Birbal Stories: Birbal The Child

Birbal arrived late for a function and the emperor was displeased¹.

 

"My child was crying and I had to placate² him," explained the courtier.

 

"Does it take so long to calm down a child?" asked the emperor. "It appears you know nothing about child rearing³. Now you pretend to be a child and I shall act as your father and I will show you how you should have dealt with your child. Go on. Ask me for whatever he asked of you."

 

"I want a cow," said Birbal.

 

Akbar ordered a cow to be brought to the palace.

 

"I want its milk. I want its milk," said Birbal, imitating the voice of a small child.

 

"Milk the cow and give to him," said Akbar to his servants.

 

The cow was milked and the milk was offered to Birbal. He drank a little and then handed the bowl back to Akbar.

 

"Now put the rest of it back into the cow, put it back, put in back, put it back..." wailed⁴ Birbal.

 

The emperor was flabbergasted and quietly left the room. 

1 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

2 placate   

v.抚慰，平息(愤怒)

参考例句：

• He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
• Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。

3 rearing   

v.饲养( rear的现在分词 )；养育；抚养；抬起

参考例句：

• She spends a lot of time rearing animals. 她花费大量时间饲养动物。 来自辞典例句
• Soviet women carry the main burden of shopping, homemaking and child rearing. 苏联的妇女承担的主要义务就是采购，做家务及抚养孩子。 来自辞典例句

4 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句