12 Wolves in the night!

　　12
　　Wolves in the night!
　　Snowy suddenly bleated¹ loudly and took a flying leap off the rock before Philip could stop him.
　　He disappeared into the bushes below – and then a loud and welcome sound filled the air.
　　‘Ee-ore! Ee-ore! Ee-ore!’
　　‘Goodness! It’s a donkey!’ cried Jack² and scrambled³ down to see. ‘Have they come back? IsDavid with them?’
　　They soon found what they were looking for. Dapple the donkey was in the bushes, nuzzlingSnowy, evidently full of delight at seeing him again. But there was no sign at all of the otherdonkeys or of David.
　　‘Dapple! You darling!’ said Lucy-Ann, running up to him in joy. ‘You’ve come back to us.’
　　‘Come back to Snowy, you mean!’ said Philip. ‘He was always fond of Snowy, weren’t you,Dapple? So you came back to find him. Well, we’re very very glad to see you, because you willsolve a very knotty⁴ problem for us – how to get all our goods up to that cave!’
　　Dapple had come back to see Snowy, but he was also very pleased to see the children again. Hewas a quiet, stout little donkey, hard-working and patient. He kept close to the children, and hadevidently made up his mind he was going to stay with them. Snowy was sweet with him, andtrotted by his side all the time.
　　‘Here, Dapple!’ called Philip. ‘Come and help us with these things, there’s a good fellow.’
　　Dapple stood obediently whilst the boys strapped⁶ things on to his back. He took all the beddingup to the cave first, scrambling⁷ up the steep bits with difficulty, but managing very well indeed.
　　Then he took up the panniers of food.
　　‘Thanks, Dapple,’ said Jack, giving him a pat. ‘Now come and have a drink!’
　　They all went to the stream and drank and splashed. The sun had come out again andimmediately it was very hot. The children flung off their coats and lay about, basking⁸.
　　‘We must collect wood for the fire tonight,’ said Jack. ‘We shall need a good lot if we’re goingto keep the fire going all night long. We’ll stack it in the big panniers and get Dapple to take it upfor us.’
　　‘Good old Dapple!’ said Dinah.
　　They collected as much wood as they could, and soon it was all piled up on the rock outside thecave. The boys made a fire but did not light it. There was no need to do that till night.
　　The day soon went, and the sun sank behind the mountains in a blaze of crimson⁹. As soon asdarkness fell on the mountain-side, the children retired¹⁰ into the cave. The thought of wolves keptcoming into their minds, and David’s scream of terror, when he had seen something in the bushes,‘Black, black, black!’ What could he have seen?
　　The children hadn’t thought much of these things during the bright daylight, but they came backinto their minds now it was dark. They debated whether or not to have Dapple in the cave withthem.
　　But Dapple settled that idea by firmly refusing to go under the overhanging rock. He just stoodoutside stubbornly, his four legs set firmly on the ground, and no amount of pushing or pullingmade the slightest difference. He was not going into that cave!
　　‘All right, Dapple,’ said Jack crossly. ‘Stay outside and be eaten by wolves if you want to!’
　　‘Oh, don’t say things like that,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Dapple, do come inside! Please!’
　　Dapple lay down firmly outside, and the children gave it up. There would be no difficulty aboutSnowy or Kiki. One would want to be with Philip, the other with Jack.
　　‘Now we’ll light the fire,’ said Jack, as stars began to glimmer¹¹ in the sky. ‘It’s getting very dark.
　　Got the matches, Philip?’
　　The fire soon burnt up, for the twigs¹² and branches were very dry. The cheerful flames leapt andflickered, and the fire crackled merrily.
　　‘That’s very very nice,’ said Lucy-Ann, pleased. ‘I feel safe tucked away in this cave with a fireat the entrance. Philip, make Snowy go the other side of you. He’s sticking his hooves into me. Iwish he’d wear bedroom slippers¹⁴ at night!’
　　Everybody laughed. They all felt safe and comfortable, tucked up in their sleeping-bags, withthe fire lighting¹⁵ up the cave, filling it with jumping shadows. Snowy was pressed against Philip,Kiki was on Jack’s middle. Somewhere outside was Dapple. Lucy-Ann wished he was in withthem, then the whole family would be safe.
　　They all watched the flames for a while and then fell asleep. The fire flickered¹³ down as thewood was burnt up, and soon only the embers glowed.
　　Philip woke up with a start a few hours later. He saw that the fire had died down, and he got outof his sleeping-bag to put on more wood. It would never do to let it go out!
　　Dapple was still outside, lying quietly. Philip saw him when the flames leapt up to burn thewood he piled on. The boy went back to his sleeping-bag. He found that Snowy had crept inside itwhilst he was piling wood on the fire.
　　‘You little scamp!’ he whispered. ‘Get out. There’s not room for us both.’
　　There was quite a scuffle as he tried to get Snowy out of the bag. Fortunately the others were sovery sound asleep that they didn’t wake. Philip got Snowy out at last and slid in himself. Hehastily laced up the neck of the bag before Snowy could try to squeeze in again. Snowy gave asigh and lay down heavily right on Philip’s middle.
　　Philip lay awake, watching the fire. The wind sometimes blew the smoke towards the cave, andfor a moment or two the smell made Philip want to cough.
　　Then he heard Dapple stir outside, and he got up on one elbow to see why. His heart began tobeat very fast.
　　Silent dark figures were slinking up to the cave! They did not pass beyond the fire, but they didnot seem to be afraid of it. Philip felt breathless, and his heart beat even faster, as if he had beenrunning.
　　What were those figures? Were they the wolves? The boy caught sight of two gleaming eyes,shining like the headlights of a distant car – but green as grass! He sat up quietly.
　　The wolves were back! They had smelt¹⁶ out the little company. What would they do? They hadnot attacked Dapple, thank goodness – and the donkey did not seem to be unduly¹⁷ frightened. Hewas only moving uneasily.
　　The slinking figures moved to and fro behind the fire. Philip couldn’t think what in the world todo! He could only hope that the fire would frighten them enough to keep them out of the cave.
　　After a while all the animals disappeared. Philip breathed again! Gosh, what a horrible fright hehad had! What a blessing¹⁸ they had thought of that fire! Philip made up his mind that he wasn’tgoing to sleep again that night, in case the fire went out. At all costs he must keep that up.
　　So the boy lay wide-eyed, thinking of wolves, rumblings, earthquakes and ‘Black, black, black’.
　　There was something very unusual about all these things. Did they fit together, or didn’t they? Wasthere something peculiar¹⁹ about this mountain?
　　The fire was dying down again. Philip got up cautiously to put more wood on. The moon wasup now and he could see for miles. He piled wood on the fire and the flames shot up. He slippedout of the cave to Dapple.
　　Then the boy heard a sound. He looked up – and to his horror he saw a wolf between him andthe cave! He had gone to pat Dapple – and in that moment the wolf had slunk in between fire andcave. Would he go in?
　　The wolf stood still, looking at Philip in the moonlight. Philip gazed back, wondering what todo if the creature attacked him – and as he looked, a very peculiar thing happened.
　　The wolf wagged its long tail! To and fro it went, to and fro, like a big dog’s! Philip’s heartleapt. The animal wanted to be friendly! All animals were attracted to Philip – but a wolf! Thatwas extraordinary.
　　The boy held out his hand, half afraid, but bold and daring. The wolf trotted⁵ round the fire andlicked Philip’s hand. It gave a little whine²⁰.
　　The moon shone down brightly on the animal’s dark coat, pointed²¹ ears and long muzzle²². Was ita wolf? Now that he was close to it Philip began to doubt.
　　And then quite suddenly he knew what this friendly animal was!
　　‘Why, you’re an Alsatian dog!’ he cried. ‘Aren’t you? Why didn’t I think of it before? I knewthere weren’t wolves in this country! Where are the others? You’re all Alsatians! Good dog! Finedog! I’d like to be friends with you!’
　　The big Alsatian put his paws up on Philip’s shoulders and licked his face. Then he lifted hishead and howled. It was a wolf-like noise, but Philip no longer minded that!
　　It was a call to the other dogs, the rest of the pack. There came the sound of feet in the bushesbelow, and a crowd of dogs leapt up on to the rock. They clustered round Philip, and, seeing thattheir leader was so friendly with the boy, they pawed him and licked him.
　　The howl awakened²³ all the three children in the cave, and they sat up in fright. To theirunspeakable horror they saw, outside the cave, what looked like Philip being attacked by wolves!
　　‘Look! They’ve got Philip! Quick!’ yelled Jack.
　　All three children slid out of their sleeping-bags and rushed to Philip’s aid. The dogs growled²⁴ atthe sudden commotion²⁵.
　　‘Philip! We’re coming! Are you hurt?’ cried valiant²⁶ little Lucy-Ann, picking up a stick.
　　‘It’s all right, it’s all right!’ yelled Philip. ‘They’re not attacking me. They’re friendly. They’renot wolves, but Alsatians! Dogs, you know!’
　　‘Goodness gracious!’ said Dinah, and came out into the moonlight, so glad that the dogs werenot wolves that she didn’t even feel afraid of so many big dogs!
　　‘Oh, Philip!’ said Lucy-Ann, almost in tears with the shock of delight at knowing the wolveswere only dogs. ‘Oh, Philip! I thought you were being attacked.’
　　‘You were a darling to come to my rescue then,’ said Philip, smiling when he saw the little stickthat Lucy-Ann had meant to attack the wolves with. ‘The leader of the dogs made friends with me– so all the others are doing the same!’
　　The dogs had apparently²⁷ made up their minds to stay for the night. Philip debated what to do.
　　‘We can’t possibly go back into the cave,’ he said. ‘The whole pack will come crowding in, and itwould be impossible to breathe.’
　　‘Quite impossible,’ said Dinah, filled with horror at the thought of so many dogs sleeping withthem.
　　‘So we’ll bring our sleeping-bags out here on the rock beside Dapple, and sleep there,’ saidPhilip. ‘The dogs can stay if they want to – they’ll be good guards! And if they don’t want to, theycan go. There are about ten of them! I wonder how it is they’re wandering about here wild. Ten ofthem! It’s extraordinary.’
　　They dragged out their sleeping-bags, and got into them. The dogs sniffed²⁸ round in wonder. Theleader sat majestically²⁹ down by Philip, as if to say, ‘This boy is my property. Keep off!’ Theothers lay about among the children. Snowy was afraid of the big leader-dog and dared not evengo near his beloved Philip. He went to Jack instead. Kiki stayed up in a tree. There were altogethertoo many dogs for her!
　　It was a curious sight the moon looked down on: four children, one goat, one parrot, one donkey– and ten dogs!

1 bleated   

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的过去式和过去分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

• The lost lamb bleated. 迷路的小羊咩咩的叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She bleated her disapproval of her son's marriage to Amy. 她用颤抖的声音表示不赞成儿子与艾米的婚事。 来自辞典例句

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 knotty   

adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的

参考例句：

• Under his leadership,many knotty problems were smoothly solved.在他的领导下，许多伤脑筋的问题都迎刃而解。
• She met with a lot of knotty problems.她碰上了许多棘手的问题。

5 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

6 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 basking   

v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽

参考例句：

• We sat basking in the warm sunshine. 我们坐着享受温暖的阳光。
• A colony of seals lay basking in the sun. 一群海豹躺着晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

12 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

13 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

14 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

15 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

16 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

17 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

18 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

19 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

20 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

21 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

22 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

23 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

26 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

27 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

28 sniffed   

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

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 majestically   

雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地

参考例句：

• The waters of the Changjiang River rolled to the east on majestically. 雄伟的长江滚滚东流。
• Towering snowcapped peaks rise majestically. 白雪皑皑的山峰耸入云霄。