小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文励志小说 » Billy To-morrow » CHAPTER X SIR THOMAS KATZENSTEIN
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER X SIR THOMAS KATZENSTEIN
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 BILLY, Flash is the cleverest cat ever!” May Nell exclaimed as she bounded in some days later.
 
The quarantine had been raised, and at night Billy had “the run of the house”; though his days were still spent in “the prison cell” as he called the dark room. It seemed to him that light came in with the little girl, and all the sparkle and fragrance1 of the young summer without.
 
“What new trick has Flash been up to?”
 
“You know that bad, old, half-tailed Tom that whips every cat in town but Geewhillikins and Flash and Sir Thomas—”
 
“Yes; he’d lick him too, if Flash wasn’t Tom’s body-guard.”
 
“Well, just listen! This morning your mama set out the meat for their breakfast. I had Geewhillikins and Jerusalem Crickets in the pound—the woodshed, you know. Oh, they had a big breakfast before,” she added quickly, feeling rather than seeing Billy’s disapproval2.
 
“I forgive you,” he condoned3.
 
“In a minute I heard the teentiest little mew. I looked and there was Tom crouched4 against the side of the house. He was shivering with fright, and that old tramp cat was eating up his breakfast.”
 
“The darned old robber!” Billy started up and walked restlessly toward the door.
 
“I took a stick of kindling5 from the kitchen and crept out to chase the thief away; but just then Flash trotted6 around the corner of the house. He’s been on the front lawn all the morning watching for gophers; wouldn’t come when we called him.”
 
“That’s Flash; he always works for his breakfast,” Billy pompously7 approved.
 
“He ran up and touched noses with Tom like a Feegee Islander,—are they the people that touch noses for ‘How do you do?’”
 
“I guess so. What else?”
 
“And Flash mewed just once, very softly. He couldn’t see the tramp cat, for the big oak tree hid him. But the second Tom answered his mew, Flash flew like a lightning streak8, around the tree and up to that old, stealing feline9 cat. And he ran— O Billy, you’d have laughed an ache in your side if you could have seen him run,—over the fence, he ran again, across the street, down the sidewalk,—he never stopped till he came to the tip top of Mr. Potter’s big locust10 tree.”
 
“By heck! Flash is all right.”
 
“Then he walked back as slowly and dignifiedly as a minister,—isn’t ‘dignifiedly’ an awkward word? I wonder if it is right?”
 
“Never mind grammar, or spelling, whichever it is; what did Flash do?”
 
“He went up to Tom—he was still crouching11 against the house—”
 
“Like the lazy coward he is,” Billy tartly12 interrupted.
 
“O Billy, he’s so beautiful and so clever; and he put his nose up to Flash so gratefully. Flash just mewed again, low as before, and walked off round the house. And Tom went and ate his breakfast.”
 
“Well, old Tom’ll have to be cleverer than I ever saw him to pay for that.”
 
“You don’t like Sir Thomas because he’s a little indolent.”
 
“It’s plain lazy. He won’t even wash himself.”
 
“Yet he has more mind than Flash.”
 
“Mind? What do you mean by that? Anyway, you can’t prove it.”
 
“Yes, I can, right now!” The little girl, full of enthusiasm for her beloved yellow cat, went over and laid her hand impressively on Billy’s arm. “You know the dining-room window screen hung from the top, that has the broken catch on one side?”
 
“Uh huh.”
 
“Well, Tom jumps up from the outside, hangs on the sill with one forefoot, and pulls out the edge of the screen with the other till he gets his nose in, when he can pry13 out the screen and slip through easily.”
 
“Yes, he can do that; I’ve seen him myself.”
 
“Well, Flash can’t do that.”
 
“How do you know?”
 
“I’ve watched, and called to him from the inside; but he only stands and mews. Did you ever see him climb up and open the screen?”
 
Billy could not remember that he had.
 
“But, Billy, Tom opens it for him! He climbs up, gets his nose in, and the largest part of himself; then he crowds along as hard as he can, and calls to Flash, ‘The way is clear; come’;—you needn’t laugh; he says it just as plain as words,” she protested. “And Flash springs up, creeps through, and jumps to the floor, with Tom after him; and the screen slaps to with a big noise. I’ve seen them do it three times this week. Isn’t that a wonder?”
 
“Sure!” Billy assented14, heartily15. “I take it back about old Sir Thomas; I guess they’re equal partners, after all.”
 
“They’re a regular Damon and Pythias, aren’t they? And we’ll have Flash for the Polar Bear, in the circus, and Tom for the Royal Bengal Tiger, the baby tiger, you know.”
 
“Yes; and we’ll have to train the dogs,— Whoopee! Only four weeks of school. We’ll have to hurry if we do the circus and “Lady of the Lake” both before vacation.”
 
“Before vacation? Why, they’ll be just the things to do in vacation.”
 
“They’ll have to be done before vacation or not at all,” he answered, so seriously that May Nell wondered a little; wondered still more as the moments passed and the dark room grew very quiet. She did not know what purpose was growing in Billy’s mind, a purpose that largely concerned herself.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 fragrance 66ryn     
n.芬芳,香味,香气
参考例句:
  • The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
  • The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。
2 disapproval VuTx4     
n.反对,不赞成
参考例句:
  • The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
  • They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
3 condoned 011fd77ceccf9f1d2e07bc9068cdf094     
v.容忍,宽恕,原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Terrorism can never be condoned. 决不能容忍恐怖主义。
  • They condoned his sins because he repented. 由于他的悔悟,他们宽恕了他的罪。 来自辞典例句
4 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
5 kindling kindling     
n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
  • "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤,劈柴,都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
6 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
7 pompously pompously     
adv.傲慢地,盛大壮观地;大模大样
参考例句:
  • He pompously described his achievements. 他很夸耀地描述了自己所取得的成绩。 来自互联网
8 streak UGgzL     
n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动
参考例句:
  • The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
  • Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹?
9 feline nkdxi     
adj.猫科的
参考例句:
  • As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
  • The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉,简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。
10 locust m8Dzk     
n.蝗虫;洋槐,刺槐
参考例句:
  • A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
  • This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。
11 crouching crouching     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
  • A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
12 tartly 0gtzl5     
adv.辛辣地,刻薄地
参考例句:
  • She finished by tartly pointing out that he owed her some money. 她最后刻薄地指出他欠她一些钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Kay said tartly, "And you're more Yankee than Italian. 恺酸溜溜他说:“可你哪,与其说是意大利人,还不如说是新英格兰人。 来自教父部分
13 pry yBqyX     
vi.窥(刺)探,打听;vt.撬动(开,起)
参考例句:
  • He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
  • We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。
14 assented 4cee1313bb256a1f69bcc83867e78727     
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
  • "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对,”汤姆表示赞同地说,“他们不杀女人——真伟大!
15 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533