XVII. THE RABBIT AND THE MOON.

 “I reckon that’s so about the Monkeys,” remarked Mrs. Meadows. “They used to be in the country next door, and now they are no longer there.”

 

“Yes,” said Mr. Rabbit; “it’s just like I tell you: they were there once, but now they are not there any more. But in the world next door everybody has his ups and downs, especially his downs. I’ve heard my great-grandfather tell many a time how our family used to live close to the Moon. So I don’t make any brags¹ about the way the Monkeys had to take to the bushes. I remember about my own family, and then I feel like hanging my head down and saying nothing. It is a very funny feeling, too. When I think we used to live close to the Moon, and that we now live on the ground and have to crawl there like snails², I sometimes feel like crying; and I tell you right now if I was to begin to boo-hoo, you’d be astonished.”

 

Buster John and Sweetest Susan looked very serious, but Drusilla showed a desire to laugh.

 

“You say you used to live close to the Moon?” asked Buster John, with more curiosity than usual.

 

“Why, certainly,” replied Mr. Rabbit. “I don’t say that I did, but I’m certain that my family did. I’ve heard my great-grandfather tell about it a hundred times. I’ve heard that it was a better country up there than it is where you live, even better than it is down here,—a good deal more fun and fiddling³, and not half so much looking around for something to eat. That is the great trouble. If we didn’t have to scuffle around and get something to eat, we’d be lots better off.

 

“It’s mighty⁴ funny. If you let well enough alone, you are all right; but the minute you try to better it, everything goes wrong.”

 

“Dat wuz de way wid ol’ man Adam,” remarked Drusilla.

 

“Why, of course,” said Mr. Rabbit, “and it was the way with all the Rabbits and everybody and everything else.”

 

“But how did they live up there by the Moon?” asked Sweetest Susan. “How did they keep from falling off?”

 

Mr. Rabbit scratched his head a little before replying. “Well,” said he, after awhile, “they got along just as we do down here,—heads up and feet down. But one time, as I’ve heard my great-grandfather say, the Moon got into a sort of fidget, and was mighty restless for quite a while. At last, one of our family, the oldest of all, made bold to look over the fence and ask the Moon what the trouble was. He noticed, too, that the Moon had shrunk considerably⁵, and seemed to be in a very bad way. It could hardly hold up its head.

 

“But the Moon managed to look up when it heard the fuss at the fence, and, in a very shaky voice, told the oldest of all the Rabbits howdy.

 

“‘What is the trouble?’ says the oldest Rabbit. Says he, ‘Can I do anything to help you?’

 

“‘I’m afraid not,’ says the Moon. ‘You are not nimble enough.’

 

“‘Maybe I’m nimbler than you think,’ says the oldest Rabbit.

 

“‘Well,’ says the Moon, ‘I’ll tell you what the trouble is. I want to get a message to Mr. Man, who lives in the world down yonder. I’ve been shining on him at night, and I’ve caught a bad cold by being out after dark. My health is breaking down, and if I don’t put out my lights for a while and take a rest, I’ll have to go out altogether. Now, it’s like this: I’ve been shining for Mr. Man so long that if I don’t send him some word he’ll think something serious has happened. I must take a rest, but I want to send him a message, telling him that I won’t be gone long.’

 

“‘Well,’ says the oldest Rabbit, ‘I don’t mind going, if you’ll show me the way and tell me what to say.’

 

“So the Moon pointed⁶ out the way, and showed him how to put his fingers in his ears and hold his breath when he took the long jump. Then it gave him this message:—

 

‘I am growing weak to gather strength:

I go into the shadows to gather light.’

“The oldest Rabbit said this message over to himself many times, and then he got ready for the journey. Everything went well until he came to the long jump. But he braced⁷ himself, and shut his eyes, and put his fingers in his ears, and held his breath. Now, the jump was a long one, sure enough. It was so long that the oldest Rabbit opened one eye, and then he got the notion that he was falling instead of jumping, and he opened both eyes so wide that they have been that way ever since. This scared him terribly, and by the time he landed on the world he had forgotten what he came for. He wasn’t hurt a bit, but he was badly scared.

 

“He sat on the ground and tried to remember, and then he got up and walked about. Finally, he looked up and saw the Moon winking⁸ one eye at him. Then he thought about the message, and he ran off to Mr. Man’s house, and knocked at the door. Mr. Man had gone to bed, but he got up and opened the door, and asked what was wanted.

 

“‘Well,’ says the oldest Rabbit, ‘I’ve just come from the Moon with a message for you.’

 

“‘What is it?’ says Mr. Man.

 

“‘The Moon told me to tell you this:—

 

‘I’m growing weak and have no strength:

I’m going off where the shadows are dark.’

“Mr. Man scratched his head. He couldn’t make the message out. Then he said, ‘Take this message back:—

 

‘Seldom seen and soon forgot:

When a Moon dies her feet get cold.’

“The oldest Rabbit bowed politely and started back home. He came to the Jumping-Off Place, and then he took the long jump. He was soon at home, and went at once to the Moon’s house, and gave the message that Mr. Man had sent. This made the Moon very mad. It declared that the oldest Rabbit had carried the wrong message. Then it grabbed the shovel⁹ and struck him in the face. This made the oldest Rabbit very mad, and he jumped at the Moon and used his claws. The fight was a hard one, and you can see the marks of it to this day. All the Rabbits have their upper lips split, and the Moon still has the marks on its face where the oldest Rabbit clawed it.

 

“The way of it was this,” continued Mr. Rabbit, seeing that the children had hardly caught the drift of the story: “the Moon had been shining constantly for many years, and was growing weak. It wanted to take a rest, and it was afraid Mr. Man would get scared when he failed to see it at night. Since that time the Moon has been taking a rest about every two weeks. At least it used to be that way. I never bother about it now.”

 

1 brags   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He constantly brags about how well he plays football. 他老是吹嘘自己足球踢得多么好。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• \"I don't care to listen to your brags.\" \"我没有兴趣听你吹了！ 来自飘（部分）

2 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。