Now the VOA Special English Program Words and Their Stories.
Our expressions today all contain the word cat. “To bell the cat” means to do something dangers, something that might end in disaster(災難）.
The expression comes from an old story. A family of mice（老鼠） could not live at hole to get food because of its fear of a cat. The mice decided to tie a bell around the cat’s neck（頸）. The bell would ring as the cat moved. So the mice would always know where the cat was. All agreed it was a wonderful plan. That is until one wise old mouse asked, “Who will bell the cat?”
Another cat expression is “to grin露齒而笑[(+at/with)] like a Cheshire cat.” Many people have read those words in the book “Alice Adventures in Wonderland” by British writer Lewis Carroll. In the story a little girl named Alice finds a cat smiling or grinning from ear to ear. She is very surprised. She does not know cats can grin. “Ah,” she is told, “this cat is special; it comes from Cheshire”--- that is a county in England.”
Whenever the Cheshire cat leaves, its tail（尾巴） disappeared消失 first, then its body, its wide grin is the last thing you see.
Some word experts專家 say the mysterious神秘的 smile of Cheshire cats was known long before Lewis Carroll wrote his book. It seems a man painted a picture of a smiling lion on the sign in Cheshire. It was a strange smile indeed, for he was trying to paint an angry lion.
Another expression not often used now is “to be somebody’s cat’s paw.”成為某人的貓爪，被某人利用 It means to be fooled in to doing someone else’s dirty work. It comes from an old story about a monkey. He wants some nuts heating on a fire. The monkey tries to steal the nuts. But he burns his fingers. So, he seizes the foot or paw of a cat and he uses that to pull the nuts out of the fire.
The expression “Fat Cat” describes someone who is rich. You often hear it during political campaigns政治競選. Some fat cats give lots of money to politicians they hoped will be elected將被選舉上. American jazz musicians have used the word “cat” to mean a man.
A sharp cat, for example, is a man who is dressed in the latest fashionable clothing. The great American horn player Louis Armstrong used the expression this way many years ago. Armstrong said, “I had on a new cowboy hat牛仔帽, a fine black suit, and new shining leather shoes皮鞋. I was a sharp cat.”
This VOA Special English Program “Words and Their Stories” was written by Hal Burman. The narrator was Maurice Joyce. I’m Warren Scheer.
Bell the cat給貓系上鈴鐺，這當然是沒什麽難的，但如果聯想壹個古老的寓言裏，"給貓系上鈴鐺"還是壹件很冒險的事情呢！故事的發生是這樣的：壹窩老鼠因為怕貓，結果餓的要命。於是它們認為最好的辦法是在貓的脖子上系壹個鈴鐺。這樣，鈴鐺壹響，它們就知道貓來了。大家都覺得this is a great idea."這是個好主意"，但是有壹只比較聰明的老鼠說到"這個想法是好，但是誰去給貓系上鈴鐺呢？"。當然"老鼠給貓系鈴鐺"是奢談，但如果真的有個老鼠敢為貓系上鈴鐺，那它也算是"為救眾多的老鼠而"奮不顧身"了，不過最終也是得到死無葬身之地的結果。所以bell the cat就表示"為眾人的利益承擔風險"的意思。 不知道現在的社會中是不是It's very diffcult to get a man who can bell the cat."很難找到危險時刻能夠挺身而出的人"了。
所以bell the cat就表示"為眾人承擔風險、替別人冒險"的意思。
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The Fox and the Tiger
[日期：2007-05-06] /html/2007-05/32656.shtml
An Archer， hunting in the woods， was so successful with his arrows that he killed many of the wild animals. This frightened the rest so much that they ran into the densest part of the bushes to hide. At last the Tiger stood up， and pretending to be very brave， told the other animals not to be afraid anymore， but to rely on his courage， and he would attack the enemy on his own. While he was talking， and lashing his tail and tearing at the ground with his claws to impress the others， an arrow came and pierced his ribs. The Tiger howled with pain.
While he was trying to draw out the arrow with his teeth the Fox went up to him and asked， in surprise， whoever had the strength and courage to wound such a brave and mighty beast as the Tiger？
"Nay，" said the Tiger， "I misjudged my enemy. It was that unbeatable man over there！"
MORAL： Knowledge is power.