-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Astropup and Lady Annabelle’s Diamond Dog Collar –
Hello Astropup here!
If you have heard any of the Sherlock Holmes stories, read by the excellent Richard here on Storynory, you will know that Holmes’s best friend, Doctor Watson, wrote down everything the great detective said or did. Well, when I say ‘everything’ I actually mean, ‘almost everything’.
A little while ago, I told you how I travelled back in time with my parrot friend, the ex-president of the world, and my human comrade, Marlow. We met Sherlock Holmes who seemed to think the parrot was a ventriloquist’s dummy1, and that Marlow had the knack2 of speaking with his lips closed. Holmes bet the parrot that he could not talk while Marlow was drinking a glass of water. Need I say the parrot won the bet hands down? Marlow downed a whole jug3 full while our feathered friend nattered on about this and that. We couldn’t shut his beak4 up. It was Holmes who was lost for words.
When Holmes conceded defeat and slung5 his money down on the table, the parrot squarked: “Satisfaction!” And Doctor Watson laughed saying: “By George, Holmes, that parrot has got the better of you!”
Holmes pointed6 his pipe at his friend and said in a most steely voice: “Good Doctor, be sure you never write down a word of this.”
Watson swore to keep mum about the whole episode. You won’t find a peep about the parrot in any of his books. But nobody asked me to make any promises. People seem to forget that we dogs see a lot of things that they would like to keep quiet. Now, thanks to alien translation technology, I can reveal many secrets in English, including The Mystery of Lady Annabelle’s Diamond Dog Collar.
Now, to continue where i left off…
The parrot took advantage of the detective’s temporary dumbfoundedness. He hopped7 over onto Holme’s desk and opened a notebook with his claw. For some time, he peered at a page with great interest.
Eventually Holmes muttered: “Even a bird of your talents will not understand that note. The symbols are Egyptian Hieroglyphs8.”
“On the contrary, my dear Holmes,” replied the parrot. “Egyptology is one of my little hobbies. This note is not especially grammatical but it would seem to mean – ‘Anubis has returned home’.”
“Good Gracious!” declared Holmes. ‘I do believe that bird has eaten the Minoan Black Seed that according to legend expands the brain of any creature that ingests it.”
At which the parrot did a little dance replying: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them, but so far as I know, no one has ever eaten it.”
“Woof!” I exclaimed because I was just thinking that it was time to eat something. But the parrot ignored my wagging tail.
“I am curious. Tell me more,” said the parrot, looking again at the neat little drawings on the notebook.
“I copied these symbols from a note left at the scene of a crime,” said Holmes.
“Intriguing,” commented the parrot with his head on one side. “What sort of crime?”
“A dog-napping,” declared Holmes.
“Cwaaa! I thought we were dealing11 with a criminal mastermind. How disappointing! Nobody but a fool would waste their energy on stealing a dog.”
“Hey, steady on,” I woofed.
“Unless,” said Holmes, “the dog was so pampered12 that he wore a collar studded with precious diamonds.”
“But why take the dog?” asked the parrot. “The stupid creature would bark and wake up the house. Why not just remove the collar?”
“Perhaps the dog defended his collar with his teeth bared?” suggested Watson.
“Perhaps he did, but presumably the thief killed the animal,” said the parrot. “Anubis, the Egyptian dog-god, belongs in the underworld. The note says he has returned home. That means he is dead.”
“My conclusion exactly,” said Holmes. ‘‘But his owner will not accept my advice. She begs me to find her pet alive and return him to her, with or without collar. In fact, she shows not the slightest concern for her lost diamonds, though their value is upwards14 of 10,000 pounds.”
“Fantastic!” exclaimed the parrot. “A mystery worthy15 of my genius. I shall solve this case for you. I don’t mind if you take the credit and the payment. All I wish for is intellectual satisfaction.”
“I assure you, I do not need to steal credit for detective work from anyone,” said Holmes.
He seemed quite angry at the suggestion and was banging his pipe on the arm of his chair.
“Of course,” conceded my feathered friend. I’d never heard him back down so graciously. It was a mark of the parrot’s esteem16 for Sherlock Holmes. “I should be most interested to hear your thoughts on the note written in Ancient Egyptian. It seems an odd sort of burglar who is a scholar of antiquities17.”
“The note was an entirely18 appropriate touch,” said Holmes. “My client is an expert on all things Egyptian. She has used a good portion of her wealth to acquire artifacts from the tombs of the Pharaohs. Her house is a veritable museum of ancient statues and jewels and figurines.”
“So do you believe that a fellow Egyptologist stole the collar?”
“No,” said Holmes. “I do not believe that, which is why I have booked an interview with the Director of Egyptology at the British Museum. I wish to ask if anyone had visited him, or any of his colleagues, seeking help with writing a note on Hieroglyphics19. We are expected in Bloomsbury in half an hour. You may come with us, but I request you to remain quiet.
A conversational20 bird of your intellect would create a massive amount of interest, and divert us from the case.”
“I can be quiet when it suits me,” claimed the parrot. Well, that was news to me, and I could see from Marlow’s rolling eyes that he did not quite believe it was possible for the parrot to hold his beak.
On the steps of the Museum a man in his peaked hat said: “Sorry sir, dogs and birds are not allowed inside.”
“But we have an appointment with Professor Tolomy,” said Holmes. “And this is a police dog.”
“In that case, i suggest you go in by the side entrance sir,” said the man, which we did.
I sniffed21 around the professor’s room, trying to seem like I was looking for clues, which is what police dogs generally do. I found a ham sandwich and ate it. The parrot, who was sitting on Doctor Watson’s shoulder, remained remarkably22 quiet – at first.
“Ah yes, Anubis has gone home, I remember the line well,” said the professor. “About a month ago a gentleman asked me to write out the characters for him.”
“And did he give a reason for his request?” asked Holmes.
The parrot could keep his peace no longer: “How romantic!” he squarked. The professor looked up and smiled: “How apt!” he said.
“How apt?” repeated the parrot, and Marlow and Holmes both glanced anxiously at him. He had puffed25 out his chest, as if he was about to go off on one if his long speeches, but somehow he managed to get a grip on himself and hold his exposition in.
Holmes nodded. “A rare bird indeed, but to return to our subject, can you describe the visitor who wished to send his sweetheart a bracelet inscribed27 with a message in ancient Egyptian?”
“Mmm, he was smartly dressed, perhaps, a little over 30 years of age,” said the professor thoughtfully. “He was knowledgeable28 about Ancient Egypt.”
“Would you say he was a learned man, perhaps belonging to a University?” asked Watson.
“No,” said the Professor. “He would have surely said so. There was something about the way he spoke29, perhaps the way he over-emphasised his ‘h’s, as in ‘hi-story’ that suggested a man of self-education.”
“Thank you,” said Holmes. “That is all we need to know. The case is solved.”
As we stepped out into the little streets around the Museum, and Holmes peered into the window of a book shop, Marlow said: “I can’t wait to hear. Who done it Mr Holmes?”
“The case is disappointingly straight-forward,” replied the detective. “It was the butler who did it.”
I’m sorry Astropup, I have to stop you there as it’s time for us to go walkies, but you can come back very soon and continue the story for our eager listeners on Storynory.com.
For now, from Astropup, and me, Richard Scott, Goodbye.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
dummy
|
|
| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
knack
|
|
| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
jug
|
|
| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
slung
|
|
| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
hopped
|
|
| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
hieroglyphs
|
|
| n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
pricked
|
|
| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
annoyance
|
|
| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
dealing
|
|
| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
pampered
|
|
| adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
esteem
|
|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
antiquities
|
|
| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hieroglyphics
|
|
| n.pl.象形文字 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
conversational
|
|
| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
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： |
|
|
|
|
22
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
inscription
|
|
| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
bracelet
|
|
| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
puffed
|
|
| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
mimic
|
|
| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
inscribed
|
|
| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
knowledgeable
|
|
| adj.知识渊博的；有见识的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
spoke
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索