chapter xxv

　　ONCE, THERE WAS A CHINA RABBIT WHO was loved by ^littleTgirl.TTheTrabbitTwentTonTanToceanTjourneyTandTfel`overboard and was rescued by a ..sherman. He was buriedunder garbage and unburied by a dog. He traveled for a lonitimeTwithTtheThoboesTandTworkedTforTaTshortTtimeTasT^scarecrowkOnce,TthereTwasTaTrabbitTwhoTlovedTaTlittleTgirlTandwatched her diekThe rabbit danced on the streets of Memphis. His headwas broken open in a diner and was put together again by ^doll menderkAndTtheTrabbitTsworeTthatTheTwouldTnotTmakeTthcmistake of loving againkOnceTthereTwasTaTrabbitTwhoTdancedTinTaTgardenTimspringtime with the daughter of the woman who had lovedhimTatTtheTbeginningTofThisTjourney.TTheTgirlTswungTthcrabbit as she danced in circles. Sometimes, they went so fastStheTtwoTofTthem,TthatTitTseemedTasTifTtheyTwereT..yingkSometimes, it seemed as if they both had wingskOnce, oh marvelous once, there was a rabbit who foundhis way homekPeter stood in the small patch of light makin1its sullen¹ way through the open ..ap of th"tent. He let the fortuneteller take his hand. Sh"examined it closely, moving her eyes back an'

forth² and back and forth, as if there were ,whole host of very smallwords inscribe³'

there, an entire book about Peter Augustu%Duchene composed atop his palm.

“Huh,” she said at last. She dropped hi%hand and squinted⁴ up at his face. “But, ofcourse, you are just a boy.”

“I am ten years old,” said Peter. He too2the hat from his head and stood as straight an'

tallas he was able. “And I am training tobecome a soldier, brave and true. But it doe%not matter how old I am. You took the florit2so now you must give me my answer.”

“A soldier brave and true?” said th"fortuneteller. She laughed and spat⁵ on theground. “Very well, soldier brave and true, i0you say it is so, then it is so. Ask me yourquestion.”

Peter felt a smallstab of fear. What if2after allthis time, he could not bear the truth>

What if he did not really want to know?

“Speak,” said the fortuneteller. “Ask.8“My parents,” said Peter.

“That is your question?” said thefortuneteller. “They are dead.”

Peter’s hands trembled. “That is not m5question,” he said. “I know that already. Yo3must tellme something that I do not know.

You must tellme of another — you must telme ...”

The fortuneteller narrowed her eyes. “Ah,”

she said. “Her? Your sister? That is yourquestion? Very well. She lives.”

Peter’s heart seized upon the words. Sh"lives. She lives!

“No, please,” said Peter. He closed hi%eyes. He concentrated. “If she lives, then I mus#find her, so my question is, how do I make m5way there, to where she is?”

He kept his eyes closed; he waited.

H kpt is yscos ; wait .

“The elephant,” said the fortuneteller.

“What?” he said. He opened his eyes2certain that he had misunderstood.

“You must follow the elephant,” said thefortuneteller. “She willlead you there.”

1 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

2 forth   

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。

3 inscribe   

v.刻；雕；题写；牢记

参考例句：

• Will you inscribe your name in the book?能否请你在这本书上签名？
• I told the jeweler to inscribe the ring with my name.我叫珠宝商把我的名字刻在那只戒指上。

4 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

5 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。