VII BUTTERFLY BILL

 Now, a crowd had gathered quickly around Betsy Butterfly and Mrs. Ladybug; for the field people are quick to notice anything unusual. And a sprightly¹ young cousin of Betsy's known as Butterfly Bill said to Mrs. Ladybug, with a wink² at everybody else:

 

"I suppose you'll dust the rest of us, too?"

 

"Only those that need it!" replied Mrs. Ladybug.

 

"Then you'll have your hands full," Butterfly Bill told her. "Maybe youp. 33 haven't noticed that every member of the Butterfly family in Pleasant Valley is covered with dust just as Betsy is."

 

Mrs. Ladybug looked surprised.

 

"Is that so?" she said faintly.

 

"It certainly is!" Bill cried. "Maybe you never knew that the dust is what gives us our—ahem—our beautiful colors," he added proudly. "And I warn you that if you so much as touch my lovely cousin with that brush you'll have every one of us fellows in your hair."

 

Of course poor Mrs. Ladybug was quite bald. But she knew what Butterfly Bill meant. And she was so upset that she promptly³ let the paint-brush fall to the ground.

 

Then Betsy's cousin nodded approvingly.

 

"Now you'd better hurry home," he told Mrs. Ladybug. "There's a rumor⁴ around the meadow that your house is on fire. And they say your children are in great danger."

 

Little Mrs. Ladybug at once fell to weeping.

 

"It's that horrid⁵ Freddie Firefly!" she shrieked⁶. "I've told him to keep away from my home. I've told him that he would set it to blazing with that light of his. But he's forever sneaking⁷ around my house as soon as my back is turned."

 

"There, there! Don't be frightened!" Betsy Butterfly said to her soothingly⁸. "It's only a rumor, you know."

 

"That's so," Mrs. Ladybug admitted, drying her eyes. "I hear it almost every day, too. But I never can get used to it.... I suppose this is only a false alarm, after all."

 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Butterfly Bill said wickedly, with a shake of his head. "And if I were you I'd look after my own family a little more carefully, instead of troubling myself with other people's affairs."

 

Several of Bill's friends applauded his speech. But Betsy Butterfly whispered to him to hush⁹.

 

"Don't you see that Mrs. Ladybug is not quite herself?" she asked him.

 

But Butterfly Bill was not a person to be easily silenced like that.

 

"She's a meddling¹⁰ busybody!" he declared. "And it's my opinion that she ought to be put where she'll have to mind her own business."

 

"Who—me?" called a wheezing¹¹ voice right in his ear.

 

Turning, Butterfly Bill saw that it was Jennie Junebug who had spoken to him. She had noticed the crowd from a distance. And she had just arrived, quite out of breath.

 

Before Betsy Butterfly's cousin Bill could answer, Jennie Junebug actually threatened him.

 

"If you were talking about me I shall have to knock you down," she declared.

 

He had heard that Jennie delighted in flying bang into anybody. But he did not know that she indulged in that unladylike trick only after dark.

 

"Of course I didn't mean you!" he said hastily.

 

"And I hope you didn't mean my friend Mrs. Ladybug, either," Jennie Junebug added. "For if you did——"

 

But Butterfly Bill waited to hear no more. Thoroughly¹² frightened, he sought safety in flight. And as he flew away Mrs. Ladybug couldn't help noticing the dust on his wings.

 

"They're certainly a peculiar¹³ lot—that Butterfly family!" she muttered.

1 sprightly   

adj.愉快的，活泼的

参考例句：

• She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。
• He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

2 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

3 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

4 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。

5 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

6 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

7 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

8 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

10 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

11 wheezing   

v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣

参考例句：

• He was coughing and wheezing all night. 他整夜又咳嗽又喘。
• A barrel-organ was wheezing out an old tune. 一架手摇风琴正在呼哧呼哧地奏着一首古老的曲子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

13 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。