“My mama wears a big co'set, too,” said Jimmy; “I like fat womans 'nother sight better 'n lean ones. Miss Minerva's 'bout2 the skinniest woman they is; when I get married I'm going to pick me out the fattest wife I can find, so when you set in her lap at night for her to rock you to sleep you'll have a soft place to put your head, while she sings to you.”
“The Major—he's mos' plump enough for two,” said Billy, taking down the stays and trying to hook them around him.
“It sho' is big,” he said; “I berlieve it's big 'nough to go 'round both of us.”
“Le's see if 'tain't,” was the other boy's ready suggestion.
He stood behind Billy and they put the stays around both little bodies, while, with much squeezing and giggling4, Billy hooked them safely up the front. The boys got in front of Sarah Jane's one looking-glass and danced about laughing with glee.
“We're like the twinses what was growed together like mama read me 'bout,” declared the younger child.
Presently they began to feel uncomfortable, especially Jimmy, whose fat, round little middle was tightly compressed.
“Here, unhook this thing, Billy, and le's take her off,” he said. “I'm 'bout to pop open.”
“All right,” agreed his companion.
He tugged5 and pulled, but could get only the top and bottom hooks unclasped; the middle ones refused to budge6.
“I can't get these-here hooks to come loose,” Billy said.
Jimmy put his short, fat arms around him and tried his hand, but with no better success. The stays were such a snug7 fit that the hooks seemed glued.
“We sho' is in a fix,” said Billy gloomily; “look like God all time lettin' us git in trouble.”
“You think of more fool stunts8 to do, William Hill, than any boy they is,” cried the other; “you all time want to get us hooked up in Sarah Jane's corset and you all time can't get nobody loose. What you want to get us hooked up in this thing for?”
“You done it yo'self,” defended the boy in front with rising passion. “Squeeze in, Jimmy; we jes' boun' to git outer this 'fore1 somebody finds it out.”
He backed the other child close to the wall and pressed so hard against him that Jimmy screamed aloud and began to pound him on the head with his chubby9 fists.
Billy would not submit tamely to any such treatment. He reached his hand behind him and gave the smaller boy's cheek a merciless pinch. The fight was on. The two little boys, laced up tightly as they were in a stout10 pair of stays, pinched and scratched, and kicked and jerked. Suddenly Billy, leaning heavily against Jimmy, threw him flat on his back and fell on top of him.
Bennie Dick, sitting on the floor, had up to this time watched the proceedings11 with an interested eye; now, thinking murder was being committed, he opened his big, red mouth and emitted a howl that could be heard half a mile. It immediately brought his mother to the open door. When she saw the children squirming on the floor in her only corset, her indignation knew no bounds.
“You, Jimmy Garner12, an' you, too, William Hill, yuh little imps13 o' Satan, what you doin' in my house? didn't yo' mammy tell you not to tamper14 wid me no mo'? Git up an' come here an' lemme git my co'set off o' yuh.”
Angry as she was she could not keep from laughing at the sight they presented, as, with no gentle hand, she unclasped the hooks and released their imprisoned15 bodies.
“Billy all time—” began Jimmy.
“Billy all time nothin,” said Sarah Jane, “'tain't no use fo' to try to lay dis-here co'set business onto Billy; both o' yuh is ekally in it. An' me a-aimin' fo' to go to three fun'els dis week an' a baptizin' on Sunday. S'pose y' all'd bruck one o' de splints, how'd I look a-presidin' at a fun'el 'thout nare co'set on, an' me shape' like what I is?”
“Who's dead, Sarah Jane?” asked Jimmy, hoping to stem the torrent16 of her wrath17.
“Sis' Mary Ellen's las' husban', Brudder Littlejohn—dat 's a-who,” she replied, somewhat mollified at his interest.
“When did he die?”—Jimmy pursued his advantage.
“He got 'way f'om here 'bout moon-down las' night,” she replied, losing sight of her grievance18 in his flattering interrogations. “You know Sis' Littlejohn, she been married goin' on five times. Dis-here'll make fo' gentlemans she done buriet an' dey ain't nobody can manage a fun'el like she kin3; 'pears like hit jes' come natchel to her. She sho' is done a good part by eb'ry single husban' too, an' she's figgerin' to outdo all the yuthers wid Brudder Littlejohn's co'pse.” Sarah Jane almost forgot her little audience in her intense absorption of her subject. “She say to me dis mornin', she say, 'Marri'ge am a lott'ry, Sis Beddinfiel', but I sho' is drawed some han'some prizes. 'She got 'em all laid out side by side in de buryin' groun' wid er little imige on ebry grabe; an', 'Sis Mary Ellen, seein' as she can't read de writin' on de tombstones, she got a diff'unt little animal asettin' on eb'ry head res' so's she kin tell which husban' am which. Her fus' husban' were all time ahuntin', so she got a little white marble pa'tridge arestin' on he' head, an' hit am a mighty19 consolement to a po' widda 'oman fo' to know dat she can tell de very minute her eyes light on er grabe which husban' hit am. Her secon' man he got er mighty kinky, woolly head an' he mighty meek20, so she got a little white lamb a-settin' on he grabe; an' de nex husban' he didn't have nothin' much fo' to disgueese him f'om de res' 'cep'in' he so slow an' she might nigh rack her brain off, twell she happen to think 'bout him bein' a Hardshell Baptis' an' so powerful slow, so she jest got a little tarrapim an' sot it on him. Hit sho' am a pretty sight jes' to go in dat buryin' groun' an' look at 'em all, side by side; an' now she got Brudder Littlejohn to add to de res'. He de onliest one what's got er patch o' whiskers so she gwine to put a little white cat on he' grabe. Yes, Lord, ef anythink could pearten' a widda 'oman hit would be jes' to know dat yuh could go to de grabeyard any time yuh want to an' look at dat han'some c'llection an' tell 'zactly which am which.”
Sarah Jane stopped for breath and Billy hastened to inquire,
“Who else is dead, Sarah Jane?”
“'Tain't nobody else dead, yit, as I knows on, but my two cousins is turrible low; one's got a hemrage on de lung an' de yuther's got a congestin' on de brain, an' I 'lows dey'll bofe drap off 'twix' now an' sun-up to-morra.” Her eyes rolled around and happened to light on her corset. She at once returned to her grievance.
“An' sposin' I hadn't 'av' came in here when I did? I'd 'a' had to went to my own cousins' fun'el 'thout nare co'set. Y' all gotta go right to y' all's mamas an' Miss Minerva dis very minute. I low dey'll settle yo' hashes. Don't y' all know dat Larroes ketch meddlers?”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
fore
|
|
| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
bout
|
|
| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
kin
|
|
| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
giggling
|
|
| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
tugged
|
|
| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
budge
|
|
| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
snug
|
|
| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
stunts
|
|
| n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
chubby
|
|
| adj.丰满的，圆胖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
proceedings
|
|
| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
garner
|
|
| v.收藏；取得 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
imps
|
|
| n.（故事中的）小恶魔( imp的名词复数 )；小魔鬼；小淘气；顽童 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
tamper
|
|
| v.干预，玩弄，贿赂，窜改，削弱，损害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
imprisoned
|
|
| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
grievance
|
|
| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
meek
|
|
| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |