CHAPTER III THE ENCHANTED BANJO

 The Widow Pickle¹ asked the stranger to allow her to examine the Banjo, and he did so willingly. About this time, the Twins, Lulu and Zuzu, ran into the room; and very soon they were leaning at their mother's knee, with their chins in their hands, ready to listen to the music. At first, the stranger did not look at them intently, but when he did so he started back with an exclamation² of surprise. At that moment, also, something strange seemed to happen in the Banjo. The Widow Pickle looked down at it suddenly. She felt the strings³ move 10beneath her fingers. At this, she arose and almost flung the instrument upon the table. To her great surprise, it began playing gaily⁴ and cheerfully, just as well, and, indeed, perhaps better, than it would have done had it been operated by the Widow Pickle herself. The song which the Banjo sang was something like this:

 

MALAZITE BLUE AND CORAZINE GREEN

 

O, Malazite Blue and Corazine Green!

Such wonderful colors I never have seen,

Except, in the sky

At a million miles high

Is the Malazite Blue for delighting the eye.

And Corazine Green is splendidly fair

When tinting⁵ the ringlets and curls of your hair—

It comes, if you please,

From the leaves of the trees

When they are made bright by the brush of the breeze.

Oh, barrels and barrels of Malazite Blue,

And barrels of Corazine Green, it is true

Are used every year

Just to keep the sky clear

And to tint⁶ all the leaves when they have to appear.

"Well, I never heard anything in the world like that," said the Widow Pickle. "An Enchanted⁷ Banjo, that can play by itself! Surely, this house is haunted, my children, 11since your poor father died! But what a situation for a lone⁸ widow to be in here in a great city, with blue- and green-haired Twins, an utter stranger, and an Enchanted Banjo, which plays by itself, and sings about the peculiar⁹ hair of my dear Twins! I always said that your poor dear father, although good, was not a practical man."

 

She looked at the Banjo as it lay upon the table. To her great surprise, she saw it take itself apart before her eyes. It lay there in two pieces, the neck quite apart from the head. Of course, in that position it ceased playing, and, indeed, one could have expected nothing else, for even an Enchanted Banjo can not play when it is in two pieces.

1 pickle   

n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡

参考例句：

• Mother used to pickle onions.妈妈过去常腌制洋葱。
• Meat can be preserved in pickle.肉可以保存在卤水里。

2 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

3 strings   

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。

4 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

5 tinting   

着色，染色（的阶段或过程）

参考例句：

• With paint film confecting envirogluvtm its gloss, transparency and tinting strength. 用颜料片配制的油不朱其平泽度、透明性及着色辛矮。
• Applications: for tinting to oil paints, building materials, plastic and rubber products. 用途：用于油漆、建材、塑料、橡胶制品着色等。

6 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。

7 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

8 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。

9 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。