XII. MR. FOX TACKLES OLD MAN TARRYPIN

 "ONE day," said Uncle Remus, sharpening his knife on the palm of his hand—"one day Brer Fox strike up wid Brer Tarrypin right in de middle er de big road. Brer Tarrypin done heerd 'im comin', en he 'low ter hisse'f dat he'd sorter keep one eye open; but Brer Fox wuz monstus perlite, en he open up de confab, he did, like he ain't see Brer Tarrypin sence de las' freshit.

 

"'Heyo, Brer Tarrypin, whar you bin¹ dis long-come-short?' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Lounjun 'roun', Brer Fox, lounjun 'roun',' sez Brer Tarrypin.

 

"'You don't look sprucy like you did, Brer Tarrypin,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Lounjun 'roun' en suffer'n',' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee.

 

"Den² de talk sorter run on like dis:

 

"'W'at ail³ you, Brer Tarrypin? Yo' eye look mighty⁴ red,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Lor', Brer Fox, you dunner w'at trubble is. You ain't bin lounjun 'roun' en suffer'n',' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee.

 

"'Bofe eyes red, en you look like you mighty weak, Brer Tarrypin,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Lor', Brer Fox, you dunner w'at trubble is,' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee.

 

"'W'at ail you now, Brer Tarrypin?' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Tuck a walk de udder day, en man come long en sot de fiel' a-fier. Lor', Brer Fox, you dunner w'at trubble is,' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee.

 

"'How you git out de fier, Brer Tarrypin?' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Sot en tuck it, Brer Fox,' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee. 'Sot en tuck it, en de smoke sif' in my eye, en de fier scorch⁵ my back,' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee.

 

"'Likewise hit bu'n yo' tail off,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.

 

"'Oh, no, dar's de tail, Brer Fox,' sez Brer Tarrypin, sezee, en wid dat he oncurl his tail fum under de shell, en no sooner did he do dat dan Brer Fox grab it, en holler out:

 

"'Oh, yes, Brer Tarrypin! Oh, yes! En so you er de man w'at lam me on de head at Miss Meadows's is you? You er in wid Brer Rabbit, is you? Well, I'm gwineter out you.'

 

"Brer Tarrypin beg en beg, but 'twan't no use. Brer Fox done been fool so much dat he look like he termin' fer ter have Brer Tarrypin haslett. Den Brer Tarrypin beg Brer Fox not fer ter drown 'im, but Brer Fox ain't makin' no prommus, en den he beg Brer Fox fer ter bu'n' 'im, kase he done useter fier, but Brer Fox don't say nuthin'. Bimeby Brer Fox drag Brer Tarrypin off little ways b'low de spring-'ouse, en souze him under de water. Den Brer Tarrypin begin fer ter holler:

 

"'Tu'n loose dat stump⁶ root en ketch holt er me—tu'n loose dat stump root en ketch holt er me.'

 

"Brer Fox he holler back:

 

"'I ain't got holt er no stump root, en I is got holt er you.'

 

"Brer Tarrypin he keep on holler'n:

 

"'Ketch holt er me—I'm a drownin'—I'm a drownin'—tu'n loose de stump root en ketch holt er me.'

 

"Sho nuff, Brer Fox tu'n loose de tail, en Brer Tarrypin, he went down ter de bottom—kerblunkity-blink!"

 

No typographical combination or description could do justice to the guttural sonorousness—the peculiar⁷ intonation—which Uncle Remus imparted to this combination. It was so peculiar, indeed, that the little boy asked:

 

"How did he go to the bottom, Uncle Remus?"

 

"Kerblunkity-blink!"

 

"Was he drowned, Uncle Remus?"

 

"Who? Ole man Tarrypin? Is you drowndid w'en yo' ma tucks you in de bed?"

 

"Well, no," replied the little boy, dubiously⁸.

 

"Ole man Tarrypin 'wuz at home I tell you, honey. Kerblinkity- blunk!"

1 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。

2 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。

3 ail   

v.生病，折磨，苦恼

参考例句：

• It may provide answers to some of the problems that ail America.这一点可能解答困扰美国的某些问题。
• Seek your sauce where you get your ail.心痛还须心药治。

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 scorch   

v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕

参考例句：

• I could not wash away the mark of the scorch.我洗不掉这焦痕。
• This material will scorch easily if it is too near the fire.这种材料如果太靠近炉火很容易烤焦。

6 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

7 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。

8 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句