The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Книга для чтения на английском языке

Baum Lyman Frank

There were several roads near by, but it did not take her long to find the one paved with yellow bricks. Within a short time she was walking briskly |бодро| toward the Emerald City, her silver shoes tinkling merrily |радостно звенели| on the hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did not feel nearly so bad as you might think a little girl would who had been suddenly whisked away |внезапно унесло| from her own country and set down in the midst of a strange land.

She was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country was about her. There were neat fences |аккуратные

ограды| at the sides of the road, painted a dainty |изысканным| blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance |в изобилии|. Evidently |Очевидно| the Munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops. Once in a while |Время от времени| she would pass a house, and the people came out to look at her and bow low as she went by |низко кланялись, когда она проходила мимо|; for everyone knew she had been the means |она была причиной| of destroying the Wicked Witch and setting them free from bondage. The houses of the Munchkins were odd-looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for a roof. All were painted blue, for in this country of the East blue was the favorite color.

Toward evening |С приближением вечера|, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and began to wonder where she should pass the night, she came to a house rather larger than the rest. On the green lawn before it many men and women were dancing. Five little fiddlers |скрипачей| played as loudly as possible, and the people were laughing and singing, while a big table near by was loaded with delicious fruits and nuts, pies and cakes, and many other good things to eat.

The people greeted Dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and to pass the night with them; for this was the home of one of the richest Munchkins in the land, and his friends were gathered with him to celebrate their freedom from the bondage of the Wicked Witch.

Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich Munchkin himself, whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee and watched the people dance.

When Boq saw her silver shoes he said, “You must be a great sorceress.”

“Why?” asked the girl.

“Because you wear silver shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch. Besides, you have white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses wear white.”

“My dress is blue and white checked,” said Dorothy, smoothing out the wrinkles in it.

“It is kind of you to wear that,” said Boq. “Blue is the color of the Munchkins, and white is the witch color. So we know you are a friendly witch.”

Dorothy did not know what to say to this, for all the people seemed to think her a witch, and she knew very well she was only an ordinary little girl who had come by the chance of a cyclone |случайно, по воле циклона, попала| into a strange land.

When she had tired watching the dancing, Boq led her into the house, where he gave her a room with a pretty bed in it. The sheets were made of blue cloth, and Dorothy slept soundly in them till morning, with Toto curled up |свернулся| on the blue rug beside her.

She ate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee Munchkin baby, who played with Toto and pulled his tail and crowed |здесь –

лепетал| and laughed in a way that greatly amused Dorothy. Toto was a fine curiosity to all the people, for they had never seen a dog before.

“How far is it to the Emerald City?” the girl asked.

“I do not know,” answered Boq gravely, “for I have never been there. It is better for people to keep away from Oz, unless |только если| they have business with him. But it is a long way to the Emerald City, and it will take you many days. The country here is rich and pleasant, but you must pass through rough and dangerous places before you reach the end of your journey.”

This worried Dorothy a little, but she knew that only the Great Oz could help her get to Kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to turn back.

She bade her friends good-bye |Она попрощалась с друзьями|, and again started along the road of yellow brick. When she had gone several miles she thought she would stop to rest, and so climbed to the top of the fence beside the road and sat down. There was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away she saw a Scarecrow, placed high on a pole |на палке| to keep the birds from the ripe corn.

Dorothy leaned |облокотила| her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully |внимательно посмотрела| at the Scarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw |мешок, набитый соломой|, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed |заостренная| blue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched |была насажена| on his head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back |стебли кукурузы из-за шеста, втыкались ему в спину|.

While Dorothy was looking earnestly |серьезно| into the queer, painted face of the Scarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink at her |подмигнул ей|. She thought she must have been mistaken |должно быть ошиблась| at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendly way. Then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while Toto ran around the pole and barked.

“Good day,” said the Scarecrow, in a rather husky |хриплым| voice.

“Did you speak?” asked the girl, in wonder.

“Certainly,” answered the Scarecrow. “How do you do?”

“I’m pretty well, thank you,” replied Dorothy politely. “How do you do?”

“I’m not feeling well,” said the Scarecrow, with a smile, “for it is very tedious being perched up here |утомительно сидеть здесь наверху| night and day to scare away crows.”