XX GOOD CORN WASTED

 Mr. Crow had been talking about the corn in the silo, which Farmer Green fed to the herd¹ during the winter. And the Muley Cow could see that he was growing angrier every moment.

 

"Well! well!" she exclaimed. "You don't object—do you?—if Farmer Green feeds us corn that he raised himself."

 

"Certainly I do!" Mr. Crow fumed². "It's not fair. He doesn't store away any nice sweet corn in a silo for me."

 

"Ah! You wouldn't like it if he did," the Muley Cow told him.

 

"Why not?" Mr. Crow asked. "Why shouldn't I enjoy nice sweet corn in the dead of winter?"

 

"Because—" said the Muley Cow—"because the corn from the silo isn't sweet. It's sour, Mr. Crow. And you wouldn't care for it at all."

 

The old gentleman looked surprised.

 

"How sour is it?" he inquired.

 

"I'd hate to say," the Muley Cow replied.

 

"I insist on your telling me," he croaked³. "I insist; for I've a right to know."

 

"Well," said the Muley Cow, "the corn from the silo is not quite as sour as your temper, Mr. Crow. And that's all I can say."

 

That seemed to be enough for him. He asked no more questions, but flew off in a terrible rage. And he told all his friends that it was a shame, the way Farmer Green ruined the corn by putting it in the silo. "It turns sour," he explained. "And Farmer Green has to feed it to the cows, because nobody else will eat it."

 

All the crows in Pleasant Valley agreed that it was a pity to spoil good corn like that. They even had a meeting—a crow caucus—in the pine woods, they were so upset.

 

"What can we do about it?" they asked one another.

 

Nobody could supply an answer.

 

"If we could eat all the corn before it's cut, we could save it—" old Mr. Crow began.

 

But the rest shouted him down. They knew that couldn't be done.

 

"There's your friend, the Muley Cow," said one of them to old Mr. Crow. "Why don't you tell her that Farmer Green's not treating the herd well? He gives them spoiled corn. If they'd refuse to eat it, it would serve him right."

 

"A good idea!" said everybody else—except old Mr. Crow. As for him, he made a wry⁴ face.

 

"I don't enjoy talking with the Muley Cow," he objected. "Besides, a talk with her would be of no use. She's one of the most stupid people I ever saw."

 

After a good deal of teasing by his cronies Mr. Crow at last consented to speak to the Muley Cow once more. And flying to the pasture, he flapped down near her.

 

"If I had been born a calf—" Mr. Crow began. But he got no further than that before the Muley Cow broke in upon his words.

 

"If you hadn't been born a rascal⁵ everybody would have a better opinion of you," she told him.

 

 

He began squawking at her at the top of his lungs.

 

But the Muley Cow didn't care. She continued to twist her tongue around mouthfuls of grass quite as if Mr. Crow had never been born at all.

 

And that was the end of that.

 

 

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 fumed   

愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟

参考例句：

• He fumed with rage because she did not appear. 因为她没出现，所以他大发雷霆。
• He fumed and fretted and did not know what was the matter. 他烦躁，气恼，不知是怎么回事。

3 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

5 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。