唸音 【TT4】

They vowed to have no more rows, since they were rowing the same boat now.  But when one of them said, “A rower does not row for pay, just as a mower does not mow for hay,” another of them said, “Right, and a doter does not become a doter because he has a daughter, just as a daw does not become a daw because he has a little dough,” and a third of them added, “Right. The daw with a maw is a daw without a flaw, but the daw with a flaw is a daw without a maw.”  Will such saws lead them to rows again?  I really don't know.

〔中譯〕 他們發誓不要再有爭吵，既然他們現在正在划同一條船。可是，當他們其中之一說「划船者，不為報酬而划，猶如割草者不為乾草而割」時，他們之另一人說：「對，而溺愛者不是因為有女兒而變成溺愛者，猶如穴烏 (呆瓜) 不是因為有一點麵糰 (金錢) 而變成穴烏 (呆瓜)。」而他們之第三個補充說：「對。有素囊的穴烏是沒有缺陷的穴烏，可是有缺陷的呆瓜是沒有素囊的呆瓜。」如此的格言會導致他們再爭吵嗎？我真的不知道。

〔注解〕

1. vow (發誓) 與 row (爭吵) 都是與 now 同韻，有 /au/ 音。

2. row (划)、mow (割)、rower (划船者)、mower (割草者) 都與 know ㄧ樣有 /o/ 韻。

3. pay：付款、酬勞。  hay：乾草。  這兩字互相押韻。

4. dote：溺愛。  doter (溺愛者) 唸 ，有別於 daughter 。

5. daw ：穴烏 (鴉類：= jackdaw)，另指「呆子」或「饒舌者」。

6. dough /do/：麵糰，俚語另指「金錢」。

7. maw ：(鳥類之) 素囊。 flaw：缺陷。 saw：格言。