HOW SAMMY WAS CURED

 Sammy was a pretty good boy in some ways, but in one way he was a very naughty boy indeed. He never got up when he was called.

 

"Ye-aw-w-w!" he would yawn. "Uh-huh!" And with that he would roll over and go fast asleep again.

 

This always happened at least three times every morning. Often it happened more times. Then when everybody was out of patience and breakfast was nearly over, Sammy would come creeping down, digging his fists into his eyes and still yawning "Ye-aw-w-w!"

 

One morning Sammy's father had just called him the second time, and Sammy had grunted¹ "Ye-aw-w-w!" and turned over for another nap, when the door opened softly.

 

Creep, creep, creep, came quiet steps. But Sammy didn't see the little man with twinkling eyes and queer clothes enter the room. He didn't know that the little man lifted him out of bed, slipped him quickly into a sack, and swung him over his shoulder. Sammy was too fast asleep to know anything.

 

"Crickety, flickety, fle-flo-fli!" cried the little man. And away they flew, straight through the window!

 

And still Sammy slept. He didn't know he was not in his own bed till the little man slipped him out of the sack and gave him a shake.

 

"Ye-aw-w-w!" muttered Sammy sleepily.

 

"So you are Sammy Sleepyhead!" a loud voice interrupted him. Sammy woke up so quickly that he bit his tongue. "I know you. You're the little boy that never gets up when he's called."

 

Sammy looked about him in surprise. He was in a room filled with the queerest little men he had ever seen, men with funny clothes and twinkly eyes; while right in front of him on a throne sat a very splendid person. Sammy knew by his robes and his crown that this splendid person must be a king.

 

Sammy had never before seen a real king. He opened his mouth in awe².

 

The king thought Sammy was going to yawn.

 

"No yawning here!" he cried, giving Sammy a sharp little rap with his scepter. "This is the Land of the Wide-Awakes. We always wake up the sleepy people."

 

And then, just because he knew he mustn't, Sammy yawned. "Ye-aw-w-w!" he said, so loud that it frightened him, and he clapped his hand quickly over his mouth.

 

But the king had heard him.

 

"Sleepy Cure Number One, men!" he cried.

 

The men in the funny clothes at once formed in two lines, facing each other and twinkling more than ever.

 

"Sammy Sleepyhead, step forward between the lines," commanded the king sternly.

 

Sammy saw each queer little man pull a small paddle from his pocket. His knees were shaking with fear, but he dared not disobey.

 

"Run!" ordered the king.

 

Sammy started. Spat³! went the first paddle. "Ouch!" screamed Sammy.

 

"Faster!" cried the king.

 

Spat! Spat! Spat! went the paddles as he ran. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" screamed Sammy.

 

"Done!" cried the king, as Sammy, breathless and crying, reached the end of the lines.

 

"Awake? Cured?" inquired the king.

 

"Uh—uh—uh-huh!" hiccoughed Sammy, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his nightie.

 

"No, you're not," cried the king. "Only sleepyheads say 'Uh-huh.' Cure Number Two!"

 

Poor Sammy stood, scared and crying, while the little men, grinning broadly now, brought big sponges dripping with water.

 

"Squeeze!" cried the king.

 

Squash! went the first sponge, right over Sammy's head.

 

"Ugh!" screamed Sammy as the ice-cold water poured down his back. "Ugh! Ugh!"

 

The next little man stepped up, lifted his sponge, started to squeeze it, then changed his mind.

 

"Crickety, flickety, fle-flo-fli!" he cried instead.

 

The next thing Sammy knew, he was standing⁴ in his own bathtub, wet and shivering. His father stood beside him, holding a big dipper.

 

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" gasped⁵ Sammy, while the water dripped from his yellow head.

 

"I'm sorry, Sammy," said his father, handing him a towel. "But we can't have any more of this nonsense about getting up. This will happen every time you have to be called more than once. Dry yourself now, and hurry into your clothes."

 

Sammy gulped⁶ and nodded. He couldn't think of anything to say just then. But he did as his father told him to, and never once dug his fists into his eyes or said "Ye-aw-w-w."

 

The next day he joined the Wide-Awakes. Sammy Sleepyhead was cured.

1 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

2 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

4 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。

5 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 gulped   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
• She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下，似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》