All the women, or rather the witches, were now sitting motionless in their chairs and staring
as though hypnotised at somebody who had suddenly appeared on the platform. That somebody was
another woman.
The first thing I noticed about this woman was her size. She was tiny, probably no more than
four and a half feet tall. She looked quite young, I guessed about twenty-five or six, and she was very
pretty. She had on a rather stylish1 long black dress that reached right to the ground and she wore
black gloves that came up to her elbows. Unlike the others, she wasn't wearing a hat.
She didn't look to me like a witch at all, but she couldn't possibly not be one, otherwise what
on earth was she doing up there on the platform? And why, for heaven's sake, were all the other
witches gazing at her with such a mixture of adoration2, awe3 and fear?
Very slowly, the young lady on the platform raised her hands to her face. I saw her gloved
fingers unhooking something behind her ears, and then... then she caught hold of her cheeks and
lifted her face clean away! The whole of that pretty face came away in her hands!
It was a mask!
As she took off the mask, she turned sideways and placed it carefully upon a small table near
by, and when she turned round again and faced us, I very nearly screamed out loud.
That face of hers was the most frightful4 and frightening thing I have ever seen. Just looking at
it gave me the shakes all over. It was so crumpled5 and wizened6, so shrunken and shrivelled, it looked
as though it had been pickled in vinegar. It was a fearsome and ghastly sight. There was something
terribly wrong with it, something foul7 and putrid8 and decayed. It seemed quite literally9 to be rotting
away at the edges, and in the middle of the face, around the mouth and cheeks, I could see the skin all
cankered and worm-eaten, as though maggots were working away in there.
There are times when something is so frightful you become mesmerised by it and can't look
away. I was like that now. I was transfixed. I was numbed10. I was magnetised by the sheer horror of
this woman's features. But there was more to it than that. There was a look of serpents in those eyes
of hers as they flashed around the audience.
I knew immediately, of course, that this was none other than The Grand High Witch herself. I
knew also why she had worn a mask. She could never have moved around in public, let alone book in
at an hotel, with her real face. Everyone who saw her would have run away screaming.
"The doors!" shouted The Grand High Witch in a voice that filled the room and bounced
around the walls. "Are they chained and bolted?"
"The doors are chained and bolted, Your Grandness," answered a voice in the audience.
The brilliant snake's eyes that were set so deep in that dreadful rotting worm-eaten face glared
unblinkingly at the witches who sat facing her. "You may rrree-moof your gloves!" she shouted. Her
voice, I noticed, had that same hard metallic11 quality as the voice of the witch I had met under the
conker tree, only it was far louder and much much harsher. It rasped. It grated. It snarled12. It scraped.
It shrieked13. And it growled14.
Everyone in the room was peeling off her gloves. I was watching the hands of those in the
back row. I wanted very much to see what their fingers looked like and whether my grandmother had
been right. Ah!... Yes!... I could see several of them now! I could see the brown claws curving over
the tips of the fingers! They were about two inches long, those claws, and sharp at the ends!
"You may rrree-moof your shoes!" barked The Grand High Witch.
I heard a sigh of relief going up from all the witches in the room as they kicked off their
narrow high-heeled shoes, and then I got a glimpse under the chairs of several pairs of stockinged
feet, square and completely toeless. Revolting they were, as though the toes had been sliced away
from the feet with a carving-knife.
"You may rrree-moof your vigs!" snarled The Grand High Witch. She had a peculiar15 way of
speaking. There was some sort of a foreign accent there, something harsh and guttural, and she
seemed to have trouble pronouncing the letter w. As well as that, she did something funny with the
letter r. She would roll it round and round her mouth like a piece of hot pork-crackling before spitting
it out. "Rrree-moof your vigs and get some fresh air into your spotty scalps!" she shouted, and
another sigh of relief arose from the audience as all the hands went up to the heads and all the wigs16
(with the hats still on them) were lifted away.
There now appeared in front of me row upon row of bald female heads, a sea of naked scalps,
every one of them red and itchy-looking from being rubbed by the linings18 of the wigs. I simply
cannot tell you how awful they were, and somehow the whole sight was made more grotesque19
because underneath20 those frightful scabby bald heads, the bodies were dressed in fashionable and
rather pretty clothes. It was monstrous21. It was unnatural22.
Oh heavens, I thought. Oh help! Oh Lord have mercy on me! These foul bald-headed females
are child-killers every one of them, and here I am imprisoned23 in the same room and I can't escape!
At that point, a new and doubly horrifying24 thought struck me. My grandmother had said that
with their special nose-holes they could smell out a child on a pitch-black night from right across the
other side of the road. Up to now, my grandmother had been right every time. It seemed a certainty
therefore that one of the witches in the back row was going to sniff25 me out at any moment and then
the yell of "Dogs' droppings!" would go up all over the room and I would be cornered like a rat.
I knelt on the carpet behind the screen, hardly daring to breathe.
Then suddenly I remembered another very important thing my grandmother had told me.
"The dirtier you are," she had said, "the harder it is for a witch to smell you out."
How long since I had last had a bath?
Not for ages. I had my own room in the hotel and my grandmother never bothered with silly
things like that. Come to think of it, I don't believe I'd had a bath since we arrived.
When had I last washed my hands or face?
Certainly not this morning.
Not yesterday either.
I glanced down at my hands. They were covered with smudge and mud and goodness knows
what else besides.
So perhaps I had a chance after all. The stink26-waves couldn't possibly get out through all that
dirt.
"Vitches of Inkland!" shouted The Grand High Witch. She herself I noticed had not taken off
either her wig17 or her gloves or her shoes. "Vitches of Inkland!" she yelled.
The audience stirred uneasily and sat up straighter in their chairs.
"Miserrrable vitches!" she yelled. "Useless lazy vitches! Feeble frrribbling vitches! You are a
heap of idle good-for-nothing vurms!"
A shudder27 went through the audience. The Grand High Witch was clearly in an ugly mood
and they knew it. I had a feeling that something awful was going to happen soon.
"I am having my breakfast this morning," cried The Grand High Witch, "and I am looking out
of the vindow at the beach, and vot am I seeing? I am asking you, vot am I seeing? I am seeing a
rrreevolting sight! I am seeing hundreds, I am seeing thousands of rrrotten rrree-pulsive little children
playing on the sand! It is putting me rrright off my food! Vye have you not got rrrid of them?" she
screamed. "Vye have you not rrrubbed them all out; these filthy28 smelly children?"
With each word she spoke29, flecks30 of pale-blue phlegm shot from her mouth like little bullets.
"I am asking you vye!" she screamed.
Nobody answered her question.
"Children smell!" she screamed. "They stink out the vurld! Vee do not vont these children
around here!"
The bald heads in the audience all nodded vigorously.
"Vun child a veek is no good to me!" The Grand High Witch cried out. "Is that the best you
can do?"
"We will do better," murmured the audience. "We will do much better."
"Better is no good either!" shrieked The Grand High Witch. "I demand maximum rrree-sults!
So here are my orders! My orders are that every single child in this country shall be rrrubbed out,
sqvashed, sqvirted, sqvittered and frrrittered before I come here again in vun year's time! Do I make
myself clear?"
A great gasp31 went up from the audience. I saw the witches all looking at one another with
deeply troubled expressions. And I heard one witch at the end of the front row saying aloud, "All of
them! We can't possibly wipe out all of them!"
The Grand High Witch whipped round as though someone had stuck a skewer32 into her
bottom. "Who said that?" she snapped. "Who dares to argue vith me? It vos you, vos it not?" She
pointed33 a gloved finger as sharp as a needle at the witch who had spoken.
"I didn't mean it, Your Grandness!" the witch cried out. "I didn't mean to argue! I was just
talking to myself!"
"You dared to argue vith me!" screamed The Grand High Witch.
"I was just talking to myself!" cried the wretched witch. "I swear it, Your Grandness!" She
began to shake with fear.
The Grand High Witch took a quick step forward, and when she spoke again, it was in a voice
that made my blood run cold.
"A stupid vitch who answers back
Must burn until her bones are black!"
she screamed.
"No, no!" begged the witch in the front row. The Grand High Witch went on,
"A foolish vitch vithout a brain
Must sizzle in the fiery34 flame!"
"Save me!" cried the wretched witch in the front row. The Grand High Witch took no notice
of her. She spoke again.
"An idiotic35 vitch like you
Must rrroast upon the barbecue!"
"Forgive me, O Your Grandness!" cried the miserable36 culprit. "I didn't mean it!" But The
Grand High Witch continued with her terrible recital37.
"A vitch who dares to say I'm wrrrong
Vill not be vith us very long!"
A moment later, a stream of sparks that looked like tiny white-hot metal-filings came shooting
out of The Grand High Witch's eyes and flew straight towards the one who had dared to speak. I saw
the sparks striking against her and burrowing38, into her and she screamed a horrible howling scream
and a puff39 of smoke rose up around her. A smell of burning meat filled the room.
Nobody moved. Like me, they were all watching the smoke, and when it had cleared away,
the chair was empty. I caught a glimpse of something wispy-white, like a little cloud, fluttering
upwards40 and disappearing out of the window.
A great sigh rose up from the audience.
The Grand High Witch glared around the room. "I hope nobody else is going to make me
cross today," she remarked.
There was a deathly silence.
"Frrrizzled like a frrritter," said The Grand High Witch. "Cooked like a carrot. You vill never
see her again. Now vee can get down to business."
像油煎饼那样吱吱响
所有女人，或者不如说所有女巫，如今在座位上一动不动，像中了催眠术似的看着突然
出现在讲坛上的一个人。这个人是另一个女人。
关于这个女人，我注意到的第一件事是她的个子。她个子很小，大概不到四英尺半，看
上去很年轻，我猜想是二十五六岁，非常漂亮。她穿一件十分时髦的黑长袍，一直拖到地，
戴的黑手套长到胳膊肘上。和其他女士不同的是，她没有戴帽子。
我觉得她看上去根本不像一个女巫，但她不可能不是女巫，否则她在讲坛上干什么？同
时所有的女巫又为什么充满爱戴、敬畏和恐惧的混合表情看着她？
讲坛上的那位小姐慢慢地把双手举到她的脸上。我看见她用戴着手套的手指解开耳后的
钩子什么的，然后……然后她抓住两边的脸颊，把整张脸拉了下来！整张漂亮的脸一下子离
开了她，拿在她的手里！
原来是一个面具！
她剥下面具后，转脸把它小心翼翼地放在旁边的小桌子上。等到她重新转过脸来面对我
们时，我差点儿失声大叫起来。
她的真面目是我有生以来从未见过的最可怕最吓人的东西。我只要看上一眼就会浑身哆
嗦。它是那样扭曲、枯萎，又皱缩又干瘪，看去像是在醋里腌过。它的样子使人害怕和恐
怖。这张脸出了严重的问题，正在发臭、化脓、腐烂。它的边缘可以说全都烂掉了，在脸的
中部，环绕着嘴和脸颊，我可以看出皮肤都溃烂和蛀蚀了，好像长了蛆。
有时候看到的东西太可怕，你会被它吸引住，挪不开眼睛。现在我就是这样。我被这女
人脸部的骇人样子吸引住了，而且不仅如此，当她那双眼睛对着听众闪烁时，它们射出一种
毒蛇才有的目光。
自然，我一下子就明白，这个女人只能是女巫大王本人。我还明白，她为什么要戴上面
具。如果她露出真容，她永远不能出现在大庭广众当中，不能住到旅馆里来。不管是谁，一
看见她就会尖叫着逃跑了。
“那门！”女巫大王叫道，声音响彻整个房间，又从四周的墙壁上弹了回来。“那门闩上了
吗？铁链拴好了吗？”
“门闩上了，铁链拴好了，大王。”听众中一个声音回答。
在她那腐朽蛀蚀的脸上，那双深陷的、闪闪发亮的蛇眼正一眨不眨地注视着坐在她对面
的女巫们。“可以脱下你们的手套了！”她叫道。我注意到，她的声音和我遇到的站在七叶树
下的那个女巫声音一样，带有硬金属音，只是响得多，刺耳得多。它像锉刀锉东西。它像磨
牙。它像狗吠。它像刮铁皮。它像是哇哇叫。它像是咆哮。
房间里所有的人都脱下了手套，我注意看后排那些人的手。我急于要看到她们的手指是
什么样子的，看看我姥姥有没有说对。啊……不错……现在我看到几双手了！我看到那些棕
色爪子上的指头顶端向里弯曲着！这些爪子约两英寸长，头上尖尖的！
“你们可以脱掉你们的鞋子了！”女巫大王吠叫道。
我听到房间里所有的女巫踢掉窄细的高跟鞋时，发出松了口气的叹息声。接着我看到椅
子底下几双穿着长统袜的脚，真是方头的，完全没有脚趾。它们很难看，脚趾好像被刀切掉
了。
“你们可以拿掉你们的假发了！”女巫大王号叫道。她说话很怪，带外国腔，声音刺耳并
有喉音，有些音一下子发不出来，嘴动了半天才把字吐出来。“拿掉你们的假发，让你们出疹
的头皮透透气吧！”她叫道。所有的手伸到头上，所有的假发（连同帽子）被举了起来，这时
听众席上再一次发出松了口气的叹息声。
现在我面前出现了一排排女人的秃头，一片光头皮的海洋。每一个秃头上都是假发擦红
擦痒的样子。我简直无法告诉你们它们多么叫人恶心。整个场面，由于上面是那些可怕的出
疹的秃头，下面是身上穿着的时髦鲜艳的衣服，因而显得更怪。真是奇形怪状。真是怪诞无
比。
噢，天啊！我想。噢，救命啊！噢，上帝怜悯我！这些难看的秃头女人，每一个都是杀
害儿童的凶手。我却和她们被关在同一个房间里，逃不出去！
这时候我猛然想到又一件加倍恐怖的事。我姥姥说过，她们特殊的鼻孔在漆黑的夜里也
能闻出对面马路的孩子的气味。迄今为止，我姥姥的话都一一应验了。因此，后排随时会有
一个女巫闻出我来，并大叫：“狗屎！”接着尖叫声会响彻全厅，我将像老鼠一样被逼到角落
里。
我跪在屏风后面的地板上，连气也不敢透。
接着我忽然想起我姥姥告诉过我的另一件非常重要的事。“你越脏，”她说，“女巫就越难
把你闻出来。”
离我上回洗澡已经多久啦？
我好久没洗澡了。我在旅馆里有自己的房间，我姥姥再也没有想到过叫我洗澡这种傻
事。想下来，到这里以后我根本没有洗过澡。
我洗手洗脸又是什么时候的事呢？
肯定不是今天早上。
也不是昨天。
我低头看看我的手，上面满是污迹和泥，天知道上面还有什么别的东西！
因此我也许还有机会。臭气波可能不会透过这些污垢传出来。
“英国的女巫们！”女巫大王叫道。我注意到她本人没有拿掉她的假发，或者脱掉她的手
套和鞋子。“英国的女巫们！”她大叫道。
听众们胆战心惊地骚动了一下，然后在椅子上坐得更加毕恭毕敬。
“可怜的女巫们！”她叫道，“不中用的懒惰的女巫们！软弱无力、无所事事的女巫们！你
们是一群没用的懒虫！”
听众一阵颤抖。她们知道，女巫大王显然情绪不好。我有个感觉，马上要出什么可怕的
事了。
“今天早晨我吃早饭的时候，”女巫大王叫着，“我透过窗子看海滩。我看到什么啦？我问
你们，我看到什么啦？我看到了使人恶心的景象！我看到几百个，我看到几千个可恶的该死
的小孩在玩沙子！这使我饭也吃不下！为什么你们不消灭他们？”她尖叫道，“你们为什么不
干掉所有这些肮脏的臭小孩？”
她每说一个字都有淡蓝色的口水从她嘴里像雨珠一样喷出来。
“我在问你们，为什么？”她叫道。
没有人回答她的问题。
“孩子们臭气扑鼻！”她叫道，“他们的臭气污染世界！我们不要这里的这些孩子！”
所有听众拼命地点着她们的秃头。
“一星期干掉一个孩子是不能叫我满意的！”女巫大王叫道，“这就是你们所能做的吗？”
“我们可以做得更好！”听众喃喃地说道，“我们可以做得更好！”
“更好还不够！”女巫大王尖叫，“我要求尽可能得多！因此，现在我发布命令！我的命令
是：在我一年后再回到此地来之前，这个国家的每一个孩子都要被消灭掉，都要压扁，都要
压烂，都要烧死！我的话你们听明白了没有？”
听众发出喘气声。我看到女巫们都在互相看，带着极其为难的表情。我听到前排边上一
个女巫大声说：“所有的孩子？我们不可能消灭所有的孩子！”
女巫大王猛一跳，好像屁股给烤肉叉捅了一下。“这句话是谁说的？”她厉声说，“什么人
胆敢和我斗嘴？是你？”她用一只尖得像针的戴着手套的手指指着刚才说话的女巫。
“我不是这个意思，大王！”那女巫急叫道，“我不是想斗嘴！我只是自言自语！”
“你竟敢和我斗嘴！”女巫大王怒吼道。
“我只是自言自语！”这可怜的女巫大叫道，“我发誓，大王！”她开始吓得发抖。
女巫大王很快地上前一步，再开口时，那声音使我的血都凉了。
她叫道：
“一个笨女巫竟敢回嘴，
必须烧得她骨头变黑！”
“不要，不要！”前排那个女巫讨饶说。
女巫大王说下去：
“一个傻女巫没有头脑，
必须在熊熊烈火中烧掉！”
“救命啊！”前排那个女巫急叫。
女巫大王不理她，接着说：
“像你这样的白痴女巫，
必须放在烤肉架上当烤猪！”
“饶了我吧，噢，大王！”可怜的女巫叫道，“我不是有心说的！”
可是女巫大王继续念念有词地说她可怕的话：
“哪个女巫胆敢说我错，
她就别想活！”
紧接着，一连串像白色热铁屑的火花从女巫大王的眼睛里喷射出来，一直射向不敢再说
话的那个女巫。我看着火花射到她身上，她恐怖地号叫，浑身冒烟。房间里充满了肉被烤焦
的气味。
没有人敢动一动。她们像我一样全看着那股烟。等到烟散开，椅子上空了。我看到一缕
淡淡的白色的烟向上飘起，消失在窗外。
听众发出重重的叹气声。
女巫大王环视房间。“我希望今天再没有人使我生气了。”她说道。
一片死寂。
“像油煎饼那样吱吱响，”女巫大王说，“像个胡萝卜那样煮熟了。你们再也看不见她啦。
现在我们可以接下去谈正事了。”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
stylish
|
|
| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
adoration
|
|
| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
crumpled
|
|
| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
wizened
|
|
| adj.凋谢的；枯槁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
putrid
|
|
| adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
numbed
|
|
| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
metallic
|
|
| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
snarled
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
wigs
|
|
| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
wig
|
|
| n.假发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
linings
|
|
| n.衬里( lining的名词复数 )；里子；衬料；组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
grotesque
|
|
| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
monstrous
|
|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
imprisoned
|
|
| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
horrifying
|
|
| a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
sniff
|
|
| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
stink
|
|
| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
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： |
|
|
|
|
30
flecks
|
|
| n.斑点，小点( fleck的名词复数 )；癍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
gasp
|
|
| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
skewer
|
|
| n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
idiotic
|
|
| adj.白痴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
recital
|
|
| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
burrowing
|
|
| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
puff
|
|
| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |