The Fairy Flower

 And she held the little Rabbit close in her arms and flew with him into the wood.

 

It was light now, for the moon had risen. All the forest was beautiful, and the fronds¹ of the bracken shone like frosted silver. In the open glade² between the tree-trunks the wild rabbits danced with their shadows on the velvet³ grass, but when they saw the Fairy they all stopped dancing and stood round in a ring to stare at her.

 

"I've brought you a new playfellow," the Fairy said. "You must be very kind to him and teach him all he needs to know in Rabbit-land, for he is going to live with you for ever and ever!"

 

And she kissed the little Rabbit again and put him down on the grass.

 

"Run and play, little Rabbit!" she said.

 

But the little Rabbit sat quite still for a moment and never moved. For when he saw all the wild rabbits dancing around him he suddenly remembered about his hind⁴ legs, and he didn't want them to see that he was made all in one piece. He did not know that when the Fairy kissed him that last time she had changed him altogether. And he might have sat there a long time, too shy to move, if just then something hadn't tickled⁵ his nose, and before he thought what he was doing he lifted his hind toe to scratch it.

 

And he found that he actually had hind legs! Instead of dingy⁶ velveteen he had brown fur, soft and shiny, his ears twitched⁷ by themselves, and his whiskers were so long that they brushed the grass. He gave one leap and the joy of using those hind legs was so great that he went springing about the turf on them, jumping sideways and whirling⁸ round as the others did, and he grew so excited that when at last he did stop to look for the Fairy she had gone.

 

He was a Real Rabbit at last, at home with the other rabbits.

1 fronds   

n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You can pleat palm fronds to make huts, umbrellas and baskets. 人们可以把棕榈叶折叠起来盖棚屋，制伞，编篮子。 来自百科语句
• When these breezes reached the platform the palm-fronds would whisper. 微风吹到平台时，棕榈叶片发出簌簌的低吟。 来自辞典例句

2 glade   

n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地

参考例句：

• In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。
• The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。

3 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

4 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

5 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

6 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

7 twitched   

vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
• The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 whirling   

v.（使）飞快移动，使旋转( whirl的现在分词 )；扑朔迷离；涡流；婆娑

参考例句：

• He threw himself around the stage like a whirling dervish. 他在台上转圈，如同跳旋转舞蹈的托钵僧一样。
• They were caught up in a whirling vortex of emotion. 他们陷入了感情旋涡。