章节正文
of here," replied the Scarecrow. "I've known all
along that we must go to the mountains."
"So have I," said Dorothy.
"But--goodness me!--the Quadling Country is full
of dangers," declared Jack. "I've never been there
myself, but--"
"I have," said the Scarecrow. "I've faced the
dreadful Hammerheads, which have no arms and butt
you like a goat; and I've faced the Fighting
Trees, which bend down their branches to pound and
whip you, and had many other adventures there."
"It's a wild country," remarked Dorothy,
soberly, "and if we go there we're sure to have
troubles of our own. But I guess we'll have to go,
if we want that gill of water from the dark well."
So they said good-bye to the Pumpkinhead and
resumed their travels, heading now directly toward
the South Country, where mountains and rocks and
caverns and forests of great trees abounded. This
part of the Land of Oz, while it belonged to Ozma
and owed her allegiance, was so wild and secluded
that many queer peoples hid in its jungles and
lived in their own way, without even a knowledge
that they had a Ruler in the Emerald City. If they
were left alone, these creatures never troubled
the inhabitants of the rest of Oz, but those who
invaded their domains encountered many dangers
from them.
It was a two days journey from Jack Pumkinhead's
house to the edge of the Quadling Country, for
neither Dorothy nor Ojo could walk very fast and
they often stopped by the wayside to rest. The
first night they slept on the broad fields, among
the buttercups and daisies, and the Scarecrow
covered the children with a gauze blanket taken
from his knapsack, so they would not be chilled by
the night air. Toward evening of the second day
they reached a sandy plain where walking was
difficult; but some distance before them they saw
a group of palm trees, with many curious black
dots under them; so they trudged bravely on to
reach that place by dark and spend the night under
the shelter of the trees.
The black dots grew larger as they advanced and
although the light was dim Dorothy thought they
looked like big kettles turned upside down. Just
beyond this place a jumble of huge, jagged rocks
lay scattered, rising to the mountains behind
them.
Our travelers preferred to attempt to climb
these rocks by daylight, and they realized that
for a time this would be their last night on the
plains.
Twilight had fallen by the time they came to the
trees, beneath which were the black, circular
objects they had marked from a distance. Dozens of
them were scattered around and Dorothy bent near
to one, which was about as tall as she was, to
examine it more closely. As she did so the top
flew open and out popped a dusky creature, rising
its length into the air and then plumping down
upon the ground just beside the little girl.
Another and another popped out of the circular,
pot-like dwelling, while from all the other black
objects came popping more creatures--very like
jumping-jacks when their boxes are unhooked--until
fully a hundred stood gathered around our little
group of travelers.
By this time Dorothy had discovered they
were people, tiny and curiously formed, but still
people. Their skins were dusky and their hair
stood straight up, like wires, and was brilliant
scarlet in color. Their bodies were bare except
for skins fastened around their waists and they
wore bracelets on their ankles and wrists, and
necklaces, and great pendant earrings.
Toto crouched beside his mistress and wailed
as if he did not like these strange creatures a bit.
Scraps began to mutter something about "hopity,
poppity, jumpity, dump!" but no one paid any
attention to her. Ojo kept close to the Scarecrow
and the Scarecrow kept close to Dorothy; but the
little girl turned to the queer creatures and
asked:
"Who are you?"
They answered this question all together, in
a sort of chanting chorus, the words being as follows:
"We're the jolly Tottenhots;
We do not like the day,
But in the night 'tis our delight
To gambol, skip and play.
"We hate the sun and from it run,
The moon is cool and clear,
So on this spot each Tottenhot
Waits for it to appear.
"We're ev'ry one chock full of fun,
And full of mischief, too;
But if you're gay and with us play
We'll do no harm to you.
"Glad to meet you, Tottenhots," said the
Scarecrow solemnly. "But you mustn't expect us
to play with you all night, for we've traveled
all day and some of us are tired."
"And we never gamble," added the Patchwork Girl.
"It's against the Law."
These remarks were greeted with shouts of
laughter by the impish creatures and one seized
the Scarecrow's arm and was astonished to find the
straw man whirl around so easily. So the Tottenhot
raised the Scarecrow high in the air and tossed
him over the heads of the crowd. Some one caught
him and tossed him back, and so with shouts of
glee they continued throwing the Scarecrow here
and there, as if he had been a basket-ball.
Presently another imp seized Scraps and began to
throw her about, in the same way. They found her a
little heavier than the Scarecrow but still light
enough to be tossed like a sofa-cushion, and they
were enjoying the sport immensely when Dorothy,
angry and indignant at the treatment her friends
were receiving, rushed among the Tottenhots and
began slapping and pushing them until she had
rescued the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl and
held them close on either side of her. Perhaps she
would not have accomplished this victory so easily
had not Toto helped her, barking and snapping at
the bare legs of the imps until they were glad to
flee from his attack. As for Ojo, some of the
creatures had attempted to toss him, also, but
finding his body too heavy they threw him to the
ground and a row of the imps sat on him and held
him from assisting Dorothy in her battle.
The little brown folks were much surprised
at being attacked by the girl and the dog, and
one or two who had been slapped hardest began
to cry. Then suddenly they gave a shout, all
together, and disappeared in a flash into their
various houses, the tops of which closed with a
series of pops that sounded like a bunch of
firecrackers being exploded.
The adventurers now found themselves alone,
and Dorothy asked anxiously:
"Is anybody hurt?"
"Not me," answered the Scarecrow. "They have
given my straw a good shaking up and taken all the
lumps out of it. I am now in splendid condition
and am really obliged to the Tottenhots for their
kind treatment."
"I feel much the same way," said Scraps.
"My cotton stuffing had sagged a good deal with
the day's walking and they've loosened it up
until I feel as plump as a sausage. But the play
was a little rough and I'd had quite enough of
it when you interfered."
"Six of them sat on me," said Ojo, "but as
they are so little they didn't hurt me much."
Just then the roof of the house in front of
them opened and a Tottenhot stuck his head
out, very cautiously, and looked at the strangers.
"Can't you, take a joke?" he asked,
reproachfully; "haven t you any fun in you at
all?"
"If I had such a quality," replied the
Scarecrow, "your people would have knocked it out
of me. But I don't bear grudges. I forgive you."
"So do I," added Scraps. "That is, if you behave
yourselves after this."
"It was just a little rough-house, that's all,"
said the Tottenhot. "But the question is not if
we will behave, but if you will behave? We
can't be shut up here all night, because this
is our time to play; nor do we care to come out
and be chewed up by a savage beast or slapped
by an angry girl. That slapping hurts like sixty;
some of my folks are crying about it. So here's
the proposition: you let us alone and we'll let
you alone."
"You began it," declared Dorothy.
"Well, you ended it, so we won't argue the
matter. May we come out again? Or are you still
cruel and slappy?"
"Tell you what we'll do," said Dorothy. "We're
all tired and want to sleep until morning. If
you'll let us get into your house, and stay there
until daylight, you can play outside all you want
to."
"That's a bargain!" cried the Tottenhot
eagerly, and he gave a queer whistle that
brought his people popping out of their houses
on all sides. When the house before them was
vacant, Dorothy and Ojo leaned over the hole
and looked in, but could see nothing because
it was so dark. But if the Tottenhots slept there
all day the children thought they could sleep
there at night, so Ojo lowered himself down
and found it was not very deep."
"There's a soft cushion all over," said he.
"Come on in."
Dorothy handed Toto to the boy and then climbed
in herself. After her came Scraps and the
Scarecrow, who did not wish to sleep but preferred
along that we must go to the mountains."
"So have I," said Dorothy.
"But--goodness me!--the Quadling Country is full
of dangers," declared Jack. "I've never been there
myself, but--"
"I have," said the Scarecrow. "I've faced the
dreadful Hammerheads, which have no arms and butt
you like a goat; and I've faced the Fighting
Trees, which bend down their branches to pound and
whip you, and had many other adventures there."
"It's a wild country," remarked Dorothy,
soberly, "and if we go there we're sure to have
troubles of our own. But I guess we'll have to go,
if we want that gill of water from the dark well."
So they said good-bye to the Pumpkinhead and
resumed their travels, heading now directly toward
the South Country, where mountains and rocks and
caverns and forests of great trees abounded. This
part of the Land of Oz, while it belonged to Ozma
and owed her allegiance, was so wild and secluded
that many queer peoples hid in its jungles and
lived in their own way, without even a knowledge
that they had a Ruler in the Emerald City. If they
were left alone, these creatures never troubled
the inhabitants of the rest of Oz, but those who
invaded their domains encountered many dangers
from them.
It was a two days journey from Jack Pumkinhead's
house to the edge of the Quadling Country, for
neither Dorothy nor Ojo could walk very fast and
they often stopped by the wayside to rest. The
first night they slept on the broad fields, among
the buttercups and daisies, and the Scarecrow
covered the children with a gauze blanket taken
from his knapsack, so they would not be chilled by
the night air. Toward evening of the second day
they reached a sandy plain where walking was
difficult; but some distance before them they saw
a group of palm trees, with many curious black
dots under them; so they trudged bravely on to
reach that place by dark and spend the night under
the shelter of the trees.
The black dots grew larger as they advanced and
although the light was dim Dorothy thought they
looked like big kettles turned upside down. Just
beyond this place a jumble of huge, jagged rocks
lay scattered, rising to the mountains behind
them.
Our travelers preferred to attempt to climb
these rocks by daylight, and they realized that
for a time this would be their last night on the
plains.
Twilight had fallen by the time they came to the
trees, beneath which were the black, circular
objects they had marked from a distance. Dozens of
them were scattered around and Dorothy bent near
to one, which was about as tall as she was, to
examine it more closely. As she did so the top
flew open and out popped a dusky creature, rising
its length into the air and then plumping down
upon the ground just beside the little girl.
Another and another popped out of the circular,
pot-like dwelling, while from all the other black
objects came popping more creatures--very like
jumping-jacks when their boxes are unhooked--until
fully a hundred stood gathered around our little
group of travelers.
By this time Dorothy had discovered they
were people, tiny and curiously formed, but still
people. Their skins were dusky and their hair
stood straight up, like wires, and was brilliant
scarlet in color. Their bodies were bare except
for skins fastened around their waists and they
wore bracelets on their ankles and wrists, and
necklaces, and great pendant earrings.
Toto crouched beside his mistress and wailed
as if he did not like these strange creatures a bit.
Scraps began to mutter something about "hopity,
poppity, jumpity, dump!" but no one paid any
attention to her. Ojo kept close to the Scarecrow
and the Scarecrow kept close to Dorothy; but the
little girl turned to the queer creatures and
asked:
"Who are you?"
They answered this question all together, in
a sort of chanting chorus, the words being as follows:
"We're the jolly Tottenhots;
We do not like the day,
But in the night 'tis our delight
To gambol, skip and play.
"We hate the sun and from it run,
The moon is cool and clear,
So on this spot each Tottenhot
Waits for it to appear.
"We're ev'ry one chock full of fun,
And full of mischief, too;
But if you're gay and with us play
We'll do no harm to you.
"Glad to meet you, Tottenhots," said the
Scarecrow solemnly. "But you mustn't expect us
to play with you all night, for we've traveled
all day and some of us are tired."
"And we never gamble," added the Patchwork Girl.
"It's against the Law."
These remarks were greeted with shouts of
laughter by the impish creatures and one seized
the Scarecrow's arm and was astonished to find the
straw man whirl around so easily. So the Tottenhot
raised the Scarecrow high in the air and tossed
him over the heads of the crowd. Some one caught
him and tossed him back, and so with shouts of
glee they continued throwing the Scarecrow here
and there, as if he had been a basket-ball.
Presently another imp seized Scraps and began to
throw her about, in the same way. They found her a
little heavier than the Scarecrow but still light
enough to be tossed like a sofa-cushion, and they
were enjoying the sport immensely when Dorothy,
angry and indignant at the treatment her friends
were receiving, rushed among the Tottenhots and
began slapping and pushing them until she had
rescued the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl and
held them close on either side of her. Perhaps she
would not have accomplished this victory so easily
had not Toto helped her, barking and snapping at
the bare legs of the imps until they were glad to
flee from his attack. As for Ojo, some of the
creatures had attempted to toss him, also, but
finding his body too heavy they threw him to the
ground and a row of the imps sat on him and held
him from assisting Dorothy in her battle.
The little brown folks were much surprised
at being attacked by the girl and the dog, and
one or two who had been slapped hardest began
to cry. Then suddenly they gave a shout, all
together, and disappeared in a flash into their
various houses, the tops of which closed with a
series of pops that sounded like a bunch of
firecrackers being exploded.
The adventurers now found themselves alone,
and Dorothy asked anxiously:
"Is anybody hurt?"
"Not me," answered the Scarecrow. "They have
given my straw a good shaking up and taken all the
lumps out of it. I am now in splendid condition
and am really obliged to the Tottenhots for their
kind treatment."
"I feel much the same way," said Scraps.
"My cotton stuffing had sagged a good deal with
the day's walking and they've loosened it up
until I feel as plump as a sausage. But the play
was a little rough and I'd had quite enough of
it when you interfered."
"Six of them sat on me," said Ojo, "but as
they are so little they didn't hurt me much."
Just then the roof of the house in front of
them opened and a Tottenhot stuck his head
out, very cautiously, and looked at the strangers.
"Can't you, take a joke?" he asked,
reproachfully; "haven t you any fun in you at
all?"
"If I had such a quality," replied the
Scarecrow, "your people would have knocked it out
of me. But I don't bear grudges. I forgive you."
"So do I," added Scraps. "That is, if you behave
yourselves after this."
"It was just a little rough-house, that's all,"
said the Tottenhot. "But the question is not if
we will behave, but if you will behave? We
can't be shut up here all night, because this
is our time to play; nor do we care to come out
and be chewed up by a savage beast or slapped
by an angry girl. That slapping hurts like sixty;
some of my folks are crying about it. So here's
the proposition: you let us alone and we'll let
you alone."
"You began it," declared Dorothy.
"Well, you ended it, so we won't argue the
matter. May we come out again? Or are you still
cruel and slappy?"
"Tell you what we'll do," said Dorothy. "We're
all tired and want to sleep until morning. If
you'll let us get into your house, and stay there
until daylight, you can play outside all you want
to."
"That's a bargain!" cried the Tottenhot
eagerly, and he gave a queer whistle that
brought his people popping out of their houses
on all sides. When the house before them was
vacant, Dorothy and Ojo leaned over the hole
and looked in, but could see nothing because
it was so dark. But if the Tottenhots slept there
all day the children thought they could sleep
there at night, so Ojo lowered himself down
and found it was not very deep."
"There's a soft cushion all over," said he.
"Come on in."
Dorothy handed Toto to the boy and then climbed
in herself. After her came Scraps and the
Scarecrow, who did not wish to sleep but preferred
- advanced [əd´vɑ:nst]
a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词) - daylight [´deilait] n.日光；黎明 (初中英语单词)
- dwelling [´dweliŋ] n.住所；寓所 (初中英语单词)
- curiously [´kjuəriəsli] ad.好奇地；稀奇古怪地 (初中英语单词)
- mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)
- mutter [´mʌtə] v.&n.咕哝；嘀咕 (初中英语单词)
- chorus [´kɔ:rəs] n.合唱；齐声 v.合唱 (初中英语单词)
- mischief [´mistʃif] n.伤害；故障；调皮 (初中英语单词)
- treatment [´tri:tmənt] n.待遇；对待；治疗 (初中英语单词)
- victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)
- forgive [fə´giv] vt.原谅，谅解，宽恕 (初中英语单词)
- behave [bi´heiv] v.举止；表现；举止端正 (初中英语单词)
- savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)
- whistle [´wisəl] v.吹哨 n.口哨；汽笛 (初中英语单词)
- cushion [´kuʃən] n.垫子，坐褥 (初中英语单词)
- allegiance [ə´li:dʒəns] n.忠诚，效忠 (高中英语单词)
- bravely [´breivli] ad.勇敢地；毅然 (高中英语单词)
- solemnly [´sɔləmli] ad.严肃地，庄严地 (高中英语单词)
- sausage [´sɔsidʒ] n.香肠 (高中英语单词)
- cautiously [´kɔ:ʃəsli] ad.小心地；谨慎地 (高中英语单词)
- proposition [,prɔpə´ziʃən] n.提议；主张；陈述 (高中英语单词)
- emerald [´emərəld] n.纯绿宝石；翠绿色 (英语四级单词)
- upside [´ʌpsaid] n.上边，上段，上部 (英语四级单词)
- immensely [i´mensli] ad.极大地，无限地 (英语四级单词)
- indignant [in´dignənt] a.义愤的，愤慨的 (英语四级单词)
- accomplished [ə´kʌmpliʃt] a.完成了的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)
- wayside [´weisaid] n.&a.路边(的) (英语六级单词)
- jumble [´dʒʌmbəl] n.搞乱，混乱 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
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