THERE is no country so delightful1 but that it suffers some disadvantages, and so it was with the Valley of Mo. At times the good people were obliged to leave their games and sports to defend themselves against a foe2 or some threatened disaster. But there was one danger they never suspected, which at last came upon them very suddenly.
Away at the eastern end of the Valley was a rough plain, composed entirely3 of loaf sugar covered with boulders4 of rock candy which were piled up in great masses reaching nearly to the foot of the mountains, containing many caves and recesses5.
The people seldom came here, as there was nothing to tempt6 them, the rock candy being very hard and difficult to walk on.
In one of the great hollows formed by the rock candy lived a monstrous7 Gigaboo, completely shut in by the walls of its cavern8. It had been growing and growing for so many years that it had attained9 an enormous size.
For fear you may not know what a Gigaboo is I shall describe this one. Its body was round, like that of a turtle, and on its back was a thick shell. From the center of the body rose a long neck, much like that of a goose, with a most horrible looking head perched on the top of it. This head was round as a ball, and had four mouths on the sides of it and seven eyes set in a circle and projecting several inches from the head. The Gigaboo walked on ten short but thick legs, and in front of its body were two long arms, tipped with claws like those of a lobster10. So sharp and strong were these claws that the creature could pinch a tree in two easily. Its eyes were remarkably11 bright and glittering, one being red in color, another green, and the others yellow, blue, black, purple and crimson12.
It was a dreadful monster to see—only no one had yet seen it, for it had grown up in the confinement13 of its cave.
But one day the Gigaboo became so big and strong that in turning around it broke down the walls of the cavern, and finding itself at liberty, the monster walked out into the lovely Valley of Mo to see how much evil it could do.
The first thing the Gigaboo came to was a large orchard14 of preserved apricots, and after eating a great quantity of the preserves it wilfully15 cut off the trees with its sharp claws and utterly16 ruined them. Why the Gigaboo should have done this I can not tell; but scientists say these creatures are by nature destructive, and love to ruin everything they come across.
A person running in terrorOne of the people, being in the neighborhood, came on the monster and witnessed its terrible deeds; whereupon he ran in great terror to tell the King that the Gigaboo was on them and ready to destroy the entire valley. Although no one had ever before seen a Gigaboo, or even heard of one, the news was so serious that in a short time the King and many of his people came to the place where the monster was, all having hastily armed themselves with swords and spears.
But when they saw the Gigaboo they were afraid, and stood gazing at it in alarm, without knowing what to do or how to attack it.
"Who among us can hope to conquer this great beast?" asked the King, in dismay. "Yet something must be done, or soon we shall not have a tree left standing17 in all the Valley of Mo." The people looked at one another in a frightened way, but no one volunteered his services or offered to advise the monarch18 what to do.
At length Prince Jollikin, who had been watching the monster earnestly, stepped forward and offered to fight the Gigaboo alone.
"In a matter of this kind," said he, "one man is as good as a dozen. So you will all stand back while I see where the beast can best be attacked."
"Is your sword sharp?" asked his father, the King, anxiously.
"It was the sharpest on the tree," replied the Prince. "If I fail to kill the monster, at least it can not kill me, although it may cause me some annoyance19. At any rate, our trees must be saved, so I will do the best I can."
With this manly20 speech he walked straight toward the Gigaboo, which, when it saw him approaching, raised and lowered its long neck and twirled its head around, so that all the seven eyes might get a glimpse of its enemy.
"He walked straight towards the Gigaboo"
Now you must remember, when you read what follows, that no inhabitant of the Valley of Mo can ever be killed by anything. If one is cut to pieces, the pieces still live; and, although this seems strange, you will find, if you ever go to this queer Valley, that it is true. Perhaps it was the knowledge of this fact that made Prince Jollikin so courageous21.
"If I can but manage to cut off that horrible head with my sword," thought he, "the beast will surely die."
So the Prince rushed forward and made a powerful stroke at its neck; but the blow fell short, and cut off, instead, one of the Gigaboo's ten legs. Quick as lightning the monster put out a claw and nipped the Prince's arm which held the sword, cutting it from its body. As the sword fell the Prince caught it in his other hand and struck again; but the blow fell on the beast's shell, and did no harm.
The Gigaboo, now very angry, at once nipped off the Prince's left arm with one of its claws, and his head with the other. The arm fell on the ground and the head rolled down a little hill behind some bonbon22 bushes. The Prince, having lost both arms, and his head as well, now abandoned the fight and turned to run, knowing it would be folly23 to resist the monster further. But the Gigaboo gave chase, and so swiftly did its nine legs carry it that soon it overtook the Prince and nipped off both his legs.
Then, its seven eyes flashing with anger, the Gigaboo turned toward the rest of the people, as if seeking a new enemy; but the brave Men of Mo, seeing the sad plight24 of their Prince and being afraid of the awful nippers on the beast's claws, decided25 to run away; which they did, uttering as they went loud cries of terror.
But had they looked back they might not have gone so fast nor so far; for when the Gigaboo heard their cries it, in turn, became frightened, having been accustomed all its life to silence; so that it rushed back to its cavern of rock candy and hid itself among the boulders.
The Gigaboo hiding inside the boulders
When Prince Jollikin's head stopped rolling, he opened his eyes and looked about him, but could see no one; for the people and the Gigaboo had now gone. So, being unable to move, he decided to lie quiet for a time, and this was not a pleasant thing for an active young man like the Prince to do. To be sure, he could wiggle his ears a bit, and wink26 his eyes; but that was the extent of his powers. After a few minutes, because he had a cheerful disposition27 and wished to keep himself amused, he began to whistle a popular song; and then, becoming interested in the tune28, he whistled it over again with variations.
The Prince's left leg, lying a short distance away, heard his whistle, and, recognizing the variations, at once ran up to the head.
"Well," said the Prince, "here is a part of me, at any rate. I wonder where the rest of me can be."
Just then, hearing the sound of his voice, the right leg ran up to the head. "Where is my body?" asked the Prince. But the legs did not know.
"Pick up my head and place it on top of my legs," continued the Prince; "then, with my eyes and your feet, we can hunt around until we find the rest of me."
Jollikin with just a head and legsObeying this command, the legs took the head and started off; and perhaps you can imagine how funny the Prince's head looked perched on his legs, with neither body nor arms.
After a careful search they found the body lying upon the ground at the foot of a shrimp-salad tree. But nothing more could be done without the arms; so they next searched for those, and, having discovered them, the legs kicked them to where the body lay.
The arms now took the head from the legs and put the legs on the body where they belonged. Then the right arm stuck the left arm in its place, after which the left arm picked up the right arm and placed it also where it belonged. Then all that remained was for the Prince to place his head on his shoulders, and there he was—as good as new!
He picked up his sword, and was feeling himself all over to see if he was put together right, when he chanced to look up and saw the Gigaboo again coming toward him. The beast had recovered from its fright, and, tempted30 by its former success, again ventured forth31.
But Prince Jollikin did not intend to be cut to pieces a second time. He quickly climbed a tree and hid himself among the branches.
Presently the Gigaboo came to the tree and reached its head up to eat a cranberry32 tart29. Quick as a flash the Prince swung his sword downward, and so true was his stroke that he cut off the monster's head with ease.
Then the Gigaboo rolled over on its back and died, for wild and ferocious33 beasts may be killed in Mo as well as in other parts of the world. Having vanquished34 his enemy, Prince Jollikin climbed down from the tree and went to tell the people that the Gigaboo was dead.
When they heard this joyful35 news they gave their Prince three cheers, and loved him better than ever for his bravery. The King was so pleased that he presented his son with a tin badge, set with diamonds, on the back of which was engraved36 the picture of a Gigaboo.
Although Prince Jollikin was glad to be the hero of his nation, and enjoyed the triumph of having been able to conquer his ferocious enemy, he did not escape some inconvenience. For, as the result of his adventure, he found himself very stiff in the joints37 for several days after his fight with the Gigaboo.
The badge given to Jollikin
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1
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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4
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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5
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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6
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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7
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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9
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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10
lobster
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| n.龙虾，龙虾肉 | |
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11
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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12
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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13
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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14
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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15
wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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16
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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19
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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21
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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22
bonbon
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| n.棒棒糖；夹心糖 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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26
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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27
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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28
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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29
tart
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| adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇 | |
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30
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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31
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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32
cranberry
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| n.梅果 | |
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33
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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35
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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36
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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37
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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