XIII. THE MEETING AT THE LAUGHING BROOK

The trouble with a quarrel is

 

That when it's once begun

 

The whole world tries to push it on,

 

And seems to think it fun.

 

 

IT usually is anything but fun for those engaged in it, but their neighbors crowd about and urge them on and do their best to make matters worse. It was just that way when Prickly Porcupine¹ and Old Man Coyote met beside the Laughing Brook². Now until they met here neither had ever seen the other, for you know Old Man Coyote had come out of the Great West, while Prickly Porky had come down from the North Woods. Prickly Porky took one good look and then he grunted³, “I'll soon fix him!” What he saw was some one who looked something like a very large gray fox or a dog, and Prickly Porky had put too many foxes and dogs to flight to feel the least bit of fear of the stranger grinning at him and showing all his great teeth.

 

But Old Man Coyote didn't know what to make of what he saw. Never in all his life had he seen anything like it. He didn't know whether to laugh or to be frightened. About all he could see was what looked like a tremendous great chestnut-burr on legs, which came towards him in little rushes and with a great rattling⁴ of the thousand little spears which made him look like a chestnut-burr. Old Man Coyote had never fought with anybody like this, and he didn't know just how to begin. He didn't like the look of the thousand little spears. The nearer they came, the less he liked the look of them. So he backed away a few steps, growling⁵ and snarling⁶ angrily.

 

Now it seemed that as if by magic the news that there was trouble between Prickly Porky and Old Man Coyote had spread all over the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest. Everybody who dared to go was on hand to see it. Sammy Jay and his cousin, Blacky the Crow, were there of course, peering down from the top of a pine-tree and screaming excitedly. Happy Jack⁷ the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel actually sat side by side in the same tree, so interested that they forgot for once to quarrel themselves. Unc' Billy Possum and Bobby Coon cut their afternoon nap short and looked on from a safe place in a big chestnut-tree.

 

Danny Meadow Mouse and his cousin, Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, shivered with fright, while they peeped out through a crack in a hollow log. Johnny Chuck came as near as he dared and peeped over the trunk of a fallen tree. Billy Mink⁸ and Jerry Muskrat⁹ quietly swam up the Laughing Brook and crawled out on the farther bank where they could see and still be safe. Of course Reddy and Granny Fox were there, well hidden so that no one should see them.

 

And what do you think every one of them was wishing? Why, that Prickly Porky would drive Old Man Coyote away from the Green Forest and off of the Green Meadows. You see, every one of them was afraid of Old Man Coyote, and right down in his heart each was hoping that Prickly Porky would be able to send Old Man Coyote off yelping¹⁰, with his face stuck full of little spears as once upon a time he had sent Bowser the Hound.

 

1 porcupine   

n.豪猪， 箭猪

参考例句：

• A porcupine is covered with prickles.箭猪身上长满了刺。
• There is a philosophy parable,call philosophy of porcupine.有一个哲学寓言，叫豪猪的哲学。

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 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

4 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

5 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

6 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 mink   

n.貂，貂皮

参考例句：

• She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
• He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场，五年之内就赚了不少钱。

9 muskrat   

n.麝香鼠

参考例句：

• Muskrat fur almost equals beaver fur in quality.麝鼠皮在质量上几乎和海獭皮不相上下。
• I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice.我看到一只麝鼠从冰里面钻出来。

10 yelping   

v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In the middle of the table sat a little dog, shaking its paw and yelping. 在桌子中间有一只小狗坐在那儿，抖着它的爪子，汪汪地叫。 来自辞典例句
• He saved men from drowning and you shake at a cur's yelping. 他搭救了快要溺死的人们，你呢，听到一条野狗叫唤也瑟瑟发抖。 来自互联网