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.”
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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.
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“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.
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“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.
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“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.”
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收听单词发音
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1
droll
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| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
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2
prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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3
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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4
cascades
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| 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 | |
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5
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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9
hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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10
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
grizzlies
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| 北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 ) | |
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13
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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14
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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crammed
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| 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) | |
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