CHAPTER XXI THE JOURNEY TO FAIRY-LAND

 Nobody can tell how far the Twins went down the Golden Ladder before they dared to stop. It may have been an hour or two hours before they began to get so tired that it seemed they could go no further, no matter what might happen. They looked up at the Ladder down which they had come, and, to their great surprise, they could no longer see the top of it; the sides of the rocky walls seemed to come together above them, just as they still did below them. It seemed to them that they were in the middle of the world. They did not 115dare to try to climb back again, for they were too tired. They also feared to go any further down, because that took them further away from their mother and from the only sort of world which they had ever known. As they realized the situation into which their eagerness had brought them, they both began to cry.

 

This was a very sad situation for the Twins, but it shows how very hard it always is to get into the secret places where the Fairies live. If it is not hard in one way, it always is in another. Just at this time, however, help came to Zuzu and Lulu in a way which they did not expect. The Enchanted¹ Banjo began to play a tune² of a very cheerful sort, which ran something like the following words, as nearly as can be told:

 

THE JEALOUS JUMPING JACK³

 

There was a Jealous Jumping Jack

That told the other Toys:

"None of you has my clever knack—

You're only good for noise."

The Humming Top, the Horn, the Drum,

The Bell, and Talking Doll,

He told: "You screech⁴ and clang and hum—

You can not jump at all!"

They looked at him in great surprise

And did not answer back,116

And then great rage began to rise

Within the Jumping Jack.

"Now, look at me!" he cried, and humped,

And pulled his legs 'way down,

Then gave a spring and madly jumped

Away, out of Toytown.

The Horn blew loud, the Red Top hummed,

The Talking Doll called: "Stop!"

The Bell rang, and the gay Drum drummed,

But still he would not drop.

The Jumping Jack jumped on and on

Although for him they yearned⁵;

They know not where 'tis he has gone—

He never has returned.

They say—but I don't think it's true—

That little girls and boys

Sometimes grow rudely jealous, too,

As do some foolish Toys.

Zuzu and Lulu were very much encouraged at hearing the Banjo once more, and so they dried their tears.

 

"Cheer up, my young friends," said the Banjo, "and look about you. To me it seems very strange that Twins with Royal Hereditary⁶ Hair should not be able to see the resting-place cut here in the rock."

 

Zuzu and Lulu both looked about them, and there, in the face of the rocky wall along which the Golden Ladder hung suspended, they saw a little room or cave, 117and to this there led from the Ladder a sort of platform made up of rungs or rounds. Very quickly they stepped over this short horizontal ladder and sat down in the shade of the chamber⁷ into which they stepped.

 

"Dear me," said Lulu, "my arms are tired. I don't believe I could have carried this basket another minute."

 

"And my feet," said Zuzu, "are nearly cut in two by the rounds of the Ladder. This Dragon's leg is very heavy, and, now that I think of it, I don't see why I carried it at all, for when one stops to reason it out, there seems very little use in the wooden leg of a Dragon for any one but the Dragon itself. Let us leave it here and take it up when we go back."

 

"That would be a sensible thing," said Lulu. "I think it also would be very sensible if we ate our lunch now, for then the basket would be much lighter⁸."

 

They ate their lunch, which tasted very good, as they were hungry after their long climb.

 

"Now," said Zuzu, "let us ask the Enchanted Banjo to play for us again, and perhaps that will make our hearts lighter also, and then we shall certainly climb very easily."

 

So now they placed the two pieces of the Banjo together again and it began to play for them a lively air, which had in it some strange things which they had not hitherto heard.

 

HOW THE BIRDS LEARN TO SING

 

Once on a time, long, long ago

I went to singing-school

Where all the wee birds in a row

Learned to obey each rule;

The teacher was a Parrot wise

For he alone could talk—

He flapped his wings and blinked his eyes

And scolded at the Hawk⁹.

And the Crow and the Wren¹⁰

And the little Fat Hen

And the Sparrow and Thrush and Jay

Were taught how the notes

Should come from their throats

In quite the particular way.

The Parrot taught the Dove to coo,

The little Chicks to cheep,

The Owl¹¹ to screech and sing "Too whoo!"

The Whippoorwill to weep;

He taught the Lark¹² to run the scales

And trill with great delight;

He had a class of Baby Quails¹³

That whistled at "bob-white!"

And the Hen learned to "cluck;"

"Quack-quack" sang the Duck;

Till the Parrot at last called "Hush¹⁴!"

And the echoes all rang,

When the Bobolink sang,

A duet with the little Brown Thrush.119

Now when I hear the Robin's song,

Or Humming Bird's soft note,

Or hear a carol sweet and strong

From the Canary's throat,

I smile, and sometimes beat the time

For very well I know

How each one learned his music's chime

While standing¹⁵ in a row

When the Crow and the Wren

And the little Fat Hen

And the Sparrow and Thrush and Jay

Were taught how the notes

Must come from their throats

In quite the particular way.

1 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。

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

5 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。

6 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

10 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

11 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

12 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

13 quails   

鹌鹑( quail的名词复数 )； 鹌鹑肉

参考例句：

• Speckled quails rustled in the underbrush. 鹌鹑在矮树丛里沙沙作响。
• I went out to pop some quails. 我出去打几只鹌鹑。

14 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

15 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。