【英文读物】Three Minute Stories.docx

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1、【英文读物】Three Minute StoriesAuthors NoteMany of these stories and rhymes appeared originally in the Ladies Home Journal, and were signed either with my initials, or with names of characters in my books. Others were adapted by me from the Indian “Hitopadesa,” or “Book of Good Counsel,” and from two ano

2、nymous story-books of a bygone generation, long out of print. These are marked “Adapted.”L. E. R.JOHNNY AND HIS SAND BOXJohnnys sand box is in the back yard. It is a fine big box, with the sides raised so that Johnny and the sand will not fall out. The sand is fine and dry, and almost white; it came

3、 from the seashore, and sometimes you find a little shell in it.The things that belong in the sand box (beside Johnny himself!) are the blue tin pail to hold sand, and the red tin pail to hold water, and the shovel, and the rake, and the old kitchen spoon. The things that do not belong there (some o

4、f them) are the woolly dog (because the sand gets all into his wool, and then shakes out on the nursery floor, and Maggie says it is a Sight!), and Johnnys2 shoes and stockings (he likes to take them off and sift the hot, clean sand between his bare toes), and the neighbors cats.This story is about

5、the cats. There are five of them. One is black, and has a red leather collar with a little silver bell; it belongs to the deaf old lady next door, and its name is Jetty. Another is yellow, and belongs to the lame girl in the white house with green blinds; its name is Topaz. The third cat is gray, wi

6、th white front and paws. This is a lady cat, and her name is Malta; she belongs to the lady whom Johnny calls Mrs. Nose. Mamma does not allow him to say this, and he tries to remember, but sometimes he forgets; one day he said right out, “Good morning, Mrs. Nose!” and she only laughed, and said her

7、nose was just the right size, and she needed it all to smell catnip with. She is a funny lady, and Johnny likes her, and Malta too.The fourth cat belongs to Mr. Chops the butcher, and is a big tabby, with green eyes and fierce3 whiskers. Johnny does not like him at all. But the fifth cat is Muffet,

8、his own dear white kitten.Now all these cats were friends except Bobs, the butchers cat. He lives on meat, and Mamma says perhaps that makes him cross. Anyhow, he is cross, and he growls and snarls and spits at Muffet and Jetty and Topaz and Malta, and tries to steal their fishbones, and upsets thei

9、r milk, and is really a very horrid cat.The story happened one night last week. Johnny was asleep, and Maggie was tidying up the nursery before going to bed, when suddenly she heard a queer noise. It came from the yard, and she stepped to the window and looked out. It was bright moonlight; and what

10、do you think? The cats were having a party in the sand box! the four friendly cats, that is, Muffet and Topaz and Malta and Jetty. Maggie thought Muffet must have invited the others, for she was sitting in the middle of the box with her front paws tucked under her, looking so pleased and happy;4 and

11、 the three others had their paws tucked in too, and they were all four talking in little soft mews, and seemed to be having a very good time. Then all of a sudden there was a snarl and a yowl, and that horrid great Bobs sprang over the fence and into the sand box, and began clawing and spitting and

12、scratching right and left, just as hard as he could. At first the four friendly cats were too startled to do anything; but in another minute they began to spit and scratch and claw, and there were all five of them rolling over and over, scattering the sand on every side, and making such a noise that

13、5 it woke Johnny out of his sound sleep. At first he was frightened, but Maggie told him what it was, and said wait and see what she would do. She pushed up the fly screen very softly, and then she brought the great big jug full of water, and leaning out,splash! she emptied it full on the fighting,

14、struggling cats. Oh! how they yelled! One jumped this way, and one jumped that; and the next moment not one was left except poor little Muffet, sitting in the middle of the box and crying pitifully. “Oh, poor Muffy!” said Johnny. “Poor Muffy all wet!” So then good Maggie ran down and brought Muffet

15、up, and dried her with a towel, and comforted her till she purred. Johnny wanted to take her into bed with him, but Maggie said that never would do; so,what do you think? She put her in the dolls cradle with Susan Dolly, and covered her up, and told her to go to sleep, and she did!MONOSYLLABICSThe b

16、lack cat satIn the fat mans hat;“Oh, dear!” the fat man said.“May the great gray batCatch the bad black catWho has left me no hatFor my head!”The big brown bearTried to curl his hair7To go to the Fair so gay.But he looked such a frightThat his aunt took flight,And he cried till night, they say.A pal

17、e pink pig,In a large blond wig,Danced a wild, wild jigOn the lea;But a rude old goat,In a sky-blue coat,Said, “Youre nought but a shoat, tee hee!”A poor old KingSold his gay gold ringFor to buy his old wife some cream;But the cat lapped it upWith a sip and a sup,8And his tears ran down in a stream.

18、A large red cowTried to make a bow,But did not know how,They say.For her legs got mixed,And her horns got fixed,And her tail would getIn her way.A boy named SamHad a fat pet ram,And gave him some jamFor his tea;But the fat pet ramTried to butt poor Sam,Till he had to turnAnd flee.A girl named JaneHa

19、d a sad, bad painIn the place where she wore9Her belt;She mopped and she mowed,And she screamed aloud,Just to show the crowdHow she felt.A sad, thin apeBought some wide white tapeTo trim a new capeFor his niece;But a bold buff calf,With a loud, rude laugh,Bit off one whole halfFor his geese.A pert,

20、proud henLaid an egg, and thenSaid “Cluck!” and “cluck!” and“cluck!”Said the cock, “Had I knownYou would take that tone,I would have wooed noneBut a duck!”THE NEW LEAVES“Wake up!” said a clear little voice. Tommy woke, and sat up in bed. At the foot of the bed stood a boy about his own age, all dres

21、sed in white, like fresh snow. He had very bright eyes, and he looked straight at Tommy.“Who are you?” asked Tommy.“I am the New Year!” said the boy. “This is my day, and I have brought you your leaves.”“What leaves?” asked Tommy.“The new ones, to be sure!” said the New Year. “I hear bad accounts of

22、 you from my Daddy”“Who is your Daddy?” asked Tommy.“The Old Year, of course!” said the boy. “He said you asked too many questions and I see he was right. He says you are greedy, too, and that you sometimes pinch your little sister, and that11 one day you threw your reader into the fire. Now, all th

23、is must stop.”“Oh, must it?” said Tommy. He felt frightened, and did not know just what to say.The boy nodded. “If it does not stop,” he said, “you will grow worse and worse every year, till you grow up into a Horrid Man. Do you want to be a Horrid Man?”“N-no!” said Tommy.“Then you must stop being a

24、 horrid boy!” said the New Year. “Take your leaves!” and he held out a packet of what looked like copy-book leaves, all sparkling white, like his own clothes.“Turn over one of these every day,” he said, “and soon you will be a good boy instead of a horrid one.”Tommy took the leaves and looked at the

25、m. On each leaf a few words were written. On one it said, “Help your mother!” On another, “Dont pull the cats tail!” On another, “Dont eat so12 much!” And on still another, “Dont fight Billy Jenkins!”“Oh!” cried Tommy. “I have to fight Billy Jenkins! He said”“Good-by!” said the New Year. “I shall co

26、me again when I am old to see whether you have been a good boy or a horrid one. Remember,“Horrid boy makes horrid man;You alone can change the plan.”He turned away and opened the window. A cold wind blew in and swept the leaves out of Tommys hand. “Stop! stop!” he cried.13 “Tell me” But the New Year

27、 was gone, and Tommy, staring after him, saw only his mother coming into the room. “Dear child!” she said. “Why, the wind is blowing everything about.”“My leaves! My leaves!” cried Tommy; and jumping out of bed he looked all over the room, but he could not find one.“Never mind,” said Tommy. “I can t

28、urn them just the same, and I mean to. I will not grow into a Horrid Man.” And he didnt.GRANDMOTHERS ALPHABETThe Ant is so busyIt makes her quite dizzy,She says that her headGoes whirl-around-whizzy.The Bunny is funny;He cannot make honey,Nor write with a pen,Nor shoot with a gunny.The Cow is not ab

29、leTo sit at the table,And so we must send herTo eat in the stable.The Duck goes a-quacking15And clicking and clacking,And eats all she findsFrom beeswax to blacking.The Elephant mightyCan not find his nighty!It makes him feel nervous,And fractious and flighty.The Fish has no wishTo be put in a dish,

30、So hes off like a flashWith a swishety-swish.The Goose has no useFor an Indian pappoose,So she looks at it sadly,And says, “Whats the use?”The Hen lays an egg,And stands on one leg,And says, “Cut-ker-dah-cut!Observe me, I beg!”The Ibis is pretty,But not very witty;And when he is tiredHe plays with t

31、he kitty.The Jaguar so cruelWas killed in a duel,And left his poor wifeTo eat nothing but gruel.The kind KangarooHas so little to do,That he talks to the MoollyAnd tries to say “Moo!”The Lizard goes sighing,And sobbing and crying,Because his poor tailGot shrunk in the dyeing.The Moose is all humpy,A

32、nd grumpy and lumpy,And if you say, “Boo!”He is off with a thumpy.The Newt has a neighborWho fights with a sabre,And when he has conqueredHe beats on a tabor.The Owl and the OysterWent off for a royster,And when they came backThey were put in a cloister.The Pig bought a carrotTo give to his parrot:B

33、ut Poll was so frightenedShe hid in the garret.The Queen in her crownAnd velvety gown,She went to the circus,And laughed at the clown.The Ram and the Rattle-Snake had a great battle:For each called the otherA tittlety-tattle.The Stork had a fancyTo go to a dancy,But people said, “No!You are rather t

34、oo prancy!”The timorous TapirWas reading the paper,And found that his auntHad married a draper.The Unicorn triedOn a camel to ride,But there came a sad fallTo himself and his pride.The Viper is vain,19And cannot explainWhy people persist soIn calling him plain.The Woodchuck is wealthy,And hearty and

35、 healthy:But sometimes his movementsAre snooping and stealthy.The Xiphias perks hisHead up to see Xerxes:And thinks him much finerThan Tartars or Turkses.The Yammering YakHas spots on his back:He cant get them off,So he puts on a sacque.The Zebra with zealWas cooking a meal:But he found it was onion

36、sAnd stopped with a squeal.THE NEW LEAF“Why are you crying, Little Cat?” asked Little Dog.“Because my paws are so cold!” said Little Cat. “I have been digging in the snow and I cannot find one.”“One what?” asked Little Dog.“One new leaf.”“What do you want of a new leaf?”“I want to turn it over, but

37、there just arent any to turn.”21“Of course there arent!” said Little Dog. “It is winter.”“But Little Girl is going to find one,” said Little Cat. “I heard her mother say to her, You really must turn over a new leaf! and she said, I truthfully will, Mamma! and when Little Girl says she truthfully wil

38、l she always does. Then her mother kissed her, and said everybody had to turn over new leaves now, and she had some of her own to turn, so she knew just how it was. The door shut thenon the tip of my tail, tooand I heard no more; but what do you suppose it means?”Little Dog shook his head. “We must

39、ask somebody,” he said. “Let me see! Great Old Dog is out for a walk, and Crosspatch Parrot bit me the last time I asked her a question.”“I know,” said Little Cat. “We will ask Old Cat in the Barn. She knows a good many things, and if she isnt catching ratsbut she generally isshe will tell us.”“THEY

40、 FOUND OLD CAT IN THE BARN SITTING ON A TRUSS OF HAY, WASHING HERSELF.”They found Old Cat in the Barn sitting on a truss of hay, washing herself. She listened to Little Cats story, and her green eyes twinkled.“So you have been looking for new leaves under the snow!” she said.“Yes,” said Little Cat.

41、“First I looked on the trees, and there werent any there; so I thought it must be leaves of plants and things, so I scratched and dug till my poor paws were almost quite frozen, but not one single scrap of a leaf could I find.”“Fffff!” said Old Cat in the Barn. “This barn is full of em!”“Full of lea

42、ves!” cried Little Cat and Little Dog together. “What can you mean, Old Cat? We dont call hay leaves!”“How many rats have you caught this week?” asked Old Cat, turning to Little Dog.“None!” said Little Dog. “The last rat I caught bit me horridly; besides, they are odious,23 vulgar beasts, and I dont

43、 care to have anything to do with them.”“Fffff!” said Old Cat. “Little Cat, how many mice have you caught in the kitchen this week?”Little Cat hung her head. “I havent caught any,” she said. “I dont care for mice, the flavor is too strong; I like cream better.”“Ffffff! grrrr-yow!” said Old Cat; her

44、green eyes shot out sparks, and her fur began to stand up. “Now, you two, listen to me! Why do you think the Big People keep you? Because you are soft and pretty and foolish? Not at all! They keep you because you are supposed to be useful. Your mother, Little Cat, was a hard-working, self-respecting

45、 mouser, who caught her daily mouse as regularly as she ate her daily bread and milk. Your father, Little Dog, hunted rats with me in this barn as long as he had legs to stand upon, and between us we kept the place in tolerable order. Great Old Dog cannot be expected to hunt at his age, and besides,

46、 he is too big; one might as well24 hunt with an ox. But since your parents died you two lazy children have done next to nothing, and what is the consequence? I am worked to skin and bone, and the mice are all over the house; I heard Cook say so. Mind what I say; no creature, with four legs or two,

47、is worth his salt unless he earns it, in one way or another. Now, what have you to say for yourselves?”“Miaouw!” said Little Cat. “I am very sorry, Old Cat.”“Yap! Yap!” said Little Dog. “I am sorry too, Old Cat.”“Very well!” said Old Cat in the Barn. “Then turn over a new leaf!”“Miaouw!” “Yap!” “That is just what we want to do!” said Little Cat and Little Dog together; “but we cant find any.”“The fact is,” said Old Cat in the Barn, “it is one of the foolish ways of speaking that the Big People have. It just means, stop being bad and begin