But though he was comfortable, Ted could not sleep. He had lain awake for an hour. He guessed it was because of the excitement of the past few days and the fact that this was his first night on solid ground after months of life in space.
100
He climbed down the ladder to the floor, quietly so as not to disturb Randy. He stared through the clear plastic walls of his room at the hushed Martian night. The sky was a glittering canopy5 of starlight. Phobos, the fleet closer moon, cast a weak light over the landscape. Beyond their desert back yard, Ted saw the dark spreading mass of the sand bog6 which he had been warned about. It was like quicksand and would draw anything that touched it down to destruction. Ringing the bog Ted saw thick clusters of white flowers, which his father had said was a favorite food of the little Martian color bears.
Ted had also learned that the animals fed at night. He wondered if any of the creatures were in these parts, and if there were any chance he would see one of them. He kept his eyes on the bog for what seemed an hour, but he caught no sign of movement down there. At last his eyes grew blurry7 and he thought he could sleep. He turned away and climbed the ladder.
Just as his lids closed, something startled him, and he jerked up in bed. He wasn’t sure what had aroused him. He sat there in the semidarkness, his heart bumping rapidly, his ears alerted.
101
Then he heard a sound. It seemed far off. It was like a wail8, a cry. He came down the ladder again. In his haste, he tripped on the bottom rung and went sprawling9. He turned anxiously toward the bed and saw Randy sit up.
“I’m sorry, Randy,” Ted said. “I thought I heard something outdoors.”
(uncaptioned)
“I heard it, too,” Randy said.
The two looked outside, straining their eyes to pierce the shadowy night. Suddenly Randy Whispered tensely, “There!”
102
Ted stared where he pointed10. There was a figure at the edge of the bog. They heard the sound repeated. It seemed to be coming from the moving figure. Ted suddenly remembered his father’s field glasses lying on a table in his parents’ room. Before going to bed, all of them had used them to study the stars.
Ted tiptoed down the hall into his parents’ room. Carefully he lifted the glasses from the table and returned to his own room. He could hardly wait to train the glasses on the mysterious thing beside the bog.
“Did you hear it again?” Ted asked as he swept his glasses over the landscape.
Randy nodded. “It sounded like a color bear. He must be in trouble.”
Finally Ted found what he was looking for. He was able to make out a little furry11 body struggling at the bog’s edge. The animal appeared to be trapped in the marsh12. One stubby paw was grasping a root growing out of the bank. Ted handed the glasses to Randy.
“It’s a color bear,” Randy whispered. “He’s stuck in the bog. He’ll never get out by himself.”
103
Ted saw a wistful look on Randy’s face. “I sure hate to see anything happen to those little fellows. They’re so friendly.”
“You mean they make good pets?” Ted wanted to know.
“They sure do,” Randy answered. “I owned one once, until he fell into a bog. It seems they always end up in one sooner or later.”
“I wonder if we could help him,” Ted suggested.
“It may be dangerous,” Randy warned. “If we should slip....”
“You’ve been around them before, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m willing to try it if you are,” Ted said.
“Let’s go then.”
“We’ll have to be careful not to wake the others,” Ted said.
Softly they crept down the hall to the space-suit closet. Silently they dressed and inflated their suits with oxygen. Then they went through the air lock and on outdoors.
104
Ted had brought a flashlight. The cone13 of whiteness fanned out ahead of them, leading the way for them over the red sands. As they drew near the sand bog, the wails14 of the trapped animal became louder and more frantic15.
“We’d better hurry,” Randy said. “He may go down any moment.”
They broke into a run and finally reached the side of the little fellow. The only part of him visible now was his round head, from which projected big cup-handle ears. His short forepaws still clung to the root, but even now the boys could see his grip loosening.
As they knelt beside him, they saw his violet button eyes turned pleadingly up to them.
The black mud pulled strongly against them. After a few moments the boys’ arms ached from the tug17 of war, but they appeared to be winning the battle. Slowly the bear rose out of his trap. Just as Ted thought his own arms would be pulled off from the strain, the animal sucked free of the clutching slime and came tumbling up over Ted and Randy.
105
As the boys climbed to their feet, the color bear ran up first to one and then to the other, and licked their helmets gratefully with his long red tongue!
(uncaptioned)
The little creature stood about two and a half feet tall and was so roly-poly, he must have been nearly that wide. The mud caked his body, some of it crawling like thick molasses down into a black puddle18 around his flat feet. He walked upright just as they did.
“What’ll we do with him?” Randy asked.
106
“Let him go, I guess,” Ted replied. “I wish we could keep him, but I’m afraid Dad wouldn’t agree. For some reason, he doesn’t like color bears. Besides, there’s no place to keep him.”
They walked back toward the house. Presently Ted turned and saw what he had feared. The bear was trudging19 along behind. They tried to shoo him off. This only made him hesitate momentarily and then start following again. Finally they gave up, permitting him to trail along at a distance.
When they reached the air lock, they opened the door. As they waited for the pressure to come up, the color bear stood outside looking in at them. Ted thought he had the most plaintive20 expression he had ever seen. It was almost human.
“We can’t let him stand out there like that all night,” Ted said. “He might wake up the whole house with his cries. They do cry, don’t they?”
“Just like babies,” Randy said.
“I forgot, though,” Ted said. “They can’t breathe our air mixture, can they?”
107
“Yes, they can.” Randy told him. “They have a valve in their bodies that takes care of that.”
“I believe we can wash that goo off him and leave him in the kitchen until morning,” Ted said. “Maybe he’ll be quiet if he’s clean.”
They let the bear in, and in appreciation21 he licked their helmets again.
“If you want to stay in here, you’ll have to be quiet,” Randy warned, just as though the animal could understand.
“Hey!” Ted cried. “What’s wrong with him?” The little animal was reeling around as though he could hardly keep his feet, and his eyes were glazed22.
“They always do that the first few times they enter our atmosphere,” Randy answered.
The color bear adjusted himself quickly to the change and then seemed all right again. Quietly the boys led him down the hall toward the shower. In the bathroom they shut the door, removed their helmets and turned on the shower in a gentle spray. The bear did not take to water willingly, and the boys had to force him under. When he began squealing23 and kicking, Ted put his hand over his mouth. As the little animal felt the warm water, however, his broad mouth turned upward in a grin, and he sat down in the middle of the plastic basin to enjoy his bath.
108
While the mud was washing down the drain Ted began to see what a beautiful creature the color bear really was. His soft fur was white next to the body, then merged24 into reddish brown at the tip. To make him even more colorful, his paws, legs, and head had a bluish tinge25. “What a patriotic26 creature he would be on Earth,” Ted thought. He had all the colors of the American flag.
When the animal was clean, Ted got out a blotting27 towel that dried the bear in a matter of seconds. The little fellow looked happy after his bath and grinned at them. When he tried to lick their bare faces, they had to cover up. He seemed hurt by their gesture and pouted28 for a moment, with his lower lip quivering.
“See what I mean?” Randy said, grinning. “They’re almost human.”
“I wish we could keep him,” Ted said longingly29. “He seems like lots of fun. I think I’ll ask Dad about it.”
109
As they were cleaning up the bathroom, Ted, who was leaning over the shower basin, felt Randy’s hand press sharply on his shoulder. Ted spun30 around. Standing31 in the doorway32 was his father, a stern look on his face.
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收听单词发音
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1
ted
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| vt.翻晒，撒，撒开 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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3
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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inflated
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| adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
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canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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7
blurry
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| adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的 | |
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8
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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9
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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10
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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11
furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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12
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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13
cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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14
wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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16
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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17
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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18
puddle
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| n.(雨)水坑，泥潭 | |
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19
trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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20
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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21
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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22
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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23
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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24
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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25
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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26
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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27
blotting
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| 吸墨水纸 | |
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28
pouted
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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30
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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31
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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