书城童书绿野仙踪
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第33章 寻找西方恶女巫(2)

恶女巫说到做到,从那之后,她真的不再拿任何食物给被关着的胆小狮吃,只是每天的中午,她都跑到铁栅门旁去问:“你准备好了吗,准备好像一匹马一样拉着游览车载着我吗?”

狮子果断地回答说:“不,我不要,假如你打开门进来,我就咬断你的脖子。”其实狮子并不是真的任何食物都没吃,每天夜里,恶女巫熟睡了之后,多萝茜便从厨房里带着吃的东西来给狮子吃。在它吃过东西以后,就躺在用稻草铺的床上,小女孩就横躺在它的身边,把头枕在它蓬松的、柔软的长鬃上,此时他们就谈他们目前面临的最困难的问题,他们想方设法想逃出去。可是他们想不出什么办法能逃出这座城堡,因为女巫的那些黄色的温基人奴隶,时时刻刻都在看守着他们,他们非常害怕恶女巫,他们不敢听多萝茜的话。

白天时,多萝茜不得不努力劳动,那恶女巫的手里常常拿着一把旧雨伞,扬言要打她,吓唬她。可是,事实上,她并不敢真的打多萝茜,因她额头上有善女巫留下的印记。不过多萝茜并不知道,常常为了托托和自己,对恶女巫充满着恐惧。

有一次,那邪恶的西方女巫用她的旧雨伞打了托托,托托勇敢地冲了上去咬住了她的腿。恶女巫被咬到的地方,并没有流血,因为她是如此的可恶,她的血,早在多年前就已经枯竭了。

从此小女孩的生活变得无比的凄惨,她逐渐地明白再这样继续下去,她想要回到家乡堪萨斯州,与亨利叔叔和爱姆婶婶重逢,怕是希望越来越渺茫了。有的时候,她一想到这些就会凄惨地哭上几个小时,托托温驯地在她的脚边蹲着,凝视着她满是泪滴的脸,呜呜地惨叫着,表示它也在为了小主人的事十分忧愁。其实托托并不是真的关心它究竟是在堪萨斯州的家乡好还是留在奥芝这个地方好,它觉得只要是和小主人多萝茜住在一起无论在哪里都好。可是,它看到小女孩一点儿都不快乐,这就让它也跟着不快乐起来。此时此刻,那西方的恶女巫怀揣着一个极大的渴望,那就是她想要得到多萝茜脚上穿着的那一双银鞋子,她想把那双有神奇魔力的银鞋子据为己有。她的恶狼和黑蜂,都已不复存在了,而且她也已经用完了金冠的最后一次魔力。但是,假如她能弄到多萝茜这双有着神奇魔力的银鞋子,那就可以弥补她所失去的一切,不止如此,她还能拥有更强大的魔力。她很细心地观察着多萝茜,看她什么时候脱下她的银鞋子,她就想去把它们偷来。但是多萝茜多么珍惜她那一双美丽的银鞋子,除非是在夜里,或者是去洗澡的时候,其他时间,她从不曾把它脱下来。恶女巫害怕黑暗,夜里不敢到小女孩的房间里去偷走她的鞋子,而且她也害怕水,比害怕黑暗更加害怕,所以当多萝茜在浴室洗澡的时候,恶女巫也不敢靠近。而且这个邪恶的老女巫一直很细心地保护自己,无论如何,从来没有让水碰触到她。

但是,西方恶女巫十分奸诈又狡猾,她想出了一个奸计。为了得到银鞋子,她在厨房的地板的中间,放了一根铁条,然后对铁条施了魔法,这样人类的眼睛就看不到它。所以当多萝茜走过这里时,就被这铁条绊住然后直挺挺地倒了下去。可是她并没有受伤,但是她的一只银鞋子掉落了,在她爬起来想要把它拿回来时,恶女巫早已抢先一步,把新鞋子套在了她干枯瘦小的脚上。

那恶女巫因为奸计得逞,非常快活,她拥有了一只银鞋子,也就得到了一半的神奇魔力,这样即使以后多萝茜知道了怎样运用这神奇魔力,她也不能压倒她了。

多萝茜发现她美丽的银鞋子被恶女巫抢走了,就愤怒起来,对着女巫喊道:“你把我的鞋子还给我!”

“我不还,”恶女巫反斥道,“现在这只银鞋子在我的脚上,它是我的,不再属于你了。”

“你真是一个无耻的坏东西!”多萝茜愤怒地叫喊着,“你有什么理由拿走属于我的鞋子!”

“从此以后,它将由我来保存,像你之前保存它一样,”恶女巫得意地说,并大笑着,“不光如此,以后,我还要你那另外的一只也属于我。”

这些话彻底点燃了多萝茜积压已久的怒火,她抓起放在脚旁的一大桶水,对着恶女巫就泼了过去,把她浇得湿淋淋的像一只落汤鸡。恶女巫突然发出了一声恐惧的惊呼,于是多萝茜惊讶地望着她,发现恶女巫的整个身体都开始萎缩,逐渐逐渐地倒下去了。

“看啊,哎哟,你都做了些什么!”恶女巫高声尖叫道,“不出一分钟,我就会被水溶化了!”

“我,我真的十分抱歉。”多萝茜一边断断续续地说着,一边真正十分吃惊地看着,瞧着那个恶女巫,在她的面前真的慢慢溶化了,就像一块棕色的糖被加热了一样。

“你真的不知道,一小桶水就可以结束我的生命?”女巫在绝望中带着哭腔虚弱地说。

“我当然不知道了,”多萝茜说,“我怎么会知道这些?”

“唉,在接下来的几分钟里我就会完全溶化,以后这座城堡就归你了。在过去的那些年里,我做了许许多多的坏事,可是我怎么也想不到最后我竟然死在像你这样的一个小女孩子的手里,你竟会用水溶化了我,结束我的邪恶的一生。看啊--现在,我的生命就这样结束了!”

说完了这些话,女巫躺了下去真的溶化成了一摊红棕色的东西,开始在厨房清洁宽敞的地板上向外淌开,多萝茜仔细地看了一眼,她真的完全溶化了,多萝茜另外拿了一锅水,倒在了这一摊液体上面,用扫帚把它扫了出去。然后她捡起了刚才穿在恶女巫脚上的那一只银鞋子,用一块干净的布把它擦干擦亮,再次穿回到自己的脚上。然后她开始自由自在地做她想做的事情。她飞快地跑到院子里,告诉胆小的狮子,那邪恶的女巫已经死了,他们再也不是这个陌生城堡的囚犯了。

12.The Search for the Wicked Witch

The soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets of the Emerald City until they reached the room where the Guardian of the Gates lived. This officer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in his great box, and then he politely opened the gate for our friends.

"Which road leads to the Wicked Witch of the West?" asked Dorothy.

"There is no road," answered the Guardian of the Gates. "No one ever wishes to go that way.""How, then, are we to find her?" inquired the girl.

"That will be easy," replied the man, "for when she knows you are in the countryof the Winkies she will find you, and make you all her slaves.""Perhaps not," said the Scarecrow, "for we mean to destroy her.""Oh, that is different," said the Guardian of the Gates. "No one has ever destroyed her before, so I naturally thought she would make slaves of you, as she has of the rest. But take care; for she is wicked and fierce, and may not allow you to destroy her. Keep to the West, where the sun sets, and you cannot fail to find her."They thanked him and bade him good-bye, and turned toward the West, walking over fields of soft grass dotted here and there with daisies and buttercups. Dorothy still wore the pretty silk dress she had put on in the palace, but now, to her surprise, she found it was no longer green, but pure white. The ribbon around Toto"s neck had also lost its green color and was as white as Dorothy"s dress.

The Emerald City was soon left far behind. As they advanced the ground became rougher and hillier, for there were no farms nor houses in this country of the West, and the ground was untilled.

In the afternoon the sun shone hot in their faces, for there were no trees to offer themshade; so that before night Dorothy and Toto and the Lion were tired, and lay down uponthe grass and fell asleep, with the Woodman and the Scarecrow keeping watch.

Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her. They were a long distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry to find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck.

At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves.

They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth.

"Go to those people," said the Witch, "and tear them to pieces.""Are you not going to make them your slaves?" asked the leader of the wolves. "No," she answered, "one is of tin, and one of straw; one is a girl and another aLion. None of them is fit to work, so you may tear them into small pieces.""Very well," said the wolf, and he dashed away at full speed, followed by the others.

It was lucky the Scarecrow and the Woodman were wide awake and heard the wolves coming.

"This is my fight," said the Woodman, "so get behind me and I will meet them asthey come."

He seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader of the wolves came on the Tin Woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf"s head from its body, so that it immediately died. As soon as he could raise his axe another wolf came up, and he also fell under the sharp edge of the Tin Woodman"s weapon. There were forty wolves, and forty times a wolf was killed, so that at last they all lay dead in a heap before the Woodman.

Then he put down his axe and sat beside the Scarecrow, who said, "It was a goodfight, friend."