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CHAPTER XI THE ROYAL HEREDITARY TWINS
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 "Madam," said the King, "who are you, if I may ask, and why do these young persons hide behind you? Let us have no delays and no excuses. If we are to get on in the least pleasantly, I beg you of all things to remember that I am King. And I need hardly state that the King of Gee-Whiz is something of a Monarch1, if I may so express it."
 
"If it please your Majesty2," said the Widow Pickle3, "I am a Widow, and come from foreign parts."
 
50"That," rejoined the King, "is a claim of no special distinction, for there are very many widows who come from foreign parts. Pray, whatever you do, don't bore me, for I am very easily bored, and when I am bored I am very bored indeed, as you will readily perceive a true King must be."
 
"That I can easily understand," said the Widow, "but I hope that my Twins will not bore you. Come, my children, and make your bow to the King."
 
In truth, it must be said that the Widow Pickle was more frightened at the King than she thought she was going to be.
 
"Yes," said the King, "let us see what your children look like."
 
At this, very much frightened, Zuzu and Lulu came out from behind their mother and bowed very low before the King, and they had the presence of mind to make the sound "Ah-h-h!" between their teeth as the Private Secretary and others had done. The King was pleased at this. But, at the next moment, he sprang back with an exclamation5 of surprise.
 
"What!" said he, "what is that I see? Is it possible that we have here two young persons with the Royal Hereditary6 Hair in true malazite blue and royal corazine green? Why, bless my soul and body, not since the 51reign of Gee-Whiz the Twelfth has a true double instance of this kind of hair been found in all our kingdom!"
 
"Do you like their hair, your Majesty?" asked the Widow Pickle.
 
"What a question!" exclaimed the King. "How can I help liking7 it? Did not the Royal Queen Mother of our family three thousand years ago have blue hair; and her husband, the reigning8 monarch, green? My dear madam, I look upon this as the most fortunate thing that has occurred during my entire reign4. If I am not very much mistaken, we shall hear of strange and wonderful things before long."
 
"I am glad you like their hair," said the Widow Pickle proudly, "although I must say that in our country neither was considered a fashionable color."
 
"Yours must be a very strange country," said the King of Gee-Whiz, "and you must have associated with extraordinarily9 ignorant persons, not to know that blue and green are the finest colors in the world for hair. Really, never in my life have I seen such a delicate shade as this. I am so delighted that I shall at once, in accordance with the law of the Island, have this Prince and Princess measured for a brand-new throne each. Moreover, they shall each have one of the Fairy Wishing Wands, which are a part of the royal property. Whatever they wish 52they shall have three times a week—but of course no more, for that would not be lawful10."
 
"Certainly not," said the Widow Pickle, although she did not in the least understand what all this was about.
 
"As to yourself, madam," resumed the Monarch, "although you claim to be the mother of these children, I do not observe that your own hair shows any token of the royal colors. In short, it is somewhat the color of my own. I regret to state that my hair, although once of a royal tint11, was bleached12 by a sudden exposure to the sun by a careless nurse when I was young." He smiled sadly, but soon recovered. "This, however, shall not happen to this young Prince and Princess," he said, "for they shall have royal umbrellas and attendants to carry them when they walk abroad.
 
"Let me think," went on the King. "I forget what I was about to say. Was I going to banish13 you, my dear madam, or have you beheaded? Jiji, get up and tell me what I was going to say."
 
At this, the Private Secretary, who had been prostrate14 with his face upon the ground all this time, arose very quickly.
 
"Your Majesty," said he, "let me suggest that you neither banish nor behead this good lady. Her husband was a very remarkable15 man, a dealer16 in Chemical Substances. 53It was in this way, as I am assured, that he discovered the means of making a very wonderful dish known as the Waffle, which is considered to be a sovereign cure for what are called the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Royal Stomach."
 
 
 
"It was not my husband," began the Widow Pickle indignantly; but the Private Secretary, bowing low, stepped in front of her, wriggling17 his hands behind him very hard.
 
"Her husband, your Majesty," said he quickly, "was a wonderful man. I have myself seen one of these Waffles, and they are extraordinarily fine to look upon, although I have never eaten one. That is reserved for royalty18 alone."
 
"I have eaten them often," exclaimed Zuzu.
 
"That," said the King, "is not remarkable, my dear, because you evidently are of royal blood. But, madam, tell me where can I get one of these Waffles to eat?"
 
"That," said the Widow Pickle, "is very easy, if you will but get me a Waffle-iron and permit me to build a fire here in front of the palace."
 
The King turned to the Private Secretary. "Jiji," said he, "get her a Waffle-iron at once. If there is no such thing, have it made by the royal smiths. Pray, madam, what is a Waffle-iron made of?"
 
54"Of iron, your Majesty."
 
"That is too bad," said the King. "We have no such precious metal as that. I suppose we shall have to make it out of gold. Do you mind if we make it of gold?"
 
"I never saw one of gold, your Majesty," replied the Widow Pickle, "but perhaps I could make out with it." In her heart she was thinking that if she ever told her friends she had baked Waffles on a gold Waffle-iron, they certainly would not believe her; but we can easily see how much mistaken her friends would have been in that case.
 
"Very well," said the King. "Get the lady a gold Waffle-iron and help her all you can with her work. If she is half as good a cook as you think, she also may have some sort of throne; although I much regret that her hair is far from the desirable color for those of the royal household."
 
"I ought to have a little flour," said the Widow, "and a little milk."
 
"Milk?" said the King. "How unfortunate! The royal cows are all lost in the woods, every one of them, and not even the Court Detective, whom I employ for that purpose, can find them."
 
"Don't you know how to find them?" cried Zuzu eagerly.
 
55"No, to be sure I don't. I'm too busy to learn such things."
 
"You ask a Daddy-long-legs," said Zuzu.
 
"I beg pardon?" said the King. But just then, as Zuzu and Lulu happened to grasp the Enchanted19 Banjo, the latter began to tell the King how to find the cows—a thing which any child could have told him.
 
DADDY-LONG-LEGS
 
Ho, Mister Daddy-long-legs, it is queer
How much you know.
A very savage20 being you appear—
You are not, though.
With gentle grace and kindly21 bows
You tell us where to find the cows.
Ho, Daddy-long-legs, tell me, tell me now
Which direction I must go if I find my cow.
'Way over yonder—'way over there—
That's the way he points us with his long leg in the air.
Ho, Mister Daddy-long-legs, when you sprawl22
Upon the fence,
One wouldn't think the cows would moo at all
When you commence
To show us where their feet have made
A winding23 pathway to the shade.
56
Ho, Daddy-long-legs, tell me, tell me now
Which direction I must go if I find my cow.
'Way through the meadow—'way down the brook—
See his long leg pointing out the place where we must look!
"Well!" said the King, "that is a most extraordinary thing, most extraordinary indeed, and I shall certainly have to call the matter to the attention of my Court Detective. But, madam, as we have no cows at present, how would a little cocoanut milk do? We can get you any amount of that."
 
"I have never tried it," said the Widow, "but I am sure it will be very much better than no milk at all."
 
"Very well, then," said the King, "I'll have Jiji get you all you want."

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 monarch l6lzj     
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者
参考例句:
  • The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
  • I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。
2 majesty MAExL     
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权
参考例句:
  • The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
  • Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下,您必须赶快做出决定!
3 pickle mSszf     
n.腌汁,泡菜;v.腌,泡
参考例句:
  • Mother used to pickle onions.妈妈过去常腌制洋葱。
  • Meat can be preserved in pickle.肉可以保存在卤水里。
4 reign pBbzx     
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势
参考例句:
  • The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
  • The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。
5 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
6 hereditary fQJzF     
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的
参考例句:
  • The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
  • In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。
7 liking mpXzQ5     
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
参考例句:
  • The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
  • I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
8 reigning nkLzRp     
adj.统治的,起支配作用的
参考例句:
  • The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑,星很繁,夜阑人静。
  • Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下,他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。
9 extraordinarily Vlwxw     
adv.格外地;极端地
参考例句:
  • She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
  • The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨,大海出奇地宁静。
10 lawful ipKzCt     
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的
参考例句:
  • It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
  • We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
11 tint ZJSzu     
n.淡色,浅色;染发剂;vt.着以淡淡的颜色
参考例句:
  • You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
  • She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。
12 bleached b1595af54bdf754969c26ad4e6cec237     
漂白的,晒白的,颜色变浅的
参考例句:
  • His hair was bleached by the sun . 他的头发被太阳晒得发白。
  • The sun has bleached her yellow skirt. 阳光把她的黄裙子晒得褪色了。
13 banish nu8zD     
vt.放逐,驱逐;消除,排除
参考例句:
  • The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
  • He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。
14 prostrate 7iSyH     
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的
参考例句:
  • She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
  • The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。
15 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
16 dealer GyNxT     
n.商人,贩子
参考例句:
  • The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
  • The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。
17 wriggling d9a36b6d679a4708e0599fd231eb9e20     
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等);蠕蠕
参考例句:
  • The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
  • Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句
18 royalty iX6xN     
n.皇家,皇族
参考例句:
  • She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
  • I waited on tables,and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生, 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。
19 enchanted enchanted     
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。
20 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
21 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
22 sprawl 2GZzx     
vi.躺卧,扩张,蔓延;vt.使蔓延;n.躺卧,蔓延
参考例句:
  • In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里,灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
  • He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。
23 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。


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