STORY X THE ROOSTER TRIES TO SWIM

 Grandfather Goosey-Gander was quite lame¹ the next day from having been caught in the brush pile, and could not go very far away from the duck pen. He did manage to hobble around on the crutch² which Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made for him, and he sat in a sunny corner, reading the newspaper with his glasses which Susie Littletail found. He was reading away as Alice, Lulu and Jimmie Wibblewobble were playing about on the edge of the pond, and the little duck children made so much noise that the old grandfather could not understand what was in the papers.

 

"Can't you children play something quiet?" he asked for Papa and Mamma Wibblewobble had gone visiting, and Grandfather Goosey-Gander was left to mind the house. "Play some nice, easy game," he suggested.

 

"Let's play acorn³ tag," said Lulu.

 

"All right, you're it," answered Jimmie. So they each took an acorn which they found in the woods and put it in their bills. Then Lulu had to chase after Jimmie and Alice, and when she touched either one of them with her wing she had to call out: "You can't run a little bit, I've tagged you, and now you're it." Yes, that's what she had to call, and she had to do it without letting the acorn fall out of her bill. Now, if you think that's a very easy thing to do, just you try it, that's all.

 

Lulu didn't have much trouble putting her wing on Jimmie or Alice, but, every time she tried to call out the little verse the acorn would roll out of her bill and she'd have to start all over again, or it wouldn't have been fair. So it was some time before she got over being "it," and then it was Jimmie's turn.

 

Well, they played acorn tag for quite a while, and, when they got tired of that they all went in swimming. They swam around in circles, and criss-crossed and went in squares, and in triangles and all sorts of queer figures, including eight, nine, ten, which are very difficult figures, indeed, for little ducks.

 

While they were swimming away, having lots of fun, and far enough off so that Grandfather Goosey-Gander could read his paper in peace, who should come down to the edge of the pond but the rooster. His name was Mr. Cock A. Doodle, and he was very proud. He walked right down to the edge of the water, and looked at the ducks. Then he crowed as loud as he could, and flapped his wings, just as if he were saying:

 

"There! I'd like to see any of you do that! Ha! Hum! Oh my, yes, indeed!"

 

"How do you do, Mr. Cock A. Doodle?" asked Jimmie.

 

"Ahem! I am pretty well, my young friend," replied the rooster. "And how may you happen to be to-day? And how are your sisters, Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble?"

 

"We are very well," answered Lulu and Alice, and Lulu went on: "Don't you wish you could swim, Mr. Doodle?"

 

"I can," said the rooster, and he strutted⁴ back and forth⁵ at the edge of the pond. "Certainly I can swim. What put the notion into your heads that I can't?"

 

"We never saw you," spoke⁶ Jimmie.

 

"Ahem! Perhaps not. You never saw me stand on one foot and jump over a barrel, but that doesn't prove that I can't do it," replied Mr. Doodle. "I can swim if I choose. I have never cared to, that's all."

 

"Try now," suggested Lulu, for she didn't believe that rooster could swim, no matter what he said.

 

"Oh, the water is too cold to go swimming now," said Mr. Doodle. "I never swim in cold water."

 

"Why, it's as warm as warm can be," declared Alice, and she splashed a few drops upon the rooster, so he could feel it.

 

"Well, er—ahem! The wind is blowing too much," said the rooster, when he felt the nice, warm water.

 

"Why, it doesn't blow at all," answered Jimmie.

 

"Well, I haven't my swimming shoes on," objected Mr. Cock A. Doodle. "I can't swim without them. You ducks have pieces of skin between your toes, so the water won't slip through, but I haven't my webbed feet on."

 

"Oh, that is very easily fixed," said Lulu. "We will take some pieces of cloth, and tie them over your claws to make them like ours. Do you think you could swim then?"

 

"Yes," answered the rooster, "I think I could." You see he had no more excuses to make. Oh, wasn't he a tricky⁷ old rooster, though, eh?

 

So Lulu and Jimmie got some bits of cloth, and, with long pieces of ribbon grass, they bound the cloth on the rooster's claws so his feet looked something like a duck's.

 

"Now come on and we'll have a swimming race," suggested Jimmie. "Walk right down into the water as we do. It won't hurt you the least bit, Mr. Doodle."

 

"Pooh! Do you think I'm afraid?" inquired Mr. Doodle, and he actually did walk right into the water, while all the ducks and chickens and geese looked on in wonder, for they had never seen the rooster swim, and didn't believe he could. Oh, but Mr. Doodle was proud! He even tried to crow as he stepped into the water, but, as he wasn't used to it, it made his breath feel just as if it were choking him when he tried to swallow.

 

Yes, he tried to crow, but all the noise he could make was a sort of a gasp⁸ and a sigh and a cough and a splutter and a sneeze and choke and a whimper.

 

"Ha! Aha! Ahem! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho I will now swim" cried the rooster, and then the water got so deep that he couldn't wade⁹ any more, and he had to float. He struck out with his feet, and tried to paddle just as he saw Lulu and Alice and Jimmie doing, but a very funny thing happened.

 

The rooster went right around in a circle, for he only used one leg at a time. Then he got dizzy, and went around the other way. Then he had to stop. Next he flapped his wings and splashed the water all over.

 

Say, I wish you could have seen him. It was as good as a circus! He got his tail all wet, and his back got all wet, and, as his feathers weren't the kind that water runs off from, he was soon as soaked as your umbrella ever was. That made him heavy and he began to sink. Oh, how he splashed and spluttered around in that pond! He couldn't swim any more than my typewriter can, and, all at once, what do you suppose happened?

 

Why, he felt himself sinking more and more and more. Oh, it was terrible!

 

"Save me! Oh, save me!" Mr. Doodle cried. "I am going down! Help me, please! Help! Help! Help!"

 

Then the duck children felt sorry, and swam to him as fast as they could. Each one took hold of that poor rooster; Lulu and Alice by a wing, and Jimmie by the rooster's tail, and they towed him to shore. Oh, but he was a sorry looking sight! He couldn't even crow, nor flap his wings.

 

"I thought you said you could swim," spoke Jimmie.

 

"Hush¹⁰!" begged Alice, who was very kind-hearted. "Don't be casting up! Don't make him feel bad."

 

"Oh, I feel bad enough without that," said Mr. Doodle, sighing. "I guess the water wasn't right for swimming to-day," and with that he walked off, and hid himself in some leaves, to get dry, for he hadn't any towels at his house. But the Wibblewobble children kept on swimming, for they knew how; and now, let me see; well, how about a story of an enchanted¹¹ castle for to-morrow night; eh? that is if the scissors don't cut up too much.

 

1 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

2 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

3 acorn   

n.橡实，橡子

参考例句：

• The oak is implicit in the acorn.橡树孕育于橡子之中。
• The tree grew from a small acorn.橡树从一粒小橡子生长而来。

4 strutted   

趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The players strutted and posed for the cameras. 运动员昂首阔步，摆好姿势让记者拍照。
• Peacocks strutted on the lawn. 孔雀在草坪上神气活现地走来走去。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

8 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

9 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

10 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

11 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。