CHAPTER VIII HOW THE MAN’S WIFE MADE THE COMPACT WITH THE COWS

 The White Cow stopped talking quite as though she had finished her story. But Nibble¹ Rabbit and the Red Cow, who were listening with all their ears, both broke out: “Please, Mrs. Snowflake, you haven’t said a word yet about the compact!”

 

“Pickery thistles!” she exclaimed. “So I haven’t. I was just thinking about it instead. Well, the man was in the middle of that little hollow island with the high rocks all around it, and so were the cows. The dog was growling² because he couldn’t kill the cow, and the cow was wondering why the man wouldn’t let him. But most of all she was wondering how quickly she and her calf³ would starve because that stone blocked up the passage.

 

“The man was thinking that, too. For the cow had saved his life by keeping out the wolves; that made him in debt to her. And if a man was careless about his debts he was sure to be dreadfully unlucky. Either he had to roll away that stone so the cow could go over to the plains to graze—and he knew he couldn’t do that—or he had to bring the grass to her.

 

“Bright and early next morning he went to bring the grass to feed that cow. He found it was lots of trouble, especially since he didn’t have his wife there to help him. So he decided⁴ to bring her.

 

“He told her how nice and safe it was in the middle of that rocky island until she got quite delighted at the idea of living there. So she packed their belongings⁵ on her back, slung⁶ their baby in front of her, and started out. She waded⁷ the stream all right, but she stopped at the big rock which blocked up the passage.

 

“‘I won’t stay here at all unless you take that out of there,’ she said. ‘It’s too inconvenient⁸.’

 

“So of course he just had to. And when it comes right down to ‘having to’ a man can do almost anything. But he had a terrible time. He heaved and clawed and shoved and rolled until his fingers and arms were sore. Then he picked up a stick, because it was easier to handle—and he learned how to pry⁹ that stone out of the passage.

 

“In walked his wife and began to settle their new home. Out walked the cows, and over they went to the plain to pick their own grass, but they left their calves¹⁰ hidden on the island. So, after they had finished feeding, back they came.

 

“Then the man took his stick and pried¹¹ the rock into the passage again for fear the wolves would come back. And his wife stared at the cows and the cows stared at his wife, but still they didn’t make any compact.”

 

Nibble Rabbit and the Red Cow were both fairly stamping their feet with impatience¹² because the White Cow wouldn’t hurry right along with her story. But she brought a big wad of cud all the way up her long neck and stood there chewing it while she thought things over. Finally she swallowed it and went on.

 

“I told you the man learned to use the great stone for a gate to the narrow passageway where the cows squeezed through. But I didn’t tell you how angry the wolves were about that.

 

“They were simply raging. Night after night they gnashed their jaws¹³ and howled around those rocks, but their claws wouldn’t climb them. And the man’s dog would sit up on top and shout insults at them. And the two cows would snuggle together in the brush with their calves between them and say, ‘Those wolves would have eaten us long ago if the man hadn’t been here.’

 

“They got very used to the man and his family. They didn’t walk ’way round his fire any more, or make eyes at his wife, and the calves got very friendly with his baby. But his wife used to look hard at them. ‘It’s all very well to take care of the cow who saved your life,’ she’d say to the man, ‘but how about that other one?’

 

“‘Well, what about her?’ he’d answer. ‘She isn’t any trouble.’

 

“‘She ought to pay for being taken care of,’ insisted his wife. ‘It’s all very well for this year, but next year these calves will be grown up and there will be new ones and we’ll be all cluttered¹⁴ up with cattle.’

 

“She thought and thought. At last she caught up her biggest clamshell and walked down into the thicket¹⁵ where the cows stood. And the dog went with her. ‘Old Cow,’ she said, ‘you can live with us for ever and ever because you stopped the passageway with your horns when the wolves were trying to get in to kill my husband. Young Cow, you will have to pay something if you’re going to live with us.’ And with that she tried to milk the young cow into her clamshell.

 

“The young cow didn’t like it a little bit. But she was afraid of the dog, and besides the old cow argued, ‘You have milk to spare, and you’ll never have any place as safe as this. Let me talk to her.’

 

“So the young cow gave in and let herself be milked. But the old one said to the woman: ‘We’ll stay with you and give you milk so long as you see we get food and water and protect us from the wolves. But the minute you don’t we’ll go off and be wild again, and you’ll be no better off than you were before.’

 

“‘Agreed,’ said the woman. ‘The dog will be our witness.’

 

“So that was the beginning of the compact. The cows settled down to live with the man and his family. But after the woman was gone the wise old cow said comfortably, ‘It’s spring now. She doesn’t think how much trouble it will be to feed us through the winter.’”

 

“Wasn’t that old cow clever!” exclaimed Nibble admiringly.

 

The White Cow snorted. “She was wise. But that woman was wiser. She knew that if she waited long enough there would be cattle on that island who hadn’t any milk, so she and the man could bargain some more with them. They had to carry loads and pull ploughs; they even had to let the man kill certain ones. They didn’t like that a little bit, but the wise old cow argued, ‘It’s better than being hunted by both wolves and men.’ So they finally gave in. It was really a good bargain for us,” finished the White Cow thoughtfully, “but it was a better one for the man. After he learned to build barns as safe as that island he gave up hunting.”

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 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

3 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。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

6 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

7 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

8 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

9 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

10 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 pried   

v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• We pried open the locked door with an iron bar. 我们用铁棍把锁着的门撬开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• So Tom pried his mouth open and poured down the Pain-killer. 因此汤姆撬开它的嘴，把止痛药灌下去。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

12 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

13 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

14 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 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。