TOM WILDCAT HAS AN ACCIDENT

When Tom Wildcat had crawled out on the limb and got to the place from which he thought it would be best to jump, he stood up and grinned ever so broadly at what he considered his good fortune. Then down he jumped, and crash! he went right through those rotten sticks and into that deep hole!

Then Doctor Rabbit and Jack¹ Rabbit ran out of the briar patch, and shouted and laughed and laughed. By and by Doctor Rabbit crept up to the hole and looked down on Tom Wildcat.

“Why, how do you do, Friend Tom? You must be digging a well to-day!” Doctor Rabbit said, as if he meant it.

Then Jack Rabbit came up to the hole[Pg 25] and looked down, and said, “Well, well, our friend, Tom Wildcat! This is a pleasant day, isn’t it, Tom? You seem to be making a dinner of rabbit fur; I notice you have a good deal down there!”

Tom ground his sharp teeth in anger and glared up at Doctor Rabbit and Jack Rabbit. Then suddenly he thought that if he acted pleasant, he might deceive them, and get out. He smiled up as politely as anybody, and said, “Oh, I can get out easily, if I want to, but I’ll always be the best of friends with you if you will just drop down that small log that I noticed up there by the tree. The fact is, I rather enjoy the joke; but now that we’ve had a good time, I know you won’t mind slipping that log down end first. Then we can fix this hole up again, and play a good joke on some of our other friends.” And Tom Wildcat smiled[Pg 26] and looked so pleasant that it seemed as if he were as kind and good as anybody.

But Doctor Rabbit and Jack Rabbit just chuckled² to themselves, and Doctor Rabbit said, “Oh, we won’t trouble ourselves with getting you the log, Smarty Wildcat. You can get out easily, if you want to!”

Then Doctor Rabbit and jolly Jack Rabbit both laughed right out loud, and Jack Rabbit said cheerfully, “No, Tom, we won’t bother about that log, because you can get out so easily if you want to!”

“Yes, of course he can!” laughed Doctor Rabbit. “Well, I hope you enjoy your juicy dinner of rabbit fur, Tom. You have a lot of it down there. Ha, ha, ha! Good day, Thomas!” And away went Doctor Rabbit and his friend Jack Rabbit to tell all their little woods[Pg 27] neighbors about getting Tom Wildcat into a deep hole where he could not get out.

In a short time everyone knew what had happened, and that afternoon Tom Wildcat found out what all the little creatures of the Big Green Woods thought of him. When Blue Jay and Jenny Jay heard of it, they flew straight to the limb over Tom’s head and scolded him to their hearts’ content. “He’s a thief and a robber. He ate my eggs, and I hate him! I’ll peck his eyes out!” Jenny Jay shouted.

“I hate him, too!” Chatty Red Squirrel barked out angrily from a limb overhead. “He’s as mean as he can be! I hate him! I hate him!”

Cheepy Chipmunk³ frisked up to the hole and away again, because he was afraid even to look at Tom Wildcat.[Pg 28] But all the time he was frisking back and forth⁴, saucy⁵ Cheepy scolded as hard as he could. Stubby Woodchuck sat on a near-by stump⁶ and poured forth his scorn for Tom Wildcat. Jim Crow and Robin-the-Red threatened from the tree where they were perched, and all afternoon the little creatures of the Big Green Woods nagged⁷ old Tom and told him he was the ugliest and meanest person that ever lived.

After a while there were so many little creatures around the hole and in the tree over it, all scolding at the same time, that Tom Wildcat was about deafened⁸ with the noise. He put his paws over his ears and ground his teeth in rage. Now and then Stubby Woodchuck slipped up to the hole and pushed a clod in on Tom’s head, and then everyone shouted for joy. But once or twice Tom Wildcat[Pg 29] jumped so high he nearly jumped out, and that scared everyone dreadfully.

After he sprang as high as he could and found he could not get out, he sat down in that hole and just growled⁹ and growled. The little creatures thought they had better be going then. For, even if Tom Wildcat was down in that hole, he might get out. And his growls¹⁰! They were terrible; so they all scampered¹¹ away.

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 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。

3 chipmunk   

n.花栗鼠

参考例句：

• This little chipmunk is hungry.这只小花栗鼠肚子饿了。
• Once I brought her a chipmunk with a wound on its stomach.一次，我带了只腹部受伤的花栗鼠去找她。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 saucy   

adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的

参考例句：

• He was saucy and mischievous when he was working.他工作时总爱调皮捣蛋。
• It was saucy of you to contradict your father.你顶撞父亲，真是无礼。

6 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

7 nagged   

adj.经常遭责怪的；被压制的；感到厌烦的；被激怒的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的过去式和过去分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The old woman nagged (at) her daughter-in-law all day long. 那老太婆一天到晚地挑剔儿媳妇的不是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She nagged him all day long. 她一天到晚地说他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 deafened   

使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音

参考例句：

• A hard blow on the ear deafened him for life. 耳朵上挨的一记猛击使他耳聋了一辈子。
• The noise deafened us. 嘈杂声把我们吵聋了。

9 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》

10 growls   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

11 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》