The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Книга для чтения на английском языке - страница 6

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|опереньем| sang and fluttered |трепетали и махали крыльями| in the trees and bushes. A little way off |немного вдали| was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

While she stood looking eagerly |с жадностью, нетерпеливо| at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest |queer – странными (в современном английском это слово чаще означает человека нетрадиционной ориентации)| people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to |к которым она привыкла|; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go |насколько можно было судить по их лицам|, many years older.

Three were men and one a woman, and all were oddly |странно| dressed. They wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot |сходились в маленькую точку высотой в фут| above their heads, with little bells around the brims |по краям| that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The hats of the men were blue; the little woman’s hat was white, and she wore a white gown |робу, плащ| that hung in pleats |свисал складками| from her shoulders. Over it were sprinkled little stars that glistened |блестели| in the sun like diamonds. The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops. The men, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two of them had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly |здесь – с трудом|.

When these people drew |подошли| near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to come farther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice:

“You are welcome, most noble Sorceress |самая благородная волшебница|, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from