LXV MR. HAWK AND BRER RABBIT

 "I year tell er one time," said 'Tildy, "w'en ole Mr. Hawk¹ tuck'n kotch Brer Rabbit, but 't ain't no tale like dem you all bin² tellin'."

 

"Tell it, anyhow, 'Tildy," said the little boy.

 

"Well, 't ain't no tale, I tell you dat now. One time Brer Rabbit wuz gwine 'long thoo de bushes singin' ter hisse'f, en he see a shadder pass befo' 'im. He look up, en dar 'uz Mr. Hawk sailin' 'roun' en 'roun'. Time he see 'im, Brer Rabbit 'gun ter kick up en sassy 'im.

 

"Mr. Hawk ain't pay no 'tention ter dis. He des sail all 'roun' en 'roun'. Eve'y time he sail 'roun', he git little closer, but Brer Rabbit ain't notice dis. He too busy wid his devilment. He shuck his fis' at Mr. Hawk, en chunk'd at 'im wid sticks;[81] en atter w'ile he tuck'n make out he got a gun, en he tuck aim at Mr. Hawk, en 'low'd, 'Pow!' en den³ he holler en laugh.

 

"All dis time Mr. Hawk keep on sailin' 'roun' en 'roun' en gittin' nigher en nigher, en bimeby down he drapt right slambang on Brer Rabbit, en dar he had 'im. Brer Rabbit fix fer ter say his pra'rs, but 'fo' he do dat, he talk to Mr. Hawk, en he talk mighty⁴ fergivin'. He 'low he did:—

 

"'I 'uz des playin', Mr. Hawk; I 'uz dez a-playin'. You oughtn' ter fly up en git mad wid a little bit er man like me.'

 

"Mr. Hawk ruffle⁵ up de fedders on his neck en say:—

 

"'I ain't flyin' up, I'm a-flyin' down, en w'en I fly up, I'm a-gwine ter fly 'way wid you. You bin a-playin' de imp⁶ 'roun' in dis settlement long 'nuff, en now ef you got any will ter make, you better make it quick, 'kaze you ain't got much time.'

 

"Brer Rabbit cry. He say:—

 

[310]"'I mighty sorry, Mr. Hawk, dat I is. I got some gol' buried right over dar in fence cornder, en I wish in my soul my po' little childuns know whar 't wuz, 'kaze den dey could git long widout me fer a mont' er two.'

 

"Mr. Hawk 'low, 'Whar'bouts is all dis gol'?'

 

"Brer Rabbit low, 'Right over dar in de fence-cornder.'

 

"Mr. Hawk say show it ter 'im. Brer Rabbit say he don't keer ef he do, en he say:—

 

"'I'd 'a' done show'd it ter you long 'fo' dis, but you hol' me so tight, I can't wink⁸ my eye skacely, much less walk ter whar de gol' is.'

 

"Mr. Hawk say he fear'd he gwineter try ter git 'way. Brer Rabbit say dey ain't no danger er dat, 'kaze he one er deze yer kinder mens w'en dey er kotch once deyer kotch fer good.

 

"Mr. Hawk sorter let Brer Rabbit loose, en dey went todes de fence-cornder. Brer Rabbit, he went 'long so good dat dis sorter ease Mr. Hawk min' 'bout⁷ he gittin' 'way. Dey got ter de place en Brer Rabbit look all 'roun', en den he frown up like he got some mighty bad disap'intment, en he say:—

 

"'You may b'lieve me er not, Mr. Hawk, but we er on de wrong side er de fence. I hid dat gol' some'rs right in dat cornder dar. You fly over en I'll go thoo.'

 

"Tooby sho' dis look fa'r, en Brer Rabbit, he crope thoo' de fence, en Mr. Hawk flew'd 'cross. Time he lit on t'er side, Mr. Hawk year Brer Rabbit laugh."

 

The little boy asked what Brother Rabbit laughed for, as 'Tildy paused to adjust a flaming red ribbon-bow pinned in her hair.

 

"'Kaze dey wuz a brier-patch on t'er side de fence," said 'Tildy, "en Brer Rabbit wuz in dar."

 

"I boun' you!" Aunt Tempy exclaimed. "He 'uz in dar, en dar he stayed tel Mr. Hawk got tired er hangin' 'roun' dar."

 

"Ah, Lord, chile!" said Uncle Remus, with the candor¹⁰ of an expert, "some er dat tale you got right, en some you got wrong."

 

[311]"Oh, I know'd 't wa'n't no tale like you all bin tellin'," replied 'Tildy, modestly.

 

"Tooby sho' 't is," continued Uncle Remus, by way of encouragement; "but w'iles we gwine 'long we better straighten out all de kinks dat'll b'ar straightenin'."

 

"Goodness knows I ain't fittin' ter tell no tale," persisted 'Tildy.

 

"Don't run yo'se'f down, gal," said Uncle Remus, encouragingly; "ef dey's to be any runnin' down let yuther folks do it; en, bless yo' soul, dey'll do 'nuff un it bidout waitin' fer yo' lettin'.

 

"Now, den, old man Hawk,—w'ich dey call 'im Billy Blue-tail in my day en time,—ole man Hawk, he tuck'n kotch Brer Rabbit des lak you done said. He kotch 'im en he hilt 'im in a mighty tight grip, let 'lone¹¹ dat he hilt 'im so tight dat it make Brer Rabbit breff come short lak he des come off'n a long jurney.

 

"He holler en he beg, but dat ain't do no good; he squall en he cry, but dat ain't do no good; he kick en he groan¹², but dat ain't do no good. Den Brer Rabbit lay still en study 'bout w'at de name er goodness he gwine do. Bimeby he up'n 'low:—

 

"'I dunner w'at you want wid me, Mr. Hawk, w'en I ain't a mouf full fer you, skacely!'

 

"Mr. Hawk, sezee, 'I'll make way wid you, en den I'll go ketch me a couple er Jaybirds.'

 

"Dis make Brer Rabbit shake wid de allovers, 'kaze ef dey's any kinder creetur w'at he nat'ally 'spize on de topside er de yeth, hit's a Jaybird.

 

"Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'Do, pray, Mr. Hawk, go ketch dem Jaybirds fus', 'kaze I can't stan' um bein' on top er me. I'll stay right yer, plum twel you come back,' sezee.

 

"Mr. Hawk, sezee, 'Oh-oh, Brer Rabbit, you done bin fool too many folks. You ain't fool me,' sezee.

 

"Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'Ef you can't do dat, Mr. Hawk, den de [312]bes' way fer you ter do is ter wait en lemme git tame, 'kaze I'm dat wil' now dat I don't tas'e good.'

 

"Mr. Hawk, sezee, 'Oh-oh!'

 

"Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'Well, den, ef dat won't do, you better wait en lemme grow big so I'll be a full meal er vittles.'

 

"Mr. Hawk, sezee, 'Now youer talkin' sense!'

 

"Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'En I'll rush 'roun' 'mungs' de bushes, en drive out Pa'tridges fer you, en we'll have mo' fun dan w'at you kin⁹ shake a stick at.'

 

"Mr. Hawk sorter study 'bout dis, en Brer Rabbit, he beg en he 'splain, en de long en de short un it wuz," said Uncle Remus, embracing his knee with his hands, "dat Brer Rabbit tuck'n git loose, en he ain't git no bigger, en needer is he druv no Pa'tridges fer Mr. Hawk."

 

"De Lord he'p my soul!" exclaimed 'Tildy, and this was the only comment made upon this extraordinary story.

1 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 ruffle   

v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边

参考例句：

• Don't ruffle my hair.I've just combed it.别把我的头发弄乱了。我刚刚梳好了的。
• You shouldn't ruffle so easily.你不该那么容易发脾气。

6 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

7 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

8 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

9 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。

10 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

11 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

12 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。