XXII JASPER JAY OBJECTS

 While Jasper Jay, in the beech¹ tree, waited for Grunty Pig, on the ground, to speak up and make his excuses for taking beechnuts, a bur dropped from a twig² and landed right in front of Grunty's nose. He fell upon it greedily. And, tearing it open, he devoured³ the nuts with relish⁴.

 

For a few moments his action struck Jasper Jay dumb. That blue-coated rascal⁵ turned to Frisky⁶ Squirrel, who clung to a limb near-by.

 

"Well, did you ever?" Jasper gasped⁷. And then, having found his voice, Jasper began to use it on Grunty Pig.

 

Now, Jasper Jay was a wild fellow. He often used words that made the gentler folk in Pleasant Valley shudder⁸. And he called Grunty Pig names that would have made many a person angry.

 

Grunty Pig, however, never even blinked. And after a while Jasper Jay used up all his special words, which he generally employed at such times. He gave Frisky Squirrel a helpless look.

 

"My! My! Isn't this chap thick-skinned?" he exclaimed.

 

"Certainly I am!" cried Grunty Pig. "That's why I like to wallow in mud."

 

"Ha!" Jasper Jay sniffed⁹. And he spoke¹⁰ again to Frisky Squirrel. "This chap is thick-headed, too. I see that I'm going to have trouble making him understand what I say."

 

Frisky Squirrel merely grinned at his companion.

 

 

"Look here, young Porker!" Jasper called to Grunty Pig. "Doesn't Farmer Green feed you?"

 

The name "Porker" made Grunty Pig look up.

 

"I'm Mrs. Pig's son," he said. "Don't call me 'Porker'!"

 

"Well—Pig, then!" Jasper Jay squalled. "Doesn't Farmer Green feed you?"

 

"Yes!"

 

"Well, then—don't come here and take our nuts! Didn't your mother ever teach you that things that grow on trees—such things as nuts—belong to the people that live in the trees?"

 

"Does Johnnie Green live in this tree?" Grunty Pig inquired.

 

"He spends half his time here—or a quarter, anyhow," Jasper Jay grumbled¹¹. "And you may be sure he gets his share of these beechnuts. Goodness knows he leaves few enough for me and my friend here.

 

"Now," Jasper Jay went on, "I want you to promise not to eat any more of our nuts."

 

Grunty Pig shook his head.

 

"I can't promise that, exactly," he said. "But I'll promise not to eat any that I don't find on the ground."

 

"Huh!" Jasper Jay scoffed¹². "That means that you won't eat any nuts that you can't reach. That's no promise at all. It's nothing but a threat. It's the same as saying that you're going to eat every nut that drops off this tree."

 

Grunty Pig made no reply. He would have wandered on, but for a fresh breeze that had begun to whip the branches of the beech tree. He decided¹³ to wait there. More burs might fall. And Grunty102 wanted to be on hand to meet them when they dropped.

 

"Go home!" Jasper Jay shrieked¹⁴ at him. "Go back to your pigpen where you belong. We don't want you here." And he said many more things that were still ruder.

 

But Grunty Pig never showed the least sign of anger. He didn't even let Jasper Jay know that he had heard. When the wind died down he waddled¹⁵ off down the road. And Frisky Squirrel followed him through the tree tops. When they had travelled out of Jasper Jay's sight and hearing, Frisky asked Grunty Pig a question.

 

"I should like to know," he said, "how you managed to keep still when Jasper was abusing you. I know that I should have lost my temper. Can it be that you didn't hear what he said?"

 

 

"Oh, I heard him clearly enough," said Grunty. "But there was no sense in my getting angry with him. If he had been standing¹⁶ on the ground near me he would never have dared talk to me as he did. Jasper Jay called me names because he was safe in the tree. If he hadn't had that tree to help him he'd never have dared say what he did.

 

"To tell the truth, I am a bit out of patience with that beech tree," Grunty confessed. "It played me a mean trick. And I hope there'll be a raging wind to-night that will rob it of every bur it has.... I'd uproot¹⁷ the beech," he added, "if I didn't like beechnuts so much."

 

"Well, you are an odd one," said Frisky Squirrel.

 

"If everybody was as odd as I am there'd be fewer Jasper Jays in the world," Grunty Pig declared.

 

1 beech   

n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的

参考例句：

• Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
• Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

2 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

3 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。

4 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

5 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

6 frisky   

adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地

参考例句：

• I felt frisky,as if I might break into a dance.我感到很欢快，似乎要跳起舞来。
• His horse was feeling frisky,and he had to hold the reins tightly.马儿欢蹦乱跳，他不得不紧勒缰绳。

7 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

9 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

12 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

13 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。

14 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

15 waddled   

v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A family of ducks waddled along the river bank. 一群鸭子沿河岸摇摇摆摆地走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stout old man waddled across the road. 那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。