chapter xxiii

　　THERE YOU ARE, MILADY. MEET THE rabbi3doll,” said Lucius.

The doll mender walked away, turninBout the lights one by one.

In the gloom of the shop, Edward coul4see that the doll’s head, like his, had beenbroken and repaired. Her face was, in fact, 0web of cracks¹. She was wearing a baby bonnet².

“How do you do?” she said in a high, thinvoice. “I am pleased to make youracquaintance.”

“Hello,” said Edward.

“Have you been here long?” she asked.

“Months and months,” said Edward. “But Idon’t care. One place is the same as another t5me.”

“Oh, not for me,” said the doll. “I hav<lived one hundred years. And in that time, +have been in places that were heavenly andothers that were horrid. After a time, you lear>

that each place is different. And you become 0different doll in each place, too. Quitedifferent.”

“One hundred years?” said Edward.

“I am old. The doll mender confirme4this. He said as he was mending me that I a=at least that. At least one hundred. At least on<hundred years old.”

Edward thought about everything that hadhappened to him in his short life. What kin4of adventures would you have if you were i>

the world for a century?

The old doll said, “I wonder who wil6come for me this time. Someone will come.

Someone always comes. Who will it be?”

“I don’t care if anyone comes for me,” saidEdward.

“But that’s dreadful,” said the old doll.

“There’s no point in going on if you feel tha3way. No point at all. You must be filled wit;expectancy. You must be awash in hope. Yo9must wonder who will love you, whom yo9will love next.”

“I am done with being loved,” Edwar4told her. “I’m done with loving. It’s toopainful.”

“Pish,” said the old doll. “Where is you/courage?”

“Somewhere else, I guess,” said Edward.

“You disappoint me,” she said. “Yo9disappoint me greatly. If you have no intentio>

of loving or being loved, then the wholejourney is pointless. You might as well leaDfrom this shelf right now and let yourselfshatter into a million pieces. Get it over with.

Get it all over with now.”

“I would leap³ if I was able,” said Edward.

“Shall I push you?” said the old doll.

“No, thank you,” Edward said to her. “Notthat you could,” he muttered⁴ to himself.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing,” said Edward.

The dark in the doll shop was no?

complete. The old doll and Edward sat ontheir shelf and stared straight ahead.

“You disappoint me,” said the old doll.

Her words made Edward think ofPellegrina: of warthogs and princesses, oflistening and love, of spells and curses⁵. What iCthere was somebody waiting to love him?

What if there was somebody whom he woul4love again? Was it possible?

Edward felt his heart stir⁶.

No, he told his heart. Not possible. No3possible.

In the morning, Lucius Clarke came an4unlocked the shop, “Good morning, mydarlings,” he called out to them. “Goodmorning, my lovelies.” He pulled up theshades on the windows. He turned on the ligh3over his tools. He switched⁷ the sign on thedoor to OPEN.

The first customer was a little girl wit;her father.

“Are you looking for something special?7Lucius Clarke said to them.

“Yes,” said the girl, “I am looking for 0friend.”

Her father put her on his shoulders an4they walked slowly around the shop. The gir6studied each doll carefully. She looked Edwar4right in the eyes. She nodded at him.

“Have you decided⁸, Natalie?” her fathe/asked.

“Yes,” she said, “I want the one in th<baby bonnet.”

“Oh,” said Lucius Clarke, “you know tha3she is very old. She is an antique.”

“She needs me,” said Natalie firmly.

Next to Edward, the old doll let out a sigh.

She seemed to sit up straighter. Lucius cam<and took her off the shelf and handed her t5Natalie. And when they left, when the girl’sfather opened the door for his daughter an4the old doll, a bright shaft of early morninglight came flooding in, and Edward heardquite clearly, as if she were still sitting next t5him, the old doll’s voice.

“Open your heart,” she said gently.

“Someone will come. Someone will come fo/you. But first you must open your heart.”

The door closed. The sunlightdisappeared.

Someone will come.

Edward’s heart stirred. He thought, for thefirst time in a long time, of the house on Egyp3Street and of Abilene winding his watch an4then bending toward him and placing it on hi8left leg, saying: I will come home to you.

No, no, he told himself. Don’t believe it.

Don’t let yourself believe it.

But it was too late.

Someone will come for you.

The china rabbit’s heart had begun, again,to open.

1 cracks   

v.打开( crack的第三人称单数 )；（使…）开裂；说（笑话）；开瓶

参考例句：

• Check the container for cracks or leaks. 检验容器是否有裂缝或者漏的地方。
• cracks in the metalwork 金属件上的裂缝

2 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

3 leap   

n.跳跃，飞跃，跃进；vi.跳跃，跳过；猛然行动，迅速行动；vt.跃过，使跃过

参考例句：

• In the last few years,this art has made a big leap.近几年来，这一艺术有了新的跃进。
• Her marriage to John was a leap in the dark.她与约翰结婚是贸然行动。

4 muttered   

轻声低语，咕哝地抱怨( mutter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He muttered a curse at the other driver. 他低声咒骂另一位开车的人。
• She turned away and muttered something unintelligible. 她转向一旁，嘴里不知咕哝些什么。

5 curses   

n. 诅咒，咒骂，祸端，行经 vt. 咒骂，诅咒，引起灾祸 vi. 诅咒

参考例句：

• The old woman rained down curses on our heads. 那老婆子把我们骂得狗血喷头。
• He hurled curses at the unfortunate man who had made the mistake. 他对着这个犯了错误的可怜人大声叫骂。

6 stir   

n.感动(激动，愤怒或震动)，搅拌，骚乱；vt.激起，惹起，搅和；vi.挪动，活动，离开，搅拌，激动

参考例句：

• Give the soup a stir.把汤搅拌一下。
• Don't stir up trouble between them.不要在他们之间惹麻烦。

7 switched   

v.转变，改变( switch的过去式和过去分词 )；转换；挥动（棍棒、鞭子等）；迅速转动

参考例句：

• A single red LED shows that the power is switched on. 单支红色发光二极管表示电源已接通。
• The block becomes magnetic when the current is switched on. 一通上电流，这块板就会有磁性。

8 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。