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chapter 4
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 The wonderful flea1, of burnished2 English steel, remained in Alexander Pavlovitch's casket beneath the fish's bone until he died in Taganrog, he having given it to Priest Feodot to transmit to the Empress later, when she should have grown calm. The Empress [Pg 23]Alexandra Alexyevna looked at the flea's variations, and burst out laughing, but she did not occupy herself with it.
 
"My state is now that of a widow," said she, "and no sort of amusement is seductive to me;" and on her return to Petrograd, she gave this marvel3 and all the other treasures in the inheritance to the new Emperor.
 
The Emperor Nikolai Pavlovitch also paid no heed4 to the flea at first, because there was a disturbance5 at his accession to the throne. But later on, one day, he began to inspect the casket which had come to him from his brother, and from it he drew forth6 the snuff-box, and from the snuff-box the diamond as big as a walnut7, and in it he found the steel flea, which had not been wound up for a long time, and therefore did not work, but lay as though petrified8.
 
The Emperor gazed at it and marvelled9. "What sort of a nonsensical[Pg 24] trifle is this? and why did my brother preserve it so carefully?"
 
The courtiers wanted to fling it away, but the Emperor said: "No, this has some meaning."
 
They summoned a chemist from the apothecary's shop at the Anitchkoff Bridge, who was accustomed to weigh out poisons on the tiniest of scales, and showed it to him; and he immediately took the flea, and placed it on his tongue, and said: "I feel a chill, as from some strong metal." And then he bit it gently with his teeth, and announced: "You may say what you please, this is not a real flea, but a nymfozoria, and 'tis made of metal, and the work is not ours, not Russian."
 
The Emperor ordered that they should instantly find out whence came this thing, and what was the meaning of it.
 
They flew to look in the archives and[Pg 25] lists, but nothing was recorded in the archives. They began to question first one person and then another—no one knew anything about it. But, happily, that Cossack of the Don, Platoff, was still alive, and even still reclining on his couch of vexation and smoking his pipe. When he heard the uproar10 in the palace, he rose immediately from his couch, flung away his pipe, and presented himself before the Emperor in all his Orders.
 
The Emperor says; "What dost thou want from me, valiant11 old man?"
 
And Platoff answers: "I want nothing from Your Majesty12 for myself, since I eat and drink what I please, and am content with all things: but I am come to report to you concerning that nymfozoria which has been found. It was thus and so," says he, "and this is what took place before my own eyes in England—and there is a tiny key with it,[Pg 26] and I have the very melkoscope with which it can be seen, and with the key the nymfozoria can be wound up through its belly13, and it will skip over any space you like, and make variations in all directions."
 
They wound it up, and it began to leap, and Platoff says: "This, Your Majesty, is really a very delicate and interesting bit of work, but it is not meet that we should view it with ecstasy14 of spirit only; we must also submit it to Russian inspection15 in Tula or in Sesterbek,"—Sesthoryetzk was still called Sesterbek at that time,—"to see whether our artisans cannot surpass this, so that the English may not exalt16 themselves above the Russians."
 
"Thou sayest well, valiant old man, and I commission thee to establish this matter. This little box I do not want at present, in all my anxieties, therefore do thou take it with thee; and[Pg 27] stretch thyself not again upon thy couch of vexation, but go thou to the peaceful Don, and hold there with my men of the Don internecine17 converse18 with regard to their life and loyalty19, and as to what pleaseth them. And when thou shalt pass through Tula, show thou this nymfozoria to my Tula artisans, and bid them meditate20 upon it. Say to them from me that my brother marvelled at this thing and praised the people who made the nymfozoria above all others; but I am convinced that my own people are no worse than they. They will not let my words pass unheeded, but will make something."

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1 flea dgSz3     
n.跳蚤
参考例句:
  • I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话,我就要对他不客气了。
  • Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。
2 burnished fd53130f8c1e282780d281f960e0b9ad     
adj.抛光的,光亮的v.擦亮(金属等),磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 );被擦亮,磨光
参考例句:
  • The floor was spotless; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright. 地板上没有污迹;炉栅和火炉用具擦得发亮。 来自辞典例句
  • The woods today are burnished bronze. 今天的树林是一片发亮的青铜色。 来自辞典例句
3 marvel b2xyG     
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事
参考例句:
  • The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
  • The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。
4 heed ldQzi     
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心
参考例句:
  • You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
  • For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。
5 disturbance BsNxk     
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调
参考例句:
  • He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
  • You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。
6 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
7 walnut wpTyQ     
n.胡桃,胡桃木,胡桃色,茶色
参考例句:
  • Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
  • The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸,材质分胡桃木和红木两种。
8 petrified 2e51222789ae4ecee6134eb89ed9998d     
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
  • The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 marvelled 11581b63f48d58076e19f7de58613f45     
v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 uproar LHfyc     
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸
参考例句:
  • She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
  • His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。
11 valiant YKczP     
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人
参考例句:
  • He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
  • Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施,通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。
12 majesty MAExL     
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权
参考例句:
  • The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
  • Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下,您必须赶快做出决定!
13 belly QyKzLi     
n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛
参考例句:
  • The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
  • His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。
14 ecstasy 9kJzY     
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷
参考例句:
  • He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
  • Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具,高兴得说不出话来。
15 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
16 exalt 4iGzV     
v.赞扬,歌颂,晋升,提升
参考例句:
  • She thanked the President to exalt her.她感谢总统提拔她。
  • His work exalts all those virtues that we,as Americans,are taught to hold dear.他的作品颂扬了所有那些身为美国人应该珍视的美德。
17 internecine M5WxM     
adj.两败俱伤的
参考例句:
  • Strife was internecine during the next fortnight.在以后两个星期的冲突中我们两败俱伤。
  • Take the concern that metaphysical one-sided point of view observes and treats both,can cause internecine.采取形而上学的片面观点观察和处理二者的关系,就会造成两败俱伤。
18 converse 7ZwyI     
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反
参考例句:
  • He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
  • I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。
19 loyalty gA9xu     
n.忠诚,忠心
参考例句:
  • She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
  • His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
20 meditate 4jOys     
v.想,考虑,(尤指宗教上的)沉思,冥想
参考例句:
  • It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
  • I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想,并进入了一个更高的意识境界。


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