XXIII WHY FREDDIE WAS GLAD

Even after the train had rushed shrieking¹ into the village two miles away, and the echoes had grown still, Freddie Firefly cowered² in his hiding-place on the railroad track, crouched³ in the chink beneath one of the ties.

 

At last he crept out, trembling in every limb. But in spite of his terror he skipped off the track very spryly.

 

Safe at one side of the rails, which gleamed in the moonlight, Freddie felt himself all over, to make sure that he had broken no bones.

 

"I seem to be unhurt," he mused⁴. "But never, never again will I listen to anything that Mrs. Ladybug says."

 

And having made himself that solemn promise, he hurried away toward

Farmer Green's meadow, which he reached just before dawn.

As he crossed the fields he thought that he smelled smoke. But he couldn't see a blaze anywhere. And when he came to the meadow he was so eager to dance that he forgot to ask anybody if there had been a fire.

 

Luckily he arrived in time to take part in the last dance of the night. And after the dance was over he astonished all his family with the strange tale that he told them.

 

Before going to their homes all Freddie's relations gathered around him to listen to his story of the night's adventure. And there were many "Ohs" and "Ahs" when he reached the point where the train ran over him.

 

"You're lucky you didn't have a leg cut off," his favorite cousin remarked, "though that wouldn't have been so bad as losing a wing."

 

Freddie Firefly shuddered⁵.

 

"Anyway, you're better off than Mrs. Ladybug is," somebody piped up.

 

"Why, what's happened to her?" Freddie Firefly inquired.

 

"Haven't you heard?" several of his cousins cried.

 

"No! no!" he shouted.

 

"Her house caught fire to-night, while she was away from home," they explained.

 

"I thought I smelled smoke as I was coming back from the railroad,"

Freddie observed. And then a sad picture came into his mind.

"And Mrs. Lady bug's children—" he began breathlessly.

 

"Oh! The neighbors saved them," his favorite cousin said. "They're only slightly scorched⁶. But their ma's house is ruined."

 

Then, to everybody's great surprise, Freddie Firefly began to dance up and down and sing with joy.

 

"Oh, I'm so glad! Oh, I'm so glad!" he chanted over and over again.

 

His relations could scarcely believe that he was quite himself.

 

"His fright on the railroad must have injured his mind," they said to one another. "Or perhaps the train ran over his head when he didn't know it." They could think of no other reason for Freddie's queer actions. Always before he had seemed too kind-hearted to rejoice over another person's ill luck.

 

"What do you mean?" three hundred voices shouted. "Why are you glad?"

 

"I'm glad I tried to stop the train," Freddie Firefly answered, "because now Mrs. Ladybug can't say that I set her house on fire. She knows that I was working on the railroad to-night. And nobody can be in two places at the same time."

1 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cowered   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响，人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
• He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里，吓得语无伦次。

3 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

4 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

5 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。