Chapter 14 13.ems town

This is the loveliest town of all: the white houses pointing high into the sky and the green elms taller than the houses, the front yards are beautiful and spacious, and the bushes in the back yard have plenty to look for From east to west, the street climbs all the way to the small river. The small river flows quietly under the bridge. At the end of the small river, the meadow spreads to the orchard. The orchard stretches to the distant fields. The field extends to the vast pasture. In the vast sky-Stuart, the loveliest town of all, stops for a beer root. He parked the car in front of a grocery store, and when he came out he realized how sunny it was, and couldn't help but sit on the porch and enjoy the beautiful day in this new town.It was the most peaceful and beautiful place he had found in his travels.He would have liked to live here the rest of his life if he didn't miss New York home, Miss Frederick C. Little and George, and resolve to find Margo.

Presently the innkeeper came out and sat on the front steps with Stuart and lit a cigarette.He was about to throw Stuart a cigarette, but he changed his mind when he saw his size. "Do you have SARS in your store?" asked Stuart. "I'm thirsty." "Of course there is," said the innkeeper. "I have a lot of drinks. Root beer, birch beer, ginger beer, Vitality, Lemon Soda, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Disco, Pizza, Iced Coke, and caneberry fizz, Anything you want is available."① "Give me a root beer, please," said Stuart, "and a paper cup."

The shopkeeper went back to the shop and brought SARS out.He opened the bottle, poured some drink into the glass, and placed it on the steps below, and Stuart took off his hat and lay belly-down on the steps, using his hat to scoop the delicious cold drink from it. drinks. "Quite thirst-quenching," said Stuart. "When you're walking long distances on a hot day, sipping on an ice-cold drink can be extra comforting." "Are you still going far?" asked the shopkeeper. "Maybe," said Stuart. "I'm looking for a little bird named Margot. Have you seen her?"

"I can't say for sure," said the shopkeeper. "What does she look like?" "Very beautiful," replied Stuart, wiping the root beer froth from his lips with his sleeve. "She's a remarkable little bird. Anyone would notice her. She comes from where the thistles grow." The shopkeeper looked at Stuart carefully. "How tall are you?" he asked. "You mean my height in socks?" said Stuart. "yes." "A quarter of an inch more than two inches," answered Stuart. "I haven't had any measurements lately, though. I might be growing again."

"You know," said the shopkeeper, after a moment's thought, "there's a man in this town you should really meet." "Who is he?" Stuart asked, yawning. "Harriet Eames," said the innkeeper. "She's about as tall as you—only maybe a little shorter." "What does she look like?" Stuart asked. "Average, very fat, or like forty years old?" "No, Harriet is a very pretty little girl. And she's one of the best dressed girls in town. All her clothes are made to order." "Is she really that beautiful?" said Stuart.

"Yes. Harriet's a pretty girl. They're a pretty well-known Eames in this town. One of her ancestors was a boatman in the days of the Revolution. He took everybody across the creek— —whether they be British soldiers or American soldiers, as long as they pay for the ship. I guess he's got a good deal. Anyway, the Eames family was always very rich. They live in a house with a lot of servants in the big house. I know Harriet will be very glad to see you." "Thank you very much," replied Stuart, "but I don't have time to make friends these days. I just keep walking. I never stay in one place for long—I go in and out of countless towns like the wind , here today, there tomorrow, my whereabouts are always erratic. No matter on the road or the trail, you can see me looking for Margo all the time. Sometimes I feel that I am very close to her, she seems to be on the road other times I feel like I'll never find her or hear her. It makes me realize that it's time for me to get on the road again." Stuart paid for the soda , said goodbye to the owner and left.

But because Ames Town is really the most beautiful town he has ever been to, he still couldn't help but turn the car to the left before driving to the main road leaving here, turned to a dirt road, and drove to the road by the river. A peaceful place.That afternoon, he took a swim, and then lay down on the moss-covered shore with his head resting on his hands. At this time, he recalled the shopkeeper's words. "Harriet Eames," he muttered. When night came, Stuart was still wandering by the river.He ate a sandwich, drank some water, and fell asleep in the warm long grass with the sound of running water in his ears.

When the morning sun became warm and bright, Stuart jumped into the water for a swim again.After breakfast he hid the car under a cabbage leaf and walked to the post office.While filling his pen in the public inkwell there, he happened to glance toward the door.What he saw so startled him that he suddenly lost his balance and almost fell into the inkwell.There was a little girl about two inches tall walking across the floor towards the mailbox.She was wearing tracksuit and walked with her head held high.There was a flower core stuck in her hair. Stuart trembled with excitement. "That must be the Eames girl," he said to himself.He watched her from behind the inkwell as she opened her quarter-inch mailbox to retrieve the letters.It was true what the shopkeeper had told him: Harriet was beautiful.And she was also the only girl Stuart had ever met who was not many times taller than him.Stuart could figure out that if they walked together her head would be about as high as his shoulders.The idea immediately intrigued him.He wanted to jump on the floor and talk to her, but he didn't dare.All courage deserted him suddenly, and he had to hide there until she left.When he was convinced that she had really gone far away, he sneaked out of the post office and came to a shop on the street, hoping to see the beautiful little girl here again, but also afraid that he would really see her again.

"Have you any paper here?" he asked the shopkeeper. "I want to write a letter." The shopkeeper put him on the counter and found some sheets of letter paper for him—these were small papers, each with an "L" printed in the upper corner.Stuart pulled off his pen cap, sat down on a five-cent hard candy, and began writing to Harriet: "My dear Miss Eames," he wrote. "I am a modest young man. I am from New York, and have traveled for a secret purpose. I have now come to your town. One of your shopkeepers yesterday, the man with an honest face and a cheerful disposition, Said a lot of good things about you to me."

At this point, the pen ran out of water, so Stuart had to ask the shopkeeper to take him by the tail and put him into the shallow ink bottle, so that his pen could be filled with ink.Then he sits back and writes... "Forgive me for my rashness, Miss Eames," Stuart went on, "but when I look at your likeness to mine I feel like meeting an old friend. That's it, because, you know, very Very few people are two inches tall. I said 'two inches' not exactly - I'm actually a little bit taller than that. My only flaw is that I look like a mouse. But even so, I'm a very Nice guy. I still have a lot of muscle for my age. Let me just be honest: I am writing this note to ask you out for a date. I am afraid your parents might object to my bluntness. Another sudden proposal, and since I look like a mouse, I thought it would be better if you didn't tell them about it. Then they would be ignorant and unharmed. But, You'd probably prefer to discuss this with your parents, and I wouldn't force you not to, but I'll leave my opinion up to you.

"Being a homeless person away from home, I had to camp in a nice spot on the river at the end of Tracy Drive. Would you like to come and join me in a boat? Would you like to come down there at sunset tomorrow afternoon and take us to Put aside all the troubles of the day, and just enjoy the beauty of the quieter river flowing under the long shade of willows with me? This quiet Spring Festival Gala is specially prepared for those who like to go boating. I love River, dear Miss Eames, my canoe is like an old and trusted friend." Stuart was so excited that he forgot he had no canoe at all. "If you will accept my invitation, please wait for me by the river tomorrow at five o'clock in the afternoon. I will look forward to your presence with all my desire. Now I must seal this rude letter, because I There are other things to do." your sincere friend Stuart Little Stuart put his letter in an envelope, and went up to the innkeeper. "Where can I find a canoe?" he said. "Right here," replied the shopkeeper.He went to his souvenir counter and took down a small canoe made of birch bark. There was a line of words engraved on the boat: "Summer Memories." Stuart examined it carefully. Fan. "She won't leak?" Stuart asked. "It's a nice canoe," said the owner, tapping the side of the boat with his fingers. "It will only cost you seventy-five cents, plus a penny in tax." Stuart took out the money and paid the man.Then he looked into the canoe again and noticed that there were no oars. "Where's the oar?" he said seriously.The owner looked around among the memorabilia, but couldn't find any paddles, so he went over to the ice cream counter and found two little cardboard spoons—the kind you scoop up at a picnic. Small scoop of ice cream to eat. ② "It's a good thing for a paddle," he said. Stuart took the spoon.But when he looked at the canoe again, he became a little unhappy. "Boats and oars may be all right," said Stuart, "but if I have these in both hands I shall be no match for a surprise Indian." The shopkeeper had to take the canoe and paddles to the street outside the shop for him.He was very interested in what the little boatman would do next, but Stuart didn't hesitate at all.He took a line from his pocket, lashed the oars into the canoe, turned the canoe lightly over his head, and walked on calmly, like a Canadian who often does such things. Experts do. ③He is proud of his adaptability and is willing to show off his genius. Note ① Most of the introductions of these drinks were checked by Huzi for me, thank you very much. Sarsaparilla, Salsa, Sars, a tropical plant produced in America, the medicine extracted from the root can cure syphilis, and the root can be used as a spice for cold drinks.The word is composed of two Spanish words "zarza" and "parilla", used to refer to the prickly climbing plant Sarsaparilla, which was introduced to Europe as a medicinal plant in 1500 and is said to be very popular among Indians. it.There are many soft drinks made of it, such as Hansens Sarsaparilla.This soda is made of filtered soda water, cane sugar, caramel, malic acid, natural flavors, etc., and is also mixed with extracts of Madagascar, Indonesia, Tahiti, vanilla, wintergreen, etc., and each bottle is 14 oz. Root beer A drink made from medicinal herb roots; Birth beer; Ginger ale; Vitality (Moxie Original), which was produced in 1884, was first used as a food for treating the nervous system.It is said to help digestion, treat nervous tension, insomnia, fatigue and other symptoms.Ingredients: Soda Water, Cane Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Benzoate Preservative Gentian Root Juice, Phosphoric Acid, Caffeine, Citric Acid, etc.Each 12 oz bottle contains 150 calories. Lemon soda; Pepsi cola; Dipsi cola; Pipsicola, Popsi cola; Raspberry cream tonic, these are unknown. Note ②: The original text here is Cardboard spoons. Note ③: The original text here is Canadian Guide, I don’t know how they are so capable.