DICK'S VALENTINE

 The front doorbell rang furiously and Mary, knowing that it was snowing and blowing a gale¹ outside, answered the ring as fast as she was able.

 

Two shivering little figures stood upon the doorstep, one a small boy, 10 or 12 years of age, who surveyed her a moment quite as coolly as she surveyed him. Deliberately² stepping into the lighted hallway, he dragged with him his little companion, a shivering mite⁴ of a girl, almost hidden in the folds of a ragged³ coat. This coat he suddenly jerked from her shoulders, saying:

 

"Here's a valentine for the lady wot lives here!" Then, turning, he ran rapidly down the steps and disappeared around the corner into the snowy darkness.

 

Aunt Dorothy at that moment entered the hall, but, before she had time to speak the little waif thrust a piece of paper into, her hand, with the simple explanation, "Dick writ⁵ it."

 

Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled⁶ note and unfolded it carefully. After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling⁷ letters:

 

"This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights. I've fetched her to be your valentine. She's hungry.

 

"Dick."

Aunt Dorothy's eyes filled with tears. "Mary, take the child into the kitchen and give her something to eat. I will come presently and perhaps I can find out what is the best thing to do."

 

Mary led her down the hall.

 

"A valentine!" she ejaculated. "Blest if I don't think this is the queerest piece of business I ever seen!" Her manner softened⁸ a little as she watched the greediness with which the child devoured⁹ the big slice of bread and butter, and when Aunt Dorothy came down she found her "valentine" seated in Mary's own rocking chair before the fire, while Mary herself, down on the floor, had the almost frozen feet in her lap.

 

Aunt Dorothy sat down near them and watched Mary for a few minutes in silence. "Now that you feel better, my child, tell me where you live?"

 

"I don't live nowhere," answered the child, "'cept with Dick—he's got a big box with straw in it. I crawled in one night after they took father away—the police, you know."

 

Aunt Dorothy sighed, "Give her a warm bath, Mary, and make a bed on the lounge in my room. I will try to find something which will do for a nightdress."

 

The poor little, wondering child was soon wrapped in a warm shawl and curled down on the lounge. Suddenly she raised herself on her elbow:

 

"Dick said there was angels that lived somewhere and took care of folks. Are you one of them?"

 

"No, no, child," said Aunt Dorothy gently, "I am only Aunt Dorothy. Go to sleep."

 

"Yes'm; but I do wish Dick was a valentine, too! It's very cold in his box."

 

Aunt Dorothy and Mary sat up late that night hastily making warm garments for the small mite; but they considered themselves well repaid by the delight with which they were put on in the morning. While the happy little waif was taking her breakfast in the kitchen the bell rang, and when Mary answered the ring she found Dick standing¹⁰ in the doorstep. He shambled bashfully in, and in a moment the child's arms were around his neck and her face pressed close against his cold and grimy one.

 

When Aunt Dorothy came down she found her "valentine"-bringer refreshed by a breakfast the like of which he had never before tasted, sitting by the fire with the "valentine" at his side. Dick rose as she entered, still holding both of the little hands of his small companion.

 

"I ain't got much to tell you, ma'am. I'm Dick the boot-black, an' this here little girl I found one night last week. Me and Joe Rafferty had been to a movin' picture show, and when I comes out it was late an' pretty cold, so I runs all the way to the box. The box is a big box down by Higley's warehouse¹¹, an' I sleep in it. An' I finds this little girl a-curled up in it asleep. I felt kinder sorry for so small a mite, so I covered her up with some old carpet rags.

 

"I seen folks sendin' valentines for presents an' thought some one ought to like a little girl better than a picture. I seen you one day, ma'am, give a lame¹² man some money, an' I followed and seen where you lived. An' I says to myself if you was so kind to a man you'd be kind to a little girl that had no one but me to look after her."

 

"I think I'll keep my valentine, Dick," she answered, looking into the fire with a smile. "I never heard of sending one back, I believe. And I think I'll send one myself too. I will give you a letter to a man who I think will give you a position as an errand boy." And so Dick had a good job as a messenger boy in a big dry goods house, where he grew up to be a very useful man.

 

1 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

2 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

3 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

4 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

5 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

6 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

7 scrawling   

乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

8 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

9 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

10 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。

11 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

12 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。