CHAPTER IV

 They were glad to see the sunshine again.

 

They sat down at the foot of the cliff¹ to rest a moment.

 

“Is that your home?” asked Teni, pointing to the cliff far above him.

 

Mavo looked up at the stone house on the rocky² shelf.

 

This house, with its plastered³ walls, looked like a part of the cliff.

 

There were finger-prints in the plaster⁴, for the people had worked with their hands, because they had few tools.

 

The tools they did have were made of stone and bone.

 

The children noticed a woman climbing into the high door-way.

 

Mavo said, “Who is that?”

 

“My wife,” replied Demino.

 

The woman turned and saw the children.

 

She wore a loose skin tunic⁵, and her long black hair hung over her shoulders.

 

She smiled at the children, and motioned⁶ to Demino to come up into the house.

 

A little boy was shouting to his father from the small window above the door.

 

He, too, had seen the strangers, and wished them to come in.

 

Demino waved his hand and said, “That is my little boy. He wants to see you.”

 

“Let us hurry and climb the ladder.”

 

Mavo cried, “I will not go! I will not go! I want my mother!”

 

She did not like the strange house.

 

Teni put his arm about his sister and said, “Come, Mavo. We must be brave.”

 

When they were in the house even Teni felt strange, for it was very much larger than his house.

 

Tears came to his eyes, but he tried hard not to cry.

 

 

“Oh, Mavo!” he called, “see!” and they ran to the corner, where a tiny brown baby lay fast asleep on a deerskin.

 

The little boy, who had been climbing up and down some wooden pegs⁷ in the wall, ran toward⁸ them, saying, “That is my baby brother.”

 

Mavo lay down on the deerskin and put her little hands on the baby’s cheek.

 

She was happy now, and soon fell asleep.

1 cliff   

n.悬崖，峭壁

参考例句：

• The cliff edge is dangerous and should be railed.崖边危险，应该用栏杆围起来。
• He took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.他把悬崖的高度估量一下后再攀登。

2 rocky   

adj.岩石的，像岩石的；多岩石的

参考例句：

• She drives carefully up the rocky lane.她驾车小心地从这条很多石头的小路上驶过去。
• There is only one port along this rocky coast.这个多岩石的海岸只有一个港口。

3 plastered   

v.使平；涂以灰泥；粘贴；掩饰(plaster的过去分词形式)adj.涂得厚厚的；醉醺醺的；〈美俚〉“plaster”的派生

参考例句：

• The torrential rain had plastered her hair to her head. 暴雨使她的头发紧贴头顶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These rough places on the wall could be plastered over. 可以在墙上这些毛糙的地方涂上灰泥。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 plaster   

n.石膏，灰泥，膏药；v.涂以灰泥，敷以膏药，使...平

参考例句：

• He mixed up some plaster to repair the wall.他和了一些灰泥去补墙。
• She applied the plaster on his shoulder.她将膏药贴在他的膀子上。

5 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

6 motioned   

vt.打手势（motion的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• When the doorman motioned them away, they took no notice. 当门卫示意让他们离开时，他们没注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He motioned me to a seat. 他示意我坐下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

8 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。