POLLY'S NEW APRIL FOOL

 "You're losing your hair ribbon, Polly," remarked the twins as their sister sat down to breakfast one first of April morning.

 

Polly hastily felt of her head.

 

"April fool! April fool! April fool!" shrieked¹ the twins joyously², pounding on the table.

 

Polly glared at them. It was raining, and Polly, who hated rain, never could take a joke on a rainy day.

 

"You're a pair of very rude boys," she said. "Nobody but horrid³, rough boys like you would ever think April Fool's any fun!" And she sulked through her breakfast without another word.

 

But Helen was different. Helen liked rain. Moreover, she didn't in the least mind being fooled, and she laughed just as hard as anybody when she put salt on her mush instead of sugar.

 

When she went upstairs to put their room in order, however, the room she and Polly shared, the steady drip, drip, drip of the rain made her remember Polly's unhappiness, and it troubled her.

 

A robin⁴, singing his rain song in the tree outside, cocked his head saucily⁵ as Helen went to the window.

 

"Help her-r-r! Cheer her-r-r! Help her-r-r! Cheer her-r-r!" sang Mr. Redbreast over and over again as he swung on the dripping branches.

 

"That's a good idea, Mr. Redbreast," Helen answered. "I'm sure she needs it. But how shall I do it?"

 

Mr. Redbreast winked⁶ wisely. "You'll find a way—a way—a way!" he trilled.

 

Helen spanked⁸ a pillow and stood it in its place on the bed. "Thank you, Mr. Redbreast," she answered politely. "I'll try."

 

Mr. Redbreast gave his tail a pleased little shake and flew away, leaving Helen to spank⁷ the other pillow and to wonder what she could do to "help her-r-r, cheer her-r-r."

 

A blue ribbon was hanging out of the top bureau drawer. "The very thing!" cried Helen. "I'll straighten out her drawer. It's always in a muss!" And she fell to work with a will, rolling, and folding, and arranging things in neat little piles.

 

The baby stood watching her. "There! What do you suppose she'll think of that, Buddy⁹?" she asked, as she gave the last pile a happy pat. Then a new idea popped into her head. She flew downstairs, took a sheet of writing paper out of the desk, and printed something on it in big black letters. Then, running back to her room, she laid the paper on the rows of nice neat piles and carefully closed the drawer.

 

"I hope she won't mind," she said with a twinkling little smile as she pulled Buddy up on her lap for a story.

 

The story was only half finished when Polly burst in. "What do you think, Helen!" she cried, tossing her hat and coat in an untidy heap on the bed. "I'm invited to a party! What shall I wear?"

 

She ran to the bureau and pulled open the top drawer with a jerk. Within lay Helen's paper. Polly picked it up. "April fool!" she read aloud. She looked into the drawer, then at Helen, her face brightening into a sudden smile with her surprise.

 

"Helen, you're a dear!" she cried. "And I'm just a silly, cross old bear! This is just the loveliest April fool that ever was. I didn't suppose folks could play nice April fool jokes."

 

Just then the sun came out from behind a cloud and peeped through the window. Helen pointed¹⁰ to it. "Another nice April fool for you, Polly."

 

But Polly wasn't listening. She stood quietly thinking for a moment, then she picked up her hat, shook out her coat, and started toward the closet.

 

"April fool!" she said with a laugh, as she hung them inside. "That's another joke on you, Miss Polly Untidy Crosspatch. A few more April fools might turn you into neat Miss Polly Polite. It's about time you turned over a new leaf."

 

"I think I hear it rustling," said Helen, listening.

 

"Hear-r-r! Hear-r-r! Hear-r-r!" chirped¹¹ Mr. Redbreast joyously from the tree.

1 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

2 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

3 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

4 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

5 saucily   

adv.傲慢地，莽撞地

参考例句：

• The servants likewise used me saucily, and had much ado to keep their hands off me. 有几个仆人对我很无礼，要他们的手不碰我是很难的。 来自辞典例句

6 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 spank   

v.打，拍打(在屁股上)

参考例句：

• Be careful.If you don't work hard,I'll spank your bottom.你再不好好学习，小心被打屁股。
• He does it very often.I really get mad.I can't help spank him sometimes.他经常这样做。我很气愤。有时候我忍不住打他的屁股。

8 spanked   

v.用手掌打( spank的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We spanked along in his new car. 我们坐在他的新车里兜风。 来自辞典例句
• The nurse spanked the naughty child. 保育员打了一下那个淘气的孩子的屁股。 来自辞典例句

9 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。