CHAPTER 31 THE MESSENGERS OF THE FAIRY QUEEN

 "My dear friends," said the Fairy Queen after they had arrived once more at the palace, "I must tell you more about this Wicked Fairy Gobo. He was once one of my trusted workmen in the valley where you have seen the Mother of Gold. You know how necessary it is for the greatest of care and secrecy¹ to be observed by every person permitted within those walls; for should any unfaithful servant allow that secret to become known, or should he leave the gate open, or should he do any one 192of a hundred dangerous things, then all would be lost.

 

"Now this is what the Wicked Fairy Gobo did; he became covetous² of the gold which he saw all about him, and began, as mortals do, to think this gold worth more than everything else. In short, he was willing to do anything, if only he might control all this gold. It was he who planned to open the gates and let in wicked persons who would have robbed me. My faithful friend the White Cricket told me of this, and at once I banished³ Gobo from the Valley of Gold, and changed the mountains all about, and made new gates, and secured new sentinels and guards of the valley; so that Gobo never again could find the way thither⁴. He has been my enemy ever since, although hitherto I have never punished him, beyond confining him to yonder mountain; whence it was his privilege to emerge twice a year. You see what he has done. Jealous that I should hear from the King so often, Gobo has taken the shadow and with it the White Cricket, so that I could telephone no longer. Now in order that I may once more hear from the King, I shall send him back, in your hands, my dears, the Cricket for his telephone; and I shall send him back also his shadow, after I have restored it to its proper shape. And I shall send him also my hope; and I shall send him the message which I have whispered in your ears."

 

193"But see the poor shadow, how badly it is bent⁵," said Lulu. "It does not look in the least like the King as we know him."

 

"I shall hope to be able to straighten out the shadow," said the Queen. "It is only the Wicked Fairy who has destroyed its beauty for the time."

 

"But," asked Zuzu curiously⁶, "why do you take so great an interest in the King of the Island of Gee-Whiz? It always seemed to me that he acted very strangely; for sometimes he was friendly toward the Fairies and sometimes not; and often he wanted more gold."

 

"Ah! that is it," said the Queen, sighing, "it was always that gold! It was the Wicked Fairy Gobo who put such notions in his head; but let us hope that all will yet be well. I beseech⁷ you now to hold tight to your Wishing Wands, and on no account make another wish until you are in the presence of the King himself.

 

"But now it is time that you rested after these journeys through my realm. You may join Fofo and Fifi for a time in the Fairy gardens, and say good-by to them; then the best thing you can do is to eat your supper of cakes and honey, and sleep soundly in readiness for the journey up the Golden Ladder. It was my wish, as I have told you, to make you my pages, and to keep you here in my realm for ever, for you are very good children 194indeed; but now I love and trust you so much that I am going to make you my messengers instead of my pages, and let you go away again for a little time. In order that you may be happy and contented⁸, perhaps the Enchanted⁹ Banjo will now play for us."

 

So saying she handed the Enchanted Banjo to Zuzu, and at once as he and Lulu placed their hands upon the Banjo it began to sing for them.

 

FAREWELL TO THE FAIRIES

 

Farewell, Fairies, gay and good;

You who haunt the Christmas Wood,

You of that thrice happy band

Which lives down in Candy-land,

You who idle in the shade

By the Lake of Lemonade;

Farewell, Fairies; thus we sigh

When we come to say good-by.

You that in the world of dreams

Sail in bubble-boats the streams;

You that hide beneath the grass

Chanting to us as we pass;

You that flash among the trees

Laughing at the honey-bees—

Tears come sadly to each eye

When we come to say good-by.

195

Farewell, Fairies, one and all—

Some day we shall come and call

To you from the border-land

In the speech you understand—

So and so, and thus and thus—

Then you will remember us.

But to-day we may but sigh

Now that we must say good-by.

Then the Queen bent over each little pillow and spoke¹⁰ softly:

 

"Before you fall asleep I shall kiss you each good night and good-by; for when you awaken¹¹ you will be far away."

 

As she kissed Zuzu and Lulu, they began to feel very drowsy¹², but before they had time to reason it out to themselves, they were both fast asleep. The last thing they knew was the soft kiss of the Fairy Queen; and the last thing they saw was the room of the fairy palace, very beautiful, seeming to fade away and become more distant and indistinct.

 

1 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

2 covetous   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。
• He raised his head,with a look of unrestrained greed in his covetous eyes.他抬起头来，贪婪的眼光露出馋涎欲滴的神情。

3 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

5 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

6 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

7 beseech   

v.祈求，恳求

参考例句：

• I beseech you to do this before it is too late.我恳求你做做这件事吧，趁现在还来得及。
• I beseech your favor.我恳求您帮忙。

8 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

9 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。

10 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。

11 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

12 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。