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儿童英语读物 A Horse Named Dragon CHAPTER 7 The Secret File

时间:2017-12-04 05:23来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The children sat on the corral fence. Cookie and Bucky stood next to them, looking grim. Jessie sniffed1, her eyes puffy from crying.

“Let me get this straight,” the policeman said. “This morning you told me that two of your horses were stolen. But then they came back?”

“Yes. A neighbor brought them,” said Cookie. “It turns out they weren’t stolen. They’d wandered off through a hole in the fence where a tree branch had fallen.”

Henry didn’t say anything. But he wondered why Honey and Bunny weren’t all scratched up from the tree branch, the way he was. And how had that heavy locust3 branch been blown so far? “Now,” the policeman said, “another horse is missing.”

This time, Henry did speak up. “Dragon was stolen for sure,” he said. “Those were his shoe prints outside the fence.”

“And the fence was rigged so it could be secretly opened and closed,” said Jessie.

“And someone dumped oats!” added Benny, “to make horses come to the fence. Horses love oats!”

“We think the thief unhooked the wire, stole Dragon, and then put the wire back,” said Violet.

The policeman jotted4 a few notes. “Who saw Dragon last?”

“I put Dragon in his stall after breakfast,” said Bucky. “Jessie here wanted to ride him. But Kurt said his leg was still bad. I put Dragon in his stall so the vet5 could take a look. That was the last time I saw him.”

“Has anyone talked to the vet?”

No one had. “Slim drove by when I was fixing the fence,” said Henry. “He was on his way to buy medicine for the horses.”

The policeman lifted one eyebrow6 at Cookie. “There’s lots of people working here,” he said. “Ranch2 hands, volunteers, these kids. Seems to me someone would notice horse thievery going on.”

“It was lunchtime,” said Cookie. “Everyone was in the dining room.”

The policeman pushed back his hat. “How would a thief know you’d all be eating?”

“I clang that lunch bell so loud you can hear it halfway7 to China,” said Cookie. “Whoever stole Dragon knew they had a lot of time to do it.”

“So everyone was in the dining room,” the policeman said.

“I wasn’t,” said Bucky. “I was in the stable cleaning up Honey and Bunny.”

“And Alyssa came in late,” said Jessie.

“Kurt and I weren’t there, either,” said Henry. “We were fixing a broken fence.”

“All right,” the policeman flipped8 to a fresh page. “What does this horse look like?”

“He’s black with a big white patch on his back that looks like a dragon,” said Jessie. “Wait! I have a photo!” She jumped down from the fence. I’ll print it out for you.”

She ran to the office to get her camera. It wasn’t on the shelf over the computer. But she was sure she left it there. Jessie looked under papers on the desk, then under the desk. She searched the cluttered9 shelves filled with horse trophies10 and horse magazines and books. Gone! Her camera was gone.

Her mind raced. The computer! She’d copied the photos on Cookie’s computer. Jessie raced over and turned it on. “Please be here,” she said, “please, please, please.”

The dark screen turned blue and Jessie crossed her fingers as the files appeared. Finally, “Jessie’s File,” came up. She clicked on it and the screen filled with small photos of each horse. There was Lots-o’-Dots and Lightning; Daisy and Jumpin’ Jack11. She looked and looked, but Dragon was not there. Then she remembered—Bucky had taken Dragon to the stable before Jessie began taking pictures.

Violet and Benny came in. “Did you find Dragon’s picture?”

“I never took it,” said Jessie. “And my camera is missing.”

Violet gasped12. “Are you sure?”

Jessie nodded. “Luckily, I made a copy of our photos on Cookie’s computer.” She began typing. “I’ll hide the photos where a thief won’t find them.” She made a file called Maple13 Syrup14 Recipes and moved all the horse photos inside. “No one will look for horses inside a Maple Syrup Recipe file.” She turned off the computer. “Let’s go break the bad news.”

“I’ll meet you at the corral,” said Violet, heading for the bunkhouse. “I need to get something.” She ran off before they could ask what it was.

At the corral, Jessie told everyone about the stolen camera.

“Tarnation!” thundered Cookie. “You’re saying a thief was in my house?” She stood nose-to-nose with the policeman. “You need to find that camera-stealing, horse-stealing, good-for-nothing, no-account—” Her face grew red.

“Easy there,” said Bucky, patting her shoulder. But that just made Cookie’s face turn redder.

“Who saw you taking pictures of the horses?” the policeman asked.

“Everyone who passed the corral,” said Jessie. “Wranglers, volunteers. And there was a man in the west pasture. A volunteer in a striped shirt. He said it was too dangerous for us to be out there.”

“That’s one of Slim’s helpers,” said Bucky. “The vet trains them to care for the sickest of the rescue horses. We don’t even see those horses until Slim says they’re well enough to come here to the corral. Slim’s helpers live at the old bunkhouse in the west pasture. They never come up here to the house, so they couldn’t steal your camera.”

Violet ran up. “Here,” she said, holding up a sketch15 of a horse.

“Dragon!” cried Jessie. “Oh, Violet, it looks just like him.”

“I was—” Violet gasped for breath, “I was drawing it—for your birthday—surprise.”

“It is a wonderful surprise,” said Jessie, hugging her sister. She showed the drawing to the policeman. “This is our missing horse. This is Dragon. Please help us find him.”

The policeman took the drawing and promised to see what he could do. The small group watched the police car pull away. “I know you’re upset,” said Cookie. “I am, too. But right now, you need to go tend to your horses.”

“But … but what about Dragon?” asked Jessie.

“When you live on a ranch,” said Cookie, “even if the sky is falling, the animals need to be watered and fed and groomed17. That doesn’t stop for anything. Not ever. You all rode your horses hard. They’re tired. Bucky will teach you how to groom16 them. When you finish, I’ll drive you around to the neighbors. Maybe someone has seen Dragon.”

In the corral, the children took off their cowboy boots. They put on yellow rubber boots to keep their feet dry. Then they washed and groomed their horses. Jessie brushed Jumpin’ Jack. How she wished he were Dragon! Next to her, Henry combed a tangle18 of small leaves from Lightning’s tail. “It will be all right,” he told his sister. “We’ll find Dragon.”

Nearby, Violet braided Daisy’s mane with ribbons. “You look beautiful,” she said, running her hand down Daisy’s shiny coat.

“Lots-o’-Dots looks great, too,” said Benny. The little horse’s coat gleamed from brushing.

Bucky walked around them, inspecting each child’s work. “You’re doing a great job,” he said. “Now, here’s how to clean your horse’s hooves.” Gently, Bucky ran one hand down Lightning’s leg and lifted the foot. “You know how it hurts to have a sliver19 in your foot?” he asked. The children nodded. “Well, horses get things stuck in their hooves. You need to pick them out.” He showed them how. “When you finish, turn your horses out to pasture. They could use a little rest before your evening ride. I’ve got some work that needs doing.” He climbed on his horse, and rode off.

Carefully, the children picked dirt and stones and twigs20 from their horses’ hooves. “Wow!” said Benny, holding up something small and shiny. “This was stuck in Lots-o’-Dots’s hoof21.”

Violet took it and held it up to the light. “It’s a glass bead,” she said. “Like the ones I string into necklaces.”

Benny cleaned a second hoof. “Here’s another one. And another!” By the time Benny finished, he found six beads22. “Where did you get these?” he asked his horse. But Lots-o’-Dots wasn’t telling.

When the children finished, they ran to the house to get Cookie. “I’m in here,” she called from the office.

“We’re ready to go look for Dragon,” they said.

“I need a little more time.” Cookie worked at the computer. A tall stack of blank yellow paper sat on her desk. “I phoned the policeman who was here and had him fax this to me.” She held up a copy of Violet’s sketch of Dragon. “I’m making up flyers we can pass out to people. But it will take me about an hour.”

“An hour!” cried Benny, who hated to wait. For anything.

Cookie gave him a hug. “I hate waiting, too,” she said. “When I was your age, my best friend Trevor and I went to town every Sunday for ice cream. The days from Sunday to Sunday seemed to take forever.”

She started typing. STOLEN HORSE, she wrote, then she paused. “This hour will go faster if you keep busy,” she told the children. “Violet, maybe you can work on your drawing for the barn mural. And Benny, there’s an old bike behind the barn. You can ride around the ranch to see of any of the horses need more water. Jessie and Henry, you can muck out a few of the stable stalls.”

“Muck?” said Jessie.

“It means cleaning the stalls, clearing old bedding from the floors, scrubbing the walls, putting in fresh sand and hay. I’ll ring the cowbell when the flyers are ready.”

The children immediately set about their tasks. Violet took out her sketch of the horses grazing under the three big maple trees. She would add helicopter seeds to her drawing, as a surprise for Benny. And she would put in a honey locust with long brown pods.

Violet frowned. She couldn’t remember seeing a locust tree at all. That was odd—there had to be one. How else could a locust branch fall on the fence? Henry said a strong wind blew it down. But a strong wind would have broken branches off many different trees, and she hadn’t seen any. She would look again more closely the next time they rode out that way.

In the stable, Jessie and Henry got to work cleaning. Jessie loaded a broom and pitchfork into a wheelbarrow and walked to Dragon’s empty stall. “Where are you?” she whispered, her heart heavy. She forked the old straw bedding into the wheelbarrow, then swept the floor clean. Then she turned on the hose and scrubbed the walls. In a dark corner, someone had carved a small heart into the wood with the initials TA + LM. She showed it to Henry.

“I saw a heart just like that cut into a maple tree,” he said. “Maybe Cookie will know who TA and LM are.”

The two children carried in a bale of fresh straw and spread it on the floor. “We’ll find you,” Jessie whispered as they left Dragon’s stall. “I promise.”

Benny pedaled the rickety bike around the ranch. He rode to every X on the map, adding water to buckets that needed it, stopping to say hello to the goldfish. His last stop was the brown pony23’s shed.

“Hey, Brownie,” called Benny. But, this time, the little pony didn’t peek24 out. Benny turned on the hose and pointed25 the water at the sky. “It’s raining, it’s pouring,” he sang. Still, no brown pony. Benny climbed through the fence. Near the shed, he smelled something familiar, like when Grandfather polished his shoes.

“Brownie?” he said, walking inside. But the pony wasn’t inside. An empty bottle of brown shoe polish lay in the straw on the ground. Were you supposed to polish a horse’s shoes? He didn’t think so. And where was the little pony? Did someone steal him, too?

Benny jumped on the bike, pedaling hard toward the ranch. As he reached the top of a hill, he saw Slim the vet walking a big White horse. “Have you seen Brownie?” asked Benny.

The vet furrowed26 his brow. “Brownie?” he asked.

“The little brown pony in the shed,” said Benny. “I call him Brownie.”

“Oh, oh, yes, Brownie. He’s, um, he’s been adopted. The family picked him up just awhile ago,” said Slim.

Benny remembered the trailer carrying a brown pony and big black horse. He thought it belonged to the neighbor who brought Honey and Bunny home. But it must have been Brownie’s new family. “I’m glad he wasn’t stolen like Dragon,” Benny said.

The smile vanished from Slim’s face. “What?”

“Someone stole Dragon,” Benny said.

The vet cleared his throat. “Why, that’s terrible.” His Adam’s apple jumped up and down. “Who would do such a terrible thing?”

“We told the police and we’re going to pass out flyers,” Benny told him.

“Really?” Slim took out a handkerchief and wiped sweat off his face. “So everyone will be looking for Dragon. Why, that’s wonderful.” A loud horn blasted as an eighteen-wheel truck barreled along the road near the ranch.

At first, Benny thought it was a moving van. Then he saw big holes all along the sides. “What kind of truck is that?” he asked.

“Truck?” said Slim, “Hmmm. Looks like a cattle truck. Moves cows from one place to another. Those holes let air in so they can breathe. Yup. Cattle truck. Well, I’d better get Lucy here back to the old corral.” He started walking away.

“Why don’t you ride your horse?” Benny asked.

The vet’s eyebrows27 shot up. “Ride? Why, yes. Love to ride. I was born in the saddle. Heh-heh.” He put one foot in the stirrup and tried to climb on the horse but it kept walking around and around in circles. Slim hopped28, one foot up in the stirrup and the other foot on the ground. “Easy, girl. Oh-oh. Easy, now.” Around and around he hopped. Finally, Slim hauled himself up into the saddle.

“See you later,” he said. And gripping the saddle horn tightly with both hands—the way Alyssa had told Benny not to—Slim bumped along toward the west pasture.

The cowbell rang. Benny jumped on his bike and peddled29 to the stable. He and Jessie and Henry quickly changed out of their work boots into their cowboy boots. Jessie set their yellow boots on the rack. “Our boots have stains, just like Benny’s,” she said. “Except his are brown and ours are black.”

Where did the stains come from? They looked down the long narrow stable. Stalls lined both sides. The ground was wet in front of the stalls Jessie and Henry had washed down. A dark stain ran out of Dragon’s stall. Henry bent30 down and touched it. “It smells like shoe polish.”

“I saw shoe polish in Brownie’s shed,” said Benny.

“Maybe cowboys use it to shine the saddles,” Jessie said. “Or their boots.”

The bell rang again. The children hurried to Cookie’s car. It was time to search for Dragon.

Cookie and the children drove from ranch to ranch, farm to farm, house to house, handing out flyers. In town, they put flyers in all the store windows. Cookie treated them to a quick dinner at Big Herm’s Hot Dog Palace, and then they went back to work.

They tacked31 flyers on the bulletin boards at the library, the community center, and the sheriff’s office. They slipped them under the windshield wipers of cars parked at the grocery store and shopping center.

It was late when they finally pulled into the Dare to Dream Ranch.

“Do you think our flyers will help find Dragon?” Jessie asked.

“I hope so,” said Henry.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 ranch dAUzk     
n.大牧场,大农场
参考例句:
  • He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
  • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
3 locust m8Dzk     
n.蝗虫;洋槐,刺槐
参考例句:
  • A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
  • This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。
4 jotted 501a1ce22e59ebb1f3016af077784ebd     
v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 );草草记下,匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • I jotted down her name. 我匆忙记下了她的名字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The policeman jotted down my address. 警察匆匆地将我的地址记下。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
5 vet 2HfyG     
n.兽医,退役军人;vt.检查
参考例句:
  • I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
  • Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。
6 eyebrow vlOxk     
n.眉毛,眉
参考例句:
  • Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
  • With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬,似乎既感到吃惊,又觉有趣。
7 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
8 flipped 5bef9da31993fe26a832c7d4b9630147     
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 ); 按(开关); 快速翻转; 急挥
参考例句:
  • The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转,撞毁了。
  • The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。
9 cluttered da1cd877cda71c915cf088ac1b1d48d3     
v.杂物,零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 );乱糟糟地堆满,把…弄得很乱;(以…) 塞满…
参考例句:
  • The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
10 trophies e5e690ffd5b76ced5606f229288652f6     
n.(为竞赛获胜者颁发的)奖品( trophy的名词复数 );奖杯;(尤指狩猎或战争中获得的)纪念品;(用于比赛或赛跑名称)奖
参考例句:
  • His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
12 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
13 maple BBpxj     
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
参考例句:
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
14 syrup hguzup     
n.糖浆,糖水
参考例句:
  • I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
  • Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。
15 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
16 groom 0fHxW     
vt.给(马、狗等)梳毛,照料,使...整洁
参考例句:
  • His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
  • George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作,乔治已在接受专门的培训。
17 groomed 90b6d4f06c2c2c35b205c60916ba1a14     
v.照料或梳洗(马等)( groom的过去式和过去分词 );使做好准备;训练;(给动物)擦洗
参考例句:
  • She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
  • Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练,准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 tangle yIQzn     
n.纠缠;缠结;混乱;v.(使)缠绕;变乱
参考例句:
  • I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
  • If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你,我就不跟他们争吵。
19 sliver sxFwA     
n.裂片,细片,梳毛;v.纵切,切成长片,剖开
参考例句:
  • There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
  • Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上,莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。
20 twigs 17ff1ed5da672aa443a4f6befce8e2cb     
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
  • Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。
21 hoof 55JyP     
n.(马,牛等的)蹄
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间,他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
  • I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。
22 beads 894701f6859a9d5c3c045fd6f355dbf5     
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链
参考例句:
  • a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
  • Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。
23 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
24 peek ULZxW     
vi.偷看,窥视;n.偷偷的一看,一瞥
参考例句:
  • Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
  • Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛,别偷看。
25 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
26 furrowed furrowed     
v.犁田,开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
  • The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠,在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句
27 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
28 hopped 91b136feb9c3ae690a1c2672986faa1c     
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
参考例句:
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
29 peddled c13cc38014f1d0a518d978a019c8bb74     
(沿街)叫卖( peddle的过去式和过去分词 ); 兜售; 宣传; 散播
参考例句:
  • He has peddled the myth that he is supporting the local population. 他散布说他支持当地群众。
  • The farmer peddled his fruit from house to house. 那个农民挨家挨户兜售他的水果。
30 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
31 tacked d6b486b3f9966de864e3b4d2aa518abc     
用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 ); 附加,增补; 帆船抢风行驶,用粗线脚缝
参考例句:
  • He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
  • The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。
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