BRER RABBIT FINDS THE MOON IN THE MILL POND

 Oh, one bright day in de middle er May, Brer Rabbit wuz feelin’ fine; He tuck ter de road, an’ never know’d De place whar he wuz gwine!

“Oh, fur an’ free,” sezee, “siree, No gal² kin³ change my min’!” Brer Tarrypin, sly, he wunk one eye, Un’neat’ his green-gourd vine!

He holla an’ say, “Whar you gwine dis day, Wid yo’ pipe an’ walkin’-cane?” Brer Rabbit wave his han’ like a gal do her fan— “My heart’s ’bout ter bust⁴ wid pain;

“I’m a heap too nice, I ain’t laugh’d but twice Sence de big Jinawary rain; My day’ll be done ef I don’t have some fun— Dey’ll call me Sunday-Jane!

“I’ll git sollumcholic ef I don’t have a frolic, My head’ll git flabby an’ swink; I chaw de pine-bud, kaze I’m ’bout ter lose my cud An’ some nights I don’t sleep a wink⁵!

“Ef I has ter set still, oh, I’ll w’ar de green willow⁶, An’ go in mo’nin’ wid de Mink⁷! But I bet you a hat dat ’fo’ I does dat, I’ll show um all a new kink!”

So, off he put, on his nimbles’ foot, Wid a grin, a laugh, an’ a cough; Ter Miss Motts an’ Miss Meadows, an’ all de udders, He tell what ’uz gwineter come off!

’Twuz a mill-pon’ fishin’, an’ he lef um a-wishin’ Dat de win’ don’t blow fum de norf! An’ de creeturs all, bofe long an’ tall— An’ dem no bigger dan a dwarf—

Brer Wolf an’ Brer B’ar,—all say dey’d be dar, An’ dey promise fer ter fetch a seine; Dey ’gree ter de day, an’ Brer Rabbit say Dat dey don’t hatter come ef it rain;

So said, so done, an’ when de time come, De big road ez well ez de lane Wuz filled wid a crowd, all talkin’ out loud, An’ a-prankin’ wid might an’ main!

Brer Rabbit wuz dar, wid Miss Molly Har’, A-waitin’ fer de fun ter begin; He shuck his shank, an’ went ter de bank, An’ make like he gwineter jump in!

But de sight dat he saw made ’im drap his jaw⁸, An’ break up a great big grin! He sez ter Brer Coon, “Run here an’ see de Moon! A-floatin’ widout a fin¹!.”

He look ag’in—“She sho fell in, An’ we got ter git her out; Ef she stays in de pon’, it’s ’good-bye, John!’ An’ uv dat dey ain’t no doubt;

“We got ter have light when we play at night, Fer ter see how ter git about; We’ll drag wid de seine—ef we don’t drag in vain, We’ll have good reason ter shout!”

But when it come ter seinin’, dar wuz some complainin ’Bout who wuz ter do it all, Dey all make out dat dey wanter wade⁹ out, But it fell on dem dat wuz tall:

Brer B’ar, he laugh, ez he tuck a staff, Brer Wolf say he fear’d he’d fall, But he tuck his place wid a mighty¹⁰ wry¹¹ face, An’ when dey ’gun ter haul.

“Oh, you better bet dis water’s wet! I feel des like a sponge!” An’ den¹² dey all, wid a kick an’ a squall, Wid a squeal¹³ an’ den a lunge,

Grabbed at de water—which dey hadn’t oughter Went over der heads wid a splunge; Brer Rabbit bent¹⁴ double, “Oh, all er yo’ trouble Fills me full er fun-unj-unj!”

1 fin   

n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼

参考例句：

• They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
• The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。

2 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？

3 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。

4 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

5 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。

6 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

7 mink   

n.貂，貂皮

参考例句：

• She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
• He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场，五年之内就赚了不少钱。

8 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

9 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

10 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。

11 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

12 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。

13 squeal   

v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音

参考例句：

• The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
• There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。