VII GRAY MOUSE’S RICH BROTHER

Gray Mouse was sitting on his front porch one afternoon, when he heard a rumble¹ of wheels and a coach stopped before the door. It was the funniest coach you ever saw, and it was drawn² by four tumblebugs all covered with silver harness. Two grasshoppers³ sat on the box. One of them jumped down and opened the door. Then a big, fat mouse, all dressed up and carrying a cane⁴ with a gold head, got out and came up the steps of Gray Mouse’s house.

 

“You don’t seem to know me,” said the fat mouse as he clapped Gray Mouse on the back.

 

“Your ways are familiar,” answered Gray Mouse, “but your face I do not remember at all.”

 

“Why, I am your long-lost brother, Church Mouse,” squeaked⁵ that wealthy animal, “and I have just come back to visit all my friends and relations.”

 

Church Mouse strutted⁶ up and down the porch, whirled his cane and played with his watch chain. Gray Mouse was sitting in his old rocking chair and he had on his shabbiest pair of carpet slippers⁷.

 

 

“You need not be so proud,” said Gray Mouse. “I remember the time when you did not have a piece of cheese with which to bless yourself. Don’t put on any airs with your coach and your old tumblebugs. I have not forgotten when you lived in the church across the road, and were so poor that many is the time you were glad to come over to my poor little house for dinner.”

 

“You need not be cross,” replied Church Mouse, “I am not proud, and to-morrow I shall bring you a very large cheese.”

 

“I am very glad to see you,” said Gray Mouse, changing his manners and smiling. “Now, tell me how did you get so sleek⁸ and fat?”

 

Gray Mouse brought his best easy chair out on the porch, and Church Mouse sat down in it and crossed his hands over his stomach.

 

“Well, I was so poor,” began Church Mouse, “that many is the time I have gnawed⁹ the backs of hymn¹⁰ books. One day I was wondering how I was going to get along, and decided¹¹ to be a book agent. So I got Hedge Hog¹², who is clever with quills¹³, to write a book for me, called ‘The True History of the Great Which What.’ Then I started out to sell it.

 

[76]

 

 

Yellow Lion inquires if there is anything in the book about him.

 

[77]

 

“Well, it was very hard work at first. Cochin, the chicken, slammed the door of his coop right in my face. Chip Munk chased me off his door mat, Snapping Turtle called me names and bit off the end of my tail. Then I saw the Adder¹⁴ and I said just as politely as I could: ‘Mr. Adder, I have here the True History of the Great Which What.’

 

“‘What witch?’ asked Adder, who was as deaf as anything. He had an ear trumpet¹⁵, but I do not believe that the trumpet helped him to hear any better.

 

“‘No witch,’ I answered.

 

“‘Norwich is in Connecticut,’ answered Adder. ‘That is where I bought my ear trumpet.’

 

“‘I said Which What,’ said I.

 

“‘No,’ replied the Adder, ‘I do not need any dried apples to-day.’

 

“I was so angry that I cried. I went to the wheat bin¹⁶ out in Deacon Jones’ barn and there I met my old friend, Weevil.

 

“‘Of course,’ said Weevil, when I told him about my bad luck, ‘you don’t sell books here because everybody is so intelligent. You come with me to Asia and you will do far better.’

 

“So I stayed in the bin with Weevil. In a day or two, the wheat was put in a wagon¹⁷ and taken to the railroad station. Before long it arrived in New York. Then it was thrown down hill into a ship and for days and days after that Weevil and I knew nothing except the splash of waters and the tip, tip of that great ship.

 

[78]

 

 

 

“We reached the place called Asia. As soon as I got a chance I said good-by to Weevil and walked until I was in the jungle. When you sell books it is a good thing to know somebody who is big. Weevil told me to go the first thing and see Yellow Lion. I heard Yellow Lion roaring among the trees and I walked up to where he was sitting.

 

“‘Yellow Lion,’ I said very politely, ‘Yellow Lion, won’t you please buy my book?’

 

“‘Has it got anything about me in it?’ asked Yellow Lion.

 

“‘No,’ I answered.

 

“‘Well, then, I have no time to talk to little animals like you,’ said Yellow Lion. ‘You will oblige me by getting out of my lair¹⁸, or I shall step all over you.’

 

“‘Very well,’ I answered; ‘I do not wish to crowd you, Yellow Lion; and I am not of a revengeful nature.’ So I stood up straight, and looked very proud and angry.

 

“Two days after that I was walking through the jungle when I heard a loud noise. I peeped through the bushes and there I saw Yellow Lion lying under a hammock.

 

“‘Good morning,’ I said. ‘Seeing that you are so comfortable in your nice, new hammock, I thought I would just come and say how d’ye do.’

 

“‘You mean, little animal!’ roared Yellow Lion, ‘don’t you see that the hunters have caught me in a net?’

 

“‘It is too bad,’ I answered, ‘that you are in a net, but it is still worse to be in the jungle without a copy of “The True History of the Great Which What.” In the little book which I hold in my hand is told why the what is which and what the what what said to the which who of the when did.’

 

[80]

 

“‘Stop, stop!’ roared Yellow Lion.

 

“‘Here is a chapter,’ said I, ‘which tells how a lion got caught in a net and how a poor, little mouse in return for a kindness cut the net with his sharp teeth and set the lion free.’

 

“‘What kindness?’ asked Yellow Lion.

 

“‘All that the lion did,’ I answered, ‘was to buy a book which the mouse was selling.’

 

“‘I’ll take that book,’ said Yellow Lion. ‘I’ll take a hundred of them—and when I get out I’ll make everybody else buy one.’

 

“‘All right, Yellow Lion,’ said I.

 

“Then I gnawed the net, and Yellow Lion got away. The king of beasts kept his word. I sold more than a million copies of the book from that one sample, for Yellow Lion told all the beasts that they must buy. That is how I became so rich.”

 

“You are certainly a clever little animal,” said Gray Mouse, when Church Mouse had finished the story. “I am very proud of my rich brother.”

 

[81]

 

1 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 grasshoppers   

n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的

参考例句：

• Grasshoppers die in fall. 蚱蜢在秋天死去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are usually a lot of grasshoppers in the rice fields. 稻田里通常有许多蚱蜢。 来自辞典例句

4 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

5 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

6 strutted   

趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The players strutted and posed for the cameras. 运动员昂首阔步，摆好姿势让记者拍照。
• Peacocks strutted on the lawn. 孔雀在草坪上神气活现地走来走去。

7 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

8 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

9 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

10 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

13 quills   

n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管

参考例句：

• Quills were the chief writing implement from the 6th century AD until the advent of steel pens in the mid 19th century. 从公元6世纪到19世纪中期钢笔出现以前，羽毛笔是主要的书写工具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defensive quills dot the backs of these troublesome creatures. 防御性的刺长在这些讨人厌的生物背上。 来自互联网

14 adder   

n.蝰蛇；小毒蛇

参考例句：

• The adder is Britain's only venomous snake.蝰蛇是英国唯一的一种毒蛇。
• An adder attacked my father.一条小毒蛇攻击了我父亲。

15 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

16 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

17 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

18 lair   

n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处

参考例句：

• How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴，焉得虎子？
• I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处，写了几封信。