A BUSY BEAVER

 “Bunny Boy!” called Little Jack¹ Rabbit’s mother, oh, so early, as Mr. Merry Sun climbed up the blue gray sky of the early morning, “Get up, little bunny!”

 

So the little rabbit hopped² out of bed; and after he had combed his hair with a little chip, he ran downstairs to ask his mother about the early worm Professor Jim Crow had mentioned in the last story. After breakfast he hopped out on the Sunny Meadow and looked about him. Mr. Merry Sun was shining down on the frosty dew and Billy Breeze was very chilly³, and the meadow grass brown and withered⁴. It didn’t look at all like the lovely Sunny Meadow.

 

“Oh, dear,” sighed the little rabbit, “all the flowers are gone, and most of the birds have flown to the sunny South.” Just then Professor Jim Crow flew by with his little Black Book under his wing:

 

“Helloa, there, little bunny, how are you this chilly day?” And then that old crow began to read out of his little book:

 

“Little rabbit’s coat of brown

Soon will turn to white.

Then among the snowy drifts

He can hide from sight.

“You see how Mother Nature looks after you,” said that wise old blackbird. “In the summer your coat is brown like the dry grass and brambles. But when winter comes it turns white so that you won’t be seen so well against the snow.”

 

Then away flew Professor Jim Crow to read his little Black Book to somebody else, and the little rabbit hopped along and by and by he came to the Bubbling Brook⁵ where the speckled trout⁶ swam in and out among the rocks and the little fresh water crabs⁷ played in the quiet pools. All of a sudden down fell a tree.

 

“There,” said Busy Beaver⁸, “I’ll now have some logs to make a dam.”

 

“Why do you want a dam? Do you want to spoil the Bubbling Brook?”

 

“It won’t spoil the brook,” answered the little beaver. “It will only make it deep so that when I build my house for the winter my front door won’t freeze up tight.”

 

“Oh, I see,” said Little Jack Rabbit, and he wiggled his little pink nose sideways. “And how soon will you have it finished?”

 

“Oh, long before Old Mr. North Wind brings the snow,” answered Busy Beaver.

 

Old Mr. North Wind

On his Snow Horse,

Swiftly is riding

Down the golf course,

 

Over the meadow

And up the steep hill,

Shouting so hoarsely⁹;

“Gid ap, there, Bill!”

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 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。

3 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

4 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

5 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

6 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

7 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记