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首页 » 经典英文小说 » Little Helpers » CHAPTER XXI. SEEING WHY.
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CHAPTER XXI. SEEING WHY.
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 It was a bright, fresh Saturday afternoon in October, and Johnny, who had found it a little hard to settle down into school habits again, after the boundless1 freedom of the vacation at the farm, remarked at the dinner-table that he knew just how the horses felt when they went kicking up their heels all over the pasture, after having been in harness all day.
 
“And where do you propose to kick up your heels this afternoon?” inquired Mrs. Leslie, as she filled Johnny’s plate for the second time with Indian pudding.
 
“That’s just what I wanted to consult with you about, mamma,” said Johnny, “there’s a base-ball match over at the south ground, and a tennis match at the new court; it’s just the same to get in for either. I’ve enough of my birthday money left, and I thought if Tiny’d like to go, I’d take her to see the tennis, I mean, of course, if you’re willing—but if she couldn’t go, I’d go to see the base-ball match.”
 
Now Tiny, although she was only a small girl, had that treasure which Miss Ann considered so desirable—“a heart at leisure from itself,” and she felt very sure that Johnny would rather help do the hurrahing2 at one base-ball match, than watch a dozen games of tennis, so she said at once,—
 
“Oh thank you, Johnny, you’re very kind, but if mamma will let me, I’m going to ask Kitty to come this afternoon, and help me dress my new doll, and cover the sofa you made me.”
 
Mrs. Leslie understood quite well the little sudden sacrifice which Tiny had made, but she was not going to spoil it by talking about it, so she only said,—
 
“Yes indeed—I always like you to play with Kitty. Ask her to come to tea, and then Johnny will have a share of her too. And if you’ll ‘fly ’round,’ you and I can make some ginger3 snaps, first, and then, with the cold chicken and some dressed celery, we shall have quite a company tea.”
 
Tiny’s face fairly shone. Of all things, she enjoyed helping4 her mother make cake, and it would be especially nice to-day, because the maid-of-all-work was going out for the afternoon, and they would have the kitchen quite to themselves. And Johnny, who really did prefer the base-ball match very much, was entirely5 satisfied. He could take his fun without feeling that he was taking it selfishly. It was only one o’clock, and the match did not begin until two, so Johnny sprang up, saying,—
 
“I’ll help you ‘fly ’round’! Load me up for the cellar, Tiny.”
 
Two loadings up cleared the table of all the eatables, and a race, which was a little dangerous to the dishes, was just beginning, when Mrs. Leslie said,—
 
 
“If you’ll do an errand for me, Johnny, I can take a nice little nap, after Tiny and I have finished. I don’t think it will make you late for your base-ball match, if you start at once, for you need not come home again before you go to the ground.”
 
“Now, mamma!” and Johnny’s tone was slightly injured as he spoke6, “don’t you suppose I’d do it for you, and like to do it, even if it made me late? You shouldn’t say ‘if’ at all! Waiting orders!”
 
And he stood up stiffly, drawing his heels together, and touching7 his cap.
 
Mrs. Leslie laughed, but she kissed him, too.
 
“There’s a bundle in it,” she said, “quite a large bundle—some work to be taken to your friend Mrs. Waring, upon whom you have called so many times at my invitation. I’m afraid, from what one of her neighbors told me yesterday, that the poor woman has had very little work lately, and less than very little money; so I have hunted up all I could for her. And please tell her, Johnny, that I have some things for Phil, which I will give her when she brings the work home; and to please bring it as soon as she can. She will find two car tickets in the bundle.”
 
“Couldn’t you roll ’em up with the work, and let me take ’em to her now, mamma?” asked Johnny.
 
“Why, yes,” said Mrs. Leslie, “if it would not be too heavy for you; but the other bundle is quite as large as this, dear. Do you think you can manage so much?”
 
Johnny lifted Tiny, swung her round once, and set her down with a triumphant8 “There!”
 
 
“The double load would certainly not be so heavy as Tiny,” said Mrs. Leslie, “so I will tie them together at once.”
 
While his mother did this, Johnny marched up and down, whistling, with Polly on his shoulder. Then a bright idea struck him: he put Polly down, ran for his shinny stick, thrust it through the twine9, and slung10 the bundle over the shoulder where Polly had just been.
 
“I’ll pretend I’m an emigrant11, starting for the ‘Far West,’” he said. “Goodbye, my dear mother, my dear sisters!” and, with a heart-rending sob12, followed by a wild prance13 down the walk, Johnny was gone.
 
Now the particular horse car which he was to take only came along every half-hour. He saw one as he walked up the cross street, about a block away, and was just going to shout, when he heard a crack and a “flop”; the shinny stick flew up in the air, and, turning round, he saw his bundle, a bundle no longer, but a confused heap. The twine, worn through by the stick, had given way, and the paper had been burst by the fall.
 
Johnny gathered up the things as best he could, and was vainly trying to put them once more into portable shape, when a shop door opened, and a good-natured voice called,—
 
“Fetch them in here, sonny, and I’ll tie them up in a strong paper for you.”
 
He was only too glad to accept this good offer, and the pleasant-faced woman who had called him made a very neat parcel out of the wreck14 which he had brought her, and tied it with a stout15 string. He thanked her very heartily16, afraid of offending her if he offered to pay for the paper and string and looking about the little shop for something he could buy.
 
A soft ball of bright-colored worsted caught his eye, and when he found the price of it was only ten cents, he quickly decided17 to buy it for Phil. He had missed his car, and had nearly half an hour to wait. He would be late for the match, but—
 
“Never mind,” he thought, “here’s a first-rate chance to keep from getting mad!”
 
So he talked cheerfully with the woman as she wrapped up the ball, and before the car appeared they were on very friendly terms, and parted with cordial goodbyes.
 
But his troubles were not over yet. He had not gone half a mile, when a “block” took place on the car track, and it was another half-hour before they were free to move on. But for the bundle, Johnny would have jumped out and walked, and as it was he started up once or twice, but each time the driver announced that they were “’most through,” and he sat down again.
 
He reached the house at last, and knocked vigorously; he felt that he had no time to lose. There was no answer, and he knocked again, and then again, until he was satisfied that anybody, no matter how sound asleep she might have been, in that house, could not have failed to hear him. He was strongly tempted18 to leave the bundle on the step, and run; but he resisted the temptation, and at last, tired of knocking, sat down on the step, saying doggedly19 to himself,—
 
“She’ll have to come home to her supper!”
 
 
And as he said it, she turned the corner of the nearest street, in a provokingly leisurely20 manner, leading her baby boy by the hand. Johnny dropped the bundle and ball on the step, rushed to meet her, poured out his message, and was gone before the bewildered little woman quite realized who he was. On he sped, as if he had wings on his heels, to be suddenly and most unexpectedly stopped by a violent collision with a very small girl, who had toddled21 across his path just in time to be knocked down.
 
Very much frightened—for, “Suppose anybody did that to Polly!” he thought—he picked up the baby girl, petted, coaxed22 and cuddled her, until she laughed before her tears were dry. He found, to his great relief, that she was much more frightened than hurt, and was trying to make her tell him where she lived when her mother appeared, and carried her off, scolding and kissing her all at once.
 
“I declare,” thought Johnny, “those old fellows who talked about the Fates would say I’d better give up this base-ball business! It’s a little too provoking! I wonder what kind of a trap I’ll find in this field.”
 
For he had at last come to the open space from which the base-ball ground had been fenced off; one of those left-out regions consisting of several fields, which one often finds on the edge of a town or city. It was covered with high grass and coarse weeds, and in a far distant corner two or three cows were feeding.
 
But, as Johnny neared the high fence, thinking that his troubles were certainly over now, and wondering why he had never before taken this short cut, something bright caught his eye; a little scarlet23 hood24, not so very much above the tops of the rank grasses and weeds, and there was another baby! One hand was full of the ragged25 purple asters, which grew among the grass, and her little face was grave and intent. Nobody else was near, and once more Johnny thought, “Suppose it was Polly!”
 
The child looked fearlessly up at him as he advanced, and nodded.
 
“What are you doing, baby, all by yourself, in this big field?” asked Johnny, in the kind, hearty26 voice which made him more friends than he knew of, and the baby answered, gravely,—
 
“Picking f’owers for my mamma! And I’m not baby. Baby at home.”
 
“Come on, then, let’s go see him;” and Johnny took the little hand, groaning27 to himself,—
 
“I can’t leave this mite28 all alone in a field with cows,—suppose it was Polly!”
 
At that moment a wild shout went up from the base-ball ground. The quiet cows in the corner raised their heads; one stepped forward, caught sight of the scarlet hood, gave a vicious bellow29, and began to run straight for the baby; and when Johnny, breathless and almost exhausted30, scrambled31 over the rail fence, which ran around three sides of the field, with the baby in his arms, he was only just in time—the sharp horns struck the fence as he and his charge struck the ground, and the enraged32 cow stood there, bellowing33 and “charging,” as long as the hood remained in sight.
 
The little girl, quite unconscious of her narrow escape, took Johnny’s hand once more, and led him gravely on for nearly a block; then she pointed34 out a pretty little frame house, standing35 in a small lawn, and said, in a satisfied voice, “There!” He rang the bell, and was almost angry to find that the child had not even been missed.
 
“Sure,” said the Irish nursemaid, “I tould her to play in the front yard a bit, and I thought she was there.”
 
“There’s a cross cow in that field where she was,” said Johnny, briefly36. “You’d better not let her out by herself again, I should think.”
 
He turned away without stopping for farther explanation. But he did not go to the ball ground; he walked slowly home, with his mind full of confused thoughts, eager to pour it all out to his mother. How vexed37 he had been at the various delays! How needless, how troublesome they had seemed! And yet, if that shout had risen five minutes sooner—he shuddered38, and left the picture unfinished. Dear little girl, with her innocent hands full of “f’owers for mamma!”
 
Kitty was there when he reached home, and she and Tiny were merrily setting the table. They were full of sympathy when they found he had not seen the match, and Tiny’s face glowed with joyful39 pride in him, when he told about the baby’s narrow escape.
 
But the real talk was when his mother came for her last kiss, after he was in bed; and it was a talk that he never forgot. “This time, dear,” Mrs. Leslie said, “you can see and understand the great good which came of the hindrances40 and interruptions of your plan, and I love to think that the dear Father has sent you this lesson so early in your life, just to make you trust him hereafter, when you cannot see. You know what the loving Saviour42 said to his weak and doubting disciple43: ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen, thou hast believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.’
 
“I do not mean that we are to excuse ourselves, and give up weakly, for every small hindrance41, but that, when honest effort fails to overcome the barriers in our path, we are to believe, with all our hearts, that it is because the dear Father wishes us to go some other way. That is all, Johnny, darling, ‘the conclusion of the whole matter,’—just to rest on His love.”
 
“Mamma,” said Johnny, holding his mother fast in a long, close hug, “I don’t think I ever loved Him so much as I do to-night; and I don’t think I’ll ever be really worried, or not long, anyhow, when things seem to go crosswise again.”
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 boundless kt8zZ     
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
  • His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。
2 hurrahing 0d0e665080cd65e90050acebbf2edfae     
v.好哇( hurrah的现在分词 )
参考例句:
3 ginger bzryX     
n.姜,精力,淡赤黄色;adj.淡赤黄色的;vt.使活泼,使有生气
参考例句:
  • There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
  • Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。
4 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
5 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
6 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
8 triumphant JpQys     
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的
参考例句:
  • The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
  • There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。
9 twine vg6yC     
v.搓,织,编饰;(使)缠绕
参考例句:
  • He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
  • Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。
10 slung slung     
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往
参考例句:
  • He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩,挎在肩上。
  • He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。
11 emigrant Ctszsx     
adj.移居的,移民的;n.移居外国的人,移民
参考例句:
  • He is a British emigrant to Australia.他是个移居澳大利亚的英国人。
  • I always think area like this is unsuited for human beings,but it is also unpractical to emigrant in a large scale.我一直觉得,像这样的地方是不适宜人类居住的,可大规模的移民又是不现实的。
12 sob HwMwx     
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣
参考例句:
  • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
  • The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。
13 prance u1zzg     
v.(马)腾跃,(人)神气活现地走
参考例句:
  • Their horses pranced and whinnied.他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。
  • He was horrified at the thought of his son prancing about on a stage in tights.一想到儿子身穿紧身衣在舞台上神气活现地走来走去,他就感到震惊。
14 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
16 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
17 decided lvqzZd     
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。
18 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
19 doggedly 6upzAY     
adv.顽强地,固执地
参考例句:
  • He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
  • He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着,一直走回了公寓。
20 leisurely 51Txb     
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的
参考例句:
  • We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着,看遍所有的橱窗。
  • He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐,高兴的开车去工作。
21 toddled abf9fa74807bbedbdec71330dd38c149     
v.(幼儿等)东倒西歪地走( toddle的过去式和过去分词 );蹒跚行走;溜达;散步
参考例句:
  • It's late — it's time you toddled off to bed. 不早了—你该去睡觉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her two-year-old son toddled into the room. 她的两岁的儿子摇摇摆摆地走进屋里。 来自辞典例句
22 coaxed dc0a6eeb597861b0ed72e34e52490cd1     
v.哄,用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 );巧言骗取;哄劝,劝诱
参考例句:
  • She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer. 她哄着那匹马让它再靠近了一点。
  • I coaxed my sister into taking me to the theatre. 我用好话哄姐姐带我去看戏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
23 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
24 hood ddwzJ     
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
  • The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
25 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
参考例句:
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
26 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
27 groaning groaning     
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
  • The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着,无人救助。
28 mite 4Epxw     
n.极小的东西;小铜币
参考例句:
  • The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
  • He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。
29 bellow dtnzy     
v.吼叫,怒吼;大声发出,大声喝道
参考例句:
  • The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大,我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
  • After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。
30 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
31 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 enraged 7f01c0138fa015d429c01106e574231c     
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤
参考例句:
  • I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令,我极为恼火。
  • The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。
33 bellowing daf35d531c41de75017204c30dff5cac     
v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的现在分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
参考例句:
  • We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句
34 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
35 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
36 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
37 vexed fd1a5654154eed3c0a0820ab54fb90a7     
adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论
参考例句:
  • The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
  • He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
38 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
40 hindrances 64982019a060712b43850842b9bbe204     
阻碍者( hindrance的名词复数 ); 障碍物; 受到妨碍的状态
参考例句:
  • She also speaks out against the traditional hindrances to freedom. 她甚至大声疾呼,反对那些阻挡自由的、统礼教的绊脚石。
  • When this stage is reached then the hindrances and karma are overcome. 唯此状态达到后,则超越阻碍和因果。
41 hindrance AdKz2     
n.妨碍,障碍
参考例句:
  • Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
  • The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。
42 saviour pjszHK     
n.拯救者,救星
参考例句:
  • I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
  • The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。
43 disciple LPvzm     
n.信徒,门徒,追随者
参考例句:
  • Your disciple failed to welcome you.你的徒弟没能迎接你。
  • He was an ardent disciple of Gandhi.他是甘地的忠实信徒。


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