STORY XIII Buster and the Little Girl

Instead of showing fear when Buster approached the bed, the little girl held out a hand, and when he was near enough she took one of his shaggy paws and patted it. This seemed natural enough to Buster, for he could not understand why any one should be afraid of him, and Chiquita had done the same thing many times; but to most little girls perhaps it would seem like a brave and fearless thing. This little girl like Little Red Riding-Hood was not afraid of bears or wolves until they tried to eat her up.

“I’m glad to see you, Buster,” she said with quaint¹ gravity. “But how did you ever get here?”

Buster grinned and turned his head toward the open window. The little girl followed his gaze, and instantly understood.

“Oh, you came through the window,” she added. “That makes it so much more interesting. Fairies and elves always come through open windows. Won’t you sit down?”

[104]Buster was quite tired after his hard run, and was very glad to accept this invitation. The foot of the bed seemed a very inviting² seat, and he sat on the white coverlet.

But almost immediately he sprang up in alarm. The springs creaked under his great weight, and for a moment it looked as if the whole bed would collapse³. He jumped to his feet with a queer expression on his face. In fact, he wasn’t sure but this was some sort of a trap set for him.

But the little girl laughed merrily at the accident, and clapped both hands. He could not believe she was attempting to deceive him, and he grinned like a foolish boy who had discovered a bent⁴ pin in his chair.

“Oh, Buster,” she cried, “I guess this isn’t a bear-bed. You’re too heavy for it. Maybe the chair will hold you.”

Buster turned and looked at the chair. He seemed a little doubtful, but he wanted to be polite. He tried it carefully, but when it began to crack and groan⁵ under his weight he was wise enough not to go any further. He shook his head, and put the chair back in its place.

He didn’t mind the floor as a seat

The little girl shrieked⁶ with laughter again. It was very amusing to her, and Buster, not wishing to offend her, grinned and nodded his[105] head. He liked children, and this one was anxious to play with him. After a while she grew serious again, and looked around at every article in the room.

“I don’t know, Buster,” she said slowly, “but you’ll have to sit on the floor. I don’t think anything else is strong enough to hold you. It’s not very polite to ask visitors to sit on the floor, but what else can I do, unless you prefer to stand?”

Buster didn’t prefer to stand. He was very tired, and he didn’t mind the floor as a seat at all. In fact, it was more suitable to him than a bed or chair. So he squatted⁷ down on his haunches, and smiled. Even then his head towered above the little girl’s.

“Are you comfortable there?” she asked.

Buster nodded. “Then,” she added, “you must tell me where you came from, and how you escaped those cruel men. I want to hear the whole story. It’s better than a story from a book, and I love story books about bears. Did you ever hear the story of Goldy Locks or the Three Little Bears? No. Then I’ll tell you.”

But she didn’t have time. Just then there was a great commotion⁸ outside. Men were shouting and calling, dogs barking, and a great hullabaloo going on under the open window.

[106]“What’s that!” exclaimed the little girl, hopping⁹ out of the bed, and running to the window in her bare feet.

Buster could have told her what the noise meant, and for a moment he thought it was his duty to give himself up to keep the little girl from being harmed. Suppose the crowd searching for him should hurt her! He got up, and tried to pull her away from the window, but she pushed him back quickly.

“Go back, Buster!” she cried. “They’re looking for you, but they won’t have you. They mustn’t see you!”

The dogs below were barking. They had tracked Buster to the woodshed, and were now holding their nose up in the air baying loudly. As plain as words they were saying the bear had climbed to the roof of the shed.

The men saw the open window, and immediately a hoarse¹⁰ cry rose. “He’s gone in that window! He’s eating up little Nell! Oh! Oh!”

You could imagine Buster’s emotions when he heard this outcry. To be accused of eating up little Nell was enough to make any self-respecting bear angry. He growled¹¹ savagely¹², and started for the window again. But the little girl restrained him once more.

[107]“No, no, Buster, you mustn’t let them see you!” she cried. “Now let me think! What ought I to do? They’ll be here soon. Yes,” glancing out of the window, “they’re climbing up the shed. Oh, Buster, hide under the bed!”

Buster obeyed, but he might just as well have tried to crawl through the key-hole of the lock on the door. He couldn’t possibly squeeze under the bed without upsetting it.

“Dear me,” added Nell, biting her lips, “where can I hide you?”

She looked at the closet filled with her pretty clothes. She ran to it and looked in. It was such a small closet that Buster couldn’t possibly crowd in it.

“I don’t know, Buster,” she added, “what I can do.” She looked at her trunk. No, of course, not; she couldn’t get Buster in that. The bureau next, and then the wash-stand. Not one of them was big enough to hold one of Buster’s hind¹³ legs.

They could hear the men climbing to the roof of the shed now. In a few moments they would appear at the open window with their shot-guns and pitchforks. The little girl was more excited than Buster. Suddenly an idea came to her, and she gasped¹⁴ with delight.

[108]“Here, Buster,” she called sharply, seizing him by a paw. “You must lie down on the floor at the foot of the bed. Get way down! No, no, not that way! This way! Pull your legs up like a cat cuddling up before the fire. There, that’s right. Now don’t you move or make a sound. You hear me?”

She shook a finger warningly at him. She had made Buster curl up on the floor at the foot of the bed in the smallest space he had ever before occupied. It was not a comfortable position for him, but for the little girl’s sake he was satisfied to stay there.

Then Nell pulled the clothes down, and threw them over the foot-board of the bed and spread them out on the floor until Buster was completely covered. She laid the pillows on top just as if they had been put there to air. She had been taught to do this every morning after rising, and then open the window for the fresh air to blow in.

The men appeared at the window just as she had finished. Without waiting for an invitation they climbed in.

“Where is he?” they asked. “Where’s the bear? We thought he was in here eating you up, Nell.”

They were glancing all around the room, and if Buster hadn’t been so well concealed[109] they would have seen him. Nell turned to them with dignity, and said in her high little voice:

“What an idea! Is there a bear around here? Oh, I’d dearly like to see him! I know he wouldn’t hurt me! Where did he come from? Is he outside?”

She ran to the window and looked out. Satisfied now that Buster was not in the room, the men climbed out, but they closed the window after them, and said: “Keep that shut, Nell!”

In the next story Buster is discovered in the house.

1 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

2 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 bent   

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。

5 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

6 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

7 squatted   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• He squatted down beside the footprints and examined them closely. 他蹲在脚印旁仔细地观察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He squatted in the grass discussing with someone. 他蹲在草地上与一个人谈话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

9 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

10 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

11 growled   

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》

12 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

13 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。

14 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》