a collection of beatrix potter stories-第13部分

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Mr。　Jeremy　crossed　his　legs

up　shorter；　out　of　reach；　and

went　on　eating　his　sandwich。



ONCE　or　twice　something

moved　about　with　a

rustle　and　a　splash　amongst

the　rushes　at　the　side　of　the

pond。



〃I　trust　that　is　not　a　rat；〃

said　Mr。　Jeremy　Fisher；　〃I

think　I　had　better　get　away

from　here。〃



MR。　JEREMY　shoved　the

boat　out　again　a　little

way；　and　dropped　in　the　bait。

There　was　a　bite　almost

directly；　the　float　gave　a

tremendous　bobbit！



〃A　minnow！　a　minnow！　I

have　him　by　the　nose！〃　cried

Mr。　Jeremy　Fisher；　jerking

up　his　rod。



BUT　what　a　horrible

surprise！　Instead　of　a

smooth　fat　minnow；　Mr。

Jeremy　landed　little　Jack

Sharp　the　stickleback；　covered

with　spines！



THE　stickleback　floundered

about　the　boat；　pricking

and　snapping　until　he　was

quite　out　of　breath。　Then　he

jumped　back　into　the　water。



AND　a　shoal　of　other　little

fishes　put　their　heads

out；　and　laughed　at　Mr。

Jeremy　Fisher。



AND　while　Mr。　Jeremy　sat

disconsolately　on　the

edge　of　his　boatsucking　his

sore　fingers　and　peering　down

into　the　watera　MUCH　worse

thing　happened；　a　really

FRIGHTFUL　thing　it　would　have

been；　if　Mr。　Jeremy　had　not

been　wearing　a　macintosh！



A　GREAT　big　enormous

trout　came　upker…

pflop…p…p…p！　with　a　splash

and　it　seized　Mr。　Jeremy　with

a　snap；　〃Ow！　Ow！　Ow！〃

and　then　it　turned　and　dived

down　to　the　bottom　of　the

pond！



BUT　the　trout　was　so　displeased

with　the　taste　of

the　macintosh；　that　in　less

than　half　a　minute　it　spat　him

out　again；　and　the　only　thing

it　swallowed　was　Mr。　Jeremy's

goloshes。



MR。　JEREMY　bounced　up

to　the　surface　of　the

water；　like　a　cork　and　the

bubbles　out　of　a　soda　water

bottle；　and　he　swam　with

all　his　might　to　the　edge　of

the　pond。



HE　scrambled　out　on　the

first　bank　he　came　to；

and　he　hopped　home　across

the　meadow　with　his

macintosh　all　in　tatters。



〃WHAT　a　mercy　that　was

not　a　pike！〃　said

Mr。　Jeremy　Fisher。　〃I　have

lost　my　rod　and　basket；　but

it　does　not　much　matter；　for　I

am　sure　I　should　never　have

dared　to　go　fishing　again！〃



HE　put　some　sticking

plaster　on　his　fingers；

and　his　friends　both　came　to

dinner。　He　could　not　offer

them　fish；　but　he　had　something

else　in　his　larder。



SIR　ISAAC　NEWTON

wore　his　black　and　gold

waistcoat；



AND　Mr。　Alderman　Ptolemy

Tortoise　brought　a　salad

with　him　in　a　string　bag。



AND　instead　of　a　nice　dish

of　minnowsthey　had　a

roasted　grasshopper　with

lady…bird　sauce；　which　frogs

consider　a　beautiful　treat；　but

_I_　think　it　must　have　been

nasty！





THE　END











THE　TALE　OF

TIMMY　TIPTOES





FOR

MANY　UNKNOWN　LITTLE　FRIENDS；

INCLUDING　MONICA







ONCE　upon　a　time　there　was

a　little　fat　comfortable

grey　squirrel；　called　Timmy

Tiptoes。　He　had　a　nest

thatched　with　leaves　in　the

top　of　a　tall　tree；　and　he

had　a　little　squirrel　wife　called

Goody。



TIMMY　TIPTOES　sat　out；

enjoying　the　breeze；　he

whisked　his　tail　and　chuckled

〃Little　wife　Goody；　the　nuts

are　ripe；　we　must　lay　up　a

store　for　winter　and　spring。〃

Goody　Tiptoes　was　busy

pushing　moss　under　the

thatch〃The　nest　is　so

snug；　we　shall　be　sound　asleep

all　winter。〃　〃Then　we　shall

wake　up　all　the　thinner；　when

there　is　nothing　to　eat　in

spring…time；〃　replied　prudent

Timothy。



WHEN　Timmy　and　Goody

Tiptoes　came　to　the

nut　thicket；　they　found　other

squirrels　were　there　already。



Timmy　took　off　his　jacket

and　hung　it　on　a　twig；　they

worked　away　quietly　by　themselves。



EVERY　day　they　made

several　journeys　and

picked　quantities　of　nuts。

They　carried　them　away　in

bags；　and　stored　them　in

several　hollow　stumps　near

the　tree　where　they　had　built

their　nest。



WHEN　these　stumps　were

full；　they　began　to

empty　the　bags　into　a　hole

high　up　a　tree；　that　had　belonged

to　a　wood…pecker；　the

nuts　rattled　downdown

down　inside。



〃How　shall　you　ever　get

them　out　again？　It　is　like　a

money…box！〃　said　Goody。



〃I　shall　be　much　thinner

before　spring…time；　my　love；〃

said　Timmy　Tiptoes；　peeping

into　the　hole。



THEY　did　collect　quantities

because　they　did　not

lose　them！　Squirrels　who　bury

their　nuts　in　the　ground　lose

more　than　half；　because　they

cannot　remember　the　place。



The　most　forgetful　squirrel

in　the　wood　was　called　Silvertail。

He　began　to　dig；　and

he　could　not　remember。　And

then　he　dug　again　and　found

some　nuts　that　did　not　belong

to　him；　and　there　was　a　fight。

And　other　squirrels　began　to

dig；the　whole　wood　was　in

commotion！



UNFORTUNATELY；　just

at　this　time　a　flock　of

little　birds　flew　by；　from

bush　to　bush；　searching　for

green　caterpillars　and　spiders。

There　were　several　sorts　of

little　birds；　twittering　different

songs。



The　first　one　sang

〃Who's　bin　digging…up　MY

nuts？　Who's…been…digging…

up　MY　nuts？〃



And　another　sang〃Little

bita　bread　and…NO…cheese！

Little　bit…a…bread　an'…NO…

cheese！〃



THE　squirrels　followed　and

listened。　The　first　little

bird　flew　into　the　bush　where

Timmy　and　Goody　Tiptoes

were　quietly　tying　up　their

bags；　and　it　sang〃Who's…

bin　digging…up　MY　nuts？

Who's　been　digging…up　MY…

nuts？〃



Timmy　Tiptoes　went　on

with　his　work　without

replying；　indeed；　the　little　bird

did　not　expect　an　answer。　It

was　only　singing　its　natural

song；　and　it　meant　nothing　at

all。



BUT　when　the　other　squirrels

heard　that　song；　they

rushed　upon　Timmy　Tiptoes

and　cuffed　and　scratched　him；

and　upset　his　bag　of　nuts。

The　innocent　little　bird　which

had　caused　all　the　mischief；

flew　away　in　a　fright！



Timmy　rolled　over　and　over；

and　then　turned　tail　and　fled

towards　his　nest；　followed　by

a　crowd　of　squirrels　shouting

〃Who's…been　digging…up

MY…nuts？〃



THEY　caught　him　and

dragged　him　up　the　very

same　tree；　where　there　was

the　little　round　hole；　and　they

pushed　him　in。　The　hole

was　much　too　small　for

Timmy　Tiptoes'　figure。　They

squeezed　him　dreadfully；　it

was　a　wonder　they　did　not

break　his　ribs。　〃We　will

leave　him　here　till　he

confesses；〃　said　Silvertail　Squirrel；

and　he　shouted　into　the　hole



〃Who's…been…digging…up

MY…nuts？〃



TIMMY　TIPTOES　made

no　reply；　he　had　tumbled

down　inside　the　tree；　upon

half　a　peck　of　nuts　belonging

to　himself。　He　lay　quite

stunned　and　still。



GOODY　TIPTOES　picked

up　the　nut　bags　and　went

home。　She　made　a　cup　of

tea　for　Timmy；　but　he　didn't

come　and　didn't　come。



Goody　Tiptoes　passed　a

lonely　and　unhappy　night。

Next　morning　she　ventured

back　to　the　nut…bushes　to　look

for　him；　but　the　other　unkind

squirrels　drove　her　away。



She　wandered　all　over　the

wood；　calling



〃Timmy　Tiptoes！　Timmy

Tiptoes！　Oh；　where　is　Timmy

Tiptoes？〃



IN　the　meantime　Timmy

Tiptoe