When they first reached the reception room, Princess Azure11 cast herself upon a divan8 while her five sisters sat or reclined in easy chairs with their heads thrown back and their blue chins scornfully elevated. Trot, who was much annoyed at the treatment she had received, did not hesitate to seat herself also in a big easy chair.
"Slave!" cried Princess Cerulia, "Fetch me a mirror."
"Slave!" cried Princess Cobalt, "Unfasten my shoes; they're too tight."
"Slave!" cried Princess Azure, "Stand by my side and fan me."
"If you're saying all those things to me," replied Trot, "you may as well save your breath. I'm no slave." And she cuddled down closer in the chair.
"You ARE a slave!" shouted the six all together.
"I'm not!"
"Our father, the Revered16 and Resplendent Royal Ruler of the Blues17, has made you our slave," asserted Indigo with a yawn.
"But he can't," objected the little girl. "I'm some Royal an' Rapturous an' Ridic'lous myself, an' I won't allow any cheap Boolooroo to order me 'round."
"Are you of royal birth?" asked Azure, seeming surprised.
"Royal! Why, I'm an American, Snubnoses, and if there's anything royaler than an American, I'd like to know what it is."
The Princesses seemed uncertain what reply to make to this speech and began whispering together. Finally, Indigo said to Trot, "We do not think it matters what you were in your own country, for having left there you have forfeited18 your rank. By recklessly intruding19 into our domain20, you have become a slave, and being a slave you must obey us or suffer the consequences."
"What cons'quences?" asked the girl.
"Dare to disobey us and you will quickly find out," snapped Indigo, swaying her head from side to side on its long, swan-like neck like the pendulum21 of a clock.
"I don't want any trouble," said Trot gravely. "We came to Sky Island by mistake and wanted to go right away again; but your father wouldn't let us. It isn't our fault we're still here, an' I'm free to say you're a very dis'gree'ble an' horrid22 lot of people with no manners to speak of, or you'd treat us nicely."
"Why, it's the truth," replied Trot.
Indigo made a rush and caught Trot by both shoulders. The Princess was twice the little girl's size, and she shook her victim so violently that Trot's teeth rattled24 together. Then Princess Cobalt came up and slapped one side of the slave's face, and Princess Turquoise ran forward and slapped the other side. Cerulia gave Trot a push one way, and Sapphire pushed her the other way, so the little girl was quite out of breath and very angry when finally her punishment ceased. She had not been much hurt, though, and she was wise enough to understand that these Princesses were all cruel and vindictive25, so that her safest plan was to pretend to obey them.
"Now then," commanded Princess Indigo, "go and feed my little blue dog that crows like a rooster."
"And feed my pretty blue cat that sings like a bird," said Princess Azure.
"And feed my fuzzy blue rabbit that roars like a lion," said Princess Turquoise.
"And feed my lovely blue peacock that mews like a cat," said Princess Cerulia.
"Anything else?" asked Trot, drawing a long breath.
"What do they eat, then?"
"Meat!"
"Milk!"
"Clover!"
"Seeds!"
"Bread!"
"Carrots!"
"All right," said Trot, "where do you keep the menagerie?"
"Our pets are in our boudoirs," said Indigo harshly. "What a little fool you are!"
"Perhaps," said Trot, pausing as she was about to leave the room, "when I grow up I'll be as big a fool as any of you."
Then she ran away to escape another shaking, and in the first boudoir she found the little blue dog curled up on a blue cushion in a corner. Trot patted his head gently, and this surprised the dog, who was accustomed to cuffs29 and kicks. So he licked Trot's hand and wagged his funny little tail and then straightened up and crowed like a rooster. The girl was delighted with the queer doggie, and she found some meat in a cupboard and fed him out of her hand, patting the tiny creature and stroking his soft blue hair. The doggie had never in his life known anyone so kind and gentle, so when Trot went into the next boudoir, the animal followed close at her heels, wagging his tail every minute.
The blue cat was asleep on a window seat, but it woke up when Trot tenderly took it in her lap and fed it milk from a blue-gold dish. It was a pretty cat and instantly knew the little girl was a friend vastly different from its own bad-tempered30 mistress, so it sang beautifully as a bird sings, and both the cat and the dog followed Trot into the third boudoir.
Here was a tiny baby lamb with fleece as blue as a larkspur and as soft as milk.
"Oh, you darling!" cried Trot, hugging the little lamb tight in her arms. At once the lamb began chattering31 just as a monkey chatters, only in the most friendly and grateful way, and Trot fed it a handful of fresh blue clover and smoothed and petted it until the lamb was eager to follow her wherever she might go.
When she came to the fourth boudoir, a handsome blue parrot sat on a blue perch32 and began barking as if it were nearly starved. Then it cried out,
Gimme some grub!"
Trot laughed and gave it some seeds, and while the parrot ate them she stroked gently his soft feathers. The bird seemed much astonished at the unusual caress34 and turned upon the girl first one little eye and then the other as if trying to discover why she was so kind. He had never experienced kind treatment in all his life. So it was no wonder that when the little girl entered the fifth boudoir she was followed by the parrot, the lamb, the cat and the dog, who all stood beside her and watched her feed the peacock, which she found strutting35 around and mewing like a cat for his dinner. Said the parrot,
"I spy a peacock's eye
On every feather. I wonder why?"
The peacock soon came to love Trot as much as the other bird and all the beasts did, and it spread its tail and strutted36 after her into the next boudoir, the sixth one. As she entered this room, Trot gave a start of fear, for a terrible roar like the roar of a lion greeted her. But there was no lion there; a fuzzy, blue rabbit was making all the noise. "For goodness sake keep quiet," said Trot. "Here's a nice blue carrot for you. The color seems all wrong, but it may taste jus' as good as if it was red."
Evidently it did taste good, for the rabbit ate it greedily. When it was not roaring, the creature was so soft and fluffy37 that Trot played with it and fondled it a long time after it had finished eating, and the rabbit played with the cat and the dog and the lamb and did not seem a bit afraid of the parrot or the peacock. But all of a sudden in pounced38 Princess Indigo with a yell of anger.
"So this is how you waste your time, is it?" exclaimed the Princess, and grabbing Trot's arm, she jerked the girl to her feet and began pushing her from the room. All the pets began to follow her, and seeing this, Indigo yelled at them to keep back. As they paid no attention to this command, the princess seized a basin of water and dashed the fluid over the beasts and birds, after which she renewed her attempt to push Trot from the room. The pets rebelled at such treatment, and believing they ought to protect Trot, whom they knew to be their friend, they proceeded to defend her. The little blue dog dashed at Indigo and bit her right ankle, while the blue cat scratched her left leg with its claws and the parrot flew upon her shoulder and pecked her ear. The lamb ran up and butted39 Indigo so that she stumbled forward on her face, when the peacock proceeded to pound her head with his wings. Indigo, screaming with fright, sprang to her feet again, but the rabbit ran between her legs and tripped her up, all the time roaring loudly like a lion, and the dog crowed triumphantly40, as a rooster crows, while the cat warbled noisily and the lamb chattered41 and the parrot barked and the peacock screeched42 "me-ow!"
Altogether, Indigo was, as Trot said, "scared stiff," and she howled for help until her sisters ran in and rescued her, pulling her through the bedchamber into the reception room. When she was alone, Trot sat down on the floor and laughed until the tears came to her eyes, and she hugged all the pets and kissed them every one and thanked them for protecting her.
"That's all right;
We like a fight,"
declared the parrot in reply.
The Princesses were horrified43 to find Indigo so scratched and bitten, and they were likewise amazed at the rebellion of their six pets, which they had never petted, indeed, but kept in their boudoirs so they could abuse them whenever they felt especially wicked or ill-natured. None of the snubnosed ones dared enter the room where the girl was, but they called through a crack in the door for Trot to come out instantly. Trot, pretending not to hear, paid no attention to these demands.
Finding themselves helpless and balked44 of their revenge, the Six Snubnosed Princesses finally recovered from their excitement and settled down to a pleasant sisterly quarrel, as was their customary amusement. Indigo wanted to have Trot patched, and Cerulia wanted her beaten with knotted cords, and Cobalt wanted her locked up in a dark room, and Sapphire wanted her fed on sand, and Turquoise wanted her bound to a windmill, and so between these various desires, they quarreled and argued until dinner time arrived.
Trot was occupying Indigo's room, so that Princess was obliged to dress with Azure, not daring to enter her own chamber3, and the two sisters quarreled so enthusiastically that they almost came to blows before they were ready for dinner.
Before the Six Snubnosed Princesses went to the Royal Banquet Hall, Cobalt stuck her head through a crack of the door and said to Trot, "If you want any dinner, you'll find it in the servants' hall. I advise you to eat, for after our dinner we will decide upon a fitting punishment for you, and then I'm sure you won't have much appetite."
"Thank you," replied the girl. "I'm right hungry, jus' now." She waited until the snubnosed sextette had pranced45 haughtily46 away, and then she came out, followed by all the pets, and found her way to the servants' quarters.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
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： |
|
|
|
|
2
haughty
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
dressing
|
|
| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
splendor
|
|
| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
gems
|
|
| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
profusely
|
|
| ad.abundantly | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
divan
|
|
| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
divans
|
|
| n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
10
embroidered
|
|
| adj．绣花的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
azure
|
|
| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
turquoise
|
|
| n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
bind
|
|
| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
sapphire
|
|
| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
indigo
|
|
| n.靛青，靛蓝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
revered
|
|
| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
blues
|
|
| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
forfeited
|
|
| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
intruding
|
|
| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
domain
|
|
| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
pendulum
|
|
| n.摆，钟摆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
savagely
|
|
| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
rattled
|
|
| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
vindictive
|
|
| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
chatters
|
|
| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的第三人称单数 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
poetic
|
|
| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
scowl
|
|
| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
cuffs
|
|
| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
bad-tempered
|
|
| adj.脾气坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
chattering
|
|
| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
perch
|
|
| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
dub
|
|
| vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
caress
|
|
| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
strutting
|
|
| 加固，支撑物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
strutted
|
|
| 趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
fluffy
|
|
| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
pounced
|
|
| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
butted
|
|
| 对接的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
triumphantly
|
|
| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
chattered
|
|
| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
screeched
|
|
| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
horrified
|
|
| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
balked
|
|
| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
pranced
|
|
| v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
haughtily
|
|
| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |