Chapter I. The beginning of things.
They were not railway children to begin with. I don’t suppo they had ever thought about railways except as a means of getting to Maskelyne and Cook’s, the Pantomime, Zoological Gardens, and Madame Tussaud’s. They were just ordinary suburban1 children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa2, with coloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bath-room with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and ‘every modern convenience’, as the hou-agents say.
There were three of them. Roberta was the eldest3. Of cour, Mothers never have favourites, but if their Mother HAD had a favourite, it might have been Roberta. Next came Peter, who wished to be an Engineer when he grew up; and the youngest was Phyllis, who meant extremely well.
Mother did not spend all her time in paying dull calls to dull ladies, and sitting dully at home waiting for dull ladies to pay calls to her. She was almost always there, ready to play with th
e children, and read to them, and help them to do their home-lessons. Besides this she ud to write stories for them while they were at school, and read them aloud after tea, and she always made up funny pieces of poetry for their birthdays and for other great occasions, such as the christening of the new kittens, or the refurnishing of the doll’s hou, or the time when they were getting over the mumps4.
The three lucky children always had everything they needed: pretty clothes, good fires, a lovely nurry with heaps of toys, and a Mother Goo wall-paper. They had a kind and merry nurmaid, and a dog who was called James, and who was their very own. They also had a Father who was just perfect — never cross, never unjust, and always ready for a game — at least, if at any time he was NOT ready, he always had an excellent reason for it, and explained the reason to the children so interestingly and funnily that they felt sure he couldn’t help himlf.
盘中盘
You will think that they ought to have been very happy. And so they were, but they did not know HOW happy till the pretty life in the Red Villa was over and done with, and they had to live a very different life indeed.
The dreadful change came quite suddenly.
Peter had a birthday — his tenth. Among his other prents was a model engine more perfect than you could ever have dreamed of. The other prents were full of charm, but the Engine was fuller of charm than any of the others were.
Its charm lasted in its full perfection for exactly three days. Then, owing either to Peter’s inexperience or Phyllis’s good intentions, which had been rather pressing, or to some other cau, the Engine suddenly went off with a bang. James was so frightened that he went out and did not come back all day. All the Noah’s Ark people who were in the tender were broken to bits, but nothing el was hurt except the poor little engine and the feelings of Peter. The others said he cried over it — but of cour boys of ten do not cry, however terrible the tragedies may be which darken their lot. He said that his eyes were red becau he had a cold. This turned out to be true, though Peter did not know it was when he said it, the next day he had to go to bed and stay there. Mother began to be afraid that he might be sickening for measles5, when suddenly he sat up in bed and said:
葡萄酒的好处
“I hate gruel6 — I hate barley7 water — I hate bread and milk. I want to get up and have something REAL to eat.”
“What would you like?” Mother asked.
“A pigeon-pie,” said Peter, eagerly, “a large pigeon-pie. A very large one.”
So Mother asked the Cook to make a large pigeon-pie. The pie was made. And when the pie was made, it was cooked. And when it was cooked, Peter ate some of it. After that his cold was better. Mother made a piece of poetry to amu him while the pie was being made. It began by saying what an unfortunate but worthy8 boy Peter was, then it went on:
He had an engine that he loved
玩偶怎么清洗With all his heart and soul,
And if he had a wish on earth
It was to keep it whole.
One day — my friends, prepare your minds;
I’m coming to the worst —
Quite suddenly a screw went mad,
And then the boiler9 burst!好看的耽美文
With gloomy face he picked it up
And took it to his Mother,
Though even he could not suppo
That she could make another;
For tho who perished on the line
He did not em to care,
His engine being more to him
Than all the people there.
And now you e the reason why爱情说说
Our Peter has been ill:游泳池
He soothes10 his soul with pigeon-pie
His gnawing11 grief to kill.
He wraps himlf in blankets warm
And sleeps in bed till late,
Determined12 thus to overcome
His mirable13 fate.
照顾老人And if his eyes are rather red,
His cold must just excu it:
Offer him pie; you may be sure
细雨造句He never will refu it.
Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter’s hopes for the curing of his afflicted14 Engine were now fixed15 on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things. He had often acted as veterinary surgeon to the wooden rocking-hor; once he had saved its life when all human aid was despaired of, and the poor creature was given up for lost, and even the carpenter said he didn’t e his way to do anything. And it was Father who mended the doll’s cradle when no one el could; and with a little glue and some bits of wood and a pen-knife made all the Noah’s Ark beasts as strong on their pins as ever they were, if not stronger.
