THE BROWNIES' FANCY BALL.

 IT was the season of the year

When people, dressed in fancy gear,

From every quarter hurried down

And filled the largest halls in town;

And there to flute¹ and fiddle² sweet

Went through their sets with lively feet.

The Brownies were not slow to note

That fun indeed was now afloat;

And ere the season passed away,

Of longest night and shortest day,

They looked about to find a hall

Where they could hold their fancy ball.

Said one: "A room can soon be found

Where all the band can troop around;

But want of costumes, much I fear,

Will bar our pleasure all the year."

Another said: "One moment wait!

My eyes have not been shut of late,—

Don't show a weak and hopeless mind

Because your knowledge is confined,—

For I'm prepared to take the band

To costumes, ready to the hand,

Of every pattern, new or old:

 

The kingly robes, with chains of gold,

The cloak and plume³ of belted knight⁴,

The pilgrim's hat and stockings white,

The dresses for the ladies fair,

The gems⁵ and artificial hair,

 

The soldier-suits in blue and red,

The turban for the Tartar's head,

All can be found where I will lead,

If friends are willing to proceed."

 

Those knowing best the Brownie way

Will know there was no long delay,

Ere to the town he made a break

With all the Brownies in his wake.

It mattered not that roads were long,

That hills were high or winds were strong;

Soon robes were found on peg⁶ and shelf,

 

And each one chose to suit himself.

 

The costumes, though a world too wide,

And long enough a pair to hide,

Were gathered in with skill and care,

That showed the tailor's art was there.

Then out they started for the hall,

In fancy trappings one and all;

Some clad like monks⁷ in sable⁸ gowns;

And some like kings; and more like clowns;

And Highlanders, with naked knees;

And Turks, with turbans like a cheese;

 

While many members in the line

Were dressed like ladies fair and fine,

And swept along the polished floor

A train that reached a yard or more.

 

By happy chance some laid their hand

Upon the outfit⁹ of a band;

The horns and trumpets¹⁰ took the lead,

Supported well by string and reed;

And violins, that would have made

A mansion¹¹ for the rogues¹² that played,

With flute and clarionet combined

In music of the gayest kind.

In dances wild and strange to see

They passed the hours in greatest glee;

Familiar figures all were lost

In flowing robes that round them tossed;

 

And well-known faces hid behind

Queer masks that quite confused the mind.

The queen and clown, a loving pair,

Enjoyed a light fandango there;

While solemn monks of gentle heart,

In jig¹³ and scalp-dance took their part.

 

The grand salute¹⁴, with courteous¹⁵ words,

The bobbing up and down, like birds,

The lively skip, the stately glide¹⁶,

The double turn, and twist aside

Were introduced in proper place

And carried through with ease and grace.

So great the pleasure proved to all,

 

Too long they tarried in the hall,

And morning caught them on the fly,

Ere they could put the garments by!

Then dodging¹⁷ out in great dismay,

By walls and stumps¹⁸ they made their way;

And not until the evening's shade

Were costumes in their places laid.

 

1 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

2 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

3 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

4 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

5 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

6 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

7 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 sable   

n.黑貂；adj.黑色的

参考例句：

• Artists' brushes are sometimes made of sable.画家的画笔有的是用貂毛制的。
• Down the sable flood they glided.他们在黑黝黝的洪水中随波逐流。

9 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

10 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

11 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

12 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

13 jig   

n.快步舞（曲）；v.上下晃动；用夹具辅助加工；蹦蹦跳跳

参考例句：

• I went mad with joy and danced a little jig.我欣喜若狂，跳了几步吉格舞。
• He piped a jig so that we could dance.他用笛子吹奏格舞曲好让我们跳舞。

14 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

15 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

16 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

17 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

18 stumps   

（被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分

参考例句：

• Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
• If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆，如果你不快走，上学又要迟到了。