XI War in the Woods

 Although Major Monkey had ordered him out of the army, Peter Mink¹ declared that he wasn't going till he was ready to leave.

 

"Very well," said the Major easily. "You may stay here; and we'll go."

 

But Peter Mink was an obstinate² fellow. The moment the army started to move, he went along with it. And what was worse, he insisted on walking right behind Major Monkey, and trying to strut³ just as the Major did.

 

Some of the generals couldn't help snickering. And of course Major Monkey couldn't overlook such behavior.

 

"Order in the ranks!" he shouted as fiercely as he knew how.

 

The generals stopped tittering at once. For a minute or two everybody marched on in silence. And then the cry, "Halt!" rang suddenly out.

 

The generals all stopped. Major Monkey stopped, too. And his face seemed more wrinkled than ever as he looked every general in the face.

 

Naturally, that took some time, for there were several dozens of them.

 

"Who shouted 'Halt?'" the Major asked at last.

 

But nobody knew. At least, nobody answered. And there was a good deal of low talking and craning of necks. For some reason or other, everybody peered at Peter Mink. But he stared straight ahead in the most innocent fashion.

 

Major Monkey said nothing more. But he walked behind the army and picked up a stick.

 

"Forward, march!" he commanded then. And as the army moved on, he continued to walk in the rear, just behind old Mr. Crow.

 

Soon the cry, "Halt!" sounded again. And as soon as he heard it, Major Monkey threw his stick with great force and caught Peter Mink neatly⁴ in the back of his head. Peter Mink toppled over where he stood.

 

"There!" Major Monkey remarked. "He won't bother us any more to-day." And before the army had stopped gasping⁵, he marched it forward again, leaving Peter Mink stretched upon the ground.

 

Some of the generals objected, and said that they thought that Peter Mink ought to be looked after.

 

But Major Monkey told them that they were in the army, and that it was war, and they must expect even worse things to happen.

 

Now, Jimmy Rabbit was a tender-hearted chap. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving even a rascal⁶ like Peter Mink wounded and alone.

 

"I think you ought to send the cook back to take care of him," Jimmy told Major Monkey.

 

At that, Mr. Crow—who was the cook—spoke up and said that he was going to stay with the army.

 

"I don't see," he said, "how you could get along without me. An army without a cook is as good as lost."

 

Major Monkey promptly⁷ agreed with Mr. Crow.

 

"Certainly we mustn't get lost," he said. "If we were lost, the enemy never could find us. And we might wander about in the woods for years and years."

 

His remarks made some of the generals a bit uneasy. And one of them—a soldier called Billy Woodchuck—announced that he would have to be leaving.

1 mink   

n.貂，貂皮

参考例句：

• She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
• He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场，五年之内就赚了不少钱。

2 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

3 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

4 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

5 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

6 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。

7 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。