“So had I,” she said. “We must have gone too fast for him!” And she flew up on to the top of a tree and gazed away across the hills. “He never will let us lend him wings,” she went on, “so he always gets left behind. He says his seven-leagued boots will last him out all right, and it’s no good arguing with him. Now, I expect he’s stuck somewhere, or has stumbled upon the Ogres and had a fight.”
“What!” cried Peggy in great horror. “My Giant[29] fighting? Oh, he’d sure to be beaten. What shall I do?” and she fluttered to and fro in great distress1.
“Why, wish he were here, of course,” said Nurse. “You’ve five wishes left still, haven’t you?”
Peggy wished at once, and the Giant came crashing through the wood, upsetting the sugar trees in all directions.
“Oh, look!” said Nurse. “How careless you are!” (But she didn’t say it a bit in her old cross way.) “Plant those trees again before you do anything else!”
The Giant looked terribly knocked about and woebegone, and his coat was all in tatters, but he did as he was told at once, balancing the trees up again, and stamping in their roots well, like Peggy had seen the gardener do with his plants. Then he sat down on the ground and wiped his hot face with his pocket-handkerchief, and the Fairies all stopped eating sweets to hear what he had to say.
“Well, I like that!” said Nurse. “When it was you who asked us to get to the sugar-wood before dark!”
“I wish I hadn’t now,” said the Giant. “Trying to catch you up I stumbled right into the middle of the Ogres, and I’d no sooner got away from them—after having my coat torn half off my back—than I stepped plump on to the Red Dragon, and you know what that means!”
“Vexed!” said the Giant. “He was in such a hideous5 passion that he made after me as fast as he could waddle—and then he started gliding6. I was up in the air in a moment, I can tell you, striding along for all I was worth, and when he saw he couldn’t catch me from the ground he took to his wings and flew! And when a Dragon uses his wings—well—you know what you’ve got to expect![30] He’s after me now—and the Ogres are, too!” he added resignedly.
“Oh, they’ll never find you here!” said Nurse. “The Ring brought you along faster than any Ogre or Dragon could travel.”
“I thought an Ogre was almost the same as a Giant?” Peggy whispered to Nurse.
“Good gracious, no!” said she. “Don’t let the Giant hear you say that! They’re a set of vagabonds and ruffians who haunt the edge of Fairy-land. The kind with one eye in their foreheads, and the sort who say ‘Fe-Fo-Fum.’ You must have read about them? They can’t harm us Fairies, but any Giant, especially a really nice good one like yours, makes them simply mad!”
Peggy slid off her branch and flew to the Giant, perching on his shoulder and stroking his hair.
“I’ll take care of you,” she said, “if they do come. Don’t you be afraid! He’ll be all right, won’t he?” she added, turning to the Fairies.
But they were not listening.
They had all flown to the tops of their trees and were balancing on the topmost branches, bending forward and listening intently. For there was a soft humming, grumbling7, hissing8, bleating9, gurgling sound coming from somewhere very far away!
“That’s the Ogres,” said Nurse, looking very grave—and the sound got a tiny bit louder.
Then a little cold, tinkling10, rippling11, singing, shivering, clinking sound began as well—so faint that it was just like a funny little whisper, and “That’s the Dragon and he’ll be here first!” cried all the Fairies together, looking graver still, and they began to flutter round Peggy and the Giant, staring at the Ring, which was winking12 and[31] flashing long green darts14 of light over everything and everybody.
“What shall I wish?” asked Peggy, glancing at the Giant, who was obviously too tired out to move another step. (The sounds were every second getting louder and louder.) “I—I should rather like to see them,” she added shyly, “if I can make the dear Giant quite safe.”
“Wish me to be invisible,” said the Giant wearily. “Then I shan’t have to get up. I’ve been practising it, so you won’t have any difficulty.”
“Yes, that’ll do nicely,” said Nurse. The noise had suddenly become so loud that Peggy could hardly hear her. “And you get as much behind the trunk as you can,” she went on to Peggy at the top of her voice, “and I’ll sit on a branch in front of you and hide you. If they do see you, you’ve only got to wish yourself invisible too.”
The noise had now changed to the rattling15 kind that a million luggage trains would make if they were all driven along in a row at once, and Peggy could hear tree after tree crashing to the ground. She had only just time to wish, and see the Giant disappear completely, when a great red creature plunged16 down through the branches above into the open space in front of the Fairies, and fell on his side, quite close to Peggy’s tree, lashing13 his tail and panting like a dog.
Tongues of red and blue fire flashed and darted17 up and down his scaly18 back, and his scarlet19 wings spreading across the grass withered20 it up at once. Peggy did feel glad she hadn’t missed the sight! But she took the precaution to wish that he should not crush the Giant, in case invisible Giants could be crushed.
“Where’s the Giant?” he lisped in a high and very soft[32] voice. “I know he’s somewhere here, and I’ll flatten22 down every one of your sugar trees if you don’t tell me this minute!”
Peggy drew this to show what the Dragon looked like when Nurse said, “You wouldn’t dare!” Nurse is on the left and is just going to eat her sugar bird. Peggy is up above peeping from behind the tree. She wanted to draw the Ogres too, but there wasn’t any room. Mother only helped her with some of the branches, everything else she did by herself, and the Fairies took ages to do. They are sitting on the boughs23 eating the sugar animals and birds. It made the Dragon furious to see they weren’t afraid of him a bit. Those long things on the ground are the trees he knocked down, and the bits of red are the fires he started with his red-hot paws. The Giant is invisible sitting on the grass, just behind the Dragon’s tongue.
There was really something very frightening in his little polite voice!
“You wouldn’t dare!” said Nurse, laughing scornfully. “Run along and look about for him! He must be somewhere, as you rightly remark,” and she turned her back on him and began to nibble24 at a sugar bird.
The Dragon raised his eyebrows25 ironically, but finding Nurse was not looking at him any longer, he began to trot26 and glide27 about the wood, sticking his long red tongue under the fallen trees to lift them up, and hissing to himself more and more when he couldn’t find the Giant anywhere.
(And all the time the sound of the Ogres coming got louder and louder and louder!)
“There’s some magic going on!” said the Dragon at last, angrily, raising himself up on to the very tip of his tail and glaring over the tree-tops. “Ha, ha!” he added, “here come the others at last,” and he stretched out two welcoming paws to the two enormous Ogres who at that moment crashed into the wood.
Peggy nearly tumbled out of the tree in her excitement, for this was worth seeing indeed! One of the Ogres had only one eye in the middle of his forehead, just as she’d thought he would, and he did nothing but say “Fe-Fo-Fum!” over and over again, and stamp and growl28 and snarl29.
The other one had three heads which all looked different ways, and he kept gnashing his three lots of teeth and snorting at the Dragon, who would go on smiling at him.
Then both Ogres advanced upon Nurse, brandishing30 their clubs.
[33]“We went miles out of our way!” they roared. “Where’s he gone to now?”
Nurse looked them over calmly from head to toe.
They looked rather cowed for the moment, and took their caps off sheepishly without saying a word, though the Dragon’s chuckle32 was enough to infuriate anybody. (The Ogre with the three heads had of course to take off three caps.)
“That’s better!” said Nurse. “Now, what do you want?”
“The Giant, of course,” growled33 the Ogre with one eye. “Fe-Fo-Fum! Fe-Fo-Fum!” and he trampled34 up and down restlessly.
It was more than Peggy could stand.
“Oh, do go on with the verse!” she called out imploringly35, leaning forward right out of the tree. “You’ve said that line over and over again, and it’s not nearly all! You must remember how it goes on:
‘Fe-Fo-Fum!
I smell the blood of an Englishman!
Be he alive——’”
but she got no further, for with a scream of triumph the Dragon flung himself forward and seized her tree right up by the roots, and the nearest Ogre at the same moment plucked her out of it by his finger and thumb.
“Quick, Miss Peggy!” screamed Nurse, and Peggy did wish quick, ... and found herself back on the old muddy high road again, being dragged along it by Nurse. “For if you don’t hurry a bit more,” she went on, “you’ll catch your death of cold in those wet socks.”
Peggy burst into tears. Nurse was no longer a bit like[34] a nice Fairy, and it was all such a dreadfully sudden change, and everything felt so very flat. Even the stone in her Ring looked small, and as dull as a pebble36.
“Oh dear, oh dear!” she sobbed37. “And we never got to the games at all! And I’ve still got one wish left that I never used. Now it will be wasted!” and the tears poured fast down her cheeks.
Nurse looked down at her in astonishment38, for Peggy never cried.
“What’s come over you all of a sudden?” she asked.
“I wish you were always nice like just now,” sobbed Peggy, quite forgetting Nurse never remembered anything about the adventures. “We were having such a lovely time! And then you went and made me leave at the most exciting bit.”
“I don’t think it’s very exciting to stand in a muddy ditch!” said Nurse, but her voice had all at once become very soft and gentle. “But never mind, Miss Peggy dear. I’ll tell you the story of the Three Bears now if you like, then we shall soon get home. And perhaps there’ll be a letter from Mother; I shouldn’t wonder!”
Peggy could scarcely believe her ears, for except in Fairy-land Nurse never really talked like that. Her tears were forgotten very quickly, for Nurse went on being like it all the rest of the day, laughing and playing and romping39 with Peggy right up till bedtime, and even a little while after!
Peggy couldn’t make it out.
You see she never noticed that she had used up her sixth wish after all.
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收听单词发音
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1
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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2
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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3
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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4
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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5
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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6
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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7
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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8
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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9
bleating
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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10
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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11
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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12
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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13
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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14
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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15
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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16
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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17
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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18
scaly
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| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
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19
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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20
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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21
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
flatten
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| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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23
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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24
nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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25
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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26
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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27
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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28
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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29
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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30
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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31
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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32
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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33
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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34
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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35
imploringly
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| adv. 恳求地, 哀求地 | |
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36
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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37
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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38
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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39
romping
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| adj.嬉戏喧闹的，乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜 | |
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