绿野仙踪 第54期:田鼠皇后(2)

 At that moment several mice were seen running up as fast as their little legs could carry them, 在这时候，好几只田鼠气喘吁吁地跑过来，

and when they saw their Queen they exclaimed: 当它们发现了皇后，喊着：

"Oh, your Majesty¹, we thought you would be killed! How did you manage to escape the great Wildcat?" “啊，尊敬的皇后，我们以为你被猫抓去了！你怎样能够从那只大野兽爪子下逃生的！”

They all bowed so low to the little Queen that they almost stood upon their heads. 它们一齐向小皇后低低地鞠躬，看上去差不多用头抵在地面上了。

"This funny Tin man," she answered, “这一位好心肠的铁皮人，”它回答说，

"killed the Wildcat and saved my life. So hereafter you must all serve him, and obey his slightest wish." “杀了野猫，救了我的性命。所以你们要尊敬他，服从他所说的每一句话。”

"We will!" cried all the mice, in a shrill² chorus. “我们一定听从！”小田鼠们异口同声地叫了出来。

And then they scampered³ in all directions, for Toto had awakened⁴ from his sleep, 随后它们猛然四处逃散了，因为托托睡醒了，

and seeing all these mice around him he gave one bark of delight and jumped right into the middle of the group. 看见成群的田鼠还围在它的四周，它发出一阵喜悦的吠声，跳进这一群的里头去。

Toto had always loved to chase mice when he lived in Kansas, and he saw no harm in it. 当托托住在堪萨斯州的时候，就喜欢追逐老鼠们，它感到其乐无穷。

But the Tin Woodman caught the dog in his arms and held him tight, 但是铁皮人却把狗捉住，紧紧地挟在他的臂弯里，

while he called to the mice, "Come back! Come back! Toto shall not hurt you." 招呼着田鼠们，“回来吧！回来吧！托托不会咬你们的。”

At this the Queen of the Mice stuck her head out from underneath⁵ a clump⁶ of grass and asked, in a timid voice, 田鼠皇后从下面的草丛中抬起它的头来，用一种胆怯的声音问道：

"Are you sure he will not bite us?" “你能保证我们的安全吗？”

"I will not let him," said the Woodman; "so do not be afraid." 铁皮人说：“我抓着它，你们就不用担心了。”

1 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！

2 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

3 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。