章节正文
and dissatisfied expression of countenance.
The same thing happened to me."
"Oh, did it? And how did you happen to come to this
island?" asked the girl.
"I didn't come; the neighbors brought me," replied the
little man, with a frown at the recollection. "They said
I was quarrelsome and fault-finding and blamed me because
I told them all the things that went wrong, or never were
right, and because I told them how things ought to be. So
they brought me here and left me all alone, saying that
if I quarreled with myself, no one else would be made
unhappy. Absurd, wasn't it?"
"Seems to me," said Cap'n Bill, "those neighbors did
the proper thing."
"Well," resumed Pessim, "when I found myself King of
this island I was obliged to live upon fruits, and I
found many fruits growing here that I had never seen
before. I tasted several and found them good and
wholesome. But one day I ate a lavender berry -- as the
Ork did -- and immediately I grew so small that I was
scarcely two inches high. It was a very unpleasant
condition and like the Ork I became frightened. I could
not walk very well nor very far, for every lump of earth
in my way seemed a mountain, every blade of grass a tree
and every grain of sand a rocky boulder. For several days
I stumbled around in an agony of fear. Once a tree toad
nearly gobbled me up, and if I ran out from the shelter
of the bushes the gulls and cormorants swooped down upon
me. Finally I decided to eat another berry and become
nothing at all, since life, to one as small as I was, had
become a dreary nightmare.
"At last I found a small tree that I thought bore the
same fruit as that I had eaten. The berry was dark purple
instead of light lavender, but otherwise it was quite
similar. Being unable to climb the tree, I was obliged to
wait underneath it until a sharp breeze arose and shook
the limbs so that a berry fell. Instantly I seized it and
taking a last view of the world -- as I then thought -- I
ate the berry in a twinkling. Then, to my surprise, I
began to grow big again, until I became of my former
stature, and so I have since remained. Needless to say, I
have never eaten again of the lavender fruit, nor do any
of the beasts or birds that live upon this island eat
it."
They had all three listened eagerly to this amazing
tale, and when it was finished the Ork exclaimed:
"Do you think, then, that the deep purple berry is the
antidote for the lavender one?"
"I'm sure of it," answered Pessim.
"Then lead me to the tree at once!" begged the Ork,
"for this tiny form I now have terrifies me greatly."
Pessim examined the Ork closely
"You are ugly enough as you are," said he. "Were you
any larger you might be dangerous."
"Oh, no," Trot assured him; "the Ork has been our good
friend. Please take us to the tree."
Then Pessim consented, although rather reluctantly. He
led them to the right, which was the east side of the
island, and in a few minutes brought them near to the
edge of the grove which faced the shore of the ocean.
Here stood a small tree bearing berries of a deep purple
color. The fruit looked very enticing and Cap'n Bill
reached up and selected one that seemed especially plump
and ripe.
The Ork had remained perched upon Trot's shoulder but
now it flew down to the ground. It was so difficult for
Cap'n Bill to kneel down, with his wooden leg, that the
little girl took the berry from him and held it close to
the Ork's head.
"It's too big to go into my mouth," said the little
creature, looking at the fruit sidewise.
"You'll have to make sev'ral mouthfuls of it, I guess,"
said Trot; and that is what the Ork did. He pecked at the
soft, ripe fruit with his bill and ate it up very
quickly, because it was good.
Even before he had finished the berry they could see
the Ork begin to grow. In a few minutes he had regained
his natural size and was strutting before them, quite
delighted with his transformation.
"Well, well! What do you think of me now?" he asked
proudly.
"You are very skinny and remarkably ugly," declared
Pessim.
"You are a poor judge of Orks," was the reply. "Anyone
can see that I'm much handsomer than those dreadful
things called birds, which are all fluff and feathers."
"Their feathers make soft beds," asserted Pessim.
"And my skin would make excellent drumheads," retorted
the Ork. "Nevertheless, a plucked bird or a skinned Ork
would be of no value to himself, so we needn't brag of
our usefulness after we are dead. But for the sake of
argument, friend Pessim, I'd like to know what good you
would be, were you not alive?"
"Never mind that," said Cap'n Bill. "He isn't much good
as he is."
"I am King of this Island, allow me to say, and you're
intruding on my property," declared the little man,
scowling upon them. "If you don't like me --and I'm sure
you don't, for no one else does -- why don't you go away
and leave me to myself?"
"Well, the Ork can fly, but we can't," explained Trot,
in answer. "We don't want to stay here a bit, but I don't
see how we can get away."
"You can go back into the hole you came from."
Cap'n Bill shook his head; Trot shuddered at the
thought; the Ork laughed aloud.
"You may be King here," the creature said to Pessim,
"but we intend to run this island to suit ourselves, for
we are three and you are one, and the balance of power
lies with us."
The little man made no reply to this, although as they
walked back to the shed his face wore its fiercest scowl.
Cap'n Bill gathered a lot of leaves and, assisted by
Trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite corners of the
shed. Pessim slept in a hammock which he swung between
two trees.
They required no dishes, as all their food consisted of
fruits and nuts picked from the trees; they made no fire,
for the weather was warm and there was nothing to cook;
the shed had no furniture other than the rude stool which
the little man was accustomed to sit upon. He called it
his "throne" and they let him keep it.
So they lived upon the island for three days, and
rested and ate to their hearts' content. Still, they were
not at all happy in this life because of Pessim. He
continually found fault with them, and all that they did,
and all their surroundings. He could see nothing good or
admirable in all the world and Trot soon came to
understand why the little man's former neighbors had
brought him to this island and left him there, all alone,
so he could not annoy anyone. It was their misfortune
that they had been led to this place by their adventures,
for often they would have preferred the company of a wild
beast to that of Pessim.
On the fourth day a happy thought came to the Ork. They
had all been racking their brains for a possible way to
leave the island, and discussing this or that method,
without finding a plan that was practical. Cap'n Bill had
said he could make a raft of the trees, big enough to
float them all, but he had no tools except those two
pocketknives and it was not possible to chop down tree
with such small blades.
"And s'pose we got afloat on the ocean," said Trot,
"where would we drift to, and how long would it take us
to get there?"
Cap'n Bill was forced to admit he didn't know. The Ork
could fly away from the island any time it wished to, but
the queer creature was loyal to his new friends and
refused to leave them in such a lonely, forsaken place.
It was when Trot urged him to go, on this fourth
morning, that the Ork had his happy thought.
"I will go," said he, "if you two will agree to ride
upon my back."
"We are too heavy; you might drop us," objected
Cap'n Bill.
"Yes, you are rather heavy for a long journey,"
acknowledged the Ork, "but you might eat of those
lavender berries and become so small that I could carry
you with ease."
This quaintsuggestion startled Trot and she looked
gravely at the speaker while she considered it, but Cap'n
Bill gave a scornful snort and asked:
"What would become of us afterward? We wouldn't be much
good if we were some two or three inches high. No, Mr.
Ork, I'd rather stay here, as I am, than be a hop-o'-my-
thumb somewhere else."
"Why couldn't you take some of the dark purple berries
along with you, to eat after we had reached our
destination?" inquired the Ork. "Then you could grow big
again whenever you pleased."
Trot clapped her hands with delight.
"That's it!" she exclaimed. "Let's do it, Cap'n Bill."
The old sailor did not like the idea at first, but he
thought it over carefully and the more he thought the
better it seemed.
"How could you manage to carry us, if we were so
small?" he asked.
"I could put you in a paper bag, and tie the bag around
my neck."
"But we haven't a paper bag," objected Trot.
The Ork looked at her.
"There's your sunbonnet," it said presently, "which is
hollow in the middle and has two strings that you could
tie around my neck."
Trot took off her sunbonnet and regarded it critically.
Yes, it might easily hold both her and Cap'n Bill, after
they had eaten the lavender berries and been reduced in
size. She tied the strings around the Ork's neck and the
sunbonnet made a bag in which two tiny people might ride
without danger of falling out. So she said:
"I b'lieve we'll do it that way, Cap'n."
Cap'n Bill groaned but could make no logical
objection except that the plan seemed to him quite
dangerous -- and dangerous in more ways than one.
"I think so, myself," said Trot soberly. "But nobody
can stay alive without getting into danger sometimes, and
danger doesn't mean getting hurt, Cap'n; it only means we
might get hurt. So I guess we'll have to take the risk."
"Let's go and find the berries," said the Ork.
They said nothing to Pessim, who was sitting on his
stool and scowling dismally as he stared at the ocean,
The same thing happened to me."
"Oh, did it? And how did you happen to come to this
island?" asked the girl.
"I didn't come; the neighbors brought me," replied the
little man, with a frown at the recollection. "They said
I was quarrelsome and fault-finding and blamed me because
I told them all the things that went wrong, or never were
right, and because I told them how things ought to be. So
they brought me here and left me all alone, saying that
if I quarreled with myself, no one else would be made
unhappy. Absurd, wasn't it?"
"Seems to me," said Cap'n Bill, "those neighbors did
the proper thing."
"Well," resumed Pessim, "when I found myself King of
this island I was obliged to live upon fruits, and I
found many fruits growing here that I had never seen
before. I tasted several and found them good and
wholesome. But one day I ate a lavender berry -- as the
Ork did -- and immediately I grew so small that I was
scarcely two inches high. It was a very unpleasant
condition and like the Ork I became frightened. I could
not walk very well nor very far, for every lump of earth
in my way seemed a mountain, every blade of grass a tree
and every grain of sand a rocky boulder. For several days
I stumbled around in an agony of fear. Once a tree toad
nearly gobbled me up, and if I ran out from the shelter
of the bushes the gulls and cormorants swooped down upon
me. Finally I decided to eat another berry and become
nothing at all, since life, to one as small as I was, had
become a dreary nightmare.
"At last I found a small tree that I thought bore the
same fruit as that I had eaten. The berry was dark purple
instead of light lavender, but otherwise it was quite
similar. Being unable to climb the tree, I was obliged to
wait underneath it until a sharp breeze arose and shook
the limbs so that a berry fell. Instantly I seized it and
taking a last view of the world -- as I then thought -- I
ate the berry in a twinkling. Then, to my surprise, I
began to grow big again, until I became of my former
stature, and so I have since remained. Needless to say, I
have never eaten again of the lavender fruit, nor do any
of the beasts or birds that live upon this island eat
it."
They had all three listened eagerly to this amazing
tale, and when it was finished the Ork exclaimed:
"Do you think, then, that the deep purple berry is the
antidote for the lavender one?"
"I'm sure of it," answered Pessim.
"Then lead me to the tree at once!" begged the Ork,
"for this tiny form I now have terrifies me greatly."
Pessim examined the Ork closely
"You are ugly enough as you are," said he. "Were you
any larger you might be dangerous."
"Oh, no," Trot assured him; "the Ork has been our good
friend. Please take us to the tree."
Then Pessim consented, although rather reluctantly. He
led them to the right, which was the east side of the
island, and in a few minutes brought them near to the
edge of the grove which faced the shore of the ocean.
Here stood a small tree bearing berries of a deep purple
color. The fruit looked very enticing and Cap'n Bill
reached up and selected one that seemed especially plump
and ripe.
The Ork had remained perched upon Trot's shoulder but
now it flew down to the ground. It was so difficult for
Cap'n Bill to kneel down, with his wooden leg, that the
little girl took the berry from him and held it close to
the Ork's head.
"It's too big to go into my mouth," said the little
creature, looking at the fruit sidewise.
"You'll have to make sev'ral mouthfuls of it, I guess,"
said Trot; and that is what the Ork did. He pecked at the
soft, ripe fruit with his bill and ate it up very
quickly, because it was good.
Even before he had finished the berry they could see
the Ork begin to grow. In a few minutes he had regained
his natural size and was strutting before them, quite
delighted with his transformation.
"Well, well! What do you think of me now?" he asked
proudly.
"You are very skinny and remarkably ugly," declared
Pessim.
"You are a poor judge of Orks," was the reply. "Anyone
can see that I'm much handsomer than those dreadful
things called birds, which are all fluff and feathers."
"Their feathers make soft beds," asserted Pessim.
"And my skin would make excellent drumheads," retorted
the Ork. "Nevertheless, a plucked bird or a skinned Ork
would be of no value to himself, so we needn't brag of
our usefulness after we are dead. But for the sake of
argument, friend Pessim, I'd like to know what good you
would be, were you not alive?"
"Never mind that," said Cap'n Bill. "He isn't much good
as he is."
"I am King of this Island, allow me to say, and you're
intruding on my property," declared the little man,
scowling upon them. "If you don't like me --and I'm sure
you don't, for no one else does -- why don't you go away
and leave me to myself?"
"Well, the Ork can fly, but we can't," explained Trot,
in answer. "We don't want to stay here a bit, but I don't
see how we can get away."
"You can go back into the hole you came from."
Cap'n Bill shook his head; Trot shuddered at the
thought; the Ork laughed aloud.
"You may be King here," the creature said to Pessim,
"but we intend to run this island to suit ourselves, for
we are three and you are one, and the balance of power
lies with us."
The little man made no reply to this, although as they
walked back to the shed his face wore its fiercest scowl.
Cap'n Bill gathered a lot of leaves and, assisted by
Trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite corners of the
shed. Pessim slept in a hammock which he swung between
two trees.
They required no dishes, as all their food consisted of
fruits and nuts picked from the trees; they made no fire,
for the weather was warm and there was nothing to cook;
the shed had no furniture other than the rude stool which
the little man was accustomed to sit upon. He called it
his "throne" and they let him keep it.
So they lived upon the island for three days, and
rested and ate to their hearts' content. Still, they were
not at all happy in this life because of Pessim. He
continually found fault with them, and all that they did,
and all their surroundings. He could see nothing good or
admirable in all the world and Trot soon came to
understand why the little man's former neighbors had
brought him to this island and left him there, all alone,
so he could not annoy anyone. It was their misfortune
that they had been led to this place by their adventures,
for often they would have preferred the company of a wild
beast to that of Pessim.
On the fourth day a happy thought came to the Ork. They
had all been racking their brains for a possible way to
leave the island, and discussing this or that method,
without finding a plan that was practical. Cap'n Bill had
said he could make a raft of the trees, big enough to
float them all, but he had no tools except those two
pocketknives and it was not possible to chop down tree
with such small blades.
"And s'pose we got afloat on the ocean," said Trot,
"where would we drift to, and how long would it take us
to get there?"
Cap'n Bill was forced to admit he didn't know. The Ork
could fly away from the island any time it wished to, but
the queer creature was loyal to his new friends and
refused to leave them in such a lonely, forsaken place.
It was when Trot urged him to go, on this fourth
morning, that the Ork had his happy thought.
"I will go," said he, "if you two will agree to ride
upon my back."
"We are too heavy; you might drop us," objected
Cap'n Bill.
"Yes, you are rather heavy for a long journey,"
acknowledged the Ork, "but you might eat of those
lavender berries and become so small that I could carry
you with ease."
This quaintsuggestion startled Trot and she looked
gravely at the speaker while she considered it, but Cap'n
Bill gave a scornful snort and asked:
"What would become of us afterward? We wouldn't be much
good if we were some two or three inches high. No, Mr.
Ork, I'd rather stay here, as I am, than be a hop-o'-my-
thumb somewhere else."
"Why couldn't you take some of the dark purple berries
along with you, to eat after we had reached our
destination?" inquired the Ork. "Then you could grow big
again whenever you pleased."
Trot clapped her hands with delight.
"That's it!" she exclaimed. "Let's do it, Cap'n Bill."
The old sailor did not like the idea at first, but he
thought it over carefully and the more he thought the
better it seemed.
"How could you manage to carry us, if we were so
small?" he asked.
"I could put you in a paper bag, and tie the bag around
my neck."
"But we haven't a paper bag," objected Trot.
The Ork looked at her.
"There's your sunbonnet," it said presently, "which is
hollow in the middle and has two strings that you could
tie around my neck."
Trot took off her sunbonnet and regarded it critically.
Yes, it might easily hold both her and Cap'n Bill, after
they had eaten the lavender berries and been reduced in
size. She tied the strings around the Ork's neck and the
sunbonnet made a bag in which two tiny people might ride
without danger of falling out. So she said:
"I b'lieve we'll do it that way, Cap'n."
Cap'n Bill groaned but could make no logical
objection except that the plan seemed to him quite
dangerous -- and dangerous in more ways than one.
"I think so, myself," said Trot soberly. "But nobody
can stay alive without getting into danger sometimes, and
danger doesn't mean getting hurt, Cap'n; it only means we
might get hurt. So I guess we'll have to take the risk."
"Let's go and find the berries," said the Ork.
They said nothing to Pessim, who was sitting on his
stool and scowling dismally as he stared at the ocean,
- absurd [əb´sə:d]
a.荒谬的，可笑的 (初中英语单词) - otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中英语单词)
- unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)
- underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
- breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)
- instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)
- eagerly [´i:gəli] ad.渴望地，急切地 (初中英语单词)
- purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
- suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)
- speaker [´spi:kə] n.演讲人；代言人 (初中英语单词)
- whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)
- presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
- recollection [,rekə´lekʃən] n.回忆；追想；记忆力 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- lavender [´lævində] n.熏衣草；淡紫色 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- dreary [´driəri] a.阴郁的；枯燥无味的 (高中英语单词)
- needless [´ni:dləs] a.不必要的；无用的 (高中英语单词)
- bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
- finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
- quaint [kweint] a.离奇的；奇妙的 (高中英语单词)
- boulder [´bəuldə] n.大石头，卵石；巨砾 (英语四级单词)
- reluctantly [ri´lʌktəntli] a.不情愿地；勉强地 (英语四级单词)
- remarkably [ri´mɑ:kəbli] ad.非凡地；显著地 (英语四级单词)
- hammock [´hæmək] n.吊床；圆丘 (英语四级单词)
- afloat [ə´fləut] ad.&a.漂浮；在海上 (英语四级单词)
- soberly [´səubəli] ad.严肃地；清醒地 (英语四级单词)
- dissatisfied [´dis,sætis´fækʃən] a.不满的；显出不满的 (英语六级单词)
- assured [ə´ʃuəd] a.确实的 n.被保险人 (英语六级单词)
- usefulness [´ju:sfəlnis] n.有用(性)；有益(性) (英语六级单词)
- forsaken [fə´seik] forsake的过去分词 (英语六级单词)
- scornful [´skɔ:nful] a.轻蔑的，藐视的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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