(原版)澳大利亞語文第三冊 LESSON 7

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LESSON 7 A LETTER TO A CHILD

A LETTER TO A CHILD

The following letter from Thomas Hood was sent to a little girl friend, when the writer was lying ill in London:——

Devonshire Lodge,

1st July.

My Dear May,

1. How do you do, and how do you like the sea? Not much, perhaps; it's "so big." But shouldn't you like a nice little ocean that you could put in a pan? Yet the sea, although it looks rather ugly at first, is very useful; and if I were near it this dry summer, I would carry it all home to water the garden with at Stratford, and it would be sure to drown all the blights, May -flies and all!

2. I remember that, when I saw the sea, it used sometimes to be very fussy and fidgety [1] , and did not always wash itself quite clean; but it was very fond of fun. Have the waves ever run after you yet, and turned your two little shoes into pumps full of water?

3. If you want a joke you might push Dunnie into the sea, and then fish for him as they do for a Jack [2] . But don't go in yourself, and don't let the baby go in and swim away, although he is the shrimp of the family.

4. Did you ever taste the sea water? The fishes are so fond of it they keep drinking it all the day long. Dip your little finger in, and then suck it to see how it tastes. A glass of it warm with sugar and a grate of nutmeg [3] would astonish you.

5. The water of the sea is so saline [4] , I wonder nobody catches salt fish in it. I should think a good way would be to go out in a butter boat, with a little melted butter for sauce.

6. Have you been bathed yet in the sea, and were you afraid? I was the first time, and the time before that; and, dear me, how I kicked, and screamed—or, at least, meant to scream, but the sea, ships and all, began to run into my mouth, and so I shut it up.

7. By the bye, did you ever dive your head under water with your legs up in the air like a duck, and try whether you could cry "quack"？ Some animals can! I would try, but there is no sea here, so I am forced to dip into books.

8. I have been very ill; my legs are so wasted away that somebody says my pins are only needles; and I am so weak, I dare say you could push me down on the floor, and right through the carpet, unless it was a strong pattern.

9. There are no flowers, I suppose, on the beach, or I would ask you to bring me a bunch, as you used at Stratford. But there are little crabs! If you could catch one for me, and teach it to dance the polka, it would make me quite happy; for I have not had any toys or play-things for a long time.

10. Did you ever try, like a little crab, to run two ways at once? See if you can do it, for it is good fun; never mind tumbling over yourself a little at first. It would be a good plan to hire a little crab for an hour a day, to teach baby to crawl if he can't walk: if I was his mamma, I would , too! Bless him! But I must not write on him any more—he is so soft, and I have nothing but steel pens.

11. And now good-bye; Fanny has made my tea, and I must drink it before it gets too hot, as we all were last Sunday week. They say the glass [5] was 83 in the shade, which is a great age! The last fair breeze I blew dozens of kisses for you, but the wind changed, and I am afraid took them to Miss H——or somebody that it shouldn't.

12. Give my love to everybody, and my compliments [6] to all the rest, and remember I am, my dear May, your loving friend,

—THOMAS HOOD

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[1] fidgety: Restless.

[2] jack: A young pike.

[3] a grate of nutmeg: A small quantity, such as might be got by running the nutmeg down the grater.

[4] saline: Salty.

[5] glass: Thermometer.

[6] compliments: Kind wishes; regards.