III AN INTERRUPTED NAP

 Nimble, the fawn¹, stole away into the woods while his mother was sleeping. And when he went he took great pains not to disturb her. He was careful not to step on a single twig². For young as he was, he knew that the sound of a breaking twig was enough to rouse his mother instantly out of the deepest sleep. And he made sure that he didn't set his little feet on any stones. For he knew that at the merest click of a hoof³ his mother would bound up and discover that he had left her.

 

So Nimble trod only upon the soft carpet of pine needles and made not the slightest noise. Meanwhile his mother slept peacefully on—or as peacefully as anybody can who is a light sleeper⁴ and keeps one ear always cocked to catch every stir in the forest.

 

She never missed her son at all until she found herself suddenly wide awake and on her feet, ready to run. Not seeing Nimble beside her, for a moment or two she forgot she had a child. Her only thought was to flee from the creature that was crashing through the underbrush beyond the old stone wall and drawing nearer to her every instant.

 

It was a wonder that she didn't dash off then and there. Indeed she took one leap before she remembered who she was and that she had a youngster named Nimble.

 

Then, of course, she stopped short and looked wildly around. But she saw no little spotted⁵ fawn anywhere.

 

She had been startled enough, before, roused as she was out of a sound sleep. And now she was terribly frightened.

 

"Nimble!" she called. "Where are you?"

 

"Here I am!" Nimble answered. Even as he spoke⁶ he burst into sight, leaping the stone wall in such a way that his mother couldn't help feeling proud of him.

 

"What's the matter?" she cried. "Who's chasing you?"

 

"Nobody's chasing me," Nimble told her. "When I saw the Fox I hurried back here."

 

"The Fox!" his mother exclaimed. "Well, he won't dare touch you while I am with you." She began to breathe easily again. If it was only a Fox she certainly didn't intend to run. "Where did you see the Fox?" she demanded.

 

"He was right over my head," Nimble said.

 

"My goodness!" his mother gasped⁷. "That was dangerous. Was he on a bank above you?"

 

"He was in a tree," Nimble replied.

 

His mother gave him a queer look.

 

"What's that?" she asked him sharply. "In a tree? What did he look like? Was he red?"

 

"He was grayish and he had black rings around his long bushy tail; and his long pointed⁸ nose stuck out from under a black mask."

 

"Nonsense!" cried Nimble's mother. "You didn't see a Fox. You saw a Coon!"

 

Nimble was puzzled.

 

"You told me once," he reminded his mother, "that a Fox was a sly fellow with a bushy tail and a long pointed nose. And this person in the tree had——"

 

"Yes! Yes!" said his mother. "Now listen to what I say: A Fox is red. And his tail has no rings at all. And Foxes don't climb trees."

 

"Yes, Mother!" was Nimble's meek⁹ answer.

 

He was glad to learn all that. And he was glad, too, that his mother hadn't asked him how he happened to stray off alone into the woods.

1 fawn   

n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承

参考例句：

• A fawn behind the tree looked at us curiously.树后面一只小鹿好奇地看着我们。
• He said you fawn on the manager in order to get a promotion.他说你为了获得提拔，拍经理的马屁。

2 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

3 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

4 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 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。

7 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》

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。