XXII THE RAIN COMES

 Cuffy Bear was disappointed. For when at last his father came galloping¹ up to his house he brought no pig with him. Indeed he seemed to have forgotten that it was his birthday.

 

"Get the children!" he shouted to Mrs. Bear, as soon as he came in sight. And pretty soon Cuffy and Silkie and their father and mother were hurrying along on their way to the lake that lay on the other side of the mountain.

 

Cuffy was delighted. He thought that perhaps he would see the naughty little bear Peter again; for he remembered that Peter lived around the mountain, right where they were going.

 

They had travelled several miles when Mr. Bear stopped suddenly. And he said, "Hah!" And he looked up at the sky. Something had hit him right in the eye. You might think that Mr. Bear was angry. But no! He was very glad. For it was a drop of rain that had fallen upon him. And in a few minutes there were countless² drops pattering down. Yes, soon it was raining hard. And to Cuffy's great disappointment they all started homewards again, for Mr. Bear knew that the rain would soon put the fire out.

 

Mr. Bear had known all the time that his house wouldn't burn; for it was made of rock, and went straight into the side of the mountain. But he knew that if the woods all around caught fire it would be several days before they could go out and get anything to eat, or even a drink of water. And that was why he had started to lead his family away.

 

When they were back in their house once more Cuffy could think of only one thing that would make up for his not having seen the small bear Peter again. And he climbed up on his father's knees and said—

 

"Will you go and get a little pig, Father?"

 

"A pig?" Mr. Bear exclaimed. "Well, now—why on earth do you want a pig? What would you do with a pig?"

 

"I'd eat it," Cuffy answered promptly³. "It's your birthday, you know. And we ought to have a pig so we can have a real feast."

 

Mr. Bear smiled. And pretty soon he went out of the house. He was gone a long time. But at last he came back again, fairly staggering beneath the load that he carried.

 

When Cuffy saw what his father dropped down onto the floor he hopped⁴ up and down in his delight. There was no pig there, but Cuffy didn't mind that. For Mr. Bear had brought home four rabbits, and four squirrels, and four porcupines⁵, and four raccoons. And Cuffy ate and ate until his skin grew so tight that he was afraid it would burst. He ate all of one rabbit, and one squirrel, and one raccoon. But he never touched his porcupine⁶ at all. It made him think of the time he had tried to kill a porcupine himself, and had got his paws stuck full of quills⁷. But he had a real feast, just the same.

 

1 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

2 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

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 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

5 porcupines   

n.豪猪，箭猪( porcupine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The59 victims so far include an elephant, dromedaries, monkeys and porcupines. 目前为止，死亡的动物包括大象、峰骆驼、子以及豪猪。 来自互联网

6 porcupine   

n.豪猪， 箭猪

参考例句：

• A porcupine is covered with prickles.箭猪身上长满了刺。
• There is a philosophy parable,call philosophy of porcupine.有一个哲学寓言，叫豪猪的哲学。

7 quills   

n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管

参考例句：

• Quills were the chief writing implement from the 6th century AD until the advent of steel pens in the mid 19th century. 从公元6世纪到19世纪中期钢笔出现以前，羽毛笔是主要的书写工具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defensive quills dot the backs of these troublesome creatures. 防御性的刺长在这些讨人厌的生物背上。 来自互联网