CHAPTER VIII Moses Mouse

 Master Meadow Mouse felt ill at ease. Now that the grass had been cut from the meadow he began to think he didn't care to live there any longer. After his adventure with old Mr. Crow, Master Meadow Mouse scarcely dared stray from his dooryard in the daytime. Anybody, almost, could see him as he crept through the stubble.

At night he ventured further from home. And once he went even as far as the farmyard.

 

To his surprise he found that the grass in Farmer Green's yard was longer than he had ever seen it. Earlier in the summer, when Master Meadow Mouse visited that spot, he had been afraid to cross the lawn because it was clipped so short. But now he could creep through the thick green carpet and nobody could see him, unless a waving grass blade happened to catch somebody's eye. Everybody at the farmhouse¹ had been too busy with haying to spend any time running a lawn mower².

 

Why not move to the farmyard? The thought came into Master Meadow Mouse's head. It seemed to him that the farmyard would be a fine place to live. There was grain scattered³ here and there, where somebody had fed the hens. There was the duck pond near-by, when he wanted a swim.

 

"I'll come!" Master Meadow Mouse decided⁴. "I'll come—if I can find a good place for a nest."

 

Thereupon he began to look about for a site for his new home. And it wasn't long before he had found one that suited him. When he saw the woodpile he squeaked⁵ with delight.

 

"The very place!" he cried. "I'll begin to built my nest to-night."

 

So he set to work. He carried dead leaves and dried grass to the woodpile and started to make a snug⁶ home for himself in a space between the logs, well inside the heap of wood. And he had just crept from a chink and stood under the stars when a tiny voice greeted him with a cry, "What ho, stranger!"

 

Master Meadow Mouse looked around. And there on a stick of wood just behind him was a plump gray person. The newcomer looked the least bit like Master Meadow Mouse himself, except that his tail was ever so much longer.

 

"I'm Moses Mouse and I live in the farmhouse," said the gray gentleman.

 

"I'm Master Meadow Mouse and I'm going to live in this woodpile," said the reddish-brown chap in reply.

 

"That's good news," Moses Mouse remarked. "But you must look out for Miss Snooper," he added.

 

"Who is she?" Master Meadow Mouse asked his new friend.

 

"Miss Snooper—" Moses Mouse explained—"Miss Snooper is our name for Miss Kitty Cat. She lives in the farmhouse. And when she isn't indoors she's usually prowling about the yard."

 

To the great astonishment⁷ of Moses Mouse, the short-tailed stranger seemed in no wise startled by his news.

 

"Huh!" Master Meadow Mouse exclaimed. "If this Miss Snooper—as you call her—bothers me, I'll serve her as I did one of her kittens."

 

"What did you do to the kitten?" Moses Mouse inquired with great interest.

 

"I bit her nose," said Master Meadow Mouse.

 

Moses Mouse gazed at him with horror.

 

"Don't try that on the old lady!" he cried. "If you do, you'll be sorry."

1 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

2 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 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。

5 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

6 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

7 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。