儿童故事集:Colin’s April Fool
时间:2019-01-18 作者:英语课 分类:Children’s Stories-儿童故事集
英语课
In some countries, including France, there is a strong connection between fish and April Fool’s jokes. It seems the same is true on the pond, where Colin the grumpy Carp, plays a big practical joke on everyone.
Read by Natasha. Written by Bertie. Proofread 1 by Claire Deakin. Illustration by Sophie Green.
Colin’s April Fool
Hello, this is Natasha.
I have a warning for you: If the date is April the first, you must be ever so careful because somebody might play a trick on you! I am reminding you all early, because last year I heard that some of you were caught out.
Yes, April the 1st is known as April Fool’s Day, and it’s the most famously tricky 2 day in the calendar. In France and Italy, somebody might sneak 3 up behind you, and stick a paper fish on your back. When your friends see you walking along with a sticky fish, they might call out, “April Fish!” But elsewhere in the world, almost any trick will do. So watch out! Now where was I? Ah yes, all this April Foolery reminds me of the time Colin the Carp played a big trick on the pond life.
It all started when Tim the Tadpole 4 asked Colin a rather annoying question. He said, “Colin, why are you so fat?”
“Fat?” Said Colin. “Which Colin are you saying is fat? Not this Colin. It must be some other Colin you are talking to. My girth is just right for a carp’s.”
“Well Bertie said you should go on a diet,” squeaked 5 Tim. And Bertie, who was sitting on a nearby lily-leaf thought, “Oh no, now he’s dropped me right in the sludge.”
“Humph!” Said Colin. “I don’t have a big gut 6, but that frog certainly has a big mouth. Diet? Pah! I only eat healthy food. Flies are pure protein. Look at those greedy ducks and swans! They stuff themselves full of stale white bread. It’s bread that makes you fat – not flies.”
“Well I only eat slime,” said Tim. “Mummy says that green slime is super good for you.”
Just then, some ducklings who were rather peeved 7 by what Colin had just said, started to quack 8, “Colin is a fat fish, Colin is a fat fish!”
And Colin leaped right out of the water, flipped 9 his tale, snapped his jaws 10, and sent the cheeky ducks scattering 11 across the pond. A cross carp can make quite a splash, particularly if he is – a-hum – a bit fat.
That should have been that – but it wasn’t, because when Colin went back to his dark underwater cave, he was still really really cross. “It’s not fair,” he said to himself. “Everyone’s always picking on me. It’s because I’m the only one around these waters who has any brains. They’re just jealous of my super-intelligence. Well I’ll show them. I’ll play a trick on them, and they’ll all fall for it because they’re dumbos, that’s what they are – dumbos.”
Spring was already in the air, and Colin decided 12 to wait until April 1st to get his revenge because April Fool’s Day is the best time of the year for all sorts of tricks. In the last week of March, Colin waited near the surface to see who would come down to the pond. He did not have to linger long before he saw a little grey bird called Micky land on the head of the fountain. He liked to drink the water that sprouted 13 out of the fountain-nymph’s mouth. Micky was a cockney sparrow, and he was well known for his quirky sense of humour and his witty 14 one-liners. In fact, he was so popular that he had almost 2000 followers 15 on Twitter. Twitter is how news spread around the palace and the pond. The birds on Twitter like to sing the juiciest rumours 17. Half of them are untrue, and the other half are probably exaggerated – but everyone on the pond absolutely believes them. Perhaps I should say that everyone believes Twitter except for one fish – Colin is what is called a sceptic. He thinks that all rumours are, well, fishy 18 – unless he has seen the proof with his own bulging 19 red eyes. But he understood all too well that if you want to start a rumour 16 flying across the pond, the first person you should go to is Micky.
“Psst, Micky!” Called out Colin, “Want to hear some news?”
“What sort of news my old China?” Trilled back Micky.
Colin grimaced 20. He hated being called, “My old China,” or any of those over-friendly names. You see, Colin is a traditional sort of fish, and he believes in old fashioned courtesy. But this was not time to give lectures on manners. He swallowed some pond water, cleared his throat, and said,
“I have the best sort of news. It’s a juicy scare story that will put everyone off their food.”
He could see that Micky was interested because the little bird started to hop 21 from one leg to the other with excitement.
“Ooooh,” he whistled, “Those sorts of scare stories always go down a treat.”
“This story’s got wings,” said Colin, “It will fly and fly.”
“Dear Carp, pray do tell all.”
“Well it’s like this,” said Colin, “the royal scientist has been down at the pond recently, testing the water. Yesterday he looked worried, like he had seen the palace ghost or something. “Tut tut,” he said to his assistant. “The tests have come back on this slime, and it’s contaminated.”
“Hold on a mo,” said the sparrow, “let me write that last word down.” He had landed on the bank and was scratching Colin’s words in the dirt with his beak 22. His letters were in bird speak, of course. “Con-tam-in-ated -what does that mean when it’s at home?”
Colin heaved a sigh. He wanted to say, “Oh dear, another dumbo. Am I the only one on this pond with any brains?” But he knew that was not the best way to keep Micky on his side.
“Well,” he said, “It means that some nasty things have gotten mixed up with it. Green slime is not what it says on the tin, so to speak. It doesn’t come out of a tin of course, but if it did, that would be the general drift. This nasty stuff that’s got into the slime on the pond can make you grow an extra head or an extra foot. If you are a tadpole it can give you a second tail and stop you turning into a frog when you grow up. If you are a duck it can make you sink. If you are a bird it can stop you flying. So the message is, don’t eat slime. It’s extra-bad for you.”
“Ooooh,” said Micky. “I’m glad it’s slime, not worms. I love worms, and I would hate them to be contaminated. Thanks for the tip matey. Good one. I’ll tweet it out right away.” And he flew off to the top of the tree where the sparrows all meet to exchange gossip.
“What an irritating little chap!” Sighed Colin to himself, when he was gone. But it was a job well done, and before half an hour was up, Colin’s rumour was all over Twitter.
Now almost everyone who lives on the pond is partial to a bit of slime now and then. The frogs and tadpoles 23 practically live on it. The wise old frog says that if you eat slime for your veg, and flies for your protein, you will grow up big green and strong. The water fowl 24 (that’s a posh name for ducks, swans and geese, by the way) also love to gulp 25 down the green stuff – and the slimier it is, the better it slips down their necks. In other words, all the pondlife think that slime is simply yummy.
Need I say what a commotion 26 there was when the news came out that slime is bad for you? The ducks were quacking 27 as they do when they are hungry, and the all the tadpoles were wailing 28, “Mummy, what are going to have for dinner tonight?” Only one tadpole was brave in the face of disaster. Little Tim said, “I know what I’ll do, I’ll ask Bertie because he knows the answer to every problem.”
When Colin the Carp heard Tim say this he scoffed 29, “Humph, that royal frog is overrated if you ask me.”
Tim found Bertie in a mournful mood. “It is the greatest calamity 30 I have ever known,” he said sadly. “Even greater than the time the royal nanny banned us from eating chocolate for a whole month.”
All the mummy frogs who normally say things like, “Eat up your slime dear,” where swimming around saying, “Whatever you do, don’t touch the slime – you’ll grow two heads.”
And you could hear the tadpoles saying, “Eek slime! Get it off me.”
Deep down in the murkiest 31 corner of the pond, Colin was chuckling 32 to himself. “I’ll let them know next week that it’s all a trick,” he thought.
Over the next few days, if you came down to the pond and listened carefully, you could hear the stomachs of all the little tadpoles rumbling 33. If you saw Bertie the frog, he would have been decidedly without a spring in his jump. He was already starting to look quite skinny. “There’s not enough meat on those frog’s legs to feed a Frenchman,” thought Colin.
The weekend passed hungrily, and by Monday morning even Colin was feeling just a little bit sorry for the rest of the pondlife. He swam to the rock where Prince Bertie liked to sit and hold court.
“Hey Frog-Face,” he said. “April Fool! The food scare is over. It was all a trick. I made it up for a laugh. Ha! It’s safe to eat slime. It always was.”
“What?” Said Bertie, “Well I hardly think that was funny. We’re all starving.”
“But look how lovely and thin you’ve become,” said Colin. “You’re so super-skinny, you could be a model! Ha!”
“Well we must call a meeting,” said Bertie, “and let everyone know.”
The grey goose had the loudest honk 34 on the pond, and she called the meeting. “Hey everybody,” said Bertie. “Colin the Carp has something to tell us all.” But Colin was nowhere to be seen. He was hiding in his cave. He wasn’t sure that everyone else would see the funny side of his trick. After all, they were all rather hungry – and when people and creatures are hungry they can be rather grumpy – fierce even.
“Come on Colin,” called out Bertie, “Everybody’s waiting for you.”
And the pondlife started to quack, cheap and chant, “Colin, Colin, Colin!”
Feeling rather bashful, he slipped out of his cave and swam up to the meeting point. Bertie said, “Ah here he is. Now Colin, let everyone know what you just told me.”
Colin made a fishy gurgling noise at the the back of his throat and said, “Er Ladies and Gentlemen, Frogs, Tadpoles and Fish. Er, somebody’s been playing a trick on you. It’s like this you see. The slime on this pond is perfectly 35 okay. In fact, it’s rather good for you!”
He expected everyone to cheer, but his announcement was met in silence. A breeze blew an empty crisp packet over the pond. Even the usually normally noisy and excited ducklings were quiet. A frog, Tim’s mummy, spoke 36 up, “Are you quite certain Colin? I mean, how do you know that the slime is safe to eat?”
Colin said, “How do I know? Well I’ve been eating it all weekend, and look at me!”
Nobody said anything until Bertie croaked 37, “But Colin, you’ve got two heads.”
All the tadpoles shrieked 38, “Eeek! He’s disgusting!” The frogs croaked, the water fowl honked 39, and there was uproar 40 all around. Colin was horrified 41. He dived straight down to the bottom of the pond and shook. When eventually the clamour died down he heard Bertie call out,
“April FISH!”
And that was the story of Colin’s April Fool. I do hope that you enjoyed it. Remember, don’t get caught out by a trick on April 1st. And if you do play a trick on somebody else, make sure it’s a funny one, and not too over the top.
There are loads more stories on Storynory.com for all times of the year, so do drop by and listen to some soon. For now, from me, Natasha, bye bye!
vt.校正,校对
- I didn't even have the chance to proofread my own report.我甚至没有机会校对自己的报告。
- Before handing in his application to his teacher,he proofread it again.交给老师之前,他又将申请书补正了一遍。
adj.狡猾的,奸诈的;(工作等)棘手的,微妙的
- I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手,你能帮我吗?
- He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题,只做了个笼统的表述。
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行
- He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
- I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
n.[动]蝌蚪
- As a tadpole changes into a frog,its tail is gradually absorbed.蝌蚪变成蛙,它的尾巴就逐渐被吸收掉。
- It was a tadpole.Now it is a frog.它过去是蝌蚪,现在是一只青蛙。
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
- The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时,鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句
n.[pl.]胆量;内脏;adj.本能的;vt.取出内脏
- It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
- My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。
adj.恼怒的,不高兴的v.(使)气恼,(使)焦躁,(使)愤怒( peeve的过去式和过去分词 )
- He sounded peeved about not being told. 没人通知他,为此他气哼哼的。
- She was very peeved about being left out. 她为被遗漏而恼怒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子
- He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生,可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
- The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 ); 按(开关); 快速翻转; 急挥
- The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转,撞毁了。
- The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。
n.口部;嘴
- The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
- The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
n.[物]散射;散乱,分散;在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的;分散在不同范围的;广泛扩散的;(选票)数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式);散布;驱散
- The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒,把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 );抽芽;出现;(使)涌现出
- We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了,都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
adj.机智的,风趣的
- Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
- He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
- the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
- The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
n.谣言,谣传,传闻
- I should like to know who put that rumour about.我想知道是谁散布了那谣言。
- There has been a rumour mill on him for years.几年来,一直有谣言产生,对他进行中伤。
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传
- The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
- Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
adj. 值得怀疑的
- It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
- There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。
膨胀; 凸出(部); 打气; 折皱
- Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
- Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她:“问问是不是重要的事。”
v.扮鬼相,做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )
- He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味,做了个怪相。
- She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
- The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
- How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
- The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
- This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
n.蝌蚪( tadpole的名词复数 )
- The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Both fish and tadpoles have gills. 鱼和蝌蚪都有鳃。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
n.家禽,鸡,禽肉
- Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
- Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后,我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉,少吃红色肉类。
vt.吞咽,大口地吸(气);vi.哽住;n.吞咽
- She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
- Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽,要嚼碎了再咽下去。
n.骚动,动乱
- They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵,引起了一阵骚乱。
- Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间,整条街道变得一片混乱。
v.(鸭子)发出嘎嘎声( quack的现在分词 )
- For the rest it was just a noise, a quack-quack-quacking. 除此之外,便是一片噪声,一片嘎嘎嘎的叫嚣。 来自英汉文学
- The eyeless creature with the quacking voice would never be vaporized. 那没眼睛的鸭子嗓也不会给蒸发。 来自英汉文学
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的现在分词 );沱
- A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
- The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
嘲笑,嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )
- He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
- A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件
- Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
- The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。
adj.阴暗的( murky的最高级 );昏暗的;(指水)脏的;混浊的
- This law cannot in itself resolve the murkiest question: who owns what? 此物权法本身并没有解决这个最模糊的问题:谁拥有什么? 来自互联网
轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )
- I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时,我能听见他的轻声发笑。
- He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
n.雁叫声,汽车喇叭声
- Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭!
- While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
- The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
- Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 );用粗的声音说
- The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢,”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
- She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
- Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫,陆子潇尖声叫:“告诉什么? 来自汉英文学 - 围城
v.(使)发出雁叫似的声音,鸣(喇叭),按(喇叭)( honk的过去式和过去分词 )
- I drove up in front of the house and honked. 我将车开到屋子前面然后按喇叭。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- He honked his horn as he went past. 他经过时按响了汽车喇叭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸
- She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
- His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。