LXI WHY MR. DOG RUNS BRER RABBIT

 The little boy was not particularly pleased at the summary manner in which the young Alligators¹ were disposed of; but he was very much amused at the somewhat novel method employed by the Bear to deceive the old Alligator². The negroes, however, enjoyed Daddy Jack³'s story immensely, and even 'Tildy condescended⁴ to give it her approval; but she qualified⁵ this by saying, as soon as she had ceased laughing:—

 

"I 'clar' ter goodness you all got mighty⁶ little ter do fer ter be settin' down yer night atter night lis'nin' at dat nigger man."

 

Daddy Jack nodded, smiled, and rubbed his withered⁷ hands together apparently⁸ in a perfect ecstasy⁹ of good-humor, and finally said:—

 

"Oona come set-a by me, lil gal¹⁰. 'E berry nice tale wut me tell-a you. Come sit-a by me, lil gal;'e berry nice tale. Ef you no want me fer tell-a you one tale, dun you is kin¹¹ tell-a me one tale."

 

"Humph!" exclaimed 'Tildy, contemptuously, "you'll set over dar in dat cornder en dribble¹² many's de long day 'fo' I tell you any tale."

 

"Look yer, gal!" said Uncle Remus, pretending to ignore the queer courtship that seemed to be progressing between Daddy Jack and 'Tildy, "you gittin' too ole fer ter be sawin' de a'r wid yo 'head en squealin' lak a filly. Ef you gwine ter set wid folks, [296]you better do lak folks does. Sis Tempy dar ain't gwine on dat a-way, en she ain't think 'erse'f too big fer ter set up dar en jine in wid us en tell a tale, needer."

 

This was the first time that Uncle Remus had ever condescended to accord 'Tildy a place at his hearth¹³ on an equality with the rest of his company, and she seemed to be immensely tickled¹⁴. A broad grin spread over her comely¹⁵ face as she exclaimed:—

 

"Oh! I 'clar' ter goodness, Unk Remus, I thought dat ole nigger man wuz des a-projickin' 'long wid me. Ef it come down ter settin' up yer 'long wid you all en tellin' a tale, I ain't 'nyin' but w'at I got one dat you all ain't never year tell un, 'kaze dat ar Slim Jim w'at Mars Ellick Akin¹⁶ got out'n de speckerlater waggin,[77] he up'n tell it dar at Riah's des 'fo' de patter-rollers tuck'n slipt up on um."

 

"Dar now!" remarked Aunt Tempy. 'Tildy laughed boisterously¹⁷.

 

"W'at de patter-rollers do wid dat ar Slim Jim?" Uncle Remus inquired.

 

"Done nothin'!" exclaimed 'Tildy, with an air of humorous scorn. "Time dey got in dar Slim Jim 'uz up de chimbly, en Riah 'uz noddin' in one cornder en me in de udder. Nobody never is ter know how dat ar long-leg nigger slick'd up dat chimbly—dat dey ain't. He put one foot on de pot-rack,[78] en whar he put de t'er foot I can't tell you."

 

"What was the story?" asked the little boy.

 

"I boun' fer you, honey!" exclaimed Uncle Remus.

 

"Well, den¹⁸," said 'Tildy, settling herself comfortably, and bridling¹⁹ a little as Daddy Jack manifested a desire to give her his undivided attention,—"well, den, dey wuz one time w'en ole Brer Rabbit 'uz bleedz ter go ter town atter sump'n' 'n'er fer his [297]famerly, en he mos' 'shame' ter go 'kaze his shoes done wo' tetotally out. Yit he bleedz ter go, en he put des ez good face on it ez he kin, en he take down he walkin'-cane en sot out des ez big ez de next un.

 

"Well, den, ole Brer Rabbit go on down de big road twel he come ter de place whar some folks bin²⁰ camp out de night befo', en he sot down by de fier, he did, fer ter wom his foots, 'kaze dem mawnin's 'uz sorter cole, like deze yer mawnin's. He sot dar en look at his toes, en he feel mighty sorry fer hisse'f.

 

"Well, den, he sot dar, he did, en 't wa'n't long 'fo' he year sump'n' 'n'er trottin' down de road, en he tuck'n look up en yer come Mr. Dog a-smellin' en a-snuffin' 'roun' fer ter see ef de folks lef' any scraps²² by der camp-fier. Mr. Dog 'uz all dress up in his Sunday-go-ter-meetin' cloze, en mo'n dat, he had on a pa'r er bran new shoes.

 

"Well, den, w'en Brer Rabbit see dem ar shoes he feel mighty bad, but he ain't let on. He bow ter Mr. Dog mighty perlite, en Mr. Dog bow back, he did, en dey pass de time er day, 'kaze dey 'uz ole 'quaintance. Brer Rabbit, he say:—

 

"'Mr. Dog, whar you gwine all fix up like dis?'

 

"'I gwine ter town, Brer Rabbit; whar you gwine?'

 

"'I thought I go ter town myse'f fer ter git me new pa'r shoes, 'kaze my ole uns done wo' out en dey hu'ts my foots so bad I can't w'ar um. Dem mighty nice shoes w'at you got on, Mr. Dog; whar you git um?'

 

"'Down in town, Brer Rabbit, down in town.'

 

"'Dey fits you mighty slick, Mr. Dog, en I wish you be so good ez ter lemme try one un um on.'

 

"Brer Rabbit talk so mighty sweet dat Mr. Dog sot right flat on de groun' en tuck off one er de behime shoes, en loant it ter Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit, he lope off down de road en den he come back. He tell Mr. Dog dat de shoe fit mighty nice, but wid des one un um on, hit make 'im trot²¹ crank-sided.

 

[298]"Well, den, Mr. Dog, he pull off de yuther behime shoe, en Brer Rabbit trot off en try it. He come back, he did, en he say:—

 

"'Dey mighty nice, Mr. Dog, but dey sorter r'ars me up behime, en I dunner 'zackly how dey feels.'

 

"Dis make Mr. Dog feel like he wanter be perlite, en he take off de befo' shoes, en Brer Rabbit put um on en stomp²³ his foots, en 'low:—

 

"'Now dat sorter feel like shoes;' en he rack off down de road, en w'en he git whar he oughter tu'n 'roun', he des lay back he years en keep on gwine; en 't wa'n't long 'fo' he git outer sight.

 

"Mr. Dog, he holler, en tell 'im fer ter come back, but Brer Rabbit keep on gwine; Mr. Dog, he holler, Mr. Rabbit, he keep on gwine. En down ter dis day," continued 'Tildy, smacking²⁴ her lips, and showing her white teeth, "Mr. Dog bin a-runnin' Brer Rabbit, en ef you'll des go out in de woods wid any Dog on dis place, des time he smell de Rabbit track he'll holler en tell 'im fer ter come back."

 

"Dat's de Lord's trufe!" said Aunt Tempy.

1 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

2 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

3 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。

4 condescended   

屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲

参考例句：

• We had to wait almost an hour before he condescended to see us. 我们等了几乎一小时他才屈尊大驾来见我们。
• The king condescended to take advice from his servants. 国王屈驾向仆人征求意见。

5 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

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 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

10 gal   

n.姑娘，少女

参考例句：

• We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
• What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？

11 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

12 dribble   

v.点滴留下，流口水；n.口水

参考例句：

• Melted wax dribbled down the side of the candle.熔化了的蜡一滴滴从蜡烛边上流下。
• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。

13 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

14 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

15 comely   

adj.漂亮的，合宜的

参考例句：

• His wife is a comely young woman.他的妻子是一个美丽的少妇。
• A nervous,comely-dressed little girl stepped out.一个紧张不安、衣着漂亮的小姑娘站了出来。

16 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

17 boisterously   

adv.喧闹地，吵闹地

参考例句：

• They burst boisterously into the room. 他们吵吵嚷嚷地闯入房间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Drums and gongs were beating boisterously. 锣鼓敲打得很热闹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

19 bridling   

给…套龙头( bridle的现在分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气

参考例句：

• Suellen, bridling, always asked news of Mr. Kennedy. 苏伦也克制着经常探询肯尼迪先生的情况。
• We noticed sever al men loitering about the bridling last night. 昨天夜里我们看到有几个人在楼附近荡来荡去。

20 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

21 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

22 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

23 stomp   

v.跺（脚），重踩，重踏

参考例句：

• 3.And you go to france, and you go to stomp! 你去法国，你去看跺脚舞！
• 4.How hard did she stomp? 她跺得有多狠？

24 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。