Chapter 0

TOTO THE NINJA CAT AND THE MYSTERY JEWEL THIEF DERMOT O'LEARY

忍者猫托托和神秘珠宝大盗德莫特·奥莱利

PROLOGUE It was gone midnight when Mayor Dick Whittington, riding a giant horse and with his trusty cat companion, Tom, tucked inside his coat, finally arrived at his destination: the top of HAMPSTEAD HEATH, the highest point in the whole of MEDIEVAL LONDON.

午夜过后，迪克·惠廷顿市长骑着一匹巨马，带着他忠实的猫伙伴汤姆，终于到达了他的目的地：汉普斯特德希思山顶，整个中世纪伦敦的最高点。

Overlooking the capital, they could easily make out St Paul's Cathedral, standing proudly, the beacon for all Londoners, its tall spire jutting up into the cold clear night sky. For a while, they said nothing, content to take in the view of the city they had helped to build and keep safe.

俯瞰伦敦，他们很容易就能辨认出圣保罗大教堂，傲然屹立，它是所有伦敦人的灯塔，高高的尖顶高耸入寒冷晴朗的夜空。 有一段时间，他们什么也没说，满足于欣赏这座他们帮助建立并保护安全的城市的景色。

With a quiet purr, Tom finally emerged from his master's coat, climbed out and stretched, arching his back. He then nuzzled at Dick's neck, before jumping down effortlessly from the horse on to the mossy grass below. Both Dick and Tom were exhausted, but this task had to be COMPLETED IN SECRET, under the cover of darkness. This was partly due to their fame (in late medieval London, everyone knew the Mayor and his cat) but also due to the importance and power of what Tom carried with him. 'Are you sure about this, Tom?' Dick whispered as loudly as he dared, afraid of being overheard. 'You won it fair and square by DEFEATING AN EVIL that would have plagued this city, maybe even the whole country. KING RODERICK THE ABSOLUTELY FILTHY DIRTY is beaten and his rat army have fled thanks to you. Now with this MYSTERIOUS, MAGICAL COLLAR

汤姆轻轻地咕噜了一声，终于从主人的外套里钻了出来，爬了出来，伸伸懒腰，拱起了背。 然后他用鼻子蹭了蹭迪克的脖子，然后毫不费力地从马上跳到了下面长满苔藓的草地上。 迪克和汤姆都筋疲力尽，但这项任务必须在黑暗的掩护下秘密完成。 这部分是由于他们的名声（在中世纪晚期的伦敦，每个人都知道市长和他的猫），但也由于汤姆随身携带的东西的重要性和力量。 “你确定吗，汤姆？”迪克怕被人听见，尽量大声地低声说。 “你赢得了光明正大的胜利，打败了一个可能会困扰这个城市，甚至整个国家的恶魔。 罗德里克国王绝对肮脏的肮脏被打败了，他的老鼠军队已经逃跑了，多亏了你。 现在有了这个神秘的魔法项圈

you're the most POWERFUL ANIMAL IN THE WORLD! Because of the strength it gives you, no one can best you in combat and, most incredibly, you can speak to me in my tongue. 'Don't you think I know that, my old friend?' the wise cat replied. 'That's all the more reason to do what I do tonight. I can't risk this collar falling into dangerous hands. The animal world is safe for now, but should this collar be found by the wrong cat, rat or dog... Now, come and join me- it's time. His master dismounted and dug out a small silver box from his horse's saddle bag. He carried it over to Tom, and they stood together at the side of a pond. The human smiled at his companion. 'I'll miss our chats, Tom.' 'Oh, don't worry, Dick, I'll still understand you, but now I won't have to answer back. I can act like a regular cat and ignore you!'

你是世界上最强大的动物！因为它给你的力量，没有人能在战斗中胜过你，最不可思议的是，你能用我的舌头和我说话。 “你以为我不知道吗，我的老朋友？”聪明的猫回答。 “那就更有理由做我今晚要做的事了。 我不能冒险让这个项圈落入危险之手。 动物世界目前是安全的，但如果这个项圈被错误的猫、老鼠或狗发现…… 现在，来和我一起——时间到了。 他的主人下了马，从马的鞍袋里掏出一个银色的小盒子。 他把它拿给汤姆，他们一起站在池塘边。 人类对他的同伴微笑。 “我会想念我们聊天的，汤姆。“哦，别担心，迪克，我还是会理解你的，但现在我不必回答了。” 我可以像一只普通的猫一样，无视你！”

Dick laughed and ruffled Tom's fur. 'Well, if you are sure this is the right thing to do, rest assured, I'll honour our agreement: half will go to the Tower of London, and half will be lost for all time. The cat nodded and pawed at the collar. It unclasped and came apart into two perfect circles- one offlawless diamonds and one of deep blue sapphires- shining in the moonlight. No matter how many times they saw it, both human and cat found its beauty staggering. Taking one last look, TOM PLACED THE DIAMOND BAND into a velvet pouch and carefully popped it back into the SILVER BOX. Snapping it shut, he threw it into the deep inky pond,

迪克笑了，揉了揉汤姆的毛。 “好吧，如果你确信这样做是正确的，请放心，我会遵守我们的协议：一半去伦敦塔，一半永远消失。 猫点点头，用爪子抓着项圈。 它松开了，分裂成两个完美的圆圈——一个是无瑕的钻石，一个是深蓝色的蓝宝石——在月光下闪闪发光。 无论人类和猫看过多少次，都觉得它的美令人惊叹。 汤姆最后看了一眼，把钻石戒指放进一个天鹅绒袋子里，然后小心翼翼地放回银盒子里。 他把它合上，扔进漆黑的深池塘，