CHAPTER NINE HOW THEY DISCOVERED SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING（第2/4页）

“Well，dearies,”she said to them. “That job’s about through. Let’s put the kettle there. That’ll make a nice cup of tea presently. Now I can have a little bit of a rest. Just look into the scullery，like good poppets，and tell me if the back door is open.”

“Yes，it is,”said Scrubb.

“That’s right. I always leave it open so as Puss can get in and out，the poor thing.”

Then she sat down on one chair and put her feet up on another.

“I don’t know as I mightn’t have forty winks,”said the giantess. “If only that blarney hunting party doesn’t come back too soon.”

All their spirits leaped up when she mentioned forty winks， and flopped down again when she mentioned the return of the hunting party.

“When do they usually comeback ？”asked Jill.

“You never can tell,”said the giantess. “But there；go and be quiet for a bit，my dearies.”

They retreated to the far end of the kitchen，and would have slipped out into the scullery there and then if the giantess had not sat up，opened her eyes，and brushed away a fly. “Don’t try it till we’re sure she’s really asleep,”whispered Scrubb. “Or it’ll spoil everything.”So they all huddled at the kitchen end，waiting and watching. The thought that the hunters might come back at any moment was terrible. And the giantess was fidgety. Whenever they thought she had really gone to sleep，she moved.

“I can’t bear this,”thought Jill. To distract her mind，she began looking about her. Just in front of her was a clean wide table with two clean pie-dishes on it，and an open book. They were giant pie-dishes of course. Jill thought that she could lie down just comfortably in one of them. Then she climbed up on the bench beside the table to look at the book. She read：

MALLARD. This delicious bird can be cooked in a variety of ways.

“It’s a cookery book,”thought Jill without much interest，and glanced over her shoulder. The giantess’s eyes were shut but she didn’t look as if she were properly asleep. Jill glanced back at the book. It was arranged alphabetically：and at the very next entry her heart seemed to stop beating；It ran—

MAN. This elegant little biped has long been valued as a delicacy. It forms a traditional part of the Autumn Feast，and is served between the fish and the joint. Each Man—but she could not bear to read any more. She turned round. The giantess had wakened up and was having a fit of coughing. Jill nudged the other two and pointed to the book. They also mounted the bench and bent over the huge pages. Scrubb was still reading about how to cook Men when Puddleglum pointed to the next entry below it. It was like this：

MARSH-WIGGLE. Some authorities reject this animal altogether as unfit for giants’ consumption because of its stringy consistency and muddy flavour. The flavour can，however，be greatly reduced if—

Jill touched his feet，and Scrubb’s，gently. All three looked back at the giantess. Her mouth was slightly open and from her nose there came a sound which at that moment was more welcome to them than any music；she snored. And now it was a question of tip-toe work，not daring to go too fast，hardly daring to breathe， out through the scullery（giant sculleries smell horrid），out at last into the pale sunlight of a winter afternoon.

They were at the top of a rough little path which ran steeply down. And，thank heavens，on the right side of the castle；the City Ruinous was in sight. In a few minutes they were back on the broad，steep road which led down from the main gate of the castle. They were also in full view from every single window on that side. If it had been one，or two，or five windows there’d be a reasonable chance that no one might be looking out. But there were nearer fifty than five. They now realized，too，that the road on which they were，and indeed all the ground between them and the City Ruinous，didn’t offer as much cover as would hide a fox；it was all coarse grass and pebbles and flat stones. To make matters worse，they were now in the clothes that the giants had provided for them last night：except Puddleglum，whom nothing would fit. Jill wore a vivid green robe，rather too long for her， and over that a scarlet mantle fringed with white fur. Scrubb had scarlet stockings，blue tunic and cloak，a gold-hilted sword，and a feathered bonnet.

“Nice bits of colour，you two are,”muttered Puddleglum. “Show up very prettily on a winter day. The worst archer in the world couldn’t miss either of you if you were in range. And talking of archers，we’ll be sorry not to have our own bows before long，I shouldn’t wonder. Bit thin，too，those clothes of yours，are they ？”

“Yes，I’m freezing already,”said Jill.

A few minutes ago when they had been in the kitchen，she had thought that if only they could once get out of the castle，their escape would be almost complete. She now realized that the most dangerous part of it was still to come.