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第27章

the water-babies-第27章

小说: the water-babies 字数: 每页4000字

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And Tom smiled in her face; she looked so pleasant for the moment。 And the strange fairy smiled too; and said:

〃Yes。  You thought me very ugly just now; did you not?〃

Tom hung down his head; and got very red about the ears。

〃And I am very ugly。  I am the ugliest fairy in the world; and I shall be; till people behave themselves as they ought to do。  And then I shall grow as handsome as my sister; who is the loveliest fairy in the world; and her name is Mrs。 Doasyouwouldbedoneby。  So she begins where I end; and I begin where she ends; and those who will not listen to her must listen to me; as you will see。  Now; all of you run away; except Tom; and he may stay and see what I am going to do。  It will be a very good warning for him to begin with; before he goes to school。

〃Now; Tom; every Friday I come down here and call up all who have ill…used little children and serve them as they served the children。〃

And at that Tom was frightened; and crept under a stone; which made the two crabs who lived there very angry; and frightened their friend the butter…fish into flapping hysterics:  but he would not move for them。

And first she called up all the doctors who give little children so much physic (they were most of them old ones; for the young ones have learnt better; all but a few army surgeons; who still fancy that a baby's inside is much like a Scotch grenadier's); and she set them all in a row; and very rueful they looked; for they knew what was coming。

And first she pulled all their teeth out; and then she bled them all round:  and then she dosed them with calomel; and jalap; and salts and senna; and brimstone and treacle; and horrible faces they made; and then she gave them a great emetic of mustard and water; and no basons; and began all over again; and that was the way she spent the morning。

And then she called up a whole troop of foolish ladies; who pinch up their children's waists and toes; and she laced them all up in tight stays; so that they were choked and sick; and their noses grew red; and their hands and feet swelled; and then she crammed their poor feet into the most dreadfully tight boots; and made them all dance; which they did most clumsily indeed; and then she asked them how they liked it; and when they said not at all; she let them go:  because they had only done it out of foolish fashion; fancying it was for their children's good; as if wasps' waists and pigs' toes could be pretty; or wholesome; or of any use to anybody。

Then she called up all the careless nurserymaids; and stuck pins into them all over; and wheeled them about in perambulators with tight straps across their stomachs and their heads and arms hanging over the side; till they were quite sick and stupid; and would have had sun…strokes:  but; being under the water; they could only have water…strokes; which; I assure you; are nearly as bad; as you will find if you try to sit under a mill…wheel。  And mind … when you hear a rumbling at the bottom of the sea; sailors will tell you that it is a ground…swell:  but now you know better。  It is the old lady wheeling the maids about in perambulators。

And by that time she was so tired; she had to go to luncheon。

And after luncheon she set to work again; and called up all the cruel schoolmasters … whole regiments and brigades of them; and when she saw them; she frowned most terribly; and set to work in earnest; as if the best part of the day's work was to come。  More than half of them were nasty; dirty; frowzy; grubby; smelly old monks; who; because they dare not hit a man of their own size; amused themselves with beating little children instead; as you may see in the picture of old Pope Gregory (good man and true though he was; when he meddled with things which he did understand); teaching children to sing their fa…fa…mi…fa with a cat…o'…nine tails under his chair:  but; because they never had any children of their own; they took into their heads (as some folks do still) that they were the only people in the world who knew how to manage children:  and they first brought into England; in the old Anglo…Saxon times; the fashion of treating free boys; and girls too; worse than you would treat a dog or a horse:  but Mrs。 Bedonebyasyoudid has caught them all long ago; and given them many a taste of their own rods; and much good may it do them。

And she boxed their ears; and thumped them over the head with rulers; and pandied their hands with canes; and told them that they told stories; and were this and that bad sort of people; and the more they were very indignant; and stood upon their honour; and declared they told the truth; the more she declared they were not; and that they were only telling lies; and at last she birched them all round soundly with her great birch…rod and set them each an imposition of three hundred thousand lines of Hebrew to learn by heart before she came back next Friday。  And at that they all cried and howled so; that their breaths came all up through the sea like bubbles out of soda…water; and that is one reason of the bubbles in the sea。  There are others:  but that is the one which principally concerns little boys。  And by that time she was so tired that she was glad to stop; and; indeed; she had done a very good day's work。

Tom did not quite dislike the old lady:  but he could not help thinking her a little spiteful … and no wonder if she was; poor old soul; for if she has to wait to grow handsome till people do as they would be done by; she will have to wait a very long time。

Poor old Mrs。 Bedonebyasyoudid! she has a great deal of hard work before her; and had better have been born a washerwoman; and stood over a tub all day:  but; you see; people cannot always choose their own profession。

But Tom longed to ask her one question; and after all; whenever she looked at him; she did not look cross at all; and now and then there was a funny smile in her face; and she chuckled to herself in a way which gave Tom courage; and at last he said:

〃Pray; ma'am; may I ask you a question?〃

〃Certainly; my little dear。〃

〃Why don't you bring all the bad masters here and serve them out too?  The butties that knock about the poor collier…boys; and the nailers that file off their lads' noses and hammer their fingers; and all the master sweeps; like my master Grimes?  I saw him fall into the water long ago; so I surely expected he would have been here。  I'm sure he was bad enough to me。〃

Then the old lady looked so very stern that Tom was quite frightened; and sorry that he had been so bold。  But she was not angry with him。  She only answered; 〃I look after them all the week round; and they are in a very different place from this; because they knew that they were doing wrong。〃

She spoke very quietly; but there was something in her voice which made Tom tingle from head to foot; as if he had got into a shoal of sea…nettles。

〃But these people;〃 she went on; 〃did not know that they were doing wrong:  they were only stupid and impatient; and therefore I only punish them till they become patient; and learn to use their common sense like reasonable beings。  But as for chimney…sweeps; and collier…boys; and nailer lads; my sister has set good people to stop all that sort of thing; and very much obliged to her I am; for if she could only stop the cruel masters from ill…using poor children; I should grow handsome at least a thousand years sooner。 And now do you be a good boy; and do as you would be done by; which they did not; and then; when my sister; MADAME DOASYOUWOULDBEDONEBY; comes on Sunday; perhaps she will take notice of you; and teach you how to behave。  She understands that better than I do。〃  And so she went。

Tom was very glad to hear that there was no chance of meeting Grimes again; though he was a little sorry for him; considering that he used sometimes to give him the leavings of the beer:  but he determined to be a very good boy all Saturday; and he was; for he never frightened one crab; nor tickled any live corals; nor put stones into the sea anemones' mouths; to make them fancy they had got a dinner; and when Sunday morning came; sure enough; MRS。 DOASYOUWOULDBEDONEBY came too。  Whereat all the little children began dancing and clapping their ha

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