英文故事剧 动物法庭的舞蹈(The Dance of the Animal Court)

Once upon a time there was a monkey who had a magical fiddle¹ and bow and arrow. He could hit anything with his arrow, and with his fiddle, he could make anyone dance.

One day Monkey met Cheetah². "I've been stalking Springbok all day," Cheetah complained, "and I'm exhausted³, and still I am starving."

"Let me try," Monkey suggested, and he pulled out his bow and arrow, aimed, and shot Springbok through the heart.

Cheetah was amazed. He wanted the bow and arrow for himself, so he growled⁴, and jumped on Monkey. As the two fought, Jackal passed by. Jackal suggested that they go to animal court to decide the matter.

When they arrived at court, Monkey began to shake. He was so young, and these were the elders of the jungle. When Elephant asked him what was wrong, Monkey replied, his voice quavering, "My uncle gave me this bow and arrow."

"Can't you see he's lying?" growled Cheetah. "Listen to his voice. Look at him shake. I spent all day stalking Springbok, and when Monkey came along, he tried to steal my bow and arrow."

Within moments the court announced their verdict. "Monkey, we find you guilty," announced Zebra. "For your crime, you will hang."

Monkey began to weep, but suddenly he remembered his fiddle. "Before I die, may I please play one last tune⁵?" Monkey begged.

Giraffe said yes, and so Monkey picked up his fiddle and began to play. Within a few moments, all of the animals started to dance. Monkey played faster, and the dancers began to dance more quickly. They couldn't stop.

Before long, Elephant was wheezing⁶, Cheetah and Jackal were gasping⁷ for breath, and even Lion was weeping with exhaustion⁸. Giraffe's long, wobbly legs collapsed⁹, and he fainted, but Monkey kept playing.

"Monkey, please," Lion cried at last, "if you stop, we will give you the kingdom."

"I don't want the kingdom," Monkey laughed. "I only want Cheetah to tell the truth."

"The bow and arrow are not mine!" Cheetah cried.

Monkey stopped playing, and the animals stopped dancing. Monkey laughed as the others slunk away.

1 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

2 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 wheezing   

v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣

参考例句：

• He was coughing and wheezing all night. 他整夜又咳嗽又喘。
• A barrel-organ was wheezing out an old tune. 一架手摇风琴正在呼哧呼哧地奏着一首古老的曲子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

8 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。