章节正文
Toto managed to dodge through them. The country
surrounding the Emerald City was thickly settled and
for a while our friends rode over nicely paved roads
which wound through a fertile country dotted with
beautiful houses, all built in the quaint Oz fashion.
In the course of a few hours, however, they had left
the tilled fields and entered the Country of the
Winkies, which occupies a quarter of all the territory
in the Land of Oz but is not so well known as many
other parts of Ozma's fairyland. Long before night the
travelers had crossed the Winkie River near to the
Scarecrow's Tower (which was now vacant) and had
entered the Rolling Prairie where few people live. They
asked everyone they met for news of Ozma, but none in
this district had seen her or even knew that she had
been stolen. And by nightfall they had passed all the
farmhouses and were obliged to stop and ask for shelter
at the hut of a lonelyshepherd. When they halted, Toto
was not far behind. The little dog halted, too, and
stealing softly around the party he hid himself behind
the hut.
The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the
travelers with much courtesy. He slept out of doors,
that night, giving up his hut to the three girls, who
made their beds on the floor with the blankets they had
brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright
also slept out of doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion
and Hank the Mule. But Scraps and the Sawhorse did not
sleep at all and the Woozy could stay awake for a month
at a time, if he wished to, so these three sat in a
little group by themselves and talked together all
through the night.
In the darkness the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy
little form nestling beside his own, and he said
sleepily:
"Where did you come from, Toto?"
"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll
the other way, so you won't smash me."
"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion.
"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added, a
little anxiously: "Do you think, friend Lion, we are
now far enough from the Emerald City for me to risk
showing myself? Or will Dorothy send me back because I
wasn't invited?"
"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the
Lion. "For my part, Toto, I consider this affair none
of my business, so you must act as you think best."
Then the huge beast went to sleep again and Toto
snuggled closer to his warm, hairy body and also slept.
He was a wise little dog, in his way, and didn't intend
to worry when there was something much better to do.
In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which
the girls cooked a very good breakfast.
Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly
before the fire and the little girl exclaimed:
"Goodness me, Toto! Where did you come from?"
"From the place you cruelly left me," replied
the dog in a reproachful tone.
"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I
hadn't I'd prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing
this isn't a pleasure trip but stric'ly business. But,
now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose you'll have to
stay with us, unless you'd rather go back home again.
We may get ourselves into trouble, before we're done,
Toto."
"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail. "I'm
hungry, Dorothy."
"Breakfas'll soon be ready and then you shall have
your share," promised his little mistress, who was
really glad to have her dog with her. She and Toto had
traveled together before, and she knew he was a good
and faithful comrade.
When the food was cooked and served the girls invited
the old shepherd to join them in their morning meal. He
willingly consented and while they ate he said to them:
"You are now about to pass through a very dangerous
country, unless you turn to the north or to the south
to escape its perils."
"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us
turn, by all means, for I dread to face dangers of
any sort."
"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?"
inquired Dorothy.
"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the
shepherd, "are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close
together and surrounded by deep gulfs, so that no one
is able to get past them. Beyond the Merry-Go-Round
Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus
live."
"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy.
"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-
Go-Round Mountains," was the reply; "but it is said
that the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots
and that the Herkus are waited upon by giants whom they
have conquered and made their slaves."
"Who says all that?" asked Betsy.
"It is common report," declared the shepherd.
"Everyone believes it."
"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot,
"if no one has been there."
"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought
the news," suggested Betsy.
"If you escaped those dangers," continued the
shepherd, "you might encounter others still more
serious, before you came to the next branch of the
Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there
lies a fine country, inhabited by good people, and if
you reached there you would have no further trouble. It
is between here and the west branch of the Winkie River
that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown territory
that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people."
"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We
shall know when we get there."
"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country
such as ours every undiscovered place is likely to
harbor wicked creatures. If they were not wicked, they
would discover themselves, and by coming among us
submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as
are all the Oz people whom we know."
"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces
me that it is our duty to go straight to those unknown
places, however dangerous they may be; for it is surely
some cruel and wicked person who has stolen our Ozma,
and we know it would be folly to search among good
people for the culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the
secret places of the Winkie Country, it is true, but it
is our duty to travel to every spot, however dangerous,
where our beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned."
"You're right about that," said Button-Bright
approvingly. "Dangers don't hurt us; only things that
happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger is a thing that
might happen, and might not happen, and sometimes don't
amount to shucks. I vote we go ahead and take our
chances."
They were all of he same opinion, so they packed up
and said good-bye to the friendly shepherd and
proceeded on their way.
Chapter Seven
The Merry-Go-Round Mountains
The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over,
although it was all up-hill and down-hill, so for a
while they made good progress. Not even a shepherd was
to be met with now and the farther they advanced the
more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped
for a "picnic luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then
they again resumed their journey. All the animals were
swift and tireless and even the Cowardly Lion and the
Mule found they could keep up with the pace of the
Woozy and the Sawhorse.
It was the middle of the afternoon when first they
came in sight of a cluster of low mountains. These were
cone-shaped, rising from broad bases to sharp peaks at
the tops. From a distance the mountains appeared
indistinct and seemed rather small-more like hills than
mountains -- but as the travelers drew nearer they
noted a most unusual circumstance: the hills were all
whirling around, some in one direction and some the
opposite way.
"I guess those are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all
right," said Dorothy.
"They must be," said the Wizard.
"They go 'round, sure enough," added Trot, "but they
don't seem very merry."
There were several rows of these mountains, extending
both to the right and to the left, for miles and miles.
How many rows there might be, none could tell, but
between the first row of peaks could be seen other
peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another.
Continuing to ride nearer, our friends watched these
hills attentively, until at last, coming close up, they
discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around the
edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set
so close together that the outer gulf was continuous
and barred farther advance.
At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and
peered over into its depths. There was no telling where
the bottom was, if indeed there was any bottom at all.
From where they stood it seemed as if the mountains had
been set in one great hole in the ground, just close
enough together so they would not touch, and that each
mountain was supported by a rocky column beneath its
base which extended far down into the black pit below.
From the land side it seemed impossible to get across
the gulf or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on
any of the whirling mountains.
"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked
Button-Bright.
"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy.
"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried
the Lion indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I
landed there, and could hold on, what good would it do?
There's another spinning mountain beyond it, and
perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any
living creature could jump from one mountain to
another, when both are whirling like tops and in
different directions."
"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse,
with a yawn of his chopped-out mouth, as he stared with
his knot eyes at the Merry-Go-Round Mountains.
"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his
square head.
surrounding the Emerald City was thickly settled and
for a while our friends rode over nicely paved roads
which wound through a fertile country dotted with
beautiful houses, all built in the quaint Oz fashion.
In the course of a few hours, however, they had left
the tilled fields and entered the Country of the
Winkies, which occupies a quarter of all the territory
in the Land of Oz but is not so well known as many
other parts of Ozma's fairyland. Long before night the
travelers had crossed the Winkie River near to the
Scarecrow's Tower (which was now vacant) and had
entered the Rolling Prairie where few people live. They
asked everyone they met for news of Ozma, but none in
this district had seen her or even knew that she had
been stolen. And by nightfall they had passed all the
farmhouses and were obliged to stop and ask for shelter
at the hut of a lonelyshepherd. When they halted, Toto
was not far behind. The little dog halted, too, and
stealing softly around the party he hid himself behind
the hut.
The shepherd was a kindly old man and treated the
travelers with much courtesy. He slept out of doors,
that night, giving up his hut to the three girls, who
made their beds on the floor with the blankets they had
brought in the Red Wagon. The Wizard and Button-Bright
also slept out of doors, and so did the Cowardly Lion
and Hank the Mule. But Scraps and the Sawhorse did not
sleep at all and the Woozy could stay awake for a month
at a time, if he wished to, so these three sat in a
little group by themselves and talked together all
through the night.
In the darkness the Cowardly Lion felt a shaggy
little form nestling beside his own, and he said
sleepily:
"Where did you come from, Toto?"
"From home," said the dog. "If you roll over, roll
the other way, so you won't smash me."
"Does Dorothy know you are here?" asked the Lion.
"I believe not," admitted Toto, and he added, a
little anxiously: "Do you think, friend Lion, we are
now far enough from the Emerald City for me to risk
showing myself? Or will Dorothy send me back because I
wasn't invited?"
"Only Dorothy can answer that question," said the
Lion. "For my part, Toto, I consider this affair none
of my business, so you must act as you think best."
Then the huge beast went to sleep again and Toto
snuggled closer to his warm, hairy body and also slept.
He was a wise little dog, in his way, and didn't intend
to worry when there was something much better to do.
In the morning the Wizard built a fire, over which
the girls cooked a very good breakfast.
Suddenly Dorothy discovered Toto sitting quietly
before the fire and the little girl exclaimed:
"Goodness me, Toto! Where did you come from?"
"From the place you cruelly left me," replied
the dog in a reproachful tone.
"I forgot all about you," admitted Dorothy, "and if I
hadn't I'd prob'ly left you with Jellia Jamb, seeing
this isn't a pleasure trip but stric'ly business. But,
now that you're here, Toto, I s'pose you'll have to
stay with us, unless you'd rather go back home again.
We may get ourselves into trouble, before we're done,
Toto."
"Never mind that," said Toto, wagging his tail. "I'm
hungry, Dorothy."
"Breakfas'll soon be ready and then you shall have
your share," promised his little mistress, who was
really glad to have her dog with her. She and Toto had
traveled together before, and she knew he was a good
and faithful comrade.
When the food was cooked and served the girls invited
the old shepherd to join them in their morning meal. He
willingly consented and while they ate he said to them:
"You are now about to pass through a very dangerous
country, unless you turn to the north or to the south
to escape its perils."
"In that case," said the Cowardly Lion, "let us
turn, by all means, for I dread to face dangers of
any sort."
"What's the matter with the country ahead of us?"
inquired Dorothy.
"Beyond this Rolling Prairie," explained the
shepherd, "are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, set close
together and surrounded by deep gulfs, so that no one
is able to get past them. Beyond the Merry-Go-Round
Mountains it is said the Thistle-Eaters and the Herkus
live."
"What are they like?" demanded Dorothy.
"No one knows, for no one has ever passed the Merry-
Go-Round Mountains," was the reply; "but it is said
that the Thistle-Eaters hitch dragons to their chariots
and that the Herkus are waited upon by giants whom they
have conquered and made their slaves."
"Who says all that?" asked Betsy.
"It is common report," declared the shepherd.
"Everyone believes it."
"I don't see how they know," remarked little Trot,
"if no one has been there."
"Perhaps the birds who fly over that country brought
the news," suggested Betsy.
"If you escaped those dangers," continued the
shepherd, "you might encounter others still more
serious, before you came to the next branch of the
Winkie River. It is true that beyond that river there
lies a fine country, inhabited by good people, and if
you reached there you would have no further trouble. It
is between here and the west branch of the Winkie River
that all dangers lie, for that is the unknown territory
that is inhabited by terrible, lawless people."
"It may be, and it may not be," said the Wizard. "We
shall know when we get there."
"Well," persisted the shepherd, "in a fairy country
such as ours every undiscovered place is likely to
harbor wicked creatures. If they were not wicked, they
would discover themselves, and by coming among us
submit to Ozma's rule and be good and considerate, as
are all the Oz people whom we know."
"That argument," stated the little Wizard, "convinces
me that it is our duty to go straight to those unknown
places, however dangerous they may be; for it is surely
some cruel and wicked person who has stolen our Ozma,
and we know it would be folly to search among good
people for the culprit. Ozma may not be hidden in the
secret places of the Winkie Country, it is true, but it
is our duty to travel to every spot, however dangerous,
where our beloved Ruler is likely to be imprisoned."
"You're right about that," said Button-Bright
approvingly. "Dangers don't hurt us; only things that
happen ever hurt anyone, and a danger is a thing that
might happen, and might not happen, and sometimes don't
amount to shucks. I vote we go ahead and take our
chances."
They were all of he same opinion, so they packed up
and said good-bye to the friendly shepherd and
proceeded on their way.
Chapter Seven
The Merry-Go-Round Mountains
The Rolling Prairie was not difficult to travel over,
although it was all up-hill and down-hill, so for a
while they made good progress. Not even a shepherd was
to be met with now and the farther they advanced the
more dreary the landscape became. At noon they stopped
for a "picnic luncheon," as Betsy called it, and then
they again resumed their journey. All the animals were
swift and tireless and even the Cowardly Lion and the
Mule found they could keep up with the pace of the
Woozy and the Sawhorse.
It was the middle of the afternoon when first they
came in sight of a cluster of low mountains. These were
cone-shaped, rising from broad bases to sharp peaks at
the tops. From a distance the mountains appeared
indistinct and seemed rather small-more like hills than
mountains -- but as the travelers drew nearer they
noted a most unusual circumstance: the hills were all
whirling around, some in one direction and some the
opposite way.
"I guess those are the Merry-Go-Round Mountains, all
right," said Dorothy.
"They must be," said the Wizard.
"They go 'round, sure enough," added Trot, "but they
don't seem very merry."
There were several rows of these mountains, extending
both to the right and to the left, for miles and miles.
How many rows there might be, none could tell, but
between the first row of peaks could be seen other
peaks, all steadily whirling around one way or another.
Continuing to ride nearer, our friends watched these
hills attentively, until at last, coming close up, they
discovered there was a deep but narrow gulf around the
edge of each mountain, and that the mountains were set
so close together that the outer gulf was continuous
and barred farther advance.
At the edge of the gulf they all dismounted and
peered over into its depths. There was no telling where
the bottom was, if indeed there was any bottom at all.
From where they stood it seemed as if the mountains had
been set in one great hole in the ground, just close
enough together so they would not touch, and that each
mountain was supported by a rocky column beneath its
base which extended far down into the black pit below.
From the land side it seemed impossible to get across
the gulf or, succeeding in that, to gain a foothold on
any of the whirling mountains.
"This ditch is too wide to jump across," remarked
Button-Bright.
"P'raps the Lion could do it," suggested Dorothy.
"What, jump from here to that whirling hill?" cried
the Lion indignantly. "I should say not! Even if I
landed there, and could hold on, what good would it do?
There's another spinning mountain beyond it, and
perhaps still another beyond that. I don't believe any
living creature could jump from one mountain to
another, when both are whirling like tops and in
different directions."
"I propose we turn back," said the Wooden Sawhorse,
with a yawn of his chopped-out mouth, as he stared with
his knot eyes at the Merry-Go-Round Mountains.
"I agree with you," said the Woozy, wagging his
square head.
- nicely [naisli]
ad.恰好地；谨慎地 (初中英语单词) - prairie [´preəri] n.大草原 (初中英语单词)
- everyone [´evriwʌn] pron.=everybody 每人 (初中英语单词)
- stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
- shepherd [´ʃepəd] n.牧羊人 vt.带领 (初中英语单词)
- softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)
- mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)
- faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)
- encounter [in´kauntə] vt.&n.偶然相遇；冲突 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- beloved [bi´lʌvd] a.为....所爱的 n.爱人 (初中英语单词)
- advanced [əd´vɑ:nst] a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词)
- cluster [´klʌstə] n.一串 v.群集；丛生 (初中英语单词)
- unusual [ʌn´ju:ʒuəl] a.不平常的；异常的 (初中英语单词)
- steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
- column [´kɔləm] n.柱；柱状物；纵队 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- thickly [´θikli] ad.厚厚地；密密地 (高中英语单词)
- fertile [´fə:tail] a.肥沃的；有繁殖力的 (高中英语单词)
- quaint [kweint] a.离奇的；奇妙的 (高中英语单词)
- courtesy [´kə:tisi] n.礼貌；殷勤；好意 (高中英语单词)
- anxiously [´æŋkʃəsli] ad.挂念地；渴望地 (高中英语单词)
- dreary [´driəri] a.阴郁的；枯燥无味的 (高中英语单词)
- landscape [´lændskeip] n.风景；景色；风景画 (高中英语单词)
- spinning [´spiniŋ] n.纺织 a.纺织品的 (高中英语单词)
- emerald [´emərəld] n.纯绿宝石；翠绿色 (英语四级单词)
- fairyland [´fɛərilænd] n.仙境，奇境 (英语四级单词)
- wizard [´wizəd] n.术士；男巫 (英语四级单词)
- cowardly [´kauədli] a.&ad.胆小的(地) (英语四级单词)
- cruelly [´kruəli] ad.残酷地；极，非常 (英语四级单词)
- lawless [´lɔ:ləs] a.无法无天的 (英语四级单词)
- nightfall [´nait,fɔ:l] n.黄昏；傍晚 (英语六级单词)
- considerate [kən´sidərit] a.考虑周到的；体谅的 (英语六级单词)
- culprit [´kʌlprit] n.犯人；罪犯 (英语六级单词)
- tireless [´taiələs] a.不疲倦的；无轮胎的 (英语六级单词)
- extended [iks´tendid] a.伸长的；广大的 (英语六级单词)
- foothold [´futhəuld] n.立足点；据点 (英语六级单词)
- indignantly [in´dignəntli] ad.愤慨地，义愤地 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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