April Showers

 TOMMY was a terrible tease, and poor little Mamie came in for most of the teasing.

 

Tommy wasn’t really an unkind little boy, but he was very thoughtless, and very often he led Mamie into all sorts of scrapes. One day he persuaded her to play at Indians with him; he screwed up her hair into tight knots, made her shut her eyes and then blacked her face. When the little girl looked in the mirror over the mantelpiece and saw how ugly she was, she ran out of the room, meaning to go to Nurse to be washed clean again; but Tommy ran after her, and, just as she was passing the drawing-room door, he gave her a push, and in she went, right into the middle of a group of ladies who were visiting her Mamma. Oh! how angry Mamma was, for she thought Mamie had done it on purpose.

 

But what hurt Mamie’s feelings the most was the way in which Tommy treated her dolls. He didn’t like dolls himself, and he couldn’t understand how his sister could love a silly wax thing. But she did. She thought Rosalind was the sweetest and loveliest of babies.

 

One day Tommy bought a penny squirt. He played for a long time at storms at sea with it, sailing his boat on a big pan of water that stood out in the garden, and squirting at it until it sank.

 

But he grew tired of this, and then he began to squirt Rosalind, as she lay cuddled up in Mamie’s arms.

 

Poor Rosalind! Mamie tried hard to protect her, but in vain. “It’s only an April shower,” said Tommy, laughing. “It won’t hurt her.” But dolly was soon wet through, and the last remaining bit of pink on her cheeks came off when Mamie dried her.

 

The next day Mamie told some of her friends of her troubles, and the little girls put their heads together to think how they could punish Tommy. “I know,” said Elsie Martin. And then there was a great deal of whispering and laughing, after which the little girls parted.

 

Tommy was going out to tea that afternoon, and as he passed the end of the garden wall, dressed out in his best, a sudden shower of water was squirted all over him, spoiling his nice clean suit.

 

Tommy looked up in astonishment¹, for it was not raining; then he heard a great deal of giggling² and someone called out: “It’s only an April shower; it won’t hurt you!”

 

Tommy didn’t say a word, but marched straight home, for he knew he couldn’t go to his tea-party as he was. Mamie met him at the door. “I’m so sorry,” she said, for she had already begun to repent³ of what she had done. “Won’t you forgive me?”

 

“Never mind, Mamie,” said Tommy. “It served me right, and I’m sorry I squirted Rosalind, and I’ll never tease you again.”

 

L. L. Weedon.

1 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

2 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。