8 The Leader of the Lions

CHAPTER 8 The Leader of the Lions Doctor Dolittle's first job was to separate the sick animals from the healthy ones. He then

杜立特医生的首要工作是把生病的动物和健康的动物分开。 然后他

asked Chee-Chee and his cousin to build a grass hut. He brought all the healthy monkeys to the hut and gave them a needle full of medicine in the arm. At first the monkeys were scared of the needle, but they understood it would prevent them from getting the monkey sickness. They arrived from all the hills and valleys surrounding the Land of the Monkeys. It took three days and three nights to give needles to all the monkeys. Chee-Chee and his cousin also built another house. This one had a lot of beds in it. Doctor Dolittle put all the sick monkeys in this building. But there were too many sick monkeys and not enough well monkeys to nurse them. So Doctor Dolittle sent word out into the jungle. He asked other animals to come help. Leopards, antelopes, and giraffe all arrived to pitch in. The lions, however, were a different story. The leader of the lions was very proud. He arrived at the house of sick monkeys to speak with Doctor Dolittle.

让奇奇和他的表弟盖一间草屋。 他把所有健康的猴子都带到小屋里，在它们的手臂上扎了一针药。 起初，猴子们很害怕针头，但它们明白针头可以防止它们患上猴病。 他们从猴子国周围的丘陵和山谷里赶来。 花了三天三夜给所有的猴子打针。 奇奇和他的表弟也建了另一所房子。 这个房间里有很多床。 杜立德医生把所有生病的猴子都关在这栋楼里。 但是生病的猴子太多了，没有足够的健康的猴子来照顾它们。 于是，杜立德医生派人到丛林里去传话。 他请求其他动物来帮忙。 豹子、羚羊和长颈鹿都来帮忙了。 然而，狮子的情况就完全不同了。 狮子的首领非常骄傲。 他来到生病的猴子的房子和杜立德医生说话。

"Do you really expect me to help the monkeys?" he asked. "I am the king of the lions. I am the king of all the beasts! I don't have time to waste on sick monkeys!" The lion's voice was quite frightening. Doctor Dolittle did his best to not sound scared. "Now, listen to me. The day may come when the lions are sick. If you don't help the monkeys now, you might find the lions all alone when they need help." "The lions are never in trouble," the lion roared. "The lions only make trouble." He walked back into the jungle thinking he was rather smart and clever. When the leopards heard about the lions, they left, too. Then the antelopes said they knew nothing about nursing monkeys. They were too shy to speak like the lion. They pawed the ground and did not look Doctor Dolittle in the eye as they spoke. Doctor Dolittle became very worried. Without

“你真的希望我帮助猴子吗？”他问道。 “我是狮子之王。 我是万兽之王！我没有时间浪费在生病的猴子身上！”狮子的声音很吓人。 杜立德医生尽量装出不害怕的样子。 “现在，听我说。狮子生病的那一天可能会到来。 如果你现在不帮助猴子，当狮子需要帮助的时候，你可能会发现它们是孤独的。” “狮子从来没有遇到过麻烦，”狮子吼道。 “狮子只会惹麻烦。” 他走回丛林，觉得自己相当聪明。 当豹子听到狮子的消息时，它们也离开了。 然后羚羊说它们对喂养猴子一无所知。 他们太害羞了，不敢像狮子那样说话。 他们用爪子刨着地面，说话的时候也不看杜立德医生的眼睛。 杜立德医生非常担心。 没有

the animals' help, how could he tend to all the sick monkeys? When the king of lion returned home, his wife ran out to meet him. She was very upset. "One of the cubs won't eat," she cried. "I don't know what to do! He hasn't eaten anything since last night." She began to cry. The king of the lions went in to look at his cubs. One boy ran up to meet his father. He was his usual happy and excited self. The other little cub did not look well. He lay in his bed and could only smile weakly at his father. The lion kissed both his cubs on the tops of their heads. His wife was waiting for him outside. He told her about meeting Doctor Dolittle. "He wanted us to care for the sick monkeys. The monkeys! I told him that a lion would never do such a thing." "Excuse me?" his wife said. She was angry. "Why would you say that?" The king of the lions was shocked by his

有动物的帮助，他怎么能照顾所有生病的猴子呢？ 当狮子王回到家时，他的妻子跑出来迎接他。 她很难过。“有一只小熊不吃东西，”她叫道。 “我不知道该怎么办！”他从昨晚起就没吃过东西。” 她哭了起来。狮子之王进去看他的幼崽。 一个男孩跑上来迎接他的父亲。 他又像往常一样高兴和兴奋。 另一只幼崽看起来不太好。 他躺在床上，只能对父亲微微一笑。 狮子吻了两个幼崽的头顶。 他的妻子在外面等他。 他告诉她他见到杜立德医生的事。 “他想让我们照顾生病的猴子。 猴子!我告诉他狮子决不会做这种事。” “你说什么？”他妻子说。 她很生气。“你为什么这么说？”狮子之王被他的声音吓了一跳

wife's reaction. He sat quietly listening. "All the animals are talking about this wonderful man," she continued. "They say he can cure any kind of illness and he's very nice. He's the only man in the world who can speak animal language. And now, when we have a sick baby, you say something to offend him!" "But, but, dear," the lion stammered. "Go back to the doctor right now!" she cried. "Tell him that you're sorry. Take all the lions and all the other animals with you. Do whatever the doctor asks you to do. If we're lucky, he'll come to look at our sick cub later." So the lion went back to the doctor. He said, "I happened to be passing this way and thought I'd look in. Have you found any help yet?" "No," Doctor Dolittle said. "I haven't, and I'm very worried." "That's too bad," the lion said. He tried not to look sheepish. "Well, since you're having so much trouble, I suppose I could help in some

妻子的反应。他静静地坐着听。 “所有的动物都在谈论这个了不起的人，”她继续说。 “他们说他能治愈任何疾病，而且人很好。 他是世界上唯一会说动物语言的人。 现在，当我们有一个生病的孩子，你说一些冒犯他的话！”“可是，可是，亲爱的，”狮子结结巴巴地说。 “马上去看医生！”她喊道。 “告诉他你很抱歉。 把所有的狮子和其他动物都带上。 照医生说的做。 如果我们幸运的话，他一会儿会来看我们生病的幼崽。” 于是狮子又去找医生。 他说：“我碰巧经过这里，就想进去看看。 你找到帮手了吗？”“不，”杜立特医生说。 “我没有，我很担心。” “那太糟糕了，”狮子说。 他尽量装出不好意思的样子。 “好吧，既然你有这么多麻烦，我想我可以帮你一些忙

way." "Thank you!" Doctor Dolittle said. "That's so kind of you." "I told the leopards to come back. The antelopes will also do their share," the lion added. "That is indeed kind of you," the doctor said. "We'll get to work right away!"

方式。”“谢谢你!”杜立德医生说。 “你真是太好了。”“我叫豹子回来。 羚羊也会尽自己的一份力量。”狮子补充道。 “你真是太好了，”医生说。 “我们马上开始工作！”