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儿童英语读物 The Haunted Cabin Mystery CHAPTER 6 Scrambled Eggs

时间:2017-07-05 06:24来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Violet woke up just before dawn. She dressed silently, thinking of what would taste the best for breakfast. She decided1 on French toast with honey.

She took down the egg basket, wishing the sun would come up faster. The minute she stepped outside, things began to happen. The chickens began squawking, and a small dog she’d never seen before darted2 past her. She gasped3 as she looked after him. For a minute she was tempted4 to run back inside until it was light. But that was silly. She’d never been afraid of the dark. What harm could come from a reddish-looking little dog with a plumed6 tail?

She couldn’t see a thing as she slid her hand into the warm nests and felt for eggs. When she had emptied all the nests, she had eight eggs. She stood still, frowning.

This was curious. Jessie had found fourteen eggs the day before. If the chickens laid eight eggs every day, Jessie should have found a lot more than fourteen eggs. What had happened to the eggs the hens had laid before they got there? Cap said he hadn’t gathered them since he got hurt.

Violet shook her head. This really was a strange place! The other mysteries they’d solved hadn’t been like this. None of these puzzling things seemed to have anything to do with each other.

She was about to leave the henhouse when a low, strange whistle sent an icy shiver up her back. The piercing sound was so close that her breath came short. Was this the same noise Jessie had heard? For the first time Violet was truly scared! Before the sound even died away, something went crashing off into the bushes. It sounded like an animal — a big animal. For a moment, she couldn’t move.

She took a deep breath. As she stepped out into the darkness, she saw something disappearing into the trees. It was still too dark to see it clearly. It looked lumpy and black and was bent7 over. The funny way it ran made it even scarier. She knew it wasn’t a bear, but she couldn’t think of what else it could be. Whatever it was scared her so much that she forgot all about her basket of eggs and ran for the cabin.

She was almost to the back porch when Cap came around the side of the house on his crutches8. Violet must have looked as scared as she felt because he stared at her a minute. Then he said, “Violet, what’s wrong?” Before she could answer, he motioned her to follow him. “Come on, my dear. Come around to the porch with me.”

Violet looked down at her egg basket and gasped. Broken eggs were pouring out between the wires of the basket in a golden stream. “Never mind that,” Cap said impatiently. “Come along with me. You can tend to those eggs later.”

She followed him with a thundering heart. What had she done to make him sound so cross? Once into his chair, he looked up at her, still frowning. “I want to know exactly what scared you out there,” he said in a stern voice. When she couldn’t think of how to answer right away, he went on impatiently. “Was it a whistling?”

She nodded. “An awful whistling, and a red dog, and something running off into the brush.”

He frowned. “The chickens woke me up,” he said. “Did you see anything like a hawk9 around the henhouse?”

“Only that little red dog,” she told him. She had seen that other thing, but she couldn’t possibly describe it.

“Did it have a sharp nose and a big plume5 of a tail?”

“I didn’t see its face, but its tail was bushy.”

He sighed. “That was no dog, Violet. That was a fox. Foxes and hawks10 both rob chicken houses and carry off hens. How many hens do I have out there now?”

“I never thought to count them,” she admitted.

He glanced at the morning light that was flooding into the clearing. “Would you mind going to see how many there are?” he asked. “You won’t be scared, will you?”

She shook her head and ran back to the henhouse. She counted the hens twice to be sure she had the number right.

“Eleven,” she told Cap when she got back to the porch. “All snow white.”

He stared at her. “No red hen at all?”

She shook her head, “All white.”

He sighed. “That’s worse than I feared. When I got hurt, I had eleven white Plymouth Rock hens and a beautiful Rhode Island red hen named Rhoda. She was my special pet, and Doodle’s, too. Although it sounded strange, that whistle we heard may have been a hawk or an eagle.” He shook his head. “We’ll miss poor Rhoda. But thank you, Violet. I’m glad I didn’t risk losing Doodle by leaving him out there. He’s been my best friend since our old dog died. But you still must have found a lot of eggs.”

“Not too many,” she admitted. “Jessie found fourteen yesterday, and I only found eight today.”

He frowned. “That’s not near enough eggs. I tell you, Violet, strange things are going on around here. If you children weren’t such good company, I’d get you into the safety of town if I had to walk you there on these crutches.”

She smiled at him. “We don’t want to go until you’re well. But I’d better see how many of those eggs I ruined.”

Two eggs were completely broken and had spilled out on the ground. Five others were so badly cracked that she had to empty them into a bowl to save them.

Cap’s coffee was ready when Henry came in and looked into the bowl. “Scrambled11 eggs today?” he asked.

“I cracked these,” Violet told him. She started telling him about the whistle and the running figure. Jessie and Benny came in from the porch to listen.

“That sounds like a dwarf12 out of a book,” Benny said.

She stared at him. “That’s exactly what it looked like, all dark and hunched13 over and running in that strange way. All I could think of was a bear, but it wasn’t that big.”

“It woke me up making a scraping noise out there,” Benny said. “I heard the same noise the night we saw that funny light. It comes and goes, then comes and goes again. Remember when we got here, I said maybe the house was haunted.”

Before they could ask Benny any more, Cap appeared.

Henry smiled at him and changed the subject quickly. “You’re just in time for coffee,” he said. “With breakfast coming right up.”

When Cap was settled with his coffee, Henry went back to the stove. “You do the eggs, Violet, and I’ll make French toast,” he said. “Big breakfast for a big day!”

Cap and Benny both groaned14 when they had finished off plates of buttery scrambled eggs and golden French toast covered with honey. “I’m glad I’m not walking into town with you,” Benny said. “I’m so full I’d have to waddle15.”

Cap looked at him. “What’s this about a trip to town?”

“Violet and I need to go to town and call home,” Henry told him. “Grandfather checks with our housekeeper16. He’ll get the message and know we’re here and having a fine time.”

Cap shook his head. “No man ever had more thoughtful children than you four. You could ride Pilot into town and back.”

“Could we?” Henry asked. “That would be wonderful!”

“But I want to ride the horse, too,” Benny said.

“Then you go in my place,” Violet said quickly. “I’ll give you the grocery list Jessie and I made.”

“Are you sure you don’t care?” Benny asked, looking concerned.

Violet leaned to touch his shoulder. “I’ll go next time.”

Pilot held very still as Henry put the harness over his head. “He looks happy to be going for a ride,” Violet said. “He’s probably been lonely, too, like Cap.”

Benny crossed the barn floor carrying a saddle blanket when he suddenly fell with a thud and yelped17 with pain.

“What happened?” Jessie asked, kneeling beside him.

Benny blinked to hold back his tears and hugged his right knee with both arms. “I tripped and fell,” he said.

“No wonder you tripped,” Henry said, kneeling beside him. “A big board has come loose under this hay.”

Benny, up on his feet, stared down at it. “Look, there’s a deep hole underneath18 it,” he said. The children gathered around to examine the hollow place where the earth had been dug away under the barn floor.

“How could that have happened with the barn all closed up?” Jessie asked. “Holes have to be dug! And they’re dangerous,” she added. “Someone could get hurt.”

“Cap has already,” Benny reminded her.

“But he didn’t fall here in the barn,” Violet reminded him. “He was outside, over by the water trough. He told me.”

“Come look here,” Jessie called. “I found another board loose, and still another one. And all of them were hidden under the hay with big holes dug underneath.”

Henry stood silently for a moment, frowning as he tried to solve the puzzle. “We need to figure out what made these holes.”

“Or who made them,” Benny said, still rubbing his knee.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
2 darted d83f9716cd75da6af48046d29f4dd248     
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 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》
4 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
5 plume H2SzM     
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰
参考例句:
  • Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
  • He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。
6 plumed 160f544b3765f7a5765fdd45504f15fb     
饰有羽毛的
参考例句:
  • The knight plumed his helmet with brilliant red feathers. 骑士用鲜红的羽毛装饰他的头盔。
  • The eagle plumed its wing. 这只鹰整理它的翅膀。
7 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
8 crutches crutches     
n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑
参考例句:
  • After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
  • When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后,不得不靠拐杖走路。
9 hawk NeKxY     
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员
参考例句:
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
  • The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。
10 hawks c8b4f3ba2fd1208293962d95608dd1f1     
鹰( hawk的名词复数 ); 鹰派人物,主战派人物
参考例句:
  • Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
  • Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。
11 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 dwarf EkjzH     
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小
参考例句:
  • The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
  • The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
13 hunched 532924f1646c4c5850b7c607069be416     
(常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦)耸肩弓身的,伏首前倾的
参考例句:
  • He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
  • Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。
14 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 waddle kHLyT     
vi.摇摆地走;n.摇摆的走路(样子)
参考例句:
  • I am pregnant.I waddle awkwardly and my big stomach pressed against the weight of the world. 我怀孕了,我滑稽可笑地瞒珊而行,大肚子上压着全世界的重量。
  • We waddle and hop and have lots of fun.我们走起路来摇摇摆摆,还一跳一跳的。我们的生活很有趣。
16 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
17 yelped 66cb778134d73b13ec6957fdf1b24074     
v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot. 马踩了他的脚痛得他喊叫起来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • A hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked. 鞭子一响,猎狗发出一阵嗥叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
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