CHAPTER XII THE GOLD WAFFLE-IRON

 Meantime the Private Secretary departed, but now in a few moments returned with a very fine new Waffle-iron, all of gold, which he had had made as the Widow instructed, with small hills and hollows all over its surface.

 

"This," said the Widow Pickle¹, "is the most beautiful Waffle-iron I ever used. If I do not make good Waffles now, it surely will be my own fault."

 

So now the Private Secretary also got her some palm flour, and two quarts of cocoanut milk; and after making 58a little fire in front of the palace door, the Widow Pickle busied herself and soon produced a nice brown Waffle, with hills and hollows all over it, from her new gold Waffle-iron. "Now, if I only had some syrup²," said she, "I am sure I could recommend this Waffle for any purposes connected with eating."

 

The King had been watching her very closely in her work. "What do you mean by syrup?" asked he curiously³.

 

"This," said the Widow, "is certainly a strange country—not that I wish to criticize in the least, your Majesty⁴. But I was just thinking that a world without syrup is very singular indeed."

 

"Well, you will understand," said the King of Gee-Whiz, "we who live on this Island are not very different from Fairies. At least, we are dependent upon the Fairies for all we eat and wear and use. They are our work people, and we have to take what they give us and be thankful. Now, I suppose the Fairies have never considered that syrup was necessary for us."

 

Zuzu and Lulu listened with the greatest interest, and when the king spoke⁵ of Fairies they could not restrain themselves.

 

"Oh, your Majesty," said Lulu, "have you ever really seen a Fairy?"

 

59"Have I?" said the King. "Thousands of them. We get all our gold from them—when their pretty Queen, Zulena, is good enough to grant our wishes. Fairies! Why, they are as common as leaves upon the trees. Are there none in your country, my Princess?"

 

"None," said Lulu, "only I have always so much wished to see just one Fairy."

 

"If that is all you wish," said the King of Gee-Whiz, "there will not be the least trouble about it. We got this Enchanted⁶ Banjo from the Fairies, and I am sure it will be obliging enough to tell you about so common a place as Fairy-land. Won't you, Banjo?"

 

The Banjo nodded its head, and presently began to play.

 

FAIRY-LAND AFAR

 

I know where is Fairy-land,

Little one with wond'ring eyes.

Often, often, do you stand

Gazing where the hills arise,

Dreaming of the land that lies

Somewhere, where the fairies are

Past the ending of the skies—

Fairy-land afar.

I have seen it, and I know

How we journey to that land;

Nodding poppies flash and glow60

Down the path on either hand;

Jewel spray on silver sand

Brings the snow-white Fairy-boats;

Each, by elves and brownies manned,

As a lily floats.

Ho, sometimes you hear the bells

That the dancing Fairies wear!

Oft at night their music swells⁷

Far and faintly on the air,

And sometimes the breezes bear

Calls blown on a Fairy-horn;

You have heard them, here and there,

In the summer morn.

Here's the secret: You must look

For the path with drowsy⁸ eyes:

Twixt the covers of a book

Half the wondrous⁹ secret lies.

Then if you are good and wise,

In a twinkling there you are—

Past the ending of the skies,

Fairy-land afar.

"The Banjo knows more about the Fairies than any one," said the Private Secretary. "It can tell you how they employ themselves all these long summer days." And thereupon the Banjo began:

 

61WHAT THE FAIRIES DO

 

Oh, do not think the Fairies can be idle all the while,

That they have nothing much to do but sit and sing and smile;

Each has a task he must perform—he must be smart and good

And do his work as carefully as real-sure people should.

Some Fairies have to hurry forth¹⁰ and waken all the leaves

And bid them come and dress the trees in dainty styles and weaves;

Some Fairies have to go with paint and some with rich perfume,

And tint¹¹ and scent¹² the flowers when they open into bloom.

The Jack-o'-lantern Fairies have to dance above the bogs¹³

To make a light for all the concerts given by the frogs;

And others whisper to the bees and tell them where to look

For honey in a clover bloom that hides beside the brook¹⁴.

And some come when the night is here and you have gone to sleep

They find your home and then upon your pillow they will creep,

And tell you dreams that you must dream; and then, you understand,

Next morning you may truly say you've been to Fairy-land.

"But now, in regard to this syrup, I wonder very much how it tastes," interrupted the King, returning to the matter that had been upon his mind, "tell me, how does it taste?"

 

"Very sweet, your Majesty," said Zuzu, "and it is very nice with Waffles. I have eaten it often."

 

"But whence do you obtain this syrup?" asked the King.

 

62"The best kind comes out of a tree," said Zuzu, who had often been with his uncle when he was making maple¹⁵ sugar.

 

"From a tree? Oh, I suppose you get it just as I do my palm wine when I wish, or my cocoanut milk. You cut a hole in the tree, and catch the juice in a cup?"

 

"It is something like that, your Majesty," replied Zuzu.

 

"Then, my dear," said the King, "take this little gold ax and run and catch me a cupful of syrup for my new Waffle."

 

Zuzu did as he was bid and soon came back with a cupful of very fair syrup. This the Widow at once spread upon the hot Waffle and offered it to the King.

 

"This syrup," said the King, touching¹⁶ his finger to the contents of the cup, "is most delicious. It is something we have had all along, but did not know it."

 

"Your Majesty," said the Widow Pickle anxiously, "I beg you will eat your Waffle while it is hot."

 

"Oh, very well," said the King wearily, "but surely you must know that I usually am very much more bored about eating things than any one can possibly be who has never been a King."

 

So saying, he took his royal golden knife and fork and cut off a morsel¹⁷ from the Waffle, which he placed in his royal mouth. As he did so, to their great surprise, he 63sat up straight, and a pleasant smile appeared upon his face. His cheek stuck out where the mouthful of Waffle lay; but the King did not act as though he intended to swallow it, although his smile showed that he was pleased.

 

"Is it good, your Majesty?" asked the Widow Pickle again anxiously.

 

The King nodded but did not speak. He motioned for a piece of paper, on which he wrote the word "Excellent."

 

"Then, why do you not eat it?" asked the Widow.

 

"I fear very much there may not be anything more so good," wrote the King.

 

At this, the Widow Pickle herself smiled happily.

 

"Oh, yes, there is, your Majesty," she cried. "I warn you that every bite of this Waffle is as good as the first one. Moreover, I assure you I can bake others quite as good, as many as you like."

 

Hearing this, the King at once ate the portion of Waffle, and, to the great joy of all, regained¹⁸ his voice; for of course no King ever speaks with his mouth even partly full.

 

"That," said the King, with a long breath, "was the most remarkable¹⁹ delicacy²⁰ I ever ate in all my life. My dear madam, I am very much pleased that I have heard of it, very much pleased, I assure you. Indeed, I welcome you to our Island."

 

"But hurry, your Majesty," cried the Widow Pickle, "or the Waffle will get cold!"

 

Whereupon the King, still smiling with comfort and joy, fell to, and presently the first Waffle was quite gone. Another followed, and yet another. "More!" cried the King, as though he were a little boy. So the Widow Pickle, very warm and very happy, baked Waffles until she quite forgot to count them any more.

 

"You may have a throne made for the lady also, Jiji," said the King carelessly to his Private Secretary, after a while, "for I have concluded neither to banish²¹ her nor behead her. She shall be made the Royal Waffle Baker²², with a permanent salary."

 

The Widow Pickle was delighted, for although she had baked many a Waffle before, she had never done so with a gold Waffle-iron, and had never been so well rewarded for what to her seemed a very ordinary accomplishment²³.

 

Later, for the entertainment of Lulu and Zuzu, the Enchanted Banjo sang this little song, which, it said, contained a very helpful moral lesson:

 

IF YOU WERE A WAFFLE

 

If you

Were a

Waffle

You think that things go wrong

If you should stub your toes;

If, when you run along,

You fall and bump your nose;

65

You sometimes wail²⁴ and cry

Because you may not wear

The things that please your eye;

You do not like your hair!

But—

Wouldn't it be awful

If you were a waffle?

Puckered²⁵, brown, and round and flat—

Would you only think of that!

If you were a waffle

Wouldn't it be awful?

Sometimes you sigh—you do,

Because you are yourself!

What would you think if you

Were on a pantry shelf?

If you were set away

Because you had grown cold—

Left from but yesterday

And now, alas²⁶! too old!

Oh—

Wouldn't it be awful

If you were a waffle?

Hot and brown, and made to wait

On somebody's breakfast plate—

If you were a waffle,

Wouldn't it be awful?

1 pickle   

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。

2 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

3 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

4 majesty   

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！

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 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。

7 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

8 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

9 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 tint   

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 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

13 bogs   

n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• Whenever It'shows its true nature, real life bogs to a standstill. 无论何时，只要它显示出它的本来面目，真正的生活就陷入停滞。 来自名作英译部分
• At Jitra we went wading through bogs. 在日得拉我们步行着从泥水塘里穿过去。 来自辞典例句

14 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

15 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

16 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

17 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

18 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

19 remarkable   

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。

20 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

21 banish   

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。

22 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

23 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

24 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

25 puckered   

v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。
• His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。