When I first caught sight of this monster I was sitting on a bough6 barely a couple of feet from the ground, and so great was my amazement7 and fright that for an instant I sat staring down into the glaring yellow eyes, unable to collect my senses at all. Of a sudden the creature launched itself upwards8 with almost the quickness and ferocity of a striking snake. Its thin lips, curled back, showed[211] two rows of close-set white teeth, sharp as needles, and at the same instant an abominable9 odour, like that of a stoat, but far more fœtid, nearly suffocated10 me.
Recovering myself just in time, I made one desperate spring, and succeeded in reaching a twig11 out of reach of the brute’s jaws12. But the foumart had no idea of being so easily cheated of his meal. The branches, thick and close-set, offered him an easy ladder, and to my horror and alarm, he came after me with unexpected and startling speed. I completely lost my head, and dashed away up to the top of the hazel-bush with a recklessness inspired by terror.
In my haste I found that I had ascended13, not the main stalk of the clump14, but another not so tall. The result was that the oak branch from which I had dropped was now a long way above me. But a rustle15 in the foliage16 below told me that my enemy was at my heels, and nerved me to attempt the jump.
My claws just grazed the under side of the oak bough. I fell back, and next moment had plunged18 with a splash into the swirling19 waters of the swollen20 torrent21.
The fall carried me far below the muddy surface,[212] but next moment I rose, gasping22 for breath, and struck out vehemently23. I know that it is popularly supposed that a squirrel cannot swim, but that when he wishes to cross a river he launches himself upon a piece of floating bark, and using his tail as a sail, ferries himself across. A squirrel, as a matter of fact, is a very fair swimmer, and can, and does at a pinch, cross wide rivers in this way. Though I had never tried it before, yet I found myself quite able to keep my head above water; but a very short struggle convinced me that it was foolishness to attempt to make head against the fierce current of the flooded stream.
For I had fallen not into the placid24 backwater behind the nut-bush island, but out into the edge of the main stream, and a cross current catching25 me, had sent me swinging out into the very centre of the racing26 river. For a few moments I beat the water desperately27 with all four paws in a frantic28 effort to get back to the shore which I had left; but very soon I exhausted29 myself so completely that I could fight no longer, and, paddling feebly, was swept down-stream at a positively30 terrifying speed.
It was now late in October, and the water was very cold. Soon I began to feel quite numbed31.[213] Besides this, I was horribly frightened, while the pace at which the small whirlpools into which I was constantly flung, spun32 me around, made me giddy, and added to the hopelessness of my feelings. The whole experience was so horrifying33 that I may be forgiven for confessing the terror I felt. Once or twice I saw tree-roots or projecting points of high banks forming promontories34 which extended out into the flood, and so long as strength lasted I made fierce efforts to reach them. But in each case the current, rendered the more irresistible35 by opposition36, mocked my puny37 efforts and whirled me away out into the centre again. Once a small log, floating almost submerged, overtook me as I battled with the stream, and, catching me across the neck, pushed me quite under water and drove over me. When I rose once more, my strength was almost spent, and I felt that I could not much longer continue the useless struggle.
I was sinking lower and lower in the water; my strokes were becoming more feeble every moment, and it was only a question of a few minutes before I must have sunk for good, when I suddenly caught sight of a long narrow plank38, evidently torn from some paling by the flood, sweeping39 down, end on, beside me. With a last despairing effort I struck[214] out for it, and just before it had passed quite out of my reach, succeeded in scrambling40 upon one end of it. It dipped beneath my water-logged weight, and the current almost snatched me away. But, clinging with all my claws, I managed to crawl along to its centre, and found to my joy that it would support me.
But, even so, my position was extremely perilous41. The way in which the banks flew by showed how rapid was the rush of the flooded river. Suppose the plank caught against any obstacle, it must at once roll over and plunge17 me again into the water. Happily, however, this did not happen, and though time and again it checked and quivered, I managed to retain my hold, and so was swept along almost as fast as a man could run.
I passed the large house down the valley, and beyond it the river broadened, but still ran with almost unabated speed. Soon I had cleared the wood, and was driving along between pastures which sloped steeply upwards from bluff-like banks. Once I saw a drowned sheep caught in the brambles under a curve, and shuddered43 to think how soon the same fate might befall me. Field after field flew by, and once more the river plunged into the shadow of thick trees, and then a new and[215] terrifying sound came to my ears. It was the deep, sullen44 roar of falling water.
Sweeping round a wide curve, I became aware of a long weir45 in front penning the brimming river which foamed47 along its top, while through the open sluice-gates the main stream plunged in a mass of yellow foam46. Now, indeed, I gave myself up for lost, for I saw that I could not hope to survive the passage down that fierce fall. On like an arrow sped the plank, straight for the centre of the opening, and all hope that it might drift against the weir was gone, when, suddenly, with a jar that almost flung me from my insecure perch48, the front end of the plank struck something hidden below the muddy water, probably a sunken stake, and instantly was swung side on, jamming across the very mouth of the gates. Gathering49 all my few remaining energies, I made a feeble leap, and more by good luck than good management reached the top of the weir. Even then my troubles were not over, for the weir was old and broken, and in places the flood was actually foaming50 over its top. But after waiting a little to recover my strength, I succeeded in jumping these gaps, and at last struggled safely ashore51 once more.
I was soaked as I had never been in my life[216] before, chilled to the bone, so exhausted that I could hardly move, and yet intensely grateful to be once more on firm ground. Luckily for me, the sun was still shining, and the air mild and warm for the time of year; so I crawled up into a small tree, and lying out on a branch on the sunny side, waited for my dripping fur to dry a little.
My position was far from an enviable one. Here I was, in a strange wood, far away from our winter-quarters, and separated from Walnut52, without food, friends, or a home. However, Walnut was luckily well able to look after himself, and there was no doubt about finding food of some sort, so I consoled myself with the thought that I would start as soon as possible and make my way back to the river wood.
While I sat there sunning myself I was surprised and pleased to hear a familiar gnawing53 sound in a neighbouring beech-tree, and suddenly there came into view another squirrel, a handsome fellow with an uncommonly54 light coat. I called to him, and he came across in a most friendly way.
He remarked on my dripping coat civilly, and I told him the story of my misfortunes.
‘Ugh!’ he shuddered, with a glance at the foaming[217] river, ‘I wouldn’t take a swim in that—not for a coppice full of cob-nuts!’
We chatted for a while, and my new friend was good enough to show me a nice lot of fir-cones, on which I made a much-needed meal. Then I told him that I meant to go back up-stream to the river wood, and I suppose I must have dilated55 on its attractiveness, for suddenly he proposed accompanying me.
‘Like you,’ he said sadly, ‘I have lost my wife and all my family. I don’t know what became of them. I was out one day feeding, and when I came home they were all gone. There were footsteps below the tree, so no doubt I have some ruffianly man to thank for stealing them.’
I was anxious to start at once, but the pale squirrel, who told me that his name was Crab56, begged me to share his quarters for the night and put off my departure till the morning. Oddly enough, though very tired, I was singularly unwilling57 to defer58 my start. However, he over-persuaded me. And for him the delay proved sad indeed, though fortunate enough for me.
Crab’s quarters were in a very odd place—in the hollow head of a large pollard willow59 not far from the water’s edge. I told him that I had never[218] before seen a squirrel live in a willow, and he explained that he had adopted this refuge because the ground beneath was so wet and swampy60 that it choked off human intruders. By degrees I found out that this wood was simply at the mercy of tramps and other vagabonds who camped there in numbers. Crab showed me the ashes of their fires alongside of the rough cart-track which ran through the coppice, and the places where they had cut wood to burn; evidently here was the other extreme from the Hall grounds—a country utterly61 neglected by its owners. Not a rabbit was to be seen, and Crab told me that, except for wood-pigeons and small birds, there was hardly a living thing in the wood.
‘And who are gipsies?’ I inquired, puzzled. I had never heard the word before.
Crab shuddered.
‘Brown men with traps and snares62, and black-haired women with red handkerchiefs and shining earrings63. Terrible people! Cleverer than keepers, and much more greedy. Pray you may not see any,’ he ended.
What Crab told me made me the more anxious to[219] clear out of this ill-omened spot, and next morning, as soon as the dew was a little off the grass, we started. Crab did not know much about the way we had to travel, but the river was our guide. What we both were chiefly afraid of were open meadows over which we knew that we had to pass. However, I was by now such a hardened wanderer that the risks of such a journey did not trouble me greatly.
It was an ideal autumn morning, calm, with a warm sun shining out of a blue sky, and the rain-washed air marvellously clear. Small birds chirped64 and twittered in every hedge, but I could see for myself that what Crab had told me was true. There was no game left in the whole country-side. Even rabbits were very scarce. The fields, too, were neglected. They were not half drained, so that the grass was rough, and patchy with clumps65 of reeds. The hedges were untrimmed, immensely high, and yet full of gaps. The lane running parallel with the river was scored with deep ruts which brimmed with muddy puddles66.
The tall hedges offered us excellent travelling, and we saw nobody except a couple of farm-labourers striding along through the mud, their corduroy trousers tied below their knees with[220] string, and their short clay pipes leaving a trail of strong-smelling blue smoke in their wake.
For half a mile or so we kept the hedge alongside the lane. Then the road turned abruptly67 away from the river, so we left it, crossed a meadow, and got into another hedge which seemed to lead us in the right direction. It brought us after a time into a large leasowe sloping to the river. This leasowe I remember as one of the most beautiful places which I have ever seen. The ground, dropping sharply, was thickly studded with clumps of alder68 and hazel, the tops of which had been cut at irregular interval69, while the roots had grown to enormous dimensions. Each clump was surrounded by a tangle70 of blackberry and brier, making a thick, impenetrable shelter. The leaves of these various trees were all in the full splendour of late autumn tints71, and contrasted brilliantly with the green of the grass and the myriads72 of scarlet73 hips74 and haws; while there were dotted about the leasowe a number of crab-apple trees whose scarlet leaves and red and golden fruit gave a last touch of gorgeous colouring to the whole scene.
There were a good many nuts, and we crossed leisurely75 from clump to clump, now stopping to shell a nut, now to sample the crimson76 side of a[221] crab apple. I was tasting some over-ripe blackberries, many of which contained the most delicious little white grubs, when Crab suggested that it was time to push on, as we still had a long way to go, and the shadows were almost at their shortest.
Between us and the far hedge was a widish interval of fairly open grass, bounded on the upper side by a regular thicket77 of hazel. As we crossed this open space Crab suddenly drew my attention to a very odd-looking erection which stood in a sort of bay in the hazel-brush. I had never seen anything quite like it before, and, our curiosity thoroughly78 aroused, we moved slowly and cautiously towards it.
‘’Pon my claws, I believe it’s a pheasant coop,’ I said at last.
‘There are no pheasants here,’ replied Crab. ‘Besides, it’s got no sides.’
No more it had. I saw that plainly as we approached it more closely. It appeared to be a sort of sloping roof made of pieces of rough planking, and propped79 above a hole in the ground.
Suddenly Crab stopped short. ‘What’s this?’ he exclaimed. I did not wait to explain. A delicious morsel80 of white bread lay before me, and[222] I fell upon it and gobbled it up promptly81. It was more than a year since I had tasted such a luxury.
‘Bet your back teeth it is,’ I said.
‘Why, here’s another piece! I’ll try it,’ exclaimed my friend. He did so, and approved greatly. I found a third, and presently we were racing in short dashes up the queer-looking erection to which a trail of bread led directly.
‘Crab,’ I said, after a good stare at the whole thing, ‘I don’t quite like the look of it.’
‘Why, what’s the matter?’
‘I don’t know,’ I answered. ‘All I can say is, I don’t like it. I wouldn’t go under the roof if I were you.’
‘Nonsense! Why should I chuck away the chance of a feed like this?’
Before I could object again he had jumped down and was busily engaged with the bread. My mouth watered. I could see no sign of danger. There was nothing to suggest a trap. Why should not I also enjoy the delicacies84? I was on the very verge85 of following Crab’s example; another second and I should have been alongside of him, when suddenly,[223] and without the slightest warning, thump86! down came the wooden roof, and Crab was a prisoner beneath it. At the same instant there was a crash among the hazel-bushes, a sharp yelp87, and a brown-faced, bare-legged boy, accompanied by a large mongrel, dashed down upon me.
I was off like a flash, and by a desperate effort gained the nearest tree—an ancient pollard oak—which stood quite by itself at some distance both from the hedge and the hazel-bushes. The dog bounded high against the rough trunk, but I was safely out of his reach, and, curling myself into the smallest possible compass, crouched88 in the gnarled top of the club-like head of the tree.
‘Watch him, Tige!’ shouted the boy, and the dog at once crouched silently at the foot of the tree, while his master walked to the trap. From my elevated position I could watch it all, and, what was more, see plainly an old sand-pit behind the hazel-bushes, with a tent at the bottom of it, two children playing outside, and a couple of ponies89 grazing near by.
Wrapping his hand in his cap, the boy cautiously seized hold of my poor friend. I, of course, supposed that he meant to make a captive of him, but, to my horror, the young fiend wrung90 the unhappy[224] Crab’s neck, and marched off with him back to the camp.
‘Wot you got, Zeke?’ came a gruff voice from the tent. ‘A partridge?’
‘’Tain’t no partridge. ’Tis a squir’l. ’E’ll ait fine.’
I saw the elder ruffian seize poor Crab’s dead body, and then, ‘Pity us ain’t got another,’ he said. ‘Two on ’em ’ud mek a nutty stew91.’
‘There’s another atop o’ oak—tree. Tige’s watchin’ un.’
‘Get un down!’ was the father’s order.
‘You’ll ’ave to come an’ ’elp me,’ said the boy. ‘’Tis too ’igh for me to climb.’
‘Mother, you skin this un,’ called the elder man.
A sallow-faced woman took Crab’s body from him, and then he and his son came up out of the pit towards the oak.
I gave myself up for lost. Remember, the tree was a pollard, and, having been lopped not more than four or five years before, its branches were thin and straight. They provided no cover at all. The crown from which they sprung was not more than twenty feet above the ground. Once my enemies climbed it, there was no escape; for if I ran out to the end of a branch and dropped I[225] should undoubtedly92 fall into the yawning jaws of Tige the dog. But the instinct of self-preservation is strong. Casting round me desperately, I saw a small crevice93 in the knotted trunk-top. At first it seemed far too small to hold me, but somehow or other I forced myself through, though I scored my sides as I did so. My claws met no foothold, I made a grasp at thin air, and fell flop94 half a dozen feet, landing upon a bed of soft, rotten wood. When my eyes became accustomed to the gloom, I saw that the trunk was completely hollow for a man’s height from the top. It was not quite dark, for the daylight leaked through various small crevices95, but there was no hole large enough for a man to put his hand through.
The scraping of boots on the rough outside bark jarred the whole hollow trunk. Presently I heard a voice from below: ‘Where be ’e, Zeke?’
‘Can’t see un, vather!’ cried the boy, who was by the sound on the crown of the oak.
‘That vool Tige’s let ’im go.’
‘I’ll lay ’e ain’t,’ piped the boy.
‘Where be ’e, then?’
Silence and more groping up above. I began to hope that the hole through which I had passed might escape the sharp eyes of the boy.
[226]
No such luck.
‘’E’s down inside, vather. ’Ere be th’ ’ole.’
‘Put thy ’and down an’ pull un out.’
The light was cut off from above.
‘Her’s all ’ollow inside,’ cried the boy. ‘I can’t reach un.’
‘Cut a stick an’ put un through.’
A pause, and presently a long bough came poking96 down, which I easily avoided. But—worse luck!—the boy’s quick ears heard me moving.
‘He’s here, vather. I heard un. Tell ee what. Us’ll smoke un out.’
Memory flashed back to the poachers and the suffocated pheasants. Now, indeed, I was lost. In helpless terror I heard them piling leaves and twigs97 below the tree, and then the click of a striking match.
Blue fumes98 began to eddy99 through a knot-hole, but the bed of rotten wood below me was so thick and damp that they passed over my head and I was still able to breathe.
I heard the man swearing, and then he called to his boy:
‘Zeke, fetch t’ chopper. Us ’ll have to cut un out.’
Soon there came a pounding on the outside of[227] the trunk which reverberated100 through the hollow, jarring me horribly. The outer crust was of no great thickness, and could not resist their blows for very long.
Rotten wood, bits of rubbish of all kinds began to rain down upon me through the smoke which still hung about the hollow interior of the tree. Thinking any fate better than dying like a rat in a trap, I climbed back up the wall of my refuge in an attempt to reach the knot-hole again. Half suffocated and completely dazed, I did manage to struggle up to it, got my paws on either side and tried to force my way through. Alas101! A splinter broke away from the rough wood at the edge of the hole, and pinned me helplessly. I could get neither forward nor back.
Fate was too strong for me. I gave up all hope, and ceased to struggle. In another minute at most the boy would find me, and I should share poor Crab’s fate. I heard a crash as the chopper broke through the bark below, and Zeke’s voice:
‘Vather, ’e be up top again.’
Then it seemed to me that a miracle happened. Instead of the old fellow’s voice, the crisp, curt102 tones that cut the air were those of my one-time master, Jack103.
[228]
‘Hi, you fellows, what are you about?’
Down dropped Zeke. There followed a crash among the bushes. A short interval. Would Jack find me? I struggled again furiously, but in vain. The splinter held me tight, and the only result of my efforts was exquisite104 pain.
‘I wonder what those gipsy chaps were after?’ came Jack’s voice. ‘I’d better have a look.’
Fresh sounds of scrambling, and all of a sudden my master’s face over the edge of the gnarled oak crown.
‘Why, it’s a squirrel!’
Summoning all my remaining energies I gave a pitiful choked squeak105, a feeble attempt at the cry I used to call him with in the long-gone days at the Hall.
‘What! No, it can’t be! It’s absurd! And yet’—Jack’s voice rose to a shout—‘by Jove, it is Nipper!’ I felt his hand round me, his touch as gentle as ever. ‘You poor little chap, how did you come here? And stuck tight, too! Never mind, poor old Nipper boy. I’ll get you out all right. Just wait a jiffy.’
Out came his knife, and with the utmost gentleness he cut the wood away all round. In another minute I was free, and safe in his hand.
[229]
‘What, hurt, old chap? I must get it out.’ With wonderful tenderness and deftness106 he pulled out the sharp splinter. ‘There, it’s not much. Only a skin wound. How in the name of all that’s wonderful, did you come here, half a county away from the Hall?’
As he spoke107 he slipped me into the pocket of his Norfolk jacket and dropped quickly out of the tree.
When he took me out again we were in the terraced garden of the house which I had seen by the river. Jack ran up the drive and burst into the house, shouting at the top of his voice:
‘Harry, where are you?’
Next minute out ran his brother.
If ever I longed to be able to talk man-talk, then was the time! How astonished they all were, for Mabel and Mrs. Fortescue soon joined the boys, and were full of the same amazement at what they considered my strange and mysterious reappearance. I always wonder if they knew how much stranger I thought it at the time.
And yet it was simple enough. The house belonged to Mrs. Fortescue’s brother, a wealthy bachelor whose hobby it was to travel all over the world. It was he who had brought Lops, the flying squirrel, home from Mexico, and Joey, the[230] cockatoo, from West Africa. He had lent the Fortescues his house, and there they were living, and there Jack had joined them for one of his brief holidays.
As my old master took me up to his room that night, ‘Old chap,’ he said, ‘you and I are not going to part any more, even if I have to take you back to London town.’
No more we have. He did take me back to London, but it was only for a few weeks. For the Fortescues came into some money unexpectedly.
That is two years ago. Now we are back at the dear old Hall. The new tenant108 with his band-box son, his ginger-whiskered keeper, his tame pheasants and his barbed wire, are things of the evil past. As for me, I live in honoured liberty in the Hall grounds. Last year I married again, and I have three fine sons who are all nearly as fond of Jack and his family as their father. Visitors come from a distance to see Jack’s ‘furry family,’ as they call us. We run in a body at his approach down from the elm-trees to smother109 him with caresses110.
Indeed, he deserves our love. Would that all other humans were as good to squirrels as he is.
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1
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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domed
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| adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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4
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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suffocated
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| （使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气 | |
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twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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33
horrifying
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| a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的 | |
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34
promontories
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| n.岬，隆起，海角( promontory的名词复数 ) | |
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35
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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36
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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37
puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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38
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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39
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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40
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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41
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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42
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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43
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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44
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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45
weir
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| n.堰堤，拦河坝 | |
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46
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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47
foamed
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| 泡沫的 | |
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48
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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49
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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50
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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51
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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52
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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53
gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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54
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
crab
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| n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气 | |
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57
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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58
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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59
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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60
swampy
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| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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62
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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chirped
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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66
puddles
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| n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 ) | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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71
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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83
crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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84
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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85
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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86
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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87
yelp
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| vi.狗吠 | |
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88
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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93
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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94
flop
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| n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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96
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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97
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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98
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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99
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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100
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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101
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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102
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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103
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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104
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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105
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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106
deftness
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107
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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108
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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109
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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110
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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