5 The Ant-Eater

The Ant-Eater Some wealthy folks from U.S.A., Who lived near San Francisco Bay, Possessed an only child called Roy, A plump and unattractive boy–Half-baked, half-witted and half-boiled, But worst of all, most dreadfully spoiled. Whatever Roy desired each day, His father bought him right away– Toy motor-cars, electric trains, The latest model aeroplanes, A colour television-set, A saxophone, a clarinet, Expensive teddy-bears that talked, And animals that walked and squawked. That house contained sufficient toys To thrill a half a million boys.

几个住在旧金山湾附近的美国富人有一个独子，名叫罗伊，是个胖胖的、不怎么讨人喜欢的男孩——半生不熟、半生不熟、半生不熟，但最糟糕的是，他被惯坏了。 不管罗伊每天想要什么，他父亲都会马上给他买玩具汽车、电动火车、最新型号的飞机、彩色电视机、萨克斯管、单簧管、昂贵的会说话的泰迪熊，还有会走路会叫的动物。 那房子里的玩具足够让50万男孩兴奋。

(As well as this, young Roy would choose, Two pairs a week of brand-new shoes.) And now he stood there shouting, "What "On earth is there I haven't got? "How hard to think of something new! "The choices are extremely few!" Then added, as he scratched his ear, "Hold it! I've got a good idea! "I think the next thing I must get "Should be a most peculiar pet– "The kind that no one else has got– "A giant ANT-EATER! Why not?" As soon as father heard the news, He quickly wrote to all the zoos. "Dear Sirs," he said, "My dear keepers, "Do any of you have ant-eaters?"

（除此之外，小罗伊每周还会选择两双崭新的鞋子。）现在他站在那里大喊：“什么？”我到底还有什么没有得到的？ “想出新东西是多么困难啊！”“选择实在太少了！”然后搔搔耳朵，补充说：“等等！我有个好主意！“我想我下一个要养的应该是一只最奇特的宠物——”别人没有养过的那种——“一只巨大的食蚁动物！为什么不呢?”父亲一听到这个消息，就马上给所有的动物园写信。 “亲爱的先生们，”他说，“亲爱的饲养员们，你们有吃蚂蚁的吗？”

They answered by return of mail. "Our ant-eaters are not for sale." Undaunted, Roy's fond parent hurled More messages across the world. He said, "I'll pay you through the nose "If you can get me one of those." At last he found an Indian gent (He lived near Delhi, in a tent), Who said that he would sacrifice His pet for an enormous price (The price demanded, if you please, Was fifty thousand gold rupees). The ant-eater arrived half-dead. It looked at Roy and softly said, "I'm famished. Do you think you could "Please give me just a little food? "A crust of bread, a bit of meat? "I haven't had a thing to eat "In all the time I was at sea, "For nobody looked after me." Roy shouted, "No! No bread or meat! "Go find some ants! They're what you eat!"

他们回信了。 “我们的食蚁动物是非卖品。” 罗伊的父母毫不气馁，向世界各地发送了更多的信息。 他说，如果你能给我弄到一个，我就给你一大笔钱 最后，他找到了一个印度绅士（他住在德里附近的一个帐篷里），他说他愿意以高昂的价格牺牲他的宠物（如果你愿意的话，要求的价格是5万金卢比）。 那个吃蚂蚁的人来的时候已经半死。 它看着罗伊，轻声说：“我饿了。 你能不能给我一点吃的？ “一块面包，一块肉？” “我在海上的那段时间里没有吃过东西，因为没有人照顾我。” 罗伊喊道：“不！没有面包和肉！“去找一些蚂蚁！”它们就是你吃的东西！”

The starving creature crawled away. It searched the garden night and day, It hunted every inch of ground, But not one single ant it found.

饥饿的动物爬走了。 它夜以继日地搜寻花园，它找遍了每一寸土地，但没有找到一只蚂蚁。

"Please give me food!" the creature cried. "Go find an ant!" the boy replied. By chance, upon that very day, Roy's father's sister came to stay– A foul old hag of eighty-three Whose name, it seems, was Dorothy. She said to Roy, "Come let us sit "Out in the sun and talk a bit." Roy said, "I don't believe you've met "My new and most unusual pet?" He pointed down among the stones Where something lay, all skin and bones. "Ant-eater!" he yelled. "Don't lie there yawning! "This is my ant! Come say good morning!" (Some people in the U.S.A. Have trouble with the words they say. However hard they try, they can't Pronounce a simple word like AUNT. Instead of AUNT, they call it ANT, Instead of CAN'T, they call it KANT.) Roy yelled, "Come here, you so-and-so!

“请给我食物吧！” “去找一只蚂蚁！”男孩回答。 碰巧就在那天，罗伊父亲的妹妹来住了——一个八十三岁的老巫婆，她的名字好像叫多萝西。 她对罗伊说：“来吧，让我们坐在外面的阳光下，聊聊天。” 罗伊说：“我想你还没见过我那最不寻常的新宠物吧？”他指着下面的石头，那里躺着什么东西，全是皮包骨。 “吃蚂蚁的！”“别躺在那儿打哈欠！”“这是我的蚂蚁！”过来说早安！”(美国的一些人 听不懂他们说的话。 不管他们怎么努力，他们连AUNT这样简单的单词都发不出来。 他们把它叫做ANT，而不是AUNT，他们把它叫做KANT。)罗伊喊道：“过来，你这个某某人！