章节正文
for the fire were heaped all around him. When this had
been done, the King's brass band struck up a lively tune
and old Googly-Goo came forward with a lighted match and
set fire to the pile.
At once the flames shot up and crept closer and closer
toward the Scarecrow. The King and all his people were so
intent upon this terrible spectacle that none of them
noticed how the sky grew suddenly dark. Perhaps they
thought that the loud buzzing sound -- like the noise of
a dozen moving railway trains -- came from the blazing
fagots; that the rush of wind was merely a breeze. But
suddenly down swept a flock of Orks, half a hundred of
them at the least, and the powerful currents of air
caused by their revolving tails sent the bonfire
scattering in every direction, so that not one burning
brand ever touched the Scarecrow.
But that was not the only effect of this sudden
tornado. King Krewl was blown out of his throne and went
tumbling heels over head until he landed with a bump
against the stone wall of his own castle, and before he
could rise a big Ork sat upon him and held him pressed
flat to the ground. Old Googly-Goo shot up into the air
like a rocket and landed on a tree, where he hung by the
middle on a high limb, kicking the air with his feet and
clawing the air with his hands, and howling for mercy
like the coward he was.
The people pressed back until they were jammed close
together, while all the soldiers were knocked over and
sent sprawling to the earth. The excitement was great for
a few minutes, and every frightened inhabitant of
Jinxland looked with awe and amazement at the great Orks
whose descent had served to rescue the Scarecrow and
conquer King Krewl at one and the same time.
The Ork, who was the leader of the band, soon had the
Scarecrow free of his bonds. Then he said: "Well, we were
just in time to save you, which is better than being a
minute too late. You are now the master here, and we are
determined to see your orders obeyed."
With this the Ork picked up Krewl's golden crown, which
had fallen off his head, and placed it upon the head of
the Scarecrow, who in his awkward way then shuffled over
to the throne and sat down in it.
Seeing this, a rousing cheer broke from the crowd of
people, who tossed their hats and waved their
handkerchiefs and hailed the Scarecrow as their King. The
soldiers joined the people in the cheering, for now they
fully realized that their hated master was conquered and
it would be wise to show their good will to the
conqueror. Some of them bound Krewl with ropes and
dragged him forward, dumping his body on the ground
before the Scarecrow's throne. Googly-Goo struggled until
he finally slid off the limb of the tree and came
tumbling to the ground. He then tried to sneak away and
escape, but the soldiers seized and bound him beside
Krewl.
"The tables are turned," said the Scarecrow, swelling
out his chest until the straw within it crackled
pleasantly, for he was highly pleased; "but it was you
and your people who did it, friend Ork, and from this
time you may count me your humble servant."
Chapter Nineteen
The Conquest of the Witch
Now as soon as the conquest of King Krewl had taken
place, one of the Orks had been dispatched to Pon's house
with the joyful news. At once Gloria and Pon and Trot and
Button-Bright hastened toward the castle. They were
somewhat surprised by the sight that met their eyes, for
there was the Scarecrow, crowned King, and all the people
kneeling humbly before him. So they likewise bowed low to
the new ruler and then stood beside the throne. Cap'n
Bill, as the gray grasshopper, was still perched upon
Trot's shoulder, but now he hopped to the shoulder of the
Scarecrow and whispered into the painted ear:
"I thought Gloria was to be Queen of Jinxland."
The Scarecrow shook his head.
"Not yet," he answered. "No Queen with a frozen heart
is fit to rule any country." Then he turned to his new
friend, the Ork, who was strutting about, very proud of
what he had done, and said: "Do you suppose you, or your
followers, could find old Blinkie the Witch?"
"Where is she?" asked the Ork.
"Somewhere in Jinxland, I'm sure."
"Then," said the Ork, "we shall certainly be able to
find her."
"It will give me great pleasure," declared the
Scarecrow. "When you have found her, bring her here to
me. and I will then decide what to do with her."
The Ork called his followers together and spoke a few
words to them in a low tone. A moment after they rose
into the air -- so suddenly that the Scarecrow, who was
very light in weight, was blown quite out of his throne
and into the arms of Pon, who replaced him carefully upon
his seat. There was an eddy of dust and ashes, too, and
the grasshopper only saved himself from being whirled
into the crowd of people by jumping into a tree, from
where a series of hops soon brought him back to Trot's
shoulder again. The Orks were quite out of sight by this
time, so the Scarecrow made a speech to the people and
presented Gloria to them, whom they knew well already
and were fond of. But not all of them knew of her frozen
heart, and when the Scarecrow related the story of the
Wicked Witch's misdeeds, which had been encouraged and
paid for by Krewl and Googly-Goo, the people were very
indignant.
Meantime the fifty Orks had scattered all over Jinx
land, which is not a very big country, and their sharp
eyes were peering into every valley and grove and gully.
Finally one of them spied a pair of heels sticking out
from underneath some bushes, and with a shrillwhistle to
warn his comrades that the witch was found the Ork flew
down and dragged old Blinkie from her hiding-place. Then
two or three of the Orks seized the clothing of the
wicked woman in their strong claws and, lifting her high
in the air, where she struggled and screamed to no avail,
they flew with her straight to the royal castle and set
her down before the throne of the Scarecrow.
"Good!" exclaimed the straw man, nodding his stuffed
head with satisfaction. "Now we can proceed to business.
Mistress Witch, I am obliged to request, gently but
firmly, that you undo all the wrongs you have done by
means of your witchcraft."
"Pah!" cried old Blinkie in a scornful voice. "I defy
you all! By my magic powers I can turn you all into pigs,
rooting in the mud, and I'll do it if you are not
careful."
"I think you are mistaken about that," said the
Scarecrow, and rising from his throne he walked with
wobbling steps to the side of the Wicked Witch. "Before I
left the Land of Oz, Glinda the Royal Sorceress gave me a
box, which I was not to open except in an emergency. But
I feel pretty sure that this occasion is an emergency;
don't you, Trot?" he asked, turning toward the little
girl.
"Why, we've got to do something," replied Trot
seriously. "Things seem in an awful muddle here, jus'
now, and they'll be worse if we don't stop this witch
from doing more harm to people."
"That is my idea, exactly," said the Scarecrow, and
taking a small box from his pocket he opened the cover
and tossed the contents toward Blinkie.
The old woman shrank back, pale and trembling, as a
fine white dust settled all about her. Under its
influence she seemed to the eyes of all observers to
shrivel and grow smaller.
"Oh, dear - oh, dear!" she wailed, wringing her hands
in fear. "Haven't you the antidote, Scarecrow? Didn't the
great Sorceress give you another box?"
"She did," answered the Scarecrow.
"Then give it me -- quick!" pleaded the witch. "Give it
me -- and I'll do anything you ask me to!"
"You will do what I ask first," declared the Scarecrow,
firmly.
The witch was shriveling and growing smaller every
moment.
"Be quick, then!" she cried. "Tell me what I must do
and let me do it, or it will be too late."
"You made Trot's friend, Cap'n Bill, a grasshopper. I
command you to give him back his proper form again," said
the Scarecrow.
"Where is he? Where's the grasshopper? Quick -- quick!"
she screamed.
Cap'n Bill, who had been deeply interested in this
conversation, gave a great leap from Trot's shoulder and
landed on that of the Scarecrow. Blinkie saw him alight
and at once began to make magic passes and to mumble
magic incantations. She was in a desperate hurry, knowing
that she had no time to waste, and the grasshopper was so
suddenly transformed into the old sailor-man, Cap'n Bill,
that he had no opportunity to jump off the Scarecrow's
shoulder; so his great weight bore the stuffed Scarecrow
to the ground. No harm was done, however, and the straw
man got up and brushed the dust from his clothes while
Trot delightedly embraced Cap'n Bill.
"The other box! Quick! Give me the other box," begged
Blinkie, who had now shrunk to half her former size.
"Not yet," said the Scarecrow. "You must first melt
Princess Gloria's frozen heart."
"I can't; it's an awful job to do that! I can't,"
asserted the witch, in an agony of fear -- for still she
was growing smaller.
"You must!" declared the Scarecrow, firmly.
The witch cast a shrewd look at him and saw that he
meant it; so she began dancing around Gloria in a frantic
manner. The Princess looked coldly on, as if not at all
interested in the proceedings, while Blinkie tore a
handful of hair from her own head and ripped a strip of
cloth from the bottom of her gown. Then the witch sank
upon her knees, took a purple powder from her black bag
and sprinkled it over the hair and cloth.
"I hate to do it -- I hate to do it!" she wailed, "for
there is no more of this magic compound in all the world.
But I must sacrifice it to save my own life. A match!
Give me a match, quick!" and panting from lack of breath
she gazed imploringly from one to another.
Cap'n Bill was the only one who had a match, but he
lost no time in handing it to Blinkie, who quickly set
fire to the hair and the cloth and the purple powder. At
once a purple cloud enveloped Gloria, and this gradually
turned to a rosy pink color --brilliant and quite
transparent. Through the rosy cloud they could all see
the beautiful Princess, standing proud and erect. Then
been done, the King's brass band struck up a lively tune
and old Googly-Goo came forward with a lighted match and
set fire to the pile.
At once the flames shot up and crept closer and closer
toward the Scarecrow. The King and all his people were so
intent upon this terrible spectacle that none of them
noticed how the sky grew suddenly dark. Perhaps they
thought that the loud buzzing sound -- like the noise of
a dozen moving railway trains -- came from the blazing
fagots; that the rush of wind was merely a breeze. But
suddenly down swept a flock of Orks, half a hundred of
them at the least, and the powerful currents of air
caused by their revolving tails sent the bonfire
scattering in every direction, so that not one burning
brand ever touched the Scarecrow.
But that was not the only effect of this sudden
tornado. King Krewl was blown out of his throne and went
tumbling heels over head until he landed with a bump
against the stone wall of his own castle, and before he
could rise a big Ork sat upon him and held him pressed
flat to the ground. Old Googly-Goo shot up into the air
like a rocket and landed on a tree, where he hung by the
middle on a high limb, kicking the air with his feet and
clawing the air with his hands, and howling for mercy
like the coward he was.
The people pressed back until they were jammed close
together, while all the soldiers were knocked over and
sent sprawling to the earth. The excitement was great for
a few minutes, and every frightened inhabitant of
Jinxland looked with awe and amazement at the great Orks
whose descent had served to rescue the Scarecrow and
conquer King Krewl at one and the same time.
The Ork, who was the leader of the band, soon had the
Scarecrow free of his bonds. Then he said: "Well, we were
just in time to save you, which is better than being a
minute too late. You are now the master here, and we are
determined to see your orders obeyed."
With this the Ork picked up Krewl's golden crown, which
had fallen off his head, and placed it upon the head of
the Scarecrow, who in his awkward way then shuffled over
to the throne and sat down in it.
Seeing this, a rousing cheer broke from the crowd of
people, who tossed their hats and waved their
handkerchiefs and hailed the Scarecrow as their King. The
soldiers joined the people in the cheering, for now they
fully realized that their hated master was conquered and
it would be wise to show their good will to the
conqueror. Some of them bound Krewl with ropes and
dragged him forward, dumping his body on the ground
before the Scarecrow's throne. Googly-Goo struggled until
he finally slid off the limb of the tree and came
tumbling to the ground. He then tried to sneak away and
escape, but the soldiers seized and bound him beside
Krewl.
"The tables are turned," said the Scarecrow, swelling
out his chest until the straw within it crackled
pleasantly, for he was highly pleased; "but it was you
and your people who did it, friend Ork, and from this
time you may count me your humble servant."
Chapter Nineteen
The Conquest of the Witch
Now as soon as the conquest of King Krewl had taken
place, one of the Orks had been dispatched to Pon's house
with the joyful news. At once Gloria and Pon and Trot and
Button-Bright hastened toward the castle. They were
somewhat surprised by the sight that met their eyes, for
there was the Scarecrow, crowned King, and all the people
kneeling humbly before him. So they likewise bowed low to
the new ruler and then stood beside the throne. Cap'n
Bill, as the gray grasshopper, was still perched upon
Trot's shoulder, but now he hopped to the shoulder of the
Scarecrow and whispered into the painted ear:
"I thought Gloria was to be Queen of Jinxland."
The Scarecrow shook his head.
"Not yet," he answered. "No Queen with a frozen heart
is fit to rule any country." Then he turned to his new
friend, the Ork, who was strutting about, very proud of
what he had done, and said: "Do you suppose you, or your
followers, could find old Blinkie the Witch?"
"Where is she?" asked the Ork.
"Somewhere in Jinxland, I'm sure."
"Then," said the Ork, "we shall certainly be able to
find her."
"It will give me great pleasure," declared the
Scarecrow. "When you have found her, bring her here to
me. and I will then decide what to do with her."
The Ork called his followers together and spoke a few
words to them in a low tone. A moment after they rose
into the air -- so suddenly that the Scarecrow, who was
very light in weight, was blown quite out of his throne
and into the arms of Pon, who replaced him carefully upon
his seat. There was an eddy of dust and ashes, too, and
the grasshopper only saved himself from being whirled
into the crowd of people by jumping into a tree, from
where a series of hops soon brought him back to Trot's
shoulder again. The Orks were quite out of sight by this
time, so the Scarecrow made a speech to the people and
presented Gloria to them, whom they knew well already
and were fond of. But not all of them knew of her frozen
heart, and when the Scarecrow related the story of the
Wicked Witch's misdeeds, which had been encouraged and
paid for by Krewl and Googly-Goo, the people were very
indignant.
Meantime the fifty Orks had scattered all over Jinx
land, which is not a very big country, and their sharp
eyes were peering into every valley and grove and gully.
Finally one of them spied a pair of heels sticking out
from underneath some bushes, and with a shrillwhistle to
warn his comrades that the witch was found the Ork flew
down and dragged old Blinkie from her hiding-place. Then
two or three of the Orks seized the clothing of the
wicked woman in their strong claws and, lifting her high
in the air, where she struggled and screamed to no avail,
they flew with her straight to the royal castle and set
her down before the throne of the Scarecrow.
"Good!" exclaimed the straw man, nodding his stuffed
head with satisfaction. "Now we can proceed to business.
Mistress Witch, I am obliged to request, gently but
firmly, that you undo all the wrongs you have done by
means of your witchcraft."
"Pah!" cried old Blinkie in a scornful voice. "I defy
you all! By my magic powers I can turn you all into pigs,
rooting in the mud, and I'll do it if you are not
careful."
"I think you are mistaken about that," said the
Scarecrow, and rising from his throne he walked with
wobbling steps to the side of the Wicked Witch. "Before I
left the Land of Oz, Glinda the Royal Sorceress gave me a
box, which I was not to open except in an emergency. But
I feel pretty sure that this occasion is an emergency;
don't you, Trot?" he asked, turning toward the little
girl.
"Why, we've got to do something," replied Trot
seriously. "Things seem in an awful muddle here, jus'
now, and they'll be worse if we don't stop this witch
from doing more harm to people."
"That is my idea, exactly," said the Scarecrow, and
taking a small box from his pocket he opened the cover
and tossed the contents toward Blinkie.
The old woman shrank back, pale and trembling, as a
fine white dust settled all about her. Under its
influence she seemed to the eyes of all observers to
shrivel and grow smaller.
"Oh, dear - oh, dear!" she wailed, wringing her hands
in fear. "Haven't you the antidote, Scarecrow? Didn't the
great Sorceress give you another box?"
"She did," answered the Scarecrow.
"Then give it me -- quick!" pleaded the witch. "Give it
me -- and I'll do anything you ask me to!"
"You will do what I ask first," declared the Scarecrow,
firmly.
The witch was shriveling and growing smaller every
moment.
"Be quick, then!" she cried. "Tell me what I must do
and let me do it, or it will be too late."
"You made Trot's friend, Cap'n Bill, a grasshopper. I
command you to give him back his proper form again," said
the Scarecrow.
"Where is he? Where's the grasshopper? Quick -- quick!"
she screamed.
Cap'n Bill, who had been deeply interested in this
conversation, gave a great leap from Trot's shoulder and
landed on that of the Scarecrow. Blinkie saw him alight
and at once began to make magic passes and to mumble
magic incantations. She was in a desperate hurry, knowing
that she had no time to waste, and the grasshopper was so
suddenly transformed into the old sailor-man, Cap'n Bill,
that he had no opportunity to jump off the Scarecrow's
shoulder; so his great weight bore the stuffed Scarecrow
to the ground. No harm was done, however, and the straw
man got up and brushed the dust from his clothes while
Trot delightedly embraced Cap'n Bill.
"The other box! Quick! Give me the other box," begged
Blinkie, who had now shrunk to half her former size.
"Not yet," said the Scarecrow. "You must first melt
Princess Gloria's frozen heart."
"I can't; it's an awful job to do that! I can't,"
asserted the witch, in an agony of fear -- for still she
was growing smaller.
"You must!" declared the Scarecrow, firmly.
The witch cast a shrewd look at him and saw that he
meant it; so she began dancing around Gloria in a frantic
manner. The Princess looked coldly on, as if not at all
interested in the proceedings, while Blinkie tore a
handful of hair from her own head and ripped a strip of
cloth from the bottom of her gown. Then the witch sank
upon her knees, took a purple powder from her black bag
and sprinkled it over the hair and cloth.
"I hate to do it -- I hate to do it!" she wailed, "for
there is no more of this magic compound in all the world.
But I must sacrifice it to save my own life. A match!
Give me a match, quick!" and panting from lack of breath
she gazed imploringly from one to another.
Cap'n Bill was the only one who had a match, but he
lost no time in handing it to Blinkie, who quickly set
fire to the hair and the cloth and the purple powder. At
once a purple cloud enveloped Gloria, and this gradually
turned to a rosy pink color --brilliant and quite
transparent. Through the rosy cloud they could all see
the beautiful Princess, standing proud and erect. Then
- lively [´laivli]
a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词) - spectacle [´spektəkəl] n.展览；表演；景象 (初中英语单词)
- breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)
- coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)
- excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)
- amazement [ə´meizmənt] n.惊愕；惊奇 (初中英语单词)
- rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)
- humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)
- conquest [´kɔŋkwest] n.赢得；获得；占领地 (初中英语单词)
- likewise [´laikwaiz] ad.同样地；也，又 (初中英语单词)
- frozen [´frəuzn] freeze 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中英语单词)
- valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
- underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
- whistle [´wisəl] v.吹哨 n.口哨；汽笛 (初中英语单词)
- satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)
- gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- contents [´kɔ:ntents] n.容纳物；要旨 (初中英语单词)
- desperate [´despərit] a.拼死的；绝望的 (初中英语单词)
- princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
- coldly [´kəuldli] ad.冷淡地 (初中英语单词)
- purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- compound [kəm´paund] n.&a.混合(的) v.合成 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)
- descent [di´sent] n.出身，家世 (高中英语单词)
- awkward [´ɔ:kwəd] a.笨拙的；为难的 (高中英语单词)
- joyful [´dʒɔifəl] a.高兴的，充满快乐的 (高中英语单词)
- grasshopper [´grɑ:s,hɔpə] n.蚱蜢，蝗虫 (高中英语单词)
- related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)
- shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)
- mistaken [mis´teikən] mistake的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
- emergency [i´mə:dʒənsi] n.事变；紧急关头 (高中英语单词)
- shrewd [ʃru:d] a.精明的；狡猾的 (高中英语单词)
- humbly [´hʌmbli] ad.恭顺地，谦卑地 (英语四级单词)
- rocket [´rɔkit] n.火箭；火箭发动机 (英语六级单词)
- scornful [´skɔ:nful] a.轻蔑的，藐视的 (英语六级单词)
- shrank [ʃræŋk] shrink的过去式 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
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