儿童故事集：小妖精的圣诞节-The Goblins’ Christmas

Title: The Goblins’ Christmas

Writer: Elizabeth Anderson

Genre¹: Poetry

 

Preface to The Goblins’ Christmas poem

Once upon a time I visited Fairy-land and spent a day in Goblin-town.

The people there are much like ourselves, only they are very, very small

and roguish. They play pranks² on one another and have great fun. They

are good natured and jolly, and rarely get angry. But if one does get

angry, he quickly recovers his good nature and joins again in the sport.

 

If a Goblin should continue angry he would take on some visible form.

Perhaps he would become a toad³ or a squirrel, or some other little

animal, and would have to live here on the Earth-plane forevermore. But,

if he keeps good natured, he can come here and have his fun, and not be

seen by any one except a Seer, or very wise person.

 

The Goblins are gracious to the wise people now, but they were not

always so. A long, long time ago, on a Christmas-eve, the Fairy-folk

were having great sport. All the little people of the Unseen-world had

gathered together in the Earth-realm. There were Brownies, and Gnomes⁴,

and Elves; even some little Cherubs⁵ had joined them. They were having a

wild dance and a gay time when who should appear but Kris Kringle! Now

the Fairies did not know that he was a Magician, or Seer, and so they

tried to make sport of him. But Kris by his wonderful magic, changed

them into the most beautiful toys. They became straight little

jumping-jacks, and dolls in bright dresses, and the dearest little

rabbit with white, soft fur. And somewhere in the bottom of the sleigh

one was turned into a cute little Teddy-bear. Then old Kris tucked all

these toys into his roomy sleigh, and shook the reins⁶ of his waiting

steed. “Go on!” he said, “For I’ve many, many a chimney to reach

tonight.”

 

Now this is the tale of “The Goblins’ Christmas” that the moonbeams

told, as they heard it from the Fairy-Queen, who declares that every

word of it is perfectly⁷ true.

 

WordChecker

roguish (adjective): naughty; mischievous

good natured (adjective): in a happy mood

prank (noun): a joke or trick you play on someone for fun

jumping jack (noun): toy dancing man with strings

roomy (adjective): spacious; has lots of space

reins (noun): the straps attached to a horse and held by a driver

steed (noun): horse

declare (verb): to state firmly

1 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

2 pranks   

n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

3 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

4 gnomes   

n.矮子( gnome的名词复数 )；侏儒；（尤指金融市场上搞投机的）银行家；守护神

参考例句：

• I have a wonderful recipe: bring two gnomes, two eggs. 我有一个绝妙的配方：准备两个侏儒，两个鸡蛋。 来自互联网
• Illusions cast by gnomes from a small village have started becoming real. 53侏儒对一个小村庄施放的幻术开始变为真实。 来自互联网

5 cherubs   

小天使，胖娃娃( cherub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The high stern castle was a riot or carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs. 其尾部高耸的船楼上雕满了神仙、妖魔鬼怪、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼、天使。
• Angels, Cherubs and Seraphs-Dignity, glory and honor. 天使、小天使、六翼天使－尊严、荣耀和名誉。

6 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。