Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 "You think Winnie's kidnapper was standing right there at the microphone?" Dink asked. Ruth Rose nodded. "Yes, and I think Ping recognized him or her. That's why she charged the fence!" "But the guy probably stole Winnie at night," Dink said, "so how could Ping have seen him?"

第四章“你认为绑架温妮的人就站在麦克风前吗?”丁克问道。 露丝·罗斯点点头。“是的，我想平认识他或她。 所以她才冲向栅栏!”“但那家伙可能是在晚上偷走了温妮，”丁克说，“所以平怎么可能看到他呢?”

"Maybe she didn't see him," Ruth Rose said, "but she might have smelled him." "Right," Josh said. "Most animals can smell a lot better than humans." Dink stared at the TV screen. "So how do we figure out who Ping was growling at?" he asked. "Too bad pandas can't talk," Josh said. "We could just ask her!" "Pandas can't talk," Ruth Rose said, "but people can. I say we interview the three people who were standing at the microphone, starting with Irene Napper." "You think she did it?" Dink asked. "I don't know," Ruth Rose said. "But she does have a key to the gate." "If she thinks we suspect her, she might clam up," Josh said. Ruth Rose pointed at Dink's notebook. "We'll tell her we're writing a story for The Panda Paper." "Good idea," Dink said.

“也许她没有看到他，”露丝·罗斯说，“但她可能闻到了他的味道。” “好吧，”乔希说。“大多数动物的嗅觉比人类好得多。” 丁克盯着电视屏幕。 “那我们怎么知道平在对谁咆哮呢?”他问道。 “可惜熊猫不会说话，”乔希说。 “我们可以直接问她!”“熊猫不会说话，”露丝·罗斯说，“但人会。 我建议我们采访站在麦克风前的三个人，从艾琳·纳珀开始。” “你认为是她干的?”丁克问道。 “我不知道，”露丝·罗斯说。 “但她确实有一把打开大门的钥匙。” “如果她认为我们怀疑她，她可能会闭嘴，”乔希说。 露丝·罗斯指着丁克的笔记本。 “我们会告诉她我们在为《熊猫报》写故事。” “好主意，”丁克说。

Josh stood up and patted his stomach. "I have to be home by four to watch the twins for an hour," he said. Ruth Rose grabbed the cookie box. It was empty! "Joshua, I didn't get a single cookie!" she said. Josh grinned. "Detective work makes me hungry!" Josh woke up Pal, and the kids left Ruth Rose's house. They took a shortcut through the rose garden in Center Park. Pal barked at a swan being trailed by three cygnets. They passed the Book Nook and waved at Mr. Paskey in his window. At the petting zoo, they passed under a wooden arch. A honeysuckle vine climbed the arch, filling the air with a sweet smell. A hummingbird darted away. They found Irene Napper surrounded by ducks. She was feeding them pellets that she pulled from one of her uniform pockets. "Hi, Ms. Napper," Ruth Rose said.

乔希站起来，拍了拍自己的肚子。 他说:“我必须在四点之前回家，照看这对双胞胎一个小时。” 露丝·罗斯抓起饼干盒。 它是空的!“约书亚，我一块饼干都没吃到!”她说。 杰克笑了。“侦探工作让我很饿!”乔什醒了，伙计，孩子们离开了露丝·罗斯家。 他们抄近路穿过中央公园的玫瑰园。 帕尔对一只被三只小天鹅尾随的天鹅吠叫。 他们经过Book Nook书店，向橱窗里的帕斯基先生挥手致意。 在宠物动物园，他们从一个木拱门下经过。 一株金银花爬满了拱门，空气中弥漫着芬芳。 一只蜂鸟飞走了。 他们发现艾琳·纳珀周围都是鸭子。 她从制服口袋里掏出一粒药丸喂它们。 “嗨，纳珀女士，”露丝·罗斯说。

"Well, hi," Irene said. "Say, weren't you kids at Panda Park this morning?" "Yeah. We're sorry about the kidnapping," Josh said.

“你好，”艾琳说。“喂，你们今天早上不是在熊猫公园吗?”“是的。 我们对绑架感到抱歉，”乔希说。

Irene's smile disappeared. "I'm so angry I don't know what to do!" she said. "Who would steal a baby panda?" No one knew what to say. "Good thing Winnie's old enough to eat bamboo," Irene said. "If she still needed her mother's milk, I don't think she'd make it." Ruth Rose nudged Dink. "Um, we're writing a story for The Panda Paper," Dink said. "Could we ask you some questions?" The woman looked at Dink for a moment. "Yeah, I guess," she said finally. Just then, Pal barked, and the ducks scattered. "But first let's move your dog away from my ducks," Irene said.

艾琳的笑容消失了。 “我很生气，我不知道该怎么办!”她说。 “谁会偷熊猫宝宝?”没有人知道该说什么。 “好在温妮已经长大了，可以吃竹子了，”艾琳说。 “如果她还需要妈妈的奶，我想她活不下来了。” 露丝·罗斯轻轻地推了推丁克。“嗯，我们正在为《熊猫报》写一个故事，”丁克说。 “我们能问你几个问题吗?”女人看了丁克一会儿。 “是的，我想，”她最后说。 就在这时，帕尔叫了一声，鸭子们四散而逃。 “但首先让我们把你的狗从我的鸭子身边移开，”艾琳说。

The kids followed Irene to a shady bench. She sat and stretched out her long legs. "Shoot," Irene said. Pal sighed and dropped to the ground. Irene started stroking his ears. Dink noticed that Irene's hands were large and strong-looking. Everyone was waiting for Dink to ask a question. But Dink's mind was suddenly blank. "Who takes care of Ping and Winnie?" Ruth Rose asked, coming to Dink's rescue. "I do," Irene said. "I feed them, clean out their area, all that stuff. Ping even let me hold her baby."

孩子们跟着艾琳来到一条阴凉的长凳上。 她坐下来，伸直了她的长腿。 “开枪，”艾琳说。朋友叹了口气，倒在地上。 艾琳开始抚摸他的耳朵。 丁克注意到艾琳的手又大又结实。 每个人都在等丁克提问。 但是丁克的脑子突然一片空白。 “谁照顾平和温妮?”露丝·罗斯过来救丁克，问道。 “是的，”艾琳说。“我喂他们，清理他们的区域，所有这些事情。 平甚至让我抱她的孩子。”