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（单词翻译）

 

16Aesop's Fables¹  

The Cat and the Mice

By Sharri McGarry

On the kitchen table was a smelly cheese. The smell wafted² through the kitchen. The smell spiralled down the hole in the skirting board. 

The smell drifted into the noses of three little mice.  

'I love ch...ch.. .cheese! ' whined³ Mini-Mouse, hungrily. 

'So do I!' squeaked⁴ Mildred-Mouse. 

Mighty-Mouse narrowed his eyes, 'Mission required to steal cheese!' he said.  

In the kitchen lived a cat. 

'I'm a Terrible-Tiger-Cat!' said the cat, prowling across the floor. 

And this Terrible-Tiger-Cat had the important job of guarding the cheese from pesky mice.

Under the skirting boards, the smell of cheese was too much for the mice.

'Right!' said Mighty-Mouse. 

'Right,'  said Mighty-Mouse , 'Mini-Mouse you go on my right side, 

Mildred-Mouse goes on my left and we'll rush out, steal the cheese and get back quick. OK?'

'What makes you think this plan will work? ' said Mildred-Mouse.

'Trust me! ' said Mighty-Mouse con⁵ fidently . 'We have the element of  surprise! Let’s GO!'

Under the kitchen table sat the 

Terrible-Tiger-Cat. He watched as three little mice shot out of the hole in the skirting board. 

'Mice? I'll catch  'em! I 'll snatch 

'em! '

The Terrible-Tiger-Cat opened his terrible mouth and showed his terrible teeth.

'Wait for me!' yelled Mighty-Mouse.

In the hole under the skirting boards, three little mice panted for breath.

'N...n...now what?' asked Mini-Mouse.

'NOW,' said Mildred-Mouse, with grim determination. 'We forget the cheese! We don’t need it! '

And she marched off, leaving Mighty-Mouse looking embar-rassed.

In the kitchen, the Terrible-Tiger-Cat waited. There was no sign of mice. The Terrible-Tiger-Cat was bored. 

'Mice? I'll catch  'em! I 'll snatch 

'em!...if I can thee 'em!  ' Humm…maybe if I wasn’t here, the mice would come out! Maybe, if I pretend to not be here… '

Terrible-Tiger-Cat looked up at a sack that hung from the wall. The sack was grey. Terrible-Tiger-Cat looked at his fur. His fur was grey also.   

'Now,' he said thoughtfully.  'If I take this sack down from the wall…and if I climb up and hang myself there instead…I would look like a sack and not like a cat! Clever, eh?'  

So Terrible-Tiger-Cat hung himself from the wall and waited.

Down the hole Mini-Mouse groaned⁶.

'The smell of ch...cheese is killing⁷ me! If I could have one taste…' 

'Get back here!' said Mildred, grabbing Mini-Mouse’s tail and pull-ing him back. 'B...b...but NO CAT!' said Mini-Mouse excitedly. 

'Humm,' said Mildred. 'NEVER trust a cat! '

She poked⁸ her snout out cautiously.

Mildred looked up at the sack hang-ing on the wall. The sack with the two bright eyes. 

'No cat? ' Mildred smiled wryly⁹. 

'THEN WHAT’S THAT HANGING ON THE WALL? ' 

And the Terrible-Tiger-Cat replied, 

'Waaaoow! I’m only an old sack!'

'C...c...cat! ' stuttered Mini-Mouse. 

'Abandon plan!' said Mighty-Mouse. 

'Come on! ' laughed Mildred, 'Let's get back to the mousehole. ' 

And there was silence in the kitchen.

'Ooopth!' said the Terrible-Tiger-Cat. ' I wonder what gave me away?'