10 The Rarest Animal of All

CHAPTER 10 The Rarest Animal of All The pushmi-pullyus are now extinct. There are no more to be found anywhere on earth. In the

第十章世界上最稀有的动物普什米-拉利斯现在已经绝种了。 在地球上任何地方都找不到更多。 在

days when Doctor Dolittle lived, there were still a few in the jungles of Africa. Even then, though, they were very, very rare. They had no tail but a head at each end. There were sharp horns on each head. They were shy and terribly hard to catch. You could not sneak up on pushmi-pullyus, as they could always see you coming. Also, their heads slept at different times. So no pushmi-pullyu had ever been caught. Many hunters had tried over the years, but none was successful. So the monkeys set out to find a pushmipullyu. It was several miles into the jungle when one of them spotted unusual hoof prints. These were fresh tracks. They knew that a pushmipullyu was close by. They walked along the riverbank, following the tracks. They noticed a place where the grass was thick and tall. It was the perfect hiding place for a pushmi-pullyu. They all joined hands and made a giant circle

在杜立德医生生活的日子里，非洲的丛林里还有一些。 即使在那时，它们也非常非常罕见。 它们没有尾巴，但两端各有一个头。 每个头上都有锋利的角。 它们很害羞，很难抓住。 你不能偷偷靠近推拉，因为他们总能看到你的到来。 此外，他们的头在不同的时间睡觉。 所以从来没有人抓到过推拉。 多年来，许多猎人都尝试过，但没有一个成功。 于是猴子们开始寻找推拉器。 在丛林里走了几英里后，其中一人发现了不寻常的蹄印。 这些都是新的足迹。他们知道附近有一辆推拉车。 他们沿着河岸，循着足迹走着。 他们注意到一个地方，那里的草又厚又高。 这是一个完美的藏身之所。 他们手拉手围成一个巨大的圆圈

around the grassy spot. The pushmi-pullyu heard them and tried to run away. He could not break through the ring of monkeys, though. When he saw that there was no use trying to escape, he sat down. He waited to see what would happen next. "We would like to ask a favor," the Grand Gorilla said. "Would you go back to Puddleby with Doctor Dolittle? We are grateful for all he's done. We want to give him something very special." "Oh, most certainly not," the pushmi-pullyu said. "I could never do that!" The monkeys explained to him that he would not be put into a zoo. He would live with the doctor at his home and have a wonderful life. The pushmi-pullyu shook his head. "No. You know how shy I am. I would hate to be stared at." The monkeys tried to convince him that he would enjoy living with the good doctor. After quite some time, the pushmi-pullyu

在草地周围。那只推拉狗听到了他们的声音，试图逃跑。 然而，他无法突破猴子圈。 当他看到逃跑是没有用的时候，他坐了下来。 他等着看接下来会发生什么。 “我们想请你帮个忙，”大猩猩说。 “你愿意和杜立德医生一起回普德比吗？” 我们感谢他所做的一切。 我们想给他一些非常特别的东西。” “哦，当然不是，”那个推米拉琴说。 “我永远不会那样做！”猴子们向他解释说，他不会被关进动物园。 他会和医生一起住在家里，过着美好的生活。 推手摇了摇头。 “没有。你知道我有多害羞。 我讨厌被人盯着看。” 猴子们试图说服他，他会喜欢和这位好医生住在一起。 过了相当一段时间，推拉

agreed to meet with Doctor Dolittle. If he liked him, he would consider going with him. So the pushmi-pullyu and the monkeys traveled back to Doctor Dolittle's grass hut. They knocked on the door. The duck was packing the trunk. She turned to the door and said, "Come in!" Chee-Chee brought the pushmi-pullyu inside. He was very proud. "My goodness!" the doctor exclaimed. "What on earth is that?" He couldn't believe his eyes. "My word!" Dab-Dab the duck said. She looked at the strange animal with a head on both ends of its body. "How does it make up its mind?" "This is the pushmi-pullyu," said Chee-Chee. "It is the rarest animal in all the African jungles. It is the only two-headed beast in the world. If you take him home with you, all your money troubles will be solved. People will pay any money to see him."

同意和杜立德医生见面。 如果他喜欢他，他会考虑和他一起去。 于是，推米拉乌和猴子们回到了杜立德医生的草屋。 他们敲了敲门。鸭子正在收拾箱子。 她转身对着门说：“请进！”芝芝把推米拉绳带了进来。 他非常自豪。“我的天哪！” “那到底是什么？”他简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。 “我的话!”鸭子说。 她看着那只身体两端都长着头的奇怪动物。 “它是怎么下定决心的？”“这是推米-拉，”芝芝说。 “它是非洲丛林中最稀有的动物。 它是世界上唯一的双头兽。 如果你把他带回家，你所有的经济问题就迎刃而解了。 人们愿意付任何钱去看他。”

"But I don't want any money," said the doctor. "Yes, you do," said Dab-Dab. "You always forget that we need money to live." "Don't you remember how we had to scrimp and save?" asked Jip. "Also, we borrowed the fisherman's boat and now it's ruined. How will we pay him back if we don't have any money?" "I was going to build him one," said the doctor sheepishly. "Oh, do be sensible!" cried Dab-Dab. "You're not a carpenter. You've never built anything out of wood. You would have no idea where to start. Chee-Chee is right. We need to take this funny- looking creature with us." "Well, I do see your point," murmured the doctor. "I don't think that would be a very nice move for him, though. I would hate for him to leave this lovely place to go on display. It wouldn't seem fair. But would he—I'm sorry, I forgot his name—would he like to come home with us?"

“但我不想要钱，”医生说。 “是的，你知道。”哒哒说。 “你总是忘记我们需要钱来生活。” “你不记得我们是怎样省吃俭用的吗？”吉普问。 “而且，我们借了渔夫的船，现在它毁了。 如果我们没有钱，怎么还他钱呢？”“我本来要给他造一个的，”医生不好意思地说。 “啊，你可得理智点！”哒哒叫道。 “你不是木匠。你从来没用木头做过东西。 你不知道从哪里开始。 芝芝说得对。我们得带上这个长相滑稽的家伙。” “嗯，我明白你的意思，”医生喃喃地说。 “不过，我不认为这对他来说是一个很好的举动。 我不希望他离开这个可爱的地方去展出。 这似乎不公平。可是他——对不起，我忘了他的名字——愿意和我们一起回家吗？”

"Yes, I'll go," said the pushmi-pullyu. He had seen at once that Doctor Dolittle was a man to be trusted. "You have been so kind to all the animals here. The monkeys tell me that I am the only one who will do. But you must promise me one thing." "Of course," Doctor Dolittle said. "Whatever you would like." "If I don't like living in your land, you must promise to send me back." "Why, certainly," he said. "Excuse me, would you mind if I asked you a question?" "Please go ahead," the pushmi-pullyu said. Doctor Dolittle took his book out of his pocket and started to make notes. "I notice that you only speak with one mouth. Can you talk with the other one?" "Certainly," the pushmi-pullyu said. "I just like to save the other one for eating. That way, I can talk while I eat and not appear rude." When the packing was done and they were

“好吧，我去。”推拉门说。 他一眼就看出杜立德医生是个值得信赖的人。 “你对这里所有的动物都很好。 猴子们告诉我，只有我能做到。 但是你必须答应我一件事。” “当然，”杜立德医生说。 “你喜欢什么都行。” “如果我不喜欢住在你的土地上，你必须答应把我送回去。” “当然可以，”他说。 “对不起，你介意我问你一个问题吗？”“请走吧，”那个推拉娃娃说。 杜立德医生从口袋里掏出本子，开始做笔记。 “我注意到你只用一张嘴说话。 你能和另一个说话吗？”“当然可以，”那个推米拉琴说。 “我只是想把另一只留着吃。 这样，我就可以边吃边说话，不会显得粗鲁。” 当包装完成后，他们