XII. A SINGING-MATCH.

 After telling how Brother Bear learned to comb his hair, Mr. Rabbit closed his eyes and seemed to be about to fall into a doze¹, as old people have been known to do. During the pause that followed, Sweetest Susan saw what appeared to be a bird of peculiar² shape sailing around in the sky of Mr. Thimblefinger’s queer country.

 

It was long of body and seemed to have no wings, and yet it sailed about overhead as majestically³ and easily as an eagle could have done.

 

“What sort of a bird is it?” inquired Sweetest Susan, pointing out the object to Mrs. Meadows.

 

“Now, really, I don’t know,” was the reply. “They are so high in the sky and I’ve seen them so often that I’ve never bothered my head about them.”

 

Mr. Thimblefinger climbed on the back of a chair, so as to get a better view of the curious bird, but he shook his head and climbed nimbly [Pg 140] down again. The queer bird was too much for Mr. Thimblefinger. Mr. Rabbit opened his eyes lazily and looked at it.

 

“If I’m not much mistaken—” he started to say, but Drusilla broke in without any ceremony:—

 

“’T ain’t nothin’ ’t all, but one er dem ar meller bugs⁴ what swims roun’ in de spring.”

 

“Why, I expect it is a mellow⁵ bug,” said Mrs. Meadows, laughing. “I used to catch them when I was a girl and put them in my handkerchief. They smell just like a ripe apple.”

 

“I thought it was a buzzard,” said Buster John.

 

“No,” remarked Mr. Rabbit, “I used to be well acquainted with Brother Buzzard, and when he’s in the air he’s longer from side to side than he is from end to end. I don’t know when I’ve thought of Brother Buzzard before. I never liked him much, but I used to see him sailing around on sunshiny days, or sitting in the top of a dead pine drying his wings after a heavy rain. He cut a very funny figure sitting up there, with his wings spread out and drooping⁶ like a sick chicken.

LITTLE MR. THIMBLEFINGER

 

[Pg 141] “I remember the time, too, when he had a singing-match with Brother Crow, and I nearly laughed myself to death over it.”

 

“Oh, tell us about it,” cried Buster John.

 

“There’s nothing in it when it is told,” replied Mr. Rabbit. “There are some things that are funny when you see them, but not funny at all when you come to tell about them.”

 

“We don’t mind that,” said Sweetest Susan.

 

“I don’t know exactly how it came about,” resumed Mr. Rabbit, after a pause, “but as near as I can remember, Brother Buzzard and Brother Crow met with each other early one morning in a big pine-tree. They howdied, but there was a sort of coolness between them on account of the fact that Brother Buzzard had been going about the neighborhood making his brags⁸ and his boasts that he could outfly Brother Crow. They hadn’t been up in the tree very long before they began to dispute. Brother Buzzard was not a very loud talker in those days, whatever he may be now, but Brother Crow could squall louder than a woman who has been married twenty-two years. And so there they had it, quarreling and disputing and disturbing the peace.”

 

[Pg 142] “What were they quarreling about?” Buster John inquired.

 

“Well,” replied Mr. Rabbit, “you know the road that leads to Brag⁷ is the shortest route to Bluster⁹. Brother Buzzard and Brother Crow were quarreling because they had been bragging¹⁰, and a little more and they’d have had a regular pitched battle then and there.

 

“‘Maybe you can outfly me, Brother Buzzard,’ says Mr. Crow, ‘but I’ll be bound you can’t outsing me.’

 

“‘I have never tried,’ says Brother Buzzard, says he.

 

“‘Well, suppose you try it now,’ says Brother Crow. ‘I’ll go you a fine suit of clothes, and a cocked hat to boot, that I can sit here and sing longer than you can,’ says he.

 

“‘Oh, ho!’ says Brother Buzzard, ‘you may sing louder, but you can’t sing longer than I can,’ says he.

 

“‘Is it a go?’ says Brother Crow.

 

“‘It’s a go,’ says Brother Buzzard, says he.

 

“‘It’s no fair bet,’ says Brother Crow, ‘because you are a bigger man than I am, and it stands to reason that you have got more wind in [Pg 143] your craw than I have, but I shall give you one trial if I split my gizzard,’ says he.

 

“Yes,” remarked Mr. Rabbit, scratching his head thoughtfully, “those were the very words he used—‘if I split my gizzard,’ says he. Well, they shook hands to ratify¹¹ the bet, and then Brother Crow, without making any flourishes, raised the tune,—

“‘Oh, Susy, my Susy, gangloo! Oh, Milly, my Molly, langloo!’

 

“Then Brother Buzzard flung his head back and chimed in,—

“‘Oh, Susy, my Susy, gangloo! Oh, Milly, my Molly, langloo!’

 

and such another racket as they made I never heard before, and have never heard since.”

 

“Why, what kind of a song was it?” inquired Sweetest Susan. “I’m sure I never heard such a song.”

 

“Well,” replied Mr. Rabbit, “you are young and I am old, but you know just as much about that song as I do, and maybe more than I do, for you haven’t been pestered¹² with it as long as I have. It is a worse riddle¹³ to me than it was the day I heard it.”

 

[Pg 144] “What did they do then?” asked Buster John.

 

“Well,” Mr. Rabbit replied, “they sat there and sang just as I told you. Brother Buzzard would stop to catch his breath and then break out,—

“‘Oh, Susy, my Susy, gangloo! Oh, Milly, my Molly, langloo!’

 

and then Brother Crow would squall out,—

“‘Oh, Susy, my Susy, gangloo! Oh, Milly, my Molly, langloo!’

 

“They sang on until they began to get hungry, and as Brother Buzzard seemed to be the biggest and fattest of the two, everybody thought he would hold out the longest. But Brother Crow was plucky¹⁴, and he sang right along in spite of the emptiness in his craw. He didn’t squall as loud as he did at first, but every time Brother Buzzard sang, Brother Crow would sing, too. By and by, they both began to get very weak.

 

“At last, as luck would have it, Brother Crow saw his wife flying over, and he sang out as loud as he could:—

THE SINGING-MATCH

 

“‘Oh, Susy!—Go tell my children—my [Pg 145] Susy,—to bring my dinner—gangloo!—and tell them—oh, Milly, my Molly,—to bring it quickly—langloo!’

 

“It wasn’t very long after that before all Brother Crow’s family connections came flying to help him, and as soon as they found out how matters stood they brought him more victuals¹⁵ than he knew what to do with. Brother Buzzard held out as long as he could, but he was obliged to give up, and since that time there has been mighty¹⁶ little singing in the Buzzard family.

 

“But that isn’t all,” remarked Mr. Rabbit, as solemnly as if he were pointing a moral. “Since that time Brother Crow, who was dressed in white, has been wearing the black suit that he won from Brother Buzzard.”

 

“Speaking of singing birds,” said Mr. Thimblefinger, turning to Mrs. Meadows, “what is that song I used to hear you humming about a little bird?”

 

“Oh, it’s just a nonsense song,” replied Mrs. Meadows. “It has no beginning and no ending.”

 

But the children said they wanted to hear it, anyhow, and so Mrs. Meadows sang about—

 

There was once a little Bird so full of Song That he sang in the Rose-Bush the whole Night long.

And “Oh,” said the Redbird to the Jay, “Don’t you wish you could sit and sing that way?” “Mercy, no!” said the Jay; “for he sings too late; I sing well enough for to please my Mate.”

There was once a little Bird so full of Song That he sang in the Rose-Bush the whole Night long.

Then “Oh,” said the Redbird to the Crow, “Don’t you wish you could sit and sing just so?” “Do hush,” said the Crow, “or I’ll start for to weep, Be—caw—caw—cause he’s a-losing of his sleep.”

There was once a little Bird so full of Song That he sang in the Rose-Bush the whole Night long.

And “Oh,” said the Redbird to the Wren¹⁷, “Don’t you wish you could sing so now and then?” “Not me,” said the Wren as she shook her Head; “I think his Mamma ought to put him to Bed.”

But the Singing Bird was so full of Glee That he sang all night in the Rose-Bush Tree.

1 doze   

v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐

参考例句：

• He likes to have a doze after lunch.他喜欢午饭后打个盹。
• While the adults doze,the young play.大人们在打瞌睡，而孩子们在玩耍。

2 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

3 majestically   

雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地

参考例句：

• The waters of the Changjiang River rolled to the east on majestically. 雄伟的长江滚滚东流。
• Towering snowcapped peaks rise majestically. 白雪皑皑的山峰耸入云霄。

4 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

6 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

7 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

8 brags   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He constantly brags about how well he plays football. 他老是吹嘘自己足球踢得多么好。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• \"I don't care to listen to your brags.\" \"我没有兴趣听你吹了！ 来自飘（部分）

9 bluster   

v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声

参考例句：

• We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
• He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵，可是不久就不做声了。

10 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

11 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

12 pestered   

使烦恼，纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Journalists pestered neighbours for information. 记者缠着邻居打听消息。
• The little girl pestered the travellers for money. 那个小女孩缠着游客要钱。

13 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

14 plucky   

adj.勇敢的

参考例句：

• The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。
• This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。

15 victuals   

n.食物；食品

参考例句：

• A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。
• There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。

16 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。

17 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。