XVIII. FARMER BROWN'S BOY MAKES A DISCOVERY

 Reddy Fox glared up at Sammy Jay. “What's the matter with you?” snarled¹ Reddy Fox. “Why don't you mind your own affairs, instead of making trouble for other people?” You see, Reddy was afraid that Johnny Chuck would hear Sammy Jay and take warning.

 

“Hello, Reddy Fox! I thought you had gone down to the Green Meadows!” Sammy said this as if he was very much surprised to see Reddy there. He wasn't, for you know he had been watching Reddy hunt for Johnny Chuck's new house, but Reddy had pretended that he was going down to the Green Meadows early that morning, and so now Sammy pretended that he had thought that Reddy really had gone.

 

“I changed my mind!” he snapped. “What are you screaming so for?”

 

“Just to exercise my lungs, so as to be sure that I can scream when I want to,” replied Sammy, screaming still louder.

 

“Well, go somewhere else and scream; I want to sleep,” said Reddy crossly.

 

Now Sammy Jay knew perfectly² well that Reddy Fox had no thought of taking a nap but was hiding there to try to catch Johnny Chuck. And Sammy knew that Farmer Brown's boy could hear him scream, and that he knew that when Sammy screamed that way it meant there was a fox about. Sitting in the top of the apple-tree, Sammy could see Farmer Brown's boy starting for the old orchard³, with Bowser the Hound running ahead of him.

 

Farmer Brown's boy had no gun, so Sammy knew that no harm would come to Reddy, but that Reddy would get a dreadful scare; and that is what Sammy wanted, just out of pure mischief⁴. So he screamed louder than ever.

 

Reddy Fox lost his temper. He sat up and called Sammy Jay all the bad names he could think of. He forgot where he was. He told Sammy Jay what he thought of him and what he would do to him if ever he caught him.

 

Sammy Jay kept right on screaming. He made such a noise that Reddy didn't hear footsteps coming nearer and nearer. Suddenly there was a great roar right behind him. “Bow, wow, wow! Bow, wow, wow, wow!”—just like that.

 

Reddy was so frightened that he didn't even look to see where he was jumping, and bumped his head against the apple-tree. Then he started for the Green Forest, with Bowser the Hound at his heels.

 

Sammy Jay laughed till he lost his breath and nearly tumbled off his perch⁵. Then he flew away, still laughing. He thought it the greatest joke ever.

 

Farmer Brown's boy had followed Bowser the Hound into the old orchard.

 

“I wonder what a fox was doing up here in broad daylight,” said he, talking to himself. “Perhaps one of my hens has stolen her nest down here, and he has found it. I'll have a look, anyway.”

 

So he walked on down to the far corner of the old orchard, straight to the place from which he had seen Reddy Fox jump. When he got there, of course he saw Johnny Chuck's new house right away.

 

“Ho!” cried Farmer Brown's boy. “Brer Fox was hunting Chucks. I'll keep my eye on this, and if Mr. Chuck makes any trouble in my garden, I'll know where to catch him.”

 

1 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

4 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

5 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。