XV Disputes Settled

 Solomon Owl¹ looked so wise that many of his neighbors fell into the habit of going to him for advice. If two of the forest folk chanced to have a dispute which they could not settle between them they frequently visited Solomon and asked him to decide which was in the right. And in the course of time Solomon became known far and wide for his ability to patch up a quarrel.

 

At last Jimmy Rabbit stopped Solomon Owl one night and suggested that he hang a sign outside his house, so that there shouldn't be anybody in the whole valley that wouldn't know what to do in case he found himself in an argument.

 

 

Solomon decided² on the spot that Jimmy Rabbit's idea was a good one. So he hurried home and before morning he had his sign made, and put out where everyone could see it. It looked like this:

 

DISPUTES SETTLED WITHIN

 

There was only one objection to the sign. As soon as Jimmy Rabbit saw it he told Solomon that it should have said:

 

DISPUTES SETTLED WITHOUT

 

“Without what?” Solomon Owl inquired.

 

 

“Why, without going into your house!” said Jimmy Rabbit. “I can't climb a tree, you know. And neither can Tommy Fox. We might have a dispute to-night; and how could you ever settle it?”

 

“Oh, I shall be willing to step outside,” Solomon told him. And he refused to change the sign, declaring that he liked it just as it was.

 

Now, there was only one trouble with Solomon Owl's settling of disputes. Many of the forest folk wanted to see him in the daytime. And night was the only time he was willing to see them. But he heard so many objections to that arrangement that in the end Solomon agreed to meet people at dusk and at dawn, when it was neither very dark nor very light. On the whole he found that way very satisfactory, because there was just enough light at dusk and at dawn to make him blink. And when Solomon blinked he looked even wiser than ever.

 

Well, the first disputing pair that came to Solomon's tree after he hung out his new sign were old Mr. Crow and Jasper Jay. They reached the hemlock³ grove⁴ soon after sunset and squalled loudly for Solomon. “Hurry!” Mr. Crow cried, as soon as Solomon Owl stepped outside his door. “It will be dark before we know it; and it's almost our bedtime.”

 

“What's your difficulty?” Solomon asked them.

 

Mr. Crow looked at Jasper Jay. And then he looked at Solomon again.

 

“Maybe you won't like to hear it,” he said. And he winked⁵ at Jasper. “But you've put out this sign—so we've come here.”

 

“You've done just right!” exclaimed Solomon Owl. “And as for my not liking⁶ to hear the trouble, it's your dispute and not mine. So I don't see how it concerns me—except to settle it.”

 

“Very Well,” Mr. Crow answered. “The dispute, then, is this: Jasper says that in spite of your looking so wise, you're really the stupidest person in Pleasant Valley.”

 

“He does, eh?” cried Solomon Owl, while Jasper Jay laughed loudly. “And you, of course, do not agree with him,” Solomon continued.

 

“I do not!” Mr. Crow declared.

 

“Good!” said Solomon, nodding his head approvingly.

 

“No, I do not agree with Jasper Jay,” Mr. Crow said. “I claim that there's one other person more stupid than you are—and that's Fatty Coon.”

 

Well, Solomon Owl certainly was displeased⁷. And it didn't make him feel any happier to hear Jasper Jay's boisterous⁸ shouts, or the hoarse⁹ “haw-haw” of old Mr. Crow.

 

 

“I hope you can decide which one of us is right,” Mr. Crow ventured.

 

“I am, of course!” cried Jasper Jay.

 

“You're not!” Mr. Crow shouted. And to Solomon Owl he said, “We've been disputing like this all day long.”

 

Solomon Owl didn't know what to say. If he announced that Jasper was right it would be the same as admitting that he was the stupidest person in the whole neighborhood. And if he said that old Mr. Crow's opinion was correct he would not be much better off. Naturally he didn't want to tell either of them that he was right.

 

“I'll have to think about this,” Solomon observed at last.

 

“We don't want to wait,” said Mr. Crow. “If we keep on disputing we're likely to have a fight.”

 

Now, Solomon Owl hoped that they would have a fight. So he was determined¹⁰ to keep them waiting for his decision.

 

“Come back to-morrow at this time,” he said.

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 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。

4 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

5 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

7 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。

8 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

9 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。