XIII HOME AT LAST

 "What's this?" Farmer Green exclaimed, when he went to unlock¹ the piggery in the morning and found Grunty Pig lying up against the door. "Did you get locked out last night? Was it you that old Spot was barking at?"

 

Grunty Pig didn't dare answer. When Farmer Green dropped him into the pen he said nothing to anybody—not even "Good morning!"

 

A little later Farmer Green found something more outside the piggery. In the loose dirt he discovered—bear tracks!

 

 

"Aha!" he cried to his son Johnnie. "Look here! We had a visitor last night. It was no wonder old Spot woke us all up. A bear called on us! And he'd certainly have had that pig if Spot hadn't scared him off."

 

Naturally the news soon spread all over the farmyard. And when Mrs. Pig heard it she began to tremble.

 

"To think," she quavered, "that my littlest child spent the night out of doors, with a bear prowling about the neighborhood! And I slept through it all!

 

"Tell me all about it, Grunty!" she commanded that young gentleman.

 

It is not surprising that Grunty Pig was puzzled. Hadn't his mother told him, during the night, not to mention the word bear again? And now she was urging him to talk about that very animal.

 

"Squeak² up!" said his mother sharply—which57 was the same as saying, "Speak up!"

 

So he told his story. And when he had finished Mrs. Pig fairly covered him with caresses³.

 

"It seems to me—" she sniffed—for she was quite upset—"it seems to me that I remember your saying something about a bear last night. But I wasn't wide awake at the time. And I thought you were fibbing again.

 

"Perhaps," she added, "this will teach you a few things that you needed to learn.... Always mind your mother!" said Mrs. Pig. "And always tell the truth!"

 

Her children all repeated the words after her. And Grunty Pig's voice could have been heard plainly above all the rest.

 

His mother looked at him fondly. She had always claimed that she had no favorite among her children. But now she couldn't help thinking what a promising⁴ youngster⁵ Grunty was, even if he was the runt of the family.

 

"That's a good Grunty," said Mrs. Pig. "You won't forget this lesson, will you?"

 

"No, Mother!" Grunty answered.

 

Now, that very afternoon Mrs. Pig took it into her head to have her children say the morning's lesson again. So she called her youngsters⁶ together. And she asked Grunty the first of all to recite what she had taught him.

 

"I think it was something about a bear," he stammered⁷, "but I can't remember exactly."

 

"Dear me!" said poor Mrs. Pig. "I don't know what I'll do with this lad."

 

Then she asked the other children, one by one, what they had learned that very morning.

 

 

There wasn't one of them that hadn't forgotten everything.

 

"Dear me!" said unhappy Mrs. Pig. "I don't know what I'll do with all of them. But I'll treat them all alike. I have no favorite. There isn't one of them that's stupider than another."

 

When Grunty Pig heard that he felt quite proud. It was something, anyhow, to be as stupid as the rest, even if he was smaller.

 

1 unlock   

v.启示，揭示，开...的锁

参考例句：

• The border police required the traveler to unlock his luggage.边防警察要求旅客打开行李。
• We heard somebody unlock the door.我们听见有人开门锁。

2 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。

3 caresses   

爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A breeze caresses the cheeks. 微风拂面。
• Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness. 海蒂不习惯于拥抱之类过于外露地表现自己的感情。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 youngster   

n.儿童，少年，年轻人

参考例句：

• I rode the youngster on my back.我让小孩骑在背上。
• That youngster works with a will.这小伙子干活有股傻劲儿。

6 youngsters   

n.孩子( youngster的名词复数 )；少年；青年；年轻人

参考例句：

• We followed the youngsters at a more sedate pace. 我们跟在年轻人后面，步子稍慢一点。
• The camp is for youngsters aged 8 to 14. 这次夏令营是为8至14岁的少年儿童安排的。

7 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记