Little Men

第34章

“Seemstomeyouarewanderingfromthesubject。“

“No,Iain’t;wearetowriteaboutvegetablesoranimals,andI’mdoingboth:forboysareanimals,aren’tthey?“criedNan;and,undauntedbytheindignant“No!“shoutedather,shecalmlyproceeded,­;

“Onemoreinterestingthingisdonewithsponges,andthisiswhendoctorsputetheronit,andholdittopeople’snoseswhentheyhaveteethout。IshalldothiswhenIambigger,andgiveethertothesick,sotheywillgotosleepandnotfeelmecutofftheirlegsandarms。“

“Iknowsomebodywhokilledcatswithit,“calledoutDemi,butwaspromptlycrushedbyDan,whoupsethiscamp-stoolandputahatoverhisface。

“Iwillnotbeinterruckted,“saidNan,frowningupontheunseemlyscrimmagers。Orderwasinstantlyrestored,andtheyoungladyclosedherremarksasfollows:­;

“Mycompositionhasthreemorals,myfriends。“Somebodygroaned,butnonoticewastakenoftheinsult。“First,iskeepyourfacesclean­;second,getupearly­;third,whentheetherspongeisputoveryournose,breathehardanddon’tkick,andyourteethwillcomeouteasy。Ihavenomoretosay。“AndMissNansatdownamidtumultuousapplause。

“Thatisaveryremarkablecomposition;itstoneishigh,andthereisagooddealofhumorinit。Verywelldone,Nan。Now,Daisy,“andMr。

Bhaersmiledatoneyoungladyashebeckonedtheother。

Daisycoloredprettilyasshetookherplace,andsaid,inhermodestlittlevoice,­;

“I’mafraidyouwon’tlikemine;itisn’tniceandfunnylikeNan’s。

ButIcouldn’tdoanybetter。“

“Wealwayslikeyours,Posy,“saidUncleFritz,andagentlemurmurfromtheboysseemedtoconfirmtheremark。Thusencouraged,Daisyreadherlittlepaper,whichwaslistenedtowithrespectfulattention。“THECAT

“Thecatisasweetanimal。Ilovethemverymuch。Theyarecleanandpretty,andcatchratsandmice,andletyoupetthem,andarefondofyouifyouarekind。Theyareverywise,andcanfindtheirwayanywhere。

Littlecatsarecalledkittens,andaredearthings。Ihavetwo,namedHuzandBuz,andtheirmotherisTopaz,becauseshehasyelloweyes。UncletoldmeaprettystoryaboutamannamedMa-ho-met。Hehadanicecat,andwhenshewasasleeponhissleeve,andhewantedtogoaway,hecutoffthesleevesoasnottowakeherup。Ithinkhewasakindman。Somecatscatchfish。“

“SodoI!“criedTeddy,jumpingupeagertotellabouthistrout。

“Hush!“saidhismother,settinghimdownagainasquicklyaspossible,fororderlyDaisyhatedtobe“interruckted,“asNanexpressedit。

“Ireadaboutonewhousedtodoitveryslyly。ItriedtomakeTopaz,butshedidnotlikethewater,andscratchedme。Shedoesliketea,andwhenIplayinmykitchenshepatstheteapotwithherpaw,tillIgivehersome。Sheisafinecat,sheeatsapple-puddingandmolasses。Mostcatsdonot。“

“That’safirst-rater,“calledoutNat,andDaisyretired,pleasedwiththepraiseofherfriend。

“Demilookssoimpatientwemusthavehimupatonceorhewon’tholdout,“saidUncleFritz,andDemiskippedupwithalacrity。

“Mineisapoem!“heannouncedinatoneoftriumph,andreadhisfirsteffortinaloudandsolemnvoice:­;“Iwriteaboutthebutterfly,Itisaprettything;

Andfliesaboutlikethebirds,Butitdoesnotsing。

“Firstitisalittlegrub,Andthenitisaniceyellowcocoon,AndthenthebutterflyEatsitswayoutsoon。

“Theyliveondewandhoney,Theydonothaveanyhive,Theydonotstinglikewasps,andbees,andhornets,Andtobeasgoodastheyareweshouldstrive。

“Ishouldliketobeabeautifulbutterfly,Allyellow,andblue,andgreen,andred;

ButIshouldnotlikeTohaveDanputcamphoronmypoorlittlehead。“Thisunusualburstofgeniusbroughtdownthehouse,andDemiwasobligedtoreaditagain,asomewhatdifficulttask,astherewasnopunctuationwhatever,andthelittlepoet’sbreathgaveoutbeforehegottotheendofsomeofthelonglines。

“HewillbeaShakespeareyet,“saidAuntJo,laughingasifshewoulddie,forthispoeticgemremindedherofoneofherown,writtenattheageoften,andbeginninggloomily,­;“IwishIhadaquiettomb,Besidealittlerill

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