The Plan 计划

The Plan
The Head of the Army and the Head of the Air Force stood at attention beside the Queen’s
breakfast table. Sophie was still in her seat and the BFG was still high up on his crazy perch¹.
It took the Queen only five minutes to explain the situation to the military men.
‘I knew there was something like this going on, Your Majesty²’ the Head of the Army said. ‘For
the last ten years we have been getting reports from nearly every country in the world about people
disappearing mysteriously in the night. We had one only the other day from Panama…’
‘For the hatty taste!’ cried the BFG.
‘And one from Wellington, in New Zealand,’ said the Head of the Army.
‘For the booty flavour!’ cried the BFG.
‘What is he talking about?’ said the Head of the Air Force.
‘Work it out for yourself,’ the Queen said. ‘What time is it? Ten a.m. In eight hours those nine
bloodthirsty brutes³ will be galloping⁵ off to gobble up another couple of dozen unfortunate wretches⁶.
They have to be stopped. We must act fast.’
‘We’ll bomb the blighters!’ shouted the Head of the Air Force.
‘We’ll mow⁷ them down with machine-guns!’ cried the Head of the Army.
‘I do not approve of murder,’ the Queen said.
‘But they are murderers themselves!’ cried the Head of the Army.
‘That is no reason why we should follow their example,’ the Queen said. ‘Two wrongs don’t
make a right.’
‘And two rights don’t make a left!’ cried the BFG.
‘We must bring them back alive,’ the Queen said.
‘How?’ the two military men said together. ‘They are all fifty feet high. They’d knock us down
like ninepins!’
‘Wait!’ cried the BFG. ‘Hold your horseflies! Keep your skirts on! I think I has the answer to the
maiden’s hair!’
‘Let him speak,’ the Queen said.
‘Every afternoon,’ the BFG said, ‘all these giants is in the Land of Noddy.’
‘I can’t understand a word this feller says,’ the Head of the Army snapped. ‘Why doesn’t he
speak clearly?’
‘He means the Land of Nod,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s pretty obvious.’
‘Exunckly!’ cried the BFG. ‘Every afternoon all these nine giants is lying on the ground
snoozling away in a very deep sleep. They is always resting like that before they is galloping off to
guzzle⁸ another helping⁹ of human beans.’
‘Go on,’ they said. ‘So what?’
‘So what you soldiers has to do is to creep up to the giants while they is still in the Land of
Noddy and tie their arms and legs with mighty¹⁰ ropes and whunking chains.’
‘Brilliant,’ the Queen said.
‘That’s all very well,’ said the Head of the Army. ‘But how do we get the brutes back here? We
can’t load fifty-foot giants on to trucks! Shoot ‘em on the spot, that’s what I say!’
The BFG looked down from his lofty perch and said, this time to the Head of the Air Force,
‘You is having bellypoppers, is you not?’
‘Is he being rude?’ the Head of the Air Force said.
‘He means helicopters,’ Sophie told him.
‘Then why doesn’t he say so? Of course we have helicopters.’
‘Whoppsy big bellypoppers?’ asked the BFG.
‘Very big ones,’ the Head of the Air Force said proudly. ‘But no helicopter is big enough to get
a giant like that inside it.’
‘You do not put him inside,’ the BFG said. ‘You sling¹² him underneath¹³ the belly¹¹ of your
bellypopper and carry him like a porteedo.’
‘Like a what?’ said the Head of the Air Force.
‘Like a torpedo,’ Sophie said.
‘Gould you do that, Air Marshal?’ the Queen asked.
‘Well, I suppose we could,’ the Head of the Air Force admitted grudgingly¹⁴.
‘Then get cracking!’ the Queen said. ‘You’ll need nine helicopters, one for each giant.’
‘Where is this place?’ the Air Force man said to the BFG. ‘I presume you can pinpoint¹⁵ it on the
map?’
‘Pinpoint?’ said the BFG. ‘Map? I is never hearing these words before. Is this Air Force bean
talking slush-bungle?’
The Air Marshal’s face turned the colour of a ripe plum. He was not used to being told he was
talking slushbungle. The Queen, with her usual admirable tact¹⁶ and good sense, came to the rescue.
‘BFG,’ she said, ‘can you tell us more or less where this Giant Country is?’
‘No, Majester,’ the BFG said. ‘Not on my nelly.’
‘Then we’re jiggered!’ cried the Army General.
‘This is ridiculous!’ cried the Air Marshal.
‘You must not be giving up so easy’ the BFG said calmly. ‘The first titchy bobsticle you meet
and you begin shouting you is biffsquiggled.’
The Army General was no more used to being insulted than the Air Marshal. His face began to
swell¹⁷ with fury and his cheeks blew out until they looked like two huge ripe tomatoes. ‘Your
Majesty!’ he cried. ‘We are dealing¹⁸ with a lunatic! I want nothing more to do with this ridiculous
operation!’
The Queen, who was used to the tantrums of her senior officials, ignored him completely.
‘BFG,’ she said, ‘would you please tell these rather dim-witted characters exactly what to do.’
‘A pleasure, Majester,’ said the BFG. ‘Now listen to me carefully, you two bootbogglers.’
The military men began to twitch¹⁹, but they stayed put.
‘I is not having the foggiest idea where Giant Country is in the world,’ the BFG said, ‘but I is
always able to gallop⁴ there. I is galloping forthwards and backwards²⁰ from Giant Country every night
to blow my dreams into little chiddlers’ bedrooms. I is knowing the way very well. So all you is
having to do is this. Put your nine big bellyhoppers up in the air and let them follow me as I is
galloping along.’
‘How long will the journey take?’ the Queen asked.
‘If we is leaving now,’ the BFG said, ‘we will be arriving just as the giants is having their
afternoon snozzle.’
‘Splendid,’ said the Queen. Then turning to the two military men, she said, ‘Prepare to leave
immediately.’
The Head of the Army, who was feeling pretty miffed by the whole business, said, ‘That’s all
very well, Your Majesty, but what are we going to do with the blighters once we’ve got them back?’
‘Don’t you worry about that,’ the Queen told him. ‘We’ll be ready for them. Hurry up, now! Off
you go!’
‘If it pleases Your Majesty,’ Sophie said, ‘I should like to ride with the BFG, to keep him
company.’
‘Where will you sit?’ asked the Queen.
‘In his ear,’ Sophie said. ‘Show them, BFG.’
The BFG got down from his high chair. He picked Sophie up in his fingers. He swivelled his
huge right ear until it was parallel with the ground, then he placed Sophie gently inside it.
The Heads of the Army and the Air Force stood there goggling²¹. The Queen smiled. ‘You really
are rather a wonderful giant,’ she said.
‘Majester,’ the BFG said, ‘I is wishing to ask a very special thing from you.’
‘What is it?’ the Queen said.
‘Could I please bring back here in the bellypoppers all my collection of dreams? They is taking
me years and years to collect and I is not wanting to lose them.’
‘Why of course,’ the Queen said. ‘I wish you a safe journey.’


计划
陆军首脑和空军首脑立正站在女王的早餐桌旁。索菲还是坐在那里，好心眼儿巨人仍旧
坐在他那高高的座位上。
女王只花了五分钟就把情况向两位军人解释清楚了。
“我早知道有这类事情在发生，陛下。”陆军首脑说，“近十年来，我们一直从世界几乎所
有国家接到报告，说有人在夜里神秘地失踪。几天前我们才从巴拿马接到这样一个报告……”
“那是为了草帽 [1] 的味道！”好心眼儿巨人叫道。
“还有一个报告来自新西兰的惠灵顿。”陆军首脑说。
“那是为了靴子 [2] 的味道！”好心眼儿巨人叫道。
“他这是在说什么？”空军首脑说。
“你自己去想吧。”女王说，“现在什么时候？上午十点。过八个钟头，那九个喝血的野兽
将要跑去吃另外两三打不幸的人。必须阻止他们。我们必须迅速行动。”
“我们轰炸那些坏蛋！”空军首脑说。
“我们用机关枪把他们扫倒！”陆军首脑叫道。
“我不赞成杀死他们。”女王说。
“可他们是杀人犯！”陆军首脑叫道。
“这不成为我们要学他们的理由。”女王说，“以牙还牙不行，我们必须活捉他们。”
“怎么捉呢？”两位军人异口同声说，“他们都有五十英尺高。他们打倒我们就像碰倒九柱
戏的木柱！”
“等一等！”好心眼儿巨人叫道，“别说话！听好了！我想我有一个理想的答案！”
“听他说下去。”女王说。
“每天下午，”好心眼儿巨人说，“所有这些巨人都在呼呼乡。”
“这家伙说的话我一个字也听不懂。”陆军首脑厉声说，“为什么他不能说得清楚一些
呢？”
“他的意思是睡乡。”索菲说，“这还听不出来吗？”
“一点儿不错！”好心眼儿巨人叫道，“每天下午，这九个巨人都躺在地上呼呼大睡。他们
去吃人豆子之前，总是这样养精蓄锐，好好休息一番的。”
“说下去，”他们说，“那又怎么样？”
“因此，你们的军队只要趁那些巨人还在呼呼乡呼呼大睡的时候，到他们那里去用巨缆绳
和粗铁链把他们的手脚捆起来。”
“好极了！”女王说。
“说得都很好，”陆军首脑说，“可我们怎样把那些野兽带回这里来呢？我们不能把五十英
尺高的巨人装上卡车啊！当场把他们毙了，我是这个主意！”
好心眼儿巨人从他那高高的座位上低头看下来，对空军首脑说：“你有吃剩鸡，对不
对？”
“他说的是骂人话吗？”空军首脑说。
“他说的是直升机。”索菲告诉他。
“那他为什么不就说直升机呢？当然，我们是有直升机。”
“起不了的大吃剩鸡，对不对？”好心眼儿巨人问他。
“非常大。”空军首脑自豪地说，“可是直升机再大也没有办法把巨人装到里面去啊！”
“你不用把他装进去，”好心眼儿巨人说，“你把他吊在你的吃剩鸡下面，像吊芋艿那样把
他吊回来。”
“像吊什么？”空军首脑说。
“像吊鱼雷。”索菲说。
“你做得到吗，空军元帅？”女王问道。
“这个嘛，我想我们能做到。”空军首脑气呼呼地认可说。
“那么就干起来吧！”女王说，“你将需要九架直升机，一架吊一个巨人。”
“地点在哪里？”空军首脑问好心眼儿巨人，“我冒昧地问一下，你能把它在地图上用大头
针精确地标出来吗？”
“用大头针？”好心眼儿巨人说，“在地图上？我以前从来没听说过这些玩意儿。这位空军
豆子是胡说八道吗？”
空军首脑的脸涨成了熟李子的颜色。他不高兴听到有人说他胡说八道。女王用她那可敬
的理智和圆通态度来解围。“好心眼儿巨人，”她说，“你能多多少少地告诉我们，这巨人国是
在什么地方吗？”
“不行，陛下，”好心眼儿巨人说，“我绝对办不到。”
“那我们就去不成了！”陆军首脑叫道。
“这真是荒唐！”空军首脑叫道。
“你们绝不能这样轻言放弃，”好心眼儿巨人说，“才遇到第一个芝麻绿豆小障碍，你们就
大喊大叫你们要撒手不干了。”
陆军首脑的脸气得开始鼓起来，两边脸颊鼓得像两只熟透的大番茄。“陛下！”他叫
道，“我们是在和一个疯子打交道！对这种荒唐的行动我希望不再插手！”
女王对她那些高级官员耍脾气早已习以为常，她完全不理他。“好心眼儿巨人，”她
说，“请你明确告诉这两位十分不开窍的人物该怎么办，好吗？”
“很乐意，陛下。”好心眼儿巨人说，“现在请仔细听我说，你们两位笨将军。”
两位军人已经准备走掉，不过他们还是停了下来，一动不动地听着。
“巨人国在世界上的哪一个位置，我一点儿也说不出来，”好心眼儿巨人说，“可我总是能
够跑到那里去。我每天夜里从巨人国向前跑向后跑，把我的梦吹到小朋友的卧室里去。路我
很熟。因此你们要做的只是这样：把你们的九架大吃剩鸡放上天，我一路跑，让它们跟着
我。”
“路上要多少时间呢？”女王问道。
“如果我们现在离开，”好心眼儿巨人说，“正好在那些巨人呼呼午睡的时候赶到。”
“好极了。”女王说，接着她转向两位军人，“马上准备出发。”
对整件事情感到十分生气的陆军首脑说：“那很好，陛下。可一旦把那些坏蛋带回来，我
们把他们怎么办呢？”
“这一点你就用不着担心了，”女王告诉他，“我们会给他们做好安置准备的。现在抓紧！
你们去吧！”
“如果陛下您答应，”索菲说，“我想和好心眼儿巨人一起去，给他做个伴。”
“你坐在哪里呢？”女王问道。
“坐在他的耳朵里。”索菲说，“我们做给他们看吧，好心眼儿巨人？”
好心眼儿巨人离开他的高椅子。他用手指抓起索菲，然后把右边的大耳朵转过来和地面
平行，把索菲轻轻地放到里面去。
陆军首脑和空军首脑站在那里瞪大了眼睛。女王微笑着说：“你真是个了不起的巨人。”
“陛下，”好心眼儿巨人说，“我想向您提出一个非常特别的请求。”
“是怎么回事？”女王说。
“我能用那些吃剩鸡把我收集到的所有的梦都带回这里来吗？收集它们可费了我许多许多
年的时间，我不想失去它们。”
“那当然。”女王说，“祝你们一路平安。”
[1]巴拿马草帽是有名的，英文里巴拿马草帽就叫巴拿马。
[2]英国有惠灵顿靴子，英文里也可以只叫惠灵顿，但这种靴子和新西兰首都惠灵顿其实
毫无关系，却和英国陆军元帅惠灵顿（1769-1852）有关。

1 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

2 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

3 brutes   

兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性

参考例句：

• They're not like dogs; they're hideous brutes. 它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。
• Suddenly the foul musty odour of the brutes struck his nostrils. 突然，他的鼻尖闻到了老鼠的霉臭味。 来自英汉文学

4 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

5 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

6 wretches   

n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋

参考例句：

• The little wretches were all bedraggledfrom some roguery. 小淘气们由于恶作剧而弄得脏乎乎的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The best courage for us poor wretches is to fly from danger. 对我们这些可怜虫说来，最好的出路还是躲避危险。 来自辞典例句

7 mow   

v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆

参考例句：

• He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。
• We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。

8 guzzle   

v.狂饮，暴食

参考例句：

• Melissa had guzzled gin and tonics like they were lemonade.梅利莎像喝柠檬汽水一样大口地喝着加奎宁水的杜松子酒。
• Pigs guzzle their food.猪总是狼吞虎咽地吃东西。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

11 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

12 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

13 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

14 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

16 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

17 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 twitch   

v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛

参考例句：

• The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
• I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

20 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

21 goggling   

v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：