XVI FREDDIE'S ESCAPE

There was really nothing Freddie Firefly could do except struggle to his feet and try to think at the same time. Flashing his light upon Jennie Junebug he saw that she was looking at him fondly. And that made him detest¹ her more than ever.

 

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," he said spitefully.

 

"Yes, indeed!" the fat lady exclaimed. "I haven't had such sport for a whole week. One of your cousins flew with me one night. And we had a fine time. No doubt we'd be enjoying each other's company yet, if I hadn't had a bit of bad luck."

 

"What was that?" Freddie Firefly asked her quickly. He thought that if he could only keep his dreadful² companion TALKING, perhaps she would forget about FLYING—and knocking him down. "What was your bad luck?" he repeated impatiently.

 

Jennie Junebug paused and wiped her eyes.

 

"It was dreadful!" she said at last, as soon as she could control her shaking voice. "It was the worst accident that ever happened to me. … Your cousin broke his neck!"

 

Although Freddie Firefly sank back with a groan³, she did not seem to notice him.

 

"Your cousin—" she continued—"your cousin was the easiest thing to knock down that I ever saw. Why, once I knocked him over thirty-three times in one minute—or in other words, as fast as he flashed his light. . . . I had struck him so many times that he was growing weaker. Earlier in the evening, when he flashed thirty-six times to the minute, he was a little too quick for me."

 

"Don't stop! Tell me more!" Freddie Firefly begged her, as the fat lady ceased talking and fanned herself rapidly. And then, while she continued to tell him about his unfortunate cousin, Freddie set his wits to work upon a plan to escape from the dreadful creature. He hardly knew what she was saying. But every time she paused he urged her on again with a "Yes, yes!" or a "Go on! Go on!"

 

At first a wild hope came to him that he might be able to keep her talking all night. Then, of course, he would be safe; because when daylight came she would no longer be able to see his light.

 

But he soon had to give up that plan, for he saw plainly enough that the fat lady was growing restless. And at last she told him flatly that she had talked all she cared to.

 

"I'm ready to fly now," she announced with an awful eagerness.

 

"One moment!" he said hastily⁴. "Your fan—I see you've torn it! And if you'll let me take it I'll try to find you another just like it."

 

"Will you?" Jennie Junebug asked him gratefully. "And will you promise to come back just as soon as you've found me a PERFECT match for my fan?"

 

"I promise!" said Freddie Firefly, snatching⁵ the fan out of her hands in his haste. "Wait right here!" he cautioned⁶ her. And then he leaped into the air and started away.

 

BANG! He hadn't flown longer than forty-six seconds when Jennie Junebug floored him again.

 

"I simply couldn't resist hitting you once more!" she said sweetly. "And now, hurry! Or I shall never be able to let you leave me."

 

Freddie Firefly needed no more urging. Though he was sore in every limb⁷ (and he had a great many!) he made his escape quickly.

 

All the rest of the night he worked hard, trying to find a white clover leaf that exactly matched the one that Jennie Junebug had carried for a fan. But every single clover leaf was different from Jennie's in one way or another. Freddie Firefly had hoped that it would be so. For if he had found one precisely⁸ like Jennie Junebug's, he would have had to take it to her, as he had promised.

 

How long the fat lady waited for him in the meadow⁹, Freddie Firefly never knew. And to tell the truth, he didn't care. He was too happy because he had escaped the fate of his cousin, to bother his head over Jennie Junebug.

 

1 detest   

vt.痛恨，憎恶

参考例句：

• I detest people who tell lies.我恨说谎的人。
• The workers detest his overbearing manner.工人们很讨厌他那盛气凌人的态度。

2 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

3 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

4 hastily   

ad.过于匆忙地，急急忙忙地

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily. 我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤，做事不可匆忙。

5 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。

6 cautioned   

v.警告，提醒，劝…小心( caution的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He cautioned us for playing in that busy street. 他告诫我们不要在那条交通繁忙的路上玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He cautioned that the Russia-American discussions were still in an exploratory stage. 他警告说俄美会谈尚处于探索阶段。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 limb   

n.树枝，四肢，枝干，边缘；vt.切断手足，切断树干

参考例句：

• She sat on a limb of the tree and looked down.她坐在一根大树枝上往下看。
• His refusal to agree left him out on a limb.他拒不表示同意，致使自己处于孤立地位。

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 meadow   

n.草地，牧草地

参考例句：

• The children ran free across the meadow.孩子们在草地里自由地奔跑。
• The meadow is peopled with wild flowers.草地长满了野花。