King Giglio’s advance guard, you may be sure, kept that monarch5 acquainted with the enemy’s dealings, and he was in nowise disconcerted. He was much too polite to alarm the Princess, his lovely guest, with any unnecessary rumors6 of battles impending7; on the contrary, he did everything to amuse and divert her; gave her a most elegant breakfast, dinner, lunch, and got up a ball for her that evening, when he danced with her every single dance.
Poor Bulbo was taken into favor again, and allowed to go quite free now. He had new clothes given him, was called “My good cousin” by his Majesty, and was treated with the greatest distinction by everybody. But it was easy to see he was very melancholy8. The fact is, the sight of Betsinda, who looked perfectly9 lovely in an elegant new dress, set poor Bulbo frantic10 in love with her again. And he never thought about Angelica, now Princess Bulbo, whom he had left at home, and who, as we know, did not care much about him.
The King, dancing the twenty-fifth polka with Rosalba, remarked with wonder the ring she wore; and then Rosalba told him how she had got it from Gruffanuff, who no doubt had picked it up when Angelica flung it away.
“Yes,” says the Fairy Blackstick, who had come to see the young people, and who had very likely certain plans regarding them —“that ring I gave the Queen, Giglio’s mother, who was not, saving your presence, a very wise woman: it is enchanted11, and whoever wears it looks beautiful in the eyes of the world. I made poor Prince Bulbo, when he was christened, the present of a rose which made him look handsome while he had it; but he gave it to Angelica, who instantly looked beautiful again, whilst Bulbo relapsed into his natural plainness.”
“Rosalba needs no ring, I am sure,” says Giglio, with a low bow. “She is beautiful enough, in my eyes, without any enchanted aid.”
“Oh, sir!” said Rosalba.
“Take off the ring and try,” said the King, and resolutely12 drew the ring off her finger. In HIS eyes she looked just as handsome as before!
The King was thinking of throwing the ring away, as it was so dangerous and made all the people so mad about Rosalba; but being a Prince of great humor, and good humor too, he cast eyes upon a poor youth who happened to be looking on very disconsolately13, and said —
“Bulbo, my poor lad! come and try on this ring. The Princess Rosalba makes it a present to you.” The magic properties of this ring were uncommonly14 strong, for no sooner had Bulbo put it on, but lo and behold15, he appeared a personable, agreeable young Prince enough — with a fine complexion16, fair hair, rather stout17, and with bandy legs; but these were encased in such a beautiful pair of yellow morocco boots that nobody remarked them. And Bulbo’s spirits rose up almost immediately after he had looked in the glass, and he talked to their Majesties18 in the most lively, agreeable manner, and danced opposite the Queen with one of the prettiest maids of honor, and after looking at her Majesty, could not help saying, “How very odd! she is very pretty, but not so EXTRAORDINARILY19 handsome.” “Oh no, by no means!” says the Maid of Honor.
“But what care I, dear sir,” says the Queen, who overheard them, “if YOU think I am good-looking enough?”
His Majesty’s glance in reply to this affectionate speech was such that no painter could draw it. And the Fairy Blackstick said, “Bless you, my darling children! Now you are united and happy; and now you see what I said from the first, that a little misfortune has done you both good. YOU, Giglio, had you been bred in prosperity, would scarcely have learned to read or write — you would have been idle and extravagant20, and could not have been a good King as now you will be. You, Rosalba, would have been so flattered, that your little head might have been turned like Angelica’s, who thought herself too good for Giglio.”
“As if anybody could be good enough for HIM,” cried Rosalba.
“Oh, you, you darling!” says Giglio. And so she was; and he was just holding out his arms in order to give her a hug before the whole company, when a messenger came rushing in, and said, “My Lord, the enemy!”
“To arms!” cries Giglio.
“Oh, mercy!” says Rosalba, and fainted of course. He snatched one kiss from her lips, and rushed FORTH TO THE FIELD of battle!
The Fairy had provided King Giglio with a suit of armor, which was not only embroidered21 all over with jewels, and blinding to your eyes to look at, but was water-proof, gun-proof, and sword-proof; so that in the midst of the very hottest battles his Majesty rode about as calmly as if he had been a British Grenadier at Alma. Were I engaged in fighting for my country, I should like such a suit of armor as Prince Giglio wore; but, you know, he was a Prince of a fairy tale, and they always have these wonderful things.
Besides the fairy armor, the Prince had a fairy horse, which would gallop22 at any pace you pleased; and a fairy sword, which would lengthen23 and run through a whole regiment24 of enemies at once. With such a weapon at command, I wonder, for my part, he thought of ordering his army out; but forth they all came, in magnificent new uniforms, Hedzoff and the Prince’s two college friends each commanding a division, and his Majesty prancing25 in person at the head of them all.
Ah! if I had the pen of a Sir Archibald Alison, my dear friends, would I not now entertain you with the account of a most tremendous shindy? Should not fine blows be struck? dreadful wounds be delivered? arrows darken the air? cannon26 balls crash through the battalions27? cavalry28 charge infantry29? infantry pitch into cavalry? bugles30 blow; drums beat; horses neigh; fifes sing; soldiers roar, swear, hurray; officers shout out, “Forward, my men!” “This way, lads!” “Give it ’em, boys!” “Fight for King Giglio, and the cause of right!” “King Padella for ever!” Would I not describe all this, I say, and in the very finest language too? But this humble31 pen does not possess the skill necessary for the description of combats. In a word, the overthrow32 of King Padella’s army was so complete, that if they had been Russians you could not have wished them to be more utterly33 smashed and confounded.
As for that usurping34 monarch, having performed acts of valor35 much more considerable than could be expected of a royal ruffian and usurper36, who had such a bad cause, and who was so cruel to women — as for King Padella, I say, when his army ran away, the King ran away too, kicking his first general, Prince Punchikoff, from his saddle, and galloping37 away on the Prince’s horse, having, indeed, had twenty-five or twenty-six of his own shot under him. Hedzoff coming up, and finding Punchikoff down, as you may imagine, very speedily disposed of HIM. Meanwhile King Padella was scampering38 off as hard as his horse could lay legs to ground. Fast as he scampered39, I promise you somebody else galloped40 faster; and that individual, as no doubt you are aware, was the Royal Giglio, who kept bawling41 out, “Stay, traitor42! Turn, miscreant43, and defend thyself! Stand, tyrant44, coward, ruffian, royal wretch45, till I cut thy ugly head from thy usurping shoulders!” And, with his fairy sword, which elongated46 itself at will, his Majesty kept poking47 and prodding48 Padella in the back, until that wicked monarch roared with anguish49.
When he was fairly brought to bay, Padella turned and dealt Prince Giglio a prodigious50 crack over the sconce with his battle-axe, a most enormous weapon, which had cut down I don’t know how many regiments51 in the course of the afternoon. But, law bless you! though the blow fell right down on his Majesty’s helmet, it made no more impression than if Padella had struck him with a pat of butter: his battle-axe crumpled52 up in Padella’s hand, and the Royal Giglio laughed for very scorn at the impotent efforts of that atrocious usurper.
At the ill success of his blow the Crim Tartar monarch was justly irritated. “If,” says he to Giglio, “you ride a fairy horse, and wear fairy armor, what on earth is the use of my hitting you? I may as well give myself up a prisoner at once. Your Majesty won’t, I suppose, be so mean as to strike a poor fellow who can’t strike again?”
The justice of Padella’s remark struck the magnanimous Giglio. “Do you yield yourself a prisoner, Padella?” says he.
“Of course I do,” says Padella.
“Do you acknowledge Rosalba as your rightful Queen, and give up the crown and all your treasures to your rightful mistress?”
“If I must, I must,” says Padella, who was naturally very sulky.
By this time King Giglio’s aides-de-camp had come up, whom his Majesty ordered to bind53 the prisoner. And they tied his hands behind him, and bound his legs tight under his horse, having set him with his face to the tail; and in this fashion he was led back to King Giglio’s quarters, and thrust into the very dungeon54 where young Bulbo had been confined.
Padella (who was a very different person in the depth of his distress55, to Padella, the proud wearer of the Crim Tartar crown), now most affectionately and earnestly asked to see his son — his dear eldest56 boy — his darling Bulbo; and that good-natured young man never once reproached his haughty57 parent for his unkind conduct the day before, when he would have left Bulbo to be shot without any pity, but came to see his father, and spoke58 to him through the grating of the door, beyond which he was not allowed to go; and brought him some sandwiches from the grand supper which his Majesty was giving above stairs, in honor of the brilliant victory which had just been achieved.
“I cannot stay with you long, sir,” says Bulbo, who was in his best ball dress, as he handed his father in the prog. “I am engaged to dance the next quadrille with her Majesty Queen Rosalba, and I hear the fiddles59 playing at this very moment.”
So Bulbo went back to the ball-room and the wretched Padella ate his solitary60 supper in silence and tears.
All was now joy in King Giglio’s circle. Dancing, feasting, fun, illuminations, and jollifications of all sorts ensued. The people through whose villages they passed were ordered to illuminate61 their cottages at night, and scatter62 flowers on the roads during the day. They were requested — and I promise you they did not like to refuse — to serve the troops liberally with eatables and wine; besides, the army was enriched by the immense quantity of plunder63 which was found in King Padella’s camp, and taken from his soldiers; who (after they had given up everything) were allowed to fraternize with the conquerors64; and the united forces marched back by easy stages towards King Giglio’s capital, his royal banner and that of Queen Rosalba being carried in front of the troops. Hedzoff was made a Duke and a Field Marshal. Smith and Jones were promoted to be Earls; the Crim Tartar Order of the Pumpkin65 and the Paflagonian decoration of the Cucumber were freely distributed by their Majesties to the army. Queen Rosalba wore the Paflagonian Ribbon of the Cucumber across her riding-habit, whilst King Giglio never appeared without the grand Cordon66 of the Pumpkin. How the people cheered them as they rode along side by side! They were pronounced to be the handsomest couple ever seen: that was a matter of course; but they really WERE very handsome, and, had they been otherwise, would have looked so, they were so happy! Their Majesties were never separated during the whole day, but breakfasted, dined, and supped together always, and rode side by side, interchanging elegant compliments, and indulging in the most delightful67 conversation. At night, her Majesty’s ladies of honor (who had all rallied round her the day after King Padella’s defeat) came and conducted her to the apartments prepared for her; whilst King Giglio, surrounded by his gentlemen, withdrew to his own Royal quarters. It was agreed they should be married as soon as they reached the capital, and orders were dispatched to the Archbishop of Blombodinga, to hold himself in readiness to perform the interesting ceremony. Duke Hedzoff carried the message, and gave instructions to have the Royal Castle splendidly refurnished and painted afresh. The Duke seized Glumboso, the Ex-Prime Minister, and made him refund68 that considerable sum of money which the old scoundrel had secreted69 out of the late King’s treasure. He also clapped Valoroso into prison (who, by the way, had been dethroned for some considerable period past), and when the ex-monarch weakly remonstrated70, Hedzoff said, “A soldier, sir, knows but his duty; my orders are to lock you up along with the ex-King Padella, whom I have brought hither a prisoner under guard.” So these two ex-Royal personages were sent for a year to the House of Correction, and thereafter were obliged to become monks71 of the severest Order of Flagellants, in which state, by fasting, by vigils, by flogging (which they administered to one another, humbly72 but resolutely), no doubt they exhibited a repentance73 for their past misdeeds, usurpations, and private and public crimes.
As for Glumboso, that rogue74 was sent to the galleys75, and never had an opportunity to steal any more.
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1
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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6
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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7
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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9
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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11
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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12
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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13
disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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15
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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majesties
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| n.雄伟( majesty的名词复数 )；庄严；陛下；王权 | |
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19
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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20
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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21
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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22
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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23
lengthen
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| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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25
prancing
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 ) | |
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26
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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27
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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28
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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30
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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31
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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32
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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34
usurping
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的现在分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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37
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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38
scampering
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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39
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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41
bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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42
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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43
miscreant
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| n.恶棍 | |
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44
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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45
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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46
elongated
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| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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48
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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49
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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50
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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51
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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52
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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53
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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54
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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55
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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56
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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57
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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58
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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59
fiddles
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| n.小提琴( fiddle的名词复数 )；欺诈；（需要运用手指功夫的）细巧活动；当第二把手v.伪造( fiddle的第三人称单数 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动 | |
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60
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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61
illuminate
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| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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cordon
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| n.警戒线，哨兵线 | |
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67
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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refund
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| v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款 | |
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69
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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70
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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71
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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72
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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73
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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74
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
参考例句： |
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75
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
参考例句： |
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