GRANDPA POSSUM

 But! gracious me! Central gave Little Jack¹ Rabbit the wrong number, for as he stood in the Hollow Stump² Telephone Booth, with the receiver to his ear, he heard Grandpa Possum say:

 

“I don’t care how hard it snows,

Nor how Old Mr. North Wind blows,

For I’m as safe as safe can be

In a big warm hole in the old nut tree.”

 

“Ha, ha!” laughed the little rabbit, hopping⁴ out of the booth, just as Grandpa Possum poked⁵ his head out of his hollow tree house, “you certainly look sleepy. What made you wake up?”

 

“What woke me?” asked the possum gentleman angrily. “Why, those good for nothing Squirrel Brothers threw a snowball into my window.” And then Grandpa Possum shook the snow out of his left ear and looked around to find those naughty squirrels.

 

All of a sudden, quicker than a wink⁶, another snowball hit the old hollow tree a tre-men-dous whack⁷.

 

“Goodness me!” said Grandpa Possum, “if I ever catch those pesky squirrels I’ll make them wince⁸, yes, I will, as sure as I’m twenty-one!”

 

And he began to grin, for Grandpa Possum is full of good nature and never can stay angry very long.

 

“If you’re good natured, every one

Will love you more and more,

So don’t get mad, be always glad,

And lend a helping⁹ paw,”

sang Grandpa Possum, winking¹⁰ at Little Jack Rabbit, as Squirrel Twinkle Tail peeked¹¹ out and said:

 

“Excuse me, Grandpa Possum,

For throwing snow at you,

’Twould be too bad to make you mad

Or just a little blue.”

And then he and his mischievous¹² brother Featherhead ran away and didn’t bother Grandpa Possum for a long time.

 

“Well, I guess I’ll be getting along,” said the little rabbit and he hopped¹³ away and by and by he came to the Shady Forest Pond where Busy Beaver¹⁴ had his home. But of course he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. No, siree. He was in his little mud hut whose roof stuck up above the ice and whose cellar door was way down deep where the water was free from ice and he could swim in and out as he pleased.

 

So the little rabbit didn’t wait, but hopped along until he came to the edge of the forest, when he started to hop³ across the Sunny Meadow to the Old Barn Yard where Henny Penny and Cocky Doodle lived all the year ’round. But just then he heard the supper bell. So, instead, he hurried home to be in time for Aunt Jemima’s angel cake.

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 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。

3 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 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。

5 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

7 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

8 wince   

n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• His smile soon modified to a wince.他的微笑很快就成了脸部肌肉的抽搐。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 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》

11 peeked   

v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

12 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

13 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。

14 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。