章节正文
he had never been away from it, nor had anyone come up
there to see him. The Frogman was, in truth, descended
from the common frogs of Oz, and when he was first born
he lived in a pool in the Winkie Country and was much
like any other frog. Being of an adventurous nature,
however, he soon hopped out of his pool and began to
travel, when a big bird came along and seized him in
its beak and started to fly away with him to its nest.
When high in the air the frog wriggled so frantically
that he got loose and fell down-down-down into a small
hidden pool on the tableland of the Yips. Now this
pool, it seems, was unknown to the Yips because it was
surrounded by thick bushes and was not near to any
dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, for
the frog grew very fast and very big, feeding on the
magic skosh which is found nowhere else on earth except
in that one pool. And the skosh not only made the frog
very big, so that when he stood on his hind legs he was
tall as any Yip in the country, but it made him
unusuallyintelligent, so that he soon knew more than
the Yips did and was able to reason and to argue very
well indeed.
No one could expect a frog with these talents to
remain in a hidden pool, so he finally got out of it
and mingled with the people of the tableland, who were
amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by his
learning. They had never seen a frog before and the
frog had never seen a Yip before, but as there were
plenty of Yips and only one frog, the frog became the
most important. He did not hop any more, but stood
upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine
clothes and sat in chairs and did all the things that
people do; so he soon came to be called the Frogman,
and that is the only name he has ever had.
After some years had passed the people came to regard
the Frogman as their adviser in all matters that
puzzled them. They brought all their difficulties to
him and when he did not know anything he pretended to
know it, which seemed to answer just as well. Indeed,
the Yips thought the Frogman was much wiser than he
really was, and he allowed them to think so, being very
proud of his position of authority.
There was another pool on the tableland, which was
not enchanted but contained good clear water and was
located close to the dwellings. Here the people built
the Frogman a house of his own, close to the edge of
the pool, so that he could take a bath or a swim
whenever he wished. He usually swam in the pool in the
early morning, before anyone else was up, and during
the day he dressed himself in his beautiful clothes and
sat in his house and received the visits of all the
Yips who came to him to ask his advice.
The Frogman's usual costume consisted of knee-
breeches made of yellow satin plush, with trimmings of
gold braid and jeweled knee-buckles; a white satin vest
with silver buttons in which were set solitaire rubies;
a swallow-tailed coat of bright yellow; green stockings
and red leather shoes turned up at the toes and having
diamond buckles. He wore, when he walked out, a purple
silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his eyes
he wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because
his eyes were bad but because the spectacles made him
look wise, and so distinguished and gorgeous was his
appearance that all the Yips were very proud of him.
There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the
simple inhabitants naturally came to look upon the
Frogman as their leader as well as their counselor in
all times of emergency. In his heart the big frog knew
he was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know
as much as a person was quite remarkable, and the
Frogman was shrewd enough to make the people believe he
was far more wise than he really was. They never
suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words
with great respect and did just what he advised them
to do.
Now, when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry
over the theft of her diamond-studded dishpan, the
first thought of the people was to take her to the
Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of
course he could tell her where to find it.
He listened to the story with his big eyes wide open
behind his spectacles, and said in his deep, croaking
voice:
"If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have taken
it."
"But who?" asked Cayke, anxiously" target="_blank" title="ad.挂念地；渴望地">anxiously. "Who is the
thief?"
"The one who took the dishpan, of course, replied the
Frogman, and hearing this all the Yips nodded their
heads gravely and said to one another:
"It is absolutely true!"
"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke.
"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the
Frogman.
"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged.
The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look
and he rose from his chair and strutted up and down the
room with his hands under his coat-tails, in a very
pompous and imposing manner. This was the first time so
difficult a matter had been brought to him and he
wanted time to think. It would never do to let them
suspect his ignorance and so he thought very, very hard
how best to answer the woman without betraying himself.
"I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in the
Yip Country has ever been stolen before."
"We know that, already," answered Cayke the Cookie
Cook, impatiently.
"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft
becomes a very important matter."
"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman.
"It is lost; but it must be found. Unfortunately, we
have no policemen or detectives to unravel the mystery,
so we must employ other means to regain the lost
article. Cayke must first write a Proclamation and tack
it to the door of her house, and the Proclamation must
read that whoever stole the jeweled dishpan must return
it at once."
"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke.
"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be
proof that no one has stolen it."
Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to
approve the plan highly. They all advised her to do as
the Frogman had told her to, so she posted the sign on
her door and waited patiently for someone to return the
dishpan -- which no one ever did.
Again she went, accompanied by a group of her
neighbors, to the Frogman, who by this time had given
the matter considerable thought. Said he to Cayke:
"I am now convinced that no Yip has taken your
dishpan, and, since it is gone from the Yip Country, I
suspect that some stranger came from the world down
below us, in the darkness of night when all of us were
asleep, and took away your treasure. There can be no
other explanation of its disappearance. So, if you wish
to recover that golden, diamond-studded dish-pan, you
must go into the lower world after it."
This was indeed a startlingproposition. Cayke and
her friends went to the edge of the fiat tableland and
looked down the steep hillside to the plains below. It
was so far to the bottom of the hill that nothing there
could be seen very distinctly and it seemed to the Yips
very venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from
home into an unknown land.
However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she
turned to her friends and asked:
"Who will go with me?"
No one answered this question, but after a period of
silence one of the Yips said:
"We know what is here, on the top of this flat hill,
and it seems to us a very pleasant place; but what is
down below we do not know. The chances are it is not so
pleasant, so we had best stay where we are.
"It may be a far better country than this is,"
suggested the Cookie Cook.
"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take
chances? Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom.
Perhaps, in some other country, there are better
cookies than you cook; but as we have always eaten your
cookies, and liked them -- except when they are burned
on the bottom -- we do not long for any better ones."
Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not
been so anxious to find her precious dishpan, but now
she exclaimed impatiently:
"You are cowards -- all of you! If none of you are
willing to explore with me the great world beyond this
small hill, I will surely go alone."
"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much
relieved. "It is your dishpan that is lost, not ours;
and, if you are willing to risk your life and liberty
to regain it, no one can deny you the privilege."
While they were thus conversing the Frogman joined
them and looked down at the Plain with his big eyes and
seemed unusuallythoughtful. In fact, the Frogman was
thinking that he'd like to see more of the world. Here
in the Yip Country he had become the most important
creature of them all and his importance was getting to
be a little tame. It would be nice to have other people
defer to him and ask his advice and there seemed no
reason, so far as he could see, why his fame should not
spread throughout all Oz.
He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but it was
reasonable to believe that there were more people
beyond the mountain where he now lived than there were
Yips, and if he went among them he could surprise them
with his display of wisdom and make them bow down to
him as the Yips did. In other words, the Frogman was
ambitious to become still greater than he was, which
was impossible if he always remained upon this
mountain. He wanted others to see his gorgeous clothes
and listen to his solemn sayings, and here was an
excuse for him to get away from the Yip Country. So he
said to Cayke the Cookie Cook:
"I will go with you, my good woman," which greatly
Pleased Cayke because she felt the Frogman could be of
much assistance to her in her search.
But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to
undertake the journey, several of the Yips who were
young and daring at once made up their minds to go
along; so the next morning after breakfast the Frogman
and Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started
to slide down the side of the mountain. The bramble
there to see him. The Frogman was, in truth, descended
from the common frogs of Oz, and when he was first born
he lived in a pool in the Winkie Country and was much
like any other frog. Being of an adventurous nature,
however, he soon hopped out of his pool and began to
travel, when a big bird came along and seized him in
its beak and started to fly away with him to its nest.
When high in the air the frog wriggled so frantically
that he got loose and fell down-down-down into a small
hidden pool on the tableland of the Yips. Now this
pool, it seems, was unknown to the Yips because it was
surrounded by thick bushes and was not near to any
dwelling, and it proved to be an enchanted pool, for
the frog grew very fast and very big, feeding on the
magic skosh which is found nowhere else on earth except
in that one pool. And the skosh not only made the frog
very big, so that when he stood on his hind legs he was
tall as any Yip in the country, but it made him
unusuallyintelligent, so that he soon knew more than
the Yips did and was able to reason and to argue very
well indeed.
No one could expect a frog with these talents to
remain in a hidden pool, so he finally got out of it
and mingled with the people of the tableland, who were
amazed at his appearance and greatly impressed by his
learning. They had never seen a frog before and the
frog had never seen a Yip before, but as there were
plenty of Yips and only one frog, the frog became the
most important. He did not hop any more, but stood
upright on his hind legs and dressed himself in fine
clothes and sat in chairs and did all the things that
people do; so he soon came to be called the Frogman,
and that is the only name he has ever had.
After some years had passed the people came to regard
the Frogman as their adviser in all matters that
puzzled them. They brought all their difficulties to
him and when he did not know anything he pretended to
know it, which seemed to answer just as well. Indeed,
the Yips thought the Frogman was much wiser than he
really was, and he allowed them to think so, being very
proud of his position of authority.
There was another pool on the tableland, which was
not enchanted but contained good clear water and was
located close to the dwellings. Here the people built
the Frogman a house of his own, close to the edge of
the pool, so that he could take a bath or a swim
whenever he wished. He usually swam in the pool in the
early morning, before anyone else was up, and during
the day he dressed himself in his beautiful clothes and
sat in his house and received the visits of all the
Yips who came to him to ask his advice.
The Frogman's usual costume consisted of knee-
breeches made of yellow satin plush, with trimmings of
gold braid and jeweled knee-buckles; a white satin vest
with silver buttons in which were set solitaire rubies;
a swallow-tailed coat of bright yellow; green stockings
and red leather shoes turned up at the toes and having
diamond buckles. He wore, when he walked out, a purple
silk hat and carried a gold-headed cane. Over his eyes
he wore great spectacles with gold rims, not because
his eyes were bad but because the spectacles made him
look wise, and so distinguished and gorgeous was his
appearance that all the Yips were very proud of him.
There was no King or Queen in the Yip Country, so the
simple inhabitants naturally came to look upon the
Frogman as their leader as well as their counselor in
all times of emergency. In his heart the big frog knew
he was no wiser than the Yips, but for a frog to know
as much as a person was quite remarkable, and the
Frogman was shrewd enough to make the people believe he
was far more wise than he really was. They never
suspected he was a humbug, but listened to his words
with great respect and did just what he advised them
to do.
Now, when Cayke the Cookie Cook raised such an outcry
over the theft of her diamond-studded dishpan, the
first thought of the people was to take her to the
Frogman and inform him of the loss, thinking that of
course he could tell her where to find it.
He listened to the story with his big eyes wide open
behind his spectacles, and said in his deep, croaking
voice:
"If the dishpan is stolen, somebody must have taken
it."
"But who?" asked Cayke, anxiously" target="_blank" title="ad.挂念地；渴望地">anxiously. "Who is the
thief?"
"The one who took the dishpan, of course, replied the
Frogman, and hearing this all the Yips nodded their
heads gravely and said to one another:
"It is absolutely true!"
"But I want my dishpan!" cried Cayke.
"No one can blame you for that wish," remarked the
Frogman.
"Then tell me where I may find it," she urged.
The look the Frogman gave her was a very wise look
and he rose from his chair and strutted up and down the
room with his hands under his coat-tails, in a very
pompous and imposing manner. This was the first time so
difficult a matter had been brought to him and he
wanted time to think. It would never do to let them
suspect his ignorance and so he thought very, very hard
how best to answer the woman without betraying himself.
"I beg to inform you," said he, "that nothing in the
Yip Country has ever been stolen before."
"We know that, already," answered Cayke the Cookie
Cook, impatiently.
"Therefore," continued the Frogman, "this theft
becomes a very important matter."
"Well, where is my dishpan?" demanded the woman.
"It is lost; but it must be found. Unfortunately, we
have no policemen or detectives to unravel the mystery,
so we must employ other means to regain the lost
article. Cayke must first write a Proclamation and tack
it to the door of her house, and the Proclamation must
read that whoever stole the jeweled dishpan must return
it at once."
"But suppose no one returns it," suggested Cayke.
"Then," said the Frogman, "that very fact will be
proof that no one has stolen it."
Cayke was not satisfied, but the other Yips seemed to
approve the plan highly. They all advised her to do as
the Frogman had told her to, so she posted the sign on
her door and waited patiently for someone to return the
dishpan -- which no one ever did.
Again she went, accompanied by a group of her
neighbors, to the Frogman, who by this time had given
the matter considerable thought. Said he to Cayke:
"I am now convinced that no Yip has taken your
dishpan, and, since it is gone from the Yip Country, I
suspect that some stranger came from the world down
below us, in the darkness of night when all of us were
asleep, and took away your treasure. There can be no
other explanation of its disappearance. So, if you wish
to recover that golden, diamond-studded dish-pan, you
must go into the lower world after it."
This was indeed a startlingproposition. Cayke and
her friends went to the edge of the fiat tableland and
looked down the steep hillside to the plains below. It
was so far to the bottom of the hill that nothing there
could be seen very distinctly and it seemed to the Yips
very venturesome, if not dangerous, to go so far from
home into an unknown land.
However, Cayke wanted her dishpan very badly, so she
turned to her friends and asked:
"Who will go with me?"
No one answered this question, but after a period of
silence one of the Yips said:
"We know what is here, on the top of this flat hill,
and it seems to us a very pleasant place; but what is
down below we do not know. The chances are it is not so
pleasant, so we had best stay where we are.
"It may be a far better country than this is,"
suggested the Cookie Cook.
"Maybe, maybe," responded another Yip, "but why take
chances? Contentment with one's lot is true wisdom.
Perhaps, in some other country, there are better
cookies than you cook; but as we have always eaten your
cookies, and liked them -- except when they are burned
on the bottom -- we do not long for any better ones."
Cayke might have agreed to this argument had she not
been so anxious to find her precious dishpan, but now
she exclaimed impatiently:
"You are cowards -- all of you! If none of you are
willing to explore with me the great world beyond this
small hill, I will surely go alone."
"That is a wise resolve," declared the Yips, much
relieved. "It is your dishpan that is lost, not ours;
and, if you are willing to risk your life and liberty
to regain it, no one can deny you the privilege."
While they were thus conversing the Frogman joined
them and looked down at the Plain with his big eyes and
seemed unusuallythoughtful. In fact, the Frogman was
thinking that he'd like to see more of the world. Here
in the Yip Country he had become the most important
creature of them all and his importance was getting to
be a little tame. It would be nice to have other people
defer to him and ask his advice and there seemed no
reason, so far as he could see, why his fame should not
spread throughout all Oz.
He knew nothing of the rest of the world, but it was
reasonable to believe that there were more people
beyond the mountain where he now lived than there were
Yips, and if he went among them he could surprise them
with his display of wisdom and make them bow down to
him as the Yips did. In other words, the Frogman was
ambitious to become still greater than he was, which
was impossible if he always remained upon this
mountain. He wanted others to see his gorgeous clothes
and listen to his solemn sayings, and here was an
excuse for him to get away from the Yip Country. So he
said to Cayke the Cookie Cook:
"I will go with you, my good woman," which greatly
Pleased Cayke because she felt the Frogman could be of
much assistance to her in her search.
But now, since the mighty Frogman had decided to
undertake the journey, several of the Yips who were
young and daring at once made up their minds to go
along; so the next morning after breakfast the Frogman
and Cayke the Cookie Cook and nine of the Yips started
to slide down the side of the mountain. The bramble
- intelligent [in´telidʒənt]
a.聪明的；理智的 (初中英语单词) - hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- costume [´kɔstju:m] n.服装(试样)；女装 (初中英语单词)
- remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl] a.值得注意的；显著的 (初中英语单词)
- stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- gravely [´greivli] ad.庄重地，严肃地 (初中英语单词)
- absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)
- ignorance [´ignərəns] n.无知，愚昧 (初中英语单词)
- considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)
- explanation [,eksplə´neiʃən] n.解释；说明；辩解 (初中英语单词)
- hillside [´hilsaid] n.山腰 (初中英语单词)
- distinctly [di´stiŋktli] ad.清楚地，明晰地 (初中英语单词)
- argument [´ɑ:gjumənt] n.辩论；争论；论证 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
- wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)
- solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)
- assistance [ə´sistəns] n.协作；援助；帮助 (初中英语单词)
- nowhere [´nəuweə] n.无处；不知道 (高中英语单词)
- adviser [əd´vaizə] n.顾问 =advisor (高中英语单词)
- distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt] a.卓越的，著名的 (高中英语单词)
- gorgeous [´gɔ:dʒəs] a.华丽的；宜人的 (高中英语单词)
- emergency [i´mə:dʒənsi] n.事变；紧急关头 (高中英语单词)
- shrewd [ʃru:d] a.精明的；狡猾的 (高中英语单词)
- anxiously [´æŋkʃəsli] ad.挂念地；渴望地 (高中英语单词)
- hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
- unfortunately [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunitli] ad.不幸；不朽；可惜 (高中英语单词)
- regain [ri´gein] vt.收回；恢复 (高中英语单词)
- whoever [hu:´evə] pron.任何人，无论谁 (高中英语单词)
- patiently [´peiʃəntli] ad.有耐心地；坚韧地 (高中英语单词)
- startling [´stɑ:tliŋ] a.惊人的 (高中英语单词)
- proposition [,prɔpə´ziʃən] n.提议；主张；陈述 (高中英语单词)
- explore [ik´splɔ:] v.勘探；探索；探查 (高中英语单词)
- thoughtful [´θɔ:tfəl] a.深思的；体贴的 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- adventurous [əd´ventʃərəs] a.冒险的；惊险的 (英语四级单词)
- counselor [´kaunsələ] n.顾问；参赞；律师 (英语四级单词)
- cookie [´kuki] n.家常小甜饼 (英语四级单词)
- proclamation [,prɔklə´meiʃən] n.宣布；公告；声明 (英语四级单词)
- contentment [kən´tentmənt] n.满足；使人满意的事 (英语四级单词)
- unusually [ʌn´ju:ʒuəli] ad.异常地；非常 (英语四级单词)
- daring [´deəriŋ] a.&n.勇敢(的) (英语四级单词)
- imposing [im´pəuziŋ] a.壮丽的，堂皇的 (英语六级单词)
- disappearance [,disə´piərəns] n.消失；失踪 (英语六级单词)
- bramble [´bræmbəl] n.荆棘 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
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