IX FREDDIE'S PROMISE

Buster Bumblebee did not find Freddie Firefly very easily. It was a sunny afternoon; and if Freddie was flashing his bright light, Buster was unable to see it. But at last he spied Freddie eating a meal of pollen¹ in the meadow.

 

"How would you like to work for my mother, the Queen?" Buster asked him.

 

"I don't believe I'd care to, thank you," Freddie Firefly answered, with a mouth so full of food that Buster heard him only with great difficulty.

 

"I'll wait a moment, until you have finished your lunch," said Buster.

 

"You'd better not!" Freddie Firefly told him. "It will be dark by that time. And Chirpy Cricket tells me your family always goes to bed at sunset."

 

"So we do!" Buster agreed. "But my mother, the Queen, is going to order her honey-makers to work overtime² for the present. And she wants you and your family to furnish lights so they can see what they're doing." "Oh! That's different!" Freddie Firefly exclaimed. "I thought she wanted me to help make honey. And that's something I know nothing about. … But when it comes to furnishing a light, I'm certainly a shining success." Freddie then laughed heartily³. And much to his surprise, Buster Bumblebee gave him several hard slaps on the back, which hurt him not a little.

 

"Don't do that!" Freddie Firefly cried.

 

"I thought you were choking," Buster, explained.

 

Freddie Firefly shook his head.

 

"I was joking," he said.

 

"Well, I didn't make much of a mistake; for joking and choking sound about the same," Buster Bumblebee replied.

 

"I hope your mother's honey-makers can tell the difference," Freddie Firefly grumbled⁴. "If they can't, I certainly don't care to spend a night in their company."

 

"Oh, you won't have any trouble with them. They'll be working so busily that they'll hardly notice you," Buster Bumblebee assured him.

 

So Freddie Firefly promised to be at the house of the Bumblebee family, in the meadow, at dusk. And he said he would try to bring plenty of his relations with him, so that there might be one of them to light the way for each of the honey-makers.

 

And then Buster Bumblebee hurried away to tell his mother the news.

 

The Queen praised Buster for what he had done, telling him that in her opinion he would soon be the wisest person in Pleasant Valley—not even excepting old Mr. Crow and Solomon Owl⁵.

 

Buster was so pleased that he made up his mind to stay awake that evening, in order to see the workers start out for the clover field after dark with Freddie Firefly and his relations. But when sunset came, Buster simply couldn't keep from falling asleep.

 

Not until the next morning did he know how his plan had turned out. And since it proved to be less successful than he had expected, perhaps it was just as well that he was not present to hear the remarks that were made about him.

 

Even Freddie Firefly said things about Buster that night that would not have been at all pleasant to listen to.

1 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

2 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

3 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

4 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

5 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。