XIV EARS—SHORT OR LONG

 Henrietta Hen's heart began to thump¹. She dropped a bit of cabbage out of her bill, letting it fall as if it burned her. And usually she was very careful as to her table-manners. "Goodness!" she said to Jimmy Rabbit, who was busily munching² cabbage in Farmer Green's garden. "You frighten me!"

 

He had just asked her this strange question: "Did you ever hear it said that eating too much cabbage causes long ears?" And Henrietta Hen didn't want long ears. She knew they would be sure to spoil her beauty.

 

Jimmy Rabbit had no time to say anything more to Henrietta Hen. Although he had not finished his luncheon³ he left the garden suddenly—and in great haste. For old dog Spot began barking just beyond the fence; and Jimmy Rabbit always wanted to get as far from that sound as he could.

 

When Spot scurried⁴ into the cabbage-patch a little later Henrietta Hen called to him.

 

"What is it?" he asked her impatiently. "I'm in a great hurry. I don't like to stop."

 

"This is a very important matter," said Henrietta Hen. "Do you like cabbage?" she demanded.

 

"Cabbage?" he repeated after her as a puzzled look came over his face.

 

"You needn't act so surprised," Henrietta told him coldly. "You didn't come running into the garden for nothing. And I have reason to believe that you intended to eat some of Farmer Green's cabbages."

 

"What's your reason?" old Spot inquired.

 

"You have long ears," said Henrietta.

 

"Nonsense!" cried Spot. "What a person eats doesn't make his ears either long or short."

 

"Are you sure of that?" Henrietta Hen wanted to know.

 

"I've never eaten cabbage in all my life," he declared.

 

Still she couldn't rid herself of her fears.

 

"Perhaps," she said, "if you had eaten it your ears would have grown twice as long as they are now."

 

He shook his head. "I don't think so," he muttered.

 

"There's only one way to find out," Henrietta announced. "Eat a lot of cabbage—all you can! And we'll soon see whether your ears are growing longer."

 

But old dog Spot refused flatly to do anything of the sort. He said that his ears suited him quite well, just as they were.

 

"What!" Henrietta cried. "Wouldn't you eat cabbage to oblige a lady?"

 

Old Spot said he was sorry; but he had no liking⁵ for cabbage.

 

"How can you tell if you've never tasted it?" she asked.

 

He made no answer to that question. Instead, he asked her one of his own.

 

"Would you like long ears?" he inquired.

 

"Certainly not!" she cried.

 

"How can you tell if you've never tried wearing any?" he demanded.

 

"Don't be stupid!" she snapped. "None of my family wears ears that can be seen. What a sight I'd be with long ears! Ears are very ugly things, and I only hope that I haven't eaten so much cabbage that mine will begin to grow.... Do you suppose they'd hang down like yours or stick up like Jimmy Rabbit's? He didn't say anything about that."

 

Old dog Spot let out a howl.

 

"Jimmy Rabbit!" he growled⁶. "Was he talking with you just before I arrived?"

 

"Yes!" said Henrietta. "It was he that asked me if I had ever heard that eating cabbage made a person's ears grow."

 

"I might have known that it was that young Rabbit who put such a silly notion into your head," Spot grumbled⁷. "If you hadn't stopped me I'd have stopped him by this time.... But it's too late now."

"You don't suppose he was joking, do you?" Henrietta inquired.

 

"Of course he was," said Spot—and none too pleasantly.

 

"Well," Henrietta mused⁸, as she pecked at a cabbage-leaf, "I must say that I think the joke's on you."

1 thump   

v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声

参考例句：

• The thief hit him a thump on the head.贼在他的头上重击一下。
• The excitement made her heart thump.她兴奋得心怦怦地跳。

2 munching   

v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was munching an apple. 他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果，但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。 来自辞典例句

3 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

4 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

6 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

8 mused   

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