CHAPTER II A WALK IN THE WOODS

 Bushy Tail, the sly¹ old fox,

Said: "If you are my friend,

You will go with me, no doubt,

To the rainbow end."

 

 

Little Bear was not allowed to go out in the woods alone.

 

Next morning he said: "I want to take a walk in the woods."

 

Papa Bear said: "You may go if Curly² Bear will go with you."

 

Curly Bear was Little Bear's youngest brother.

 

Curly Bear and Little Bear went through the woods together.

 

They each carried a little bucket. They were going to pick berries.

 

"Are you twins?" asked the old owl³ as they passed along under the tree.

 

Curly Bear shouted: "I am Curly Bear, but he hasn't any name!"

 

Little Bear, put his paw up to his face and cried, "Boo-hoo!"

 

Then the most surprising thing hap­pened!

 

Furry⁴, the coon, came running down the path, and Old Grizzly⁵ Bear came running along, carrying his umbrella, and all the Cotton-Tail family came running, too.

 

"Where are you going?" asked the two little bears.

 

None of the animals stopped to an­swer them, so Little Bear and Curly Bear threw down their pails and ran, too.

 

On, on, on, through the woods all the animals ran, until they were tired. It began to rain a little, first a few drops, then splash⁶, splash, splash!

 

"We shall have wet fur," said Curly Bear.

 

Pretty soon there came a light in the sky, and there shone a rainbow, then all the animals ran on again, faster than ever, and the rainbow be­gan to fade and fade, until it became ever so faint.

 

Pretty soon the rainbow was gone. What do you suppose those funny animals did then?

 

They sat down in a circle and each one whispered to the one next him. Curly Bear said: "I wish some one would speak out loud, so we could know what they are talking about!" Just then Bushy Tail, the sly fox, got up and wrapped his tail about him and said:

 

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, the secret is out: we were all looking for the pot of gold at the rainbow end!" Then all the animals shouted: "Hear! hear! hear! Bushy Tail is talking!"

 

Curly Bear and Little Bear said they were sleepy and tired, so Old Grizzly Bear left all the other animals talking, and he took Curly Bear on his right shoulder, and Little Bear on his left shoulder, and went trotting⁷ merrily homeward.

 

"What is your name, Little Bear?" called the old owl as they passed by.

"By the way, what is your real name?" asked Old Grizzly, but Little Bear only hid his head on Old Grizzly 's shoulder and cried, "Boo-hoo!"

 

Curly Bear said: "He hasn't any name. We did not have enough names to go round!"

 

"How many bears are there at your house?" asked Old Grizzly.

 

Curly Bear said: "We have Mama Bear, and Papa Bear, and seventeen little Bears!"

 

All this time Little Bear was crying softly, "Boo-hoo!"

 

"Never mind," said Old Grizzly, when you find the pot of gold, you will find a name, too."

 

Then Little Bear stopped crying and fell asleep.

 

He fell asleep on Old Grizzly's shoulder, and pretty soon he woke up with a start.

 

All the animals were running down the path.

 

"What is the matter?" asked Little Bear.

 

Old Grizzly chuckled⁸ to himself, and Curly Bear said: "Bushy Tail has stolen some cookies!"

 

All the animals were after Bushy Tail, but they did not catch him, he was such a sly old fox.

 

What do you suppose Bushy Tail did? He hid behind a stone wall, and all the animals ran past.

 

Bushy Tail had plenty of cookies to eat that night.

 

 

1 sly   

adj.狡猾的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• You can't trust him,he's a sly old fox.你不能相信他，他是一只狡猾的老狐狸。
• I was ready to sly out the alley door.我准备从那边小门溜出去。

2 curly   

adj.卷曲的，卷缩的

参考例句：

• The little boy has curly hair.这小男孩长着一头卷发。
• She is tall and dark with curly hair.她高高的个子，黑皮肤，卷头发。

3 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

4 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

5 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

6 splash   

v.溅，泼；n.溅泼声，溅出的水等，斑点

参考例句：

• I fell into the water with a splash.我跌入水中，激起水花四溅。
• There's a splash of paint on the white wall.白墙上溅上了一片油漆。

7 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

8 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。