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CHAPTER XIV TOMMY’S LETTER
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ONE day they were talking about it, all together.
 
“God is our Father, as the preacher said,” declared Mary. “I read it to-day in the magazine, don’t you remember?”
 
“Yes,” agreed Tommy, “it must be He who sends the papers to us, for nobody else knows about us. But He knows everything,—the preacher said so.”
 
“I wish we could thank Him,” said little Polly. “He has been so good not to forget us.”
 
“I am going to write to Him,” said Tommy suddenly; “there is a Letter-Box in the paper, and boys and girls write to it every week. I am going to write and tell the Lord1 how we thank Him.”
 
And forthwith Tommy sat down and wrote[146] to the magazine a letter something like those which he read every week in the Letter-Box,—yet different. An island letter would have to be different. This is what Tommy wrote:
 
Lucky Island, Maine.
 
Dear Magazine,—You kum evry weak, an i dono ow we got long witout You. The aint nobody in the Sity to tel You how to get to This jumpin-of plais, so we no that Our Father must send You evry weak. An we wanter Thanx him but we dono ow. Plees put this Leter in the Leterbox sos he wil see. He dont kum here in Wintr its so lonsum I gess he wood be glad if he knu ow hapy he made 6 litl chilren way down in Maine. I hop2 he will send it evr an evr we havnt nothin els to red.
 
Yours truly,
Tommy Prout.
 
The editor of the magazine did not often print a letter spelled as badly as this one of poor Tommy Prout, who was eight years old,[147] but who only went to school in the spring and fall. But when the editor read that letter he blew his nose and wiped his glasses and said:—
 
“Yes, I’ll print your letter just as it is, Tommy Prout, and I think it will please Him whom you wish to thank, even if some one else mails the paper for Him every week.”
 
So that is why, some days later, when Kenneth Thornton was carelessly cutting the leaves of his new magazine, he suddenly gave a surprised whistle. The name of his beloved3 summer island had caught his eye, at the head of a letter in the Letter-Box.
 
“Oh, Mamma,” he cried, “see, here is a letter from our island. And it is signed, ‘Tommy Prout.’ But I can’t make out the funny spelling.”
 
Then Kenneth’s mamma read the letter aloud, and it did not sound so queer4 as it looked. When she had finished there were tears in her eyes and in Rose’s, too. And Kenneth was winking5 queerly6.
 
[148]“The dear little fellow!” said Mamma. “Just think what it means to them to have those papers that you don’t care for. O children, our Father surely did put it into your heads to send the magazines; so Tommy is right.”
 
“And we will send them ‘ever and ever,’ as Tommy hopes, won’t we, Kenneth?” cried Rose eagerly.
 
“Course we will,” said Kenneth promptly7.
 
“I’d like to write a letter to the little girl Prouts,” mused8 Rose. “It must be awfully9 lonesome on the island in winter.”
 
“We must wait till next summer, Rose dear,” said her mamma. “We have been bad neighbors to those little children, and we must get acquainted10 with them first. The little Prouts do not know us, and it is our fault. But another summer we will know them. And then we will plan what we can do to make their winters less lonely. Poor babies!”
 
“I’d like to send them a Christmas box,”[149] said Kenneth, who had been thinking all this time. “I’ll send the boys a lot of books and candy and things.”
 
“And I’ll send some to the girls,” cried Rose, clapping her hands. “Oh! That will be fine,—and a doll for each one.”
 
“That is a good plan,” said Mrs. Thornton. “We will certainly do it. How selfish we have been to care for our beautiful island only while we were there, and to forget our neighbors who live there all the year through! Just think, Kenneth and Rose, those children believe that our Father doesn’t come there in winter. We must change that, and show them that He is watching all His children all the time.”
 
Kenneth and Rose had a beautiful time making ready that Christmas box. Into it they put all the things that they had first thought of, and a great many beside. And they sent it so that it reached the island on Christmas eve. Tim Parks brought it over to the Prouts the next morning.
 
[150]“I guess your friend who sends you the magazines has sent you something fine for Christmas,” he grinned, as he carried the heavy box into the room where the six little Prouts stood gaping11 with wonder. “‘The Misses and the Masters Prout!’” he cried, reading the label.
 
Mary squeezed12 Tommy’s hand and whispered something as they all crowded around while the box was being opened. And Tommy nodded wisely.
 
On the top of the box, inside, was a card which read: “Merry Christmas to the little Prouts, from a brother and a sister who read Tommy’s letter in the Letter-Box. The kind Father watches over us all alike13, on islands and in the big cities, and He bids us love one another, especially on His birthday.”
 
A brother and a sister in the city! That news was almost more welcome than the box itself. If Kenneth and Rose could have seen those six little Prouts and have heard their squeals14 of joy when the box was unpacked,[151] they would have been glad indeed that they had remembered to be brotherly and sisterly.
 
The magazines which kept coming “ever and ever” and the books that were in that Christmas box were the beginning of the Island Public Library, of which every one is now so proud, and of many other good things which happened to the island and especially to the little Prouts.
 
For in summers after that they grew to know and to love their neighbors, the city children. Kenneth and Rose have been a good brother and sister to the little Prouts ever since; and it is as good a fortune for Kenneth and Rose as it is for the little Prouts.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lord t0NxW     
n.上帝,主;主人,长官;君主,贵族
参考例句:
  • I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
  • How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊,竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾!
2 hop vdJzL     
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
参考例句:
  • The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
  • How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
3 beloved DQey3     
adj./n.受爱戴的,敬爱的;爱人,被心爱的人
参考例句:
  • She longs for the early return of her beloved.她盼着心上人早日归来。
  • She is Tom's beloved wife.她是汤姆的爱妻。
4 queer f0rzP     
adj.奇怪的,异常的,不舒服的,眩晕的
参考例句:
  • I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
  • She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。
5 winking b599b2f7a74d5974507152324c7b8979     
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
参考例句:
  • Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到,简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 queerly 298f39fe1cbf32b87c171f846f8cd71e     
adv.奇妙地,奇怪地
参考例句:
  • He looked at me queerly. 他异样地望着我。
  • He looked at her queerly. 他怀疑地望着她。 来自辞典例句
7 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
8 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
9 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
10 acquainted Jfgy5     
adj.对某事物熟悉的,对 某人认识的
参考例句:
  • The students are already acquainted with the work of Shakespeare. 这些学生已经读过莎士比亚的著作。
  • I have heard about your friend but I'm not acquainted with him. 我听说过你的朋友,但同他不熟。
11 gaping gaping     
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大
参考例句:
  • Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 squeezed e396ccf5815f55dfee9b57a2ee33f521     
squeeze(挤压)的过去式与过去分词
参考例句:
  • freshly squeezed orange juice 鲜榨橙汁
  • They squeezed too many people into the small room. 他们把太多的人塞进这间小房间里。
13 alike kLUyz     
adj.同样的,相像的;adv.一样地;同程度地 
参考例句:
  • The twins are so alike that I can't tell which is which.这对双胞胎一模一样,我分辨不出谁是谁。
  • All stories seemed dreadfully alike,no matter who told them.看来,不管谁讲,故事都是千篇一律的。
14 squeals 4754a49a0816ef203d1dddc615bc7983     
n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫,用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
  • There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句


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