"It was I," answered Dorothy calmly.
"Then I shall destroy you, for you are only an Earth girl and no fairy," he said, and began to mumble3 some magic words.
Dorothy now realized that Ugu must be treated as an enemy, so she advanced toward the corner in which he sat, saying as she went, "I am not afraid of you, Mr. Shoemaker, and I think you'll be sorry, pretty soon, that you're such a bad man. You can't destroy me, and I won't destroy you, but I'm going to punish you for your wickedness."
Ugu laughed, a laugh that was not nice to hear, and then he waved his hand. Dorothy was halfway4 across the room when suddenly a wall of glass rose before her and stopped her progress. Through the glass she could see the magician sneering5 at her because she was a weak little girl, and this provoked her. Although the glass wall obliged her to halt, she instantly pressed both hands to her Magic Belt and cried in a loud voice, "Ugu the Shoemaker, by the magic virtues6 of the Magic Belt, I command you to become a dove!"
The magician instantly realized he was being enchanted7, for he could feel his form changing. He struggled desperately9 against the enchantment10, mumbling11 magic words and making magic passes with his hands. And in one way he succeeded in defeating Dorothy's purpose, for while his form soon changed to that of a gray dove, the dove was of an enormous size, bigger even than Ugu had been as a man, and this feat12 he had been able to accomplish before his powers of magic wholly deserted13 him.
And the dove was not gentle, as doves usually are, for Ugu was terribly enraged14 at the little girl's success. His books had told him nothing of the Nome King's Magic Belt, the Country of the Nomes being outside the Land of Oz. He knew, however, that he was likely to be conquered unless he made a fierce fight, so he spread his wings and rose in the air and flew directly toward Dorothy. The Wall of Glass had disappeared the instant Ugu became transformed.
Dorothy had meant to command the Belt to transform the magician into a Dove of Peace, but in her excitement she forgot to say more than "dove," and now Ugu was not a Dove of Peace by any means, but rather a spiteful Dove of War. His size made his sharp beak15 and claws very dangerous, but Dorothy was not afraid when he came darting16 toward her with his talons17 outstretched and his sword-like beak open. She knew the Magic Belt would protect its wearer from harm.
But the Frogman did not know that fact and became alarmed at the little girl's seeming danger. So he gave a sudden leap and leaped full upon the back of the great dove. Then began a desperate struggle. The dove was as strong as Ugu had been, and in size it was considerably18 bigger than the Frogman. But the Frogman had eaten the zosozo, and it had made him fully19 as strong as Ugu the Dove. At the first leap he bore the dove to the floor, but the giant bird got free and began to bite and claw the Frogman, beating him down with its great wings whenever he attempted to rise. The thick, tough skin of the big frog was not easily damaged, but Dorothy feared for her champion, and by again using the transformation20 power of the Magic Belt, she made the dove grow small until it was no larger than a canary bird. Ugu had not lost his knowledge of magic when he lost his shape as a man, and he now realized it was hopeless to oppose the power of the Magic Belt and knew that his only hope of escape lay in instant action. So he quickly flew into the golden jeweled dishpan he had stolen from Cayke the Cookie Cook, and as birds can talk as well as beasts or men in the Fairyland of Oz, he muttered the magic word that was required and wished himself in the Country of the Quadlings, which was as far away from the wicker castle as he believed he could get.
Our friends did not know, of course, what Ugu was about to do. They saw the dishpan tremble an instant and then disappear, the dove disappearing with it, and although they waited expectantly for some minutes for the magician's return, Ugu did not come back again. "Seems to me," said the Wizard in a cheerful voice, "that we have conquered the wicked magician more quickly than we expected to."
"Don't say 'we.' Dorothy did it!" cried the Patchwork Girl, turning three somersaults in succession and then walking around on her hands. "Hurrah21 for Dorothy!"
"I thought you said you did not know how to use the magic of the Nome King's Belt," said the Wizard to Dorothy.
"I didn't know at that time," she replied, "but afterward22 I remembered how the Nome King once used the Magic Belt to enchant8 people and transform 'em into ornaments23 and all sorts of things, so I tried some enchantments24 in secret, and after a while I transformed the Sawhorse into a potato masher and back again, and the Cowardly Lion into a pussycat and back again, and then I knew the thing would work all right."
"When did you perform those enchantments?" asked the Wizard, much surprised.
"One night when all the rest of you were asleep but Scraps, and she had gone chasing moonbeams."
"Well," remarked the Wizard, "your discovery has certainly saved us a lot of trouble, and we must all thank the Frogman, too, for making such a good fight. The dove's shape had Ugu's evil disposition25 inside it, and that made the monster bird dangerous."
The Frogman was looking sad because the bird's talons had torn his pretty clothes, but he bowed with much dignity at this well-deserved praise. Cayke, however, had squatted26 on the floor and was sobbing27 bitterly. "My precious dishpan is gone!" she wailed28. "Gone, just as I had found it again!"
"Never mind," said Trot29, trying to comfort her, "it's sure to be SOMEWHERE, so we'll cert'nly run across it some day."
"Yes indeed," added Betsy, "now that we have Ozma's Magic Picture, we can tell just where the Dove went with your dishpan. They all approached the Magic Picture, and Dorothy wished it to show the enchanted form of Ugu the Shoemaker, wherever it might be. At once there appeared in the frame of the Picture a scene in the far Quadling Country, where the Dove was perched disconsolately30 on the limb of a tree and the jeweled dishpan lay on the ground just underneath31 the limb.
"But where is the place? How far or how near?" asked Cayke anxiously.
"The Book of Records will tell us that," answered the Wizard. So they looked in the Great Book and read the following:
"Ugu the Magician, being transformed into a dove by Princess Dorothy of Oz, has used the magic of the golden dishpan to carry him instantly to the northeast corner of the Quadling Country."
"Don't worry, Cayke, for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are in that part of the country looking for Ozma, and they'll surely find your dishpan."
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Button-Bright. "We've forgot all about Ozma. Let's find out where the magician hid her."
Back to the Magic Picture they trooped, but when they wished to see Ozma wherever she might be hidden, only a round black spot appeared in the center of the canvas. "I don't see how THAT can be Ozma!" said Dorothy, much puzzled.
"It seems to be the best the Magic Picture can do, however," said the Wizard, no less surprised. "If it's an enchantment, looks as if the magician had transformed Ozma into a chunk32 of pitch."
点击收听单词发音
1 scraps | |
油渣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 patchwork | |
n.混杂物;拼缝物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 mumble | |
n./v.喃喃而语,咕哝 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 halfway | |
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 sneering | |
嘲笑的,轻蔑的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 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: |
|
|
8 enchant | |
vt.使陶醉,使入迷;使着魔,用妖术迷惑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 desperately | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 enchantment | |
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 mumbling | |
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 feat | |
n.功绩;武艺,技艺;adj.灵巧的,漂亮的,合适的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 enraged | |
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 beak | |
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 darting | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 talons | |
n.(尤指猛禽的)爪( talon的名词复数 );(如爪般的)手指;爪状物;锁簧尖状突出部 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 transformation | |
n.变化;改造;转变 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 hurrah | |
int.好哇,万岁,乌拉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 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: |
|
|
24 enchantments | |
n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 );迷人之处;施魔法;着魔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 sobbing | |
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 wailed | |
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 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: |
|
|
30 disconsolately | |
adv.悲伤地,愁闷地;哭丧着脸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 chunk | |
n.厚片,大块,相当大的部分(数量) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |