Chapter 12 FIRE-EATING AND OTHER THINGS!

Chapter 12 FIRE-EATING AND OTHER THINGS!
　　ALFREDO sat down on the grass, some way back from the fire. He set a little metal bowl in front ofhim, that smelt¹ of petrol. He held up two things to show the children.
　　'His torches,' said Mrs. Alfredo, proudly. 'He eats fire from them.'
　　Alfredo called out something to the snake-man, dipping his two torches into the bowl. They were 50not alight yet, and to the children they looked like very large buttonhooks, with a wad of wool caughtin the hook-part.
　　The snake-man leaned forward and took a burning twig² out of the fire. With a deft³ throw he pitched itright into the metal bowl. Immediately it set light to the petrol there, and flames shot up in thedarkness.
　　Alfredo had held his torches out of the way, but now he thrust first one and then another into theburning petrol in the bowl.
　　They flared⁴ alight at once, and red flames shot up as he held one in each hand. His eyes gleamed inthe brilliant light, and the five children sat still, spellbound.
　　Then Alfredo leaned back his head - back and back - and opened his great mouth wide. He put one ofthe lighted torches into it, and closed his mouth over it, so that his cheeks gleamed a strange andunbelievable red from the flames inside his mouth. Anne gave a little scream and George gasped⁵. Thetwo boys held their breath. Only Jo watched unconcerned. She had seen her uncle do this many timesbefore!
　　Alfredo opened his mouth, and flames rushed out of it, gushing⁶ like a fiery⁷ waterfall. What with theother torch flaring⁸ in his left hand, the burning petrol in the bowl, the torch in his right hand and theflames from his mouth, it really was an extraordinary scene!
　　He did the same with the other torch, and once more his cheeks glowed like a lamp. Then fire camefrom his mouth again, and was blown this way and that by the night breeze.
　　Alfredo closed his mouth. He swallowed. Then he looked round, opened his mouth to show that heno longer had any flames there, and smiled broadly.
　　'Ah - you like to see me eat fire?' he said, and put out his torches. The bowl was no longer flaming,and now only the fire-light lit the scene.
　　'It's marvellous,' said Julian, with great admiration⁹. 'But don't you burn your mouth?'
　　'What, me? No, never!' laughed Alfredo. 'At first may be, yes - when I begin years and years ago.
　　But now, no. It would be a shameful¹⁰ thing to burn my mouth - I would hang my head, and go away.'
　　'But - how is it you don't burn your mouth?' asked Dick, puzzled.
　　Alfredo refused to give any explanation. That was part of the mystery of his act and he wasn't goingto give it away.
　　'I can fire-eat too,' announced Jo, casually¹¹ and most unexpectedly. 'Here, Uncle, let me have one 51of your torches.'
　　'You! You will do nothing of the sort!' roared Alfredo. 'Do you want to burn to bits?'
　　'No. And I shan't either,' said Jo. 'I've watched you and I know just how it's done. I've tried it.'
　　'Fibber!' said George at once.
　　'Now you listen to me,' began Alfredo again. 'If you fire-eat I will whip you till you beg me formercy. I will...'
　　'Now, Fredo,' said his wife, 'you'll do nothing of the sort. I'll deal with Jo if she starts any nonsensehere. As for fire-eating - well, if there's to be anyone else fire-eating here, I will do it. I, your wife.'
　　'You will not fire-eat,' said Alfredo obstinately¹², evidently afraid that his hot-tempered little wifemight try to do it.
　　Anne suddenly gave a scream of fright. A long, thick body glided¹³ between her and Julian - one of thesnake-man's pythons! He had brought one with him, and the children hadn't known. Jo caught hold ofit and held on for dear life.
　　'Let him be,' said the snake-man. 'He will come back to me. He wants a run.'
　　'Let me hold him for a bit,' begged Jo. 'He feels so smooth and cold. I like snakes.'
　　Julian put out his hand gingerly and touched the great snake. It did feel unexpectedly smooth, andquite cool. How extraordinary! It looked so scaly¹⁴ and rough.
　　The snake slithered all the way up Jo and then began to pour itself down her back. 'Now don't you lethim get his tail round you,' warned the snake-man. 'I've told you that before.'
　　'I'll wear him round my neck,' said Jo, and proceeded to pull the snake's long body until in the end hehung round her neck like a fur. George watched in unwilling¹⁵ admiration. Anne had removed herselfas far from Jo as possible. The boys gazed in astonishment¹⁶, and felt a new respect for the little gypsygirl.
　　Someone struck up a soft melody on a guitar. It was Skippy, Bufflo's wife. She hummed a sad littlesong that had a gay little chorus in which all the fair-folk joined. Practically all the camp had comealong now, and there were quite a few the children hadn't seen before.
　　It was exciting sitting there round the glowing fire, listening to the thrum of the guitar, and the soundof Skippy's low, clear voice - sitting near a fire-eater too, and within arm's length of a snake who alsoseemed to be enjoying the music! He swayed about in time to the chorus, and then suddenly pouredhimself all down the front of Jo, and glided like magic to his master, the 52snake-man.
　　'Ah, my beauty,' said the funny little man, and let the python slide between his hands, its coils pulsingpowerfully as it went. 'You like the music, my beauty?'
　　'He really loves his snake,' whispered Anne to George. 'How can he?'
　　Alfredo's wife got up. 'It is time to go,' she told the audience. 'Alfredo needs his supper. Is it not so,my big bad man?'
　　Alfredo agreed that it was so. He placed the heavy iron pot over the glowing fire again, and in a fewseconds such a glorious smell came from it that all the five children began to sniff¹⁷ expectantly.
　　'Where's Timmy?' said George, suddenly. He was nowhere to be seen!
　　'He crept away with his tail down when he saw the snake,' said Jo. 'I saw him go. Timmy, come back!
　　It's all right! Timmy, Timmy!'
　　'I'll call him, thank you,' said George. 'He's my dog. Timmy!'
　　Timmy came, his tail still down. George fondled him and so did Jo. He licked them both in turn.
　　George tried to drag him away from Jo. She didn't like Timmy to show affection for the little gypsygirl - but he always did! He loved her.
　　The supper was lovely. 'What is in your pot?' asked Dick, accepting a second helping¹⁸. 'I've nevertasted such a delicious stew¹⁹ in my life.'
　　'Chicken, duck, beef, bacon, rabbit, hare, hedgehog, onions, turnips²⁰...' began Alfredo's wife. 'I putthere everything that comes. It cooks and I stir, it cooks and I stir. Perhaps a partridge goes in oneday, and a pheasant the next, and...'
　　'Hold your tongue, wife,' growled²² Alfredo, who knew quite well that the farmers round about mightwell ask questions about some of the things in that stew.
　　'You tell me to hold my tongue!' cried little Mrs. Alfredo angrily, flourishing a spoon. 'You tell methat!'
　　'Woof,' said Timmy, receiving some nice tasty drops on his nose, and licking them off. 'Woof!'
　　He got up and went towards the spoon, hoping for a few more.
　　'Oh, Aunt Nita, do give Timmy a spoonful out of the stew,' begged Jo, and to Timmy's great joy hegot a big plateful all to himself. He could hardly believe it!
　　'Thank you very much for a very nice supper,' said Julian, feeling that it really was time to go.
　　He got up and the others followed his example.
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　　'And thank you for fire-eating for us, Alfredo,' said George. 'It doesn't seem to have spoilt yourappetite!'
　　'Poof!' said Alfredo, as if such a thing would never enter his head. 'Jo - are you going to stay with usagain tonight? You are welcome.'
　　'I'd just like an old rug, that's all, Aunt Nita,' said Jo. 'I'm going to sleep under George's caravan²³.'
　　'You can sleep on the floor inside, if you like,' said George. But Jo shook her head.
　　'No. I've had enough of sleeping indoors for a bit. I want to sleep out. Under the caravan will be a fineplace for me. Gypsies often sleep there when the weather is warm.'
　　They went back over the dark hillside. A few stars were out, but the moon was not yet up.
　　'That was a jolly interesting evening,' said Dick. 'I enjoyed it. I like your aunt and uncle, Jo.'
　　Jo was delighted. She always loved praise from Dick. She went under the girls' caravan, and rolledherself up in the rug. She had been taught to clean her teeth and wash and do her hair, by the foster-mother she had lived with for some months - but all that was forgotten now that she was leading agypsy life again!
　　'In a day or two she'll be the filthy²⁴, dirty, tangly-haired, rude girl she was when we first knew her,'
　　said George, combing out her own hair extra well. 'I'm glad we're going to stay here after all, aren'tyou, Anne? I really do think the fair people are friendly towards us now.'
　　'Thanks to Jo,' said Anne. George said nothing. She didn't like being under obligation to Jo! Shefinished preparing herself for bed and got into her bunk²⁵.
　　'I wish we'd seen that face at the window, don't you, Anne?' she said. 'I do wonder whose it was -and why it was there, looking out.'
　　'I don't think I want to talk about faces at windows just now,' said Anne, getting into her bunk.
　　'Let's change the subject.' She blew out the lamp and settled down. They talked for a few minutes,and then George heard something outside the caravan. What could it be? Timmy raised his head andgave a little growl²¹.
　　George looked at the window opposite. A lone²⁶ star shone through it - and then something came infront of the star, blotted²⁷ it out, and pressed itself against the glass pane²⁸. Timmy growled again, butnot very loudly. Was it someone he knew?
　　George flashed on her torch, and immediately saw what it was. She gave a little giggle²⁹. Then shecalled to Anne.
　　'Anne! Anne! Quick, there's a face at the window. Anne, wake up!'
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　　'I'm not asleep,' said Anne's voice, and she sat up, scared. 'What face? Where? You're not justfrightening me, are you?'
　　'No - there it is, look!' said George and shone her torch at the window. A big, long, dark-brown facelooked in, and Anne gave a shriek³⁰. Then she laughed. 'You beast, George - it's only Alfredo's horse.
　　Oh, you did give me a fright. I've a good mind to pull you out of your bunk on to the floor. Go away,you silly staring horse - shoo, go away!'

1 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

2 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

3 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

4 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

5 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

8 flaring   

a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的

参考例句：

• A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
• Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

9 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

10 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

11 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

12 obstinately   

ad.固执地，顽固地

参考例句：

• He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。
• Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。

13 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 scaly   

adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的

参考例句：

• Reptiles possess a scaly,dry skin.爬行类具有覆盖着鳞片的干燥皮肤。
• The iron pipe is scaly with rust.铁管子因为生锈一片片剥落了。

15 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

16 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

17 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

18 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。

19 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

20 turnips   

芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表

参考例句：

• Well, I like turnips, tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflowers, onions and carrots. 噢，我喜欢大萝卜、西红柿、茄子、菜花、洋葱和胡萝卜。 来自魔法英语-口语突破（高中）
• This is turnip soup, made from real turnips. 这是大头菜汤，用真正的大头菜做的。

21 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

22 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：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

24 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

25 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

26 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

27 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

28 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

29 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

30 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。