Читать книгу The Antics of Algy - Musette Morell - Страница 3
ОглавлениеChapter One Some Of His Antics
ALGY ANT was bobbing up and down, wriggling and giggling. But these antics did not please Algy’s nurse. She said in a very cross voice:
“Algy, your antics give me the frantics. Now keep still and remember what I say.”
“Yes, Nursey,” said Algy, keeping still for exactly half a second.
“Now listen to me!” said Nurse. You are going out to play—”
“Oh yes—oh yes—oh yes!” cried Algy.
“Well, when you go out to play, what is it you must be careful of?”
Algy thought and thought. “First of all I must be careful of that—that—er, that—”
“Algy, can’t you remember?”
“Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, Nursey, I can remember. I’m a very good rememberer, I am.”
“Well then, when you go out to play, what is it you must be careful of?”
“First of all, that—that—yelling, tramping, stamping two-legged creature, called— called— joy!”
“Boy,” said Nurse.
“Oh yes, boy. I must be very careful of boy, cos if he sees me he’ll most certainly catch me: and if he does catch me he’ll prob’ly pick me up and put me in a box and keep me there for weeks— and weeks— and weeks— and—”
“Yes, yes!” said Nurse impatiently.
“Weeks—till I starve.”
“You’d starve long before then,” said Nurse. “What else must you be careful of?”
“I know, Nursey! I know, I know!”
“Well, what?”
“I must be careful of er—er—oh yes! that screaming, silly, giggling, wriggling one, called— called— twirl!”
“Girl, girl!” said Nurse.
“Oh yes, girl-girl.”
“Not girl-girl. Just girl,” said Nurse. “And what else must you be careful of?”
“That big whirring, grinding, slicing, splicing— corn-blower!”
“Lawn-mower,” said Nurse. “And, also, the—”
“Herds!” shouted Algy.
“Not herds, birds,” said Nurse.
“Oh yes, birds. A bird will come wheeling, squealing down and— tweak! go snipet-nippetting me up in his beak, and gobble-gobbling me down his throat.”
“That’s so,” said Nurse. “So...”
“So,” repeated Algy,
“When a little ant goes walking,
he should look to left and right,
till he sees a foe come stalking—
then run home with all his might.”
“That’s a good little antling.” said Nurse. “Now brush yourself and give yourself a lick-wash. I’d hate you to look untidy, for who’s ever seen an untidy ant?”
So Algy brushed himself with his spurs, and gave himself a good lick. Then he asked. “Now can I go out to play, Nursey?”
“Yes, till sun-down. Remember, all antlings come home at sun-down.”
“Oh. I’ll remember sun-down. Nursey, cos sun-down’s tea-time.” And Algy ran off singing a song he often sang when he was by himself and that went to the tune of “Little Brown Jug Don’t I Love Thee.”
“I’m Algernon Ant, come skipping by,
the bravest ant beneath the sky.
No frightening thing can frighten me.
for frightening things delighten me.
Ha, ha, ha! I declare
I am the ant you cannot scare!—
Ha, ha, ha! I declare
Ha, I am the ant you cannot scare.”
Suddenly there was a sound of wings, and some birds flew into view.
“Aw, look at those herds flying in the sky! I think you call them herds,” said Algy to himself. Then he yelled out very loudly,
“Twitter, twitter, silly herds,
flying in the sky!
Here I am, but you can’t see
cos you’re much too high.”
But at that moment a frightening thing happened. One bird flew down from the sky and looked at Algy in a very hungry sort of way.
“Ooooh, by my pincers and tweezers!” gasped Algy. “Herds eat ants, and I’m an ant. I think I’ll hide behind this blade of grass. He can’t see me here—he’ll never see me here! He’ll miss me here. I know he will, I’m sure he will! I feel he will. I—I—hope—he—will.”
And the bird did—and flew away.
Algy smiled, and at once began singing once more, this time to the tune of “Here We Are Again”.
“Here I am—he—he! Happy as can be. No old herdies ever can frighten me!”
Suddenly there sounded the loud, whirring, grinding, slicing, splicing sound of a lawn-mower.
Algy stopped singing. “Oooh,” thought Algy, “what’s that? I know it’s a something dangerous to ants, but I disremember what. Is it a joy, or a twirl, or a corn-blower, or a herd? I think its a corn-blower. But—Ooooh! whatever it is, I don’t think I’ll stay. I’ll just creep away—under cover—of this clover—’neath the shoulder—of this boulder—round this crinkly-wrinkly stone...Ah, how nice to be alone!”
And then, as he was quite alone, he sang loudly.
“Here I am—he—he! Happy as can be. No corn-blower ever can frighten me!”
But although Algy had got safely away from the lawnmower the birds had come flying back.
“Oh, here come those old herds again.” said Algy to himself, and he yelled out even louder than before.
“Twitter, twitter, silly herds!
‘Spose you think I ran.
Here I am,. but you can’t see—
Oh! Oooh! yes you can.”
For one bird could. This bird whose name was Mr Samuel Sparrow, had stepped down from the sky and walked over to the stone behind which Algy crouched. And after perching his head on one side for a moment, he pounced. Yes, he pounced on Algy.
“Aha! I thought I smelt an ant.
I’ve got you now!—don’t kick and pant,
you fat little nit-wit,
you tasty wee tit-bit.
Home you come to my nest above
for you’re just the dinner my babies love.”
And even though Algy kept crying out that be wasn’t a nit-wit and wasn’t a tit-bit, Mr Sparrow picked him up in his beak and flew off with him.
In Mr Sparrow’s nest-home there were three fledgling sparrows, and when the hungry babies saw what their daddy had in his beak, they each squawked, “For me!”—“For me!”—“For me!”
“Whose turn was it to be fed last time?” asked Mr Sparrow.
“Not mine!”—“Not mine!”—“Not mine!” squawked the babies.
“Whose turn is it to be fed this time?”
“Mine!”—“Mine!”—“Mine!” screamed the babies.
“It can’t be everybody’s turn.
Now don’t wriggle—squiggle—squirm.”
“Give me the worm!” squawked each of the babies.
“It’s ant, not worm. A fat little fellow.
Now open your mouths—[squawk!]
Please don’t yell-O!
Fluffy, don’t peck Beaky!
Beaky, don’t twig Squeaky!
If you’re calm, I’ll let you choose him;
if you fight, you’ll only lose him!”
But Fluffy and Beaky and Squeaky did fight, and that’s how they came to lose Algy.
Daddy Sparrow was very cross and said:
“There! You’ve lost him! Well I told you.
He’s fallen to the ground! I should scold you!
Now, now, don’t make a howdy-do!”
“Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” wept the babies.
And down, down, down from the sparrow’s nest—away down on the ground, Algy Ant was huffing and puffing as he picked himself up and counted his six legs to see if they were all there.
“Phew!” he puffed. “That was a long drop from the barrow’s nest. I—I—got away all right! They can’t catch me!” Then he sang to the tune of “Here We Are Again”,
“Here I am—he-he!
Happy as can be.
No old barrow ever can frighten me!
“To think those old baby barrows wanted to eat me! Umph! I’d like to eat something. Think it must be tea-time. Yes, sun’s down—better be getting home. I just follow this track between the two clumps of clover till I come to our nest.” And he ran home, singing to the same tune:
“I’ll be home for tea:
just rely on me.
I think tea—jolly good company.
“Ah, there’s our ant nest! What a beautiful round red home it is. Oh, and there’s Nurse at the door. Hullo, Nursey!”
“So you’ve come back at last!” snapped Nurse.
“I’ve come back fast.”
“Let me feel you with my horns. Yes its really you. You’re late. Why, even the working ants have come in. This is the last day you’ll go out to play, Algernon Ant. I’ve a good mind to pinch you with my mandibles.”
“But, Nursey-
“After this you’ll join the working ants and learn to do things.”
“But I’ve been doing things. I—I—met the great biggest big corn-blower, and the great biggest big herd—”
“I suppose you mean a lawn-mower and a bird. Were you frightened?”
“No, I was delightened. But I frightened them.”
“Now, don’t boast! Why didn’t you come home for tea?”
“But I did come home for tea. Tea’s just what I came home for.”
“Tea’s over long ago.”
Algy looked blank. “Over!” he gasped.
“Over,” said Nurse.
“Over!” murmured Algy slowly and sadly. “Oh, dearie, dearie me! Over, and I haven’t even begun!”
