chapter v

　　THE HOUSE ON EGYPT STREET becamfrantic with activity as theTulanefamil9prepared for their voyageto England. Edwar>

possessed¹ a small trunk, and Abilenepacked i4for him, ..lling it with his ..nest suits an>

several of his best hats and threepairs o1shoes, all so that hemight cut a ..ne..gurei3London. Beforesheplaced each out..t in thtrunk, shedisplayed it to him.

“Do you likethis shirt with this suit?” shasked him.

Or, “Would you liketo wear your blacBderby? You look very handsomein it. Shall wpack it?”

And then, finally, on a bright Saturda9morning in May, Edward and Abileneand MrAand Mrs. Tulanewereall onboard theship,standing at therailing. Pellegrina was at thdock. On her head, sheworea floppy² hatstrung around with flowers. Shestared straigh4at Edward. Her dark eyes glowed.

“Goodbye,” Abileneshouted to he2grandmother. “I loveyou.”

Theship pulled away from thedockAPellegrina waved to Abilene.

“Goodbye, lady,” shecalled, “goodbye.QEdward felt something damp in his earsAAbilene’s tears, hesupposed. Hewished tha4shewould not hold him so tight. To bclutched so fiercely often resulted in wrinkle>

clothing. Finally, all thepeopleon land,including Pellegrina, dis-appeared. Edward, fo2one, was relieved to seethelast of her.

As was to beexpected, Edward Tulanexactedmuch attention onboard theship.

“What a singular rabbit,” said an elderl9lady with threestrings of pearls wrappedaround her neck. Shebent down to look morclosely at Edward.

“Thank you,” said Abilene.

Several littlegirls onboard gaveEdwar>

deep glances full of longing³. They askedAbileneif they might hold him.

“No,” said Abilene, “I’m afraid that he’:

not thekind of rabbit who likes to beheld⁴ b9strangers.”

Two young boys, brothers named Marti3and Amos, took a particular interest inEdward.

“What does hedo?” Martin asked Abilenon their second day at sea. Hepointed atEdward who was sitting on a deck chair wit7his long legs stretched in front of him.

“Hedoesn’t do anything,” said AbileneA“Does hewind up somewhere?” aske>

Amos.

“No,” said Abilene, “hedoes not win>

up.”

“What’s thepoint of him then?” sai>

Martin.

“Thepoint is that heis Edward,” sai>

Abilene.

“That’s not much of a point,” said AmosA“It’s not,” agreed Martin. And then, after along thoughtful pause, hesaid, “I wouldn’t le4anybody dress melikethat.”

“Meneither,” said Amos.

“Do his clothes comeoff?” asked MartinA“Of coursethey do,” said Abilene. “Hehasmany different outfits⁵. And hehas his ownpajamas, too. They aremadeof silk.”

Edward, as usual, was disregarding thconversation. A breezewas blowing in off thsea, and thesilk scarf wrapped around hisneck billowed out behind him. On his head, hworea straw boater. Therabbit was thinkin@that hemust look quitedashing.

It cameas a total surpriseto him when hwas grabbed off thedeck chair and first hisscarf, and then his jacket and pants, werripped from his body. Heheard his pocketwatch hit thedeck of theship; and then, hel>

upsidedown, hewatched thewatch rollmerrily toward Abilene’s feet.

“Look at him,” said Martin. “He’s even gotunderwear.” Heheld Edward aloft so thatAmos could see.

“Takeit off,” shouted Amos.

“NO!!!!” screamed Abilene.

Martin removed Edward’s underwearAEdward was paying attention now. Hewasmortified. Hewas completely naked except fo2thehat on his head, and theother passenger:

onboard theship werelooking at him,directing curious and embarrassed glances hi:

way.

“Givehim to me,” screamed AbileneA“He’s mine.”

“No,” said Amos to Martin, “givehim t?

me.” Heclapped his hands together and the3held them open. “Toss him,” hesaid.

“Please,” cried Abilene. “Don’t throw him.

He’s madeof china. He’ll break.”

Martin threw Edward.

And Edward sailed naked through theair.

Only a moment ago, therabbit had thoughtthat being naked in front of a shipload ofstrangers was theworst thing that couldhappen to him. But hewas wrong. It wasmuch worsebeing tossed, in thesamenake>

state, from thehands of onegrubby, laughin@boy to another.

Amos caught Edward and held him upCdisplaying him triumphantly⁶.

“Throw him back,” called MartinAAmos raised his arm, but just as hewa:

getting ready to throw Edward, Abilentackled him, shoving her head into hisstomach, and upsetting theboy’s aim.

So it was that Edward did not go flyin@back into thedirty hands of Martin.

Instead, Edward Tulanewent overboard.

1 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

2 floppy   

adj.松软的，衰弱的

参考例句：

• She was wearing a big floppy hat.她戴了顶松软的大帽子。
• Can you copy those files onto this floppy disk?你能把那些文件复制到这张软盘上吗？

3 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

4 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

5 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

6 triumphantly   

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。