AT THE FARM

 "All right, come along," said Cocky Doodle, and he started back for the Old Farm, followed by Henny Penny¹ and the little bunny.

"Where are you going?" called out Mrs. Rabbit from the Old Bramble Patch².

 

"I'm going over to the Old Farm with Henny Penny and Cocky Doodle," answered her little bunny boy.

 

"You'd better be careful," said his mother, "the farmer might catch you."

 

"I don't think so, Mrs. Rabbit," said Cocky Doodle; "he's a very kind farmer." Mrs. Rabbit smiled, as if she only half believed the little rooster. Then she turned to her little rabbit boy and said, "Keep a bright lookout³, and don't forget you're only a small bunny."

 

After that away went the three little people, Cocky Doodle, with his bright red comb, and Henny Penny in her pretty gray speckled feathers, and Little Jack⁴ Rabbit, in his fur waistcoat, white as the big clouds that chased⁵ Mr. Merry Sun over the bright blue sky.

 

"Who is this little bunny?" asked Turkey Tim when they all came to the Farm Yard.

 

"Don't you know?" answered Henny Penny. "Why, he's the little rabbit who colors the Easter Eggs!"

 

"What!" cried a big fat goose.

 

"This is Little Jack Rabbit," said Cocky Doodle.

 

"Pleased to meet you," said Goosey Lucy. "Do you paint goose eggs, too?" But before the little bunny could say yes or no, the Kind Farmer himself came out of the house.

 

"Why, look who's here," he said with a smile. And such a kind smile that Little Jack Rabbit wasn't the least bit afraid.

 

"He saw the hired boy steal the eggs from my nest in the corner of the Old Rail Fence," cried Henny Penny.

 

"Ha, ha!" laughed the Kind Farmer. "So that's where you've been laying your eggs, is it, Miss Henny Penny?"

 

"Cock-a-doodle-do,

She only laid a few.

But after this she'll lay the rest

Within the little wooden nest

You hung upon the Henhouse wall,

And tell you with her cackle-call,"

said the little rooster, for Henny Penny was too ashamed⁶ to speak.

Then the Weathercock whirled⁷ around on his big toe and, pointing at the little hen, shouted through his tin megaphone:

 

"Why don't you stay at home and lay,

And not go calling every day?

I never leave my perch⁸ up here

No matter what the atmosphere."

1 penny   

n.（英）便士，美分

参考例句：

• I will not lent you a penny.我一便士都不愿借给你。
• Sugar has risen a penny a pound.糖价每磅涨了1便士。

2 patch   

n.补丁；斑；一小块地；vt.补，修补

参考例句：

• This patch looks a bit unprofessional.这块补丁有点像出自外行之手。
• We managed to patch our quarrel.我们设法平息争吵。

3 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 chased   

vt.追捕（chase的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The boy chased his sister in and out among the bushes. 那个男孩在灌木丛里跟着他姐姐追过来追过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy chased the decoys down to the place of ambush. 敌人将诱骗者一直追到伏兵所在地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ashamed   

adj.感到惭愧，感到害臊，因为羞耻或勉强作某事

参考例句：

• He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
• You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。

7 whirled   

v.（使）飞快移动，使旋转( whirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Leaves whirled in the wind. 落叶在风中旋转。
• A tornado whirled into the town last week. 龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。