CHAPTER XXII. SAMMY JAY BECOMES CURIOUS

      Learn all you can about others,

     but keep your own affairs to yourself.

     —Peter Rabbit.

Of course it was Sammy Jay who first found out that Peter Rabbit was back in the dear Old Briar-patch. Sammy took it into his head to fly over there the very morning of Peter's home-coming. Indeed, little Miss Fuzzytail hadn't had time to half see the clear Old Briar-patch which, you know, was to be her new home, when Peter saw Sammy Jay coming. Now Peter was not quite ready to have all the world know that there was a Mrs. Peter, for of course that was what little Miss Fuzzytail was now that she had come to make her home with Peter. They wanted to keep by themselves for a little while and just be happy with each other. So as soon as Peter saw Sammy Jay headed towards the Old Briar-patch, he hid little Miss Fuzzytail under the thickest sweet-briar bush, and then hurried out to the nearest sweet-clover patch.

 

Of course Sammy Jay saw him right away, and of course Sammy was very much surprised.

 

“Hello, Peter Rabbit! Where'd you come from?” he shouted, as he settled himself comfortably in a little poplar-tree growing on the edge of the Old Briar-patch.

 

“Oh,” said Peter with a very grand air, “I've been on a long journey to see the Great World.”

 

“Which means,” said Sammy Jay with a chuckle¹, “that you've been in the Old Pasture all this time, and let me tell you, Peter Rabbit, the Old Pasture is a very small part of the Great World. By the way, Tommy Tit the Chickadee was down here the other day and told us all about you. He said that you had fallen in love with little Miss Fuzzytail, and he guessed that you were going to make your home up there. What's the matter? Did her father, Old Jed Thumper², drive you out?”

 

“No, he didn't!” snapped Peter angrily, “It's none of your business what I came home for, Sammy Jay, but I'll tell you just the same. I came home because I wanted to.”

 

Sammy chuckled³, for he dearly loves to tease Peter and make him angry. Then the imp⁴ of mischief⁵, who seems always to live just under that smart cap of Sammy's, prompted him to ask: “Did you come home alone?”

 

Now Peter couldn't say “yes” for that would be an untruth, and whatever faults Peter may have, he is at least truthful⁶. So he just pretended not to have heard Sammy's question.

 

Now when Sammy had asked the question he had thought nothing about it. It had just popped into his head by way of something to say. But Sammy Jay is sharp, and he noticed right away that Peter didn't answer but began to talk about other things.

 

“Ha, ha!” thought Sammy to himself, “I believe he didn't come alone, I wonder now if he brought Miss Fuzzytail with him.”

 

Right away Sammy began to peer down into the Old Briar-patch, twisting and turning so that he could see in every direction, and all the time talking as fast as his tongue could go. Two or three times he flew out over the Old Briar-patch, pretending to try to catch moths⁷, but really so that he could look down into certain hiding-places. The last time that he did this he spied little Mrs. Peter, who was, you know, Miss Fuzzytail. At once Sammy Jay started for the Green Forest, screaming at the top of his voice:

 

“Peter Rabbit's married! Peter Rabbit's married!”

1 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

2 thumper   

n.击键声检测器；轰鸣器

参考例句：

3 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。

4 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

5 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

6 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

7 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》