XIII JIMMY SKUNK EXPLAINS

 

You'll find this true where'er you go

That those prepared few troubles know.

 

"To begin with, I am not such a very big fellow, am I?" said Jimmy.

 

"Ah reckons¹ Ah knows a right smart lot of folks bigger than yo', Brer Skunk²," replied Unc' Billy, with a grin³. You know Jimmy Skunk really is a little fellow compared with some of his neighbors.

 

"And I haven't very long claws or very big teeth, have I?" continued Jimmy.

 

"Ah reckons mine are about as long and about as big," returned Unc' Billy, looking more puzzled than ever.67

 

"But you never see anybody bothering me, do you?" went on Jimmy.

 

"No," replied Unc' Billy.

 

"And it's the same way with Prickly Porky the Porcupine⁴. You never see anybody bothering him or offering to do him any harm, do you?" persisted⁵ Jimmy.

 

"No," replied Unc' Billy once more.

 

"Why?" demanded Jimmy.

 

Unc' Billy grinned broadly. "Ah reckons, Brer Skunk," said he, "that there isn't anybody wants to go fo' to meddle⁶ with yo' and Brer Porky. Ah reckons most folks knows what would happen if they did, and that yo' and Brer Porky are folks it's a sight mo' comfortable to leave alone. Leastways, Ah does. Ah ain't aiming fo' trouble with either of yo'. That li'l bag of scent⁷ yo' carry is cert'nly most powerful, Brer Skunk, and Ah isn't hankering68 to brush against those little spears Brer Porky is so free with. Ah knows when Ah's well off, and Ah reckons most folks feel the same way."

 

Jimmy Skunk chuckled⁸. "One more question, Unc' Billy," said he. "Did you ever know me to pick a quarrel and use that bag of scent without being attacked?"

 

Unc' Billy considered for a few minutes. "Ah can't say Ah ever did," he replied.

 

"And you never knew Prickly Porky to go hunting trouble either," declared Jimmy. "We don't either of us go hunting trouble, and trouble never comes hunting us, and the reason is that we both are always prepared for trouble and everybody knows it. Buster Bear could squash⁹ me by just stepping on me, but he doesn't try it. You notice he always is very polite when we meet.69 Prickly Porky and I are armed for defence, but we never use our weapons for offence¹⁰. Nobody bothers us, and we bother nobody. That's the beauty of being prepared."

 

Unc' Billy thought it over for a few minutes. Then he sighed and sighed again.

 

"Ah reckons yo' and Brer Porky are about the luckiest people Ah knows," said he. "Yes, Sah, Ah reckons yo' is just that. Ah don't fear anybody mah own size, but Ah cert'nly does have some mighty¹¹ scary times when Ah meets some people Ah might mention. Ah wish Ol' Mother Nature had done gone and given me something fo' to make people as scary of me as they are of yo'. Ah cert'nly believes in preparedness after seein' yo', Brer Skunk. Ah cert'nly does just that very thing. Have yo' found any nice fresh aiggs lately?"

 

1 reckons   

计算( reckon的第三人称单数 )； 猜想； 考虑； 思忖

参考例句：

• In cricket, a no ball reckons as one run. 在板球中，投球违例要失一分。
• Any unemployed person reckons as deserving government help. 任何一个失业者都被认为应受到政府的帮助。

2 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

3 grin   

n./vi.露齿而笑，咧嘴一笑

参考例句：

• I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
• She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。

4 porcupine   

n.豪猪， 箭猪

参考例句：

• A porcupine is covered with prickles.箭猪身上长满了刺。
• There is a philosophy parable,call philosophy of porcupine.有一个哲学寓言，叫豪猪的哲学。

5 persisted   

坚持( persist的过去式和过去分词 )； 维持； 保持； 持续存在

参考例句：

• They persisted in going there in spite of the bad weather. 尽管天气很坏，他们还是坚持去那里。
• She persisted that she was strong enough to go back to work. 她反复地说她身体已经好了，可以去上班了。

6 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

7 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

8 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

9 squash   

n.壁球，摺皱不堪，拥挤嘈杂的人群，浓缩果汁，美国南瓜；vt.压扁，压制；vi.变扁，压榨

参考例句：

• He is drinking lemon squash.他正在喝柠檬露。
• She sprained her ankle playing squash.她在打软式墙网球时扭伤了脚踝。

10 offence   

n.犯法（行为），罪过，过错

参考例句：

• She felt she had committed an offence against the right of others.她觉得自己侵犯了他人的权利。
• I agree with the theorem that the best defence is offence.我同意最好的防御是进攻的理论。

11 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。