THAT first day they were all together was a lovely one. They enjoyed it thoroughly1, especiallyGeorge, who had fretted2 all by herself for two weeks at home. Timmy was very happy too. He toreafter rabbits, most of them quite imaginary, up and down the field and in and out the hedges till hewas tired out.
Then he would come and fling himself down by the four, panting like a steam-engine going uphill,his long pink tongue hanging out of his mouth.
'You make me feel hot just to look at you, Timmy,' said Anne, pushing him away. 'Look, George- he's so hot he's steaming! One of these days, Timmy, you'll blow up!'
They went for a walk in the afternoon, but didn't quite get to the sea. They saw it from a hill,sparkling blue in the distance. Little white yachts dotted the blue water like far-off swans with wingsout-spread. They had tea at a farmhouse3, watched by a couple of big-eyed farm-children.
'Do you want to take some of my home-made jam with you?' asked the farmer's jolly, red-faced wife,when they paid her for their tea.
'Oh, yes, rather!' said Dick. 'And I suppose you couldn't sell us some of that fruit-cake? We'recamping in caravans4 in Faynights Field, just opposite the castle - so we're having picnic meals eachday.'
'Yes, you can have a whole cake,' said the farmer's wife. 'I did my baking yesterday, so there's plenty.
And would you like some ham? And I've some good pickled onions too.'
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This was wonderful! They bought all the food very cheaply indeed, and carried it home gladly.
Dick took off the lid of the pickled onions half-way back to the caravans, and sniffed6.
'Better than any scent8!' he said. 'Have a sniff7, George.'
It didn't stop at sniffs9, of course. Everyone took out a large pickled onion - except Timmy whobacked away at once. Onions were one thing he really couldn't bear. Dick put back the lid.
'I think somebody else ought to carry the onions, not Dick,' said Anne. 'There won't be many left bythe time we reach our caravans!'
When they climbed over the stile at the bottom of the field the sun was going down. The evening starhad appeared in the sky and twinkled brightly. As they trudged10 up to their caravans Julian stoppedand pointed11.
'Hallo! Look! There are two more caravans here - rather like ours. I wonder if it's the fair-folkarriving.'
'And there's another one, see - coming up the lane,' said Dick. 'It will have to go to the field-gatebecause it can't come the way we do - over the stile. There it goes.'
'We shall soon have plenty of exciting neighbours!' said Anne, pleased. They went up to their owncaravans and looked curiously12 at the one that stood near to theirs. It was yellow, picked out with blueand black, and could have done with a new coat of paint. It was very like their own caravans, butlooked much older.
There didn't seem to be anyone about the newly-arrived vans. The doors and windows were shut.
The four stood and looked curiously at them.
'There's a big box under that nearest caravan5,' said Julian. 'I wonder what's in it!'
The box was long, shallow and wide. On the sides were round holes, punched into it at intervals13.
George went to the caravan and bent14 down to look at the box, wondering if there was anything alivein it.
Timmy went with her, sniffing15 at the holes in curiosity. He suddenly backed away, and barked loudly.
George put her hand on his collar to drag him off but he wouldn't go with her. He barked withoutstopping!
A noise came from inside the box - a rustling16, dry, sliding sort of noise that made Timmy bark evenmore frantically17.
'Stop it, Timmy! Stop it!' said George, tugging18 at him. 'Julian, come and help me. There's somethingin that box that Timmy has never met before - goodness knows what - and he's half-16puzzled and half-scared. He's barking defiance19 - and he'll never stop unless we drag him away!'
An angry voice came from the bottom of the field by the stile. 'Hey you! Take that dog away!
What do you mean by poking20 into my business - upsetting my snakes!'
'Oooh - snakes!' said Anne, retiring quickly to her own caravan. 'George, it's snakes in there. Do getTimmy away.'
Julian and George managed to drag Timmy away, half-choking him with his collar, though he didn'tseem to notice this at all. The angry voice was now just behind them. George turned and saw a littledark man, middle aged21, with gleaming black eyes. He was shaking his fist, still shouting.
'Sorry,' said George, pulling Timmy harder. 'Please stop shouting, or my dog will go for you.'
'Go for me! He will go for me! You keep a dangerous dog like that, which smells out my snakes andwill go for me!' yelled the angry little man, dancing about like a boxer22 on his toes.
'Ahhhhhh! Wait till I let out my snakes - and then your dog will run and run, and will never be seenagain!'
This was a most alarming threat. With an enormous heave Julian, Dick and George at last got Timmyunder control, dragged him up the steps of Anne's caravan, and shut the door on him.
Anne tried to quieten him, while the other three went out to the angry little man again.
He had dragged out the big, shallow box, and had opened the lid. The three watched, fascinated.
What snakes had he in there? Rattlesnakes? Cobras? They were all ready to run for their lives if thesnakes were as angry as their owner.
A great head reared itself out of the box, and swung itself from side to side. Two unblinking darkeyes gleamed - and then a long, long body writhed23 out and glided24 up the man's legs, round his waistand round his neck. He fondled it, talking in a low, caressing25 voice.
George shivered. Julian and Dick watched in amazement26. 'It's a python,' said Julian. 'My, what amonster. I've never seen one so close before. I wonder it doesn't wind itself round that fellow andsqueeze him to death.'
'He's got hold of it near the tail,' said Dick, watching. 'Oh, look - there's another one!'
Sure enough a second python slid out of the box, coil upon gleaming coil. It too wreathed itself roundits owner, making a loud hissing27 noise as it did so. Its body was thicker than Julian's calf28.
Anne was watching out of her caravan window, hardly able to believe her eyes. She had never in herlife seen snakes as big as these. She didn't even know what they were. She began to wish 17their caravans were miles and miles away.
The little man quieted his snakes at last. They almost hid him with their great coils! From each sideof his neck came a snake's head, flat and shining.
Timmy was now watching out of the window also, his head beside Anne's. He was amazed to see thegliding snakes, and stopped barking at once. He got down from the window and went under the table.
Timmy didn't think he liked the look of these new creatures at all!
The man fondled the snakes and then, still speaking to them lovingly, got them back into their boxagain. They glided in, and piled themselves inside, coil upon coil. The man shut down the lid andlocked it.
Then he turned to the three watching children. 'You see how upset you make my snakes?' he said.
'Now you keep away, you hear? And you keep your dog away too. Ah, you children!
Interfering, poking your noses, staring! I do not like children and nor do my snakes. You KEEPAWAY, SEE?'
He shouted the last words so angrily that the three jumped. 'Look here,' said Julian. 'We only came tosay we were sorry our dog barked like that. Dogs always bark at strange things they don't know orunderstand. It's only natural.'
'Dogs, too, I hate,' said the little man, going into his caravan. 'You will keep him away from here,especially when I have my snakes out, or one might give him too loving a squeeze. Ha!'
He disappeared into his van and the door shut firmly.
'Not so good,' said Julian. 'We seem to have made a bad start with the fair-folk - and I had hoped theywould be friendly and let us into some of their secrets.'
'I don't like the last thing he said,' said George, worried. 'A loving squeeze by one of those pythonswould be the end of Timmy. I shall certainly keep him away when I see that funny little man takingout his snakes. He really seemed to love them, didn't he?'
'He certainly did,' said Julian. 'Well, I wonder who lives in the second newly-arrived caravan. I feel Ihardly dare even to look at it in case it contains gorillas29 or elephants or hippos, or...'
'Don't be an idiot,' said George. 'Come on, it's getting dark. Hallo, here comes the caravan we sawdown in the lane just now!'
It came slowly up the grassy30 hillside, bumping as it went. On the side was painted a name in large,scarlet letters.
'Mister India-rubber.'
18
'Oh - the rubber-man!' said George. 'Dick - is he the driver, do you think?'
They all stared at the driver. He was long and thin and droopy, and he looked as if he might burst intotears at any moment. His horse looked rather the same.
'Well - he might be Mr. India-rubber,' said Julian. 'But certainly there doesn't seem to be muchbounce in him! Look - he's getting down.'
The man got down with a supple31, loose grace that didn't seem to fit his droopy body at all. He tookthe horse out of the shafts32 and set it loose in the field. It wandered away pulling here and there at thegrass, still looking as sad and droopy as its master.
'Bufflo!' suddenly yelled the man. 'You in?'
The door of the second caravan opened and a young man looked out - a huge young man with a mopof yellow hair, a bright red shirt and a broad smile.
'Hiya, Rubber!' he called. 'We got here first. Come along in - Skippy's got some food ready.'
Mr. India-rubber walked sadly up the steps of Bufflo's caravan. The door shut.
'This is really rather exciting,' said Dick. 'An India-rubber man - Bufflo and Skippy, whoever theymay be - and a man with tame snakes next to us. Whatever next!'
Anne called to them. 'Do come in. Timmy's whining33 like anything.'
They went up the steps of her caravan and found that Anne had got ready a light supper for them- a ham sandwich each, a piece of fruit cake and an orange.
'I'll have a pickled onion with my sandwich, please,' said Dick. 'I'll chop it up and put it in with theham. What wonderful ideas I do have, to be sure!'
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1
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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sniffs
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的第三人称单数 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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boxer
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| n.制箱者，拳击手 | |
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writhed
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| （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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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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gorillas
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| n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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