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CHAPTER VII THE CLEVERNESS OF CHAIK JAY
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 Poor Chaik Jay felt a lot sadder than he looked when he saw the Woodsfolk go skipping across the Broad Field one at a time so nobody would notice them, on the way to Tommy Peele’s barn.
 
But he was a pretty sensible bird. “I’m glad they’re gone,” he said to himself. “That was a fine idea of Nibble1 Rabbit’s to go away. Killer2 won’t stay here long if he finds there isn’t any hunting.”
 
Pretty soon he was very busy exercising his stiff wing and thinking: “I can reach every sumach berry in this thicket3. They’re fine eating. I feel better every minute. I’ll be able to fly before very long—if I can’t fly across the Broad Field to-night I’ll surely be able to do it in the morning.” He really did feel better. That was the funny part of it. It wasn’t long before he had his feathers all prinked up and his crest4 perked5 as sassy as if he were going courting.
 
“It’s too bad about those foolish mice,” he thought to himself. “The bad old weasel can live on them for a long time if there’s nobody else here to hunt them.” He thought harder than ever. “It would be nicer yet,” he said after another minute, “if the mice would go, too. Killer can’t eat clams6 and snails7 and bugs8 and roots and such things like the rest of us Woodsfolk. He’d have to go away.”
 
But how could Chaik do that—just one lone9 bluejay with a hurt wing? He kept on thinking, all the same; he thought so hard his head needed scratching. At last he began to have an idea. “Isn’t it a lucky thing they did leave me here? I can talk more bird and beast talk than any one else in all the Woods and Fields, except Miau the Catbird. I wish he’d happen along, I do. I could use him. If we could warn all the birds, Killer would never be able to catch one. But the mice——”
 
And just them someone did happen along. It wasn’t Miau, but—but, listen! It was the hoptoad! You know him—so terrible scary-ugly, but nice as anything—the one who found Nibble Rabbit’s lost bunny. Well, the hoptoad called, in his funny, gulpy11 voice, “Chirpy, Chaik Jay! Do you see anything of the rain?” He loves rain because it makes the wings of the bugs all waterlogged and it’s easy to catch them.
 
“Chirpy, Croaker Toad10,” Chaik answered, “I can’t see a sign of it.”
 
“It’s coming, all the same,” gulped12 Croaker. “Floods of it. I feel it.”
 
“It is?” asked Chaik eagerly. “Mice, oh, mice! How they hate it!” And he bounced on his perch13 until Croaker Toad stared with his big round eyes. But a lot Chaik cared!
 
He carried on at such a rate that a big saw-billed duck slanted14 down to see what was the matter. “It’s going to rain,” he sang, looking mischievously15 at the duck, his feathers all puffed16 out from laughing.
 
“Of course it’s going to rain,” quacked17 the duck, making a gawpy face with his long red bill that set Chaik giggling19 all over again. “It’s going to rain hard, and it’s going to rain soon. You won’t find it a laughing matter, old soggy feathers.” (A duck never forgets to tease the other birds about not having a nice water-proof coat, you know.) And off he flew.
 
But Chaik Jay didn’t care a wormy thorn apple what the duck thought about him. He was just waiting for a fieldmouse. The very first time he heard one stirring out in the thicket he called: “Hey! Who’s there? Is that you, Nibble Rabbit?” He knew it wasn’t Nibble, because Nibble had gone away, but he said it on purpose.
 
“No,” came the answer; “it’s Scritch Mouse.” But I tell you he felt kind of flattered at being taken for someone as big and important as a rabbit. “I haven’t seen or heard anything of him since this morning.”
 
“Chirk-cheree!” exclaimed Chaik impatiently. “I do wish he’d come. Won’t you peek20 in his hole for me and see if he’s there? I want to get along myself before it comes.”
 
“Before what comes?” asked the mouse. “I’m perfectly21 sure he isn’t there.”
 
“Before the rain, of course,” answered the clever bird. “Every one else has run away, but I was to wait and warn him. There’s the most terrible rain coming—I just heard about it from the saw-billed duck.” (No mouse would ever dare to ask questions of a saw-bill for himself—the bird would eat him as easy as quack18 at him, so Chaik went right on adding to it.) “The birds coming down from the north had to swim two days instead of flying. It’s going to flood these Woods and Fields from the Brushpile to the Robins’ Roosting Tree—maybe worse. It’s the worst——”
 
“Well,” interrupted the mouse, “it’s a funny thing nobody told us.”
 
“Oh, nobody told me not to tell you,” said Chaik. “But you haven’t been very friendly with the Woodsfolk lately, have you?”
 
Scritch ran as fast as his claws could catch on the ground. He went straight to the stump22 where Great-grandfather Fieldmouse, who’s so old his ears are crinkly, lives with all his family. Every one was taking an afternoon nap when he bounced right in and woke them. “Quick, quick!” he squeaked23. “An awful thing is happening. We must run!”
 
Great-grandfather Fieldmouse raised his rumply24 head and blinked at him. “Eh? What? Who’s that? Was any one chasing you?” he asked.
 
“No,” said Scritch. “It’s worse than that. Hurry! The rest of the Woodsfolk have gone already—every last one.”
 
“Ho, they left because they’re afraid of Killer the Weasel,” sniffed25 the old fieldmouse. “But we’re not going. He can’t eat many more of us than they do themselves. He isn’t like a bear who could tear this stump right open and kill us all—but you don’t know about that. Bears were long before your time.” They were long before Great-grandfather Fieldmouse’s time, too, but he’s always pretending. The fat old fellow set to combing his rumpled26 head with a stiff hind27 paw.
 
“That isn’t why they’ve gone,” squealed28 Scritch triumphantly29. “They just pretended that it was. They’ve gone because the ducks say there’s a terrible storm coming. They say they had to swim in it for two days instead of flying. They say Doctor Muskrat’s Pond is going to grow so fast it will swallow up the Woods and Fields, and we’ll all be drowned!”
 
“That’s what they tell you,” sneered30 the old mouse. “They don’t like to own up that they’re afraid of a little beast like Killer.”
 
“But they didn’t mean to. It was Chaik Jay. He thought I was Nibble Rabbit.” My, but wasn’t Scritch proud when he remembered Chaik took him for Nibble! “And Chaik said they didn’t warn us because we weren’t friends.”
 
“They didn’t, didn’t they?” snarled31 the old mouse. “We’ll show them if we’ll stay here and be drowned.” That settled it. In less than an hour Chaik saw the last mouse tail go trooping into the cornfield.
 
“Chay!” he laughed. “Now, Killer, you’ll have a hard time finding anything to eat around this pond. I’ll give you two days to go back to the Deep Woods where you belong. And you’ll be a whole lot thinner than when you came, old slinky-sides.”
 
It was true, there wasn’t a single bit of fur for Killer to put his teeth into when he woke up from his daytime sleep and went hunting. But Chaik was determined32 Killer wouldn’t make his supper off a bird, either. Every time one lit to drink at Doctor Muskrat’s Pond Chaik would send it away.
 
He told some one reason for leaving and some another, just whatever he thought would scare them the most. Once a whole flock of gorgeous little fellows swooped33 down and he was puzzled. They were warblers from the far-away south; they come up north every summer, but they live all by themselves and speak their own language, so none of the northern birds can talk to them at all. “Now, how in the world can I frighten those silly little spiggoty birds?” he mused34 with his head on one side, most discouraged. “They won’t listen to reason.”
 
Suddenly he began chuckling35 to himself. “If they can’t talk my talk they can’t talk the marsh36 hawk37’s, either.” He practised quietly for a minute or two. Then he began to shout the hawk’s hunting call. “Kee-yah!” he squawked. “Kee-yah!” And you should have heard those warblers flutter their wings. They flew off without even stopping to look behind them.
 
It was really a fine imitation. It fooled more than the scary little spiggoty birds. It fooled the marsh hawk himself. He woke up on his perch down in the bulrushes where he dozes38 until the mice begin to stir for their suppers. He thought surely it was one of his sons who was hunting with his mother over in the Big Marsh, on the far-away side of the Deep Woods, where the Woodsfolk think the sun goes to sleep. “What’s he doing here?” wondered the old bird. “Surely his mother never sent him to tell me we were going to start south ahead of the storm.” And up he flew, craning his neck all around and calling.
 
Of course Chaik knew better than to answer. He dropped down under the leaves of the pickery thorn tree of the Quail’s Thicket and hid from the hawk by scrambling39 around its trunk, keeping always on the opposite side of it. “Lucky thing for me Killer the Weasel isn’t on the prowl for me right now,” he thought. “I believe this is a poor place to sleep. These leaves will let in ever so much rain, and if the owls40 should take to hunting me from above and Killer from below they wouldn’t be very long about catching41 me.”
 
Just then his heart ’most stopped beating; he heard a rustling42 beneath him—right at the very foot of the tree he was hiding on. He squinched himself flat tight against the bark so he looked like nothing more than a bumpy43 knothole and peeked—into the smiling face of Tad Coon.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 nibble DRZzG     
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 killer rpLziK     
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者
参考例句:
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
3 thicket So0wm     
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。
4 crest raqyA     
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖
参考例句:
  • The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
  • He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。
5 perked 6257cbe5d4a830c7288630659113146b     
(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。
6 clams 0940cacadaf01e94ba47fd333a69de59     
n.蛤;蚌,蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.(在沙滩上)挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句
7 snails 23436a8a3f6bf9f3c4a9f6db000bb173     
n.蜗牛;迟钝的人;蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 bugs e3255bae220613022d67e26d2e4fa689     
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
参考例句:
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 lone Q0cxL     
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的
参考例句:
  • A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
  • She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。
10 toad oJezr     
n.蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆
参考例句:
  • Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
  • Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。
11 gulpy 83ccf5da13ca61b4b27cf70689ecb1c0     
多旋涡的,遍布裂口(或深坑)的
参考例句:
  • When his whisky came he drank half of it in one gulp. 威士忌端上来后,他一口气就喝掉了一半。 来自柯林斯例句
  • We swallowed the chocolates in one gulp, licking our lips. 我们一口吞下了巧克力,满意地咂着嘴。 来自柯林斯例句
12 gulped 4873fe497201edc23bc8dcb50aa6eb2c     
v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 );大口地吸(气);哽住
参考例句:
  • He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
  • She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下,似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 perch 5u1yp     
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于
参考例句:
  • The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
  • Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。
14 slanted 628a904d3b8214f5fc02822d64c58492     
有偏见的; 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。
  • She had slanted brown eyes. 她有一双棕色的丹凤眼。
15 mischievously 23cd35e8c65a34bd7a6d7ecbff03b336     
adv.有害地;淘气地
参考例句:
  • He mischievously looked for a chance to embarrass his sister. 他淘气地寻找机会让他的姐姐难堪。 来自互联网
  • Also has many a dream kindheartedness, is loves mischievously small lovable. 又有着多啦a梦的好心肠,是爱调皮的小可爱。 来自互联网
16 puffed 72b91de7f5a5b3f6bdcac0d30e24f8ca     
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟,狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了,便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 quacked 58c5d8f16b25062c8081d3d2ae05aa7f     
v.(鸭子)发出嘎嘎声( quack的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
18 quack f0JzI     
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子
参考例句:
  • He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生,可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
  • The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
19 giggling 2712674ae81ec7e853724ef7e8c53df1     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑,叫我真受不了,那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
20 peek ULZxW     
vi.偷看,窥视;n.偷偷的一看,一瞥
参考例句:
  • Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
  • Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛,别偷看。
21 perfectly 8Mzxb     
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。
22 stump hGbzY     
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走
参考例句:
  • He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
  • He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。
23 squeaked edcf2299d227f1137981c7570482c7f7     
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
参考例句:
  • The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时,鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句
24 rumply 051a2eef5e3a8aa15cc6f3b80f80d7fc     
adj.弄绉的,压绉的
参考例句:
25 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
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》
26 rumpled 86d497fd85370afd8a55db59ea16ef4a     
v.弄皱,使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
  • The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪,散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句
27 hind Cyoya     
adj.后面的,后部的
参考例句:
  • The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
  • Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。
28 squealed 08be5c82571f6dba9615fa69033e21b0     
v.长声尖叫,用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
参考例句:
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
30 sneered 0e3b5b35e54fb2ad006040792a867d9f     
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
  • It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。
31 snarled ti3zMA     
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说
参考例句:
  • The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
  • As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时,它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
33 swooped 33b84cab2ba3813062b6e35dccf6ee5b     
俯冲,猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
34 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
35 chuckling e8dcb29f754603afc12d2f97771139ab     
轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时,我能听见他的轻声发笑。
  • He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
36 marsh Y7Rzo     
n.沼泽,湿地
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
  • I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。
37 hawk NeKxY     
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员
参考例句:
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
  • The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。
38 dozes a30219e2edf37e452167a6be2b4e4318     
n.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的名词复数 )v.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • It'scratches, licks or dozes off. 有搔痒、舐毛、打瞌睡等动作。 来自互联网
39 scrambling cfea7454c3a8813b07de2178a1025138     
v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发,冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
40 owls 7b4601ac7f6fe54f86669548acc46286     
n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋,”我说,“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句
41 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
42 rustling c6f5c8086fbaf68296f60e8adb292798     
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句:
  • the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
  • the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声
43 bumpy 2sIz7     
adj.颠簸不平的,崎岖的
参考例句:
  • I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。


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