章节正文
of surprise when they discovered two soldiers walking
along the roadway and escorting Princess Gloria between
them. The poor girl had her hands bound together, to
prevent her from struggling, and the soldiers rudely
dragged her forward when her steps seemed to lag.
Behind this group came King Krewl, wearing his jeweled
crown and swinging in his hand a slender golden staff
with a ball of clustered gems at one end.
"Where are they going?" asked Trot. "To the house of
the Wicked Witch, I fear," Pon replied. "Come, let us
follow them, for I am sure they intend to harm my dear
Gloria."
"Won't they see us?" she asked timidly.
"We won't let them. I know a short cut through the
trees to Blinkie's house," said he.
So they hurried away through the trees and reached the
house of the witch ahead of the King and his soldiers.
Hiding themselves in the shrubbery, they watched the
approach of poor Gloria and her escort, all of whom
passed so near to them that Pon could have put out a hand
and touched his sweetheart, had he dared to.
Blinkie's house had eight sides, with a door and a
window in each side. Smoke was coming out of the chimney
and as the guards brought Gloria to one of the doors it
was opened by the old witch in person. She chuckled with
evil glee and rubbed her skinny hands together to show
the delight with which she greeted her victim, for
Blinkie was pleased to be able to perform her wicked
rites on one so fair and sweet as the Princess.
Gloria struggled to resist when they bade her enter the
house, so the soldiers forced her through the doorway and
even the King gave her a shove as he followed close
behind. Pon was so incensed at the cruelty shown Gloria
that he forgot all caution and rushed forward to enter
the house also; but one of the soldiers prevented him,
pushing the gardener's boy away with violence and
slamming the door in his face.
"Never mind," said Trot soothingly, as Pon rose from
where he had fallen. "You couldn't do much to help the
poor Princess if you were inside. How unfortunate it is
that you are in love with her!"
"True," he answered sadly, "it is indeed my misfortune.
If I did not love her, it would be none of my business
what the King did to his niece Gloria; but the unlucky
circumstance of my loving her makes it my duty to defend
her."
"I don't see how you can, duty or no duty," observed
Trot.
"No; I am powerless, for they are stronger than I. But
we might peek in through the window and see what they are
doing."
Trot was somewhat curious, too, so they crept up to one
of the windows and looked in, and it so happened that
those inside the witch's house were so busy they did not
notice that Pon and Trot were watching them.
Gloria had been tied to a stout post in the center of
the room and the King was giving the Wicked Witch a
quantity of money and jewels, which Googly-Goo had
provided in payment. When this had been done the King
said to her:
"Are you perfectly sure you can freeze this maiden's
heart, so that she will no longer love that low
gardener's boy?"
"Sure as witchcraft, your Majesty," the creature
replied.
"Then get to work," said the King. "There may be some
unpleasant features about the ceremony that would annoy
me, so I'll bid you good day and leave you to carry out
your contract. One word, however: If you fail, I shall
burn you at the stake!" Then he beckoned to his soldiers
to follow him, and throwing wide the door of the house
walked out.
This action was so sudden that King Krewl almost caught
Trot and Pon eavesdropping, but they managed to run
around the house before he saw them. Away he marched, up
the road, followed by his men, heartlessly leaving Gloria
to the mercies of old Blinkie.
When they again crept up to the window, Trot and Pon
saw Blinkie gloating over her victim. Although nearly
fainting from fear, the proud Princess gazed with haughty
defiance into the face of the wicked creature; but she
was bound so tightly to the post that she could do no
more to express her loathing.
Pretty soon Blinkie went to a kettle that was swinging
by a chain over the fire and tossed into it several
magical compounds. The kettle gave three flashes, and at
every flash another witch appeared in the room.
These hags were very ugly but when one-eyed Blinkie
whispered her orders to them they grinned with joy as
they began dancing around Gloria. First one and then
another cast something into the kettle, when to the
astonishment of the watchers at the window all three of
the old women were instantly transformed into maidens of
exquisite beauty, dressed in the daintiest costumes
imaginable. Only their eyes could not be disguised, and
an evil glare still shone in their depths. But if the
eyes were cast down or hidden, one could not help but
admire these beautiful creatures, even with the knowledge
that they were mere illusions of witchcraft.
Trot certainly admired them, for she had never seen
anything so dainty and bewitching, but her attention was
quickly drawn to their deeds instead of their persons,
and then horror replaced admiration. Into the kettle old
Blinkie poured another mess from a big brass bottle she
took from a chest, and this made the kettle begin to
bubble and smoke violently. One by one the beautiful
witches approached to stir the contents of the kettle and
to mutter a magic charm. Their movements were graceful
and rhythmic and the Wicked Witch who had called them to
her aid watched them with an evil grin upon her wrinkled
face.
Finally the incantation was complete. The kettle ceased
bubbling and together the witches lifted it from the
fire. Then Blinkie brought a wooden ladle and filled it
from the contents of the kettle. Going with the spoon to
Princess Gloria she cried:
"Love no more! Magic art
Now will freeze your mortal heart!"
With this she dashed the contents of the ladle full
upon Gloria's breast.
Trot saw the body of the Princess become transparent,
so that her beating heart showed plainly. But now the
heart turned from a vivid red to gray, and then to white.
A layer of frost formed about it and tiny icicles clung
to its surface. Then slowly the body of the girl became
visible again and the heart was hidden from view. Gloria
seemed to have fainted, but now she recovered and,
opening her beautiful eyes, stared coldly and without
emotion at the group of witches confronting her.
Blinkie and the others knew by that one cold look that
their charm had been successful. They burst into a chorus
of wild laughter and the three beautiful ones began
dancing again, while Blinkie unbound the Princess and set
her free.
Trot rubbed her eyes to prove that she was wide awake
and seeing clearly, for her astonishment was great when
the three lovely maidens turned into ugly, crooked hags
again, leaning on broomsticks and canes. They jeered at
Gloria, but the Princess regarded them with cold disdain.
Being now free, she walked to a door, opened it and
passed out. And the witches let her go.
Trot and Pon had been so intent upon this scene that in
their eagerness they had pressed quite hard against the
window. Just as Gloria went out of the house the window-
sash broke loose from its fastenings and fell with a
crash into the room. The witches uttered a chorus of
screams and then, seeing that their magical incantation
had been observed, they rushed for the open window with
uplifted broomsticks and canes. But Pon was off like the
wind, and Trot followed at his heels. Fear lent them
strength to run, to leap across ditches, to speed up the
hills and to vault the low fences as a deer would.
The band of witches had dashed through the window in
pursuit; but Blinkie was so old, and the others so
crooked and awkward, that they soon realized they would
be unable to overtake the fugitives. So the three who had
been summoned by the Wicked Witch put their canes or
broomsticks between their legs and flew away through the
air, quickly disappearing against the blue sky. Blinkie,
however, was so enraged at Pon and Trot that she hobbled
on in the direction they had taken, fully determined to
catch them, in time, and to punish them terribly for
spying upon her witchcraft.
When Pon and Trot had run so far that they were
confident they had made good their escape, they sat down
near the edge of a forest to get their breath again, for
both were panting hard from their exertions. Trot was the
first to recover speech, and she said to her companion:
"My! wasn't it terr'ble?"
"The most terrible thing I ever saw," Pon agreed.
"And they froze Gloria's heart; so now she can't love
you any more."
"Well, they froze her heart, to be sure," admitted Pon,
"but I'm in hopes I can melt it with my love."
Where do you s'pose Gloria is?" asked the girl, after a
pause.
"She left the witch's house just before we did. Perhaps
she has gone back to the King's castle," he said.
"I'm pretty sure she started off in a diff'rent
direction," declared Trot. "I looked over my shoulder, as
I ran, to see how close the witches were, and I'm sure I
saw Gloria walking slowly away toward the north."
"Then let us circle around that way," proposed Pon,
"and perhaps we shall meet her."
Trot agreed to this and they left the grove and began
to circle around toward the north, thus drawing nearer
and nearer to old Blinkie's house again. The Wicked Witch
did not suspect this change of direction, so when she
came to the grove she passed through it and continued on.
Pon and Trot had reached a place less than half a mile
from the witch's house when they saw Gloria walking
toward them. The Princess moved with great dignity and
with no show of haste whatever, holding her head high and
looking neither to right nor left.
Pon rushed forward, holding out his arms as if to
embrace her and calling her sweet names. But Gloria gazed
upon him coldly and repelled him with a haughty gesture.
At this the poor gardener's boy sank upon his knees and
hid his face in his arms, weeping bitter tears; but the
Princess was not at all moved by his distress. Passing
him by, she drew her skirts aside, as if unwilling they
along the roadway and escorting Princess Gloria between
them. The poor girl had her hands bound together, to
prevent her from struggling, and the soldiers rudely
dragged her forward when her steps seemed to lag.
Behind this group came King Krewl, wearing his jeweled
crown and swinging in his hand a slender golden staff
with a ball of clustered gems at one end.
"Where are they going?" asked Trot. "To the house of
the Wicked Witch, I fear," Pon replied. "Come, let us
follow them, for I am sure they intend to harm my dear
Gloria."
"Won't they see us?" she asked timidly.
"We won't let them. I know a short cut through the
trees to Blinkie's house," said he.
So they hurried away through the trees and reached the
house of the witch ahead of the King and his soldiers.
Hiding themselves in the shrubbery, they watched the
approach of poor Gloria and her escort, all of whom
passed so near to them that Pon could have put out a hand
and touched his sweetheart, had he dared to.
Blinkie's house had eight sides, with a door and a
window in each side. Smoke was coming out of the chimney
and as the guards brought Gloria to one of the doors it
was opened by the old witch in person. She chuckled with
evil glee and rubbed her skinny hands together to show
the delight with which she greeted her victim, for
Blinkie was pleased to be able to perform her wicked
rites on one so fair and sweet as the Princess.
Gloria struggled to resist when they bade her enter the
house, so the soldiers forced her through the doorway and
even the King gave her a shove as he followed close
behind. Pon was so incensed at the cruelty shown Gloria
that he forgot all caution and rushed forward to enter
the house also; but one of the soldiers prevented him,
pushing the gardener's boy away with violence and
slamming the door in his face.
"Never mind," said Trot soothingly, as Pon rose from
where he had fallen. "You couldn't do much to help the
poor Princess if you were inside. How unfortunate it is
that you are in love with her!"
"True," he answered sadly, "it is indeed my misfortune.
If I did not love her, it would be none of my business
what the King did to his niece Gloria; but the unlucky
circumstance of my loving her makes it my duty to defend
her."
"I don't see how you can, duty or no duty," observed
Trot.
"No; I am powerless, for they are stronger than I. But
we might peek in through the window and see what they are
doing."
Trot was somewhat curious, too, so they crept up to one
of the windows and looked in, and it so happened that
those inside the witch's house were so busy they did not
notice that Pon and Trot were watching them.
Gloria had been tied to a stout post in the center of
the room and the King was giving the Wicked Witch a
quantity of money and jewels, which Googly-Goo had
provided in payment. When this had been done the King
said to her:
"Are you perfectly sure you can freeze this maiden's
heart, so that she will no longer love that low
gardener's boy?"
"Sure as witchcraft, your Majesty," the creature
replied.
"Then get to work," said the King. "There may be some
unpleasant features about the ceremony that would annoy
me, so I'll bid you good day and leave you to carry out
your contract. One word, however: If you fail, I shall
burn you at the stake!" Then he beckoned to his soldiers
to follow him, and throwing wide the door of the house
walked out.
This action was so sudden that King Krewl almost caught
Trot and Pon eavesdropping, but they managed to run
around the house before he saw them. Away he marched, up
the road, followed by his men, heartlessly leaving Gloria
to the mercies of old Blinkie.
When they again crept up to the window, Trot and Pon
saw Blinkie gloating over her victim. Although nearly
fainting from fear, the proud Princess gazed with haughty
defiance into the face of the wicked creature; but she
was bound so tightly to the post that she could do no
more to express her loathing.
Pretty soon Blinkie went to a kettle that was swinging
by a chain over the fire and tossed into it several
magical compounds. The kettle gave three flashes, and at
every flash another witch appeared in the room.
These hags were very ugly but when one-eyed Blinkie
whispered her orders to them they grinned with joy as
they began dancing around Gloria. First one and then
another cast something into the kettle, when to the
astonishment of the watchers at the window all three of
the old women were instantly transformed into maidens of
exquisite beauty, dressed in the daintiest costumes
imaginable. Only their eyes could not be disguised, and
an evil glare still shone in their depths. But if the
eyes were cast down or hidden, one could not help but
admire these beautiful creatures, even with the knowledge
that they were mere illusions of witchcraft.
Trot certainly admired them, for she had never seen
anything so dainty and bewitching, but her attention was
quickly drawn to their deeds instead of their persons,
and then horror replaced admiration. Into the kettle old
Blinkie poured another mess from a big brass bottle she
took from a chest, and this made the kettle begin to
bubble and smoke violently. One by one the beautiful
witches approached to stir the contents of the kettle and
to mutter a magic charm. Their movements were graceful
and rhythmic and the Wicked Witch who had called them to
her aid watched them with an evil grin upon her wrinkled
face.
Finally the incantation was complete. The kettle ceased
bubbling and together the witches lifted it from the
fire. Then Blinkie brought a wooden ladle and filled it
from the contents of the kettle. Going with the spoon to
Princess Gloria she cried:
"Love no more! Magic art
Now will freeze your mortal heart!"
With this she dashed the contents of the ladle full
upon Gloria's breast.
Trot saw the body of the Princess become transparent,
so that her beating heart showed plainly. But now the
heart turned from a vivid red to gray, and then to white.
A layer of frost formed about it and tiny icicles clung
to its surface. Then slowly the body of the girl became
visible again and the heart was hidden from view. Gloria
seemed to have fainted, but now she recovered and,
opening her beautiful eyes, stared coldly and without
emotion at the group of witches confronting her.
Blinkie and the others knew by that one cold look that
their charm had been successful. They burst into a chorus
of wild laughter and the three beautiful ones began
dancing again, while Blinkie unbound the Princess and set
her free.
Trot rubbed her eyes to prove that she was wide awake
and seeing clearly, for her astonishment was great when
the three lovely maidens turned into ugly, crooked hags
again, leaning on broomsticks and canes. They jeered at
Gloria, but the Princess regarded them with cold disdain.
Being now free, she walked to a door, opened it and
passed out. And the witches let her go.
Trot and Pon had been so intent upon this scene that in
their eagerness they had pressed quite hard against the
window. Just as Gloria went out of the house the window-
sash broke loose from its fastenings and fell with a
crash into the room. The witches uttered a chorus of
screams and then, seeing that their magical incantation
had been observed, they rushed for the open window with
uplifted broomsticks and canes. But Pon was off like the
wind, and Trot followed at his heels. Fear lent them
strength to run, to leap across ditches, to speed up the
hills and to vault the low fences as a deer would.
The band of witches had dashed through the window in
pursuit; but Blinkie was so old, and the others so
crooked and awkward, that they soon realized they would
be unable to overtake the fugitives. So the three who had
been summoned by the Wicked Witch put their canes or
broomsticks between their legs and flew away through the
air, quickly disappearing against the blue sky. Blinkie,
however, was so enraged at Pon and Trot that she hobbled
on in the direction they had taken, fully determined to
catch them, in time, and to punish them terribly for
spying upon her witchcraft.
When Pon and Trot had run so far that they were
confident they had made good their escape, they sat down
near the edge of a forest to get their breath again, for
both were panting hard from their exertions. Trot was the
first to recover speech, and she said to her companion:
"My! wasn't it terr'ble?"
"The most terrible thing I ever saw," Pon agreed.
"And they froze Gloria's heart; so now she can't love
you any more."
"Well, they froze her heart, to be sure," admitted Pon,
"but I'm in hopes I can melt it with my love."
Where do you s'pose Gloria is?" asked the girl, after a
pause.
"She left the witch's house just before we did. Perhaps
she has gone back to the King's castle," he said.
"I'm pretty sure she started off in a diff'rent
direction," declared Trot. "I looked over my shoulder, as
I ran, to see how close the witches were, and I'm sure I
saw Gloria walking slowly away toward the north."
"Then let us circle around that way," proposed Pon,
"and perhaps we shall meet her."
Trot agreed to this and they left the grove and began
to circle around toward the north, thus drawing nearer
and nearer to old Blinkie's house again. The Wicked Witch
did not suspect this change of direction, so when she
came to the grove she passed through it and continued on.
Pon and Trot had reached a place less than half a mile
from the witch's house when they saw Gloria walking
toward them. The Princess moved with great dignity and
with no show of haste whatever, holding her head high and
looking neither to right nor left.
Pon rushed forward, holding out his arms as if to
embrace her and calling her sweet names. But Gloria gazed
upon him coldly and repelled him with a haughty gesture.
At this the poor gardener's boy sank upon his knees and
hid his face in his arms, weeping bitter tears; but the
Princess was not at all moved by his distress. Passing
him by, she drew her skirts aside, as if unwilling they
- princess [,prin´ses]
n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词) - slender [´slendə] a.细长的；微薄的 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- victim [´viktim] n.牺牲者；受害者 (初中英语单词)
- resist [ri´zist] v.抵抗；对抗；抵制 (初中英语单词)
- doorway [´dɔ:wei] n.门口 (初中英语单词)
- violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈；暴力(行) (初中英语单词)
- unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)
- payment [´peimənt] n.支付；报酬；报偿 (初中英语单词)
- freeze [fri:z] v.结冰；凝固；冷淡 (初中英语单词)
- ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)
- kettle [´ketl] n.水壶 (初中英语单词)
- instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)
- hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- horror [´hɔrə] n.恐怖；战栗 (初中英语单词)
- admiration [,ædmə´reiʃən] n.赞赏，钦佩 (初中英语单词)
- contents [´kɔ:ntents] n.容纳物；要旨 (初中英语单词)
- mutter [´mʌtə] v.&n.咕哝；嘀咕 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- plainly [´pleinli] ad.平坦地；简单地 (初中英语单词)
- coldly [´kəuldli] ad.冷淡地 (初中英语单词)
- laughter [´lɑ:ftə] n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词)
- astonishment [ə´stɔniʃmənt] n.吃惊；惊异 (初中英语单词)
- intent [in´tent] a.专心致志的 n.意图 (初中英语单词)
- chorus [´kɔ:rəs] n.合唱；齐声 v.合唱 (初中英语单词)
- unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)
- punish [´pʌniʃ] vt.(惩)罚；痛击；折磨 (初中英语单词)
- terribly [´terəbli] ad.可怕地 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)
- suspect [´sʌspekt, sə´spekt] v.怀疑；觉得 n.嫌疑犯 (初中英语单词)
- dignity [´digniti] n.尊严，尊贵；高官显贵 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- distress [di´stres] n.痛苦 vt.使苦恼 (初中英语单词)
- hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)
- escort [´eskɔ:t] n.伴随者；警卫(队) (高中英语单词)
- sweetheart [´swi:thɑ:t] n.爱人；情人 (高中英语单词)
- cruelty [´kru:əlti] n.残忍；残酷行为 (高中英语单词)
- caution [´kɔ:ʃən] n.&vt.小心；告诫；警告 (高中英语单词)
- loving [´lʌviŋ] a.爱的，有爱情的 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- tightly [´taitli] ad.紧，紧密地 (高中英语单词)
- dainty [´deinti] a.秀丽的 n.美味 (高中英语单词)
- violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)
- mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
- seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
- crooked [´krukid] a.弯曲的；畸形的 (高中英语单词)
- eagerness [´i:gənis] n.渴望；热忱 (高中英语单词)
- awkward [´ɔ:kwəd] a.笨拙的；为难的 (高中英语单词)
- overtake [,əuvə´teik] vt.追上；赶上 (高中英语单词)
- haughty [´hɔ:ti] a.傲慢的，高傲的 (高中英语单词)
- drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
- unwilling [ʌn´wiliŋ] a.不愿意的；不情愿的 (英语四级单词)
- roadway [´rəudwei] n.车行道；路面 (英语六级单词)
- powerless [´pauələs] a.软弱的；无资源的 (英语六级单词)
- witchcraft [´witʃkrɑ:ft] n.巫术 (英语六级单词)
- beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
- unbound [ʌn´baund] unbind的过去式(分词) (英语六级单词)
- magical [´mædʒikəl] a.有魔术的，神奇的 (英语六级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
- calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)
- weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
京公网安备 11011202003401号
