7 At the Old Inn老客栈-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《101条花斑狗The Hundred and One Dalmatians》

7 At the Old Inn① Pongo had no difficulty in taking the right road out of London,for he and Mr Dearly had done much motoring in their bachelor days and often driven to Suffolk.Mile after mile the two dogs ran through the deserted streets,as the December night grew colder.At last London was left behind and,just before dawn,they reached a village in Epping Forest where they hoped to spend the day. They had decided they must always travel by night and rest during daylight.For they felt sure Mr Dearly would advertise their loss and the police would be on the lookout for them.There was far less chance of their being seen and caught by night. They had barely entered the sleeping village when they heard a quiet bark.The next moment,a burly?Golden Retriever was greeting them. 'Pongo and Missis Pongo,I presume?All arrangements were made for you by late Twilight Barking.Please follow me.' He led them to an old,gabled inn and then under an archway to a cobbled yard. ·106· 7 ①innn/,小旅馆，客栈 老客栈 庞果毫不费劲地找到出伦敦的路，因为他和 2motoring /maotarin/n. 甜来先生还是单身汉时就多次驾车外出，还常去 车外出 萨福克。两条狗一英里又一英里地跑过空旷的街 ③deserted/d'z3td/a.无人 居住的，荒废了的 道，十二月的夜间越来越冷了。最终伦敦已留在 ④dawn /do:n/m黎明，拂晓 后面，黎明之前他们到了依平森林里的一个村庄， 希望在那儿挨过白天。 5Epping'epin/n.依平，英国 地名 他们事先已经打定主意必须一直在夜间上路， 白天休息。因为他们确信甜来先生会为他们的失 踪刊登广告，警察也会在找他们。在夜间被看见 和抓住的机会就少得多了。 on the lookout注意，警惕 他们刚踏进沉睡的村庄，就听见轻轻的一声 ⑦burly /b3l/a.程伟的，结 吠叫。接着一条强壮的黄色寻回犬已在迎接他 实的，健壮的 们了。 8 Retriever/r'tri:va/m.寻回 “我想是庞果和密西斯·庞果吧？通过上次黄 犬 gabled'geibld/a.有山墙 昏吠叫已为你们做好一切安排了。请跟我来。” 的，人字形的 他领着他们来到一个破旧的，人字形屋顶的 archway /'a:tfwell n.拱道 拱调 小客栈，随后穿过拱廊，到了一个鹅卵石铺地的 cobbled"kpbld/a.鹅卵石 院子里。 的 ·107· The HundredandOne Dalmatians 'Please drink here,at my own bowl,'he said.'Food awaits you in your sleeping quarters2 but water could not be arranged.' (For no dog can carry a full water-bowl.) Pongo and Missis had only had one drink since they left home,at an old drinking trough for horses,which had a lower trough for dogs. They now gulped thirstily4 and gratefully5. 'My pride as an innkeeper tempts me to offer you one of our best bedrooms,said the Golden Retriever.'They combine old world charm with all modern conveniences-and no charge for breakfast in bed.But it wouldn't be wise.' 'No,indeed,said Pongo.We might be discovered.' "Exactly.We are putting you in the safest place any of us could think of.Naturally every dog in the village came to the meeting after the Late Barking-when we heard this village was to have the honour of receiving you.Step this way.' At the far end of the yard were some old stables,and in the last stable of all was a broken-down stage-coach 'Just the right place for Dalmatians,said Pongo,smiling,'for our ancestors were trained to run behind coaches and carriages 3.Some people still call us Coach Dogs or Carriage Dogs.' 'And your run from London has shown you are worthy of your ancestors,said the Golden Retriever.'When I was a pup we sometimes took this old coach out for the school picnic,but no one has bothered with it for years now.You should be quite safe,and some dogs will always be on guard.In case of sudden alarm,you can go out by the back door of the stable and escape across the fields.' There was a deep bed of straw on the floor of the coach and neatly laid out on the seat were two magnificent chops,half a dozen iced cakes,and a box of peppermint creams. ·108· 101条花斑狗 D bowl/baul/n.钵，碗 “请在这儿喝水，就用我的碗吧。”他说， ②sleeping quarter n.卧室 “吃的东西已放在你们卧室里了，但没法带水 ③trough /tr:f/n.马槽 ④thirstily'3:sti/ad口渴 进去。” 地 (因为没有哪条狗能叼起一满碗水。) 5 gratefully /'greitfoll/ad. 恩地，感谢地 庞果和密西斯离家后只喝过一次水，还是在 一个破饮马槽里喝的，那里有一个较低的水槽可 以供狗喝水。现在他们迫不及待地大口喝着，心 中充满感激。 “我有幸以客栈老板的身份将最好的卧室之一 提供给你们，”黄毛猎犬说，“它既有旧世界的魅 力又有现代的方便设施，免费供应床上早餐。不 过这样做不明智。” “对，确实不明智，”庞果道，“我们会被发 现的。” “正是这样。我们把你们安排在我们大家可能 6broken-down 想到的最安全的地方。那次黄昏吠叫后，村里每 /braukan-daon/a.毁坏了 一条狗都很自然地跑来聚会—那时我们听说这 的，破烂不堪的 7 stage-coach /steid3-kout[/ 个村子有幸要接待你们。这儿走。” n驿车 院子深处有几间破马厩，最后一间里有一辆 8 carriage'kerd3/h.(四轮】 破烂不堪的驿车。 马车 “这正是花斑狗最适合待的地方，”庞果笑道， “因为我们的祖先是受过跟着驿车和马车跑的训练 ⑨bother"bnda/x烦恼：操心 的。有些人现在仍叫我们驿车狗或马车狗。” “你们从伦敦跑来就证明你们一点没丢祖宗的 脸，”黄毛猎犬道，“当我还是小狗时，学校举行 野餐时，我们有时就拖出这辆旧车。可现在已经 好些年谁也不用它了。你们会很安全的，自始至 0 straw/str3:/n.稻草，麦秆 终都会有狗担任警戒。万一突然发生紧急情况， chop /tJop/n排骨 你们可以从马厩后门出去，穿过田野逃走。” peppermint /'pepamint/n. 薄荷 驿车地板上铺着厚厚的干草床，座位上整整 ·109· The HundredandOne Dalmatians 'From the butcher's dog,the baker's dog,and the dog at the sweet- shop,'said the Retriever.'I shall arrange your dinner.Will steak be satisfactory?' Pongo and Missis said it would indeed,and tried to thank him for everything,but he waved their thanks away,saying:'It's a very great honour.We are planning a small plaque 2to be concealed from human eyes,of course-saying:PONGO AND MISSIS SLEPT HERE.' Then he took them to the cob-webbed window and pointed out a smaller edition of himself,who was patrolling the inn courtyard. 'My youngest lad,already on guard.He's hoping to see you for a moment,when you're rested,and ask for your pawmarksto start his collection.A small guard of honour will see you out of the village,but I shan't let them waste too much of your time.Good night-though it's really good morning.Pleasant dreams.' As soon as he had gone,Pongo and Missis ate ravenously. 'Though perhaps we should not eat too heavily before sleeping, said Pongo,so they left a couple of peppermint creams.(Missis,later, ate them in her sleep.)Then they settled down in the straw,close together, and got warmer and warmer. Missis said:'Do you feel sure our puppies will be well fed and well taken care of?' Ouite sure.And they will be safe for a long time,because their spots are nowhere near big enough for a striking fur coat yet. Oh,Missis,how pleasant it is to be on our own like this!' ·110· 101条花斑狗 齐齐地放着两块顶呱呱的排骨，五六块冰糕，还 ①steak/stek/h.牛排 有一盒薄荷奶油。 “这是肉铺的狗、面包店的狗和糖店的狗送来 的，”猎狗说，“我要去准备你们的晚餐了，牛排 好不好？” ②plaque /pla:k/m.饰板， 庞果和密西斯说这真是太好了，还极力想谢 3 conceal /kan'si:lV对（人） 隐酸 谢他所做的一切，可他打断了他们的客气话，说： cob-webbed /kpb-webd/a. “这是我们极大的荣幸。我们准备做一块小牌 布满蜘蛛网的，陈旧的 patrol /pa'traul/v.巡视，巡 子一当然要瞒过人的眼晴一上面写：庞果与 逻，侦察 密西斯曾下榻于此。” 6lad /laed山n少年，小伙子， 然后他把他们引到蛛网密布的窗前，指点着 此处指儿子 ⑦paw mark n.爪印 一只正在客栈院子里巡逻、活脱是他自己的小号 翻版的狗。 “我最小的儿子，已经能警戒了。他希望等你 们休息好了能见你们一面，想求你们留下爪印一 以此来开始他的收集。一个小型仪仗队将送你们到 村外，不过我不会让他们花费你们太多时间。晚 安一不过实际上该说早安了。做个好梦。” 庞果和密西斯一俟他走开，便狼吞虎咽地吃 了起来。 “也许我们在睡觉前不该吃得太饱。”庞果说， 因此他们留下了两份薄荷奶油。（密西斯后来在 睡觉时吃了它们。)然后他们在干草上躺下，挨得 紧紧的，感到越来越暖和。 密西斯道：“你能肯定我们的小狗会吃得饱和 被照顾得很好吗？” “完全肯定。在很长一段时间里，他们将是安 全的，因为他们身上的斑点还远远没有大到足以 做一件出色的皮衣。晦，密西斯，我们能这样单 独在一起多好呀！” ·111· The HundredandOne Dalmatians Missis thumped her tail with joy-and with relief.For there had been moments when she had felt-not jealous,exactly,but just a bit wistful about Pongo's affection for Perdita.She loved Perdita,was grateful to her and sorry for her;still-well,it was nice to have her own husband to herself,thought Missis.But she made herself say: ‘Poor Perdita！No husband,no puppies！We must never let her feel we want to be on our own.' 'I do hope she can comfort the Dearlys,'said Pongo. 'She will wash them,'said Missis-and fell asleep. How gloriously they slept!It was their first really deep sleep since the loss of the puppies.Even the Twilight Barking did not disturb them.It brought good news,which the Retriever told them when he woke them,as soon as it was dark.All was well with the pups,and Lucky sent a message that they were getting more food than they could eat.This gave Pongo and Missis a wonderful appetite for the steaks that were waiting for them. While they ate,they chatted to the Retriever and his wife and their family,who lived at various houses in the village.And the Retriever told Pongo how to reach the village where the next day was to be spent-this had been arranged by the Twilight Barking.The steaks were finished and a nice piece of cheese was going down well when the Corgi5 from the Post Office arrived with an evening paper in her mouth.Mr Dearly had put in his largest advertisement yet-with a photograph of Pongo and Missis (taken during the joint honeymoon). Pongo's heart sank;for he felt the route planned for them was no longer safe.It led through many villages,where even by night they might be noticed-unless they waited till all humans had gone to bed, which would waste too much time.He said: ·112· 101条花斑句 密西斯拍着尾巴，既高兴又宽慰。有时候她 觉得—倒不完全是妒忌，只是对于庞果对潘迪 ①wistful /wistfol/a.沉思的 塔的感情有点捉摸不透。她爱潘迪塔，感激她， 引起默想的 也为她难过；可是一嗯，让自己的丈夫留在自 2 affection /'fek Jon/n爱，感 情 己身边总是好的，密西斯这样想。可她嘴上却说： “可怜的潘迪塔！没有丈夫，没有孩子！我们 千万别让她觉得我们想独自在一起。” “我真希望她能使甜来夫妇感到安慰。”庞 果说。 “她会舔他们的。”密西斯说一随后睡着了。 3 gloriously /'glo:rasl/ad. 他们睡得真酣！自从失去孩子以来，这是他 〔口语】令人愉快地，极好 地 们头一次睡得这么沉。甚至连黄昏吠叫也没吵 醒他们。吠叫带来了好消息，天一黑，猎犬就把 他们叫醒，把好消息告诉他们。小狗们一切平 ④appetite /aepntant/m,胃， 安，“幸运”带信说他们得到的食物多得吃不 食欲 了。这促使庞果和密西斯对为他们准备好的牛 排胃口大开。 他们一面吃，一面和猎犬、他的妻子和他的 一家子闲聊，他们住在村里几户人家家里。猎犬 还告诉庞果怎么走到明天他们要住宿的那个村 5 Corgi /'k3gln威尔士柯 基犬 子一这些已在黄昏吠叫中安排好了。牛排吃光 了，一块美味的干酪也要吃完了，这时一条矮脚 狗从邮局跑来，嘴叼着一张晚报。甜来先生已经 登出他的最大的广告一并附有庞果和密西斯的 照片（摄于共同蜜月期间）。 庞果的心一沉，他觉得原来为他们设计的路 线不再安全了。它要经过许多村庄，即使在夜间 也可能被发觉一除非等到所有人都上床睡觉， 这将浪费太多时间。他说： ·113· The HundredandOne Dalmatians 'We must travel across country.' 'But you'll get lost,said the Retriever's wife. 'Pongo never loses his way,'said Missis,proudly. 'And the moon will be nearly full,'said the Retriever.'You should manage.But it will be hard to pick up food.I had arranged for it to await you in several villages.' Pongo said they had eaten so much that they could do without food until the morning,but he hated to think dogs might be waiting up for them during the night. 'I will cancel it by the Nine o'clock Barking,'said the Retriever. There was a snuffling at the back door of the stable.All the dogs of the village had arrived to see Pongo and Missis offD. 'We should start at once,said Pongo.'Where's our young friend who wants paw-marks?' The Retriever's youngest lad stepped forward shyly,carying an old menu.Pongo and Missis put their pawtographs2 on the back of it for him,then thanked the Rctrievcr and his family for all they had done. Outside,two rows of dogs were waiting to cheer.But no human ear could have heard the cheers,for cvery dog had now seen the photograph in the evening paper and knew an escape must be made in absolute silence. Pongo and Missis bowed right and left,gratefully sniffing3 their thanks to all.Then,after a last good-bye to the Retriever,they were off across the moonlit fields. ‘On to Suffolk！'said Pongo. ·114· 101条花斑狗 “我们必须穿过乡间田野。” “可你们会迷路的。”猎犬的妻子说。 “庞果从来不会迷路。”密西斯骄傲地说。 “月亮快圆了，”猎犬道，“你们会对付过去。 不过找食物就困难了。我曾经安排几个村子为你 们预备吃的东西。” 庞果说他们已经吃了这么多东西，在天亮以 前完全可以不吃，不过他不安的是想到那些狗会 在夜里等他们 “我会在九点钟的吠叫中取消这一计划。”猎 犬道。 马厩后门传来一阵喷鼻子的声音。村里的狗 ①ee off为…送行，向 告别 都来为庞果和密西斯送行了。 “我们马上动身，”庞果道，“要我们爪印的 小朋友在哪里？” 猎犬的小儿子叼着一本旧菜谱，羞怯地走上 2 pawtograph n.爪印 前来。庞果和密西斯为他在菜谱背面按上了他们 的爪印，然后向猎犬及他一家子为他们所做的一 切表示感谢。 屋外，列成两排的狗等着向他欢呼。但是人 类的耳朵不可能听见这种欢呼声，因为每只狗现 在都见到晚报上的照片，知道他们必须静悄悄地 3 sniff/snfy.用力吸：嗅，闻 逃走。 庞果和密西斯朝左右鞠躬，感激地抽着鼻子 ④noonlit'mu:nlit/a.月亮 对所有的狗表示感谢。在对猎犬最后道别之后， 照着的，有月亮的，月明的 他们动身穿过月光照耀下的田野。 “向萨福克前进！”庞果说。 ·115·