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儿童英语读物 A Horse Named Dragon CHAPTER 3 No Dessert Until …

时间:2017-12-04 05:21来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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After breakfast, Cookie and Alyssa walked the children back to the corral to see their horses. Benny spotted1 Lots-o’-Dots standing2 with Bucky in a shady corner. “Here, boy,” he called. Benny held out a biscuit he’d saved from breakfast. Lots-o’-Dots trotted3 over and gobbled it down.

Bucky limped over carrying the empty oat buckets. “I told you he’d be here,” said Bucky. As Bucky climbed through the fence, his hat with the orange feathers fell off. Lots-o’-Dots picked it up in his big horse teeth. Everyone laughed. Bucky grabbed it back, then glanced shyly at Cookie as he put it on. Cookie smiled, her eyes twinkling.

“Are we going to ride now?” Benny asked.

“Not yet,” Cookie said. “When you live on a ranch4, you have to do your chores first.”

“We cowboys have a saying: ‘No dessert until you finish your mashed5 potatoes,’ ” said Bucky.

“I always finish my mashed potatoes!” exclaimed Benny.

Cookie laughed. “What Bucky means is, we don’t get treats—like riding our horses—until we finish our work.”

“What can my job be?” Violet asked cheerfully.

“Your grandfather tells me you’re a wonderful artist,” said Cookie. “I’m putting you in charge of the barn project. That big barn over there faces the highway. Lots of people drive by every day. I’d like to paint a mural on the side.”

“A mural?” asked Benny.

“A big painting on the side of a building, or on a wall,” said Violet. “Like the dancing fruits and vegetables painted on the wall at Faber’s Finer Foods.”

“Right,” said Cookie. “A nice big mural could show people that the Dare to Dream Ranch has horses to ride and horses to adopt.”

Violet looked at the huge barn. “I … I don’t think I can paint that all my myself.”

“You just make the drawing,” Cookie said. “Bucky here will round up our volunteers to do the painting.”

Kurt Krupnik rode up. The ranch manager’s blond moustache was as dusty as his horse.

“I think I know what happened to Honey and Bunny. A big tree branch fell on the fence in the far pasture,” he said. “It tore down a whole section. Honey and Bunny probably saw the opening and just walked on out of here. I’ve sent a couple of my men to look for them. You never should have called the police, Alyssa.”

“I … I thought the horses were stolen,” Alyssa said.

“If you had more experience, you wouldn’t panic.” Kurt looked at the horses in the corral. “Why is Dragon still up here?” He glared at Alyssa. “He’s supposed to be out in the west pasture, in the old corral.”

Alyssa jutted6 her jaw7. “I think his leg is healed.”

“You’re not the vet8,” Kurt said. “Dragon stays out in the old corral until Slim gives the okay.”

“Let me take a look,” said Bucky. He climbed into the corral and lifted Dragon’s back leg.

Jessie stared at Dragon’s shoe. Most horseshoes were shaped like a “U” but Dragon’s had a square toe. “What’s wrong with his foot?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” said Bucky. “I noticed that Dragon here liked to ‘wing it’ when he ran. Kicked his leg up to the inside. This square-toe shoe helps him run nice and straight.” He set Dragon’s foot back down. “His leg looks healed,” he said.

Kurt frowned at the white-haired man. “No one rides Dragon until the vet checks him out,” he told Bucky.

“You’re the boss,” said Bucky. He grabbed hold of Dragon’s bridle9. “I’ll put him in his stall until Slim can look at him.”

“You’d better,” Kurt grunted10, riding off.

“Why is Kurt so angry?” asked Henry.

“He hates me,” said Alyssa. “He thinks I’m too young to be the head wrangler11. He wanted his best friend, a wrangler in Kentucky, to get the job.”

“Now, now,” said Cookie. “Kurt’s just looking out for the horses. I swear, sometimes he’s like a mother hen protecting her chicks.”

Honk12. Honk. A green van roared up to the corral and screeched13 to a stop. A woman jumped out. Her long hair flew crazily in all directions and her wrinkled clothes looked like she had slept in them. She waved a stack of purple flyers. “Have any of you seen my horse?” she asked, passing out flyers. They said:

    STOLEN HORSE—REWARD

    HAVE YOU SEEN BUTTERCUP?

There was a phone number and a photo of a beautiful gray horse with a white patch on its nose. Its tail was white and black. “Buttercup’s been missing for two days,” said the lady.

“Two of our horses are missing!” said Benny.

The woman gasped14. “Were they stolen, too?”

“They may have walked out through a broken fence,” said Henry.

Violet felt sorry for the lady, whose eyes were red from crying. “Maybe your horse wandered off, too,” she said.

“No.” The woman’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Someone cut the lock on our gate. Buttercup was definitely stolen. Your missing horses may have been stolen, too.” Her hand trembled as she held up a flyer. “You should make flyers like this to pass out to people.”

“I don’t have photographs of my horses,” Cookie said.

“Then you’d better take some,” warned the woman as she climbed back in her van. “Right this very minute.” And she drove away.

Jessie studied the flyer. “I brought my new birthday camera,” she said. “I can take photos of all the horses on the ranch.”

“Are you sure? It seems like an awful lot of work,” Cookie said.

“I’ll help,” said Violet. She held up the flyer. “This picture shows people exactly what Buttercup looks like.”

Bucky walked by, leading Dragon by the bridle. He nodded at the flyer. “Too bad we don’t have photos like that of Honey and Bunny to show around.” He winked15 at Cookie. “It’s no use closing the barn door after the horses get out.”

Cookie’s cheeks blushed red. “Oh, all right,” she said. “You girls best get started while the horses are still in the corral. Once we turn them out to pasture, they scatter16 every which way.” The girls ran off to get Jessie’s camera.

“What’s my job?” Henry asked, eager to begin.

“Your grandfather told me you’re handy with tools,” said Cookie. “I want you to saddle up and go help Kurt mend that broken fence.” Henry dashed off to saddle Lightning.

“What about me?” asked Benny.

“You’ll water the horses,” Cookie said. “That means filling water buckets, tanks, and barrels all around the ranch. Bucky has a map that shows where they are.”

“Let me put Dragon in his stall,” Bucky told Benny. “Then I’ll get you started. Be right back.”

Benny waited at the corral. He watched Henry throw a blanket over Lightning’s back, then cinch on the saddle. “It’s no fair,” he grumbled17, when Bucky came back. “Henry gets to ride and I don’t.”

“I’ll tell you a secret,” said Bucky. “Of all the jobs on the ranch, yours is the most important.”

“Really?” said Benny.

The old man pushed his hat back. “Benny, I’ve been a rancher over fifty years. And one thing I know is true is that horses can’t live without plenty of fresh water. Each one of them drinks ten to twenty-five gallons of water a day.” Benny pictured the big gallon milk bottle in his refrigerator back home. He tried to imagine drinking twenty-five of them. It made his stomach hurt just thinking about it.

“Besides,” Bucky smiled, “watering the horses is the most fun job … and the coolest.” He took a map out of his pocket. “Here—this is a map of the ranch.” He pointed18 to a big circle in the middle. “Here’s the corral, where we are now. And these,” he pointed to small red Xes all around the map, “these are water containers that need filling.”

“There’s so many,” sighed Benny. “I can’t fill them all.”

“Sure you can. The trick is to start with the first one,” Bucky ran his finger up the map to the farthest X, “then fill the next and the next. Just take them one by one. Before you know it, you’ll be right back here in time for lunch.”

Benny watched Henry climb up on Lightning and ride off across the pasture. “I really really really wish I could ride right now,” said Benny.

“You’ll be riding soon enough,” said Bucky. “but, first …”

“I know, I know,” said Benny, looking at all the Xes on the map, “first I need to go finish my mashed potatoes.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
2 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
3 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
4 ranch dAUzk     
n.大牧场,大农场
参考例句:
  • He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
  • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
5 mashed Jotz5Y     
a.捣烂的
参考例句:
  • two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
  • Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。
6 jutted 24c546c23e927de0beca5ea56f7fb23f     
v.(使)突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 );伸出;(从…)突出;高出
参考例句:
  • A row of small windows jutted out from the roof. 有一排小窗户从房顶上突出来。
  • His jaw jutted stubbornly forward; he would not be denied. 他固执地扬起下巴,一副不肯罢休的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
8 vet 2HfyG     
n.兽医,退役军人;vt.检查
参考例句:
  • I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
  • Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。
9 bridle 4sLzt     
n.笼头,束缚;vt.抑制,约束;动怒
参考例句:
  • He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
  • I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。
10 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
11 wrangler poQyt     
n.口角者,争论者;牧马者
参考例句:
  • When the strangled wrangler dangles the mangled spangles on the bangle jangle.被绞死的辩论者晃荡时,手镯上撕碎的小金属片发出刺耳的声音。
  • A wrangler is a cowboy who works with cattle and horses.牧马者是放牧牛马的牛仔。
12 honk TdizI     
n.雁叫声,汽车喇叭声
参考例句:
  • Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭!
  • While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。
13 screeched 975e59058e1a37cd28bce7afac3d562c     
v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 );发出粗而刺耳的声音;高叫
参考例句:
  • She screeched her disapproval. 她尖叫着不同意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The car screeched to a stop. 汽车嚓的一声停住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
14 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 winked af6ada503978fa80fce7e5d109333278     
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼,她便知道他的想法和她一样。
  • He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 scatter uDwzt     
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散
参考例句:
  • You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
  • Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。
17 grumbled ed735a7f7af37489d7db1a9ef3b64f91     
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声
参考例句:
  • He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
  • The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏,水手们边干活边发着牢骚。
18 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
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