Who Was Johnny Appleseed 苹果核约翰尼 Chapter 7 A Good Apple

A “good apple” is a nickname for someone who is a good person. Johnny Appleseed was a good apple.

Sometimes he helped settlers build cabins or chop trees. He knew they were struggling to make new lives for themselves in the west. If people couldn’t pay, he traded apple seedlings¹ or gave them away for free.

Johnny usually brought gifts when he visited settlers’ cabins. He loved children and brought them bits of ribbon or interesting things he found in the woods. Most pioneer children had only a few homemade toys. For fun, they rolled barrel hoops², played with rag dolls, and rode ponies³ carved from wood. They were glad to get anything new to play with. Johnny also gave settlers herbs such as dandelion or catnip, which were used as medicine.

Polite settlers invited him to stay overnight in their cabins. Even when they offered him a bed, he insisted on sleeping on the cabin floor or outside on the ground. Sleeping outdoors was one of Johnny’s favorite things to do. He covered himself with a blanket of leaves to keep warm. If the weather was bad, he would quickly build a crude hut or sleep in a hollow tree.

During his visits, Johnny read aloud from books he always carried. They were written by a man named Emanuel Swedenborg. The New Church was created to follow his beliefs. Swedenborg believed that helping⁴ others was a good way to find happiness. He believed in the importance of thinking for yourself and deciding how to live a useful life. Swedenborg believed people should not be afraid to be different. You can see why Johnny liked these ideas.

It’s uncertain when Johnny first became interested in the New Church, but he was so excited about its ideas that he wanted to share them. Since he didn’t own many of Swedenborg’s books, he divided those he had into sections. He would lend one section to a pioneer family. Then on his next visit, he would exchange it for the next section of the book.

Johnny was a vegetarian⁵, so he didn’t eat meat served at settlers’ dinner tables. He believed it was wrong to kill animals. Pioneers hunted for food and thought his belief was strange. While traveling in the forest, Johnny boiled creek⁶ water in his cooking pot, adding berries, grain, or potatoes to make a meal. He also may have taken some “journey bread” on his trips in the forest. This was bread that Native Americans taught him to make from corn.

There are many stories about Johnny’s kindness toward wildlife. He fed squirrels and birds and released animals from traps. He bought abused animals and found people who would care for them. When he took honey from a beehive, he always left enough for the bees.

While pulling heavy wagons⁷ westward⁸, some horses became lame⁹. Settlers turned them loose in the woods. It was hard for the horses to find enough food and water. Each fall, Johnny would gather as many of these horses as he could. He would find someone to care for them through the winter. In the spring, he would lead them to land where there was better grazing.

Some people said he knew how to communicate with robins¹⁰ and turkeys. They said even wild deer would come when he called.

One popular story told of a snowy night when he decided¹¹ to seek shelter in a hollow log. When he spied a mother bear and her cubs¹² in the log, he didn’t bother them. Instead, he slept out in the snow so they could keep warm in the log.

Johnny didn’t even kill snakes or bugs¹³ if he could help it. Once, while clearing brush in a new orchard¹⁴, a rattlesnake bit him. Without thinking, he quickly killed it. He felt terrible about it and didn’t kill snakes after that.

While helping to build a road, he was stung by a wasp¹⁵. The other workmen thought he was silly because he wouldn’t kill the wasp. But Johnny said it hadn’t intended to hurt him.
 

1 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

3 ponies   

矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
• She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

6 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

7 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

8 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

9 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

10 robins   

n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书）

参考例句：

• The robins occupied their former nest. 那些知更鸟占了它们的老窝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Benjamin Robins then entered the fray with articles and a book. 而后，Benjamin Robins以他的几篇专论和一本书参加争论。 来自辞典例句

11 decided   

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。

12 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

15 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。