Rats!

 

 

"HE has no nose," said my master; "he is a handsome dog, but he has no nose."

This annoyed me very much, for I have a nose—a very long, sharp, black nose. I wear tan boots and gloves, and my coat is a beautiful shiny black.

 

I am a Manchester terrier, and I fulfil the old instructions for such dogs. I am

 

Neckèd like a drakè,

Headed like a snakè,

Tailed like a ratte,

And footed like a catte.

And then they said I had no nose.

 But Kerry explained to me that my master did not mean to find fault with the shape of my nose, but that what he wanted to be understood was that I had no nose for smelling rats. Kerry has, and he is ridiculously vain of this accomplishment¹.

 

"And you have no nose, you know, old boy," said Kerry; "why, you would let the rats run all over you and never know it."

 

I turned up my nose—my beautiful, pointed², handsome nose—and walked away without a word.

 

A few weeks afterwards my master brought home with him some white rats. Kerry was out at the time, but my master showed me the rats through the bars of their cage. He also showed me a boot and a stick. Although I have no nose, I was clever enough to put two and two together. Did I mention that there were two rats?

 

We were not allowed to go in the study, either of us, and my master put the rats there in their cage on the table.

 

That night, when everybody had gone to bed, I said to Kerry, "I may have no nose, old man, but I smell rats."

 

Kerry sniffed³ contemptuously.

 

"You!" said he, curling himself round in his basket; "I don't believe you could smell an elephant if there were one in the dresser drawer."

 

I kept my temper. "I am not feeling very well, Kerry," I said gently, "or I would go and see myself. But I am sure there are rats; I smell them plainly; they seem to be in the study."

 

"Go to sleep," he said; "you're dreaming, old man."

 

"Why don't you go and see?" I said. "If I didn't feel so very faint, I would go myself."

 

Kerry got out of his basket reluctantly. "I suppose I ought to go, if you are quite certain," he said; and he went.

 

In less than a minute he returned to the kitchen, trembling all over with excitement.

 

"Chappie!" he said; "Chappie!"

 

"Well?"

 

"There are rats," he whispered hoarsely⁴; "there are rats in the study."

 

"Did you go in?" I asked.

 

"No, you know we're forbidden to go in, but I smelt⁵ them quite plainly. I can't smell them at all here," he said regretfully. "What a nose you have got, after all, Chappie!"

 

"What are you going to do, Kerry?" I asked.

 

"Why, nothing," he said; "we mustn't go in the study."

 

"Oh," I said, "rules weren't made for great occasions like this; it's your business to kill rats wherever they are."

 

And that misguided wire-haired person went up. He got them out of the cage, and killed them.

 

The next morning, when the master came down, he thrashed Kerry within an inch of his life. He knows I don't touch rats; and, besides, I was so unwell that nobody could have suspected me. And I explained to Kerry that, good as my nose is, I couldn't possibly tell by the smell that the rats were white, and, therefore, sacred. It was not worth while to mention that I had seen them before.

 

Kerry looks up to me now as a dog with a nose, and I am much happier than formerly⁶. But Kerry is not nearly so keen on rats now. I thought somehow he wouldn't be.

1 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 sniffed   

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

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

6 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。