一场旋风

By L. Frank Baum ——莱曼·弗兰克·鲍姆

Dorothy lived in the great Kansas grassland， with Uncle Henry， who was a farmer， and Aunt Em， who was the farmers wife. Their house was small. There were four walls， a floor and a roof， which made one room; and this room contained an old stove， a cupboard for the dishes， a table， three or four chairs， and two beds.

Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner， and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was a small hole dug in the ground， called a cyclone cellar. In case there was a cyclone， the family could go into it. When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around， she could see nothing but the great gray grassland on every side.

When Aunt Em came there to live， she was a young， pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her. She was thin， and never smiled now. Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. He looked serious， and seldom spoke.

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh. Toto was a little black dog， with long hair and small black eyes. Toto played all day long， and Dorothy played with him， and loved him dearly.

Today， however， they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky， which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms， and looked at the sky too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.

From the far north they heard the sound of the wind. Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up.

“Theres a cyclone coming， Em，” he called to his wife. “Ill go and look after the animals.” Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. She saw that the danger was close at hand.

“Quick， Dorothy！” she cried. “Run for the cellar！”

Toto jumped out of Dorothys arms and hid under the bed， and the girl started to get him.

Aunt Em climbed down the ladder into the small， dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt. When she was halfway across the room there came a great noise from the wind， and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

Then a strange thing happened. The house turned around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

The north and south winds met where the house stood， and made it the exact center of the cyclone. The great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher， until it was at the very top of the cyclone. And there it remained and was carried miles and miles away easily.

It was very dark， and the wind made a terrible noise around her， but Dorothy found she was riding quite easily. Toto did not like it. He ran about the room， now here， now there， barking loudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen.

Hour after hour passed away， and slowly Dorothy got over her fright. But she felt quite lonely， and the noise of the wind was so loud all about her that she nearly became deaf. At first she had wondered if she would fall to pieces when the house fell again; but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened， she stopped worrying and decided to wait calmly and see what would happen. At last she climbed over the swaying floor to her bed， and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her. Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

多萝西和亨利叔叔、艾姆婶婶，住在堪萨斯州大草原。叔叔是个农民，婶婶是个农妇。他们住的房子很小，是由四面墙、一个地板和屋顶构成的一间屋子。屋子里有一个旧炉灶、一个碗柜、一张桌子、三四把椅子和两张床。

亨利叔叔和艾姆婶婶睡的大床放在一个角落，多萝西睡的小床放在另外一个角落。屋内地面上挖了一个洞，这个洞叫作“防旋风地洞”。万一旋风刮来，全家人可以躲到里面去。当多萝西站在门口向四周张望时，除了四周灰色的草原，她什么也看不见。

艾姆婶婶到这里来住的时候，还是一个年轻漂亮的妻子。太阳和风改变了她的模样。如今她很瘦，也不再微笑。亨利叔叔从来不笑。他从早到晚辛勤劳动，不知道什么是快乐。他表情严肃，很少说话。

能逗多萝西发笑的只有托托，它是一只小黑狗，长着长毛，有一双黑色的小眼睛。托托整天嬉戏，多萝西和它做伴，并且十分喜欢它。

然而，今天他们没有玩耍。亨利叔叔坐在门口的台阶上，焦虑地望着天空，天空比平时更加灰暗了。多萝西怀里抱着托托，站在门口，也望着天空。艾姆婶婶正在洗盘子。

他们听到北风从远处呼啸而来。亨利叔叔突然站了起来。

“艾姆，旋风来了！”他向妻子喊道，“我要去照料一下牲口。”于是他跑向关着牛和马的牲口棚。

艾姆婶婶丢下活儿，来到门口，看到危险即将来临。

“多萝西，快點儿！”她喊道，“跑到地洞里去！”

托托从多萝西的怀里跳出来，躲到了床底下，小姑娘便开始去捉它。

艾姆婶婶顺着梯子往下爬，躲进了那又小又黑的地洞里。多萝西终于捉到了托托，朝婶婶那儿跑过去。刚跑到一半，就听狂风一阵呼啸，屋子摇动得厉害，她失去平衡，突然摔倒在地板上。

接着一件奇怪的事情发生了。屋子旋转了两三次，慢慢地升到天空中。多萝西觉得自己好像坐在一个气球里往天上飘去。

南风和北风在屋子所处的地方交汇，使它成为旋风的正中心。四周大风的强大压力使房子升得越来越高，一直升到旋风的最顶部，房子停留在旋风顶部，被轻而易举地刮出好多英里。

这时候，天已经黑了，风在她的四周发出可怕的声音，而多萝西却发现自己乘坐得十分自在。托托不喜欢这样子。它满屋子奔跑着，一会儿这里，一会儿那里，大声狂吠;但是多萝西一动不动地坐在地板上，等着看会有什么事情发生。

时间一小时又一小时地过去了。慢慢地，多萝西克服了恐惧。但是她觉得十分孤独，并且周围的风声那么响，几乎震聋了她的耳朵。起初她在想如果那屋子再掉下去时，她会不会被摔得粉碎，但是几小时过去了，没有什么可怕的事情发生，她便不再担心了，决定平静地等待，看看之后会发生些什么。最后她从摇晃的地板爬到床上，躺在上面;托托跟着躺在她的旁边。多萝西很快闭上眼睛，一会儿就睡着了。

Vocabulary

contain  v. 包含;容纳;含有

cyclone  n. 气旋;旋风;龙卷风

gray  adj.（天空或天气）昏暗的;阴沉的

bark  v.（狗）吠叫;厉声发令

sway  v.（使）摇摆，摇动

作者简介

莱曼·弗兰克·鲍姆（L. Frank Baum，1856—1919），美国著名儿童文学家。弗兰克从1882年开始进行文学创作，他喜爱孩子，具有丰富的想象力和创造力，一生中大约写了60部作品，其中大部分是儿童读物和神话。《绿野仙踪》是其代表作，出版后获得极大成功，他也因此誉满文坛。此后，他又用“奥兹”之名陆续创作了10多部童话。所著儿童读物，在美国儿童读物中占据了相当重要的地位，为美国文学做出了重要贡献。