VII FOUR LITTLE SCAMPS PLAN MISCHIEF

 "Some folks think they're mighty¹ smart—

 

Oh, la me! Oh, la me!

 

Like the knave² who stole the tart—

 

Oh, la me! Oh, la me!

 

Some folks will waken up some day—

 

And find they can't fool Mr. Jay!"

 

SAMMY JAY was mightily³ pleased with himself. He had found out all about Peter Rabbit's plan to give Unc' Billy Possum a surprise party when his family came up from "Ol' Virginny." He had found out that all the little forest and meadow people but himself and his cousin, Blacky the Crow, and Reddy Fox and Shadow the Weasel had been invited, and that each was to bring something good to eat. Sammy Jay smacked⁴ his lips as he thought of this. Then he looked up at jolly, round, red Mr. Sun and winked⁵.

 

Now on all the Green Meadows and in all the Green Forest, there live no greater scamps than Sammy Jay and Blacky the Crow and Reddy Fox and Shadow the Weasel. The worst of it is, they are not honest. They steal whenever they get a chance, and always they try to get others into trouble. That was why Peter Rabbit had left them out, when he planned his surprise party for Unc' Billy Possum.

 

Sammy Jay called the three others together under the Lone⁶ Pine and told them all about Peter Rabbit's plan and how they had been left out. Of course Blacky the Crow and Reddy Fox and Shadow the Weasel were angry, very angry indeed, for no one likes to be left out of a good time. The more Sammy Jay told them, the angrier they grew; and the angrier they grew, the more Sammy Jay chuckled⁷, way down inside. Sammy had a plan, and the angrier the others grew, the more likely were they to help him.

 

"You wait till I catch Peter Rabbit!" said Reddy Fox and showed all his teeth. He quite forgot that, despite all his smartness, he never yet had caught Peter Rabbit.

 

Blacky the Crow scratched his head thoughtfully. "We can spoil his surprise by telling Unc' Billy Possum all about it beforehand," said he.

 

Sammy Jay winked at each of the others. He cleared his throat and looked all around, to make sure that no one else was near. Then he leaned forward and whispered: "Let's invite ourselves to the party."

 

"What do you mean?" exclaimed the others, all together.

 

"Just what I say," replied Sammy. "We'll be the real surprise. Before the party begins, you will hide close to where it is to be. When everybody has got there and brought all the good things to eat, I'll come flying along and scream: 'Here comes Bowser the Hound!' Of course every one will run away, and we'll have all the good things to eat."

 

"Haw! haw! haw! The very thing! We'll all be there," cried Blacky the Crow.

 

The four little scamps shook hands and separated. As they went across the Green Meadows, Sammy Jay's voice floated back to the Lone Pine. He was singing, although he has a very poor voice for singing, and this was his song:

"What do you mean?" exclaimed the others all together.

"What do you mean?" exclaimed the others all together.

 

"Some folks think they're mighty smart—

 

Oh, la me! Oh, la me!

 

Like the knave who stole the tart—

 

Oh, la me! Oh, la me!

 

Some folks will waken up some day—

 

And find they can't fool Mr. Jay!"

 

"Is that so? Really now, I want to know," said old Mr. Toad⁸, crawling from under the very piece of bark on which Sammy Jay had sat when he told his plan. Then old Mr. Toad winked slowly and solemnly at jolly, round, red Mr. Sun and started off to find Peter Rabbit.

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 knave   

n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克

参考例句：

• Better be a fool than a knave.宁做傻瓜，不做无赖。
• Once a knave,ever a knave.一次成无赖，永远是无赖。

3 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

4 smacked   

拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。
• She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

5 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

7 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

8 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。