章节正文
Scarecrow's question.
"Nimmie Amee did that."
"Nimmie Amee!" they all exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," answered the rabbit. "She used to live with an
old Witch, who was suddenly destroyed, and when Nimmie
Amee ran away from the Witch's house, she took with her
just one magic formula --pure sorcery it was -- which
enabled her to build this air wall around her house --
the house yonder. It was quite a clever idea, I think,
for it doesn't mar the beauty of the landscape, solid
air being visible" target="_blank" title="a.看不见的；无形的">invisible, and yet it keeps all strangers
away from the house."
"Does Nimmie Amee live there now?" asked the Tin
Woodman anxiously.
"Yes, indeed," said the rabbit.
"And does she weep and wail from morning till night?"
continued the Emperor.
"No; she seems quite happy," asserted the rabbit.
The Tin Woodman seemed quite disappointed to hear
this report of his old sweetheart, but the Scarecrow
reassured his friend, saying:
"Never mind, your Majesty; however happy Nimmie Amee
is now, I'm sure she will be much happier as Empress of
the Winkies."
"Perhaps," said Captain Fyter, somewhat stiffly, "she
will be still more happy to become the bride of a Tin
Soldier."
"She shall choose between us, as we have agreed," the
Tin Woodman promised; "but how shall we get to the poor
girl?"
Polychrome, although dancing lightly back and forth,
had listened to every word of the conversation. Now she
came forward and sat herself down just in front of the
Blue Rabbit, her many-hued draperies giving her the
appearance of some beautiful flower. The rabbit didn't
back away an inch. Instead, he gazed at the Rainbow's
Daughter admiringly.
"Does your burrow go underneath this Wall of Air?"
asked Polychrome.
"To be sure," answered the Blue Rabbit; "I dug it
that way so I could roam in these broad fields, by
going out one way, or eat the cabbages in Nimmie Amee's
garden by leaving my burrow at the other end. I don't
think Nimmie Amee ought to mind the little I take from
her garden, or the hole I've made under her magic wall.
A rabbit may go and come as he pleases, but no one who
is bigger than I am could get through my burrow."
"Will you allow us to pass through it, if we are able
to? " inquired Polychrome.
"Yes, indeed," answered the Blue Rabbit. "I'm no
especial friend of Nimmie Amee, for once she threw
stones at me, just because I was nibbling some lettuce,
and only yesterday she yelled 'Shoo!' at me, which made
me nervous. You're welcome to use my burrow in any way
you choose."
"But this is all nonsense!" declared Woot the
Wanderer. "We are every one too big to crawl through a
rabbit's burrow."
"We are too big now," agreed the Scarecrow, "but you
must remember that Polychrome is a fairy, and fairies
have many magic powers."
Woot's face brightened as he turned to the lovely
Daughter of the Rainbow.
"Could you make us all as small as that rabbit?" he
asked eagerly.
"I can try," answered Polychrome, with a smile. And
presently she did it -- so easily that Woot was not the
only one astonished. As the now tiny people grouped
themselves before the rabbit's burrow the hole appeared
to them like the entrance to a tunnel, which indeed it
was.
"I'll go first," said wee Polychrome, who had made
herself grow as small as the others, and into the
tunnel she danced without hesitation. A tiny Scarecrow
went next and then the two funny little tin men.
"Walk in; it's your turn," said the Blue Rabbit to
Woot the Wanderer. "I'm coming after, to see how you
get along. This will be a regular surprise party to
Nimmie Amee."
So Woot entered the hole and felt his way along its
smooth sides in the dark until he finally saw the
glimmer of daylight ahead and knew the journey was
almost over. Had he remained his natural size, the
distance could have been covered in a few steps, but to
a thumb-high Woot it was quite a promenade. When he
emerged from the burrow he found himself but a short
distance from the house, in the center of the vegetable
garden, where the leaves of rhubarb waving above his
head seemed like trees. Outside the hole, and waiting
for him, he found all his friends.
"So far, so good!" remarked the Scarecrow cheerfully.
"Yes; so far, but no farther," returned the Tin
Woodman in a plaintive and disturbed tone of voice. "I
am now close to Nimmie Amee, whom I have come ever so
far to seek, but I cannot ask the girl to marry such a
little man as I am now."
"I'm no bigger than a toy soldier!" said Captain
Fyter, sorrowfully. "Unless Polychrome can make us big
again, there is little use in our visiting Nimmie Amee
at all, for I'm sure she wouldn't care for a husband
she might carelessly step on and ruin."
Polychrome laughed merrily.
"If I make you big, you can't get out of here again,"
said she, "and if you remain little Nimmie Amee will
laugh at you. So make your choice."
"I think we'd better go back," said Woot seriously
"No," said the Tin Woodman, stoutly, "I have decided
that it's my duty to make Nimmie Amee happy, in case
she wishes to marry me."
"So have I," announced Captain Fyter. "A good soldier
never shrinks from doing his duty."
"As for that," said the Scarecrow, "tin doesn't
shrink any to speak of, under any circumstances. But
Woot and I intend to stick to our comrades, whatever
they decide to do, so we will ask Polychrome to make us
as big as we were before."
Polychrome agreed to this request and in half a
minute all of them, including herself, had been
enlarged again to their natural sizes. They then
thanked the Blue Rabbit for his kind assistance, and at
once approached the house of Nimme Amee.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nimmie Amee
We may be sure that at this moment our friends were all
anxious to see the end of the adventure that had caused
them so many trials and troubles. Perhaps the Tin
Woodman's heart did not beat any faster, because it was
made of red velvet and stuffed with sawdust, and the
Tin Soldier's heart was made of tin and reposed in his
tin bosom without a hint of emotion. However, there is
little doubt that they both knew that a critical moment
in their lives had arrived, and that Nimmie Amee's
decision was destined to influence the future of one or
the other.
As they assumed their natural sizes and the rhubarb
leaves that had before towered above their heads now
barely covered their feet, they looked around the
garden and found that no person was visible save
themselves. No sound of activity came from the house,
either, but they walked to the front door, which had a
little porch built before it, and there the two tinmen
stood side by side while both knocked upon the door
with their tin knuckles.
As no one seemed eager to answer the summons they
knocked again; and then again. Finally they heard a
stir from within and someone coughed.
"Who's there?" called a girl's voice.
"It's I!" cried the tin twins, together.
"How did you get there?" asked the voice.
They hesitated how to reply, so Woot answered for
them:
"By means of magic."
"Oh," said the unseen girl. "Are you friends, or
foes?"
"Friends!" they all exclaimed.
Then they heard footsteps approach the door, which
slowly opened and revealed a very pretty Munchkin girl
standing in the doorway.
"Nimmie Amee!" cried the tin twins.
"That's my name," replied the girl, looking at them
in cold surprise. "But who can you be?"
"Don't you know me, Nimmie?" said the Tin Woodman.
"I'm your old sweetheart, Nick Chopper!"
"Don't you know me, my dear?" said the Tin Soldier.
"I'm your old sweetheart, Captain Fyter!"
Nimmie Amee smiled at them both. Then she looked
beyond them at the rest of the party and smiled again.
However, she seemed more amused than pleased.
"Come in," she said, leading the way inside. "Even
sweethearts are forgotten after a time, but you and
your friends are welcome."
The room they now entered was cosy and comfortable,
being neatly furnished and well swept and dusted. But
they found someone there besides Nimmie Amee. A man
dressed in the attractive Munchkin costume was lazily
reclining in an easy chair, and he sat up and turned
his eves on the visitors with a cold and indifferent
stare that was almost insolent. He did not even rise
from his seat to greet the strangers, but after glaring
at them he looked away with a scowl, as if they were of
too little importance to interest him.
The tin men returned this man's stare with interest,
but they did not look away from him because neither of
them seemed able to take his eyes off this Munchkin,
who was remarkable in having one tin arm quite like
their own tin arms.
"Seems to me," said Captain Fyter, in a voice that
sounded harsh and indignant, "that you, sir, are a vile
impostor!"
"Gently -- gently!" cautioned the Scarecrow; "don't
be rude to strangers, Captain."
"Rude?" shouted the Tin Soldier, now very much
provoked; "why, he's a scoundrel -- a thief! The
villain is wearing my own head!"
"Yes," added the Tin Woodman, "and he's wearing my
right arm! I can recognize it by the two warts on the
little finger."
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Woot. "Then this must be
the man whom old Ku-Klip patched together and named
Chopfyt."
The man now turned toward them, still scowling.
"Nimmie Amee did that."
"Nimmie Amee!" they all exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," answered the rabbit. "She used to live with an
old Witch, who was suddenly destroyed, and when Nimmie
Amee ran away from the Witch's house, she took with her
just one magic formula --pure sorcery it was -- which
enabled her to build this air wall around her house --
the house yonder. It was quite a clever idea, I think,
for it doesn't mar the beauty of the landscape, solid
air being visible" target="_blank" title="a.看不见的；无形的">invisible, and yet it keeps all strangers
away from the house."
"Does Nimmie Amee live there now?" asked the Tin
Woodman anxiously.
"Yes, indeed," said the rabbit.
"And does she weep and wail from morning till night?"
continued the Emperor.
"No; she seems quite happy," asserted the rabbit.
The Tin Woodman seemed quite disappointed to hear
this report of his old sweetheart, but the Scarecrow
reassured his friend, saying:
"Never mind, your Majesty; however happy Nimmie Amee
is now, I'm sure she will be much happier as Empress of
the Winkies."
"Perhaps," said Captain Fyter, somewhat stiffly, "she
will be still more happy to become the bride of a Tin
Soldier."
"She shall choose between us, as we have agreed," the
Tin Woodman promised; "but how shall we get to the poor
girl?"
Polychrome, although dancing lightly back and forth,
had listened to every word of the conversation. Now she
came forward and sat herself down just in front of the
Blue Rabbit, her many-hued draperies giving her the
appearance of some beautiful flower. The rabbit didn't
back away an inch. Instead, he gazed at the Rainbow's
Daughter admiringly.
"Does your burrow go underneath this Wall of Air?"
asked Polychrome.
"To be sure," answered the Blue Rabbit; "I dug it
that way so I could roam in these broad fields, by
going out one way, or eat the cabbages in Nimmie Amee's
garden by leaving my burrow at the other end. I don't
think Nimmie Amee ought to mind the little I take from
her garden, or the hole I've made under her magic wall.
A rabbit may go and come as he pleases, but no one who
is bigger than I am could get through my burrow."
"Will you allow us to pass through it, if we are able
to? " inquired Polychrome.
"Yes, indeed," answered the Blue Rabbit. "I'm no
especial friend of Nimmie Amee, for once she threw
stones at me, just because I was nibbling some lettuce,
and only yesterday she yelled 'Shoo!' at me, which made
me nervous. You're welcome to use my burrow in any way
you choose."
"But this is all nonsense!" declared Woot the
Wanderer. "We are every one too big to crawl through a
rabbit's burrow."
"We are too big now," agreed the Scarecrow, "but you
must remember that Polychrome is a fairy, and fairies
have many magic powers."
Woot's face brightened as he turned to the lovely
Daughter of the Rainbow.
"Could you make us all as small as that rabbit?" he
asked eagerly.
"I can try," answered Polychrome, with a smile. And
presently she did it -- so easily that Woot was not the
only one astonished. As the now tiny people grouped
themselves before the rabbit's burrow the hole appeared
to them like the entrance to a tunnel, which indeed it
was.
"I'll go first," said wee Polychrome, who had made
herself grow as small as the others, and into the
tunnel she danced without hesitation. A tiny Scarecrow
went next and then the two funny little tin men.
"Walk in; it's your turn," said the Blue Rabbit to
Woot the Wanderer. "I'm coming after, to see how you
get along. This will be a regular surprise party to
Nimmie Amee."
So Woot entered the hole and felt his way along its
smooth sides in the dark until he finally saw the
glimmer of daylight ahead and knew the journey was
almost over. Had he remained his natural size, the
distance could have been covered in a few steps, but to
a thumb-high Woot it was quite a promenade. When he
emerged from the burrow he found himself but a short
distance from the house, in the center of the vegetable
garden, where the leaves of rhubarb waving above his
head seemed like trees. Outside the hole, and waiting
for him, he found all his friends.
"So far, so good!" remarked the Scarecrow cheerfully.
"Yes; so far, but no farther," returned the Tin
Woodman in a plaintive and disturbed tone of voice. "I
am now close to Nimmie Amee, whom I have come ever so
far to seek, but I cannot ask the girl to marry such a
little man as I am now."
"I'm no bigger than a toy soldier!" said Captain
Fyter, sorrowfully. "Unless Polychrome can make us big
again, there is little use in our visiting Nimmie Amee
at all, for I'm sure she wouldn't care for a husband
she might carelessly step on and ruin."
Polychrome laughed merrily.
"If I make you big, you can't get out of here again,"
said she, "and if you remain little Nimmie Amee will
laugh at you. So make your choice."
"I think we'd better go back," said Woot seriously
"No," said the Tin Woodman, stoutly, "I have decided
that it's my duty to make Nimmie Amee happy, in case
she wishes to marry me."
"So have I," announced Captain Fyter. "A good soldier
never shrinks from doing his duty."
"As for that," said the Scarecrow, "tin doesn't
shrink any to speak of, under any circumstances. But
Woot and I intend to stick to our comrades, whatever
they decide to do, so we will ask Polychrome to make us
as big as we were before."
Polychrome agreed to this request and in half a
minute all of them, including herself, had been
enlarged again to their natural sizes. They then
thanked the Blue Rabbit for his kind assistance, and at
once approached the house of Nimme Amee.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nimmie Amee
We may be sure that at this moment our friends were all
anxious to see the end of the adventure that had caused
them so many trials and troubles. Perhaps the Tin
Woodman's heart did not beat any faster, because it was
made of red velvet and stuffed with sawdust, and the
Tin Soldier's heart was made of tin and reposed in his
tin bosom without a hint of emotion. However, there is
little doubt that they both knew that a critical moment
in their lives had arrived, and that Nimmie Amee's
decision was destined to influence the future of one or
the other.
As they assumed their natural sizes and the rhubarb
leaves that had before towered above their heads now
barely covered their feet, they looked around the
garden and found that no person was visible save
themselves. No sound of activity came from the house,
either, but they walked to the front door, which had a
little porch built before it, and there the two tinmen
stood side by side while both knocked upon the door
with their tin knuckles.
As no one seemed eager to answer the summons they
knocked again; and then again. Finally they heard a
stir from within and someone coughed.
"Who's there?" called a girl's voice.
"It's I!" cried the tin twins, together.
"How did you get there?" asked the voice.
They hesitated how to reply, so Woot answered for
them:
"By means of magic."
"Oh," said the unseen girl. "Are you friends, or
foes?"
"Friends!" they all exclaimed.
Then they heard footsteps approach the door, which
slowly opened and revealed a very pretty Munchkin girl
standing in the doorway.
"Nimmie Amee!" cried the tin twins.
"That's my name," replied the girl, looking at them
in cold surprise. "But who can you be?"
"Don't you know me, Nimmie?" said the Tin Woodman.
"I'm your old sweetheart, Nick Chopper!"
"Don't you know me, my dear?" said the Tin Soldier.
"I'm your old sweetheart, Captain Fyter!"
Nimmie Amee smiled at them both. Then she looked
beyond them at the rest of the party and smiled again.
However, she seemed more amused than pleased.
"Come in," she said, leading the way inside. "Even
sweethearts are forgotten after a time, but you and
your friends are welcome."
The room they now entered was cosy and comfortable,
being neatly furnished and well swept and dusted. But
they found someone there besides Nimmie Amee. A man
dressed in the attractive Munchkin costume was lazily
reclining in an easy chair, and he sat up and turned
his eves on the visitors with a cold and indifferent
stare that was almost insolent. He did not even rise
from his seat to greet the strangers, but after glaring
at them he looked away with a scowl, as if they were of
too little importance to interest him.
The tin men returned this man's stare with interest,
but they did not look away from him because neither of
them seemed able to take his eyes off this Munchkin,
who was remarkable in having one tin arm quite like
their own tin arms.
"Seems to me," said Captain Fyter, in a voice that
sounded harsh and indignant, "that you, sir, are a vile
impostor!"
"Gently -- gently!" cautioned the Scarecrow; "don't
be rude to strangers, Captain."
"Rude?" shouted the Tin Soldier, now very much
provoked; "why, he's a scoundrel -- a thief! The
villain is wearing my own head!"
"Yes," added the Tin Woodman, "and he's wearing my
right arm! I can recognize it by the two warts on the
little finger."
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Woot. "Then this must be
the man whom old Ku-Klip patched together and named
Chopfyt."
The man now turned toward them, still scowling.
- rabbit [´ræbit]
n.兔子，野兔 (初中英语单词) - invisible [in´vizəbəl] a.看不见的；无形的 (初中英语单词)
- majesty [´mædʒisti] n.壮丽；崇高；尊严 (初中英语单词)
- lightly [´laitli] ad.轻微地，稍微 (初中英语单词)
- underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
- yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
- nervous [´nə:vəs] a.神经的；神经过敏的 (初中英语单词)
- welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
- tunnel [´tʌnl] n.隧道 v.挖隧道 (初中英语单词)
- daylight [´deilait] n.日光；黎明 (初中英语单词)
- assistance [ə´sistəns] n.协作；援助；帮助 (初中英语单词)
- velvet [´velvit] n.&a.天鹅绒(般的) (初中英语单词)
- emotion [i´məuʃən] n.感情；情绪；激动 (初中英语单词)
- visible [´vizəbəl] a.可见的；明显的 (初中英语单词)
- attractive [ə´træktiv] a.有吸引力；诱人的 (初中英语单词)
- costume [´kɔstju:m] n.服装(试样)；女装 (初中英语单词)
- remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl] a.值得注意的；显著的 (初中英语单词)
- formula [´fɔ:mjulə] n.公式；配方；原则 (高中英语单词)
- landscape [´lændskeip] n.风景；景色；风景画 (高中英语单词)
- sweetheart [´swi:thɑ:t] n.爱人；情人 (高中英语单词)
- stiffly [´stifli] ad.硬；顽固地 (高中英语单词)
- burrow [´bʌrəu] n.洞穴 v.(打)洞；查阅 (高中英语单词)
- hesitation [,hezi´teiʃən] n.犹豫，踌躇 (高中英语单词)
- carelessly [´kɛəlisli] ad.粗心地；疏忽地 (高中英语单词)
- critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
- unseen [,ʌn´si:n] a.未看见的 (高中英语单词)
- empress [´empris] n.女皇；皇后 (英语四级单词)
- promenade [,prɔmə´nɑ:d, ´prɔmənɑ:d] n.散步 v.散步(于) (英语四级单词)
- indignant [in´dignənt] a.义愤的，愤慨的 (英语四级单词)
- woodman [´wudmən] n.伐木工 (英语六级单词)
- wanderer [´wɔndərə] n.流浪者 (英语六级单词)
- plaintive [´pleintiv] a.表示哀怨(悲痛) (英语六级单词)
- insolent [´insələnt] a.傲慢的；无礼的 (英语六级单词)
- scoundrel [´skaundrəl] n.&a.无赖(的) (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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