前言

秘方简介

常用词列表

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

II
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE AND HIS SHORT TAIL

ALL Danny Meadow Mouse 老鼠 could think about was his short tail 尾. He was so ashamed 惭愧的 of it that when‧ever 随时 any one passed, he crawled 爬行 out of sight so that they should not see how short his tail is. Instead of playing in the sun‧shine 阳光 as he used to do, he sat sit and sulked. Pretty soon his friends began to pass without stopping. Finally one day old Mr. Toad sat down in front of Danny and began to ask questions.

“What’s the matter?” asked old Mr. Toad.

“Nothing,” replied Danny Meadow Mouse 老鼠.

“I don’t suppose that there really is anything the matter, but what do you think is the matter?” said old Mr. Toad.

Danny fidgeted, and old Mr. Toad looked up at jolly 欢乐, round, red Mr. Sun and winked 眨眼. “Sun is just as bright as ever, isn’t it?” he inquired 打听.

“Yes,” said Danny.

“Got plenty to eat and drink, haven’t you?” continued Mr. Toad.

“Yes,” said Danny.

“Seems to me that that is a pretty good looking suit of clothes you’re wearing,” said Mr. Toad, eyeing Danny critically 危重. “Sunny weather, plenty to eat and drink, and good clothes—must be you don’t know when you’re well off, Danny Meadow Mouse 老鼠.”

Danny hung his head. Finally he looked up and caught catch a kindly twinkle 眨眼 in old Mr. Toad’s eyes. “Mr. Toad, how can I get a long tail 尾 like my cousin Whitefoot of the Green Forest?” he asked.

“So that’s what’s the matter! Ha! ha! ha! Danny Meadow Mouse 3, I’m ashamed 惭愧的 of you! I certainly am ashamed of you!” said Mr. Toad. “What good would a long tail 3 do you? Tell me that.”

For a minute Danny didn’t know just what to say. “I—I—I’d look so much better if I had a long tail,” he ventured 企业；投机活动；商业冒险.

Old Mr. Toad just laughed. “You never saw a Meadow Mouse with a long tail, did you? Of course not. What a sight it would be! Why, everybody on the Green Meadows would laugh themselves sick at the sight! You see you need to be slim 瘦 and trim 修剪 and hand‧some 英俊 to carry a long tail well. And then what a nuisance 讨厌事 it would be! You would always have to be thinking of your tail and taking care to keep it out of harm 损害’s way. Look at me. I’m homely. Some folks 民间 call me ugly 难看的 to look at. But no one tries to catch me as Farmer Brown’s boy does Billy Mink because of his fine coat; and no one wants to put me in a cage 笼子 because of a fine voice. I am satisfied to be just as I am, and if you’ll take my advice 劝告, Danny Meadow Mouse, you’ll be satisfied to be just as you are.”

“Perhaps you are right,” said Danny Meadow Mouse after a little. “I’ll try.”

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III
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK

LIFE is always a game of hide and seek 寻求 to Danny Meadow Mouse. You see, he is such a fat little fellow that there are a great many other furry-coated people, and almost as many who wear feathers 羽毛, who would gobble Danny up for break‧fast 早餐 or for dinner if they could. Some of them pretend 假装 to be his friends, but Danny always keeps his eyes open when they are around and always begins to play hide and seek 寻求. Peter Rabbit 兔子 and Jimmy Skunk and Striped Chipmunk and Happy Jack Squirrel are all friends whom 谁 he can trust, but he always has a bright twinkling 眨眼 eye open for Reddy Fox and Billy Mink and Shadow the Weasel and old Whitetail the Marsh Hawk, and several more, especially Hooty the Owl at night.

Now Danny Meadow Mouse is a stout 肥硕-hearted little fellow, and when rough Brother North Wind came shouting across the Green Meadows, tearing to pieces the snow clouds and shaking out the snowflakes until they covered the Green Meadows deep, deep, deep, Danny just snuggled down in his warm coat in his snug little house of grass 草 and waited. Danny liked the snow. Yes, Sir 先生, Danny Meadow Mouse liked the snow. He just loved to dig 挖 in it and make tunnels 隧道. Through those tunnels 隧道 in every direction he could go where he pleased and when he pleased without being seen by any‧body 任何人. It was great fun 乐趣!

Every little way he made a little round door‧way 门口 up beside a stiff 严厉的 stalk 茎 of grass 草. Out of this he could peep 窥视 at the white world, and he could get the fresh cold air. Sometimes, when he was quite sure that no one was around, he would scam‧per 诈骗‧每个；依照 across on top of the snow from one door‧way 门口 to another, and when he did this, he made the prettiest little foot‧print 脚印.

Now Reddy Fox knew all about those door‧way 门口 and who made them. Reddy was having hard work to get enough to eat this cold weather, and he was hungry 饥饿 most of the time. One morning, as he came tiptoeing softly over the meadows 草地, what should he see just ahead of him but the head of Danny Meadow Mouse pop 流行的 out of one of those little round door‧way 门口. Reddy’s mouth watered, and he stole forward more softly than ever. When he got within jumping distance, he drew draw his stout 肥硕 hind legs under him and made ready to spring. Presto! Danny Meadow Mouse had disappeared 不见! Reddy Fox jumped just the same and began to dig 挖 as fast as he could make his paws 爪子 go. He could smell Danny Meadow Mouse and that made him almost frantic 疯狂的.

All the time Danny Meadow Mouse was scurrying along one of his little tunnels 隧道, and when finally Reddy Fox stopped digging 挖 because he was quite out of breath, Danny popped 流行的 his head out of another little door‧way 门口 and laughed at Reddy. Of course Reddy saw him, and of course Reddy tried to catch him there, and dug 挖:dig frantically 疯狂 just as before. And of course Danny Meadow Mouse wasn’t there.

After a while Reddy Fox grew grow tired of this kind of a game and tried another plan. The next time he saw Danny Meadow Mouse stick his head out, Reddy pretended 假装 not to see him. He stretched himself out on the ground grind and made believe that he was very tired and sleepy 困. He closed his eyes. Then he opened them just the tiniest bit 一点, so that he could see Danny Meadow Mouse and yet seem to be asleep 睡着的. Danny watched him for a long time. Then he chuckled 暗笑 to himself and dropped out of sight.

No sooner was he gone than Reddy Fox stole over close to the little door‧way 门口 and waited. “He’ll surely stick his head out again to see if I’m asleep, and then I’ll have him,” said Reddy to himself. So he waited and waited and waited. By and by he turned his head. There was Danny Meadow Mouse at another little door‧way 门口 laughing at him!

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IV
OLD GRANNY FOX TRIES FOR DANNY MEADOW MOUSE

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE had not enjoyed anything so much for a long time as he did that game of hide and seek 寻求. He tickled 痒痒 and chuckled 暗笑 all the afternoon as he thought about it. Of course Reddy had been “it.” He had been “it” all the time, for never once had he caught Danny Meadow Mouse. If he had—well, there wouldn’t have been any more stories about Danny Meadow Mouse, because there wouldn’t have been any Danny Meadow Mouse any more.

But Danny never let himself think about this. He had enjoyed the game all the more because it had been such a dangerous 危险 game. It had been such fun 乐趣 to dive 潜水 into one of his little round door‧way 门口 in the snow, run along one of his own little tunnels 隧道, and then peep 窥视 out at another door‧way 门口 and watch Reddy Fox digging as fast as ever he could at the door‧way 门口 Danny had just left. Finally Reddy had given up in disgust 反感 and gone off muttering 咕哝 angrily 生气的 to try to find something else for dinner. Danny had sat up on the snow and watched him go. In his funny 有趣的 little squeaky voice Danny shouted:

That night Reddy Fox told old Granny Fox all about how he had tried to catch Danny Meadow Mouse. Granny listened with her head cocked 公鸡 on one side. When Reddy told how fat Danny Meadow Mouse was, her mouth watered. You see now that snow covered the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, Granny and Reddy Fox had hard work to get enough to eat, and they were hungry 饥饿 most of the time.

“I’ll go with you down on the meadows 草地 to-morrow morning, and then we’ll see if Danny Meadow Mouse is as smart 聪明 as he thinks he is,” said Granny Fox.

So, bright and early the next morning, old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox went down on the meadows 草地 where Danny Meadow Mouse lives. Danny had felt in his bones 骨头 that Reddy would come back, so he was watching, and he saw them as soon as they came out of the Green Forest. When he saw old Granny Fox, Danny’s heart beat a little faster than before, for he knew that Granny Fox is very smart 聪明 and very wise 明智的；聪明的 and has learned learn most of the tricks 哄骗；诀窍 of all the other little meadow 草地 and forest people.

“This is going to be a more exciting game than the other,” said Danny to himself, and scurried down out of sight to see that all his little tunnels 隧道 were clear so that he could run fast through them if he had to. Then he peeped 窥视 out of one of his little door‧way 门口 hidden hide in a clump 丛 of tall grass.

Old Granny Fox set Reddy to hunting for Danny’s little round door‧way 门口, and as fast as he found them, Granny came up and sniffed 吸气 at each. She knew that she could tell by the smell which one he had been at last. Finally she came straight towards the tall bunch 束 of grass. Danny ducked 鸭子 down and scurried along one of his little tunnels 隧道. He heard Granny Fox sniff 吸气 at the door‧way 门口 he had just left. Suddenly something plunged 跳水 down through the snow right at his very heels 脚跟. Danny didn’t have to look to know that it was Granny Fox her‧self 她自己, and he squeaked 吱 with fright 恐怖.

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V
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE GREEN MEADOWS

THICK and fast things were happening to Danny Meadow Mouse down on the snow-covered Green Meadows. Rather, they were almost happening. He hadn’t minded when Reddy Fox all alone tried to catch him. Indeed, he had made a regular game of hide and seek 寻求 of it and had enjoyed it immensely 极大的. But now it was different. Granny Fox wasn’t so easily fooled as Reddy Fox. Just Granny alone would have made the game dangerous 危险 for Danny Meadow Mouse. But Reddy was with her, and so Danny had two to look out for, and he got so many frights 恐怖 that it seemed to him as if his heart had moved right up into his mouth and was going to stay there. Yes, Sir 先生, that is just how it seemed.

Down in his little tunnels 隧道 underneath 在...之下 the snow Danny Meadow Mouse felt perfectly safe from Reddy Fox, who would stop and dig 挖 frantically 疯狂 at the little round door‧way 门口 where he had last seen Danny. But old Granny Fox knew all about those little tunnels 隧道, and she didn’t waste any time digging at the door‧way 门口. Instead she cocked 公鸡 her sharp little ears and listened with all her might. Now Granny Fox has very keen 热切的 ears, oh, very keen ears, and she heard just what she hoped she would hear. She heard Danny Meadow Mouse running along one of his little tunnels 隧道 under the snow.

Plunge! Old Granny Fox dived 潜水 right into the snow and right through into the tunnel 隧道 of Danny Meadow Mouse. Her two black paws actually touched Danny’s tail. He was glad 高兴的 then that it was no longer.

“Ha!” cried Granny Fox, “I almost got him that time!”

Then she ran ahead a little way over the snow, listening as before. Plunge! Into the snow she went again. It was lucky 幸运 for him that Danny had just turned into another tunnel 隧道, for otherwise she would surely have caught him.

Granny Fox blew blow the snow out of her nose. “Next time I’ll get him!” said she.

Now Reddy Fox is quick to learn, especially when it is a way to get something to eat. He watched Granny Fox, and when he understood understand what she was doing, he made up his mind to have a try himself, for he was afraid that if she caught Danny Meadow Mouse, she would think that he was not big enough to divide. Perhaps that was because Reddy is very selfish 自私的 himself. So the next time Granny plunged 跳水 into the snow and missed Danny Meadow Mouse just as before, Reddy rushed 仓促 in ahead of her, and the minute he heard Danny running down below, he plunged 跳水 in just as he had seen Granny do. But he didn’t take the pains to make sure of just where Danny was, and so of course he didn’t come any‧where 任何地方 near him. But he frightened 使惊恐 Danny still more and made old Granny Fox lose her temper 性情.

Poor Danny Meadow Mouse! He had never been so frightened in all his life. He didn’t know which way to turn or where to run. And so he sat still, which, although he didn’t know it, was the very best thing he could do. When he sat still he made no noise 噪音, and so of course Granny and Reddy Fox could not tell where he was. Old Granny Fox sat and listened and listened and listened, and wondered where Danny Meadow Mouse was. And down under the snow Danny Meadow Mouse sat and listened and listened and listened, and wondered where Granny and Reddy Fox were.

“Pooh!” said Granny Fox after a while, “that Meadow Mouse thinks he can fool me by sitting still. I’ll give him a scare 惊恐.”

Then she began to plunge 跳水 into the snow this way and that way, and sure enough, pretty soon she landed so close to Danny Meadow Mouse that one of her claws 爪 scratched 刮 him.

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VI
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE REMEMBERS AND REDDY FOX FORGETS

“THERE he goes!” cried old Granny Fox. “Don’t let him sit still again!”

“I hear him!” shouted Reddy Fox, and plunged 跳水 down into the snow just as Granny Fox had done a minute before. But he didn’t catch anything, and when he had blown blow the snow out of his nose and wiped 擦 it out of his eyes, he saw Granny Fox dive 潜水 into the snow with no better luck.

“Never mind,” said Granny Fox, “as long as we keep him running, we can hear him, and some one of these times we’ll catch him. Pretty soon he’ll get too tired to be so spry, and when he is—” Granny didn’t finish, but licked 舔 her chops 劈 and smacked 拍击 her lips. Reddy Fox grinned 微笑, then licked 舔 his chops 劈 and smacked 拍击 his lips. Then once more they took turns diving 潜水 into the snow.

And down underneath 在...之下 in the little tunnels 隧道 he had made, Danny Meadow Mouse was running for his life. He was getting tired, just as old Granny Fox had said he would. He was almost out of breath. He was sore 疼痛的 and one leg smarted 聪明, for in one of her jumps old Granny Fox had so nearly caught him that her claws 爪 had torn tear his pants 喘气 and scratched him.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear! If only I had time to think!” panted 喘气 Danny Meadow Mouse, and then he squealed in still greater fright 恐怖 as Reddy Fox crashed 碰撞 down into his tunnel 隧道 right at his very heels 脚跟. “I’ve got to get somewhere! I’ve got to get somewhere where they can’t get at me!” he sobbed 哭泣. And right that very instant 瞬间 he remembered the old fence 栅栏-post!

The old fence-post lay lie on the ground and was hollow 空的. Fastened to it were long wires with sharp cruel 残酷的 barbs 倒钩. Danny had made a tunnel 隧道 over to that old fence-post the very first day after the snow came, for in that hollow in the old post he had a secret store of seeds. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? It must have been because he was too frightened to think. But he remembered now, and he dodged 躲闪 into the tunnel 隧道 that led to the old fence-post, running faster than ever, for though his heart was in his mouth from fear, in his heart was hope, and hope is a wonderful 精彩 thing.

Now old Granny Fox knew all about that old fence-post and she remembered all about those barbed 倒钩 wires fastened 系牢 to it. Although they were covered with snow she knew just about where they lay, and just before she reached them she stopped plunging 跳水 down into the snow. Reddy Fox knew about those wires, too, but he was so excited that he forgot forget all about them.

“Stop!” cried old Granny Fox sharply.

But Reddy Fox didn’t hear, or if he heard he didn’t heed. His sharp ears could hear Danny Meadow Mouse running almost underneath 在...之下 him. Granny Fox could stop if she wanted to, but he was going to have Danny Meadow Mouse for his break‧fast 早餐! Down into the snow he plunged 跳水 as hard as ever he could.

“Oh! Oh! Wow! Wow! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!”

That wasn’t the voice of Danny Meadow Mouse. Oh, my, no! It was the voice of Reddy Fox. Yes, Sir 先生, it was the voice of Reddy Fox. He had landed with one of his black paws right on one of those sharp wire barbs 倒钩, and it did hurt 损害 dreadfully 可怕.

“I never did know a young Fox who could get into so much trouble as you can!” snapped 卡 old Granny Fox, as Reddy hobbled along on three legs behind her, across the snow-covered Green Meadows. “It serves you right for forgetting!”

“Yes’m,” said Reddy meekly.

And safe in the hollow 空的 of the old fence-post, Danny Meadow Mouse was dressing the scratch 刮 on his leg made by the claws 爪 of old Granny Fox.

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VII
OLD GRANNY FOX TRIES A NEW PLAN

OLD Granny Fox kept thinking about Danny Meadow Mouse. She knew that he was fat, and it made her mouth water every time she thought of him. She made up her mind that she must and would have him. She knew that Danny had been very, very much frightened when she and Reddy Fox had tried so hard to catch him by plunging 跳水 down through the snow into his little tunnels 隧道 after him, and she felt pretty sure that he wouldn’t go far away from the old fence-post, in the hollow 3 of which he was snug and safe.

Old Granny Fox is very smart 聪明. “Danny Meadow Mouse won win’t put his nose out of that old fence-post for a day or two. Then he’ll get tired of staying inside all the time, and he’ll peep 窥视 out of one of his little round door‧way 门口 to see if the way is clear. If he doesn’t see any danger, he’ll come out and run around on top of the snow to get some of the seeds in the tops of the tall grasses 草 that stick out through the snow. If nothing frightens 使惊恐 him, he’ll keep going a little farther and a little farther from that old fence-post. I must see to it that Danny Meadow Mouse isn’t frightened for a few days.” So said old Granny Fox to her‧self 她自己, as she lay under a hem‧lock 下摆‧锁-tree, studying how she could best get the next meal 餐.

Then she called Reddy Fox to her and forbade 禁止:forbid him to go down on the meadows 草地 until she should tell him he might. Reddy grumbled 叽 and mumbled 咕哝 and didn’t see why he shouldn’t go where he pleased, but he didn’t dare 敢 disobey. You see he had a sore 疼痛的 foot. He had hurt 损害 it on a wire barb 倒钩 when he was plunging 跳水 through the snow after Danny Meadow Mouse, and now he had to run on three legs. That meant that he must depend upon Granny Fox to help him get enough to eat. So Reddy didn’t dare to disobey.

It all came out just as Granny Fox had thought it would. Danny Meadow Mouse did get tired of staying in the old fence-post. He did peep 窥视 out first, and then he did run a little way on the snow, and then a little farther and a little farther. But all the time he took great care not to get more than a jump or two from one of his little round door‧way 门口 leading down to his tunnels 隧道 under the snow.

Hidden hide on the edge of the Green Forest, Granny Fox watched him. She looked up at the sky, and she knew that it was going to snow again. “That’s good,” said she. “To-morrow morning I’ll have fat Meadow Mouse for breakfast,” and she smiled a hungry 饥饿 smile.

The next morning, before jolly 欢乐, round, red Mr. Sun was out of bed, old Granny Fox trotted 小跑 down on to the meadows 草地 and straight over to where, down under the snow, lay the old fence-post. It had snowed again, and all of the little door‧way 门口 of Danny Meadow Mouse were covered up with soft, fleecy snow. Behind Granny Fox limped 跛行 Reddy Fox, grumbling 叽 to himself.

When they reached the place where the old fence-post lay buried 埋葬 under the snow, old Granny Fox stretched out as flat as she could. Then she told Reddy to cover her up with the new soft snow. Reddy did as he was told, but all the time he grumbled 叽. “Now you go off to the Green Forest and keep out of sight,” said Granny Fox. “By and by I’ll bring you some Meadow Mouse for your breakfast,” and Granny Fox chuckled 暗笑 to think how smart 聪明 she was and how she was going to catch Danny Meadow Mouse.

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VIII
BROTHER NORTH WIND PROVES A FRIEND

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE had seen nothing of old Granny Fox or Reddy Fox for several days. Every morning the first thing he did, even before he had breakfast, was to climb up to one of his little round door‧way 门口 and peep 窥视 out over the beautiful 美丽 white meadows 草地, to see if there was any danger near. But every time he did this, Danny used a different door‧way 门口. “For,” said Danny to himself, “if any one should happen, just happen, to see me this morning, they might be waiting just outside my door‧way 门口 to catch me to-morrow morning.” You see there is a great deal of wisdom 智慧 in the little head that Danny Meadow Mouse carries on his shoulders.

But the first day and the second day and the third day he saw nothing of old Granny Fox or of Reddy Fox, and he began to enjoy running through his tunnels 隧道 under the snow and scurrying across from one door‧way 门口 to another on top of the snow, just as he had before the Foxes had tried so hard to catch him. But he hadn’t forgotten forget, as Granny Fox had hoped he would. No, indeed, Danny Meadow Mouse hadn’t forgotten. He was too wise 明智的；聪明的 for that.

One morning, when he started to climb up to one of his little door‧way 门口, he found that it was closed. Yes, Sir 3, it was closed. In fact, there wasn’t any door‧way 门口. More snow had fallen fall from the clouds in the night and had covered up every one of the little round door‧way 门口 of Danny Meadow Mouse.

“Ha!” said Danny, “I shall have a busy day, a very busy day, opening all my door‧way 门口. I’ll eat my breakfast, and then I’ll go to work.”

So Danny Meadow Mouse ate a good breakfast of seeds which he had stored in the hollow in the old fence-post buried under the snow, and then he began work on the nearest door‧way 门口. It really wasn’t work at all, for you see the snow was soft and light, and Danny dearly loved to dig 3 in it. In a few minutes he had made a wee 凌晨 hole through which he could peep 窥视 up at jolly 欢乐, round Mr. Sun. In a few minutes more he had made it big enough to put his head out. He looked this way and he looked that way. Far, far off on the top of a tree he could see old Roughleg the Hawk, but he was so far away that Danny didn’t fear him at all.

“I don’t see anything or any‧body 任何人 to be afraid of,” said Danny and poked 戳 his head out a little farther.

Then he sat and studied everything around him a long, long time. It was a beautiful 美丽 white world, a very beautiful 美丽 white world. Everything was so white and pure and beautiful 美丽 that it didn’t seem possible that harm 损害 or danger for any one could even be thought of. But Danny Meadow Mouse learned long ago that things are not always what they seem, and so he sat with just his little head sticking out of his door‧way 门口 and studied and studied. Just a little way off was a little heap 堆 of snow.

“I don’t remember that,” said Danny. “And I don’t remember anything that would make that. There isn’t any little bush 灌木 or old log 记录 or anything underneath 在...之下 it. Perhaps rough Brother North Wind heaped 堆 it up, just for fun.”

But all the time Danny Meadow Mouse kept studying and studying that little heap of snow. Pretty soon he saw rough Brother North Wind coming his way and tossing 折腾 the snow about as he came. He caught a handful 少数 from the top of the little heap of snow that Danny was studying, and when he had passed, Danny’s sharp eyes saw something red there. It was just the color of the cloak 披风 old Granny Fox wears.

shouted Danny Meadow Mouse and dropped down out of sight, while old Granny Fox shook shake the snow from her red cloak 披风 and, with a snarl 搞乱 of disappointment 失望 and anger 生气, slowly started for the Green Forest, where Reddy Fox was waiting for her.

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IX
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE IS CAUGHT AT LAST

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE sang sing this, or at least he tried to sing it, as he skipped 跳跃 about on the snow that covered the Green Meadows. But Danny Meadow Mouse has such a little voice, such a funny 有趣的 little squeaky voice, that had you been there you probably would never have guessed that he was singing. He thought he was, though, and was enjoying it just as much as if he had the most beautiful 美丽 voice in the world. You know singing is nothing in the world but happiness 幸福 in the heart making itself 本身 heard.

Oh, yes, Danny Meadow Mouse was happy! Why shouldn’t he have been? Hadn’t he proved himself smarter 聪明 than old Granny Fox? That is something to make any one happy. Some folks 民间 may fool Granny Fox once; some may fool her twice 两次; but there are very few who can keep right on fooling her until she gives up in disgust 反感. That is just what Danny Meadow Mouse had done, and he felt very smart 聪明 and of course he felt very happy.

So Danny sang his little song and skipped 跳跃 about in the moon‧light 月光, and dodged 躲闪 in and out of his little round door‧way 门口, and all the time kept his sharp little eyes open for any sign of Granny Fox or Reddy Fox. But with all his smartness, Danny forgot. Yes, Sir, Danny forgot one thing. He forgot to watch up in the sky. He knew that of course old Roughleg the Hawk was asleep 睡着的, so he had nothing to fear from him. But he never once thought of Hooty the Owl.

Dear me, dear me! Forgetting is a dreadful 可怕 habit 习惯. If nobody ever forgot, there wouldn’t be nearly so much trouble in the world. No, indeed, there wouldn’t be nearly so much trouble. And Danny Meadow Mouse forgot. He skipped 跳跃 and sang and was happy as could be, and never once thought to watch up in the sky.

Over in the Green Forest Hooty the Owl had had poor hunting, and he was feeling cross. You see, Hooty was hungry 饥饿, and hunger 饿 is apt 易于 to make one feel cross. The longer he hunted, the hungrier 饥饿 and crosser he grew. Suddenly he thought of Danny Meadow Mouse.

“I suppose he is asleep 3 somewhere safe and snug under the snow,” grumbled 叽 Hooty, “but he might be, he just might be out for a frolic in the moon‧light 月光. I believe I’ll go down on the meadows 草地 and see.”

Now Hooty the Owl can fly without making the teeniest, weeniest sound. It seems as if he just drifts 漂移 along through the air like a great shadow. Now he spread his great wings 翅膀 and floated 漂浮 out over the meadows 草地. You know Hooty can see as well at night as most folks 民间 can by day, and it was not long before he saw Danny Meadow Mouse skipping 跳跃 about on the snow and dodging 躲闪 in and out of his little round door‧way 门口. Hooty’s great eyes grew brighter and fiercer 凶猛的. Without a sound he floated through the moon‧light 月光 until he was just over Danny Meadow Mouse.

Too late Danny looked up. His little song ended in a tiny 小 squeak 吱 of fear, and he started for his nearest little round door‧way 门口. Hooty the Owl reached down with his long cruel 残酷的 claws 爪 and—Danny Meadow Mouse was caught at last!

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X
A STRANGE RIDE AND HOW IT ENDED

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE often had sat watching Skimmer the Swallow 吞 sailing 航行；帆 around up in the blue, blue sky. He had watched Ol’ Mistah Buzzard go up, up, up, until he was nothing but a tiny 小 speck, and Danny had wondered how it would seem to be way up above the Green Meadows and the Green Forest and look down. It had seemed to him that it must be very wonderful 精彩 and beautiful 美丽. Sometimes he had wished that he had wings and could go up in the air and look down. And now here he was, he, Danny Meadow Mouse, actually doing that very thing!

But Danny could see nothing wonderful 精彩 or beautiful 美丽 now. No, indeed! Everything was terrible, for you see Danny Meadow Mouse wasn’t flying himself. He was being carried. Yes, Sir, Danny Meadow Mouse was being carried through the air in the cruel 残酷的 claws 爪 of Hooty the Owl! And all because Danny had forgotten—forgotten to watch up in the sky for danger.

Poor, poor Danny Meadow Mouse! Hooty’s great cruel 3 claws 爪 hurt him dreadfully 可怕! But it wasn’t the pain that was the worst 生病:ill. No, indeed! It wasn’t the pain! It was the thought of what would happen when Hooty reached his home in the Green Forest, for he knew that there Hooty would gobble him up, bones and all. As he flew fly, Hooty kept chuckling 暗笑, and Danny Meadow Mouse knew just what those chuckles 暗笑 meant. They meant that Hooty was thinking of the good meal 餐 he was going to have.

Hanging there in Hooty’s great cruel claws 爪, Danny looked down on the snow-covered Green Meadows he loved so well. They seemed a fright‧fully 恐怖‧完全地 long way below him, though really they were not far at all, for Hooty was flying very low. But Danny Meadow Mouse had never in all his life been so high up before, and so it seemed to him that he was way, way up in the sky, and he shut 关闭 his eyes so as not to see. But he couldn’t keep them shut. No, Sir, he couldn’t keep them shut! He just had to keep opening them. There was the dear old Green Forest drawing nearer and nearer. It always had looked very beautiful 美丽 to Danny Meadow Mouse, but now it looked terrible, very terrible indeed, because over in it, in some dark place, was the home of Hooty the Owl.

Just ahead of him was the Old Briar-patch 补丁 where Peter Rabbit 兔子 lives so safely. Every old bramble in it was covered with snow and it was very, very beautiful 美丽. Really everything was just as beautiful 美丽 as ever—the moon‧light 月光, the Green Forest, the snow-covered Green Meadows, the Old Briar-patch 补丁. The only change was in Danny Meadow Mouse himself, and it was all because he had forgotten.

Suddenly Danny began to wriggle 蠢动 and struggle. “Keep still!” snapped 卡 Hooty the Owl.

But Danny only struggled harder than ever. It seemed to him that Hooty wasn’t holding him as tightly 紧的 as at first. He felt one of Hooty’s claws 爪 slip. It tore tear his coat and hurt dreadfully 可怕, but it slipped! The fact is, Hooty had only grabbed 用手抓 Danny Meadow Mouse by the loose part of his coat, and up in the air he couldn’t get hold of Danny any better. Danny kicked 踢, squirmed and twisted 扭成一束, and twisted, squirmed, and kicked. He felt his coat tear and of course the skin 皮 with it, but he kept right on, for now he was hanging almost free. Hooty had started down now, so as to get a better hold. Danny gave one more kick 踢 and then—he felt himself falling!

Danny Meadow Mouse shut his eyes and held his breath. Down, down, down he fell fall. It seemed to him that he never would strike the snow-covered meadows 草地! Really he fell only a very little distance. But it seemed a terrible distance to Danny. He hit something that scratched him, and then plump 丰满! he landed in the soft snow right in the very middle of the Old Briar-patch 补丁, and the last thing he remembered was hearing the scream 叫喊 of disappointment 失望 and rage 愤怒 of Hooty the Owl.

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XI
PETER RABBIT GETS A FRIGHT

PETER RABBIT 兔子 sat in his favorite 喜爱的 place in the middle of the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁, trying to decide which way he would go on his travels that night. The night before he had had a narrow escape from old Granny Fox over in the Green Forest. There was nothing to eat around the Smiling Pool and no one to talk to there any more, and you know that Peter must either eat or ask questions in order to be perfectly happy. No, the Smiling Pool was too dull 钝的；没兴趣 a place to interest Peter on such a beautiful 美丽 moonlight 4 night, and Peter had no mind to try his legs against those of old Granny Fox again in the Green Forest.

Early that morning, just after Peter had settled down for his morning nap 小憩, Tommy Tit the Chickadee had dropped into the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁 just to be neighborly. Peter was just dozing off when he heard the cheeriest little voice in the world. It was saying:

Peter began to smile even before he could get his eyes open and look up. There, right over his head, was Tommy Tit hanging head down from a nodding 点头 old bramble. In a twinkling 眨眼 he was down on the snow right in front of Peter, then up in the brambles again, right side up, upside 上边 down, here, there, every‧where 到处, never still a minute, and all the time chattering 喋喋不休 away in the cheeriest little voice in the world.

“ Hello 哈喽, Tommy!” said Peter Rabbit 3. “Where’d you come from?”

“From Farmer Brown’s new orchard 果园 up on the hill. It’s a fine orchard 果园, Peter Rabbit, a fine orchard 果园. I go there every morning for my breakfast. If the winter lasts long enough, I’ll have all the trees cleaned up for Farmer Brown.”

Peter looked puzzled 使迷惑. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Just what I say,” replied Tommy Tit, almost turning a somersault in the air. “There’s a million eggs 鸡蛋 of insects 虫 on those young peach 桃子-trees, but I’m clearing them all off as fast as I can. They’re mighty 威武 fine eating, Peter Rabbit, mighty 威武 fine eating!” And with that Tommy Tit had said good-by and flitted away.

Peter was thinking of that young orchard 果园 now, as he sat in the moonlight 5 trying to make up his mind where to go. The thought of those young peach 桃子-trees made his mouth water. It was a long way up to the orchard 果园 on the hill, a very long way, and Peter was wondering if it really was safe to go. He had just about made up his mind to try it, for Peter is very, very fond 喜欢的 of the bark 吠 of young peach 桃子-trees, when thump 扑通! something dropped out of the sky at his very feet.

It startled 惊吓 Peter so that he nearly tumbled 下跌 over backward 向后的. And right at the same instant 瞬间 came the fierce 凶猛的, angry 生气的 scream 叫喊 of Hooty the Owl. That almost made Peter’s heart stop beating, although he knew that Hooty couldn’t get him down there in the Old Briar-patch 补丁. When Peter got his wits 风趣 together and his heart didn’t go so jumpy, he looked to see what had dropped so close to him out of the sky. His big eyes grew bigger than ever, and he rubbed 擦 them to make quite sure that he really saw what he thought he saw. Yes, there was no doubt about it—there at his feet lay Danny Meadow Mouse!

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XII
THE OLD BRIAR-PATCH HAS A NEW TENANT

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE slowly opened his eyes and then closed them again quickly, as if afraid to look around. He could hear some one talking. It was a pleasant voice, not at all like the terrible voice of Hooty the Owl, which was the very last thing that Danny Meadow Mouse could remember. Danny lay still a minute and listened.

“Why, Danny Meadow Mouse, where in the world did you drop from?” asked the voice. It sounded like—why, very much like Peter Rabbit speaking. Danny opened his eyes again. It was Peter Rabbit.

“Where—where am I?” asked Danny Meadow Mouse in a very weak and small voice.

“In the middle of the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁 with me,” replied Peter Rabbit. “But how did you get here? You seemed to drop right out of the sky.”

Danny Meadow Mouse shuddered 不寒而栗. Suddenly he remembered everything: how Hooty the Owl had caught him in great cruel claws 爪 and had carried him through the moonlight across the snow-covered Green Meadows; how he had felt Hooty’s claws 爪 slip and then had struggled and kicked and twisted and turned until his coat had torn and he had dropped down, down, down until he had landed in the soft snow and knocked 敲 all the breath out of his little body. The very last thing he could remember was Hooty’s fierce 凶猛的 scream 叫喊 of rage 愤怒 and disappointment 失望. Danny shuddered 不寒而栗 again.

Then a new thought came to him. He must get out of sight! Hooty might catch him again! Danny tried to scramble 争夺 to his feet.

“Ooch! Oh!” groaned 呻吟 Danny and lay still again.

“There, there. Keep still, Danny Meadow Mouse. There’s nothing to be afraid of here,” said Peter Rabbit gently. His big eyes filled with tears as he looked at Danny Meadow Mouse, for Danny was all torn and hurt by the cruel claws 爪 of Hooty the Owl, and you know Peter has a very tender 纤弱的 heart.

So Danny lay still, and while Peter Rabbit tried to make him comfort‧able 舒服；自在 and dress his hurts 损害, he told Peter all about how he had forgotten to watch up in the sky and so had been caught by Hooty the Owl, and all about his terrible ride in Hooty’s cruel claws 爪.

“Oh, dear, whatever shall I do now?” he ended. “However shall I get back home to my warm house of grass, my safe little tunnels 隧道 under the snow, and my little store of seeds in the snug hollow in the old fence-post?”

Peter Rabbit looked thoughtful 周到. “You can’t do it,” said he. “You simply can’t do it. It is such a long way for a little fellow like you that it wouldn’t be safe to try. If you went at night, Hooty the Owl might catch you again. If you tried in day‧light 日光, old Roughleg the Hawk would be almost sure to see you. And night or day old Granny Fox or Reddy Fox might come snooping around, and if they did, they would be sure to catch you. I tell you what, you stay right here! The dear Old Briar-patch 补丁 is the safest place in the world. Why, just think, here you can come out in broad day‧light 日光 and laugh at Granny and Reddy Fox and at old Roughleg the Hawk, because the good old brambles will keep them out, if they try to get you. You can make just as good tunnels 隧道 under the snow here as you had there, and there are lots and lots of seeds on the ground to eat. You know I don’t care for them myself 我. I’m lone‧some 孤单‧一些 sometimes, living here all alone. You stay here, and we’ll have the Old Briar-patch 补丁 to ourselves 我们自己.”

Danny Meadow Mouse looked at Peter gratefully 感激的. “I will, and thank you ever so much, Peter Rabbit,” he said.

And this is how the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁 happened to have another tenant 承租人.

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XIII
PETER RABBIT VISITS THE PEACH ORCHARD

“DON’T go, Peter Rabbit! Don’t go!” begged 乞讨 Danny Meadow Mouse.

Peter hopped 跳 to the edge of the Old Briar-patch 补丁 and looked over the moonlit, snow-covered meadows 草地 to the hill back of Farmer Brown’s house. On that hill was the young peach 桃子 orchard 果园 of which Tommy Tit the Chickadee had told him, and ever since Peter’s mouth had watered and watered every time he thought of those young peach 桃子-trees and the tender 纤弱的 bark 吠 on them.

“I think I will, Danny, just this once,” said Peter. “It’s a long way, and I’ve never been there before; but I guess it’s just as safe as the Meadows or the Green Forest.

And with that, Peter Rabbit left the dear safe Old Briar-patch 补丁, and away he went lipperty-lipperty-lip, across the Green Meadows towards the hill and the young orchard 果园 back of Farmer Brown’s house.

Danny Meadow Mouse watched him go and shook his head in disapproval 不赞成. “Foolish, foolish 傻, foolish 傻!” he said over and over to himself. “Why can’t Peter be content with the good things that he has?”

Peter Rabbit hurried along through the moonlight, stopping every few minutes to sit up to look and listen. He heard the fierce 凶猛的 hunting call of Hooty the Owl way over in the Green Forest, so he felt sure that at present there was nothing to fear from him. He knew that since their return to the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, Granny and Reddy Fox had kept away from Farmer Brown’s, so he did not worry about them.

All in good time Peter came to the young orchard 果园. It was just as Tommy Tit the Chickadee had told him. Peter hopped 跳 up to the nearest peach 桃子-tree and nibbled the bark 吠. My, how good it tasted! He went all around the tree, stripping off the bark 吠. He stood up on his long hind legs and reached as high as he could. Then he dug 挖:dig the snow away and ate down as far as he could. When he could get no more tender 纤弱的 young bark 吠, he went on to the next tree.

Now though Peter didn’t know it, he was in the very worst kind of mischief 恶作剧. You see, when he took off all the bark 吠 all the way around the young peach 桃子-tree he killed the tree, for you know it is on the inside of the bark 吠 that the sap 树液 which gives life to a tree and makes it grow goes up from the roots to all the branches. So when Peter ate the bark 吠 all the way around the trunk 树干 of the young tree, he had made it impossible for the sap 树液 to come up in the spring. Oh, it was the very worst kind of mischief 恶作剧 that Peter Rabbit was in.

But Peter didn’t know it, and he kept right on filling that big stomach 胃 of his and enjoying it so much that he forgot to watch out for danger. Suddenly, just as he had begun on another tree, a great roar 咆哮 right behind him made him jump almost out of his skin 皮. He knew that voice, and without waiting to even look behind him, he started for the stone wall on the other side of the orchard 果园. Right at his heels 脚跟, his great mouth wide open, was Bowser the Hound.

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XIV
FARMER BROWN SETS A TRAP

PETER RABBIT was in trouble. He had gotten into mischief 恶作剧 and now, like every one who gets into mischief 恶作剧, he wished that he hadn’t. The worst of it was that he was a long way from his home in the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁, and he didn’t know how he ever could get back there again. Where was he? Why, in the stone wall on one side of Farmer Brown’s young peach 桃子 orchard 果园. How Peter blessed 祝福 the old stone wall in which he had found a safe hiding-place! Bowser had hung around nearly all night, so that Peter had not dared 敢 to try to go home. Now it was day‧light 日光, and Peter knew it would not be safe to put his nose outside.

Peter was worried, so worried that he couldn’t go to sleep as he usually does in the day‧time 白天. So he sat hidden in the old wall and waited and watched. By and by he saw Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown’s boy come out into the orchard 果园. Right away they saw the mischief 恶作剧 which Peter had done, and he could tell by the sound of their voices that they were very, very angry 生气的. They went away, but before long they were back again, and all day long Peter watched them work putting something around each of the young peach 桃子-trees. Peter grew so curious that he forgot all about his troubles and how far away from home he was. He could hardly wait for night to come so that he might see what they had been doing.

Just as jolly 欢乐, round, red Mr. Sun started to go to bed behind the Purple 紫色的 Hills, Farmer Brown and his boy started back to the house. Farmer Brown was smiling now.

“I guess that that will fix him!” he said.

“Now what does he mean by that?” thought Peter. “Who will it fix? Can it be me? I don’t need any fixing.”

He waited just as long as he could. When all was still, and the moonlight had begun to make shadows of the trees on the snow, Peter very cautiously 小心的 crept 爬行:creep out of his hiding-place. Bowser the Hound was now‧here 无处 in sight, and everything was as quiet and peaceful 平静的 as it had been when he first came into the orchard 果园 the night before. Peter had fully 充分 made up his mind to go straight home as fast as his long legs would take him, but his dreadful 可怕 curiosity 好奇心 insisted 咬定 that first he must find out what Farmer Brown and his boy had been doing to the young peach 桃子-trees.

So Peter hurried over to the nearest tree. All around the trunk 树干 of the tree, from the ground clear up higher than Peter could reach, was wrapped 包 wire netting 网. Peter couldn’t get so much as a nibble of the delicious 美味的 bark 吠. He hadn’t intended to take any, for he had meant to go right straight home, but now that he couldn’t get any, he wanted some more than ever,—just a bite 咬. Peter looked around. Everything was quiet. He would try the next tree, and then he would go home.

But the next tree was wrapped with wire. Peter hesitated 犹豫, looked around, turned to go home, thought of how good that bark 吠 had tasted the night before, hesitated again, and then hurried over to the third tree. It was protected just like the others. Then Peter forgot all about going home. He wanted some of that delicious 美味的 bark 吠, and he ran from one tree to another as fast as he could go.

At last, way down at the end of the orchard 果园, Peter found a tree that had no wire around it. “They must have forgotten this one!” he thought, and his eyes sparkled 火花. All around on the snow were a lot of little, shiny 闪亮 wires, but Peter didn’t notice them. All he saw was that delicious 美味的 bark 吠 on the young peach 桃子-tree. He hopped 跳 right into the middle of the wires, and then, just as he reached up to take the first bite 咬 of bark 吠, he felt something tugging 拖船 at one of his hind legs.

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XV
PETER RABBIT IS CAUGHT IN A SNARE

WHEN Peter Rabbit, reaching up to nibble the bark 吠 of one of Farmer Brown’s young trees, felt something tugging 拖船 at one of his hind legs, he was so startled 惊吓 that he jumped to get away. Instead of doing this, he fell flat on his face. The thing on his hind leg had tightened 收紧 and held him fast. A great fear came to Peter Rabbit, and lying there in the snow, he kicked and struggled with all his might. But the more he kicked, the tighter 紧的 grew that hateful thing on his leg! Finally he grew too tired to kick 踢 any more and lay still. The dreadful 可怕 thing that held him hurt his leg, but it didn’t pull when he lay still.

When he had grown grow a little calmer 镇定的, Peter sat up to examine the thing which held him so fast. It was something like one of the black‧berry 黑色‧梅；浆果 vines 藤蔓 he had sometimes tripped over, only it was bright and shiny 闪亮, and had no branches or tiny 小 prickers, and one end was fastened to a stake 赌注. Peter tried to bite 咬 off the shiny 闪亮 thing, but even his great, sharp front teeth couldn’t cut it. Then Peter knew what it was. It was wire! It was a snare which Farmer Brown had set to catch him, and which he had walked right into because he had been so greedy 贪婪 for the bark 吠 of the young peach 桃子-tree that he had not used his eyes to look out for danger.

Oh, how Peter Rabbit did wish that he had not been so curious to know what Farmer Brown had been doing that day, and that he had gone straight home as he had meant to do, instead of trying to get one more meal of young peach 桃子-bark 吠! Big tears rolled down Peter’s cheeks 脸颊. What should he do? What could he do? For a long time Peter sat in the moonlight, trying to think of something to do. At last he thought of the stake 赌注 to which that hateful wire was fastened. The stake 赌注 was of wood, and Peter’s teeth would cut wood. Peter’s heart gave a great leap 飞跃 of hope, and he began at once to dig away the snow from around the stake 赌注, and then settled himself to gnaw the stake 赌注 in two.

Peter had been hard at work on the stake 赌注 a long time and had it a little more than half cut through, when he heard a loud 响亮的 sniff 吸气 down at the other end of the orchard 果园. He looked up to see— whom 谁 do you think? Why, Bowser the Hound! He hadn’t seen Peter yet, but he had already found Peter’s tracks 小路, and it wouldn’t be but a few minutes before he found Peter himself.

Poor Peter Rabbit! There wasn’t time to finish cutting off the stake 赌注. What could he do? He made a frightened jump just as he had when he first felt the wire tugging 拖船 at his leg. Just as before, he was thrown throw flat on his face. He scrambled 争夺 to his feet and jumped again, only to be thrown just as before. Just then Bowser the Hound saw him and opening his mouth sent send forth a great roar 咆哮. Peter made one more frantic 疯狂的 jump. Snap! the stake 赌注 had broken break! Peter pitched 沥青 forward on his head, turned a somersault, and scrambled 争夺 to his feet. He was free at last! That is, he could run, but after him dragged 拖拽 a piece of the stake 赌注.

How Peter did run! It was hard work, for you know he had to drag 拖拽 that piece of stake 赌注 after him. But he did it, and just in time he crawled 爬行 into the old stone wall on one side of the orchard 果园, while Bowser the Hound barked 吠 his disappointment 失望 to the moon.

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XVI
PETER RABBIT’S HARD JOURNEY

PETER RABBIT sat in the old stone wall along one side of Farmer Brown’s orchard 果园, waiting for Mrs. Moon to put out her light and leave the world in darkness 黑暗 until jolly 欢乐, round, red Mr. Sun should kick off his rosy 红润 bed‧clothes 床‧衣服，衣物 and begin his daily climb up in the blue, blue sky. In the winter, Mr. Sun is a late sleeper, and Peter knew that there would be two or three hours after Mrs. Moon put out her light when it would be quite dark. And Peter also knew too that by this time Hooty the Owl would probably have caught his dinner. So would old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox. Bowser the Hound would be too sleepy 困 to be on the watch. It would be the very safest time for Peter to try to get to his home in the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁.

So Peter waited and waited. Twice 两次 Bowser the Hound, who had chased 追 him into the old wall, came over and barked 吠 at him and tried to get at him. But the old wall kept Peter safe, and Bowser gave it up. And all the time Peter sat waiting he was in great pain. You see that shiny 闪亮 wire was drawn draw so tight 紧的 that it cut into his flesh 肉 and hurt dreadfully 可怕, and to the other end of the wire was fastened a piece of wood, part of the stake 赌注 to which the snare had been made fast and which Peter had managed to gnaw and break off.

It was on account of this that Peter was waiting for Mrs. Moon to put out her light. He knew that with that stake 赌注 dragging 拖拽 after him he would have to go very slowly, and he could not run any more risk of danger than he actually had to. So he waited and waited, and by and by, sure enough, Mrs. Moon put out her light. Peter waited a little longer, listening with all his might. Everything was still. Then Peter crept out of the old stone wall.

Right away trouble began. The stake 赌注 dragging at the end of the wire fast to his leg caught among the stones and pulled Peter up short. My, how it did hurt! It made the tears come. But Peter shut his teeth hard, and turning back, he worked until he got the stake 赌注 free. Then he started on once more, dragging the stake 赌注 after him.

Very slowly across the orchard 果园 and under the fence on the other side crept Peter Rabbit, his leg so stiff 严厉的 and sore 疼痛的 that he could hardly touch it to the snow, and all the time dragging that piece of stake 赌注, which seemed to grow heavier and harder to drag 拖拽 every minute. Peter did not dare to go out across the open fields, for fear some danger might happen along, and he would have no place to hide. So he crept along close to the fences 栅栏 where bushes 灌木 grow, and this made it very, very hard, for the dragging stake 赌注 was for‧ever 永远 catching in the bushes with a yank 猛拉 at the sore 3 leg which brought Peter up short with a squeal of pain.

This was bad enough, but all the time Peter was filled with a dreadful 可怕 fear that Hooty the Owl or Granny Fox might just happen along. He had to stop to rest very, very often, and then he would listen and listen. Over and over again he said to himself:

“Oh, dear, whatever did I go up to the young peach 桃子 orchard 果园 for when I knew I had no business there? Why couldn’t I have been content with all the good things that were mine in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows? Oh, dear! Oh, dear!”

Just as jolly 欢乐, round, red Mr. Sun began to light up the Green Meadows, Peter Rabbit reached the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁. Danny Meadow Mouse was sitting on the edge of it anxiously 焦急的 watching for him. Peter crawled 爬行 up and started to creep 爬行 in along one of his little private paths 小路. He got in himself, but the dragging stake 赌注 caught among the brambles, and Peter just fell down in the snow right where he was, too tired and worn wear out to move.

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XVII
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE BECOMES WORRIED

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE limped 跛行 around through the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁, where he had lived with Peter Rabbit ever since he had squirmed out of the claws 爪 of Hooty the Owl and dropped there, right at the feet of Peter Rabbit. Danny limped 跛行 because he was still lame 瘸 and sore from Hooty’s terrible claws 爪, but he didn’t let himself think much about that, because he was so thankful 感谢 to be alive 活的；有生命的 at all. So he limped 跛行 around in the Old Briar-patch 补丁, picking up seed which had fallen on the snow, and sometimes pulling down a few of the red berries 梅；浆果 which cling all winter to the wild rose rise bushes. The seeds in these were very nice indeed, and Danny always felt especially good after a meal of them.

Danny Meadow Mouse had grown very fond 喜欢的 of Peter Rabbit, for Peter had been very, very good to him. Danny felt that he never, never could repay 偿还 all of Peter’s kindness 善良. It had been very good of Peter to offer to share the Old Briar-patch 补丁 with Danny, because Danny was so far from his own home that it would not be safe for him to try to get back there. But Peter had done more than that. He had taken care of Danny, such good care, during the first few days after Danny’s escape from Hooty the Owl. He had brought good things to eat while Danny was too weak and sore to get things for himself. Oh, Peter had been very good indeed to him!

But now, as Danny limped 跛行 around, he was not happy. No, Sir, he was not happy. The truth is, Danny Meadow Mouse was worried. It was a different kind of worry from any he had known before. You see, for the first time in his life, Danny was worrying about some one else. He was worrying about Peter Rabbit. Peter had been gone from the Old Briar-patch 补丁 a whole night and a whole day. He often was gone all night, but never all day too. Danny was sure that something had happened to Peter. He thought of how he had begged Peter not to go up to Farmer Brown’s young peach 桃子 orchard 果园. He had felt in his bones that it was not safe, that something dreadful 可怕 would happen to Peter. How Peter had laughed at him and bravely 勇敢的 started off! Why hadn’t he come home?

As he limped 跛行 around, Danny talked to himself:

It was now the second night since Peter Rabbit had gone away. Danny Meadow Mouse couldn’t sleep at all. Round and round through the Old Briar-patch 补丁 he limped 跛行, and finally sat down at the edge of it to wait and watch. At last, just as jolly 欢乐, round, red Mr. Sun sent his first long rays 光束 of light across the Green Meadows, Danny saw something crawling 爬行 towards the Old Briar-patch 补丁. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was—no, it couldn’t be—yes, it was Peter Rabbit! But what was the matter with him? Always before Peter had come home lipperty-lipperty-lipperty-lip, but now he was crawling 爬行, actually crawling 爬行! Danny Meadow Mouse didn’t know what to make of it.

Nearer and nearer came Peter. Something was following him. No, Peter was dragging something after him. At last Peter started to crawl 爬行 along one of his little private paths into the Old Briar-patch 补丁. The thing dragging behind caught in the brambles, and Peter fell head‧long 头；上端‧长的 in the snow, too tired and worn out to move. Then Danny saw what the trouble was. A wire was fast to one of Peter’s long hind legs, and to the other end of the wire was fastened part of a stake 赌注. Peter had been caught in a snare! Danny hurried over to Peter and tears stood in his eyes.

“Poor Peter Rabbit! Oh, I’m so sorry 对不起的, Peter!” he whispered 低声说.

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XVIII
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE RETURNS A KINDNESS

THERE Peter Rabbit lay. He had dragged that piece of stake 赌注 a long way, a very long way, indeed. But now he could drag it no farther, for it had caught in the bramble bushes. So Peter just dropped on the snow and cried. Yes, Sir, he cried! You see he was so tired and worn out and frightened, and his leg was so stiff 严厉的 and sore and hurt him so! And then it was so dreadful 可怕 to actually get home and be stopped right on your very own door-step. So Peter just lay there and cried. Just supposing old Granny Fox should come poking 戳 around and find Peter caught that way! All she would have to do would be to get hold of that hateful stake 赌注 caught in the bramble bushes and pull Peter out where she could get him. Do you wonder that Peter cried?

By and by he became aware 知道的 that some one was wiping 擦 away his tears. It was Danny Meadow Mouse. And Danny was singing in a funny little voice. Pretty soon Peter stopped crying and listened, and this is what he heard:

Peter smiled in spite 恶意 of himself.

“That’s right! That’s right! Smile away, Peter Rabbit. Smile away! Your troubles, Sir, are all to-day. And between you and me, I don’t believe they are so bad as you think they are. Now you lie still just where you are, while I go see what can be done.”

With that off whisked 拂 Danny Meadow Mouse as spry as you please, in spite 恶意 of his lame 瘸 leg, and in a few minutes Peter knew by little twitches 抽搐 of the wire on his leg that Danny was doing something at the other end. He was. Danny Meadow Mouse had set out to gnaw that piece of stake 赌注 all to splinters 碎片. So there he sat and gnawed and gnawed and gnawed. Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun climbed higher and higher in the sky, and Danny Meadow Mouse grew hungry 饥饿, but still he kept right on gnawing at that bother‧some 打搅，操心‧一些 stake 赌注.

By and by, happening to look across the snow-covered Green Meadows, he saw something that made his heart jump. It was Farmer Brown’s boy coming straight over towards the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁. Danny didn’t say a word to Peter Rabbit, but gnawed faster than ever.

Farmer Brown’s boy was almost there when Danny stopped gnawing. There was only a tiny 小 bit of the stake 赌注 left now, and Danny hurried to tell Peter Rabbit that there was nothing to stop him now from going to his most secret retreat 撤退 in the very heart of the Old Briar-patch 补丁. While Peter slowly dragged his way along, Danny trotted 小跑 behind to see that the wire did not catch on the bushes. They had safely reached Peter Rabbit’s secretest 分泌 retreat 撤退 when Farmer Brown’s boy came up to the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁.

“So this is where that rabbit that killed our peach 桃子-tree lives!” said he. “We’ll try a few snares and put you out of mischief 恶作剧.”

And for the rest of the afternoon Farmer Brown’s boy was very busy around the edge of the Old Briar-patch 补丁.

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XIX
PETER RABBIT AND DANNY MEADOW MOUSE LIVE HIGH

PETER RABBIT sat in his secretest 分泌 place in the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁 with one of his long hind legs all swelled 膨胀；增强:swell up and terribly sore because of the fine wire fast around it and cutting into it. He could hear Farmer Brown’s boy going around on the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁 and stopping every little while to do something. In spite of his pain, Peter was curious. Finally he called Danny Meadow Mouse.

“Danny, you are small and can keep out of sight easier than I can. Go as near as ever you dare to Farmer Brown’s boy and find out what he is doing,” said Peter Rabbit.

So Danny Meadow Mouse crept out as near to Farmer Brown’s boy as ever he dared and studied and studied to make out what Farmer Brown’s boy was doing. By and by he returned to Peter Rabbit.

“I don’t know what he’s doing, Peter, but he’s putting something in every one of your private little paths leading in from the Green Meadows.”

“Ha!” said Peter Rabbit.

“There are little loops 循环 of that queer 奇怪 stuff 塞满；材料 you’ve got hanging to your leg, Peter,” continued Danny Meadow Mouse.

“Just so!” said Peter Rabbit.

“And he’s put cabbage 卷心菜 leaves and pieces of apple 苹果 all around,” said Danny.

“We must be careful 小心!” said Peter Rabbit.

Peter’s leg was in a very bad way, indeed, and Peter suffered a great deal of pain. The worst of it was, he didn’t know how to get off the wire that was cutting into it so. He had tried to cut the wire with his big teeth, but he couldn’t do it. Danny Meadow Mouse had tried and tried to gnaw the wire, but it wasn’t of the least bit of use. But Danny wasn’t easily discouraged 不鼓励, and he kept working and working at it. Once he thought he felt it slip a little. He said nothing, but kept right on working. Pretty soon he was sure that it slipped. He went right on working harder than ever. By and by he had it so loose that he slipped it right off of Peter’s leg, and Peter didn’t know anything about it. You see, that cruel wire snare had been so tight 紧的 that Peter didn’t have any feeling except of pain left in his leg, and so when Danny Meadow Mouse pulled the cruel wire snare off, Peter didn’t know it until Danny held it up in front of him.

My, how thankful 感谢 Peter was, and how he did thank Danny Meadow Mouse! But Danny said that it was nothing at all, just nothing at all, and that he owed 欠…债 more than that to Peter Rabbit for being so good to him and letting him live in the dear Old Briar-patch 补丁.

It was a long time before Peter could hop 跳 as he used to, but after the first day he managed to get around. He found that Farmer Brown’s boy had spread those miserable 悲惨的 wire snares in every one of his private little paths. But Peter knew what they were now. He showed Danny Meadow Mouse how he, because he was so small, could safely run about among the snares and steal all the cabbage 卷心菜 leaves and apples 苹果 which Farmer Brown’s boy had put there for bait 饵.

Danny Meadow Mouse thought this great fun and a great joke 笑话 on Farmer Brown’s boy. So every day he stole the bait 饵, and he and Peter Rabbit lived high while Peter’s leg was getting well. And all the time Farmer Brown’s boy wondered and wondered why he couldn’t catch Peter Rabbit.

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XX
TIMID DANNY MEADOW MOUSE

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE is timid 胆小. Everybody says so, and what everybody says ought to be so. But just as anybody can make a mistake sometimes, so can everybody. Still, in this case, it is quite likely that everybody is right. Danny Meadow Mouse is timid 胆小. Ask Peter Rabbit. Ask Sammy Jay. Ask Striped Chipmunk. They will all tell you the same thing. Sammy Jay might even tell you that Danny is afraid of his own shadow, or that he tries to run away from his own tail. Of course this isn’t true. Sammy Jay likes to say mean things. It isn’t fair to Danny Meadow Mouse to believe what Sammy Jay says.

But the fact is Danny certainly is timid 胆小. More than this, he isn’t ashamed 3 of it—not the least little bit.

“You see, it’s this way,” said Danny, as he sat on his door-step one sunny 晴朗 morning talking to his friend, old Mr. Toad. “If I weren’t afraid, I wouldn’t be all the time watching out, and if I weren’t all the time watching out, I wouldn’t have any more chance than that foolish 傻 red ant 蚂蚁 running across in front of you.”

Old Mr. Toad looked where Danny was pointing, and his tongue 舌头 darted 镖 out and back again so quickly that Danny wasn’t sure that he saw it at all, but when he looked for the ant 蚂蚁 it was now‧here 无处 to be seen, and there was a satisfied twinkle 眨眼 in Mr. Toad’s eyes. There was an answering twinkle 眨眼 in Danny’s own eyes as he continued.

“No, Sir,” said he, “I wouldn’t stand a particle more chance than that foolish 傻 ant 蚂蚁 did. Now if I were big and strong, like Old Man Coyote, or had swift 迅速 wings, like Skimmer the Swallow 吞, or were so homely and ugly 难看的 looking that no one wanted me, like—like—” Danny hesitated and then finished rather lamely 瘸, “like some folks 民间 I know, I suppose I wouldn’t be afraid.”

Old Mr. Toad looked up sharply when Danny mentioned homely and ugly looking people, but Danny was gazing 凝视 far out across the Green Meadows and looked so innocent 无辜 that Mr. Toad concluded 得出结论 that he couldn’t have had him in mind.

“Well,” said he, thoughtfully 沉思地 scratching 刮 his nose, “I suppose you may be right, but for my part fear seems a very foolish 傻 thing. Now, I don’t know what it is. I mind my own business, and no one ever bothers 烦 me. I should think it would be a very uncomfortable 不舒服 feeling.”

“It is,” replied Danny, “but, as I said before, it is a very good thing to keep one on guard when there are so many watching for one as there are for me. Now there’s Mr. Blacksnake and—”

“Where?” exclaimed 喊叫 old Mr. Toad, turning as pale as a Toad can turn, and looking uneasily 不安 and anxiously in every direction.

Danny turned his head to hide a smile. If old Mr. Toad wasn’t showing fear, no one ever did. “Oh,” said he, “I didn’t mean that he is any‧where 任何地方 around here now. What I was going to say was that there is Mr. Blacksnake and Granny Fox and Reddy Fox and Redtail the Hawk and Hooty the Owl and others I might name, always watching for a chance to make a dinner from poor little me. Do you wonder that I am afraid most of the time?”

“No,” replied old Mr. Toad. “No, I don’t wonder that you are afraid. It must be dreadful 可怕 to feel hungry 饥饿 eyes are watching for you every minute of the day and night, too.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” replied Danny. “It’s rather exciting. Besides, it keeps my wits 风趣 sharp all the time. I am afraid I should find life very dull 钝的；没兴趣 indeed if, like you, I feared nothing and nobody. By the way, see how queerly 奇怪 that grass is moving over there. It looks as if Mr. Blacksnake—Why, Mr. Toad, where are you going in such a hurry?”

“I’ve just remembered an important engagement 订婚 with my cousin, Grandfather Frog, at the Smiling Pool,” shouted old Mr. Toad over his shoulder, as he hurried so that he fell over his own feet.

Danny chuckled 暗笑 as he sat alone on his door-step. “Oh, no, old Mr. Toad doesn’t know what fear is!” said he. “Funny how some people won’t admit what everybody can see for themselves. Now, I am afraid, and I’m willing to say so.”

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XXI
AN EXCITING DAY FOR DANNY MEADOW MOUSE

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE started along one of his private little paths very early one morning. He was on his way to get a supply of a certain kind of grass-seed of which he is very fond 喜欢的. He had been thinking about that seed for some time and waiting for it to get ripe 成熟的. Now it was just right, as he had found out the day before by a visit to the place where this particular grass grew. The only trouble was it grew a long way from Danny’s home, and to reach it he had to cross an open place where the grass was so short that he couldn’t make a path 小路 under it.

“I feel it in my bones that this is going to be an exciting day,” said Danny to himself as he trotted 小跑 along. “I suppose that if I were really wise, I would stay nearer home and do without that nice seed. But nothing is really worth having unless it is worth working for, and that seed will taste all the better if I have hard work getting it.”

So he trotted 小跑 along his private little path 小路, his ears wide open, and his eyes wide open, and his little nose carefully 小心 testing every Merry 愉快的 Little Breeze who happened along for any scent 香味 of danger which it might carry. Most of all he depended upon his ears, for the grass was so tall that he couldn’t see over it, even when he sat up. He had gone only a little way when he thought he heard a queer 奇怪 rustling 沙沙 behind him. He stopped to listen. There it was again, and it certainly was right in the path behind him! He didn’t need to be told who was making it. There was only one who could make such a sound as that—Mr. Blacksnake.

Now Danny can run very fast along his private little paths, but he knew that Mr. Blacksnake could run faster. “If my legs can’t save me, my wits 风趣 must,” thought Danny as he started to run as fast as ever he could. “I must reach that fallen old hollow fence-post.”

He was almost out of breath when he reached the post and scurried into the open end. He knew by the sound of the rustling 沙沙 that Mr. Blacksnake was right at his heels 脚跟. Now the old post was hollow its whole length, but half-way there was an old knot 结-hole just big enough for Danny to squeeze 挤 through. Mr. Blacksnake didn’t know anything about that hole, and because it was dark inside the old post, he didn’t see Danny pop 流行的 through it. Danny ran back along the top of the log 记录 and was just in time to see the tip 尖；窍门 of Mr. Blacksnake’s tail disappear 不见 inside. Then what do you think Danny did? Why, he followed Mr. Blacksnake right into the old post, but in doing it he didn’t make the least little bit of noise 噪音.

Mr. Blacksnake kept right on through the old post and out the other end, for he was sure that that was the way Danny had gone. He kept right on along the little path. Now Danny knew that he wouldn’t go very far before he found out that he had been fooled, and of course he would come back. So Danny waited only long enough to get his breath and then ran back along the path to where another little path branched off. For just a minute he paused 暂停.

“If Mr. Blacksnake follows me, he will be sure to think that of course I have taken this other little path,” thought Danny, “so I won’t do it.”

Then he ran harder than ever, until he came to a place where two little paths branched off, one to the right and one to the left. He took the latter and scampered on, sure that by this time Mr. Blacksnake would be so badly 很糟地 fooled that he would give up the chase 追. And Danny was right.

said Danny, as he trotted 小跑 on his way for the grass-seed he liked so well. “I felt it in my bones that this would be an exciting day. I wonder what next.”

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XXII
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT TO DANNY MEADOW MOUSE

DANNY is so used to narrow escapes that he doesn’t waste any time thinking about them. He didn’t this time. “He who tries to look two ways at once is pretty sure to see nothing,” says Danny, and he knew that if he thought too much about the things that had already happened, he couldn’t keep a sharp watch for the things that might happen.

Nothing more happened as he hurried along his private little path to the edge of a great patch 补丁 of grass so short that he couldn’t hide under it. He had got to cross this, and all the way he would be in plain sight of any one who happened to be near. Very cautiously he peeped 窥视 out and looked this way and looked that way, not forgetting to look up in the sky. He could see no one any‧where 任何地方. Drawing a long breath, Danny started across the open place as fast as his short legs could take him.

Now all the time, Redtail the Hawk had been sitting in a tree some distance away, sitting so still that he looked like a part of the tree itself 本身. That is why Danny hadn’t seen him. But Redtail saw Danny the instant he started across the open place, for Redtail’s eyes are very keen 热切的, and he can see a great distance. With a satisfied chuckle 暗笑, he spread his broad wings and started after Danny.

Just about half-way to the safety 安全 of the long grass on the other side, Danny gave a hurried look behind him, and his heart seemed to jump right into his mouth, for there was Redtail with his cruel claws 爪 already set to seize 抓住 him! Danny gave a frightened squeak 吱, for he thought that surely this time he would be caught. But he didn’t mean to give up without trying to escape. Three jumps ahead of him was a queer 奇怪 looking thing. He didn’t know what it was, but if there was a hole in it he might yet fool Redtail.

One jump! Would he be able to reach it? Two jumps! There was a hole in it! Three jumps! With another frightened squeak 吱, Danny dived into the opening just in time. And what do you think he was in? Why, an old tomato 番茄 can Farmer Brown’s boy had once used to carry bait 饵 in when he went fishing at the Smiling Pool. He had dropped it there on his way home.

Redtail screamed 叫喊 with rage 愤怒 and disappointment 失望 as he struck strike the old can with his great claws 爪. He had been sure, very sure of Danny Meadow Mouse this time! He tried to pick the can up, but he couldn’t get hold of it. It just rolled away from him every time, try as he would. Finally, in disgust 反感, he gave up and flew back to the tree from which he had first seen Danny.

Of course Danny had been terribly frightened when the can rolled, and by the noise the claws 爪 of Redtail made when they struck his queer 奇怪 hiding-place. But he wisely 明智的；聪明的 decided that the best thing he could do was to stay there for a while. And it was very fortunate 侥幸的 that he did so, as he was very soon to find out.

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XXIII
REDDY FOX GROWS CURIOUS

DANNY MEADOW MOUSE had sat perfectly still for a long time inside the old tomato 番茄 can in which he had found a refuge 避难所 from Redtail the Hawk. He didn’t dare so much as put his head out for a look around, lest 免得 Redtail should be circling over‧head 高架 ready to pounce on him.

“If I stay here long enough, he’ll get tired and go away, if he hasn’t already,” thought Danny. “This has been a pretty exciting morning so far, and I find that I am a little tired. I may as well take a nap 小憩 while I am waiting to make sure that the way is clear.”

With that Danny curled 一绺鬈发 up in the old tomato 番茄 can. But it wasn’t meant that Danny should have that nap 小憩. He had closed his eyes, but his ears were still open, and presently he heard soft foot‧step 脚步 drawing near. His eyes flew open, and he forgot all about sleep, you may be sure, for those foot‧step 脚步 sounded familiar. They sounded to Danny very, very much like the foot‧step 脚步 of— whom 谁 do you think? Why, Reddy Fox! Danny’s heart began to beat faster as he listened. Could it be? He didn’t dare peep 窥视 out. Presently a little whiff of scent 香味 blew into the old tomato 番茄 can. Then Danny knew—it was Reddy Fox.

“Oh, dear! I hope he doesn’t find that I am in here!” thought Danny. “I wonder what under the sun has brought him up here just now.”

If the truth were to be known, it was curiosity 好奇心 that had brought Reddy up there. Reddy had been hunting for his breakfast some distance away on the Green Meadows when Redtail the Hawk had tried so hard to catch Danny Meadow Mouse. Reddy’s sharp eyes had seen Redtail the minute he left the tree in pursuit 追求 of Danny, and he had known by the way Redtail flew that he saw something he wanted to catch. He had watched Redtail swoop 落下 down and had heard his scream 3 of rage 愤怒 when he missed Danny because Danny had dodged 躲闪 into the old tomato 番茄 can. He had seen Redtail strike and strike again at something on the ground, and finally fly off in disgust 反感 with empty claws 爪.

“Now, I wonder what it was Redtail was after and why he didn’t get it,” thought Reddy. “He acts terribly put out and disappointed 使失望. I believe I’ll go over there and find out.”

Off he started at a smart 聪明 trot 小跑 towards the patch 补丁 of short grass where he had seen Redtail the Hawk striking at something on the ground. As he drew near, he crept very softly until he reached the very edge of the open patch 补丁. There he stopped and looked sharply all over it. There was nothing to be seen but an old tomato 番茄 can. Reddy had seen it many times before.

“Now what under the sun could Redtail have been after here?” thought Reddy. “The grass isn’t long enough for a grasshopper to hide in, and yet Redtail didn’t get what he was after. It’s very queer 奇怪. It certainly is very queer 奇怪.”

He trotted 小跑 out and began to run back and forth with his nose to the ground, hoping that his nose would tell him what his eyes couldn’t. Back and forth, back and forth he ran, and then suddenly he stopped.

“Ha!” exclaimed 喊叫 Reddy. He had found the scent 香味 left by Danny Meadow Mouse when he ran across towards the old tomato 番茄 can. Right up to the old can Reddy’s nose led him. He hopped 跳 over the old can, but on the other side he could find no scent of Danny Meadow Mouse. In a flash 使闪光 he understood, and a gleam 闪光 of satisfaction 满足 shone 发光:shine in his yellow eyes as he turned back to the old can. He knew that Danny must be hiding in there.

“I’ve got you this time!” he snarled 搞乱, as he sniffed 吸气 at the opening in the end of the can.

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XXIV
REDDY FOX LOSES HIS TEMPER

REDDY FOX had caught Danny Meadow Mouse, and yet he hadn’t caught him. He had found Danny hiding in the old tomato 番茄 can, and it didn’t enter Reddy’s head that he couldn’t get Danny out when he wanted to. He was in no hurry. He had had a pretty good breakfast of grasshoppers, and so he thought he would torment 折磨 Danny a while before gobbling him up. He lay down so that he could peep 窥视 in at the open end of the old can and see Danny trying to make himself as small as possible at the other end. Reddy grinned 微笑 until he showed all his long teeth. Reddy always is a bully 欺负, especially when his victim 受害者 is a great deal smaller and weaker than himself.

“I’ve got you this time, Mr. Smarty, haven’t I?” taunted 嘲讽 Reddy.

Danny didn’t say anything.

“You think you’ve been very clever 聪明的 because you have fooled me two or three times, don’t you? Well, this time I’ve got you where your tricks won’t work,” continued Reddy, “so what are you going to do about it?”

Danny didn’t answer. The fact is, he was too frightened to answer. Besides, he didn’t know what he could do. So he just kept still, but his bright eyes never once left Reddy’s cruel face. For all his fright, Danny was doing some hard thinking. He had been in tight places before and had learned never to give up hope. Something might happen to frighten 使惊恐 Reddy away. Anyway 无论如何, Reddy had got to get him out of that old can before he would admit that he was really caught.

For a long time Reddy lay there licking 舔 his chops 劈 and saying all the things he could think of to frighten poor Danny Meadow Mouse. At last he grew tired of this and made up his mind that it was time to end it and Danny Meadow Mouse at the same time. He thrust 推力 his sharp nose in at the opening in the end of the old can, but the opening was too small for him to get more than his nose in, and he only scratched it on the sharp edges without so much as touching Danny.

“I’ll pull you out,” said Reddy and thrust 推力 in one black paw 爪子.

Danny promptly 敏捷的 bit it so hard that Reddy yelped with pain and pulled it out in a hurry. Presently he tried again with the other paw. Danny bit this one harder still, and Reddy danced with pain and anger 生气. Then he lost his temper completely, a very foolish 傻 thing to do, as it always is. He hit the old can, and away it rolled with Danny Meadow Mouse inside. This seemed to make Reddy angrier 生气的 than ever. He sprang after it and hit it again. Then he batted 蝙蝠 it first this way and then that way, growing angrier and angrier. And all the time Danny Meadow Mouse managed to keep inside, although he got a terrible shaking up.

Back and forth across the patch 补丁 of short grass Reddy knocked the old can, and he was in such a rage 愤怒 that he didn’t notice where he was knocking 敲 it to. Finally he sent it spinning 旋转；纺纱 into the long grass on the far side of the open patch 补丁, close to one of Danny’s private little paths. Like a flash 使闪光 Danny was out and scurrying along the little path. He dodged 躲闪 into another and presently into a third, which brought him to a tangle 纠纷 of barbed 倒钩 wire left there by Farmer Brown when he had built a new fence. Under this he was safe.

“Phew!” exclaimed 喊叫 Danny, breathing 呼吸 very hard. “That was the narrowest escape yet! But I guess I’ll get that special grass-seed I started out for, after all.”

And he did, while to this day Reddy Fox wonders how Danny got out of the old tomato 番茄 can without him knowing it.

Danny has had many more adventures 冒险活动, but there isn’t room to tell about them here. Besides Grandfather Frog is anxious 焦急的 that you should hear about the queer 奇怪 things that have happened to him. They are told in the next book.

THE END

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Transcriber’s Note: Obvious 明显 punctuation errors 错误 repaired 修理.