I. THE SCARECROW SISTER.

 One morning little Miss Frizzle danced about her brother Preston, as he was starting for school, saying,—

 

"If a little boy had one poggit full o' pinnuts, and one poggit full o' canny¹, and one in his hands, how many would he be?"

 

This was a question in arithmetic; and, though Preston was a large boy, he could not answer it.

 

"Answer it yourself," said he, laughing.

 

"He'd have fousands and fousands—as many as four hundred!" said Flaxie, promptly².

 

"Shouldn't wonder! What's the need of my going to school, when I have a little sister at home that knows so much?" cried Preston, kissing her and hurrying away.

 

Flaxie wished he and her sister Julia—or Ninny, as she called her—could stay with her all the time. She was lonesome when they were both gone; and to-day her mamma said she must not go out of doors because her throat was sore.

 

She stood for awhile by the kitchen window, looking at the meadow behind the house. It was sprinkled all over with dandelions, so bright and gay that Flaxie fancied they were laughing. They didn't have sore throats. O, no! they could stay out of doors all day long; and so could the pretty brook³; and so could the dog Rover; and the horses, Whiz and Slowboy; and the two young colts.

 

By-and-by the colts came to the kitchen window, which was open, and put in their noses to ask for something to eat. Flaxie gave them pieces of bread, which Dora handed her; and they ate them, then ran out their tongues and licked the window-sill, to be sure to get all the crumbs⁴.

 

"What if they should bite you!" said Dora.

 

"O, they won't! I'm a doctor's chillen; they won't bite me," said Flaxie, who was never afraid of any thing or anybody.

 

"Well, you mustn't keep that window open any longer. You'll get cold, if you are a doctor's children," said Dora. "Run into the parlor⁵ to your mother. Why, you haven't seen her for an hour."

 

Flaxie was not at all anxious to see her mother, but ran into the parlor and called for a slate⁶ and pencil. Mrs. Gray gave them to her; and Flaxie drew pictures for ten minutes,—such pictures! Then the squeaking⁷ stopped, and she began to cry.

 

"What is it, darling?" said mamma.

 

"I've losted my pessle," sobbed⁸ Flaxie.

 

"O, well, I'll get you another. Don't cry."

 

"I've losted it up my nose," screamed the child, running to her mother in great distress⁹.

 

It was true. The pencil was a very short one; and, in poking¹⁰ it into her nose, just for fun, she had pushed it too far, and it would not come out. Mrs. Gray tried her very best; but the harder she tried the further up went the pencil, and the more Flaxie's nose bled and swelled¹¹. It was growing worse every minute; and Mrs. Gray, not knowing what else to do, called Dora from the kitchen and sent her for "Dr. Papa."

 

When Flaxie knew her father was sent for, she cried louder than ever; for she thought she must be dreadfully hurt.

 

"Is I a-goin' to die?" said she. "I wouldn't die for fi-ive dollars!"

 

"No, indeed, pet, you won't die. Dr. Papa will make you all well in two minutes."

 

"Will he? O, dear, my nose is so sick! Kiss it, mamma!"

 

Mamma kissed the poor purple little nose, which helped Flaxie very much; but she burst out afresh, next moment. "How bad Dr. Papa'll feel when he comes home!"

 

Her mother soothed¹² her; but soon she fell to crying again.

 

 

"How Ninny'll feel when she comes home!"

 

Mrs. Gray comforted her for this with more kisses; but presently Flaxie sobbed out once more,—

 

"How Pesson will feel when he comes home!"

 

For the child truly believed her friends would grieve more about it than she did.

 

Dr. Papa hurried to his darling as fast as he could; but, by the time he got home, her nose was badly swelled, and he had to hurt her very much in order to get out the "pessle." When it was all over, he took her on his knee, and tried to make her forget her troubles by showing her some pictures.

 

"The man in this picture is a school-teacher," said he; "and the little boy who stands by his desk must have been naughty, for the teacher is going to whip him with that stick."

 

"Goin' to w'ip him? Well, I'll wait and see if he w'ips him," said Flaxie, folding her hands and staring at the picture with all her might.

 

Dr. Papa laughed. He often laughed at what Flaxie said; and Mrs. Prim¹³, a lady who lived in town, thought he "spoiled her." Perhaps he did.

 

"O, see the pretty chickies," said the child, as her father turned to another picture. "Does God make chickies?"

 

"Certainly."

 

"Well," said she, thoughtfully, "how they must have hollered when he stuck the fedders in!"

 

I must confess Dr. Papa laughed again. Then he put Flaxie down, and said he must go, though she held him by the vest-buttons,[16] and declared the next picture would be "awful funny."

 

"How do you know?"

 

"O, I guess it will!"

 

"Well, dear, if it's ever so funny, Dr. Papa will have to go, for a sick lady wants to see him."

 

"Did the lady get a pessle up her nose?"

 

"No, she didn't; but she is very sick for all that. Good-by, pet."

 

As Dr. Gray went out of the yard, he said to his stable-boy,—

 

"Crawford, I think the crows are getting too much of that corn we planted. Can't you put up a scarecrow?"

 

Crawford thought he could, and went into the house to ask Dora for some old clothes.

 

"I'll tell you what you'd better do, Crawford," said Dora. "Make a little scarecrow, and dress it up like Flaxie Frizzle. I'll get you some of her old clothes."

 

"That's just the thing," replied Crawford. "Give me her red hood¹⁴ and waterproof¹⁵, and I'll stuff 'em out with hay. O, my, won't the crows be scared?"

 

Crawford chuckled¹⁶ to himself all the while he was making this little image; and, when it was done, he carried it out to the corn-field, and fastened it upon a stump¹⁷.

 

"Well, it does look exactly like her, and the crows won't know the difference," said he: "only she couldn't keep still to save her life. Guess I'll pin on a veil or something to blow in the wind, as if she was moving."

 

Dora gave him an old red scarf; and it certainly did make the image look very much as if it were alive. People who rode by turned to gaze at it, and said,—

 

 

"There's the doctor's baby. I'm glad her mother has wrapped her up so well: it's pretty cold weather for this time of year."

 

But you must know Flaxie Frizzle was surprised when she saw the scarecrow! She had climbed the sofa, and was looking out of the window. What did she see, standing¹⁸ there in the corn-field? It was her own self! She rubbed her eyes, and looked again.

 

"O mamma, mamma," called she. "Come here just as kick! You s'pose, mamma, who's playing coop out there? It's ME! And here's ME, right here! Have I got a little sister?"

 

It was some time before she could be made to understand that the scarecrow was not herself, was not alive, and was only a rag-baby made of sticks and straw and old clothes. The next day it rained from morning till night; and everybody who went by the house thought it too bad that poor Flaxie Frizzle should be in the corn-field, getting so wet.

 

At least a dozen times the door-bell rang; and a dozen people told Dora to be sure and let Mrs. Gray know her baby was out in the rain!

 

Dora laughed, and assured the kind people that "that baby in the field was neither sugar nor salt, and water wouldn't hurt her a grain."

 

But she told Crawford "it did her good to see how much the neighbors thought of Flaxie Frizzle, for all she was such a curious-acting child."

 

"And, Crawford, you'll have to take down that 'scarecrow sister,' and put up something else; for I can't spend my time running to the door to explain to folks that it isn't Flaxie Frizzle."

1 canny   

adj.谨慎的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.他非常谨慎，不会冒险暴露自己。
• But I'm trying to be a little canny about it.但是我想对此谨慎一些。

2 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

3 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

4 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

5 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

6 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

7 squeaking   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

9 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

10 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

11 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

12 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

14 hood   

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。

15 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。

16 chuckled   

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。

17 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

18 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。