Дороти и Волшебник в стране Оз
8. The Valley of Voices
"Well,well!"saidtheWizard;"aretherereallypeopleinthisroom?"
"Ofcourse,"repliedtheman’svoice.
"And—pardonmeforthefoolishquestion—but,areyouallinvisible?"
"Surely,"thewomananswered,repeatingherlow,ripplinglaughter."AreyousurprisedthatyouareunabletoseethepeopleofVoe?"
"Why,yes,"stammeredtheWizard."AllthepeopleIhaveevermetbeforewereveryplaintosee."
"Wheredoyoucomefrom,then?"askedthewoman,inacurioustone.
"Webelonguponthefaceoftheearth,"explainedtheWizard,"butrecently,duringanearthquake,wefelldownacrackandlandedintheCountryoftheMangaboos."
"Dreadfulcreatures!"exclaimedthewoman’svoice."I’veheardofthem."
"Theywalledusupinamountain,"continuedtheWizard;"butwefoundtherewasatunnelthroughtothisside,sowecamehere.Itisabeautifulplace.Whatdoyoucallit?"
"ItistheValleyofVoe."
"Thankyou.Wehaveseennopeoplesincewearrived,sowecametothishousetoenquireourway."
"Areyouhungry?"askedthewoman’svoice.
"Icouldeatsomething,"saidDorothy.
"SocouldI,"addedZeb.
"Butwedonotwishtointrude,Iassureyou,"theWizardhastenedtosay.
"That’sallright,"returnedtheman’svoice,morepleasantlythanbefore."Youarewelcometowhatwehave."
AshespokethevoicecamesoneartoZebthathejumpedbackinalarm.Twochildishvoiceslaughedmerrilyatthisaction,andDorothywassuretheywereinnodangeramongsuchlight-heartedfolks,evenifthosefolkscouldn’tbeseen
