SOLOMON SLOW was the son of a gentleman, who lived on the border of the New Forest. His mother called him Solomon, “Because,” she said, “he is a wise child; ‘slow and sure' is sure to do well.”

“Yes,” said his father; “but he is too slow; and unless he become a little more quick, and a little less lazy, I shall never make a man of him.”

When he was about ten years old, his father and some friends planned a picnic in the Forest, and hired a large van to take them there. They were to set out at seven in the morning. Solomon knew this, as he had heard his father say so the night before.

The sun was shining very brightly when he awoke at six the next morning;but he was as lazy as ever. “If I get up about ten minutes before seven,” said he, “I shall be down in plenty of time.” So he lay still in bed, and heard all the party pass his door as they went down stairs.

They even called to him; but he gave no answer, and only lazily rolled himself up in the clothes. At last, up he jumped, dressed, and ran down stairs;but he found the breakfast-room empty, and the van gone!

Snatching up his hat, he ran as fast as he could down the road; but there was a high wind, and the dust was in clouds everywhere. He screamed and bawled for the van to stop; but all in vain. No one could hear him; and at last, tired with running, and half choked with dust, he walked sulkily home.

But even this did not cure him. He was a lazy boy, and grew up to be a lazy man; and when in business, though the coach passed his door every day, he was seldom ready. Just look at him, in the picture, running up the hill, and bawling “Stop! stop!”

Questions

What was the boy's name? Where did he live? What did his mother say of him? What did his father say of him? At what time was the picnic party to start? When did Solomon awake? What did he say to himself? What did he find when he did come down stairs? What did he then do? Did he succeed? What kind of man did he turn out?

Pronunciation

bright'-ly an'-swer sulk'-i-ly Sol'-o-mon plen'-ty

la'-zi-ly run'-ning bus'-iness min'-utes emp'-ty

Write

heard lazily sulkily

planned answer running

brightly snatching business

所羅門·斯洛是一位紳士的兒子，家住新福里斯特旁邊。他媽媽叫他所羅門，“因為，”她說，“他是個聰明的孩子，反應慢但是踏實的人做事是很好的。”

“是的，”所羅門的父親說，“但是他也太磨磨唧唧了，除非他做事能麻利一點兒，不要那么懶，否則我覺得他永遠成不了一個男子漢。”

所羅門大約10歲的時候，他父親和一幫朋友計劃雇一輛面包車，去福里斯特野餐。他們打算早上7點出發。所羅門知道這個安排，因為他在前一天晚上就聽爸爸說過了。

第二天早上6點，所羅門起床的時候，外面陽光正燦爛，但是他還是像以前一樣懶得很。“如果我6點50起床，”他說，“那時間也足夠。”所以他依舊躺在床上不動，他的家人從他門前經過，下樓的聲音他也聽到了。

而且所羅門的家人也喊他下樓了，可他還是沒有回答，只是懶懶地開始穿衣服。最后，他終于從床上一躍而起，穿好衣服，跑下樓梯。可是，他發現早餐室里已經沒人了，面包車也走了！

所羅門飛快地抓上帽子，用最快的速度跑到路上，但是風很大，灰塵四處飛揚。他大喊大叫讓面包車停下來。但是都徒勞無益，沒人聽得見他的呼喊。最后，他累得跑不動了，被塵土也嗆得受不了了，于是便悶悶不樂地回家了。

但是，即使這一次經歷也沒能讓所羅門長教訓。他小時候很懶，長大后仍舊如此。等他工作的時候，雖然公共汽車總是從他門口經過，他也沒有準備充分的時候。只需看看圖片里的那個所羅門就行了，他在山坡上奔跑，大喊著“停下來！停下來！”