“Certainly not!” said Peggy. “I want to hear what he’s going to say. He can’t do anything to us, you know. Really, I think this is the best adventure of all!”
“Hi!” called the Mayor. “Go on this moment, or we’ll make you!”
“Nonsense!” shouted the Mayor, “you can get off[40] perfectly3 well if you choose. The spire wasn’t built for the likes of you to go trapesing about on. Get off it!”
This is a painting of the Fourth Adventure. Peggy is just telling the Mayor that they’ve stuck. She’s rather afraid the Giant will fall out in a minute, that’s why she’s holding on to his back. You can see by her face she isn’t a bit frightened of the Mayor. This was Mother’s favourite picture. The Mayor was very difficult to draw, but he looked just like that Peggy said. None of the crowd had on red jackets really, but Peggy thought they looked pretty in a picture. You see the Ring, don’t you? Peggy quite forgot about the Giant’s red stockings till the picture was finished!
“We cant4, I tell you!” cried Peggy, losing all patience. “Come up and look for yourself! Come on, climb on to the Giant’s boot!” For by this time the Giant had given up trying to hide himself, and was sitting on the car with his legs dangling5 into space, and looking the picture of misery6.
“Stretch your foot down a little more,” said Peggy to him. “There,” as it dangled7 just above the Mayor’s head, “now jump this instant!”
“I won’t!” said the Mayor, ducking his head as the great boot hovered8 above it. “I never heard of such proceedings9 in my life!” He leant over the edge of the roof. “They won’t go on!” he shouted to the crowd below.
“Make ’em!” came in a perfect roar from the Square.
“Come along,” said Peggy coaxingly10. (It would be something, she felt, to tell Nurse when she got back that she had had a real live Mayor in her car. Besides, it would be fun for him. But she wasn’t going to use up a wish on it. Peggy had grown very wary11 by this time.)
The Mayor stood looking very undecided, but when he saw the crowd beginning to shake their fists at him as well, he gave a jump, caught the Giant’s boot, and raised himself into a sitting position on the toe of it.
“Will you promise to do your best to get off if I come up and have a look?” he asked in a shaking voice.
“Of course we will,” said Peggy soothingly12.—“Don’t look such a big frightened baby!” she added reprovingly to the Giant.—“Draw your boot up gently. There, that’s right”—as the Mayor was sidled carefully off into the front seat; “now I wish we could go on!”
The car shook itself all over, then leapt upwards13, and once more set off at breakneck speed, but this time straight[41] upwards into the sky! Something at the same moment fell out with a heavy flop14. Peggy turned her head hastily, just in time to see the Giant falling through the air behind them. But the car was rising upwards at such a pace that the next moment he and the whole town disappeared from view!
“Stop!” said a frightened voice at her side, and she turned and saw the Mayor, whom for the moment she had quite forgotten. His face was no longer purple, but as white as a sheet.
“I can’t!” said Peggy. “I’ve only one wish left, and that’s got to take me home. You asked me to get off the spire, you know, and I have! The Giant’s wearing his seven-leagued boots, so he’ll soon catch us up when he gets balanced again.” She skirted the edge of a pink sunset cloud as she spoke15, and drove right up through a lemon-coloured one. “Oh, how lovely!” she went on delightedly. “I got a great chunk16 of it in my mouth, and it tasted just like pineapple. Did you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said the Mayor. “We’ve just been through an awful fog, and I insist on you stopping the car at once. If you can’t—and I see you don’t understand the first rudiments17 of driving—I can!”
He leant across her and seized the steering-wheel, but it at once came off in his hand, rolled down his arm, and jumped out of the car.
“There!” said Peggy triumphantly18, to the now speechless Mayor. “See what comes of meddling19!” (She felt quite like Nurse when she spoke like that.) “Never mind, my car goes just as well without that bit!” and she leant back in her seat and crossed her arms grandly. “The only thing I’m worrying about,” she went on, “is, if the Giant will ever find us! You don’t see him coming, do you? Look down through the hole in the car.”
[42]“Unless you stop, I shall jump out,” said the Mayor in a desperate voice. And he stood up and really looked as though he meant to!
“Oh, do sit down,” said Peggy. “You spoil everything. Just look, we’re going right on to this rainbow, I do believe! Yes, we’re on the purple part. Isn’t it a lovely smooth road? There, now, we’re off it and on the pink bit! Oh, why don’t you sit still and love it all as I do?”
“Because I’m going to get out,” said the Mayor, stepping over the door and lowering himself slowly till only his hand holding the step, and his very reproachful face showed themselves. “Now then,” he added, “you’ve only got till I count five; I shall let go then—perhaps”—he added in a whisper, being a truthful20 Mayor, but very softly so that she shouldn’t hear.
“Oh dear, it is mean of you to make me use up my last wish so soon!” said Peggy in a very vexed21 voice. “And I managed this drive especially for you, to make up for our having spoilt the Post Office and things.—Oh, very well,” she added crossly, as the Mayor reached four, and let go one hand, “I wish you were home and I was too, because you simply spoil everything when you won’t play properly!”...
“If I do, it’s not for you to say so, Miss Peggy,” was the reply, and Peggy found herself back in the garden again facing a rather red-faced and angry Nurse. “Just because I stop to speak to John for one moment, is no reason for you to think yourself neglected! I’m sure I never heard you call you were ready, so how was I to know? Then you come bouncing down on me like that!”
“Why, Nannie, did I bounce?” asked Peggy, very much interested. She had wondered before what her return looked like when the wishes were over.
[43]“Don’t repeat my words,” said Nurse crossly. “I was meaning the way you spoke, of course. How could you bounce down from behind the laurels22? Now, come along into tea at once.”
“O Nannie, I’ve had such fun!” said Peggy, dancing along the path. “I went up, and up, and up——”
“There!” exclaimed Nurse. “One moment it’s grumble23, grumble, the next all the other way! I won’t have you climbing trees either in hide-and-seek. You can’t expect to be found if you act like that. Now—not another word——”
“I’m afraid the Giant’s dreadfully lost this time!” thought Peggy, as she washed her hands for tea. “I don’t fink I was very kind to him! I do wonder if the fat lady minded the big hole in the car, and the wheel being lost. Oh, but I suppose that all comes right again, just as she forgets that the Giant sat her down in the drive! It would be lovely to tell Nannie that I’d driven a Mayor up a rainbow in a real motor car! But it’s no good trying to, she doesn’t understand the sensiblest things.”
And she ran into the day nursery to see which jam cook had sent up for tea.
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1
wriggle
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| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
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2
spire
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| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
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3
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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4
cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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5
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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6
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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7
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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8
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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9
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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10
coaxingly
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| adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗 | |
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11
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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12
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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13
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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14
flop
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| n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下 | |
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15
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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chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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17
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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18
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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19
meddling
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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20
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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21
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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22
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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23
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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