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CHAPTER XIII.A NEW STATE OF AFFAIRS.
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 “Oh my! Good gracious me!” exclaimed a voice as we approached the entrance to the palace and looking up we beheld1 the Cockatoo perched on a window-sill. “Just look at these creatures. What a color. Why, why,” she exclaimed, peering at us closely, “I’m bothered if it isn’t the Wallypug and the Hatless Man, and the great Mr. A. Fish, Esq. Where have you been? What did you come back for? What do you want?” she screamed.
 
“It’s dud of your busidess,” replied A. Fish, Esq., shortly.
 
“Oh! isn’t it,” said the Cockatoo furiously. “I’ll soon show you whether it’s none of my business or not. To begin with, the Wallypug and the headless traitor”—
 
“Do you mean me?” I interrupted, “because I am not headless yet, you know.”
 
“Headless, or hatless, it’s all the same,” said the Cockatoo, “you might as well run about without your head for all the good it is to you,” she added insolently2. “Well you two are escaped prisoners,” she ran on, “and I shall see that you are locked up again, so there.”
 
“But it was all a mistake,” said His Majesty3 mildly.
 
“What was?” yelled the bird.
 
“What I said about a ’horse a horse, my kingdom for a horse!’ you know,” said the Wallypug.
 
“Why don’t you say what you mean then?” cried the Cockatoo. “Well, I shall have you locked up anyhow. Here, Crocodile,” she shouted, “just come and arrest these creatures will you?”
 
“Shan’t!” replied a voice from within; “who are you ordering about. If you want them arrested, do it yourself. I’m not going to do as you tell me, so there! besides, all the prisoners have been set free that Madame sentenced, you know that well enough?”
 
“Yah! Down with him, down with Crocodiles; down with pale-blue Wallypugs and hatless men; down with fishes of all sorts. Down with everybody and everything; down with——.”
 
We did not stop to hear any more of her ravings, but passed through and up into the Doctor-in-Law’s old rooms.
 
We found him looking very weak and ill, but he recognized us all, and held out his hand to the Wallypug, who told him encouragingly that he would soon be well again.
 
“Yes, ad thed I’ll teach you elocutiod for dothig,” promised A. Fish, Esq.
 
The Doctor-in-Law smiled faintly, and whispered that what was keeping him back most was the thought of the heavy doctor’s bill which he would have to pay when he got better.
 
The good-natured little Wallypug made him very happy by promising4 to pay this amount for him, and we left the little man looking very much brighter than when we entered.
 
The rest of the morning was spent in his Majesty’s private apartments, discussing all sorts of plans for the future, for, as the Wallypug very properly remarked, now that the Mother-in-Law had gone he should have a freer hand in the administration of affairs.
 
A. Fish, Esq., busied himself in preparing an elaborate lecture, which he said he would deliver in public on the morrow, on the “Unreasonableness of Misunderstandability,” and which would, he hoped, clearly explain away the mistake which had been made, in accusing his Majesty of treason, in connection with his unfortunate recitation of “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”
 
While we were thus busily engaged there came an impatient tap-tap-tapping at the door, and on opening it we beheld the Crow looking more disreputably untidy than ever. He carried a large bundle of papers and a quill5 pen. “Ahem!” he began importantly, “I call on behalf of the Daily Whyer a new paper which I have just established, and which I am happy to say has already an enormous circulation in Why. It is very cheap (four copies for a penny), and contains an enormous amount of totally unreliable information; besides which there is a page devoted6 to domestic matters, highly interesting to ladies, and includes receipts for artistically7 furnishing your house with old tea chests and soap boxes, painted with enamel8 and draped with art muslin; there are also several poems weekly on the subject of ‘Baby’s Little Socks,’ which are immensely popular with some people, here is one of them,” he cried, turning to the back page of his paper, a copy of which he had with him.
 
“Oh! the baby’s little socks,
Darling baby’s little socks;
 
When the kettle’s softly steaming,
When the firelight’s glow is gleaming,
And I’m sitting idly dreaming,
 
Whisper gently, ‘baby’s socks.’
 
“Oh the darling little socks;
Baby’s baby’s little socks;
 
Toys that baby fingers scatter9,
Little feet that pitter-patter,
Tittle tongues—but there—no matter,
 
Let’s get back to baby’s socks.”
 
“There,” he concluded triumphantly10, “what do you think of that?”
 
“Well, I don’t wish to be rude,” I remarked, “but I certainly think it’s the greatest rubbish I’ve ever heard in all my life.”
 
“Rubbish!” he exclaimed, “Why all the ladies who read the Daily Whyer think it beautiful. I have to get the same gentleman to write verses like that nearly every day.”
 
“Do you mean to tell me,” I replied, “that a man writes such twaddle as that.”
 
“Oh! you’re jealous, that’s what’s the matter with you. A man write them? of course he does.”
 
“And do you pay him for these precious contributions,” I exclaimed in surprise.
 
“I promise to pay him ever so much a year,” said the Crow, “but—er—ahem—I have a very bad memory. I have several contributors whom I pay on the same system, it’s a very cheap way,” he sniffled. “I’ve copied it from a contemporary.”
 
“Well, we’re very busy just dow,” said A. Fish, Esq., “would you bind11 telling us your busidess ad goig, because we wandt to ged to work agaid.”
 
“Oh! to tell you the truth,” said the Crow, “I wanted to know if the Wallypug would let me print an interview with him in to-morrow’s paper. You have just returned from Wer-har-wei, I believe, haven’t you; I was sitting on the signal post at the station just now and saw you arrive. I think my readers would be very interested in hearing your impressions of the country.”
 
I took his Majesty aside and pointed12 out to him that very possibly an interview with him appearing in the paper would have a good effect on his people, and he could use it as a means of advertising13 the reforms he intended making in the government of the land; and his Majesty agreeing with me on the point, he seated himself comfortably in his own particular chair, and the Crow, perching on the back of another, the interview began.
 
“Let’s see,” said the Crow, making a great spluttering with his pen, which was cross-nibbed and broken. “When were you born?”
 
“Well, really,” said his Majesty, “I, er—was so young at the time that I scarcely remember.”
 
“Oh, well, I’ll put it down as Y. D. 987; that will do as well as any other date.”
 
“Why Y. D.?” I inquired, curiously14.
 
“Year of disgrace,” was the prompt reply. “Bless me! this must be a Post Office pen,” he went on, as the pen scattered15 the ink about in all directions. “They are always bad, you know.” Then, having asked the Wallypug no end of questions, not only about our journey, but on all sorts of private matters also, the wretched-looking bird gathered up his papers, which were covered with unintelligible16 blots17 and scratches and scattered in all parts of the room, and, tucking them under his wing, departed, to have the matter set up in print.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 beheld beheld     
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟
参考例句:
  • His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
2 insolently 830fd0c26f801ff045b7ada72550eb93     
adv.自豪地,自傲地
参考例句:
  • No does not respect, speak insolently,satire, etc for TT management team member. 不得发表对TT管理层人员不尊重、出言不逊、讽刺等等的帖子。 来自互联网
  • He had replied insolently to his superiors. 他傲慢地回答了他上司的问题。 来自互联网
3 majesty MAExL     
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权
参考例句:
  • The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
  • Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下,您必须赶快做出决定!
4 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
5 quill 7SGxQ     
n.羽毛管;v.给(织物或衣服)作皱褶
参考例句:
  • He wrote with a quill.他用羽毛笔写字。
  • She dipped a quill in ink,and then began to write.她将羽毛笔在墨水里蘸了一下,随后开始书写。
6 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
7 artistically UNdyJ     
adv.艺术性地
参考例句:
  • The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美,装帧高雅。
  • The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。
8 enamel jZ4zF     
n.珐琅,搪瓷,瓷釉;(牙齿的)珐琅质
参考例句:
  • I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
  • He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。
9 scatter uDwzt     
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散
参考例句:
  • You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
  • Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。
10 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
参考例句:
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
11 bind Vt8zi     
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬
参考例句:
  • I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
  • He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。
12 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
13 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
14 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
15 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
16 unintelligible sfuz2V     
adj.无法了解的,难解的,莫明其妙的
参考例句:
  • If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据,它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
  • The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。
17 blots 25cdfd1556e0e8376c8f47eb20f987f9     
污渍( blot的名词复数 ); 墨水渍; 错事; 污点
参考例句:
  • The letter had many blots and blurs. 信上有许多墨水渍和污迹。
  • It's all, all covered with blots the same as if she were crying on the paper. 到处,到处都是泪痕,像是她趴在信纸上哭过。 来自名作英译部分


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