You may be sure that such a strange thing as a house for human beings to live in did not come into this wild wood without making quite a stir and excitement among the inhabitants that lived there before. All the time it was building, there was the greatest possible commotion9 in the breasts of all the older population; and there wasn’t even a black ant, or a cricket, that did not have his own opinion about it, and did not tell the other ants and crickets just what he thought the world was coming to in consequence.
Old Mrs. Rabbit declared that the hammering and pounding made her nervous, and gave her most melancholy10 forebodings of evil times. “Depend upon it, children,” she said to her long-eared family, “no good will come to us from this establishment. Where man is, there comes always trouble for us poor rabbits.”
The old chestnut-tree, that grew on the edge of the woodland ravine, drew a great sigh which shook all his leaves, and expressed it as his conviction that no good would ever come of it,—a conviction that at once struck to the heart of every chestnut-burr. The squirrels talked together of the dreadful state of things that would ensue. “Why!” said old Father Gray, “it’s evident that Nature made the nuts for us; but one of these great human creatures will carry off and gormandize upon what would keep a hundred poor families of squirrels in comfort.” Old Ground-mole said it did not require very sharp eyes to see into the future, and it would just end in bringing down the price of real estate in the whole vicinity, so that every decent-minded and respectable quadruped would be obliged to move away;—for his part, he was ready to sell out for anything he could get. The bluebirds and bobolinks, it is true, took more cheerful views of matters; but then, as old Mrs. Ground-mole observed, they were a flighty set,—half their time careering and dissipating in the Southern States,—and could not be expected to have that patriotic11 attachment12 to their native soil that those had who had grubbed in it from their earliest days.
“This race of man,” said the old chestnut-tree, “is never ceasing in its restless warfare13 on Nature. In our forest solitudes14 hitherto how peacefully, how quietly, how regularly has everything gone on! Not a flower has missed its appointed time of blossoming, or failed to perfect its fruit. No matter how hard has been the winter, how loud the winds have roared, and how high the snow-banks have been piled, all has come right again in spring. Not the least root has lost itself under the snows, so as not to be ready with its fresh leaves and blossoms when the sun returns to melt the frosty chains of winter. We have storms sometimes that threaten to shake everything to pieces,—the thunder roars, the lightning flashes, and the winds howl and beat; but, when all is past, everything comes out better and brighter than before,—not a bird is killed, not the frailest15 flower destroyed. But man comes, and in one day he will make a desolation that centuries cannot repair. Ignorant boor16 that he is, and all incapable17 of appreciating the glorious works of Nature, it seems to be his glory to be able to destroy in a few hours what it was the work of ages to produce. The noble oak, that has been cut away to build this contemptible18 human dwelling19, had a life older and wiser than that of any man in this country. That tree has seen generations of men come and go. It was a fresh young tree when Shakespeare was born; it was hardly a middle-aged20 tree when he died; it was growing here when the first ship brought the white men to our shores, and hundreds and hundreds of those whom they call bravest, wisest, strongest,—warriors, statesmen, orators21, and poets,—have been born, have grown up, lived, and died, while yet it has outlived them all. It has seen more wisdom than the best of them; but two or three hours of brutal22 strength sufficed to lay it low. Which of these dolts23 could make a tree? I’d like to see them do anything like it. How noisy and clumsy are all their movements,—chopping, pounding, rasping, hammering. And, after all, what do they build? In the forest we do everything so quietly. A tree would be ashamed of itself that could not get its growth without making such a noise and dust and fuss. Our life is the perfection of good manners. For my part, I feel degraded at the mere25 presence of these human beings; but, alas26! I am old; a hollow place at my heart warns me of the progress of decay, and probably it will be seized upon by these rapacious27 creatures as an excuse for laying me as low as my noble green brother.”
In spite of all this disquiet28 about it, the little cottage grew and was finished. The walls were covered with pretty paper, the floors carpeted with pretty carpets; and, in fact, when it was all arranged, and the garden walks laid out, and beds of flowers planted around, it began to be confessed, even among the most critical, that it was not after all so bad a thing as was to have been feared.
A black ant went in one day and made a tour of exploration up and down, over chairs and tables, up the ceilings and down again, and, coming out, wrote an article for the Crickets’ Gazette, in which he described the new abode29 as a veritable palace. Several butterflies fluttered in and sailed about and were wonderfully delighted, and then a bumble-bee and two or three honey-bees, who expressed themselves well pleased with the house, but more especially enchanted30 with the garden. In fact, when it was found that the proprietors31 were very fond of the rural solitudes of Nature, and had come out there for the purpose of enjoying them undisturbed; that they watched and spared the anemones32, and the violets, and bloodroots, and dog’s-tooth violets, and little woolly rolls of fern that began to grow up under the trees in spring; that they never allowed a gun to be fired to scare the birds, and watched the building of their nests with the greatest interest,—then an opinion in favour of human beings began to gain ground, and every cricket and bird and beast was loud in their praise.
“Mamma,” said young Tit-bit, a frisky33 young squirrel, to his mother one day, “why won’t you let Frisky and me go into that pretty new cottage to play?”
“My dear,” said his mother, who was a very wary34 and careful old squirrel, “how can you think of it? The race of man are full of devices for traps and pitfalls35, and who could say what might happen if you put yourself in their power? If you had wings like the butterflies and bees, you might fly in and out again, and so gratify your curiosity; but, as matters stand, it’s best for you to keep well out of their way.”
“But, mother, there is such a nice, good lady lives there! I believe she is a good fairy, and she seems to love us all so; she sits in the bow-window and watches us for hours, and she scatters36 corn all round at the roots of the tree for us to eat.”
“She is nice enough,” said the old mother-squirrel, “if you keep far enough off; but I tell you, you can’t be too careful.”
Now this good fairy that the squirrels discoursed38 about was a nice little old lady that the children used to call Aunt Esther, and she was a dear lover of birds and squirrels, and all sorts of animals, and had studied their little ways till she knew just what would please them; and so she would every day throw out crumbs39 for the sparrows, and little bits of bread and wool and cotton to help the birds that were building their nests, and would scatter37 corn and nuts for the squirrels; and while she sat at her work in the bow-window she would smile to see the birds flying away with the wool, and the squirrels nibbling40 their nuts. After a while the birds grew so tame that they would hop24 into the bow-window and eat their crumbs off the carpet.
“There, mamma,” said Tit-bit and Frisky, “only see Jenny Wren41 and Cock Robin5 have been in at the bow-window, and it didn’t hurt them, and why can’t we go?”
“Well, my dears,” said old Mother Squirrel, “you must do it very carefully; never forget that you haven’t wings like Jenny Wren and Cock Robin.”
So the next day Aunt Esther laid a train of corn from the roots of the trees to the bow-window, and then from the bow-window to her work-basket, which stood on the floor beside her; and then she put quite a handful of corn in the work-basket, and sat down by it, and seemed intent on her sewing. Very soon, creep, creep, creep, came Tit-bit and Frisky to the window, and then into the room, just as sly and as still as could be, and Aunt Esther sat just like a statue for fear of disturbing them. They looked all around in high glee, and when they came to the basket it seemed to them a wonderful little summer-house, made on purpose for them to play in. They nosed about in it, and turned over the scissors and the needle-book, and took a nibble42 at her white wax, and jostled the spools43, meanwhile stowing away the corn on each side of their little chops, till they both of them looked as if they had the mumps44.
Venturous Squirrels
At last Aunt Esther put out her hand to touch them, when, whisk-frisk, out they went, and up the trees, chattering and laughing before she had time even to wink45.
But after this they used to come in every day, and when she put corn in her hand and held it very still they would eat out of it; and finally they would get into her hand, until one day she gently closed it over them, and Frisky and Tit-bit were fairly caught.
Oh, how their hearts beat! but the good fairy only spoke46 gently to them, and soon unclosed her hand and let them go again. So day after day they grew to have more and more faith in her, till they would climb into her work-basket, sit on her shoulder, or nestle away in her lap as she sat sewing. They made also long exploring voyages all over the house, up and through all the chambers47, till finally, I grieve to say, poor Frisky came to an untimely end by being drowned in the water-tank at the top of the house.
The dear good fairy passed away from the house in time, and went to a land where the flowers never fade and the birds never die; but the squirrels still continue to make the place a favourite resort.
“In fact, my dear,” said old Mother Red one winter to her mate, “what is the use of one’s living in this cold, hollow tree, when these amiable48 people have erected49 this pretty cottage, where there is plenty of room for us and them too? Now I have examined between the eaves, and there is a charming place where we can store our nuts, and where we can whip in and out of the garret, and have the free range of the house; and, say what you will, these humans have delightful50 ways of being warm and comfortable in winter.”
So Mr. and Mrs. Red set up housekeeping in the cottage, and had no end of nuts and other good things stored up there. The trouble of all this was, that, as Mrs. Red was a notable body, and got up to begin her housekeeping operations, and woke up all her children, at four o’clock in the morning, the good people often were disturbed by a great rattling51 and fuss in the walls, while yet it seemed dark night. Then sometimes, too, I grieve to say, Mrs. Squirrel would give her husband vigorous curtain lectures in the night, which made him so indignant that he would rattle52 off to another quarter of the garret to sleep by himself; and all this broke the rest of the worthy53 people who built the house.
What is to be done about this we don’t know. What would you do about it? Would you let the squirrels live in your house or not? When our good people come down of a cold winter morning, and see the squirrels dancing and frisking down the trees, and chasing each other so merrily over the garden chair between them, or sitting with their tails saucily54 over their backs, they look so jolly and jaunty55 and pretty that they almost forgive them for disturbing their night’s rest, and think that they will not do anything to drive them out of the garret to-day. And so it goes on; but how long the squirrels will rent the cottage in this fashion, I’m sure I dare not undertake to say.
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1
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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chirping
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 ) | |
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robins
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| n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书） | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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9
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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13
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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14
solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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15
frailest
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| 脆弱的( frail的最高级 )； 易损的； 易碎的 | |
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boor
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| n.举止粗野的人；乡下佬 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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18
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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dolts
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| n.笨蛋，傻瓜( dolt的名词复数 ) | |
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hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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25
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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disquiet
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| n.担心，焦虑 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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anemones
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| n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 )；海葵 | |
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frisky
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| adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地 | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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35
pitfalls
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| （捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误 | |
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scatters
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| v.（使）散开， （使）分散，驱散( scatter的第三人称单数 )；撒 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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38
discoursed
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| 演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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40
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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41
wren
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| n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员 | |
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42
nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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43
spools
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| n.（绕线、铁线、照相软片等的）管( spool的名词复数 )；络纱；纺纱机；绕圈轴工人v.把…绕到线轴上（或从线轴上绕下来）( spool的第三人称单数 )；假脱机（输出或输入） | |
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44
mumps
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| n.腮腺炎 | |
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45
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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46
spoke
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| 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 | |
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47
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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48
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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49
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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50
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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51
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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52
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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53
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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54
saucily
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| adv.傲慢地，莽撞地 | |
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55
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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