Chapter 1

The Canary Caper

金丝雀的跳跃

Chapter 1 Dink Duncan opened his front door. His best friend, Josh Pinto, was standing on the steps. "Hi, Josh. C'mon in," said Dink. "I just finished lunch." Josh hurried past Dink, wiping his forehead. "We sure picked the hottest day of the summer to

第一章丁克·邓肯打开了他的前门。 他最好的朋友乔希·平托(Josh Pinto)站在台阶上。 “你好,杰克。“进来吧。”丁克说。 “我刚吃完午饭。”乔希匆匆走过丁克身边，擦着额头。 “我们选了夏天最热的一天来

go to the circus," he said. "I just took a shower, and I'm still hot." Dink grinned. "You took a shower? Let's see, that's two showers this month, right?" "Haw haw, very funny," Josh said. He opened the refrigerator door and pulled up his shirt. "Ahh, that feels good!" "It won't feel so good if my mom catches you," Dink said. Josh grabbed the apple juice and flopped into a chair. "You're funny, but it's too hot to laugh," he said, pouring himself a glass. "Where's Ruth Rose? It's almost time to leave." "She's waiting next door." Dink put his plate in the sink. "I have to run up and brush my teeth." "Forget your teeth—the circus is waiting!" Dink grinned and pointed to a clown-faced cookie jar on the counter. "Grab a cookie. I'll be right down." Josh made a beeline for the cookie jar. "Take your time brushing," he said. "Don't eat all of them!" Dink said, leaping up the stairs. "Dink," his mother called, "are you running?"

去看马戏吧，”他说。 “我刚洗完澡，还是很热。” 丁克咧嘴一笑。“你洗澡了?” 让我想想，这个月洗了两次澡，对吧?”“哈哈，很有趣，”乔希说。 他打开冰箱门，拉起衬衫。 “啊，感觉好极了!”丁克说:“如果你被我妈妈抓住了，那就不太好了。” 乔希抓起苹果汁，扑通一声坐在椅子上。 “你很有趣，但是太热了，笑不出来。”他说着，给自己倒了一杯。 “露丝·罗斯在哪儿?”差不多该走了。” “她在隔壁等着呢。” 丁克把盘子放在水池里。 “我得上楼去刷牙。” “忘了你的牙齿吧——马戏团在等着你呢!”丁克咧嘴一笑，指着柜台上一个小丑脸的饼干罐。 “拿块饼干。我马上下来。” 乔希径直向饼干罐走去。 “慢慢刷，”他说。 “别把它们都吃了!”丁克说着，跳上了楼梯。 “丁克，”他妈妈喊道，“你在跑步吗?”

"Sorry, Mom," he called back. "We're in a hurry. Thursday is half-price admission if we get to the circus by one o'clock." Dink brushed his teeth, yanked a comb through his blond hair, then charged back down the stairs. "Donald David Duncan!" his mother yelled. "No running in the house!" The phone rang in the kitchen. "Got it, Mom!" Dink grabbed the phone, watching Josh stuff a whole cookie into his mouth. "Hello, Duncan residence." Dink listened, then said, "We'll be over in five minutes." He hung up. "We'll be over where in five minutes?" Josh asked. "Mrs. Davis's house. You know her canary, Mozart? He's escaped." "What about the circus?" asked Josh. "Halfprice, remember?" Dink shrugged. "So we pay full price. Mrs. Davis needs our help." They walked next door to Ruth Rose's house and rang the bell. Four-year-old Nate Hathaway opened the door. He stared up at Dink with huge blue eyes.

“对不起，妈妈。” “我们赶时间。如果我们在星期四一点钟以前赶到马戏团，可以半价入场。” 丁克刷了牙，用梳子梳了梳他的金发，然后冲下楼梯。 “唐纳德·大卫·邓肯!” “不许在屋里跑!”厨房里的电话响了。 “明白了，妈妈!”丁克抓起手机，看着乔什把一整块饼干塞进嘴里。 “你好，邓肯公馆。” 丁克听了，然后说:“我们五分钟后就结束。” 他挂断了电话。“我们五分钟后到哪儿?”杰克问。 “戴维斯夫人的房子。你知道她的金丝雀吗，莫扎特? 他逃脱了。”“马戏团怎么样?”乔希问。 “Halfprice,记得吗?”丁克耸耸肩。 “所以我们付全价。戴维斯夫人需要我们的帮助。” 他们走到隔壁露丝·罗斯家，按响了门铃。 四岁的内特·海瑟薇打开了门。 他用大大的蓝眼睛盯着丁克。

"Hi, Natie," said Dink. "Is Ruth Rose ready?" Nate's lips, cheeks, and T-shirt were smeared with chocolate. He was holding a raggedy stuffed dinosaur. "Sheef ungt fruz," Nate said with a full mouth. Dink laughed. "She's what?" Ruth Rose showed up behind Nate. "MOM, WE'RE LEAVING NOW!" she screamed into the house. Josh clapped both hands over his ears. "Ruth Rose, you should get a job as a car salesman. Then you could yell all day and get paid for it." Ruth Rose stepped outside and closed the door. "You know perfectly well that I'm going to be President," she said sweetly. "And it's saleswoman, Josh." Ruth Rose liked to dress in one color. Today it was purple, from her sneakers to the headband holding back her black curls. While they walked down Woody Street, Dink told Ruth Rose about Mrs. Davis's missing canary. "Mozart got out of his cage?" Ruth Rose said. "I hope he doesn't fly over here. Tiger could swallow a canary in one bite."

“嗨，本地人，”丁克说。“露丝·罗斯准备好了吗?”内特的嘴唇、脸颊和t恤上都沾上了巧克力。 他手里拿着一只破烂的恐龙标本。 “羊角果，”内特嘴里塞满了东西，说道。 丁克笑了。“她是什么?”露丝·罗斯出现在内特身后。 “妈妈，我们要走了!”她朝屋里尖叫。 乔希用双手捂住耳朵。 “露丝·罗斯，你应该找一份汽车推销员的工作。 然后你可以大喊大叫一整天，还能得到报酬。” 露丝·罗斯走到外面，关上了门。 “你很清楚，我将成为总统，”她温柔地说。 “我是售货员，乔希。” 露丝·罗斯喜欢穿一种颜色的衣服。 今天是紫色的，从她的运动鞋到挡住她黑色卷发的发带。 当他们沿着伍迪街走的时候，丁克告诉露丝·罗斯戴维斯夫人丢失金丝雀的事。 “莫扎特从笼子里跑出来了?”露丝·罗斯说。 “我希望他不会飞到这里来。 老虎一口就能吞下一只金丝雀。”

"Your fat cat could swallow a turkey in one bite," Josh said. Ruth Rose rolled her eyes. "Tiger is plump," she said, "not fat. Race you!" Mrs. Davis was standing in the doorway of her large yellow house when they arrived. "Thank you for coming right over," she said. Mrs. Davis held a handkerchief, and her eyes were red. "I didn't know who else to call." "We don't mind," Dink said. "What happened to Mozart?" "After breakfast, I hung his cage out back so he could have some fresh air. But when I went to give him his lunch, his cage was empty!" "I'm sure he's somewhere nearby. Don't worry!" Dink said. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose ran around to the backyard. Mozart's cage was hanging in an apple tree.

“你的肥猫一口就能吞下一只火鸡，”乔希说。 露丝·罗斯翻了个白眼。 “老虎是丰满的，”她说，“不胖。 比赛你!”他们到达时，戴维斯夫人正站在她那座黄色大房子的门口。 “谢谢你能过来，”她说。 戴维斯夫人拿着手帕，眼睛通红。 “我不知道还能打给谁。” “我们不介意，”丁克说。 “莫扎特怎么了?”“早饭后，我把它的笼子挂在后面，让它呼吸一下新鲜空气。 但当我去给他午餐时，他的笼子是空的!”“我肯定他就在附近。 别担心!”丁克说。丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯跑到后院。 莫扎特的笼子挂在一棵苹果树上。