the lost princess of oz-第17章
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Sawhorse。 〃You never hear me snore; because I never
sleep。 I don't even whinny; as those puffy meat horses
do。 I wish that whoever stole Toto's growl had taken
the Mule's bray and the Lion's roar and the Woozy's
snore at the same time。〃
〃Do you think; then; that my growl was stolen?〃
〃You have never lost it before; have you?〃 inquired
the Sawhorse。
〃Only once; when I had a sore throat from barking too
long at the moon。〃
〃Is your throat sore now?〃 asked the Woozy。
〃No;〃 replied the dog。
〃I can't understand;〃 said Hank; 〃why dogs bark at
the moon; They can't scare the moon; and the moon
doesn't pay any attention to the bark。 So why do dogs
do it?〃
〃Were you ever a dog?〃 asked Toto。
〃No; indeed;〃 replied Hank。 〃I am thankful to say I
was created a mule the most beautiful of all beasts
and have always remained one。〃
The Woozy sat upon his square haunches to examine
Hank with care。
〃Beauty;〃 said he; 〃must be a matter of taste。 I
don't say your judgment is bad; friend Hank; or that
you are so vulgar as to be conceited。 But if you admire
big waggly ears; and a tail like a paint…brush; and
hoofs big enough for an elephant; and a long neck and a
body so skinny that one can count the ribs with one eye
shut if that's your idea of beauty; Hank then
either you or I must be much mistaken。〃
〃You're full of edges;〃 sneered the Mule。 〃If I were
square; as you are; I suppose you'd think me lovely。〃
〃Outwardly; dear Hank; I would;〃 replied the Woozy。
〃But to be really lovely one must be beautiful without
and within。〃
The Mule couldn't deny this statement; so he gave a
disgusted grunt and rolled over so that his back was
toward the Woozy。 But the Lion; regarding the two
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 w