How Pantagruel broke the Chitterlings at the knees.
The Chitterlings advanced so near that Pantagruel perceived that they stretched their arms and already began to charge their lances, which caused him to send Gymnast to know what they meant, and why they thus, without the least provocation1, came to fall upon their old trusty friends, who had neither said nor done the least ill thing to them. Gymnast being advanced near their front, bowed very low, and said to them as loud as ever he could: We are friends, we are friends; all, all of us your friends, yours, and at your command; we are for Carnival2, your old confederate. Some have since told me that he mistook, and said cavernal instead of carnival.
Whatever it was, the word was no sooner out of his mouth but a huge little squab Sausage, starting out of the front of their main body, would have griped him by the collar. By the helmet of Mars, said Gymnast, I will swallow thee; but thou shalt only come in in chips and slices; for, big as thou art, thou couldst never come in whole. This spoke3, he lugs4 out his trusty sword, Kiss-mine-arse (so he called it) with both his fists, and cut the Sausage in twain. Bless me, how fat the foul5 thief was! it puts me in mind of the huge bull of Berne, that was slain6 at Marignan when the drunken Swiss were so mauled there. Believe me, it had little less than four inches’ lard on its paunch.
The Sausage’s job being done, a crowd of others flew upon Gymnast, and had most scurvily7 dragged him down when Pantagruel with his men came up to his relief. Then began the martial8 fray9, higgledy-piggledy. Maul-chitterling did maul chitterlings; Cut-pudding did cut puddings; Pantagruel did break the Chitterlings at the knees; Friar John played at least in sight within his sow, viewing and observing all things; when the Pattipans that lay in ambuscade most furiously sallied out upon Pantagruel.
Friar John, who lay snug10 all this while, by that time perceiving the rout11 and hurlyburly, set open the doors of his sow and sallied out with his merry Greeks, some of them armed with iron spits, others with andirons, racks, fire-shovels, frying-pans, kettles, grid-irons, oven forks, tongs12, dripping pans, brooms, iron pots, mortars13, pestles14, all in battle array, like so many housebreakers, hallooing and roaring out all together most frightfully, Nabuzardan, Nabuzardan, Nabuzardan. Thus shouting and hooting15 they fought like dragons, and charged through the Pattipans and Sausages. The Chitterlings perceiving this fresh reinforcement, and that the others would be too hard for ‘em, betook themselves to their heels, scampering16 off with full speed, as if the devil had come for them. Friar John, with an iron crow, knocked them down as fast as hops17; his men, too, were not sparing on their side. Oh, what a woeful sight it was! the field was all over strewed18 with heaps of dead or wounded Chitterlings; and history relates that had not heaven had a hand in it, the Chitterling tribe had been totally routed out of the world by the culinary champions. But there happened a wonderful thing, you may believe as little or as much of it as you please.
From the north flew towards us a huge, fat, thick, grizzly19 swine, with long and large wings, like those of a windmill; its plumes20 red crimson21, like those of a phenicoptere (which in Languedoc they call flaman); its eyes were red, and flaming like a carbuncle; its ears green, like a Prasin emerald; its teeth like a topaz; its tail long and black, like jet; its feet white, diaphanous22 and transparent23 like a diamond, somewhat broad, and of the splay kind, like those of geese, and as Queen Dick’s used to be at Toulouse in the days of yore. About its neck it wore a gold collar, round which were some Ionian characters, whereof I could pick out but two words, (Greek), hog24-teaching Minerva.
The sky was clear before; but at that monster’s appearance it changed so mightily25 for the worse that we were all amazed at it. As soon as the Chitterlings perceived the flying hog, down they all threw their weapons and fell on their knees, lifting up their hands joined together, without speaking one word, in a posture26 of adoration27. Friar John and his party kept on mincing28, felling, braining, mangling29, and spitting the Chitterlings like mad; but Pantagruel sounded a retreat, and all hostility30 ceased.
The monster having several times hovered31 backwards32 and forwards between the two armies, with a tail-shot voided above twenty-seven butts33 of mustard on the ground; then flew away through the air, crying all the while, Carnival, Carnival, Carnival.
1 provocation | |
n.激怒,刺激,挑拨,挑衅的事物,激怒的原因 | |
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2 carnival | |
n.嘉年华会,狂欢,狂欢节,巡回表演 | |
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3 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 | |
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4 lugs | |
钎柄 | |
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5 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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6 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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7 scurvily | |
下流地,粗鄙地,无礼地 | |
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8 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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9 fray | |
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗 | |
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10 snug | |
adj.温暖舒适的,合身的,安全的;v.使整洁干净,舒适地依靠,紧贴;n.(英)酒吧里的私房 | |
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11 rout | |
n.溃退,溃败;v.击溃,打垮 | |
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12 tongs | |
n.钳;夹子 | |
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13 mortars | |
n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 );砂浆;房产;研钵 | |
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14 pestles | |
n.(捣碎或碾磨用的)杵( pestle的名词复数 ) | |
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15 hooting | |
(使)作汽笛声响,作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 ); 倒好儿; 倒彩 | |
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16 scampering | |
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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17 hops | |
跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花 | |
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18 strewed | |
v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
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19 grizzly | |
adj.略为灰色的,呈灰色的;n.灰色大熊 | |
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20 plumes | |
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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21 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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22 diaphanous | |
adj.(布)精致的,半透明的 | |
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23 transparent | |
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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24 hog | |
n.猪;馋嘴贪吃的人;vt.把…占为己有,独占 | |
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25 mightily | |
ad.强烈地;非常地 | |
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26 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
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27 adoration | |
n.爱慕,崇拜 | |
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28 mincing | |
adj.矫饰的;v.切碎;切碎 | |
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29 mangling | |
重整 | |
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30 hostility | |
n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争 | |
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31 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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32 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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33 butts | |
笑柄( butt的名词复数 ); (武器或工具的)粗大的一端; 屁股; 烟蒂 | |
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