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有声英语少儿童话故事 顽童故事 斯莱特山的雪堡 第4章

Beforethe action commenced, a meeting was arranged between the rival commanders, whodrew up and signed certain rules and regulations respecting the conduct of thebattle. As it was impossible for the North-Enders to occupy the fortpermanently, it was stipulated that the South-Enders should assault it only onWednesday and Saturday afternoons between the hours of two and six. For them totake possession of the place at any other time was not to constitute a capture,but on the contrary was to be considered a dishonorable and cowardly act.

TheNorth-Enders, on the other hand, agreed to give up the fort whenever ten of thestorming party succeeded in obtaining at one time a footing on the parapet, andwere able to hold the same for the space of two minutes. Both sides were toabstain from putting pebbles into their snow-balls, nor was it permissible touse frozen ammunition. A snow-ball soaked in water and left out to cool was aprojectile which in previous years had been resorted to with disastrousresults.

Thesepreliminaries settled, the commanders retired to their respective corps. Theinterview had taken place on the hillside between the opposing lines.

有声英语少儿童话故事 顽童故事 斯莱特山的雪堡 第3章

Fancythe rage of the South-Enders the next day, when they spied our snowy citadel,with Jack Harris’s red silk pocket handkerchief floating defiantly from theflag-staff.

Inless than an hour it was known all over town, in military circles at least,that the “Puddle-dockers” and the “River-rats’ (these were the derisivesub-titles bestowed on our South-End foes) intended to attack the fort thatSaturday afternoon.

Attwo o’clock all the fighting boys of the Temple Grammar School, and as manyrecruits as we could muster, lay behind the walls of Fort Slatter, with threehundred compact snowballs piled up in pyramids, awaiting the approach of theenemy. The enemy was not slow in making his approach-fifty strong, headed byone Mat Ames. Our forces were under the command of General J. Harris.

有声英语少儿童话故事 顽童故事 斯莱特山的雪堡 第2章

Slatter’sHill, or No-man’s-land, as it was generally called, was a rise of groundcovering, perhaps, an acre and a quarter, situated on an imaginary line,marking the boundary between the two districts. An immense stratum of granite,which here and there thrust out a wrinkled boulder, prevented the site frombeing used for building purposes. The street ran on either side of the hill,from one part of which a quantity of rock had been removed to form theunderpinning of the new jail. This excavation made the approach from that pointall but impossible, especially when the ragged ledges were a-glitter with ice.You see what a spot it was for a snow-fort.

Oneevening twenty or thirty of the North-Enders quietly took possession ofSlatter’s Hill, and threw up a strong line of breastworks, something after thisshape:

Therear of the entrenchment, being protected by the quarry, was left open. Thewalls were four feet high, and twenty-two inches thick, strengthened at theangles by stakes driven firmly into the ground.

有声英语少儿童话故事 顽童故事 斯莱特山的雪堡 第1章

Thememory of man, even that of the Oldest Inhabitant, runneth not back to the timewhen there did not exist a feud between the North End and the South End boys ofRivermouth.

Theorigin of the feud is involved in mystery; it is impossible to say which partywas the first aggressor in the far-off anterevolutionary ages; but the factremains that the youngsters of those antipodal sections entertained a mortalhatred for each other, and that this hatred had been handed down fromgeneration to generation, like Miles Standish’s punch-bowl.

Iknow not what laws, natural or unnatural, regulated the warmth of the quarrel;but at some seasons it raged more violently than at others. This winter bothparties were unusually lively and antagonistic. Great was the wrath of theSouth-Enders, when they discovered that the North-Enders bad thrown up a forton the crown of Slatter’s Hill.

有声英语儿童童话故事 伊索寓言 伐木工与树

A Man came into a Wood one daywith an axe head in his hand, and begged all the Trees to give him a smallbranch which he wanted for a particular purpose.

The Trees were good-natured andgave him one of their branches. What did the Man do but fix it into the axehead, and soon set to work cutting down tree after tree.

Do not give your enemy the means of destroying you.

有声英语儿童童话故事 伊索寓言 狐狸与狮子

When first the Fox saw the Lionhe was terribly frightened, and ran away and hid himself in the wood. Next timehowever he came near the King of Beasts he stopped at a safe distance andwatched him pass by.

The third time they came near oneanother the Fox went straight up to the Lion and passed the time of day withhim, asking him how his family were, and when he should have the pleasure ofseeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from the Lion without muchceremony.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

有声英语儿童童话故事 伊索寓言 狗与倒影

It happened that a Dog had got abone and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on his way homehe had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he lookeddown and saw his own reflection in the water beneath.

Thinking it was another dog withanother bone, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at thereflection in the water, but as he opened his mouth the bone out, dropped intothe water and was never seen more.

You may lose what you have bygrasping for more.

有声英语儿童童话故事 伊索寓言 披着羊皮的狼

A Wolf found great difficulty ingetting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. Butone day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, soit put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb thatbelonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow theWolf in the Sheep’s clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon madea meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, andenjoying hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.

有声英语儿童童话故事 伊索寓言 男人与他的两位妻子

In the old days, when men wereallowed to have many wives, a middle-aged Man had one wife that was old and onethat was young; each loved him very much, and desired to see him like herself.Now the Man’s hair was turning grey, which the young Wife did not like, as itmade him look too old for her husband. So every night she used to comb his hairand pick out the white ones. But the elder Wife saw her husband growing greywith great pleasure, for she did not like to be mistaken for his mother. Soevery morning she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the blackones as she could. The consequence was the Man soon found himself entirelybald.

Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.

有声英语儿童童话故事 伊索寓言 渔人与小鱼

It happened that a Fisher, afterfishing all day, caught only a little fish. “Pray, let me go, master,” said theFish. “I am much too small for your eating just now. If you put me back intothe river I shall soon grow, then you can make a fine meal off me.”

“Nay, nay, my little Fish,” saidthe Fisher, “I have you now. I may not catch you hereafter.”

A little thing in hand is worth more than a great thing inprospect.