章节正文
"Why do you wish to capture us?" inquired the
Frogman, who had listened to this speech with much
astonishment.
"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the
little Brown Bear, "but it is my duty to, because you
are now trespassing on the domain of His Majesty the
King of Bear Center. Also I will admit that things are
rather quiet in our city, just now, and the excitement
of your capture, followed by your trial and execution,
should afford us much entertainment."
"We defy you!" said the Frogman.
"Oh, no; don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to
her companion. "He says his King is a sorcerer, so
perhaps it is he or one of his bears who ventured to
steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the
Bears and discover if my dishpan is there."
"I must now register one more charge against you,"
remarked the little Brown Bear, with evident
satisfaction. "You have just accused us of stealing,
and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am
quite sure our noble King will command you to be
executed."
"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie
Cook.
"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor
and there is no doubt he can find a proper way to
destroy you. So, tell me, are you going to struggle, or
will you go peaceably to meet your doom?"
It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud and
even the Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile.
Neither was a bit afraid to go to the Bear City and it
seemed to both that there was a possibility they might
discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said:
"Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow
without a struggle."
"That's very sensible of you; very sensible, indeed!"
declared the Brown Bear. "So -- forward march!" and
with the command he turned around and began to waddle
along a path that led between the trees.
Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their
conductor, could scarceforbear laughing at his stiff,
awkward manner of walking and, although he moved his
stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had
to go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a
time they reached a large, circular space in the center
of the forest, which was clear of any stumps or
underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft gray moss,
pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this
space seemed to be hollow and had round holes in their
trunks, set a little way above the ground, but
otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and
nothing in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a
settlement. But the little Brown Bear said in a proud
and impressive voice (although it still squeaked):
"This is the wonderful city known to fame as Bear
Center!"
"But there are no houses; there are no bears living
here at all!" exclaimed Cayke.
"Oh, indeed!" retorted their captor and raising his
gun he pulled the trigger. The cork flew out of the tin
barrel with a loud "pop!" and at once from every hole
in ever tree within view of the clearing appeared the
head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many
sizes, but all were made in the same manner as the bear
who had met and captured them.
At first a chorus of growls arose and then a sharp
voice cried:
"What has happened, Corporal Waddle?"
"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear.
"Intruders upon our domain and slanderers of our good
name."
"Ah, that's important," answered the voice.
Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole
regiment of stuffed bears, some carrying tin swords,
some popguns and other long spears with gay ribbons
tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them,
altogether, and they quickly formed a circle around the
Frogman and the Cookie Cook but kept at a distance and
left a large space for the prisoners to stand in.
Presently this circle parted and into the center of
it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color.
He walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others,
and on his head he wore a tin crown set with diamonds
and amethysts, while in one paw he carried a short wand
of some, glimmering metal that resembled silver but
wasn't.
"His Majesty the King!" shouted Corporal Waddle, and
all the bears bowed low. Some bowed so low that they
lost their balance and toppled over, but they soon
scrambled up again and the Lavender King squatted on
his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them
steadily with his bright pink eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
The Little Pink Bear
"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear,
when he had carefully examined the strangers.
"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie
Cook a Freak," remonstrated the Frogman.
"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am
mistaken, it is you who are the Freak."
The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully
deny it.
"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded
the Bear King.
"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and
we are on our way to the far east, where the Emerald
City is."
"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City,"
remarked the King. "It is so far away, indeed, that no
bear among us has ever been there. But what errand
requires you to travel such a distance?"
"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan,"
explained Cayke; "and, as I cannot be happy without it,
I have decided to search the world over until I find it
again. The Frogman, who is very learned and wonderfully
wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't
it kind of him?"
The King looked at the Frogman.
"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked.
"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook,
and some others in the Yip Country, think because I am
a big frog and talk and act like a man, that I must be
very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually
knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope
to become at some future time."
The King nodded, and when he did so something
squeaked in his chest.
"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke.
"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming
to be somewhat embarrassed. "I am so built, you must
know, that when anything pushes against my chest, as my
chin accidentally did just then, I make that silly
noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to
notice it. But I like your Frogman. He is honest and
truthful, which is more than can be said of many
others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll show it
to you.
With this he waved three times the metal wand which
he held in his paw and instantly there appeared upon
the ground, midway between the King and Cayke, a big
round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge was
a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan
was another row of larger diamonds; and at the bottom
was a row of exceedingly large and brilliant diamonds.
In fact, they all sparkled magnificently and the pan
was so big and broad that it took a lot of diamonds to
go around it three times.
Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to
pop out of her head.
"O-o-oh!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of
delight.
"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King.
"It is -- it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing
forward she fell on her knees and threw her arms around
the precious pan. But her arms came together without
meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to seize the
edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely
there, she thought, for she could see it plainly; but
it was not solid; she could not feel it at all. With a
moan of astonishment and despair she raised her head to
look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions
curiously. Then she turned to the pan again, only to
find it had completely disappeared.
"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You
must have thought, for the moment, that you had
actually recovered your dishpan. But what you saw was
merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my
magic. It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather
big and awkward to handle. I hope you will some day
find it."
Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry,
wiping her eyes on her apron. The King turned to the
throng of toy bears surrounding him and asked:
"Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan
before?"
"No," they answered in a chorus.
The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired:
"Where is the Little Pink Bear?"
"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply.
"Fetch him here," commanded the King.
Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees
and pulled from its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller
than any of the others. A big white bear carried the
pink one in his arms and set it down beside the King,
arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand
upright.
This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned
a crank which protruded from its side, when the little
creature turned its head stiffly from side to side and
said in a small shrill voice:
"Hurrah for the King of Bear Center!"
"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear; "he seems to
be working very well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton,
what has become of this lady's jeweled dishpan?"
"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short.
The King turned the crank again.
"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear.
"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again
turning the crank.
"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork
castle," was the reply.
Frogman, who had listened to this speech with much
astonishment.
"I don't wish to, as a matter of fact," replied the
little Brown Bear, "but it is my duty to, because you
are now trespassing on the domain of His Majesty the
King of Bear Center. Also I will admit that things are
rather quiet in our city, just now, and the excitement
of your capture, followed by your trial and execution,
should afford us much entertainment."
"We defy you!" said the Frogman.
"Oh, no; don't do that," pleaded Cayke, speaking to
her companion. "He says his King is a sorcerer, so
perhaps it is he or one of his bears who ventured to
steal my jeweled dishpan. Let us go to the City of the
Bears and discover if my dishpan is there."
"I must now register one more charge against you,"
remarked the little Brown Bear, with evident
satisfaction. "You have just accused us of stealing,
and that is such a dreadful thing to say that I am
quite sure our noble King will command you to be
executed."
"But how could you execute us?" inquired the Cookie
Cook.
"I've no idea. But our King is a wonderful inventor
and there is no doubt he can find a proper way to
destroy you. So, tell me, are you going to struggle, or
will you go peaceably to meet your doom?"
It was all so ridiculous that Cayke laughed aloud and
even the Frogman's wide mouth curled in a smile.
Neither was a bit afraid to go to the Bear City and it
seemed to both that there was a possibility they might
discover the missing dishpan. So the Frogman said:
"Lead the way, little Bear, and we will follow
without a struggle."
"That's very sensible of you; very sensible, indeed!"
declared the Brown Bear. "So -- forward march!" and
with the command he turned around and began to waddle
along a path that led between the trees.
Cayke and the Frogman, as they followed their
conductor, could scarceforbear laughing at his stiff,
awkward manner of walking and, although he moved his
stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had
to go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a
time they reached a large, circular space in the center
of the forest, which was clear of any stumps or
underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft gray moss,
pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this
space seemed to be hollow and had round holes in their
trunks, set a little way above the ground, but
otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and
nothing in the opinion of the prisoners, to indicate a
settlement. But the little Brown Bear said in a proud
and impressive voice (although it still squeaked):
"This is the wonderful city known to fame as Bear
Center!"
"But there are no houses; there are no bears living
here at all!" exclaimed Cayke.
"Oh, indeed!" retorted their captor and raising his
gun he pulled the trigger. The cork flew out of the tin
barrel with a loud "pop!" and at once from every hole
in ever tree within view of the clearing appeared the
head of a bear. They were of many colors and of many
sizes, but all were made in the same manner as the bear
who had met and captured them.
At first a chorus of growls arose and then a sharp
voice cried:
"What has happened, Corporal Waddle?"
"Captives, Your Majesty!" answered the Brown Bear.
"Intruders upon our domain and slanderers of our good
name."
"Ah, that's important," answered the voice.
Then from out the hollow trees tumbled a whole
regiment of stuffed bears, some carrying tin swords,
some popguns and other long spears with gay ribbons
tied to the handles. There were hundreds of them,
altogether, and they quickly formed a circle around the
Frogman and the Cookie Cook but kept at a distance and
left a large space for the prisoners to stand in.
Presently this circle parted and into the center of
it stalked a huge toy bear of a lovely lavender color.
He walked upon his hind legs, as did all the others,
and on his head he wore a tin crown set with diamonds
and amethysts, while in one paw he carried a short wand
of some, glimmering metal that resembled silver but
wasn't.
"His Majesty the King!" shouted Corporal Waddle, and
all the bears bowed low. Some bowed so low that they
lost their balance and toppled over, but they soon
scrambled up again and the Lavender King squatted on
his haunches before the prisoners and gazed at them
steadily with his bright pink eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
The Little Pink Bear
"One Person and one Freak," said the big Lavender Bear,
when he had carefully examined the strangers.
"I am sorry to hear you call poor Cayke the Cookie
Cook a Freak," remonstrated the Frogman.
"She is the Person," asserted the King. "Unless I am
mistaken, it is you who are the Freak."
The Frogman was silent, for he could not truthfully
deny it.
"Why have you dared intrude in my forest?" demanded
the Bear King.
"We didn't know it was your forest," said Cayke, "and
we are on our way to the far east, where the Emerald
City is."
"Ah, it's a long way from here to the Emerald City,"
remarked the King. "It is so far away, indeed, that no
bear among us has ever been there. But what errand
requires you to travel such a distance?"
"Someone has stolen my diamond-studded gold dishpan,"
explained Cayke; "and, as I cannot be happy without it,
I have decided to search the world over until I find it
again. The Frogman, who is very learned and wonderfully
wise, has come with me to give me his assistance. Isn't
it kind of him?"
The King looked at the Frogman.
"What makes you so wonderfully wise?" he asked.
"I'm not," was the candid reply. "The Cookie Cook,
and some others in the Yip Country, think because I am
a big frog and talk and act like a man, that I must be
very wise. I have learned more than a frog usually
knows, it is true, but I am not yet so wise as I hope
to become at some future time."
The King nodded, and when he did so something
squeaked in his chest.
"Did Your Majesty speak?" asked Cayke.
"Not just then," answered the Lavender Bear, seeming
to be somewhat embarrassed. "I am so built, you must
know, that when anything pushes against my chest, as my
chin accidentally did just then, I make that silly
noise. In this city it isn't considered good manners to
notice it. But I like your Frogman. He is honest and
truthful, which is more than can be said of many
others. As for your late lamented dishpan, I'll show it
to you.
With this he waved three times the metal wand which
he held in his paw and instantly there appeared upon
the ground, midway between the King and Cayke, a big
round pan made of beaten gold. Around the top edge was
a row of small diamonds; around the center of the pan
was another row of larger diamonds; and at the bottom
was a row of exceedingly large and brilliant diamonds.
In fact, they all sparkled magnificently and the pan
was so big and broad that it took a lot of diamonds to
go around it three times.
Cayke stared so hard that her eyes seemed about to
pop out of her head.
"O-o-oh!" she exclaimed, drawing a deep breath of
delight.
"Is this your dishpan?" inquired the King.
"It is -- it is!" cried the Cookie Cook, and rushing
forward she fell on her knees and threw her arms around
the precious pan. But her arms came together without
meeting any resistance at all. Cayke tried to seize the
edge, but found nothing to grasp. The pan was surely
there, she thought, for she could see it plainly; but
it was not solid; she could not feel it at all. With a
moan of astonishment and despair she raised her head to
look at the Bear King, who was watching her actions
curiously. Then she turned to the pan again, only to
find it had completely disappeared.
"Poor creature!" murmured the King pityingly. "You
must have thought, for the moment, that you had
actually recovered your dishpan. But what you saw was
merely the image of it, conjured up by means of my
magic. It is a pretty dishpan, indeed, though rather
big and awkward to handle. I hope you will some day
find it."
Cayke was grievously disappointed. She began to cry,
wiping her eyes on her apron. The King turned to the
throng of toy bears surrounding him and asked:
"Has any of you ever seen this golden dishpan
before?"
"No," they answered in a chorus.
The King seemed to reflect. Presently he inquired:
"Where is the Little Pink Bear?"
"At home, Your Majesty," was the reply.
"Fetch him here," commanded the King.
Several of the bears waddled over to one of the trees
and pulled from its hollow a tiny pink bear, smaller
than any of the others. A big white bear carried the
pink one in his arms and set it down beside the King,
arranging the joints of its legs so that it would stand
upright.
This Pink Bear seemed lifeless until the King turned
a crank which protruded from its side, when the little
creature turned its head stiffly from side to side and
said in a small shrill voice:
"Hurrah for the King of Bear Center!"
"Very good," said the big Lavender Bear; "he seems to
be working very well today. Tell me, my Pink Pinkerton,
what has become of this lady's jeweled dishpan?"
"U-u-u," said the Pink Bear, and then stopped short.
The King turned the crank again.
"U-g-u the Shoemaker has it," said the Pink Bear.
"Who is Ugu the Shoemaker?" demanded the King, again
turning the crank.
"A magician who lives on a mountain in a wickerwork
castle," was the reply.
- capture [´kæptʃə]
vt.&n.捕获；俘获；夺取 (初中英语单词) - majesty [´mædʒisti] n.壮丽；崇高；尊严 (初中英语单词)
- companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)
- register [´redʒistə] n.&v.登记簿 (初中英语单词)
- charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
- dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
- execute [´eksikju:t] vt.执行；表演；演奏 (初中英语单词)
- possibility [,pɔsə´biliti] n.可能(性)；希望；前途 (初中英语单词)
- missing [´misiŋ] a.缺掉的；失踪的 (初中英语单词)
- sensible [´sensəbəl] a.感觉得到的 (初中英语单词)
- scarce [skeəs, skers] a.缺乏的；稀有的 (初中英语单词)
- circular [´sə:kjulə] a.圆形的 n.通知 (初中英语单词)
- unusual [ʌn´ju:ʒuəl] a.不平常的；异常的 (初中英语单词)
- chorus [´kɔ:rəs] n.合唱；齐声 v.合唱 (初中英语单词)
- circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)
- stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- assistance [ə´sistəns] n.协作；援助；帮助 (初中英语单词)
- instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)
- beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- brilliant [´briliənt] a.灿烂的；杰出的 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- resistance [ri´zistəns] n.抵抗；抵制；耐力 (初中英语单词)
- plainly [´pleinli] ad.平坦地；简单地 (初中英语单词)
- astonishment [ə´stɔniʃmənt] n.吃惊；惊异 (初中英语单词)
- despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)
- reflect [ri´flekt] v.反射；反响；表达 (初中英语单词)
- presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
- working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
- ridiculous [ri´dikjuləs] a.荒谬的；可笑的 (高中英语单词)
- surrounding [sə´raundiŋ] n.周围的事物 (高中英语单词)
- impressive [im´presiv] a.给人深刻印象的 (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)
- learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
- exceedingly [ik´si:diŋli] ad.非常地，极度地 (高中英语单词)
- awkward [´ɔ:kwəd] a.笨拙的；为难的 (高中英语单词)
- stiffly [´stifli] ad.硬；顽固地 (高中英语单词)
- shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)
- shoemaker [´ʃu:,meikə] n.鞋匠 (高中英语单词)
- magician [mə´dʒiʃən] n.魔法师；妖道；术士 (高中英语单词)
- domain [də´mein,dəu-] n.领土；版图；范围 (英语四级单词)
- forbear [fɔ:´beə, fə-] v.容忍；克制 n.祖先 (英语四级单词)
- clearing [´kliəriŋ] n.(森林中的)空旷地 (英语四级单词)
- corporal [´kɔ:pərəl] a.肉体的，身体的 (英语四级单词)
- cookie [´kuki] n.家常小甜饼 (英语四级单词)
- intrude [in´tru:d] v.闯进；打扰；强加 (英语四级单词)
- emerald [´emərəld] n.纯绿宝石；翠绿色 (英语四级单词)
- wonderfully [´wʌndəfuli] ad.令人惊讶地；奇妙地 (英语四级单词)
- midway [,mid´wei] n.中途 ad.&a.中途(的) (英语四级单词)
- drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
- lifeless [´laifləs] a.无生命的，无生气的 (英语四级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- trigger [´trigə] n.扳机 vt.触发，启动 (英语六级单词)
- accidentally [,æksi´dentəli] ad.偶然地 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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