CHAPTER 27 A SUDDENLY LOST APPETITE

 By pain and fright is wisdom bought,

 

And thus respect for elders taught.

 

                Little Joe Otter¹.

 

Little Joe Otter’s foolish young son, who had found a dead fish at the back of a little pen of sticks on the edge of the water, remembered the warning to leave dead fish alone. But he was hungry, and it wouldn’t take but a second to get that fish.

 

“Father and mother were just trying to scare us,” he repeated to himself. “I guess they don’t realize that I am big enough to take care of myself. It won’t be long before I will be leaving them and going out into the Great World for myself, anyway. Then I’ll have to depend on my own judgment². This fish is just waiting for me. I don’t know how it happened to get here, but that doesn’t make any difference. I would be a silly fellow to waste my time hunting for a live fish when a dead one is waiting for me right under my nose.”

 

So with a look all around to make sure that no one was watching him, the foolish young Otter entered the little pen of sticks through a narrow opening, his eyes shining as he reached for the dead fish at the back of the pen.

 

And then something happened! Yes, indeed, something happened! Something grabbed³ the foolish young Otter by one of his toes! Yes, Sir, it grabbed him and it grabbed him tight! What it was he hadn’t the least idea. But whatever it was, it hurt dreadfully.

 

And the young Otter suffered more from fright than he did from pain. He twisted around and plunged⁵ for the deep water, but he was brought up short. The thing that had grabbed him by the toe was holding on. He struggled, but he was held fast. The dreadful⁴ thing was pulling him down under water. If it should succeed in holding him down there he would drown. My, how he did thrash about and struggle! Even yet he didn’t know what it was that was holding him.

 

By and by he had to stop struggling in order to get his breath. His foot ached dreadfully. Without really thinking of what he was doing, he swam towards the shore. Then he found that this thing that had him by the toe didn’t pull him under water. He twisted around to see what it was that was holding him. It was a cruel, steel trap. He knew what it was as soon as he saw it, for his father, Little Joe Otter, had shown him one that very morning.

 

Right within reach was that fish which had been the cause of all this trouble. The young Otter didn’t even look at it. He, who had been so hungry a few minutes before, had lost his appetite. Yes, Sir, he had lost his appetite completely. Just then he felt as if he didn’t care ever to eat again.

 

All he wanted was to get away from that dreadful trap. He bit at it, but this only hurt his teeth. It held him as tightly⁶ as ever. He remembered what Little Joe Otter had told him, about how if he should be caught in a trap that dreadful two-legged creature would come and kill him. Once more he began to struggle. He pulled with all his might. It hurt, but he kept on pulling. But for all his pulling he was held fast.

该作者的其它作品
《Blacky the Crow》
《The Adventures of Buster Bear》
《Old Granny Fox》

 

 

1 otter   

n.水獭

参考例句：

• The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说，竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
• She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。

2 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

3 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

4 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。