To these hills, in the late winter of a year long ago, there came a hare in search of a spot to which she might safely commit her young. She was hard to satisfy, rejecting for this reason or for that a score of harbourages that competed for her favour. One night she all but decided10 on a bramble-patch near the top of Caer Bran; the next she fancied first a heathery knoll11 on Bartinney, then an abandoned mine-heap on Sancreed Beacon12; and at the last moment rejected both for the western slope of Chapel13 Carn Brea, partly on account of its uninterrupted outlook, but more because it was less overrun than the sister hills by the predatory creatures that infested14 the countryside. All through the month of March she had not seen a polecat or even a stoat upon the hillside; only once had she detected on it the trail of an enemy; so with a feeling of security the timorous15 mother entrusted16 her young to its keeping, laying them in a tussock of coarse grass near a ruined chantry.
They were pretty little things with wide-open eyes, distinguishable by only the white star in the forehead of the male and the greater restlessness that he displayed. The tiny fellow, as if eager to explore the world into which he had just been born, was all agog17 to be out and about in the afterglow, and had not his mother checked him till the impulse passed, he would have left the form and perhaps lost himself amongst the furze. He constantly renewed his struggles to have his way; but the moment he ceased, she removed the restraining pad and caressed18 him till, like his sister, he became drowsy19 and at length fell asleep.
When the stars shone bright, the hare rose, stretched her stately limbs, covered the little sleepers20 with the grass-blades, gathered herself for a spring, and leapt to an outcropping rock. On landing she leapt again and again and again, in order to prevent any beast of prey21 from following her tracks and discovering the form. After taking these precautions she made for the crest22 of the hill, and standing23 on the ruin, snuffed the wind and scrutinised the waste. Presently, assured that no enemy threatened, she set out for the feeding-ground. At the foot of the long slope she repeated her ruse24 of the leaps, and passed through a hole in the wall that separated the wild from the farm land, to which she had been attracted by the tender herbage of the young wheat.
Near midnight the leverets awoke and found her gone; yet in their loneliness they uttered neither plaint nor call, nor, strange to say, attempted to leave the form, but nestled close hour after hour awaiting her return. They gave no heed25 to the wind, for its sighing meant nothing to them; but at early dawn, though no sound broke the silence, the cocked ears first of one, then of the other, told they were all expectation for some signal. Soon there came the faint, low call which instinct whispered was their mother’s, followed by the soft beat of the pads, growing more and more distinct till with a last bound the hare cleared the wide space between the rock and the form, and at once gave herself to the hungry, excited mites26. Whilst she suckled them, a lark27 rose and greeted the day with notes so rapturous as to drown the crowings of the cocks in the homesteads dotting the plain. The leverets fed and fed till they were satisfied, then settled down to rest against their mother’s side, where presently the sun, risen above Caer Bran, discovered them, and threw a bright splash of warm light across their russet coats.
It was a lovely April morning. Towards noon a big black cloud came up out of the west bringing needed rain, whilst a rainbow arched land and sea; and then the first call of the cuckoo rang out through the stillness. Chapel Carn Brea faintly echoed “Cuckoo! Cuckoo!” The joyous28 notes brought the housewife to the door, checked the frolics of the wondering lambs, made the field-mice sit up and listen and the leverets prick29 their waking ears. The far-flung message that told of kindly30 weather and plenty for man and beast cheered every living thing that heard it: it cheered even the hare as she sat and watched over her young, full of misgivings31 for their safety. Their helplessness, still more her own powerlessness to defend them against enemies, stirred her deepest feelings, and made her mothering instinct so much stronger than that of the vixen laid up with cubs32 in the croft beyond the wheatfield. She was haunted by the dread33 of being bereft34 of them; and incapable35 of defence though she was, her fears kept her ever alert and vigilant36. She never slept. Even when she drowsed her open, wakeful eyes saw all that passed within their range—the farmer faring to his work and hastening to his meals, the cows driven to and from the fields, the pigs wandering up and down the lane, the donkey browsing37 on the furzy waste by the common with the large pool, and the geese who, towards sunset, waddled38 from it to the farmyard gate cackling to be penned, as if apprehensive40 of being carried off by the hill-foxes that came and sniffed41 at their door when man was abed. She noted42 too the ravens43 as they winged by on their way to the cliffs, and the kites as they soared high overhead; she watched with no little concern the buzzard whose shadow passed over her as he searched the hillside before alighting on the broken chancel of the ruin. His terrifying cat-like mew caused the leverets to stir beneath her, but she herself remained as motionless as the furze; indeed, till the sun had set, she never moved for fear of prying44 eyes.
Four days passed without disquieting45 incident, but on the fifth the vixen paid a visit to the hill and threw the hare into a fever of anxiety. The daring marauder came at high noon, during the farmer’s dinner-hour, when the land is forsaken47 and the peace of the waste spreads to the fields, enticing48 the nocturnal prowler to venture forth50 in broad daylight in search of food. Thus lured51, the vixen, yielding to the importunities of her hungry cubs, stole from her earth and, keeping to the overgrown ditches, gained the boundary wall without exposing herself to view. But the instant her mask showed above the coping-stone the hare espied52 her, and from that moment followed every movement. She thought that the fox knew of her presence and was in search of her, as well as she might, for the hill harboured no prey save herself and her young, at least none worth the coming for. So while the vixen searched the lower slopes the hare watched with eyes starting from her head, anxious to learn whether the murderous creature would hit the line she had left at early dawn. Once she crossed it without checking; she flashed over it again near the Giant’s Bowl, and then the hare knew that the trail would not betray her; the hot sun had evaporated every particle of what little scent53 she had left.[1] The hunter moved at an unusually quick pace, as if she had set herself the task of examining the whole hillside during the short time that man remained within doors. Now she threaded the bushes, now she leapt them; once she was lost to view in a patch of tall furze gorgeous with blossom, but in a few seconds she reappeared at the far end to continue the quest in the open. At last near the black shadow cast by a boulder54 she stopped, assumed a listening attitude, then plunged55 her long nose into a bush after a mouse, but apparently56 without getting it, for she did not lick her chops. Nothing disconcerted, however, on she went again, ranging to and fro without a pause till, half-way up the slope, she stood suddenly still and looked towards the homestead as if all at once alive to the risk she was running. A glance satisfied her that man was still indoors, and again she resumed the quest, if possible with greater keenness than before. Every stride now was taking her dangerously nearer and nearer to the hare, but whilst she was yet some five or six rods below the form a sheep-dog barked, and in an instant she was transformed from a lithe57 hunter into a craven creature. Crouching58, she fixed59 her gaze on the dog expressing his delight at the reappearance of his master, who stood in shirt-sleeves at the open door. “Down, Shep.” At the sound of the man’s voice the vixen sank into the herbage as if turned to lead, and remained there motionless, save in heaving flank and lolling tongue. Presently the farmer withdrew; the vixen slunk down the hill, carefully avoiding the exposed places, climbed the wall, and vanished from sight.
Much as the hare was relieved by this retreat, she could not regain60 her peace of mind; for the visit left her with the fear that the creature would return at nightfall and renew the search, a thought which urged her to remove the leverets at dusk. But where? The nearest spot that commended itself to her was at the foot of Bartinney, about a mile distant; and the way thither61 led across the trails of fox and badger6, who might surprise her with her burden, and have her at their mercy. Her position was a very difficult one; to stay was perilous62, to shift was no less so. Uncertain what to do for the best, she remained irresolute63 till the stars began to peep; then, hoping against hope that the fox might not come after all, she decided to remain. In any case she must go and feed, yet setting-out time came and went whilst the hare kept to the form. She could not tear herself away from her young with this danger hanging over them. A sickle64 moon lit hill and plain and threw into relief the coping-stone of the wall on which the eyes of the anxious mother were fixed. Against the granite65 she could not fail to see the dark form of her enemy. The better to observe, the hare raised herself on her hind66 legs; and the leverets, thinking she was going to play with them, stood up too, resting their forefeet against her sides; but at a whisper from their mother they sank down again into a sitting posture67. The night wore on, however, without sign of the fox, and at length the hare, feeling somewhat reassured68, set out for the nearest feeding-ground. There she browsed69 until midnight, when apprehension70 for her young drove her back to the hill. Although she found all well, she stayed close by and fed on the rough herbage near the summit. When she returned to the form her fears had nearly subsided71; by dusk they no longer haunted her, and in a day or two she dismissed the fox from her mind.
She thought that her enemy, satisfied that the hill was bare of prey, would not trouble her again, so that it came as a surprise when, a few mornings later, she espied a vixen at the foot of the slope, endeavouring to solve the puzzle of the scent the hare had left on her way to the form less than an hour before. It was strange how little the sight perturbed72 her, but when unaffected by her extreme anxiety for the leverets she knew from experience there was no real need for fear. Never once had she known a fox to succeed in tracing her from foiled ground, though in the past she had known many who had tried as the vixen was now trying. There near the wall the creature persisted in the almost hopeless task, following now this way, now that along the many lines of scent to discover the final course taken by the hare after her last leap. Over and over again she seemed on the point of giving it up: the network of trails maddened and bewildered her; and her irritation73 made her snap viciously at the long bramble spray in which her brush got entangled74. Presently, in her despair, she made a cast at random75; as luck would have it, she hit the true line. At once she was all alive; her brush, which had hung lifeless, now wagged furiously, and at the sight of her enemy’s success the hare grew uneasy. Slowly, very slowly, the vixen advanced along the trail as if fearful of losing what had cost her so much trouble to find. Anon she came to the place above the clump76 of blossoming furze where since the midday visit the hare had woven another maze77 of tracks before coming to the leaping-place by the form. On reaching it the vixen tried to follow the trail as it had been laid, but the criss-crossing it had received so confused her that presently she lost patience and made a short cast beyond. Here she happened on a part of the trail where the hare had returned on her foil, and on coming to the spot near the ruin where it ended she actually raised her mask as if she believed the hare had taken wing and might be seen in mid-air. For a moment she seemed to despair again; but the hunger caused by the night’s bad hunting and the thought of her five ravenous78 cubs goaded79 her on; she shook the dew from her coat and made another cast. This took her within a dozen yards of the spot where mother and young squatted80 flat on the ground. It seemed that the vixen must scent them; had there been a breath of wind she could hardly have failed; but the air was still; not a spray or blade moved save those disturbed by the vixen as she moved hither and thither with ears widespread to catch the slightest sound. A stifled81 cry, the faintest rustle82 in that silence must have betrayed them; through the trying, critical seconds, however, they never moved, they scarcely breathed.
The vixen seemed loath83 to leave the spot; but at length she quitted it for the summit, where she searched the fallen stones and scaled the crumbled84 walls, her form clearly outlined against the sky now tinted86 with orange by the coming day. On the stone lintel she presently came to a stand, arrested by the sight of the sun which peeped above the eastern hills and warned her that it was time to be seeking her earth. Reluctant as she was to obey, she dropped to the ground and made her way slowly down the shadowed slope. Half-way in the descent she suddenly turned her mask and scrutinised the ground in the hope of catching87 the hare with head raised watching her retreat; but bush, rock, and frond88 alone met her roving eyes. Near the Giant’s Bowl she again looked back, and by the expression on her face, now vindictive89 rather than perplexed90, seemed to say: “Wily one, you’ve beaten me this dawn, but I’ll lick my chops over you yet, both you and your tender young ones.” Then, the rumble85 of wheels urging her, she hurried away, her beautiful coat all aripple with the play of her lissom91 limbs. As soon as she had crossed the wall, the hare, who had observed her from behind the blades, resumed the suckling of her frightened young, fondling them as she had never done before.
It had been a narrow escape, and the hare was now all impatience92 to forsake46 the hill. But that could not be before nightfall, so she and the leverets spent the long day unnerved by the rank scent left by the fox on the herbage. The slow sun at last sank beneath the sea. At once the hare took the doe leveret in her mouth and carried it along the southern flank of the chain for more than a mile to the foot of Bartinney, where she laid it in a patch of bracken bordering a little green. The next moment she was on her way back at her best pace, as though she dreaded93 that the vixen might forestall94 her. But no enemy was to be seen: the jack95 was as she had left him. Seizing him by the skin of the neck she bore him rapidly along despite his kicking, crouching whilst two stoats passed, dropping him thrice to rest herself, and finally depositing him in a clump of rushes by a rill some score yards from his sister. It was not without a reason that she laid them on opposite sides of the green, for by thus separating them she hoped that at least one might escape detection in the event of a visit from an enemy.
On collecting himself after his strange experience, the jack sat and listened to the music of the water, whilst through an opening in the rushes his eyes scanned the green, whose close velvety96 sward seemed to cry aloud to be gambolled97 on. There, so the country people aver98, the fairies forgather to hold high revel99 on the inviting100 turf, tripping to the tinkling101 of the falls, in the dark-green ring lighted by innumerable glow-worms. No little folk appeared that night, however; nothing in fact came near until the hare returned to attend to her young, before vanishing like the wraith102 she seemed and ensconcing herself in some brambles on the lip of the green.
She had not been there long when a magpie103 left his resting-place in the hawthorn104 overhanging the turf and stood preening105 his feathers on the topmost spray. Presently, his quick eyes noted the marks left by the hare’s pads on the dewy surface, and examined them searchingly as if to learn the identity of the trespasser106. He imagined that a badger or a fox had made them; the thought that a hare—he had only seen one—had crossed the green never entered his head, much less that a family of hares was at that moment lying hidden around it. The inquisitive107 bird was soon joined by his mate, and after a little chatter108 he flew away with her towards a homestead from which the smoke was just beginning to rise. They alighted on the elder-tree springing from the wall of the rickyard, the white of their plumage very conspicuous109 in the bright level rays which lit them up and fired the dormer-window of the thatched roof beyond. By and by they dropped into the yard, where amongst the straw they found an egg. They broke and ate it. Then the hen-bird came flying back in great haste to the nest, as if she feared her precious clutch might be chilled and become addled39. Later the cock-bird returned to tell her what was happening in the farmyard, and at once flew back to the elder. He was back again in half an hour: indeed he kept flying to and fro until sundown. The hare rejoiced in the restlessness of this arch-mobber of vermin: it gave her a sense of security such as she had not felt since the birth of her young. For her the magpie was an untiring patrol, and further, one gifted with a tongue that would make the boldest fox shrink from the insults it was capable of raining on him. Her fears fled in the presence of this sentinel of the wild, so that for a few minutes during the afternoon she actually fell asleep. “If only there were some night-bird to watch over us,” she thought while she sat awaiting dusk. And as soon as darkness fell an owl49 began hooting110. At once, as if she took it for a signal, she stole from the form to attend to her young.
Her visit was most welcome to the jack, who was very sorry when she withdrew. He listened to her retreating steps, and as they died away tried to combat the feeling of loneliness that beset111 him. In the weary watch that followed he sorely missed the companion of his waking hours. He felt forlorn without her soft, warm side to nestle against; but in a night or two he found something to occupy him. He took to grooming112 himself, and off and on spent hours brushing his ears and licking his coat, especially the snow-white fur on his belly113, which had looked so ghostly as his mother bore him through the dusk. He made himself as clean as a pink, and when the feeling of isolation114 wore off, as it soon did, he felt as happy as a strong, healthy leveret could feel. Soon, however, his muscles began to ache for want of exercise: they kept urging him to throw aside his fears and break his narrow bounds; but night after night he resisted the impulse. At last inaction became unendurable. Regardless of his mother’s monitions and the whispers of instinct, he leapt the rill and raced about the moonlit green like a thing possessed115.
Instantly he was joined by his sister, and never perhaps did two leverets enjoy their stolen freedom more. They bounded over each other’s back; they leapt the rock by the thorn, clearing it by a good foot; they galloped116 round and round like performers in a circus. Tiring of this, they rose on their hind legs and sparred with their pads, moving about the fairy ring and patting each other’s face like boxers117. But whilst they were thus engaged the snapping of a brier disturbed the night and sent them to their seats. With wildly beating hearts they sat till the clumsy badger who had trodden on the spray passed out of hearing; then out they came again and renewed their frolics, which lasted without further interruption till the moon began to pale.
Their mother found them in their seats looking as innocent as could be; but she knew of their escapade from the scent on the green and, recognising in this bid for liberty a token that the time was come for leading them out, she resolved to devote herself to this duty without further delay. So the following night, instead of returning at early dawn, she hurried back in the small hours and surprised the culprits, not, as she expected, in the midst of their games, but nibbling118 the grass of the green. At the sight of their mother the guilty creatures scurried119 to their forms, only to bound out at her summons and follow frisking at her heels as she led past the spring to the hill. She breasted the slope at a slow canter, but soon quickened her steps. Half-way up she began doubling, the leverets imitating her twists and turns in a surprising way and with astonishing exactness. Towards daybreak, however, they flagged, and by the time they got back to the green they were so tired that they were content to remain in the form till the hour for exercise came round again.
The hare returned nightly at almost the same moment, and went farther and farther afield as their strength grew, without encountering even in these extended excursions any enemy more formidable than an old badger, who never dreamt of pursuit. It is true that he looked hard at them, but only because of his surprise at seeing survivors120 of a race which he thought extinct. The instant he satisfied himself they really were hares, he resumed his grunting121 and crossed the ridge122 on the way to his earth.
At the first faint blush in the east the hares sped towards the pool that fills the hollow between Bartinney and Chapel Carn Brea. There near the edge of the water the leverets confused their trails and chose their seats. This they did under the eyes of their mother, who watched interestedly from the slope where she lay amongst the heather. As it proved, no precautions were necessary, for no creature came near; indeed, nothing disturbed the drowsy stillness till late in the day, when a breeze sprang up that sent the water in tiny wavelets against the rushy shore. This immunity123 from molestation124 was the result of the hare’s knowledge of the ways of her enemies, of their retreats, and especially of the times of their coming and going. At every outing they crossed the foul125 line left by some marauder on its way to the lowland, but—those of the badger excepted—never a homing trail; for the hares were settled in their forms before fox, polecat, and stoat came slinking back to their lairs126.
But not even the hare, with cunning quickened by the dependence127 of her young, could provide against every contingency128. On the fourth day of their stay by the pool, when they were back in their seats around the green, they were discovered and attacked by a bloodthirsty little creature that was abroad foraging129 in the very middle of the morning. The hare’s suspicions were first aroused by the angry cries of some small birds in the corner of the nearest field. Soon the demonstration130 grew more and more distinct, showing that the birds were pursuing the object of their displeasure in the direction of the green. From the first the noise attracted the attention of the magpie. Immediately he saw the birds he cocked his head, now this way now that, as if beholding131 the most interesting sight of his life. And a strange sight it certainly was; for, accompanied by linnets and finches that fluttered over it, there came with the quick movement of its kind, a weasel, seemingly quite indifferent to the mobbing it received. As soon as it appeared the hare quivered in every limb; but there was no shiver of fear, for when presently the little miscreant132 scented133 the jack and stood on its hind legs screaming, to paralyse him with terror, she bounded across the green, and with a stroke of a forepad sent the animal flying into the water. Undaunted, and enraged134 at this treatment, the weasel now confronted the hare herself, only to be knocked over, trampled135 on, and spurned136 to the middle of the green, where it lay on its back kicking as though its last hour was come. Whereupon the magpie, who, considering the weasel too insignificant137 for his intervention138, had hitherto held its tongue, chattered139 loudly as if to applaud the deed; whilst the hare, whose blood was up, remained within a yard of the weasel, ready to renew the battle should it again show fight. Braver still, the linnet whose eggs the weasel had been sucking, as was evident from the stain on its muzzle140, stood within a few inches and upbraided141 it for the wrong done her, and, frail142 thing though she was, scarcely deigned143 to move when shortly it regained144 its feet and made for the hill. It was not allowed to sneak145 away unattended; birds and hare—strange allies—accompanied the discomfited146 little wretch147 past the spring to the heather, where it wormed its way amongst the stems and hid itself from view. Then the linnets and finches, having avenged148 their friend, flew back to their thickets149; and the hare, crouching low as if frightened now by her own shadow, stole to her form. The magpie still perched on the spray from which he had witnessed the scene. The arch-rogue had thoroughly150 enjoyed every phase of it, and now that it was over he was all alive, quizzing the spots where the hare and the leverets lay, as if trying to get a view of them amidst the cover. At last he too flew away; then no trace remained of the participators in the drama but a tiny feather that lay where the linnet had stood.
The visit of the weasel had its consequences, for the hare, fearing that the creature would return when she was away foraging, resolved to take the leverets with her at setting-out time, and after she had regained her composure she sat planning the round she would lead them.
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1
intrudes
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的第三人称单数 )；把…强加于 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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kennel
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| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
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badgers
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| n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊 | |
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badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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outlawed
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| 宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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timorous
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| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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agog
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| adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地 | |
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caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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mites
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| n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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32
cubs
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| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
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33
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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34
bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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35
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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36
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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37
browsing
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| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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38
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
addled
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| adj.（头脑）糊涂的，愚蠢的；（指蛋类）变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质 | |
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40
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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41
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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42
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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43
ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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44
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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45
disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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46
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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47
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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48
enticing
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| adj.迷人的；诱人的 | |
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49
owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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50
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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51
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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52
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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54
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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55
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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56
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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57
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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58
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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59
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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60
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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61
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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62
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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63
irresolute
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| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
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64
sickle
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| n.镰刀 | |
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65
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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66
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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67
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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68
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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69
browsed
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| v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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70
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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71
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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72
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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74
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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76
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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77
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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78
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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79
goaded
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| v.刺激( goad的过去式和过去分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
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80
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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81
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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82
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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83
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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84
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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85
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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86
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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87
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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88
frond
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| n.棕榈类植物的叶子 | |
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89
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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90
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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91
lissom
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| adj.柔软的，轻快而优雅的 | |
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92
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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93
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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94
forestall
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| vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止 | |
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95
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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96
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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97
gambolled
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| v.蹦跳，跳跃，嬉戏( gambol的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
aver
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| v.极力声明；断言；确证 | |
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99
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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100
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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101
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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102
wraith
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| n.幽灵；骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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103
magpie
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| n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者 | |
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104
hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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105
preening
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| v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的现在分词 ) | |
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106
trespasser
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| n.侵犯者；违反者 | |
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107
inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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108
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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109
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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110
hooting
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
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111
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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112
grooming
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| n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发 | |
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113
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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114
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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115
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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116
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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117
boxers
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| n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗 | |
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118
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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119
scurried
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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120
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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121
grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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122
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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123
immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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124
molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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125
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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126
lairs
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| n.（野兽的）巢穴，窝( lair的名词复数 )；（人的）藏身处 | |
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127
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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128
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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129
foraging
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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130
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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131
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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132
miscreant
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| n.恶棍 | |
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133
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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134
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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135
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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136
spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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137
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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138
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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139
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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140
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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141
upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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142
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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143
deigned
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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145
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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146
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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147
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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148
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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149
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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150
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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