CHAPTER 18

 Polychrome now dismissed all but Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, Rosalie the Witch and the new Queen of the Pinkies. Tourmaline hastened away to her father's house to put on a beautiful gown all covered with flounces and ribbons, for she was glad to be relieved of the duties of the Queen and was eager to be gaily¹ dressed and one of the people again.

 

"I s'pose," said Trot², "I'll have to put on one of Tourmaline's common pink dresses."

 

"Yes," replied Polychrome, "you must follow the customs of the country, absurd though they may be. In the little sleeping chamber³ adjoining this room you will find plenty of gowns poor enough for the Queen to wear. Shall I assist you to put one on?"

 

"No," answered Trot, "I guess I can manage it alone."

 

When she withdrew to the little chamber, the Rainbow's Daughter began conversing⁴ with the Witch, whom she urged to stay with the new queen and protect her as long as she ruled the Pink Country. Rosalie, who longed to please the powerful Polychrome, whose fairy powers as Daughters of the Rainbow were far superior to her own witchcraft⁵, promised faithfully to devote herself to Queen Mayre as long as she might need her services.

 

By the time Trot was dressed in pink and had returned to the room, there was an excited and clamorous⁶ crowd assembled in the court, and Polychrome took the little girl's hand and led her out to greet her new subjects. The Pinkies were much impressed by the fact that the Rainbow's Daughter was their new Queen's friend, and that Rosalie the Witch stood on Trot's left hand and treated her with humble⁷ deference⁸. So they shouted their approval very enthusiastically and pressed forward one by one to kneel before their new Ruler and kiss her hand.

 

The parrot was now on Cap'n Bill's shoulder, for Trot thought a Queen ought not to carry a bird around, but the parrot did not mind the change and was as much excited as anyone in the crowd. "Oh, what bliss⁹ to kiss a miss!" he shouted as Trot held out her hand to be kissed by her subjects, and then he would scream,

 

"We're in the sky and flyin' high;

We're goin' to live instead of die,

It's time to laugh instead of cry;

Oh, my! Ki-yi! Ain't this a pie?"

 

Cap'n Bill let the bird jabber¹⁰ as he pleased, for the occasion was a joyful¹¹ one, and it was no wonder the parrot was excited. And while the throng¹² shouted greetings to the Queen, suddenly the great Rainbow appeared in the sky and dropped its end right on the Court of the Statues. Polychrome stooped to kiss Trot and Button-Bright, gave Cap'n Bill a charming smile and Rosalie the Witch a friendly nod of farewell. Then she sprang lightly upon the arch of the Rainbow and was greeted by the bevy¹³ of dancing, laughing maidens¹⁴ who were her sisters. "I shall keep watch over you, Button-Bright," she called to the boy. "Don't despair, whatever happens, for behind the clouds is always the Rainbow!"

 

"Thank you, Polly," he answered, and Trot also thanked the lovely Polychrome, and so did Cap'n Bill. The parrot made quite a long speech, flying high above the arch where Polychrome stood and then back to Cap'n Bill's shoulder. Said he,

 

"We Pollys know our business, and we're all right!

We'll take good care of Cap'n Bill and Trot and Button-Bright.

You watch 'em from the Rainbow, and I'll watch day and night,

And we'll call a sky policeman if trouble comes in sight!"

 

Suddenly, the bow lifted and carried the dancing maidens into the sky. The colors faded, the arch slowly dissolved and the heavens were clear. Trot turned to the Pinkies. "Let's have a holiday today," she said. "Have a good time and enjoy yourselves. I don't jus' know how I'm goin' to rule this country yet, but I'll think it over an' let you know." Then she went into the palace hut with Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright and Rosalie the Witch, and the people went away to enjoy themselves and talk over the surprising events of the day.

 

"Dear me," said Trot, throwing herself into a chair, "wasn't that a sudden change of fortune, though? That Rainbow's Daughter is a pretty good fairy. I'm glad you know her, Button-Bright."

 

"I was sure something would happen to save you," remarked Rosalie, "and that was why I voted to have you thrown off the edge. I wanted to discover who would come to your assistance, and I found out. Now I have made a friend of Polychrome, and that will render me more powerful as a Witch, for I can call upon her for assistance whenever I need her."

 

"But see here," said Cap'n Bill. "You can't afford to spend your time a-rulin' this tucked-up country, Trot."

 

"Why not?" asked Trot, who was pleased with her new and important position.

 

"It'd get pretty tiresome¹⁵, mate, after you'd had a few quarrels with the Pinkies, for they expec' their Queen to be as poor as poverty an' never have any fun in life."

 

"You wouldn't like it for long, I'm sure," added Button-Bright seriously.

 

Trot seemed thoughtful. "No, I don't know's I would," she admitted. "But as long as we stay here, it seems a pretty good thing to be Queen. I guess I'm a little proud of it. I wish mother could see me rulin' the Pinkies, an' Papa Griffith, too. Wouldn't they open their eyes?"

 

"They would, mate, but they can't see you," said Cap'n Bill. "So the question is, what's to be done?"

 

"We ought to get home," observed the boy. "Our folks will worry about us, and Earth's the best place to live, after all. If we could only get hold of my Magic Umbrella, we'd be all right."

 

"The rose is red, the violet's blue,

But the umbrel's stolen by the Boolooroo!"

 

screamed the parrot.

 

"That's it," said Cap'n Bill. "The Boolooroo's got the umbrel, an' that settles the question."

 

"Tell me," said Rosalie, "If you had your Magic Umbrella, could you fly home again in safety?"

 

"Of course we could," replied Button-Bright.

 

"And would you prefer to go home to remaining here?"

 

"We would indeed!"

 

"Then why do you not get the umbrella?"

 

"How?" asked Trot eagerly.

 

"You must go into the Blue Country and force the Boolooroo to give up your property."

 

"Through the Fog Bank?" asked Cap'n Bill doubtfully.

 

"And let the Boolooroo capture us again?" demanded Button-Bright with a shiver.

 

"An' have to wait on the Snubnoses instead of bein' a Queen?" said Trot.

 

"You must remember that conditions have changed, and you are now a powerful Ruler," replied Rosalie. "The Pinkies are really a great nation, and they are pledged to obey your commands. Why not assemble an army, march through the Fog Bank, fight and conquer the Boolooroo and recapture the Magic Umbrella?"

 

"Hooray!" shouted Cap'n Bill, pounding his wooden leg on the floor. "That's the proper talk! Let's do it, Queen Trot."

 

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea," added Button-Bright.

 

"Do you think the Pinkies would fight the Blueskins?" asked Trot.

 

"Why not?" replied the sailorman. "They have sharp sticks an' know how to use 'em, whereas the Blueskins have only them windin'-up cords with weights on the ends."

 

"The Blueskins are the biggest people," said the girl.

 

"But they're cowards, I'm sure," declared the boy.

 

"Anyhow," the sailor remarked, "that's our only hope of ever gett'n' home again. I'd like to try it, Trot."

 

"If you decide on this adventure," said Rosalie, "I believe I can be of much assistance to you."

 

"That'll help," asserted Cap'n Bill.

 

"And we've one good friend among the Blueskins," said Button-Bright. "I'm sure Ghip-Ghisizzle will side with us, and I've got the Royal Record Book, which proves that the Boolooroo has already reigned¹⁶ his lawful¹⁷ three hundred years."

 

"Does the book say that?" inquired Trot with interest.

 

"Yes, I've been reading it."

 

"Then Sizzle'll be the new Boolooroo," said the girl, "an' p'raps we won't have to fight, after all."

 

"We'd better go prepared, though," advised Cap'n Bill, "fer that awful ol' Boolooroo won't give up without a struggle. When shall we start?"

 

Trot hesitated, so they all looked to Rosalie for advice. "Just as soon as we can get the army together and ready," decided¹⁸ the Witch. "That will not take long. Perhaps two or three days."

 

"Good!" cried Cap'n Bill, and the parrot screamed,

 

"Here's a lovely how-d'y'-do—

We're going to fight the Boolooroo!

We'll get the Six Snubnoses, too,

And make 'em all feel mighty¹⁹ blue."

 

"Either that or the other thing," said Trot. "Anyhow, we're in for it."

1 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

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 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

6 clamorous   

adj.吵闹的，喧哗的

参考例句：

• They are clamorous for better pay.他们吵吵嚷嚷要求增加工资。
• The meeting began to become clamorous.会议开始变得喧哗了。

7 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

8 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

9 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

10 jabber   

v.快而不清楚地说；n.吱吱喳喳

参考例句：

• Listen to the jabber of those monkeys.听那些猴子在吱吱喳喳地叫。
• He began to protes,to jabber of his right of entry.他开始抗议，唠叨不休地说他有进来的权力。

11 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

12 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

13 bevy   

n.一群

参考例句：

• A bevy of bathing beauties appeared on the beach.沙滩上出现了一群游泳的美女。
• Look,there comes a bevy of ladies.看，一群女人来了。

14 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

15 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

16 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

18 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。

19 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。