CHAPTER III THE RED COW’S SECRET

 Nibble¹ Rabbit was so surprised at Watch’s question that he stopped eating. And he was eating the delicious meal that Tommy had brought, so it was a big surprise. For that was just the question he didn’t know how to answer. He’d hidden the Red Cow himself. She was trusting him. How could he show where she was when she was specially² hiding from Tommy?

 

“I know,” said Nibble, at last, “but it isn’t fair to tell. Why do you want her?”

 

“Why, I want her because we keep our cows in the barn, not in the wet woods like you silly Wild Things,” Watch answered, smiling. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. Do you think I can’t go sniffing³ around and find her for myself if you won’t tell?” And he ran out a sly, pink tongue.

 

“Well, she’s all wild and scary, ’specially of Men,” pleaded Nibble. “You remember how she chased Tommy before. You’d better take him to the barn first and come back after her alone.” Nibble still had an idea that Watch herded⁴ Tommy Peele the way he did the cows.

 

“That’s perfectly⁵ true, Bunny,” said Watch. And he went bounding off ahead of his Boy, urging him to hurry as though he had something particularly interesting to show him. And he had, but he didn’t know it.

 

As soon as they had finished the meal Tommy had brought them, Doctor Muskrat⁶ went off to sleep on his sun-warmed stone, spread out flat with his paws hanging over the edges, and Nibble went lipity, lipity up his tunnel in the thicket⁷ to tell the Red Cow Watch was asking for her.

 

He heard the strangest noises as he came along—but they weren’t sad and scary. She was talking to someone in a new voice, very soft and gentle, very loving and happy.

 

“Who’s there?” Nibble called. “Red Cow, can I come?”

 

“Come quick, quick!” she lowed. “Isn’t it lovely? That’s why I was afraid. I came here to hide so that no one could take it away from me.” Then she added in her new voice that wasn’t meant for Nibble at all, “Lie still, wee thing.”

 

Nibble poked⁸ his head through the Pickery Things and peeked⁹ at her. And he saw what she was talking about. It was the cunningest little red calf¹⁰ with a white spot in the middle of its forehead. It had bright black eyes, wide open, and it perked¹¹ a pair of wide, round ears at Nibble. Then it tried to get up on its spindly legs, but they were pretty shaky.

 

“Does it seem all right?” asked the Red Cow. It was her first calf and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

 

“It seems very queer,” said Nibble honestly. Of course it did to him. Because baby rabbits are blind and haven’t any fur. “Can’t I call Doctor Muskrat?” He was wondering, too, whether he oughtn’t to call Watch and Tommy.

 

“Yes, go call the doctor,” said the Red Cow.

 

You just ought to have seen Doctor Muskrat wake up when he heard Nibble squeal¹² for him so excitedly. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” he called in his high, thin voice, and he flopped¹³ along through Nibble’s tunnel as fast as ever he could, for his webby paws aren’t meant for running.

 

“What is it?” he asked. And then he saw the little calf. And it sniffed¹⁴ its turned-up nose at him with a cunning pink tongue-tip showing. He walked all around it, inspecting it very carefully. It seemed strange to him, too, because baby muskrats¹⁵ are born as blind and helpless as baby rabbits.

 

“Is there anything the matter with it?” asked the Red Cow, anxiously.

 

“I think not,” he said, sensibly, “excepting that it’s pretty cold and shivery. You must lick it hard and get its blood to circulating.”

 

So she licked it and licked it. And her tongue was very strong and very gentle, because that’s one of the things all cows’ tongues are made for. And the baby calf grew livelier and livelier. And pretty soon it got up on its spindly legs, waving its little tail that was still too new to have a tassel¹⁶ on it. “Now what’ll I do?” asked the Red Cow.

 

“Feed it,” advised Doctor Muskrat.

 

So she did, though it took quite a little coaxing¹⁷ to show the silly baby how to find what he wanted. But the milk was trickling¹⁸ from the corners of his little mouth in about three minutes. And then wasn’t he happy?

 

“Let me say, madam,” began Doctor Muskrat, in his most professional tone, “that is the most remarkable¹⁹ youngster I have ever attended.” You see he was only used to bunnies and muskrats and fieldmice.

 

But the Red Cow heaved a great sigh of pride when she heard that. And just wasn’t she the happiest cow in the world?

 

“Nevertheless,” went on the doctor, “this is no place for it. You should have a nice quiet hole for it. There’s nothing in the woods big enough for you. I believe the barn is where you ought to be.”

 

“But they’ll take it away from me?” moaned the Red Cow, getting all scary again.

 

“Not if you trust Tommy,” put in Nibble Rabbit, eagerly.

 

“Madam, if you’ll take an old muskrat’s advice,” said the doctor, “you will place your confidence in Tommy Peele.” He used those long words because they sounded wise and important. And the Red Cow was really impressed.

 

“All right,” she agreed. And on the word Nibble Rabbit darted²⁰ out across the Broad Field and down the Pasture, where he could see Watch and Tommy Peele.

1 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。

2 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

3 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 herded   

群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动

参考例句：

• He herded up his goats. 他把山羊赶拢在一起。
• They herded into the corner. 他们往角落里聚集。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 muskrat   

n.麝香鼠

参考例句：

• Muskrat fur almost equals beaver fur in quality.麝鼠皮在质量上几乎和海獭皮不相上下。
• I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice.我看到一只麝鼠从冰里面钻出来。

7 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

8 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 peeked   

v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

10 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

11 perked   

（使）活跃( perk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣

参考例句：

• The recent demand for houses has perked up the prices. 最近对住房的需求使房价上涨了。
• You've perked up since this morning. 你今天上午精神就好多了。

12 squeal   

v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音

参考例句：

• The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
• There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

13 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 muskrats   

n.麝鼠（产于北美，毛皮珍贵）( muskrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

16 tassel   

n.流苏，穗；v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须

参考例句：

• The corn has begun to tassel.玉米开始长出穗状雄花。
• There are blue tassels on my curtains.我的窗帘上有蓝色的流苏。

17 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

18 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

20 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》