17 The Ocean Gossips

CHAPTER 17 The Ocean Gossips The animals quickly found an ax. Doctor Dolittle picked it up, took two heavy swings, and

第十七章海洋的流言动物们很快找到了一把斧头。 杜立德医生捡起它，狠狠地挥了两下，然后

chopped a hole in the door. He made it just large enough to crawl through. At first, the room was too dark to see anything. Doctor Dolittle lit a match. The room was quite small. There were no windows and a low ceiling. There was only one small stool to sit on. In the middle of the floor sat a small boy crying bitterly. He was about eight years old. The little boy was frightened by this man and all the strange animals. But as soon as he saw the doctor's face he stopped crying and stood up. "You're not one of the pirates, are you?" he said. The doctor threw back his head and laughed. The little boy laughed, too. "You have a very friendly laugh," the boy said. "Not like a pirate at all. I am worried, though. Have you seen my uncle?" "Your uncle?" the Doctor said. "Was he on board this boat?" "Yes," the boy said. There were tears in his

在门上砍个洞。 他把它弄得刚好能爬过去。 起初，房间太黑，什么也看不见。 杜立德医生点燃了一根火柴。 房间很小。没有窗户，天花板也很低。 只有一张小凳子可以坐。 地板中央坐着一个小男孩，伤心地哭着。 他大约八岁。 这个小男孩被这个人和所有奇怪的动物吓坏了。 但当他看到医生的脸时，他停止了哭泣，站了起来。 “你不会是海盗吧？”他说。 医生仰起头笑了。 小男孩也笑了。 “你笑起来很友好，”男孩说。 “一点也不像海盗。 不过，我很担心。你见过我叔叔吗？”“你叔叔？”医生说。 “他在这条船上吗？”“是的，”男孩说。 他的眼里含着泪水

eyes. "We were fishing together when the pirates caught us. They wanted my uncle to join them as a pirate. They took him away when he refused." "And you have no idea what happened to him?" Doctor Dolittle asked. "No," the boy cried. "They locked me in this room. I haven't been outside in more than a week! I asked them about my uncle but they wouldn't tell me anything. I'm so worried that he has drowned!" "Try not to worry," Doctor Dolittle said. He patted the boy on his head. "We'll do everything we can to find your uncle." "Oh, thank you!" he said. "Could you describe your uncle for me?" Doctor Dolittle took out his notebook and pencil. "Well, he is quite tall," the boy said. "And he has red hair. His boat was called the Saucy Sally. I have no idea what happened to it." When he was finished, the boy took a nap in the sun. Doctor Dolittle went to the rail of the

眼睛。“我们一起钓鱼的时候被海盗抓住了。 他们想让我叔叔加入他们当海盗。 他拒绝了，他们就把他带走了。” “你不知道他出了什么事？”杜立德医生问。 “不，”男孩叫道。“他们把我锁在这个房间里。 我已经一个多星期没出去了！我问他们关于我叔叔的事，但他们什么也不告诉我。 我真担心他淹死了！”“尽量不要担心，”杜立特医生说。 他轻拍男孩的头。 “我们会尽一切努力找到你叔叔的。” “哦，谢谢你！”他说。“你能给我描述一下你叔叔吗？”杜立德医生拿出他的笔记本和铅笔。 “嗯，他挺高的，”男孩说。 “他有一头红头发。他的船被称为“莎莉号”。 我不知道它怎么了。” 当他完成后，男孩在太阳下打了个盹。 杜立德医生走到栏杆旁

ship. He called out until a group of dolphins appeared at the side of the boat. "I am looking for someone," he said. "Have you seen a tall fisherman with red hair? We think he has been missing for a week or two." "Do you mean the owner of the Saucy Sally?" one of the dolphins asked. "We've seen his boat. It's at the bottom of the sea. The fisherman isn't there, though. I can't say where he is, but he didn't drown." "How can you say that for sure?" Doctor Dolittle asked. "Oh, we would know," the dolphin answered. "They call us the ocean gossips because we know everything that happens in the water. If that fisherman drowned, we would know." "Well, that's good news at least," the Doctor said. "I guess we'll have to keep looking. If you hear of anything, please let us know. His nephew is very worried." The dolphins promised that they would.

船。他大声喊着，直到一群海豚出现在船边。 “我在找人，”他说。 “你见过一个红头发的高个子渔夫吗？” 我们认为他已经失踪一两个星期了。” “你是说莎莉号的主人吗？”其中一只海豚问道。 “我们见过他的船。它在海底。 不过，渔夫不在那里。 我不知道他在哪里，但他没有淹死。” “你怎么能这么肯定？”杜立德医生问。 “哦，我们会知道的，”海豚回答。 “他们叫我们海洋八卦，因为我们知道在水里发生的一切。 如果那个渔夫淹死了，我们会知道的。” “好吧，这至少是个好消息。”医生说。 “我想我们还得继续找下去。 如果你听到任何消息，请告诉我们。 他的侄子非常担心。” 海豚们答应了。

Doctor Dolittle talked to the animals about forming a search party. Too-Too and Dab-Dab agreed to fly over the water to look for clues. The swallows said they would look, too. "Remember to ask everyone you meet if they've seen a tall man with red hair," Doctor Dolittle said. "He must be somewhere!" The other animals made sure the boy was happy while on the boat. They played games and ran along the deck. As you might imagine, the boy had never seen a pushmi-pullyu before. He wondered if he was seeing things! The pushmi-pullyu did not mind being stared at by a child. He knew that the boy meant no harm. In fact, the pushmi-pullyu let the boy ride him around the boat! Doctor Dolittle was quiet. He was worried about the boy's uncle. The doctor looked out over the water. He hoped they heard something very soon.

杜立德医生告诉动物们要组成一个搜索队。 Too-Too和Dab-Dab同意飞越水面寻找线索。 燕子说它们也会去看看。 “记得问你遇到的每个人是否见过一个红头发的高个子男人，”杜立德医生说。 “他一定在什么地方！”其他动物确保小男孩在船上过得很开心。 他们玩游戏，沿着甲板跑。 你可以想象，这个男孩以前从来没有见过推拉车。 他怀疑自己是不是看到了什么东西！这只推拉狗并不介意被孩子盯着看。 他知道那个男孩没有恶意。 事实上，推米拖让男孩骑着它绕着船转！杜立德医生沉默了。 他很担心那个男孩的叔叔。 医生向水面望去。 他希望他们能很快听到消息。