XX CHATTERER REMEMBERS SOMETHING

 

Chatterer was disgusted with himself, with all his neighbors, and with the world in general, which is to say that Chatterer was very much put out about something. There was no doubt about it. He couldn't see anything cheerful in the sunshine nor anything pleasant in the blue, blue sky, and when any one fails to see cheerfulness in the sunshine or to find something pleasant in the blue, blue sky, there is something wrong in his own heart. That was the trouble with Chatterer. There was a great deal wrong in his heart.

 

In the first place, it was filled with anger, and anger, you know, will take all the joy and pleasantness out of anything. And then Chatterer was mortified¹. He was both angry and mortified because Sammy Jay had proved to have smarter wits than he had. So, as soon as he could do so without being seen, he slipped into his new home in the old house of Drummer the Woodpecker in an apple-tree in the Old Orchard², and there he sulked for the rest of the day. You see, Sammy Jay had made him go over to Farmer Brown's corn-crib and get him some corn right in broad daylight, and he had very narrowly escaped being seen by Farmer Brown's boy.

 

"If only I hadn't promised to get him corn whenever he asks me to!" he said over and over to himself, as he sulked in his home in the apple-tree. "If only I hadn't! And yet I couldn't help myself—I just had to. Now whenever he feels like it, he'll make me do as he did to-day and perhaps I won't always be so lucky. Oh, dear; oh, dear; I've got myself into a dreadful mess, and I've just got to think of some way out of it."

 

So all the rest of the day he thought and thought, and the more he thought the more unhappy he grew. It wasn't until just as he was going out for a breath of air before going to bed for the night that the great idea came to him.

 

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he muttered, meaning himself. "Why didn't I remember it before? You won't see me going over to that corn-crib again, Mr. Jay! I'll get you the corn if I must, but you won't have the fun of laughing at me trying to dodge³ Black Pussy⁴ and Farmer Brown's boy. You're smart, Mr. Jay! You're smart, but you've got to get up early in the morning to play such a trick on Chatterer twice."

 

Right away he felt so much better in his mind that he had a brisk run along the old stone wall and then turned in for a good night's sleep. The next day Sammy Jay appeared in the middle of the forenoon and demanded more corn. Chatterer pretended that he didn't dare go for it, but when Sammy insisted that he must, he suddenly started for—where do you think? Why, for that store-house of his in the hollow rail at the edge of the cornfield. It was a long way to go, but that was better than running the risk of being seen by Farmer Brown's boy. It took him some time, but at last he was back with his cheeks stuffed with corn. Sammy Jay pretended to be cross because he had been kept waiting so long and grumbled⁵ all the time he was eating. He pretended to think that the corn was not as good as that from Farmer Brown's corn-crib and mumbled⁶ something about telling Shadow the Weasel if Chatterer didn't get him some corn from the crib the next day.

 

"You can't!" cried Chatterer in triumph. "You promised not to tell Shadow if I kept my promise and got you corn whenever you asked for it; but I didn't say where I would get it," and he chuckled⁸ to think that he had been smarter than Sammy Jay.

 

Sammy ate every grain and then went off, but as he went, Chatterer thought he heard something very like a chuckle⁷. It made him thoughtful and a little uneasy, but he couldn't think of any way Sammy could get the best of him now, so he soon forgot it, and all the rest of the day he thought of how lucky it was that he had remembered that store-house in the hollow rail.

 

1 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

4 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

5 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

6 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

7 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。

8 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。