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CHAPTER II PATTER’S TRICKS
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Bunny Brown and his sister Sue1 were really surprised at Daddy Brown’s surprise. Never had they been so astonished. They watched the queer2 little chap with his red, white and blue suit dancing around the room.
 
“Who is he?” cried Bunny.
 
“Where did you get him?” Sue wanted to know. “Is he for us to keep?”
 
“Do you want to keep him?” asked Mr. Brown, laughing at the surprise of his two children.
 
“Oh, he’s lovely!” cried Sue.
 
“But who is he?” asked Bunny again.
 
And while the children are trying to guess I will tell my new readers a little about Bunny and Sue so they will, I hope, be better friends from knowing them better.
 
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown lived with[14] Bunny and Sue—their only children—in the eastern city of Bellemere, on Sandport Bay, not far from the ocean. Mr. Brown owned a boat and fish dock3, and Bunker Blue, the red-haired boy, was one who helped run it. Sometimes Uncle Tad, who had fought “in the war,” as Bunny told his chums, worked down at the dock, and often the old soldier would go on little trips with the children.
 
Mr. Brown rented boats, and he sold fish when the men he hired were lucky enough to catch any. He also sold clams4, crabs5, and lobsters6. Bunny and Sue knew how to catch crabs. But to get lobsters the boats had to go far out to sea, and the children were not allowed to do this unless daddy was with them.
 
In the first book of this series, called “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue,” I related to you some of the many adventures of this pair. After the happenings related in that book, Bunny and Sue went to Grandpa’s farm, they played circus, they went to their Aunt Lu’s city home and to camp. After some adventures in the big woods, the children were[15] taken on an automobile7 trip, and when they came back, to their delight, their father bought them a Shetland pony8.
 
Having a pony, Bunny thought it would be a good idea to give a “show,” so he and Sue did that, and on their next vacation they were taken to Christmas Tree Cove9. A trip to the sunny South was taken just before the children helped Mrs. Golden, who owned a little grocery, and in the book just before the one you are now reading—a book named “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Keeping Store”—I told you all the children did to aid Mrs. Golden.
 
And now we come to the present time, when Bunny and Sue were given a glad surprise by their father.
 
Around and around the room waltzed and danced the funny little chap in his red, white and blue clown suit, and Bunny and Sue kept asking:
 
“Who is he? What is he?”
 
Bunny was just going to guess that it was a monkey dressed up like a little dwarf10 when from beneath the cap came a sharp:
 
[16]“Bow-wow!”
 
“Oh, it’s a dog!” cried Sue.
 
“Is it a dog, Daddy?” asked Bunny.
 
“It sounds like one,” laughed Mr. Brown.
 
“And is he ours to keep?” the little boy questioned.
 
“Yes,” answered Mr. Brown. “He is your dog. Down, sir!” he commanded, and the dog dropped to all fours and stood looking at Mr. Brown as if for further orders.
 
“Dead dog!” cried the children’s father.
 
Instantly the dog stretched out as if he had lost all life.
 
“Oh, he’s a trick dog!” cried Bunny.
 
“Is he a trick dog?” asked Sue. She wanted her father to tell her for sure. And Mr. Brown answered:
 
“Yes, he is a trick dog, and rather valuable I think.”
 
“Where did you get him, Daddy?” asked Bunny.
 
“I took him for a debt,” was the reply. “A Frenchman, who had trained this trick dog, owed me some money for fish and for boat hire. I had about given up all hope of ever[17] getting my money, for the Frenchman said he was so poor he thought he could not pay for a long time. Then he asked me if I had children and if they loved animals. And when I said I had, and when I told him, Bunny and Sue, how fond you were of your dog Splash11, when you had him, and how you liked your Shetland pony, Toby, the man asked me to take this trick dog in place of the money he owed me.”
 
“And you did,” said Bunny.
 
“Yes, I did,” admitted Mr. Brown. “It was the only way to get anything from the poor Frenchman. So I had him bring the dog to the dock this afternoon, and then he showed me how to make him go through some of his tricks. Then I telephoned to you about the surprise.”
 
“It’s a lovely surprise,” said Sue.
 
“Who brought the dog up from the dock?” Bunny asked.
 
“I left him for Bunker Blue to bring,” explained Mr. Brown. “And when that old man, who inquired about the circus, rang the bell, I thought that was Bunker. But he[18] came a little later. And now, do you like your new trick dog?”
 
“Oh, I love him!” cried Sue.
 
“So do I!” declared Bunny. “May I pat him?” he asked.
 
“Oh, yes, the dog is quite friendly and tame,” said Mr. Brown, and soon Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had made friends with their new pet given up by the poor Frenchman in payment of his debt.
 
“What’s his name?” asked Bunny, as he took the cap off the dog’s head in order to see the animal better.
 
“Who’s, the Frenchman?” asked Mr. Brown. “His name is Jean Baptiste Foulard.”
 
“No, I mean the dog’s name,” said Bunny.
 
“Oh, he has a long French name, which means, in our language, ‘the little dog who brings the milk bottle in every morning,’” said Mr. Brown, with a laugh.
 
“What a cute name!” exclaimed Mrs. Brown. “Couldn’t the children call him that?”
 
“I’m afraid it’s too long,” said her husband.[19] “That name would be a regular tongue-twister. They had much better call the dog some simpler name.”
 
“And did he really bring the milk bottle in every morning?” asked Bunny.
 
“Yes, so the Frenchman said,” answered Mr. Brown. “The dog was taught to do that. Every morning, when his master opened the door, the dog would go out and lift in the bottle of milk. It was only a small bottle, and he could easily get the top in his mouth. Then he would lap some of the milk out of a saucer.”
 
“Oh, I wish we could see him do it!” cried Sue.
 
“He will do that and many other tricks,” her father explained. “The Frenchman was very sorry to part with his dog, but he did not want to sell him to some one who might not be kind, and so he gave him to me, and now he does not owe me any more money.”
 
“I know what we can do with this trick dog,” said Bunny, after thinking it over for a moment.
 
[20]“What?” asked his mother. But before Bunny could answer Sue broke in to ask:
 
“Where is the Frenchman now, Daddy?”
 
“He has gone away,” Mr. Brown replied. “Why do you ask, Sue?”
 
“’Cause I thought maybe he might come back and take our trick dog away.”
 
“Oh, no, he wouldn’t do that,” said Mr. Brown. “This Frenchman is honest. After he gave me the dog to pay his debt he would not take the animal back. Now I must show you what tricks the dog can do and you can practice putting him through them.”
 
Once again the dog marched around and danced. Then Mr. Brown gave him a stick which the dog carried like a gun, playing soldier. After that the dog rolled over, he turned a somersault, he “played dead,” and he “said his prayers,” by crouching12 in the seat of a chair and putting his forepaws on the back, with his head down between them.
 
“He can do other tricks,” said Mr. Brown. “But now, children, what are you going to call him? I think you had better take some other name than the long French one.”
 
[21]Bunny thought for a moment and then said:
 
“We can call him Patter!”
 
“Why?” asked his mother.
 
“’Cause his feet patter so on the floor when he dances,” said Bunny. And truly the toenails of the dog did make a queer little “pattering” sound as he waltzed around.
 
“I think that’s a nice name,” said Sue.
 
“Then we shall call this trick dog Patter,” decided13 Mr. Brown. “I’ll have a collar made for him with his name on it.”
 
Sue clapped her hands in delight and Bunny looked pleased. They made Patter do more tricks, and really the Frenchman’s dog seemed very smart.
 
“I’ll teach him more tricks,” said Bunny.
 
But just then, when Patter was doing the trick of pretending to be a soldier dog, there came another ring at the doorbell.

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1 sue PUAzm     
vt.控告,起诉;vi.请求,追求,起诉
参考例句:
  • If you don't pay me the money,I'll sue you.如果你不付给我钱,我就告你。
  • The war criminals sue for peace.战犯求和。
2 queer f0rzP     
adj.奇怪的,异常的,不舒服的,眩晕的
参考例句:
  • I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
  • She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。
3 dock GsQx9     
n.码头;被告席;vt.使(船)进港;扣;vi.进港
参考例句:
  • We took the children to the dock to see the ships.我们带孩子们到码头去看轮船。
  • The corrupt official stood in the dock.那贪官站在被告席上。
4 clams 0940cacadaf01e94ba47fd333a69de59     
n.蛤;蚌,蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.(在沙滩上)挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句
5 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 lobsters 67c1952945bc98558012e9740c2ba11b     
龙虾( lobster的名词复数 ); 龙虾肉
参考例句:
  • I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
  • She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。
7 automobile rP1yv     
n.汽车,机动车
参考例句:
  • He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
  • The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。
8 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
9 cove 9Y8zA     
n.小海湾,小峡谷
参考例句:
  • The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁,嫩绿一片,好一个山外的小海湾。
  • I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。
10 dwarf EkjzH     
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小
参考例句:
  • The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
  • The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
11 splash 5vRwD     
v.溅,泼;n.溅泼声,溅出的水等,斑点
参考例句:
  • I fell into the water with a splash.我跌入水中,激起水花四溅。
  • There's a splash of paint on the white wall.白墙上溅上了一片油漆。
12 crouching crouching     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
  • A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
13 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。


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