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STORY XXII UNCLE WIGGILY AND CHARLIE CHICK
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“Well, what are you doing, Charlie, my boy?” asked Uncle Wiggily Longears, the rabbit gentleman, of the little chicken chap, one day, as he saw Charlie on the shores of the duck pond with some boards, a hammer, a saw, some nails, a fishpole and part of a bed sheet. “What are you making, Charlie?”
 
“I am going to make a sailboat and go sailing across the duck pond,” replied Charlie, as he ruffled2 up his tail feathers and made a polite bow. Chicken boys always ruffle1 up their tail feathers when they bow. It’s a way they’ve been taught at school, so Charlie did just right, you see.
 
“A sailboat, eh?” exclaimed Uncle Wiggily. “Well, I hope you have a nice sail on the duck pond.”
 
“Thank you, Uncle Wiggily. Don’t you want to come with me?” asked Charlie still more politely as he gave a little crow. Whenever a chicken chap gives you an invitation to go anywhere[Pg 139] with him, he always crows. They are brought up that way, so Charlie did the right act again, you see.
 
“Sail with you? No, I thank you, Charlie,” replied Uncle Wiggily. “You see, I am on my way in my airship to go to the store for Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy. She wants some oranges to put in the potato cakes for supper. Some other time I will sail with you.”
 
And the old rabbit gentleman, who really was out for a sail in his airship, started off again for the store. He had been sailing overhead, but, when he saw Charlie on the shore of the duck pond, Uncle Wiggily came down to see what the chicken boy was doing.
 
“Well, now if I hoist3 my sail on the fishpole I think my boat will be finished, and I can cross the duck pond,” said Charlie to himself, after a bit. He had hammered and sawed and pounded, nailing together board and stick, until really he had made quite a nice chicken boat.
 
So, while Uncle Wiggily was on the way to the store in his airship, Charlie started to sail across the duck pond, which was very large just then, as so much water had rained in it.
 
“Oh, this is great!” Charlie crowed, as the wind blew on his sail and pushed the boat along through the water. “I only wish I had[Pg 140] some of my friends aboard to enjoy it with me.”
 
Charlie was always that way—not a bit selfish.
 
So he sailed and he sailed, back and forth4 across the pond, and, now and then, he looked up to the sky to see if he could see any signs of Uncle Wiggily coming back. But he saw nothing of the rabbit gentleman in his airship.
 
But the wind, which had been blowing more and more gently, suddenly stopped altogether, and there Charlie’s boat was, becalmed out in the middle of the duck pond, far from shore.
 
“Oh ho!” cried Charlie. “This is not very pleasant. I wonder how I am going to get to shore?”
 
He looked all about him, but he could see no way of getting to dry land unless the wind should blow him. For Charlie had in his boat no oars5, so he could not row. He had no pole with which to push, though he might have taken down the fishpole on which was fastened his sail. But he did not want to do this.
 
“And the duck pond is too deep for me to wade,” said Charlie to himself, “and I cannot swim. Now, if I were only a duck, I would be all right. I could then jump off and swim. But, as it is, I must stay here until the wind comes again, to blow on my sail and send me to shore.”
 
So Charlie waited, and it was not much fun.[Pg 141] It grew late, and soon, he knew, it would be supper time. Still he was out in the middle of the duck pond, far from shore.
 
“Help! Help!” crowed Charlie. “Will no one help me get to land in my boat?”
 
No one answered him. If Lulu or Alice or Jimmie Wibblewobble, the duck children, had been near there I am sure they would have helped Charlie. But all the ducks were away that day, having gone to a Mother Goose party. So no one heard Charlie call.
 
“Oh, if there was only some wind!” cried the chicken boy. “I think I shall whistle for a breeze, as I have read of sailors doing when they want their boats to go.”
 
So Charlie whistled all the tunes6 he could think of, such as: “Please Don’t Tip the Milk Can Over,” and “Who Put Soap in Dollie’s Eye?”
 
But, no matter how much the chicken boy whistled, no breeze came to blow against his sail and waft7 him to shore.
 
“Well, I guess I will have to blow my own wind,” said Charlie, after a bit. “That may help.” So he puffed8 up his chest, and through his bill he blew a strong blast9 on the sail. But it did no good, any more than it would do you good if you took hold of your shoe laces10 and tried to raise yourself up off the floor.
 
[Pg 142]
 
“Oh, dear!” cried Charlie. “I guess I’ll have to stay here all night, and I want to be home for supper, because they’re going to have corn meal shortcake. Oh will no one help me?”
 
But no one came near the duck pond and no wind blew, and the boat was still out in the middle of the water. It did look as though Charlie would be out all night, as he once was with the wild turkey.
 
“Oh, will no one help me?” cried Charlie, for the last time.
 
“Yes, I will!” shouted a voice up in the air, and Charlie, who was just going to put his head under his wing and go to sleep, roused up and crowed:
 
“Oh, are you going to help me? Who are you?”
 
“Uncle Wiggily Longears, in his airship!” was the answer. “I see what is the trouble. You have no wind for your sailboat. Here, catch that!” And, hovering11 up in the air over the chicken boy’s boat, the rabbit gentleman dropped down a clothes line he had bought in the store for Nurse Jane. “Hold fast to that, Charlie!” cried Uncle Wiggily. “I’ll keep hold of my end and I’ll soon pull you to shore with my airship.”
 
Charlie held the rope tightly12 in his claw, and off started Uncle Wiggily in the airship, towing[Pg 143] the chicken boat along over the duck pond. Soon he was safe on shore and, after thanking the rabbit gentleman; Charlie said:
 
“The next time I go sailing I am going to take a balloon full of wind along with me to blow my sail. Then I will be all right.”
 
So this shows you a clothes line is good for something, after all, and on the page after this, if our window shade doesn’t roll up so fast that it jumps through the dish pan, like a circus lady off an elephant’s back, I’ll tell you about Uncle Wiggily and Lulu Wibblewobble.

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1 ruffle oX9xW     
v.弄皱,弄乱;激怒,扰乱;n.褶裥饰边
参考例句:
  • Don't ruffle my hair.I've just combed it.别把我的头发弄乱了。我刚刚梳好了的。
  • You shouldn't ruffle so easily.你不该那么容易发脾气。
2 ruffled e4a3deb720feef0786be7d86b0004e86     
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
  • All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。
3 hoist rdizD     
n.升高,起重机,推动;v.升起,升高,举起
参考例句:
  • By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
  • Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗!
4 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
5 oars c589a112a1b341db7277ea65b5ec7bf7     
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
  • The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 tunes 175b0afea09410c65d28e4b62c406c21     
n.曲调,曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
  • When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时,她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 waft XUbzV     
v.飘浮,飘荡;n.一股;一阵微风;飘荡
参考例句:
  • The bubble maker is like a sword that you waft in the air.吹出泡泡的东西就像你在空中挥舞的一把剑。
  • When she just about fall over,a waft of fragrance makes her stop.在她差点跌倒时,一股幽香让她停下脚步。
8 puffed 72b91de7f5a5b3f6bdcac0d30e24f8ca     
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟,狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了,便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 blast tR6yh     
v.炸毁,摧毁;n.爆炸,爆破,一阵,汽笛声
参考例句:
  • A huge bomb blast rocked central London last night.昨晚一次剧烈的炸弹爆炸震动了伦敦市中心。
  • Not until last week was the project in full blast.工程直到上星期才全部开工。
10 laces 4aba251ad2573f5ece4e2a8f98d59911     
蕾丝( lace的名词复数 ); 透孔织品; 鞋带; 系带
参考例句:
  • He bent down and undid the laces of his shoes. 他弯腰解开鞋带。
  • Wouldn't it be a giggle to tie his shoe-laces together while he isn't looking! 趁他没注意时把他的鞋带拴在一起,岂不有趣!
11 hovering 99fdb695db3c202536060470c79b067f     
鸟( hover的现在分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫
参考例句:
  • The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
  • I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。
12 tightly ZgbzD7     
adv.紧紧地,坚固地,牢固地
参考例句:
  • My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时,孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
  • The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起,我们几乎喘不过气来。


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