章节正文
"If it is, I s'pose we're prisoners," she replied.
"Ezzackly so, Trot."
"But, 'even so, it's better than those terr'ble
underground tunnels and caverns," declared the girl.
"You are right, little one," agreed the Ork.
"Anything above ground is better than the best that
lies under ground. So let's not quarrel with our fate
but be thankful we've escaped."
"We are, indeed!" she replied. "But I wonder if
we can find something to eat in this place?"
"Let's explore an' find out," proposed Cap'n Bill.
"Those trees over at the left look like cherry-trees."
On the way to them the explorers had to walk
through a tangle of vines and Cap'n Bill, who went
first, stumbled and pitched forward on his face.
"Why, it's a melon!" cried Trot delightedly, as
she saw what had caused the sailor to fall.
Cap'n Bill rose to his foot, for he was not at all
hurt, and examined the melon. Then he took his big
jackknife from his pocket and cut the melon open. It
was quite ripe and looked delicious; but the old man
tasted it before he permitted Trot to eat any. Deciding
it was good he gave her a big slice and then offered
the Ork some. The creature looked at the fruit somewhat
disdainfully, at first, but once he had tasted its
flavor he ate of it as heartily as did the others.
Among the vines they discovered many other melons, and
Trot said gratefully: "Well, there's no danger of our
starving, even if this is an island."
"Melons," remarked Cap'n Bill, "are both food an'
water. We couldn't have struck anything better."
Farther on they came to the cherry trees, where they
obtained some of the fruit, and at the edge of the
little forest were wild plums. The forest itself
consisted entirely of nut trees -- walnuts, filberts,
almonds and chestnuts -- so there would be plenty of
wholesome food for them while they remained there.
Cap'n Bill and Trot decided to walk through the
forest, to discover what was on the other side of it,
but the Ork's feet were still so sore and "lumpy" from
walking on the rocks that the creature said he
preferred to fly over the tree-tops and meet them on
the other side. The forest was not large, so by walking
briskly for fifteen minutes they reached its farthest
edge and saw before them the shore of the ocean.
"It's an island, all right," said Trot, with a sigh.
"Yes, and a pretty island, too," said Cap'n Bill,
trying to conceal his disappointment on Trot's account.
"I guess, partner, if the wuss comes to the wuss, I
could build a raft -- or even a boat -- from those
trees, so's we could sail away in it."
The little girl brightened at this suggestion.
"I don't see the Ork anywhere," she remarked, looking
around. Then her eyes lighted upon something and she
exclaimed: "Oh, Cap'n Bill! Isn't that a house, over
there to the left?"
Cap'n Bill, looking closely, saw a shed-like structure
built at one edge of the forest.
"Seems like it, Trot. Not that I'd call it much of a
house, but it's a buildin', all right. Let's go over
an' see if it's occypied."
Chapter Five
The Little Old Man of the Island
A few steps brought them to the shed, which was merely
a roof of boughs built over a square space, with some
branches of trees fastened to the sides to keep off the
wind. The front was quite open and faced the sea, and as
our friends came nearer they observed a little man, with
a long pointed beard, sitting motionless on a stool and
staring thoughtfully out over the water.
"Get out of the way, please," he called in a fretful
voice. "Can't you see you are obstructing my view?"
"Good morning," said Cap'n Bill, politely.
"It isn't a good morning!" snapped the little man.
"I've seen plenty of mornings better than this. Do
you call it a good morning when I'm pestered with
such a crowd as you?"
Trot was astonished to hear such words from a
stranger whom they had greeted quite properly, and
Cap'n Bill grew red at the little man's rudeness. But
the sailor said, in a quiet tone of voice:
"Are you the only one as lives on this 'ere island?"
"Your grammar's bad," was the reply. "But this is my
own exclusive island, and I'll thank you to get off it as
soon as possible."
"We'd like to do that," said Trot, and then she and
Cap'n Bill turned away and walked down to the shore, to
see if any other land was in sight.
The little man rose and followed them, although both
were now too provoked to pay any attention to him.
Nothin' in sight, partner," reported Cap'n Bill,
shading his eyes with his hand; "so we'll have to
stay here for a time, anyhow. It isn't a bad place,
Trot, by any means."
"That's all you know about it!" broke in the little
man. "The trees are altogether too green and the rocks
are harder than they ought to be. I find the sand very
grainy and the water dreadfully wet. Every breeze makes a
draught and the sun shines in the daytime, when there's
no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins
to get dark. If you remain here you'll find the island
very unsatisfactory."
Trot turned to look at him, and her sweet face was
grave and curious.
"I wonder who you are," she said.
"My name is Pessim," said he, with an air of pride.
"I'm called the Observer,"
"Oh. What do you observe?" asked the little girl.
"Everything I see," was the reply, in a more surly
tone. Then Pessim drew back with a startled exclamation
and looked at some footprints in the sand. "Why, good
gracious me!" he cried in distress.
"What's the matter now?" asked Cap'n Bill.
"Someone has pushed the earth in! Don't you see it?
"It isn't pushed in far enough to hurt anything," said
Trot, examining the footprints.
"Everything hurts that isn't right," insisted the man.
"If the earth were pushed in a mile, it would be a great
calamity, wouldn't it?"
"I s'pose so," admitted the little girl.
"Well, here it is pushed in a full inch! That's a
twelfth of a foot, or a little more than a millionth part
of a mile. Therefore it is one-millionth part of a
calamity -- Oh, dear! How dreadful!" said Pessim in a
wailing voice.
"Try to forget it, sir," advised Cap'n Bill,
soothingly. "It's beginning to rain. Let's get under your
shed and keep dry."
"Raining! Is it really raining?" asked Pessim,
beginning to weep.
"It is," answered Cap'n Bill, as the drops began to
descend, "and I don't see any way to stop it -- although
I'm some observer myself."
"No; we can't stop it, I fear," said the man. "Are you
very busy just now?"
"I won't be after I get to the shed," replied the
sailor-man.
"Then do me a favor, please," begged Pessim, walking
briskly along behind them, for they were hastening to the
shed.
"Depends on what it is," said Cap'n Bill.
"I wish you would take my umbrella down to the shore
and hold it over the poor fishes till it stops raining.
I'm afraid they'll get wet," said Pessim.
Trot laughed, but Cap'n Bill thought the little man was
poking fun at him and so he scowled upon Pessim in a way
that showed he was angry.
They reached the shed before getting very wet, although
the rain was now coming down in big drops. The roof of
the shed protected them and while they stood watching the
rainstorm something buzzed in and circled around Pessim's
head. At once the Observer began beating it away with
his hands, crying out:
"A bumblebee! A bumblebee! The queerest bumblebee I
ever saw!"
Cap'n Bill and Trot both looked at it and the little
girl said in surprise:
"Dear me! It's a wee little Ork!"
"That's what it is, sure enough," exclaimed Cap'n Bill.
Really, it wasn't much bigger than a big bumblebee, and
when it came toward Trot she allowed it to alight on her
shoulder.
"It's me, all right," said a very small voice in her
ear; "but I'm in an awful pickle, just the same!"
"What, are you our Ork, then?" demanded the girl, much
amazed.
"No, I'm my own Ork. But I'm the only Ork you know,"
replied the tiny creature.
"What's happened to you?" asked the sailor, putting his
head close to Trot's shoulder in order to hear the reply
better. Pessim also put his head close, and the Ork said:
"You will remember that when I left you I started to
fly over the trees, and just as I got to this side of the
forest I saw a bush that was loaded down with the most
luscious fruit you can imagine. The fruit was about the
size of a gooseberry and of a lovely lavender color. So I
swooped down and picked off one in my bill and ate it.
At once I began to grow small. I could feel myself
shrinking, shrinking away, and it frightened me terribly,
so that I lighted on the ground to think over what was
happening. In a few seconds I had shrunk to the size you
now see me; but there I remained, getting no smaller,
indeed, but no larger. It is certainly a dreadful
affliction! After I had recovered somewhat from the shock
I began to search for you. It is not so easy to find
one's way when a creature is so small, but fortunately I
spied you here in this shed and came to you at once."
Cap'n Bill and Trot were much astonished at this story
and felt grieved for the poor Ork, but the little man
Pessim seemed to think it a good joke. He began laughing
when he heard the story and laughed until he choked,
after which he lay down on the ground and rolled and
laughed again, while the tears of merriment coursed down
his wrinkled cheeks.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" he finally gasped, sitting up and
wiping his eyes. "This is too rich! It's almost too
joyful to be true."
"I don't see anything funny about it," remarked Trot
indignantly.
"You would if you'd had my experience," said Pessim,
getting upon his feet and gradually resuming his solemn
"Ezzackly so, Trot."
"But, 'even so, it's better than those terr'ble
underground tunnels and caverns," declared the girl.
"You are right, little one," agreed the Ork.
"Anything above ground is better than the best that
lies under ground. So let's not quarrel with our fate
but be thankful we've escaped."
"We are, indeed!" she replied. "But I wonder if
we can find something to eat in this place?"
"Let's explore an' find out," proposed Cap'n Bill.
"Those trees over at the left look like cherry-trees."
On the way to them the explorers had to walk
through a tangle of vines and Cap'n Bill, who went
first, stumbled and pitched forward on his face.
"Why, it's a melon!" cried Trot delightedly, as
she saw what had caused the sailor to fall.
Cap'n Bill rose to his foot, for he was not at all
hurt, and examined the melon. Then he took his big
jackknife from his pocket and cut the melon open. It
was quite ripe and looked delicious; but the old man
tasted it before he permitted Trot to eat any. Deciding
it was good he gave her a big slice and then offered
the Ork some. The creature looked at the fruit somewhat
disdainfully, at first, but once he had tasted its
flavor he ate of it as heartily as did the others.
Among the vines they discovered many other melons, and
Trot said gratefully: "Well, there's no danger of our
starving, even if this is an island."
"Melons," remarked Cap'n Bill, "are both food an'
water. We couldn't have struck anything better."
Farther on they came to the cherry trees, where they
obtained some of the fruit, and at the edge of the
little forest were wild plums. The forest itself
consisted entirely of nut trees -- walnuts, filberts,
almonds and chestnuts -- so there would be plenty of
wholesome food for them while they remained there.
Cap'n Bill and Trot decided to walk through the
forest, to discover what was on the other side of it,
but the Ork's feet were still so sore and "lumpy" from
walking on the rocks that the creature said he
preferred to fly over the tree-tops and meet them on
the other side. The forest was not large, so by walking
briskly for fifteen minutes they reached its farthest
edge and saw before them the shore of the ocean.
"It's an island, all right," said Trot, with a sigh.
"Yes, and a pretty island, too," said Cap'n Bill,
trying to conceal his disappointment on Trot's account.
"I guess, partner, if the wuss comes to the wuss, I
could build a raft -- or even a boat -- from those
trees, so's we could sail away in it."
The little girl brightened at this suggestion.
"I don't see the Ork anywhere," she remarked, looking
around. Then her eyes lighted upon something and she
exclaimed: "Oh, Cap'n Bill! Isn't that a house, over
there to the left?"
Cap'n Bill, looking closely, saw a shed-like structure
built at one edge of the forest.
"Seems like it, Trot. Not that I'd call it much of a
house, but it's a buildin', all right. Let's go over
an' see if it's occypied."
Chapter Five
The Little Old Man of the Island
A few steps brought them to the shed, which was merely
a roof of boughs built over a square space, with some
branches of trees fastened to the sides to keep off the
wind. The front was quite open and faced the sea, and as
our friends came nearer they observed a little man, with
a long pointed beard, sitting motionless on a stool and
staring thoughtfully out over the water.
"Get out of the way, please," he called in a fretful
voice. "Can't you see you are obstructing my view?"
"Good morning," said Cap'n Bill, politely.
"It isn't a good morning!" snapped the little man.
"I've seen plenty of mornings better than this. Do
you call it a good morning when I'm pestered with
such a crowd as you?"
Trot was astonished to hear such words from a
stranger whom they had greeted quite properly, and
Cap'n Bill grew red at the little man's rudeness. But
the sailor said, in a quiet tone of voice:
"Are you the only one as lives on this 'ere island?"
"Your grammar's bad," was the reply. "But this is my
own exclusive island, and I'll thank you to get off it as
soon as possible."
"We'd like to do that," said Trot, and then she and
Cap'n Bill turned away and walked down to the shore, to
see if any other land was in sight.
The little man rose and followed them, although both
were now too provoked to pay any attention to him.
Nothin' in sight, partner," reported Cap'n Bill,
shading his eyes with his hand; "so we'll have to
stay here for a time, anyhow. It isn't a bad place,
Trot, by any means."
"That's all you know about it!" broke in the little
man. "The trees are altogether too green and the rocks
are harder than they ought to be. I find the sand very
grainy and the water dreadfully wet. Every breeze makes a
draught and the sun shines in the daytime, when there's
no need of it, and disappears just as soon as it begins
to get dark. If you remain here you'll find the island
very unsatisfactory."
Trot turned to look at him, and her sweet face was
grave and curious.
"I wonder who you are," she said.
"My name is Pessim," said he, with an air of pride.
"I'm called the Observer,"
"Oh. What do you observe?" asked the little girl.
"Everything I see," was the reply, in a more surly
tone. Then Pessim drew back with a startled exclamation
and looked at some footprints in the sand. "Why, good
gracious me!" he cried in distress.
"What's the matter now?" asked Cap'n Bill.
"Someone has pushed the earth in! Don't you see it?
"It isn't pushed in far enough to hurt anything," said
Trot, examining the footprints.
"Everything hurts that isn't right," insisted the man.
"If the earth were pushed in a mile, it would be a great
calamity, wouldn't it?"
"I s'pose so," admitted the little girl.
"Well, here it is pushed in a full inch! That's a
twelfth of a foot, or a little more than a millionth part
of a mile. Therefore it is one-millionth part of a
calamity -- Oh, dear! How dreadful!" said Pessim in a
wailing voice.
"Try to forget it, sir," advised Cap'n Bill,
soothingly. "It's beginning to rain. Let's get under your
shed and keep dry."
"Raining! Is it really raining?" asked Pessim,
beginning to weep.
"It is," answered Cap'n Bill, as the drops began to
descend, "and I don't see any way to stop it -- although
I'm some observer myself."
"No; we can't stop it, I fear," said the man. "Are you
very busy just now?"
"I won't be after I get to the shed," replied the
sailor-man.
"Then do me a favor, please," begged Pessim, walking
briskly along behind them, for they were hastening to the
shed.
"Depends on what it is," said Cap'n Bill.
"I wish you would take my umbrella down to the shore
and hold it over the poor fishes till it stops raining.
I'm afraid they'll get wet," said Pessim.
Trot laughed, but Cap'n Bill thought the little man was
poking fun at him and so he scowled upon Pessim in a way
that showed he was angry.
They reached the shed before getting very wet, although
the rain was now coming down in big drops. The roof of
the shed protected them and while they stood watching the
rainstorm something buzzed in and circled around Pessim's
head. At once the Observer began beating it away with
his hands, crying out:
"A bumblebee! A bumblebee! The queerest bumblebee I
ever saw!"
Cap'n Bill and Trot both looked at it and the little
girl said in surprise:
"Dear me! It's a wee little Ork!"
"That's what it is, sure enough," exclaimed Cap'n Bill.
Really, it wasn't much bigger than a big bumblebee, and
when it came toward Trot she allowed it to alight on her
shoulder.
"It's me, all right," said a very small voice in her
ear; "but I'm in an awful pickle, just the same!"
"What, are you our Ork, then?" demanded the girl, much
amazed.
"No, I'm my own Ork. But I'm the only Ork you know,"
replied the tiny creature.
"What's happened to you?" asked the sailor, putting his
head close to Trot's shoulder in order to hear the reply
better. Pessim also put his head close, and the Ork said:
"You will remember that when I left you I started to
fly over the trees, and just as I got to this side of the
forest I saw a bush that was loaded down with the most
luscious fruit you can imagine. The fruit was about the
size of a gooseberry and of a lovely lavender color. So I
swooped down and picked off one in my bill and ate it.
At once I began to grow small. I could feel myself
shrinking, shrinking away, and it frightened me terribly,
so that I lighted on the ground to think over what was
happening. In a few seconds I had shrunk to the size you
now see me; but there I remained, getting no smaller,
indeed, but no larger. It is certainly a dreadful
affliction! After I had recovered somewhat from the shock
I began to search for you. It is not so easy to find
one's way when a creature is so small, but fortunately I
spied you here in this shed and came to you at once."
Cap'n Bill and Trot were much astonished at this story
and felt grieved for the poor Ork, but the little man
Pessim seemed to think it a good joke. He began laughing
when he heard the story and laughed until he choked,
after which he lay down on the ground and rolled and
laughed again, while the tears of merriment coursed down
his wrinkled cheeks.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" he finally gasped, sitting up and
wiping his eyes. "This is too rich! It's almost too
joyful to be true."
"I don't see anything funny about it," remarked Trot
indignantly.
"You would if you'd had my experience," said Pessim,
getting upon his feet and gradually resuming his solemn
- delicious [di´liʃəs]
a.美味的，可口的 (初中英语单词) - gratefully [´greitfuli] ad.感激地 (初中英语单词)
- conceal [kən´si:l] vt.藏；隐瞒 (初中英语单词)
- disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)
- partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地；严格地 (初中英语单词)
- altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)
- dreadfully [dredfuli] ad.可怕地；糟透地 (初中英语单词)
- breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- observer [əb´zə:və] n.遵守者；观察员 (初中英语单词)
- alight [ə´lait] a.燃着的 vi.下；降落 (初中英语单词)
- solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)
- thankful [´θæŋkfəl] a.感激的；欣慰的 (高中英语单词)
- explore [ik´splɔ:] v.勘探；探索；探查 (高中英语单词)
- tangle [´tæŋgəl] n.&vt.(使)缠结；纠纷 (高中英语单词)
- heartily [´hɑ:tili] ad.衷心地；亲切地 (高中英语单词)
- cherry [´tʃeri] n.樱桃(树) (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- motionless [´məuʃənləs] a.静止的；固定的 (高中英语单词)
- thoughtfully [´θɔ:tfuli] ad.深思地；体贴地 (高中英语单词)
- exclusive [ik´sklu:siv] a.独有的；集中的 (高中英语单词)
- daytime [´deitaim] n.白天 (高中英语单词)
- umbrella [ʌm´brelə] n.伞 (高中英语单词)
- pickle [´pikəl] n.盐汁；腌菜 v.腌渍 (高中英语单词)
- lavender [´lævində] n.熏衣草；淡紫色 (高中英语单词)
- fortunately [´fɔ:tʃənətli] ad.幸运地 (高中英语单词)
- merriment [´merimənt] n.欢乐 (英语四级单词)
- beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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