Chapter 3 OUT IN THE BARN

Chapter 3 OUT IN THE BARN
The twins stalked out of the farm-house and took the two boys round the dairy shed, and up to anenormous barn. One of them pushed open the great door.
'I say!' said Julian, gazing into the dark barn. 'I never saw such a fine barn in all my life! It's as old asthe hills - look at those beams soaring up into the roof - it reminds me of a cathedral, somehow. Iwonder why they built the roof so high. What do you store in here, twins?'
'Sacks of meal,' said the Harries¹ together, opening and shutting their mouths as one. The two boyssaw a couple of camp-beds in a corner of the barn.
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'Look here,' said Julian, 'if you really would rather sleep here alone, we'll sleep in the little room offthe dairy that your mother spoke² of.'
Before the twins could answer, a shrill³ barking came from the direction of the camp-beds, and theboys saw a tiny black poodle there, standing⁴ up, quivering in every hair.
'What a tiny thing!' said Julian. 'Is he yours, twins? What's his name?'
'Snippet,' came the answer from both at once. 'Come here, Snippet!'
At once the tiny black poodle hurled⁵ himself off the camp-bed and raced over to them. He fawned⁶ onthem all, barking in delight, licking everyone in turn. Dick picked him up, but the twins at onceclutched Snippet themselves.
'He's OUR dog!' they said, so fiercely that Dick backed away.
'All right, all right - you can have him. But be careful Tim doesn't eat him!' he said. A look of fearcame over the faces of the Harries, and they turned to one another, anxiously.
'It's all right,' said Julian, hastily. 'Tim's gentle with small things. You needn't be afraid. I say -why do you have to be so dumb? It really wouldn't hurt you to be a bit friendly. And do let us sleep inyour old room - we really don't mind.'
The twins looked at each other again, as if reading one another's thoughts, and then they turnedgravely to the boys, not looking quite so unfriendly.
'We will all sleep here,' they said. 'We will fetch the other camp-beds.' And off they marched, Snippetrunning excitedly at their heels.
Julian scratched his head. 'Those twins make me feel peculiar,' he said. 'I somehow don't feel they arequite real. The way they act and speak together makes me feel as if they're puppets or something.'
'They're just jolly rude and unfriendly,' said Dick, bluntly. 'Oh well - they won't get in our way much.
I vote we explore the farm tomorrow. It looks quite a big one - spreading out over the hill-slopeseverywhere. I wonder if we could get a ride on a tractor?'
At that moment a bell rang loudly from the direction of the house. 'What's that for?' said Dick.
'Tea, I hope!'
The twins came back at that moment with two more camp-beds, which they proceeded to set up as farfrom their own as possible. Dick went to give a hand, but they waved him off, and put up the bedsmost efficiently⁷ and quickly by themselves.
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'Tea is ready,' they said, standing up when the beds were finished, and blankets and pillows set out onthem. 'We will show you where to wash.'
'Thanks,' said Dick and Julian together, and then grinned at one another. 'Better be careful,' saidJulian, 'or we'll catch their habit of speaking exactly at the same moment. I say - isn't that poodle anamusing little fellow - look at him stalking that jackdaw!'
A black jackdaw, the nape of his neck showing grey as he ran in front of Snippet, had flown downfrom somewhere in the roof of the barn. As Snippet danced after him he ran behind sacks, scurriedinto corners, and led the little dog such a dance that the two boys roared. Even the twins smiled.
'Chack!' said the jackdaw, and rose into the air. He settled himself neatly⁸ on the middle of thepoodle's back, and Snippet promptly⁹ went mad, and tore about the barn at top speed.
'Roll over, Snippet!' shouted the Harries, and Snippet at once flung himself on his back - but thejackdaw, with a triumphant¹⁰ 'chack' rose at once into the air, and alighted on one twin's head.
'I say - is he tame?' said Dick. 'What's his name?'
'Nosey. He's ours. He fell down a chimney and broke his wing,' said the twins. 'So we kept him till itwas well and now he won't leave us.'
'Gosh!' said Dick, starring at them. 'Did you really say all that - or was it the jackdaw? You can talkproperly, after all.'
Nosey pecked at the twin's ear nearest to him, and the twin gave a yell. 'Stop it, Nosey!' The jackdawrose into the air, with a 'chack- chack- chack' that sounded very like a laugh, and disappearedsomewhere in the roof.
Just then the two girls came to find the boys in the barn, sent by Mrs. Philpot, who was sure theyhadn't heard the bell. Timmy was with them, of course, sniffing¹¹ into every corner, enjoying the farm-smells everywhere. They came to the barn and looked in.
'Oh, there you are!' called Anne. 'Mrs. Philpot said we...'
Timmy began to bark, and she stopped. He had caught sight of Snippet sniffing behind the sacks, stillhunting for the cheeky jackdaw. He stood still and stared. What in the wide world was that funnylittle black creature? He gave another loud bark and shot over towards the poodle, who gave aterrified yelp¹² and leapt into the arms of one of the twins.
'Take your dog away,' said both twins, fiercely, glaring at the four.
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'It's all right - he won't hurt Snippet,' said George, advancing on Timmy and taking hold of his collar.
'He really won't.'
'TAKE YOUR DOG AWAY!' shouted the twins, and up in the roof somewhere the jackdaw said,'CHACK, CHACK, CHACK!' just as fiercely.
'All right, all right,' said George, glaring as angrily as the twins, 'Come on, Tim. That poodle wouldn'tbe more than a mouthful for you, anyway!'
They all went back to the farm-house in silence, Snippet having been left behind on the camp-bedbelonging to one of the twins. They cheered up when they came into the big, cool kitchen.
Tea was now laid on the farm-house table, a big solid affair of old, old oak. Chairs were set roundand it all looked very homelike.
'Hot scones¹³,' said George, lifting the lid off a dish. 'I never thought I'd like hot scones on a summer'sday, but these look heavenly. Running with butter! Just how I like them!'
The four looked at the home-made buns and biscuits and the great fruit cake. They stared at thedishes of home-made jam, and the big plate of ripe plums. Then they looked at Mrs. Philpot, sittingbehind a very big teapot, pouring out cups of tea.
'You mustn't spoil us, Mrs. Philpot,' said Julian, thinking that really his hostess was doing too much.
'Please don't let us make too much work for you!'
A loud, commanding voice suddenly made them all jump. Sitting in a big wooden armchair near thewindow was someone they hadn't seen - a burly old man with a shock of snowy white hair and aluxurious white beard almost down to his waist. His eyes were startlingly bright as he looked acrossat them.
'TOO MUCH WORK! What's that you say? TOO MUCH WORK? Ha, people nowadays don't knowwhat work is, that they don't! Grumble¹⁴, grumble, GRUMBLE, asking for this and expecting that!
Pah! PAH, I say!'
'Now now, Grand-dad,' said Mrs. Philpot, gently. 'You just sup your tea and rest. You've been out onthe farm all day, and it's too much work for you.'
That set the old man off again. 'TOO MUCH WORK! Now let me tell you something. When I was ayoung lad, I... hallo, who's this?'
It was Timmy! He had been startled by the sudden shouting of the old man, and had stood up, hishackles rising, and a low growl¹⁵ down in his throat. And then a very curious thing happened.
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Timmy walked slowly over to the fierce old man, stood by him - and laid his head gently on his knee!
Everyone stared in astonishment¹⁶, and George could hardly believe her eyes!
At first the old man took no notice. He just let Timmy stay there, and went on with his shouting.
'No one knows anything these days. They don't know a good sheep or a good bull or a good dog.
They...'
Timmy moved his head a little, and the old man stopped again. He looked down at Timmy, andpatted him on the head. 'Now here's a dog - a REAL dog. A dog that could be the best friend any manever had. Ah, he reminds me of my old True, he does.'
George was staring in amazement¹⁷ at Timmy. 'He's never done a thing like that before,' she said.
'All dogs are like that with old Grand-dad,' said Mrs. Philpot softly. 'Don't mind his shouting.
He's like that. See - your Timmy is lying down by Grand-dad - now they'll both be happy.
Grand-dad will have his tea and be nice and quiet. Don't take any notice of him now.'
Still astonished, the children ate a marvellous tea, and were soon talking eagerly to Mrs. Philpot,asking her questions about the farm.
'Yes, of course you can go on the tractor. And we've an old Land-Rover too - you can motor roundthe farm in that, if you like. Wait till my husband comes in - he'll tell you what you can do.'
Nobody saw a little black shadow come in at the door, and sidle softly over to Grand-dad -Snippet the poodle! He had left the barn and come to the kitchen he loved. It was only when Mrs.
Philpot turned round to ask the old man to have another cup of tea that she saw a very strange sightindeed. She nudged the twins, and they turned to look.
They saw Timmy lying peacefully down on Grand-dad's big feet - and Snippet the poodle lyingbetween Timmy's great front paws! Well - what an astonishing sight, to be sure!
'Grand- dad's happy now,' said Mrs. Philpot. 'Two dogs at his feet. And now, look - here's myhusband! Come along in, Trevor - we're all here, the dogs as well!'

1 harries   

n.使苦恼( harry的名词复数 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰v.使苦恼( harry的第三人称单数 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• ex libris David Harries 戴维∙哈里斯藏书
• In defence, he harries attacking midfielders and helps protect the defensive line. 防守中，逼抢对方进攻性中场，帮助保护防线。 来自互联网

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fawned   

v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的过去式和过去分词 )；巴结；讨好

参考例句：

• The dog fawned on [upon] the boy. 那条狗向那少年摇尾乞怜。 来自辞典例句
• The lion, considering him attentively, and remembering his former friend, fawned upon him. 狮子将他仔细地打量了一番，记起他就是从前的那个朋友，于是亲昵地偎在他身旁。 来自辞典例句

7 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

8 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

9 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

10 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

11 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；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：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

13 scones   

n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• scones and jam with clotted cream 夹有凝脂奶油和果酱的烤饼
• She makes scones and cakes for the delectation of visitors. 她烘制了烤饼和蛋糕供客人享用。 来自辞典例句

14 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

15 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

16 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

17 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。