Chapter 7 IN THE CIRCUS FIELD

Chapter 7 IN THE CIRCUS FIELD
Nobody wanted to spend a long time over tea. They all longed to go down to the field and set up theirlittle camp.
'We shall have a wonderful look-in at what goes on in a circus camp,' said Dick. 'We shall be livingso near the circus folk! I do hope Mischief¹ won't get too friendly with the people there.
They might take him away with them when they leave.'
'Indeed they won't!' said Tinker, fiercely. 'What a thing to say! As if Mischief would go with them,anyhow! I don't expect he'll mix with the circus crowd at all.'
'You wait and see!' grinned Dick. 'Now buck² up with your tea - I'm longing³ to go and set our camp inthe field, and see what's going on there.'
It wasn't long before they were ready. They were soon down by the fence, and gazed over it inamazement. Great vans were in the field, all with Mr. Tapper's name on and all painted in gaycolours. There were caravans⁵ too, much smaller than the great vans, and these had windows, eachwith neat lace curtains. The circus folk lived in the caravans, of course, and George found herselfwishing that she herself could go about in one, instead of living in a house that couldn't moveanywhere!
'Look at the horses!' cried Dick, as a bunch of them appeared with tossing heads and beautiful longthick tails. The boy who had knocked Tinker down was with them, whistling. They were all comingfrom a big horse-van, and were delighted to be in a field with lush green grass.
'Is that field gate properly shut?' yelled an enormous voice, and the boy yelled back, 'Yes, Grandad. Ishut it. There's nowhere the horses can get out. My word - don't they like this grass!'
Then he saw Julian and the others all looking over the fence, and waved to them. 'See our horses?
Aren't they a grand lot?'
And, just to show off a little, he leapt on to the back of the nearest one, and went all round the edge ofthe field with it. George watched him enviously⁶. If only she could have a horse like that!
'Well, let's take our camp things into the field,' said Tinker. 'The nearer we are to the circus the better.
We ought to have some fun.'
He climbed over the fence and Dick followed. 'I'll hand everything over,' said Julian. 'George canhelp me - she's as good as a boy any day!'
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George grinned. She loved to hear anyone say that! It was quite a job getting some of the things overthe fence. The tents, neatly⁷ wrapped though they were, were heavy, awkward things to handle, but atlast everything was safely over, lying on the grass.
Then Julian, Anne and George climbed over the fence too, and stood in the field, looking round for agood corner to set up their things.
'What about near those bushes over there?' said Julian. 'There's that big tree behind as well to protectus from the wind - and we aren't too near the circus folk - they might not like us right on top of them- and yet we're near enough to see what's going on.'
'Oh, it's going to be FUN!' said Anne, her eyes shining.
'I think I'd better go and find the old Grandad - Mr. Tapper,' said Julian. 'Just to tell him we're here, incase he thinks we're intruders and have no right to be here.'
'You haven't got to ask his permission for us to be in MY field!' said Tinker, at once.
'Now don't keep flying off the handle like that, Tinker,' said Julian. 'This is merely a question of goodmanners - something you don't seem to know much about! How do we know that the circus folkwon't resent us camping so near them? Much better to show ourselves friendly from the start.'
'All right, all right,' said Tinker, sulkily. 'But it is my field, after all! You'll be telling me to be friendswith that nasty little circus-boy next!'
'Well, you'd better be - else he might knock you flat again!' said George. 'Anyway, be sensible,Tinker - it's not often people have a circus just at the bottom of their garden, and can pop over thefence, and mix with the circus folk.'
Julian walked over to the nearest caravan⁴. It was empty, and no one answered his knock.
'What you want, mister?' called a high little voice, and a small girl with tangled⁸, untidy hair camerunning up.
'Where's Mr. Tapper?' asked Julian, smiling at the untidy, bright-eyed little thing.
'He's with one of the horses,' said the small girl. 'Who are you?'
'We're your neighbours,' said Julian. 'Will you take us to Mr. Tapper?'
'Old Grandad's this way,' said the child, and slipped a dirty little hand into Julian's. 'I'll show you.
I like you, mister.'
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She led the children to the middle of the camp. A mournful howl came from somewhere behind themand George stopped suddenly. 'That's Timmy! He must have found out that we've got out of thegarden. I'll go back for him.'
'Better not,' said Julian. 'There might be ructions if he met the chimpanzee. A big chimp⁹ would makemincemeat of him!'
'It wouldn't!' said George, but all the same she didn't go back to fetch Timmy. Julian hoped that thedog wouldn't jump over the fence, and come to find them.
'There's old Grandad Tapper on them steps,' said the little girl, smiling up at Julian, whose hand shestill held. 'I like you, mister. Your hand smells nice.'
'Well, that's because I wash it with soap and water four or five times a day,' said Julian. 'Yours wouldsmell nice too, if you did the same.'
The little girl sniffed¹⁰ at Julian's hand. Then she shouted loudly to the old fellow sitting on the steps ofa nearby caravan. 'Grandad! Here's folks to see you!'
Grandad was looking at a beautiful chestnut-brown horse, tethered close to him. He had one of thehorse's hooves in his hand. The children stood and gazed at him - black beard, frowning eyebrows¹¹ -and, oh dear! thought Anne, only one ear, poor man. What could have happened to the missing one?
'GRANDAD!' called the girl again. FOLKS TO SEE YOU!'
Mr. Tapper looked round, his eyes very bright under his black eye-brows. He set the horse's hoofdown, and gave the lovely creature a pat. 'You don't need to limp any more, my beauty,' he said.
'I've taken out the stone that was in your hoof¹². You can dance again!'
The horse lifted up its magnificent head and neighed as if it were saying thank you. Tinker almostjumped out of his skin, and Mischief slipped from his shoulder and cuddled under his arm in terror.
'Now, now, little monkey, don't you know a horse's voice when you hear one?' said Grandad, andMischief poked¹³ his head out from under Tinker's arm to listen.
'Does that horse really dance?' said Anne, longing to stroke its long, smooth nose.
'Dance! It's one of the finest horse-dancers in the world!' said Grandad, and began to whistle a gaylittle tune¹⁴. The horse pricked¹⁵ up its ears, gazed at Grandad, and then began to dance! The childrenwatched in astonishment¹⁶.
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There it went, round and round, nodding its head to the tune, its feet tapping the grass in perfect timeto Grandad's whistling.
'Oh, the lovely thing!' said George. 'Do all your horses dance as well as this one?'
'Yes. Some a good deal better,' said Grandad. 'This one has a fair ear for music, but not as good anear as some. You wait till you see them dressed up with feathery plumes¹⁷ nodding on their heads.
Horses - there's nothing in the world as beautiful as a good horse.'
'Mr. Tapper - we come from the house over the fence there,' said Julian, feeling that it was time toexplain their visit. 'As you probably know, Tinker's father owns this field, and...'
'Yes, yes - but we have an old right to come every so often,' said the old man, raising his voice.
'Now don't you start arg...'
'I haven't come to argue with you,' said Julian, politely. 'I've only just come to say that we - that is myfriends here and I - would like to come and camp in this field, but we shouldn't annoy you in anyway, and...'
'Oh well - if that's what you want, you're more than welcome!' said the old man. 'More than welcome!
I thought maybe you'd think you could turn us out - like that youngster there would like to do!' Andhe nodded at Tinker.
Tinker went red and said nothing. The old man laughed. 'Ha! My grandson didn't think much of thatidea, did he, youngster? He hit out, and down you went on your back. He's got a temper, he has,young Jeremy. But another time maybe he'll find himself on his back, eh?'
'Yes. He will,' said Tinker, at once.
'Right. Well, you'll be even with one another then, and you can shake hands like gentlemen,' said theold man, his eyes twinkling. 'Now - what about you bringing your gear right into the field, and settingup your tents? I'll get old Charlie the Chimp to help you. He's as strong as ten men!'
'The chimpanzee! Is he tame enough to help us to put up our tents?' said Anne, disbelievingly.
'Old Charlie is cleverer than all of you put together, and as tame as you are!' said Grandad. 'And hecould beat you three boys at cricket any day! You bring your bat along one morning, and watch him.
I'll call him to help you. CHARLIE! CHARLIE! Where are you? Snoozing I suppose!'
But no Charlie came. 'You go and fetch him,' said the old man, pointing to a corner of the field wherestood a big, strong cage, with a tarpaulin¹⁸ roof to keep out the rain. 'He'll do anything you want him todo, so long as you give him a word of praise now and again!'
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'Let's get him, Ju,' said Dick, eagerly. 'My word - fancy having a chimpanzee to help us!'
And off they all went to the great cage. CHARLIE! CHARLIE! Wake up, you're wanted!
CHARLIE!

1 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

2 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

3 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

4 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

5 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

6 enviously   

adv.满怀嫉妒地

参考例句：

• Yet again, they were looking for their way home blindly, enviously. 然而，它们又一次盲目地、忌妒地寻找着归途。 来自辞典例句
• Tanya thought enviously, he must go a long way south. 坦妮亚歆羡不置，心里在想，他准是去那遥远的南方的。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

9 chimp   

n.黑猩猩

参考例句：

• In fact,the color of gorilla and chimp are light-color.其实大猩猩和黑猩猩的肤色是较为浅的。
• The chimp is the champ.猩猩是冠军。

10 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》

11 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

12 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

13 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》

14 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

15 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

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 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

18 tarpaulin   

n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽

参考例句：

• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。
• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。