CHAPTER III THE MAGIC UMBRELLA

The sun was still sleeping peacefully beneath the lake when she arrived at the grove¹ of broad, spreading willows². Off to the east huge clouds like ghosts in dark robes were rushing over the water.

“Never you mind,” laughed Petite Jeanne, “I know you. You are only a great big bluff³. When Mister Sun comes out he will dress you in pink and gold. After that he will fade you to palest pale and send you scampering⁴ away to cast thin shadows over meadows and pastures where lambs are feeding on clover.”

As if the thought of gamboling lambs set her limbs in motion, the little French girl went springing away in a sprightly⁵ dance.
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For a full quarter of an hour she lost herself in the intoxicating⁶ joy of action. Now she raced away before a breeze. Now she whirled until all her red petticoats were wheels. Now she threw her head back and laughed at the birds who scolded from the trees. And now, snatching the sash from her waist, she went bowing and weaving away toward the sandy beach where little white waves were playing.

It was while on her way back from this little journey that she sought a lone⁷ bench beneath the greatest of the willows for a moment of rest.

It was that time of half-light just before dawn. Already the fearsome clouds were beginning to lose their terror. They had taken on a faint touch of old rose.

Jeanne dropped down upon the bench, as she had done many times before, without looking. The next instant she gave forth⁸ a startled little “Oh!”

A man was seated beside her. Quite an old man he was, with long gray hair protruding⁹ from an ancient slouch hat.

“So you are human!” His drawl was soft, melodious¹⁰. “I didn’t believe you could be. Only fairies dance like that. I thought you a fairy.”
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As if to assure himself that he could not be mistaken, he touched the hem¹¹ of her broad, short skirt.

Petite Jeanne wanted to spring up and run away. No one had ever been here at this hour; yet something held her in her place.

There are times in all our lives when it seems that an invisible hand, resting upon our shoulder, bids us stay.

“You—why there were times when you flew,” the melodious voice went on. “Flew! That’s what you did.

“I flew once.” His voice took on a reminiscent air. “In an airplane, I mean. Often thought I’d try it again. But when you have a narrow escape once—” The voice trailed off. For a moment there was silence.

“You see,” he began once more, “a fellow asked me to go up. I said it might rain; I’d go if I could take my umbrella.

“He looked at my umbrella, and said: ‘You can’t take that.’

“Most men hate umbrellas. Rather get wet than carry one. Guess he was that way.
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“Well, I said: ‘All right, I’ll go up.’ So we went up. And I took my umbrella; slipped it in, kind o’ hid it.

“But, by and by, when we were up a long way and the houses took to looking small, he saw that umbrella. Then he was hopping¹² mad.

“He said: ‘You got to throw that out.’

“I said: ‘I can’t, mister. It would get lost. It belongs to my grandfather. It’s silk. The silk came from China where little yellow ladies wound it off silk cocoons¹³ by hand. And the bows are all steel, forged by hand. And besides, it might hit somebody and mighty¹⁴ nigh kill ’em.’

“He said: ‘Don’t matter. Out she goes!’

“Then I says: ‘If she goes out, I go with her.’

“He says: ‘That’s jake with me.’

“So up I climbs and out I jumps. And fall! You never saw the houses get big as fast as those did!
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“I got to thinking I might fall on somebody and was feelin’ mighty sorry about that, when I thought of my umbrella. All silk from China it was, where little yeller women wound it out from cocoons. And the bows all made from hand forged steel. Strong they were, strong as London Bridge.

“And when I thought of my umbrella I knew it was all right; parachute, don’t you know.”

Once more his voice trailed away like the last echo of a distant tolling¹⁵ bell.

Petite Jeanne stole a look at his face. It was still, and almost beautiful. “Like a child’s dream,” she thought.

“And then—” He came to himself with a start. “Then I opened up that umbrella. Silk, you understand, all pure silk, and bows of forged steel. Strong as London Bridge. I opened her up, and she caught me and held me and let me down in a cabbage patch. Now what do you think of that?” His face was all wreathed with smiles.
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“What do I think?” said Petite Jeanne, with a shy smile in return for his. The light in her eyes was kindly¹⁶, and the touch on his arm gentle, for the little French girl loved old men with long gray hair, and she was charmed by their stories as she was charmed when she was six. “What do I think? I think you have no umbrella at all.”

“No umbrella!” He put out a hand as if to grasp one. Then, springing to his feet, he pretended to search the bench.

“Bless me!” he cried. “Some one has stolen it! My grandfather’s umbrella. And such a fine umbrella, all silk from China. Little yeller women—”

“Yes, I know. You told me,” laughed Petite Jeanne. “But see! The sun is smiling on the water! I must dance him out for a new day.

“And this,” she sang as she danced away, “this is my luckee day!”

1 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

2 willows   

n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木

参考例句：

• The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

4 scampering   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A cat miaowed, then was heard scampering away. 马上起了猫叫，接着又听见猫逃走的声音。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• A grey squirrel is scampering from limb to limb. 一只灰色的松鼠在树枝间跳来跳去。 来自辞典例句

5 sprightly   

adj.愉快的，活泼的

参考例句：

• She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。
• He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

6 intoxicating   

a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Power can be intoxicating. 权力能让人得意忘形。
• On summer evenings the flowers gave forth an almost intoxicating scent. 夏日的傍晚，鲜花散发出醉人的芳香。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

10 melodious   

adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的

参考例句：

• She spoke in a quietly melodious voice.她说话轻声细语，嗓音甜美。
• Everybody was attracted by her melodious voice.大家都被她悦耳的声音吸引住了。

11 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

12 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

13 cocoons   

n.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天，“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

14 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

15 tolling   

[财]来料加工

参考例句：

• A remote bell is tolling. 远处的钟声响了。
• Indeed, the bells were tolling, the people were trooping into the handsome church. 真的，钟声响了，人们成群结队走进富丽堂皇的教堂。

16 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。