XII CHATTERER FRIGHTENS SAMMY JAY

 

Chatterer the Red Squirrel¹ was mightily² tickled³ with himself because he had found a way of getting into Farmer Brown's corn-crib, where was stored so much beautiful yellow corn that it seemed to him that there was enough for all the Squirrels⁴ in the world.

 

The more some people have, the more they want. It is the very worst kind of selfishness and is called greediness. Chatterer had found a way to get all the corn he wanted without working for it, and there was enough to feed him as long as he lived, though he should live to be a hundred years old. To be sure, it wasn't his; it was Farmer Brown's. But Chatterer looked on Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's boy as his enemies, and he could see nothing wrong in taking things from his enemies. Perhaps he didn't want to see anything wrong. All his life he had stolen from his neighbors. That is one reason they dislike him so. Anyway, if ever a little voice down inside tried to tell him that he was doing wrong, Chatterer didn't listen to it. Perhaps, after a while, the little voice grew tired and didn't try any more.

 

After Chatterer had made a few successful trips to the corn-crib, he began to look upon it as his own. He would sometimes hide in the old stone wall, where he could watch Farmer Brown's boy open the door of the corn-crib and fill a basket with yellow ears to feed to the hens and the pigs and the horses. At such times Chatterer would work himself into a great rage, as if Farmer Brown's boy were stealing from him. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he would go back to the Old Orchard⁶ and scold for an hour. But what made him still angrier was to see Sammy Jay help himself to a few grains of corn from between the cracks in the walls of the corn-crib. He forgot how Sammy had first told him about the corn-crib, and how Sammy had warned him about Shadow the Weasel. That is the trouble with greed⁵: it forgets everything but the desire to have and to keep others from having. Chatterer didn't say anything to Sammy Jay, because he knew it would be of no use. Besides, if he did, Sammy might meet him over in the corn-crib some day and make such a fuss⁷ that Farmer Brown's boy would find him.

 

Finally Chatterer thought of a plan and chuckled⁹ wickedly. The next morning he was over in the corn-crib bright and early. This time he stayed there until it was time for Sammy Jay to arrive. Peeping out of the hole by which he came and went, he saw Sammy come flying from the Old Orchard. Sammy made no noise, for you see Sammy meant to steal, too. Presently Sammy found a crack against which an ear of corn lay very close. He began to peck¹⁰ at it and pick out the grains. Chatterer stole over to it, taking the greatest care not to make a sound. Presently Sammy's black bill came poking¹¹ through the crack. Chatterer seized it and held on.

 

Poor Sammy Jay! He was terribly frightened. He thought that it was some kind of a trap. He beat his wings and tried to scream but couldn't, because he couldn't open his mouth. Then Chatterer let go so suddenly that Sammy almost fell to the ground before he could catch his balance. He didn't wait to see what had caught him. He started for the Green Forest as fast as his wings could take him, and as he went he screamed with fright and anger. Chatterer chuckled, and his chuckle⁸ was a very wicked sounding chuckle.

 

"I guess," said Chatterer, "that Sammy Jay will leave my corn alone after this."

 

1 squirrel   

n.松鼠，松鼠的毛皮；vt.贮藏以备用

参考例句：

• The squirrel makes a store of nuts for the winter.松鼠贮藏坚果以备过冬。
• A squirrel hoards nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬贮藏坚果。

2 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

3 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

4 squirrels   

n.松鼠( squirrel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Squirrels are arboreal creatures. 松鼠是栖于树上的动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Red squirrels are now very rare in Britain. 红色松鼠在英国已十分罕见了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 greed   

n.贪食，贪心，贪婪

参考例句：

• His greed knows no limits.他的贪心永无止境。
• Greed was his only motive for stealing.贪婪是他盗窃的唯一动机。

6 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

7 fuss   

n.过分关心，过分体贴，大惊小怪，小题大作

参考例句：

• My mother makes a fuss of me every time I come home.我每次回家，母亲总对我体贴备至。
• Stop all this fuss and do your homework.别大惊小怪了，去做你的家庭作业吧。

8 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

9 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

10 peck   

v.啄，啄食；n.啄痕，啄食，（口）轻吻；配克，（口）大量

参考例句：

• The cock gave me a peck.那只公鸡啄了我一下。
• She gave him a light peck of farewell.她给了他一个匆匆的吻道别。

11 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。