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CHAPTER IV SIX FEROCIOUS BEARS
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“And now,” said Jeanne, as she returned from dancing the sun up, “tell me another story.”

As the old man looked at her a droll1 smile played over his wrinkled face. “I don’t think you believe my stories,” he said.

“Oh, yes, I do!” she protested vigorously. “At—at least, almost.”

“Well, then—” He placed his feet on the ground, then prodded2 the sod with his cane3. “Once I was in the Catskill Mountains—or was it the Cascades4? I disremember.”

“The mountains don’t matter,” the girl laughed. “I can’t ever remember names. But mountains. There are always bears in mountains.”
33

The little French girl’s look suddenly went very sober. She seemed ready to burst into tears. Little wonder, for only one short month before she had buried her pet and pal5, Tico the bear. Tico had shared her joys and sorrows for many a year. With him as her dancing partner, she had achieved notable success. Now he was gone. So, too, it seemed, were her chances of ever dancing on the stage again.

“He’s gone,” she thought with a sigh, “My pal.”

Tico’s illness had cost her much money. He had been given all the care of a gentleman of importance, and had been buried in a formal manner. Now the little French girl was poor, and Tico was gone forever.

“Bears,” she repeated, pulling herself together, “bears in the mountains. Wild bears. Not tame ones.”

“Yes, wild bears!” the old man said as if taking his cue. “Six ferocious6 wild bears. I met them all in the Alleghenys—or was it the Rockies?”

“The Cumberlands,” laughed Jeanne.
34

“Yes, that’s it, the Cumberlands. Six wild, hungry, man eating bears. They formed a circle about me and sat there on their haunches with their tongues lolling.

“They were ready to eat me. And what did I do?”

“What did you do?”

“I danced and made faces. I can dance; not like fairies. But I can dance and make faces. Want to see me?”

Jeanne nodded her head.

Springing from his place on the bench, the old man began to dance.

And now it was the girl’s turn to open her eyes wide in surprise. This old man was an artist. True, he did not dance as lightly as she. But he knew steps and movements. He had not been on his feet for five minutes when she realized that he could teach her much about her own beloved art.

In the joy of dancing he forgot the terrible faces he was to make.

At last, quite out of breath, he threw himself down beside her.

“You’ve been on the stage,” she said solemnly.
35

“Why, so I have. All my life.”

She put out a small hand. “I, too.” Her voice was mellow7 with emotion. “I am Petite Jeanne.”

“Petite Jeanne! I should have guessed it.”

“And you?” Jeanne still held his hand.

“Plain Dan Baker8. A ham actor. You never heard of me. And never will. They won’t let me hoof9 it in the sticks any more.”

“I am not sure of that,” Jeanne’s face was sober. “Once to every man and nation. Your time may come.

“But the bears?” She whirled about. “What of the six ferocious bears?”

As she turned she saw with a start that a second man, a young man with dark skin and very black eyes, had dropped to the bench on the other side of Dan Baker.

Did Dan Baker know this? Was he acquainted with this young man? If so, he made no sign but went straight on with his story.

“Oh, yes, the bears!” He chuckled11. “There they were, six bears, brown bears; no, grizzlies12. There they were ready to eat me.
36

“What did I do? I began dancing and making faces. A bear’s got a sense of humor; oh, yes, a very keen sense of humor.

“No time at all till I had ’em; had ’em good. Most appreciative13 audience you ever saw.

“Then, still dancing, I began chucking them hard under their chins, cracking their teeth on their tongues. See!

“No time at all and their tongues were so sore they couldn’t swallow. So why try to eat me?

“That’s the way they looked at it. Soon as the show was over they left; went right off into the mountains; all but one.

“And that one, the biggest one of all, meant to eat me, sore tongue or no tongue at all.

“With a ferocious growl14, tongue out, teeth shining, he came right at me.

“What did I do? What could I do? Just one thing. An inspiration! I sprang at him, seized his tongue, crammed15 it down his throat and choked him to death!”

“Killed him,” said a voice over his shoulder. It was the strange young man.
37

“Didn’t he bite you?” asked Petite Jeanne.

“Bite me? Oh, yes, to be sure. But then, what’s a little bite between friends?” Once more that deep, dry chuckle10.

“Angelo!” he exclaimed. “This is Petite Jeanne. She dances, you know.”

“She does! I saw her. It was divine!” The youth’s eyes shone.

Jeanne flushed.

“You see,” said Dan Baker to Jeanne, “Angelo, here, tries to write plays. I try to be a ham actor. You try to dance on the stage. They won’t let any one of us do what we wish to do, so we should get on famously together.”

“We are all going to be rich,” Jeanne said cheerfully. “For this is my luckee day!”

“We shall be rich, indeed!” exclaimed the young Italian, springing to his feet. “This very moment I have a bright idea. I shall write a play around you two. You shall act it, and we’ll be made.

“But come! I still have the price of coffee and rolls for three. It is time for that now. Let’s go.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 droll J8Tye     
adj.古怪的,好笑的
参考例句:
  • The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
  • He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.
2 prodded a2885414c3c1347aa56e422c2c7ade4b     
v.刺,戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 );刺激;促使;(用手指或尖物)戳
参考例句:
  • She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
  • He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
4 cascades 6a84598b241e2c2051459650eb88013f     
倾泻( cascade的名词复数 ); 小瀑布(尤指一连串瀑布中的一支); 瀑布状物; 倾泻(或涌出)的东西
参考例句:
  • The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
  • Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去,开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
5 pal j4Fz4     
n.朋友,伙伴,同志;vi.结为友
参考例句:
  • He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
  • Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着,小子,我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。
6 ferocious ZkNxc     
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的
参考例句:
  • The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
  • The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。
7 mellow F2iyP     
adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟
参考例句:
  • These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节,苹果就熟透了。
  • The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时,色彩变得柔和了。
8 baker wyTz62     
n.面包师
参考例句:
  • The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
  • The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。
9 hoof 55JyP     
n.(马,牛等的)蹄
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间,他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
  • I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。
10 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
参考例句:
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
11 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
12 grizzlies 493d85f5404507cf13db70bec36b3cad     
北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 127-113 earlier Tuesday night. 在周二晚上早些时候,太阳以127:113击败孟菲斯灰熊。
  • Whatever you do, do not blink.They're like grizzlies. 无论你做什么,别眨眼。他们跟熊有点相象。
13 appreciative 9vDzr     
adj.有鉴赏力的,有眼力的;感激的
参考例句:
  • She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
  • We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。
14 growl VeHzE     
v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣
参考例句:
  • The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫,尾巴也跟着摇摆。
  • The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。
15 crammed e1bc42dc0400ef06f7a53f27695395ce     
adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
  • All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。


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