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儿童英语读物 A Horse Named Dragon CHAPTER 6 Disappearing Dragon

时间:2017-12-04 05:23来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“Easy, girl. That’s a good horse. Nice horse.” Violet spoke1 softly to each horse as Benny fed them carrots and apples. Jessie took the pictures. There were few horses in the west pasture, and the three children quickly took one photo after another.

They were nearly done when a dark blue pickup2 truck slowed near the fence. It pulled a small silver trailer. Two horses inside swished their tails side-to-side. The trailer covered the front halves of the horses. But the children saw the backsides of a big black horse and a small brown pony3.

“Look,” Benny cried, “that’s the neighbor who brought back Honey and Bunny.”

“Hey!” A cowboy in a striped shirt galloped4 up and jerked his horse to a stop. “What are you kids doing here?”

Jessie smiled. “We’re taking pictures of all the horses for—”

“Not these horses,” growled5 the man.

“Cookie asked us to,” said Violet.

“No one’s allowed out here.”

Benny folded his arms across his chest. “Why not?”

“Because … because …” The man wiggled his jaw6 from side to side for a moment. “Ah, because we got new rescue horses comin’ in. They’re, ah, sick. They could, um, bite you. No one’s allowed out here but us … us volunteers.” His horse pawed the ground, eyeing a piece of apple Benny had dropped. The man glowered7 at Jessie. “What are those pictures for?”

Jessie brightened. “Well, you see, we’re going to put them on the Inter—”

Suddenly, the man’s horse jerked its head down, yanking the man forward. A large yellow envelope fell out of the man’s shirt pocket onto the ground. Money spilled out. He jumped off his horse and grabbed the envelope, shoving the bills back inside. Then he tucked the envelope back in his shirt and climbed on his horse. The man reached for Jessie’s camera. “I’ll take your pictures, girlie,” he said, “and bring them to you later.”

In the distance, a cowbell rang. “No, thank you,” said Jessie, clutching her brand new birthday camera. She would not leave it with someone she didn’t know. The cowbell rang again.

“We have to go,” said Violet. “It’s time for our ride.”

And with that, the three children ran off across the west pasture, through the fence and field of tall hay, and didn’t slow until they were a good distance away.

“He really didn’t want us taking pictures,” said Jessie.

“That’s ’cause the horses might bite us,” said Benny. He took the last carrot out of the bag, munching8 happily as they walked.

“If you ask me,” Violet said, “the only thing those horses wanted to bite were carrots and apples.”

The cowbell rang again and the three children ran as fast as they could across the pasture toward the corral. At last they would get the chance to ride.

Jessie stopped in the ranch9 house to put her camera in Cookie’s office. She quickly plugged it into Cookie’s computer. She typed in “Jessie’s File,” and copied her horse photos from the camera to the computer. Tonight, after dinner, she would teach Cookie how to post the rescue horse photos on the Dare to Dream Website.

Clang, clang, clang, went the dinner bell.

Jessie unplugged her camera and set it carefully on the shelf above the computer. Then she ran out to the corral to saddle Dragon.

But Dragon wasn’t in the corral. Jessie ran out to the pasture. In the distance, Bucky stood next to the fence surrounded by several horses. “Have you seen Dragon?” called Jessie.

“Not since this morning,” he called back. He took off his feathered hat. “Eeeeeeeehaaaa!” he yelled, waving his hat at the horses, shooing them back into the pasture. A couple of orange feathers floated out. “Maybe he’s still in the stable.”

Jessie ran to the stable, but Dragon’s stall was empty. Jessie’s stomach did a flip-flop. Something was wrong. She found Alyssa in the corral, saddling the horses for their ride. “I can’t find Dragon,” said Jessie.

“Oh, he’s here somewhere,” said the wrangler10. “Sometimes Dragon wanders off. He likes to explore. We should have named him Christopher Columbus.” She saw the worry on Jessie’s face. “He’ll turn up,” said Alyssa. “He always does. Meanwhile, you can ride Jumpin’ Jack11 here. He’s a real sweetie.”

Alyssa led the children on the long trail that wound along the ranch fence. “Benny,” said the wrangler. “Try not to hold onto the saddle horn. Cowboys hold the reins12 with their hands and grip the horse with their knees.” Slowly, Benny let go of the horn. He squeezed the saddle with his knees. It felt scary not to hold on. But he wanted to learn to ride like a real cowboy.

Henry rode next to Jessie. “Don’t be sad,” he said.

She patted Jumpin’ Jack’s neck. “I’m worried about Dragon. What if he’s been stolen?”

“He’s not stolen,” said Henry, trying to make her feel better.

“Then where is he?” Jessie asked.

But Henry had no answer.

They rode past the fence where Bucky had been shooing the horses. Lots-o’-Dots sniffed13 the air. Suddenly, he jerked his head to the left and trotted14 toward the fence.

“Whoa!” cried Benny. The small boy leaned back, pulling on the reins with all his might, but Lots-o’-Dots kept going. The little horse went straight to the fence and bent15 his head to the ground. Benny tugged16 and tugged, but Lots-o’-Dots wouldn’t budge17.

Jessie climbed down to see what Benny’s horse had found. “Look,” she said, picking up a handful of grain. “Someone dumped oats in the grass.”

Alyssa rode over. “What’s the problem?”

“Lots-o’-Dots found some oats to eat,” said Benny.

“Who would put oats so close to the fence?” asked Henry.

“Tourists.” Alyssa took off her red hat to shoo flies off her horse. “All summer, city folks stop to give treats to our horses—sugar cubes, carrots, apples. You’d think they never saw a horse before. Though this is the first time I’ve seen them bring oats.” She looked at the children. “Would anybody like to do a little cantering?”

“Yes!” they all cheered. For they loved to ride fast, and a canter was almost as fast as a full-out run.

Alyssa grabbed Lots-o’-Dot’s reins and led him back to the trail. “Let’s ride!” she said. And, tapping their horses with their heels, the eager group took off, cantering across the sprawling18 ranch.

As they rode, Jessie looked for Dragon. She didn’t see him anywhere. They rode and rode, across pastures and through fields of tall hay, over hills, and past stands of towering pines until they reached a far pasture. Three enormous trees grew there.

Alyssa held her hand up high. It was the signal to stop. The children pulled back on their reins and walked their horses into the trees’ cool shade.

“This is where I helped fix the broken fence,” Henry said, proudly, pointing toward the road. “I dug in those two new posts and helped Kurt string the wire.”

“Let’s give our horses a rest.” Alyssa said. “You can stretch your legs.”

Violet took her sketchpad and pencil from her saddlebag. She was eager to begin planning her mural. These trees and horses would look beautiful painted on the side of the barn. Near the fence, she picked up a long brown pod. Last year, for a school science project, she collected leaves from her neighborhood. She glued them onto construction paper and stitched the pages into a book called The Trees of Greenfield. “This is from a honey locust19,” she said, shaking the pod. The seeds inside rattled20.

“That fell off of the branch that broke the fence,” said Henry.

Violet looked at the three big trees. There were no other trees nearby. “These are maples,” she said. “There’s no honey locust here.”

“Kurt said a wind must have blown the branch down,” Henry replied.

“That must have been one strong wind,” Violet said.

Benny lay in the shade of a tree, staring straight up. “Why does this tree have holes in it?” he asked.

“Remember our trip to Canada?” asked Jessie. “At the sugar camp, we saw people drill holes like these into maple21 trees, then hook buckets under each hole.”

“The syrup22 ran out of the trees into the buckets!” said Benny.

Alyssa nodded. “Some of that maple syrup you ate on your flapjacks came right from these three maple trees.”

“And,” added Henry, “cowboys leave notes in these holes.”

Alyssa laughed. “I never heard that one before.”

Henry walked around the tree but the note he’d found about the gray Arabian and brown spotted23 pony was gone.

Something floated down from the tree. “Helicopters!” Benny picked up a small seedpod shaped like an 8. He threw the pod high into the air. As it floated down, it spun24 around and around, like the blades of a helicopter. Soon, the others scurried25 around, gathering26 “helicopters” to launch into flight. Benny stuffed a bunch into his pocket to play with later.

After a rest, they rode back toward the corral. When they reached the fence where the oats had been, Henry rode over. He studied the wire nailed to the fencepost. “Look,” he said. “Fence wire should be twisted nice and tight so it can’t open. But this wire has loops on the end that are hooked around bent nails.” He climbed off Lightning and lifted the fence wire off of the nails. The fence opened like a gate. Henry knelt down, studying the ground.

“What are you looking for?” asked Jessie.

“Hoofprints,” Henry said. And sure enough they saw horse tracks leading out of the pasture onto the dirt. Once again, the horseshoe prints ended where tire tracks began. Shivers ran up Jessie’s neck. Now she knew why she couldn’t find Dragon in the corral or the pasture. Now she understood why Dragon wasn’t in his stall. Alyssa had been wrong. Dragon wasn’t out exploring.

Tears mixed with anger as Jessie stared at the hoofprint that had one square toe. “Dragon,” Jessie whispered. “Someone stole Dragon!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
2 pickup ANkxA     
n.拾起,获得
参考例句:
  • I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。
3 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
4 galloped 4411170e828312c33945e27bb9dce358     
(使马)飞奔,奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 ); 快速做[说]某事
参考例句:
  • Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
  • The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。
5 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
7 glowered a6eb2c77ae3214b63cde004e1d79bc7f     
v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He just glowered without speaking. 他一言不发地皱眉怒视我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He glowered at me but said nothing. 他怒视着我,却一言不发。 来自辞典例句
8 munching 3bbbb661207569e6c6cb6a1390d74d06     
v.用力咀嚼(某物),大嚼( munch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was munching an apple. 他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果,但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。 来自辞典例句
9 ranch dAUzk     
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。
10 wrangler poQyt     
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。
11 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
12 reins 370afc7786679703b82ccfca58610c98     
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带
参考例句:
  • She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
  • The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。
13 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
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。
15 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
16 tugged 8a37eb349f3c6615c56706726966d38e     
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
  • A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
18 sprawling 3ff3e560ffc2f12f222ef624d5807902     
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着)
参考例句:
  • He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
  • a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
19 locust m8Dzk     
n.蝗虫;洋槐,刺槐
参考例句:
  • A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
  • This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。
20 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
21 maple BBpxj     
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
参考例句:
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
22 syrup hguzup     
n.糖浆,糖水
参考例句:
  • I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
  • Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。
23 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
24 spun kvjwT     
v.纺,杜撰,急转身
参考例句:
  • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
  • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
25 scurried 5ca775f6c27dc6bd8e1b3af90f3dea00     
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见,然后扭头跑回去干活了。
  • It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来,我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
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