Nan was thinking deeply. Now, if ever, was the time to bargain with God. What would she promise to do if He made Mother well? It must be something tremendous . . . something that would make it worth His while. Nan remembered what Dicky Drew had said to Stanley Reese in school one day, "I dare you to walk through the graveyard after night." Nan had shuddered at the time. How could anybody walk through the graveyard after night . . . how could anyone even think of it? Nan had a horror of the graveyard not a soul in Ingleside suspected.

She clasped her little sunburned paws and lifted her tear-stained face to the sky.

"Dear God," she whispered, "if you make Mother get well I'll walk through the graveyard after night. O dear God, please, please. And if You do this I won't bother You for ever so long again."

　　　bargain  vi.  駆け引きをする

　　　　Ex. We bargained with the manufacturer for a steady supply of the product.

             私たちは絶えず製品を送ってもらうように製造会社と話をした。

       dare＋目＋to ～  vt.  （人に）（～してみろと）挑む

　　　　Ex.　I dare you to jump across that stream.

              あの小川が跳び越せるものなら越してみろ

　　　shudder  vi.  身震いする

　　　　Ex.  He shuddered with horror.

               彼は恐怖で震えた。

　　　have a horror of  ～　　～を嫌う

　　　not a soul  誰も～ない

Cock Robin took his daily bath in a basin in the back yard, in the corner of the sweet-briar hedge, and would raise the most unholy fuss if he found no water in it. The doctor complained that his pens and matches were always strewn all over the library, but found nobody to sympathize with him, and even he surrendered when Cock Robin lit fearlessly on his hand one day to pick up a flower seed.

　　　basin  n.  洗面器

　　　sweet-briar  野ばらの一種

　　　unholy  恐ろしい、ひどい

　　　　Ex.　make an unholy noise  ものすごい音を立てる

　　　strew  vt.  ばらまく、撒き散らす

　　　　　Ex. Garbage was strewn over the alley.

                路地には一面にごみが散らばっていた

　　　surrender  vi.　降参する

　　　　　Ex. We shall never surrender.

                絶対に降参はしない。

Jem was too excited to sleep for ever so long that night. He had never seen a dog he liked so much as Bruno. No wonder Roddy hated parting with him. But Bruno would soon forget Roddy and love him. They would be pals. He must remember to ask Mother to make sure the butcher sent up the bones.

"I love everybody and everything in the world," said Jem. "Dear God, bless every cat and dog in the world but specially Bruno."

Jem fell asleep at last. Perhaps a little dog lying at the foot of the bed with his chin upon his outstretched paws slept, too: and perhaps he did not.

　　　for ever so long  とても長い間

　　　part with  手放す

　　　　　Ex.  The miser wouldn't part with the money.

                その欲張りはどうしても金を出そうとしなかった。

　　　pal  n.  仲良し

　　　sent up  届けてもらう

His old fields had given him bread and delight, joy of conquest and comfort in sorrow. Anne was satisfied because he was buried near them. He might have "gone gladly" but he had lived gladly, too. The Mowbray Narrows doctor had said that when he told Anthony Mitchell he could hold out to him no hope of recovery Anthony had smiled and replied, "Well, life is a trifle monotonous at times now I'm getting old. Death will be something of a change. I'm real curious about it, doctor."

　　　hold out hope  希望を抱かせる

　　　　Ex.　The airline held out to the relatives the hope that some passengers might have survived.

             航空会社は幾人かの乗客が生存しているかもしれないという希望を身内の人たちに持たせた。

　　　a trifle  n.  少し

　　　　Ex. I was a trifle vexed.  ちょっと腹が立った。

　　　monotonous  adj.  退屈な　Ex.  monotonous work

      something of a ～　ちょっとした～

　　　　Ex. His novel was something of a success.

             彼の小説はちょっとした成功作だった。

April came tiptoeing in beautifully that year with sunshine and soft winds for a few days; and then a driving northeast snowstorm dropped a white blanket over the world again. "Snow in April is abominable," said Anne. "Like a slap in the face when you expected a kiss."

　　　tiptoe  ｖｉ.　つま先で歩く

　　　driving  adj.  猛烈な、激しい

　　　　　　　Ex. in driving snow  吹雪の中で

　　　abominable  実にいやな、不快な

　　　　　　　Ex.  The weather here in winter is abominable.

                    ここの冬の天気は実にひどい

　　　slap  n.  （平手で）ピシャリと打つ事

最大５０％ＯＦＦ等、かみまどの簡単ネット予約はお得な割引プラン満載

I . . . I . . . there is something I must tell you, Mother. You'll be awfully disappointed, Mother . . . but I didn't mean to deceive you, Mother . . . truly I didn't."

"I'm sure you didn't, dear. What is it? Don't be afraid."

"Oh, Mother dearwums, those pearls aren't real pearls . . . I thought they were . . . I did think they were . . . did . . ."

Jem's eyes were full of tears. He couldn't go on.

Ｔhis needed all the secret wisdom of mothers.

"Jem, I never thought you supposed they were real pearls. I knew they weren't . . . at least in one sense of real. In another, they are the most real things I've ever had given me. Because there was love and work and self-sacrifice in them . . . and that makes them more precious to me than all the gems that divers have fished up from the sea for queens to wear. Darling, I wouldn't exchange my pretty beads for the necklace I read of last night which some millionaire gave his bride and which cost half a million. So that shows you what your gift is worth to me, dearest of dear little sons. Do you feel better now?"

　　　work　n.　労働、作業

      fish 　vi.　探す

　　　　　　Ex.  He fished in his pocket for the key.

                  彼はポケットを探して鍵を取り出そうとした。

      exchange ～for．．． 　～を．．．と交換する

　　　　　　Ex. Will you exchange your seat for mine?

                私と席を替わってくれませんか？

Mother was up when he went into her room, brushing her long shining hair before the glass. Her eyes when she saw the necklace!

"Jem darling! For me!"

"Now you won't have to wait till Dad's ship comes in," said Jem with a fine nonchalance. What was that gleaming greenly on Mother's hand? A ring . . . Dad's present. All very well, but rings were common things . . . even Sissy Flagg had one. But a pearl necklace!

"A necklace is such a nice birthdayish thing," said Mother.

　　  one's ship comes in  金が入る、 金をもうける。

　　　　　　　（由来：貨物を積んだ船が入港したらの意から）

　　　with nonchalance  平然と

　　　gleam  vi.  かすかに光る、きらりと光る

　　　　　　　Ex. A fire gleamed in the darkness.

                   暗闇の中で赤い火がほのかに光っていた。

　　　greenly  adv.　緑色に

"What kind of a dog is he, darling?" asked Anne dubiously.

"I . . . I think he's a lot of kinds," said Jem. "That makes him more interesting, don't you think, Mother? More exciting than if he was just one kind. Please, Mother."

"Oh, if your father says yes . . ."

Gilbert said "yes" and Jem entered into his heritage. Everybody at Ingleside welcomed Gyp into the family, except the Shrimp, who expressed his opinion without circumlocution. Even Susan took a liking to him and when she spun in the garret on rainy days Gyp, in his master's absence at school, stayed with her, gloriously hunting imaginary rats in dark corners and uttering a yelp of terror whenever his eagerness brought him too close to the little spinning-wheel.

      circumlocution  n.  回りくどさ、回りくどい表現

　　　take a liking to  ～が気に入る、～を好きになる

　　　spin  vt.　紡ぐ

　　　utter  vt.  発する、口から出す

　　　　　　Ex. utter a groan  うめき声を発する

　　　yelp  n.  キャンキャンなく声