TO THE POST OFFICE

 “ Billy Breeze, please blow no more

The leaves around the kitchen door.

It takes my time till ten fifteen

To make the doorstep nice and clean,”

 

said Little Jack¹ Rabbit the next morning after he had polished the front doorknob and fed the canary and filled the woodbox in the kitchen with kindling² wood.

 

Oh, my, yes, he was a busy little rabbit. He had to help his mother in lots of ways, especially when Uncle John Hare was making a visit at the Old Bramble Patch.

 

Well, when the little rabbit had done all these things, his mother asked him to go down to the post office and buy her three War Savings³ Stamps and the Rabbitville Gazette for Uncle John, who had a touch of rheumatism⁴ in his left hind⁵ toe and didn’t feel like hopping⁶ around, but preferred to sit in an armchair on the back stoop where it was warm and sunny.

 

Now, as Little Jack Rabbit hopped⁷ along, he met Chippy Chipmunk⁸ under the Big Chestnut⁹ Tree, so of course he stopped and said good morning.

 

“Where are you going?” asked the little Chipmunk. And when he found out, he took two twenty-five carrot cent pieces out of his pocket and asked the little rabbit to buy him two Thrift¹⁰ Stamps.

 

“All right,” said the little bunny, dropping the two quarters in his knapsack, and

 

“Where are you going?” asked the old gray squirrel.

 

“Down to the Post Office,” answered the little rabbit.

 

“Will you buy me a dollar’s worth of Thrift Stamps, please,” said Squirrel Nutcracker. So the little rabbit tucked the lettuce¹¹ dollar bill in his waistcoat pocket and hopped along. And pretty soon, not so very far, he met Busy Beaver¹². He was plastering the top of his little mud house and was dreadfully busy, but when he heard where Little Jack Rabbit was going, he put his little muddy paw in his pocket and took out a fifty cent piece.

 

“Please buy me two Thrift Stamps, I’ve no time to go to the village. I must finish my house before the frost comes.”

 

The little rabbit put the fifty cent piece in his knapsack and hopped along, and by and by Parson Owl¹³, who sat winking¹⁴ and blinking in his Hollow Tree House, called out to the little rabbit as he hopped over the dry leaves:

 

“Hey, there! Where are you going?”

 

“Down to the Post Office to buy stamps!”

 

“Will you buy me ten dollars’ worth if I give you the money?” asked the winky, blinky old owl. Goodness me; it will take another story to tell what happened after that.

1 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。

2 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

3 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

4 rheumatism   

n.风湿病

参考例句：

• The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。
• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

5 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

7 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

8 chipmunk   

n.花栗鼠

参考例句：

• This little chipmunk is hungry.这只小花栗鼠肚子饿了。
• Once I brought her a chipmunk with a wound on its stomach.一次，我带了只腹部受伤的花栗鼠去找她。

9 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

10 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

11 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

12 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

13 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。

14 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》