STORY XXII HOW ALICE CUT HER FOOT

 Did you ever go barefooted in the summer time? I suppose you have, and I don't blame you a bit, especially on hot days, or when you are at Asbury Park or Ocean Grove¹. Now, to go barefooted, you know, you have to take off your shoes and stockings, and that's quite a bother at times.

 

Well, Alice Wibblewobble didn't have to do this when she wanted to go barefooted, for, you know, she never wore shoes and stockings in summer. You see it would be too much trouble to take them off every time she went in swimming with Lulu and Jimmie, so that's why it was arranged that she never had to wear any.

 

Now it happened one day, oh, I guess it must have been about a week and a minute after Lulu had been frightened by that big dog, that Alice was going to the store for her mother. The store was kept by Mr. Drake, who had a little round door knob² on the top of his head, so his hat wouldn't blow off in windy weather.

 

"Bring me a pound of butter and some cornmeal, Alice," her mother had said to her, "and be sure the cornmeal is fresh. I am going to fry some for your father's supper."

 

So Alice said she would be sure about it, and she started off.

 

"Want me to come, Alice?" asked Lulu.

 

"No, dear," replied her sister. "I think it is too hot for you to-day. I'll soon be back again."

 

"Better take Jimmie," went on Lulu. "You may meet the bad dog or an ugly fox."

 

"No," spoke³ Alice again, "I think I'll go alone. Besides, Jimmie is off with Sammie Littletail, playing leapfrog. I'll go alone."

 

So off she went. Now I'm going to tell you why she wanted to go alone, but don't whisper it to any one. You see, Alice thought maybe she might meet the fairy prince, for she still hoped that some day he would change into a king with a golden diamond crown on his head.

 

But, as she walked on toward Mr. Drake's store she saw nothing of the fairy prince, though she kept a sharp lookout⁴. Well, she got the pound of butter and the cornmeal, and to make sure it was fresh she ate a little, for that's the surest way to tell. Then she started for home, with the butter under one wing and the cornmeal under the other.

 

Well, all of a sudden, just as she got past the weeping willow⁵ tree, if she didn't step on a sharp stone and cut her foot, because, you see, she had no shoes on, and the stone was very, very sharp, almost as sharp as an exclamation⁶ point; yes, indeed! There, I had the printer put one in (!) so you could see how very sharp it is. Always be careful of exclamation points, children.

 

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" cried Alice, as she felt the sharp stone go in her foot, and she had to sink down to the ground, it hurt her so. Then the cornmeal fell from under her wing and the bag burst and it spilled all over. Then the butter fell from under the other wing, but that didn't get hurt any. It only got some dents⁷ in it, and you know that doesn't matter, for butter.

 

"Oh, dear! Whatever shall I do?" cried Alice again. "I—I can't walk on my sore foot, and I can't carry the cornmeal and the butter! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! My foot's bleeding, too!" and, sure enough it was. Poor Alice! How sorry I feel for her.

 

"Ah, if only the fairy prince would appear now," she went on. "He would cause a golden chariot to take me home!"

 

You see, Alice hadn't gotten over being romantic, even if she had cut her foot. Oh, my, no, and a diamond earring⁸ besides!

 

Well, as true as I'm telling you, no sooner had she made that wish about the fairy prince than a voice called out:

 

"Who is crying? Does any one need help?"

 

"Yes," replied Alice, "I do. I've cut my foot, and I've dented⁹ the butter in several places, but that doesn't matter much, and I've spilled the cornmeal."

 

"Oh, what a lot of troubles for one poor little duck girl!" cried the voice again. "Perhaps, I can help you," and who should come along but Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice old gentleman rabbit. "Let us see what's the trouble," he went on, and he put his strongest spectacles¹⁰ over his nose and he looked at the cut in Alice's foot. Then he cried:

 

"Oh, I should say that was a cut! Oh, my, yes! No doubt about it whatever! But there, don't cry," he added, for he saw some tears running down Alice's yellow bill. "I'll fix it for you."

 

So he got some nice, soft leaves, and he tied them on her sore foot with some stout¹¹ grass. Then she felt better, but she couldn't walk, and she didn't know how she was ever going to get home. So she asked Uncle Wiggily.

 

"Why, the easiest thing in the world!" cried Uncle Wiggily. "All I have to do is to say a little verse¹², and I'll think of a way." So he said this little verse:

 

"Wiggily, waggily, woggily wome,

How shall I get Alice home?

She has hurt herself quite much

And she'll have to use my crutch¹³."

Of course, Uncle Wiggily knew that wasn't a very good verse, but it was the best he could do.

 

"You shall use my cornstalk crutch, that Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made for me," he went on. "It will be just the thing."

 

"Won't you need it?" asked Alice, very politely.

 

"No," said Uncle Wiggily. "My rheumatism¹⁴ is much better to-day. You may have it," and he fitted it under Alice's wing, and she could walk pretty well, not having to use her sore foot.

 

Then that kind old rabbit scraped up all the cornmeal, and he put some in his big left ear and some in his big right ear, because the bag was broken, and he carried the dented butter, which wasn't hurt the least mite¹⁵.

 

Then they started for the duck pen and they reached it safely, Alice limping¹⁶ along as well as she could. And Uncle Wiggily told Mamma Wibblewobble about the accident, after he had emptied his left ear and his right ear of the cornmeal and had handed over the dented butter. Dr. Possum was called in to put some salve on Alice's foot, and she was soon better.

 

Now that's all to-night, but, if the moving man doesn't take my typewriter away, I shall tell you to-morrow night about Jimmie in a tall tree.

 

1 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

2 knob   

n.球形把手，球形柄，旋钮，小块

参考例句：

• There is a knob of butter on the table.桌子上有一小块黄油。
• This knob is only held on by sellotape.这个旋钮只是用透明胶带固定住的。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

5 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

6 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

7 dents   

n.花边边饰；凹痕( dent的名词复数 )；凹部；减少；削弱v.使产生凹痕( dent的第三人称单数 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• He hammered out the dents in the metal sheet. 他把金属板上的一些凹痕敲掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Tin dents more easily than steel. 锡比钢容易变瘪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 earring   

n.耳环，耳饰

参考例句：

• How long have you worn that earring?你戴那个耳环多久了？
• I have an earring but can't find its companion.我现在只有一只耳环,找不到另一只了。

9 dented   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
• I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 spectacles   

n.眼镜

参考例句：

• a pair of spectacles 一副眼镜
• People wear spectacles so that they can see better. 人们戴眼镜是为了看得更清楚。

12 verse   

n.诗，韵文，诗行

参考例句：

• He is good at verse.他善于作诗。
• His book was in parts written in verse.他的书有许多地方是用韵文写的。

13 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

14 rheumatism   

n.风湿病

参考例句：

• The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。
• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

15 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。

16 limping   

一瘸一拐地走( limp的现在分词 )； 困难地航行； 磕磕绊绊； 跛行

参考例句：

• We were off before sunrise, Sandy riding and I limping along behind. 还没出太阳，我们就动身了，桑弟骑马，我一瘸一点的在后边跟着。
• The young surgeon lifted up the limping General, and offered to conduct him to his home. 青年外科医生把瘫软无力的将军扶起来，要送他回家。