Чарли и шоколадная фабрика
The Family Begins to Starve
We’retoooldtobotherwith. Butagrowingboy! Hecan’tgoonlikethis! He’sbeginningtolooklikeaskeleton!’
’Whatcanonedo? ’murmuredGrandmaJosephinemiserably. ’Herefusestotakeanyofours. Ihearhismothertriedtoslipherownpieceofbreadontohisplateatbreakfastthismorning,buthewouldn’ttouchit.Hemadehertakeitback.’
’He’safinelittlefellow,’saidGrandpaGeorge. ’Hedeservesbetterthanthis.’
Thecruelweatherwentonandon.
Andeveryday,CharlieBucketgrewthinnerandthinner. Hisfacebecamefrighteninglywhiteandpinched. Theskinwasdrawnsotightlyoverthecheeksthatyoucouldseetheshapesofthebonesunderneath. Itseemeddoubtfulwhetherhecouldgoonmuchlongerlikethiswithoutbecomingdangerouslyill.
Andnow,verycalmly,withthatcuriouswisdomthatseemstocomesooftentosmallchildrenintimesofhardship,hebegantomakelittlechangeshereandthereinsomeofthethingsthathedid,soastosavehisstrength. Inthemornings,heleftthehousetenminutesearliersothathecouldwalkslowlytoschool,withouteverhavingtorun. Hesatquietlyintheclassroomduringbreak,restinghimself,whiletheothersrushedoutdoorsandthrewsnowballsandwrestledinthesnow. Everythinghedidnow,hedidslowlyandcarefully,topreventexhaustion.
