CHAPTER XIV The Masked Bandit

 It was no wonder that Master Meadow Mouse was startled. He cowered¹ inside his nest in the top of the shock of corn. The whole shock shook. There was a terrible rustle² of dry leaves as Fatty Coon tore away stalk after stalk.

"Old Mr. Crow never did this!" Master Meadow Mouse stammered³. "He never disturbed my rest. But this awful Fatty Coon means to catch me. And I don't know what to do."

 

Meanwhile Fatty Coon was muttering horribly to himself as he worked.

 

"This fellow must be fat," he grunted⁴, as he wrenched⁵ at a stubborn stalk with claws and teeth. "With all this corn to feast on he must be in fine trim. Mm! He ought to be just right to top off a good meal of corn."

 

"My goodness!" Master Meadow Mouse gasped⁶. "How annoying! He intends to eat me!"

 

For a few moments Master Meadow Mouse wondered whether he ought to fight or run. "I wish," he thought, "that I'd brought my old sign with me when I moved to this new home. If I had hung it outside my door Fatty Coon wouldn't have bothered me. When he read that notice, 'Gone to lunch. Back To-morrow,' he would have shuffled⁷ off about his business." But idle thoughts and wishes were of no use at a time like that. Master Meadow Mouse soon realized that he must act—and act quickly.

 

"Maybe I'll bite his nose," he said to himself. "But I want to peep at him first."

 

So Master Meadow Mouse left his nest and crept a short distance until he could peer out from a chink between two cornstalks. In the moonlight he had a fine view of Fatty Coon. And as he stared at the intruder Meadow Mouse shuddered⁸.

 

"No!" he exclaimed. "No! I never could fight him. I wouldn't dare bite his nose. He's far, far too big for me to tackle."

 

There was no denying that Fatty Coon looked both huge and dangerous. Across his face was a black mask which only added to his horrid⁹ appearance. And through the mask his eyes shone green and greedy right into the frightened ones of Master Meadow Mouse.

 

One good look was enough for Master Meadow Mouse. He drew back hurriedly. Through his mind there flashed a saying of his mother's that he had not thought of for a long time: "He that fights and runs away will live to fight another day."

 

"I'll run first," Master Meadow Mouse decided¹⁰. "Then perhaps I shan't have to fight at all."

 

Then he stole out of the shock of corn, on the opposite side. And when Fatty Coon pawed his way through to the nest he found it empty.

 

He gave a wail¹¹ of anger and dismay.

 

"He's gone! The Meadow Mouse has gone!" Fatty bawled¹². "And I'll warrant he was a fat one, too. It's always the fattest ones that get away. And nobody can deny that this one was living high."

1 cowered   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响，人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
• He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里，吓得语无伦次。

2 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

3 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 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。

5 wrenched   

v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
• He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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》

7 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

10 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。

11 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

12 bawled   

v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）

参考例句：

• She bawled at him in front of everyone. 她当着大家的面冲他大喊大叫。
• My boss bawled me out for being late. 我迟到，给老板训斥了一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》