XIX AUNT POLLY HELPS

 Somehow Henrietta Hen couldn't help liking¹ Aunt Polly Woodchuck, in spite of her old-fashioned appearance. She certainly had a way with her—a way that made a person want to tell her his troubles.

 

"I don't know whether you can help me or not," said Henrietta Hen. "Have you any feathers in your basket?"

 

"No—no! No feathers!" Aunt Polly replied. "I use herbs in my business of doctoring. But I've heard that a burnt feather held under a body's nose will do wonders sometimes.... I must always[Pg 90] carry a feather in my basket, hereafter."

 

"One feather wouldn't do me any good," said Henrietta Hen with a doleful sigh. "I need a great many more than one."

 

"You do?" Aunt Polly cried.

 

"Yes!" Henrietta answered. "Half my feathers have dropped off me. And that's why I've come to ask your advice. I'm fast losing my fatal beauty."

 

Henrietta Hen's voice trembled as she told Aunt Polly Woodchuck the dreadful news. "I don't believe you'll be able to help me," she quavered. "I'll soon look like a perfect fright. Besides, winter's coming; and how I'll ever keep warm with no feathers is more than I know."

 

Henrietta Hen couldn't understand how Aunt Polly managed to stay so calm. Henrietta had expected her to throw up her hands and say something like "Sakes alive!" or "Mercy on us!" But the old lady did nothing of the sort.

 

She set her basket down on the ground; and pushing her spectacles forward to the end of her nose, she leaned over and looked closely at Henrietta Hen. Aunt Polly's gaze travelled over Henrietta from head to foot and then back again. And she took hold of one of Henrietta's feathers and gave it a gentle twitch².

 

"Look out!" Henrietta cried. "You'll pull it out if you're not careful. And I can't afford to lose any more feathers than I have to."

 

"Don't worry!" Aunt Polly Woodchuck advised her. "Cheer up! There's nothing the matter with you. You are molting³. You are going to get a new outfit⁴ of feathers for winter. Your old ones have to fall out in order to make room for the new. And no doubt the fresh ones will be much handsomer than the old."

 

Henrietta couldn't believe that Aunt Polly knew what she was talking about.

 

"I can't be molting as early in the fall as this," she protested. "I've never got my winter feathers so soon.... I fear you're mistaken," she told Aunt Polly.

 

"Oh, no! I'm not mistaken," Aunt Polly Woodchuck insisted. "I know it's early for molting—but haven't you noticed that the wheat grew big this year, and that the bark on young trees is thick? And haven't you observed that Frisky⁵ Squirrel is laying up a great store of nuts in his hollow tree, and that the hornets built their paper houses far from the ground this summer?"

 

Henrietta Hen's mouth fell open as she stared at Aunt Polly Woodchuck. And when the old lady paused, Henrietta looked quite bewildered.

 

"I don't know what you're talking about," she murmured. "I don't see what all this has to do with molting."

 

"Some of those signs," Aunt Polly explained, "mean an early winter; and some of 'em mean a cold one. I've never known 'em to fail. And you're molting early so you'll have a good warm coat of feathers by the time winter comes."

 

Well, Henrietta Hen began to feel better at once. She actually smiled—something she had not done for days.

 

"Thank you! Thank you!" she said. "You're a fine doctor, Aunt Polly. I don't wonder that folks ask your advice—especially when there's nothing the matter with them!"

 

And then Henrietta Hen hurried off down the lane. Being timid about hawks⁶, she never felt quite comfortable far from the farmyard.

 

1 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。

2 twitch   

v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛

参考例句：

• The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
• I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

3 molting   

n.蜕皮v.换羽，脱毛( molt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The old cuticle is digested by molting fluid. 旧表皮被蜕皮液消化。 来自辞典例句
• Molting in insects is triggered by rising levels of a hormone called ecdysone. 昆虫的脱皮是由于称为脱皮素激素的含量升高而引起的。 来自辞典例句

4 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

5 frisky   

adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地

参考例句：

• I felt frisky,as if I might break into a dance.我感到很欢快，似乎要跳起舞来。
• His horse was feeling frisky,and he had to hold the reins tightly.马儿欢蹦乱跳，他不得不紧勒缰绳。

6 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。