It was dark now. The night had already begun. The BFG, with Sophie sitting on his hand,
hurried into the cave and put on those brilliant blinding lights that seemed to come from nowhere. He
placed Sophie on the table. ‘Stay there please,’ he said, ‘and no chittering. I is needing to listen only
to silence when I is mixing up such a knotty1 plexicated dream as this.’
He hurried away from her. He got out an enormous empty glass jar that was the size of a
washing machine. He clutched it to his chest and hurried towards the shelves on which stood the
thousands and thousands of smaller jars containing the captured dreams.
‘Dreams about giants,’ he muttered to himself as he searched the labels. ‘The giants is guzzling2
human beans… no, not that one… nor that one… here’s one!… And here’s another!…’ He grabbed
the jars and unscrewed the tops. He tipped the dreams into the enormous jar he was clutching and as
each one went in, Sophie caught a glimpse of a small sea-green blob tumbling from one jar into the
other.
The BFG hurried towards another shelf. ‘Now,’ he muttered, ‘I is wanting dreams about
gigglehouses for girls… and about boggleboxes for boys.’ He was becoming very tense now. Sophie
could almost see the excitement bubbling inside him as he scurried3 back and forth4 among his beloved
jars. There must have been fifty thousand dreams altogether up there on the shelves, but he seemed to
know almost exactly where every one of them was. ‘Dreams about a little girl,’ he muttered. ‘And
dreams about me… about the BFG… come on, come on, hurry up, get on with it… now where in the
wonky world is I keeping those?…’
And so it went on. In about half an hour the BFG had found all the dreams he wanted and had
tipped them into the one huge jar. He put the jar on the table. Sophie sat watching him but said
nothing. Inside the big jar, lying on the bottom of it, she could clearly see about fifty of those oval
sea-green jellyish shapes, all pulsing gently in and out, some lying on top of others, but each one still
a quite separate individual dream.
‘Now we is mixing them,’ the BFG announced. He went to the cupboard where he kept his
bottles of frobscottle, and from it he took out a gigantic egg-beater. It was one of those that has a
handle which you turn, and down below there are a lot of overlapping5 blades that go whizzing round.
He inserted the bottom end of this contraption into the big jar where the dreams were lying. ‘Watch,’
he said. He started turning the handle very fast.
Flashes of green and blue exploded inside the jar. The dreams were being whisked into a sea-
green froth.
‘The poor things!’ Sophie cried.
‘They is not feeling it,’ the BFG said as he turned the handle. ‘Dreams is not like human beans
or animals. They has no brains. They is made of zozimus.’
After about a minute, the BFG stopped whisking. The whole bottle was now full to the brim
with large bubbles. They were almost exactly like the bubbles we ourselves blow from soapy water,
except that these had even brighter and more beautiful colours swimming on their surfaces.
‘Keep watching,’ the BFG said.
Quite slowly, the topmost bubble rose up through the neck of the jar and floated away. A second
one followed. Then a third and a fourth. Soon the cave was filled with hundreds of beautifully
coloured bubbles, all drifting gently through the air. It was truly a wonderful sight. As Sophie
watched them, they all started floating towards the cave entrance, which was still open.
‘They’re going out,’ Sophie whispered.
‘Of course,’ the BFG said.
‘Where to?’
‘Those is all little tiny dream-bits that I isn’t using,’ the BFG said. ‘They is going back to the
misty6 country to join up with proper dreams.’
‘It’s all a bit beyond me,’ Sophie said.
‘Dreams is full of mystery and magic,’ the BFG said. ‘Do not try to understand them. Look in
the big bottle and you will now see the dream you is wanting for the Queen.’
Sophie turned and stared into the great jar. On the bottom of it, something was thrashing around
wildly, bouncing up and down and flinging itself against the walls of the jar. ‘Good heavens!’ she
cried. ‘Is that it?’
‘That’s it,’ the BFG said proudly.
‘But it’s… it’s horrible!’ Sophie cried. ‘It’s jumping about! It wants to get out!’
‘That’s because it’s a trogglehumper,’ the BFG said. ‘It’s a nightmare.’
‘Oh, but I don’t want you to give the Queen a nightmare!’ Sophie cried.
‘If she is dreaming about giants guzzling up little boys and girls, then what is you expecting it to
be except a nightmare?’ the BFG said.
‘Oh, no!’ Sophie cried.
‘Oh, yes,’ the BFG said. ‘A dream where you is seeing little chiddlers being eaten is about the
most frightsome trogglehumping dream you can get. It’s a kicksy bog- thumper8. It’s a whoppsy
grobswitcher. It is all of them riddled9 into one. It is as bad as that dream I blew into the
Fleshlumpeater this afternoon. It is worse.’
Sophie stared down at the fearful nightmare dream that was still thrashing away in the huge
glass jar. It was much larger than the others. It was about the size and shape of, shall we say, a
turkey’s egg. It was jellyish. It had tinges10 of bright scarlet11 deep inside it. There was something
terrible about the way it was throwing itself against the sides of the jar.
‘I don’t want to give the Queen a nightmare,’ Sophie said.
‘I is thinking,’ the BFG said, ‘that your Queen will be happy to have a nightmare if having a
nightmare is going to save a lot of human beans from being gobbled up by filthsome giants. Is I right
or is I left?’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s got to be done.’
‘She will soon be getting over it,’ the BFG said.
‘Have you put all the other important things into it?’ Sophie asked.
‘When I is blowing that dream into the Queen’s bedroom,’ the BFG said, ‘she will be dreaming
every single little thingalingaling you is asking me to make her dream.’
‘About me sitting on the window-sill?’
‘That part is very strong.’
‘And about a Big Friendly Giant?’
‘I is putting in a nice long gobbit about him,’ the BFG said. As he spoke12, he picked up one of his
smaller jars and very quickly tipped the struggling thrashing trogglehumper out of the large jar into
the small one. Then he screwed the lid tightly on to the small jar.
‘That’s it,’ he announced. ‘We is now ready.’ He fetched his suitcase and put the small jar into
it.
‘Why bother to take a great big suitcase when you’ve only got one jar?’ Sophie said. ‘You could
put the jar in your pocket.’
The BFG looked down at her and smiled. ‘By goggles,’ he said, taking the jar out of the
suitcase, ‘your head is not quite so full of grimesludge after all! I can see you is not born last week.’
‘Thank you, kind sir,’ Sophie said, making a little curtsy from the table-top.
‘Is you ready to leave?’ the BFG asked.
‘I’m ready!’ Sophie cried. Her heart was beginning to thump7 at the thought of what they were
about to do. It really was a wild and crazy thing. Perhaps they would both be thrown into prison.
The BFG was putting on his great black cloak.
He tucked the jar into a pocket in his cloak. He picked up his long trumpet-like dream-blower.
Then he turned and looked at Sophie, who was still on the table-top. ‘The dream-bottle is in my
pocket,’ he said. ‘Is you going to sit in there with it during the travel?’
‘Never!’ cried Sophie. ‘I refuse to sit next to that beastly thing!’
‘Then where is you going to sit?’ the BFG asked her.
Sophie looked him over for a few moments. Then she said, ‘If you would be kind enough to
swivel one of your lovely big ears so that it is lying flat like a dish, that would make a very cosy13 place
for me to sit.’
‘By gumbo, that is a squackling good idea!’ the BFG said.
Slowly, he swivelled his huge right ear until it was like a great shell facing the heavens. He
lifted Sophie up and placed her into it. The ear itself, which was about the size of a large tea-tray, was
full of the same channels and crinkles as a human ear. It was extremely comfortable.
‘I hope I don’t fall down your earhole,’ Sophie said, edging away from the large hole just beside
her.
‘Be very careful not to do that,’ the BFG said. ‘You would be giving me a cronking earache14.’
The nice thing about being there was that she could whisper directly into his ear.
‘You is tickling15 me a bit,’ the BFG said. ‘Please do not jiggle about.’
‘I’ll try not to,’ Sophie said. ‘Are we ready?’
‘Oweeee!’ yelled the BFG. ‘Don’t do that!’
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Sophie said.
‘You is talking too loud! You is forgetting that I is hearing every little thingalingaling fifty times
louder than usual and there you is shouting away right inside my ear!’
‘Oh gosh,’ Sophie murmured. ‘I forgot that.’
‘Your voice is sounding like thunder and thrumpets!’
‘I’m so sorry’ Sophie whispered. ‘Is that better?’
‘No!’ cried the BFG. ‘It sounds as though you is shootling off a bunderbluss!’
‘Then how can I talk to you?’ Sophie whispered.
‘Don’t!’ cried the poor BFG. ‘Please don’t! Each word is like you is dropping buzzbombs in my
earhole!’
Sophie tried speaking right under her breath. ‘Is this better?’ she said. She spoke so softly she
couldn’t even hear her own voice.
‘That’s better,’ the BFG said. ‘Now I is hearing you very nicely. What is it you is trying to say
to me just now?’
‘I was saying are we ready?’
‘We is off!’ cried the BFG, heading for the cave entrance. ‘We is off to meet Her Majester the
Queen!’
Outside the cave, he rolled the large round stone back into place and set off at a tremendous
gallop16.
配制梦
天现在黑了。夜已经开始了。好心眼儿巨人托着坐在他手掌上的索菲,急急忙忙走进山
洞,点亮那些耀花眼睛的光,它们像是凭空出现的。他把索菲放在桌子上。
“请待在这里别动,”他说,“并且不要嘁嘁喳喳。配制这样错综复杂的梦,我的两只耳朵
需要绝对安静。”
他急急忙忙地离开了,他走过去拿下来一只巨大的空玻璃瓶,有洗衣机大小。他把它抱
在胸前,又急急忙忙地向放着千万个梦的较小玻璃瓶的一排排架子走去。
“关于巨人的梦,”他找标签的时候口中念念有词,“巨人在吃人豆子……不,不是那
个……也不是那个……这里有一个……这里又有一个……”他拿起那些瓶子,旋开瓶盖,把那
些梦倒进他抱住的巨大瓶子。每一个梦倒进去的时候,索菲都看到蓝绿色的一小团东西,从
一只瓶子翻了个身,落到另一只瓶子里。
好心眼儿巨人又急急忙忙地走到另一排架子那儿。
“好,”他嘟嘟囔囔地说,“我要一些梦,关于女孩的叽喳屋的……关于男孩的百音盒
的。”现在的他变得十分聚精会神。当他在心爱的瓶子间急急忙忙来回走动的时候,索菲几乎
可以看到他的心兴奋得扑通扑通跳。在那一排一排架子上准有五万个梦,可是他似乎清楚哪
一个梦在哪一个地方。“关于一个小女孩的梦,”他嘟囔着,“关于我的梦……关于好心眼儿巨
人的梦……来吧,来吧,快点,快点……我把它们放到哪里去了?”
他就这么找下去。大约半个小时,好心眼儿巨人终于把他要的所有的梦都找到了,全倒
进了那只大瓶子里。他把这巨大的瓶子放在桌子上。在这巨大的瓶子里,在瓶底那儿,索菲
可以清楚地看到大约五十个椭圆形的果冻似的蓝绿色东西,全都轻轻地一收一放地在搏动
着,有一些躺在另一些的上面,但每一个都是完全独立的梦。
“现在我们要把它们配制起来。”好心眼儿巨人说。他走到放着一瓶瓶下气可乐的食品柜
前,从里面拿出一个巨大的打蛋器,就是上面有摇柄、下面有许多互相搭接会旋转刀片的那
一种。他把打蛋器的底部放进装着梦的巨大瓶子里。“看着。”他说。他开始很快地转动摇
柄。
瓶子里闪起了绿光和蓝光。那些梦被搅打成了绿色的泡沫。
“那些可怜的东西!”索菲叫道。
“它们可不觉得。”好心眼儿巨人一边摇动摇柄一边说,“梦不像人豆子或者动物,它们没
有脑筋。它们是由孢子构成的。”
过了一会儿,好心眼儿巨人停止了搅打。整只瓶子现在满是大泡泡,一直满到瓶口。它
们就像我们吹的肥皂泡,只是更亮,泡泡上闪动的颜色也更加好看。
“看好了。”好心眼儿巨人说。
最上面的一个泡泡很慢很慢地飘起来,通过瓶颈飘出来。第二个泡泡跟着,接着是第三
个和第四个。很快,山洞里就飘满了几百个五彩缤纷的泡泡,全都在空气中轻轻地飘着,真
是蔚为大观。索菲眼看着它们全都飘向山洞口,山洞口仍旧敞开着。
“它们出去了。”索菲悄悄地说。
“当然。”好心眼儿巨人说。
“去哪里呢?”
“这些都是我用不着的下脚梦,”好心眼儿巨人说,“它们回到那迷蒙的梦乡去和真正的梦
汇合在一起。”
“我有点弄不懂。”索菲说。
“梦这玩意儿神秘莫测,充满魔幻,”好心眼儿巨人说,“你别想了解它们。还是看那大瓶
子吧,现在你将看到你要女王做的那个梦了。”
索菲转过头来看那巨大的瓶子。瓶底有样东西在发疯似的向四面冲撞,跳上跳下,撞击
瓶壁。“天哪!”她叫道,“这就是它吗?”
“这就是它。”好心眼儿巨人得意地说。“可是它……它很可怕!”索菲叫道,“它在跳来跳
去!它要出来!”
“那因为它是个‘进旋涡’。”好心眼儿巨人说,“它是个噩梦。”
“噢,我可不要你给女王一个噩梦!”索菲叫道。
“如果她梦见巨人吃小男孩小女孩,那么,这不是噩梦又是什么梦呢?”好心眼儿巨人
说。
“噢,不要这样!”索菲叫道。
“噢,是要这样。”好心眼儿巨人说,“看到小孩子被吃掉的梦,是你能看到的最可怕的‘进
旋涡’噩梦,是要命的‘陷泥沼’噩梦,是恐怖的‘下地狱’噩梦。如今这一个是所有这些噩梦合起
来的大噩梦。它和我今天下午吹到吃人肉块巨人脑袋瓜里去的那个梦一样可恶甚至更可恶。”
索菲低头看着这个噩梦一直在巨大的玻璃瓶里又扭又撞。它比所有的梦要大得多。它的
大小和形状像枚火鸡蛋。它是一团果冻似的东西,里面是亮紫色。它碰撞瓶壁的样子真让人
胆战心惊。
“我不愿意给女王一个噩梦。”索菲说。
“我在想,”好心眼儿巨人说,“你们的女王将会很高兴看到一个噩梦,如果这个噩梦能够
挽救许许多多人豆子,让他们不被邪恶的巨人吃掉。我说得对不对?”
“我想你的话是对的,”索菲说,“只好这么办了。”
“她很快就会没事的。”好心眼儿巨人说。
“你把所有重要的东西都放进去了吗?”索菲问道。
“等到我把这梦吹进女王的卧室,”好心眼儿巨人说,“她将梦见你要她梦见的每一个零碎
细小的东西。”
“梦见我坐在窗台上吗?”
“这一段十分重要。”
“梦见好心眼儿巨人吗?”
“关于它我用了很好很长的一大段。”好心眼儿巨人说。他一边说一边拿起一只小瓶子,
很快地把那挣扎撞打的“进旋涡”从大瓶子倒进了小瓶子,立刻把小瓶子的盖旋得紧紧的。
“好了,”他说,“我们现在已经准备停当。”他拿来手提箱,把瓶子放进去。
“一共只有一只瓶子,你干吗要带那么大一只手提箱呢?”索菲说,“你完全可以把瓶子放
在你的衣服口袋里呀。”
好心眼儿巨人低头冲她微笑,“没错,”他说着把那瓶子从手提箱里拿出来,“你的脑袋瓜
到底还不是只充满了脏鼻涕虫!我看得出你不是上个礼拜才生下来的。”
“谢谢,好心眼儿的先生。”索菲在桌子上行了个小小的屈膝礼。
“你准备好了吗?”好心眼儿巨人说。
“我准备好了!”索菲叫道。想到他们这就要去干什么,她的心开始怦怦跳。这真是一件
发疯的事。也许他们会双双被投到监狱里。
好心眼儿巨人穿上他那件黑色大氅。
他把瓶子塞进大氅的口袋里。他捡起那把长小号似的吹梦管,接着转过身来看着还在桌
子上的索菲,“梦瓶已经在我的口袋里,”他说,“一路上你和它一起坐在那里吗?”
“不干!”索菲叫道,“我可不要坐在那可怕的东西旁边!”
“那么你坐到什么地方去呢?”好心眼儿巨人问她。
索菲把他全身打量了一下,接着说:“如果你行行好,把你的一只可爱的大耳朵转过来,
像只大碟子那样平放着,就可以给我一个很舒服的地方了。”
“天哪,这是一个绝妙的主意!”好心眼儿巨人说。
他慢慢地转动一只大耳朵,直到它像只贝壳对着天上。他把索菲抓起来放到里面。这耳
朵有一只大茶杯托盘那么大,跟人耳朵一样有许多通道和皱褶,坐在里面舒服极了。
“我希望不要跌到你的耳孔下面去。”索菲说着离那个就在旁边的大洞远一些。
“倒是要十分小心别跌下去,”好心眼儿巨人说,“你会弄得我耳朵疼得哇哇叫的。”
在那里有一个好处,就是她可以直接对着他的耳朵说悄悄话。
“你弄得我的耳朵有点痒,”好心眼儿巨人说,“请你不要动。”
“我尽量不动。”索菲说,“准备好了吗?”
“哎哟哟!”好心眼儿巨人大叫,“别这样做好不好?”
“可我什么也没有做啊!”索菲说。
“你说话太响了!你忘了,我现在听到你每一个叽叽喳喳的细小声音都比平时响五十倍,
请你不要在我的耳朵里面哇哇大叫!”
“噢,天哪,”索菲喃喃着,“我把这件事忘了。”
“你的声音像是打雷和吹喇叭!”
“我很抱歉。”索菲悄悄地说,“这样好一点儿了吗?”
“不!”好心眼儿巨人叫道,“这声音听起来还是像开大炮!”
“那我怎么对你说话呢?”索菲悄悄地说。
“不要说!”可怜的好心眼儿巨人叫道,“请不要说!你的每一个字就像在我的耳孔里扔进
一个嗡嗡弹!”
索菲尝试尽量压低嗓子说话。“这样好些吗?”她说。她话轻得连自己也听不到了。
“这样好一些,”好心眼儿巨人说,“现在我听着很好。你刚才对我说什么?”
“我刚才说我们准备好了。”
“我们这就走!”好心眼儿巨人大叫一声,向山洞口走去,“我们这就去见女王陛下!”
一出山洞,他把那块巨大的圆石头滚回山洞口,然后飞快地上路了。
![](../../../skin/default/image/4.jpg)
点击
收听单词发音
![收听单词发音](/template/default/tingnovel/images/play.gif)
1
knotty
![]() |
|
adj.有结的,多节的,多瘤的,棘手的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2
guzzling
![]() |
|
v.狂吃暴饮,大吃大喝( guzzle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3
scurried
![]() |
|
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4
forth
![]() |
|
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5
overlapping
![]() |
|
adj./n.交迭(的) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6
misty
![]() |
|
adj.雾蒙蒙的,有雾的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7
thump
![]() |
|
v.重击,砰然地响;n.重击,重击声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8
thumper
![]() |
|
n.击键声检测器;轰鸣器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9
riddled
![]() |
|
adj.布满的;充斥的;泛滥的v.解谜,出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10
tinges
![]() |
|
n.细微的色彩,一丝痕迹( tinge的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11
scarlet
![]() |
|
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12
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: |
|
|
13
cosy
![]() |
|
adj.温暖而舒适的,安逸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14
earache
![]() |
|
n.耳朵痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15
tickling
![]() |
|
反馈,回授,自旋挠痒法 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16
gallop
![]() |
|
v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔;飞速发展 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |