CHAPTER III THE TWENTY-FOURTH

I aroze at the ushil our. Washed. Dressed in me best. Miss Claire cum into me room brite and airly. Ses she: “O Delia, heres that auld¹ green skurt of mine you always liked. Your welcame to it.”
“Thanks” ses I, “but I expect to be making sooch grand wages soon, Miss Claire, I’ll be bying finer skurts than that.” Wid that I pushed the skurt aside with contemshus tooch.
She got all red and pretty, as she has a habit whin angry, and she put up her hed hy in the air.
“O well, if that’s the way you feel!” ses she and marched out.
Mr. John cum into me kitchen.
“Delia” ses he “heres a quarter. Now hussle wid me brikfust, will you?”
I took the quarter and flipped² it round.
“Mr. Johnny” ses I, “me munth is oop at 7 A.M. this marning. I’m after waiting for me wages.”
He drew up his brows frowning and wint aff into his mothers room.
A moment later the auld gintleman himsilf cum bloostering out. Its his ushil custum to get up at 10.
“Whats up! Whats up!” ses he.
“Wheres me chop? Wheres me chop?”
Master Will started in to ball and Mr. James kept ringing the table bell. Such a house I never seen. Out came the madame in her ushil nitegown.
“Delia” ses she “didn’t I tell you yesterday I’d decided³ to guv you anuther chance.”
“You did mam, but I’m for going now” ses I.
“Go about your wark” ses she, her proud voice becoming a bit narvous in toan.
“I’m waiting for me wages mam” ses I.
“Delia——” she guv a hasty look about her, thin she spakes in a coaxing⁴ vyce:
“Now Delia, be sinsible. You no we think warlds of you. Now——”
Joost then, Miss Claire looks in, her face still red wid the snub I’m after giving her about the skurt.
“Muther” ses she, “don’t descind to begging Delia to remane. Let her go. We can get on famissly widout her.”
“What!” shourts Mr. James, sticking in his hed at the dure, “No cook! Whats to becum of us. Are we” ses he “to go throo a like nitemare such as we injured befure the advent⁵ of Delia?”
Willie now cum poking⁶ his hed in between his daddy’s legs.
“Pleese Delia” ses he “guv me my fareena. I love you, Delia” ses he.
“God love the lamb!” ses I and flew to the stove, me hart going out of me body to the child.
“Hold!” ses Miss Claire, very loftily, and she cum over to me and tuk the dubble boyler out of me hand. “Put on yure things” ses she “and go. At once” ses she “at once!”
Then she turned to her brothers and parents.
“Go back to the dining-room” ses she “I’ll get brikfust to-day.”
Mr. James guv a dridful groan⁷, and sloonk off to the dining-room, wid his hands on his stummick.
“Mamma” ses Miss Claire, “pay off Delia. Youve been composed upon long enuff” ses she. “Hereafter I’ll manage things.”
And me, the last of 1,700 girls in the same place—for so I larned from me frind the janitor’s wife—walked out wid me $20 in me pocket.

1 auld   

adj.老的，旧的

参考例句：

• Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?怎能忘记旧日朋友，心中能不怀念？
• The party ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Sync.宴会以《友谊地久天长》的歌声而告终。

2 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

3 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。

4 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

5 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

6 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

7 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。