“I have heard of the Jumping-Off Place,” remarked Mrs. Meadows1, “but I had an idea it was just a saying.”
“Well,” replied Mr. Thimblefinger, “where you see a good deal of smoke, there must be some fire. When you hear a great many different people talking about anything, there must be something in it.”
“What did the little girl see when she got to the Jumping-Off Place?” inquired Sweetest Susan.
“It was this way,” said Mr. Thimblefinger: “When the whirlwinds from the south and the winds from the west, working in double harness, carried the thick clouds away, and the Thunder with them, the little girl went back to the place where she had left the old man who had carried her up the mountain.
“She found him waiting. He was sitting at the foot of a tree, sleeping peacefully, but he awoke at once.
“‘You see I am waiting for you,’ he said. ‘How did you enjoy your visit?’
“‘I didn’t enjoy it much,’ replied the little girl. ‘Everything was so large, and the Thunder made so much fuss2.’
“‘I hope you didn’t mind that,’ said the old man. ‘The Thunder is a great growler and grumbler3, but when that’s said, all’s said. I am sorry, though, you didn’t have a good time. I suppose you think it is my fault, but it isn’t. If you say so, I’ll go to the Jumping-Off Place.’
“‘Where is that?’ asked the little girl.
“‘Just beyond the Well at the End of the World.’
“‘If it isn’t too far, let’s go there,’ said the little girl.
“So the old man lifted her on his back, and they went on their way. They must have gone very swiftly, for it wasn’t long before they came to the Well at the End of the World. An old woman was sitting near the Well, combing her hair. She paid no attention to the travelers, nor they to her. When they had gone beyond the Well a little distance, the little girl noticed that the sky appeared to be very close at hand. It was no longer blue, but dark, and seemed to hang down like a blanket or a curtain.”
“But that couldn’t be, you know,” said Buster John, “for the sky is no sky at all. It is nothing but space.”
“How comes it dey call it sky, ef ’t ain’t no sky?” asked Drusilla, indignantly4. “An’ how come’t ain’t no sky, when it’s right up dar, plain ez de han’ fo’ yo’ face? Dat what I’d like ter know.”
“Why, the moon is thousands of miles away,” said Buster John, “and some of the stars are millions and millions of miles farther than the moon.”
“Dat what dey say,” replied Drusilla, “but how dey know? Whar de string what dey medjud ’em wid? Tell me dat!”
“What about our sky?” asked Mrs. Meadows, smiling. “You would never think it was only the bottom of the spring if you didn’t know it; now would you?”
Buster John had nothing to say in reply to this. Whereupon Sweetest Susan begged Mr. Thimblefinger to please go on with his story.
“Well,” said he, “if I am to go on with it, I’ll have to tell it just as I heard it. I’ll have to put the sky just where I was told it was. When the little girl and the old man came close to the Jumping-Off Place, they saw that the sky was hanging close at hand. It may have been far, it may have been near, but to the little girl it seemed to be close enough to touch, and she wished very much for a long pole, so that she could see whether it was made of muslin or ginghams.
“Presently they came to a precipice5. There was nothing beyond it and nothing below it. ‘This,’ said the old man to the little girl, ‘is the Jumping-Off Place.’
“‘Does any one jump off here?’ said the little girl.
“‘Not that I know of,’ replied the old man, ‘but if they should take a notion6 to, the place is all ready for them.’
“‘Where would I fall to, if I jumped off?’ the little girl asked.
“‘To Nowhere,’ answered the old man.
“‘That is very funny,’ said the little girl.
“‘Yes,’ remarked the old man, ‘you can get to the End of the World, but you would have to travel many a long year before you get to Nowhere. Some say it is a big city, some say it is a high mountain, and some say it is a wide plain.’
“The little girl went to the Jumping-Off Place and looked over, the old man holding her hand.
“‘Why, I see the moon shining down there,’ she said. She was glad to see so familiar a face.
“The old man laughed. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘the moon is very fond of shining down there, and it runs away from the sun every chance it gets, and hunts up the darkest places, so that it may shine there undisturbed. To-day it is shining down there where the sun can’t see it, but to-night it will creep up here, when the sun goes away, and shine the whole night through.’
“Turning back, the old man and the little girl came again to the Well at the End of the World. The old woman was sitting there, combing her long white hair. This time she looked hard at the little girl and smiled, singing:—
“‘When the heart is young the well is dry—
Oh, it’s good-by, dearie! good-by!’
“But the old man shook his head. ‘We have not come here for nothing, Sister Jane,’ he said. With that he took a small vial, tied a long string to it, and let it down the well. He fished about until the vial was full of water, drew it to the top, and corked7 it tightly8. The water sparkled9 in the sun as if it were full of small diamonds. Then he placed it carefully in his pocket, bowed politely to the old woman, who was still combing her long, white hair, and, smiling, lifted the little girl to his back, and returned along the road they had come, past the Thunder’s house and down the mountain side, until they reached the little girl’s home. Then he took the vial of sparkling10 water from his pocket. ‘Take it,’ he said, ‘and wherever you go keep it with you. Touch a drop of it to your forehead when Friday is the thirteenth day of a month, and you will grow up to be both wise and beautiful. When you are in trouble, turn the vial upside down—so—and hold it in that position while you count twenty-six, and some of your friends will come to your aid.’
“The little girl thanked the old man as politely as she knew how.
“‘Do you know why I have carried you to the Thunder’s house and to the Jumping-Off Place, and why I have given you a vial of this rare water?’ The little girl shook her head. ‘Well, one day, not long ago, you were sitting by the roadside with some of your companions. You were all eating cake. A beggar came along and asked for a piece. You alone gave him any, and you gave him all you had.’
“‘That I leave you to guess,’ replied the old man. He kissed the little girl’s hand, and was soon hid from sight by a turn in the road.”
Mr. Thimblefinger stopped short here, and waited to see what the children would say. They had listened attentively12, but they manifested13 no very great interest.
“I reckon14 they think there is more talk than tale in what you have told,” remarked Mr. Rabbit, leaning back in his chair. “That’s the way it appeared to me.”
“Well, I’ll not say that I have come to the end of my story,” remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, with some show of dignity, “but I have come to the part where we can rest awhile, so as to give Mr. Rabbit a chance to see if he can do any better. We’ll allow the little girl to grow some, just as she does in the story.”
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1
meadows
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| 草地，牧场， （河边的）低洼地( meadow的名词复数 ) | |
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2
fuss
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| n.过分关心，过分体贴，大惊小怪，小题大作 | |
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3
grumbler
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| 爱抱怨的人，发牢骚的人 | |
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4
indignantly
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| adv. 愤慨地, 义愤地 | |
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5
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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6
notion
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| n.概念，意念，看法 | |
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7
corked
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| adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 ) | |
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8
tightly
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| adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地 | |
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9
sparkled
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| v.发火花，闪耀( sparkle的过去式和过去分词 )；（饮料）发泡；生气勃勃，热情奔放，神采飞扬 | |
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10
sparkling
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| adj.发火花的，闪亮的；灿烂的，活泼的；闪闪发光的，闪烁的；起泡沫的v.闪光，闪耀(sparkle的现在分词) | |
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11
blushing
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| adj．脸红的 动词blush的现在分词形式 | |
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12
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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13
manifested
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| [医]已显示的，证明的 | |
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14
reckon
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| vt.计算，估计，认为；vi.计（算），判断，依靠 | |
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