CHAPTER IX: The Laughing Brook Stops Laughing

 There was something wrong. Grandfather Frog knew it the very minute he got up that morning. At first he couldn't think what it was. He sat with just his head out of water and blinked¹ his great goggly eyes, as he tried to think what it was that was wrong. Suddenly Grandfather Frog realized how still it was. It was a different kind of stillness from anything he could ever remember. He missed something, and he couldn't think what it was. It wasn't the song of Mr. Redwing. There were many times when he didn't hear that. It was—Grand-father Frog gave a startled² jump out on to the shore. “Chugarum! It's the Laughing Brook³! The Laughing Brook has stopped laughing!” cried Grandfather Frog.

 

Could it be? Who ever heard of such a thing, excepting when Jack⁴ Frost bound the Laughing Brook with hard black ice? Why, in the spring and in the summer and in the fall the Laughing Brook had laughed—such a merry, happy laugh—ever since Grandfather Frog could remember, and you know he can remember way back in the long ago, for he is very old and very wise. Never once in all that time had the Laughing Brook failed to laugh. It couldn't be true now! Grandfather Frog put a hand behind one ear and listened and listened, but not a sound could he hear.

 

“Chugarum! It must be me,” said Grandfather Frog. “It must be that I am growing old and deaf. I'll go over and ask Jerry Muskrat⁵.”

 

So Grandfather Frog dove⁶ into the water and swam out to the middle of the Smiling Pool, on his way to Jerry Muskrat's house. It was then that he first fully⁷ realized the truth of what Jerry Muskrat and Little Joe Otter⁸ had told him the day before—that there was something very, very wrong with the Smiling Pool. He stopped swimming to look around, and it seemed as if his great goggly eyes would pop right out of his head. Yes, Sir, it seemed as if those great goggly eyes certainly would pop right out of Grandfather Frog's head. The Smiling Pool had grown so small that there wasn't enough of it left to smile!

 

“Where are you going, Grandfather Frog?” asked a voice over his head.

 

Grandfather Frog looked up. Looking down on him from over the edge of the Big Rock was Jerry Muskrat. The edge of the Big Rock was twice as high above the water as Grandfather Frog had ever seen it before.

 

“I—I—was going to swim over to your house to see you,” replied Grandfather Frog.

 

“It's of no use,” replied Jerry, “because I'm not there. Besides, you couldn't swim there, anyway.”

 

“Why not?” demanded Grandfather Frog in great surprise.

 

“Because it isn't in the water any longer; it's way up on dry land,” said Jerry Muskrat in the most mournful voice.

 

“What's that you say?” cried Grandfather Frog, as if he couldn't believe his own ears.

 

“It's just as true as that I'm sitting here,” replied Jerry sadly.

 

“Listen, Jerry Muskrat, and tell me truly; is the Laughing Brook laughing?” cried Grandfather Frog sharply⁹.

 

“No,” replied Jerry, “the Laughing Brook has stopped laughing, and the Smiling Pool has stopped smiling, and I think the world is upside down.”

 

1 blinked   

眨眼睛( blink的过去式 )； 闪亮，闪烁

参考例句：

• He blinked in the bright sunlight. 他在强烈的阳光下直眨眼睛。
• The boy blinked up at me in some surprise. 那男孩有些吃惊地眨着眼看我。

2 startled   

adj.受惊吓的v.使惊跳，使大吃一惊( startle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of 2000 was startled near the end of the concert. 2000名观众在音乐会将近结束时大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Startled by the sudden whistle of the train, the horse broke away. 火车突然鸣笛，那匹马受惊脱逃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 muskrat   

n.麝香鼠

参考例句：

• Muskrat fur almost equals beaver fur in quality.麝鼠皮在质量上几乎和海獭皮不相上下。
• I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice.我看到一只麝鼠从冰里面钻出来。

6 dove   

n.鸽，温和派人物，“鸽派”人物

参考例句：

• A dove is often used as a symbol of peace.鸽常作为和平的象征。
• Paul seemed more impressed by the dove.保尔似乎对鸽子更感兴趣。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 otter   

n.水獭

参考例句：

• The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说，竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
• She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。

9 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。