1、Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only. Fantastic Mr Fox Roald Dahl1 The Three FarmersDown in the valley there were three farms. The owners of thesefarms had done well. They were rich men. They were also nastymen. All three of them were about as nasty and mean as anymen yo

2、u could meet. Their names were Farmer Boggis FarmerBunce and Farmer Bean.Boggis was a chicken farmer. He kept thousands of chickens. Hewas enormously fat. This was because he ate three boiledchickens smothered with dumplings every day for breakfastlunch and supper.Bunce was a duck-and-goose farmer.

3、He kept thousands of ducksand geese. He was a kind of pot-bellied dwarf. He was so shorthis chin would have been underwater in the shallow end of anyswimming-pool in the world. His food was doughnuts andgoose-livers. He mashed the livers into a disgusting paste andthen stuffed the paste into the dou

4、ghnuts. This diet gave him atummy-ache and a beastly temper.Bean was a turkey-and-apple farmer. He kept thousands ofturkeys in an orchard full of apple trees. He never ate any food at 1 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.all. Instead he drank gallons of strong cider wh

5、ich he made fromthe apples in his orchard. He was as thin as a pencil and thecleverest of them all.Boggis and Bunce and BeanOne fat one short one lean.These horrible crooksSo different in looksWere none the less equally mean.That is what the children round about used to sing when they sawthem. 2 Gen

6、erated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.2 Mr FoxOn a hill above the valley there was a wood.In the wood there was a huge tree.Under the tree there was a hole.In the hole lived Mr Fox and Mrs Fox and their four Small Foxes.Every evening as soon as it got dark Mr Fox would say t

7、o Mrs FoxWell my darling what shall it be this time A plump chickenfrom Boggis A duck or a goose from Bunce Or a nice turkeyfrom Bean And when Mrs Fox had told him what she wantedMr Fox would creep down into the valley in the darkness of thenight and help himself.Boggis and Bunce and Bean knew very

8、well what was going onand it made them wild with rage. They were not men who liked togive anything away. Less still did they like anything to be stolenfrom them. So every night each of them would take his shotgunand hide in a dark place somewhere on his own farm hoping tocatch the robber.But Mr Fox

9、was too clever for them. He always approached afarm with the wind blowing in his face and this meant that if anyman were lurking in the shadows ahead the wind would carrythe smell of that man to Mr Foxs nose from far away. Thus if MrBoggis was hiding behind his Chicken House Number One Mr Fox 3 Gene

10、rated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.would smell him out from fifty yards off and quickly changedirection heading for Chicken House Number Four at the otherend of the farm.Dang and blast that lousy beast cried Boggis.Id like to rip his guts out said Bunce.He must be killed c

11、ried Bean.But how said Boggis. How on earth can we catch the blighterBean picked his nose delicately with a long finger. I have a planhe said.Youve never had a decent plan yet said Bunce.Shut up and listen said Bean. Tomorrow night we will all hidejust outside the hole where the fox lives. We will w

12、ait there untilhe comes out. Then . . . Bang Bang-bang-bang.Very clever said Bunce. But first we shall have to find the hole.My dear Bunce Ive already found it said the crafty Bean. Itsup in the wood on the hill. Its under a huge tree . . . 4 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluat

13、ion only.3 The ShootingWell my darling said Mr Fox. What shall it be tonightI think well have duck tonight said Mrs Fox.Bring us two fat ducks if you please. One for you and me andone for the children.Ducks it shall be said Mr Fox. Bunces bestNow do be careful said Mrs Fox.My darling said Mr Fox I c

14、an smell those goons a mile away. Ican even smell one from the other.Boggis gives off a filthy stink of rotten chicken-skins. Bunce reeksof goose-livers and as for Bean the fumes of apple cider hangaround him like poisonous gases.Yes but just dont get careless said Mrs Fox. You know theyllbe waiting

15、 for you all three of them.Dont you worry about me said Mr Fox. Ill see you later.But Mr Fox would not have been quite so cocky had he knownexactly where the three farmers were waiting at that moment.They were just outside the entrance to the hole each onecrouching behind a tree with his gun loaded.

16、 And what is morethey had chosen their positions very carefully making sure thatthe wind was not blowing from them towards the foxs hole. Infact it was blowing in the opposite direction. There was no 5 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.chance of them being smelled out

17、.Mr Fox crept up the dark tunnel to the mouth of his hole. Hepoked his long handsome face out into the night air and sniffedonce.He moved an inch or two forward and stopped.He sniffed again. He was always especially careful when comingout from his hole.He inched forward a little more. The front half

18、 of his body wasnow in the open.His black nose twitched from side to side sniffing and sniffing forthe scent of danger. He found none and he was just about to gotrotting forward into the wood when he heard or thought heheard a tiny noise a soft rustling sound as though someone hadmoved a foot ever s

19、o gently through a patch of dry leaves.Mr Fox flattened his body against the ground and lay very still hisears pricked. He waited a long time but he heard nothing more.It must have been a field-mouse he told himself or some othersmall animal.He crept a little further out of the hole . . . then furth

20、er still. Hewas almost right out in the open now. He took a last careful lookaround. The wood was murky and very still. Somewhere in thesky the moon was shining.Just then his sharp night-eyes caught a glint of something bright 6 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.behin

21、d a tree not far away. It was a small silver speck ofmoonlight shining on a polished surface. Mr Fox lay stillwatching it. What on earth was it Now it was moving. It wascoming up and up . . . Great heavens It was the barrel of a gunQuick as a whip Mr Fox jumped back into his hole and at thatsame ins

22、tant the entire wood seemed to explode around him.Bang-bang Bang-bang Bang-bangThe smoke from the three guns floated upward in the night air.Boggis and Bunce and Bean came out from behind their treesand walked towards the hole.Did we get him said Bean.One of them shone a flashlight on the hole and t

23、here on theground in the circle of light half in and half out of the hole laythe poor tattered bloodstained remains of . . . a foxs tail. Beanpicked it up. We got the tail but we missed the fox he saidtossing the thing away.Dang and blast said Boggis. We shot too late. We should havelet fly the mome

24、nt he poked his head out.He wont be poking it out again in a hurry Bunce said.Bean pulled a flask from his pocket and took a swig of cider.Thenhe said Itll take three days at least before he gets hungryenough to come out again. Im not sitting around here waiting forthat. 7 Generated by Foxit PDF Cre

25、ator Foxit Software For evaluation only.Lets dig him out. Ah said Boggis. Now youre talking sense. We can dig him outin a couple of hours. We know hes there.I reckon theres a whole family of them down that hole Buncesaid.Then well have the lot said Bean. Get the shovels 8 Generated by Foxit PDF Crea

26、tor Foxit Software For evaluation only.4 The Terrible ShovelsDown the hole Mrs Fox was tenderly licking the stump of MrFoxs tail to stop the bleeding. It was the finest tail for milesaround she said between licks.It hurts said Mr Fox.I know it does sweetheart. But itll soon get better.And it will so

27、on grow again Dad said one of the Small Foxes.It will never grow again said Mr Fox. I shall be tailless for therest of my life. He looked very glum.There was no food for the foxes that night and soon the childrendozed off. Then Mrs Fox dozed off. But Mr Fox couldnt sleepbecause of the pain in the st

28、ump of his tail. Well he thought Isuppose Im lucky to be alive at all. And now theyve found ourhole were going to have to move out as soon as possible. Wellnever get any peace if we . . . What was that He turned his headsharply and istened. The noise he heard now was the mostfrightening noise a fox

29、can ever hear - the scrape-scrape-scrapingof shovels digging into the soil.Wake up he shouted. Theyre digging us outMrs Fox was wide awake in one second. She sat up quivering allover. Are you sure thats it she whispered.Im positive Listen 9 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluatio

30、n only.Theyll kill my children cried Mrs Fox.Never said Mr Fox.But darling they will sobbed Mrs Fox. You know they willScrunch scrunch scrunch went the shovels above their heads.Small stones and bits of earth began falling from the roof of thetunnel.How will they kill us Mummy asked one of the Small

31、 Foxes. Hisround black eyes were huge with fright. Will there be dogs hesaid.Mrs Fox began to cry. She gathered her four children close to herand held them tight.Suddenly there was an especially loud crunch above their headsand the sharp end of a shovel came right through the ceiling. Thesight of th

32、is awful thing seemed to have an electric effect uponMr Fox. He jumped up and shouted Ive got it Come on Theresnot a moment to lose Why didnt I think of it beforeThink of what DadA fox can dig quicker than a man shouted Mr Fox beginning todig. Nobody in the world can dig as quick as a foxThe soil be

33、gan to fly out furiously behind Mr Fox as he started todig for dear life with his front feet. Mrs Fox ran forward to helphim. So did the four children.Go downwards ordered Mr Fox. Weve got to go deep As deep 10 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.as we possibly canThe t

34、unnel began to grow longer and longer. It sloped steeplydownward. Deeper and deeper below the surface of the ground itwent. The mother and the father and all four of the children weredigging together. Their front legs were moving so fast youcouldnt see them. And gradually the scrunching and scraping

35、 ofthe shovels became fainter and fainter.After about an hour Mr Fox stopped digging. Hold it he said.They all stopped. They turned and looked back up the long tunnelthey had just dug. All was quiet. Phew said Mr Fox. I thinkweve done it Theyll never get as deep as this. Well doneeveryoneThey all sa

36、t down panting for breath. And Mrs Fox said to herchildren I should like you to know that if it wasnt for your fatherwe should all be dead by now. Your father is a fantastic fox.Mr Fox looked at his wife and she smiled. He loved her more thanever when she said things like that. 11 Generated by Foxit

37、 PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.5 The Terrible TractorsAs the sun rose the next morning Boggis and Bunce and Beanwere still digging. They had dug a hole so deep you could haveput a house into it. But they had not yet come to the end of thefoxes tunnel. They were all very tired and cr

38、oss.Dang and blast said Boggis. Whose rotten idea was thisBeans idea said Bunce.Boggis and Bunce both stared at Bean. Bean took another swigof cider then put the flask back into his pocket without offering itto the others. Listen he said angrily I want that fox Im goingto get that fox Im not giving

39、in till Ive strung him up over myfront porch dead as a dumplingWe cant get him by digging thats for sure said the fat Boggis.Ive had enough of digging.Bunce the little pot-bellied dwarf looked up at Bean and saidHave you got any more stupid ideas thenWhat said Bean. I cant hear you. Bean never took

40、a bath. Henever even washed. As a result his earholes were clogged withall kinds of muck and wax and bits of chewing-gum and deadflies and stuff like that. This made him deaf. Speak louder hesaid to Bunce and Bunce shouted back Got any more stupidideas 12 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator Foxit Software For evaluation only.Bean rubbed the back of his neck with a dirty finger. He had aboil coming there and it itched. What we need