绿野仙踪 第8期:遇到芒奇金人(3)

 You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. “最高贵的女术士，欢迎您降临芒奇金人的国家。

We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of East, and for setting our people free from bondage¹. 我们很感激您，因为您杀死了东方的坏女巫，把我们从奴役中解救了出来。”

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. 多萝茜听得一头雾水。

What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress,  这个小老妇人怎么称呼她做“女术士”，

and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East? 并且口口声声地说她杀死了那东方的坏女巫，这究竟是什么意思？

Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone² many miles for home;  多萝茜只是一个天真无邪的小女孩儿，被旋风带到这里，

and she had never killed anything in all her life. 她从未杀死过什么人。

But the little woman evidently expected her to answer;  然而很明显那小老妇人正热切地等待着她的回答；

so Dorothy said, with hesitation³, "You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything." 所以多萝茜只有所顾虑地说：“您很好，但是你们一定弄错了，我并没有杀人。”

"Your house did it anyway," replied the little old woman, with a laugh,  “但是你的屋子确实这样做了，”小老妇人笑着回答说；

"and that is the same thing. See!" she continued, pointed⁴ to the corner of the house. “你瞧！确实如此。” 她继续说下去，指着屋子的角落里。

"There are her two feet, still sticking out from under a block of wood." “女巫的两只脚仍旧露在木板底下呢。”

Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. 多萝茜朝她指点的地方看去，吓得她叫了一声。

There, indeed, just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes. 在屋子架着大横梁的角落下面，伸出了两只脚，套着一双尖头的银鞋子。

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together in dismay. “啊！啊！”多萝茜叫着，惊慌地握着双手。

"The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do!" “她肯定是被屋子压着了。我们要做点什么呢？”

"There is nothing to be done" Said the little woman calmly. “什么都不用做，”小老妇人平静地说。

"But who was she? "asked Dorothy. “可是她是谁呢？”多萝茜问。

"She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said," answered the little woman. “她就是我刚才说的东方坏女巫。”小老妇人回答。

"She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. “她许多年前就奴役了所有的芒奇金人，让他们整日整夜地做作苦役。

1 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

2 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

3 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。