The Walrus and The Carpenter by Lewis Carroll
Дата публикации: Jun 09, 2018 5:36:16 AM
(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
"The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright —
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done —
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun."
The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead —
There were no birds to fly.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
If this were only cleared away,'
They said, it would be grand!'
If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year,
Do you suppose,' the Walrus said,
That they could get it clear?'
I doubt it,' said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
O Oysters, come and walk with us!'
The Walrus did beseech.
A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each.'
The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head —
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat —
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more —
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.
The time has come,' the Walrus said,
To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot —
And whether pigs have wings.'
But wait a bit,' the Oysters cried,
Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!'
No hurry!' said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.
A loaf of bread,' the Walrus said,
Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed —
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.'
But not on us!' the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!'
The night is fine,' the Walrus said.
Do you admire the view?
It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!'
The Carpenter said nothing but
Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf —
I've had to ask you twice!'
It seems a shame,' the Walrus said,
To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!'
The Carpenter said nothing but
The butter's spread too thick!'
I weep for you,' the Walrus said:
I deeply sympathize.'
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
O Oysters,' said the Carpenter,
You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none —
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one."
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
billow noun BrE /ˈbɪləʊ/ ; NAmE /ˈbɪloʊ/ [usually plural] a moving mass or cloud of smoke, steam, etc. like a wave
A farmer was burning straw, the yellow billows of smoke spiralling lazily upward.
вал, волна, море
The moon was shining sulkily,
billows - клубы
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done--
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"
sulkily adverb BrE /ˈsʌlkɪli/ ; NAmE /ˈsʌlkɪli/ (disapproving) - in a bad-tempered way or without speaking because you are angry about something
Tommy went sulkily off to bed.
недовольно
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead--
There were no birds to fly.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
close at hand - near; in a place where somebody/something can be reached easily
There are good cafes and a restaurant close at hand.
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
"If this were only cleared away,"
They said, "it would be grand!"
"If seven maids with seven mops
mop noun BrE /mɒp/ ; NAmE /mɑːp/
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
1. a tool for washing floors that has a long handle with a bunch of thick strings or soft material at the end
a mop and bucket
I used a mop to clean the floor.
2. a kitchen utensil (= a tool) for washing dishes, that has a short handle with soft material at one end
3. a mass of thick, often untidy, hair
a mop of curly red hair
shed verb BrE /ʃed/ ; NAmE /ʃed/
1. get rid of
shed something (often used in newspapers) to get rid of something that is no longer wanted
The factory is shedding a large number of jobs.
a quick way to shed unwanted pounds (= extra weight or fat on your body)
Museums have been trying hard to shed their stuffy image.
2. drop
shed something (formal) to let something fall; to drop something
Luke shed his clothes onto the floor.
A duck's feathers shed water immediately.
shed something (British English) (of a vehicle) to lose or drop what it is carrying
The traffic jam was caused by a lorry shedding its load.
3. skin/leaves
shed something if an animal sheds its skin, or a plant sheds leaves, it loses them naturally
How often does a snake shed its skin?
trees that shed their leaves in autumn
4. light
shed something (on/over somebody/something) to send light over something; to let light fall somewhere
The candles shed a soft glow on her face.
5. tears
shed tears (formal or literary) to cry
She shed no tears when she heard he was dead.
6. blood
shed blood (formal) to kill or injure people, especially in a war
How much blood will be shed before the fighting ends?
Idioms
1. cast/shed/throw light on something - to make a problem, etc. easier to understand
Recent research has thrown new light on the causes of the disease
"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
beseech verb BrE /bɪˈsiːtʃ/ ; NAmE /bɪˈsiːtʃ/ - beseech somebody (to do something) (formal) to ask somebody for something in an anxious way because you want or need it very much
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."
synonym implore, beg
Let him go, I beseech you!
briny adjective BrE /ˈbraɪni/ ; NAmE /ˈbraɪni/ - (of water) containing a lot of salt
synonym salty
The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head--
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat--
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them,
frothy adjective BrE /ˈfrɒθi/ ; NAmE /ˈfrɔːθi/ (frothier, frothiest)
1. (of liquids) having a mass of small bubbles on the surface
frothy coffee
a frothy mixture of eggs and milk
Add the eggs and beat until frothy.
2. seeming attractive and enjoyable but having no real value - поверхностный, ограниченный, пустой, бессодержательный
frothy romantic novels
3. (of clothes or cloth) light and delicate
a frothy pink dress
scramble verb BrE /ˈskræmbl/ ; NAmE /ˈskræmbl/
1. walk/climb
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to move quickly, especially with difficulty, using your hands to help you
synonym clamber
She managed to scramble over the wall.
He scrambled to his feet as we came in.
They finally scrambled ashore.
He scrambled up the cliff and raced towards the car.
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more--
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
to turn blue - посинеть
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.
"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."
"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?
dismal adjective BrE /ˈdɪzməl/ ; NAmE /ˈdɪzməl/
1. causing or showing sadness
synonym gloomy, miserable
dismal conditions/surroundings/weather
Christmas will be dismal without the children.
2. (informal) not skilful or successful; of very low quality
The singer gave a dismal performance of some old songs.
Their recent attempt to increase sales has been a dismal failure.
"It was so kind of you to come!
spread
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf--
I've had to ask you twice!"
"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"
3 .on bread - [countable, uncountable] a soft food that you put on bread
Use a low-fat spread instead of butter.
cheese spread
любой пастообразные продукт (масло, джем, паштет и др.)
"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.