CHAPTER XVI FIAM’S SILVER ARMOUR

After this to protect Fiam whenever we went out in bad or threatening weather, I covered him with a magnificent waterproof¹ made from the tin-foil I had taken off of some chocolate. I wrapped him up well, and I can’t tell you how proud he was to see himself clad in silver like an ancient prince in armour². I put a cap made of the same material on his head, which was exactly like a microscopic³ medieval helmet.

In this outfit⁴ Fiam was a little clumsy at first, but soon he could move with ease, and at last he was able to walk. He was never ready to take off the brilliant suit, and even when the sun shone gloriously he would say:

“Put on my waterproof; the weather is threatening.”

“It doesn’t seem so to me.”

[126]

“Yes, yes. I feel the dampness in my joints⁵.”

I indulged his little vanity and made him happy. But he glistened⁶ so brightly that a Japanese officer once asked politely:

“What is that you wear in the band of your hat?”

“Oh, nothing,” I replied evasively; “a little pencil.”

Also I noticed that the general who commanded the troop looked at me curiously⁷, but said nothing, because he was afraid it was beneath his dignity.

It was the first time I had been with the general. It was the day before a battle, and he had invited me to breakfast in a tent as large as a house, where all the superior officers ate, and where a military band played all the time as loud as it could.

During the whole meal I could feel Fiam moving around.

“Is he crazy?” I thought. “He will surely be seen.”

Several hours later when I was alone again I stood him on a piece of paper, and he began to caper⁸ and jump, so that he made holes in the paper.

[127]

“Look out!” I exclaimed. “Has the smell of the saki gone to your head?”

“Oh, but something beside saki!” he shouted, standing⁹ still. “I am the happiest being in the world! I have seen him again! I have found him, his own self.”

“Who?”

“The prince Funato.”

“The one you shielded from his enemies in the wood?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“But you said he was dead.”

“Well then, precisely¹⁰, so I did. He died ever and ever so many years ago.”

“What then?”

“And then—oh, it is too beautiful—he has come back to life!”

“Fiam, you are laughing at me.”

“Indeed I’m not.” And he began to shout, ecstatically happy: “I have seen him again, himself, his very self!”

1 waterproof   

n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水

参考例句：

• My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
• All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。

2 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

3 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

4 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

5 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

6 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

8 caper   

v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏

参考例句：

• The children cut a caper in the yard.孩子们在院子里兴高采烈地乱蹦乱跳。
• The girl's caper cost her a twisted ankle.小姑娘又蹦又跳，结果扭伤了脚踝。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。