DOCTOR RABBIT KEEPS STILL AND LISTENS

When Doctor Rabbit heard Tom Wildcat say he was going to have his friend Jack¹ Rabbit for dinner, he listened with all his ears to hear, if possible, how Tom expected to catch poor innocent Jack Rabbit. The wily Tom, thinking Doctor Rabbit was asleep, kept right on talking.

“It’s mighty² lucky,” he said, “that I found where Jack Rabbit takes his nap. Ha! ha! ha! Right under the big sycamore tree. It will be as easy as anything to catch him. Along about noon he’ll be asleep there, and I’ll just creep up behind that big tree. Then I’ll slip up into the tree and walk out on that long limb, right over him; and then, kerplunk! I’ll pounce³ down on him.[Pg 11] Yum! yum! yum! I can almost taste him now! I’ll hurry home this minute and see that Kit⁴ Wildcat has the water boiling and everything ready. By dinner time I’ll be as hungry as a bear!”

“Ouch!” Tom Wildcat suddenly cried out, and then he said, “Whew!” softly. You see, he had licked his sore foot and the salve burned his tongue. “That salve is certainly hot,” he said; but as he was thinking about fat Jack Rabbit he didn’t even complain. He was feeling pretty good again, and he went slipping along through the moonlit woods toward his home. Every now and then a twig⁵ or a vine brushed against his long whiskers and he turned aside quickly. Tom Wildcat’s whiskers help him a great deal after dark. They often protect his eyes from sticks and briars and tell him when a hole is big enough to go through.

[Pg 12]When slinky Tom had got a little distance away, Doctor Rabbit opened the door just enough so that he could peek⁶ out. Tom Wildcat would creep along a little distance, then stop and listen and look all around. Once he crawled close to the ground and made a sudden spring. Jack Rabbit gave a great jump and came very near being caught, but he darted⁷ away just in the nick of time. Tom stood for a moment jerking his tail from side to side and muttering his disappointment; then trotted⁸ out of sight among the shadows.
 
Doctor Rabbit closed the door and went back to his big rocking chair. He could scarcely wait until daylight to run over and warn his friend Jack Rabbit. Doctor Rabbit knew well enough that there was a nice sunny spot under the big sycamore tree at the edge of the Big[Pg 13] Green Woods, and he knew Jack Rabbit often stretched out to sun himself there after he had eaten some of the tender blue grass. The fact was, Doctor Rabbit himself had stretched out there a number of times.

Doctor Rabbit didn’t even wait to get breakfast. Just as soon as it began to be daylight he started through the woods to see Jack Rabbit, out on the Wide Prairie. “I certainly hope I shall find Friend Jack at home,” Doctor Rabbit said as he hurried along.

1 jack   

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。

2 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。

3 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

4 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

5 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

6 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

7 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 trotted   

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。