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首页 » 经典英文小说 » Little Miss Dorothy » CHAPTER XV. LITTLE MISS HELPFUL.
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CHAPTER XV. LITTLE MISS HELPFUL.
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Quote YOU tell such good stories,” said Dorothy, “I would like very much to hear one to-day.”
 
The chair laughed merrily and said: “I think I will tell you about Little Miss Helpful.”
 
Little Miss Helpful was a dear little girl, who lived in a dear little cottage with a dear little grandmother. In front of the cottage was a pretty garden, with balsams and four-o’clocks and lazy hollyhocks basking1 in the sunshine. There was also a little bed of crisp lettuce2, another of tender string beans, and best of all, a strawberry patch.
 
In the back of the cottage was a large yard where a busy mother hen and a brood of twelve downy chicks scratched and chuckled3 all day long. The little girl that I am going to tell you about was no larger than yourself, but she was such an industrious4 little body that every one called her Little Miss Helpful. While the chicks were just toddling5 about in the yard, she would sit and watch them because a certain black cat in the neighborhood had his eye on them and longed to get one for his dinner. Sometimes she hemmed6 a kerchief, or made a little duster while she was “minding” the chickens, and sometimes she read fairy stories all by herself. Every day she managed to get a few minutes to weed the garden, especially the strawberry patch.
 
I cannot tell you about all the steps she saved her dear old grandmother. It would take too long. I will merely mention the fact that she could dust as nicely as a tidy housemaid, wipe the dishes so carefully that none got broken and she could gather a basket of chips for her grandma’s fire in the shortest possible time.
 
One day she was sitting in the back yard196 “minding” the chickens. It was dreamy summer weather, and soft white clouds floated in the blue sky. Suddenly a bluebird lighted on a branch over her head and began to sing. The little girl listened to the bird and when he had finished he flew right down on her head. She was very much surprised and put up her hand to catch the bird. But he had flown away and on her head was a blue silk bonnet7 with long strings8. She was so excited that she arose from her little chair and lo! her gingham dress disappeared and she had on the most beautiful blue silk frock and dear little blue satin slippers9.
 
“Are you ready?” said a voice, and Little Miss Helpful saw a beautiful fairy sitting in a golden chariot.
 
“Please, good fairy, I cannot leave the chicks,” said the little girl; “a cat might take one.”
 
“She will watch the chickens until you return,” said the fairy, and she pointed10 to a little197 girl in her little chair that looked just like Miss Helpful.
 
Then Little Miss Helpful stepped into the golden chariot and was soon driving through the woodlands beside the beautiful fairy.
 
“I am going to take you to a party this afternoon; would you like to go?”
 
“Very much indeed, thank you,” replied the little girl, and she looked down at her blue silk dress and her little satin slippers and smiled with pleasure.
 
Suddenly they stopped before a great golden castle, and in a few minutes Little Miss Helpful was walking up the steps with the beautiful fairy. When they were inside the castle the fairy said: “Now I must leave you, but you can find the way yourself. Go down the long hall and open the golden door.”
 
The fairy disappeared and Miss Helpful started to walk down the long hall. As she went along she saw a pin on the floor, and being198 a careful little soul she stopped and picked it up. The instant she took the pin from the floor it turned into a beautiful fairy who said, “I will bestow11 upon thee this gift, thou shalt always be clean and bright as a new pin.”
 
The fairy disappeared when she had said the words and Little Miss Helpful continued to walk toward the golden door.
 
Suddenly she saw a half-wilted rose lying in a corner. She picked it up and it turned into a beautiful fairy who said, “Thou shalt be as lovely as a rose, and thy helpful ways like its fragrance12 bring delight to all who know thee.” This fairy also disappeared and just then the little girl found herself before the golden door.
 
She opened it and entered a magnificent room where beautiful kings and queens were dancing. They were all dressed in spangled white robes, but Little Miss Helpful had the most beautiful dress in the room.
 
A handsome prince came forward to meet199 Little Miss Helpful and the next minute she was dancing around the room with him.
 
She was feeling very happy when all at once she heard a chicken squeal14. “A cat!” cried Little Miss Helpful, and she darted15 for the door, ran through the hall and out into the woodlands as fast as she could go. The wind was blowing and suddenly her blue silk bonnet fell off. She never stopped to pick it up, but ran on toward her grandmother’s cottage. She never noticed in her hurry that the minute her blue bonnet came off the silk dress disappeared and she had on her old gingham frock again.
 
She was quite out of breath when she reached the back yard. She hurriedly counted the chicks and to her dismay found only eleven. One was missing and she could have cried she felt so disappointed. She called, “Grandma, grandma!”
 
“What is it, dearie?” said the old lady, coming to the door.
 
200 “Alas16! grandma, one of the chicks is missing,” cried the little girl, and two big tears rolled down her cheeks.
 
“Don’t cry,” said her grandmother, “but look around and see if you can find it. I will watch the chickens till you return.”
 
Little Miss Helpful walked all around the field, calling, “Chick, chick, come chickey, chickey.” “Perhaps it strayed away,” she said to herself and she took the path for the woods and looked behind the bushes, but she could not find her chicken. All at once she saw a little girl coming toward her. The girl was swinging a blue silk bonnet in her hand and as she came nearer Little Miss Helpful saw that it was her cousin, Nannie Worthless, who lived in the village.
 
“See,” said Nannie, holding up the blue bonnet, “I found it in the woods and I am going to keep it.”
 
“It belongs to me,” cried Little Miss Helpful, “I lost it a little while ago.”
 
201 “You lost it,” said Nannie with scorn. “Why, you never had a bonnet like this in your life.”
 
“You may keep the bonnet, I don’t want it,” replied Miss Helpful; “but tell me, did you see a little chick?”
 
Nannie laughed loudly and said:
 
“Did you lose the chick when you lost the bonnet?”
 
Then Little Miss Helpful knew that Nannie was making fun of her, so she went quietly on her way and did not answer, while her cousin continued homeward with the beautiful bonnet.
 
Little Miss Helpful looked everywhere but the chick could not be found, so at last she turned her footsteps home, feeling very sad.
 
She had almost reached her grandmother’s gate, when she met Johnny Wander, a village lad.
 
“Have you seen anything of a little chick?” asked the girl, and Johnny rolled his eyes and202 said he thought he saw a chick running toward the village.
 
“Perhaps it is mine,” cried Miss Helpful, and she ran toward the village, but not a trace of the lost chicken could be seen. Suddenly she heard a loud trumpet17 call, and all the people seemed to be hurrying to the village green.
 
“What is the matter?” asked Miss Helpful of an old woman she met on the way.
 
“Why, child,” said the old woman, “don’t you know that all the village maidens18 are assembled on the Green by order of the Prince. He is going to select a princess. I must hurry to see who is the lucky maid!”
 
Little Miss Helpful thought with a pang13 that she might have been with all the village maidens, if it had not been for the lost chicken.
 
“I will go home now to grandma,” said the little girl; “the black cat must have caught it.”
 
Just then she reached the village green and203 there were all the maidens standing19 in a row waiting for the Prince.
 
They looked very pretty, especially Nannie Worthless, who wore the blue silk bonnet.
 
In a few minutes the Prince drove up in his golden chariot and dear Little Miss Helpful saw that it was the very Prince that she had danced with in the golden castle. But alas! he never looked at her in her old gingham dress. He saw Nannie Worthless, and making a low courtesy before her, said, “Ah! I think I have seen this bonnet before.”
 
Nannie blushed and smiled at the Prince, who helped her into the golden chariot. Little Miss Helpful stood apart from the crowd and felt sad indeed when she realized that the blue bonnet had won the Prince’s heart. All at once a great gust20 of wind came along and blew the bonnet off Nannie’s head. The handsome Prince jumped out of the chariot and ran to catch it. Away went the bonnet with the204 Prince after it until all of a sudden it dropped right on the head of Little Miss Helpful and stayed there as nice as could be.
 
Now a strange thing happened. No sooner did the blue bonnet touch Little Miss Helpful, than her gingham dress changed to the blue silk frock and her feet were encased in the dear little blue satin slippers again. In fact there she stood just as she had appeared in the golden castle.
 
Everybody was very much surprised, and Nannie had to get out of the golden chariot before all the people.
 
The Prince bowed low before Little Miss Helpful, saying, “This is my true princess,” and he helped her into his golden chariot.
 
The people were all delighted because they loved Little Miss Helpful and knew her goodness. The Prince drove through the village while all the folks cheered and showed their good will. All except Nannie Worthless, who was very angry. As the Prince approached Little Miss Helpful’s cottage, there stood her dear old grandmother at the gate and in her hand was the lost chicken.
 
 
“Why, grandma, where did you find the chicken?” asked the little girl. Her grandmother laughed and said, “I found it sound asleep in my best lace cap.”
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 basking 7596d7e95e17619cf6e8285dc844d8be     
v.晒太阳,取暖( bask的现在分词 );对…感到乐趣;因他人的功绩而出名;仰仗…的余泽
参考例句:
  • We sat basking in the warm sunshine. 我们坐着享受温暖的阳光。
  • A colony of seals lay basking in the sun. 一群海豹躺着晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 lettuce C9GzQ     
n.莴苣;生菜
参考例句:
  • Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿,我好做色拉。
  • The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。
3 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
4 industrious a7Axr     
adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的
参考例句:
  • If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
  • She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。
5 toddling 5ea72314ad8c5ba2ca08d095397d25d3     
v.(幼儿等)东倒西歪地走( toddle的现在分词 );蹒跚行走;溜达;散步
参考例句:
  • You could see his grandson toddling around in the garden. 你可以看到他的孙子在花园里蹒跚行走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She fell while toddling around. 她摇摇摆摆地到处走时摔倒了 来自辞典例句
6 hemmed 16d335eff409da16d63987f05fc78f5a     
缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 ); 包围
参考例句:
  • He hemmed and hawed but wouldn't say anything definite. 他总是哼儿哈儿的,就是不说句痛快话。
  • The soldiers were hemmed in on all sides. 士兵们被四面包围了。
7 bonnet AtSzQ     
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。
8 strings nh0zBe     
n.弦
参考例句:
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
9 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
10 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。
11 bestow 9t3zo     
v.把…赠与,把…授予;花费
参考例句:
  • He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
  • What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我?
12 fragrance 66ryn     
n.芬芳,香味,香气
参考例句:
  • The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
  • The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。
13 pang OKixL     
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷
参考例句:
  • She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
  • She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。
14 squeal 3Foyg     
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音
参考例句:
  • The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
  • There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时,车闸发出尖叫声。
15 darted d83f9716cd75da6af48046d29f4dd248     
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
17 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
18 maidens 85662561d697ae675e1f32743af22a69     
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球
参考例句:
  • stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
  • Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功,少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
19 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。
20 gust q5Zyu     
n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发
参考例句:
  • A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来,把前门关上了。
  • A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。


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