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AMERICAN STORIES - Papa's Straw Hat

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AMERICAN STORIES - Papa's Straw1 Hat

By Fread Gibson

Broadcast: Saturday, January 29, 2005

Our story this week is called "Papa's Straw Hat". It was written by Fread Gibson. Here is Shep O'Neal to tell the story.

Papa was a ranger2. He worked with horses. He was proud of the way he dressed. He always wore clean cloth even when he worked. That is very difficult for a ranger who works3 outside on a horse farm. He often said to me, "Son, you may not be able to buy the best cloth, but always keep those you have clean. That is the important thing." Papa did what he said. His cloths were never dirty like those of most of other rangers4 I knew.

Papa never worked outside without a hat. He always wore the same kind of hat. It was a cowboy5 hat, a large black hat of heavy wool. He never pushed the hat to one side of his head. He wore it straight. And he did not push the top of his hat down like most cowboys6 do. He wore his hat full and high. I think he wanted to look taller that he really was.

Papa had two hats. One was his Sunday hat, the other was his everyday hat. When his Sunday hat got old, he wore it every day and then bought a new Sunday hat. He wore his Sunday hat only to church or on holidays or when he visited the city. Most of the time he kept his Sunday hat in a special box. He hid it, so we could not find it. Papa loved his hats and he cared for them in a special way. He never through them down on a chair, someone might sit on them. He even had a special place for his everyday hat. As soon as he came into the house from work, he put his hat on a nail7 behind of the kitchen door.

Mama was very careful of papa`s hat. She was proud of the way he looked when he worked or when he wore his Sunday hat and his best cloth. She was not permitted8 to touch his Sunday hat. Then something happened. Maybe it was the heat of the long summer. Maybe mama read about hats in a magazine or book. But in some way, she got the idea that papa should not wear a heavy wool cowboy hat in the hot weather. She began to believe that papa would lose his hair if he did. Mama began to worry more about papa`s hair than about his hats.

Perhaps it was uncle George who made mama worry about papa`s hair. Uncle George had no hair. His head was as smooth as an egg. Papa had thick black hair that shown like silk. It would be terrible if papa lost his hair because he wore a heavy wool cowboy hat. So mama began to worry. She began to watch papa carefully as he worked in the hot fields under his tall heavy hat. She saw how wet his hair was when he came into the house. Mama began to talk about his hats.

"Papa," she said one day, "why don`t you throw that old wool hat away and get a nice cool straw hat?"

"What?" papa said, "me, wear a straw hat? I would never let my horses see me in a straw hat."

"Horse?" mama answered, "What have horses to do with a straw hat? Animals don`t care what kind of hat you wear."

"Might do." papa said, "My horses recognize me because I always wear the same hat. And they like the cowboy hats best of all." "Anyway," he said, "I`ll not be seen deadly a straw hat."

Mama talked and talked, but she could not change papa`s mind. They talked about hats all summer long. At last, mama tried to frighten papa to get him to wear a straw hat.

"Papa," she said, "just look at most of the ranger we know. All of them wear heavy wool cowboy hats in a summer. And most of them have lost their hair."

Papa laughed at mama. He laughed so hard that tears ran down his face and his stomach hurt. But his laughing did not stop mama. She told him about Jim Barry who lost his hair about two years ago.

Papa a little angry answered, "It was not the cowboy hat that made Jim Barry lose his hair. It was his wife always talking about hats and not giving him any peace and quiet."

Mama said nothing. She stopped talking about hats. I wondered what was going to happen.

Then one day, mama got up earlier than usual. She marched to the kitchen and made breakfast. She had a very serious look on her face. She did not say a word. She made more noise than usual. She put the dishes so hard I thought they would break. Suddenly, she got in the car and drove9 toward10 the city. She did not tell us why she was going. Later, she came home with a straw hat. She still looked very serious. There had not been much rain that year. It was a bad year for rangers. We had only a little money. But it was the year for papa to buy a new cowboy hat. Mama knew this. She also thought that if she spent the money for a straw hat, papa would not spend any money to but a cowboy hat. Mama was right. When papa saw the straw hat, his face got red. He said nothing. He pull the straw hat down over his head until it hide his eyes. He looked very funny. I wanted to laugh but I did not. I was afraid to, because papa was so angry. I remembered how quiet he was as he marched out of house. I followed him that day. He was going to train the wild horses again.

I loved to watch him work. He had gotten the horses earlier in the year. But they were still half wild have trained. Papa slowly walked toward the field where the horses were eating grass. He was a good ranger because he was gentle with horse never cruel to them. He had given maize11 to all the horses. He always caught to them when he first saw them in the morning. He talked softly12 to them, so they would not be afraid. Sometimes, the horses walked up to him when he caught their names. They knew his cowboy hat with he wore every day. They did not feel safe near any other person. I followed papa as he walked toward the field calling their names. At first, the horses continued to eat. But as papa get closer, the horses looked up at him. Suddenly, they jumped high into the air, raising their front feet. Then they began to ran around wildly. They screamed the way frightened horses do. One horse kept the hay13 wagon14 over. All of them ran around in the rounded field and then raced toward the barn15 where they slept. I never heard such a noise.

Papa began to shout "Woo, boys. Steady16 boys, steady." But there was nothing equal to. He marched toward the horse. Inside the barn, the frightened horses screamed and kept hard against the walls of the barn. Mama came running out of the house. She stood near the door waiting for papa. She held her hands against her heart.

"What is it, papa? What is it?"

Papa did not answered. She held the door open and he marched into the house. Mama followed him. I went in after them to see what was going to happen. Papa walked straight to he stove in the kitchen. He opened the top of the stove, pulled the straw hat off his head and pushed it deep down into the fire.

At last, he turned to mama and looked at her in a way that even frightened me. I never heard papa so angry. He shouted and shouted all sorts of new words. At last, his anger was gone. Then he said in a soft but firm voice.

"Now listen to me, mama. Understand this I will never wear a straw hat or any other kind of hat my horses do not like." Then he put on his Sunday cowboy hat and walked out of the house.

It was almost middle night when the noise died away and the animals became quiet. The next day, papa fixed17 all the broken wood in the walls of the barn. I never heard mama talk anymore about hats. Perhaps, that is why when papa died many years later, there was a round spot on the top of his head where there was no hair.


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1 straw 6t6wm     
n.稻草,麦杆,吸管;adj.用稻草做的,用来作稻草的,麦杆色的,无价值的,象稻草人的,非正式民意测验所发现的
参考例句:
  • The old peasant is twisting pieces of straw into a rope.这位老农民正把稻草搓成绳子。
  • May I have a straw for my drink?给我一根喝饮料的吸管好吗?
2 ranger RTvxb     
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句:
  • He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
  • He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。
3 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
4 rangers f306109e6f069bca5191deb9b03359e2     
护林者( ranger的名词复数 ); 突击队员
参考例句:
  • Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗? 来自超越目标英语 第3册
  • Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者,所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
5 cowboy FvIz7l     
n.牛仔,牛郎,牧童
参考例句:
  • I felt sure I had all the skills to be a cowboy.我确信自己具备当牛仔的一切本领。
  • He loved to see cowboy movies.他爱看牛仔影片。
6 cowboys 72a97fb793d496318518aebc7e9298b2     
n.牧牛工( cowboy的名词复数 );牛仔;冒失鬼;(尤指无能的)缺德的商人
参考例句:
  • children playing a game of cowboys and Indians 玩美国西部牛仔与印第安人游戏的孩子们
  • There are too many cowboys in the business these days. 近来商界中,瞎吵胡闹的家伙太多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 nail I6CzW     
n.钉子,指甲;vt.用钉钉牢,使固定,使集中于,揭露
参考例句:
  • He drove a nail into the wall.他把钉子钉在墙上。
  • In order to hang the picture,he had to hammer a nail.为了挂那幅画,他必须钉枚钉子。
8 permitted dc103d75e269b8c2bb112e8a59761bcf     
允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 ); 许可; 许用
参考例句:
  • Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
  • Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。
9 drove brAxi     
vbl.驾驶,drive的过去式;n.畜群
参考例句:
  • He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
  • They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。
10 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
11 maize q2Wyb     
n.玉米
参考例句:
  • There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
  • We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
12 softly HiIzR4     
adv.柔和地,静静地,温柔地
参考例句:
  • He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻,她听不见。
  • She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。
13 hay WeVxZ     
n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草
参考例句:
  • Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
  • They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。
14 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
15 barn 6dayp     
n.谷仓,饲料仓,牲口棚
参考例句:
  • That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
  • The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。
16 steady guyw5     
adj.稳定的,不动摇的,沉着的,稳固的,坚定的,可靠的;vt.使稳定
参考例句:
  • She has a steady income.她有固定的收入。
  • He is a steady young man.他是一个稳重的年轻人。
17 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。

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