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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle杜立特医生航海记6部分 » THE FIFTH CHAPTER THE SHELLFISH RIDDLE SOLVED AT LAST
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THE FIFTH CHAPTER THE SHELLFISH RIDDLE SOLVED AT LAST
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 SO Doctor Dolittle with a crown on his head sat down upon the shore like King Knut, and waited. And for a whole hour the porpoises1 kept going and coming, bringing up different kinds of sea-beasts from the deep to see if they could help him.
 
Many and curious were the creatures they produced. It would seem however that there were very few things that spoke2 shellfish except the shellfish themselves. Still, the porpoises grew a little more hopeful when they discovered a very old sea-urchin3 (a funny, ball-like, little fellow with long whiskers all over him) who said he could not speak pure shellfish, but he used to understand starfish—enough to get along—when he was young. This was coming nearer, even if it wasn’t anything to go crazy about. Leaving the urchin with us, the porpoises went off once more to hunt up a starfish.
 
They were not long getting one, for they were quite common in those parts. Then, using the sea-urchin as an interpreter, they questioned the starfish. He was a rather stupid sort of creature; but he tried his best to be helpful. And after a little patient examination we found to our delight that he could speak shellfish moderately well.
 
Feeling quite encouraged, the Doctor and I now got into the canoe; and, with the porpoises, the urchin and the starfish swimming alongside, we paddled very gently out till we were close under the towering shell of the Great Snail4.
 
And then began the most curious conversation I have ever witnessed. First the starfish would ask the snail something; and whatever answer the snail gave, the starfish would tell it to the sea-urchin, the urchin would tell it to the porpoises and the porpoises would tell it to the Doctor.
 
In this way we obtained considerable information, mostly about the very ancient history of the Animal Kingdom; but we missed a good many of the finer points in the snail’s longer speeches on account of the stupidity of the starfish and all this translating from one language to another.
 
While the snail was speaking, the Doctor and I put our ears against the wall of his shell and found that we could in this way hear the sound of his voice quite plainly. It was, as the fidgit had described, deep and bell-like. But of course we could not understand a single word he said. However the Doctor was by this time terrifically excited about getting near to learning the language he had sought so long. And presently by making the other fishes repeat over and over again short phrases which the snail used, he began to put words together for himself. You see, he was already familiar with one or two fish languages; and that helped him quite a little. After he had practised for a while like this he leant over the side of the canoe and putting his face below the water, tried speaking to the snail direct.
 
It was hard and difficult work; and hours went by before he got any results. But presently I could tell by the happy look on his face that little by little he was succeeding.
 
The sun was low in the West and the cool evening breeze was beginning to rustle5 softly through the bamboo-groves when the Doctor finally turned from his work and said to me,
 
“Stubbins, I have persuaded the snail to come in on to the dry part of the beach and let me examine his tail. Will you please go back to the town and tell the workmen to stop working on the theatre for to-day? Then go on to the palace and get my medicine-bag. I think I left it under the throne in the Audience Chamber6.”
 
“And remember,” Polynesia whispered as I turned away, “not a word to a soul. If you get asked questions, keep your mouth shut. Pretend you have a toothache or something.”
 
This time when I got back to the shore—with the medicine-bag—I found the snail high and dry on the beach. Seeing him in his full length like this, it was easy to understand how old-time, superstitious7 sailors had called him the Sea-serpent. He certainly was a most gigantic, and in his way, a graceful8, beautiful creature. John Dolittle was examining a swelling9 on his tail.
 
From the bag which I had brought the Doctor took a large bottle of embrocation and began rubbing the sprain10. Next he took all the bandages he had in the bag and fastened them end to end. But even like that, they were not long enough to go more than halfway11 round the enormous tail. The Doctor insisted that he must get the swelling strapped12 tight somehow. So he sent me off to the palace once more to get all the sheets from the Royal Linen-closet. These Polynesia and I tore into bandages for him. And at last, after terrific exertions13, we got the sprain strapped to his satisfaction.
 
The snail really seemed to be quite pleased with the attention he had received; and he stretched himself in lazy comfort when the Doctor was done. In this position, when the shell on his back was empty, you could look right through it and see the palm-trees on the other side.
 
“I think one of us had better sit up with him all night,” said the Doctor. “We might put Bumpo on that duty; he’s been napping all day, I know—in the summer-house. It’s a pretty bad sprain, that; and if the snail shouldn’t be able to sleep, he’ll be happier with some one with him for company. He’ll get all right though—in a few days I should judge. If I wasn’t so confoundedly busy I’d sit up with him myself. I wish I could, because I still have a lot of things to talk over with him.”
 
“But Doctor,” said Polynesia as we prepared to go back to the town, “you ought to take a holiday. All Kings take holidays once in the while—every one of them. King Charles, for instance—of course Charles was before your time—but he!—why, he was always holiday-making. Not that he was ever what you would call a model king. But just the same, he was frightfully popular. Everybody liked him—even the golden-carp in the fish-pond at Hampton Court. As a king, the only thing I had against him was his inventing those stupid, little, snappy dogs they call King Charles Spaniels. There are lots of stories told about poor Charles; but that, in my opinion, is the worst thing he did. However, all this is beside the point. As I was saying, kings have to take holidays the same as anybody else. And you haven’t taken one since you were crowned, have you now?”
 
“No,” said the Doctor, “I suppose that’s true.”
 
“Well now I tell you what you do,” said she: “as soon as you get back to the palace you publish a royal proclamation that you are going away for a week into the country for your health. And you’re going without any servants, you understand—just like a plain person. It’s called traveling incognito14, when kings go off like that. They all do it—It’s the only way they can ever have a good time. Then the week you’re away you can spend lolling on the beach back there with the snail. How’s that?”
 
“I’d like to,” said the Doctor. “It sounds most attractive. But there’s that new theatre to be built; none of our carpenters would know how to get those rafters on without me to show them—And then there are the babies: these native mothers are so frightfully ignorant.”
 
“Oh bother the theatre—and the babies too,” snapped Polynesia. “The theatre can wait a week. And as for babies, they never have anything more than colic. How do you suppose babies got along before you came here, for heaven’s sake?—Take a holiday.... You need it.”

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1 porpoises 223bb3a8f6402f66c6cab07736a435ff     
n.鼠海豚( porpoise的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • A shoal of porpoises are well on the feed. 一群海豚正在吞食。 来自辞典例句
  • In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。 来自辞典例句
2 spoke XryyC     
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。
3 urchin 0j8wS     
n.顽童;海胆
参考例句:
  • You should sheer off the urchin.你应该躲避这顽童。
  • He is a most wicked urchin.他是个非常调皮的顽童。
4 snail 8xcwS     
n.蜗牛
参考例句:
  • Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
  • Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。
5 rustle thPyl     
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声
参考例句:
  • She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
  • He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。
6 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
7 superstitious BHEzf     
adj.迷信的
参考例句:
  • They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
  • These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。
8 graceful deHza     
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
参考例句:
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
9 swelling OUzzd     
n.肿胀
参考例句:
  • Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
  • There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。
10 sprain CvGwN     
n.扭伤,扭筋
参考例句:
  • He got a foot sprain in his ankle. 他脚踝受了严重的扭伤。
  • The sprain made my ankle swell up. 我的脚踝扭伤肿了起来。
11 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
12 strapped ec484d13545e19c0939d46e2d1eb24bc     
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
参考例句:
  • Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 exertions 2d5ee45020125fc19527a78af5191726     
n.努力( exertion的名词复数 );费力;(能力、权力等的)运用;行使
参考例句:
  • As long as they lived, exertions would not be necessary to her. 只要他们活着,是不需要她吃苦的。 来自辞典例句
  • She failed to unlock the safe in spite of all her exertions. 她虽然费尽力气,仍未能将那保险箱的锁打开。 来自辞典例句
14 incognito ucfzW     
adv.匿名地;n.隐姓埋名;adj.化装的,用假名的,隐匿姓名身份的
参考例句:
  • He preferred to remain incognito.他更喜欢继续隐姓埋名下去。
  • He didn't want to be recognized,so he travelled incognito.他不想被人认出,所以出行时隐瞒身分。


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