Page 8 - ln2-011318010112

Montmorency was in it all, of course. Montmorency’s ambition in life is to
get in the way and be sworn at. If he can squirm in anywhere where he
particularly is not wanted, and be a perfect nuisance, and make people
mad, and have things thrown at his head, then he feels his day has not
been wasted.

sworn at: get scolded
Squirm: to wriggle or twist one’s body
Nuisance: to cause inconvenience or annoyance

Jerome’s pet dog Montmorency participated in all this. His aim was to
interrupt everyone and then get scolded for it. Jerome adds that if
Montmorency was able to twist into a place and create nuisance by
angering people and get things thrown at him in return, he felt that he
had utilised the day in a good way.

To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an
hour, is his highest aim and object; and, when he has succeeded in
accomplishing this, his conceit becomes quite unbearable.

Stumble: to trip over a hurdle
Curse: scold
Conceit: here, his pride in himself

Montmorency’s aim was to get people trip over him and scold him. By
doing this, he felt that he had fulfilled his aim and would feel proud of his
achievement.

He came and sat down on things, just when they were wanted to be
packed; and he laboured under the fixed belief that, whenever Harris or
George reached out their hand for anything, it was his cold damp nose
that they wanted. He put his leg into the jam, and he worried the
teaspoons, and he pretended that the lemons were rats, and got into the
hamper and killed three of them before Harris could land him with the
frying-pan.

Worried: disturbed
Pretended: to behave as if something is true when you know that it is not
land him: hit or punch someone

Montmorency sat on the things to be packed. He thought that when
George and Harris reached out for the things to be packed, they were
reaching out for his cold wet nose and would bring it forward for them.
He stepped into the jam bottle, he shook the teaspoons, he acted as if
the lemons were rats and stepped into the hamper to kill these rats. He
was stopped by Harris who hit him with a frying - pan.