5. Raccoon Clues

Chapter 5 Raccoon Clues It took only a few minutes to walk to Indian Way Road, where Mr. Pocket lived. Bradley brought Pal. Pal liked to play with Randolph, Mr. Pocket's dog. The kids climbed up Mr. Pocket's porch. Bradley rang the bell. They heard barking from inside. A man's voice said, "Hush, Randolph!" Then Pal barked, too. His big tail swung back and forth.

第五章浣熊的线索我们只走了几分钟就到了普凯特先生住的印第安道。 布拉德利带来了帕尔，帕尔喜欢和口袋先生的狗伦道夫一起玩。 孩子们爬上了口袋先生的门廊。 布拉德利按了门铃。他们听到里面有狗叫。 一个男人的声音说：“安静，伦道夫！”然后帕尔也叫了起来。 它的大尾巴前后摆动着。

The door opened, and Mr. Pocket smiled at the kids. "Well, hello," he said. He was holding a fluffy dog in his arms. "Look, Randolph, we have company!" Randolph wriggled to get down to play with Pal. Pal tugged on his leash to reach Randolph. "Hi, Mr. Pocket," Bradley said. "We were wondering if we could ask you some questions." Mr. Pocket raised his bushy white eyebrows. "Questions about what?" he asked. "About missing Easter eggs!" Nate said. "Oooh, a mystery!" Mr. Pocket said. "Come right in!" The four kids and Pal trooped into Mr. Pocket's living room. Mr. Pocket set Randolph on the floor. "You can let Pal off his leash," he told Bradley. Bradley did, and the two dogs began to wrestle. "Please, come in the kitchen," Mr. Pocket said. "I have something on the stove."

门开了，朴凯特先生对孩子们笑了笑。 “你好，”他说。他怀里抱着一只毛茸茸的狗。 “看，伦道夫，我们有客人了！”兰多夫扭动着身子，想下来和帕尔玩。 帕尔拉着皮带想接近伦道夫。 “你好，朴凯特先生，”布拉德利说。 “我们想知道我们是否可以问你一些问题。” 朴凯特先生扬起了浓密的白眉毛。 “什么问题？”他问。 “关于丢失复活节彩蛋的事！”内特说。 “哦，一个谜！”朴凯特说。 “快进来！”四个孩子和帕尔成群结队地走进口袋先生的客厅。 普凯特先生把伦道夫打倒在地。 “你可以放开帕尔了，”他告诉布拉德利。 布拉德利照做了，两只狗开始扭打起来。 “请到厨房来，”朴凯特先生说。 “我炉子上有东西。”

Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy followed Mr. Pocket. He walked over to the stove and stirred something in a pot. "Do you kids like spinach?" he asked. "No!" shouted Nate and Brian. "Yes!" shouted Bradley and Lucy. Mr. Pocket laughed. "Don't worry, I won't make you eat any," he said. "Actually, I'm boiling dandelion greens. They taste even better than spinach." "You eat dandelions?" Nate asked. "My parents pull them up and throw them away. Aren't dandelions just weeds?" "Yes, they are weeds," Mr. Pocket said. "But if you pick the leaves before the yellow blossoms open, they make a delicious meal. I just boil them for a few minutes, then add a little butter, salt, and pepper. Yum!" Mr. Pocket set down his mixing spoon. "Now, what about this egg mystery?" he asked. The kids told him how Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose hid some plastic eggs for them to find. "But

布拉德利、布莱恩、内特和露西跟在口袋先生后面。 他走到炉边，在锅里搅拌着什么东西。 “你们这些孩子喜欢吃菠菜吗？” “不！”内特和布莱恩喊道。 “是的！”布雷德利和露茜喊道。 朴凯特先生笑了。“别担心，我不会让你吃的，”他说。 “实际上，我在煮蒲公英嫩叶。 它们的味道甚至比菠菜还好。” “你吃蒲公英？”内特问道。 “我父母把它们拔起来扔掉。 蒲公英不就是野草吗？”“是的，它们是杂草，”朴凯特说。 “但如果你在黄花开放之前摘下叶子，它们就成了一顿美味的晚餐。 我把它们煮几分钟，然后加一点黄油、盐和胡椒粉。 Yum !”朴凯特先生放下他的调羹。 “现在，这个蛋之谜怎么样？”他问。 孩子们告诉他丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯如何藏了一些塑料蛋让他们去找。 “但

they also hid four real eggs," Bradley went on. "They painted them gold. They said that if we found them, we would get a treasure!" Mr. Pocket smiled. "And did you find the eggs?" he asked. "No. They told us where they hid the eggs, but they disappeared!" Nate said.

他们还藏了四个真蛋，”布拉德利接着说。 “他们把它们涂成金色。他们说如果我们找到他们，我们就会得到宝藏！”朴凯特先生笑了。 “你找到蛋了吗？”他问。 “没有。他们告诉我们他们把蛋藏在哪儿了，可是蛋不见了！”内特说。

"We remembered seeing you in the park," Lucy added. "We wondered if you saw them." "No, I only saw the swans and a lot of dandelions," Mr. Pocket said. Randolph and Pal raced into the kitchen. "I wonder if Randolph ate the eggs!" Brian said. Mr. Pocket laughed. "My little dog doesn't like eggs," he said. "Well, we'd better keep looking," Bradley said. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Pocket. Sorry we disturbed you." "You didn't disturb me at all," Mr. Pocket said. "Randolph and I love visitors." He walked the kids to the door. "I hope you solve your mystery," he said. The four kids walked out onto Mr. Pocket's porch. "You know, I just thought of something," Mr. Pocket said. He was looking through his screen door. "Raccoons often steal birds' eggs to eat. I

“我们记得在公园里见过你。”露茜补充说。 “我们想知道你有没有看到它们。” “没有，我只看到了天鹅和许多蒲公英，”朴凯特先生说。 伦道夫和帕尔冲进厨房。 “我想知道伦道夫是不是把鸡蛋吃了！”布莱恩说。 朴凯特先生笑了。“我的小狗不喜欢吃鸡蛋，”他说。 “好吧，我们最好继续找，”布拉德利说。 “非常感谢，朴凯特先生。 对不起，打扰你了。”“你根本没有打扰我，”朴凯特先生说。 “伦道夫和我都喜欢访客。” 他把孩子们送到门口。 “我希望你能解开你的谜团，”他说。 四个孩子走到普凯特先生家的门廊上。 “你知道，我刚想到一件事，”朴凯特说。 他正透过纱门往外看。 “浣熊经常偷鸟蛋吃。 我

saw a family of raccoons this morning. I wonder if they took your eggs." "We saw them, too," Brian said. "That's a good idea, Mr. Pocket!" The kids said good-bye, and Bradley put Pal back on his leash. "Let's cut through the park and check one more time," he said. "Maybe we'll see those raccoons again," Lucy said. "They'd better not be having eggs for breakfast!" Nate said.

今天早上看到了一群浣熊。 不知道他们是不是拿走了你的蛋。” “我们也看到了，”布莱恩说。 “好主意，朴凯特先生！”孩子们说再见，布拉德利把帕尔放回他的皮带上。 “我们穿过公园再去看看吧，”他说。 “也许我们还能再见到那些浣熊。”露茜说。 “他们早餐最好不要吃鸡蛋！”内特说。