Chapter Four A WARNING IN CAMP

 The first day’s march was very hard on the soldiers, for the sun was hot and the little fellows were not used to such long tramps. When the order came for the army to break ranks and make camp ready for the night, the soldiers worked with a will unloading the wagons¹ and putting up the tents. The kitchen tent was put up first so the Cook and the Chinaman would lose no time in getting dinner ready for the hungry army.

The mice that pulled the army wagons were given a good feed of cheese and they were quartered in a hollow tree for the night. The airplane ate ten grains of bird seed and hopped² onto the limb of the bush under which the tiny camp lay.

 

When the camp had been put in order for the night, mess call was sounded and the soldiers formed in line with their tin plates. The Cook had prepared two boiled beans and a thimbleful of corn soup for the army. Each man was given a plate of soup, a big spoonful of bean and a large piece of bread.

After dinner the little soldiers gathered on the bank of a puddle³ of water, where they bathed their aching feet, while others took off their uniforms and enjoyed a good swim. The foolish Dunce dived head first into the pool without first testing the water to see how deep it was and he nearly broke his silly neck, for the hole was only three Teenie Weenie feet (a little over an inch and a half) deep.

“Believe me!” exclaimed the Dunce after he was pulled out of the water and sat on the bank rubbing a big bump on his head, “I’m through diving. I wouldn’t dive into a teacup full of water even if I could see the bottom.”

The General decided⁴ to let the army rest for a day, as the soldiers all complained of sore feet and, besides, one of the horses was bothered with a lame⁵ leg, which had been hurt in a mouse trap a few days before. The men were given a little light rifle practice, while Paddy Pinn tried out the cannon⁶ at long range shooting, bringing down a dandelion in three shots at the remarkable⁷ range of four hundred and twenty Teenie Weenie feet (17 feet in our measurement).

The noise of the cannon attracted the attention of many birds, squirrels, bugs⁸ and field mice, who gathered around the edge of the camp with wide-open eyes.

“What’s the trouble?” asked a bright-eyed chipmunk⁹. “Is there a war or somethin’?”

“No,” answered the General kindly¹⁰. “We are on our way to rescue a couple of Teenie Weenies who have been stolen by the wild men who live in the heart of the big woods.”

“Well, you’d better go back,” warned the Chipmunk. “Those wild men are a bad lot and they are as thick as bees in clover time.”

“We are not afraid,” answered the General. “We will keep on until we have rescued our friends.”

 

“All right! All right!” said the Chipmunk solemnly. “I wouldn’t give a wormy chestnut¹¹ for your lives, but that’s your choosing, not mine. Let me tell you one thing—don’t forget that I warned you.”

“Thank you just the same for your advice,” said the General, “but we must go on.”

“All right!” muttered the Chipmunk. “But remember I warned you.” And shaking his head wisely he scampered¹² off into the thick weeds.

The little soldiers rolled themselves up in their tiny blankets almost immediately after supper and almost before the sun had disappeared over the western hills they were sound asleep, for they were to be up and well on the march before daylight again would appear.

 

1 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

2 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

3 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

6 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 chipmunk   

n.花栗鼠

参考例句：

• This little chipmunk is hungry.这只小花栗鼠肚子饿了。
• Once I brought her a chipmunk with a wound on its stomach.一次，我带了只腹部受伤的花栗鼠去找她。

10 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

11 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

12 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》