原来如此：讲给孩子们的动物故事(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：(英)拉迪亚德·吉卜林(Rudyard Kipling)

出版社：外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

原来如此：讲给孩子们的动物故事试读：

How the Whale Got His Throat

IN the sea, once upon a time, O my Best Beloved, there was a Whale, and he ate fishes. He ate the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab, and the plaice and the dace, and the skate and his mate, and the mackereel and the pickereel, and the really truly twirlywhirly eel. All the fishes he could find in all the sea he ate with his mouth—so! Till at last there was only one small fish left in all the sea, and he was a small’Stute Fish, and he swam a little behind the Whale’s right ear, so as to be out of harm’s way. Then the Whale stood up on his tail and said, “I’m hungry.” And the small ’Stute Fish said in a small ’stute voice, “Noble and generous Cetacean, have you ever tasted Man?”

“No,” said the Whale. “What is it like?”

“Nice,” said the small ’Stute Fish. “Nice but nubbly.”

“Then fetch me some,” said the Whale, and he made the sea froth up with his tail.

“One at a time is enough,” said the ’Stute Fish. “If you swim to latitude Fifty North, longitude Forty West (that is magic), you will find, sitting on a raft, in the middle of the sea, with nothing on but a pair of blue canvas breeches, a pair of suspenders (you must not forget the suspenders, Best Beloved), and a jackknife, one shipwrecked Mariner, who, it is only fair to tell you, is a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity.”

So the Whale swam and swam to latitude Fifty North, longitude Forty West, as fast as he could swim, and on a raft, in the middle of the sea, with nothing to wear except a pair of blue canvas breeches, a pair of suspenders (you must particularly remember the suspenders, Best Beloved), and a jackknife, he found one single, solitary shipwrecked Mariner, trailing his toes in the water. (He had his mummy’s leave to paddle, or else he would never have done it, because he was a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity.)

Then the Whale opened his mouth back and back and back till it nearly touched his tail, and he swallowed the shipwrecked Mariner, and the raft he was sitting on, and his blue canvas breeches, and the suspenders (which you must not forget), and the jackknife—He swallowed them all down into his warm, dark, inside cupboards, and then he smacked his lips—so, and turned round three times on his tail.

But as soon as the Mariner, who was a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity, found himself truly inside the Whale’s warm, dark, inside cupboards, he stumped and he jumped and he thumped and he bumped, and he pranced and he danced, and he banged and he clanged, and he hit and he bit, and he leaped and he creeped, and he prowled and he howled, and he hopped and he dropped, and he cried and he sighed, and he crawled and he bawled, and he stepped and he lepped, and he danced hornpipes where he shouldn’t, and the Whale felt most unhappy indeed. (Have you forgotten the suspenders?)THIS is the picture of the Whale swallowing the Mariner with his infinite resource and sagacity, and the raft and the jackknife and his suspenders, which you must not forget. The buttony things are the Mariner’s suspenders, and you can see the knife close by them. He is sitting on the raft, but it has tilted up sideways, so you don’t see much of it. The whity thing by the Mariner’s left hand is a piece of wood that he was trying to row the raft with when the Whale came along. The piece of wood is called the jaws of a gaff. The Mariner left it outside when he went in. The Whale’s name was Smiler, and the Mariner was called Mr Henry Albert Bivvens, a.b. The little Stute Fish is hiding under the Whale’s tummy, or else I would have drawn him. The reason that the sea looks so ooshy skooshy is because the Whale is sucking it all into his mouth so as to suck in Mr. Henry Albert Bivvens and the raft and the jackknife and the suspenders. You must never forget the suspenders.这是鲸鱼吞食水手（一个非常有智谋的聪明人）的画面，他还吞食了水手的木筏、大折刀以及背带（千万不要忘了背带）。画上那些有纽扣的玩意儿就是水手的背带，紧挨着背带你可以看见大折刀。水手坐在木筏上，但木筏向旁边倾斜，所以你看不清楚。水手左侧那个白色的东西是一根木条，鲸鱼来之前水手正试图用它划木筏。这根木条即所谓的桅杆头，水手进鱼腹前把它丢在了外边。鲸鱼名叫笑面鲸，水手名叫亨利·艾伯特·比文斯先生。小鬼头鱼藏在鲸鱼的肚皮下，不然我就把他画出来了。海水之所以显得波涛翻滚，是因为鲸鱼在吞咽亨利·艾伯特·比文斯先生、木筏、大折刀以及背带时（请你千万不要忘了背带），连海水也吸进了口中。

So he said to the ’Stute Fish, “This man is very nubbly, and besides he is making me hiccough. What shall I do?”

“Tell him to come out,” said the ’Stute Fish.

So the Whale called down his own throat to the shipwrecked Mariner, “Come out and behave yourself. I’ve got the hiccoughs.”

“Nay, nay!” said the Mariner. “Not so, but far otherwise. Take me to my natal-shore and the white-cliffs-of-Albion[1], and I’ll think about it.” And he began to dance more than ever.

“You had better take him home,” said the ’Stute Fish to the Whale. “I ought to have warned you that he is a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity.”

So the Whale swam and swam and swam, with both flippers and his tail, as hard as he could for the hiccoughs; and at last he saw the Mariner’s natal-shore and the white-cliffs-of-Albion, and he rushed half-way up the beach, and opened his mouth wide and wide and wide, and said, “Change here for Winchester, Ashuelot, Nashua, Keene, and stations on the Fitchburg Road;” and just as he said “Fitch” the Mariner walked out of his mouth. But while the Whale had been swimming,the Mariner, who was indeed a person of infinite-resource-and-sagacity, had taken his jackknife and cut up the raft into a little square grating all running criss-cross, and he had tied it firm with his suspenders (now, you know why you were not to forget the suspenders!), and he dragged that grating good and tight into the Whale’s throat, and there it stuck! Then he recited the following Sloka, which, as you have not heard it, I will now proceed to relate—By means of a gratingI have stopped your ating.

For the Mariner he was also an Hi-ber-ni-an. And he stepped out on the shingle, and went home to his Mother, who had given him leave to trail his toes in the water; and he married and lived happily ever afterward. So did the Whale. But from that day on, the grating in his throat, which he could neither cough up nor swallow down, prevented him eating anything except very, very small fish; and that is the reason why whales nowadays never eat men or boys or little girls.

The small ’Stute Fish went and hid himself in the mud under the Doorsills of the Equator. He was afraid that the Whale might be angry with him.

The Sailor took the jackknife home. He was wearing the blue canvas breeches when he walked out on the shingle. The suspenders were left behind, you see, to tie the grating with; and that is the end of that tale.HERE is the Whale looking for the little ’Stute Fish, who is hiding under the Doorsills of the Equator. The little Stute Fish s name was Pingle. He is hiding among the roots of the big seaweed that grows in front of the Doors of the Equator. I have drawn the Doors of the Equator. They are shut. They are always kept shut, because a door ought always to be kept shut. The ropy thing right across is the Equator itself; and the things that look like rocks are the two giants Moar and Koar, that keep the Equator in order. They drew the shadow pictures on the Doors of the Equator, and they carved all those twisty fishes under the Doors. The beaky-fish are called beaked Dolphins, and the other fish with the queer heads are called Hammer headed Sharks. The Whale never found the little ’Stute Fish till he got over his temper, and then they became good friends again.鲸鱼在寻找小鬼头鱼，后者躲在赤道大门的门槛下。小鬼头鱼名叫平格尔，他藏身于生长在赤道大门前的巨型海草的根丛间。我画了赤道之门，门是关着的。门关着因为凡是门嘛就应该关着。横贯画面的绳状物就是赤道，那些像岩石一样的东西其实是两个巨人莫阿和考阿，他们负责维持赤道的秩序。他们在赤道之门上绘制了幻影图，还在门下方雕刻了那些扭曲着身体的鱼儿。那只鸟喙状的鱼叫做鸟喙豚，而另一只怪头怪脑的鱼称为锤头鲨。鲸鱼直到消了气之后才找到小鬼头鱼，他们又成了好朋友。When the cabin port-holes are dark and greenBecause of the seas outside;When the ship goes wop (with a wiggle between)And the steward falls into the soup-tureen,And the trunks begin to slide;When Nursey lies on the floor in a heap,And Mummy tells you to let her sleep,And you aren’t waked or washed or dressed,Why, then you will know (if you haven’t guessed)You’re “Fifty North and Forty West!”[1] Albion：＜诗＞阿尔比恩，指英格兰或不列颠，源出希腊人和罗马人对该地的称呼。

鲸鱼为什么长喉咙

在很久以前，我亲爱的，大海里有一条鲸鱼。他以鱼类为食，吃海星、颌针鱼、螃蟹、比目鱼、鲽、雅罗鱼，也吃雄鳐和雌鳐鱼，还吃鲐鱼、小狗鱼以及身子扭来扭去的鳗鲡。凡是在大海里能找到的鱼，他全都张口吃掉。哎呀呀！最后，茫茫的大海里只剩下一条小鱼了，那就是小鬼头鱼。他跟在鲸鱼的右耳后游动，这样可以不受伤害。鲸鱼挺挺尾巴直立起来说：“我的肚子饿。”小鬼头鱼用鬼精灵般的声音小声说道：“高贵、大度的鲸鱼，您尝过人肉的滋味吗？”“没有。”鲸鱼说。“人肉的滋味怎么样？”“味道很好。”小鬼头鱼说。“味道很好，就是不太筋道。”“那你就给我弄几个人来。”鲸鱼说着，用尾巴将海水搅得波浪翻滚。“一次吃一个人就够了。”小鬼头鱼说。“如果您游到北纬50度、西经40度的地方（那就是奇迹了），您会看见在大海中央有一个遇到海难的水手坐在木筏上，他没穿别的衣服，只穿了一条蓝色的粗帆布裤子，配着两根背带（我亲爱的，千万不要忘了这背带），身边还有一把大折刀。公正平说，他是一个非常有智谋的聪明人。”

鲸鱼听后就游啊游，向北纬50度、西经40度的地方游去。他游得飞快，果真在大海中央看见一个遇到海难的水手。水手孤零零地坐在木筏上，正把脚放在水里划水（他是得到了妈妈的准许才划水的，否则他绝不会这样做，因为他是个非常有智谋的聪明人）。他没穿别的衣服，只穿了一条蓝色的粗帆布裤子，配着两根背带（我亲爱的，你尤其要记住这背带），身边还有一把大折刀。

鲸鱼张开大口，张啊张啊，都快把嘴咧到尾巴那儿了。他一口便吞下了那个遇到海难的水手，吞下了他乘的木筏，吞下了他的蓝色粗帆布裤子、背带（千万别忘了这背带）以及大折刀，连人带物一起咽进了自己体内那暖乎乎、黑黢黢的“食橱”里，然后咂咂嘴，美滋滋的，直立着尾巴转了三圈。

可是，那位水手是非常有智谋的聪明人，一置身于鲸鱼体内那暖乎乎、黑黢黢的“食橱”里，他便又蹦又跳、又打又闹；他前后翻腾、手足并舞，乒乒乓乓地胡敲乱打，又啃又咬，忽而跳跃忽而攀爬，忽而高高跃起忽而重重落下；他又唱又喊，大步流星，还不合适宜地跳起了号角舞。鲸鱼感到难受极了。（你忘记那副背带了吗？）

于是鲸鱼对小鬼头说：“这个人太筋道的了，还弄得我打嗝。怎么办呢？”“让他出来！”小鬼头说。

鲸鱼喊开了，声音顺着喉管传向那位遇到海难的水手：“你出来，懂点儿礼貌吧。我都打嗝了。”“不行，不行！”水手说道。“我不出去，坚决不出去。你把我送回故乡的海岸边，送回英格兰白色的峭壁前，我就考虑你的请求。”说完，他跳腾得更厉害了。“您最好送他回家。”小鬼头对鲸鱼说。“我真该提前告诉您：他是个非常有智谋的聪明人。”

鲸鱼害怕打嗝，于是摆动着鳍和尾巴拼命地游了起来，游啊游啊，最后终于看见了水手故乡的海岸以及英格兰的白色峭壁。他几乎一下子冲上了海滩，把嘴张得大大的，说：“前往温切斯特、亚舒伊洛特、纳舒厄、基恩以及菲奇堡线路的车站，在这儿换乘。”“菲奇”二字刚一出口，水手就从鲸鱼的嘴里走了出来。他确实是个非常有智谋的聪明人，他已经在鲸鱼腹内用大折刀把木筏砍开，制成了一个纵横交错的方型篦子。他用背带将篦子扎牢（现在你知道为什么让你别忘了背带吧！），拖进鲸鱼的喉管里，把它严严实实地卡在那个地方！随即，他念了一句顺口溜儿。你没有听说过，我这就给你念念：借助一块篦子，让你无法贪吃。

原来水手还是个爱尔兰人。他一步跨上砂石海滩，回家见妈妈去了（就是他的妈妈准许他用脚划水的）。后来，他结了婚，过上了幸福的生活。鲸鱼的日子也很幸福。不过，从那一天开始，他喉咙里有了个方型的篦子，既咳不出来也咽不下去，使得他无法进食，只能吃非常非常小的鱼。所以，现在的鲸鱼就再也不能吃人了，也吃不了小男孩儿和小女孩儿们。

小鬼头鱼跑去藏在赤道门槛下的淤泥里，他害怕鲸鱼生他的气。

水手把大折刀带回了家。他走上岸时，身上穿着蓝色的粗帆布裤子；他的背带没带走，留下来捆篦子用了。这个故事到此就结束了。舱外海水波涛涌，舷窗幽暗泛绿光；船儿震颤摇又摆，水手掉在汤镬中，箱子全都滑起来。保姆在地上蜷一团，妈妈叫你催她睡，可你怎么也醒不来，脸未洗、衣未穿；此时你应该能猜到：你已在——“奇迹出现的地方”！

How the Camel Got His Hump

NOW this is the next tale, and it tells how the Camel got his big hump.

In the beginning of years, when the world was so new-and-all, and the Animals were just beginning to work for Man, there was a Camel, and he lived in the middle of a Howling Desert because he did not want to work; and besides, he was a Howler[1] himself. So he ate sticks and thorns and tamarisks and milkweed and prickles, most ’scruciating idle; and when anybody spoke to him he said “Humph!” Just “Humph!” and no more.

Presently the Dog came to him, with a stick in his mouth, and said, “Camel, O Camel, come and fetch and carry like the rest of us.”

“Humph!” said the Camel; and the Dog went away and told the Man.

Presently the Ox came to him, with the yoke on his neck and said, “Camel, O Camel, come and plough like the rest of us.”

“Humph!” said the Camel; and the Ox went away and told the Man.

At the end of the day the Man called the Horse and the Dog and the Ox together, and said, “Three, O Three, I’m very sorry for you (with the world so new-and-all); but that Humph-thing in the Desert can’t work, or he would have been here by now, so I am going to leave him alone, and you must work double-time to make up for it.”

That made the Three very angry (with the world so new-and-all), and they held a palaver, and an indaba, and a punchayet, and a pow-wow on the edge of the Desert; and the Camel came chewing milkweed most ’scruciating idle, and laughed at them. Then he said “Humph!” and went away again.

Presently there came along the Djinn in charge of All Deserts, rolling in a cloud of dust (Djinns always travel that way because it is Magic), and he stopped to palaver and pow-pow with the Three.

“Djinn of All Deserts,” said the Horse, “is it right for anyone to be idle, with the world so new-and-all?”

“Certainly not,” said the Djinn.

“Well,” said the Horse, “there’s a thing in the middle of your Howling Desert (and he’s a Howler himself) with a long neck and long legs, and he hasn’t done a stroke of work since Monday morning. He won’t trot.”

“Whew!” said the Djinn, whistling, “that’s my Camel, for all the gold in Arabia! What does he say about it?”

“He says ‘Humph!’ ” said the Dog; “and he won’t fetch and carry.”

“Does he say anything else?”

“Only ‘Humph!’; and he won’t plough,” said the Ox.

“Very good,” said the Djinn. “I’ll humph him if you will kindly wait a minute.”

The Djinn rolled himself up in his dust-cloak, and took a bearing across the desert, and found the Camel most ’scruciatingly idle, looking at his own reflection in a pool of water.

“My long and bubbling friend,” said the Djinn, “what’s this I hear of your doing no work, with the world so new-and-all?”

“Humph!” said the Camel.

The Djinn sat down, with his chin in his hand, and began to think a Great Magic, while the Camel looked at his own reflection in the pool of water.

“You’ve given the Three extra work ever since Monday morning, all on account of your ’scruciating idleness,” said the Djinn; and he went on thinking Magics, with his chin in his hand.THIS is the picture of the Djinn making the beginnings of the Magic that brought the Humph to the Camel. First he drew a line in the air with his finger, and it became solid; and then he made a cloud, and then he made an egg—you can see them both at the bottom of the picture—and then there was a magic pumpkin that turned into a big white flame. Then the Djinn took his magic fan and fanned that flame till the flame turned into a Magic by itself. It was a good Magic and a very kind Magic really, though it had to give the Camel a Humph because the Camel was lazy. The Djinn in charge of All Deserts was one of the nicest of the Djinns, so he would never do anything really unkind.精灵在开始运用神力，让骆驼身上长峰。他先在空中用手指画一条线，待它成为真的线，再变出一朵云彩，继而变出一个蛋（你可以在图画的下端看见这两样东西）。随后变出个魔力南瓜，南瓜又变为一大团白色的火焰。精灵取出神扇，用扇子扇火，直至火焰也变成了神火。这是神奇的魔法，而且是十分善意的魔法即使它让懒惰的骆驼长出了峰。掌管所有沙漠的精灵是精灵中最为和善的，他决不会干任何不好的事。

“Humph!” said the Camel.

“I shouldn’t say that again if I were you,” said the Djinn; “you might say it once too often. Bubbles, I want you to work.”

And the Camel said “Humph!” again; but no sooner had he said it than he saw his back, that he was so proud of, puffing up and puffing up into a great big lolloping humph.

“Do you see that?” said the Djinn. “That’s your very own humph that you’ve brought upon your very own self by not working. Today is Thursday, and you’ve done no work since Monday, when the work began. Now you are going to work.”

“How can I,” said the Camel, “with this humph on my back?”

“That’s made a-purpose,” said the Djinn, “all because you missed those three days. You will be able to work now for three days without eating, because you can live on your humph; and don’t you ever say I never did anything for you. Come out of the Desert and go to the Three, and behave. Humph yourself!”

And the Camel humphed himself, humph and all, and went away to join the Three. And from that day to this the Camel always wears a humph (we call it “hump” now, not to hurt his feelings); but he has never yet caught up with the three days that he missed at the beginning of the world, and he has never yet learned how to behave.The Camel’s hump is an ugly lumpWhich well you may see at the Zoo;But uglier yet is the hump we getFrom having too little to do.Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,If we haven’t enough to do-oo-oo,We get the hump—Cameelious hump—The hump that is black and blue!We climb out of bed with a frouzly headAnd a snarly-yarly voice.We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growlAt our bath and our boots and our toys;And there ought to be a corner for me(And I know there is one for you)When we get the hump—Cameelious hump—The hump that is black and blue!The cure for this ill is not to sit still,Or frowst with a book by the fire;But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,And dig till you gently perspire;HERE is the picture of the Djinn in charge of All Deserts guiding the Magic with his magic fan. The Camel is eating a twig of acacia, and he has just finished saying“Humph!” once too often (the Djinn told him he would), and so the Humph is coming. The long towelly-thing growing out of the thing like an onion is the Magic, and you can see the Humph on its shoulder. The Humph fits on the flat part of the Camel’s back. The Camel is too busy looking at his own beautiful self in the pool of water to know what is going to happen to him.Underneath the truly picture is a picture of the Worldso-new-and-all. There are two smoky volcanoes in it, some other mountains and some stones and a lake and a black island and a twisty river and a lot of other things, as well as a Noah’s Ark. I couldn’t draw all the deserts that the Djinn was in charge of, so I only drew one, but it is a most deserty desert.掌管所有沙漠的精灵在用神扇施展魔法。骆驼正在吃刺槐树的枝条。他刚刚哼了一声（精灵说他哼的次数太多了），就长出驼峰来了。从洋葱似的东西中长出了长长绵状物，那就是魔法，能看出在那上面就是一个峰，正好安在骆驼背上的平坦之处。骆驼正忙着欣赏自己在水潭里漂亮的倒影，没留意将会发生什么事情。正图的下方是百业待兴图，图中有两座冒烟的火山和另外一些山，有一些岩石、一个湖泊、一座黑黢黢的岛屿、一条蜿蜒的河水以及许多别的景物，另外还有诺亚方舟。精灵掌管的所有沙漠无法全部画出，在此仅画一处，但这是一处最为典型的沙漠。And then you will find that the sun and the wind,And the Djinn of the Garden too,Have lifted the hump—The horrible hump—The hump that is black and blue!I get it as well as you-oo-oo—If I haven’t enough to do-oo-oo—We all get hump—Cameelious hump—Kiddies and grown-ups too![1] howler在这里是个双关语，除了“吼叫的动物（或人）”之意外，还有“可笑的大错，大笑话”之意。

骆驼为什么长驼峰

现在讲第二个故事，讲一讲骆驼的驼峰是怎么来的。

在岁月刚刚开始的时候，那时百业待兴，动物刚开始为人类工作。有一只骆驼住在“呼号沙漠”中央，因为他不愿意干活。而且，他自己也是个爱呼号的动物。他以枝条、荆棘、柽柳、马利筋和一些带刺的植物为食，十分悠闲自在。不管谁跟他说话，他都“哼”的一声，仅此而已，再不多言。

不久，马儿在一个礼拜一的上午来找骆驼，他背上驮着鞍子，嘴上套着嚼子，对骆驼说道：“骆驼啊骆驼，出来活动活动吧，跟我们大家一样。”“哼！”骆驼回应道。马儿走掉了，把这情况告诉了人。

没过多长时间，狗来找骆驼，嘴里叼着根棍子，他对骆驼说道：“骆驼啊骆驼，出来搬搬东西吧，跟我们大家一样。”“哼！”骆驼回应道。狗走掉了，把这情况告诉了人。

不一会儿，牛来找骆驼，他颈上套着轭，对骆驼说道：“骆驼啊骆驼，出来犁地吧，跟我们大家一样。”“哼！”骆驼回应道。牛走掉了，把情况告诉了人。

这天结束的时候，人把马儿、狗和牛召集到一起说：“你们三个呀，我真为你们感到遗憾（值此百业待兴之际）。沙漠里的那个哼哼唧唧的畜牲干不了活，不然他现在就来了。我就不管他了，你们必须加倍干活，把损失弥补回来。”

他们三个非常生气（这是一个百业待兴的时期），于是便在沙漠的边上聚会商谈，你一言我一语，吵得不可开交。此时骆驼走了过来，嘴里嚼着马利筋，他十分悠闲自在，冲着他们哈哈大笑。随后，骆驼“哼”了一声，便又扬长而去了。

不一会儿，掌管所有沙漠的精灵来了。他所过之处，尘土飞扬（精灵出行历来如此，神力使然嘛）。他加入会议，和三只动物攀谈起来。“掌管所有沙漠的精灵啊，”马儿开口说道，“值此百业待兴之际，无论谁闲着不做事，您说应该不应该？”“当然不应该。”精灵说。“哦，”马儿说，“在您管辖的‘呼号沙漠’中有一个家伙（他自己也是个爱呼号的动物），长长的脖颈、长长的腿，他自从礼拜一上午以来一点活儿也没干。他不愿跑路嘛。”“咻！”精灵吹了声口哨。“我以阿拉伯所有的黄金起誓，那正是我要找的骆驼！他怎么说？”“他说了声‘哼’！”狗说道。“他还不愿意搬运东西。”“他没说别的吗？”“只说了‘哼’。他还不愿意犁地。”牛说道。“很好。”精灵说。“请各位稍等片刻，让我去教训他。”

精灵飞驰而去，身后尘土飞扬，一路穿过大沙漠。他发现骆驼在极为悠闲地欣赏自己那映在水潭里的倒影。“我快乐的高个子朋友呀，”精灵说，“值此百业待兴之时，我却听说你无所事事。这是怎么回事？”“哼！”骆驼说。

精灵坐下来，手托下巴，开始念动魔法。而骆驼仍在欣赏自己映在水潭里的倒影。“自从礼拜一上午，都是因为你的游手好闲，才让那三只动物干额外的工作。”精灵一边说，一边手托下巴，继续念着魔法。“哼！”骆驼说。“如果我是你，我就不再‘哼’了。”精灵说。“也许你‘哼’的次数太多了。快乐的伙计，我想让你干活儿。”“哼！”骆驼又说了一声。但他话刚一出口，便看见自己颇引以为豪的脊背渐渐隆起，形成一个臃肿的驼峰。“看到了吗？”精灵说。“你身上的这个‘峰’，是你自己找来的，全是因为你不干活的缘故。今天是礼拜四。工作是从礼拜一开始的，你从那时起就无所事事。现在，你可要干活了。”“背上有这么个‘峰’，我可怎么干活儿呢！”骆驼说。“那是有目的的，”精灵说，“因为你三天来无所事事。现在你可以不吃东西连干三天活儿，就靠这个‘峰’补充体力吧。你可别说我没为你出过力。请你走出沙漠，去见那三只动物。打起精神来，好好表现吧！”

骆驼强打起精神，振作起来，去找那三只动物了。从那天起直至今日，骆驼的身上还总是带着一个“峰”（我们称之为“驼峰”，为的是不伤他的面子）。不过，他一直没有弥补回来在世界形成之初漏掉的那三天的活儿，也一直没有学会好好表现。驼峰臃肿真难看，动物园里常看见；假如我们不勤劳，难免也会把背驼。大人小孩要记牢，假如我们不勤劳，也像骆驼会驼背，臃肿难看驼了背！起床头发臭哄哄，嘴里抱怨咕哝哝，洗漱穿鞋难惬意，浑身乱颤发脾气；寻个角落躲起来？这样也许合适你：长出驼峰像骆驼，臃肿难看驼了背！治病良方非闲坐，也非捧书炉边读；拿起锄头和铁锨，辛勤劳动把汗出；阳光明媚风儿吹，花园精灵来相助，移去臃肿的驼峰，从此不再把背驼！假如我们都懒惰，谁都不免把背驼；大人小孩要记牢：勤劳才不会把背驼！

How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin

ONCE upon a time, on an uninhabited island on the shores of the Red Sea, there lived a Parsee[1] from whose hat the rays of the sun were reflected in more-than-oriental splendour. And the Parsee lived by the Red Sea with nothing but his hat and his knife and a cooking-stove of the kind that you must particularly never touch. And the Parsee lived by the Red Sea with nothing but his hat and his knife and a cooking-stove of the kind that you must particularly never touch. And one day he took flour and water and currants and plums and sugar and things, and made himself one cake which was two feet across and three feet thick. It was indeed a Superior Comestible (that’s Magic), and he put it on the stove because he was allowed to cook on that stove, and he baked it and he baked it till it was all done brown and smelt most sentimental. But just as he was going to eat it there came down to the beach from the Altogether Uninhabited Interior one Rhinoceros with a horn on his nose, two piggy eyes, and few manners. In those days the Rhinoceros’s skin fitted him quite tight. There were no wrinkles in it anywhere. He looked exactly like a Noah’s Ark Rhinoceros, but of course much bigger. All the same, he had no manners then, and he has no manners now, and he never will have any manners. He said, “How!” and the Parsee left that cake and climbed to the top of a palm tree with nothing on but his hat, from which the rays of the sun were always reflected in more-than-oriental splendour. And the Rhinoceros upset the oil-stove with his nose, and the cake rolled on the sand, and he spiked that cake on the horn of his nose, and he ate it, and he went away, waving his tail, to the desolate and Exclusively Uninhabited Interior which abuts on the islands of Mazanderan, Socotra, and the Promontories of the Larger Equinox. Then the Parsee came down from his palm tree and put the stove on its legs and recited the following Sloka, which, as you have not heard, I will now proceed to relate:Them that takes cakesWhich the Parsee-man bakesMakes dreadful mistakes.

And there was a great deal more in that than you would think.

Because, five weeks later, there was a heatwave in the Red Sea, and everybody took off all the clothes they had. The Parsee took off his hat; but the Rhinoceros took off his skin and carried it over his shoulder as he came down to the beach to bathe. In those days it buttoned underneath with three buttons and looked like a waterproof. He said nothing whatever about the Parsee’s cake, because he had eaten it all; and he never had any manners, then, since, or henceforward. He waddled straight into the water and blew bubbles through his nose, leaving his skin on the beach.THIS is the picture of the Parsee beginning to eat his cake on the Uninhabited Island in the Red Sea on a very hot day; and of the Rhinoceros coming down from the Altogether Uninhabited Interior, which, as you can truthfully see, is all rocky. The Rhinoceros’s skin is quite smooth, and the three buttons that button it up are underneath, so you can’t see them. The squiggly things on the Parsee’s hat are the rays of the sun reflected in more-than-oriental splendour, because if I had drawn real rays they would have filled up all the picture. The cake has currants in it; and the wheel-thing lying on the sand in front belonged to one of Pharaoh’s chariots when he tried to cross the Red Sea. The Parsee found it, and kept it to play with. The Parsee’s name was Pestonjee Bomonjee, and the Rhinoceros was called Strorks, because he breathed through his mouth instead of his nose. I wouldn’t ask anything about the cooking-stove if I were you.在一个非常炎热的日子，红海的一座荒芜的岛屿上，帕西人正要开始吃他的蛋糕，犀牛从完完全全荒芜人烟岛的腹地跑了来。你可以真切地看到那块腹地山岩遍布。犀牛的皮十分光滑，系皮用的三个扣子在他肚子底下，所以你看不见。帕西人帽子上那弯弯曲曲的东西是折射的太阳光线，散发着无比华美的光泽。此处如果我画出真实的阳光，那它就会充满整个画面了。蛋糕里有葡萄干。前面，横放在沙滩上的车轮本属于法老的战车，他曾试图驾车跨越红海。帕西人发现了这只车轮，便留在身边当玩具。帕西人名叫帕斯唐吉.波芒吉。犀牛的名字叫呼嗤，因为他用嘴呼吸，而不是用鼻子。我要是你，就不会问有关那个炉子的问题。

Presently the Parsee came by and found the skin, and he smiled one smile that ran all round his face two times. Then he danced three times round the skin and rubbed his hands. Then he went to his camp and filled his hat with cake-crumbs, for the Parsee never ate anything but cake, and never swept out his camp. He took that skin, and he shook that skin, and he scrubbed that skin, and he rubbed that skin just as full of old, dry, stale, tickly cake-crumbs and some burned currants as ever it could possibly hold. Then he climbed to the top of his palm tree and waited for the Rhinoceros to come out of the water and put it on.

And the Rhinoceros did. He buttoned it up with the three buttons, and it tickled like cake crumbs in bed. Then he wanted to scratch, but that made it worse; and then he lay down on the sands and rolled and rolled and rolled, and every time he rolled the cake crumbs tickled him worse and worse and worse. Then he ran to the palm tree and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed himself against it. He rubbed so much and so hard that he rubbed his skin into a great fold over his shoulders, and another fold underneath, where the buttons used to be (but he rubbed the buttons off), and he rubbed some more folds over his legs. And it spoiled his temper, but it didn’t make the least difference to the cake crumbs. They were inside his skin and they tickled. So he went home, very angry indeed and horribly scratchy; and from that day to this every rhinoceros has great folds in his skin and a very bad temper, all on account of the cake crumbs inside.

But the Parsee came down from his palm tree, wearing his hat, from which the rays of the sun were reflected in more-than-oriental splendour, packed up his cooking-stove, and went away in the direction of Orotavo, Amygdala, the Upland Meadows of Anantarivo, and the Marshes of Sonaput.This Uninhabited IslandIs off Cape Gardafui,By the Beaches of SocotraAnd the Pink Arabian Sea:But it’s hot—too hot from SuezFor the likes of you and meEver to goIn a P & O[2]And call on the Cake-Parsee!THIS is the Parsee Pestonjee Bomonjee sitting in his palm tree and watching the Rhinoceros Strorks bathing near the beach of the Altogether Uninhabited Island after Strorks had taken off his skin. The Parsee has put the cake-crumbs into the skin, and he is smiling to think how they will tickle Strorks when Strorks puts it on again. The skin is just under the rocks below the palm-tree in a cool place; that is why you can’t see it. The Parsee is wearing a new more-than-oriental-splendour hat of the sort that Parsees wear; and he has a knife in his hand to cut his name on palm trees. The black things on the islands out at sea are bits of ships that got wrecked going down the Red Sea; but all the passengers were saved and went home. The black thing in the water close to the shore is not a wreck at all. It is Strorks the Rhinoceros bathing without his skin. He was just as black underneath his skin as he was outside. I wouldn’t ask anything about the cooking-stove if I were you.帕西人帕斯唐吉.波芒吉坐在树上，正在观看犀牛呼嗤在完完全全荒芜人烟岛的海滩近处洗澡。呼嗤已经脱下了犀牛皮，帕西人把蛋糕屑揉在了里面。一想到呼嗤再披上犀牛皮后会痒痒不止，帕西人便暗自发笑。犀牛皮放在棕榈树下的岩石下，一块阴凉的地方，你是看不见的。帕西人戴一顶新的、光泽无比华美的帽子帕西人都戴这种帽子。他手里拿着小刀，要把自己的名字刻在棕榈树上。海面远处岛屿上那些黑黢黢的东西是船只的遗骸，它们是在红海航行时失事的，不过所有的乘客都已获救，回家去了。海岸近处的水里那个发黑的东西可不是遗骸，那是脱掉了犀牛皮的呼嗤在洗澡。他皮里面的肤色就和外面的皮一样黑。我要是你，就不会问有关那个炉子的问题。[1] Parsee:帕西人，公元8世纪逃避宗教迫害的琐罗亚德教徒的后裔。[2] P&O:即Peninsular and Oriental (Steamship Company)（英国）半岛和东方轮船公司。

犀牛为什么长厚皮

很久之前，在红海之滨有一座荒芜的岛屿，岛上住着个帕西人，他帽子上折射的太阳光能散发出无比华美的光芒。这位居住在红海之滨的帕西人身无长物，只有帽子、刀子和一只烹饪用的炉子——那是种你绝对碰不得的炉子。一天，他用面粉、水、葡萄干、李子、糖和其他作料，为自己做了一个两英尺宽、三英尺厚的蛋糕。这可真是顿饕餮大餐哩（这可是魔法）。他把蛋糕放在炉子上（因为只有他能在这只炉子上烹饪），把蛋糕烤呀烤，直到烤得焦黄，散发出极为诱人的香味。可是就在他打算吃蛋糕时，从“完完全全荒芜人烟岛”的腹地跑来了一只犀牛，他鼻子上顶着角、长着猪一般的眼睛，根本不懂得礼貌。那时犀牛的皮长得很合体，紧绷绷的，全身一点皱纹都没有。他跟挪亚方舟上的那只犀牛一模一样，但个头当然要大得多。那时的犀牛不懂礼貌，跟现在一样，将来也仍如此。只听他“嗷！”地叫了一声。帕西人赶紧丢下了蛋糕，爬到一棵棕榈树的顶端。他什么也没穿，只戴了顶帽子，帽子上折射的太阳光散发出无比华美的光芒。犀牛用鼻子顶翻了炉子，蛋糕滚落在沙滩上；他用鼻子上的角插起蛋糕，将蛋糕吃掉，然后一边摆动着尾巴，一边向“完完全全荒芜人烟岛”的腹地走去。那地方靠近马赞德兰岛、索科特拉岛以及昼夜二分点的普罗蒙特里。帕西人爬下棕榈树，扶起炉子，念了一句顺口溜儿；鉴于你没听说过，现在我转述如下：谁抢去帕西人的蛋糕，就是犯下严重的错误。

事情远比诸位想象的要复杂得多。

五个星期之后，红海地区热浪滚滚，每个人都把身上的衣服全脱了下来。帕西人摘下了帽子；而犀牛脱下身上的皮搭在肩上，跑到海边洗澡。那时候，犀牛的皮是从肚子下面用三颗扣子系起来的，看上去像一件雨衣。犀牛吃掉了帕西人的蛋糕，对此却只字不提。他压根就不懂礼貌，过去如此，现在如此，将来也一样。他大摇大摆地直下到水里，用鼻子吹起泡泡，把自己的皮就丢在海滩上。

不久，帕西人从此处经过，他看见了犀牛皮，笑了一下，笑容竟在脸上划过了两次。接着，他围着犀牛皮舞蹈了三圈，又搓搓手。然后他跑回自己的帐篷，装了一帽壳蛋糕屑——这个帕西人什么都不吃，只吃蛋糕，又从来不打扫帐篷。他取过犀牛皮抖了抖，又是揉又是搓，让犀牛皮上沾满了干瘪发馊、让人发痒的蛋糕屑以及烤糊了的葡萄干，直到再也装不下了。随后，他爬上棕榈树的顶端，等着犀牛走出水面，披上犀牛皮。

犀牛披上了他的皮。他系上三颗纽扣，感到痒痒的，就像睡觉的床上有蛋糕屑一样。他想搔痒，但却越搔越痒。于是他躺倒在沙滩上打起滚来，滚啊滚的，每滚一次，蛋糕屑都会让他更痒一分，而且痒得越来厉害。后来他干脆跑到棕榈树跟前，将身体在树干上蹭来蹭去。蹭的次数多了，用的劲大了，他肩膀上的皮就出起出了大大的皱褶；肚子下原来系纽扣的地方（他把纽扣都蹭掉了）也起了皱褶。他还把腿上的皮也蹭出了皱褶。这下可把犀牛的脾气弄坏了，可是他对蛋糕屑却无可奈何。蛋糕屑渗进了犀牛皮里，搔痒难耐。犀牛回家去了，身上痒得厉害，心里气得不行。从那天起直至现在，所有犀牛的皮上都有很大的皱褶，而且脾气都很暴躁，全是因为犀牛皮里有蛋糕屑。

帕西人从棕榈树上爬下来，他头戴的帽子上折射着无比华美的太阳光芒。他收拾起烹饪的炉子，朝着奥洛塔沃、艾米达拉、安纳南塔利沃高地草原，以及索纳普特沼地的方向走去。加德夫角近旁有座岛屿荒凉，紧邻索科特拉，和粉红色海洋；你我登上轮船，从苏伊士远航由此前去探望，吃蛋糕的霸王，发现那个岛屿，竟然炎热异常！

How the Leopard Got His Spots

IN the days when everybody started fair, Best Beloved, the Leopard lived in a place called the High Veldt. ’Member it wasn’t the Low Veldt, or the Bush Veldt, or the Sour Veldt, but the ’sclusively bare, hot, shiny High Veldt, where there was sand and sandycoloured rock and ’sclusively tufts of sandy-yellowish grass. The Giraffe and the Zebra and the Eland and the Koodoo and the Hartebeest lived there; and they were ’sclusively sandy-yellow-brownish all over; but the Leopard, he was the ’sclusivest sandiest-yellowish-brownest of them all—a greyish-yellowish catty-shaped kind of beast, and he matched the ’sclusively yellowish-greyish-brownish colour of the High Veldt to one hair. This was very bad for the Giraffe and the Zebra and the rest of them; for he would lie down by a ’sclusively yellowish-greyish-brownish stone or clump of grass, and when the Giraffe or the Zebra or the Eland or the Koodoo or the Bush-Buck or the Bonte-Buck came by he would surprise them out of their jumpsome lives. He would indeed! And, also, there was an Ethiopian with bows and arrows (a ’sclusively greyish-brownish-yellowish man he was then), who lived on the High Veldt with the Leopard; and the two used to hunt together—the Ethiopian with his bows and arrows, and the Leopard ’sclusively with his teeth and claws—till the Giraffe and the Eland and the Koodoo and the Quagga and all the rest of them didn’t know which way to jump, Best Beloved. They didn’t indeed!

After a long time—things lived for ever so long in those days—they learned to avoid anything that looked like a Leopard or an Ethiopian; and bit by bit—the Giraffe began it, because his legs were the longest—they went away from the High Veldt. They scuttled for days and days and days till they came to a great forest, ’sclusively full of trees and bushes and stripy, speckly, patchy-blatchy shadows, and there they hid: and after another long time, what with standing half in the shade and half out of it, and what with the slippery-slidy shadows of the trees falling on them, the Giraffe grew blotchy, and the Zebra grew stripy, and the Eland and the Koodoo grew darker, with little wavy grey lines on their backs like bark on a tree trunk; and so, though you could hear them and smell them, you could very seldom see them, and then only when you knew precisely where to look. They had a beautiful time in the ’sclusively speckly-spickly shadows of the forest, while the Leopard and the Ethiopian ran about over the ’sclusively greyish-yellowishreddish High Veldt outside, wondering where all their breakfasts and their dinners and their teas had gone. At last they were so hungry that they ate rats and beetles and rock-rabbits, the Leopard and the Ethiopian, and then they had the Big Tummyache, both together; and then they met Baviaan—the dogheaded, barking Baboon, who is Quite the Wisest Animal in All South Africa.

Said Leopard to Baviaan (and it was a very hot day), “Where has all the game gone?”

And Baviaan winked. He knew.

Said the Ethiopian to Baviaan, “Can you tell me the present habitat of the aboriginal Fauna?” (That meant just the same thing, but the Ethiopian always used long words. He was a grown-up.)

And Baviaan winked. He knew.

Then said Baviaan, “The game has gone into other spots; and my advice to you, Leopard, is to go into other spots as soon as you can.”

And the Ethiopian said, “That is all very fine, but I wish to know whither the aboriginal Fauna has migrated.”

Then said Baviaan, “The aboriginal Fauna has joined the aboriginal Flora because it was high time for a change; and my advice to you, Ethiopian, is to change as soon as you can.”

That puzzled the Leopard and the Ethiopian, but they set off to look for the aboriginal Flora, and presently, after ever so many days, they saw a great, high, tall forest full of tree trunks all ’sclusively speckled and sprottled and spottled, dotted and splashed and slashed and hatched and cross-hatched with shadows. (Say that quickly aloud, and you will see how very shadowy the forest must have been.)

“What is this,” said the Leopard, “that is so ’sclusively dark, and yet so full of little pieces of light?”

“I don’t know,” said the Ethiopian, “but it ought to be the aboriginal Flora. I can smell Giraffe, and I can hear Giraffe, but I can’t see Giraffe.”

“That’s curious,” said the Leopard. “I suppose it is because we have just come in out of the sunshine. I can smell Zebra, and I can hear Zebra, but I can’t see Zebra.”

“Wait a bit,” said the Ethiopian. “It’s a long time since we’ve hunted ’em. Perhaps we’ve forgotten what they were like.”

“Fiddle!” said the Leopard. “I remember them perfectly on the High Veldt, especially their marrow-bones. Giraffe is about seventeen feet high, of a ’sclusively fulvous golden-yellow from head to heel; and Zebra is about four and a half feet high, of a ’ sclusively grey-fawn colour from head to heel.”

“Umm,” said the Ethiopian, looking into the speckly-spickly shadows of the aboriginal Flora-forest. “Then they ought to show up in this dark place like ripe bananas in a smokehouse.”

But they didn’t. The Leopard and the Ethiopian hunted all day; and though they could smell them and hear them, they never saw one of them.

“For goodness’ sake,” said the Leopard at tea time, “let us wait till it gets dark. This daylight hunting is a perfect scandal.”THIS is Wise Baviaan, the dog-headed Baboon, Who is Quite the Wisest Animal in All South Africa. I have drawn him from a statue that I made up out of my own head, and I have written his name on his belt and on his shoulder and on the thing he is sitting on. I have written it in what is not called Coptic and Hieroglyphic and Cuneiformic and Bengalic and Burmic and Hebric, all because he is so wise. He is not beautiful, but he is very wise; and I should like to paint him with paintbox colours, but I am not allowed. The umbrella-ish thing about his head is his Conventional Mane.这就是智多星巴维安，一只獒首狒狒。他是整个南非最聪明的动物。我凭想象勾画了一尊他的塑像，把他的名字写在了他的腰带、肩膀以及坐台上。我写的不是科普特语，不是象形文字和楔形文字，不是孟加拉语、缅甸语，也不是希伯来语，全因为巴维安是智多星的缘故。他长得不漂亮，但智力超群，我倒是愿意用彩色把他画出来，然而未经允许。他头上像伞一样的东西就是通常所见的鬃毛。

So they waited till dark, and then the Leopard heard something breathing sniffily in the starlight that fell all stripy through the branches, and he jumped at the noise, and it smelt like Zebra, and it felt like Zebra, and when he knocked it down it kicked like Zebra, but he couldn’t see it. So he said, “Be quiet, O you person without any form. I am going to sit on your head till morning, because there is something about you that I don’t understand.”

Presently he heard a grunt and a crash and a scramble, and the Ethiopian called out, “I’ve caught a thing that I can’t see. It smells like Giraffe, and it kicks like Giraffe, but it hasn’t any form.”

“Don’t you trust it,” said the Leopard. “Sit on its head till the morning—same as me. They haven’t any form—any of ’em.”

So they sat down on them hard till bright morning time, and then Leopard said, “What have you at your end of the table, Brother?”

The Ethiopian scratched his head and said, “It ought to be ’sclusively a rich fulvous orange-tawny from head to heel, and it ought to be Giraffe; but it is covered all over with chestnut blotches. What have you at your end of the table, Brother?”

And the Leopard scratched his head and said, “It ought to be ’sclusively a delicate greyish-fawn, and it ought to be Zebra; but it is covered all over with black and purple stripes. What in the world have you been doing to yourself, Zebra? Don’t you know that if you were on the High Veldt I could see you ten miles off? You haven’t any form.”

“Yes,” said the Zebra, “but this isn’t the High Veldt. Can’t you see?”

“I can now,” said the Leopard. “But I couldn’t all yesterday. How is it done?”

“Let us up,” said the Zebra, “and we will show you.”

They let the Zebra and the Giraffe get up; and Zebra moved away to some little thorn-bushes where the sunlight fell all stripy, and Giraffe moved off to some tallish trees where the shadows fell all blotchy.

“Now watch,” said the Zebra and the Giraffe. “This is the way it’s done. One—two—three! And where’s your breakfast?”

Leopard stared, and Ethiopian stared, but all they could see were stripy shadows and blotched shadows in the forest, but never a sign of Zebra and Giraffe. They had just walked off and hidden themselves in the shadowy forest.

“Hi! Hi!” said the Ethiopian. “That’s a trick worth learning. Take a lesson by it, Leopard. You show up in this dark place like a bar of soap in a coal scuttle.”

“Ho! Ho!” said the Leopard. “Would it surprise you very much to know that you show up in this dark place like a mustard-plaster on a sack of coals?”

“Well, calling names won’t catch dinner,” said the Ethiopian. “The long and the little of it is that we don’t match our backgrounds. I’m going to take Baviaan’s advice. He told me I ought to change; and as I’ve nothing to change except my skin I’m going to change that.”

“What to?” said the Leopard, tremendously excited.

“To a nice working blackish-brownish colour, with a little purple in it, and touches of slaty-blue. It will be the very thing for hiding in hollows and behind trees.”

So he changed his skin then and there, and the Leopard was more excited than ever; he had never seen a man change his skin before.

“But what about me?” he said, when the Ethiopian had worked his last little finger into his fine new black skin.

“You take Baviaan’s advice too. He told you to go into spots[1].”

“So I did,” said the Leopard. “I went into other spots as fast as I could. I went into this spot with you, and a lot of good it has done me.”

“Oh,” said the Ethiopian, “Baviaan didn’t mean spots in South Africa. He meant spots on your skin.”

“What’s the use of that?” said the Leopard.

“Think of Giraffe,” said the Ethiopian. “Or if you prefer stripes, think of Zebra. They find their spots and stripes give them perfect satisfaction.”

“Umm,” said the Leopard. “I wouldn’t look like Zebra—not for ever so.”

“Well, make up your mind,” said the Ethiopian, “because I’d hate to go hunting without you, but I must if you insist on looking like a sun flower against a tarred fence.”

“I’ll take spots, then,” said the Leopard; “but don’t make ’em too vulgar-big. I wouldn’t look like Giraffe—not for ever so.”

“I’ll make ’em with the tips of my fingers,” said the Ethiopian. “There’s plenty of black left on my skin still. Stand over!”

Then the Ethiopian put his five fingers close together (there was plenty of black left on his new skin still) and pressed them all over the Leopard, and wherever the five fingers touched they left five little black marks, all close together. You can see them on any Leopard’s skin you like, Best Beloved. Sometimes the fingers slipped and the marks got a little blurred; but if you look closely at any Leopard now you will see that there are always five spots—off five fat black finger-tips.

“Now you are a beauty!” said the Ethiopian. “You can lie out on the bare ground and look like a heap of pebbles. You can lie out on the naked rocks and look like a piece of pudding-stone. You can lie out on a leafy branch and look like sunshine sifting through the leaves; and you can lie right across the centre of a path and look like nothing in particular. Think of that and purr!”

“But if I’m all this,” said the Leopard, “why didn’t you go spotty too?”

“Oh, plain black’s best for a nigger,” said the Ethiopian. “Now come along and we’ll see if we can’t get even with Mr. One-Two-Three-Where’s-your-Breakfast!”THIS is the picture, of the Leopard and the Ethiopian after they had taken Wise Baviaan’s advice and the Leopard had gone into other spots and the Ethiopian had changed his skin. The Ethiopian was really a negro, and so his name was Sambo. The Leopard was called Spots, and he has been called Spots ever since. They are out hunting in the spickly-speckly forest, and they are looking for Mr. One-Two-Three-Where’s-your-Breakfast. If you look a little you will see Mr. One-Two-Three not far away. The Ethiopian has hidden behind a splotchyblotchy tree because it matches his skin, and the Leopard is lying beside a spickly-speckly bank of stones because it matches his spots. Mr. One-Two-Three-Where’s-your-Breakfast is standing up eating leaves from a tall tree. This is really a puzzle-picture like “Find-the-cat” .豹子和埃塞俄比亚人接受了智多星巴维安的建议豹子采用了斑点，埃塞俄比亚人更换了肤色。埃塞俄比亚人其实是黑人，所以他的名字叫萨姆博（黑人）。豹子名叫斯伯茨（斑点），以后就一直用这个名字。他们在树影婆娑的森林里狩猎，寻找着一，二，三！你们的早餐哪儿去了先生。如果你稍仔细瞧，就会看见一，二，三先生就在不远的地方。埃塞俄比亚人藏在婆娑的树身后，因为树干和他的肤色很般配。豹子卧在一堆斑驳的石头旁，因为石头和豹子的斑点很般配。一，二，三！你们的早餐哪儿去了先生正直着身吃一株高高的树上的叶子。这才算真正的找猫猫”拼图游戏哩。

So they went away and lived happily ever afterward, Best Beloved. That is all.

Oh, now and then you will hear grown-ups say, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots?” I don’t think even grown-ups would keep on saying such a silly thing if the Leopard and the Ethiopian hadn’t done it once—do you? But they will never do it again, Best Beloved. They are quite contented as they are.I am the Most Wise Baviaan, saying in most wise tones,“Let us melt into the landscape—just us two by our lones.”People have come—in a carriage—calling. But Mummy is there....Yes, I can go if you take me—Nurse says she don’t care.Let’s go up to the pig-sties and sit on the farmyard rails!Let’s say things to the bunnies, and watch ’em skitter their tails!Let’s—oh, anything, Daddy, so long as it’s you and me,And going truly exploring, and not being in till tea!Here’s your boots (I’ve brought ’em), and here’s your cap and stick.And here’s your pipe and tobacco. Oh, come along out of it—quick.[1] spots是一个双关语，在这里是“斑点”的意思，豹子理解成了“地点”。

豹子为什么长斑点

在昔日人人都出身平等的时候，我亲爱的，豹子生活在一个叫“高地草原”的地方。记住，那不是“低地草原”，也不是“灌木草原”或“湿地草原”，而是非常特别的“光秃秃、热烘烘、阳光普照的高地草原”。那儿有沙子、沙色岩石以及一簇簇非常特别的沙黄色的草。长颈鹿、斑马、大羚羊、条纹羚羊以及麋羚也住在那块地方，他们身上全都是那种非常特别的沙黄暗褐色。不过，豹子是他们当中最为典型的、非常特别的沙黄暗褐色。他是一种灰黄色的、长得像猫一样的野兽，跟高地草原的那种非常特别的灰黄暗褐色简直般配极了。这对长颈鹿、斑马以及其他动物来说却十分糟糕，因为豹子会伺伏在那种非常特别的灰黄暗褐色的石头或草丛旁，等待长颈鹿、斑马、大羚羊、条纹羚羊、南非羚羊或白纹大羚羊经过，突袭他们，把他们吓个灵魂出窍。他就是这么干的！和豹子在一起的还有个佩戴着弓箭的埃塞俄比亚人（当时的埃塞俄比亚人长着那种非常特别的灰黄暗褐肤色）。这两个一起狩猎，埃塞俄比亚人用弓箭，豹子用獠牙利爪，逼得长颈鹿、大羚羊、条纹羚羊、斑驴和其他的动物无处躲藏，我亲爱的，他们的的确确是无处躲藏哪！

过了很长时间（那时的生物寿命很长），动物们学会了躲避，他们一见到看上去像豹子或者埃塞俄比亚人的东西就躲。就这样他们一点点地离开了高地草原，长颈鹿是最先离开的，因为他的腿最长嘛。他们跑啊跑，跑了许多天，最后来到一片大森林，那里到处是非常特别的树木和灌木，还有枝枝桠桠、斑斑驳驳的婆娑树影，一簇簇、一丛丛的，他们就在那儿躲了起来。又过了很长时间，由于他们有时躲在树阴里，有时又在树阴外，再加上婆娑树影的作用，长颈鹿身上长出了斑点，斑马身上长出了条纹；大羚羊和条纹羚羊的皮毛则暗淡了些，背上也起了细细的灰纹，像树皮似的。你可以听见他们的声音、闻到他们的气味，却很少能看得见他们，除非你确切地知道他们的位置。他们在那非常特别的斑驳树影下度过了一段美好时光。而豹子和埃塞俄比亚人则在灰黄暗褐色的高地草原上四处寻找，不晓得他们的“早晚饭”和“茶点”都跑到哪里去了。最后，他们两个饿得不行，就以老鼠、甲虫和岩兔为食，结果都患上了严重的胃病。就在这时，他们遇见了巴维安，巴维安长着獒首般的脑袋，是一只大嗓门的狒狒，他可是整个南非最聪明的动物了。

那天是一个十分炎热的日子，豹子问巴维安说：“猎物都跑到哪儿去了？”

巴维安眨了一下眼睛。他心中有数。

埃塞俄比亚人对巴维安说：“你能告诉我‘原生动物群’现在的栖息地吗？”（其实他们指的是同一群动物，但埃塞俄比亚人老是用特别长的词汇，因为他是个成年人嘛。）

巴维安眨了一下眼睛。他心中有数。

这时巴维安开口了：“猎物都跑到其他地方去了。豹子，我建议你们也尽快到其他地方去。”

埃塞俄比亚人说：“很好。不过我想知道‘原生动物群’究竟去了哪里。”

巴维安说：“‘原生动物群’与‘原生植物群’融合在一起了，因为也该有个变化了。埃塞俄比亚人，我建议你们也要尽快变化。”

这句话让豹子和埃塞俄比亚人迷惑不解。不过，他们仍然出发去寻找“原生植物群”了。过了许多天，他们看见一片非常特别的遮天蔽日的大森林，那里的树影婆娑，斑斑驳驳，条条叉叉，枝枝桠桠，参参差差。（你把这话快速大声念一遍，就能明白那片森林是怎样的“树影婆娑”了。）“这是什么呀，这么阴暗，却到处有丝丝缕缕的光线？”豹子说。“不知道，”埃塞俄比亚人说，“应该是‘原生植物群’吧。我可以闻到长颈鹿的气味，听到他的动静，但却看不见他。”“这就奇怪了。”豹子说，“我想大概是因为咱们刚从阳光里走进来的缘故吧。我可以闻到斑马的气味，听见他的动静，但却看不见他。”“再等等看，”埃塞俄比亚人说，“很长时间没有猎捕他们了，我们都忘了他们是什么样子了。”“瞎说！”豹子说道。“我清清楚楚地记得他们在高地草原上的模样，尤其是他们的骨架。长颈鹿大概七尺高，从头到脚都是非常特别的黄褐色；斑马大概四尺半高，从头到脚都是非常特别的灰黄色。”“嗯，”埃塞俄比亚人望着‘原生植物群’那斑驳婆娑的树影说，“在这么阴暗的地方，应该能显出他们来呀，就像熏肉作坊里的被剥开的香蕉那么明显。”

可是动物们并没有显现出来。豹子和埃塞俄比亚人寻找了一整天，尽管可以闻到他们的气味，听到他们的动静，却看不见其中的任何一个。“看在老天爷份上，”到了下午茶的时候，豹子说道，“等到天黑下来再说吧，这样在白天打猎简直是出洋相！”

于是他们等到了天黑。在穿透树杈的丝丝缕缕的星光下，豹子听见有东西在呼哧呼哧地喘气，便朝那声音扑了过去。那东西闻起来像斑马，抓着像斑马，被扑倒时蹬起腿来像斑马，可是豹子却瞧不见它。于是豹子说道：“安静！你这个没有外形的家伙，我要坐在你的头上等到天亮。因为你这种模样我实在搞不清楚。”

不一会儿，他听见一阵叽哩哇啦的叫声和劈里啪啦的扑打声，只听埃塞俄比亚人喊道：“我抓到一样东西，可是看不见。它闻着像长颈鹿，蹬腿像长颈鹿，但是没有外形。”“别大意啊，”豹子说道，“你就坐在它的头上等到天亮，像我一样。它们没有外形——全都没有。”

于是他们结结实实地在那两个东西上，直到天光大亮。这时豹子说道：“兄弟，你那边抓到的是什么东西？”

埃塞俄比亚人挠挠头，说：“这家伙从头到脚都是非常特别的黄褐色，肯定是长颈鹿，不过它身上长满了栗色斑点。你那边抓到了什么，兄弟？”

豹子挠挠头，说：“这家伙本该是那种非常特别的灰黄色，它应该是斑马，可是全身却长满了暗紫色条纹。你到底做了什么手脚，斑马？知道吗，要是在高地草原上，我在十里地外就能看得到你。可你现在却隐形了。”“不错，”斑马说，“这儿可不是高地草原。你看不见我吧？”“我现在看见了。”豹子说。“不过，昨天一整天我都没看见。这是怎么回事？”“让我们起来，”斑马说，“给你们演示一下。”

他俩让斑马和长颈鹿站了起来。斑马一下子跑开，躲进了荆棘丛中，那里有丝丝缕缕的光线；长颈鹿刚躲进高高的树丛，那里有斑斑驳驳的树影。“瞧啊，”斑马和长颈鹿说，“就是这么回事。一，二，三！你们的‘早餐’哪儿去了？”

豹子睁大眼使劲瞧着，埃塞俄比亚人也睁大眼使劲瞧着。他们只看得到森林里丝丝缕缕、斑斑驳驳的树影，却看不出半点斑马和长颈鹿的影子。他们早已跑掉了，躲进了影影绰绰的林木间。“嘿嘿！”埃塞俄比亚人说。“这招不赖，值得学习。吸取教训吧，豹子。在这种阴暗处，你就像放在煤斗里的肥皂一样明显。”“呵呵！”豹子说，“在这种阴暗处，你就像放在煤袋上的芥末膏那样明显，你意外吧？”“哼，骂人也换不来晚餐。”埃塞俄比亚人说。“说来说去，还是咱们和环境不搭配。我准备接受巴维安的建议。他让我改变一下自己。鉴于我除了皮肤，没什么可以改变的，那我就改变肤色吧。”“改成什么肤色？”豹子万分激动地问。“改成便于行动的暗褐色，再加上点紫色，和几抹蓝灰。

这种肤色适合藏身在凹地和大树背后。”

说时迟，那时快，埃塞俄比亚人改变了肤色。豹子兴奋得不得了，他还从没见过有人改变肤色。“我怎么办呢？”当最后埃塞俄比亚人把小指尖也变成了漂亮的黑肤色时，豹子问道。“你也接受巴维安的建议。他不是让你找点嘛。”“我去过了，”豹子说，“我立刻采取行动，去了其他地点，还和你来到了这里，令我受益匪浅。”“唉，”埃塞俄比亚人说，“巴维安指的不是南非的地点，而是你皮肤上的斑点。”“这有什么用？”豹子问。“想想长颈鹿吧，”埃塞俄比亚人说，“要是你喜欢条纹，那就想想斑马。他们觉得斑点和条纹都特别中意。”“哼，”豹子说，“我可不愿意看上去像斑马一样，绝对不行。”“那你自己拿主意吧。”埃塞俄比亚人说。“我不愿意没有你独自去打猎。可如果你非坚持要像柏油栅栏上的向日葵那样明显，我也只好如此了。”“那我还是要斑点吧。”豹子说。“不过，我可不要长颈鹿那种俗气的大斑点，绝对不要。”“我用手指尖画吧。”埃塞俄比亚人说。“我的皮肤上还余下许多黑色呢。站过来！”

于是埃塞俄比亚人把五个手指并拢在一起（他的新皮肤上还余下许多黑颜料），在豹子身上到处乱按，所触及之处都留下了五个紧凑的小黑点。无论在哪只豹子身上，你都可以看见这种斑点，我亲爱的。有时埃塞俄比亚人的指尖一打滑，斑点就有些模糊。不过，无论你细看哪一只豹子，都会看到五个小黑点似的斑，那就是五个粗粗的黑指印留下的。“这下你漂亮极了！”埃塞俄比亚人说。“你卧在光秃秃的地上，就像一堆鹅卵石；卧在光秃秃的岩石上，就像一块圆砾岩；卧在长满枝叶的树杈上，就像光线透过树叶；卧在道路的中央，便让人视若无物。一想到这些你就得高兴的呼噜噜叫！”“可是，要是好处多多，”豹子说，“那你为什么不要斑点呢？”“哦，普通的黑色最适合黑人。”埃塞俄比亚人说。“好啦，咱们走，看能不能找到‘一，二，三！你们的‘早餐’哪儿去了’先生，跟他算账！”

于是，他们就出发了，从那以后，他们过上了快活的日子。我亲爱的，这个故事到此也就结束了。

对了，有时候你会听到大人们问：“埃塞俄比亚人能改变肤色吗？豹子能改变身上的斑点吗？”我想，假如豹子和埃塞俄比亚人当初没有做过这样的事，大人们也不可能总是讲这类傻话了，你说呢？不过，我亲爱的，豹子和埃塞俄比亚人再也不会变换肤色了。他们很满意现在的状况。我是智多星，名叫巴维安，谈吐最睿智：“让我们融入在环境中——只有你和我。”有客乘车来拜访，然而妈妈却在……如果带上我，我就跟你走——嬷嬷说她不干涉。咱们一起去猪圈，坐在农家栅栏上！咱们去哄小兔子，看它高兴摆尾巴！咱们一起做任何事，爸，只要你我在一起。去做真正的大冒险，茶餐时分再回家！穿好你的靴子（我早已经拿来），带上帽子和手杖，装好烟斗和烟丝，走吧走吧这就出发！

The Elephant’s Child

IN the High and Far-Off Times the Elephant, O Best Beloved, had no trunk. He had only a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side; but he couldn’t pick up things with it. But there was one Elephant—a new Elephant—an Elephant’s Child—who was full of ’satiable curtiosity, and that means he asked ever so many questions. And he lived in Africa, and he filled all Africa with his ’satiable curtiosities. He asked his tall aunt, the Ostrich, why her tail-feathers grew just so, and his tall aunt the Ostrich spanked him with her hard, hard claw. He asked his tall uncle, the Giraffe,what made his skin spotty, and his tall uncle, the Giraffe,spanked him with his hard, hard hoof. And still he was full of ’ satiable curtiosity! He asked his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, why her eyes were red, and his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, spanked him with her broad, broad hoof; and he asked his hairy uncle, the Baboon, why melons tasted just so, and his hairy uncle, the Baboon, spanked him with his hairy, hairy paw. And still he was full of ’satiable curtiosity! He asked questions about everything that he saw, or heard, or felt, or smelt, or touched, and all his uncles and his aunts spanked him. And still he was full of ’satiable curtiosity!

One fine morning in the middle of the Precession of the Equinoxes[1] this ’satiable Elephant’s Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. He asked, “What does the Crocodile have for dinner?” Then everybody said, “Hush!” in a loud and dretful tone, and they spanked him immediately and directly, without stopping, for a long time.

By and by, when that was finished, he came upon Kolokolo Bird sitting in the middle of a wait-a-bit thorn-bush, and he said, “My father has spanked me, and my mother has spanked me; all my aunts and uncles have spanked me for my’ satiable curtiosity; and still I want to know what the Crocodile has for dinner!”

Then Kolokolo Bird said, with a mournful cry, “Go to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees, and find out.”

That very next morning, when there was nothing left of the Equinoxes, because the Precession had preceded according to precedent, this ’satiable Elephant’s Child took a hundred pounds of bananas (the little short red kind), and a hundred. pounds of sugar-cane (the long purple kind), and seventeen melons (the greeny-crackly kind), and said to all his dear families, “Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.” And they all spanked him once more for luck, though he asked them most politely to stop.

Then he went away, a little warm, but not at all astonished, eating melons, and throwing the rind about, because he could not pick it up.

He went from Graham’s Town to Kimberley, and romKimberley to Khama’s Country, and from Khama’s Country he went east by north, eating melons all the time, till at last he came to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees, precisely as Kolokolo Bird had said.

Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this’satiable Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. It was all his ’satiable curtiosity.

The first thing that he found was a Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake curled round a rock.

“ ’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child most politely, “but have you seen such a thing as a Crocodile in these promiscuous parts?”

“Have I seen a Crocodile?” said the Bi-Coloured- PythonRock-Snake, in a voice of dretful scorn. “What will you ask me next?”

“ ’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child, “but could you kindly tell me what he has for dinner?”

Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake uncoiled himself very quickly from the rock, and spanked the Elephant’s Child with his scalesome, flailsome tail.

“That is odd,” said the Elephant’s Child, “because my father and my mother, and my uncle and my aunt, not to mention my other aunt, the Hippopotamus, and my other uncle, the Baboon, have all spanked me for my ’satiable curtiosity— and I suppose this is the same thing.”

So he said good-bye very politely to the Bi-ColouredPython-Rock-Snake, and helped to coil him up on the rock again, and went on, a little warm, but not at all astonished,eating melons, and throwing the rind about, because he could not pick it up, till he trod on what he thought was a log of wood at the very edge of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River,all set about with fever trees.

But it was really the Crocodile, O Best Beloved, and the Crocodile winked one eye—like this!

“ ’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child most politely, “but do you happen to have seen a Crocodile in these promiscuous parts?”

Then the Crocodile winked the other eye, and lifted half his tail out of the mud; and the Elephant’s Child stepped back most politely, because he did not wish to be spanked again.

“Come hither, Little One,” said the Crocodile. “Why do you ask such things?”

“ ’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child most politely, “but my father has spanked me, my mother has spanked me, not to mention my tall aunt, the Ostrich, and my tall uncle, the Giraffe, who can kick ever so hard, as well as my broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, and my hairy uncle, the Baboon, and including the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, with the scalesome, flailsome tail, just up the bank, who spanks harder than any of them; and so, if it’s quite all the same to you, I don’t want to be spanked any more.”

“Come hither, Little One,” said the Crocodile, “for I am the Crocodile,” and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true.

Then the Elephant’s Child grew all breathless, and panted, and kneeled down on the bank and said, “You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?”

“Come hither, Little One,” said the Crocodile, “and I’ll whisper.”

Then the Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the Crocodile’s musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his little nose, which up to that very week, day, hour, and minute, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful.

“I think,” said the Crocodile—and he said it between his teeth, like this—“I think today I will begin with Elephant’s Child!”

At this, O Best Beloved, the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, “Led go! You are hurtig be!”

Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake scuffled down from the bank and said, “My young friend, if you do not now, immediately and instantly, pull as hard as ever you can, it is my opinion that your acquaintance in the large-pattern leather ulster (and by this he meant the Crocodile) will jerk you into yonder limpid stream before you can say Jack Robinson.”

This is the way Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snakes always talk.

Then the Elephant’s Child sat back on his little haunches, and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose began to stretch. And the Crocodile floundered into the water, making it all creamy with great sweeps of his tail, and he pulled, and pulled, and pulled.

And the Elephant’s Child’s nose kept on stretching; and the Elephant’s Child spread all his little four legs and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose kept on stretching; and the Crocodile threshed his tail like an oar, and he pulled, and pulled,and pulled, and at each pull the Elephant’s Child’s nose grew longer and longer—and it hurt him hijjus!

Then the Elephant’s Child felt his legs slipping, and he said through his nose, which was now nearly five feet long, “This is too butch for be!”

Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake came down from the bank, and knotted himself in a double-clove-hitch round the Elephant’s Child’s hind legs, and said, “Rash and inexperienced traveller, we will now seriously devote ourselves to a little high tension, because if we do not, it is my impression that yonder self-propelling man-of-war with the armour-plated upper deck (and by this, O Best Beloved, he meant the Crocodile) will permanently vitiate your future career.”

That is the way all Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snakes always talk.

So he pulled, and the Elephant’s Child pulled, and the Crocodile pulled; but the Elephant’s Child and the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake pulled hardest; and at last the Crocodile let go of the Elephant’s Child’s nose with a plop that you could hear all up and down the Limpopo.

Then the Elephant’s Child sat down most hard and sudden; but first he was careful to say “Thank you” to the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake; and next he was kind to his poor pulled nose, and wrapped it all up in cool banana leaves, and hung it in the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo to cool.“What are you doing that for?” said the Bi-ColouredPython-Rock-Snake.

“ ’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child, “but my nose is badly out of shape, and I am waiting for it to shrink.”

“Then you will have to wait a long time,” said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. “Some people do not know what is good for them.”THIS is the Elephant’s Child having his nose pulled by the Crocodile. He is much surprised and astonished and hurt, and he is talking through his nose and saying, “Led go! You are hurtig be!” He is pulling very hard, and so is the Crocodile; but the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake is hurrying through the water to help the Elephant’s Child. All that dark stuff is the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, and the bottly tree with the twisty roots and the eight leaves is one of the fever trees that grow there.Underneath the truly picture are shadows of African animals walking into an African ark. There are two lions, two ostriches, two oxen, two camels, two sheep, and two other things that look like rats, but I think they are rockrabbits. They don’t mean anything. I put them in because I thought they looked pretty. They would look very fine if I were allowed to paint them.鳄鱼在拽

小幼象

The Elephant’s Child sat there for three days waiting for his nose to shrink. But it never grew any shorter, and, besides, it made him squint. For, O Best Beloved, you will see and understand that the Crocodile had pulled it out into a really truly trunk same as all Elephants have to-day.

At the end of the third day a fly came and stung him on the shoulder, and before he knew what he was doing he lifted up his trunk and hit that fly dead with the end of it.

“ ’Vantage number one!” said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. “You couldn’t have done that with a mere-smear nose. Try and eat a little now.”

Before he thought what he was doing the Elephant’s Child put out his trunk and plucked a large bundle of grass, dusted it clean against his forelegs, and stuffed it into his own mouth.

“ ’Vantage number two!” said the Bi-Coloured-PythonRock-Snake. “You couldn’t have done that with a mear-smear nose. Don’t you think the sun is very hot here?”

“It is,” said the Elephant’s Child, and before he thought what he was doing he schlooped up a schloop of mud from the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo, and slapped it on his head, where it made a cool schloopy-sloshy mud-cap all trickly behind his ears.

“ ’Vantage number three!” said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake. “You couldn’t have done that with a mere-smear nose. Now how do you feel about being spanked again?”

“ ’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child, “but I should not like it at all.”

“How would you like to spank somebody?” said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake.

“I should like it very much indeed,” said the Elephant’s Child.

“Well,” said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, “you will find that new nose of yours very useful to spank people with.”

“Thank you,” said the Elephant’s Child, “I’ll remember that; and now I think I’ll go home to all my dear families and try.”

So the Elephant’s Child went home across Africa frisking and whisking his trunk. When he wanted fruit to eat he pulled fruit down from a tree, instead of waiting for it to fall as he used to do. When he wanted grass he plucked grass up from the ground, instead of going on his knees as he used to do. When the flies bit him he broke off the branch of a tree and used it as fly-whisk; and he made himself a new, cool, slushy-squshy mudcap whenever the sun was hot. When he felt lonely walking through Africa he sang to himself down his trunk, and the noise was louder than several brass bands. He went especially out of his way to find a broad Hippopotamus (she was no relation of his), and he spanked her very hard, to make sure that the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake had spoken the truth about his new trunk. The rest of the time he picked up the melon rinds that he had dropped on his way to the Limpopo—for he was a Tidy Pachyderm.

One dark evening he came back to all his dear families, and he coiled up his trunk and said, “How do you do?” They were very glad to see him, and immediately said, “Come here and be spanked for your ’satiable curtiosity.”

“Pooh,” said the Elephant’s Child. “I don’t think you peoples know anything about spanking; but I do, and I’ll show you.”

Then he uncurled his trunk and knocked two of his dear brothers head over heels.

“O Bananas!” said they, “where did you learn that trick, and what have you done to your nose?”

“I got a new one from the Crocodile on the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River,” said the Elephant’s Child. “I asked him what he had for dinner, and he gave me this to keep.”

“It looks very ugly,” said his hairy uncle, the Baboon.

“It does,” said the Elephant’s Child. “But it’s very useful,” and he picked up his hairy uncle, the Baboon, by one hairy leg, and hove him into a hornet’s nest.

Then that bad Elephant’s Child spanked all his dear families for a long time, till they were very warm and greatly astonished. He pulled out his tall Ostrich aunt’s tail-feathers; and he caught his tall uncle, the Giraffe, by the hind-leg, and dragged him through a thorn-bush; and he shouted at his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, and blew bubbles into her ear when she was sleeping in the water after meals; but he never let any one touch Kolokolo Bird.

At last things grew so exciting that his dear families went off one by one in a hurry to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees, to borrow new noses from the Crocodile. When they came back nobody spanked anybody any more; and ever since that day, O Best Beloved, all the Elephants you will ever see, besides all those that you won’t, have trunks precisely like the trunk of the’ satiable Elephant’s Child.I keep six honest serving-men:(They taught me all I knew)Their names are What and Where and WhenAnd How and Why and Who.I send them over land and sea,I send them east and west;But after they have worked for me,I give them all a rest.I let them rest from nine till five.For I am busy then,As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,For they are hungry men:But different folk have different views:I know a person small—She keeps ten million serving-men,Who get no rest at all!She sends ’em abroad on her own affairs,From the second she opens her eyes—One million Hows, two million Wheres,And seven million Whys!THIS is just a picture of the Elephant’s Child going to pull bananas off a banana tree after he had got his fine new long trunk. I don’t think it is a very nice picture; but I couldn’t make it any better, because elephants and bananas are hard to draw. The streaky things behind the Elephant’s Child mean squoggy marshy country somewhere in Africa. The Elephant’s Child made most of his mud-cakes out of the mud that he found there. I think it would took better if you painted the banana tree green and the Elephant’s Child red.小幼象得到了新的长鼻子之后，正在从香蕉树上摘香蕉。我觉得这张图不太好看，可我不能画得更好了，因为大象和香蕉都很难画。小幼象后面条纹状的东西代表非洲某处的沼泽地。小幼象做泥饼用的泥大部分都是在那儿找到的。我觉得如果把香蕉树画成绿色，把小幼象画成红色，图画会更漂亮些。[1] Precession of the Equinoxes:岁差，指地轴进动引起春分点向西缓慢运动而使回归年比恒星年短的现象。小幼象

很久很久以前，我亲爱的，大象并没有长长的鼻子，只长着一个黑黑的凸鼻子，像靴子一般大，可以左右扭动，却不能用来卷东西。有一只小象（就是大象的孩子）充满了难以满足的好奇之心，也就是说他提的问题特别多。他生活在非洲，他那难以满足的好奇之心充满了整个非洲。他问高个子鸵鸟姑姑为什么她尾巴上的羽毛长成这样子，高个子鸵鸟姑姑便用硬邦邦的爪子打他。他问高个子长颈鹿叔叔为什么他的皮肤上有斑点，高个子长颈鹿叔叔便用硬邦邦的蹄子踢他。而他仍然充满了难以满足的好奇之心！他问胖墩墩的河马阿姨为什么她的眼睛是红的，胖墩墩的河马阿姨便用胖墩墩的蹄子踢了他一脚。他问毛茸茸的狒狒伯伯为什么甜瓜是这种味道，毛茸茸的狒狒伯伯便用毛茸茸的爪子扇了他一巴掌。而他仍然充满了难以满足的好奇之心！对于他耳闻目睹、所闻所感、以及触摸到的所有东西，他都问这问那，而他的叔叔阿姨伯伯姑姑全都会揍他。可他仍然充满了难以满足的好奇之心！

在岁差时节的一个晴朗的上午，这只难以满足的小幼象提了几个以前从未问过的问题。他问道：“鳄鱼拿什么作晚餐？”“闭嘴！”大家一片呵叱之声，立刻全都动起手来，不停地揍了他很长时间。

渐渐地大家总算住了手。他遇见了考拉考拉鸟。考拉考拉鸟正坐在荆棘丛中。小幼象说：“我的爸爸揍我，我的妈妈揍我，叔叔阿姨伯伯姑姑全都揍我，就因为我有难以满足的好奇心，可我仍然想知道鳄鱼拿什么作晚餐！”

考拉考拉鸟同情地叫了一声，说：“你到灰绿粘稠的利波波大河去吧，那里长满了蓝桉树。会找到你的答案。”

第二天上午已经无事可做了，因为岁差时节的安排都是按惯例进行的。这只难以满足的小幼象带上一百磅香蕉（那是红色小香蕉）、一百磅甘蔗（那是紫色长甘蔗）和十七个甜瓜（那是翠绿的甜瓜），向所有的亲人说：“再见。我要去灰绿粘稠的利波波大河去，那里长满了蓝桉树。我要看看鳄鱼拿什么作晚餐。”大家又一次动手揍他，以表示祝福，而他则彬彬有礼地要他们住手。

他出发了，虽然有点生气，但一点也不惊讶；他一路上吃着甜瓜，把瓜皮扔得到处都是，因为他不会捡瓜皮嘛。

他从格雷厄姆镇到金伯利，再从金伯利到卡马乡，又从卡马乡走向东北的方向，一路上吃着甜瓜，最后来到了灰绿粘稠的利波波大河边，这里长满了蓝桉树，就像考拉考拉鸟所说的。

要知道，我亲爱的，直到这一周、这一天、此时此刻之前，这只难以满足的小幼象还从未见过鳄鱼，不知道鳄鱼是什么样子呢，只是有难以满足的好奇心罢了。

他首先看到的是一条盘绕在岩石上的双色巨蟒。“请问，”小幼象很有礼貌地说，“在这个杂乱的地方，您见过鳄鱼这种动物吗？”“你问我见过鳄鱼没有？”双色巨蟒用一种轻蔑的口吻说。“还要问什么？”“请问，”小幼象说，“你能否告诉我，他拿什么作晚餐吗？”

话一出口，双色巨蟒就飞快地从岩石上滑下来，摆起鳞尾重重给了他一下。“奇怪，”小幼象说，“我的爸爸妈妈、叔叔姑姑，更别提河马阿姨以及狒狒伯伯了，全都因为我的难以满足的好奇心揍我，现在恐怕又是这样。”

于是他彬彬有礼地跟双色巨蟒道别，帮助巨蟒又重新盘绕在岩石上，接着便继续赶路了。他虽然有点生气，但一点也不惊讶；一路吃着甜瓜，把瓜皮抛得到处都是，因为他不会捡瓜皮嘛。最后，在长满了蓝桉树的灰绿粘稠的利波波大河之滨，他踩到一件东西，他还以为是一段木头呢。

可其实，我亲爱的，这正是鳄鱼。那鳄鱼眨着一只眼睛，就像这样子！“请问，”小幼象很有礼貌地说，“在这个杂乱的地方，您碰见过鳄鱼吗？”

鳄鱼又眨了眨另一只眼睛，将一半尾巴拖出淤泥。小幼象彬彬有礼地后退几步，因为他不愿意再挨揍。“到这儿来，小家伙。”鳄鱼说。“你为什么问这种事情？”“请见谅，”小幼象彬彬有礼地说，“我的爸爸妈妈，更别提高个子鸵鸟姑姑、高个子长颈鹿叔叔了——他踢人可狠呢——还有胖墩墩的河马阿姨、毛茸茸的狒狒伯伯，就连那边河岸上摆动着鳞尾的双色巨蟒也不例外，大家全都揍我。巨蟒揍得最狠。如果你也这样，我可不想再挨揍了。”“到这儿来，小家伙，”鳄鱼说道，“我就是鳄鱼呀。”他说着还挤出了几滴鳄鱼的眼泪表示自己说的是真话。

小幼象一下子止住了呼吸，接着又大口喘起气来，他跪在河岸上，说：“原来你就是我这许多天来一直寻找的人呀。请你告诉我，你拿什么作晚餐呢？”“到这儿来，小家伙，”鳄鱼说道，“让我悄悄地告诉你。”

小幼象俯低头，凑到了鳄鱼那臭烘烘、长满獠牙的嘴巴前。鳄鱼一口咬住了他的鼻子。直到这一周、这一天、此时此刻之前，小幼象的鼻子还跟靴子差不多大小，只是比靴子有用得多罢了。“我想，”鳄鱼说道（鳄鱼的话是从牙缝里挤出来的，就像这样），“我想今天就用小幼象作晚餐吧！”

我亲爱的，小幼象一听这话十分气恼，他用鼻子哼着，就像这样，说：“放开我！你把我咬痛了！”

此刻，双色巨蟒从河岸上逶迤而至，说道：“年轻的朋友，假如你现在不立即行动，拼尽全力向后拽，我认为你的这位身穿大格子皮外套的新朋友（他指的是鳄鱼），就会说时迟那时快把你拖进那边清澈的溪流中去。”

双色巨蟒总是以这种腔调说话。

此时，小幼象一屁股坐下来，开始拽他的鼻子，拽啊拽啊，鼻子开始变长了。鳄鱼挣扎着钻入水中，剧烈地摆动着尾巴，将河水搅得泥浆翻起，使劲地拖啊拖。

小幼象的鼻子变得越来越长。只见他蹬住四条小腿，不停地向后拽，鼻子一个劲地伸长。鳄鱼拍打着尾巴，像划浆一样，他不停地拖，每拖一下，小幼象的鼻子就长一分——而且简直痛死了！

后来，小幼象觉得腿打滑，于是哼着鼻子（此时他的鼻子已经差不多五英尺长了）说：“这真是糟透了！”

就在此时，双色巨蟒从河岸上滑下来，弓起身子，在小幼象的后腿上紧紧缠了两圈，说：“鲁莽缺乏经验的过路人啊，咱们要严肃认真地努力一番了。假如不努力，我感觉这艘甲板装甲的自驱战舰（我亲爱的，他指的是鳄鱼）将会一了百了地毁掉你的前程。”

双色巨蟒总是以这种腔调说话。

巨蟒说着就朝后拽，小幼象也朝后拽，鳄鱼也在向水下拖。不过，小幼象和双色巨蟒用的力更大，最后鳄鱼不得不松开了小幼象的鼻子——发出“扑通”一声巨响，整个利波波大河的上下游两岸都能听得见。

小幼象猛地坐在了地上。不过，他倒是很细心，先对双色巨蟒说了声“谢谢”，接下来便照料起自己那被拉长的可怜的鼻子来。他用冰凉的芭蕉叶把鼻子裹起来，再放入灰绿粘稠的利波波大河里冷却。“你这是干什么？”双色巨蟒问。“不好意思，”小幼象说道，“我的鼻子严重变形，我在等它缩回去。”“那你可得等很长时间了。”双色巨蟒说。“有些人不知道哪种情况对自己有利。”

小幼象在那儿连坐了三天，等待鼻子缩短。可他的鼻子却一直没有缩短，反而还让他变成了斜视。我亲爱的，要知道鳄鱼把它拖成了地地道道的长鼻子，和今天所有大象的鼻子都一样。

第三天结束的时候，一只苍蝇飞来，在小幼象的肩上叮了一口。小幼象还没反应过来，便下意识地扬起长鼻，用鼻尖将苍蝇打死了。“这是第一个优点！”双色巨蟒说。“仅靠以前的糟鼻子，你是办不到这一点的。现在吃点东西吧。”

小幼象还没反应过来，便已经伸出长鼻，卷起一捆草，在前腿上拍打干净，塞进了自己的嘴里。“这是第二个优点！”双色巨蟒说。“仅靠以前的糟鼻子，你是办不到这一点的。这儿的阳光太晒了，是不是？”“是的。”小幼象说道。他还没反应过来，便用鼻子从灰绿粘稠的利波波大河河岸上卷起一团泥巴，甩在自己的头上，于是就成了一顶凉爽润滑的泥帽子，在他耳朵后边滴滴嗒嗒地淌着水。“这是第三个优点！”双色巨蟒说。“仅靠以前的糟鼻子，你是办不到这一点的。如果现在再挨揍，你会有什么感觉？”“对不起，”小幼象说，“我可一点儿也不愿再挨揍了。”“要是揍别人怎么样呢？”双色巨蟒问。“那我倒是非常乐意。”小幼象说。“好，”双色巨蟒说，“你会发现用新鼻子来揍人是非常有效的。”“谢谢，”小幼象说，“我会记住的。我想我该回家见我的亲人去了，去试一试我的新鼻子。”

于是，小幼象横穿非洲大陆回家去了，一路上摆动着长鼻子。想吃水果时，他便用鼻子从树上摘，再不像从前那样等着水果从树上掉下来了；想吃草时，他便用鼻子从地上拔，再不像从前那样跪在地上吃了；如果有苍蝇叮他，他就用鼻子折一条树枝当苍蝇拍用；阳光太晒的时候，他便做一顶凉爽润滑的泥帽子戴。当他穿过非洲大陆、在路上感到孤独时，就用长鼻子发声唱歌，那声音比几个铜管乐队发出的还要响亮。

他特意找到一只胖河马（这只河马不是他的亲戚），狠狠地揍了她一顿，以确保双色巨蟒所言不虚——他的长鼻子的确有用。余下的时间里，他把自己去利波波大河时在路上丢的甜瓜皮捡了起来，因为他是只爱干净的小象。

在一个黑暗的傍晚，他回到了亲人身旁。他把长鼻子卷起来，说：“你们好！”大家见到他都非常高兴，张嘴便说道：“过来！为了你难以满足的好奇心，得揍你一顿。”“哈，”小幼象说，“恐怕你们不怎么懂得揍人吧，可我懂，让我演示给你们看吧。”他展开长鼻子，把两个亲爱的哥哥摔了个四脚朝天。“真厉害！”大家说。“你从哪儿学的这一招？你的鼻子怎么啦？”“我从鳄鱼那儿得到了一个新鼻子，就是灰绿粘稠的利波波大河河岸上的那条鳄鱼。”小幼象说。“我问他用什么作晚餐，他便给了我这个长鼻子。”“看上去丑陋极了。”毛茸茸的狒狒伯伯说。“不错，”小幼象说，“可它非常有用。”随后他举起鼻子，勾住毛茸茸的狒狒伯伯的一条毛茸茸的腿，将他抛进了马蜂窝里。

这只“小坏象”把所有的亲人都揍了一顿，揍了他们很长时间，直到大家都非常生气，也非常惊讶。他把高个子鸵鸟姑姑尾巴上的羽毛拔下来；拽住高个子长颈鹿叔叔的后腿，在荆棘丛中拖着走；他冲着胖河马阿姨大喊大叫，趁她饭后在水里睡觉时往她的耳朵里吹泡泡。不过，他不准许任何人动考拉考拉鸟一下。

最后，激动人心的场面出现了——他的家人全都一个个急急忙忙跑到了灰绿粘稠的利波波大河之滨——那里长满了蓝桉树——要向鳄鱼索要新鼻子。大家回来之后，再也没有谁欺负别人了。从那一天起，我亲爱的，你看到的所有大象（也包括所有你看不到的）都长着长鼻子，和那只难以满足的小幼象一模一样。我有六个忠实仆人，他们教会我的一切，“什么”、“何时”、“为什么”、“怎么”、“哪里”，还有“谁”，这就是他们的名字。我派他们翻山跨海，还让他们东走西奔。等到做完所有工作，就让他们休息一场。休息的时间朝九晚五，因为那时我正在忙碌。早餐、午餐、茶餐时间，这些饥饿的伙伴也能小憩。我认识一个人很小气，她的仆人有一千万，却谁也不能得休息！只要从睁开双眼起，便颐指气使让人效力。一百万个“怎么”，两百万个“哪里”，还有七百万个“为什么”！

The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo

NOT always was the Kangaroo as now we do behold him, but a Different Animal with four short legs. He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on an outcrop in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Little God Nqa.

He went to Nqa at six before breakfast, saying, “Make me different from all other animals by five this afternoon.”

Up jumped Nqa from his seat on the sandflat and shouted, “Go away!”

He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a rock-ledge in the middle of Australia,and he went to the Middle God Nquing.

He went to Nquing at eight after breakfast, saying, “Make me different from all other animals; make me, also, wonderfully popular by five this afternoon.”

Up jumped Nquing from his burrow in the spinifex and shouted, “Go away!”

He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate:he danced on a sandbank in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Big God Nqong.

He went to Nqong at ten before dinner-time, saying, “Make me different from all other animals; make me popular and wonderfully run after by five this afternoon.”

Up jumped Nqong from his bath in the salt-pan and shouted, “Yes, I will!”

Nqong called Dingo[1]—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, dusty in the sunshine, and showed him Kangaroo. Nqong said, “Dingo! Wake up, Dingo! Do you see that gentleman dancing on an ashpit? He wants to be popular and very truly run after. Dingo, make him so!”

Up jumped Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—and said, “What, that cat-rabbit?”

Off ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, grinning like a coal scuttle, ran after Kangaroo.

Off went the proud Kangaroo on his four little legs like a bunny.

This, O Beloved of mine, ends the first part of the tale!

He ran through the desert; he ran through the mountains; mineed ofv, O BeloThis, ends the first part of the tale!he ran through the salt-pans; he ran through the reed-beds; he ran through the blue gums; he ran through the spinifex; he ran till his front legs ached.THIS is a picture of Old Man Kangaroo when he was the Different Animal with four short legs. I have drawn him grey and woolly, and you can see that he is very proud because he has a wreath of flowers in his hair. He is dancing on an outcrop (that means a ledge of rock) in the middle of Australia at six o’clock before breakfast. You can see that it is six o’clock, because the sun is just getting up. The thing with the ears and the open mouth is Little God Nqa. Nqa is very much surprised, because he has never seen a Kangaroo dance like that before. Little God Nqa is just saying, “Go away,” but the Kangaroo is so busy dancing that he has not heard him yet.The Kangaroo hasn’t any real name except Boomer[2].He lost it because he was so proud.这是张图画的是老袋鼠，当时他还是一种长着四条短腿的特殊动物。我把他画得灰蒙蒙、毛茸茸的。你可以看得出他十分傲慢，因他头上还戴着花环。早餐前六点钟，他正在澳洲中部突起的岩石（意即岩礁）上跳舞。你可以看出此时是六点钟，因为太阳正在冉冉升起。那个长着耳朵、张着嘴的小人是小神恩恰。恩恰感到十分意外，因为他以前从未见过袋鼠像这样跳舞。小神恩恰正说：走开！可是袋鼠正沉迷于跳舞，没有听见他说话。袋鼠名叫布莫，除此外再没有其他正儿八经的名字。因为他太傲慢了，所以后来就连这个名字也失去了。

He had to!

Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, grinning like a rat trap, never getting nearer, never getting farther, ran after Kangaroo.

He had to!

Still ran Kangaroo—Old Man Kangaroo. He ran through the ti trees; he ran through the mulga; he ran through the long grass; he ran through the short grass; he ran through the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer; he ran till his hind legs ached.

He had to!

Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—hungrier and hungrier, grinning like a horse-collar, never getting nearer, nevergetting farther; and they came to the Wollgong River.

Now, there wasn’t any bridge, and there wasn’t any ferry boat, and Kangaroo didn’t know how to get over; so he stood on his legs and hopped.

He had to!

He hopped through the Flinders; he hopped through the Cinders; he hopped through the deserts in the middle of Australia. He hopped like a Kangaroo.

First he hopped one yard; then he hopped three yards; then he hopped five yards; his legs growing stronger; his legs growing longer. He hadn’t any time for rest or refreshment, and he wanted them very much.

Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—very much bewildered, very much hungry, and wondering what in the world or out of it made Old Man Kangaroo hop. For he hopped like a cricket; like a pea in a saucepan; or a new rubber ball on a nursery floor.

He had to!

He tucked up his front legs; he hopped on his hind legs; he stuck out his tail for a balance-weight behind him; and he hopped through the Darling Downs.

He had to!

Still ran Dingo—Tired-Dog Dingo—hungrier and hungrier, very much bewildered, and wondering when in the world or out of it would Old Man Kangaroo stop.

Then came Nqong from his bath in the salt-pans, and said, “It’s five o’clock.”

Down sat Dingo—Poor Dog Dingo—always hungry, dusky in the sunshine; hung out his tongue and howled.

Down sat Kangaroo—Old Man Kangaroo—stuck out his tail like a milking-stool behind him, and said, “Thank goodness that’s finished!”

Then said Nqong, who is always a gentleman, “Why aren’t you grateful to Yellow-Dog Dingo? Why don’t you thank him for all he has done for you?”

Then said Kangaroo—Tired Old Kangaroo—“He’s chased me out of the homes of my childhood; he’s chased me out of my regular meal-times; he’s altered my shape so I’ll never get it back; and he’s played Old Scratch with my legs.”

Then said Nqong, “Perhaps I’m mistaken, but didn’t you ask me to make you different from all other animals, as well as to make you very truly sought after? And now it is five o’clock.”This is the picture of Old Man Kangaroo at five in the afternoon, when he had got his beautiful hind legs just as Big God Nqong had promised. You can see that it is five o’clock, because Big God Nqong’s pet tame clock says so. That is Nqong, in his bath, sticking his feet out. Old Man Kangaroo is being rude to

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