Chapter 99

　　"But are you sure that, in that country, each week iscomposedof six Saturdays and one Sunday?""Very sure!""And thatvacation begins on the first of January andends on the thirty-first ofDecember?""Very, very sure!""What a great country!"repeated Pinocchio, puzzledas to what to do.

　　Then, in sudden determination, he said hurriedly:

　　"Good-by for the last time, and goodluck.""Good-by.""How soon will you go?""Withintwo hours.""What a pity! If it were only one hour, I might wait foryou.""And the Fairy?""By this time I'm late, and one hourmore or less makesvery little difference.""Poor Pinocchio! And if theFairy scolds you?""Oh, I'll let her scold. After she gets tired, shewill stop."In the meantime10, the night became darker anddarker.

　　All at once in the distance a small light flickered11. Aqueer sound could be heard, softas a little bell, and faintand muffled12 like the buzz13 of a far-away mosquito.

　　"There it is!" cried Lamp-Wick, jumping to his feet.

　　"What?" whispered Pinocchio.

　　"The wagon which is coming to get me. For the lasttime, are youcoming or not?""But is it really true that in that country boysneverhave to study?""Never, never, never!""What awonderful, beautiful, marvelous country! Oh--h--h!!"

“你真的断定，这国家个个星期都是六个星期四和一个星期日吗？”
　　“完全断定。”
　　“你真的知道，年年的假期都是从一月一号放到十二月最末了一天吗？”
　　“一点不假！”
　　“多美的国家呀！”皮诺乔又说一遍，太高兴了，吐了口口水。
　　接着他又拿定主意，狠了狠心，很快地又说了一句：
　　“好，真的再见了，一路平安。”
　　“再见。”
　　“你们多咱动身？”
　　“就在两个钟头之内！”
　　“真可惜！要是只有一个钟头，我还可以等等。”
　　“那仙女呢？”
　　“不过现在反正晚了……回家早一个钟头晚一个钟头没什么两样。”
　　“可怜的皮诺乔！万一仙女骂你呢？”
　　“没法子！让她骂吧。骂够了会不骂的。”
　　这时天已经全黑，黑得伸手不见五指了。忽然只见远远有一点灯光在移动……还听到铃铛声和喇叭声，声音很轻很闷，似是蚊子嗡嗡叫！
　　“来了！”小灯芯叫着跳起来。
　　“谁来了？”皮诺乔低声问。
　　“来接我的车子。好，你要去吗？去还是不去？”
　　“可你说的是真话吗？”木偶问道，“在那个国家里孩子都不要学习？”
　　“不要，不要，不要！”
　　“多美的国家呀！……多美的国家！……多美的国家呀！……”

10 meantime   

n.其时，其间；adv.同时，当时

参考例句：

·I continued working,meantime,he went out shopping.我继续工作，这期间他出去买东西。

·In the meantime we pressed on with the airlift.与此同时，我们加紧进行空运。

11 flickered

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

·The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。

·These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

12 muffled

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

·muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音

·There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 buzz

v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音

参考例句：

·My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。

·A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。