儿童英语读物 A Horse Named Dragon CHAPTER 1 Dare to Dream

Six-year-old Benny Alden bolted awake in the middle of the night. Where was he? He sat straight up in bed. His heart drummed.

This wasn’t his bed!

Far away, a horse whinnied. Benny breathed a deep sigh. Now he remembered. He was on vacation with his brother and sisters at the Dare to Dream Ranch¹. This was their first night sleeping in the bunkhouse. But—what woke him?

Benny slid out of bed, careful not to wake his big brother Henry asleep in the top bunk². He tiptoed past his sisters. Twelve-year-old Jessie’s arm flopped³ over the side of the top bunk. In the bunk below, ten-year-old Violet cuddled her stuffed panda. The girls did not stir as Benny tiptoed past.

At the window, Benny pulled aside the curtain and peered out. The sliver⁴ of moon gave off little light. Benny could barely see the large barn in the distance. Far away, the horse whinnied again. But Benny could not see any horses. He listened to the night sounds. Crickets chirruped. Soft winds creaked the rocking chairs on the bunkhouse porch.

Wait! Were those voices? Whispers? Benny listened hard. A sudden gust⁵ of wind rustled⁶ the trees. He didn’t hear any more voices. Maybe what he’d heard was just the sound of the wind.

The horse whinnied a third time. Benny heard a faint clip-clop of hooves. A truck engine started up. He listened as the truck drove away. Then, silence.

Benny yawned, then yawned again. He’d better get some sleep. Tomorrow was the Alden children’s first full day working and playing at the Dare to Dream Ranch.

Fourteen-year-old Henry woke at dawn. He jumped down from his bunk and looked out the window. Far across the ranch, he saw cowboys on horseback. “Eeeeee-haaaa!” came their faint shouts. “Eeeeee-haaaa!”

Henry ran to the bunks⁷. “Wake up,” he said, gently shaking his sleeping brother and sisters. “The wranglers⁹ are bringing the horses in from the pasture.”

The excited children quickly washed, then dressed in jeans and T-shirts. They put on cowboy hats to shade them from the sun and cowboy boots for riding horses. Then they ran to the corral. The corral was a circle as big as a schoolyard, with a rail fence all around. The children scrambled¹⁰ up and sat on the top rail to watch. Wranglers on horseback called out “Eeeeee-haaaa,” as they shooed horses in.

A spirited black horse ran into the corral. It had a large white spot shaped like a dragon on its back. “Dragon!” yelled Jessie, clapping her hands. Her favorite horse looked up and shook its head.

The other children searched for their favorite horses. Their grandfather, James Alden, often brought them to the Dare to Dream Ranch to ride. He and the owner, Cookie Miller¹¹, were childhood friends. Cookie had taught the children how to ride, and the children practiced hard. Each time they came, they rode better and better.

When Cookie heard that Grandfather Alden was going away on business for a few days, she invited the children to stay at the ranch.

“You’ll have to work, just like regular ranch hands,” she told them. “But you’ll also get to ride.” The Alden children liked to work, and they loved to ride. “Yes!” they had said, at once.

A small white horse with black dots walked into the corral.

“Lots-o’-Dots,” called Benny. The little horse looked up and snorted. It trotted¹² over to Benny. “He remembers me!” Benny cried. Lots-o’-Dots had been brought to the ranch a month ago. Benny was the first guest to ride him. The horse nuzzled Benny’s pocket. “You’re looking for a treat, aren’t you?” said Benny. “I’ll bring you something from breakfast.”

A powerful brown horse burst into the corral. Henry put his thumb and pinky in his mouth and blew out a short, shrill¹³ whistle. The horse whinnied and reared up on its hind¹⁴ legs, pawing the air. Then it pranced¹⁵ over.

“Hey, Lightning,” said Henry, scratching the horse behind the ears. “How are you, boy?”

Violet waited and waited, searching for her horse. “Does anyone see Daisy?”

“The horses are still coming in,” said Jessie. “Daisy will be here soon.”

But Violet was afraid Daisy was gone. Daisy was one of Dare to Dream’s “rescue horses.” These were horses rescued from all over the country. Some had wandered away from their homes. They were found sick or hungry or injured. Cookie nursed them until they were well. Then she found good families to adopt them. A year ago, a Boy Scout¹⁶ troop had found Daisy wandering the hills of Montana. The gray horse was skinny from hunger and hurt by a bobcat’s bites. The troop sent Daisy to the Dare to Dream Ranch. Last month, when Violet came to ride, Daisy’s wounds had healed and she’d grown nice and plump.

Violet watched the horses filling the corral. Most were regular horses, the ones ridden by wranglers and guest riders. But a few, like Daisy, were rescue horses.

“I still don’t see her,” said Violet. “Maybe she’s been adopted.” She did hope Daisy found a family to love and care for her. But Violet wished she might ride the gentle gray horse one more time.

“There,” cried Jessie, “there’s Daisy.” And coming into the corral, prancing¹⁷ as prettily¹⁸ as a princess, was Violet’s very favorite horse. “Here, Daisy. Here, girl.” Violet laughed as Daisy danced over.

Suddenly, a wrangler⁸ came riding fast around the barn. Her face looked grim under her red cowboy hat. Her horse thundered past the corral as it raced toward the main house.

“Something’s wrong,” said Henry, jumping down from the fence. The other children followed, running full speed. By the time they reached the ranch house, the wrangler was on the front porch talking excitedly to Cookie.

“Gone,” the young woman was saying. “We must call the police. Someone stole Honey and Bunny!”

1 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

3 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

5 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

6 rustled   

v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bunks   

n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话

参考例句：

• These bunks can tip up and fold back into the wall. 这些铺位可以翻起来并折叠收入墙内。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last they turned into their little bunks in the cart. 最后他们都钻进车内的小卧铺里。 来自辞典例句

8 wrangler   

n.口角者，争论者；牧马者

参考例句：

• When the strangled wrangler dangles the mangled spangles on the bangle jangle.被绞死的辩论者晃荡时，手镯上撕碎的小金属片发出刺耳的声音。
• A wrangler is a cowboy who works with cattle and horses.牧马者是放牧牛马的牛仔。

9 wranglers   

n.争执人( wrangler的名词复数 )；在争吵的人；（尤指放马的）牧人；牛仔

参考例句：

10 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

13 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

14 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

15 pranced   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
• The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句

16 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

17 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

18 prettily   

adv.优美地；可爱地

参考例句：

• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。
• She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。