STORY XXIII JUMPO AND THE PAPER CUP

 One day, when Jacko and Jumpo Kinkytail, the red and green monkey boys, were coming home from school, Jacko said to Jumpo:

 

"I have five cents, that I have been saving up for a long while. Now I'm going to buy a bag of hot roast peanuts, and I'll give you some."

 

"Oh, fine!" cried Jumpo. "But where can you buy any peanuts in these woods?" for you see at that time the monkey boys were going home through a place where the trees grew thick and tall, almost up to the sky, it seemed.

 

"Oh, perhaps we will meet some one with a hot peanut wagon¹, or we may come to a store where they sell them," said the red monkey. "You look on that side of the path, Jumpo, and I'll look on this side."

 

So they did this, looking as hard as they could look, for they were quite hungry for peanuts, but all they could see were the brown leaves being blown about in the wind.

 

"I guess there are no peanuts here," said Jacko at length. "We will have to wait until we get home."

 

"No!" exclaimed Jumpo, as he tied his tail in three hard knots and untied² it as quickly as you can watch the baby shake his rattlebox. "I'll tell you what we'll do," said Jumpo. "You let me take the five cents, and I'll go look for a peanut wagon in the woods. Then you stay here and watch for one to come along. If one does come you kindly³ ask the man to wait here until I get back with the money, for, of course, I may not find anybody with peanuts."

 

"But how can I tell you to come back with the money, when you are away off in the woods?" Jacko wanted to know.

 

"Why, you take two stones, and hit them together as hard as you can," explained the green monkey, "and it will sound like a drum. Then I'll come back running, but if I should happen to find a peanut wagon before you do, I'll come back anyhow."

 

Well, Jacko thought that was a good plan, so he gave his brother the five-cent piece, and then he sat down on a stone under a tree to wait while Jumpo went off in the woods. Then Jacko began[Pg 155] to study his spelling lesson. And he learned to spell cat, and rat, and dog, and boy, and words like that.

 

But now we needn't think of Jacko for a little time, as I am going to tell you what happened to Jumpo. On and on the green monkey boy went through the woods, looking for a hot peanut wagon. Of course, I don't mean that the wagon would be hot, no, indeed. I mean the peanuts would be nice and warm after being roasted.

 

"Well, I guess I'm not going to find the peanut man," thought Jumpo, as he looked all over, and in several other places. Then he listened to see if he could hear the whistle of the hot peanut wagon, but he couldn't, and he was just getting ready to turn around and go back where his brother was, for it was getting late, and would soon be dark.

 

Then, all of a sudden, Jumpo heard a queer⁴ sound. It was like some one talking, and the words were these:

 

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I'll never get a drink, I'm afraid. And I'm so thirsty, and I can't walk home. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! What shall I do?"

 

"Ha! I wonder who that can be?" thought the green monkey boy. "Perhaps it is the peanut[Pg 156] man, and he has eaten so many of his peanuts that he needs a drink. I guess I had better help him."

 

So Jumpo started through the woods toward where he heard the voice talking. Then, all at once he thought of something.

 

"That may be a bear, or a burglar⁵ fox talking that way just to catch me," he whispered to himself. "I had better go slowly. I'll just peek⁶ through the bushes, before I go any closer, and see who it is."

 

Then Jumpo looked through the bushes. And whom do you s'pose he saw, sitting on a stump⁷ near a little spring of water? Well, I don't believe you'd ever guess, so I'm going to tell you. It was Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and Uncle Wiggily was looking at the spring of water and saying: "Oh, dear!" so many times that Jumpo couldn't count them.

 

"Ha! There is no danger for me now!" exclaimed the green monkey boy. "I must go and help him. Why, what is the matter, Uncle Wiggily?" asked Jumpo as he walked toward him.

 

"Oh, it is you; is it, Jumpo?" spoke⁸ the rabbit. "Well, I am very glad to see you. But, oh dear! how thirsty I am. I ate some salted muskmelon with pepper cabbage sauce on it for dinner, and I am so thirsty that I don't know what to do."

 

"But why don't you drink, when you are so close to a spring of water?" asked Jumpo.

 

"Ah, why indeed?" said Uncle Wiggily. "Well, the truth of the matter is that I have no drinking cup; so how can I get a drink?"

 

"That is easy," said Jumpo. "Do as we boys do. Lie down flat on your face, and sip⁹ up the water. Here, I'll show you," and Jumpo stretched out on the ground, and took a long drink from the spring.

 

"Very fine—for you," said Uncle Wiggily. "I tried that way, but every time I began to sip up the water it squirted up my nose, and that tickles¹⁰ me, and I have to sneeze, and when I sneeze I can't drink. No one could. You just try it. Sneeze, please."

 

So Jumpo did, and surely enough he couldn't drink and sneeze at the same time.

 

"Did you try to dip up some in the top of your hat?" asked Jumpo.

 

"Yes," said Uncle Wiggily, "but my hat is a tall silk one, with holes in to let out the hot air, and the water all runs out before I can drink it."

 

"I'll try my cap," said the monkey boy, and he did but all the water ran out of that as soon as it was dipped up.

"Oh, what shall I do?" said Uncle Wiggily. "I am afraid I shall die of thirst, for my rheumatism¹¹ hurts so that I can't walk very fast and it will take me a week to get home."

 

Then Jumpo thought real hard, and he suddenly exclaimed:

 

"Oh, I know the very thing! I will make you a paper cup."

 

"A paper cup!" spoke the rabbit. "One cannot drink out of a paper cup."

 

"I will prove it to you," said Jumpo. "Our teacher showed us how to make paper cups that would last long enough to get a good drink from."

 

Then the monkey boy took a piece of paper from his pad that was strapped¹² in with his schoolbooks and he folded it and creased¹³ it and folded it again, doubling it over until he had a cute little paper cup. Then he opened it out and dipped it into the water and held it up for Uncle Wiggily to drink.

 

"Well, I do declare!" exclaimed the rabbit, as he drank the water. "That's fine." Then he drank some more until he had enough, and by leaning on Jumpo's shoulder he managed to walk along toward home.

 

Then, all of a sudden, a big black bear jumped out of the woods crying:

 

"I'm going to eat you both!" But what did Jumpo do? Why, he scooped¹⁴ up a paper cupful of water and threw it in the bear's eyes and made him sneeze, and the bear was so scared that he cried out, "Wow! Wow! Wow!" three times and ran away.

 

Then Uncle Wiggily and Jumpo went to where Jacko was waiting for them, and a hot peanut wagon came along and the old gentleman rabbit bought each of the monkey boys a bag full, and they went home, helping¹⁵ Uncle Wiggily all the way.

 

Now, that's all to-night, if you please; but the next story I'll tell you will be about the Kinkytails blowing bubbles—that is, if the soapdish doesn't jump up and bite the bathroom towel and make it cry.

1 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

2 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 queer   

adj.奇怪的，异常的，不舒服的，眩晕的

参考例句：

• I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
• She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。

5 burglar   

n.窃贼，破门盗窃者

参考例句：

• The policeman took the burglar by surprise as he opened the window.当夜盗开窗时，警察冷不防地捉住了他。
• The man glanced the burglar climbing out of the window.那人瞥见小偷从窗户爬出来。

6 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

7 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

10 tickles   

（使）发痒( tickle的第三人称单数 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• My foot [nose] tickles. 我的脚[鼻子]痒。
• My nose tickles from the dust and I want to scratch it. 我的鼻子受灰尘的刺激发痒，很想搔它。

11 rheumatism   

n.风湿病

参考例句：

• The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。
• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

12 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 creased   

（使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴

参考例句：

• You've creased my newspaper. 你把我的报纸弄皱了。
• The bullet merely creased his shoulder. 子弹只不过擦破了他肩部的皮肤。

14 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。