章节正文
Bright. "I want to see how the tail works."
"Not now," said the Ork. "I appreciate your interest in
me, which I fully deserve; but I only fly when I am going
somewhere, and if I got started I might not stop."
"That reminds me," remarked Cap'n Bill, "to ask you,
friend Ork, how we are going to get away from here?"
"Get away!" exclaimed the Bumpy Man. "Why don't you
stay here? You won't find any nicer place than Mo."
"Have you been anywhere else, sir?"
"No; I can't say that I have," admitted the Mountain
Ear.
"Then permit me to say you're no judge," declared Cap'n
Bill. "But you haven't answered my question, friend Ork.
How are we to get away from this mountain?"
The Ork reflected a while before he answered.
"I might carry one of you -- the boy or the girl --upon
my back," said he, "but three big people are more than I
can manage, although I have carried two of you for a
short distance. You ought not to have eaten those purple
berries so soon."
"P'r'aps we did make a mistake," Cap'n Bill
acknowledged.
"Or we might have brought some of those lavender
berries with us, instead of so many purple ones,"
suggested Trot regretfully.
Cap'n Bill made no reply to this statement, which
showed he did not fully agree with the little girl; but
he fell into deep thought, with wrinkled brows, and
finally he said:
"If those purple berries would make anything grow
bigger, whether it'd eaten the lavender ones or not,
I could find a way out of our troubles."
They did not understand this speech and looked at
the old sailor as if expecting him to explain what he
meant. But just then a chorus of shrill cries rose from
outside.
"Here! Let me go -- let me go!" the voices seemed to
say. "Why are we insulted in this way? Mountain Ear, come
and help us!"
Trot ran to the window and looked out.
"It's the birds you caught, Cap'n," she said. "I didn't
know they could talk."
"Oh, yes; all the birds in Mo are educated to talk,"
said the Bumpy Man. Then he looked at Cap'n Bill uneasily
and added: "Won't you let the poor things go?"
"I'll see," replied the sailor, and walked out to where
the birds were fluttering and complaining because the
strings would not allow them to fly away.
"Listen to me!" he cried, and at once they became
still. "We three people who are strangers in your land
want to go to some other country, and we want three of
you birds to carry us there. We know we are asking a
great favor, but it's the only way we can think of --
excep' walkin', an' I'm not much good at that because
I've a wooden leg. Besides, Trot an' Button-Bright are
too small to undertake a long and tiresome journey. Now,
tell me: Which three of you birds will consent to carry
us?"
The birds looked at one another as if greatly
astonished. Then one of them replied: "You must be crazy,
old man. Not one of us is big enough to fly with even the
smallest of your party."
"I'll fix the matter of size," promised Cap'n Bill. "If
three of you will agree to carry us, I'll make you big
an' strong enough to do it, so it won't worry you a bit."
The birds considered this gravely. Living in a magic
country, they had no doubt but that the strange one-
legged man could do what he said. After a little, one of
them asked:
"If you make us big, would we stay big always?"
"I think so," replied Cap'n Bill.
They chattered a while among themselves and then the
bird that had first spoken said: "I'll go, for one."
"So will I," said another; and after a pause a third
said: "I'll go, too."
Perhaps more would have volunteered, for it seemed that
for some reason they all longed to be bigger than they
were; but three were enough for Cap'n Bill's purpose and
so he promptly released all the others, who immediately
flew away.
The three that remained were cousins, and all were of
the same brilliantplumage and in size about as large as
eagles. When Trot questioned them she found they were
quite young, having only abandoned their nests a few
weeks before. They were strong young birds, with clear,
brave eyes, and the little girl decided they were the
most beautiful of all the feathered creatures she had
ever seen.
Cap'n Bill now took from his pocket the wooden box with
the sliding cover and removed the three purple berries,
which were still in good condition.
"Eat these," he said, and gave one to each of the
birds. They obeyed, finding the fruit very pleasant to
taste. In a few seconds they began to grow in size and
grew so fast that Trot feared they would never stop. But
they finally did stop growing, and then they were much
larger than the Ork, and nearly the size of full-grown
ostriches.
Cap'n Bill was much pleased by this result.
"You can carry us now, all right," said he.
The birds strutted around with pride, highly pleased
with their immense size.
"I don't see, though," said Trot doubtfully, "how
we're going to ride on their backs without falling off."
"We're not going to ride on their backs," answered
Cap'n Bill. "I'm going to make swings for us to ride in."
He then asked the Bumpy Man for some rope, but the man
had no rope. He had, however, an old suit of gray clothes
which he gladly presented to Cap'n Bill, who cut the
cloth into strips and twisted it so that it was almost as
strong as rope. With this material he attached to each
bird a swing that dangled below its feet, and Button-
Bright made a trial flight in one of them to prove that
it was safe and comfortable. When all this had been
arranged one of the birds asked:
"Where do you wish us to take you?"
"Why, just follow the Ork," said Cap'n Bill. "He will
be our leader, and wherever the Ork flies you are to fly,
and wherever the Ork lands you are to land. Is that
satisfactory?"
The birds declared it was quite satisfactory, so Cap'n
Bill took counsel with the Ork.
"On our way here," said that peculiar creature, "I
noticed a broad, sandy desert at the left of me, on which
was no living thing."
"Then we'd better keep away from it," replied the
sailor.
"Not so," insisted the Ork. "I have found, on my
travels, that the most pleasant countries often lie in
the midst of deserts; so I think it would be wise for us
to fly over this desert and discover what lies beyond it.
For in the direction we came from lies the ocean, as we
well know, and beyond here is this strange Land of Mo,
which we do not care to explore. On one side, as we can
see from this mountain, is a broad expanse of plain, and
on the other the desert. For my part, I vote for the
desert."
"What do you say, Trot?" inquired Cap'n Bill.
"It's all the same to me," she replied.
No one thought of asking Button-Bright's opinion, so it
was decided to fly over the desert. They bade good-bye to
the Bumpy Man and thanked him for his kindness and
hospitality. Then they seated themselves in the swings --
one for each bird -- and told the Ork to start away and
they would follow.
The whirl of the Ork's tail astonished the birds at
first, but after he had gone a short distance they rose
in the air, carrying their passengers easily, and flew
with strong, regular strokes of their great wings in the
wake of their leader.
Chapter Nine
The Kingdom of Jinxland
Trot rode with more comfort than she had expected,
although the swing swayed so much that she had to hold on
tight with both hands. Cap'n Bill's bird followed the
Ork, and Trot came next, with Button-Bright trailing
behind her. It was quite an imposingprocession, but
unfortunately there was no one to see it, for the Ork had
headed straight for the great sandy desert and in a few
minutes after starting they were flying high over the
broad waste, where no living thing could exist.
The little girl thought this would be a bad place for
the birds to lose strength, or for the cloth ropes to
give way; but although she could not help feeling a
trifle nervous and fidgety she had confidence in the huge
and brilliantly plumaged bird that bore her, as well as
in Cap'n Bill's knowledge of how to twist and fasten a
rope so it would hold.
That was a remarkably big desert. There was nothing to
relieve the monotony of view and every minute seemed an
hour and every hour a day. Disagreeable fumes and gases
rose from the sands, which would have been deadly to the
travelers had they not been so high in the air. As it
was, Trot was beginning to feel sick, when a breath of
fresher air filled her nostrils and on looking ahead she
saw a great cloud of pink-tinted mist. Even while she
wondered what it could be, the Ork plunged boldly into
the mist and the other birds followed. She could see
nothing for a time, nor could the bird which carried her
see where the Ork had gone, but it kept flying as
sturdily as ever and in a few moments the mist was passed
and the girl saw a most beautiful landscape spread out
below her, extending as far as her eye could reach.
She saw bits of forest, verdure clothed hills, fields
of waving grain, fountains, rivers and lakes; and
throughout the scene were scattered groups of pretty
houses and a few grand castles and palaces.
Over all this delightfullandscape -- which from Trot's
high perch seemed like a magnificent painted picture --
was a rosy glow such as we sometimes see in the west at
sunset. In this case, however, it was not in the west
only, but everywhere.
No wonder the Ork paused to circle slowly over this
lovely country. The other birds followed his action, all
eyeing the place with equal delight. Then, as with one
accord, the four formed a group and slowly sailed
downward. This brought them to that part of the newly-
discovered land which bordered on the desert's edge; but
it was just as pretty here as anywhere, so the Ork and
the birds alighted and the three passengers at once got
out of their swings.
"Not now," said the Ork. "I appreciate your interest in
me, which I fully deserve; but I only fly when I am going
somewhere, and if I got started I might not stop."
"That reminds me," remarked Cap'n Bill, "to ask you,
friend Ork, how we are going to get away from here?"
"Get away!" exclaimed the Bumpy Man. "Why don't you
stay here? You won't find any nicer place than Mo."
"Have you been anywhere else, sir?"
"No; I can't say that I have," admitted the Mountain
Ear.
"Then permit me to say you're no judge," declared Cap'n
Bill. "But you haven't answered my question, friend Ork.
How are we to get away from this mountain?"
The Ork reflected a while before he answered.
"I might carry one of you -- the boy or the girl --upon
my back," said he, "but three big people are more than I
can manage, although I have carried two of you for a
short distance. You ought not to have eaten those purple
berries so soon."
"P'r'aps we did make a mistake," Cap'n Bill
acknowledged.
"Or we might have brought some of those lavender
berries with us, instead of so many purple ones,"
suggested Trot regretfully.
Cap'n Bill made no reply to this statement, which
showed he did not fully agree with the little girl; but
he fell into deep thought, with wrinkled brows, and
finally he said:
"If those purple berries would make anything grow
bigger, whether it'd eaten the lavender ones or not,
I could find a way out of our troubles."
They did not understand this speech and looked at
the old sailor as if expecting him to explain what he
meant. But just then a chorus of shrill cries rose from
outside.
"Here! Let me go -- let me go!" the voices seemed to
say. "Why are we insulted in this way? Mountain Ear, come
and help us!"
Trot ran to the window and looked out.
"It's the birds you caught, Cap'n," she said. "I didn't
know they could talk."
"Oh, yes; all the birds in Mo are educated to talk,"
said the Bumpy Man. Then he looked at Cap'n Bill uneasily
and added: "Won't you let the poor things go?"
"I'll see," replied the sailor, and walked out to where
the birds were fluttering and complaining because the
strings would not allow them to fly away.
"Listen to me!" he cried, and at once they became
still. "We three people who are strangers in your land
want to go to some other country, and we want three of
you birds to carry us there. We know we are asking a
great favor, but it's the only way we can think of --
excep' walkin', an' I'm not much good at that because
I've a wooden leg. Besides, Trot an' Button-Bright are
too small to undertake a long and tiresome journey. Now,
tell me: Which three of you birds will consent to carry
us?"
The birds looked at one another as if greatly
astonished. Then one of them replied: "You must be crazy,
old man. Not one of us is big enough to fly with even the
smallest of your party."
"I'll fix the matter of size," promised Cap'n Bill. "If
three of you will agree to carry us, I'll make you big
an' strong enough to do it, so it won't worry you a bit."
The birds considered this gravely. Living in a magic
country, they had no doubt but that the strange one-
legged man could do what he said. After a little, one of
them asked:
"If you make us big, would we stay big always?"
"I think so," replied Cap'n Bill.
They chattered a while among themselves and then the
bird that had first spoken said: "I'll go, for one."
"So will I," said another; and after a pause a third
said: "I'll go, too."
Perhaps more would have volunteered, for it seemed that
for some reason they all longed to be bigger than they
were; but three were enough for Cap'n Bill's purpose and
so he promptly released all the others, who immediately
flew away.
The three that remained were cousins, and all were of
the same brilliantplumage and in size about as large as
eagles. When Trot questioned them she found they were
quite young, having only abandoned their nests a few
weeks before. They were strong young birds, with clear,
brave eyes, and the little girl decided they were the
most beautiful of all the feathered creatures she had
ever seen.
Cap'n Bill now took from his pocket the wooden box with
the sliding cover and removed the three purple berries,
which were still in good condition.
"Eat these," he said, and gave one to each of the
birds. They obeyed, finding the fruit very pleasant to
taste. In a few seconds they began to grow in size and
grew so fast that Trot feared they would never stop. But
they finally did stop growing, and then they were much
larger than the Ork, and nearly the size of full-grown
ostriches.
Cap'n Bill was much pleased by this result.
"You can carry us now, all right," said he.
The birds strutted around with pride, highly pleased
with their immense size.
"I don't see, though," said Trot doubtfully, "how
we're going to ride on their backs without falling off."
"We're not going to ride on their backs," answered
Cap'n Bill. "I'm going to make swings for us to ride in."
He then asked the Bumpy Man for some rope, but the man
had no rope. He had, however, an old suit of gray clothes
which he gladly presented to Cap'n Bill, who cut the
cloth into strips and twisted it so that it was almost as
strong as rope. With this material he attached to each
bird a swing that dangled below its feet, and Button-
Bright made a trial flight in one of them to prove that
it was safe and comfortable. When all this had been
arranged one of the birds asked:
"Where do you wish us to take you?"
"Why, just follow the Ork," said Cap'n Bill. "He will
be our leader, and wherever the Ork flies you are to fly,
and wherever the Ork lands you are to land. Is that
satisfactory?"
The birds declared it was quite satisfactory, so Cap'n
Bill took counsel with the Ork.
"On our way here," said that peculiar creature, "I
noticed a broad, sandy desert at the left of me, on which
was no living thing."
"Then we'd better keep away from it," replied the
sailor.
"Not so," insisted the Ork. "I have found, on my
travels, that the most pleasant countries often lie in
the midst of deserts; so I think it would be wise for us
to fly over this desert and discover what lies beyond it.
For in the direction we came from lies the ocean, as we
well know, and beyond here is this strange Land of Mo,
which we do not care to explore. On one side, as we can
see from this mountain, is a broad expanse of plain, and
on the other the desert. For my part, I vote for the
desert."
"What do you say, Trot?" inquired Cap'n Bill.
"It's all the same to me," she replied.
No one thought of asking Button-Bright's opinion, so it
was decided to fly over the desert. They bade good-bye to
the Bumpy Man and thanked him for his kindness and
hospitality. Then they seated themselves in the swings --
one for each bird -- and told the Ork to start away and
they would follow.
The whirl of the Ork's tail astonished the birds at
first, but after he had gone a short distance they rose
in the air, carrying their passengers easily, and flew
with strong, regular strokes of their great wings in the
wake of their leader.
Chapter Nine
The Kingdom of Jinxland
Trot rode with more comfort than she had expected,
although the swing swayed so much that she had to hold on
tight with both hands. Cap'n Bill's bird followed the
Ork, and Trot came next, with Button-Bright trailing
behind her. It was quite an imposingprocession, but
unfortunately there was no one to see it, for the Ork had
headed straight for the great sandy desert and in a few
minutes after starting they were flying high over the
broad waste, where no living thing could exist.
The little girl thought this would be a bad place for
the birds to lose strength, or for the cloth ropes to
give way; but although she could not help feeling a
trifle nervous and fidgety she had confidence in the huge
and brilliantly plumaged bird that bore her, as well as
in Cap'n Bill's knowledge of how to twist and fasten a
rope so it would hold.
That was a remarkably big desert. There was nothing to
relieve the monotony of view and every minute seemed an
hour and every hour a day. Disagreeable fumes and gases
rose from the sands, which would have been deadly to the
travelers had they not been so high in the air. As it
was, Trot was beginning to feel sick, when a breath of
fresher air filled her nostrils and on looking ahead she
saw a great cloud of pink-tinted mist. Even while she
wondered what it could be, the Ork plunged boldly into
the mist and the other birds followed. She could see
nothing for a time, nor could the bird which carried her
see where the Ork had gone, but it kept flying as
sturdily as ever and in a few moments the mist was passed
and the girl saw a most beautiful landscape spread out
below her, extending as far as her eye could reach.
She saw bits of forest, verdure clothed hills, fields
of waving grain, fountains, rivers and lakes; and
throughout the scene were scattered groups of pretty
houses and a few grand castles and palaces.
Over all this delightfullandscape -- which from Trot's
high perch seemed like a magnificent painted picture --
was a rosy glow such as we sometimes see in the west at
sunset. In this case, however, it was not in the west
only, but everywhere.
No wonder the Ork paused to circle slowly over this
lovely country. The other birds followed his action, all
eyeing the place with equal delight. Then, as with one
accord, the four formed a group and slowly sailed
downward. This brought them to that part of the newly-
discovered land which bordered on the desert's edge; but
it was just as pretty here as anywhere, so the Ork and
the birds alighted and the three passengers at once got
out of their swings.
- appreciate [ə´pri:ʃieit]
v.评价；珍惜；感激 (初中英语单词) - deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)
- anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)
- purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- chorus [´kɔ:rəs] n.合唱；齐声 v.合唱 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- undertake [,ʌndə´teik] vt.从事；承担；担保 (初中英语单词)
- gravely [´greivli] ad.庄重地，严肃地 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- promptly [´prɔmptli] ad.敏捷地；即时地 (初中英语单词)
- brilliant [´briliənt] a.灿烂的；杰出的 (初中英语单词)
- feathered [´feðəd] a.有羽毛的；羽状的 (初中英语单词)
- immense [i´mens] a.广大的，无限的 (初中英语单词)
- flight [flait] n.逃走；飞行；班机 (初中英语单词)
- wherever [weər´evə] conj.无论在哪里 (初中英语单词)
- satisfactory [,sætis´fæktəri] a.令人满意的 (初中英语单词)
- counsel [´kaunsəl] n.商议；劝告；律师 (初中英语单词)
- peculiar [pi´kju:liə] a.特有的；奇异的 (初中英语单词)
- procession [prə´seʃən] n.队伍 v.列队行进 (初中英语单词)
- nervous [´nə:vəs] a.神经的；神经过敏的 (初中英语单词)
- fasten [´fɑ:sən] v.扎牢；闩住；钉牢 (初中英语单词)
- deadly [´dedli] a.致命的 ad.死一般地 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- delightful [di´laitful] a.讨人喜欢的 (初中英语单词)
- magnificent [mæg´nifisənt] a.壮丽的；豪华的 (初中英语单词)
- circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)
- lavender [´lævində] n.熏衣草；淡紫色 (高中英语单词)
- shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
- gladly [´glædli] ad.愉快地，高兴地 (高中英语单词)
- explore [ik´splɔ:] v.勘探；探索；探查 (高中英语单词)
- disagreeable [,disə´gri:əbl] a.令人不悦的 (高中英语单词)
- boldly [´bəuldli] ad.大胆地；醒目地 (高中英语单词)
- landscape [´lændskeip] n.风景；景色；风景画 (高中英语单词)
- tiresome [´taiəsəm] a.令人厌倦的；讨厌的 (英语四级单词)
- remarkably [ri´mɑ:kəbli] ad.非凡地；显著地 (英语四级单词)
- plumage [´plu:midʒ] n.羽毛；漂亮衣服 (英语六级单词)
- abandoned [ə´bændənd] a.被抛弃的；无约束的 (英语六级单词)
- doubtfully [´dautfuli] ad.怀疑地，可疑地 (英语六级单词)
- expanse [ik´spæns] n.广阔；宽阔的区域 (英语六级单词)
- imposing [im´pəuziŋ] a.壮丽的，堂皇的 (英语六级单词)
- brilliantly [´briljəntli] ad.灿烂地；杰出地 (英语六级单词)
- monotony [mə´nɔtəni] n.单音；单调 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
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