XVI THE SINGING SOCIETY

 When the members of the Pleasant Valley Singing Society gathered just before sunset in the maple¹ grove², near the sugar-house (where Cuffy Bear first saw a man), they were glad to find that Jasper Jay was already there, waiting for them.

 

Now, a smallish, cinnamon-colored young gentleman named Valentine Veery, who was a distant cousin of Jolly Robin's, was the singing leader. He had been chosen on account of his being able to sing both alto and soprano at the same time. And as soon as everybody had found a comfortable seat for himself, Valentine Veery said:

 

 

"I'm glad to see we have a new member with us this evening; and I hope he will enjoy himself and sing his very best."

 

Everybody looked at Jasper Jay. And you might think he would have felt the least bit uncomfortable. But he only laughed loudly and replied that if he didn't have a good time it wouldn't be his fault.

 

Then Valentine Veery bowed politely—which was more than Jasper Jay had done—and announced that "Good-night, Ladies!" would be the first song.

 

So all the company began to sing, including Jasper Jay. Although he knew neither the words nor the music, he shrieked³ at the top of his voice. But they hadn't sung more than a few lines before the leader made them stop.

 

"There's something wrong somewhere," said Valentine Veery. "Has anybody a cold in his head?"

 

But everyone, including Jasper Jay, declared that he never was in better health in his life.

 

"We'll try again, then," the leader told them.

 

So they started once more. And once more Valentine Veery stopped them.

 

"This is terrible!" he said with a shudder⁴. "Who is it, please, that is off the key?"

 

Nobody answered. But everybody looked at Jasper Jay again. And you would think that this time he certainly would have felt most uncomfortable. But he only grinned as if he were enjoying himself hugely.

 

"We'll try the song just once more," little Mr. Veery told them. But it was no use. He stopped the singing quickly. "We can't go on like this," he declared. "The only thing to be done is to let each member sing the song alone. And in that way we shall find out who's out of tune⁵. We'll let our oldest member sing first, and the newest one last," he directed.

 

So old Mr. Mockingbird, who was the first member of the Pleasant Valley Singing Society—and about the only one of his family in the neighborhood—sang the song in his best manner. And after him the others had their turn, until everybody had sung "Good-night, Ladies!" except the newest member of all.

 

"Now—" said Valentine Veery—"now everyone must keep very still while we have the pleasure of listening to Jasper Jay."

 

Of course, after hearing the song repeated so many times, Jasper couldn't help learning a little of it. He began top. 87 bellow⁶ "Good-night, Ladies!" in the harshest⁷, most ear-splitting tones⁸ he knew. Some of his listeners hurriedly tucked⁹ their heads under their wings, to shut out the horrid¹⁰ sound. And as for Miss Kitty Catbird, she actually left the meeting and flew straight home, because she felt that she must scream if she stayed there any longer. Having a sensitive ear, she could not endure Jasper's rasping voice. In her opinion, it sounded more like a buzz¹¹ saw than anything else.

 

1 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

2 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

3 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

4 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

7 harshest   

adj.刺耳的( harsh的最高级 )；粗糙的；严厉的；残酷的

参考例句：

• Cheating deserves our harshest condemnation. 作弊理应受到我们最严厉的谴责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fannie and Freddie's harshest critics want the companies shut down. 对两房抱有最严厉意见的人，希望两家公司停业关门。 来自互联网

8 tones   

音( tone的名词复数 )； 色调； 腔调； 全音 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• his clipped military tones 他那短促的军人音调
• His name was always mentioned in almost reverential tones. 人们每次提起他的名字，语调中几乎总是充满了敬意。

9 tucked   

塞进( tuck的过去式和过去分词 )； 翻折； 盖住； 卷起

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。
• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. 她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。

10 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

11 buzz   

v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音

参考例句：

• My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
• A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。