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杨柳风 04

时间:2009-11-26 05:24来源:互联网 提供网友:天剑客   字体: [ ]
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Chapter Four Meeting Badger1

The door opened just a few inches and Mole2 and Rat heard a voice say, “Now, the next time this happens I shall be very angry. Who is it this time? Why are you disturbing me on the night like this?”

“Oh, Badger!” cried Rat. “Please, let us in. It’s me, Rat and my friend Mole. We’ve lost our way in the snow.”

“What? Rat? My dear friend?” The Badger said in a very different voice. “Come on in, both of you at once! Why, you must be almost frozen3 with cold. Oh, dear, lost in the Wild Forest and at this time of night, too! Come inside and get warm!”

The door opened and they saw a large Badger wearing a bathrobe and holding a candle.

Mole and Rat almost fell down in their hurry to get inside the warm house. The Badger looked kindly4 at the two smaller animals. He patted5 their heads.

“This isn’t the kind of night for little animals like you to be out.” He said. “Come in to the kitchen. There is a fire there and many things to eat for dinner.”

This sounded like a very good idea to Mole and Rat.

Badger’s house was very large. It had many long passages. There were strong wooden doors in the passages. Mole wondered how many rooms were in Badger’s house.

Badger’s kitchen was large and warm. There was a long table with benches. A lot of delicious looking food was on top of the table. There was a large fire in the fireplace6. It was the sort of place where friends could spend time together very comfortably.

First Badger gave Mole and Rat some warm dry clothes. Then he washed the cut on Mole’s leg with warm water. Then when the food was all ready, He told Mole and Rat to sit down at the table. How hungry they were!

It was a very long time before anyone began to talk. They were too busy eating. When they were finally finished, Mole and Rat told the story of what happened that day. Badger listened very carefully to them. He never said “I told you so” or “You should have done this” or things like that. Mole decided7 that Badger was one of the nicest animals he had ever met, except for Rat, of course.

After they had eaten, the three animals went and sat around the fire. It was a wonderful feeling to be warm and comfortable and not hungry.

After they had talked about general kinds of things, Badger said, “Now, then, tell me what’s going on in your part of the world. How is Toad8 these days?”

“Oh, it’s just terrible.” said Rat sadly. “You remember that he bought a car? Well, he is a terrible driver. He is always having accidents. In fact, he keeps on buying more cars because he is always ruining the one he’s got. If he would only let someone drive him around who knows how to drive, he would be all right. But, of course, he is so vain9. He thinks he is the best driver in the world. The situation is ridiculous10.”

“How many has he had?” asked the Badger seriously.

“How many accidents has he had or how many cars?” said the Rat. “Well, this is the seventh car if you can believe it.”

“He’s been in the hospital three times now. I can’t imagine how much money he’s had to pay.” said the Mole sadly.

“We all know that Toad is rich, but he is not a millionaire11.” said Rat. “I’m afraid he is going to be killed driving one of those cars. He could lose all his money or go to jail12. He’s always getting driving tickets. You know Toad doesn’t care about laws. Badger, we’re his friends. Do you think we ought to do something?”

The Badger thought about the problem for a few minutes.

“Now, listen here.” he said very firmly. “You know, of course, that I can’t do anything about Toad now.”

Mole and Rat understood. The laws of nature say that in winter animals do not work hard. The winter is a time for rest and sleep, while the spring, summer and autumn are the time for work and play. This was why Badger, Mole and Rat couldn’t help Toad immediately.

“Well, then, soon it will be almost spring time. I’ll be ready to be awake and doing things. Then the Rat, you and me and our friend Mole here will go to work. We’ll speak to Toad very seriously. We’ll stop him from driving any more cars. We’ll make him be a nice reasonable Toad. Well, Rat, you’re asleep!”

“No, I’m not.” said the Rat, waking up suddenly.

He had fallen asleep in his chair. The Mole laughed.

“He’s been asleep two or three times since dinner ended.” he said.

Mole himself felt very awake. This is because it was natural for Mole to live under the ground, just like Badger.

Before Mole had met Rat, he had been an underground animal and so he felt very comfortable in Badger’s house.

“Well, it’s time for all us to go to bed.” said the Badger.

He took Mole and Rat to a large room. The room was filled with the Badger’s supply of winter foods. There were apples, nuts, vegetables and jars of honey in large piles. But there were two comfortable beds in the corner with clean soft sheets.

“Don’t worry about getting up early. We’ll have breakfast anytime you like.” said the kind Badger.

The two tired animals got into bed and were asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillows13.

In the morning Mole and Rat woke up very late. When they woke up, they went into the kitchen. There they found two young animals, called hedgehogs, sitting at the table and eating breakfast. When the hedgehogs saw Mole and Rat, they jumped up and bowed to them politely.

“Sit down! Sit down and finish your breakfast.” said the Rat cheerfully14. “Now, where have you young children come from? Did you get lost in the snow?”

“Yes, sir.” said one of the hedgehogs. “My little brother Billy and I were going to school. But we got lost in the snow. Then Billy got frightened and cried. But then we found Mr. Badger’s house. He was very kind to us.”

“I understand.” said the Rat.

He began to cook some bacon15, while the Mole fired some eggs.

“What is the weather like today?”

“Oh, it’s terrible, sir.” said one of the little hedgehogs. “The snow is very deep. I don’t think you’ll be able to leave today.”

“Where is Mr. Badger?” asked the Mole.

“Mr. Badger went into his room, sir. He told us he was very busy and he did not want to be disturbed for any reason.” replied the hedgehog.

Mole and Rat understood. An animal is very, very busy for one half of the year and very sleepy for the other half. So Badger was busy sleeping.

Suddenly the doorbell rang loudly. The Rat was eating some bread and butter. He sent Billy, the hedgehog, to see who it was.

After a moment, the Otter16 came running into the kitchen. He immediately threw his arms around Rat with a happy shout.

“Get off me!” cried the Rat. His mouth was full of bread.

“I thought I would find you two here.” said the Otter happily. “All the river animals were very worried about both of you. They were very upset this morning.”

‘Rat and Mole have been gone all night. Something terrible must have happened’ they said.

“Well, I knew that when animals have problems they go to Badger. So I went into the Wild Forest. I saw a rabbit sitting by a tree. The silly animal was so scared of me that I had to hit him several times before he would talk. The rabbit said he had seen Mole in the woods last night. All the rabbits were talking about it. Mole was in great danger because they were out hunting for him.”

‘Well, why didn’t you rabbits do something to help him?’ I said. ‘You might be stupid, but there are lots of you.’

‘Do something, us rabbits?’ was all he said.

“What a stupid animal! I left him sitting there and came here. And here you are.”

“But were you afraid to walk around in the Wild Forest?” asked Mole.

He remembered how terrible yesterday had been.

The Otter laughed. Mole saw his strong sharp white teeth.

“Oh, no.” he said. “I’ll make them afraid if I ran into any of them. No one bothers me in the Wild Forest. Now, Mole, be a good little Mole and fry me some ham. I’ve got a lot to talk to Rat about. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

So the Mole fried17 some ham and they all sat down to eat it. Soon the Badger appeared in the kitchen. He greeted everyone very kindly.

“It’s almost lunchtime.” he said to the Otter. “You’d better stay here and eat with us. You must be hungry on this cold morning.”

“Oh, yes.” said the Otter.

The Badger sent someone to take the little hedgehogs back to their home. After a while, the other animals sat down to eat lunch.

Mole saw that he was sitting next to the Badger. The Otter and Rat were having a very long conversation about the river. So Mole and Badger began to talk. They discovered that they were very much alike18 because they lived underground. Mole told Badger how much he liked his house.

“Living underground is the best. That’s what I think.” said the Mole.

“You always know exactly where you are and nothing bad can happen to you. Things might change in the outside, but underground they’re always the same. No wind, snow or storms can harm you.”

The Badger smiled at him.

“That’s exactly what I always say. Here, after we finish eating, I’ll show you the rest of your house. I know you are the kind of animal who will appreciate it.”

After lunch, the Rat and Otter went to sit by the fire. Badger lit a candle and told Mole to follow him.

The Badger’s house was the most amazing house Mole had ever seen. It was much, much bigger than Toad’s house, but it was under the ground. There were many passages, tunnels19 and doors. The doors led to many large rooms.

“Badger,” Mole said finally. “How did you ever build this house? It’s astonishing20! It must have taken you years and years.”

“It would have been amazing,” said the Badger, “if I had built it. But I didn’t build it. All I did was clean out the passages and the rooms. There are many more rooms and passages that we don’t see. I don’t even know how many rooms there are.”

Mole did not know what to say.

“Let me tell you some history.” said the Badger. “Many hundreds of years ago, before the Wild Forest existed, there was a great city of humans who lived under the ground. They built this place. Really, this is not a house. It is an underground city.”

“What happened to the humans?” asked the Mole.

“Who knows? Humans come, they stay for a while, and then they move somewhere else. That is their custom. But we animals remain. There were badgers21 living here long before the people and now there are badgers here again. We badgers are very patient animals, you see. We may leave for a while, but we always come back to our underground home.”

Badger’s words gave Mole a lot to think about. He remembered his own little home under the ground. He hadn’t seen it for a long time.

When Badger and Mole returned to the kitchen, they saw that Rat was very eager to go home to the river. The underground made him uncomfortable. He liked fresh air and sunshine.

“Relax, Rat.” said Badger. “I’ll show you a shortcut22 through the Wild Forest and you’ll be home in no time.

The Badger took Mole, Rat and Otter through a very long underground passage. It seemed that they walked for a very long time. However, finally they arrived at a part of the passage that was just under the ground. The passage let out into the open air. Mole could see the sunshine. Quickly the Badger let them out of the passage and said goodbye. The three animals thanked Badger for his kindness.

Now the Otter led them through the rest of the Wild Forest. The Otter was almost as powerful23 an animal as the Badger, so Mole and Rat felt safe with him. Finally they reached the forest end. They were looking at the green fields and the river was nearby. All of the animals were very happy to be going home, away from the dark forest.

Happily the animals hurried toward24 the river back to Rat’s house. As he ran, the Mole realized that he was really a field animal. He might live under the ground like Badger, but he also liked the little gardens and the fresh air and the sunshine. The Wild Forest was not his kind of place.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 badger PuNz6     
v.一再烦扰,一再要求,纠缠
参考例句:
  • Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
  • If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他,我相信他会同意。
2 mole 26Nzn     
n.胎块;痣;克分子
参考例句:
  • She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
  • The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。
3 frozen 2sVz6q     
adj.冻结的,冰冻的
参考例句:
  • He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上,他被冻死了。
  • The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。
4 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
5 patted 6da7c23c1ea46b18fa6e7a496a795c14     
v.轻拍( pat的过去式和过去分词 );拍成,拍至;表扬,称赞(某人/自己)
参考例句:
  • She patted the dog on the head. 她轻轻地拍着狗的头。
  • He leaned forward and patted me on the shoulder. 他向前倾着身子并拍我的肩膀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 fireplace YjUxz     
n.壁炉,炉灶
参考例句:
  • The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
  • I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 toad oJezr     
n.蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆
参考例句:
  • Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
  • Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。
9 vain qixwq     
adj.徒劳的,徒然的,无效的,空虚的,自负的
参考例句:
  • It was in vain that we tried to find his mother.我们百般设法找他的母亲,但毫无结果。
  • He's very vain of his abilities.他对于自己的能力很自负。
10 ridiculous RCTzv     
adj.荒谬的,可笑的;荒唐的
参考例句:
  • It is simply ridiculous to attempt such a thing.试图干这种事,简直可笑。
  • It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life.这是我有生以来听到的最为荒唐可笑的事。
11 millionaire r7gzP     
n.百万富翁,大富豪
参考例句:
  • The millionaire put up a lot of money for the church.这位百万富翁为教会捐了许多钱。
  • She wants to marry a millionaire.她想嫁给一位有钱人。
12 jail F31xo     
n.监狱,看守所;vt.监禁,拘留
参考例句:
  • The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
  • If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西,最终会被抓进监狱的。
13 pillows 9243d69ddeac95adbf19a0da14bf9af0     
n.枕头( pillow的名词复数 );用作枕头的东西
参考例句:
  • She lay back against the pillows. 她半躺半坐靠在枕头上。
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 cheerfully jUhyR     
adv.高兴地,愉快地
参考例句:
  • The train rolled cheerfully into the station.火车欢呼着驶进车站。
  • He takes our advice quite cheerfully.他欣然接受我们的劝告。
15 bacon vPny9     
n.咸肉,熏肉
参考例句:
  • He is frying the bacon.他在煎咸肉。
  • This bacon is too salty for me.这块熏咸猪肉我觉得太咸了。
16 otter 7vgyH     
n.水獭
参考例句:
  • The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说,竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
  • She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。
17 fried osfz81     
adj.油煎的;油炒的
参考例句:
  • I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
  • I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。
18 alike kLUyz     
adj.同样的,相像的;adv.一样地;同程度地 
参考例句:
  • The twins are so alike that I can't tell which is which.这对双胞胎一模一样,我分辨不出谁是谁。
  • All stories seemed dreadfully alike,no matter who told them.看来,不管谁讲,故事都是千篇一律的。
19 tunnels 12a236f766f5696ea5dc5ead9a4a8595     
隧道,地道( tunnel的名词复数 ); (动物栖息的)穴
参考例句:
  • The badger sett had twelve entrances to what must have been a labyrinth of tunnels. 这个獾穴有12 个入口,下面必定有一套错综复杂的地道。
  • Workers could not clear the tunnels of smoke. 工人们无法清除隧道里的烟雾。
20 astonishing Ny2zna     
adj.令人惊讶,惊人的
参考例句:
  • The new houses have been built with astonishing speed.这些房子的修建速度快得惊人。
  • I find it quite astonishing that none of you liked the play.我感到惊讶的是你们谁都不喜欢那个剧。
21 badgers d3dd4319dcd9ca0ba17c339a1b422326     
n.獾( badger的名词复数 );獾皮;(大写)獾州人(美国威斯康星州人的别称);毛鼻袋熊
参考例句:
  • Badgers had undermined the foundations of the church. 獾在这座教堂的地基处打了洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • And rams ' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. 5染红的公羊皮,海狗皮,皂荚木。 来自互联网
22 shortcut Cyswg     
n.近路,捷径
参考例句:
  • He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
  • If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。
23 powerful E1Zzi     
adj.有力的,有权力的,强大的
参考例句:
  • The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
  • Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音!
24 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
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