CHAPTER X FIAMMIFERINO HAS A BATH

One evening—it was the night before we were to land—the officers with us were polishing their swords, trying to make them like mirrors. In order to enjoy themselves while they worked they had had saki brought, and invited me to drink with them. As they drank they sang. Then they put their swords in their scabbards and went to sleep. I was about to follow their example when I felt Fiam moving.

He had come out of his box, and was walking energetically about on my chest. I unbuttoned a button on my waistcoat and called to him: “Fiam!” I forgot to tell you that sometimes he didn’t like this nickname that I had adopted. He felt as if he had lost half his name, and would show his disapproval¹ by completing the word.

“Fiam!”

“Miferino!” he added.

“What do you want?”

[86]

“What do I want?” he replied excitingly, stepping outside with an agility² I had never observed in him before. “What do I want? How delightful³! I smell saki, and you left me shut up in the box.”

“Well, what of it?”

“Saki, sakii, sakiii,” he began to sing, dancing around on my shoulder.

He was beside himself with excitement.

“Be careful,” I said, “or you will fall off.” I had never seen him so lively.

If Fiam had one fault it was that of being melancholy⁴. Sometimes I scolded him for it.

“In this world you must be resigned,” I would say. “It is true you are no longer a beautiful willow⁵ in the woods, and I am sorry for you, but that is no reason for being so sad, and for grumbling⁶ all the time about everything and everybody.”

FIAM BEGAN TO DANCE

“But you don’t understand, my good friend,” he said now, “that the odor of saki, this delicious perfume, reminds me of the most delightful time of my life. When Prince Funato came with his court every year they poured saki on my trunk. I loved it. It made me want to dance. It is more than a hundred [87] years since I smelled this marvelous odor. I beg you to put me near the cup.”

I did so. The cup of saki from which I had drunk was as small as a doll’s cup. It was beautiful blue china with white dragons and was still half full of the good warm liquor which was something like Marsala wine.

Fiam began to dance around on the brim as children do on the edges of fountains in gardens. Then he leaned over and stirred the liquid. I could hear him singing in his mosquito voice.

Unfortunately the dry wood of Fiam’s arms absorbed the saki, which rose through the fibres till it reached his head. Then he indulged in the craziest antics. At last he took a little run and, turning a magnificent somersault, plunged⁷ into the cup.

I realized it all too late. I was perfectly⁸ distracted when I heard Fiam splashing in the saki, spinning around quite like a top. I drew him out and held him between two fingers to dry, but I couldn’t keep him still. He was so wet he slipped away and skipped about, [88] leaving drops of liquid everywhere, and if I held him tight he pricked⁹ me on the nails and kicked desperately¹⁰.

Taking a good hold I raised him up so as to look at him near by. The phosphorus on his head had melted and shone palely through my fingers.

“What have you done?” I said. “A little more and you would have been drowned.”

“Who are you?” he answered, trying to make his voice heavy. “Who dares to place mortal hands on the body of a god? Let me down, barbarian,” and he twisted around. “Let me go or my vengeance¹¹ will annihilate¹² you! You are a coward! I will try the effect of my divine power! Tremble....”

I saw now what was the matter and whispered:

“Fiam, be good.”

“Shame on you! I am a Haji.”

[89]

“Yes, but you are also acting¹³ disgracefully. Let me put you in your box and to-morrow you will thank me.”

“You want to lock me up. You want to make me a prisoner. You aren’t satisfied to have me for a servant to carry around with you everywhere. You are the cause of all my woes¹⁴, but my power is infinite. At a call from me all the animals in the world will come and tear you to pieces. My friend To, the Stork¹⁵, will come and eat your eyes out. The Prince Funato will come and cut your head off with his sword.”

“Fiam, keep still; you are not used to wine. Don’t you see that if I were really your enemy I should light you, and burn you to the tips of your toes? I think I will now smoke a cigarette....”

These words quieted him, and in a little while I put him in his box and placed that in my pocket.

1 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

2 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

3 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

4 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

5 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

6 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

7 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

12 annihilate   

v.使无效；毁灭；取消

参考例句：

• Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱，好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
• We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

15 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。