XII Benjamin Bat

 Solomon Owl¹ was by no means the only night-prowler in Pleasant Valley. He had neighbors that chose to sleep in the daytime, so they might roam through the woods and fields after dark. One of these was Benjamin Bat. And furthermore, he was the color of night itself.

 

 

Now, Benjamin Bat was an odd chap. When he was still he liked to hang by his feet, upside down. And when he was flying he sailed about in a zigzag², helter-skelter fashion. He went in so many different directions, turning this way and that, one could never tell where he was going. One might say that his life was just one continual dodge—when he wasn't resting with his heels where his head ought to be.

 

A good many of Benjamin Bat's friends said he certainly must be crazy, because he didn't do as they did. But that never made the slightest difference in Benjamin Bat's habits. He continued to zigzag through life—and hang by his heels—just the same. Perhaps he thought that all other people were crazy because they didn't do likewise.

 

Benjamin often dodged³ across Solomon Owl's path, when Solomon was hunting for field mice. And since Benjamin was the least bit like a mouse himself—except for his wings—there was a time, once, when Solomon tried to catch him.

 

But Solomon Owl soon found that chasing Benjamin Bat made him dizzy. If Benjamin hadn't been used to hanging head downward, maybe he would have been dizzy, too.

 

 

Though the two often saw each other, Benjamin Bat never seemed to care to stop for a chat with Solomon Owl. One night, however, Benjamin actually called to Solomon and asked his advice. He was in trouble. And he knew that Solomon Owl was supposed by some to be the wisest old fellow for miles around.

 

It was almost morning. And Solomon Owl was hurrying home, because a terrible storm had arisen. The lightning was flashing, and peals⁴ of thunder crashed through the woods. Big drops of rain were already pattering down. But Solomon Owl did not care, for he had almost reached his house in the hollow hemlock⁵ near the foot of Blue Mountain.

 

 

It was different with Benjamin Bat. That night he had strayed a long distance from his home in Cedar⁶ Swamp. And he didn't know what to do. “I want to get under cover, somewhere,” he told Solomon Owl. “You don't know of a good place near-by, do you, where I can get out of the storm and take a nap?”

 

“Why, yes!” answered Solomon Owl. “Come right along to my house and spend the day with me!”

 

But Benjamin Bat did not like the suggestion at all.

 

“I'm afraid I might crowd, you,” he said. He was thinking of the time when Solomon Owl had chased him. And sleeping in Solomon Owl's house seemed far from a safe thing to do.

 

Solomon was wise enough to guess what was going on inside Benjamin's head.

 

 

“Come along!” he said. “We'll both be asleep before we know it. I'm sorry I can't offer you something to eat. But I haven't a morsel⁷ of food in my house. No doubt, though, you've just had a good meal. I ate seven mice to-night. And I certainly couldn't eat anything more.”

 

When Solomon Owl told him that, Benjamin Bat thought perhaps there was no danger, after all. And since the rain was falling harder and harder every moment, he thanked Solomon and said he would be glad to accent his invitation.

 

“Follow me, then!” said Solomon Owl. And he led the way to his home in the hemlock.

 

For once, Benjamin Bat flew in a fairly straight line, though he did a little dodging⁸, because he couldn't help it.

 

There was more room inside Solomon's house than Benjamin Bat had supposed. While Benjamin was looking about and telling Solomon that he had a fine home, his host quickly made a bed of leaves in one corner of the room—there was only one room, of course.

 

 

“That's for you!” said Solomon Owl. “I always sleep on the other side of the house.” And without waiting even to make sure that his guest was comfortable, Solomon Owl lay down and began to snore—for he was very sleepy.

 

It was so cozy⁹ there that Benjamin Bat was glad, already, that he had accepted Solomon's invitation.

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 zigzag   

n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行

参考例句：

• The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.闪电在天空划出一道Z字形。
• The path runs zigzag up the hill.小径向山顶蜿蜒盘旋。

3 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 peals   

n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She burst into peals of laughter. 她忽然哈哈大笑起来。
• She went into fits/peals of laughter. 她发出阵阵笑声。 来自辞典例句

5 hemlock   

n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉

参考例句：

• He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
• Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

6 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

7 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

8 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

9 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。