XIX THE JUMPING CONTEST

 Having had Mr. Crow's permission, the Muley Cow went on stretching her legs as much as she pleased. She jumped the pasture fence; and she jumped it back again. And when she seemed about to stop Billy Woodchuck whispered to her, "You may as well keep a-stretching them. Keep a-jumping! And when the time for the real contest with Nimble Deer comes your legs will be stretched so long that you'll beat Nimble without the slightest trouble."

 

So the Muley Cow jumped over the fence and back, over the fence and back. And when at last she said she was ready for the contest Billy Woodchuck still urged her to stretch her legs a bit more.

 

By the time he was willing to let her stop the Muley Cow's sides were heaving.

 

Meanwhile Jimmy Rabbit and Billy Woodchuck, with Mr. Crow's help, had picked out a clump¹ of young hawthorns² for the first test. And now that everybody was ready for the contest Nimble Deer cleared the clump gracefully³, with a foot to spare.

 

Then came the Muley Cow's turn. She looked worried as she fell into a lumbering⁴ gallop⁵ and ran towards the prickly young trees. And with a mighty⁶ effort she tried to fling herself over them.

 

As she rose into the air she gave a bellow⁷ of dismay, to fall floundering the next instant into the thorny⁸ thicket⁹.

 

Jimmy Rabbit began to hop¹⁰ about in circles. He knew that Nimble had won the contest and Jimmy was very happy.

 

Old Mr. Crow haw-hawed. The Muley Cow had lost the contest and he was glad.

 

Nimble watched the Muley Cow as she struggled amid the hawthorns, trying to scramble¹¹ out of the tangle¹².

 

"Can I help you, madam?" he asked.

 

But she never even thanked him. She was so upset that she neither wanted anybody to speak to her nor did she wish to speak to anybody else.

 

As for Billy Woodchuck, he looked frightfully disappointed. He had expected the Muley Cow to win the jumping contest. And there she was, beaten at the very first jump!

 

He stole up to her; and standing¹³ on his hind¹⁴ legs, to get as near her as he could, he said, "It's a pity you lost! I don't believe you stretched your legs enough."

 

The Muley Cow snorted.

 

"That's not the reason why," she snapped. "I stretched my legs too much. I jumped the fence until I was so tired I could scarcely stand. It's no wonder that Nimble beat me."

 

Nimble Deer could see that the Muley Cow was feeling quite glum¹⁵. After she had struggled free of the thorns he went up to her and bowed in his most polite manner. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked her.

 

"Yes! Do let down the bars for me!" she gasped¹⁶. "I want to go home. And I couldn't jump that fence again. It would be dangerous for me to try. I might fall and break a leg off. And then I'd have a short leg the rest of my life."

 

"You could stretch it," old Mr. Crow suggested.

 

But the Muley Cow turned her back on him and walked away.

1 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

2 hawthorns   

n.山楂树( hawthorn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• With beating hearts, they descended through the hawthorns. 于是他们怀着忐忑不安的心情，穿过山楂丛，走下山坡。 来自辞典例句
• Some trees, such as junipers, cherries, and hawthorns, produce fruits that are eaten by birds. 有些树种如桧柏、樱桃和山楂结出能被鸟类吞食的浆果。 来自辞典例句

3 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

4 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

5 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

6 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

7 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

8 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

9 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

10 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

11 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

12 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

15 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

16 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》