XVIII A BIG APPETITE

 "Come, now!" cried Cuffy Bear to Reddy Woodpecker. "We've only begun our hunt. Hurry and find another old, grubby stump¹!"

 

Having eaten only one grub, while Cuffy Bear had bolted dozens, Reddy Woodpecker was not feeling very happy. However, he went flying off to search the woods. And it wasn't long before he discovered another stump that looked even more promising² than the first one.

 

Then—well! Reddy must have forgotten his promise that he wouldn't stop to eat a single grub, but would fly straight back to the spot where he had left Cuffy Bear. He clung to the side of the stump with his odd feet, which were made expressly for work of that sort. And he began to drill a hole with his bill. He was sure there was a grub lurking³ just beneath the brittle⁴ bark.

 

Tap, tap, tap! sounded his bill against the stump. Tap, tap, tap!

 

Before Reddy reached the grub he heard a great crash in the bushes. He knew at once that Cuffy Bear had heard the sound of his drilling and had come hurrying after him. "I heard you signaling to me," Cuffy grunted⁵.

 

He tore that stump open in a twinkling. Reddy Woodpecker had to stand aside and look on while Cuffy Bear devoured⁶ every grub in sight. When at last Cuffy drew back and allowed him to search the ruin Reddy couldn't find even one grub. "Come on!" Cuffy urged him. "Let's get on with our hunting!"

 

But this time Reddy hung back.

 

"What! Haven't you had enough grubs?" he asked none too pleasantly.

 

"Enough!" Cuffy repeated. "Why, I'm only beginning to feel hungry. These few grubs that I've eaten have just stirred up my appetite."'

 

Reddy Woodpecker was astonished.

 

"Well, if you're hungry, what do you think of me?" he wanted to know.

 

And now Cuffy Bear was amazed.

 

"You!" he cried. "Haven't you had a good meal? Didn't you eat a grub off that first stump we found?"

 

"One grub!" Reddy Woodpecker exclaimed scornfully. "What's one grub?"

 

"I should think," Cuffy Bear answered, "one grub was a good meal for anybody of your size."

 

"It's not," Reddy declared. He looked very sullen⁷ and glum⁸.

 

Cuffy Bear was sure that Reddy was mistaken. He even tried to show Reddy that he was wrong.

 

"One ought to be a big meal for you," he insisted. "Why, last week I went out for my supper one night and I ate only one. And it was all I wanted."

 

"Then you had already had a big dinner," said Reddy Woodpecker.

 

"I hadn't had any dinner at all!"

 

Reddy Woodpecker stared at him. He couldn't believe it. There must be something queer about that story, somewhere. At last he asked Cuffy a blunt question.

 

"You say you ate one," he observed. "One what?"

 

"Let me see," said Cuffy Bear. "Let me think a moment.... Oh, yes! Now I remember. It was one pig!"

1 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

5 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

6 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

7 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

8 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。