X A Troublesome Wishbone

 Solomon Owl¹ had pains—sharp pains—underneath his waistcoat. And not knowing what else to do, he set off at once for Aunt Polly Woodchuck's house under the hill, in the pasture, which he had not visited since the previous fall. Luckily, he found the old lady at home. And quickly he told her of his trouble.

 

“What have you been eating?” she inquired.

 

“I've followed your advice. I've been eating chickens,” said he—“very small chickens, because they were all I could get.”

 

Aunt Polly Woodchuck, who was an herb doctor—and a good one—regarded him through her spectacles.

 

“I'm afraid,” said she, “you don't chew your food properly. Bolting one's food is very harmful. It's as bad as not eating anything at all, almost.”

 

Solomon Owl showed plainly that her remark surprised him.

 

“Why,” he exclaimed, “I always swallow my food whole—when it isn't too big!”

 

“Gracious me!” cried Aunt Polly, throwing up both her hands. “It's no wonder you're ill. It's no wonder you have pains; and now I know exactly what's the matter with you. You have a wishbone inside you. I can feel it!” she told him, as she prodded² him in the waistcoat.

 

“I wish you could get it out for me!” said Solomon with a look of distress³.

 

 

“All the wishing in the world won't help you,” she answered, “unless we can find some way of removing the wishbone so you can wish on that. Then I'm sure you would feel better at once.”

 

“This is strange,” Solomon mused⁴. “All my life I've been swallowing my food without chewing it. And it has never given me any trouble before.... What shall I do?”

 

“Don't eat anything for a week,” she directed. “And fly against tree-trunks as hard as you can. Then come back here after seven days.”

 

Solomon Owl went off in a most doleful frame of mind. It seemed to him that he had never seen so many mice and frogs and chipmunks⁵ as he came across during the following week. But he didn't dare catch a single one, on account of what Aunt Polly Woodchuck had said.

 

 

His pains, however, grew less from day to day—at least, the pains that had first troubled him. But he had others to take their place. Hunger pangs⁶, these were! And they were almost as bad as those that had sent him hurrying to see Aunt Polly Woodchuck.

 

On the whole, Solomon passed a very unhappy week. Flying head foremost into tree-trunks (as Aunt Polly had instructed him to do) gave him many bumps and bruises⁷. So he was glad when the time came for him to return to her house in the pasture.

 

 

Solomon's neighbors had been so interested in watching him that they were all sorry when he ceased his strange actions. Indeed, there was a rumor⁸ that Solomon had become very angry with Farmer Green and that he was trying to knock down some of Farmer Green's trees. Before the end of that unpleasant week Solomon had often noticed as many as twenty-four of the forest folk following him about, hoping to see a tree fall.

 

But they were all disappointed. However, they enjoyed the sight of Solomon hurling⁹ himself against tree-trunks. And the louder he groaned¹⁰, the more people gathered around him.

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

4 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

5 chipmunks   

n.金花鼠( chipmunk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

6 pangs   

突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛

参考例句：

• She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。
• With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。

7 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

9 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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》