THE two boys decided1 they would fetch the water and stack up some firewood while the girls weregone. They made their bunks2 too, by the simple process of dragging off all the clothes and bundlingthem on the shelf, and then letting down the bunks against the wall.
That done there didn't seem much else to do except wait for the girls. So they took a walk round thefield. They kept a good distance from the snake-man, who was doing something peculiar3 to one of hispythons.
'It looks as if he's polishing it, but he surely can't be,' said Julian. 'I'd like to go near enough to watchbut he's such a hot-tempered little fellow he might quite well set one of those enormous pythons on tous!'
The snake-man was sitting on a box, with one snake spread over his knee, some of its coils round oneof his legs, the other coils round his waist. The head appeared to be under his arm-pit. The man wasrubbing away hard at the snake's scaly4 body, and it really seemed as if the python was enjoying it!
Bufflo was doing something with a whip. It had a magnificent handle, set with semi-precious stonesthat caught the sun and glittered in many colours.
'Look at the lash5,' said Julian. 'Yards and yards long! I'd like to see him crack it!'
Almost as if he heard him, Bufflo got to his feet, and swung the great whip in his hand. Then heraised it - and a moment later there was a sound exactly like a pistol-shot! The lash cracked as it waswhipped through the air, and the two boys jumped, not expecting such a loud noise.
Bufflo cracked it again. Then he whistled and a small plump woman came to the steps of his caravan6.
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'You mended it yet?' she called.
'Perhaps,' said Bufflo. 'Get a cigarette, Skippy. Hurry!'
Skippy put her hand into the caravan, felt along a shelf, and brought out a packet of cigarettes.
She didn't go down the steps, but stood there, holding out the cigarette between her finger and thumb.
Bufflo swung his whip. CRACK! The cigarette disappeared as if by magic! The boys stared inamazement. Surely the end of the lash hadn't whipped that cigarette from Skippy's fingers? It didn'tseem possible.
'There it is,' said Bufflo, pointing some distance away. 'Hold it again, Skippy. I reckon this whip isokay now.'
Skippy picked up the cigarette and put it in her mouth!
'No!' called Bufflo. 'I ain't sure enough of this lash yet. You hold it like you did.'
Skippy took it out of her mouth and held out the cigarette in her finger and thumb once more.
CRACK! Like a pistol-shot the whip cracked again, and once more the cigarette disappeared.
'Aw, Bufflo - you've gone and broken it in half,' said Skippy, reproachfully, pointing to where it layon the ground, neatly7 cut in half. 'That was real careless of you.'
Bufflo said nothing. He merely turned his back on Skippy, and set to work on his lash again, thoughwhat he was doing neither of the boys could make out. They went a little nearer to see.
Bufflo had his back to them but he must have heard them coming. 'You clear out,' he said, hardlyraising his voice. 'No kids allowed round here. Clear out - or I'll crack my whip and take the top hairsoff your head!'
Julian and Dick felt perfectly8 certain he would be able to carry out his threat, and they retreated withas much dignity as they could. 'I suppose the snake-man told him what a disturbance9 old Timmymade yesterday with the snakes,' said Dick. 'I hope it won't spoil things for us with all the fair-folk.'
They went across the field and on the way met Mr. India-rubber. They couldn't help staring at him.
He honestly looked as if he were made of rubber - he was a curious grey, the grey of an ordinaryschool rubber, and his skin looked rubbery too.
He scowled10 at the two boys. 'Clear out,' he said. 'No kids allowed in our field.'
Julian was annoyed. 'It's our field as much as yours,' he said. 'We've got a couple of caravans11 here -those over there.'
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'Well, this has always been our field,' said Mr. India-rubber. 'So you clear out to the next one.'
'We haven't any horses to pull our caravans, even if we wanted to go, which we don't,' retorted Julian,angrily. 'Anyway, why should you object to us? We'd like to be friendly. We shan't do you any harm,or make a nuisance of ourselves.'
'Us-folk and you-folk don't mix,' said the man, obstinately12. 'We don't want you here - nor them poshcaravans down there, neither,' and he pointed13 to the three modern caravans in one corner of the field.
'This has always been our field.'
'Don't let's argue about it,' said Dick, who had been looking at the man with the greatest curiosity.
'Are you really so rubbery that you can wriggle14 in and out of pipes and things? Do you-'
But he didn't have time to finish his question because the rubber-man flung himself down on theground, did a few strange contortions15, nicked himself between the boys' legs - and there they bothwere, flat on the ground! The rubber-man was walking off, looking quite pleased with himself.
'Well!' said Dick, feeling a bump on his head. 'I tried to grab his legs and they honestly felt likerubber! I say - what a pity these people resent us being in their field. It's not going to be very pleasantto have them all banded against us. Not fair either. I should like to be friendly.'
'Well, perhaps it's just a case of us-folk and you-folk,' said Julian. 'There's a lot of that kind of feelingabout these days, and it's so silly. We're all the same under the skin. We've always got on well withanyone before.'
They hardly liked to go near the other caravans, though they longed to have a closer view of Alfredothe Fire-Eater.
'He looked so exactly like what I imagined a fire-eater ought to be,' said Dick. 'I should think he'sprobably chief of all the fair-folk here - if they've got a chief.'
'Look - here he comes!' said Julian. And sure enough, round the corner came Alfredo, running fast.
He came towards the boys, and Julian at first thought that he was coming to chase them away. Hedidn't mean to run from Alfredo, but it wasn't very pleasant standing16 still, either, with this enormousfellow racing17 towards them, his cheeks as red as fire, his great mane of hair flopping18 up and down.
And then they saw why Alfredo was running! After him came his tiny little dark wife. She wasshrieking at him in some foreign language, and was chasing him with a saucepan!
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Alfredo lumbered19 by the two boys, looking scared out of his life. He went down to the stile, leaptover it and disappeared down the lane.
The little dark woman watched him go. When he turned to look round she waved the saucepan athim.
'Big bad one!' she cried. 'You burn breakfast again! Again, again! I bang you with saucepan, big badone. Come, Alfredo, come!'
But Alfredo had no intention of coming. The angry little woman turned to the two boys. 'He burnbreakfast,' she said. 'He no watch, he burn always.'
'It seems queer for a fire-eater to burn something he's cooking,' said Julian. 'Though, on secondthoughts, perhaps it's not!'
'Poof! Fire-eating, it is easy!' said Alfredo's hot-tempered little wife. 'Cooking is not so easy. It needsbrains and eyes and hands. But Fredo, he has no brains, his hands are clumsy - he can only eat fire,and what use is that?'
'Well - I suppose he makes money by it,' said Dick, amused.
'He is my big bad one,' said the little woman. She turned to go and then turned back again with asudden smile. 'But he is very good sometimes,' she said.
She went back to her caravan. The boys looked at one another. 'Poor Alfredo,' said Dick. 'He looks asbrave as a lion, and he's certainly a giant of a man - but he's as timid as a mouse. Fancy running awayfrom that tiny little woman.'
'Well, I'm not so sure I wouldn't too, if she came bounding over the field after me, brandishing20 thatdangerous-looking saucepan,' said Julian. 'Ah - who's this?'
The man that Anne had thought might be the one who could set himself free when bound with ropeswas coming up from the stile. He walked easily and lightly, really very like a cat. Julian glanced athis hands - they were small but looked very strong. Yes - he could certainly undo21 knots with handslike that. They gazed at him curiously22.
'No kids allowed here,' said the man, as he came up.
'Sorry, but we're caravanners too,' said Dick. 'I say - are you the fellow that can undo ropes when he'stied up in them?'
'Could be,' said the man, and walked on. He turned round suddenly. 'Like me to tie you up?' hecalled. 'I've a good mind to try. Don't you try interfering23 with us, or I'll do it!'
'Dear me - what a nice, pleasant lot they are!' said Julian. 'Quite different from the other circus 27folk we've known. I begin to feel we shan't make friends as fast as I thought!'
'We'd better be careful, I think,' said Dick. 'They seem to resent us, goodness knows why. They maymake things jolly unpleasant. Don't let's snoop round any more this morning. Let's keep away fromthem till they get a bit used to us. Then perhaps they'll be more friendly.'
'We'll go and meet the girls,' said Julian. So they went down to the stile and walked to the bus-stop.
The bus came panting up the hill at that very moment, and the girls stepped off, with the three fair-women behind them.
The girls joined the boys. 'We've done a lot of shopping,' said Anne. 'Our baskets are awfully24 heavy.
Thanks, Julian, if you'll carry mine. Dick can take George's. Did you see those women who got offwith us?'
'Yes,' said Julian. 'Why?'
'Well, we tried to talk to them but they were very unfriendly,' said Anne. 'We felt quiteuncomfortable. And Timmy growled25 like anything, of course, which made things worse. I don't thinkhe liked their smell. They did smell rather unwashed.'
'We didn't get on too well either, with the rest of the fair-folk,' said Julian. 'In fact I can't say thatDick and I were a success at all. All they wanted us to do was to clear out.'
'I got a paper for you,' said Anne, 'and George found a letter at the post office from her mother.
It's addressed to all of us so we didn't open it. We'll read it when we get to the caravans.'
'I hope it's nearly time for dinner,' said George. 'What do you think, Timmy?'
Timmy knew the word dinner! He gave a joyful26 bark and led the way. Dinner? There couldn't be abetter27 idea!
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收听单词发音
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1
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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2
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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scaly
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| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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6
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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9
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
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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12
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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13
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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wriggle
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| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
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15
contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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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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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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19
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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21
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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22
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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23
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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25
growled
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| 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 | |
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26
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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abetter
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| n.教唆者，怂恿者 | |
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