XIX A QUARREL

 Kiddie Katydid and Leaper the Locust¹ quarreled so loudly that they soon drew a crowd around them.

 

 

"That message for 'Mr. Grasshopper²' is certainly meant for me," Kiddie insisted. "You know yourself how you have objected to being called by the name of 'Grasshopper.' Why, only last night you refused to stop when Freddie Firefly shouted it after you."

 

"And you—" cried Leaper the Locust—"you paid no attention when Chirpy Cricket went up to you just as the moon rose this evening and said, 'How-dy do, Mr. Grasshopper!' right in your ear. You have no right to open the message. And I promise you that I shall make trouble for you if you don't mind your own affairs."

 

"Well, well—what's all this row about, anyhow?" asked a strange voice. It was a newcomer in Pleasant Valley who had just spoken. He elbowed his way briskly through the throng³ until he reached the center of it, where Kiddie and Leaper the Locust faced each other angrily. People noticed that the stranger looked as if he had travelled a long distance. And he had a mail-pouch slung⁴ over his back. Furthermore, he was enough like Kiddie and Leaper to be a cousin of either one of them.

 

A person couldn't see his horns, on account of the hat that he wore.

 

When this traveller asked about the dispute, everybody hastened to explain the quarrel to him.

 

He listened carefully, and when he had heard the whole story he said:

 

"This message—do you know where it is? Do you know who has it now?"

 

"No!" Leaper the Locust cried, while Kiddie Katydid echoed the word.

 

"Ah! I thought not!" said the stranger, "I thought not, because I have it in this mail-bag. And now I must confess that I'm puzzled myself; for I don't know which one it's intended for." And he pulled off his hat and began fanning himself with it.

 

It was perfectly⁵ plain to everyone that he was sadly perplexed⁶.

 

Then Leaper the Locust gave a great shout.

 

"You're a Short-horn!" he exclaimed. "It can't be that you would have a message for a person with horns like his!" He pointed⁷ a scornful finger at poor Kiddie Katydid.

 

One glance at the stranger's head—now that he had removed his hat—told everybody that Leaper the Locust was not mistaken.

 

The stranger's horns were short. There was no denying that fact.

 

"I believe you must be the Mr. Grasshopper I'm looking for," said the stranger.

 

Then he put his hand inside his mail-pouch and pulled out a letter.

 

Leaper the Locust made a sudden jump for the message. But he was so eager that he sprang too far. He sailed far over the stranger's head and landed some distance away.

 

"Hullo! He doesn't want it!" said the stranger. "It must be for you!" And he[93] shoved the message into Kiddie Katydid's willing hands.

 

Almost immediately Leaper the Locust jumped back again.

 

But of course he was too late.

1 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

2 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。

3 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

4 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。