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Big Red
The first time we set eyes on "Big Red," father, mother and I were trudging1 through the freshly fallen snow on our way to Hubble's Hardware store on Main Street in Huntsville, Ontario. We planned to enter our name in the annual Christmas drawing for a chance to win a hamper2 filled with fancy tinned cookies, tea, fruit and candy. As we passed the Eaton's department store's window, we stopped as usual to gaze and do a bit of dreaming.
The gaily3 decorated window display held the best toys ever. I took an instant hankering for a huge green wagon4. It was big enough to haul three armloads of firewood, two buckets of swill5 or a whole summer's worth of pop bottles picked from along the highway. There were skates that would make Millar's Pond well worth shovelling6 and dolls much too pretty to play with. And they were all nestled snugly7 beneath the breathtakingly flounced skirt of Big Red.
Mother's eyes were glued to the massive flare8 of red shimmering9 satin, dotted with twinkling sequin-centred black velvet10 stars. "My goodness," she managed to say in trancelike wonder. "Would you just look at that dress!" Then, totally out of character, mother twirled one spin of a waltz on the slippery sidewalk. Beneath the heavy, wooden-buttoned, grey wool coat she had worn every winter for as long as I could remember, mother lost her balance and tumbled. Father quickly caught her.
Her cheeks redder than usual, mother swatted dad for laughing. "Oh, stop that!" she ordered, shooing his fluttering hands as he swept the snow from her coat. "What a silly dress to be perched up there in the window of Eaton's!" She shook her head in disgust. "Who on earth would want such a splashy dress?"
As we continued down the street, mother turned back for one more look. "My goodness! You'd think they'd display something a person could use!"
Christmas was nearing, and the red dress was soon forgotten. Mother, of all people, was not one to wish for, or spend money on, items that were not practical. "There are things we need more than this," she'd always say, or, "There are things we need more than that."
Father, on the other hand, liked to indulge whenever the budget allowed. Of course, he'd get a scolding for his occasional splurging, but it was all done with the best intention.
Like the time he brought home the electric range. In our old Muskoka farmhouse11 on Oxtongue Lake, Mother was still cooking year-round on a wood stove. In the summer, the kitchen would be so hot even the houseflies wouldn't come inside. Yet, there would be Mother – roasting - right along with the pork and turnips12.
One day, Dad surprised her with a fancy new electric range. She protested, of course, saying that the wood stove cooked just dandy, that the electric stove was too dear and that it would cost too much hydro to run it. All the while, however, she was polishing its already shiny chrome knobs. In spite of her objections, Dad and I knew that she cherished that new stove.
There were many other modern things that old farm needed, like indoor plumbing13 and a clothes dryer14, but Mom insisted that those things would have to wait until we could afford them. Mom was forever doing chores - washing laundry by hand, tending the pigs and working in our huge garden - so she always wore mended, cotton-print housedresses and an apron15 to protect the front. She did have one or two "special" dresses saved for church on Sundays. And with everything else she did, she still managed to make almost all of our clothes. They weren't fancy, but they did wear well.
That Christmas I bought Dad a handful of fishing lures16 from the Five to a Dollar store, and wrapped them individually in matchboxes so he'd have plenty of gifts to open from me. Choosing something for Mother was much harder. When Dad and I asked, she thought carefully then hinted modestly for some tea towels, face cloths or a new dishpan.
On our last trip to town before Christmas, we were driving up Main Street when Mother suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "Would you just look at that!" She pointed17 excitedly as Dad drove past Eaton's.
"That big red dress is gone," she said in disbelief. "It's actually gone."
"Who'd be fool enough to buy such a frivolous19 dress?" Mother questioned, shaking her head. I quickly stole a glance at Dad. His blue eyes were twinkling as he nudged me with his elbow. Mother craned her neck for another glimpse out the rear window as we rode on up the street. "It's gone . . ." she whispered. I was almost certain that I detected a trace of yearning20 in her voice.
I'll never forget that Christmas morning. I watched as Mother peeled the tissue paper off a large box that read "Eaton's Finest Enamel21 Dishpan" on its lid.
"Oh Frank," she praised, "just what I wanted!" Dad was sitting in his rocker, a huge grin on his face.
"Only a fool wouldn't give a priceless wife like mine exactly what she wants for Christmas," he laughed. "Go ahead, open it up and make sure there are no chips." Dad winked22 at me, confirming his secret, and my heart filled with more love for my father than I thought it could hold!
Mother opened the box to find a big white enamel dishpan - overflowing23 with crimson24 satin that spilled out across her lap. With trembling hands she touched the elegant material of Big Red.
"Oh my goodness!" she managed to utter, her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Frank . . ." Her face was as bright as the star that twinkled on our tree in the corner of the small room. "You shouldn't have . . ." came her faint attempt at scolding.
"Oh now, never mind that!" Dad said. "Let's see if it fits," he laughed, helping25 her slip the marvellous dress over her shoulders. As the shimmering red satin fell around her, it gracefully26 hid the patched and faded floral housedress underneath27.
I watched, my mouth agape, captivated by a radiance in my parents I had never noticed before. As they waltzed around the room, Big Red swirled28 its magic deep into my heart.
"You look beautiful," my dad whispered to my mom - and she surely did!
点击收听单词发音
1 trudging | |
vt.& vi.跋涉,吃力地走(trudge的现在分词形式) | |
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2 hamper | |
vt.妨碍,束缚,限制;n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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3 gaily | |
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 | |
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4 wagon | |
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车 | |
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5 swill | |
v.冲洗;痛饮;n.泔脚饲料;猪食;(谈话或写作中的)无意义的话 | |
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6 shovelling | |
v.铲子( shovel的现在分词 );锹;推土机、挖土机等的)铲;铲形部份 | |
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7 snugly | |
adv.紧贴地;贴身地;暖和舒适地;安适地 | |
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8 flare | |
v.闪耀,闪烁;n.潮红;突发 | |
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9 shimmering | |
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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10 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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11 farmhouse | |
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房) | |
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12 turnips | |
芜青( turnip的名词复数 ); 芜菁块根; 芜菁甘蓝块根; 怀表 | |
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13 plumbing | |
n.水管装置;水暖工的工作;管道工程v.用铅锤测量(plumb的现在分词);探究 | |
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14 dryer | |
n.干衣机,干燥剂 | |
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15 apron | |
n.围裙;工作裙 | |
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16 lures | |
吸引力,魅力(lure的复数形式) | |
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17 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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18 chuckled | |
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 frivolous | |
adj.轻薄的;轻率的 | |
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20 yearning | |
a.渴望的;向往的;怀念的 | |
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21 enamel | |
n.珐琅,搪瓷,瓷釉;(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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22 winked | |
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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23 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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24 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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25 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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26 gracefully | |
ad.大大方方地;优美地 | |
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27 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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28 swirled | |
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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