3. Hazel's Decision

What am I lying here for?... We are lying here as though we had a chance ofenjoying a quiet time.... Am I waiting until I become a little older?
Xenophon, The Anabasis"But, Hazel, you didn't really think the Chief Rabbit would act on your advice,did you? What were you expecting?"It was evening once more and Hazel and Fiver were feeding outside the woodwith two friends. Blackberry, the rabbit with tipped ears who had been startled byFiver the night before, had listened carefully to Hazel's description of the noticeboard, remarking that he had always felt sure that men left these things about toact as signs or messages of some kind, in the same way that rabbits left marks onruns and gaps. It was another neighbor, Dandelion, who had now brought thetalk back to the Threarah and his indifference¹ to Fiver's fear.
"I don't know what I expected," said Hazel. "I'd never been near the ChiefRabbit before. But I thought, 'Well, even if he won't listen, at least no one can sayafterward that we didn't do our best to warn him.'""You're sure, then, that there's really something to be afraid of?""I'm quite certain. I've always known Fiver, you see."Blackberry was about to reply when another rabbit came noisily through thethick dog's mercury in the wood, blundered down into the brambles and pushedhis way up from the ditch. It was Bigwig.
"Hello, Bigwig," said Hazel. "You're off duty?""Off duty" said Bigwig, "and likely to remain off duty.""How do you mean?""I've left the Owsla, that's what I mean.""Not on our account?""You could say that. The Threarah's rather good at making himself unpleasantwhen he's been woken up at ni-Frith for what he considers a piece of trivialnonsense. He certainly knows how to get under your skin. I dare say a good manyrabbits would have kept quiet and thought about keeping on the right side of theChief, but I'm afraid I'm not much good at that. I told him that the Owsla'sprivileges didn't mean all that much to me in any case and that a strong rabbitcould always do just as well by leaving the warren. He told me not to be impulsiveand think it over, but I shan't stay. Lettuce-stealing isn't my idea of a jolly life, norsentry duty in the burrow². I'm in a fine temper, I can tell you.""No one will steal lettuces³ soon," said Fiver quietly.
"Oh, that's you, Fiver, is it?" said Bigwig, noticing him for the first time. "Good,I was coming to look for you. I've been thinking about what you said to the ChiefRabbit. Tell me, is it a sort of tremendous hoax⁴ to make yourself important, or isit true?""It is true," said Fiver. "I wish it weren't.""Then you'll be leaving the warren?"They were all startled by the bluntness with which Bigwig went to the point.
Dandelion muttered, "Leave the warren, Frithrah!" while Blackberry twitched⁵ hisears and looked very intently, first at Bigwig and then at Hazel.
It was Hazel who replied. "Fiver and I will be leaving the warren tonight," hesaid deliberately⁶. "I don't know exactly where we shall go, but we'll take anyonewho's ready to come with us.""Right," said Bigwig, "then you can take me."The last thing Hazel had expected was the immediate⁷ support of a member ofthe Owsla. It crossed his mind that although Bigwig would certainly be a usefulrabbit in a tight corner, he would also be a difficult one to get on with. Hecertainly would not want to do what he was told -- or even asked -- by anoutskirter. "I don't care if he is in the Owsla," thought Hazel. "If we get away fromthe warren, I'm not going to let Bigwig run everything, or why bother to go?" Buthe answered only, "Good. We shall be glad to have you."He looked round at the other rabbits, who were all staring either at Bigwig orat himself. It was Blackberry who spoke⁸ next.
"I think I'll come," he said. "I don't quite know whether it's you who'vepersuaded me, Fiver. But anyway, there are too many bucks⁹ in this warren, andit's pretty poor fun for any rabbit that's not in the Owsla. The funny thing is thatyou feel terrified to stay and I feel terrified to go. Foxes here, weasels there, Fiverin the middle, begone dull care!"He pulled out a burnet leaf and ate it slowly, concealing¹⁰ his fear as best hecould; for all his instincts were warning him of the dangers in the unknowncountry beyond the warren.
"If we believe Fiver," said Hazel, "it means that we think no rabbits at all oughtto stay here. So between now and the time when we go, we ought to persuade asmany as we can to join us.""I think there are one or two in the Owsla who might be worth sounding," saidBigwig. "If I can talk them over, they'll be with me when I join you tonight. Butthey won't come because of Fiver. They'll be juniors, discontented fellows like me.
You need to have heard Fiver yourself to be convinced by him. He's convincedme. It's obvious that he's been sent some kind of message, and I believe in thesethings. I can't think why he didn't convince the Threarah.""Because the Threarah doesn't like anything he hasn't thought of for himself,"answered Hazel. "But we can't bother with him any more now. We've got to try tocollect some more rabbits and meet again here, fu Inlé. And we'll start fu Inlé,too: we can't wait longer. The danger's coming closer all the time -- whatever it is-- and, besides, the Threarah isn't going to like it if he finds out that you've beentrying to get at rabbits in the Owsla, Bigwig. Neither is Captain Holly¹¹, I dare say.
They won't mind odds¹² and ends like us clearing off, but they won't want to loseyou. If I were in your place, I'd be careful whom I picked to talk to."

1 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

2 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

3 lettuces   

n.莴苣，生菜（ lettuce的名词复数 ）；生菜叶

参考例句：

• My lettuces have gone to seed. 我种的莴苣已结子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Are these lettuces home-grown or did you buy them in the market? 这些生菜是自家种的呢，还是你在市场上买的？ 来自辞典例句

4 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

5 twitched   

vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
• The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 concealing   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产

11 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

12 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？