章节正文
pirates to be a bad lot--especially Ben Ali. If they
are annoying you, we will gladly eat them up
for you--and then you won't be troubled any
more."
"Thank you," said the Doctor. "This is
really most attentive. But I don't think it will
be necessary to eat them. Don't let any of them
reach the shore until I tell you--just keep them
swimming about, will you? And please make
Ben Ali swim over here that I may talk to
him."
So the shark went off and chased Ben Ali over
to the Doctor.
"Listen, Ben Ali," said John Dolittle,
leaning over the side. "You have been a very bad
man; and I understand that you have killed
many people. These good sharks here have just
offered to eat you up for me--and 'twould
indeed be a good thing if the seas were rid of you.
But if you will promise to do as I tell you, I
well let you go in safety."
"What must I do?" asked the pirate, looking
down sideways at the big shark who was smelling
his leg under the water.
"You must kill no more people," said the
Doctor; "you must stop stealing; you must
never sink another ship; you must give up being
a pirate altogether."
"But what shall I do then?" asked Ben Ali.
"How shall I live?"
"You and all your men must go on to this
island and be bird-seed-farmers," the Doctor
answered. "You must grow bird-seed for the
canaries."
The Barbary Dragon turned pale with anger.
"GROW BIRD-SEED!" he groaned in disgust.
"Can't I be a sailor?"
"No," said the Doctor, "you cannot. You
have been a sailor long enough--and sent many
stout ships and good men to the bottom of the
sea. For the rest of your life you must be la
peaceful farmer. The shark is waiting. Do
not waste any more of his time. Make up your
mind."
"Thunder and Lightning!" Ben Ali
muttered--"BIRD-SEED!" Then he looked down
into the water again and saw the great fish
smelling his other leg.
"Very well," he said sadly. "We'll be
farmers."
"And remember," said the Doctor, "that if
you do not keep your promise--if you start
killing and stealing again, I shall hear of it,
because the canaries will come and tell me.
And be very sure that I will find a way to punish
you. For though I may not be able to sail
a ship as well as you, so long as the birds and
the beasts and the fishes are my friends, I do not
have to be afraid of a pirate chief--even though
he call himself `The Dragon of Barbary.' Now
go and be a good farmer and live in peace."
Then the Doctor turned to the big shark, and
waving his hand he said,
"All right. Let them swim safely to the land."
THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER
TOO-TOO, THE LISTENER
HAVING thanked the sharks again for their kindness,
the Doctor and his pets set off once more on their
journey home in the swift ship with the three red sails.
As they moved out into the open sea, the
animals all went downstairs to see what their new
boat was like inside; while the Doctor leant on
the rail at the back of the ship with a pipe in his
mouth, watching the Canary Islands fade away
in the blue dusk of the evening.
While he was standing there, wondering how
the monkeys were getting on--and what his
garden would look like when he got back to
Puddleby, Dab-Dab came tumbling up the
stairs, all smiles and full of news.
"Doctor!" she cried. "This ship of the pi-
rates is simply beautiful--absolutely. The beds
downstairs are made of primrose silk--with
hundreds of big pillows and cushions; there are
thick, soft carpets on the floors; the dishes are
made of silver; and there are all sorts of good
things to eat and drink--special things; the
larder--well, it's just like a shop, that's all.
You never saw anything like it in your life--
Just think--they kept five different kinds of
sardines, those men! Come and look.... Oh,
and we found a little room down there with the
door locked; and we are all crazy to get in and
see what's inside. Jip says it must be where the
pirates kept their treasure. But we can't open
the door. Come down and see if you can let
us in."
So the Doctor went downstairs and he saw
that it was indeed a beautiful ship. He found
the animals gathered round a little door, all
talking at once, trying to guess what was inside.
The Doctor turned the handle but it wouldn't
open. Then they all started to hunt for the key.
They looked under the mat; they looked under
all the carpets; they looked in all the cupboards
and drawers and lockers--in the big chests in the
ship's dining-room; they looked everywhere.
While they were doing this they discovered
a lot of new and wonderful things that the
pirates must have stolen from other ships: Kashmir
shawls as thin as a cobweb, embroidered
with flowers of gold; jars of fine tobacco from
Jamaica; carved ivory boxes full of Russian
tea; an old violin with a string broken and a
picture on the back; a set of big chess-men,
carved out of coral and amber; a walking-stick
which had a sword inside it when you pulled
the handle; six wine-glasses with turquoise
and silver round the rims; and a lovely great
sugar-bowl, made of mother o' pearl. But
nowhere in the whole boat could they find a key to
fit that lock.
So they all came back to the door, and Jip
peered through the key-hole. But something
had been stood against the wall on the inside
and he could see nothing.
While they were standing around, wondering
what they should do, the owl, Too-Too,
suddenly said,
"Sh!--Listen!--I do believe there's some
one in there!"
They all kept still a moment. Then the
Doctor said,
"You must be mistaken, Too-Too. I don't
hear anything."
"I'm sure of it," said the owl. "Sh!--There
it is again--Don't you hear that?"
"No, I do not," said the Doctor. "What
kind of a sound is it?"
"I hear the noise of some one putting his
hand in his pocket," said the owl.
"But that makes hardly any sound at all," said
the Doctor. "You couldn't hear that out here."
"Pardon me, but I can," said Too-Too. "I
tell you there is some one on the other side of
that door putting his hand in his pocket. Almost
everything makes SOME noise--if your ears
are only sharp enough to catch it. Bats can hear
a mole walking in his tunnel under the earth
--and they think they're good hearers. But we
owls can tell you, using only one ear, the color
of a kitten from the way it winks in the dark."
"Well, well!" said the Doctor. "You
surprise me. That's very interesting.... Listen
again and tell me what he's doing now."
"I'm not sure yet," said Too-Too, "if it's a
man at all. Maybe it's a woman. Lift me up
and let me listen at the key-hole and I'll soon
tell you."
So the Doctor lifted the owl up and held him
close to the lock of the door.
After a moment Too-Too said,
"Now he's rubbing his face with his left
hand. It is a small hand and a small face.
It MIGHT be a woman--No. Now he pushes his
hair back off his forehead--It's a man all right."
"Women sometimes do that," said the Doctor.
"True," said the owl. "But when they do,
their long hair makes quite a different sound.
... Sh! Make that fidgety pig keep still.
Now all hold your breath a moment so I can
listen well. This is very difficult, what I'm
doing now--and the pesky door is so thick! Sh!
Everybody quite still--shut your eyes and don't breathe."
Too-Too leaned down and listened again
very hard and long.
At last he looked up into the Doctor's face
and said,
"The man in there is unhappy. He weeps.
He has taken care not to blubber or sniffle, lest
we should find out that he is crying. But I
heard--quite distinctly--the sound of a tear
falling on his sleeve."
"How do you know it wasn't a drop of water
falling off the ceiling on him?" asked Gub-Gub.
"Pshaw!--Such ignorance!" sniffed Too-
Too. "A drop of water falling off the ceiling
would have made ten times as much noise!"
"Well," said the Doctor, "if the poor
fellow's unhappy, we've got to get in and see
what's the matter with him. Find me an axe,
and I'll chop the door down."
THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER
THE OCEAN GOSSIPS
RIGHT away an axe was found. And the Doctor soon chopped a
hole in the door big enough to clamber through.
At first he could see nothing at all, it was so dark inside.
So he struck a match.
The room was quite small; no window; the
ceiling, low. For furniture there was only one
little stool. All round the room big barrels
are annoying you, we will gladly eat them up
for you--and then you won't be troubled any
more."
"Thank you," said the Doctor. "This is
really most attentive. But I don't think it will
be necessary to eat them. Don't let any of them
reach the shore until I tell you--just keep them
swimming about, will you? And please make
Ben Ali swim over here that I may talk to
him."
So the shark went off and chased Ben Ali over
to the Doctor.
"Listen, Ben Ali," said John Dolittle,
leaning over the side. "You have been a very bad
man; and I understand that you have killed
many people. These good sharks here have just
offered to eat you up for me--and 'twould
indeed be a good thing if the seas were rid of you.
But if you will promise to do as I tell you, I
well let you go in safety."
"What must I do?" asked the pirate, looking
down sideways at the big shark who was smelling
his leg under the water.
"You must kill no more people," said the
Doctor; "you must stop stealing; you must
never sink another ship; you must give up being
a pirate altogether."
"But what shall I do then?" asked Ben Ali.
"How shall I live?"
"You and all your men must go on to this
island and be bird-seed-farmers," the Doctor
answered. "You must grow bird-seed for the
canaries."
The Barbary Dragon turned pale with anger.
"GROW BIRD-SEED!" he groaned in disgust.
"Can't I be a sailor?"
"No," said the Doctor, "you cannot. You
have been a sailor long enough--and sent many
stout ships and good men to the bottom of the
sea. For the rest of your life you must be la
peaceful farmer. The shark is waiting. Do
not waste any more of his time. Make up your
mind."
"Thunder and Lightning!" Ben Ali
muttered--"BIRD-SEED!" Then he looked down
into the water again and saw the great fish
smelling his other leg.
"Very well," he said sadly. "We'll be
farmers."
"And remember," said the Doctor, "that if
you do not keep your promise--if you start
killing and stealing again, I shall hear of it,
because the canaries will come and tell me.
And be very sure that I will find a way to punish
you. For though I may not be able to sail
a ship as well as you, so long as the birds and
the beasts and the fishes are my friends, I do not
have to be afraid of a pirate chief--even though
he call himself `The Dragon of Barbary.' Now
go and be a good farmer and live in peace."
Then the Doctor turned to the big shark, and
waving his hand he said,
"All right. Let them swim safely to the land."
THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER
TOO-TOO, THE LISTENER
HAVING thanked the sharks again for their kindness,
the Doctor and his pets set off once more on their
journey home in the swift ship with the three red sails.
As they moved out into the open sea, the
animals all went downstairs to see what their new
boat was like inside; while the Doctor leant on
the rail at the back of the ship with a pipe in his
mouth, watching the Canary Islands fade away
in the blue dusk of the evening.
While he was standing there, wondering how
the monkeys were getting on--and what his
garden would look like when he got back to
Puddleby, Dab-Dab came tumbling up the
stairs, all smiles and full of news.
"Doctor!" she cried. "This ship of the pi-
rates is simply beautiful--absolutely. The beds
downstairs are made of primrose silk--with
hundreds of big pillows and cushions; there are
thick, soft carpets on the floors; the dishes are
made of silver; and there are all sorts of good
things to eat and drink--special things; the
larder--well, it's just like a shop, that's all.
You never saw anything like it in your life--
Just think--they kept five different kinds of
sardines, those men! Come and look.... Oh,
and we found a little room down there with the
door locked; and we are all crazy to get in and
see what's inside. Jip says it must be where the
pirates kept their treasure. But we can't open
the door. Come down and see if you can let
us in."
So the Doctor went downstairs and he saw
that it was indeed a beautiful ship. He found
the animals gathered round a little door, all
talking at once, trying to guess what was inside.
The Doctor turned the handle but it wouldn't
open. Then they all started to hunt for the key.
They looked under the mat; they looked under
all the carpets; they looked in all the cupboards
and drawers and lockers--in the big chests in the
ship's dining-room; they looked everywhere.
While they were doing this they discovered
a lot of new and wonderful things that the
pirates must have stolen from other ships: Kashmir
shawls as thin as a cobweb, embroidered
with flowers of gold; jars of fine tobacco from
Jamaica; carved ivory boxes full of Russian
tea; an old violin with a string broken and a
picture on the back; a set of big chess-men,
carved out of coral and amber; a walking-stick
which had a sword inside it when you pulled
the handle; six wine-glasses with turquoise
and silver round the rims; and a lovely great
sugar-bowl, made of mother o' pearl. But
nowhere in the whole boat could they find a key to
fit that lock.
So they all came back to the door, and Jip
peered through the key-hole. But something
had been stood against the wall on the inside
and he could see nothing.
While they were standing around, wondering
what they should do, the owl, Too-Too,
suddenly said,
"Sh!--Listen!--I do believe there's some
one in there!"
They all kept still a moment. Then the
Doctor said,
"You must be mistaken, Too-Too. I don't
hear anything."
"I'm sure of it," said the owl. "Sh!--There
it is again--Don't you hear that?"
"No, I do not," said the Doctor. "What
kind of a sound is it?"
"I hear the noise of some one putting his
hand in his pocket," said the owl.
"But that makes hardly any sound at all," said
the Doctor. "You couldn't hear that out here."
"Pardon me, but I can," said Too-Too. "I
tell you there is some one on the other side of
that door putting his hand in his pocket. Almost
everything makes SOME noise--if your ears
are only sharp enough to catch it. Bats can hear
a mole walking in his tunnel under the earth
--and they think they're good hearers. But we
owls can tell you, using only one ear, the color
of a kitten from the way it winks in the dark."
"Well, well!" said the Doctor. "You
surprise me. That's very interesting.... Listen
again and tell me what he's doing now."
"I'm not sure yet," said Too-Too, "if it's a
man at all. Maybe it's a woman. Lift me up
and let me listen at the key-hole and I'll soon
tell you."
So the Doctor lifted the owl up and held him
close to the lock of the door.
After a moment Too-Too said,
"Now he's rubbing his face with his left
hand. It is a small hand and a small face.
It MIGHT be a woman--No. Now he pushes his
hair back off his forehead--It's a man all right."
"Women sometimes do that," said the Doctor.
"True," said the owl. "But when they do,
their long hair makes quite a different sound.
... Sh! Make that fidgety pig keep still.
Now all hold your breath a moment so I can
listen well. This is very difficult, what I'm
doing now--and the pesky door is so thick! Sh!
Everybody quite still--shut your eyes and don't breathe."
Too-Too leaned down and listened again
very hard and long.
At last he looked up into the Doctor's face
and said,
"The man in there is unhappy. He weeps.
He has taken care not to blubber or sniffle, lest
we should find out that he is crying. But I
heard--quite distinctly--the sound of a tear
falling on his sleeve."
"How do you know it wasn't a drop of water
falling off the ceiling on him?" asked Gub-Gub.
"Pshaw!--Such ignorance!" sniffed Too-
Too. "A drop of water falling off the ceiling
would have made ten times as much noise!"
"Well," said the Doctor, "if the poor
fellow's unhappy, we've got to get in and see
what's the matter with him. Find me an axe,
and I'll chop the door down."
THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER
THE OCEAN GOSSIPS
RIGHT away an axe was found. And the Doctor soon chopped a
hole in the door big enough to clamber through.
At first he could see nothing at all, it was so dark inside.
So he struck a match.
The room was quite small; no window; the
ceiling, low. For furniture there was only one
little stool. All round the room big barrels
- attentive [ə´tentiv]
a.注意的；殷勤的 (初中英语单词) - dragon [´drægən] n.龙 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)
- downstairs [,daun´steəz] ad.在楼下 a.楼下的 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- tobacco [tə´bækəu] n.烟草(叶)；卷烟 (初中英语单词)
- tunnel [´tʌnl] n.隧道 v.挖隧道 (初中英语单词)
- kitten [´kitn] n.小猫 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
- gladly [´glædli] ad.愉快地，高兴地 (高中英语单词)
- pirate [´paiərət] n.海盗 v.做海盗；掠夺 (高中英语单词)
- mistaken [mis´teikən] mistake的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
- canary [kə´neəri] n.金丝雀 (英语四级单词)
- primrose [´primrəuz] n.樱草(花) a.樱草的 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- cobweb [´kɔbweb] n.蜘蛛网；蛛丝 (英语四级单词)
- violin [,vaiə´lin] n.(小)提琴 (英语四级单词)
- clamber [´klæmbə] v.&n.爬；攀登 (英语四级单词)
- annoying [ə´nɔiiŋ] a.使人气恼的；讨厌的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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