CHAPTER XV TOY FOODS

 The next morning “the three wise men” had a long chat with Santa Claus, and it was decided¹ they were to come there to live. But Santa Claus explained to Snythergen kindly² that as he had feared, it was against the laws of the Wreath to bring any more grownups there; and that he would be unable to include his parents in the invitation.

Snythergen looked so sorrowful when he heard this that Santa Claus said brightly:

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“Cheer up! Stay for a while, and I will see if it cannot be arranged somehow.”

Snythergen’s interest in the wonderful things he saw soon revived his spirits—though the thought of his mother and father was seldom far away.

When Santa Claus explained to the housekeeper³ that the family would be enlarged by three new members, she looked rather doubtful.

“Are you sure, Santa Claus,” she asked, “that it is wise to add them all at once, before you know more about them?”

“Yes, I am sure,” he said, “and I know they will be handy in the toy factory.”

And so it proved. For a time the newcomers made themselves so useful, even the housekeeper wondered how they had ever managed without them. Sancho Wing devised all sorts of new toys. Squeaky made a model of a Teddy Pig so cunning and lifelike, it bid fair to vie in popularity with the famous Teddy Bear. When you squeezed it it squeaked⁴ so naturally, that you had to look twice to be sure you were not holding a live pig in your hands. Snythergen designed a mechanical tree that walked on its roots and waved its branches in the most comical manner.

For a month Snythergen was happy. He[149] seemed almost to have forgotten his “big trouble.” But as the novelty of his new life wore away, he found his thoughts returning more and more often to his mother and father. One day Santa Claus said to him:

“Snythergen, you are not happy and the reason is not hard to guess. No boy can be happy long away from his parents. The housekeeper and I have been talking it over and we can find no way of getting grownups admitted to the Wreath. So I have decided to give you your choice. Either you may stay here and live with us, or I will reduce you to the size of an ordinary boy and let you go home.”

“Can you make me small like other boys!” cried Snythergen excitedly.

“Yes,” said Santa Claus, “I can do it by feeding you toy foods! I can have my cooks and my bakers⁵ make such tiny cakes and pies, that if you eat them one at a time, you will grow smaller and smaller. It will not be easy and you may have to go hungry at times, but in the end you will be just the right size. You can play with the other boys and no one will laugh at you. Then you may return to your father and mother!”

“And not see you, and Squeaky, and Sancho Wing any more!” faltered⁶ Snythergen.

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“You may come and visit us at night after your mother has tucked you in your bed—just as you used to steal away from the forest to go home.”

Snythergen still hesitated.

“You will be very happy,” said Santa Claus. “You will grow up to be a man, and all your life you will be happier for having visited Santa Claus’ land on the Wreath.”

Snythergen made the choice that Santa Claus knew he would, the one that any boy would have made. There was a great deal of bustle⁷ in all of the kitchens and bakeries on the Wreath, as they made toy foods for Snythergen. There were wonderful loaves of bread shaped like the little tree doctor, which Snythergen wanted to devour⁸ by the handful, but was permitted to eat only one at each meal. There were cookies molded in the form of the woodchoppers’ axes, cakes and pies resembling the nest that had once tickled⁹ his long green boughs¹⁰.

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And squeezed him almost as tightly as the farmer’s wife had done

 

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Little by little Snythergen un-grew until he became the size of a boy. At last the day of his departure arrived and his friends were gathered before Santa Claus’ door to bid him farewell. The doorkeeper and the housekeeper said good-by with feeling. When he came to Blasterjinx the big fellow bent¹¹ over, placed one hand on the ground, palm up for Snythergen to stand on,[153] then lifted him up to say good-by. Snythergen felt a keen pang¹² of regret when the sight of his friend made him realize that his own great size was gone. But this feeling was soon forgotten in an affectionate farewell to the faithful chums, with whom he had shared so many joys and dangers. He took Squeaky into his arms and squeezed him almost as tightly as the farmer’s wife had done. Sancho Wing perched on his shoulder and tried to say good-by in as loud a voice as when first he had spoken to Snythergen, but somehow the words caught in his throat. As Snythergen said his last farewell to all, even the bear’s eyes filled with tears (he had just had his olives and custard pie).

“We shall expect you to visit us very soon,” said Santa Claus as they parted.

How they all waved and cheered as Snythergen rose in his boy’s airplane and began the journey home! Turning his head he watched them until they dwindled¹³ to mere¹⁴ specks¹⁵ and disappeared.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

3 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

4 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

5 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

7 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

8 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

9 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

10 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

13 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

15 specks   

n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Minutes later Brown spotted two specks in the ocean. 几分钟后布朗发现海洋中有两个小点。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• Do you ever seem to see specks in front of your eyes? 你眼睛前面曾似乎看见过小点吗？ 来自辞典例句