Chapter 20

Mrs. Drazil hurried down the steps on the side of the deck.

Jane groaned¹ as she threw her suitcase into a motorboat Then she pulled herself aboard and started the engine.

"Darling, come back!" Sham² shouted from the deck as he watched the boat sputter³ across the water.

Mrs. Drazil climbed into an old rowboat. "I'll find you, Jane Smith!" she shouted into the darkness. "You can run, but you can't hide!"

Jane's voice echoed back across the black water. "Rub a monkeeee's ... tumm-mmy... with .. . yourrr ... heaaaaaaaaaa ..."

And neither of them was ever seen again.
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Wendy had three. Ears, I mean.

She had one ear on each side of her head, just like most people. But she also had a third ear, which lay flat on top of her head.

You couldn't see it. It was completely covered by her thick, frizzy brown hair.

She was an intelligent and lovely young woman. She was gentle and kind.

At least, she used to be. Then she met Xavier and became evil and wicked, but I'll get to that later.
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She lived in a small apartment in the big city. She always kept fresh flowers in the vase on her kitchen table.

She didn't have any friends. She was afraid someone might find out about her ear. She was very embarrassed by it.

The one on top of her head, I mean. The other two ears were pretty, as ears go.

Actually, the third ear wasn't ugly. In fact, it looked just like her other two.

It was quantity, not quality, that bothered her.

Then she met Xavier.

It was at a museum. They happened to be standing⁴ next to each other looking at the same painting. The Mona Lisa.

A guard stood by to make sure they didn't touch it.

Xavier was very handsome. But he was frightfully shy. He was afraid of women.

"That's a beautiful painting, isn't it?" said Wendy.

Xavier blushed. He wanted to speak, but his mouth locked shut with fear. It took all his courage just to nod his head.

But Wendy knew he liked her.

Because there was something else about her ear I haven't told you yet. The one on top of her head, I mean.

It didn't hear normal sounds. It heard people's brains,

Wendy was able to listen to Xavier's secret thoughts. And this is what she heard.

Yes, the painting is very beautiful. But you are more beautiful than the Mona Lisa. I wish somebody would paint your picture. I would buy it and look at it all day. Alas⁵, if only I had the courage to talk to you.

Wendy didn't usually listen to other people's thoughts. She thought it was rude, even though the other people didn't know she was listening.

Besides, most people's thoughts were usually boring.

Xavier was getting too nervous standing next to her. He moved on to another painting.

Wendy followed him.

She listened to the lonely man's thoughts. They weren't boring at all. Most of his thoughts were about her, but she also learned a few other things. He liked to read. His favorite author was Charles Dickens. He loved animals, especially dogs.

"That painting reminds me of a book," said Wendy. "A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Have you read it?"

"Yes!" Xavier blurted⁶, a little too loudly. "It's my favorite book! I've read everything Dickens has
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written. Twice. My favorite part is when-"

He suddenly stopped, very embarrassed.

"Please go on," said Wendy.

"No, I don't want to bother you," said Xavier.

"You're not bothering me," said Wendy. "Charles Dickens is my favorite author. I sometimes read aloud to my dog."

"You have a dog?" asked Xavier.

Wendy nodded.

Xavier stared into her dark eyes. "I love dogs," he said, as his brain said, I love you.

Wendy and Xavier spent the afternoon together. He could hardly stop talking.

It was like a genie⁷ had escaped from a bottle. All the love and emotion that had been buried for so long inside him came pouring out on Wendy.

"I don't even know your name," he suddenly blurted.

"Wendy Nogard," said Wendy.

"I'm Xavier Dalton," said Xavier.

They shook hands and made plans to meet again at the museum the following week.

On her way home, Wendy stopped by the library and checked out A Tale of Two Cities. Then she went to the pet store and bought a dog.

A month later Xavier asked her to marry him.

Wendy didn't know what to say. She loved Xavier. And she knew he loved her. But she still hadn't told him about her ear.

The one on top of her head, I mean.

He knew about the other two. He had nibbled⁸ on each of them.

"Marriage is a big step," she said. "I'm afraid we haven't known each other long enough."

"I've known you long enough to know I could never be happy without you," said Xavier. "Before I met you, Wendy, I was sad and lonely. But I was used to it. Now I can't imagine living like that again. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He stroked her hair.

"Well, there's one little thing you don't know about me," said Wendy.

His hand bumped into it. "What's this thing?" he asked.

"That's what I was going to tell you about, dear," said Wendy.

Xavier parted Wendy's hair and looked at it. "It's an ear!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, it is," said Wendy. "Some people have two ears. I have three. Now that you know, if you still want to marry me, my answer is yes! Yes, sweetheart yes!"

"I love you," said Xavier. "That's all that matters to me."

That was what he said. But this is what he was thinking.
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Oh, gross! You're disgusting! I never want to touch you again! I can't even stand to look at you! You tricked me, you freak! You monster!

And of course Wendy heard every word.

He stood up. "I'll be right back, sweetheart. I bought you diamond earrings⁹ as an engagement present. I just need to run back to the jewelry¹⁰ store and buy one more." He hurried out the door.

She never saw him again.

I'm sorry to say this story has a sad ending.

Xavier, thanks to Wendy, got over his shyness. He went out with lots of women but broke each one's heart. He could never love any of them.

There was a hole in his heart. He was in love with Wendy Nogard, but he didn't know it. And so he could never be happy.

Wendy became a bitter and evil person. She was unhappy, and she wanted everyone else to be unhappy too.

Whenever she heard someone thinking happy thoughts, she would listen closely and then do and say just the right thing to make the person feel rotten.

She hated children the most. Every time she passed a playground, she heard them laughing and having fun.

So she became a substitute teacher.

1 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

3 sputter   

n.喷溅声；v.喷溅

参考例句：

• The engine gave a sputter and died.引擎发出一阵劈啪声就熄火了。
• Engines sputtered to life again.发动机噼啪噼啪地重新开动了。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

6 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 genie   

n.妖怪，神怪

参考例句：

• Now the genie of his darkest and weakest side was speaking.他心灵中最阴暗最软弱的部分有一个精灵在说话。
• He had to turn to the Genie of the Ring for help.他不得不向戒指神求助。

8 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。