XIV MISSING HIS MASTER

 Johnnie Green went visiting one summer, after haying was done. Much to old dog Spot's disgust, Johnnie did not take him on this journey. But it was not Spot's fault that he was left at home. Had he not been shut up in the harness room in the barn when Johnnie drove the old horse Ebenezer out of the yard Spot would have followed beneath the buggy.

 

It was hours before Farmer Green set Spot free. When Farmer Green at last flung open the door of the harness room Spot rushed out and dashed into the road. To his sorrow he couldn't smell a trace of Ebenezer's track. So many other horses had passed by the house since morning that Spot couldn't even tell which way Ebenezer had gone.

 

In desperation Spot ran up the road a little way. Then he turned around and ran down the hill as far as the gristmill.

 

By the time he reached the mill pond Spot gave up the chase. He knew it was hopeless.

 

And seeing several of Johnnie Green's friends swimming in the pond, he joined them.

 

The boys welcomed him with shouts. And the water was just as cool as ever. But somehow Spot didn't find swimming as pleasant as he always had before. He missed Johnnie Green. There wasn't another boy there that gave Spot the same thrill by whistling to him, or patting him, or romping² with him that Johnnie Green gave him.

 

After a while Spot shook himself and trotted³ back to Farmer Green's place. He felt homesick. But when he reached the house somehow he felt worse than ever. It was terribly quiet. It was just like a Sunday morning, when everybody was at church. Farmer Green and the hired man were working in the fields. Mrs. Green was busy in the house—too busy to stop and talk with old Spot.

 

"It's frightfully dull here," Spot groaned⁴. "I wish somebody would shout." And just to break the silence he lifted up his nose and tried to bark.

 

It was far from a cheerful noise that he made, for he only succeeded in giving a mournful howl. And that sad sound made Spot gloomier than ever.

 

"Well," he muttered, "there's nothing else to do, so I'll go and dig up that bone that I buried in the orchard⁵ last week."

 

He found the bone where he had hidden it. Yet it did not look half as inviting⁶ as it had when he covered it with dirt a few days before. He stared at it dully. Then he put it back in its hole and pawed the dirt over it again.

 

He found no pleasure in anything. No longer was there any fun in chasing woodchucks. The cows might have stayed in the cornfield all day long and Spot wouldn't have bothered them. He didn't even get any sport out of teasing Miss Kitty Cat.

 

Strangest of all, he couldn't find any comfort in lying down for a quiet nap. The moment he tried to pass the time away in that fashion he began to think about Johnnie Green and what a nice boy he was. And then he would get up and walk around and around the house. Hour after hour Spot spent in that fashion.

 

It wasn't many days before he had worn a path in the grass all the way around the farmhouse⁷. When Farmer Green noticed it he didn't scold Spot. He patted his head and said, "Cheer up, old boy! Johnnie'll be back one of these days."

 

Old dog Spot wagged his tail feebly. But it was hard to wait.

 

"It wouldn't be so bad," he said to himself, "if there was only somebody to play with. If there was a puppy here on the farm I'd have some one that would be ready to romp¹ whenever I felt like it. And then Johnnie could go away visiting every summer and I wouldn't miss him half as much."

 

Spot forgot that a puppy wouldn't stay a puppy forever.

1 romp   

n.欢闹；v.嬉闹玩笑

参考例句：

• The child went for a romp in the forest.那个孩子去森林快活一把。
• Dogs and little children romped happily in the garden.狗和小孩子们在花园里嬉戏。

2 romping   

adj.嬉戏喧闹的，乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜

参考例句：

• kids romping around in the snow 在雪地里嬉戏喧闹的孩子
• I found the general romping in the living room with his five children. 我发现将军在客厅里与他的五个小孩嬉戏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

4 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》

5 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

6 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

7 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。