有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第23章

The little girl, seeing she had lost one of her pretty shoes, grewangry, and said to the Witch, “Give me back my shoe!”

“I will not,” retorted the Witch, “for it is now my shoe, and notyours.”

“You are a wicked creature!” cried Dorothy. “You have no right totake my shoe from me.”

“I shall keep it, just the same,” said the Witch, laughing at her,“and someday I shall get the other one from you, too.”

This made Dorothy so very angry that she picked up the bucket ofwater that stood near and dashed it over the Witch, wetting her from head tofoot.

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第22章

But the wicked creature was very cunning, and she finally thoughtof a trick that would give her what she wanted. She placed a bar of iron in themiddle of the kitchen floor, and then by her magic arts made the iron invisibleto human eyes. So that when Dorothy walked across the floor she stumbled overthe bar, not being able to see it, and fell at full length. She was not muchhurt, but in her fall one of the Silver Shoes came off; and before she couldreach it, the Witch had snatched it away and put it on her own skinny foot.

The wicked woman was greatly pleased with the success of hertrick, for as long as she had one of the shoes she owned half the power oftheir charm, and Dorothy could not use it against her, even had she known howto do so.

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第21章

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第20章

The girl had to work hard during the day, and often the Witchthreatened to beat her with the same old umbrella she always carried in herhand. But, in truth, she did not dare to strike Dorothy, because of the markupon her forehead. The child did not know this, and was full of fear forherself and Toto. Once the Witch struck Toto a blow with her umbrella and thebrave little dog flew at her and bit her leg in return. The Witch did not bleedwhere she was bitten, for she was so wicked that the blood in her had dried upmany years before.

Dorothy’s life became very sad as she grew to understand that itwould be harder than ever to get back to Kansas and Aunt Em again. Sometimesshe would cry bitterly for hours, with Toto sitting at her feet and lookinginto her face, whining dismally to show how sorry he was for his littlemistress. Toto did not really care whether he was in Kansas or the Land of Ozso long as Dorothy was with him; but he knew the little girl was unhappy, andthat made him unhappy too.

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第19章

So after that she took no food to the imprisoned Lion; but everyday she came to the gate at noon and asked, “Are you ready to be harnessed likea horse?”

And the Lion would answer, “No. If you come in this yard, I willbite you.”

The reason the Lion did not have to do as the Witch wished wasthat every night, while the woman was asleep, Dorothy carried him food from thecupboard. After he had eaten he would lie down on his bed of straw, and Dorothywould lie beside him and put her head on his soft, shaggy mane, while theytalked of their troubles and tried to plan some way to escape. But they couldfind no way to get out of the castle, for it was constantly guarded by theyellow Winkies, who were the slaves of the Wicked Witch and too afraid of hernot to do as she told them.

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第18章

Dorothy followed her through many of the beautiful rooms in hercastle until they came to the kitchen, where the Witch bade her clean the potsand kettles and sweep the floor and keep the fire fed with wood.

Dorothy went to work meekly, with her mind made up to work as hardas she could; for she was glad the Wicked Witch had decided not to kill her.

With Dorothy hard at work, the Witch thought she would go into thecourtyard and harness the Cowardly Lion like a horse; it would amuse her, shewas sure, to make him draw her chariot whenever she wished to go to drive. Butas she opened the gate the Lion gave a loud roar and bounded at her so fiercelythat the Witch was afraid, and ran out and shut the gate again.

“If I cannot harness you,” said the Witch to the Lion, speakingthrough the bars of the gate, “I can starve you. You shall have nothing to eatuntil you do as I wish.”

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第17章

Then all the Winged Monkeys, with much laughing and chattering andnoise, flew into the air and were soon out of sight.

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and worried when she saw themark on Dorothy’s forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged Monkeysnor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. She looked down at Dorothy’sfeet, and seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knewwhat a powerful charm belonged to them. At first the Witch was tempted to runaway from Dorothy; but she happened to look into the child’s eyes and saw howsimple the soul behind them was, and that the little girl did not know of thewonderful power the Silver Shoes gave her. So the Wicked Witch laughed toherself, and thought, “I can still make her my slave, for she does not know howto use her power.” Then she said to Dorothy, harshly and severely:

“Come with me; and see that you mind everything I tell you, for ifyou do not I will make an end of you, as I did of the Tin Woodman and theScarecrow.”

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第16章

“We dare not harm this little girl,” he said to them, “for she isprotected by the Power of Good, and that is greater than the Power of Evil. Allwe can do is to carry her to the castle of the Wicked Witch and leave herthere.”

So, carefully and gently, they lifted Dorothy in their arms andcarried her swiftly through the air until they came to the castle, where theyset her down upon the front doorstep. Then the leader said to the Witch:

“We have obeyed you as far as we were able. The Tin Woodman andthe Scarecrow are destroyed, and the Lion is tied up in your yard. The littlegirl we dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms. Your power over ourband is now ended, and you will never see us again.”

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第15章

The remaining Monkeys threw pieces of stout rope around the Lionand wound many coils about his body and head and legs, until he was unable tobite or scratch or struggle in any way. Then they lifted him up and flew awaywith him to the Witch’s castle, where he was placed in a small yard with a highiron fence around it, so that he could not escape.

But Dorothy they did not harm at all. She stood, with Toto in herarms, watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would soon be herturn. The leader of the Winged Monkeys flew up to her, his long, hairy armsstretched out and his ugly face grinning terribly; but he saw the mark of theGood Witch’s kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the others notto touch her.

有声英语少儿童话故事 绿野仙踪 第12卷 第14章

“Your commands shall be obeyed,” said the leader. Then, with agreat deal of chattering and noise, the Winged Monkeys flew away to the placewhere Dorothy and her friends were walking.

Some of the Monkeys seized the Tin Woodman and carried him throughthe air until they were over a country thickly covered with sharp rocks. Herethey dropped the poor Woodman, who fell a great distance to the rocks, where helay so battered and dented that he could neither move nor groan.

Others of the Monkeys caught the Scarecrow, and with their longfingers pulled all of the straw out of his clothes and head. They made his hatand boots and clothes into a small bundle and threw it into the top branches ofa tall tree.