A SLEIGH RIDE ON THE CANAL

 One cold afternoon in winter, Jan’s mother said, “You may hitch¹ Rink to the big sled, Jan, and you and Katrina may ride away down the canal to grandmother’s house. Grandmother knows you are coming.”

“You are to stay all night. Father and I are going to the festival in the city.”

“Oh, good, good!” cried Jan, and he ran out to tell Katrina.

Katrina was very happy, for she liked nothing better than to go to grandmother’s house.

She clapped her hands. “I will get ready at once,” she cried.[87] “What a good time we will have with grandmother!”

Jan hitched² Rink to the big red sled. Rink seemed to know he was going to grandmother’s, for he barked and wagged his tail for joy.

Then Jan and Katrina got ready for their long ride on the canal. Jan put on three coats and a warm muffler. He wore two caps on his head. Katrina put on two coats and a shawl, and wore two hoods³.

Their mother tucked them up warmly on the big sled. She gave them a basket full of goodies to take to grandmother. She stood in the door of their little blue house and waved her hand. “Good-by, my little ones, good-by,” she called,[88] “grandmother will be watching for you.”

 

With a bound, Rink was off, and away they went over the smooth ice on the canal. They went by the brown windmill. They saw Hilda, Karl, and Kassie playing in the snow. Hilda, Karl, and Kassie shouted at them and waved their hands. Jan and Katrina waved back to their friends, and Rink ran on and on.

1 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

2 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

3 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句