15. Billina Frightens the Nome King

 Now when Dorothy had entered the palace to make her guesses and the Scarecrow was left with the Nome King, the two sat in moody¹ silence for several minutes. Then the monarch² exclaimed, in a tone of satisfaction:

 

"Very good!"

 

"Who is very good?" asked the Scarecrow.

 

"The machine man. He won't need to be wound up any more, for he has now become a very neat ornament³. Very neat, indeed."

 

"How about Dorothy?" the Scarecrow enquired⁴.

 

"Oh, she will begin to guess, pretty soon," said the King, cheerfully. "And then she will join my collection, and it will be your turn."

 

The good Scarecrow was much distressed⁵ by the thought that his little friend was about to suffer the fate of Ozma and the rest of their party; but while he sat in gloomy reverie a shrill⁶ voice suddenly cried:

 

"Kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt! Kut, kut, kut--ka-daw-kutt!"

 

The Nome King nearly jumped off his seat, he was so startled.

 

"Good gracious! What's that?" he yelled.

 

"Why, it's Billina," said the Scarecrow.

 

"What do you mean by making a noise like that?" shouted the King, angrily, as the yellow hen came from under the throne and strutted⁷ proudly about the room.

 

"I've got a right to cackle, I guess," replied Billina. "I've just laid my egg."

 

"What! Laid an egg! In my throne room! How dare you do such a thing?" asked the King, in a voice of fury.

 

"I lay eggs wherever I happen to be," said the hen, ruffling⁸ her feathers and then shaking them into place.

 

"But--thunder-ation! Don't you know that eggs are poison?" roared the King, while his rock-colored eyes stuck out in great terror.

 

"Poison! well, I declare," said Billina, indignantly. "I'll have you know all my eggs are warranted strictly⁹ fresh and up to date. Poison, indeed!"

 

"You don't understand," retorted the little monarch, nervously¹⁰. "Eggs belong only to the outside world--to the world on the earth's surface, where you came from. Here, in my underground kingdom, they are rank poison, as I said, and we Nomes can't bear them around."

 

"Well, you'll have to bear this one around," declared Billina; "for I've laid it."

 

"Where?" asked the King.

 

"Under your throne," said the hen.

 

The King jumped three feet into the air, so anxious was he to get away from the throne.

 

"Take it away! Take it away at once!" he shouted.

 

"I can't," said Billina. "I haven't any hands."

 

"I'll take the egg," said the Scarecrow. "I'm making a collection of Billina's eggs. There's one in my pocket now, that she laid yesterday."

 

Hearing this, the monarch hastened to put a good distance between himself and the Scarecrow, who was about to reach under the throne for the egg when the hen suddenly cried:

 

"Stop!"

 

"What's wrong?" asked the Scarecrow.

 

"Don't take the egg unless the King will allow me to enter the palace and guess as the others have done," said Billina.

 

"Pshaw!" returned the King. "You're only a hen. How could you guess my enchantments¹¹?"

 

"I can try, I suppose," said Billina. "And, if I fail, you will have another ornament."

 

"A pretty ornament you'd make, wouldn't you?" growled¹² the King. "But you shall have your way. It will properly punish you for daring to lay an egg in my presence. After the Scarecrow is enchanted¹³ you shall follow him into the palace. But how will you touch the objects?"

 

"With my claws," said the hen; "and I can speak the word 'Ev' as plainly as anyone. Also I must have the right to guess the enchantments of my friends, and to release them if I succeed."

 

"Very well," said the King. "You have my promise."

 

"Then," said Billina to the Scarecrow, "you may get the egg."

 

He knelt down and reached underneath¹⁴ the throne and found the egg, which he placed in another pocket of his jacket, fearing that if both eggs were in one pocket they would knock together and get broken.

 

Just then a bell above the throne rang briskly, and the King gave another nervous jump.

 

"Well, well!" said he, with a rueful face; "the girl has actually done it."

 

"Done what?" asked the Scarecrow.

 

"She has made one guess that is right, and broken one of my neatest enchantments. By ricketty, it's too bad! I never thought she would do it."

 

"Do I understand that she will now return to us in safety?" enquired the Scarecrow, joyfully¹⁵ wrinkling his painted face into a broad smile.

 

"Of course," said the King, fretfully pacing up and down the room. "I always keep my promises, no matter how foolish they are. But I shall make an ornament of the yellow hen to replace the one I have just lost."

 

"Perhaps you will, and perhaps you won't," murmured Billina, calmly. "I may surprise you by guessing right."

 

"Guessing right?" snapped the King. "How could you guess right, where your betters have failed, you stupid fowl¹⁶?"

 

Billina did not care to answer this question, and a moment later the doors flew open and Dorothy entered, leading the little Prince Evring by the hand.

 

The Scarecrow welcomed the girl with a close embrace, and he would have embraced Evring, too, in his delight. But the little Prince was shy, and shrank away from the painted Scarecrow because he did not yet know his many excellent qualities.

 

But there was little time for the friends to talk, because the Scarecrow must now enter the palace. Dorothy's success had greatly encouraged him, and they both hoped he would manage to make at least one correct guess.

 

However, he proved as unfortunate as the others except Dorothy, and although he took a good deal of time to select his objects, not one did the poor Scarecrow guess aright.

 

So he became a solid gold card-receiver, and the beautiful but terrible palace awaited its next visitor.

 

"It's all over," remarked the King, with a sigh of satisfaction; "and it has been a very amusing performance, except for the one good guess the Kansas girl made. I am richer by a great many pretty ornaments¹⁷."

 

"It is my turn, now," said Billina, briskly.

 

"Oh, I'd forgotten you," said the King. "But you needn't go if you don't wish to. I will be generous, and let you off."

 

"No you won't," replied the hen. "I insist upon having my guesses, as you promised."

 

"Then go ahead, you absurd feathered fool!" grumbled¹⁸ the King, and he caused the opening that led to the palace to appear once more.

 

"Don't go, Billina," said Dorothy, earnestly. "It isn't easy to guess those orn'ments, and only luck saved me from being one myself. Stay with me and we'll go back to the Land of Ev together. I'm sure this little Prince will give us a home."

 

"Indeed I will," said Evring, with much dignity.

 

"Don't worry, my dear," cried Billina, with a cluck that was meant for a laugh. "I may not be human, but I'm no fool, if I AM a chicken."

 

"Oh, Billina!" said Dorothy, "you haven't been a chicken in a long time. Not since you--you've been--grown up."

 

"Perhaps that's true," answered Billina, thoughtfully. "But if a Kansas farmer sold me to some one, what would he call me?--a hen or a chicken!"

 

"You are not a Kansas farmer, Billina," replied the girl, "and you said--"

 

"Never mind that, Dorothy. I'm going. I won't say good-bye, because I'm coming back. Keep up your courage, for I'll see you a little later."

 

Then Billina gave several loud "cluck-clucks" that seemed to make the fat little King MORE nervous than ever, and marched through the entrance into the enchanted palace.

 

"I hope I've seen the last of THAT bird," declared the monarch, seating himself again in his throne and mopping the perspiration¹⁹ from his forehead with his rock-colored handkerchief. "Hens are bothersome enough at their best, but when they can talk they're simply dreadful."

 

"Billina's my friend," said Dorothy quietly. "She may not always be 'zactly polite; but she MEANS well, I'm sure."

1 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

2 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

3 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

4 enquired   

打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问

参考例句：

• He enquired for the book in a bookstore. 他在书店查询那本书。
• Fauchery jestingly enquired whether the Minister was coming too. 浮式瑞嘲笑着问部长是否也会来。

5 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。

6 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

7 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：

• The players strutted and posed for the cameras. 运动员昂首阔步，摆好姿势让记者拍照。
• Peacocks strutted on the lawn. 孔雀在草坪上神气活现地走来走去。

8 ruffling   

弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱

参考例句：

• A cool breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair. 一阵凉风迎面拂来，吹乱了他的头发。
• "Indeed, they do not,'said Pitty, ruffling. "说真的，那倒不一定。" 皮蒂皱皱眉头，表示异议。

9 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

10 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

11 enchantments   

n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔

参考例句：

• The high security vaults have enchantments placed on their doors. 防范最严密的金库在门上设有魔法。 来自互联网
• Place items here and pay a fee to receive random enchantments. 把物品放在这里并支付一定的费用可以使物品获得一个随机的附魔。 来自互联网

12 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

15 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

16 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

17 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

19 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。