MR. DOG’S STORY

Mr. Dog cleared his throat and then he said: “I have always had the reputation of being a good hunter, especially when coons were in season, but this story which I am about to tell will show that I had the hardest time a dog ever had getting a coon.

 

“One moonlight night the master came out of the house and whistled to me; he had his gun over his shoulder and I knew pretty well what was going to happen; we were going coon-hunting.

 

“So I wagged¹ my tail and gave two or three sharp barks because I knew I could not bark again until I had something to bark about.

 

“Oh, it was a beautiful night, and just as we got out in the road a little way from the barn I saw something moving. I wasn’t sure at first whether it was a fox or a coon, both of them being equally fond of visiting the poultry-yard; but I kept very still and pretty soon I saw him right in the full moonlight. It was as fat a coon as I ever saw, and he didn’t see me and I made a run for him.

 

“Well, you may have seen a coon run, my friends, but believe me when I tell you that you never saw one run as this one did. He gave a bound and away he went, and I went after him, and Mr. Man followed, for I was barking now, for there was reason for it.

 

“Well, that coon got to the tree first, and up he went, for I saw him, and I can tell you I was some tickled², for I knew that the master would be pleased enough when he saw the size of that coon.

 

“After he got into the tree I stood under it and looked up and barked with all my might, and Mr. Man was coming a-running as fast as he could in the distance.

 

“But while I saw that coon go up the tree as plainly as I ever saw anything, I couldn’t see hide nor hair of him when I looked up.

 

[Pg 183]

 

“Mr. Man came up to me after a while and said, ‘Where is he, Rover?’

 

“I kept looking up in the tree and barking to keep up my courage, though I could see nothing but tree.

 

“‘You are fooled, old fellow,’ said the master; ‘he got away from you. Go after him, old boy.’

 

“But I knew I wasn’t fooled, though for the life of me I could not see that coon.

 

“I kept on barking and jumping about and the master took another look, but he did not see that coon and pretty soon he got tired.

 

“‘You are a fake³, Rover,’ he said to me. ‘I am going home. We will try it another night and see if you can see straight.’ And off he went.

 

“But I didn’t leave that tree. I knew that coon couldn’t have jumped out of the tree and I also knew he went up the tree, so I was sure he was in the tree right then.

 

“I barked louder than ever, and though the master whistled and called, I still barked and jumped about.

 

“Suddenly I thought if I kept very still a minute that coon might show his head, so I stepped close to the tree and stood in the[Pg 184] shadow and kept quiet. It wasn’t more than a minute before, just as I thought, out poked⁴ the head of that coon to see if I had gone.

 

“Well, I just barked some then and I danced, and pretty soon master came running back and I jumped and barked right under the place where I had seen the head of Mr. Coon.

 

“‘Ah, you are right, boy,’ I heard the master say, softly, and then bang went his gun and Mr. Coon dropped to the ground.

 

“‘Good old boy, you can’t be fooled, can you, Rover?’ said master, patting me on the head; ‘you can’t be beat for coon-hunting. Come along home and show what we got.’

 

“The next night they had a great time at the master’s house. He told them all how I treed that coon and how I stuck to it in spite⁵ of his going away and calling to me to go along.

 

“I was patted on the head and made a great deal of, and every time I see the master with that coon cap he wears I feel very happy.”

 

Mr. Dog stopped and looked sad again, and Mr. Tom Cat said: “Oh, cheer up, Mr. Dog, the master will soon be wearing that cap again, and he will remember how you caught the coon. That is a good story to tell. Now[Pg 185] we will listen to what Mr. Rooster has to tell us.”

 

Mr. Rooster said he would tell them about the new rooster that came to the barn-yard one day.

1 wagged   

v.（使）摇动，摇摆( wag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The dog wagged its tail with pleasure. 那条狗高兴得直摇尾巴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She wagged her finger with mock severity. 她故作严厉地摆了摆手指。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

4 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 spite   

n.（用于短语）虽然，不顾，尽管

参考例句：

• He has modern ideas in spite of his great age.尽管他年事很高，但思想观念却很入时。
• In spite of his anger,his remarks were restrained.他尽管生气，说的话还是有节制的。