THE PRINCESS LIL

 The Princess Lil stood on the edge of the lake waiting for her turtlemobile to take her to her lily castle, which rested on the bright waters in the center of the lily pond.

 

Presently she heard the honk¹, honk of chauffeur² Billy Bullfrog's horn, and in another moment the turtlemobile swung around the tall sedge grass.

 

"You're late," she said, as she took her seat.

 

"I'm sorry, your Royal Highness," said chauffeur Billy Bullfrog, "but the turtlemobile was tired, and I couldn't make him put on more speed."

 

The princess made no reply, but sat gazing at the setting sun's reflection in the bright waters of the lake. The sky was all fairy colors, and just above the green tree tops the evening star was shining.

 

The turtlemobile glided³ swiftly in and out among the lily pads and hummocks⁴ of grass until it came to the open water. In the center of the lake was a beautiful white lily. Here the turtlemobile stopped, and the Princess Lil stepped out on the smooth green lily pad. Quickly running across, she tripped lightly down the golden stairway inside the stem of the beautiful white pond lily. When she reached the bottom of the golden flight, she opened a little door, and entered her pink and white chamber⁵. Throwing herself down on a silken couch, she rang a bell, and presently a pretty little fairy appeared.

 

"Lorelei," said the princess, "I am weary; bring me my gossamer⁶ kimono, and do you loosen my hair. Afterwards you may coil it again and fasten it with a single firefly, as I wish to sit out in the garden after supper."

 

The moon was shining brightly as the Princess Lil ran up the golden staircase and out upon the big flat lily pad, which was arranged like a beautiful garden. There were small pink flowers growing in little beds of moist earth, and winding⁷ in and out was a narrow path of tiny shiny pebbles⁸. Over this the princess tripped until she came to the end of the path, where she sat down, and began to sing softly, oh, so softly, a fairy lullaby.

 

"Gently the wind of the dewy night blows,

Over the quivering stream;

While children are sleeping, the fairies are peeping,

Singing to them a dream.

 

"Over and over, from daisy and clover,

From all of the sweet flower throng⁹,

The fairies are swinging and drowsily¹⁰ singing,

A sweet little hush-a-by song."

"Ah!" said the little princess as she finished; "I think all the little boys and girls are asleep by this time. Indeed, I'm sure they are, for there goes the blue-bell tinkling¹¹ 'Nine o'clock!'

 

"Good night, sweet moon!" she cried, as she paused before the portal of her lily castle, "good night, sweet moon!"

 

And then the little fairy princess ran down the golden staircase and disappeared in her pink and white chamber.

1 honk   

n.雁叫声，汽车喇叭声

参考例句：

• Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭！
• While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。

2 chauffeur   

n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车

参考例句：

• The chauffeur handed the old lady from the car.这个司机搀扶这个老太太下汽车。
• She went out herself and spoke to the chauffeur.她亲自走出去跟汽车司机说话。

3 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hummocks   

n.小丘，岗( hummock的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Interesting hummocks swirls and are found on the surface of the landslide. 在山体滑坡的表面，我们能够看到有趣的山包，盘绕的丘陵和悬崖。 来自互联网

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 gossamer   

n.薄纱，游丝

参考例句：

• The prince helped the princess,who was still in her delightful gossamer gown.王子搀扶着仍穿著那套美丽薄纱晚礼服的公主。
• Gossamer is floating in calm air.空中飘浮着游丝。

7 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

8 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

9 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

10 drowsily   

adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地

参考例句：

• She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身，一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘（部分）
• I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久，我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网

11 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学