19. Dorothy and the Bumble Bees

 

 

Dorothy was greatly distressed¹ and had hard work to keep the tears from her eyes.

 

"Is that all you can do, Wizard?" she asked the little man.

 

"It's all I can think of just now," he replied sadly. "But I intend to keep on thinking as long—as long—well, as long as thinking will do any good."

 

They were all silent for a time, Dorothy and the Wizard sitting thoughtfully on the raft, and Trot² and Cap'n Bill sitting thoughtfully on the toadstools and growing gradually smaller and smaller in size.

 

Suddenly Dorothy said: "Wizard, I've thought of something!"

 

"What have you thought of?" he asked, looking at the little girl with interest.

 

"Can you remember the Magic Word that transforms people?" she asked.

 

"Of course," said he.

 

"Then you can transform Trot and Cap'n Bill into birds or bumblebees, and they can fly away to the other shore. When they're there, you can transform 'em into their reg'lar shapes again!"

 

"Can you do that, Wizard?" asked Cap'n Bill, eagerly.

 

"I think so."

 

"Roots an' all?" inquired Trot.

 

"Why, the roots are now a part of you, and if you were transformed to a bumblebee the whole of you would be transformed, of course, and you'd be free of this awful island."

 

"All right; do it!" cried the sailor-man.

 

So the Wizard said slowly and distinctly:

 

"I want Trot and Cap'n Bill to become bumblebees—Pyrzqxgl!"

 

Fortunately, he pronounced the Magic Word in the right way, and instantly Trot and Cap'n Bill vanished from view, and up from the places where they had been flew two bumblebees.

 

"Hooray!" shouted Dorothy in delight; "they're saved!"

 

"I guess they are," agreed the Wizard, equally delighted.

 

The bees hovered³ over the raft an instant and then flew across the river to where the Lion and the Tiger waited. The Wizard picked up the paddle and paddled the raft across as fast as he could. When it reached the river bank, both Dorothy and the Wizard leaped ashore⁴ and the little man asked excitedly:

 

"Where are the bees?"

 

"The bees?" inquired the Lion, who was half asleep and did not know what had happened on the Magic Isle⁵.

 

"Yes; there were two of them."

 

"Two bees?" said the Hungry Tiger, yawning. "Why, I ate one of them and the Cowardly Lion ate the other."

 

"Goodness gracious!" cried Dorothy horrified⁶.

 

"It was little enough for our lunch," remarked the Tiger, "but the bees were the only things we could find."

 

"How dreadful!" wailed⁷ Dorothy, wringing⁸ her hands in despair. "You've eaten Trot and Cap'n Bill."

 

But just then she heard a buzzing overhead and two bees alighted on her shoulder.

 

"Here we are," said a small voice in her ear. "I'm Trot, Dorothy."

 

"And I'm Cap'n Bill," said the other bee.

 

Dorothy almost fainted, with relief, and the Wizard, who was close by and had heard the tiny voices, gave a laugh and said:

 

"You are not the only two bees in the forest, it seems, but I advise you to keep away from the Lion and the Tiger until you regain⁹ your proper forms."

 

"Do it now, Wizard!" advised Dorothy. "They're so small that you never can tell what might happen to 'em."

 

So the Wizard gave the command and pronounced the Magic Word, and in the instant Trot and Cap'n Bill stood beside them as natural as before they had met their fearful adventure. For they were no longer small in size, because the Wizard had transformed them from bumblebees into the shapes and sizes that nature had formerly¹⁰ given them. The ugly roots on their feet had disappeared with the transformation¹¹.

 

While Dorothy was hugging Trot, and Trot was softly crying because she was so happy, the Wizard shook hands with Cap'n Bill and congratulated him on his escape. The old sailor-man was so pleased that he also shook the Lion's paw and took off his hat and bowed politely to the cage of monkeys.

 

Then Cap'n Bill did a curious thing. He went to a big tree and, taking out his knife, cut away a big, broad piece of thick bark. Then he sat down on the ground and after taking a roll of stout¹² cord from his pocket—which seemed to be full of all sorts of things—he proceeded to bind¹³ the flat piece of bark to the bottom of his good foot, over the leather sole.

 

"What's that for?" inquired the Wizard.

 

"I hate to be stumped," replied the sailor-man; "so I'm goin' back to that island."

 

"And get enchanted¹⁴ again?" exclaimed Trot, with evident disapproval¹⁵.

 

"No; this time I'll dodge¹⁶ the magic of the island. I noticed that my wooden leg didn't get stuck, or take root, an' neither did the glass feet of the Glass Cat. It's only a thing that's made of meat—like man an' beasts—that the magic can hold an' root to the ground. Our shoes are leather, an' leather comes from a beast's hide. Our stockin's are wool, an' wool comes from a sheep's back. So, when we walked on the Magic Isle, our feet took root there an' held us fast. But not my wooden leg. So now I'll put a wooden bottom on my other foot an' the magic can't stop me."

 

"But why do you wish to go back to the island?" asked Dorothy.

 

"Didn't you see the Magic Flower in the gold flower-pot?" returned Cap'n Bill.

 

"Of course I saw it, and it's lovely and wonderful."

 

"Well, Trot an' I set out to get the magic plant for a present to Ozma on her birthday, and I mean to get it an' take it back with us to the Emerald City."

 

"That would be fine," cried Trot eagerly, "if you think you can do it, and it would be safe to try!"

 

"I'm pretty sure it is safe, the way I've fixed¹⁷ my foot," said the sailor, "an' if I SHOULD happen to get caught, I s'pose the Wizard could save me again."

 

"I suppose I could," agreed the Wizard. "Anyhow, if you wish to try it, Cap'n Bill, go ahead and we'll stand by and watch what happens."

 

So the sailor-man got upon the raft again and paddled over to the Magic Isle, landing as close to the golden flower-pot as he could. They watched him walk across the land, put both arms around the flower-pot and lift it easily from its place. Then he carried it to the raft and set it down very gently. The removal did not seem to affect the Magic Flower in any way, for it was growing daffodils when Cap'n Bill picked it up and on the way to the raft it grew tulips and gladioli. During the time the sailor was paddling across the river to where his friends awaited him, seven different varieties of flowers bloomed in succession on the plant.

 

"I guess the Magician who put it on the island never thought that any one would carry it off," said Dorothy.

 

"He figured that only men would want the plant, and any man who went upon the island to get it would be caught by the enchantment," added the Wizard.

 

"After this," remarked Trot, "no one will care to go on the island, so it won't be a trap any more."

 

"There," exclaimed Cap'n Bill, setting down the Magic Plant in triumph upon the river bank, "if Ozma gets a better birthday present than that, I'd like to know what it can be!"

 

"It'll s'prise her, all right," declared Dorothy, standing¹⁸ in awed¹⁹ wonder before the gorgeous blossoms and watching them change from yellow roses to violets.

 

"It'll s'prise ev'rybody in the Em'rald City," Trot asserted in glee, "and it'll be Ozma's present from Cap'n Bill and me."

 

"I think I ought to have a little credit," objected the Glass Cat. "I discovered the thing, and led you to it, and brought the Wizard here to save you when you got caught."

 

"That's true," admitted Trot, "and I'll tell Ozma the whole story, so she'll know how good you've been."

1 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

2 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

3 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

6 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

7 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

8 wringing   

淋湿的，湿透的

参考例句：

• He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。
• He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

11 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

13 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

14 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

15 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

16 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

17 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》