By the light of the moon，MrCook saw Sly Boy run off to the woods“Now，how did he get here？” MrCook wonderedWith his dogs，he followed Sly Boy’s trail back to the creekThere，under the creek band，Sly Boy‘s tracks endedSly Boy had hid under the bank！Right over his head，the dogs had jumped into the waterWhen they were gone， Sly Boy had run back the way he had comeHe had gone right to MrCook’s farmOne day Sly Boy made a mistakeHe let the dogs corner him against a cliffSly Boy couldn‘t climb up the cliffHe couldn’t go right or leftIn front of him were the dogs，coming closer and closerAnd Farmer Adams rode right behind themIt looked like the end for Sly Boy！MrAdams pointed his gunBut suddenly Sly Boy did a surprising thingHe walked straight toward the farmer，looking him right in the eyeMrAdams could have shot Sly Boy easilyBut he didn‘t“How can I shoot an animal that looks me in the eye？” he thought“I can’t！”
MrAdams just watched as the small animal ran off into the woodsSo Sly Boy，the fox，lives on！
“狡黠的男孩子”--一只狐狸
让我介绍你认识“狡黠的男孩子”，世界上最机敏的动物之一！他是一只长着浅棕色厚毛的美洲红狐。
多年来，“狡黠的男孩子”一直在从弗吉尼亚州的农场偷鸡鸭。他还杀死许多野兽。野兔是他特别喜爱的食物之一。
猎人们一直试图抓到“狡黠的男孩子”，农场主们想要除掉他，但“狡黠的男孩子”太聪明了，人们逮不住他。
为什么“狡黠的男孩子”能活这么久？原因之一就是他跑得快。他可以跑得比大多数狗更快。他的腿就像那些比赛的马的腿一样，对他的身体长度来说是比较长的。
有一回，当“狡黠的男孩子”被追猎时，一群狗追了他四天。狗一个个精疲力竭，瘦弱得看起来只剩下皮包骨了。
但“狡黠的男孩子”却没事！他在狗前边很远的地方跑着。然后，他停下来吃浆果或老鼠，甚至稍睡片刻。狗一逼近他，他又向前跑起来。
不过，“狡黠的男孩子”有时也无法逃脱狗的追赶。那时，他就骗它们。狗知道他的许多欺诈手段，但“狡黠的男孩子”总能想出新的花招！
一天，当“狡黠的男孩子”正在被追猎时，他跳上围栏，顺着栏顶跑。后来，他跳了下来，跑进树林。
狗被骗过了一小会儿，它们无法在地上找到“狡黠的男孩子”的气味。但是，它们最终还是在围栏上找到了。
“狡黠的男孩子”跑啊跑。狗跟着他，直到一条小河边。它们跨过小河，用鼻子嗅着。没有，“狡黠的男孩子”没有过河来，他到哪儿去了呢？
猎人库克先生知道，“狡黠的男孩子”可能跑进水里，顺小河跑去，用那种方法，他就能骗过狗，它们无法在水里嗅到他的气味。不过，“狡黠的男孩子”必定要在某个地方出来，那时，狗就能在沙滩上找到他的气味。
库克先生派一半狗往小河的上游，一半狗往下游，狗沿河岸用鼻子嗅来嗅去，但它们未能找到“狡黠的男孩子”的气味。
夜色终于降临，当天渐渐黑下来时，库克先生放弃追猎，带着狗回家了。
这期间，“狡黠的男孩子”在哪儿呢？他已返回库克先生的农场，吃了一顿小鸡晚饭。猎人回家时，他正在鸡舍里熟睡。
借着月光，库克先生发现“狡黠的男孩子”向树林跑去。库克先生想，“嗯，他怎么到了这儿？”带着狗，他追随着“狡黠的男孩子”原来的气味又回到小河边。在那儿，在小河岸下，“狡黠的男孩子”的气味没有了。
原来，“狡黠的男孩子”刚才就藏在河岸下！那些狗正是从他的头顶之上跳进水里的。它们离开以后，“狡黠的男孩子”顺着来路返回。他一直回到了库克先生的农场。
一天，“狡黠的男孩子”犯了个错误，让狗逼到悬崖的一隅。“狡黠的男孩子”无法爬上悬崖，他无法向右跑，也无法向左跑。他的前面是狗，越来越近。狗的后边，农场主亚当斯正骑在马上过来。
看来，“狡黠的男孩子”末日到了！亚当斯用枪对着他。
但是，“狡黠的男孩子”突然干了一件出人意料的事。他一直朝着农场主走去，照直望着他的眼睛。
亚当斯先生当时本来能轻易射杀“狡黠的男孩子”，但他没有那么干。
“我怎么能射杀一只看着我眼睛的动物呢？”他想，“我不能！”
亚当斯只是看着那小动物跑进了树林里。
就这样，“狡黠的男孩子”，那只狐狸，依然活着！
Mr． Mother Goose
It was four o‘clock in the morning． Everyone in the John George home was asleep． Suddenly， “R-r-r-ring！” went the phone beside John’s bed．John picked up the phone． “Hello！” he said， sleepily．“Mr． George， do you own a Canada goose and a mallard duck？” a man‘s voice asked．“Yes.” answered John， rubbing the sleep out of his eyes． “Who is this？”
“This is Officer Hays at the police station，” said the voice． “Your goose and duck are here．”
“At the police station？” asked John， now wide awake． “What are they doing there？ They should be asleep！”
“Yes.” said the voice． “I think so too． You had better come get them．”
“I’ll be there right away.” said John．At the station， John spoke to the officer behind the desk．“I am John George.” he said． “Are you the officer who phoned me about my goose and duck？ I came to get them．”
“Oh， yes.” said Officer Hays． “But tell me this： What were they doing in the middle of Main Street at three o‘clock in the morning？ They were squawking so loud they woke everyone in town．”
John looked at Officer Hays． Would this man believe the truth？
“Well，” John said， “I think they were looking for their mother．”
“Where was their mother？” asked the officer， puzzled．“I am their mother.” said John． “I mean， I am a mother goose．”
Officer Hays shook his head． His eyes opened wide． “You？” he asked． “A mother goose？ Is that what you said？”
“Yes，” said John． “At least the goose thinks I am． You see， when she came out of the egg， I was the first moving thing she saw． I helped her get out． So she thinks I am her mother．”
“She thinks you’re a goose！” said the officer， with a big smile．“No.” said John． “She thinks she‘s a man． I am her mother， so she thinks she looks like me． She wouldn’t know a real goose if she saw one！”
“And what about the duck？” asked the officer． “Does he think you are his mother， too？ Does he think he is a man？”
“No.” said John． “The duck thinks the goose is his mother． The goose was the first moving thing he saw when he came out of the egg．”
“So I suppose the duck thinks he is a goose.” said the officer．“Yes.” said John． “I‘m afraid that is the way it is．”
“The goose thinks she’s a man， and the duck thinks he‘s a goose！” said Officer Hays with a laugh． “Now can you tell me what they were doing on Main Street？”
“Well，” said John， “I think some noise woke the goose． She didn’t know whether to be afraid or to go back to sleep． So she went out to look for me， calling as she went． The duck went with her because he thinks she is his mother． Because she was calling， he called too． So they were both squawking．”
By now the officer was laughing hard． “All right.” he said． “I don‘t know of any law that says a goose can’t look for its mother． You had better take them both home now．”
Officer Hays went with John to the back of the station． John called the goose．She cocked her head and came running．
John got into his car． The goose followed and sat down beside him． The duck followed the goose and sat down beside her． John waved to the officer and drove away．Officer Hays， shaking his head， watched them go． “I thought I had heard everything.” he said to himself． “But that story beats them all！”
鹅妈妈先生
早晨四点钟，约翰·乔治家的人都在睡觉。突然，“丁呤呤！”约翰床旁的电话铃声大作。
约翰拿起听筒。“哈罗。”他睡意蒙眬地说。
“乔治先生，你有一只加拿大野鹅和一只野鸭吗？”一个男人的声音问。
“是的。”约翰回答，一面擦着眼睛，消除睡意。“你是谁？”
“我是警察局的海斯警官。”那声音说。“你的野鹅和野鸭在这儿。”
“在警察局？”约翰问，现在他完全清醒了。“它们在那儿干什么？它们应该在睡觉啊！”
“是啊。”那声音说。“我也这么想。你最好还是来把它们带走。”
“我马上就去。”约翰说。
在警察局，约翰对桌子后面的警官说。“我是约翰·乔治，”他说。“你就是给我打电话谈我的野鹅和野鸭的警官吗？我是来领它们的。”
“哦，好的。”海斯警官说。“不过，请告诉我：它们早晨三点钟在大街中心干什么？它们大声地惊叫，把城里的人都给吵醒了。”
约翰盯着海斯警官，此人会相信实情吗？
“嗯。”约翰说，“我想它们是在找妈妈。”
警官迷惑不解地问：“它们的妈妈在哪里？”
“我是它们的妈妈，”约翰说。“我的意思是说，我是一位鹅妈妈。”
海斯警官摇摇头，瞪大眼睛。“你？”他问。“一位鹅妈妈？你是这么说的吗？”
“是的，”约翰说。“至少那野鹅认为我是。你要明白，当她从蛋里出来时，我是她看到的第一个会动的东西，我帮她出了蛋壳。于是，她认为我是她的妈妈。”
“她以为你是一只野鹅！”警官咧着大嘴笑着说。
“不，”约翰说。“她认为她是一个人。我是她的妈妈，所以，她以为她看起来像我。如果她看到一只真正的野鹅，她也不会认得的！”
“那么，那鸭子呢？”警官问。“他也认为你是他的妈妈吗？他也认为自己是人吗？”
“不，”约翰说。“那鸭子以为野鹅是他的妈妈，野鹅是他从蛋里出来时见到的第一个会动的东西。”
“那么，那我可以认为这鸭子自认为他是一只野鹅了。”警官说。
“对。”约翰说。“恐怕是这么回事。”
野鹅以为自己是人，而鸭子认为自己是野鹅！海斯警官哈哈大笑着说。“现在，你能告诉我，它们在大街上干什么？”
“这个，”约翰说，“我想是什么声音吵醒了野鹅，她不知道是害怕呢，还是再睡觉好。
所以，她出去找我，一面走，一面大声叫着。鸭子同她一起出去，因为他认为野鹅是他的妈妈。因为她在叫，他也跟着叫。就这样，它们一齐大叫起来。”
这时，警官已经在大笑了。“好吧，”他说，“我不知道有什么法律说过不准野鹅找妈妈。现在，你最好带它们回家去吧。”
海斯警官和约翰一起到警察局后边。约翰大声呼唤野鹅，她歪着脑袋跑了过来。
