CHAPTER XIX A VERY SICK DOLL

 "Madam," declared Brother seriously, "your child is very ill, I fear!"

 

He was the "doctor" and had been called to attend Muriel Elsie, Sister's best and largest doll. The children had started this new game one day.

 

"Oh, Doctor!" fluttered¹ Sister, much worried. "Can't you give her something?"

 

The doctor sat down on the window-seat and considered.

 

"You ate all the peppermints² up," he told Muriel Elsie's "mother." Then he went on: "And Louise hid the box of chocolates. No, I don't believe I can give her any medicines."

 

"Yes, you can," urged the little mother, hurriedly. "Go to the drug store; that's where Doctor Yarrow gets all his pills and things."

 

"Where—where is the drugstore?" stammered³ the doctor.

 

He was used to having Sister tell him. She usually planned their games.

 

"Why, it's—it's—" Sister looked about her desperately⁴. Where should she say the drugstore was? "I know," she cried. "Over to Grandma's—hurry!"

 

Grandmother Hastings glanced up from her sewing in surprise as Brother and Sister tumbled⁵ up the steps of the side porch⁶ where she sat.

 

"Oh, Grandma!" and Sister fell over the Boston fern in her eagerness to explain the play. "Grandma, Muriel Elsie is ever so sick, and Roddy is the doctor; and we have to go to the drugstore to get medicine for her. Have you any? You have, haven't you, Grandma?"

 

"Dear me," said Grandmother Hastings, adjusting her glasses. "Muriel Elsie is very ill, is she? Well, now, what kind of medicine do you think she needs?"

 

"Muriel Elsie likes medicine that tastes good," explained Sister.

 

"Well, I must put on my thinking-cap," said dear Grandmother Hastings. "I didn't know I was keeping a 'drug store' till this minute, you see."

 

The children were as quiet as two little mice, so that Grandmother might think better.

 

"I know!" she cried in a moment. "I think I have the very thing! Come on out in the kitchen with me."

 

They pattered after her and watched while she lifted down a large pasteboard box from a cupboard. From this box she took several tiny round boxes, such as druggists use for pills.

 

"I think Muriel Elsie needs two kinds of medicine," said Grandmother gravely. "Now if you want to watch me put it up, there's nothing to hinder⁷ you."

 

Grandmother Hastings could play "pretend" beautifully, as Brother and Sister often said. Now she opened her shining white bread box and took out a loaf of white bread and one of brown. She washed her hands carefully at the sink, tied on a big white apron⁸ and brought the sugar and cinnamon from the pantry.

 

"Oh, Grandma!" squeaked⁹ Brother in joyful¹⁰ excitement. "What are you going to do?"

 

"Why, get some medicine ready for Muriel Elsie," answered his grandmother, making believe to be surprised. "Didn't you want me to?"

 

"Of course—don't mind him, Grandma," said Sister scornfully. "I'd like to keep a drug store when I grow up."

 

Grandmother cut a slice of bread from the white loaf and buttered it lightly. Then she sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar, broke off a little piece and rolled that into several tiny round balls. They looked for all the world like real pills.

 

Then she cut a slice of brown bread and rolled that into little pills, too. She filled four of the small boxes.

 

"There!" she said, giving the boxes to Brother. "See that your patient takes a white pill and a brown one every two minutes and she will soon be well."

 

"Thank you very much, Grandma," said Brother, standing¹¹ up to go. "Don't you want us to eat the trimmings?"

 

Grandmother laughed and said yes, they might eat the crusts, and she gave them each a slice of the brown bread spread with nice, sweet butter, too.

 

Brother and Sister hurried home and on the way over they changed to the Doctor and Muriel Elsie's worried mamma. They had been so interested in watching Grandmother Hastings make the pills that they had almost forgotten that they were playing.

 

They had left the patient in the porch swing—Sister said it was important to keep her in the fresh air—but when they went to take her up and give her a pill, she wasn't to be found.

 

"Perhaps Louise did something to her," decided¹³ Sister.

 

But Louise, questioned, declared she had not seen the doll.

 

"Is it Muriel Elsie you're looking for?" asked Molly, her head tied up in a sweep cap and a broom on her shoulder as she prepared to sweep the upstairs hall. "Why, I found her half an hour ago on the porch floor, her face all cracked into little chips."

 

"Muriel Elsie all chipped?" repeated Sister in wonder. "Why, she's my very best doll!"

 

"'Twas that imp¹² of a Brownie did it," related Molly. "I was coming out to sweep the porch off, and he raced on ahead and went to jerking¹⁴ the cushions out of the hammock. First thing I knew there was a crash, and the doll was smashed¹⁵ on the floor. I saved you the pieces, Sister."

 

Brownie had a trick, the children knew, of snatching¹⁶ the sofa and swing cushions and flinging¹⁷ them on the floor whenever he thought anyone was ready to sleep. They had always considered this rather a clever trick for a little dog, and Sister could not find it in her heart to scold him even now.

 

"I suppose he didn't know Muriel Elsie was there," she said sorrowfully. "I had a cushion over her so she couldn't take cold. Where did you put her, Molly?"

 

Molly brought out the box with the unfortunate Muriel Elsie in it. Only her pretty face was damaged and that was badly chipped. Besides her whole head wobbled on her body.

 

Sister began to cry.

 

"Maybe Ralph can mend her," she sobbed¹⁸. "My poor little Muriel Elsie! And we were playing she was sick, too."

 

"Yes, I guess Ralph can mend her," said Brother bravely. "He can mend lots of things. And you have all the pieces."

 

Sister took the box under her arm and went down to the gate to wait for Ralph, who was expected home on an early train.

 

"Well, I s'pose we might as well eat the pills," suggested Brother. "Muriel Elsie's certainly too sick for pills—she needs—operating on!"

 

So they ate the pills while they were waiting for Ralph, and they gave Brownie some, too. As Sister said he didn't mean to break the doll and he probably felt the way she did when she found she had knocked over Jimmie's case of butterflies.

1 fluttered   

v.飘动( flutter的过去式和过去分词 )；（心）快速跳动；振翼，拍翅膀

参考例句：

• Flags fluttered in the breeze. 旗帜在微风中飘扬。
• Imes concluded from her fluttered look that she had spent the money. 艾姆斯从她慌张的眼神推断出她花光了钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 peppermints   

n.薄荷( peppermint的名词复数 )；薄荷糖

参考例句：

• She just curls up and sucks peppermints. 她老是蜷着腿躺着，吮着薄荷糖。 来自辞典例句
• Enough, already with this mellow incense and peppermints vibe. 够了，我受够这些薰香以及薄荷的感觉了。 来自电影对白

3 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

5 tumbled   

v.倒塌( tumble的过去式和过去分词 )；翻滚；突然摔倒；恍然大悟

参考例句：

• He slipped and tumbled down the stairs. 他脚一滑滚下了楼梯。
• A hundred and fifty empty bottles tumbled onto the floor. 150个空瓶子滚落到地板上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 porch   

n.门廊，入口处，走廊，游廊

参考例句：

• There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
• The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。

7 hinder   

adj.后面的；v.阻碍，打扰

参考例句：

• Don't hinder me in my work.不要妨碍我的工作。
• Nobody wants to hinder your doing that.谁也不想阻止你做那件事。

8 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

9 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

10 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

11 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。

12 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 jerking   

n. 颠簸, 震摇 adj. 无节奏的 动词jerk的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There was much jerking of heads, and looking down the line. 常常有人伸出头来，望望后面的队伍。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• "Now, don't be jerking your chin at me," warned Gerald. "好，别跟我作对了，"杰拉尔德警告说。

15 smashed   

adj.喝醉酒的v.打碎，捣烂( smash的过去式和过去分词 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• Several windows had been smashed. 几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。
• In time-honoured tradition, a bottle of champagne was smashed on the ship. 依照由来已久的传统，对着船摔了一瓶香槟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 snatching   

突然伸手拿取，攫取，抓住( snatch的现在分词 )； 抓紧时间做； 乘机获得； 夺去

参考例句：

• Winston could not help snatching another sidelong glance at Martin's Mongolian face. 温斯顿忍不住要偷看一眼马丁的蒙古人种的脸。 来自英汉文学
• At the sound she leaped to her feet, snatching up her bonnet. 她一听这笑声便跳起来，抓起她的帽子。

17 flinging   

（尤指生气地）扔( fling的现在分词 )； 猛动（身体或身体部位）； 粗暴地（向某人）说； 气势汹汹地（对某人）说

参考例句：

• Those boys have been flinging stones at passing cars. 这些男孩子们一直朝过往的汽车扔石头。
• Why are you always flinging up my past mistakes? 你为什么总是提我过去的错误呢？

18 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。