The Wee Man. A Romance.

It was a merry company,

And they were just afloat,

When lo! a man, of dwarfish¹ span,

Came up and hailed the boat.

“Good morrow to ye, gentle folks,

And will you let me in?

A slender space will serve my case,

For I am small and thin.”

They saw he was a dwarfish man,

And very small and thin;

Not seven such would matter much,

And so they took him in.

They laughed to see his little hat,

With such a narrow brim;

They laughed to note his dapper coat,

With skirts so scant² and trim.

But barely had they gone a mile,

When, gravely, one and all

At once began to think the man

Was not so very small:

His coat had got a broader skirt,

His hat a broader brim;

His leg grew stout³, and soon plumped out

A very proper limb.

Still on they went, and as they went,

More rough the billows grew —

And rose and fell, a greater swell⁴,

And he was swelling⁵ too!

And lo! where room had been for seven,

For six there scarce was space!

For five! — for four! — for three! — not more

Than two could find a place!

There was not even room for one!

They crowded by degrees —

Ay — closer yet, till elbows met,

And knees were jogging knees.

“Good sir, you must not sit a-stern,

The wave will else come in!”

Without a word he gravely stirred,

Another seat to win.

“Good sir, the boat has lost her trim,

You must not sit a-lee!”

With smiling face and courteous⁶ grace,

The middle seat took he.

But still, by constant quiet growth,

His back became so wide,

Each neighbor wight, to left and right,

Was thrust against the side.

Lord! how they chided with themselves,

That they had let him in;

To see him grow so monstrous⁷ now,

That came so small and thin.

On every brow a dewdrop stood,

They grew so scared and hot —

“I’ the name of all that’s great and tall,

Who are ye, sir, and what?”

Loud laughed the Gogmagog, a laugh

As loud as giant’s roar —

“When first I came, my proper name

Was Little — now I’m Moore!“?

1 dwarfish   

a.像侏儒的，矮小的

参考例句：

• Her dwarfish spouse still smoked his cigar and drank his rum without heeding her. 她那矮老公还在吸他的雪茄，喝他的蔗酒，睬也不睬她。
• Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments, but press forward to things and heavenly. 不要再满足于属世的成就，要努力奔向属天的事物。

2 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

4 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

5 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

6 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

7 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！