LESSON 4

CASTLE-BUILDING

建造城堡

anger castle foundation rattling tower

dismay sofa interested passion pile

mimic nodded exclaimed already spilled

1. “O pussy!” cried Herbert, in a voice of anger and dismay, as the blockhouse he was building fell in sudden ruin. The playful cat had rubbed against his mimic castle, and tower and wall went rattling down upon the floor.

2. Herbert took up one of the blocks and threw it fiercely at pussy. Happily, it passed over her and did no harm. His hand was reaching for another block, when his little sister Hetty sprang toward the cat, and caught her up.

3. “No, no, no!” said she, “you sha’n’t hurt pussy! She didn’t mean to do it!”

4. Herbert’s passion was over quickly, and, sitting down upon the floor,he covered his face with his hands, and began to cry.

5. “What a baby!” said Joe, his elder brother, who was reading on the sofa. “Crying over spilled milk does no good. Build it up again.”

6. “No, I won’t,” said Herbert, and he went on crying.

7. “What’s all the trouble here?” exclaimed papa, as he opened the door and came in.

8. “Pussy just rubbed against Herbert’s castle, and it fell down,” answered Hetty. “But she didn’t mean to do it; she didn’t know it would fall, did she, papa?”

9. “Why, no! And is that all the trouble?”

10. “Herbert!” his papa called, and held out his hands. “Come.” The little boy got up from the floor, and came slowly, his eyes full of tears, and stoodby his father.

11. “There is a better way than this, my boy,” said papa. “If you had taken that way, your heart would have been light already. I should have heard you singing over your blocks instead of crying. Shall I show you that way?”

12. Herbert nodded his head, and papa sat down on the floor by the pileof blocks, with his little son by his side, and began to lay the foundation for a new castle.

【中文阅读】

1. 赫伯特正在建造的城堡突然倒塌了，他带着愤怒和沮丧叫喊道：“哇，可恶的小猫！”调皮的小猫咪恰巧从他的模型城堡边窜过去。

2. 赫伯特拿起一块积木，拼命地扔向那只小猫。积木从它身边擦肩而过，但并没有伤到他。他又去拿另一块积木，这时，小妹妹海蒂跑过来，抱起了小猫咪。

3. “不，不要，别这样！”她说，“你不能伤害小猫咪！它不是有意的！”

4. 赫伯特顿时怒火中烧，坐在地板上，双手捂住小脸哭了起来。

5. 正坐在沙发上看书的哥哥乔开腔了：“真是个小孩子！哭也没用呀，再建一次就行了。”

6. 赫伯特一边哭着，一边说：“我才不干呢。”

7. 爸爸开门走进来，问道：“这里发生什么事了？”

8. 海蒂抢先回答：“小猫咪从赫伯特建造的城堡边经过，把它弄垮了。但是，它也不是有意的。它根本不知道城堡会倒掉，是吗，爸爸？”

9. “当然不知道了！这就是你们的麻烦？”

10. 爸爸一边伸出双手，一边说：“赫伯特，过来。”小男孩从地板上起来，慢慢走过去，眼里噙着泪水，站在爸爸身边。

11. 爸爸说：“我的孩子，还有一个好办法解决这个问题，如果你能照做的话，心里就会好受些。我应该听到你为积木歌唱，而不是为它哭泣。让我来教你吗？”

12. 赫伯特点了点头，爸爸坐在积木旁边的地板上，小儿子依偎在他身边，开始为一座新城堡奠基。