terror-stricken face of Lootie; but nowhere could he see the



princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess. Seized with the horribleconviction that Harelip had

already carried her off, he rushed amongst them, unable for wrath



to sing any more, but stamping and cutting with greater fury than

ever.



'Stamp on their feet; stamp on their feet!' he shouted, and in a

moment the goblins were disappearing through the hole in the floor



like rats and mice.

They could not vanish so fast, however, but that many more goblin



feet had to go limping back over the underground ways of the

mountain that morning.



Presently, however, they were reinforced from above by the king and

his party, with the redoubtable queen at their head. Finding



Curdie again busy amongst her unfortunate subjects, she rushed at

him once more with the rage of despair, and this time gave him a



bad bruise on the foot. Then a regular stamping fight got up

between them, Curdie, with the point of his hunting- knife, keeping



her from clasping her mighty arms about him, as he watched his

opportunity of getting once more a good stamp at her skin-shod



foot. But the queen was more wary as well as more agile than

hitherto.



The rest meantime, finding their adversary thus matched for the

moment, paused in their headlong hurry, and turned to the shivering



group of women in the corner. As if determined to emulate his

father and have a sun-woman of some sort to share his future



throne, Harelip rushed at them, caught up Lootie, and sped with her

to the hole. She gave a great shriek, and Curdie heard her, and



saw the plight she was in. Gathering all his strength, he gave the

queen a sudden cut across the face with his weapon, came down, as



she started back, with all his weight on the proper foot, and

sprung to Lootie's rescue. The prince had two defenceless feet,



and on both of them Curdie stamped just as he reached the hole. He

dropped his burden and rolled shrieking into the earth. Curdie



made one stab at him as he disappeared, caught hold of the

senseless Lootie, and having dragged her back to the corner, there



mounted guard over her, preparing once more to encounter the queen.

Her face streaming with blood, and her eyes flashing green



lightning through it, she came on with her mouth open and her teeth

grinning like a tiger's, followed by the king and her bodyguard of



the thickest goblins. But the same moment in rushed the captain

and his men, and ran at them stamping furiously. They dared not



encounter such an onset. Away they scurried, the queen foremost.

Of course, the right thing would have been to take the king and



queen prisoners, and hold them hostages for the princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess, but they

were so anxious to find her that no one thought of detaining them



until it was too late.

Having thus rescued the servants, they set about searching the



house once more. None of them could give the least information

concerning the princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess. Lootie was almost silly with terror, and,



although scarcely able to walk would not leave Curdie's side for a

single moment. Again he allowed the others to search the rest of



the house - where, except a dismayed goblin lurking here and there,

they found no one - while he requested Lootie to take him to the



princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess's room. She was as submissive and obedient as if he had

been the king.



He found the bedclothes tossed about, and most of them on the

floor, while the princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess's garments were scattered all over the



room, which was in the greatest confusion. It was only too evident

that the goblins had been there, and Curdie had no longer any doubt



that she had been carried off at the very first of the inroad.

With a pang of despair he saw how wrong they had been in not



securing the king and queen and prince; but he determined to find

and rescue the princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess as she had found and rescued him, or meet



the worst fate to which the goblins could doom him.

CHAPTER 28



Curdie's Guide

just as the consolation of this resolve dawned upon his mind and he



was turning away for the cellar to follow the goblins into their

hole, something touched his hand. It was the slightest touch, and



when he looked he could see nothing. Feeling and peering about in

the grey of the dawn, his fingers came upon a tight thread. He



looked again, and narrowly, but still could see nothing. It

flashed upon him that this must be the princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess's thread. Without



saying a word, for he knew no one would believe him any more than

he had believed the princess" target="_blank" title="n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人">princess, he followed the thread with his



finger, contrived to give Lootie the slip, and was soon out of the

house and on the mountainside - surprised that, if the thread were



indeed the grandmother's messenger, it should have led the

• princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)


• despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)


• slumber [´slʌmbə] v.&n.睡眠；沉睡状态 (初中英语单词)


• feeble [´fi:bəl] a.虚弱的，无力的 (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


• description [di´skripʃən] n.描写 (初中英语单词)


• horrible [´hɔrəbəl] a.可怕的；恐怖的 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• dismay [dis´mei] n.惊慌 vt.使惊慌 (初中英语单词)


• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)


• tremendous [tri´mendəs] a.可怕的；巨大的 (初中英语单词)


• marble [´mɑ:bəl] n.大理石 a.大理石的 (初中英语单词)


• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• cellar [´selə] n.地窑，地下室 (初中英语单词)


• conviction [kən´vikʃən] n.定罪；确信，信服 (初中英语单词)


• unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)


• vanish [´væniʃ] vi.消失；消散；消灭 (初中英语单词)


• unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)


• meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• shriek [ʃri:k] v.&n.尖叫(声) (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)


• prince [´prins] n.王子；亲王；君主 (初中英语单词)


• encounter [in´kauntə] vt.&n.偶然相遇；冲突 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)


• confusion [kən´fju:ʒən] n.混乱(状态)；骚乱 (初中英语单词)


• resolve [ri´zɔlv] v.决心 n.决心；刚毅 (初中英语单词)


• messenger [´mesindʒə] n.使者；送信人 (初中英语单词)


• victorious [vik´tɔ:riəs] a.得胜的，胜利的 (高中英语单词)


• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)


• hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)


• goblin [´gɔblin] n.恶鬼，小妖精 (高中英语单词)


• knight [nait] n.骑士；爵士 (高中英语单词)


• granite [´grænit] n.花岗岩 (高中英语单词)


• frightful [´fraitfəl] a.可怕的；不愉快的 (高中英语单词)


• horrid [´hɔrid] a.令人讨厌的；极糟的 (高中英语单词)


• apprehension [,æpri´henʃən] n.理解；忧虑；逮捕 (高中英语单词)


• withdrew [wið´dru:] withdraw的过去式 (高中英语单词)


• hideous [´hidiəs] a.丑陋的，可怕的 (高中英语单词)


• nowhere [´nəuweə] n.无处；不知道 (高中英语单词)


• butler [´bʌtlə] n.(男)管家 (高中英语单词)


• amongst [ə´mʌŋst] prep.其中之一 =among (高中英语单词)


• underground [,ʌndə´graund] ad.&a.地下(的) (高中英语单词)


• bruise [bru:z] n.伤痕 v.打(碰)伤 (高中英语单词)


• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)


• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)


• headlong [´hedlɔŋ] ad.&a.轻率地(的) (高中英语单词)


• plight [plait] n.境况；困境；苦境 (高中英语单词)


• furiously [´fjuəriəsli] ad.狂怒地；有力地 (高中英语单词)


• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)


• uproar [´ʌprɔ:] n.喧嚣；骚动；轰鸣，轰动 (英语四级单词)


• prostrate [´prɔstreit, prɔ´streit] a.俯伏的 vt.弄倒 (英语四级单词)


• perpendicular [,pə:pən´dikjulə] a.垂直的 n.正交 (英语四级单词)


• farthest [´fɑ:ðist] ad.&a.最远(的) (英语四级单词)


• adversary [´ædvəsəri] n.敌手，对手 (英语四级单词)


• gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)


• obedient [ə´bi:djənt] a.服从的，恭顺的 (英语四级单词)


• consolation [,kɔnsə´leiʃən] n.安慰，慰问 (英语四级单词)


• cuddle [´kʌdl] v.拥抱；抚摸 (英语六级单词)


• trusting [´trʌstiŋ] a.信任的；相信的 (英语六级单词)


• narrowly [´nærəuli] ad.勉强地；严密地 (英语六级单词)