CHAPTER XV REDDY'S FORLORN CHANCE

 This saying is both true and terse¹:

There's nothing bad but might be worse.

Bowser the Hound².

If any one had said this to Reddy Fox during the first half hour after he discovered that he was a prisoner³ in Farmer Brown's henyard, he wouldn't have believed it. He wouldn't have believed a word of it. He would have said that he couldn't possibly have been worse off than he was.

 

He was a prisoner, and he couldn't possibly get out. He knew that in the morning Farmer Brown's boy would certainly discover him. It couldn't be otherwise. That is, it couldn't be otherwise as long as he remained in that henyard. There wasn't a thing, not one solitary⁴ thing, under or behind which he could hide. So, to Reddy's way of thinking, things couldn't possibly have been worse.

 

But after a while, having nothing else to do, Reddy began to think. Now it is surprising how thinking will change matters. One of the first thoughts that came to Reddy was that he might have been caught in a trap,—one of those cruel traps⁵ that close like a pair of jaws⁶ and sometimes break the bones of the foot or leg, and from which there is no escape. Right away Reddy realized that to have been so caught would have been much worse than being a prisoner in Farmer Brown's henyard. This made him feel just a wee, wee bit better, and he began to do some more thinking.

 

For a long time his thinking didn't help him in the least. At last, however, he remembered the chicken dinner he had felt so sure he was going to enjoy. The thought of the chicken dinner reminded him that inside the henhouse it was dark. He had been inside that henhouse before, and he knew that there were boxes in there. If he were inside the henhouse, it might be, it just might possibly be, that he could hide when Farmer Brown's boy came in the morning.

 

So once more Reddy went to work at that little sliding door where the hens ran in and out during the day. He already had found out that it wasn't fastened, and he felt sure that with patience he could open it. So he worked away and worked away, until at last there was a little crack⁷. He got his claws⁸ in the little crack and pulled and pulled. The little crack became a little wider. By and by it was wide enough for him to get his whole paw⁹ in. Then it became wide enough for him to get his head half in. After this, all he had to do was to force himself through, for as he pushed and shoved¹⁰, the little door opened. He was inside at last! There was a chance, just a forlorn chance, that he might be able to escape the notice of Farmer Brown's boy in the morning.

1 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

2 hound   

n.猎狗，卑鄙的人；vt.用猎狗追，追逐

参考例句：

• The hound found the trail of the rabbit.猎狗发现了兔子的踪迹。
• The police have promised to hound down those responsible for the explosion.警方已保证要追查此次爆炸事件有责任的人员。

3 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

5 traps   

n.随身携带物，随身行李；圈套( trap的名词复数 )；（对付人的）计谋；（练习射击用的）抛靶器；（捕捉动物的）夹子v.诱骗( trap的第三人称单数 )；使受限制；困住；使（水与气体等）分离

参考例句：

• The stock market is full of traps for the unwary. 对无风险意识的人而言，股票市场充满了陷阱。
• No. Not in regular government pay and employment, to lay traps? 没有这种想法。不是受雇于政府、接受正规津贴、陷害他人么？ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 crack   

vi.发破裂声；噼啪地响；vt./vi.（使）开裂；破裂；n.裂缝，缝隙；爆裂声，破裂声，劈啪声

参考例句：

• There's a crack in this cup.这个杯子上有个裂缝。
• There's a crack on the underneath of the bowl.碗底有一道裂缝。

8 claws   

n.爪( claw的名词复数 )；（有壳水生动物的）螯；爪形夹具；（机械的）爪

参考例句：

• the claws of a crab 螃蟹的螯
• The lion's claws had gouged a wound in the horse's side. 狮爪在马身一侧抓了一道深口。

9 paw   

n.手掌，手爪；v.以蹄扒地，笨拙地使用，费力地前进

参考例句：

• He served as a cat's paw.他充当爪牙。
• Don't paw at everything you see.别见什么摸什么。

10 shoved   

推，猛推，乱推( shove的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱放； 随便放； 胡乱丢

参考例句：

• The people shoved to get on the bus. 人们你推我挤争着上公共汽车。
• He shoved me roughly aside. 他粗暴地把我推到了一边。