XIV Throwing Stones

 Major Monkey never stopped running until he had gone so far that the voices of the picnickers reached him only faintly.

 

Old Mr. Crow, who had followed him closely, began to think that the Major was frightened. But he knew he must be mistaken when Major Monkey came to a halt and said: "Now we can talk without disturbing anybody."

 

So Mr. Crow repeated that in his opinion the Major had insulted him.

 

"You've just the same as said that I'm a poor soldier!" he declared.

 

Major Monkey told him that it was not so.

 

"It's the generals that I can't trust," he explained. "But you are different. You're the cook, you remember. In the midst of a fight, you wouldn't be expected to cook."

 

"Then my part would be to do nothing at all?" Mr. Crow inquired.

 

"Exactly!" Major Monkey cried. "And I've no doubt that you'd be a great success."

 

Old Mr. Crow always liked praise. And of course the Major's remark pleased him. It made him all the more eager, too, to see the army attack Johnnie Green and his friends.

 

"Let's go back," said Mr. Crow, "and drive those boys out of the picnic grove¹!"

 

But Major Monkey shook his head.

 

"I don't want to lose my army," he said. "And besides we haven't any guns."

 

"You can throw stones, can't you?" Mr. Crow asked him.

 

"Oh, yes!" said the Major.

 

"Well, then—if I were you I'd get some stones down by the brook² and go straight back to the grove and hurl³ them at the enemy."

 

He said so much more that at last Major Monkey yielded. And a little later he crept back through the tree-tops with all the stones he could carry.

 

Hidden high above the heads of the picnic party, Major Monkey gave several short whistles. "The attack!" he whispered to old Mr. Crow, who had returned with him to see the fun.

 

"Hullo!" Johnnie Green shouted, stopping short in the midst of a game of leapfrog. "Who's up there?" And he peered into the greenery above.

 

Nobody seemed to know the answer to his question. Certainly there was nobody missing from the picnic party.

 

"I wonder if it's Red Head!" said Johnnie. "You remember he said he couldn't come because he had work to-day. But he must have sneaked⁴ over here ahead of us and climbed a tree."

 

The words were scarcely out of Johnnie Green's mouth when a small stone plunged⁵ down from the trees and struck one of his great toes. Being barefooted, Johnnie Green let out a yell.

 

"Ouch!" he cried. "It's Red Head! There's no doubt about it."

 

If anybody else had any doubts, they faded quickly when a small shower of stones descended⁶.

 

"Stop that!" the boys began to shout. "Come down!" And they threatened Red Head with terrible punishments.

Of course, Major Monkey was delighted. He knew that his army of generals could see—and hear—everything. And after he had thrown his last stone he felt so bold that he slipped down upon a lower limb, which gave him a better view of the picnic ground.

 

One of the boys caught a glimpse of a queer figure above him. And with a shriek⁷ he turned and fled.

 

His companions looked at him in wonder. And Johnnie Green couldn't imagine what had happened, when his staring eyes beheld⁸ the Major hanging from a bough⁹ over his head.

 

"It's a monkey!" Johnnie Green gasped¹⁰. "Where in the world could he have come from?"

1 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

2 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

3 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

4 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

7 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

8 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

9 bough   

n.大树枝，主枝

参考例句：

• I rested my fishing rod against a pine bough.我把钓鱼竿靠在一棵松树的大树枝上。
• Every bough was swinging in the wind.每条树枝都在风里摇摆。

10 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》