DOCTOR RABBIT TALKS WITH JACK RABBIT

You remember how Doctor Rabbit looked out of a hole and told Farmer Roe’s dog Yappy about catching¹ Jack² Rabbit. Well, after Yappy had run away and was out of sight in the woods, Doctor Rabbit concluded he’d better see Jack Rabbit right away. So he slipped quietly out of his house and ran through the woods toward the Wide Prairie.

Doctor Rabbit was lucky, because Jack Rabbit happened to be right on the edge of the woods. And Jack Rabbit said his son Billy was very much better. “I am very grateful,” continued Jack Rabbit, “and I wish I could do something now to make you as happy as I am.”

[Pg 78]“You certainly can,” Doctor Rabbit said. “Do you remember the day Ki-yi Coyote chased us out on the Wide Prairie, and I threw the medicine in his mouth?”

“I certainly do,” said Jack Rabbit. “And when we got safely over to your house, you said you were thinking about a plan to drive Ki-yi Coyote clear away from the Big Green Woods and the Wide Prairie forever. Is that what you want me to do?”

“Yes,” said Doctor Rabbit, “that’s exactly what I was going to speak about. I want you to help me. Will you do it?”

“Why,” declared Jack Rabbit, “I should say I will, if I can. But how can I help? All you need to do is to tell me what to do and I will do it.”

“Don’t be too sure you will,” Doctor Rabbit warned in a friendly way.[Pg 79] “What I want you to do has some danger in it. Are you much afraid of Farmer Roe’s Yappy?”

“Why, why, of course,” Jack Rabbit hesitated; “that is, I—I—wouldn’t want to fight him!”

“Ha, ha, ha!” Doctor Rabbit couldn’t keep from laughing at the idea of Jack Rabbit’s fighting Yappy.

“I don’t want you to fight him,” Doctor Rabbit said, “but would you be willing to let him chase you?”

“Surely,” exclaimed Jack Rabbit quickly. “I’ve given him the slip many a time.”

“Suppose,” said Doctor Rabbit, “that Yappy and one of his dog friends both should get after you, could you get away?”

“Yes, sir,” Jack Rabbit said; “I’ve given both of those hounds³ the slip.[Pg 80] They are just fox hounds, and I’m not the least bit afraid when they get after me. But what has that to do with driving Ki-yi Coyote away?”

Mr. Jack Rabbit began to dance a little jig⁴ of joy

“Just this,” said Doctor Rabbit, moving a little closer. “At nine o’clock to-morrow morning Ki-yi Coyote is going to be right under that big elm where he was this morning, to catch me. Chatty Squirrel⁵ heard him say he was. He said, ‘Yes, I’ll come every morning and hide there until I do catch that big fat rabbit’—meaning me, of course.”

“Oh, I see! I see!” laughed Jack Rabbit, and he began to dance a little jig of joy. “I know what you want me to do,” Jack Rabbit laughed. “You want me to let big old Yappy and his friend get after me, and then you want me to run straight for that big elm, and so lead Yappy and the other hound[Pg 81] right onto old Ki-yi. And then they will chase him instead of me!”

“That’s it! that’s it!” said Doctor Rabbit. He was mighty⁶ glad that Jack Rabbit did not seem at all afraid. “And,” Doctor Rabbit continued, “when Yappy and his companion once see Ki-yi Coyote, they will forget all about you, and you can get away as easily as anything.”

“Oh, ho, ho, ho! ha, ha, ha!” laughed Jack Rabbit. It seemed too good to be true that they could fool crafty⁷ Ki-yi, and fool him so completely. Old Ki-yi, who was always getting the best of things, would now get some of the other side. So thought happy Jack-Rabbit.

“That certainly will be mighty fine!” cried Jack Rabbit. “Ki-yi Coyote will be there, smacking⁸ his lips, all ready to gobble you up; and the first thing he[Pg 82] knows, I’ll pop square over him, and the next second, Yappy will pop square onto him, if he doesn’t move mighty quick. Ho, ho, ho!” Jack Rabbit danced and laughed some more. “Yes, indeed, Doctor Rabbit,” he said, “I’ll surely be at the tree in the Wide Prairie to-morrow morning at nine o’clock. Then be sure to tell all the little creatures of the Big Green Woods to watch and see what happens.”

“I will indeed,” said Doctor Rabbit, as he started off; “and thank you,” he said, “for your bravery.”

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 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。

3 hounds   

猎狗，猎犬( hound的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The huntsman was whipping in his pack of hounds. 猎人正在用鞭子把他那群猎犬赶到一处。
• The hunter has twenty more hounds. 那猎人有二十几条猎狗。

4 jig   

n.快步舞（曲）；v.上下晃动；用夹具辅助加工；蹦蹦跳跳

参考例句：

• I went mad with joy and danced a little jig.我欣喜若狂，跳了几步吉格舞。
• He piped a jig so that we could dance.他用笛子吹奏格舞曲好让我们跳舞。

5 squirrel   

n.松鼠，松鼠的毛皮；vt.贮藏以备用

参考例句：

• The squirrel makes a store of nuts for the winter.松鼠贮藏坚果以备过冬。
• A squirrel hoards nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬贮藏坚果。

6 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。

7 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

8 smacking   

活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的

参考例句：

• He gave both of the children a good smacking. 他把两个孩子都狠揍了一顿。
• She inclined her cheek,and John gave it a smacking kiss. 她把头低下，约翰在她的脸上响亮的一吻。