Chapter Eight A BADLY FRIGHTENED ARMY

 It took a lot of hard work to build the big bridge. Every single Teenie Weenie worked with might and main. Even the mice who pulled the wagons¹ and cannon², helped the work along by dragging the heavy logs up to the place where the bridge was being built.

The little army was a full day and a half building the bridge and when the task was finished the wagons were loaded, the mice hitched³ to them, and led by the General, the army marched safely across the bridge.

A big squirrel who lived in a tree near by was hired to watch the bridge.

“We may want to get across this stream in a hurry,” the General told the squirrel. “If the wild men should push us back to this stream, and the bridge is destroyed, we certainly will be in a pretty pickle⁴.”

“I’ll guard it with my life,” answered the squirrel, who had been promised ten sunflower seeds and four hickory nuts for his work.

The army once more took up the march and presently they drew nearer and nearer the forest. Great bushes overhung the path along which the soldiers marched. Tall, bright-colored toadstools grew by the wayside and everything was dark and mysterious.

At noon the army was halted for lunch. The little soldiers sat on the soft moss⁵ under a big fern and each man ate the grain of boiled rice and bit of dried raisin⁶ which he had tucked into his tiny haversack that morning.

 

When the men had eaten, the General ordered them to fall into line and stepping in front of them he said: “Men, I have been informed by our aviator⁷ and by our scouts⁸ that we are rapidly drawing near the land of the wild men, so from now on straggling will not be permitted. Soldiers wandering away from the army run the chance of being captured and we will soon have need of all our brave men.”

The General’s talk impressed the little soldiers, and the Dunce and Gogo, who often wandered away from the line of march, were very much “on the job” all afternoon.

As the army marched beneath a bush, late in the day, it suddenly came face to face with a small garter snake that lay near a big stone.

“O-O-O-O-O-oh, j-j-j-imminie C-c-c-c-christmas!” screamed the Dunce.

The mouse on which the General rode gave one frightened look at the snake and quickly ran up the bush, dumping the dignified⁹ General off on his Teenie Weenie head. The rest of the army fled in all directions, in spite of the Old Soldier, who tried with all his might to stop the frightened soldiers. The snake was almost as badly scared as the army and it wriggled¹⁰ into a hole near by with remarkable¹¹ speed.

“Well, this is a fine army, I must say!” growled¹² the General when the Old Soldier had finally got the soldiers back in line. “If you men run at the sight of a little snake, what will you do when you face real wild men?”

“Pardon me, sir,” said Gogo, saluting¹³ the General. “We-all don’t mind fightin’ the wild men, but—we-all done object to bein’ et.”

“Forward, march!” shouted the General, and the little army moved on towards the wild men’s land.

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 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。

3 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。

4 pickle   

n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡

参考例句：

• Mother used to pickle onions.妈妈过去常腌制洋葱。
• Meat can be preserved in pickle.肉可以保存在卤水里。

5 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

6 raisin   

n.葡萄干

参考例句：

• They baked us raisin bread.他们给我们烤葡萄干面包。
• You can also make raisin scones.你也可以做葡萄干烤饼。

7 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

8 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

9 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

10 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。

12 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句