1. The Face at the Window

Chapter 1 The Face at the Window "It's your turn, Nate," Bradley said. Bradley, Brian, and Lucy were at Nate's house, sitting on the floor around his Monopoly board. Nate was petting his new puppy, Socks. "I know it is," he said as he reached for the dice. Suddenly Socks snatched a pile of play money and raced across the room.

“轮到你了，内特，”布拉德利说。 布拉德利、布莱恩和露西在内特家，围着他的大富翁板坐在地板上。 内特在抚摸他的新小狗袜子。 “我知道，”他边说边伸手去拿骰子。 突然，索克斯抓起一堆玩钱，跑过房间。

Nate chased the puppy and trapped him behind a chair. "Socks, give me the money!" Nate said in a stern voice. Socks dropped the money and licked Nate's hand. Nate grabbed the money. "Thank you, Socks," he said. "Good dog." "Socks wants a toy," Lucy said. "Puppies need stuff to chew on." "He chews my shoes all the time," Nate said. "And my mittens and my hat." "But that's why he should have a toy," Bradley said. "You should get him something of his own to play with." "Yeah, let's go buy him a toy," Brian added. "Mrs. Wong has lots of pet stuff in her shop." The kids grabbed their jackets and headed out the front door. "Be a good boy, Socks," Nate told his puppy. "And don't eat the money!" Socks flopped on the floor and wagged his tail. The kids walked toward Main Street. Snow covered the ground and the tree branches. People

内特追赶小狗，把它困在椅子后面。 “袜子，把钱给我！”内特严厉地说。 袜子扔下钱，舔了舔内特的手。 内特抢了钱。“谢谢你，袜子，”他说。 “好狗狗。”“袜子想要一个玩具，”露西说。 “小狗需要咀嚼的东西。” “他总是啃我的鞋子，”内特说。 “还有我的手套和帽子。” “但这就是为什么他应该有一个玩具，”布拉德利说。 “你应该给他弄点他自己玩的东西。” “是啊，我们去给他买个玩具吧，”布莱恩补充道。 “黄太太的店里有很多宠物用品。” 孩子们抓起外套，走出了前门。 “做个好孩子，袜子，”内特对他的小狗说。 “别把钱吃了！”袜子在地板上扑通一声，摇着尾巴。 孩子们朝主街走去。 雪覆盖了地面和树枝。 人

on the street smiled at each other and said, "Happy New Year!" The big clock over the bank read 3:00 P.M. DECEMBER 31. "The party at our house is at six o'clock," Bradley reminded the others. "But my mom wants us there before it gets dark. After we buy Socks his toy, we'll have time to go back to Nate's and finish the game." When the kids walked into Furry Feet Pet Shop, Mrs. Wong was feeding the goldfish. "Hi, kids," she said. "How was your Christmas?" "Mine was great!" Nate said. "I got a puppy from my sister." Mrs. Wong smiled. "I know," she said. "Ruth Rose and I loved keeping it a big secret from you." "How was your vacation in Florida?" Bradley asked. "Most of it was wonderful," Mrs. Wong said. "But I dropped my cell phone into the ocean! It sank right to the bottom. And while I was away, my house got burglarized! A thief came in and stole my laptop computer!"

街上的人互相笑着说：“新年快乐！”银行上方的大钟显示下午三点 12月31日。“我们家的聚会是六点钟，”布拉德利提醒其他人。 “但我妈妈想让我们在天黑前赶到那里。 等我们给袜子买了玩具，我们就有时间回内特家玩完游戏了。” 当孩子们走进毛脚宠物店时，黄太太正在喂金鱼。 “嗨，孩子们，”她说。“你的圣诞节过得怎么样？”“我的太棒了！”内特说。 “我从我姐姐那里得到了一只小狗。” 黄太太笑了。“我知道，”她说。 “露丝·罗斯和我喜欢对你保守这个大秘密。” “你在佛罗里达的假期怎么样？”布拉德利问。 “大部分都很棒，”黄太太说。 “但是我把手机掉到海里了！”它一直沉到海底。 我不在的时候，我家被盗了！一个小偷进来偷走了我的笔记本电脑！”

"Oh my goodness!" Lucy said. "Did you call the police?" "Yes, and Officer Fallon came right to my house," Mrs. Wong said. "The only thing missing was the laptop. We don't know how the thief got in, because none of the doors or windows had been broken." "I hope they catch whoever did it," Brian said. "Me too," Mrs. Wong said. "I miss e-mail!" Nate looked at the shelves of pet supplies. "I need a new toy for my puppy, Socks," he said. "Lots of choices," Mrs. Wong said. "Does Socks want something soft and furry, or something rubbery that squeaks?" Nate laughed. "He wants both!" he said. Mrs. Wong showed Nate a purple rubber figure shaped like a big peanut. It had fuzzy green hair. "Then he should love this," she said. "He's called Mr. Purple." She squeezed Mr. Purple's belly, and it squeaked. Mrs. Wong held the figure under Nate's nose. "Take a sniff," she said. "It smells just like peanut butter!" Nate said.

“哦，天哪！”露西说。 “你报警了吗？”“是的，法伦警官直接来过我家，”黄太太说。 “唯一丢失的东西就是笔记本电脑。 我们不知道小偷是怎么进来的，因为门窗都没有被打破。” “我希望他们能抓住凶手，”布莱恩说。 “我也是，”黄太太说。“我想念电子邮件！”内特看着货架上的宠物用品。 “我需要给我的小狗袜子买个新玩具，”他说。 “有很多选择，”黄太太说。 “袜子想要柔软毛茸茸的东西，还是像橡胶一样会吱吱叫的东西？”内特笑了。 “他两样都要！”他说。黄太太给内特看了一个紫色的橡胶娃娃，形状像一颗大花生。 它长着毛茸茸的绿毛。“那他应该会喜欢这个，”她说。 “他叫紫先生。”她捏了捏紫色先生的肚子，它吱吱作响。 王太太把那人放在内特的鼻子底下。 “闻一闻，”她说。“闻起来就像花生酱！”内特说。

"Yup. Dogs love peanut butter," Mrs. Wong told him. "Perfect," Nate said. "How much is it?" Mrs. Wong smiled. "Free. It's my Christmas gift to Socks," she said. She slipped the toy into a bag and handed it to Nate. "Thank you!" Nate said. "I'll bring Socks over so he can thank you, too!" The kids left the shop. It had started to snow, and the flakes landed on their hats and noses.

“是的。狗喜欢花生酱，”黄太太告诉他。 “太好了，”内特说。“多少钱？”黄太太笑了。 “免费。这是我送给袜子的圣诞礼物，”她说。 她把玩具塞进一个袋子里，递给内特。 “谢谢你!”内特说。“我会把索克斯带过来，这样他也会感谢你的！”孩子们离开了商店。 天开始下雪了，雪花落在他们的帽子和鼻子上。