Grandfather Frog's Troubles Grow

 Head first in; no way out;

 

It's best to know what you're about!

 

Grandfather Frog had had plenty of time to realize how very true this is. As he sat on the old shingle¹ which the Merry Little Breezes had blown into the spring where he was a prisoner, he thought a great deal about that little word "if." If he hadn't left the Smiling Pool, if he hadn't been stubborn and set in his ways, if he hadn't been in such a hurry, if he had looked to see where he was leaping—well, any one of these ifs would have kept him out of his present trouble.

 

It really wasn't so bad in the spring. That is, it wouldn't have been so bad but for the fear that Farmer Brown's boy might come for a drink and find him there. That was Grandfather Frog's one great fear, and it gave him bad dreams whenever he tried to take a nap. He grew cold all over at the very thought of being caught again by Farmer Brown's boy, and when at last one of the Merry Little Breezes hurried up to tell him that Farmer Brown's boy actually was coming, poor old Grandfather Frog was so frightened that the Merry Little Breeze had to tell him twice to hide under the old shingle as it floated on the water.

 

At last he got it through his head, and drawing a very long breath, he dived into the water and swam under the old shingle. He was just in time. Yes, Sir, he was just in time. If Farmer Brown's boy hadn't been thinking of something else, he certainly would have noticed the little rings on the water made by Grandfather Frog when he dived in. But he was thinking of something else, and it wasn't until he dipped a cup in for the second time that he even saw the old shingle.

 

"Hello!" he exclaimed. "That must have blown in since I was here yesterday. We can't have anything like that in our nice spring."

 

With that he reached out for the old shingle, and Grandfather Frog, hiding under it, gave himself up for lost. But the anxious Little Breeze had been watching sharply and the instant he saw what Farmer Brown's boy was going to do, he played the old, old trick of snatching his hat from his head. The truth is, he couldn't think of anything else to do. Farmer Brown's boy grabbed at his hat, and then, because he was in a hurry and had other things to do, he started off without once thinking of the old shingle again.

 

"Chugarum!" cried Grandfather Frog, as he swam out from under the shingle and climbed up on it, "That certainly was a close call. If I have many more like it, I certainly shall die of fright."

 

Nothing more happened for a long time, and Grandfather Frog was wondering if it wouldn't be safe to take a nap when he saw peeping over the edge above him two eyes. They were greenish yellow eyes, and they stared and stared. Grandfather Frog stared and stared back. He just couldn't help it. He didn't know who they belonged to. He couldn't remember ever having seen them before. He was afraid, and yet somehow he couldn't make up his mind to jump. He stared so hard at the eyes that he didn't notice a long furry² paw slowly, very slowly, reaching down towards him. Nearer it crept and nearer. Then suddenly it moved like a flash. Grandfather Frog felt sharp claws in his white and yellow waistcoat, and before he could even open his mouth to cry "Chugarum," he was sent flying through the air and landed on his back in the grass. Pounce³! Two paws pinned him down, and the greenish yellow eyes were not an inch from his own. They belonged to Black Pussy⁴, Farmer Brown's cat.

1 shingle   

n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短

参考例句：

• He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土，下面露出一块松木瓦块。
• He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。

2 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

3 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

4 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。