I remember thinking to myself, There is no escape for me now! Even if I make a run for it andmanage to dodge1 the lot of them, I still won't get out because the doors are chained and locked! I'mfinished! I'm done for! Oh Grandmamma, what are they going to do to me?
I looked round and I saw a hideous2 painted and powdered witch's face staring down at me,and the face opened its mouth and yelled triumphantly3, "It's here! It's behind the screen! Come andget it!" The witch reached out a gloved hand and grabbed me by the hair but I twisted free andjumped away. I ran, oh how I ran! The sheer terror of it all put wings on my feet! I flew around theoutside of the great Ballroom4 and not one of them had a chance of catching5 me. As I came level withthe doors, I paused and tried to open them but the big chain was on them and they didn't even rattle6.
The witches were not bothering to chase me. They simply stood there in small groups,watching me and knowing for certain that there was no way I could escape. Several of them wereholding their noses with gloved fingers and there were cries of, "Poo! What a stink7! We can't standthis much longer!"
"Catch it then, you idiots!" screamed The Grand High Witch from up on the platform.
"Sprrread out in a line across the room and close in on it and grab it! Corner this filthy8 littlegumboil and seize it and bring it up here to me!"The witches spread out as they were told. They advanced towards me, some from one end,some from the other, and some came down the middle between the rows of empty chairs. They werebound to get me now. They had me cornered.
From sheer and absolute terror, I began to scream. "Help!" I screamed, turning my headtowards the doors in the hope that somebody outside might hear me. "Help! Help! Hel-l-l-lp!""Get it!" shouted The Grand High Witch. "Grrrab hold of it! Stop it yelling!"They rushed at me then, and about five of them grabbed me by the arms and legs and liftedme clear off the ground. I went on screaming, but one of them clapped a gloved hand over my mouthand that stopped me.
"Baring it here!" shouted The Grand High Witch. "Brrring the spying little vurm up here tome!"
I was carried on to the platform with my arms and legs held tight by many hands, and I laythere suspended in the air, facing the ceiling. I saw The Grand High Witch standing9 over me,grinning at me in the most horrible way. She held up the small blue bottle of Mouse-Maker and shesaid "Now for a little medicine! Hold his nose to make him open his mouth!"Strong fingers pinched my nose. I kept my mouth closed tight and held my breath. But Icouldn't do it for long. My chest was bursting. I opened my mouth to get one big quick breath of airand as I did so, The Grand High Witch poured the entire contents of the little bottle down my throat!
Oh, the pain and the fire! It felt as though a kettleful of boiling water had been poured into mymouth. My throat was going up in flames! Then very quickly the frightful10 burning searing scorchingfeeling started spreading down into my chest and into my tummy and on and on into my arms andlegs and all over my body! I screamed and screamed but once again the gloved hand was clappedover my lips. The next thing I felt was my skin beginning to tighten11. How else can I describe it? Itwas quite literally12 a tightening13 and a shrinking of the skin all over my body from the top of my headto the tips of my fingers to the ends of my toes! I felt as though I was a balloon and somebody wastwisting the top of the balloon and twisting and twisting and the balloon was getting smaller andsmaller and the skin was getting tighter and tighter and soon it was going to burst.
Then the squeezing began. This time I was inside a suit of iron and somebody was turning ascrew, and with each turn of the screw the iron suit became smaller and smaller so that I wassqueezed like an orange into a pulpy14 mess with the juice running out of my sides.
After that there came a fierce prickling sensation all over my skin (or what was left of myskin) as though tiny needles were forcing their way out through the surface of the skin from theinside, and this, I realise now, was the growing of the mouse-fur.
Far away in the distance, I heard the voice of The Grand High Witch yelling, "Five hundreddoses! This stinking15 little carbuncle has had five hundred doses and the alarm-clock has beensmashed and now vee are having instantaneous action!" I heard clapping and cheering and Iremember thinking: I am not myself any longer! I have gone clear out of my own skin!
I noticed that the floor was only an inch from my nose.
I noticed also a pair of little furry16 front paws resting on the floor. I was able to move thosepaws. They were mine!
At that moment, I realised that I was not a little boy any longer. I was A MOUSE.
"Now for the mouse-trrrap!" I heard The Grand High Witch yelling. "I've got it right here!
And here's a piece of cheese!"
But I wasn't going to wait for that. I was off across the platform like a streak17 of lightning! Iwas astonished at my own speed! I leapt over witches' feet right and left, and in no time at all I wasdown the steps and on to the floor of the Ballroom itself and skittering off among the rows of chairs.
What I especially liked was the fact that I made no sound at all as I ran. I was a swift and silentmover. And quite amazingly, the pain had all gone now. I was feeling quite remarkably18 well. It is nota bad thing after all, I thought to myself, to be tiny as well as speedy when there is a bunch ofdangerous females after your blood. I selected the back leg of a chair and squeezed up against it andkept very still.
In the distance, The Grand High Witch was shouting, "Leave the little stinkpot alone! It is notvurth bothering about! It is only a mouse now! Somebody else vill soon catch it! Let us get out ofhere! The meeting is over! Unlock the doors and shove off to the Sunshine Terrace to have tea viththat idiotic19 Manager!"
变形
我记得我当时想：现在我逃不掉了！即使我能够摆脱掉她们跑过去，但我还是出不去，因为门用铁链拴上了！我完啦！我没命了！噢，姥姥，她们要把我怎么样啊？
我环顾四周，看见一个女巫画得很丑、涂满了粉的脸低下来看着我，脸上的那张嘴张开来，得意地大喊：“他在这里！在屏风后面！快来捉他！”这女巫伸出一只戴着手套的手，一把抓住我的头发，但我挣脱后逃走了。我跑，噢，我是怎样跑的啊！对这一切的恐惧使我的脚添上了翅膀！我绕着舞厅外圈跑，没有人能捉住我。跑到门边时我停了一下，想要打开它，可是上面拴着铁链，它动也不动。
女巫们不急于追我，只是三三两两地站在一起看着我，心里很清楚我是逃不掉的。有几个女巫用戴着手套的手捂住鼻子，还有人叫：“呸！多臭！我们再也受不住了！”
“那么捉住他，你们这些白痴！”女巫大王在讲坛上向下叫着，“在整个房间里排成一行，向他靠近，抓住他！把这个肮脏的小脓包逼到角落里，把他抓住带到我这里来！”
女巫们照她的吩咐一字排开。她们有人从这头，有人从那头，有人从一排排空椅子之间向我逼近。她们现在准要捉住我了。她们把我逼到了墙角。
我吓得转过头冲着门大叫救命，希望外面有人能够听到。“救命啊！救命啊！救—命啊！”
“捉住他！”女巫大王叫道，“抓住他！别让他叫！”
她们向我猛扑过来，约有五个女巫抓住我的胳臂和腿，把我提起来离开地面。我继续大喊大叫，但其中一个女巫用一只戴着手套的手掩住我的嘴，使我叫不出来。
“把他带到这里来！”女巫大王叫道，“把这偷听的小虫子带到我这里！”
我被许多只手抓住胳臂和腿，带到了讲坛那里，悬空横躺着，面对天花板。我看到女巫大王站在那里低头看着我，用最可怕的样子对我狞笑。她拿着那装着变鼠药的蓝色小瓶，说：“现在给他吃点药！捏他的鼻子让他把嘴张开！”
有力的手指捏住了我的鼻子。我紧闭着嘴，屏住了气。但我挺不了很久。我的胸口在爆裂，我张开嘴要赶紧大大地吸一口气。可就在我这样做的时候，女巫大王把整瓶药水倒进了我的喉咙！
噢，像给火烧一样痛苦！像整整一壶开水倒进了我的嘴里。我的喉咙像火在烧！接着火烧的可怕感觉很快地扩展到我的胸口、我的肚子、我的双臂和双腿，一直扩展到我全身！我叫了又叫，但那只戴着手套的手又一次掩住我的嘴。接下来我感到我的皮肤开始收缩。我还有什么别的办法描述呢？从头顶到手指尖和脚趾尖，一点不假我全身的皮肤都在收缩！我觉得我像个气球，有人在绞气球的顶部，绞了又绞，气球越来越小，越来越小。我的皮肤越收越紧，越收越紧，快要爆炸了。
然后便开始压榨。这一回我像是在一个铁质的压榨机里，有人在转螺丝，每转一下，压榨机就紧缩一些。我像一个橙子在榨汁器里被榨汁，汁水从我全身每个毛孔流了出来。
接下来是全身皮肤（或者说原来是皮肤的地方）有一种火辣辣的刺痛感觉，像是针从里面硬要钻到皮肤表面上来。我现在明白了，这是老鼠毛在长出来。
我听到女巫大王的声音在很远的地方叫道：“五百剂量！这小臭痈吃了五百剂药的量，闹钟被破坏了，现在是即变！”我听到了拍手和欢呼声。我记得当时我想：我再不是我自己了！
我已经完全蜕了皮啦！
我注意到地板离我的鼻子只有一英寸。我还注意到一双毛茸茸的小前爪停在地板上。我能够移动这些爪子。它们是我的！
这时候我明白，我已经不再是个孩子了。我是一只老鼠。
“现在把老鼠夹拿出来！”我听见女巫大王叫道，“我身上带着呢！这儿有一片干酪！”
但是我不再静等这些东西。我像一道闪电那样冲过讲坛！我对我的速度感到吃惊！我左转右转跳过女巫们的脚，一下子跑下台阶来到舞厅的地板上，在一排排椅子间飞快地跑过。
特别使我高兴的是，我跑起来一点声音也没有。我跑得快而无声。完全想不到的是，现在我一点也不痛了。我觉得非常之好。我心里说，当有一大群危险的女巫在紧追的时候，个子小跑得快到底还不太坏。我找了一把椅子的后椅腿，紧贴着它一动也不动。
远处，女巫大王在叫：“让那小尿壶去吧！不值得为他操心！现在他只是只老鼠罢了！会有人捉住他的！让我们离开这里！会议已经结束了！打开门，到阳光园跟那个白痴经理吃茶点去！”
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收听单词发音
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1
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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6
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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7
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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pulpy
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| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
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stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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