatrice was downstairs lying on the sofa in a sweet lace thing with lots of fascinating frills to play with. I refrained because she had been ill. She told us she had put on this lovely négligée because Mr. Fox was coming to tea.
'Who is Mr. Fox?' asked Auntie May.
'Oh, a very nice man who has taken Shortleas this year. I don't know where he comes from—London, I suppose—but I met him somewhere before I was ill and found we were neighbours—if you call five miles apart neighbours—and thought we might as well be civil to him. I asked him to tea while you were here—I thought perhaps he might like to meet a London authoress.'
Auntie May looked cross, as she always does when they talk of her books, which she doesn't think much of, only they bring her pocket money, and as Mr. Graham is always spending his on old silver and enamel4, it is important to her. Then as it was still quite early, and Mr. Fox wasn't likely to come till tea-time, Beatrice civilly asked Mrs. Gilmour to play something to us.
Mrs. Gilmour said she wouldn't, at first, but Beatrice worried her to do it, knowing that she meant to in the end, and at last the old lady opened the instrument, as she called it, and began.
In all my life I never heard anything like it! The old thing's gnarled fingers hopped5 and skipped and jumped and rattled6 about like hailstones, and the notes bobbed up under them as if they were alive. I longed to catch them, but I dared not go any nearer to the terrible noise.
'Lovely!' murmured Beatrice, closing her eyes.
I felt perfectly9 sick, and as if my inside was being pulled right out of me. I should have died if I couldn't have run away and hidden myself somewhere. Down, down went my tail, as we cats always put it when in trouble, and I crept under the Chesterfield sofa, wishing only that my ears had been smaller and did not let the sound in so much.
Presently there was a scrunch12 on the gravel13 outside; not a cart or trap scrunch, but a motor scrunch, which is quite different. Auntie May gave a pat to her hair, and Beatrice a tug14 to her skirt, and whispered to Auntie May in fun:
'Now mind you don't shock him, you wild London girl!'
Mrs. Gilmour must have heard the scrunch too, but she went on playing louder than ever, only jumping up with a little mew of surprise as the door opened and Barton announced: 'Mr. Fox.'
I could see Mr. Fox by lifting up the edge of the valance of the sofa with my nose, and I took a good look at him. He was very tall, and very dark-haired, and stooped a little. I dropped the edge of the valance again, for it was tiring, and I could tell things about him by using my ears—for instance, that he was a very shy man.
He was, of course, introduced to Auntie May, and for the rest of his visit he sat staring at her. I guessed this from the direction of his voice when he spoke15. Mrs. Gilmour talked to him most, and all about the poor, and why they want a three-roomed cottage instead of a two-roomed one.
'I should think every family wanted a spare room,' said Auntie May, 'to stow their mother-in-law—or the cat.'
'Don't be flippant, May,' said Beatrice, and Mr. Fox seemed to be wriggling16 on his chair, for it creaked. I suppose he didn't like her to make fun of mothers-in-law; but if his was like Mrs. Gilmour, it would be difficult to help it.
Presently I looked out and saw that he had pulled his handkerchief out and then didn't seem to know what to do with it. Very soon, however, he began to put it to his mouth and I could hear him gasp17.
'Do ring, May,' said Beatrice. 'I can see that Mr. Fox is dying for tea after his long drive.'
'Mr. Fox looks quite pale,' said Mrs. Gilmour.
'The fact is,' said Mr. Fox, and his voice trembled, 'I am not very—I am afraid I cannot stop for tea to-day.'
'I am afraid you are not well, Mr. Fox. Last time you came I had the pleasure of pouring you out a very strong cup.'
'I know,' mumbled20 poor Mr. Fox. 'The heat'—it was drizzling21 snow and sleet22 at that very moment—'I want air. I feel I must leave you; the truth is, I am so unfortunately constituted'—here he simply gasped23. 'I am convinced that there is a cat in the room.'
'There isn't, that I know of. But if there was—'
'I am sorry to say I am sure of it, from my ridiculous weakness. I have been subject to it from childhood. I cannot breathe—I feel positively24 faint if one of those animals is anywhere in my neighbourhood.'
'May, if your wretched cat is hidden under the sofa—hunt it out quick, or poor Mr. Fox will faint!'
'Please don't disturb your pet for me,' said poor Mr. Fox, politely. 'I had much better go. I am quite ashamed of myself.'
But meantime Auntie May had lifted up the valance of the sofa, and I had walked out, given Mr. Fox one look, and sought the door which Auntie May opened for me respectfully. No vulgar shooing for me! She followed me out and took me in her arms.
'Never mind, you sweet little innocent lamb that never did harm to any one. Never mind what the silly man says. Go and have tea in the schoolroom, and behave, and don't get schoolroom manners, please—remember you are a drawing-room cat, and behave as such.'
She opened the schoolroom door and shoved me in; she seemed in a great hurry to get back to the silly weak sort of man.
I knew what she meant by schoolroom manners. Nobody could behave better than Rosamond, Amerye, or Kitty sometimes. When they were allowed to have tea in the drawing-room they made it a point of honour to be quite different, but in the schoolroom they had an idea that it didn't matter. They clawed large chunky slices of bread off the plate and buttered them with the butter-knife up in the air, as they weren't allowed to do when Beatrice was there, and drank 'giant drinks' till their cups were empty, looking at each other over the rim25 all the while and trying not to end with a sputter26, as a syphon does.
Kitty, the youngest child, was still shy about speaking when she was told to, though she could rattle7 away twenty to the dozen when not invited to give her opinion, or even when told to shut up.
This very day she gave us an example of her particular kind of obstinacy27. She badly wanted some more cake and didn't want to ask politely for it, because that would be letting Fraülein know that she did want it.
Fraülein knew that. She said:
'Now, Kiddy'—that was the way she pronounced Kitty—'you can have that piece of cake as soon as you say, "Yes, please." Kiddy, do you want it?'
Kitty nodded.
'Well, you can have it if you will only say, "Yes, please," and if you won't say, "Yes, please," Kiddy—well, then, you can go wizout.'
Kitty began to cry gently.
'You little silly,' said Rosamond, 'if you really do want the bun, why can't you say what you are wanted to say? What is there in it after all? Yes please, yes please, yes please—I can go on for ever.'
'Pray don't,' said Fraülein. 'Now, Kiddy—'
'I will say it, Fraülein, I will really,' Kitty cried.
'Well, then, say it.'
'I can't.'
'Very well, then, go wizout.'
'I am going to say it; take away your hand,' declared Kitty at last. So they held out the plate to her and said solemnly, 'Will you have this bun?' and Kitty sold them all a good deal, for she opened her mouth and said:
'No, thank you.'
That was exactly what a cat would have done in her place.
That child is like a cat in some other ways, she spoils property. I don't suppose her teeth meet in things exactly, but her fingers are as sharp as claws any day. When Auntie May came in a few moments later, having got rid of Mr. Fox, I heard some more about Rosamond's famous doll Wilhelmina.
It appears that Kitty had once had a delightful29 toy, an old woman who lived in a shoe with her ten children, and that after she had had it a month Kitty undressed all the children and stripped them to see if any of them had measles30 or not. She then lost their clothes, or used them for something else, painting rags, I believe, so the old woman had to keep all her children in the toe for decency31. We talked about the old woman for a long time, and then—I suppose Auntie May had forgotten about the fate of the doll, for she turned to Rosamond and asked her what had become of Wilhelmina?
To my great surprise Rosamond, who is thirteen and hardly ever cries, burst into tears and spilt all the tea out of her mouth on to the tablecloth32.
'Wilhelmina died,' said Kitty hastily. 'Poor thing!'
'Don't you pity her, you murdered her,' sobbed33 Rosamond. 'Oh, Auntie May, she broke her and pulled her all to sticks and streaks34, and she had been all through scarlet35 fever with me—'
'And she had been defected, she had,' said Kitty, tremendously interested.
'Shut up, you snake!—which left Wilhelmina weak and easily breakable, and so when Kitty got hold of her she just sighed and came in pieces. I have never minded anything in my life so much, and Kitty never even said she was sorry.'
'I'll make her,' said Amerye, taking part in the conversation for the first time. 'Come along with me, Kitty, and I'll make you sorry!'
Tea was over and she marched Kitty into a corner, and Auntie May said she would give Rosamond a new doll if she really cared so much.
'Not now,' Rosamond said. 'I am rising fourteen now, as Daddy says, and the next doll I have will have to be a real one. No more make-believe children for me, thank you!'
'Only tink, Mees,' said Fraülein Grueber to Auntie May, 'what dat dear shild make me soffer! I try very hard to train her mind. I say to her when we are promenading36 togedder, how you call dis or dat naturlish object? It is what you call the Kindergarten method—teach her her nouns and werbs. Dere are some cows in the field, and I say, "Kiddy, what do you call dose tings?" and Kiddy she answer, "Pigs." I say, "No, Kiddy, not pig, try again," and she say, "Well, den10, rooks." Then I get angert, and I say, shaking my umberell, "You make a fool of me, Kiddy, and what are they? Finish!" And Kiddy, she smile sweetly and say, "Mushrooms." Then I am quite out of myself, and I say, "No tea for you, Kiddy, till you tell me what dose are!" Then she seem a bit worried, and she look hard at the cows and she say, "Monkeys!"
'I take her and I shake her and I say, "Kiddy, no jam with your tea!" and she only reply, "I not care for jam," which is one big lie and she know it. Then she appear all at once to melt and say, "Fraülein, I tell you, because you are so kind," and I say, "Yes, yes, my shild!" all in haste to be friends mit her again, and she whisper in my ear, "Liddle boys!" Then I lose my whole head completely and I whip her toroughly. Here, kom, my own liebchen, my lamb, have you been good and made your apologies to your sisterchen?'
Kitty had just come in again, led by Amerye.
'IamsorryRosamond,' she said, all in one word to show how little she cared. 'Now, Amerye, take me to see your chickens as you promised.'
'I said if Auntie May will come too,' corrected Amerye. And so, to help Amerye to keep the promise by which she had got Kitty to beg Rosamond's pardon (Kitty wasn't allowed near the hen-house because of something she once had done—I could never find out what), Auntie May had to say 'yes,' and off we all went to the hen-house, although poor Auntie May had only bead37 slippers38 on, while Amerye had goloshes. I had no shoes, but Auntie May took me across her shoulder. I did not mind going so long as I was not taken up to those awfully39 rude rabbits, and I suspected they were somewhere that way; people generally keep all their children's nuisances in one place. But we did not after all go near them, and all I saw was nice hens, and one duck with a beak40 exactly the colour of Amerye's hair. All his family had been eaten, but somehow he had got left out so long that they hadn't the heart to kill him.
I was glad they didn't put me down among the animals. I didn't fancy that broad bill of the duck's fumbling41 at me.
Next day at luncheon42 Kitty scored off Miss Grueber again. Kitty adores chocolate pudding, and when it is there she gallops43 through her first helping44 of rice so as to be ready for chocolate.
Miss Grueber, who knew this, said, 'Kiddy, you are done your rice double-quick time. I see you come. Now what you want?'
And Kitty said very politely, 'Some more rice pudding, if you please.'
That night I was back in the drawing-room again, on Beatrice's knee, and they all talked of ghosts. I was surprised to hear that Mrs. Gilmour had seen several north-country ghosts. In fact she knew them very well, and said there was no need to be afraid of them, for they never touched you.
Auntie May made her quite angry by telling her that her cat Petronilla saw ghosts.
'Last year,' said Auntie May, 'I took her to Littlecote, the famous Elizabethan mansion45 that is haunted by Wild Darrell. We had Queen Elizabeth's room, with a stone carved mantelpiece that seemed to overhang the whole room. Pet slept on my bed on the side farthest away from the door. About the middle of the night—I was not exactly sleeping very well myself—I felt her stirring, and I lit a candle, for there is of course no electric light in such a very old house. Petronilla was sitting up in her place, staring out at something near the door. Her great green eyes were round and dilated46. She sat staring fixedly47 in the same direction for quite five minutes—'
'Are you quite sure as to the number of minutes?' asked Mrs. Gilmour, sarcastically48.
'I could not help staring too, though I saw nothing but my white dressing-gown hanging on the door. Poor Pet saw more than that, I am sure. At last she sighed and took her eyes slowly off, and lay down again and never stirred. I knew by that that the ghost was no longer visible.'
'I am much obliged to you for confounding me with your feline49 pets,' remarked Mrs. Gilmour. 'And now I think, Beatrice, as I am rather tired, I will say good-night. Miss Graham, excuse my remarking it, but I do think you have cat on the brain!'
'She's offended,' said Beatrice, 'and now she'll cut me off with a shilling. I must say, May dear, that for a novelist you are about the most tactless person I ever knew.'
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收听单词发音
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1
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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2
mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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3
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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4
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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5
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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7
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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8
pegging
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| n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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9
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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10
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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11
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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12
scrunch
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| v.压，挤压；扭曲（面部） | |
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13
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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14
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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15
spoke
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| 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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16
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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17
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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18
blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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20
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
drizzling
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| 下蒙蒙细雨，下毛毛雨( drizzle的现在分词 ) | |
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22
sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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23
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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24
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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25
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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26
sputter
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| n.喷溅声；v.喷溅 | |
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27
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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28
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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29
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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30
measles
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| n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子 | |
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31
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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32
tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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33
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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34
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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35
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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36
promenading
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| v.兜风( promenade的现在分词 ) | |
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37
bead
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| n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠 | |
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38
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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39
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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40
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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41
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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42
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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43
gallops
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| （马等）奔驰，骑马奔驰( gallop的名词复数 ) | |
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44
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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45
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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46
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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48
sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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49
feline
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| adj.猫科的 | |
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