One morning in early spring I left London for the north. The adult who saw me off performed his task on the whole very well. True, he introduced me to the guard, a bearded and sinister8 man; but, on the other hand, he realised the importance of my having a corner seat, and only once or twice p. 10committed the error of treating me as if I were a parcel. For my part, I was at pains to conceal9 my excitement beneath the mannerisms of an experienced traveller. I put the window up and down several times and read aloud all the notices concerning luncheon-baskets and danger-signals. Then my companion shook hands with me in a sensible, manly10 fashion, and the train started. I sat back and examined my fellow-travellers, and found them rather disappointing. There were three ladies, manifestly of the aunt kind, and a stiff, well-behaved little girl who might have stepped out of one of my sister’s story-books. She was reading a book without pictures, and when I turned over the pages of my magazines she displayed no interest in them whatever. I could never read in the train, so, with a tentative effort at good manners, I pushed them towards her, but she shook her head; to show her that I did not think this was a snub I pulled out my packet of sandwiches and had my lunch. After that I played with the blind, which worked with a spring, until one of the aunts told me not to fidget, although she was no p. 11aunt of mine. Then I looked out of the window, a prey11 to voiceless wrath12.
By now we had left London far behind, and when I had finished composing imaginary retorts to the unscrupulous aunt I was quite content to see the wonders of the world flit by. There were hills and valleys decked with romantic woods and set with fascinating and secretive ponds. To my eyes the hills were mountains and the valleys perilous13 hollows, the accustomed lairs14 of tremendous dragons. I saw little thatched houses wherein swart witches awaited the coming of Hansel and Gretel, and fairy children waved to me from cottage gardens and the gates of level-crossings, greetings which I dutifully returned until the aunt made me pull up the window. After a while a change came over the scenery. The placid15 greens and browns of the countryside blossomed to gold and purple and crimson16. I saw a roc float across the arching sky on sluggish17 wings, and my eyes were delighted with visions of deserts and mosques18 and palm-trees. That my fellow-passengers would not raise their heads to behold19 p. 12these marvels did not trouble me; I beat on the window with delight, until, like little Billee in Thackeray’s ballad20, I saw Jerusalem and Madagascar and North and South Amerikee.
Then something surprising happened. I saw the earth leap up and invade the sky and the sky drop down and blot21 out the earth, and I felt as though my wings were broken. Then the sides of the carriage closed in and squeezed out the door like a pip out of an orange, until there was only a three-cornered gap left. The air was full of dust, and I sneezed again and again, but could not find my pocket-handkerchief. Presently a young man came and lifted me out through the hole, and seemed very surprised that I was not hurt. I realised that there had been an accident, for the train was broken into pieces and the permanent way was very untidy. Close at hand I saw the little girl sitting on a bank, and a man kneeling at her feet taking her boots off. I would have liked to speak to her, but I remembered how she had refused the offer of my magazines, and was afraid she would p. 13snub me again. The place was very noisy, for people were calling out, and there was a great sound of steam. I noticed that everybody’s face was very white, especially the guard’s, which made his beard seem as black as soot22. The young man took me by the hand and led me along the uneven23 ground, and there was so much to see that my feet kept stumbling over things, and he had to hold me up. On the way we passed the body of a man lying with a rug over his head. I knew that he was dead; but I had seen drunken men in the streets lie like that, and I could not help looking about for the policeman. Soon we came to a little station, and the platform was crowded with people who would not stand still, but walked round and round making noises. When I climbed up on the platform a woman caught hold of me and cried over me. One of her tears fell on my ear and tickled24 me; but she held me so tightly that I could not put up my hand to rub it. Her breath was hot on my head.
Then I heard a detested25 voice say, “Poor little boy, so tired!” and I shuddered26 back p. 14into consciousness of the world that was least interesting of all the worlds I knew. I need not have opened my eyes to be sure that the aunts were at their fell work again, and that the little girl’s snub nose was tilted27 to a patronising angle. Had I awakened28 a minute later she, too, would have joined in the auntish chorus of compassion29 for my weakness. As it was, I looked at her with drowsy30 pity, finding that she was one of those luckless infants who might as well stay at home for all the fun they get out of travelling. She knew no better than to scream when the train ran into a tunnel; what would she have done if she had seen my roc?
The train ran on and on, and still I throned it in my corner, awake or dreaming, indisputably master of all the things that counted. The three aunts faded into antimacassars; the little girl endured her uninteresting life and became an aunt and an antimacassar in her turn, and still I swung my legs in my corner seat, a boy-errant in the strange places of the world. I do not remember the name of the station at which the bearded guard p. 15ultimately brought me out of my dreams. I do remember standing31 stiffly on the platform and deciding that I had been travelling night and day for three hundred years. When I communicated this fact to the relatives who met me they were strangely unimpressed; but I knew that when I returned home to my brothers they would display a decent interest in the story of my wanderings. After all, you can’t expect grown-up people to understand everything!
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1
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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2
disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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3
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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4
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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5
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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6
indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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7
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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8
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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9
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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10
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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11
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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12
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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13
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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14
lairs
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| n.（野兽的）巢穴，窝( lair的名词复数 )；（人的）藏身处 | |
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15
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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16
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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17
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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18
mosques
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| 清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 ) | |
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19
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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20
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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21
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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22
soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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23
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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24
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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25
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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27
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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28
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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29
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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30
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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31
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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