AT last, however, when Kenneth was so tired and faint that he could hardly walk another step, they came to the kitchen garden. There were the pie trees and the raspberry shrubs1, the caramel plants and the bonbon2 hedge, brown with luscious3 chocolates.
“Now, help yourself,” said the imp4 cordially. And without further invitation Kenneth fell to. A fine cream pie lay under one of the trees, from which it had just fallen. Kenneth cut a wedge out of it with the knife which was sticking conveniently in the tree-trunk, and began to eat it ravenously5. But faugh! What dreadful stuff! It was frosted with soapsuds instead of whipped cream!
“April Fool!” cried the imp, dancing up and down, for this was the best joke of all.
[49]“Oh!” whimpered Kenneth, “I hope they are not all April-Fool goodies.” And he ran to the next tree. But a bite was all he needed to prove that he must not trust his eyes this April Fool’s night. The mince6 pies were made of sand and sawdust, with pebbles7 for plums. The sponge cake was indeed a real sponge. The doughnuts were of India rubber; they might be fine for a teething baby to bite, but they were a poor lunch for a hungry boy. The griddle-cakes were rounds of leather, nicely browned on both sides. The salad was made of tissue paper; the chocolates were stuffed with cotton wool and other horrid8 stuff; while the maple9 sugar, upon which Kenneth was perfectly10 sure he could rely, turned out to be yellow soap—clean, but not appetizing.
Even the eggs, growing innocently white upon the egg-plant, turned out to be hollow mockeries; some humorous little boy seemed to have blown their insides away, as a great joke. Once Kenneth would have thought that[50] a very funny idea. But now he sat down and cried and cried, he was so disappointed and so hungry.
“Ha! ha!” laughed the imp. “April Fool! This isn’t Fairyland at all; this is April Fool Land, and you are It. But come, I really think you have had enough of it. I will take you to the true Fairyland, and give you over to your kind, good, serious Fairy guide. Shall we go? One, two, three—out goes he!” And with a snap of his fingers, Kenneth found himself outside the tantalizing12 kitchen garden, walking toward his good Fairy’s real, truly palace, which gleamed comfortingly through the trees.
At first he dared not think that it was really so; he suspected another joke of April Fool’s. But at last he spied the good Fairy herself, standing13 at the top of the long flight of marble steps which led up to the palace. Kenneth[51] ran forward and waved his hand eagerly, he was so anxious to exchange guides and to be rid of the hateful imp. But the Fairy did not seem to see him. She was shading her eyes with her hand and looking off over the Christmas trees, appearing troubled.
“Humph!” growled14 the imp. “There she is, looking for you. And how eager you are to leave me, now that you have enjoyed all the jokes I had to play. Well, good-by! You have only to walk up the staircase to your goody-goody Fairy, and you will be safe from me. I cannot pass into that palace, where the fun is of a different kind from mine.”
“It is a great deal nicer than yours, for it is always kind,” retorted Kenneth, “and yet it is just as funny.”
“Very well, go and look for it, then,” cried the imp, and without another word he disappeared.
Kenneth was much relieved to see him go. He set his foot on the lowest stair and eagerly began the ascent15 of the marble flight. But no[52] sooner had he lifted his foot to the second step than the staircase itself began to move under him, so that he had to step quickly to keep from falling. Horrible! What did this mean? “April Fool!” cried a voice behind him. “Ha! ha! It is my last joke, and it is a rare good one. You are on a treadmill16 staircase, Kenneth. You must climb fast or you will fall down and be ground up inside the machine. Hurrah17! Step lively, please! Quicker, quicker! Maybe you will reach the top by to-morrow morning.”
Kenneth had to work his little legs faster and faster and faster, as the great staircase revolved18 under him. Yet however he strove he reached never a step nearer the top, but remained always in the same spot. And the Fairy still looked away over the tops of the Christmas trees, without seeing him.
“Ha! ha!” laughed the imp; but his voice was fainter than it had been, and Kenneth hoped it was fading away. The poor boy was so exhausted19 that he felt he could not keep[53] up for long. His legs ached and his head ached dizzily, and his poor back, bent20 over the whirling staircase, ached most of all. “I cannot bear it,” he said to himself, panting and out of breath. “I cannot move my legs any faster. I cannot breathe. I must sit down, even if I do go under to be ground into little pieces.”
Without more ado Kenneth sat down on the staircase, closing his eyes and shuddering21 with fear of what might happen next. But what happened? The staircase merely stopped with a jerk—and stood still.
“April Fool!” cried the far-off voice of the imp. “You might have done it long ago. April Fool—Fool—Fool!” and the voice faded away into a mere22 sigh of the breeze.
At the same moment Kenneth heard a sweet call from the top of the staircase. “Kenneth, Kenneth!” it said, in silvery tones quite unlike the imp’s harsh ones. And, looking up, he saw his good Fairy coming swiftly down the staircase toward him.
[54]“Oh, good Fairy,” sobbed Kenneth, “I have had such a dreadful time looking for you! Please stay by me, and do not let that bad, bad April Fool find me again.”
The good Fairy leaned over Kenneth and put her hand on his head. “Poor boy!” she said. “Has April Fool been playing his tricks on you? This was his night, you know. He said you were a friend of his, so we had to let him have his joke with you. He is indeed a horrid fellow, and I hope he is no longer your friend.”
“No, he will never be my friend again,” cried Kenneth.
“I like my own kind of jokes a great deal better,” said the Fairy: “pleasant surprises, unexpected kindnesses, pain turned into pleasure, and disappointment into joy. One can play those jokes all through the year. But it is too late for any of them to-night. You must go back home now, Kenneth.”
“I am quite ready to go,” said Kenneth wearily, for even a pleasant joke had no charms[55] for him now, he was so tired. The Fairy took him by the hand and led him back to the station. They passed the magic nut bushes, but Kenneth did not pause. They walked under the tempting23 Christmas trees, but he did not look up. They went between the rows of flowers, gently tittering on either side, but Kenneth did not so much as glance at them. The kind Fairy held his hand, and April Fool could play no tricks upon him now.
At the station the Fairy guide kissed Kenneth sweetly, and closed his eyes with her wand. “Come again to-morrow night,” she murmured, “and naughty April Fool will be gone for another year. Then you shall come into my palace and we will play some happy tricks.”
Then she spoke24 the magic words of his return ticket, and Kenneth, with his eyes closed, felt a spring, a rush, and a whirling about his head. But he never peeped until he felt once more the gentle jounce that told[56] him the end of his journey had come. Then with his fists he rubbed his eyes and, winking25 sleepily, opened them to find himself snugly26 lying in bed, with the morning sun shining into his window.
点击收听单词发音
1 shrubs | |
灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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2 bonbon | |
n.棒棒糖;夹心糖 | |
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3 luscious | |
adj.美味的;芬芳的;肉感的,引与性欲的 | |
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4 imp | |
n.顽童 | |
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5 ravenously | |
adv.大嚼地,饥饿地 | |
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6 mince | |
n.切碎物;v.切碎,矫揉做作地说 | |
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7 pebbles | |
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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8 horrid | |
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 | |
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9 maple | |
n.槭树,枫树,槭木 | |
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10 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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11 sobbed | |
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说 | |
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12 tantalizing | |
adj.逗人的;惹弄人的;撩人的;煽情的v.逗弄,引诱,折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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13 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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14 growled | |
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说 | |
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15 ascent | |
n.(声望或地位)提高;上升,升高;登高 | |
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16 treadmill | |
n.踏车;单调的工作 | |
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17 hurrah | |
int.好哇,万岁,乌拉 | |
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18 revolved | |
v.(使)旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 );细想 | |
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19 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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20 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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21 shuddering | |
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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22 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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23 tempting | |
a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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24 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 | |
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25 winking | |
n.瞬眼,目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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26 snugly | |
adv.紧贴地;贴身地;暖和舒适地;安适地 | |
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