THE TRUE STORY OF CHEESEY

I. The Dog and the Policeman

One snowy day shortly after Christmas, when carefully picking my way over the crossing at Market Street Ferry in Philadelphia, I almost ran into a big policeman.

Just back of the big policeman was a little dog, and just back of the little dog was a little dog-house, and just back of the dog-house was a beautiful Christmas tree.

Wouldn’t it have made you stop in surprise to see a dog-house in the middle of the busiest street in your city or town? Wouldn’t you have wondered why the big policeman had the little dog, and why the little dog had such a nice house there? And wouldn’t you have wondered and wondered whether the Christmas tree belonged to the dog or to the big policeman? It made me so curious that I did just as you would have liked to do—I asked the policeman to tell me the story.
II. The Policeman’s Story

“Good morning, Mr. Burke,” I said, for I knew the officer’s name. “Will you tell me about the little dog?”

“Why,” answered the policeman with a smile, “don’t you know about Cheesey? Come here, Cheesey, the lady wants to see you!”

Cheesey looked up at the speaker and wagged¹ his tail.

“Cheesey was born on Race Street pier²,” went on the policeman. “Nobody knows how he got his living after his mother died; but one thing is sure, he was not treated very kindly³ by the men who loaded the boats and swept the wharves⁴. To this day Cheesey growls⁵ at the sight of one of those men.

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“After a while Cheesey found a little playmate, but the playmate was run over by a fire engine. All night long Cheesey lay in the spot where his little mate⁶ had been killed.

“Weary and lonely and hungry, he crept⁷ back to the old cheerless corner of Race Street pier, which was the only place he knew as home.

“There he lay with his head on his paws⁸, not noticing anything until one of the men kicked him out of the way.

“Cheesey ran out of the pier and down Delaware Avenue, not knowing where he was going; but he went just the right way, for he ran into Officer Weigner, one of the four of us who watch this crossing.

“He spoke⁹ kindly to the little fellow, and gave him something to eat.

“From that time, Cheesey seemed to think he belonged to the policemen on this crossing. Then we gave him his name.”
III. Cheesey’s Christmas Presents

“Cheesey had no place to sleep,” went on the policeman after seeing some people safely across the street, “except on a pile of bags in the ferry house. He seemed so cold that I asked Charley, one of the workmen¹⁰ in the ferry, if he[59] could not knock together some packing boxes for the little fellow.

“Charley did the best he could, but I must say he made a sorry looking dog-house.

“One day, just before Christmas while I was on duty, Mr. Sheip, of the Sheip Box Factory, happened to notice the box Charley had knocked together.

“‘Well, well,’ he said, ‘is that the best you fellows can do?’

“‘Why, Mr. Sheip,’ I replied, ‘we are not box-makers, you know.’

“‘That’s so!’ he said. ‘I’ll have a dog-house made in the factory!’ and on Christmas day this beauty of a dog-house came. Have you noticed the label on it?”

I read the painted black letters on the large white label:
Merry Christmas
to
Cheesey
from
Officers Burke, Dougherty,
Kunzig, and Weigner.

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“It pleased us so,” went on the officer, “that we bought a Christmas tree and many people helped us trim¹¹ it.

“A good many people brought presents for Cheesey. One lady from Camden brought a feather pillow; another lady brought a piece of meat. That dog could have seventeen meals a day if he could hold them—couldn’t you, Cheesey?”

The little dog wagged his tail, turned around twice, then went into his house. After thanking the officer I went on my way, made happier for all my life because of the true story of Cheesey.

1 wagged   

v.（使）摇动，摇摆( wag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The dog wagged its tail with pleasure. 那条狗高兴得直摇尾巴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She wagged her finger with mock severity. 她故作严厉地摆了摆手指。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 wharves   

n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are seaworthy and can stand rough handling on the wharves? 适用于海运并能经受在码头上的粗暴装卸。 来自外贸英语口语25天快训
• Widely used in factories and mines, warehouses, wharves, and other industries. 广泛用于厂矿、仓库、码头、等各种行业。 来自互联网

5 growls   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

6 mate   

n.伙伴，同事；配偶；大副；v.(使)交配

参考例句：

• Where is the mate to this glove?这副手套的另一只在哪儿？
• She has been a faithful mate to him.她一直是他忠实的配偶。

7 crept   

v.蹑手蹑足地走( creep的过去式和过去分词 )；缓慢地行进；爬行；匍匐

参考例句：

• I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents. 为了尽量不吵醒父母，我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• He had crept up on his unsuspecting victim from behind. 他从背后悄悄逼近了那毫无戒备的受害者。

8 paws   

n.爪子( paw的名词复数 )；手

参考例句：

• Take your filthy paws off me! 把你的脏手从我身上拿开！
• Take your dirty little paws off me! 别用你的小黑手抓着我。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 workmen   

n.技术工人，工匠( workman的名词复数 )；工人；工匠；工作者；体力劳动者

参考例句：

• The workmen sawed and hammered all day. 工人又锯又锤，干了整整一天。
• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人

11 trim   

vt.修剪；装饰；n.修剪；adj.修长的；整齐的

参考例句：

• We shall have to trim our spending down to fit our income.我们只得削减开支以使收支平衡。
• You must trim your costs if you want to make bigger profits.如果你想获得更大的利润，就必须削减开支。