"I do not understand your word, madame. If you mean impossible, I must point out that moondog has already crossed space."
Martha clasped her hands in her lap. "That's what I mean, grown men and such silliness, and the poor little dog has to pay."
Mr. Cherkassov spoke1 earnestly. "Forgive me if my ignorance of your language causes me to misunderstand, madame. We believe because man now has the ability to cross space he therefore has a duty to all life on Earth to help it reach other planets. Earth is overcrowded with men, not to speak of the wild life that soon must all die. We believe that around other suns we will find Earth-like planets where we can plough and harvest and build homes. I cannot agree that it is silly."
Martha flung her head back.
"Well, it is silly. Who'll go? All the men who do things will run away to them and then where will we be? Oh no, Mr. Cherkassov, that gets you nowhere!"
"Your pardon, madame," a TASS man interrupted. "What kind of men will run away?"
"The sour-faced men who fix pipes and TV and make A-bombs and electricity and things."
"Oh," said Mr. Cherkassov. He drummed on his briefcase2. Then, "Perhaps only Russians will go, madame. You could pass a law. I must confess to you, we might have sent a man to the moon, but we feared the propaganda use your country might make of it."
Martha made her parrot mouth. "You should have sent a man!" She chomped3 the last word off short. Paula and Monica nodded vigorously.
Mr. Cherkassov stroked his briefcase. "Moondog's mistress wished greatly to go. One might say moondog saved her mistress' life. Is not that a value to you?"
Martha stared. "Did you dare think of sending a poor weak woman to the ... to the moon?"
"Russian women are coarse and strong," Mr. Cherkassov said soothingly4. "A large number of them, among the scientists, did volunteer."
"No!" she snapped. "I see where you're trying to lead me and I won't go! You should have sent the hussy! It is immoral6 to sacrifice a loving little dog just for a careless whim7."
Her two aides gazed admiringly at their chieftainess. "Think of it, just for a whim!" Paula echoed.
Mr. Cherkassov's fingers traced an aimless, intricate pattern on the briefcase and he crossed his ankles.
"All dogs are not loving in the same way, madame. Tell me, how do you know when a dog loves you?"
"You just know," Martha said. "Take my little Fiffalo—and I just know he's so miserable8 now away from me in that dreadful concentration camp and it's all your fault, really, Mr. Cherkassov—when I pet Fiffalo he jumps in my lap and kisses me and just wiggles all over. That's real love!"
"Ah ... I perhaps understand. What does he do when you speak sharply to him?"
"He lies on his back with his paws waving and looks so sad and pitiful and defenseless that my heart melts and I feel good all over. You just know that's love, when it happens to you."
"I think I may see a way to resolve our differences," Mr. Cherkassov said. He put his feet side by side and leaned slightly forward, gripping the briefcase on his knees.
"What do you know of the history of the dog?" he asked.
"The true dog, madame, was domesticated12 about twenty thousand years ago. He was originally the golden jackal, Canis aureus, which still exists in a wild state. Selective breeding for submissiveness and obedience13 over that long time has resulted in the retention14 through maturity15 of many traits normal only to puppyhood. The modern pureline golden jackal dog no longer develops a secret life of his own, with emotional self-sufficiency. He must love and be loved, or he dies."
"But, madame, there is also a kind of false dog. Certain Siberian tribes slow to reach civilized18 status also domesticated the northern wolf, Canis lupus. This was many thousands of years later, of course, and in the false dog the effect of long breeding is not so evident. He is loving as a puppy, but when he matures he is aloof19 and reserves his loyalty20 to one master. He is intensely loyal and will die for his master, but even to him he will display little outward affection. Perhaps a wag of the tail or a head laid on the knee, not too often. No others except quite young children may pet him at all. To all but his master he displays a kind of tolerant indifference21 unless he is molested22, and then he defends himself."
"What a horrible creature, not a dog at all!" Martha exclaimed.
"Not culturally, you are quite correct, madame," Mr. Cherkassov agreed, shifting his hold on the briefcase and leaning further forward, "but unfortunately he is a dog biologically. Some wolf blood has crept into most of the jackal-derived breeds, you know. It betrays itself in high cheekbones and slanting23 eyes and in the personality of the breed. The chow, for instance, has considerable wolf blood."
"Chows!" Martha beaked24 her lips again. "I despise them! No better than cats!" Paula nodded emphatic25 agreement.
"But your little Fiffalo, as you describe him, is probably of pure Canis aureus descent and very highly bred."
"I'm sure he is. Blood will tell. Monica, haven't I always said blood will tell?"
Monica nodded, her eyes shining. Mr. Cherkassov shifted his position slightly, nearer to the chair edge.
"Now moondog, Madame Stonery, is of the lajka breed and has even more wolf blood than the chow. If you brought her back to Earth she would just walk away from you with cold indifference."
"Not really?"
"Madame, you know the wolf traits only as you find them tempered with the loving jackal traits in such dogs as the chow. But a Russian dog! If you were to hand moondog a piece of meat, do you know what she would do?"
"No. Tell me."
Mr. Cherkassov leaned forward, his slanting gray eyes opening wide, and dropped his voice almost to a whisper. "Madame, she would bite your hand!"
"Then she doesn't deserve to be rescued!" Martha said sharply.
Mr. Cherkassov straightened up and began stroking his briefcase. "In one sense she is not even a dog," he suggested.
"No, she's an old wolf-thing. Like a cat. Dogs are loving!"
"No, of course not. Mr. Cherkassov, you have given me a new thought.... I hadn't realized...."
Mr. Cherkassov waited attentively27, his fingers tracing another pattern. Paula and Monica looked at Martha and held their breaths.
"... hadn't realized how that subversive28 wolf blood has been creeping into our loving dogs all this long time. Why ... why it's miscegenation29! It's bestiality! Confess it, Mr. Cherkassov—that's one way you Russians have been infiltrating30 us, now isn't it?"
"You must realize that I could hardly admit to such a thing, even if it were true, Madame Stonery," he said judiciously33.
"It is true! Go back to your Kremlin, Mr. Cherkassov, and shoot every wolf in Russia to the moon. I'm sure the U.D.D. won't mind!"
Mr. Cherkassov and the TASS men stood up and bowed. Martha rose and sailed ahead of them to the door. Hand on knob, she turned to face them.
"Our meeting will be historic, Mr. Cherkassov," she said. "I have forced you to betray your country's plot to undermine our loving dogs. You may expect from the U.D.D. instant and massive retaliation34! An aroused America will move at once, to set up miscegenation and segregation35 barriers against your despicable wolf blood!"
Paula and Monica stood up, each with her hands clasped under her flushed and excited face. Mr. Cherkassov bowed again. Martha opened the door.
"Goodbye, Mr. Cherkassov," she said. "You will, no doubt, be liquidated36 in a few days."
Mr. Cherkassov stepped carefully across the doormat.
The End
The End
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收听单词发音
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1
spoke
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| 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 | |
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briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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3
chomped
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| v.切齿，格格地咬牙，咬响牙齿( chomp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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6
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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9
dabbed
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| （用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）… | |
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10
scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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11
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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12
domesticated
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| adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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14
retention
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| n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力 | |
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15
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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16
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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20
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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21
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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22
molested
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| v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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23
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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24
beaked
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| adj.有喙的，鸟嘴状的 | |
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25
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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26
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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28
subversive
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| adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子 | |
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29
miscegenation
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| n.人种混杂；混血 | |
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30
infiltrating
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| v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的现在分词 ) | |
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31
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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32
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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33
judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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34
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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35
segregation
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| n.隔离，种族隔离 | |
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36
liquidated
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| v.清算( liquidate的过去式和过去分词 )；清除（某人）；清偿；变卖 | |
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