Miss Terry returned to the fireside, fumbled1 in the box, and drew out a doll. She was an ugly, old-fashioned doll, with bruised2 waxen face of no particular color. Her mop of flaxen hair was straggling and uneven3, much the worse for the attention of generations of moths4. She wore a faded green silk dress in the style of Lincoln's day, and a primitive5 bonnet6, evidently made by childish hands. She was a strange, dead-looking figure, with pale eyelids7 closed, as Miss Terry dragged her from the box. But when she was set upright the lids snapped open and a pair of bright blue eyes looked straight into those of Miss Terry. It was so sudden that the lady nearly gasped9.
"Miranda!" she exclaimed. "It is old Miranda! I have not thought of her for years." She held the doll at arm's length, gazing fixedly10 at her for some minutes.
"I cannot burn her," she muttered at last. "It would seem almost like murder. I don't like to throw her away, but I have vowed11 to get rid of these things to-night. And I'll do it, anyway. Yes, I'll make an experiment of her. I wonder what sort of trouble she will cause."
Not even Miss Terry could think of seeing old Miranda lying exposed to the winter night. She found a piece of paper, rolled up the doll in a neat package, and tied it with red string. It was, to look upon, entirely12 a tempting13 package. Once more she stole down the steps and hesitated where to leave Miranda: not on the sidewalk,—for some reason that seemed impossible. But near the foot of the flight of steps leading to the front door she deposited the doll. The white package shone out plainly in the illuminated14 street. There was no doubt that it would be readily seen.
With a quite unexplainable interest Miss Terry watched to see what would happen to Miranda. She waited for some time. The street seemed deserted15. Miss Terry caught the faint sound of singing. The choristers were passing through a neighboring street, and doubtless all wayfarers16 within hearing of their voices were following in their wake.
She was thoroughly17 interested in her grim joke, but she was becoming impatient. Were there to be no more passers? Must the doll stay there unreclaimed until morning? Presently she became aware of a child's figure drawing near. It was a little girl of about ten, very shabbily dressed, with tangled18 yellow curls hanging over her shoulders. There was something familiar about her appearance, Miss Terry could not say what it was. She came hurrying along the sidewalk with a preoccupied19 air, and seemed about to pass the steps without seeing the package lying there. But just as she was opposite the window, her eye caught the gleam of the white paper. She paused. She looked at it eagerly; it was such a tempting package, both as to its size and shape! She went closer and bent20 down to examine it. She took it into her bare little hands and seemed to squeeze it gently. There is no mistaking the contours of a doll, however well it may be enveloped21 in paper wrappings. The child's eyes grew more and more eager. She glanced behind her furtively22; she looked up and down the street. Then with a sudden intuition she looked straight ahead, up the flight of steps.
Miss Terry read her mind accurately23. She was thinking that probably the doll belonged in that house; some one must have dropped the package while going out or in. Would she ring the bell and return it? Miss Terry had not thought of that possibility. But she shook her head and her lip curled. "Return it? Of course not! Ragged8 children do not usually return promising24 packages which they have found,—even on Christmas Eve. Look now!"
Once more the child glanced stealthily behind her, up and down the street. Once more she looked up at the dark house before her, the only black spot in a wreath of brilliancy. She did not see the face peering at her through the curtains, a face which scanned her own half wistfully. What was to become of Miranda? The little girl thrust the package under her ragged coat and ran away down the street as fast as her legs could take her.
"A thief!" cried Miss Terry. "That is the climax25. I have detected a child taking what she knew did not belong to her, on Christmas Eve! Where are all their Sunday School lessons and their social improvement classes? I knew it! This Christmas spirit that one hears so much about is nothing but an empty sham26. I have proved it to my satisfaction to-night. I will burn the rest of these toys, every one of them, and then go to bed. It is too disgusting! She was a nice-looking child, too. Poor old Miranda!"
With something like a sigh Miss Terry strode back to the fire, where the play box stood gaping27. She had made but a small inroad upon its heaped-up treasures. She threw herself listlessly into the chair and began to pull over the things. Broken games and animals, dolls' dresses painfully tailored by unskilled fingers, disjointed members,—sorry relics28 of past pleasures,—one by one Miss Terry seized them between disdainful thumb and finger and tossed them into the fire. Her face showed not a qualm at parting with these childhood treasures; only the stern sense of a good housekeeper's duty fulfilled. With queer contortions29 the bits writhed30 on the coals, and finally flared31 into dissolution, vanishing up chimney in a shower of sparks to the heaven of spent toys.
点击收听单词发音
1 fumbled | |
(笨拙地)摸索或处理(某事物)( fumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 乱摸,笨拙地弄; 使落下 | |
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2 bruised | |
[医]青肿的,瘀紫的 | |
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3 uneven | |
adj.不平坦的,不规则的,不均匀的 | |
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4 moths | |
n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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5 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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6 bonnet | |
n.无边女帽;童帽 | |
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7 eyelids | |
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色 | |
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8 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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9 gasped | |
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
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10 fixedly | |
adv.固定地;不屈地,坚定不移地 | |
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11 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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12 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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13 tempting | |
a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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14 illuminated | |
adj.被照明的;受启迪的 | |
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15 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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16 wayfarers | |
n.旅人,(尤指)徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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17 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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18 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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19 preoccupied | |
adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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20 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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21 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22 furtively | |
adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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23 accurately | |
adv.准确地,精确地 | |
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24 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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25 climax | |
n.顶点;高潮;v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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26 sham | |
n./adj.假冒(的),虚伪(的) | |
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27 gaping | |
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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28 relics | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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29 contortions | |
n.扭歪,弯曲;扭曲,弄歪,歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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30 writhed | |
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31 Flared | |
adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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