CHAPTER XXIII BOWSER'S GREAT VOICE

 To long for home when far away

Will rob of joy the brightest day.

Bowser the Hound¹.

There is as much difference in the voices of dogs as in the voices of human beings. For that matter, this is true of many of the little people who wear fur. Bowser the Hound had a wonderful, deep, clear voice, a voice that could be heard a great distance. No one who knew it would ever mistake it for the voice of any other Hound.

 

As a rule, Bowser seldom used that great voice of his save when he was hunting some one. Then, when the scent² was strong, he gave tongue so fast that you wondered how he had breath enough left to run. But now that he was a prisoner of kindness, in the home of the people who had taken him in when he had crept³ to their doorstep, Bowser sometimes bayed from sheer⁴ homesickness. When he was tied out in the yard, he would sometimes get to thinking of his home and long to see Farmer Brown and Mrs. Brown and especially his master, Farmer Brown's boy. Then, when he could stand it no longer, he would open his mouth and send his great voice rolling across to the woods with a tone⁵ of mournfulness which never had been there before.

 

But great as was Bowser's voice, and far as it would carry, there was none who knew him to hear it, save Blacky the Crow. You remember that Blacky knew just where Bowser was and often flew over that farmyard to make sure that Bowser was still there. So more than once Blacky heard Bowser's great voice with its mournful note, and understood it.

 

It troubled Blacky. Yes, Sir, it actually troubled Blacky. He knew just what was the matter with Bowser, but for the life of him he couldn't think of any way of helping⁶ Bowser. "That dog is homesick," croaked⁷ Blacky, as he sat in the top of a tall tree, scratching his head as if he thought he might scratch an idea out of it. "Of course he doesn't know how to get home, and if he tried he probably would get as badly lost as he was before. Anyway, they don't give him a chance to try. I can't lead Farmer Brown's boy over here because he doesn't understand my talk, and I don't understand his. There isn't a thing I can do but keep watch. I wish Bowser would stop barking. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Yes, Sir, it makes me feel uncomfortable. Old Man Coyote got Bowser into this trouble, and he ought to get him out again, but I don't suppose it is the least bit of use to ask him. It won't do any harm to try, anyway."

 

So Blacky started back for the Green Forest and the Old Pasture⁸ near Farmer Brown's to look for Old Man Coyote, and for a long time as he flew he could hear Bowser's voice with its note of homesickness and longing⁹.

 

1 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。

2 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

3 crept   

v.蹑手蹑足地走( creep的过去式和过去分词 )；缓慢地行进；爬行；匍匐

参考例句：

• I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents. 为了尽量不吵醒父母，我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• He had crept up on his unsuspecting victim from behind. 他从背后悄悄逼近了那毫无戒备的受害者。

4 sheer   

adj.绝对的，全然的，峻峭的；v.躲开，躲避，使...避开； adv.完全，全然，峻峭

参考例句：

• He achieved his aim by sheer strength of will.他纯粹靠意志力达到了目的。
• I guess It'sheer waste of time arguing about it.看来争论这件事纯粹是浪费时间。

5 tone   

n.语气，音调，气度，色调；vt.（up）增强

参考例句：

• There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
• Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

8 pasture   

n.牧场，牲畜饲养

参考例句：

• This is the place where they used to pasture.这就是他们过去经常放牧的地方。
• The boy got up very early every morning to pasture cattle.这男孩每天起得很早去放牛。

9 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。