Chapter 1

1 The Three-Legged Dog in the Window Have you ever sat in a shoebox? Of course you have. But have you ever sat in one when your best friend Dave has spread himself out so wide that his cheesy feet are right up your beak and there also happens to be an old banana in the corner taking up the rest of the space? I didn't think so.

橱窗里的三条腿的狗你曾经坐在鞋盒里吗？ 你当然有。但你可曾坐过这样的情况：你最好的朋友戴夫（Dave）伸开四肢，把他的奶酪脚伸到你的嘴里，而角落里恰好有一根老香蕉占据了剩下的空间？ 我不这么认为。

This is where our story begins. Our Human Lady had taken us away from our home in her shed earlier that evening and put Dave and me in a shoebox, on the front of her bike. There we were, rattling around in her bike basket as she cycled, wondering where we were going. The one good thing about Dave's cheesy claws was that they were covered in crispy crumbs from when he stepped in a pile of cheese puffs. Every time our Human Lady rode her bike

这就是我们的故事开始的地方。 那天晚上早些时候，我们的人类夫人把我们从她的小屋里带走了，把我和戴夫放在一个鞋盒里，放在她的自行车前面。 我们就在那里，在她骑自行车的时候，我们在她的车筐里嘎嘎作响，不知道我们要去哪里。 戴夫的奶酪爪子有一个好处，那就是他踩到一堆奶酪泡芙时，爪子上沾满了脆皮屑。 每次我们的人类女士骑她的自行车

over a bump, our shoebox rattled in her basket and stale crumbs fell in my mouth. Yum. When the Human Lady eventually stopped cycling and Dave pulled back his feet, I managed to shuffle around and perch on the mouldy banana. Looking through a hole in the shoebox I could see we had stopped outside a shop. The walls were painted white with the words 'Pawsville Vets' printed on a dog- bone sign. That's when I noticed a brown and white three-legged dog jumping about in the window.

我们的鞋盒在她的篮子里嘎吱作响，不新鲜的面包屑掉到我嘴里。 好吃。当“人类女士”终于停止骑车，戴夫缩回他的脚时，我设法拖着脚绕过去，坐在发霉的香蕉上。 透过鞋盒上的一个洞，我看到我们停在一家商店外面。 墙壁被漆成白色，狗骨招牌上印着“波斯维尔兽医”的字样。 就在这时，我注意到一只棕白相间的三条腿的狗在窗户里跳来跳去。

And that's when I knew we were heading straight for trouble with an evil, lying parrot. we'd not even met the parrot yet, Dave. Besides, it's a little early in the story to talk about that catbrained featherball... Our Human Lady lifted us off her bike and took us into the shop. The door jingled as a bell above our head announced our arrival. 'What is this place?' Dave cooed.

那时候我就知道我们会遇到一个邪恶的，撒谎的鹦鹉。 我们还没见过鹦鹉呢，戴夫。 此外，现在谈论这个故事还为时过早…… 我们的人类女士把我们从自行车上抱下来，带我们进了商店。 门叮当作响，我们头顶上响起铃声，宣告我们的到来。 “这是什么地方？”戴夫发出咕咕的叫声。

I had no idea. The room was filled with squeaky toys and smelt of freshly washed dog fur. There were cosy pet beds and colourful dog leads piled on shelves and the painted murals of birds playing together made me smile. This is Dave and this is his friend, Skipper,' the Human Lady said, placing us on a countertop. I sat up in the box and looked around. A Human Man in a white coat was talking to our Human Lady. The three-legged dog from the window was now standing beside our Human Lady, sniffing her shoe, the same way I did when I wanted a sardine and salty crisp sandwich. Or I had an itchy bottom.

我不知道。房间里堆满了吱吱作响的玩具，散发着刚洗过的狗毛的味道。 那里有舒适的宠物床，架子上堆着五颜六色的狗绳，鸟儿在一起玩耍的彩色壁画让我微笑。 “这是戴夫，这是他的朋友斯基普。”人类女士说着，把我们放在一个台面上。 我在箱子里坐起来，环顾四周。 一个穿白大褂的人类正在和我们的人类女士说话。 窗户里的那条三条腿的狗现在站在我们的人类女士旁边，闻着她的鞋子，就像我想吃沙丁鱼和咸脆三明治时那样。 或者我屁股发痒。