儿童英语读物 The Amusement Park Mystery CHAPTER 2 The Merry-go-round

On Tuesday morning, in their cabin, the Alden children prepared a big breakfast of orange juice, pancakes, maple 1 syrup 2, sausage, and milk. Alice had stocked the refrigerator and cupboards with enough groceries to last two days.



“Are you ready to go to the amusement park, Benny?” Jessie asked.



“Yes!” he answered. “I want to eat cotton candy and ride on the tilt-a-whirl and the merry-go-round!”



Violet laughed. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll get dizzy?”



Benny grinned. “Nope! I could ride the tilt-a-whirl all day long!”



Jessie scraped her plate at the sink. She wore jeans and a white T-shirt. Her thick hair bounced up and down when she walked.



Henry stood up from the table and stacked the rest of the plates. “Isn’t this a nice house?” he asked.



“It’s like a doll house,” Violet replied, glancing around.



After the dishes were washed, Henry opened the door. “Let’s begin the day. Alice and Joe are at work already,” he said cheerfully.



They wheeled the bikes out of the garage and mounted them.



As they biked along the road with the sun streaming through the pine trees, Henry whistled a tune 3 with Jessie joining in. Benny puckered 4 up his lips, but no whistle came out. The harder he tried, the more his cheeks puffed 5 out, the redder his face became, and the more air he blew out.



Violet laughed. “Don’t feel bad, Benny. I can’t whistle either.”



Arriving at the amusement park, they put their bikes in a bike rack and carefully padlocked them.



The park opened early on summer mornings. Rides were whirling and twirling around them, lights flashed, and customers on the rides shrieked 6 with delight.



“Ooooh,” Benny gasped 7, running toward a concession 8 stand. “Cotton candy.”



The others followed and gathered around the stand. Benny gazed at the pink frothy candy oozing 9 out of the machine. He looked up at Henry. “Could I have some?” he begged.



Henry smiled and shook his head. “It’s a little early. But you’ve been dreaming about cotton candy ever since we arrived.” He turned to a woman with dark hair and asked pleasantly, “We’ll all have one. How much?”



The woman pointed 10 to the sign as her bracelets 11 jingled 12. She wore her hair pulled tightly back into a bun, showing gold earrings 13. She handed each of them a cone 14 of cotton candy.



“My, my,” a man with black curly hair said to Benny, “that cone is almost as big as you are.” He winked 15 at Henry and took the money. Smoothing down his drooping 16 moustache, he questioned, “Where are you kids from?”



“We’re staying just outside Pine Grove,”Violet answered shyly.



“Yes,” Jessie said in a friendly tone. “We’re visiting our cousins.”



“Welcome to Pine Grove,” he said, holding out his hand to Henry. “I’m Frank Arnold and this is my wife, Sheila.”



“I’m Benny Alden,” Benny piped up.



Henry laughed. “And I’m Henry Alden, and these are my sisters, Violet and Jessie.”



“We serve hamburgers and hot dogs, too,”Sheila Arnold interrupted in a husky voice. “Come back for lunch.”



“Oh, we will,” Benny said happily, licking the giant pink cone of candy.



They walked over to the Ferris wheel. “That’s the biggest Ferris wheel I’ve ever seen,” Violet exclaimed.



Jessie, turning to her left said, “Oh, look, there’s a House of Mirrors!”



A young woman with straight red hair who was standing 17 there glanced at Jessie. “I knew people would love this!”



“Let’s go in,” Henry said.



“Sorry,” the unsmiling woman said abruptly 18, turning away. “It’s new and won’t be open until tomorrow.”



“Look!” Benny yelled. “The merry-go-round!”



The children hurried away, forgetting all about the unpleasant woman. They stared at the graceful 19 carved horses.



“They’re so lifelike,” Violet breathed, completely won over by the horses’ beauty.



The calliope music blared forth 20 as the horses moved up and down to the musical beat.



“I’ve never seen such beautiful horses,”Henry said in an awed 21 tone.



“And to think,” Violet added, “Alice said they are part of our history.”



Jessie marveled at a large brown and gray steed. The gallant 22 horse had plates of armor painted on and armor over his head so that only his eyes and ears were visible.



“I want to ride that gray one with the dots!” Benny said eagerly. “It looks like he’s breathing fire.”



“That’s called a dapple gray, Benny,” Jessie explained.



“It’s hard to choose a favorite,” Violet said, studying them. “They’re all so beautiful.”



They rode the merry-go-round twice, then dismounted and rode the swings and the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel frightened Benny a little. They ate hot dogs and chocolate shakes and trudged 23 over every inch of the dusty grounds.



Several times they stopped to try their luck at different games. Henry threw a softball, knocked down five wooden milk bottles, and won a box of candy. Jessie put money in a machine full of prizes and maneuvered 24 a huge claw to pick up a silver ring with a green stone. Violet tried her hand at the ringtoss and managed to circle three pegs 25, winning a small but cute teddy bear. Benny had his weight guessed, but the man guessed wrong, so Benny won a softball.



By midafternoon the children were tired. “I’m ready to go home,” Jessie said, brushing a wisp of hair from her forehead.



“Me, too,” Benny said. “I was ready after that scary Ferris wheel ride.”



Henry led the way to the bikes, and even though the Aldens were weary, they pedaled along the road, filled with contentment. It had been a wonderful day.



When Joe and Alice got home the Aldens told them every detail about the rides, the food, and their prizes. The day had been filled with surprises, but Joe had a surprise, too.



“We’re having a barbecue tonight,” he said.



“Yes,” Alice said. “Joshua Eaton and his daughter, Karen, are joining us. They own the amusement park.”



“Oh, great,” Violet said, her eyes sparkling. “Maybe they’ll tell us something about the merry-go-round horses.”



“I hope so!” Jessie said. “Let’s go to our house and clean up.”



After Henry had given Joe and Alice the box of candy he’d won, the children left.



Once they’d washed and put on clean clothes, they came back to help with dinner.



Jessie was placing the silverware on the table when the doorbell rang.



A gray-haired man and a young woman of about twenty entered. Benny blurted 26 out, “Why, you’re the girl we saw by the House of Mirrors.”



“Yes, I am,” she replied with a flicker 27 of a smile.



“Hello! Hello!” the gray-haired man said. “I’m Joshua Eaton.”



“And these are our cousins,” Alice said, presenting Violet, Jessie, Henry, and Benny.



The children said hello. “Wow,” Benny said. “You own the amusement park! I won a softball!”



“Good for you,” Joshua Eaton said.



“Please, everyone, sit down and make yourselves comfortable,” Alice said. “Before dinner we’ll have a glass of tomato juice.”



“And,” Joe said, bringing in a plate, “crackers and cheese.”



Joshua Eaton leaned forward. “How did you kids like my amusement park?”



“It was great,” Jessie said, looking especially nice in a pink sweater and white shorts.



“The horses on the merry-go-round are beautiful,” Violet said.



“Ah,” Joshua said, settling into his chair. “I’m glad to hear you like my carousel 28. You know, those horses were carved by the Dentzel Company a long time ago, and are extremely valuable.”



Karen gave a bitter little laugh. “Those horses!” she sneered 29. “Who cares about some dumb wooden horses! I keep telling Dad that we have to modernize 30. No one rides the merry-go-round except little kids, and it’s mostly teenagers who come to the park.”



Benny sat up straight and glared at Karen. “Little kids are important, too! And I loved the merry-go-round horses.”



“And I loved the merry-go-round,” Jessie said, a hint of defiance 31 in her voice.



“An amusement park without a carousel wouldn’t be much fun,” Violet said.



“You see, dear,” Joshua said mildly, facing his daughter. “We must keep our valuable carousel.”



Karen sniffed 32 and tossed back her long red hair. Her green sweater brought out the freckles 33 on her oval face. Jessie thought Karen’s face could be pretty if she would smile once in a while.



“Well,” Karen said stiffly, “we’ll see which will get more use, the House of Mirrors or the merry-go-round.”



Joshua sighed as if he and his daughter had had this argument many times.



“The horses are very different from the horses I’ve seen on other carousels 34,” Henry said.



Joshua chuckled 35. “Yes, most horses are painted bright colors and trimmed with gold, but the Dentzel horses are usually gray or brown.”



“Tell us about Mr. Dentzel,” Jessie said.



Joshua smiled at the Aldens, pleased that they liked his horses as much as he did. He ran his fingers through his silver hair and began. “Gustav Dentzel was born in Germany. He came to America and settled in Philadelphia. He and his brother, son, and nephews started the Dentzel Company in 1867.”



“The horses are old!” Benny exclaimed.



“Very old,” Joshua said, smiling at Benny. “In the Dentzel Company one man carved the bodies, another the legs, and Gustav’s brother assembled the horses.” He glanced at Henry. “Gustav’s brother’s name was Henry, too.”



“How many Dentzel merry-go-rounds are there?” Alice asked.



“Very few are in operation today,” Joshua answered. “The company only produced two carousels a year. The Dentzel horses,” he continued, “have a distinctive 36 style. They were carved in what is called ‘The Philadelphia Style.’ ”



“The Dentzel animals are so lifelike,” Violet said.



Benny nodded. “I thought the horse I rode today could breathe fire.”



Joshua laughed. “It’s true, Benny. Sometimes it looks like the horses could gallop 37 right off the carousel.”



“Is the company still in business?” Henry questioned.



Karen snorted disdainfully. “No, thank heaven, or we’d be buying more horses. After Gustav Dentzel died, his son, William ‘Hobbyhorse’ Dentzel took over. When he died in 1928, the company ended.”



“How sad,” Violet said thoughtfully. “I wish they’d kept on carving 38 more beautiful horses.”



“With the money we’d earn from selling the horses,” Karen said, “we could install up-to-date rides. We could even add a roller coaster. Teenagers want more exciting rides than what we have.” She frowned at her father. “You have to get with the times, Dad. Who cares about Dentzel’s old horses?”



“I do!” Benny said in a very loud voice. “I love the horses.” He looked pleadingly at Joshua. “Please, Mr. Eaton, don’t ever sell them!”



Joshua reached over and squeezed Benny’s knee. “As long as I’m around,” he promised reassuringly 39, “the horses will be around, too!”



Jessie glanced at Karen’s face. Joshua’s daughter’s green eyes flashed, and her mouth twisted downward. For a moment Jessie felt a twinge of sadness. Because of Karen’s determination to update the park, Jessie wondered if Karen would be able to talk Joshua Eaton into selling his wonderful horses.