【儿童英文读物】Little Jack Rabbit and the Squirrel Brothers.docx

【儿童英文读物】Little Jack Rabbit and the Squirrel BrothersTHE GAME OF MARBLES Never stop upon your way,Just to fool around and play.Learn to quickly go to school;Never, never break this rule.But, oh dear me. One morning when Little Jack Rabbit met the Squirrel Brothers, Featherhead, the naughty gray squirrel, asked him to stop and play a game of marbles. “Where are your marbles?” asked the little rabbit. “Here they are,” answered Featherhead,10 taking some red and yellow oak apples out of his pocket. “They make dandy marbles.” Little Jack Rabbit dropped his school books, and quickly dug a hole in the ground. Then they all took turns rolling the marbles to see who would have the first shot. The little bunnys was the first to drop into the hole, although Twinkle Tails was very close and Featherheads not far away. It was then easy for Little Jack Rabbit to hit the two marbles. Why, he couldnt miss them, they were so close. I guess they would have been playing until now if all of a sudden, just like that, Bobbie Redvest hadnt called out: “Ding-a-ling! ding-a-ling! the school bell is ringing.” “Gracious me!” cried little bunny, and off11 he went, clipperty clip, lipperty lip. Featherhead and Twinkle Tail picked up their books and followed. It certainly was lucky that the little robin had shouted, “Ding-a-ling! ding-a-ling!” for hardly had they reached the top of the hill when the school bell commenced: “Ding, dong! ding, dong! ding, dong!” “Hurry up!” cried Little Jack Rabbit, “or well be late,” and he hopped along faster than ever. Professor Crow was standing in the doorway waiting for the last scholar to arrive. All out of breath and scared to death,Came little Jackie Bunny.And Twinkle Tail began to quail,And Featherhead felt funny.They thought the teacher standing thereGave them a cold and angry stare.12Perhaps he did, but soon he wentAnd oer his platform table bent,While Featherhead and Twinkle TailSlipped in their seats with faces pale.Then up stood stern Professor CrowAnd said some scholars are so slowThat if theyd stop upon the wayTheyd never get to school all day. Then he sat down and called the school to order. But, oh dear me! None of the little marble players knew his lesson. And instead of being allowed to go when school was over, they were kept in and made to study until late in the afternoon. A LITTLE PIECE OF LOOKING GLASS If you a naughty act will do,You may at first escape;But soon or later youll get caughtSo dont get in a scrape. Featherhead was the worst pupil in the Shady Forest School and made lots of trouble for Professor Crow. One day he held a small piece of looking glass in the sunlight. The flash almost blinded the poor old crows eyes, and at first he couldnt tell who had done it. But naughtiness will always out, and the next time Featherhead was caught. 14Yes, sir! The next time he tried it on Professor Crow, that old gentleman bird jumped down from the platform and took hold of that naughty squirrels ear. And not so very gently, either. Featherhead squirmed and tried to get away, but the good professor held on tight, and pretty soon the little squirrel grew very quiet indeed. He grew as quiet as a little lamb; thats what he did. “Young man!” said Professor Crow in a hard, stern voice, “your father, Squirrel Nutcracker, is a dear old friend of mine. If it werent for that Id give you a flogging.” Goodness me! When Featherhead heard that he trembled all over, and his beautiful bushy tail lost its curl and dragged on the floor like a piece of string! “Youre a bad lot,” went on the old pro15fessor bird. “You never know your lessons, and if you dont mend your ways Ill expel you from the school!” Gracious me! Think of having that said to you! Goosey Lucys little son, Goosey Gander, almost fell off the dunce stool, and Little Jack Rabbit was so frightened that his little pink nose trembled for an hour. Nobody played games during recess that day, but hung around in little groups talking it over. And you may be sure they kept away from Featherhead, who stood all alone by the flag pole wishing he hadnt been such a bad squirrel.THE FLEET Something had happened in the Shady Forest since Busy Beaver had built his dam. You see, as it held back the Bubbling Brook, the water grew deeper and deeper, and by and by it began to spread all around, until after a while, there was a pond. This didnt trouble the Little People of the Shady Forest. No, indeed. They liked to have a pond in the forest. But they didnt like to have the Big Chestnut Tree right in the middle of it. No, sir. The water had spread all around the biggest and finest nut tree in the whole forest, and, of course, now no one could gather the nuts. “What are we going to do?” asked Chippy Chipmunk. “Make a boat and sail over,” answered Featherhead, the gray squirrel. This wasnt a bad idea, but who was going to make the boat? Nobody in the Shady Forest knew how to build one. Professor Crow suggested that the birds carry the nuts for the four-footed people, but they answered that they had all they could do to feed themselves and couldnt spare the time. And Grandmother Magpie said she wouldnt carry nuts for anybody, even if she had all the time that was wasted every day by some people right there in the Shady Forest. Just then along came Old Squirrel Nutcracker. “Why not make rafts out of twigs? You dont need a boat builder for that, you know.” This seemed a splendid idea, and at once all the squirrels set to work, and in a short time quite a fleet was ready to be launched. There wasnt room for more than one squirrel on a raft, so some of the squirrels had to stay ashore. Featherhead was the first to shove off. He had a little sack and a large oar, and spread out his tail for a sail. Billy Breeze was very kind and blew the rafts over to the island on which the Big Chestnut Tree stood. Then all the squirrels went ashore and commenced to fill their sacks with nuts, when, all of a sudden, Old Barney Owl looked out of his nest and said: “This is my tree and these nuts belong to me. If you wish any, you must pay a penny!”“If we bring you something to-morrow, will that do?” asked Twinkle Tail. “Yes,” answered the old owl. So the squirrels filled their sacks and sailed home. But soon the news from SquirrelvilleSpread oer the meadow to the hill,And up the Shady Forest Trail,And through the quiet verdant vale. Its strange how Rumor quickly goes;It runs on very nimble toes,And everybody hears the newsBefore it has worn out its shoes.MORE NUTS It wasnt very long before all the Little People in the Shady Forest had heard how the squirrels had sailed over to the island after nuts. So when Featherhead and the other squirrels set out the next day there was quite a crowd on shore to watch them. Featherhead had a nice new-laid egg from Henny Penny for Old Barney Owl, and Twinkle Tail a little fish from the Bubbling Brook. When they reached the island, the two little squirrels ran up the Big Chestnut Tree and rapped on Old Barney Owls front door. They had to rap three or four times before he opened it. He was cross and sleepy, and at first didnt remember them at all. In fact, his eyes were so blinky that I dont believe he even saw them. “We have brought you an egg for the nuts we took yesterday,” said Featherhead. “And here is a little fish for what well take to-day,” added Twinkle Tail. Old Barney Owl opened one eye and, taking the egg and the little fish, closed the door without even thanking them. “He didnt say we could have any nuts to-day,” said Twinkle Tail. “He took the little fish, so I guess its all right.” “Guess its all right!” cried Featherhead. “Of course, its all right. What do we care, anyway? he cant see in the light. What right has Old Barney to say all these nuts belong to him?” It didnt take the squirrels long after the sacks were filled to carry them down to the shore and load them on the rafts. But, oh dear me. Billy Breeze wasnt very kind this time. No matter how they held up their tails for sails, as soon as they had pushed off, he blew them right back on the land. “Well have to paddle around to the other side,” said Featherhead. “Then perhaps Billy Breeze will push us home.” After a good deal of trouble, for it was no easy matter to paddle the rafts around the island, they set off once again. And this time Billy Breeze did his best, and landed them safely on the mainland. “I couldnt help you on the other side,” he explained. “You see, I can blow only one way to-day.” “Thats all right,” answered the Squirrel Brothers. “We have the nuts!” and away they scampered.OLD SQUIRREL NUTCRACKER Twinkle Tail and Featherhead were old enough to find homes for themselves, so Old Squirrel Nutcracker thought. And when that old squirrel had thought out a thing seriously he was pretty likely to put it into words. “I feel sorry for the boys,” said Mrs. Nutcracker, wiping her eyes with her calico apron, as she stood beneath the Big Chestnut Tree talking to Mrs. Rabbit. “Theyve had such a comfortable home, if I do say it myself. But last night Squirrel Nutcracker said after dinner: “Boys, its time for you to get out and hustle for yourselves. It will make men-squirrels out of you. If you get into trouble, always remember your father will help you. And dont forget your mother.” Poor Mrs. Nutcracker threw her apron over her head and burst into tears. “Dont cry,” said the kind bunny lady, and very soon she said good-by and hopped home to the Old Bramble Patch to tell her little rabbit the news. When Mrs. Nutcracker reached home she found her little squirrel boys packing up their things. Twinkle Tail had his nearly finished, but Featherhead was only half through. So Mrs. Nutcracker helped him, and when it was all done, she sat down and cried again. Poor Mrs. Nutcracker felt so badly she just couldnt help it. Just then Old Squirrel Nutcracker came up the stairs, so she dried her eyes and the two little squirrels picked up their trunks and started down the tree. When they reached the first landing, a great big limb that spread out to one side, there stood Squirrel Nutcracker. His voice was a little husky as he said: “I want to be proud of you, Twinkle Tail and Featherhead. See that you find nice homes and that you dont do anything to make me ashamed of you.” Then he hugged them good-by and went upstairs to Mrs. Nutcracker.HOME HUNTING It was a week or so after the Squirrel Brothers had left Nutcracker Lodge to find homes for themselves that Little Jack Rabbit came across Twinkle Tail. Its not an easy thing to find a new home, especially when all the nice warm hollow trees were already crowded with little people. Twinkle Tail discovered this when he started in house-hunting. “Why dont you take Grandmother Magpies nest?” asked the little rabbit. “She hasnt used it for some time and nobody seems to want it.” This was very true; perhaps it was because nobody liked Grandmother Magpie. But after Twinkle Tail had taken it over you never would have known it. You see, he altered it and arranged it and patched it up to suit himself. While he was putting on the finishing touches, who should come along but the old lady magpie herself. “Do you mind my doing this to your old place?” he asked, looking up from his work. “Not at all,” replied Grandmother Magpie, “Im done with it. Youre quite welcome to it, my dear.” This was the first time she had ever done a nice thing for anybody in the Shady Forest. But, you see, she liked Twinkle Tail. He was the only person she did like. I guess the reason was that she had never forgotten he had once been very polite to her. “Thank you,” said Twinkle Tail, smiling sweetly, and then he set to work harder than ever. After that the old lady magpie flew away, thinking how strange it was that a house which one has grown tired of often suits another person very well. By and by Twinkle Tail had another caller. It was Bobbie Redvest. “How do you like the way Im fixing up my house?” asked the little squirrel. “I think youve made one mistake,” replied Bobbie Redvest. “What is it?” asked Twinkle Tail anxiously. “The great thing, you know, is to hide your house as much as possible.” The little squirrel dropped the piece of green moss he was about to use, and waited. “You should make it look like the place its in,” went on the little robin. “You have chosen a browny place, so you must use brown moss on the outside.” “That sounds like good advice,” said Twinkle Tail. “Ill do as you say.” Here a leaf and there a twig,Piece of twine to bind themThen some moss to spread across,Till its hard to find them. Soon the tiny Treetop HouseWill be built and ready;Dry beneath the pelting rain,Against the wind quite steady.AN OLD CROWS NEST Now Featherhead had a much harder time finding a home than Brother Twinkle Tail. He traveled from the oaks to the beech trees, jumping from branch to branch, peeping first into this place and then into that, but every hole and hollow had a tenant. By and by he ran down to the ground and along the winding paths through the leaves and brush, but even then he could find nothing. No, sir. There didnt seem to be a single place in the whole big forest for this little squirrel. “Goodness me!” he exclaimed, “what shall I do? I dont want to go back to Nutcracker Lodge and tell them I cant look out for myself. Id feel like a baby.” So he sat down to think it over. All of a sudden who should come by but Jimmy Crow. “Whats the matter? You look dreadfully worried.” “And so I am,” replied the little squirrel. “And so would you be if you couldnt find a home for yourself.” Jimmy Crow turned his head first to one side and then to the other, and winked his bright little eye. Then he winked the other several times. After that he wagged his feathered tail and opened both eyes. “I know just the place for you.” “You dont mean it,” cried Featherhead. “I certainly do,” replied Jimmy Crow, “if youll follow me Ill take you there in a jiffy.” And Jimmie Crow knew what he was about, for he quickly led the little squirrel to a tall oak tree whose acorns lay in heaps all over the ground. Way up high on a branch was an old crows nest. “Theres the place for you,” cried Jimmy Crow. “You can fix it up in no time.” Featherhead thanked him and ran up the tree to look it over. It didnt take him long to make up his mind what to do. Pressing the sticks more closely together, he covered them overhead and all around with leafy twigs, until it looked like a great big ball