III MR. FROG'S DOUBLE

 Mr. Frog waited until it was broad daylight before he left his hiding place beneath the bank of the river. He knew that by that time Solomon Owl¹ must have gone home to his hemlock² tree to get his rest. So Ferdinand Frog felt quite safe again.

 

Having made up his mind that he would finish his journey to Farmer Green's place by land, he started briskly across the cornfield, travelling in a straight line between two rows of young corn.

 

He had not gone far before a hoarse³ voice called to him. But this time he was not alarmed.

 

It was only old Mr. Crow, who seemed greatly pleased to see him.

 

"Hullo, young fellow!" said Mr. Crow. "If you're on your way to the barn to look at that picture, I'll fly over there myself, because I'd like to see it again."

 

"Aren't you afraid of meeting Farmer Green?" Ferdinand Frog asked him.

 

"Afraid?" Mr. Crow snorted. "Certainly not! We're the best of friends. He set up this straw man here, just to keep me company. . . . Besides," he went on, "at this time o' day Farmer Green is inside the barn, milking the cows. And we'll be outside it, looking at the circus pictures."

 

"We can call to him, if you want to say good morning to him," Ferdinand Frog suggested cheerfully.

 

"Oh, no!" his companion said quickly. "I wouldn't want to do that—he's so busy."

 

Ferdinand Frog smiled. And for some reason old Mr. Crow seemed displeased⁵.

 

"What's the joke?" he inquired in a surly tone. "Something seems to amuse you. Why are you grinning?"

 

"It's just a habit I have," Ferdinand Frog explained.

 

"I'd try to break myself of that habit, if I were you," Mr. Crow advised him. "Some day it will get you into trouble, for you're likely to grin when you oughtn't to. There's a wrong time and a right time for everything, you know."

 

"Just as there is for planting corn," Mr. Frog chimed in.

 

"Exactly!" Mr. Crow returned.

 

"And for eating it!" Mr. Frog added.

 

But old Mr. Crow only said hastily that he would be at the barn by the time Ferdinand reached it. And without another word he flapped himself away across the field.

 

"He's a queer one," said Ferdinand Frog to himself. "It seems as if a person couldn't please him, no matter how much a person tried." Then he untied⁶ his necktie, and tied it again, because he thought one end of the bow was longer than the other; and that was something he couldn't endure.

 

Then he resumed his jumping. And after exactly one hundred and thirty-two jumps he reached a corner of Farmer Green's great barn, where he found old Mr. Crow waiting for him.

 

"Still smiling, I see," the old gentleman observed gruffly. "Maybe you'll laugh out of the other corner of your mouth after you've seen the pretty picture that you look like."

 

"I hope so! Where is it?" Ferdinand Frog asked him eagerly. "Show me the pretty one!"

 

"Come with me!" said old Mr. Crow. And he led the way around the barn, stopping before the side that faced the road.

 

"There!" he cried. "It's in the upper left-hand corner, just as I told you." And he chuckled⁷ as loud as he dared—with Farmer Green inside the building, milking the cows.

 

As Ferdinand Frog gazed upward a shadow of disappointment came over his face. And for once he did not smile.

 

"Do I look like that?" he faltered⁸.

 

"You certainly do," old Mr. Crow assured him. "See those eyes—don't they bulge⁹ just like yours? And look at that mouth! It's fully⁴ as wide as yours—and maybe a trifle wider!"

 

"The face does look a bit like mine, I'll admit," Ferdinand Frog muttered. "But no one could ever mistake one of us for the other. . . . What's the name of this creature?"

 

"It's called the hippopotamus," old Mr. Crow replied. "I heard Johnnie Green say so. And he ought to know, if anyone does."

 

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 hemlock   

n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉

参考例句：

• He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
• Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

3 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

6 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

7 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

8 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

9 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？