一只特立独行的青蛙

    原来做人并不是万物所向往的，本文这只不愿被变成王子的青蛙，告诉我们，每个人都有自己独有的优势和长处，最重要的是做最好的自己，做最舒服的自己。
    Wanda, the neighborhood witch, was a good witch and had been one for about 221 years. Her fondest dream was to become a fairy godmother. She had been going to the Fairy Godmother Academy for 103 years, learning fairy godmother magic: how to turn pumpkins¹ into coaches, how to make things vanish in clouds of smoke, even how to change mice into horses and footmen.
    Just that very morning the principal of the Academy had said Wanda was ready for her final test. She was to change the first animal she met into something else. The animal was to be so happy at becoming whatever it became that it would say, "Oh, happy day! I'm a..." If it did, Wanda would pass the test. She would become a fairy godmother, with a sparkling pink dress, a golden crown, and a magic wand tipped with a shining star.
    However, if she failed, she would have to start school all over again—all 103 years of it.
    "Good luck," the principal said as Wanda left the Academy.
    The very first animal Wanda bumped into was Charley, a little green frog who sat in a pond by the side of the road catching² bugs⁴ with his long, sticky tongue and croaking⁵ "Baroomp! Baroomp!"When Charley saw Wanda he jumped onto a lily pad. "Hi," he cried. "Witch way are you going? Ha, ha. That's a joke, Wanda. ‘Witch way are you going?’ Get it?""I get it, Charley," replied Wanda, "but it's not much of a joke. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I have a surprise for you. You'll be so happy." Then, without even an"if you please," Wanda waved her wand, said a magic word, and poof! Charley, the little green frog, turned into a prince!
    He was a handsome prince but a wet one. The lily pad had collapsed⁶ under his weight and dumped him into the water. Charley-turned-prince stood up and looked at his reflection in the water. "Hey!" he cried. "You turned me into a prince! It's a surprise all right, but I don't want to be a prince. I want to be a frog! Change me back right now!""Oh, dear," Wanda said. "You know I don't like to be yelled at, Charley. Now you've made me forget the reverse spell. But who wouldn't rather be a prince than a frog?""I wouldn't!" cried Charley. "I want to be a frog!" He stuck out his tongue, missing a bug³ flying by the end of his nose. "Look at that, Wanda! I was such a good fly catcher. And I had eyes on top of my head, too. I could see forward and backward and sideways all at once, but look at me now. With my eyes in front of my face, I can only see one direction at a time. I don't even have a castle, Wanda. What kind of prince is that? I'd really rather be a frog. Please change me back!""I can't, Charley. But you'll learn to be happy as a prince. As for a castle, I can take care of that." She waved her wand, and suddenly a castle appeared by the banks of the pond. It had stone walls, oaken doors, and pennants⁷ waving from its turrets⁸. "Your very own palace, Charley! You'll have servants, eat fancy foods and ice cream.""Bah!" Charley interrupted. "Who wants servants, or ice cream and fancy foods? I want bugs!" He stuck out his tongue and looked down his nose at it, cross-eyed. "This tongue is no good—it's too short!" he cried. "I can't even see it."Again Wanda waved her wand. "Look, Charley, musicians," she said. Out of the castle marched dozens of musicians blowing trumpets⁹, tootling flutes¹⁰, and banging drums. "See? Your own band. They'll play music, and you can sing and dance and snap your fingers to your heart's content.""I don't want to sing and dance!" Charley cried. "And why would I do something as silly as snapping my fingers?""Snapping fingers!" exclaimed Wanda. "That's it, Charley. That's what I forgot!" She snapped her fingers, cried "Upsi-doodle!" and poof! the castle and musicians disappeared and the prince became a little green frog.
    Charley hopped¹¹ onto a lily pad. He looked at himself in the water. "You did it, Wanda. Oh, happy day! I'm a frog."Wanda smiled and thought to herself, "So I have to go back to school for another 103 years. Who cares? Charley's happy, and that's what really counts."Well, it wasn't exactly ‘Oh, happy day! I'm a prince,’ but the principal of the Fairy Godmother Academy decided¹² that ‘Oh, happy day! I'm a frog’ was close enough. Wanda hadn't thought about herself. She had only wanted to make Charley happy. Thinking about others was the most important thing fairy godmothers had to do.
    The principal waved her magic wand. Lo and behold¹³, Wanda the Witch became Wanda the Fairy Godmother...sparkling pink dress, magic wand with a star, and all.

1 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

4 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 croaking   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• the croaking of frogs 蛙鸣
• I could hear croaking of the frogs. 我能听到青蛙呱呱的叫声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 pennants   

n.校旗( pennant的名词复数 )；锦标旗；长三角旗；信号旗

参考例句：

• Their manes streamed like stiff black pennants in the wind. 它们的鬃毛直立起来，在风中就像一面面硬硬的黑色三角旗。 来自互联网
• Bud ashtrays, bar towels, coasters, football pennants, and similar items were offered for sale. 同时它还制作烟灰缸、酒吧餐巾、杯垫子、杯托子、足球赛用的三角旗以及诸如此类的物品用于销售。 来自互联网

8 turrets   

（六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车

参考例句：

• The Northampton's three turrets thundered out white smoke and pale fire. “诺思安普敦号”三座炮塔轰隆隆地冒出白烟和淡淡的火光。
• If I can get to the gun turrets, I'll have a chance. 如果我能走到炮塔那里，我就会赢得脱险的机会。

9 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

10 flutes   

长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛）

参考例句：

• The melody is then taken up by the flutes. 接着由长笛奏主旋律。
• These flutes have 6open holes and a lovely bright sound. 笛子有6个吹气孔，奏出的声音响亮清脆。

11 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。