The star glided1 over the tree-tops; it seemed to be sailing along the sky. Steadily2, steadily, but swiftly it held its even course high above the world, and all its troubles, and naughtiness, and folly3, and as Kitty looked at it her feet seemed to move more quickly. Every now and then her guardian4 child stroked her cheek with his little pink wing, and whispered, “Hurry, Kitty, hurry, that Johnnie may get well on Christmas Day.”
Kitty did not peep round to her left shoulder; she had made up her mind not to give so much as a glance toward the creature crouching5 there. 169It was very quiet now. Kitty would scarcely have known it was there.
The star ran along in the sky. Kitty ran along on the path; her dress fluttered; her hair streamed behind her. Haste! haste! She must be home by Christmas morning. She must win that Christmas blessing6, Johnnie’s health.
The road after awhile began to grow very steep. On—on, Kitty climbed bravely, her eyes fixed7 on the star, and her guardian child whispered, “Well done, Kitsy! well done, Kitsy!”
She fancied that as the road grew steeper the naughty sprite seemed to be uneasy and on the watch.
All at once the road led through the loneliest, shadiest spot she had ever seen. Green and softly the light came through a curtain of trees that locked their branches into each other. There were mossy dells through which the ivy9 crept and flowers spread. Red poppies flashed; purple hemlocks10 rose in clusters; faint-colored blossoms made a track in the grass as if the 170Milky Way had fallen from the sky and stretched there. A stream gurgled drowsily11 along, and dreamy white lilies rocked softly upon their leafy pillows. There was a drone and bu-zz-zz of insects through the air, and the swish of a distant waterfall that might be seen through the trees like a white curtain swaying softly.
It was just a spot to lie down in and doze12, stretched upon the moss8, with eyes shut, letting the soft light rest upon the closed eyelids13.
Rest! rest! rest! was murmured in the air by the water, by the trees.
Presently Kitty heard a most extraordinary sound that rose slowly, then fell gradually. It filled the wood—it was all around her. She paused to listen. Was it the blowing of a gigantic pair of hidden bellows14? No, it could not be. She went on cautiously, holding her head a little on one side. It must be the wind soughing through the branches of the trees; but as not a leaf was stirring, or a twig15 moving, Kitty came to the conclusion it was not the wind. What could it be? Kitty listened with 171all her ears, and she began to distinguish that there was quite a chorus of sounds. There were impressive rumbles16 and quick, short pants and deep mutterings as of wild beasts going on together. Just as she made this discovery she gave a jump, for all the noises ended in a snort, as of some fierce and furious animal. In a moment, all around, Kitty perceived the glare of eyes gazing at her. She saw nothing but eyes—no noses or mouths—nothing but eyes. Terribly wide awake, these eyes gazed at her with an aggressive stare. Kitty felt frightened and apologetic. She was about to drop a curtsey, when, just as suddenly as they had appeared, the eyes closed and vanished. The effect was sudden as though a thousand candles had gone out together. Again the panting, puffing17 sound began around her. “Well, it is a curious place,” she said; “I wonder what it is called.”
“Snore Corner—Sn—ore Corner,” said a voice quite close to her. It seemed like some one talking in sleep, so monotonous18 was it. Kitty came to a standstill. She peered about her. 172Then she sprang back, for she nearly struck against something that at first she fancied was an immense bat. It was hanging with its head downward from the branch of a neighboring tree. Looking closer Kitty saw it was not a bat, but a dwarf19 with round, green, blinking eyes, and dressed in a mouse-colored suit. She was not sure whether it was a human creature; but as it was hanging upside down her perplexity was not to be wondered at. It blinked its green eyes and gazed so steadily and vacantly at her that Kitty was not quite sure that it saw her. “Why do you hang down like that?” she timidly asked.
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“One of us must keep awake,” answered the creature in a sleepy voice. “It’s ever so much easier to keep one’s eyes open with one’s head down. Try it.”
“Oh, but I feel no difficulty in keeping my eyes open,” said Kitty briskly, “unless I am very sleepy. But doesn’t it make your head ache?” she added thoughtfully.
“I am in a haze20. You feel no ache in a haze!” said the creature, blinking solemnly. “All in a jumble21 and a haze—nothing like it—try it.”
“Indeed, that is about the very last thing I’d care to be in; in a jumble and a haze,” said Kitty indignantly.
“They would expect nothing of you if you were,” said the hanging-down creature; “for if they asked you a question in history, very likely grammar would come up, and for arithmetic perhaps you’d give them geography. Then they would give up asking you lessons. They would say that the lessons got all in a jumble.”
“I am sure they would give me more lessons,” replied Kitty.
174“Then you would grow more jumbled22, more hazy23—try it,” said the creature sleepily.
Kitty gave a jerk of her head and began to walk slowly on. “It’s no use talking to such a hazy creature,” she remarked in a mortified24 tone. “I wonder who he is?”
“Goblin Sloth,” whispered the guardian child. “Take care, take care!”
Kitty felt a drowsiness25 creep over her. She glanced toward the guardian child; he was standing26 very erect27, looking about, as if on the watch for something to be expected.
“Keep looking at the star! Don’t look round!” he murmured anxiously.
The star was swiftly gliding28 along above the tree-tops, keeping on straight ahead, over a narrow rising path that went through this charming nook hollowing down on either side. The naughty sprite was rocking itself and singing a lullaby in a very go-to-sleep, purring voice, “Hush a bye, baby, mother is by.”
Kitty ran along, struggling against the sleepy feeling that was stealing over her.
“Why in such a hurry?” said a voice.
175It was a pleasant voice. A voice with a sort of oily gurgle in it.
Kitty saw a short, round man lying in the moss, just by the side of the pathway, his feet 176stretched across it. She must jump over them, or she must ask him to remove them.
The man had a mild, melancholy29, fat face, and half-closed peaceful eyes.
“Do not stop!” said the guardian child.
“I am afraid you are one of the fussy30 sort,” said the mild man in an easy-going sing-song voice.
“Would you kindly31 remove your feet? for I am in a very great hurry,” answered Kitty with decision and politeness.
“Hurry!” sighed the mild man, not stirring an inch. “What a mistake!—a dreadful mistake—everybody is in a hurry nowadays—always in a hurry!” His quiet eyes rested more and more dreamily upon Kitty. They seemed to forget what they were looking at, and to slumber32 gently.
“I am not always in a hurry,” Kitty explained. “But to-day I am in a very great hurry.”
“What a mistake!” snoringly sighed the melancholy fat man. “Nothing can be enjoyed in a hurry. Take the highest delight—a yawn!”
177“A yawn!” repeated Kitty, and she burst out laughing. The sense of haste seemed falling away from her.
“A yawn!” insisted the mild man, who had not removed his slumbrous eyes from Kitty’s face. “Only a very few know the pleasure of a yawn. There is yawning and yawning.”
“Ye—es!” yawned the naughty sprite—“dee—li—cious!”
“Do not put off any longer!” whispered the guardian child, pulling Kitty’s hair to wake her up. But Kitty felt as if lead were at her heels.
“Just one moment and I’ll make up for the delay,” she murmured.
The flabby mild man continued speaking in a monotonous sorrowful voice. “Very few know how to yawn. Some yawn only when they cannot help it. They slur33 it and blur34 it, and go to sleep over it. Some are ashamed of yawning and conceal35 their faces; some”—and now a flicker36 of reproachful animation37 brightened the dreamy eyes of the speaker—“yes, some swallow their yawns.”
178“I am doing that now,” said Kitty, who had never felt so drowsy38 in all her life. She heard, as at a distance, her guardian child’s voice sighing, “The star is disappearing!—the star is disappearing!”
“Come, give us a lesson in real yawning,” said the naughty sprite caressingly40.
“Real yawning requires time and deliberation,” said the flabby man in an up-and-down voice. “You must begin at the beginning; you must go on to the end. First you will feel a little shiver, like a caress39 of velvet41 hands on your forehead; your mouth will open, then all your being will seem to grew larger, and wider, and longer. Every sense of hurry and flurry will pass away; still your mouth will open wider and wider, till it comes to a delicious gape42.”
“Ya—aw—aw—awn!” the naughty sprite was yawning. His ears dropped behind his 179wide-swelling neck; his body was stretched: his month was—open—open, showing all his pointed43 white teeth down to his red throat.
“Ya—aw—aw—awn!” the mild, flabby, dreamy man was yawning, slowly, sonorously44, solemnly.
Kitty stretched out her arms and yawned.
“Ya—aw—awn,” echoed all around. Yawns were everywhere—in the stream, in the trees, in the flowers—everything was yawning except the guardian child, who pulled at Kitty’s hair and whispered more and more eagerly in her ear:
“Do not put off any longer. No Christmas blessing if you put off.”
“Put off! put off! put off!” drowsily whispered the air around Kitty.
“I am coming!” said Kitty; but she did not stir. She blinked away the yawn-tears that smarted her eyes. “Oh, dear!” she yawningly sighed, “I should never get to my journey’s end if I remained here long.”
“Dream that you have reached the journey’s end,” said the mild man. “Day-dreams are the 180only reality. Day-dream lessons are lovely. School-room lessons are always wrong, but day-dream lessons are always right. No mistakes anywhere, no blots45 anywhere—fine flourishes to all the letters—all the pride of school-room lessons well done—and no trouble.”
“Lovely day-dream lessons!” drowsily murmured the sprite, curling itself up in a little sleepy heap.
“Lovely day-dream lessons!” murmured everything around.
“Lo—v—vely—day-dr—” began Kitty, her head nodding.
“No Christmas—no blessing—no Johnnie!” moaned the guardian child.
Kitty felt it rise from her shoulder—a sudden fear woke her up. She looked round; he was fluttering away, his eyes fixed on the star that was disappearing behind the brow of the hill. The guardian child had lost all his rosiness46; the little pink wings were pale; the rainbow tunic47 faded; he looked as Johnnie looked when Kitty thought he was dying.
“Day-dream lessons are falsehoods,” shouted 181Kitty. In a moment she was wide awake; she had bounded over the stumpy legs that stretched across the path.
As she did so a faint peal48 of Christmas sounded in her ear. The guardian child fluttered back to her shoulder; it perched there light as a bird, and at every step Kitty took it grew rosier49 and brighter again. The naughty sprite growled50.
The path was very steep, but Kitty ran panting along. “I nearly put off too long,” she said ruefully when once more she stood under the star, and she relaxed her speed to take breath. “That fat man’s talk sounded so pleasant.”
“That is the worst of temptations; they have always so much to say for themselves,” said the guardian child. He spoke51 in a troubled voice, and Kitty noticed that he was standing up very erect and looking ahead anxiously.
The sprite had apparently52 got over his ill-temper, and he was now pleasantly sniffing53 the air.
“I wonder if there is some danger coming!” 182said Kitty. “I am warned, anyhow. I won’t be tempted54 again.”
Presently she perceived a little brook55 babbling56 across her path; but she was running at such speed she could not stop herself, and at one bound she sprang across the stream.
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收听单词发音
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1
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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6
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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7
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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8
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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hemlocks
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| 由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 ) | |
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drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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14
bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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15
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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16
rumbles
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| 隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 ) | |
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17
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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18
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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19
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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20
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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21
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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22
jumbled
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| adj.混乱的；杂乱的 | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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24
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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25
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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26
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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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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28
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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29
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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30
fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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31
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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32
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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33
slur
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| v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音 | |
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34
blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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35
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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36
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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37
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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38
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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39
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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40
caressingly
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| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
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41
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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42
gape
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| v.张口，打呵欠，目瞪口呆地凝视 | |
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43
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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44
sonorously
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| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
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45
blots
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| 污渍( blot的名词复数 )； 墨水渍； 错事； 污点 | |
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46
rosiness
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| n.玫瑰色；淡红色；光明；有希望 | |
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47
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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48
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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49
rosier
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| Rosieresite | |
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50
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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51
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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52
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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53
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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54
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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55
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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56
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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