章节正文
to keep out of the way of the mischievous
Tottenhots.
There seemed no furniture in the round den, but
soft cushions were strewn about the floor and
these they found made very comfortable beds. They
did not close the hole in the roof but left it
open to admit air. It also admitted the shouts and
ceaseless laughter of the impish Tottenhots as
they played outside, but Dorothy and Ojo, being
weary from their journey, were soon fast asleep.
Toto kept an eye open, however, and uttered low,
threatening growls whenever the racket made by the
creatures outside became too boisterous; and the
Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl sat leaning
against the wall and talked in whispers all night
long. No one disturbed the travelers until
daylight, when in popped the Tottenhot who owned
the place and invited them to vacate his premises.
Chapter Twenty
The Captive Yoop
As they were preparing to leave, Dorothy asked:
"Can you tell us where there is a dark well?"
"Never heard of such a thing," said the
Tottenhot. "We live our lives in the dark, mostly,
and sleep in the day-time; but we've never seen a
dark well, or anything like one."
"Does anyone live on those mountains beyond
here?" asked the Scarecrow.
"Lots of people. But you'd better not visit
them. We never go there," was the reply.
"What are the people like?" Dorothy inquired.
"Can't say. We've been told to keep away
from the mountain paths, and so we obey. This
sandy desert is good enough for us, and we're
not disturbed here," declared the Tottenhot.
So they left the man snuggling down to sleep in
his dusky dwelling, and went out into the
sunshine, taking the path that led toward the
rocky places. They soon found it hard climbing,
for the rocks were uneven and full of sharp points
and edges, and now there was no path at all.
Clambering here and there among the boulders they
kept steadily on, gradually rising higher and
higher until finally they came to a great rift in
a part of the mountain, where the rock seemed to
have split in two and left high walls on either
side.
"S'pose we go this way," suggested Dorothy;
it's much easier walking than to climb over
the hills."
"How about that sign?" asked Ojo.
"What sign?" she inquired.
The Munchkin boy pointed to some words
painted on the wall of rock beside them, which
Dorothy had not noticed. The words read:
"LOOK OUT FOR YOOP."
The girl eyed this sign a moment and turned to
the Scarecrow, asking:
"Who is Yoop; or what is Yoop?"
The straw man shook his head. Then looked at
Toto and the dog said "Woof!"
"Only way to find out is to go on, Scraps."
This being quite true, they went on. As they
proceeded, the walls of rock on either side grew
higher and higher. Presently they came upon
another sign which read:
"BEWARE THE CAPTIVE YOOP."
"Why, as for that," remarked Dorothy, "if Yoop
is a captive there's no need to beware of him.
Whatever Yoop happens to be, I'd much rather have
him a captive than running around loose."
"So had I," agreed the Scarecrow, with a nod of
his painted head.
"Still," said Scraps, reflectively:
"Yoop-te-hoop-te-loop-te-goop!
Who put noodles in the soup?
We may beware but we don't care,
And dare go where we scare the Yoop."
"Dear me! Aren't you feeling a little queer,
just now?" Dorothy asked the Patchwork Girl.
"Not queer, but crazy," said Ojo. "When she
says those things I'm sure her brains get mixed
somehow and work the wrong way.
"I don't see why we are told to beware the Yoop
unless he is dangerous," observed the Scarecrow in
a puzzled tone.
"Never mind; we'll find out all about him when
we get to where he is," replied the little girl.
The narrow canyon turned and twisted this way
and that, and the rift was so small that they were
able to touch both walls at the same time by
stretching out their arms. Toto had run on ahead,
frisking playfully, when suddenly he uttered a
sharp bark of fear and came running back to them
with his tail between his legs, as dogs do when
they are frightened.
"Ah," said the Scarecrow, who was leading
the way, "we must be near Yoop."
Just then, as he rounded a sharp turn, the
Straw man stopped so suddenly that all the
others bumped against him.
"What is it?" asked Dorothy, standing on
tip-toes to look over his shoulder. But then she
saw what it was and cried "Oh!" in a tone of
astonishment.
In one of the rock walls--that at their left--
was hollowed a great cavern, in front of which was
a row of thick iron bars, the tops and bottoms
being firmly fixed in the solid rock. Over this
cavern was a big sign, which Dorothy read with
much curiosity, speaking the words aloud that all
might know what they said:
"MISTER YOOP--HIS CAVE
The Largest Untamed Giant in Captivity.
Height, 21 Feet.--(And yet he has but 2 feet.)
Weight, 1640 Pounds.--(But he waits all the time.)
Age, 400 Years 'and Up' (as they say in the
Department Store advertisements).
Temper, Fierce and Ferocious.--(Except when asleep.)
Appetite, Ravenous.--(Prefers Meat People and Orange Marmalade.)
P. S.--Don't feed the Giant yourself."
"Very well," said Ojo, with a sigh; "let's go back."
"It's a long way back," declared Dorothy.
"So it is," remarked the Scarecrow, "and it
means a tedious climb over those sharp rocks if
we can t use this passage. I think it will be best
to run by the Giant's cave as fast as we can go.
Mister Yoop seems to be asleep just now."
But the Giant wasn't asleep. He suddenly
appeared at the front of his cavern, seized the
iron bars in his great hairy hands and shook
them until they rattled in their sockets. Yoop
was so tall that our friends had to tip their heads
way back to look into his face, and they noticed
he was dressed all in pink velvet, with silver
buttons and braid. The Giant's boots were of
pink leather and had tassels on them and his
hat was decorated with an enormous pink ostrich
feather, carefully curled.
"Yo--ho!" he said in a deep bass voice; "I smell
dinner."
"I think you are mistaken," replied the
Scarecrow. "There is no orange marmalade around
here."
"Ah, but I eat other things," asserted Mister
Yoop. "That is, I eat them when I can get them.
But this is a lonely place, and no good meat has
passed by my cave for many years; so I'm hungry."
"Haven't you eaten anything in many years?"
asked Dorothy.
"Nothing except six ants and a monkey. I thought
the monkey would taste like meat people, but the
flavor was different. I hope you will taste
better, for you seem plump and tender."
"Oh, I'm not going to be eaten," said Dorothy.
"Why not?"
"I shall keep out of your way," she answered.
"How heartless!" wailed the Giant, shaking the
bars again. "Consider how many years it is since
I've eaten a single plump little girl! They tell
me meat is going up, but if I can manage to catch
you I'm sure it will soon be going down. And I'll
catch you if I can."
With this the Giant pushed his big arms,
which looked like tree-trunks (except that tree-
trunks don't wear pink velvet) between the iron
bars, and the arms were so long that they
touched the opposite wall of the rock passage.
Then he extended them as far as he could reach
toward our travelers and found he could almost
touch the Scarecrow--but not quite.
"Come a little nearer, please," begged the
Giant.
"I'm a Scarecrow."
"A Scarecrow? Ugh! I don't care a straw for
a scarecrow. Who is that bright-colored delicacy
behind you?"
"Me?" asked Scraps. "I'm a Patchwork Girl,
and I'm stuffed with cotton."
"Dear me," sighed the Giant in a disapointed
tone; "that reduces my dinner from four to two--
and the dog. I'll save the dog for dessert."
Toto growled, keeping a good distance away.
"Back up," said the Scarecrow to those behind
him. "Let us go back a little way and talk this
over.
So they turned and went around the bend in
the passage, where they were out of sight of the
cave and Mister Yoop could not hear them.
"My idea," began the Scarecrow, when they
had halted, "is to make a dash past the cave,
going on a run.
"He'd grab us," said Dorothy.
"Well, he can't grab but one at a time, and
I'll go first. As soon as he grabs me the rest of
you can slip past him, out of his reach, and he
will soon let me go because I am not fit to eat."
They decided to try this plan and Dorothy
took Toto in her arms, so as to protect him. She
followed just after the Scarecrow. Then came
Ojo, with Scarps the last of the four. Their
Tottenhots.
There seemed no furniture in the round den, but
soft cushions were strewn about the floor and
these they found made very comfortable beds. They
did not close the hole in the roof but left it
open to admit air. It also admitted the shouts and
ceaseless laughter of the impish Tottenhots as
they played outside, but Dorothy and Ojo, being
weary from their journey, were soon fast asleep.
Toto kept an eye open, however, and uttered low,
threatening growls whenever the racket made by the
creatures outside became too boisterous; and the
Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl sat leaning
against the wall and talked in whispers all night
long. No one disturbed the travelers until
daylight, when in popped the Tottenhot who owned
the place and invited them to vacate his premises.
Chapter Twenty
The Captive Yoop
As they were preparing to leave, Dorothy asked:
"Can you tell us where there is a dark well?"
"Never heard of such a thing," said the
Tottenhot. "We live our lives in the dark, mostly,
and sleep in the day-time; but we've never seen a
dark well, or anything like one."
"Does anyone live on those mountains beyond
here?" asked the Scarecrow.
"Lots of people. But you'd better not visit
them. We never go there," was the reply.
"What are the people like?" Dorothy inquired.
"Can't say. We've been told to keep away
from the mountain paths, and so we obey. This
sandy desert is good enough for us, and we're
not disturbed here," declared the Tottenhot.
So they left the man snuggling down to sleep in
his dusky dwelling, and went out into the
sunshine, taking the path that led toward the
rocky places. They soon found it hard climbing,
for the rocks were uneven and full of sharp points
and edges, and now there was no path at all.
Clambering here and there among the boulders they
kept steadily on, gradually rising higher and
higher until finally they came to a great rift in
a part of the mountain, where the rock seemed to
have split in two and left high walls on either
side.
"S'pose we go this way," suggested Dorothy;
it's much easier walking than to climb over
the hills."
"How about that sign?" asked Ojo.
"What sign?" she inquired.
The Munchkin boy pointed to some words
painted on the wall of rock beside them, which
Dorothy had not noticed. The words read:
"LOOK OUT FOR YOOP."
The girl eyed this sign a moment and turned to
the Scarecrow, asking:
"Who is Yoop; or what is Yoop?"
The straw man shook his head. Then looked at
Toto and the dog said "Woof!"
"Only way to find out is to go on, Scraps."
This being quite true, they went on. As they
proceeded, the walls of rock on either side grew
higher and higher. Presently they came upon
another sign which read:
"BEWARE THE CAPTIVE YOOP."
"Why, as for that," remarked Dorothy, "if Yoop
is a captive there's no need to beware of him.
Whatever Yoop happens to be, I'd much rather have
him a captive than running around loose."
"So had I," agreed the Scarecrow, with a nod of
his painted head.
"Still," said Scraps, reflectively:
"Yoop-te-hoop-te-loop-te-goop!
Who put noodles in the soup?
We may beware but we don't care,
And dare go where we scare the Yoop."
"Dear me! Aren't you feeling a little queer,
just now?" Dorothy asked the Patchwork Girl.
"Not queer, but crazy," said Ojo. "When she
says those things I'm sure her brains get mixed
somehow and work the wrong way.
"I don't see why we are told to beware the Yoop
unless he is dangerous," observed the Scarecrow in
a puzzled tone.
"Never mind; we'll find out all about him when
we get to where he is," replied the little girl.
The narrow canyon turned and twisted this way
and that, and the rift was so small that they were
able to touch both walls at the same time by
stretching out their arms. Toto had run on ahead,
frisking playfully, when suddenly he uttered a
sharp bark of fear and came running back to them
with his tail between his legs, as dogs do when
they are frightened.
"Ah," said the Scarecrow, who was leading
the way, "we must be near Yoop."
Just then, as he rounded a sharp turn, the
Straw man stopped so suddenly that all the
others bumped against him.
"What is it?" asked Dorothy, standing on
tip-toes to look over his shoulder. But then she
saw what it was and cried "Oh!" in a tone of
astonishment.
In one of the rock walls--that at their left--
was hollowed a great cavern, in front of which was
a row of thick iron bars, the tops and bottoms
being firmly fixed in the solid rock. Over this
cavern was a big sign, which Dorothy read with
much curiosity, speaking the words aloud that all
might know what they said:
"MISTER YOOP--HIS CAVE
The Largest Untamed Giant in Captivity.
Height, 21 Feet.--(And yet he has but 2 feet.)
Weight, 1640 Pounds.--(But he waits all the time.)
Age, 400 Years 'and Up' (as they say in the
Department Store advertisements).
Temper, Fierce and Ferocious.--(Except when asleep.)
Appetite, Ravenous.--(Prefers Meat People and Orange Marmalade.)
P. S.--Don't feed the Giant yourself."
"Very well," said Ojo, with a sigh; "let's go back."
"It's a long way back," declared Dorothy.
"So it is," remarked the Scarecrow, "and it
means a tedious climb over those sharp rocks if
we can t use this passage. I think it will be best
to run by the Giant's cave as fast as we can go.
Mister Yoop seems to be asleep just now."
But the Giant wasn't asleep. He suddenly
appeared at the front of his cavern, seized the
iron bars in his great hairy hands and shook
them until they rattled in their sockets. Yoop
was so tall that our friends had to tip their heads
way back to look into his face, and they noticed
he was dressed all in pink velvet, with silver
buttons and braid. The Giant's boots were of
pink leather and had tassels on them and his
hat was decorated with an enormous pink ostrich
feather, carefully curled.
"Yo--ho!" he said in a deep bass voice; "I smell
dinner."
"I think you are mistaken," replied the
Scarecrow. "There is no orange marmalade around
here."
"Ah, but I eat other things," asserted Mister
Yoop. "That is, I eat them when I can get them.
But this is a lonely place, and no good meat has
passed by my cave for many years; so I'm hungry."
"Haven't you eaten anything in many years?"
asked Dorothy.
"Nothing except six ants and a monkey. I thought
the monkey would taste like meat people, but the
flavor was different. I hope you will taste
better, for you seem plump and tender."
"Oh, I'm not going to be eaten," said Dorothy.
"Why not?"
"I shall keep out of your way," she answered.
"How heartless!" wailed the Giant, shaking the
bars again. "Consider how many years it is since
I've eaten a single plump little girl! They tell
me meat is going up, but if I can manage to catch
you I'm sure it will soon be going down. And I'll
catch you if I can."
With this the Giant pushed his big arms,
which looked like tree-trunks (except that tree-
trunks don't wear pink velvet) between the iron
bars, and the arms were so long that they
touched the opposite wall of the rock passage.
Then he extended them as far as he could reach
toward our travelers and found he could almost
touch the Scarecrow--but not quite.
"Come a little nearer, please," begged the
Giant.
"I'm a Scarecrow."
"A Scarecrow? Ugh! I don't care a straw for
a scarecrow. Who is that bright-colored delicacy
behind you?"
"Me?" asked Scraps. "I'm a Patchwork Girl,
and I'm stuffed with cotton."
"Dear me," sighed the Giant in a disapointed
tone; "that reduces my dinner from four to two--
and the dog. I'll save the dog for dessert."
Toto growled, keeping a good distance away.
"Back up," said the Scarecrow to those behind
him. "Let us go back a little way and talk this
over.
So they turned and went around the bend in
the passage, where they were out of sight of the
cave and Mister Yoop could not hear them.
"My idea," began the Scarecrow, when they
had halted, "is to make a dash past the cave,
going on a run.
"He'd grab us," said Dorothy.
"Well, he can't grab but one at a time, and
I'll go first. As soon as he grabs me the rest of
you can slip past him, out of his reach, and he
will soon let me go because I am not fit to eat."
They decided to try this plan and Dorothy
took Toto in her arms, so as to protect him. She
followed just after the Scarecrow. Then came
Ojo, with Scarps the last of the four. Their
- laughter [´lɑ:ftə]
n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词) - whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)
- captive [´kæptiv] n.俘虏；捕获物 (初中英语单词)
- dwelling [´dweliŋ] n.住所；寓所 (初中英语单词)
- steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- firmly [´fə:mli] ad.坚固地，稳定地 (初中英语单词)
- curiosity [,kjuəri´ɔsiti] n.好奇；奇事；珍品 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- velvet [´velvit] n.&a.天鹅绒(般的) (初中英语单词)
- enormous [i´nɔ:məs] a.巨大地，很，极 (初中英语单词)
- lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
- monkey [´mʌŋki] n.猴子 v.乱弄；胡闹 (初中英语单词)
- strewn [stru:n] strew的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
- racket [´rækit] n.(网球等的)拍；球拍 (高中英语单词)
- beware [bi´weə] v.(用于祈使句)谨防 (高中英语单词)
- cavern [´kævən] n.大山洞；大岩洞 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- uneven [ʌn´i:vən] a.崎岖的；不匀的 (英语四级单词)
- canyon [´kænjən] n.峡谷 (英语四级单词)
- tedious [´ti:diəs] a.冗长的；乏味的 (英语四级单词)
- mister [´mistə] n.先生 vt.称...先生 (英语四级单词)
- boisterous [´bɔistərəs] a.狂暴的；吵闹的 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- extended [iks´tendid] a.伸长的；广大的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
京公网安备 11011202003401号
