XII RIGHTING A WRONG

 Poor Spot! He felt so mournful that he lifted up his muzzle¹ and howled. Farmer Green's wife had just ordered him out of the kitchen. She thought he had been teasing Miss Kitty Cat. And instead he had kept Miss Kitty from tasting the leg of mutton that lay on the kitchen table.

 

"It's a sad, sad world!" he howled. "I thought Mrs. Green would praise me. But she didn't. She scolded me!"

 

"Sakes alive!" cried Henrietta Hen as she rushed up to him in the farmyard. "What's the matter with you? Are you trying to bay the moon in the daytime?"

 

Turkey Proudfoot gobbled at Spot and bade him be still. Turkey Proudfoot was very pompous², for he had an idea that he ruled the farmyard.

 

Old dog Spot felt so meek³, after the scolding that Mrs. Green gave him, that he couldn't find a word to say to anybody that spoke⁴ to him.

 

"I've expected this for some time," the Rooster told Henrietta Hen. "Mrs. Green has put old Spot out of the farmhouse⁵. And Farmer Green intends to put him off the farm. Everyone agrees that he's a nuisance. It's a wonder the folks in the Green family have kept him all these years."

 

Well, old dog Spot couldn't help hearing what the Rooster said. And he hadn't even heart enough to answer that impertinent boaster.

 

"Maybe he knows what he's talking about," Spot groaned⁶. "I wish Johnnie Green would come home. He'd stand up for me, if nobody else will."

 

Then something happened all at once that helped Spot's spirits amazingly. The woodshed door flew open and Miss Kitty Cat all but flew out of it. Farmer Green's wife appeared in the doorway⁷ with a broom in her hand. And with it she helped Miss Kitty into the yard. She helped her so much that Miss Kitty never touched the broad stone doorstep at all.

 

"Scat!" cried Mrs. Green. "I don't want any thieves in my kitchen."

 

It was quite plain that something had displeased⁸ Mrs. Green—something in which Miss Kitty Cat had had a part. And old dog Spot thought he knew what that something was.

 

"Ha!" he barked at Miss Kitty. "So Mrs. Green found you out!" And he ran at Miss Kitty and chased her into a tree. She sat herself down upon a limb and glared at him.

 

"Wow!" he yelped⁹. "You must have sampled that leg of mutton when you thought Mrs. Green's back was turned. And she must have caught you in the act."

 

Though that was exactly what had happened, Miss Kitty Cat wouldn't say a word. But she looked whole sentences at him.

 

Soon Farmer Green's wife came to the door again and called, "Come, Spot! Come, Spot!"

 

He hurried up to her and caught the piece of meat that she tossed to him.

 

It was mutton.

1 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

2 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

3 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

4 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。

5 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

6 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

8 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

9 yelped   

v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot. 马踩了他的脚痛得他喊叫起来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked. 鞭子一响，猎狗发出一阵嗥叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》