VIII AN EARLY CALL

 

 

Mrs. Woodpecker flew to her neighbor Mrs. Flicker¹'s tree and rapped, tap-tap-tap-tap. She didn't rap gently, either. She was not in a gentle mood. She intended to find out why Mrs. Flicker had called to Reddy Woodpecker, "Good morning, my dear!"

 

Mrs. Flicker promptly² stuck her head out of her door.

 

"My husband is not at home," she said. And then she vanished.

 

"Well, the very idea! What a remark to make to me!" cried Mrs. Woodpecker. "As if I'd call on a gentleman!" Being angrier than ever, she rapped harder than before.

 

Again Mrs. Flicker peered out. Again she spoke³.

 

"Did you wish to leave a message, Mr. Woodpecker?" she inquired.

 

"I'm not Mr. Woodpecker! I'm Mrs. Woodpecker!" shrieked⁴ the caller.

 

"Oh! Oh! Oh! My! My! My!" exclaimed Mrs. Flicker, who was greatly astonished. "I beg your pardon! Excuse me! It's my mistake."

 

"It certainly isn't mine," said Mrs. Reddy Woodpecker. "It seems to me you're making a good many mistakes this morning, madam."

 

Mrs. Flicker looked very unhappy. She wasn't used to being called 'madam.' She could see that Mrs. Woodpecker was furious. She wanted to be friends with Mrs. Woodpecker.

 

"You and Mr. Woodpecker look very much alike," Mrs. Flicker said to her angry caller. "When one of you peeps out of your house it's hard to tell who's who. Just now when I came to my doorway⁵ I could see only your head. And I thought it was your husband. When I spoke to your husband a few minutes ago I thought it was you."

 

Mrs. Woodpecker stared at her neighbor for a few moments. Somehow she thought Mrs. Flicker must be telling the truth.

 

"It's your red caps, I think," Mrs. Flicker went on. "They make you look like twins."

 

"Dear me!" said Mrs. Woodpecker. "I hadn't thought of that. What can we do?" Her anger had suddenly left her.

 

"My husband and I have things nicely arranged," Mrs. Flicker told her caller.

 

"Now, you never have mistaken him for me, have you?"

 

"No!"

 

"Nor me for him?"

 

"No!"

 

"Do you know the reason?" Mrs. Flicker asked.

 

"No! No! I can't say I do," replied Mrs. Woodpecker eagerly.

 

"Well," said Mrs. Flicker, "my husband wears a black mustache.... And of course I don't," she added.

 

"That's it!" cried Mrs. Woodpecker. "I hadn't realized it. But it's so. And I must tell my husband to wear a mustache. It's the only safe way to avoid trouble. Then people can tell us apart."

 

Then Mrs. Woodpecker hurried away to speak to her husband. She was surprised that he didn't take kindly⁶ to her suggestion.

 

"I don't want to wear a mustache," he objected.

 

"But you must!" she insisted.

 

"Why don't you wear one?" he inquired. "It would do just as well."

 

"Don't be silly!" she snapped. "Ladies never wear mustaches."

 

"Yes, they do," he replied.

 

"No, they don't!" she disputed.

 

Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.

 

"Come with me a moment, my dear!" Reddy begged her.

 

She thought he was going somewhere to get a mustache. So of course she hurried after him.

 

Reddy Woodpecker stopped beside Farmer Green's barn.

 

"There!" he said, as he waved a wing towards a great poster that was pasted upon the side of the barn. "Do you see that lady? She has a mustache—and a beard, too!"

 

It was just as he said. Mrs. Woodpecker couldn't help admitting that, to herself. And though she didn't speak to Reddy the rest of that day, he was satisfied. For she didn't mention mustaches to him again.

 

"It was lucky for me," he thought, "that the circus came to these parts this summer."

1 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

2 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。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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

5 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

6 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。