AN ACCIDENT

 Well, after Uncle John Hare had spent about a week at the Old Bramble Patch, he thought it time to go home. So he called up his house and ordered his Bunnymobile sent for him.

 

“Now don’t worry about Little Jack¹ Rabbit,” he said to the anxious lady bunny, “I’ll take good care of him and send him home safe and sound.”

 

Then he put on his goggles² while the little rabbit cranked up the Bunnymobile, and off they went.

 

You see, Uncle John was so fond of his little rabbit nephew that he just had to take him out for a drive.

 

But, goodness me. They had gone only a little way when they ran into a load of hay. And, oh dear me! It tumbled down on top of them and hid the Bunnymobile from sight. Wasn’t that dreadful?

 

Well, I don’t know what would have happened—they would have been smothered³ or had hay fever, I guess—if a big Circus Elephant hadn’t come hurrying along just then.

 

Well, sir! He wound his trunk around that pile of hay and put it back on the wagon⁴. Then he dropped in his pocket the nickel the farmer gave him, but he wouldn’t take the carrot cent that grateful Uncle John offered him.

 

“I’m so nervous you’d better drive,” cried the old gentleman hare. So Little Jack Rabbit took the wheel and for a little while everything went along nicely. But pretty soon it grew dark, so the little rabbit hopped⁵ out to light the lamps. But when he struck a match he found that the lamps were smashed to pieces. You see, they had hit the back of the hay wagon.

 

“What shall we do?”

 

“Get in and go along the best you can,” answered the old gentleman hare. “We ought to be pretty near home by this time.” And I guess they would have reached his little red house in a few minutes if the Policeman Dog hadn’t stopped them.

 

“What do you mean by running your Bunnymobile without lights?” he growled⁶. “I’ll fine you ten bones!”

 

“Make it carrots and I’ll pay you,” said Uncle John.

 

But the Policeman Dog wouldn’t take carrots. You see, he liked bones much better. Then he jumped on the running board and told them to drive to Station House No. 13.

 

But wasn’t it lucky? They had gone only a little way when they came to a butcher shop, where Uncle John traded ten carrots for ten bones. And when he gave them to the Policeman dog, he told them they might drive home slowly.

 

But, oh dear me. All of a sudden a big owl⁷ gave a hooty toot. No sooner did the two little rabbits hear that dreadful noise than they hopped out of the Bunnymobile and into a hollow stump⁸. “You’ll be safe, now,” said a little grasshopper⁹ from her Clover Patch House, nearby.

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 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

3 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

4 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

5 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。

6 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

9 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。