CHAPTER 30 THE QUEEN RECOVERS THE SHADOW

 "Ha! Gobo," cried the Fairy Queen as at last they drove up before the door of the cave in the mountain where the Wicked Fairy made his home, "we have come to question thee about thy evil deeds. Come hither, and confront thy Queen!"

 

The Twins had not thought that the gentle Queen Zulena could be so stern, or that her eyes could flash as they did when she spoke¹ these words.

 

"Aye, aye, my Queen," sounded a hoarse² voice from within the cave; and presently in obedience³ to the order 185of the Fairy Monarch⁴ there stepped into view from the darkness of the cave the Wicked Fairy Gobo, whose evil deeds have been recounted in our story. He trembled as he saw the sternness of the Queen, and began to stammer⁵ and make denials.

 

"Who hath accused thee, Gobo? Yet now we know that well mightest thou be accused. Tell me, where hast thou hidden the shadow of the King, which thou hast stolen? Where, too, is the servant of the king, the White Cricket, such as was never found save in the royal gardens of our palace?"

 

The Wicked Fairy fell upon his face on the ground, but even as he did so the Queen raised her hand. There came very plainly to their ears the chirp⁶! chirp! of something hidden within the cave.

 

"I may as well confess," said Gobo; "for that is the voice of the Cricket you hear. It is of no service to me, for a more unwilling⁷ Cricket I have never seen."

 

"Bring it to me!" commanded the Queen, and sullenly⁸ Gobo did as he was bidden.

 

"Here," said the Queen to Lulu, "is the White Cricket. Pray handle it softly, and let no harm befall it. As for you, Gobo, Wicked Fairy that thou art, lead us at once to the hiding-place of that other thing which thou hast stolen."

 

186Sullenly the Wicked Fairy walked ahead of them toward the edge of the wood, and threw open there a little gate. To their great surprise they saw, standing⁹ near the gate, leaning against a tree in a shady place, nothing less than the shadow of the King, just as the Wicked Fairy had stolen it more than a week before!

 

Of course it must be remembered that this was the shadow of the King stolen after he had taken the drink from the rubber tree, and when he was thrice his natural height and much distorted, in his dance high up in the air. It looked more like the shadow of some misshapen giant. As the Queen saw this, tears again came to her eyes. "It is not like him!" she said mournfully.

 

"'Tis as I tell thee, Queen Zulena," insisted Gobo, "for I took the shadow with my own hands, in the broad daylight, and I know whereof I speak. See, if thou wouldst prove it, look at the shape of his left forefinger¹⁰, where the King wore the royal jewel of malazite and corazine, engraven by your Majesty's own Fairies."

 

"Ah! it is indeed true," said the Fairy Queen. "But how changed! My dears," and she whispered again to the Twins, "do not forget your wish and mine."

 

"And now, sirrah!" exclaimed the Queen, "Gobo, Bad Fairy that thou art, thou must bow before my power! I know not what punishment may be fit for thee."

 

The bad Fairy writhed¹¹ in the dust and begged for mercy, promising¹² anything that should be asked.

 

"First, we must have the shadow of his Majesty," said Zuzu.

 

"Willingly," cried Gobo, "willingly! though perhaps it may not fit him now."

 

"Never fear, Gobo," said the Queen Zulena, "we ourselves shall see to that. So fare ye well, wicked Gobo. One more such act as this, and our royal guards shall banish¹³ thee to our jail, and fill thy cave to the roof with stones. From this time your leave to go abroad is revoked¹⁴ for a thousand years. Here must you remain a prisoner!"

 

"I crave¹⁵ a thousand pardons, good Queen," begged Gobo, spreading out his arms in submission¹⁶. "But spare me now, and I shall make amends¹⁷ by leading the life a Fairy should live under so wise and good a Queen as thou."

 

"Learn better in the time accorded thee, and ask no more," said the Queen sternly in reply.

 

"And now, my children," she continued as she turned again toward the Twins, "let us take the King's shadow in the coach, and return to the royal palace. I am sure that by careful labor¹⁸ I can restore this poor, dear shadow to its original shape."

 

188As she spoke she was about to step again into the coach, when all at once she turned toward the Enchanted¹⁹ Banjo, as though she had heard it speak.

 

"What is it, good Banjo?" she asked. "And why do you laugh as though you would split yourself? Is it anything you want to tell us?"

 

"I was just thinking, your Majesty," replied the Enchanted Banjo, "while we have all been talking about Wishing Wands and the like, about a funny thing of that sort that once happened within my own experience. I made up a song about it the other night, and if you care to hear it, I will sing it to you."

 

"Very well," said the Fairy Queen; and so the Banjo began, in a rich, full voice:

 

THE COME-ALL-YE OF PAT McGLORY

 

Come all ye fine young gintlemin, I'll tell to ye a story

Concernin' one that I knew well; his name was Pat McGlory.

One mornin' whin the cow had died that helped him run his dairy

He sat him down an' cried an' cried—when up there leapt a Fairy.

O, ho, ho, ho! Um, ha, ha, ha!

The Fairy wore a golden crown, wid di'monds in aich wing,

An' anny one would know at once he was the Fairy King.

He looked one moment at poor Pat—this splendid little Fairy—

Then whispered soft an' sootherin': "Ye'll have a bran' new dairy."189

He waved his wand a time or two, an' Pat got lean an' slim,

An' whin the Fairy started off, why Pat wint after him!

O, ho, ho, ho! Um, ha, ha, ha!

He popped into a hole that was near by thim in the ground

An' Pat came slidin' after him wid: "King, where are we bound?"

The king he answered not a word, but stopped and touched a stone

An' there they were in one big hall befoor a golden throne.

The king he sat upon the throne, an' thin he said, said he:

"Because I like you, Pat, my lad, I'll give you wishes three."

O, ho, ho, ho! Um, ha, ha, ha!

Thin Pat he thought about the things he needed most right now,

An' said: "I can't make up my mind. I wisht I had a cow."

The king he waved his shinin' wand, and said: "Look by yer side."

An' there there stood a splindid cow—'twas all of four feet wide.

Thin Pat he started out wid her, an' first thing that he knew

He found th' cow was far too wide, he couldn't drive her through.

O, ho, ho, ho! Um, ha, ha, ha!

"I wish," he said unthinkin' like, "I wisht I had you home."

Thin—whist! They lit upon his barn, a-straddle of the comb.

An' thin the cow began to jump an' she began to bawl²⁰,

An' Pat kept skippin' back an' forth²¹ for fear that he would fall.

"O, cow!" he cried. "Nice cow, dear cow! Sure I don't know yourname,

I only wisht you's back within the place from whince you came."

O, ho, ho, ho! Um, ha, ha, ha!

At once there was no splindid cow at all for him to see—

An' if you count thim you will find he'd had his wishes three.

Come all ye fine young gintlemin, remimber now the story:

Whinever you've a chance to wish, don't wish like Pat McGlory.

O, ho, ho, ho! Um, ha, ha, ha!

190"Well," said Lulu, "it seems to me that Pat McGlory was not very bright, for he got nothing at all for his wishes."

 

"There are more persons like that than would at first be supposed by any one not in this business," said the Banjo.

 

191

 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

3 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

4 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

5 stammer   

n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说

参考例句：

• He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
• We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。

6 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

7 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

8 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

9 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。

10 forefinger   

n.食指

参考例句：

• He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
• He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。

11 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

12 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

13 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

14 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

15 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

16 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

17 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 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。

20 bawl   

v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮

参考例句：

• You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫，大家都能听见你。
• Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。

21 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。