CHAPTER XXVII: The Hunter Gives Up

 Blacky The Crow didn't know what to think. He couldn't make himself believe that Farmer Brown's boy had really turned hunter, yet what else could he believe? Hadn't he with his own eyes seen Farmer Brown's boy with a terrible gun hide in rushes along the Big River and wait for Dusky the Black Duck and his flock¹ to come in? And hadn't he with his own ears heard the “bang, bang” of that very gun?

 

The very first thing the next morning Blacky had hastened² over to the place where Farmer Brown's boy had hidden in the rushes. With sharp eyes he looked for feathers, that would tell the tale of a Duck killed. But there were no feathers. There wasn't a thing to show that anything so dreadful³ had happened. Perhaps Farmer Brown's boy had missed when he shot⁴ at those Ducks. Blacky shook his head and decided⁵ to say nothing to anybody about Farmer Brown's boy and that terrible gun.

 

You may be sure that early in the afternoon he was perched in the top of his favorite tree over by the Big River. His heart sank, just as on the afternoon before, when he saw Farmer Brown's boy with his terrible gun trudging⁶ across the Green Meadows⁷ to the Big River. Instead of going to the same hiding place he made a new one farther⁸ down.

 

Then came the hunter a little earlier than usual. Instead of stopping at his blind, he walked straight to the blind Farmer Brown's boy had first made. Of course, there was no one there. The hunter looked both glad and disappointed⁹. He went back to his own blind and sat down, and while he watched for the coming of the Ducks, he also watched that other blind to see if the unknown hunter of the night before would appear. Of course he didn't, and when at last the hunter saw the Ducks coming, he was sure that this time he would get some of them.

 

But the same thing happened as on the night before. Just as those Ducks were almost near enough, a gun went “bang, bang,” and away went the Ducks. They didn't come back again, and once more a disappointed hunter went home without any.

 

The next afternoon he was on hand very early. He was there before Farmer Brown's boy arrived, and when he did come, of course the hunter saw him. He walked down to where Farmer Brown's boy was hiding in the rushes. “Hello!” said he. “Are you the one who was shooting¹⁰ here last night and the night before?”

 

Farmer Brown's boy grinned. “Yes,” said he.

 

“What luck did you have?” asked the hunter.

 

“Fine,” replied Farmer Brown's boy.

 

“How many Ducks did you get?” asked the hunter.

 

Farmer Brown's boy grinned more broadly than before. “None,” said he. “I guess I'm not a very good shot.”

 

“Then what did you mean by saying you had fine luck?” demanded the hunter.

 

“Oh,” replied Farmer Brown's boy, “I had the luck to see those Ducks and the fun of shooting,” and he grinned again.

 

The hunter lost patience. He tried to order Farmer Brown's boy away. But the latter said he had as much right there as the hunter had, and the hunter knew that this was so. Finally he gave up, and muttering¹¹ angrily, he went back to his blind. Again the gun of Farmer Brown's boy frightened away the Ducks just as they were coming in.

 

The next afternoon there was no hunter nor the next, though Farmer Brown's boy was there. The hunter had decided that it was a waste of time to hunt there while Farmer Brown's boy was about.

 

1 flock   

n.羊群，一群，大量；vi.群集，聚集，成群

参考例句：

• A flock of customers were waiting for the store to open.一群顾客在等候着商店开门。
• A few sheep have been lost from the flock.羊群里少了几只羊。

2 hastened   

v.加速，催促，赶快( hasten的过去式和过去分词 )；快速赶往某地

参考例句：

• She saw his frown and hastened to explain. 看到他皱起眉头，她赶紧解释。
• He hastened to assure us that the press would not be informed. 他急忙向我们保证新闻界是不会知道的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

4 shot   

n.炮弹，射击，射手；v.射击，发出，发芽；vbl.射击，发出，发芽

参考例句：

• He shot a wild duck.他射中一只野鸭。
• All the children shot out their hands for the money.所有的孩子突然伸出手来要钱。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 trudging   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There was a stream of refugees trudging up the valley towards the border. 一队难民步履艰难地爬上山谷向着边境走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 两头骡子驮着沉重的背包，吃力地往前走。 来自辞典例句

7 meadows   

草地，牧场， （河边的）低洼地( meadow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The trail wends its way through leafy woodland and sunny meadows. 这条小径穿过葱郁的林区和洒满阳光的草地。
• They have railed the meadows off from the new railway cutting. 他们已用栏杆把草地和新铁道的路堑隔离开来。

8 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

9 disappointed   

adj.失望的，不满意的，不如意的

参考例句：

• He seemed disappointed when the man refused his request.当那个人拒绝了他的要求时他看起来很失望。
• He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless.他屡次失望，以致变为了绝望。

10 shooting   

n.射击，发射；猎场，狩猎场

参考例句：

• The soldiers began shooting away at the enemy positions.战士们开始朝敌人的阵地不断地射击。
• I was in the act of shooting him when I suddenly recognized him.我正要向他开枪时，突然认出了他。

11 muttering   

轻声低语，咕哝地抱怨( mutter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was muttering away to himself. 他不停地喃喃自语。
• She was muttering to herself. 她不停地喃喃自语。