A BIG SURPRISE

All the little creatures surely were glad that Tom Wildcat had fallen down into the deep hole. They held a big meeting that night in Doctor Rabbit’s front yard, and talked the matter over. While they talked, however, Doctor Rabbit sent Jack¹ Rabbit to a place near the hole, “because,” Doctor Rabbit said to his friends, “old Thomas is mighty² cunning, and he might manage somehow to get out. And if he should happen to scramble³ out—well, he’d be pretty angry, and pretty hungry, too.”

“Indeed he would!” gasped⁴ Stubby Woodchuck in a frightened whisper. “I believe I’ll go home this very minute!” And he did, as fast as his short legs would carry him.

[Pg 31]“I think it’s about time I was in bed,” Cheepy Chipmunk⁵ said, and away he scampered⁶ to his stump⁷.

That broke up the meeting, and every one of them hurried to his home. Pretty soon Jack Rabbit came hopping⁸ back to report to Doctor Rabbit. “He’s still in the hole,” Jack Rabbit said. “I don’t think he can get out. I have a long way to go before I reach home, and I guess I’d better be going. I told Mrs. Jack Rabbit I wouldn’t be out late. I’ll see you in the morning, Doctor.” And with that Jack Rabbit started off on a run, and went like a streak⁹ through the woods toward the Wide Prairie.

The next morning, a little after daylight, Doctor Rabbit was awakened¹⁰ by the loud, harsh cries of Blue Jay, just outside the upstairs window.

Doctor Rabbit hurried out.

[Pg 32]“He’s out and he’s gone!” Blue Jay shouted. “Tom Wildcat is out of that hole! I just came from there this minute!”

“He is?” Doctor Rabbit exclaimed in a frightened voice.

“Yes, sir, he is!” Blue Jay replied, all in a flutter of excitement.

Doctor Rabbit scratched his head in wonder. “I was just a little afraid of that,” he said half to himself, “because old Tom is certainly cunning; but I wonder how he got out.”

“Well,” said Blue Jay, “I looked into that hole pretty close, and I saw just how he managed it. He dug two holes in one side, where there were some small roots. Then he dug two more holes a little higher up. And then he dug two more a little higher up, and then he crawled up a little and dug two more[Pg 33] holes, and so on till he got to the top. There was a good deal of loose dirt in the hole, and I’ve an idea that Tom must have fallen back quite a number of times before he finally reached the top. He must have had a mighty hard time of it. As like as not he had to work most of the night.”

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 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

4 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》

5 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。

6 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》

7 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。

8 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。

9 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

10 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》