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the lost princess of oz-第14部分

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calmly with his great yellow eyes; said to the dog:







〃My dear Toto; our friends have taught us a lesson in



humility。 If the Woozy and the Mule are indeed



beautiful creatures; as they seem to think; you and I



must be decidedly ugly。〃







〃Not to ourselves;〃 protested Toto; who was a shrewd



little dog。 〃You and I; Lion; are fine specimens of our



own races。 I am a fine dog and you are a fine lion。



Only in point of comparison; one with another; can we



be properly judged; so I will leave it to the poor old



Sawhorse to decide which is the most beautiful animal



among us all。 The Sawhorse is wood; so he won't be



prejudiced and will speak the truth。〃







〃I surely will;〃 responded the Sawhorse; wagging his



ears; which were chips set in his wooden head。 〃Are you



all agreed to accept my judgment?〃







〃We are!〃 they declared; each one hopeful。







〃Then;〃 said the Sawhorse; 〃I must point out to you



the fact that you are all meat creatures; who tire



unless they sleep; and starve unless they eat; and



suffer from thirst unless they drink。 Such animals must



be very imperfect; and imperfect Creatures cannot be



beautiful。 Now; I am made of wood。〃







〃You surely have a wooden head;〃 said the Mule。







〃Yes; and a wooden body and wooden legs  which are



as swift as the wind and as tireless。 I've heard



Dorothy say that 'handsome is as handsome does;' and I



surely perform my duties in a handsome manner。



Therefore; if you wish my honest judgement; I will



confess that among us all I am the most beautiful。〃







The Mule snorted and the Woozy laughed; Toto had lost



his growl and could only look scornfully at the



Sawhorse; who stood in his place unmoved。 But the Lion



stretched himself and yawned; saying quietly:







〃Were we all like the Sawhorse we would all be



Sawhorses; which would be too many of the kind; were we



all like Hank; we would be a herd of mules; if like



Toto; we would be a pack of dogs; should we all become



the shape of the Woozy; he would no longer be



remarkable for his unusual appearance。 Finally; were



you all like me; I would consider you so common that I



would not care to associate with you。 To be individual;



my friends; to be different from others; is the only



way to become distinguished from the common herd。 Let



us be glad; therefore; that we differ from one another



in form and in disposition。 Variety is the spice of



life and we are various enough to enjoy one another's



society; so let us be content。〃







〃There is some truth in that speech;〃 remarked Toto



reflectively。 〃But how about my lost growl?〃







〃The growl is of importance only to you;〃 responded



the Lion; 〃so it is your business to worry over the



loss; not ours。 If you love us; do not inflict your



burdens on us; be unhappy all by yourself。〃







〃If the same person stole my growl who stole Ozma;〃



said the little dog; 〃I hope we shall find him very



soon and punish him as he deserves。 He must be the most



cruel person in all the world; for to prevent a dog



from growling when it is his nature to growl is just as



wicked; in my opinion; as stealing all the magic in



Oz。〃



















Chapter Eleven







Button…Bright Loses Himself











The Patchwork Girl; who never slept and who could see



very well in the dark; had wandered among the rocks and



bushes all night long; with the result that she was



able to tell some good news the next morning。







〃Over the crest of the hill before us;〃 she said; 〃is



a big grove of trees of many kinds; on which all sorts



of fruits grow。 If you will go there you will find a



nice breakfast awaiting you。〃







This made them eager to start; so as soon as the



blankets were folded and strapped to the back of the



Sawhorse they all took their places on the animals and



set out for the big grove Scraps had told them of。







As soon as they got over the brow of the hill they



discovered it to be a really immense orchard; extending



for miles to the right and left of them。 As their way



led straight through the trees they hurried forward as



fast as possible。







The first trees they came to bore quinces; which they



did not like。 Then there were rows of citron trees and



then crab apples and after。 ward limes and lemons。 But



beyond these they found a grove of big golden oranges;



juicy and sweet; and the fruit hung low on the



branches; so they could pluck it easily。







They helped themselves freely and all ate oranges as



they continued on their way。 Then; a little farther



along; they came to some trees bearing fine red apples;



which they also feasted on; and the Wizard stopped here



long enough to tie a lot of the apples in one end of a



blanket。







〃We do not know what will happen to us after we leave



this delightful orchard;〃 he said; 〃so I think it wise



to carry a supply of apples with us。 We can't starve as



long as we have apples; you know。〃







Scraps wasn't riding the Woozy just now。 She loved to



climb the trees and swing herself by the branches from



one tree to another。 Some of the choicest fruit was



gathered by the Patchwork Girl from the very highest



limbs and tossed down to the others。 Suddenly Trot



asked: 〃Where's Button…Bright?〃 and when the others



looked for him they found the boy had disappeared。







〃Dear me!〃 cried Dorothy。 〃I guess he's lost again;



and that will mean our waiting here until we can find



him。〃







〃It's a good place to wait;〃 suggested Betsy; who had



found a plum tree and was eating some of its fruit。







〃How can you wait here; and find Button…Bright; at



one and the same time?〃 inquired the Patchwork Girl;



hanging by her toes on a limb just over the heads of



the three mortal girls。







〃Perhaps he'll come back here;〃 answered Dorothy。







〃If he tries that; he'll prob'ly lose his way; said



Trot。 I've known him to do that; lots of times。 It's



losing his way that gets him lost。〃







〃Very true;〃 said the Wizard。 〃So all the rest of you



must stay here while I go look for the boy。〃







〃Won't you get lost; too?〃 asked Betsy。







〃I hope not; my dear。〃







〃Let me go;〃 said Scraps; dropping lightly to the



ground。 〃I can't get lost; and I'm more likely to find



Button Bright than any of you。〃







Without waiting for permission she darted away



through the trees and soon disappeared from their view。







〃Dorothy;〃 said Toto; squatting beside his little



mistress; 〃I've lost my growl。〃







〃How did that happen?〃 she asked。







〃I don't know;〃 replied Toto。 〃Yesterday morning the



Woozy nearly stepped on me and I tried to growl at him



and found I couldn't growl a bit。〃







〃Can you bark?〃 inquired Dorothy。







〃Oh; yes; indeed!〃







〃Then never mind the growl;〃 said she。







〃But what will I do when I get home to the Glass Cat



and the Pink Kitten?〃 asked the little dog in an



anxious voice。







〃They won't mind; if you can't growl at them; I'm



sure;〃 said Dorothy。 〃I'm sorry for you; of course;



Toto; for it's just those things we can t do that we



want to do most of all; but before we get back you may



find your growl again。〃







〃Do you think the person who stole Ozma stole my



growl?〃







Dorothy smiled。







〃Perhaps; Toto。〃







〃Then he's a scoundrel!〃 cried the little dog。







〃Anyone who would steal Ozma is as bad as bad can



be;〃 agreed Dorothy; 〃and when we remember that our



dear friend; the lovely Ruler of Oz; is lost; we ought



not to worry over just a growl。〃







Toto was not entirely satisfied with this remark; for



the more he thought upon his lost growl the more



important his misfortune he came。 When no one was



looking he went away among the trees and tried his best



to growl  even a little bit  but could not manage



to do so。 All he could do was bark; and a bark cannot



take the place of a growl; so he sadly returned to the



others。







Now; Button…Bright had no idea that he was lost; at



first。 He had merely wandered from tree to tree;



seeking the finest fruit; until he discovered he was



alone in the great orchard。 But that didn't worry him



just then and seeing some apricot trees farther on he



went to them; then he discovered some cherry trees;



just beyond these were some tangerines。







〃We've found 'most ev'ry kind of fruit but peaches;〃



he said to himself; 〃so I guess there are peaches here;



too; if I can find the trees。〃







He searched here and there; paying no attention to



his way; until he found that the trees surrounding him



bore only nuts。 He put some walnuts in his pockets and



kept on searching and at last  right among the nut



trees  he came upon one solitary peach tree。 It was a



graceful; beautiful tree; but although it was thickly



leaved it bore no fruit except one large; splendid



peach; rosy cheeked and fuzzy and just right to eat。







Button…Bright had some trouble getting that lonesome



peach; for it hung far out of reach; but he climbed the



tree nimbly and crept out on the branch on which it



grew and after several trials; during which he was in



danger of falling; he finally manag

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