As Sue was sketching a pair of elegant horseshow riding trousers and a monocle on the figure of the hero, an Idaho cowboy, she heard a low sound, several times repeated. She went quickly to the bedside.
Johnsy’s eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting—counting backward.
“Twelve,” she said, and a little later “eleven”; and then “ten,” and “nine”; and then “eight” and “seven,” almost together.
Sue looked solicitously out of the window. What was there to count? There was only a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick house twenty feet away. An old, old ivy vine, gnarled and decayed at the roots, climbed half way up the brick wall. The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks.
monocle [ˈmɒnəkl] n. 单片眼镜
Idaho[ˈaidəhəu] n. 爱达荷州（美国州名）
solicitous[səˈlɪsɪtəs] adj. 关心的; 挂念的; 渴望的
He was so solicitous of his guests. 他对他的客人们非常关切。
I am solicitous of his help. 我渴望得到他的帮助.
gnarled[nɑ:ld]adj. （树）扭曲的; 多瘤的; 多节的; 长满皱纹的,关节扭曲的
a gnarled branch/trunk 多节瘤的 树枝 / 树干
gnarled hands 扭曲的手 gnarled old men 满脸皱纹的老人
crumble[ˈkrʌmbl] v.（使）破碎; 坍塌; 崩溃; 放弃抵抗，无力应付
n.酥皮水果甜点
Crumble the cheese into a bowl. 将干酪弄碎放进碗里.
buildings crumbling into dust 渐渐坍塌的建筑物
a crumbling business/relationship 逐渐衰败的企业；日益恶化的关系
apple crumble 酥皮苹果甜点
“What is it, dear?” asked Sue.
“Six,” said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. “They’re falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache to count them. But now it’s easy. There goes another one. There are only five left now.”
“Five what, dear? Tell your Sudie.”
“Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too. I’ve known that for three days. Didn’t the doctor tell you?”
“Oh, I never heard of such nonsense,” complained Sue, with magnificent scorn. “What have old ivy leaves to do with your getting well? And you used to love that vine, so, you naughty girl. Don’t be a goosey. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were—let’s see exactly what he said—he said the chances were ten to one! Why, that’s almost as good a chance as we have in New York when we ride on the street cars or walk past a new building. Try to take some broth now, and let Sudie go back to her drawing, so she can sell the editor man with it, and buy port wine for her sick child, and pork chops for her greedy self.”
“You needn’t get any more wine,” said Johnsy, keeping her eyes fixed out the window. “There goes another. No, I don’t want any broth. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I’ll go, too.”
“Johnsy, dear,” said Sue, bending over her, “will you promise me to keep your eyes closed, and not look out the window until I am done working? I must hand those drawings in by tomorrow. I need the light, or I would draw the shade down.”
“Couldn’t you draw in the other room?” asked Johnsy, coldly.
“I’d rather be here by you,” said Sue. “Besides, I don’t want you to keep looking at those silly ivy leaves.”
“Tell me as soon as you have finished,” said Johnsy, closing her eyes, and lying white and still as a fallen statue, “because I want to see the last one fall. I’m tired of waiting. I’m tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves.”
“Try to sleep,” said Sue. “I must call Behrman up to be my model for the old hermit miner. I’ll not be gone a minute. Don’t try to move ‘til I come back.”
goosey ['gu:sɪ] n. <儿>鹅，呆子，笨蛋
broth[brɒθ] n. (加入蔬菜的)肉汤，鱼汤;
chicken broth 鸡汤
port wine 葡萄（汁）酒
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