TEDDY'S HELPERS

 Christmas was near, and there were only a few pennies in Teddy's apple bank.

 

"I'm afraid I won't have money enough to buy them, mummie," said Teddy wistfully. "Won't you—" His eyes looked the question his lips wanted to ask.

 

"No, Teddy," said his mother. "For then it would be my present instead of yours."

 

"But Arthur's hands get so cold carrying the clothes!" Teddy's eyes fell to his own hands, which were always snug¹ and warm in their red mittens². The washerwoman's little boy had no mittens.

 

"Earn some money, Teddy," suggested his mother.

 

Teddy's face fell. "How can I?" he said.

 

"Keep your eyes open and do the thing they tell you to do."

 

"All right," answered Teddy. "I'll try."

 

At that moment Father Sun, who had been peeping through the window, slipped behind a cloud.

 

peeping through the window, slipped behind a cloud.

 

"Children," he said to the little clouds, "there's a boy down below who wants to earn money to buy mittens for a boy who hasn't any. I want you to help him."

 

"We will, Father Sun," cried the little clouds. Then the sky began to grow so dark that the earth people looked up and said, "I do believe it's going to snow!" And it did.

 

Soon the air was filled with great fluffy³, whirling flakes⁴, tumbling eagerly down to help Teddy.

 

"Not so close!" cried the first flake⁵ as the others came down on top of him. "We'll make it too hard for Teddy if we pack tight together."

 

"That's so!" cried the others. And so they settled very, very gently.

 

All night the snowflakes fell. In the morning Father Sun poked⁶ his head out from behind a cloud.

 

"My, my! How fine the earth looks!" he exclaimed. "I think that's about enough, children." And Father Sun smiled so broadly that the earth people said, "How dazzling the sun is!" and squinted⁷, and rubbed their eyes.

 

When the last flake had settled in its place, Teddy buttoned on his leggings to go out.

 

"Are you keeping your eyes open this morning, Teddy?" asked his mother.

 

Teddy laughed. "Of course," he said. "I couldn't see if—" Then he stopped abruptly⁸. "It is a way, isn't it, mummie!" he cried.

 

"Yes," she said. "I think I hear twenty-five cents dropping into the apple. I will give you that much if you will shovel⁹ a path to the gate."

 

"Goody!" cried Teddy. Then he hunted up the snow shovel and fell to work.

 

"Teddy! Teddy!" Teddy looked up. The old lady across the way was standing¹⁰ in her door. "I'll give you a quarter if you'll clean my walk."

 

"All right!" Teddy shouted back. And then how the snow did fly as he dug and scraped and shoveled¹¹!

 

"My, my!" said Father Sun. "What an industrious¹² boy!" And he smiled till Teddy grew quite warm, and the busy hands in the red mittens were never once cold.

 

When the day was over, four bright quarters lay snugly¹³ in the apple bank.

 

The day before Christmas Teddy emptied the bank and went shopping. And that night, when the washerwoman's boy came for the clothes, on top of the basket lay, not mittens, but a pair of thick gloves lined with wool.

 

Father Sun was so happy about it that he smiled all Christmas Day. And so did Arthur. And so—more brightly than either—did Teddy.

1 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

2 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。

3 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

4 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

5 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

6 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

8 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

9 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 shoveled   

vt.铲，铲出（shovel的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The hungry man greedily shoveled the food into his mouth. 那个饥饿的人贪婪地、大口大口地吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They shoveled a path through the snow. 他们在雪中铲出一条小路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

13 snugly   

adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地

参考例句：

• Jamie was snugly wrapped in a white woolen scarf. 杰米围着一条白色羊毛围巾舒适而暖和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmyard was snugly sheltered with buildings on three sides. 这个农家院三面都有楼房，遮得很严实。 来自《简明英汉词典》