4 Monty the Musical Dog

Monty the Musical DOG MONTY WAS A DOG who enjoyed the finer things in life: a morning bath complete with bubbles... roast beet for dinner served in a silver bowl... his OWN wicker basket lined with a soft tartan blanket on which to sleep.

音乐狗蒙蒂是一只享受生活中美好事物的狗：早晨洗个泡泡澡…… 晚餐用银碗盛烤甜菜。 他自己的柳条篮子里铺着一条柔软的格子呢毯子，他可以在上面睡觉。

Monty was a basset hound. The much-loved pet lived in a grand old country house with a grand old name. This grand old dame had a lifelong passion for musicals. In her younger days, Dame Emerald had been a superstar of musical theatre. She trod the boards of the West End in London and Broadway in New York. Dame Emerald knew every single word to every single song from every single show. She had an immense collection of records of all the classic musicals. She played them on her old-fashioned gramophone at full blast, singing along and reliving her glory days. "LAH!" As Monty heard musicals all day, every day, he grew to love them as

蒙蒂是一只巴吉特猎犬。这只深受喜爱的宠物住在一座古老的乡间别墅里，有着古老的名字。 这位伟大的老妇人一生酷爱音乐剧。 在她年轻的时候，祖母绿夫人是音乐剧界的超级明星。 她登上了伦敦西区和纽约百老汇的舞台。 翡翠夫人知道每一场演出的每一首歌的每一个字。 她收集了大量所有经典音乐剧的唱片。 她用老式留声机把它们放到最大音量，一边跟着唱，一边重温她的光辉岁月。 “啦!”由于蒙蒂整天、每天都听音乐剧，他渐渐爱上了音乐剧

much as his keeper. The pet would raid Dame Emerald's dressing-up box to act out scenes from the shows as the crackly old records spun round on the gramophone. Monty would become the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA himself! For this he would don a mask, hat and cape. Or he would put on a nun's habit! Then he would spin around playing Maria from The Sound of Music. His favourite was to play the cold- hearted Javert from Les Misérables. For this, Monty would sport a long police- officer's coat and one of those funny sideways hats. When Monty really lost himself in a character and howled along to the show tunes, he would be mercilessly mocked. That's because Dame Emerald had another pet in her country pile: a black-and-white cat named Snipe. As is tradition in the animal world, the cat and the dog

就像他的守护者。当留声机里播放着破旧的唱片时，这只宠物会突袭埃默里德夫人的化妆盒，表演演出中的场景。 蒙蒂自己也将成为歌剧魅影！为此，他会戴上面具、帽子和斗篷。 或者他会穿上修女的衣服！然后他会旋转着演奏《音乐之声》里的玛利亚。 他最喜欢演《悲惨世界》里那个冷酷无情的沙威。 为此，蒙蒂会穿上一件长长的警官大衣，戴上一顶滑稽的侧帽。 当蒙蒂真正沉浸在一个角色中，随着节目的旋律嚎叫时，他会被无情地嘲笑。 这是因为祖母绿夫人在她的乡村堆里还有另一只宠物：一只名叫斯内普的黑白猫。 就像动物世界的传统一样，猫和狗

were sworn enemies. In the lounge of the house, Snipe would crouch on the headrest of Dame Emerald's armchair. This was somewhere Monty with his little legs could not reach. The cat would wait until the old lady dozed off with a glass of her favourite tipple in her hand. Then, from her place of safety, she would snipe at Monty. "You can't sing a note, you pongy old pooch!" she purred. "You don't know the first thing about musical theatre, you rotten old moggy!" Monty retorted. "I know the words to every song from every show!" "Nonsense!"

我们是死敌。在客厅里，斯内普蹲在祖母绿夫人的扶手椅头枕上。 这是蒙蒂的小双腿够不到的地方。 这只猫会一直等到老太太手里端着一杯她最喜欢的烈酒睡着了。 然后，从她安全的地方，她会狙击蒙蒂。 “你连一个音符都不会唱，你这个矮胖的老杂种！” “你对音乐剧一窍不通，你这老臭猫！”蒙蒂反驳道。 “我知道每个节目里每首歌的歌词！”“胡说!”

"It is not nonsense!" "Nonsense!" "Not nonsense!" "Well then, why, oh why, do you never sing the songs from this, my favourite show?" With that, Snipe leaped up on to the highest shelf of the cabinet and pulled out a black record with the word CATS in huge white letters on it. The dog fumed. Steam came out of his ears. His eyes crossed. "CATS! A MUSICAL?" he spluttered. "What sorcery is this!" "It's not sorcery! It is real!" replied the smug-looking cat. "The old dear

“这不是胡说！”“胡说!”“不是胡说八道!”“那么，为什么，哦，为什么，你从来不唱我最喜欢的节目里的歌呢？”说着，斯内普跳上了柜子最高的一层架子，拿出一张黑色的唱片，上面写着几个大大的白字“猫”。 狗发怒了。他的耳朵里冒出了蒸汽。 他的眼睛交叉着。“猫!音乐剧？”他结结巴巴地说。 “这是什么魔法！”“这不是巫术！”这是真的！”那只一脸得意的猫回答。 “亲爱的