Doctor Dolittle in the Moon

Doutor Dolittle na Lua

Hugh Lofting

ESL Easy Read

Reading Comprehension A2 • Original Text • Português Support

SAMPLE

Copyright

Fonte original - domínio público

Esta edição ESL Easy Read foi adaptada a partir de Doctor Dolittle in the Moon, de Hugh Lofting, publicado originalmente em 1928.

A obra original encontra-se em domínio público e pode ser utilizada, reproduzida, distribuída e adaptada de acordo com a legislação aplicável.

Autor

Hugh Lofting (1886 - 1947)

Estados Unidos

Esta obra foi publicada originalmente em 1928.

Nos Estados Unidos, obras publicadas antes de 1930 encontram-se normalmente em domínio público.

Com base no ano de publicação disponível, esta obra encontra-se em domínio público nos Estados Unidos desde 1º de janeiro de 2024.

Brasil

Autor: Hugh Lofting (1886 - 1947)

De acordo com a Lei nº 9.610/1998, os direitos patrimoniais expiram 70 anos após a morte do autor, contados a partir de 1º de janeiro do ano seguinte ao falecimento.

Hugh Lofting faleceu em 1947.

Situação no Brasil: DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO.

Portugal

Autor: Hugh Lofting (1886 - 1947)

De acordo com o Código do Direito de Autor e dos Direitos Conexos, a proteção patrimonial dura 70 anos após a morte do autor.

Hugh Lofting faleceu em 1947.

Situação em Portugal: DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO.

Dados da publicação original

Obra original: Doctor Dolittle in the Moon

Autor: Hugh Lofting

Primeira publicação: 1928

Local: New York, USA

Primeiro editor: Frederick A. Stokes Company

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Introdução

Como ler este livro

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Você pode começar a lê-lo mesmo sem dominar completamente o inglês. O texto foi simplificado para facilitar a compreensão, preservando a história, os personagens, o ambiente e os principais acontecimentos da obra original.

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Sobre este livro

Atendendo a um chamado trazido por uma mariposa gigante, o doutor Dolittle, amante dos animais, viaja à Lua com seu jovem ajudante Tommy Stubbins, a papagaia Polinésia e o macaco Chee-Chee. Eles descobrem um mundo lunar sereno, onde plantas, insetos e animais vivem em harmonia e se comunicam por vibrações sutis, livre dos conflitos da Terra. Fascinado, Dolittle estuda sua extraordinária flora e fauna e conhece Otho Bludge, um ser humano pré-histórico que sobrevive há eras como guardião da Lua. À medida que o conhecimento do doutor aumenta, cresce também a relutância da Lua em deixar partir um curador tão valioso. Dividido entre o encanto e a saudade de casa, e sutilmente retido pelos poderes lunares, Dolittle precisa encontrar um modo de voltar à Terra em uma de suas aventuras mais estranhas e imaginativas.

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Contato: admin@esleasyread.com

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Reading Comprehension A2

1 - 1. WE LAND UPON A NEW WORLD

2 - 2. THE LAND OF COLOURS AND PERFUMES

3 - 3. THIRST!

4 - 4. CHEE-CHEE THE HERO

5 - 5. ON THE PLATEAU

1. WE LAND UPON A NEW WORLD

En/Pt I, Thomas Stubbins, am trying to write the story of our adventures on the Moon. It is hard to remember all those busy and exciting days. I took many notes for the Doctor, but most of them are scientific. Here I want to tell the story for ordinary readers, and that is why I do not know the best way to begin.

En/Pt The story could be told in many ways. Different people want different things from a voyage story. I thought Jip might help me, so I read him some of my chapters. He wanted to know if we had seen any rats on the Moon. I could not tell him. I do not remember any, but I think there must have been some kind of rat-like creature there.

En/Pt Then I asked Gub-Gub. He wanted to know what vegetables we ate. Dab-Dab snorted at me and said I should have known better than to ask him. I asked my mother next. She wanted to know how we managed when our underwear wore out, and many other things about daily life. I could answer very little. Then I asked Matthew Mugg. He wanted to know if there were shops on the Moon, and what the dogs and cats were like. He seemed to think the Moon was much like Puddleby or the East End of London.

En/Pt Trying to find what most people wanted to read about the Moon did not help me much. I could not seem to tell them the things they most wanted to know. It made me think of my first day at the Doctor’s house, when Polynesia the parrot asked if I was a good noticer. I had thought I was, but now I felt I had noticed very little. I had missed many things that would have made the story more interesting for ordinary readers.

En/Pt The problem was attention. Human attention is like butter. You can spread it only so far. If you try to think about too many things at once, you do not remember them well. On the Moon there was so much to see and hear that it is surprising we remember anything clearly at all.

En/Pt The moth Jamaro Bumblelily could help him write. But the moth was not there. So Thomas decided to write the story in his own way. The story will not be perfect. He will write it step by step from when they first saw the Moon.

En/Pt Anyone could see that the moth knew the land where we were going to land. He glided, turned in circles, and dived. Then he came down carefully into a small valley between hills. As we came nearer, I saw that the valley floor was flat, sandy, and dry.

En/Pt The hills looked strange at once. The mountains behind them also looked odd. Their tops were cut off and shaped like cups. The Doctor later told me they were dead volcanoes. Long ago they had thrown out fire and lava, but now they were cold. Wind, weather, and time had changed some of them into strange shapes. Others were partly covered by sand. I thought of the Whispering Rocks on Spidermonkey Island. Anyone who had seen a volcanic place before would know this was one.

En/Pt The long, narrow valley we were going into did not seem to have much life in it. We did not mind that. The Doctor had already seen a tree, and that was enough for him. He thought we would soon find water, plants, and animals.

En/Pt At last the moth came down to within twenty feet of the ground. He spread his wings and hovered still. Then he touched the sand gently, like a kite coming down. He hopped a little, then ran a short way, braced himself, and stopped.

En/Pt We had landed on the Moon!

En/Pt By now we were a little used to the new air. Before we went ashore, the Doctor asked our brave steed to stay where he was for a while. He wanted us to get used to the new air and the new place.

En/Pt The request was gladly accepted. I think the poor insect was happy to rest too. John Dolittle took out some emergency chocolate he had saved. All four of us ate it in silence. We were too hungry and too amazed by what we saw to speak.

En/Pt The light kept changing. It made me think of the Northern Lights. I would look at the mountains, then look away for a moment. When I looked back, the pink places were green, and the violet shadows were rose.

En/Pt Breathing was still hard. We had to keep the moon-bells close. These were the big orange flowers the moth had brought for us. Their smell, or gas, helped us cross the empty space between the Moon and the Earth. If we left them too long, we began to cough. But we thought we could get used to this new air and soon not need them.

En/Pt The gravity was strange too. It was very easy to stand up. Walking did not use much energy, but breathing was hard. Jumping was the strangest thing. A tiny jump sent you high into the air. We felt full of joy, and I wanted to go exploring at once. But the Doctor said we must be careful because of our breathing. I sang softly while eating chocolate, and I wanted to jump off the moth and run over the hills and valleys.

En/Pt Now I see that John Dolittle was wise to make us wait. In a low whisper, he told us not to leave the flowers for even a moment.

En/Pt The flowers were heavy to carry, but we obeyed. We did not need a ladder to get down. A small jump sent us from the insect's back to the ground. We landed easily from a drop of twenty-five feet. Then we began to walk through the sand of a new world.

En/Pt "Zip! - The spring was made"

2. THE LAND OF COLOURS AND PERFUMES

En/Pt We were a very strange group to be the first to land on a new world. But we were also a very good group in many ways. Polynesia was one of those birds that seems able to live in any hard place. She only needed a little seed and some water, and she stayed cheerful. Chee-Chee was different. He needed more food, but he could find it for himself. He was very good at looking for wild fruit and nuts, and he could tell if they were safe to eat just by smell. Even John Dolittle could not explain how he did it, and Chee-Chee did not know either.

En/Pt He used smell to know if the food was safe to eat.

En/Pt I had no science training, but I could help as a secretary on nature trips. I also knew a lot about the Doctor and how he worked.

En/Pt The Doctor was very special. He did not claim to know things for sure before he learned them. He came to new problems like a child, so he could learn easily and let others teach him.

En/Pt We were a strange group. Many scientists would have laughed at us. But we had many good things that other trips did not have.

En/Pt The Doctor did not waste time. Other explorers might plant a flag and sing songs, but John Dolittle did not. When he saw we were ready, he told us to start. Chee-Chee, Polynesia, and I followed him.

En/Pt For the first hours on the Moon, it felt like a dream. We knew we were on a new world, and we felt very light, like we were walking on air. I kept talking to the Doctor, Chee-Chee, and Polynesia, just to feel normal. But my own voice sounded strange and made it feel even more unreal.

En/Pt Slowly, we got used to it. There were many strange new things to see. The changing colours were confusing, and we could not tell which way to go. The Doctor had a small compass, but it did not work well. The needle just spun around.

En/Pt The Doctor had a compass.

En/Pt So the Doctor stopped using the compass. He used his Moon maps, his eyes, and his sense of direction. He was going toward the tree he had seen at the end of one range. But all the ranges looked the same. The maps did not help. Behind us, we could match some peaks, but nothing ahead made sense. We felt sure we were going toward the far side of the Moon, which people on Earth had never seen.

En/Pt The Doctor said to Stubbins that there might be water only on the other side. He thought this may be why astronomers had not believed there was any water there at all.

En/Pt I was so busy looking for strange things that I did not notice how mild and nice the weather was. John Dolittle had feared very hot or very cold weather, but it was neither. The air was strange, but the climate was very pleasant. A gentle wind blew all the time, and the temperature stayed almost the same.

En/Pt We looked everywhere for tracks. We knew very little about the animals here. But the loose sand told us nothing. Even Chee-Chee, who was good at finding rare tracks, could not find any.

En/Pt There were many smells and scents. Most were lovely flower smells that the wind brought from beyond the mountains ahead. Sometimes a bad smell came with them. But we could not name any of them, except the moon bells smell that the moth had brought with us.

En/Pt We went on for miles, over ridge after ridge, but we still could not see the Doctor’s tree. Crossing the mountains was easier here than on Earth, because jumping up and down was easy. Still, we had much baggage, and we were all carrying heavy loads. After two and a half hours, we began to feel tired and sad. Polynesia offered to fly ahead and look around, but the Doctor did not want that. He wanted us to stay together for now.

En/Pt Jumping up and down was very easy.

En/Pt After another half-hour, he agreed to let her fly up, as long as she stayed in sight. She would look for the tree from high above.

3. THIRST!

En/Pt So we rested on our bags for a while. Polynesia flew straight up like a big bird. She went higher and higher. At about one thousand feet, she stopped and flew in a circle. Then she came down again. The Doctor was impatient. I did not understand why he did not want her to leave his side, but I said nothing.

En/Pt Polynesia said she had seen the tree, but it still seemed far away. The Doctor asked why she took so long to come down. She said she was making sure of the way so she could guide us. She knew the direction clearly. Then we started again and felt calmer and sure of ourselves.

En/Pt The tree looked much nearer from far above than it really was. The moon air also made things seem closer than they were. We also thought the tree was the size of an ordinary Earth tree. But when we reached it, we found that it was much, much bigger.

En/Pt I will never forget that tree. It was our first close look at moon life. When we stopped under it, night was coming on. On the Moon, this was the nearest thing to night. The tree was maybe three hundred feet high and very wide. It looked strange and unlike any tree I had ever seen. It seemed alive. Chee-Chee was so frightened that his hair stood up. It took a long time before the Doctor and I could make him help us set up camp under its branches.

En/Pt It was not like any tree I had seen before.

En/Pt We were quiet and sad as we got ready for our first night on the Moon. We did not know why, but we all felt uneasy. The wind kept blowing softly and steadily. The light was clear enough to see by, but most of the night the Earth could not be seen.

En/Pt I remember the Doctor. While we unpacked and got the rest of our chocolate ready for supper, he kept looking up nervously at the strange branches above us.

En/Pt The Doctor kept looking up nervously.

En/Pt The wind was moving the branches. There was no doubt about that. But the wind was always steady and even. The branches did not move in a steady way at all. That was the strange thing. It almost looked as if the tree moved by itself, like an animal tied to the ground. But we could not be sure, because the wind kept blowing all the time.

En/Pt It also made a moaning sound. We knew trees moaned in the wind at home. But this sound was different. It did not match the steady wind on our faces.

En/Pt Even Polynesia felt confused and worried, and that was not easy to do. Birds know trees and wind very well. I hoped she would go into the tree, but she did not. As for Chee-Chee, he would not go near it at all. I was sure he would not go to find out its secrets.

En/Pt After supper, the Doctor kept me busy for hours writing notes. There was much to record about this first day in a new world. We wrote down the temperature, the wind, the time we arrived, the air pressure, and other things that were important to the Doctor.

En/Pt I wish I could remember every small thing from that time. I want to remember exactly how we first woke up on the Moon. We had been very tired, so we slept well. When I woke, I spent a long time trying to understand where I was. Then I saw that John Dolittle was already awake and using his instruments.

En/Pt Now we needed food. There was no breakfast at all. The Doctor began to worry that we had left the moth too soon. Many hours later, we saw that we had not yet found any animals. But it seemed too far to go back and ask him, and we were not sure he was still there.

En/Pt We still needed food, so we looked for it. We quickly packed our things. We had to choose a direction. We thought there must be more trees somewhere, and water too. But we looked all around and saw no more trees.

En/Pt This time Polynesia did not wait. She flew up into the air to look around.

“Polynesia soared into the air”

En/Pt When she came back, she said, “I do not see any trees at all. This place looks like the Sahara Desert. But over there, behind that high range with the strange hat-shaped top, there may be something.”

En/Pt “Yes,” said the Doctor. “I see. Go on.”

En/Pt “Well, behind that there is a dark line on the horizon. I cannot say it is trees. But I think there is something there besides sand. We should go now. It is a long walk.”

En/Pt It was a very long walk. It became a hard race against hunger and death. We had not expected this. Going without breakfast was not a big problem. We had all done that before. But the hours passed, and we still saw only sand hills and dry volcanoes. We all felt weaker and sadder.

En/Pt This was one time when John Dolittle was at his best. He had already felt worried, but he did not show it. As hunger and thirst got worse, he became more cheerful. He did not make bad jokes. He helped us stay in a good mood. When he told a funny story, it came at the right time and made us laugh. Later, I learned that he had done this on exploration trips when he was young. It helped him get chosen for the trips.

En/Pt I do not think our group could have kept going without his kind and happy company. I had never felt thirst like that before. Each step felt like it might be my last.

En/Pt At the end of the second day, I heard Polynesia say, “Forests ahead!” I think I was half dreaming by then. I still walked on behind the others. I know we found water, because before I fell asleep, Chee-Chee gave me a little cool water from a cup made of a folded leaf.

En/Pt “I remember Chee-Chee putting something cool between my lips.”

4. CHEE-CHEE THE HERO

En/Pt When I woke up, I felt very ashamed. What an explorer I was! The Doctor was already moving about, and so were Chee-Chee and Polynesia. John Dolittle came to me at once when he saw I was awake.

En/Pt He seemed to know what I was thinking. He told me not to be ashamed. He said Chee-Chee and Polynesia were used to hot, dry places. He was, too.

En/Pt “All things considered, Stubbins,” he said, “you did very well. You kept going the whole way, and you only fell down when help was near. No one could ask for more. I have known many skilled explorers who could not do nearly as well. It was a very hard part of the journey. You were wonderful. Sit up and eat breakfast. Thank goodness, we have food at last!”

En/Pt I sat up, weak and hungry. Around me were many fruits. Later I learned what they were. Chee-Chee, who was afraid of many things, had found wild food for all of us. The Doctor and I had never seen any of the strange foods before. But if Chee-Chee said they were safe, we trusted him.

En/Pt Some fruits were as big as a large trunk. Some were as small as a walnut. We were starving, so we ate and ate. We also had water in shells of big nuts and in leaf cups. I had never had such a wonderful breakfast.

En/Pt “Some of the fruits were as big as a trunk.”

En/Pt Chee-Chee! Poor little scared Chee-Chee. You beat your fear and went alone into the jungle to find food when we were weak. Other people saw only an organ-grinder’s monkey. But we knew you saved us from starving. You will always be one of the great heroes. Thank goodness you were with us! Without your jungle skill and your brave heart, we might have died in the sand of the Moon.

En/Pt As I ate the strange fruit and drank the water, I looked up and saw a ridge. On top of it was a thick forest. Small groups of bushes and trees grew down from it in different places. We never knew why one lone tree could live so far away. John Dolittle thought an underground spring gave it water. It must have been there for many years, maybe many hundreds or thousands. We were lucky it was there. It showed us this part of the Moon could be lived on. Without it, our journey might have ended in death.

En/Pt After we ate, the Doctor and I asked Chee-Chee about the forest where he found the food.

En/Pt Chee-Chee said he did not know how he did it. He said he shut his eyes most of the time because he was very afraid. He ran past trees, plants, roots, and vines. He kept smelling for food because he was hungry too. Soon he found fruit. He climbed a tree with his eyes shut much of the time. Then he saw a monster and was very frightened. He said the jungle was strange and woolly. But nuts smelled good, so he picked some. He ran down the tree and smelled again. He found more fruit in another tree and picked some. Then he ran home. On the way he smelled a good root, like ginger but better. He dug a little, kept his eyes shut, took a piece, and ran home. Then he said, “Here I am. Finish!”

En/Pt “I climbed a tree”

En/Pt Chee-Chee told us about his brave journey, but it did not tell us much about the moon forest. Still, we were rested and strong, and now we wanted to look around ourselves.

En/Pt We left our luggage at the first landing point. Then we walked to the trees on top of the hill, about four miles away. We thought we could find our way back to the last two camps.

En/Pt We moved toward the bluff, where plants grew thick on the top.

The ground was still loose sand, but near the bluff it felt firmer under our feet.

En/Pt On the last climb to the trees, we could not see the top of the bluff. The path was often steep. I felt that we were about to make great new discoveries and learn something important about the Moon.

5. ON THE PLATEAU

En/Pt Our first close look at the Moon forests was very exciting. When we подняd our heads over the bluff, we saw a wall of jungle far ahead. It is hard to describe those trees. They were not like Earth trees. They looked a little like plants we know, but not like trees.

En/Pt One area looked just like ferns. Another looked like a flower plant with many small flowers on top. It was the same shape, but much, much bigger. The top was so thick that rain could not get through it. The Doctor and I called it the Umbrella Tree. No tree was the same as any tree on Earth. There were many other strange plants too, and some reminded us of things we knew, but we could not always say what.

En/Pt “The Umbrella Tree”

En/Pt One strange thing upset us a little. We heard a strange sound. We already knew that even soft sounds could travel far on the Moon. As soon as we reached the plateau on top of the bluff, we heard it. It was music. But it did not sound like one instrument. It sounded like a small orchestra playing very softly somewhere far away. We were getting used to strange things by then. But this hidden music still upset me a little, and I know it upset the Doctor too.

En/Pt We stopped at the top of the bluff to rest before the last mile to the jungle. The Moon's land looked very clear and separate in each part. This was probably because everything on the Moon was much smaller than on Earth. In front of us was a flat plateau of hard sand. It was smooth like a lake. The jungle was ahead of us, and the cliff we had climbed was behind us. I looked at the forest and wondered what was on the other side. I also wondered if it changed as sharply there as it did here.

En/Pt First we had to find water, so Chee-Chee was asked to lead us. The monkey went ahead and followed his own tracks from the night before. This was easy on the open plateau. But at the edge of the forest, it was harder. He had moved through the trees by swinging from branch to branch. He said he felt safer that way. He also told us he had found the water by smell. Again I saw how lucky we were to have him with us. Only a monkey could find water in that dark forest. He asked us to wait at the edge while he went on to make sure he could find the way back. So we sat and waited.

En/Pt “Did you wake up at all during the night, Stubbins?” the Doctor asked after a little while.

“No,” I said. “I was too tired. Why?”

“Did you, Polynesia?” he asked, not answering me.

“Yes,” said she. “I was awake several times.”

Original English Text

1 - 1. WE LAND UPON A NEW WORLD

2 - 2. THE LAND OF COLOURS AND PERFUMES

3 - 3. THIRST!

4 - 4. CHEE-CHEE THE HERO

5 - 5. ON THE PLATEAU

1. WE LAND UPON A NEW WORLD

Pt IN WRITING THE story of our adventures in the Moon I, Thomas Stubbins, secretary to John Dolittle, M.D. (and son of Jacob Stubbins, the cobbler of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh), find myself greatly puzzled. It is not an easy task, remembering day by day and hour by hour those crowded and exciting weeks. It is true I made many notes for the Doctor, books full of them. But that information was nearly all of a highly scientific kind. And I feel that I should tell the story here not for the scientist so much as for the general reader. And it is in that I am perplexed.

Pt For the story could be told in many ways. People are so different in what they want to know about a voyage. I had thought at one time that Jip could help me; and after reading him some chapters as I had first set them down I asked for his opinion. I discovered he was mostly interested in whether we had seen any rats in the Moon. I found I could not tell him. I didn’t remember seeing any; and yet I am sure there must have been some - or some sort of creature like a rat.

Pt Then I asked Gub-Gub. And what he was chiefly concerned to hear was the kind of vegetables we had fed on. (Dab-Dab snorted at me for my pains and said I should have known better than to ask him.) I tried my mother. She wanted to know how we had managed when our underwear wore out - and a whole lot of other matters about our living conditions, hardly any of which I could answer. Next I went to Matthew Mugg. And the things he wanted to learn were worse than either my mother’s or Jip’s: Were there any shops in the Moon? What were the dogs and cats like? The good Cats’-meat-Man seemed to have imagined it a place not very different from Puddleby or the East End of London.

Pt No, trying to get at what most people wanted to read concerning the Moon did not bring me much profit. I couldn’t seem to tell them any of the things they were most anxious to know. It reminded me of the first time I had come to the Doctor’s house, hoping to be hired as his assistant, and dear old Polynesia the parrot had questioned me. “Are you a good noticer?” she had asked. I had always thought I was - pretty good, anyhow. But now I felt I had been a very poor noticer. For it seemed I hadn’t noticed any of the things I should have done to make the story of our voyage interesting to the ordinary public.

Pt The trouble was of course attention . Human attention is like butter: you can only spread it so thin and no thinner. If you try to spread it over too many things at once you just don’t remember them. And certainly during all our waking hours upon the Moon there was so much for our ears and eyes and minds to take in it is a wonder, I often think, that any clear memories at all remain.

Pt The one who could have been of most help to me in writing my impressions of the Moon was Jamaro Bumblelily, the giant moth who carried us there. But as he was nowhere near me when I set to work upon this book I decided I had better not consider the particular wishes of Jip, Gub-Gub, my mother, Matthew or any one else, but set the story down in my own way. Clearly the tale must be in any case an imperfect, incomplete one. And the only thing to do is to go forward with it, step by step, to the best of my recollection, from where the great insect hovered, with our beating hearts pressed close against his broad back, over the near and glowing landscape of the Moon.

Pt Any one could tell that the moth knew every detail of the country we were landing in. Planing, circling and diving, he brought his wide-winged body very deliberately down towards a little valley fenced in with hills. The bottom of this, I saw as we drew nearer, was level, sandy and dry.

Pt The hills struck one at once as unusual. In fact all the mountains as well (for much greater heights could presently be seen towering away in the dim greenish light behind the nearer, lower ranges) had one peculiarity. The tops seemed to be cut off and cup-like. The Doctor afterwards explained to me that they were extinct volcanoes. Nearly all these peaks had once belched fire and molten lava but were now cold and dead. Some had been fretted and worn by winds and weather and time into quite curious shapes; and yet others had been filled up or half buried by drifting sand so that they had nearly lost the appearance of volcanoes. I was reminded of “The Whispering Rocks” which we had seen in Spidermonkey Island. And though this scene was different in many things, no one who had ever looked upon a volcanic landscape before could have mistaken it for anything else.

Pt The little valley, long and narrow, which we were apparently making for did not show many signs of life, vegetable or animal. But we were not disturbed by that. At least the Doctor wasn’t. He had seen a tree and he was satisfied that before long he would find water, vegetation and creatures.

Pt At last when the moth had dropped within twenty feet of the ground he spread his wings motionless and like a great kite gently touched the sand, in hops at first, then ran a little, braced himself and came to a standstill.

Pt We had landed on the Moon!

Pt By this time we had had a chance to get a little more used to the new air. But before we made any attempt to “go ashore” the Doctor thought it best to ask our gallant steed to stay where he was a while, so that we could still further accustom ourselves to the new atmosphere and conditions.

Pt This request was willingly granted. Indeed, the poor insect himself, I imagine, was glad enough to rest a while. From somewhere in his packages John Dolittle produced an emergency ration of chocolate which he had been saving up. All four of us munched in silence, too hungry and too awed by our new surroundings to say a word.

Pt The light changed unceasingly. It reminded me of the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis. You would gaze at the mountains above you, then turn away a moment, and on looking back find everything that had been pink was now green, the shadows that had been violet were rose.

Pt Breathing was still kind of difficult. We were compelled for the moment to keep the “moon-bells” handy. These were the great orange-coloured flowers that the moth had brought down for us. It was their perfume (or gas) that had enabled us to cross the airless belt that lay between the Moon and the Earth. A fit of coughing was always liable to come on if one left them too long. But already we felt that we could in time get used to this new air and soon do without the bells altogether.

Pt The gravity too was very confusing. It required hardly any effort to rise from a sitting position to a standing one. Walking was no effort at all - for the muscles - but for the lungs it was another question. The most extraordinary sensation was jumping. The least little spring from the ankles sent you flying into the air in the most fantastic fashion. If it had not been for this problem of breathing properly (which the Doctor seemed to feel we should approach with great caution on account of its possible effect on the heart) we would all have given ourselves up to this most light-hearted feeling which took possession of us. I remember, myself, singing songs - the melody was somewhat indistinct on account of a large mouthful of chocolate - and I was most anxious to get down off the moth’s back and go bounding away across the hills and valleys to explore this new world.

Pt But I realize now that John Dolittle was very wise in making us wait. He issued orders (in the low whispers which we found necessary in this new clear air) to each and all of us that for the present the flowers were not to be left behind for a single moment.

Pt They were cumbersome things to carry but we obeyed orders. No ladder was needed now to descend by. The gentlest jump sent one flying off the insect’s back to the ground where you landed from a twenty-five-foot drop with ease and comfort. Zip! The spring was made. And we were wading in the sands of a new world.

Pt “Zip! - The spring was made”

2. THE LAND OF COLOURS AND PERFUMES

Pt W E WERE AFTER all, when you come to think of it, a very odd party, this, which made the first landing on a new world. But in a great many ways it was a peculiarly good combination. First of all, Polynesia: she was the kind of bird which one always supposed would exist under any conditions, drought, floods, fire or frost. I’ve no doubt that at that time in my boyish way I exaggerated Polynesia’s adaptability and endurance. But even to this day I can never quite imagine any circumstances in which that remarkable bird would perish. If she could get a pinch of seed (of almost any kind) and a sip of water two or three times a week she would not only carry on quite cheerfully but would scarcely even remark upon the strange nature or scantiness of the rations. Then Chee-Chee: he was not so easily provided for in the matter of food. But he always seemed to be able to provide for himself anything that was lacking. I have never known a better forager than Chee-Chee. When every one was hungry he could go off into an entirely new forest and just by smelling the wild fruits and nuts he could tell if they were safe to eat. How he did this even John Dolittle could never find out. Indeed Chee-Chee himself didn’t know.

Pt “By smelling he could tell if they were safe to eat”

Pt Then myself: I had no scientific qualifications but I had learned how to be a good secretary on natural history expeditions and I knew a good deal about the Doctor’s ways.

Pt Finally there was the Doctor. No naturalist has ever gone afield to grasp at the secrets of a new land with the qualities John Dolittle possessed. He never claimed to know anything, beforehand, for certain. He came to new problems with a childlike innocence which made it easy for himself to learn and the others to teach.

Pt Yes, it was a strange party we made up. Most scientists would have laughed at us no doubt. Yet we had many things to recommend us that no expedition ever carried before.

Pt As usual the Doctor wasted no time in preliminaries. Most other explorers would have begun by planting a flag and singing national anthems. Not so with John Dolittle. As soon as he was sure that we were all ready he gave the order to march. And without a word Chee-Chee and I (with Polynesia who perched herself on my shoulder) fell in behind him and started off.

Pt I have never known a time when it was harder to shake loose the feeling of living in a dream as those first few hours we spent on the Moon. The knowledge that we were treading a new world never before visited by Man, added to this extraordinary feeling caused by the gravity, of lightness, of walking on air, made you want every minute to have some one tell you that you were actually awake and in your right senses. For this reason I kept constantly speaking to the Doctor or Chee-Chee or Polynesia - even when I had nothing particular to say. But the uncanny booming of my own voice every time I opened my lips and spoke above the faintest whisper merely added to the dream-like effect of the whole experience.

Pt However, little by little, we grew accustomed to it. And certainly there was no lack of new sights and impressions to occupy our minds. Those strange and ever changing colours in the landscape were most bewildering, throwing out your course and sense of direction entirely. The Doctor had brought a small pocket compass with him. But on consulting it, we saw that it was even more confused than we were. The needle did nothing but whirl around in the craziest fashion and no amount of steadying would persuade it to stay still.

Pt “The Doctor had brought a compass”

Pt Giving that up, the Doctor determined to rely on his moon maps and his own eyesight and bump of locality. He was heading towards where he had seen that tree - which was at the end of one of the ranges. But all the ranges in this section seemed very much alike. The maps did not help us in this respect in the least. To our rear we could see certain peaks which we thought we could identify on the charts. But ahead nothing fitted in at all. This made us feel surer than ever that we were moving toward the Moon’s other side which earthly eyes had never seen.

Pt “It is likely enough, Stubbins,” said the Doctor as we strode lightly forward over loose sand which would ordinarily have been very heavy going, “that it is only on the other side that water exists. Which may partly be the reason why astronomers never believed there was any here at all.”

Pt For my part I was so on the look-out for extraordinary sights that it did not occur to me, till the Doctor spoke of it, that the temperature was extremely mild and agreeable. One of the things that John Dolittle had feared was that we should find a heat that was unbearable or a cold that was worse than Arctic. But except for the difficulty of the strange new quality of the air, no human could have asked for a nicer climate. A gentle steady wind was blowing and the temperature seemed to remain almost constantly the same.

Pt We looked about everywhere for tracks. As yet we knew very little of what animal life to expect. But the loose sand told nothing, not even to Chee-Chee, who was a pretty experienced hand at picking up tracks of the most unusual kind.

Pt Of odours and scents there were plenty - most of them very delightful flower perfumes which the wind brought to us from the other side of the mountain ranges ahead. Occasionally a very disagreeable one would come, mixed up with the pleasant scents. But none of them, except that of the moon bells the moth had brought with us, could we recognize.

Pt On and on we went for miles, crossing ridge after ridge and still no glimpse did we get of the Doctor’s tree. Of course crossing the ranges was not nearly as hard travelling as it would have been on Earth. Jumping and bounding both upward and downward was extraordinarily easy. Still, we had brought a good deal of baggage with us and all of us were pretty heavy-laden; and after two and a half hours of travel we began to feel a little discouraged. Polynesia then volunteered to fly ahead and reconnoitre, but this the Doctor was loath to have her do. For some reason he wanted us all to stick together for the present.

Pt “Jumping was extraordinarily easy”

Pt However, after another half-hour of going he consented to let her fly straight up so long as she remained in sight, to see if she could spy out the tree’s position from a greater height.

3. THIRST!

Pt S O WE RESTED on our bundles a spell while Polynesia gave an imitation of a soaring vulture and straight above our heads climbed and climbed. At about a thousand feet she paused and circled. Then slowly came down again. The Doctor, watching her, grew impatient at her speed. I could not quite make out why he was so unwilling to have her away from his side, but I asked no questions.

Pt Yes, she had seen the tree, she told us, but it still seemed a long way off. The Doctor wanted to know why she had taken so long in coming down and she said she had been making sure of her bearings so that she would be able to act as guide. Indeed, with the usual accuracy of birds, she had a very clear idea of the direction we should take. And we set off again, feeling more at ease and confident.

Pt The truth of it was of course that seen from a great height, as the tree had first appeared to us, the distance had seemed much less than it actually was. Two more things helped to mislead us. One, that the moon air, as we now discovered, made everything look nearer than it actually was in spite of the soft dim light. And the other was that we had supposed the tree to be one of ordinary earthly size and had made an unconscious guess at its distance in keeping with a fair-sized oak or elm. Whereas when we did actually reach it we found it to be unimaginably huge.

Pt I shall never forget that tree. It was our first experience of moon life, in the Moon. Darkness was coming on when we finally halted beneath it. When I say darkness I mean that strange kind of twilight which was the nearest thing to night which we ever saw in the Moon. The tree’s height, I should say, would be at least three hundred feet and the width of it across the trunk a good forty or fifty. Its appearance in general was most uncanny. The whole design of it was different from any tree I have ever seen. Yet there was no mistaking it for anything else. It seemed - how shall I describe it? - alive . Poor Chee-Chee was so scared of it his hair just stood up on the nape of his neck and it was a long time before the Doctor and I persuaded him to help us pitch camp beneath its boughs.

Pt “It was different from any tree I have ever seen”

Pt Indeed we were a very subdued party that prepared to spend its first night on the Moon. No one knew just what it was that oppressed us but we were all conscious of a definite feeling of disturbance. The wind still blew - in that gentle, steady way that the moon winds always blew. The light was clear enough to see outlines by, although most of the night the Earth was invisible, and there was no reflection whatever.

Pt I remember how the Doctor, while we were unpacking and laying out the rest of our chocolate ration for supper, kept glancing uneasily up at those strange limbs of the tree overhead.

Pt “The Doctor kept glancing up uneasily”

Pt Of course it was the wind that was moving them - no doubt of that at all. Yet the wind was so deadly regular and even. And the movement of the boughs wasn’t regular at all. That was the weird part of it. It almost seemed as though the tree were doing some moving on its own, like an animal chained by its feet in the ground. And still you could never be sure - because, after all, the wind was blowing all the time.

Pt And besides, it moaned. Well, we knew trees moaned in the wind at home. But this one did it differently - it didn’t seem in keeping with that regular even wind which we felt upon our faces.

Pt I could see that even the worldly-wise practical Polynesia was perplexed and upset. And it took a great deal to disturb her. Yet a bird’s senses towards trees and winds are much keener than a man’s. I kept hoping she would venture into the branches of the tree; but she didn’t. And as for Chee-Chee, also a natural denizen of the forest, no power on earth, I felt sure, would persuade him to investigate the mysteries of this strange specimen of a Vegetable Kingdom we were as yet only distantly acquainted with.

Pt After supper was despatched, the Doctor kept me busy for some hours taking down notes. There was much to be recorded of this first day in a new world. The temperature; the direction and force of the wind; the time of our arrival - as near as it could be guessed; the air pressure (he had brought along a small barometer among his instruments) and many other things which, while they were dry stuff for the ordinary mortal, were highly important for the scientist.

Pt Often and often I have wished that I had one of those memories that seem to be able to recall all impressions no matter how small and unimportant. For instance, I have often wanted to remember exactly that first awakening on the Moon. We had all been weary enough with excitement and exercise, when we went to bed, to sleep soundly. All I can remember of my waking up is spending at least ten minutes working out where I was. And I doubt if I could have done it even then if I had not finally realized that John Dolittle was awake ahead of me and already pottering around among his instruments, taking readings.

Pt The immediate business now on hand was food. There was literally nothing for breakfast. The Doctor began to regret his hasty departure from the moth. Indeed it was only now, many, many hours after we had left him in our unceremonious haste to find the tree and explore the new world, that we realized that we had not as yet seen any signs of animal life. Still it seemed a long way to go back and consult him; and it was by no means certain that he would still be there,

Pt Just the same, we needed food, and food we were going to find. Hastily we bundled together what things we had unpacked for the night’s camping. Which way to go? Clearly if we had here reached one tree, there must be some direction in which others lay, where we could find that water which the Doctor was so sure must exist. But we could scan the horizon with staring eyes or telescope as much as we wished and not another leaf of a tree could we see.

Pt This time without waiting to be ordered Polynesia soared into the air to do a little scouting.

Pt “Polynesia soared into the air”

Pt “Well,” she said on her return, “I don’t see any actual trees at all. The beastly landscape is more like the Sahara Desert than any scenery I’ve ever run into. But over there behind that higher range-the one with the curious hat-shaped peak in the middle - you see the one I mean?”

Pt “Yes,” said the Doctor. “I see. Go on.”

Pt “Well, behind that there is a dark horizon different from any other quarter. I won’t swear it is trees. But myself, I feel convinced that there is something else there besides sand. We had better get moving. It is no short walk.”

Pt Indeed it was no short walk. It came to be a forced march or race between us and starvation. On starting out we had not foreseen anything of the kind. Going off without breakfast was nothing after all. Each one of us had done that before many a time. But as hour after hour went by and still the landscape remained a desert of rolling sand-dunes, hills and dead dry volcanoes, our spirits fell lower and lower.

Pt This was one of the times when I think I saw John Dolittle really at his best. I know, although I had not questioned him, that he had already been beset with anxiety over several matters on the first steps of our march. Later he spoke of them to me: not at the time. And as conditions grew worse, as hunger gnawed at our vitals and the most terrible thirst parched our tongues - as strength and vitality began to give way and mere walking became the most terrible hardship, the Doctor grew cheerier and cheerier. He didn’t crack dry jokes in an irritating way either. But by some strange means he managed to keep the whole party in good mood. If he told a funny story it was always at the right time and set us all laughing at our troubles. In talking to him afterwards about this I learned that he had, when a young man, been employed on more than one exploration trip to keep the expedition in good humour. It was, he said, the only way he could persuade the chief to take him, since at that time he had no scientific training to recommend him.

Pt Anyway, I sincerely doubt whether our party would have held out if it had not been for his sympathetic and cheering company. The agonies of thirst were something new to me. Every step I thought must be my last.

Pt Finally at what seemed to be the end of our second day, I vaguely heard Polynesia saying something about “Forests ahead!” I imagine I must have been half delirious by then. I still staggered along, blindly following the others. I know we did reach water because before I fell and dozed away into a sort of half faint I remember Chee-Chee trickling something marvellously cool between my lips out of a cup made from a folded leaf.

Pt “I remember Chee-Chee trickling something cool between my lips”

4. CHEE-CHEE THE HERO

Pt WHEN I AWOKE I felt very much ashamed of myself. What an explorer! The Doctor was moving around already - and, of course, Chee-Chee and Polynesia. John Dolittle came to my side immediately he saw I was awake.

Pt As though he knew the thoughts that were in my mind he at once started to reprimand me for feeling ashamed of my performance. He pointed out that after all Chee-Chee and Polynesia were accustomed to travelling in hot dry climates and that so, for that matter, was he himself.

Pt “Taken all in all, Stubbins,” said he, “your own performance has been extremely good. You made the trip, the whole way, and only collapsed when relief was in sight. No one could ask for more than that. I have known many experienced explorers who couldn’t have done nearly as well. It was a hard lap - a devilish hard lap. You were magnificent. Sit up and have some breakfast. Thank goodness, we’ve reached food at last!”

Pt Weak and frowsty, I sat up. Arranged immediately around me was a collection of what I later learned were fruits. The reliable Chee-Chee, scared though he might be of a moving tree or a whispering wind, had served the whole party with that wonderful sense of his for scenting out wild foodstuffs. Not one of the strange courses on the bill of fare had I or the Doctor seen before. But if Chee-Chee said they were safe we knew we need not fear.

Pt Some of the fruits were as big as a large trunk; some as small as a walnut. But, starving as we were, we just dived in and ate and ate and ate. Water there was too, gathered in the shells of enormous nuts and odd vessels made from twisted leaves. Never has a breakfast tasted so marvellous as did that one of fruits which I could not name.

Pt “Some of the fruits were as big as a trunk”

Pt Chee-Chee! - Poor little timid Chee-Chee, who conquered your own fears and volunteered to go ahead of us alone, into the jungle to find food when our strength was giving out. To the world you were just an organ-grinder’s monkey. But to us whom you saved from starvation, when terror beset you at every step, you will for ever be ranked high in the list of the great heroes of all time. Thank goodness we had you with us! Our bones might to-day be mouldering in the sands of the Moon if it had not been for your untaught science, your jungle skill - and, above all, your courage that overcame your fear!

Pt Well, to return: as I ate these strange fruits and sipped the water that brought life back I gazed upward and saw before me a sort of ridge. On its level top a vegetation, a kind of tangled forest, flourished; and trailing down from this ridge were little outposts of the Vegetable Kingdom, groups of bushes and single trees, that scattered and dribbled away in several directions from the main mass. Why and how that lone tree survived so far away we could never satisfactorily explain. The nearest John Dolittle could come to it was that some underground spring supplied it with enough water or moisture to carry on. Yet there can be no doubt that to have reached such enormous proportions it must have been there hundreds - perhaps thousands - of years. Anyway, it is a good thing for us it was there. If it had not been, as a pointer towards this habitable quarter of the Moon - it is most likely our whole expedition would have perished.

Pt When the Doctor and I had finished our mysterious breakfast we started to question Chee-Chee about the forest from which he had produced the food we had eaten.

Pt “I don’t know how I did it,” said Chee-Chee when we asked him. “I just shut my eyes most of the time - terribly afraid. I passed trees, plants, creepers, roots. I smelt - Goodness! I too was hungry, remember. I smelt hard as I could. And soon of course I spotted food, fruits. I climbed a tree - half the time with my eyes shut. Then I see some monster, golly! What a jungle - different from any monkey ever see before - Woolly, woolly! - Ooh, ooh! All the same, nuts smell good. Catch a few. Chase down the tree. Run some more. Smell again. Good! - Up another tree. Different fruit, good just the same. Catch a few. Down again. Run home. On the way smell good root. Same as ginger - only better. Dig a little. Keep eyes shut - don’t want to see monster. Catch a piece of root. Run all the way home. Here I am. Finish!”

Pt “‘I climbed a tree’”

Pt Well, dear old Chee-Chee’s story was descriptive of his own heroic adventures but it did not give us much idea of the moon forest which we were to explore. Nevertheless, rested and fit, we now felt much more inclined to look into things ourselves.

Pt Leaving what luggage we had brought with us from our original landing point, we proceeded towards the line of trees at the summit of the bluff, about four miles ahead of us. We now felt that we could find our way back without much difficulty to the two last camps we had established.

Pt “We approached the bluff on whose brow the vegetation flourished”

Pt The going was about the same, loose sand - only that as we approached the bluff we found the sand firmer to the tread.

Pt On the way up the last lap towards the vegetation line we were out of view of the top itself. Often the going was steep. All the way I had the feeling that we were about to make new and great discoveries - that for the first time we were to learn something important about the true nature of the mysterious Moon.

5. ON THE PLATEAU

Pt I NDEED OUR FIRST close acquaintance with the forests of the Moon was made in quite a dramatic manner. If it had been on a stage it could not have been arranged better for effect. Suddenly as our heads topped the bluff we saw a wall of jungle some mile or so ahead of us. It would take a very long time to describe those trees in detail. It wasn’t that there were so many kinds but each one was so utterly different from any tree we had seen on the Earth. And yet, curiously enough, they did remind you of vegetable forms you had seen, but not of trees.

Pt For instance, there was one whole section, several square miles in extent apparently, that looked exactly like ferns. Another reminded me of a certain flowering plant (I can’t recall the name of it) which grows a vast number of small blossoms on a flat surface at the top. The stems are a curious whitish green. This moon tree was exactly the same, only nearly a thousand times as big. The denseness of the foliage (or flowering) at the top was so compact and solid that we later found no rain could penetrate it. And for this reason the Doctor and I gave it the name of the Umbrella Tree . But not one single tree was there which was the same as any tree we had seen before. And there were many, many more curious growths that dimly reminded you of something, though you could not always say exactly what.

Pt “The Umbrella Tree”

Pt One odd thing that disturbed us quite a little was a strange sound. Noises of any kind, no matter how faint, we already knew could travel long distances on the Moon. As soon as we had gained the plateau on top of the bluff we heard it. It was a musical sound. And yet not the sound of a single instrument. It seemed almost as though there was a small orchestra somewhere playing very, very softly. We were by this time becoming accustomed to strange things. But I must confess that this distant hidden music upset me quite a little, and so, I know, it did the Doctor.

Pt At the top of the bluff we rested to get our wind before we covered the last mile up to the jungle itself. It was curious how clearly marked and separated were those sections of the Moon’s landscape. And yet doubtless the smaller scale of all the geographical features of this world, so much less in bulk than our own, could partly account for that. In front of us a plateau stretched out, composed of hard sand, level and smooth as a lake, bounded in front by the jungle and to the rear of us by the cliff we had just scaled. I wondered as I looked across at the forest what scenery began on the other side of the woods and if it broke off in as sharp a change as it did here.

Pt As the most important thing to attend to first was the establishment of a water supply, Chee-Chee was asked to act as guide. The monkey set out ahead of us to follow his own tracks which he had made last night. This he had little difficulty in doing across the open plateau. But when we reached the edge of the forest it was not so easy. Much of his travelling here had been done by swinging through the trees. He always felt safer so, he said, while explaining to us how he had been guided to the water by the sense of smell. Again I realized how lucky we had been to have him with us. No one but a monkey could have found his way through that dense, dimly lit forest to water. He asked us to stay behind a moment on the edge of the woods while he went forward to make sure that he could retrace his steps. We sat down again and waited.

Pt “Did you wake up at all during the night, Stubbins?” the Doctor asked after a little.

Pt “No,” I said. “I was far too tired. Why?”

Pt “Did you, Polynesia?” he asked, ignoring my question.

Pt “Yes,” said she, “I was awake several times.”

Versão em Português A2

1 - Capítulo 1

2 - Capítulo 2

3 - Capítulo 3

4 - Capítulo 4

5 - Capítulo 5

Capítulo 1

En Eu, Thomas Stubbins, estou tentando escrever a história de nossas aventuras na Lua. É difícil lembrar todos aqueles dias agitados e emocionantes. Fiz muitas anotações para o Doutor, mas a maioria é científica. Aqui quero contar a história para leitores comuns, e por isso não sei bem como começar.

En A história poderia ser contada de muitas maneiras. Pessoas diferentes querem coisas diferentes numa história de viagem. Pensei que Jip pudesse ajudar, então li alguns capítulos para ele. Queria saber se tínhamos visto ratos na Lua. Não soube responder. Não me lembro de nenhum, mas acho que devia haver algum tipo de criatura parecida com rato.

En Depois perguntei a Gub-Gub. Ele queria saber quais verduras comíamos. Dab-Dab bufou e disse que eu devia saber melhor do que perguntar a ele. Em seguida perguntei à minha mãe. Ela queria saber como nos virávamos quando nossa roupa de baixo se gastava e muitas outras coisas da vida diária. Eu quase nada podia responder. Então perguntei a Matthew Mugg. Ele queria saber se havia lojas na Lua e como eram os cães e gatos. Parecia pensar que a Lua era muito parecida com Puddleby ou com o East End de Londres.

En Tentar descobrir sobre o que a maioria das pessoas queria ler a respeito da Lua não me ajudou muito. Eu não conseguia contar as coisas que elas mais queriam saber. Isso me fez pensar no meu primeiro dia na casa do Doutor, quando Polynesia, a papagaia, perguntou se eu era bom observador. Eu achava que sim, mas agora sentia que havia observado muito pouco. Tinha deixado passar muitas coisas que tornariam a história mais interessante para leitores comuns.

En O problema era a atenção. A atenção humana é como manteiga: só pode ser espalhada até certo ponto. Se tentamos pensar em coisas demais ao mesmo tempo, não nos lembramos bem delas. Na Lua havia tanto para ver e ouvir que é surpreendente lembrarmos de alguma coisa com clareza.

En A mariposa Jamaro Bumblelily poderia ajudá-lo a escrever, mas não estava ali. Então Thomas decidiu escrever a história à sua maneira. A história não seria perfeita. Ele a escreveria passo a passo, desde o momento em que viram a Lua pela primeira vez.

En Qualquer um perceberia que a mariposa conhecia a terra onde iríamos pousar. Ela planou, fez círculos e mergulhou. Depois desceu cuidadosamente a um pequeno vale entre colinas. Ao nos aproximarmos, vi que o fundo do vale era plano, arenoso e seco.

En As colinas pareciam estranhas desde o começo. As montanhas atrás delas também eram esquisitas. Seus topos eram cortados e tinham forma de taças. Mais tarde, o Doutor disse que eram vulcões mortos. Muito tempo antes, haviam lançado fogo e lava, mas agora estavam frios. O vento, o clima e o tempo transformaram alguns em formas estranhas. Outros estavam parcialmente cobertos de areia. Pensei nas Rochas Sussurrantes da Ilha dos Macacos-Aranha. Quem já tivesse visto um lugar vulcânico saberia que este era um.

En O vale longo e estreito para onde íamos não parecia ter muita vida. Não nos importamos. O Doutor já havia visto uma árvore, e isso bastava para ele. Achava que logo encontraríamos água, plantas e animais.

En Por fim, a mariposa desceu até ficar a seis metros do chão. Abriu as asas e ficou pairando. Depois tocou suavemente a areia, como uma pipa que pousa. Deu alguns pulos, correu um pouco, firmou-se e parou.

En Havíamos pousado na Lua!

En A essa altura já estávamos um pouco acostumados ao novo ar. Antes de desembarcarmos, o Doutor pediu à nossa montaria corajosa que ficasse parada por algum tempo. Queria que nos acostumássemos ao novo ar e ao novo lugar.

En O pedido foi aceito com alegria. Acho que o pobre inseto também ficou feliz por descansar. John Dolittle tirou um pouco do chocolate de emergência que havia guardado. Nós quatro o comemos em silêncio. Estávamos famintos e maravilhados demais com o que víamos para falar.

En A luz continuava mudando. Fazia-me pensar na Aurora Boreal. Eu olhava para as montanhas e desviava o olhar por um instante. Quando olhava de novo, os lugares cor-de-rosa estavam verdes e as sombras violetas eram rosadas.

En Respirar ainda era difícil. Tínhamos de manter perto os sinos lunares, aquelas grandes flores alaranjadas que a mariposa trouxera. Seu cheiro, ou gás, ajudava-nos a atravessar o espaço vazio entre a Lua e a Terra. Se os deixássemos de lado por muito tempo, começávamos a tossir. Mas achávamos que logo nos acostumaríamos ao novo ar e não precisaríamos mais deles.

En A gravidade também era estranha. Era muito fácil ficar de pé. Caminhar gastava pouca energia, mas respirar era difícil. Saltar era o mais estranho. Um pulinho fazia a pessoa subir muito alto. Estávamos cheios de alegria, e eu queria explorar imediatamente. Mas o Doutor disse que precisávamos ter cuidado por causa da respiração. Cantei baixinho enquanto comia chocolate e queria saltar da mariposa e correr pelas colinas e vales.

En Agora vejo que John Dolittle foi sábio ao nos fazer esperar. Num sussurro, disse que não devíamos ficar nem um momento sem as flores.

En As flores eram pesadas para carregar, mas obedecemos. Não precisávamos de escada para descer. Um pequeno salto nos levou das costas do inseto ao chão. Aterrissamos facilmente depois de uma queda de oito metros. Então começamos a caminhar pela areia de um mundo novo.

En - Zip! A fonte foi feita.

Capítulo 2

En Éramos um grupo muito estranho para ser o primeiro a pousar num mundo novo. Mas também éramos um grupo muito bom em muitos aspectos. Polynesia era uma daquelas aves capazes de viver em qualquer lugar difícil. Precisava apenas de algumas sementes e água, e continuava alegre. Chee-Chee era diferente. Precisava de mais comida, mas conseguia encontrá-la sozinho. Era muito bom em procurar frutas e nozes silvestres e sabia pelo cheiro se eram seguras para comer. Nem John Dolittle conseguia explicar como fazia, e Chee-Chee também não sabia.

En Ele usava o olfato para saber se a comida era segura.

En Eu não tinha formação científica, mas podia ajudar como secretário em expedições de história natural. Também conhecia bem o Doutor e seu modo de trabalhar.

En O Doutor era muito especial. Não fingia ter certeza das coisas antes de aprendê-las. Enfrentava problemas novos como uma criança, por isso aprendia facilmente e deixava que os outros lhe ensinassem.

En Éramos um grupo estranho. Muitos cientistas teriam rido de nós. Mas tínhamos muitas qualidades que outras expedições não possuíam.

En O Doutor não perdeu tempo. Outros exploradores talvez fincassem uma bandeira e cantassem músicas, mas John Dolittle não. Quando viu que estávamos prontos, mandou começar. Chee-Chee, Polynesia e eu o seguimos.

En Nas primeiras horas na Lua, tudo parecia um sonho. Sabíamos que estávamos num mundo novo e nos sentíamos muito leves, como se caminhássemos no ar. Eu continuava falando com o Doutor, Chee-Chee e Polynesia só para me sentir normal. Mas minha própria voz soava estranha e fazia tudo parecer ainda mais irreal.

En Aos poucos nos acostumamos. Havia muitas coisas novas e estranhas para ver. As cores cambiantes confundiam-nos, e não sabíamos para que lado ir. O Doutor tinha uma pequena bússola, mas ela não funcionava bem. A agulha apenas girava.

En O Doutor tinha uma bússola.

En Então o Doutor parou de usar a bússola. Usou seus mapas da Lua, os olhos e o senso de direção. Ia em direção à árvore que vira no fim de uma cadeia. Mas todas as cadeias pareciam iguais. Os mapas não ajudavam. Atrás de nós, conseguíamos reconhecer alguns picos, mas nada à frente fazia sentido. Tínhamos certeza de que caminhávamos para o lado afastado da Lua, que as pessoas na Terra nunca haviam visto.

En O Doutor disse a Stubbins que talvez só houvesse água do outro lado. Pensou que essa poderia ser a razão pela qual os astrônomos não acreditavam que houvesse água ali.

En Eu estava tão ocupado procurando coisas estranhas que não percebi como o clima era ameno e agradável. John Dolittle temia um calor ou frio extremos, mas não havia nenhum dos dois. O ar era estranho, mas o clima era muito agradável. Uma brisa suave soprava o tempo todo, e a temperatura quase não mudava.

En Procuramos pegadas por toda parte. Sabíamos muito pouco sobre os animais dali. Mas a areia solta não nos dizia nada. Nem Chee-Chee, que era bom em encontrar rastros raros, conseguiu achar algum.

En Havia muitos cheiros. A maioria eram agradáveis aromas de flores trazidos pelo vento das montanhas à frente. Às vezes vinha um cheiro ruim com eles. Mas não conseguíamos dar nome a nenhum, exceto ao cheiro dos sinos lunares que a mariposa trouxera.

En Andamos quilômetros, passando por uma crista após outra, mas ainda não víamos a árvore do Doutor. Cruzar as montanhas era mais fácil ali do que na Terra, porque saltar para cima e para baixo era simples. Mesmo assim, tínhamos muita bagagem e todos carregávamos cargas pesadas. Depois de duas horas e meia, começamos a ficar cansados e tristes. Polynesia ofereceu-se para voar adiante e olhar ao redor, mas o Doutor não quis. Por enquanto, queria que ficássemos juntos.

En Saltar para cima e para baixo era muito fácil.

En Depois de mais meia hora, ele concordou em deixá-la voar, desde que permanecesse à vista. Ela procuraria a árvore do alto.

Capítulo 3

En Então descansamos um pouco sobre nossas bolsas. Polynesia voou direto para cima como uma grande ave. Subiu cada vez mais. A cerca de trezentos metros, parou e voou em círculo. Depois desceu novamente. O Doutor estava impaciente. Eu não entendia por que ele não queria que ela se afastasse, mas não disse nada.

En Polynesia disse que vira a árvore, mas ela ainda parecia distante. O Doutor perguntou por que demorara tanto para descer. Ela disse que estava confirmando o caminho para poder nos guiar. Sabia claramente a direção. Então recomeçamos e nos sentimos mais calmos e seguros.

En A árvore parecia muito mais perto vista de cima do que realmente estava. O ar lunar também fazia as coisas parecerem mais próximas. Além disso, pensávamos que a árvore tinha o tamanho de uma árvore comum da Terra. Mas, quando chegamos, descobrimos que era muito, muito maior.

En Nunca esquecerei aquela árvore. Foi nosso primeiro olhar de perto para a vida lunar. Quando paramos sob ela, a noite se aproximava - na Lua, o mais próximo que havia de noite. A árvore talvez tivesse noventa metros de altura e fosse muito larga. Parecia estranha, diferente de qualquer árvore que eu já vira. Parecia viva. Chee-Chee ficou tão assustado que seus pelos se arrepiaram. Demorou muito até o Doutor e eu conseguirmos fazê-lo ajudar a montar o acampamento sob os galhos.

En Não era como nenhuma árvore que eu já tivesse visto.

En Ficamos quietos e tristes enquanto nos preparávamos para nossa primeira noite na Lua. Não sabíamos por quê, mas todos nos sentíamos inquietos. O vento soprava suave e constante. Havia luz suficiente para enxergar, mas durante a maior parte da noite a Terra não podia ser vista.

En Lembro-me do Doutor. Enquanto desfazíamos as malas e preparávamos o restante do chocolate para o jantar, ele continuava olhando nervosamente para os galhos estranhos acima de nós.

En O Doutor continuava olhando nervosamente para cima.

En O vento movia os galhos, sem dúvida. Mas soprava sempre de maneira constante e uniforme. Os galhos não se moviam de modo constante. Essa era a parte estranha. Quase parecia que a árvore se movia sozinha, como um animal preso ao chão. Mas não podíamos ter certeza, pois o vento soprava o tempo todo.

En Ela também emitia um som de lamento. Sabíamos que as árvores da Terra gemiam ao vento. Mas aquele som era diferente. Não combinava com o vento constante em nossos rostos.

En Até Polynesia ficou confusa e preocupada, o que não era fácil. As aves conhecem muito bem árvores e vento. Eu esperava que ela entrasse na árvore, mas não entrou. Quanto a Chee-Chee, não chegaria perto dela. Eu tinha certeza de que ele não investigaria seus segredos.

En Depois do jantar, o Doutor manteve-me ocupado durante horas, escrevendo anotações. Havia muito a registrar sobre aquele primeiro dia num mundo novo. Anotamos a temperatura, o vento, a hora de chegada, a pressão do ar e outras coisas importantes para o Doutor.

En Gostaria de lembrar cada pequeno detalhe daquele tempo. Quero recordar exatamente como acordamos na Lua pela primeira vez. Estávamos muito cansados, por isso dormimos bem. Quando acordei, passei muito tempo tentando entender onde estava. Então vi que John Dolittle já estava acordado, usando seus instrumentos.

En Agora precisávamos de comida. Não havia café da manhã. O Doutor começou a preocupar-se por termos deixado a mariposa cedo demais. Muitas horas depois, percebemos que ainda não havíamos encontrado animais. Mas parecia longe demais voltar para perguntar a ela, e não sabíamos se continuava ali.

En Ainda precisávamos de comida, então fomos procurá-la. Arrumamos rapidamente nossas coisas e escolhemos uma direção. Pensávamos que devia haver mais árvores e água em algum lugar. Mas olhamos ao redor e não vimos outras árvores.

En Desta vez, Polynesia não esperou. Voou para o alto para observar o lugar.

En - Polynesia subiu voando ao céu.

En Quando voltou, disse: - Não vejo árvore alguma. Este lugar parece o Deserto do Saara. Mas ali, atrás daquela cadeia alta com o topo estranho em forma de chapéu, talvez haja alguma coisa.

En - Sim - disse o Doutor. - Estou vendo. Continue.

En - Bem, atrás dela há uma linha escura no horizonte. Não posso dizer que sejam árvores. Mas acho que existe algo além de areia. Devemos partir agora. É uma longa caminhada.

En Foi uma caminhada muito longa. Transformou-se numa corrida difícil contra a fome e a morte. Não esperávamos por isso. Ficar sem café da manhã não era um grande problema; todos já havíamos feito isso. Mas as horas passaram e continuamos vendo apenas colinas de areia e vulcões secos. Todos ficamos mais fracos e tristes.

En Foi uma ocasião em que John Dolittle esteve em seu melhor. Já estava preocupado, mas não demonstrava. À medida que a fome e a sede pioravam, ele ficava mais alegre. Não contava piadas ruins. Ajudava-nos a manter o bom humor. Quando contava uma história engraçada, era na hora certa e nos fazia rir. Mais tarde, soube que fazia isso nas expedições de sua juventude. Isso o ajudava a ser escolhido para as viagens.

En Não acho que nosso grupo teria continuado sem sua companhia bondosa e alegre. Nunca sentira tanta sede. Cada passo parecia poder ser o último.

En No fim do segundo dia, ouvi Polynesia dizer: - Florestas à frente! Acho que já estava meio sonhando. Mesmo assim, continuei andando atrás dos outros. Sei que encontramos água, pois, antes de adormecer, Chee-Chee me deu um pouco de água fresca num copo feito de uma folha dobrada.

En - Lembro-me de Chee-Chee colocar algo fresco entre meus lábios.

Capítulo 4

En Quando acordei, senti muita vergonha. Que espécie de explorador eu era! O Doutor já se movimentava, assim como Chee-Chee e Polynesia. John Dolittle veio imediatamente até mim ao perceber que eu estava acordado.

En Ele pareceu saber o que eu estava pensando. Disse que eu não devia sentir vergonha. Chee-Chee e Polynesia estavam acostumados a lugares quentes e secos. Ele também.

En - Considerando tudo, Stubbins - disse ele - , você se saiu muito bem. Continuou andando até o fim e só caiu quando a ajuda estava perto. Ninguém poderia pedir mais. Conheci muitos exploradores habilidosos que não teriam feito nem de longe tão bem. Foi uma parte muito difícil da viagem. Você foi maravilhoso. Sente-se e tome o café da manhã. Graças a Deus, finalmente temos comida!

En Sentei-me, fraco e faminto. Ao meu redor havia muitas frutas. Mais tarde aprendi o que eram. Chee-Chee, que tinha medo de muitas coisas, encontrara alimento selvagem para todos nós. O Doutor e eu nunca tínhamos visto aquelas comidas estranhas. Mas, se Chee-Chee dizia que eram seguras, confiávamos nele.

En Algumas frutas eram do tamanho de um grande tronco. Outras, tão pequenas quanto uma noz. Estávamos famintos, por isso comemos sem parar. Também tínhamos água em cascas de nozes grandes e em copos de folhas. Nunca tivera um café da manhã tão maravilhoso.

En - Algumas frutas eram grandes como um tronco.

En Chee-Chee! Pobre e assustado Chee-Chee. Você venceu o medo e entrou sozinho na selva para buscar comida quando estávamos fracos. Outros só viam um macaco de realejo. Mas nós sabíamos que você nos salvou da fome. Será sempre um dos grandes heróis. Ainda bem que estava conosco! Sem sua habilidade na selva e seu coração corajoso, poderíamos ter morrido na areia da Lua.

En Enquanto comia a fruta estranha e bebia água, olhei para cima e vi uma crista. No alto havia uma floresta espessa. Pequenos grupos de arbustos e árvores desciam dela em vários pontos. Nunca soubemos como uma árvore solitária conseguia viver tão longe. John Dolittle achava que uma nascente subterrânea lhe dava água. Ela devia estar ali havia muitos anos, talvez centenas ou milhares. Tivemos sorte de encontrá-la. Isso mostrou que aquela parte da Lua podia ser habitada. Sem ela, nossa viagem poderia ter terminado em morte.

En Depois de comer, o Doutor e eu perguntamos a Chee-Chee sobre a floresta onde encontrara a comida.

En Chee-Chee disse que não sabia como conseguira. Contou que mantivera os olhos fechados quase todo o tempo, pois estava muito assustado. Correu entre árvores, plantas, raízes e trepadeiras. Continuou farejando comida, porque também estava faminto. Logo encontrou frutas. Subiu numa árvore com os olhos quase sempre fechados. Então viu um monstro e ficou muito assustado. Disse que a selva era estranha e lanosa. Mas as nozes cheiravam bem, então pegou algumas. Desceu correndo e tornou a farejar. Encontrou mais frutas em outra árvore e pegou algumas. Depois correu para casa. No caminho, sentiu o cheiro de uma raiz boa, parecida com gengibre, mas melhor. Cavou um pouco, mantendo os olhos fechados, pegou um pedaço e correu para casa. Então disse: - Aqui estou. Acabou!

En - Subi numa árvore.

En Chee-Chee contou sua viagem corajosa, mas isso não nos disse muito sobre a floresta lunar. Ainda assim, estávamos descansados e fortes e agora queríamos observar o lugar.

En Deixamos a bagagem no primeiro ponto de pouso. Depois caminhamos até as árvores no alto da colina, a cerca de seis quilômetros. Pensávamos que conseguiríamos voltar aos dois últimos acampamentos.

En Seguimos em direção ao penhasco, onde as plantas cresciam espessas no topo.

En O chão ainda era de areia solta, mas perto do penhasco parecia mais firme sob os pés.

En Na última subida até as árvores, não conseguíamos ver o topo do penhasco. O caminho era muitas vezes íngreme. Eu sentia que estávamos prestes a fazer grandes descobertas e aprender algo importante sobre a Lua.

Capítulo 5

En Nosso primeiro olhar de perto para as florestas lunares foi emocionante. Quando levantamos a cabeça acima do penhasco, vimos ao longe uma parede de selva. É difícil descrever aquelas árvores. Não eram como as da Terra. Pareciam um pouco com plantas que conhecemos, mas não com árvores.

En Uma área parecia formada por samambaias. Outra parecia uma planta florida com muitas flores pequenas no topo. Tinha a mesma forma, mas era muito, muito maior. O topo era tão espesso que a chuva não passava. O Doutor e eu a chamamos de Árvore-Guarda-Chuva. Nenhuma árvore era igual às da Terra. Havia muitas outras plantas estranhas; algumas lembravam coisas conhecidas, mas nem sempre sabíamos dizer o quê.

En - A Árvore-Guarda-Chuva.

En Uma coisa estranha nos perturbou um pouco. Ouvimos um som estranho. Já sabíamos que até sons suaves podiam viajar longe na Lua. Assim que chegamos ao platô no alto do penhasco, ouvimos. Era música. Mas não parecia um instrumento. Parecia uma pequena orquestra tocando muito suavemente em algum lugar distante. Já estávamos nos acostumando às coisas estranhas, mas aquela música escondida ainda me incomodou um pouco, e sei que também incomodou o Doutor.

En Paramos no alto do penhasco para descansar antes do último quilômetro até a selva. A paisagem lunar parecia muito clara e separada em cada parte. Provavelmente porque tudo na Lua era muito menor que na Terra. À nossa frente havia um platô plano de areia dura, liso como um lago. A selva estava à frente e o penhasco que subíramos atrás. Olhei para a floresta e me perguntei o que havia do outro lado. Também pensei se ali a paisagem mudava tão bruscamente quanto naquele ponto.

En Primeiro precisávamos encontrar água, então pedimos a Chee-Chee que nos guiasse. O macaco foi adiante, seguindo suas próprias pegadas da noite anterior. No platô aberto, foi fácil. Mas, na borda da floresta, ficou mais difícil. Ele havia passado entre as árvores balançando de galho em galho. Disse que se sentia mais seguro assim. Também contou que encontrara a água pelo cheiro. Mais uma vez percebi como tínhamos sorte de tê-lo conosco. Só um macaco poderia encontrar água naquela floresta escura. Pediu que esperássemos na borda enquanto verificava se conseguia achar o caminho de volta. Então sentamos e esperamos.

En - Você chegou a acordar durante a noite, Stubbins? - perguntou o Doutor depois de um tempo.

En - Não - respondi. - Estava cansado demais. Por quê?

En - E você, Polynesia? - perguntou ele, sem me responder.

En - Sim - disse ela. - Acordei várias vezes.

1. WE LAND UPON A NEW WORLD

A2 Português (simplified)

Eu, Thomas Stubbins, estou tentando escrever a história de nossas aventuras na Lua. É difícil lembrar todos aqueles dias agitados e emocionantes. Fiz muitas anotações para o Doutor, mas a maioria é científica. Aqui quero contar a história para leitores comuns, e por isso não sei bem como começar.

Original English

IN WRITING THE story of our adventures in the Moon I, Thomas Stubbins, secretary to John Dolittle, M.D. (and son of Jacob Stubbins, the cobbler of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh), find myself greatly puzzled. It is not an easy task, remembering day by day and hour by hour those crowded and exciting weeks. It is true I made many notes for the Doctor, books full of them. But that information was nearly all of a highly scientific kind. And I feel that I should tell the story here not for the scientist so much as for the general reader. And it is in that I am perplexed.

Original Português

AO ESCREVER A história de nossas aventuras na Lua, eu, Thomas Stubbins, secretário de John Dolittle, M.D. (e filho de Jacob Stubbins, o sapateiro de Puddleby-on-the-Marsh), vejo-me muito perplexo. Não é tarefa fácil recordar, dia por dia e hora por hora, aquelas semanas cheias e emocionantes. É verdade que fiz muitas anotações para o Doutor, livros inteiros delas. Mas essa informação era quase toda de natureza altamente científica. E sinto que devo contar aqui a história não tanto para o cientista quanto para o leitor comum. E é nisso que fico perplexo.

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

A história poderia ser contada de muitas maneiras. Pessoas diferentes querem coisas diferentes numa história de viagem. Pensei que Jip pudesse ajudar, então li alguns capítulos para ele. Queria saber se tínhamos visto ratos na Lua. Não soube responder. Não me lembro de nenhum, mas acho que devia haver algum tipo de criatura parecida com rato.

Original English

For the story could be told in many ways. People are so different in what they want to know about a voyage. I had thought at one time that Jip could help me; and after reading him some chapters as I had first set them down I asked for his opinion. I discovered he was mostly interested in whether we had seen any rats in the Moon. I found I could not tell him. I didn’t remember seeing any; and yet I am sure there must have been some - or some sort of creature like a rat.

Original Português

Pois a história poderia ser contada de muitas maneiras. As pessoas são tão diferentes no que desejam saber a respeito de uma viagem. Pensei certa vez que Jip poderia me ajudar; e, depois de ler para ele alguns capítulos como eu os havia escrito primeiro, pedi sua opinião. Descobri que ele estava sobretudo interessado em saber se tínhamos visto ratos na Lua. Verifiquei que não podia lhe dizer. Não me lembrava de ter visto nenhum; e, no entanto, tenho certeza de que devia haver alguns - ou alguma espécie de criatura parecida com rato.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Depois perguntei a Gub-Gub. Ele queria saber quais verduras comíamos. Dab-Dab bufou e disse que eu devia saber melhor do que perguntar a ele. Em seguida perguntei à minha mãe. Ela queria saber como nos virávamos quando nossa roupa de baixo se gastava e muitas outras coisas da vida diária. Eu quase nada podia responder. Então perguntei a Matthew Mugg. Ele queria saber se havia lojas na Lua e como eram os cães e gatos. Parecia pensar que a Lua era muito parecida com Puddleby ou com o East End de Londres.

Original English

Then I asked Gub-Gub. And what he was chiefly concerned to hear was the kind of vegetables we had fed on. (Dab-Dab snorted at me for my pains and said I should have known better than to ask him.) I tried my mother. She wanted to know how we had managed when our underwear wore out - and a whole lot of other matters about our living conditions, hardly any of which I could answer. Next I went to Matthew Mugg. And the things he wanted to learn were worse than either my mother’s or Jip’s: Were there any shops in the Moon? What were the dogs and cats like? The good Cats’-meat-Man seemed to have imagined it a place not very different from Puddleby or the East End of London.

Original Português

Depois perguntei a Gub-Gub. E aquilo que ele queria principalmente ouvir era que espécie de legumes havíamos comido. (Dab-Dab bufou para mim por meu trabalho e disse que eu devia ter sabido que era melhor não perguntar a ele.) Experimentei minha mãe. Ela queria saber como nos viramos quando nossas roupas de baixo se gastaram - e uma porção de outros assuntos sobre nossas condições de vida, quase nenhum dos quais eu podia responder. Em seguida fui a Matthew Mugg. E as coisas que ele desejava saber eram piores que as de minha mãe ou as de Jip: havia lojas na Lua? Como eram os cães e os gatos? O bom Homem da Carne para Gatos parecia tê-la imaginado como um lugar não muito diferente de Puddleby ou do East End de Londres.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Tentar descobrir sobre o que a maioria das pessoas queria ler a respeito da Lua não me ajudou muito. Eu não conseguia contar as coisas que elas mais queriam saber. Isso me fez pensar no meu primeiro dia na casa do Doutor, quando Polynesia, a papagaia, perguntou se eu era bom observador. Eu achava que sim, mas agora sentia que havia observado muito pouco. Tinha deixado passar muitas coisas que tornariam a história mais interessante para leitores comuns.

Original English

No, trying to get at what most people wanted to read concerning the Moon did not bring me much profit. I couldn’t seem to tell them any of the things they were most anxious to know. It reminded me of the first time I had come to the Doctor’s house, hoping to be hired as his assistant, and dear old Polynesia the parrot had questioned me. “Are you a good noticer?” she had asked. I had always thought I was - pretty good, anyhow. But now I felt I had been a very poor noticer. For it seemed I hadn’t noticed any of the things I should have done to make the story of our voyage interesting to the ordinary public.

Original Português

Não; tentar descobrir o que a maioria das pessoas queria ler a respeito da Lua não me trouxe grande proveito. Eu parecia incapaz de lhes contar qualquer uma das coisas que mais ansiosamente desejavam saber. Isso me lembrou a primeira vez em que fui à casa do Doutor, esperando ser contratado como seu assistente, e a querida e velha Polynesia, a papagaia, me interrogou. “Você é bom observador?”, perguntou ela. Eu sempre pensei que fosse - bastante bom, de todo modo. Mas agora sentia que tinha sido um observador muito pobre. Pois parecia que eu não havia notado nenhuma das coisas que deveria ter notado para tornar a história de nossa viagem interessante para o público comum.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O problema era a atenção. A atenção humana é como manteiga: só pode ser espalhada até certo ponto. Se tentamos pensar em coisas demais ao mesmo tempo, não nos lembramos bem delas. Na Lua havia tanto para ver e ouvir que é surpreendente lembrarmos de alguma coisa com clareza.

Original English

The trouble was of course attention . Human attention is like butter: you can only spread it so thin and no thinner. If you try to spread it over too many things at once you just don’t remember them. And certainly during all our waking hours upon the Moon there was so much for our ears and eyes and minds to take in it is a wonder, I often think, that any clear memories at all remain.

Original Português

O problema era, naturalmente, a atenção. A atenção humana é como manteiga: só se pode espalhá-la até certo ponto, e não mais. Se alguém tenta espalhá-la sobre coisas demais ao mesmo tempo, simplesmente não se lembra delas. E, certamente, durante todas as nossas horas de vigília na Lua havia tanto para nossos ouvidos, olhos e mentes absorverem que muitas vezes me parece um prodígio que alguma lembrança clara tenha permanecido.

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A2 Português (simplified)

A mariposa Jamaro Bumblelily poderia ajudá-lo a escrever, mas não estava ali. Então Thomas decidiu escrever a história à sua maneira. A história não seria perfeita. Ele a escreveria passo a passo, desde o momento em que viram a Lua pela primeira vez.

Original English

The one who could have been of most help to me in writing my impressions of the Moon was Jamaro Bumblelily, the giant moth who carried us there. But as he was nowhere near me when I set to work upon this book I decided I had better not consider the particular wishes of Jip, Gub-Gub, my mother, Matthew or any one else, but set the story down in my own way. Clearly the tale must be in any case an imperfect, incomplete one. And the only thing to do is to go forward with it, step by step, to the best of my recollection, from where the great insect hovered, with our beating hearts pressed close against his broad back, over the near and glowing landscape of the Moon.

Original Português

Aquele que mais poderia ter-me ajudado a escrever minhas impressões da Lua era Jamaro Bumblelily, a mariposa gigante que nos levou até lá. Mas, como ele não estava em parte alguma perto de mim quando me pus a trabalhar neste livro, decidi que era melhor não levar em conta os desejos particulares de Jip, Gub-Gub, minha mãe, Matthew ou qualquer outra pessoa, mas pôr a história no papel à minha maneira. Claramente o relato, de qualquer modo, teria de ser imperfeito e incompleto. E a única coisa a fazer é avançar com ele, passo a passo, até onde alcança minha memória, desde o ponto em que o grande inseto pairava, com nossos corações palpitantes apertados contra suas largas costas, sobre a paisagem próxima e luminosa da Lua.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Qualquer um perceberia que a mariposa conhecia a terra onde iríamos pousar. Ela planou, fez círculos e mergulhou. Depois desceu cuidadosamente a um pequeno vale entre colinas. Ao nos aproximarmos, vi que o fundo do vale era plano, arenoso e seco.

Original English

Any one could tell that the moth knew every detail of the country we were landing in. Planing, circling and diving, he brought his wide-winged body very deliberately down towards a little valley fenced in with hills. The bottom of this, I saw as we drew nearer, was level, sandy and dry.

Original Português

Qualquer um perceberia que a mariposa conhecia cada detalhe do país onde estávamos pousando. Planando, circulando e mergulhando, ela levou seu corpo de asas largas, muito deliberadamente, para baixo, em direção a um pequeno vale cercado por colinas. O fundo dele, vi quando nos aproximamos, era plano, arenoso e seco.

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A2 Português (simplified)

As colinas pareciam estranhas desde o começo. As montanhas atrás delas também eram esquisitas. Seus topos eram cortados e tinham forma de taças. Mais tarde, o Doutor disse que eram vulcões mortos. Muito tempo antes, haviam lançado fogo e lava, mas agora estavam frios. O vento, o clima e o tempo transformaram alguns em formas estranhas. Outros estavam parcialmente cobertos de areia. Pensei nas Rochas Sussurrantes da Ilha dos Macacos-Aranha. Quem já tivesse visto um lugar vulcânico saberia que este era um.

Original English

The hills struck one at once as unusual. In fact all the mountains as well (for much greater heights could presently be seen towering away in the dim greenish light behind the nearer, lower ranges) had one peculiarity. The tops seemed to be cut off and cup-like. The Doctor afterwards explained to me that they were extinct volcanoes. Nearly all these peaks had once belched fire and molten lava but were now cold and dead. Some had been fretted and worn by winds and weather and time into quite curious shapes; and yet others had been filled up or half buried by drifting sand so that they had nearly lost the appearance of volcanoes. I was reminded of “The Whispering Rocks” which we had seen in Spidermonkey Island. And though this scene was different in many things, no one who had ever looked upon a volcanic landscape before could have mistaken it for anything else.

Original Português

As colinas causavam de imediato a impressão de serem incomuns. Na verdade, todas as montanhas também (pois, logo se podiam ver alturas muito maiores erguendo-se ao longe, na luz esverdeada e vaga, atrás das cadeias mais próximas e mais baixas) tinham uma peculiaridade. Os topos pareciam cortados e em forma de taça. O Doutor depois me explicou que eram vulcões extintos. Quase todos aqueles picos haviam certa vez arrotado fogo e lava derretida, mas agora estavam frios e mortos. Alguns tinham sido corroídos e gastos pelos ventos, pelo tempo atmosférico e pelos anos até assumirem formas bastante curiosas; e outros ainda haviam sido preenchidos ou meio enterrados pela areia errante, de modo que quase haviam perdido a aparência de vulcões. Lembrei-me das “Rochas Sussurrantes” que havíamos visto na Ilha Spidermonkey. E, embora esta cena fosse diferente em muitos aspectos, ninguém que já tivesse contemplado uma paisagem vulcânica poderia tê-la confundido com outra coisa.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O vale longo e estreito para onde íamos não parecia ter muita vida. Não nos importamos. O Doutor já havia visto uma árvore, e isso bastava para ele. Achava que logo encontraríamos água, plantas e animais.

Original English

The little valley, long and narrow, which we were apparently making for did not show many signs of life, vegetable or animal. But we were not disturbed by that. At least the Doctor wasn’t. He had seen a tree and he was satisfied that before long he would find water, vegetation and creatures.

Original Português

O pequeno vale, longo e estreito, para o qual aparentemente nos dirigíamos não mostrava muitos sinais de vida, vegetal ou animal. Mas isso não nos perturbou. Ao menos, não perturbou o Doutor. Ele havia visto uma árvore e estava convencido de que, em pouco tempo, encontraria água, vegetação e criaturas.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Por fim, a mariposa desceu até ficar a seis metros do chão. Abriu as asas e ficou pairando. Depois tocou suavemente a areia, como uma pipa que pousa. Deu alguns pulos, correu um pouco, firmou-se e parou.

Original English

At last when the moth had dropped within twenty feet of the ground he spread his wings motionless and like a great kite gently touched the sand, in hops at first, then ran a little, braced himself and came to a standstill.

Original Português

Por fim, quando a mariposa havia descido até vinte pés do chão, abriu as asas imóveis e, como uma grande pipa, tocou suavemente a areia, primeiro aos saltinhos; depois correu um pouco, firmou-se e parou.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Havíamos pousado na Lua!

Original English

We had landed on the Moon!

Original Português

Tínhamos pousado na Lua!

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A2 Português (simplified)

A essa altura já estávamos um pouco acostumados ao novo ar. Antes de desembarcarmos, o Doutor pediu à nossa montaria corajosa que ficasse parada por algum tempo. Queria que nos acostumássemos ao novo ar e ao novo lugar.

Original English

By this time we had had a chance to get a little more used to the new air. But before we made any attempt to “go ashore” the Doctor thought it best to ask our gallant steed to stay where he was a while, so that we could still further accustom ourselves to the new atmosphere and conditions.

Original Português

A essa altura já havíamos tido oportunidade de nos acostumar um pouco mais ao novo ar. Mas, antes que fizéssemos qualquer tentativa de “desembarcar”, o Doutor julgou melhor pedir ao nosso valente corcel que permanecesse onde estava por algum tempo, para que pudéssemos nos habituar ainda mais à nova atmosfera e às novas condições.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O pedido foi aceito com alegria. Acho que o pobre inseto também ficou feliz por descansar. John Dolittle tirou um pouco do chocolate de emergência que havia guardado. Nós quatro o comemos em silêncio. Estávamos famintos e maravilhados demais com o que víamos para falar.

Original English

This request was willingly granted. Indeed, the poor insect himself, I imagine, was glad enough to rest a while. From somewhere in his packages John Dolittle produced an emergency ration of chocolate which he had been saving up. All four of us munched in silence, too hungry and too awed by our new surroundings to say a word.

Original Português

O pedido foi concedido de boa vontade. De fato, imagino que o pobre inseto também estivesse muito satisfeito por descansar um pouco. De algum lugar entre seus pacotes John Dolittle tirou uma ração de emergência de chocolate que vinha guardando. Nós quatro mastigamos em silêncio, famintos demais e demasiado assombrados com o novo ambiente para dizer uma palavra.

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A2 Português (simplified)

A luz continuava mudando. Fazia-me pensar na Aurora Boreal. Eu olhava para as montanhas e desviava o olhar por um instante. Quando olhava de novo, os lugares cor-de-rosa estavam verdes e as sombras violetas eram rosadas.

Original English

The light changed unceasingly. It reminded me of the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis. You would gaze at the mountains above you, then turn away a moment, and on looking back find everything that had been pink was now green, the shadows that had been violet were rose.

Original Português

A luz mudava sem cessar. Lembrava-me as Luzes do Norte, a aurora boreal. A gente olhava para as montanhas acima, desviava o olhar por um momento e, ao olhar de novo, descobria que tudo o que fora rosa agora era verde, e que as sombras que haviam sido violetas eram cor-de-rosa.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Respirar ainda era difícil. Tínhamos de manter perto os sinos lunares, aquelas grandes flores alaranjadas que a mariposa trouxera. Seu cheiro, ou gás, ajudava-nos a atravessar o espaço vazio entre a Lua e a Terra. Se os deixássemos de lado por muito tempo, começávamos a tossir. Mas achávamos que logo nos acostumaríamos ao novo ar e não precisaríamos mais deles.

Original English

Breathing was still kind of difficult. We were compelled for the moment to keep the “moon-bells” handy. These were the great orange-coloured flowers that the moth had brought down for us. It was their perfume (or gas) that had enabled us to cross the airless belt that lay between the Moon and the Earth. A fit of coughing was always liable to come on if one left them too long. But already we felt that we could in time get used to this new air and soon do without the bells altogether.

Original Português

Respirar ainda era um tanto difícil. Por enquanto, éramos obrigados a manter à mão as “campânulas-da-lua”. Eram as grandes flores alaranjadas que a mariposa trouxera para nós. Fora o perfume delas (ou gás) que nos permitira atravessar a faixa sem ar que ficava entre a Lua e a Terra. Um acesso de tosse podia sempre surgir se alguém as deixasse longe por tempo demais. Mas já sentíamos que, com o tempo, poderíamos nos acostumar a esse novo ar e logo dispensar inteiramente as campânulas.

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A2 Português (simplified)

A gravidade também era estranha. Era muito fácil ficar de pé. Caminhar gastava pouca energia, mas respirar era difícil. Saltar era o mais estranho. Um pulinho fazia a pessoa subir muito alto. Estávamos cheios de alegria, e eu queria explorar imediatamente. Mas o Doutor disse que precisávamos ter cuidado por causa da respiração. Cantei baixinho enquanto comia chocolate e queria saltar da mariposa e correr pelas colinas e vales.

Original English

The gravity too was very confusing. It required hardly any effort to rise from a sitting position to a standing one. Walking was no effort at all - for the muscles - but for the lungs it was another question. The most extraordinary sensation was jumping. The least little spring from the ankles sent you flying into the air in the most fantastic fashion. If it had not been for this problem of breathing properly (which the Doctor seemed to feel we should approach with great caution on account of its possible effect on the heart) we would all have given ourselves up to this most light-hearted feeling which took possession of us. I remember, myself, singing songs - the melody was somewhat indistinct on account of a large mouthful of chocolate - and I was most anxious to get down off the moth’s back and go bounding away across the hills and valleys to explore this new world.

Original Português

A gravidade também era muito desconcertante. Quase não era preciso esforço algum para passar da posição sentada à posição de pé. Caminhar não exigia esforço algum - para os músculos - mas, para os pulmões, era outra questão. A sensação mais extraordinária era a de saltar. O menor impulsozinho dos tornozelos mandava a pessoa voando pelo ar da maneira mais fantástica. Se não fosse por esse problema de respirar corretamente (que o Doutor parecia achar que deveríamos tratar com grande cautela, por causa de seu possível efeito sobre o coração), todos nós teríamos nos abandonado àquela sensação levíssima que se apoderou de nós. Lembro-me, eu mesmo, de cantar canções - a melodia ficava um tanto indistinta por causa de uma grande boca cheia de chocolate - e eu estava ansiosíssimo para descer das costas da mariposa e sair saltando por colinas e vales para explorar aquele novo mundo.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Agora vejo que John Dolittle foi sábio ao nos fazer esperar. Num sussurro, disse que não devíamos ficar nem um momento sem as flores.

Original English

But I realize now that John Dolittle was very wise in making us wait. He issued orders (in the low whispers which we found necessary in this new clear air) to each and all of us that for the present the flowers were not to be left behind for a single moment.

Original Português

Mas percebo agora que John Dolittle foi muito sensato ao nos fazer esperar. Ele deu ordens (nos sussurros baixos que descobrimos serem necessários naquele novo ar tão claro) a cada um de nós para que, por enquanto, as flores não fossem deixadas para trás nem por um só momento.

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A2 Português (simplified)

As flores eram pesadas para carregar, mas obedecemos. Não precisávamos de escada para descer. Um pequeno salto nos levou das costas do inseto ao chão. Aterrissamos facilmente depois de uma queda de oito metros. Então começamos a caminhar pela areia de um mundo novo.

Original English

They were cumbersome things to carry but we obeyed orders. No ladder was needed now to descend by. The gentlest jump sent one flying off the insect’s back to the ground where you landed from a twenty-five-foot drop with ease and comfort. Zip! The spring was made. And we were wading in the sands of a new world.

Original Português

Eram coisas incômodas de carregar, mas obedecemos às ordens. Já não era preciso nenhuma escada para descer. O salto mais suave fazia a pessoa voar das costas do inseto até o chão, onde se pousava de uma queda de vinte e cinco pés com toda facilidade e conforto. Zás! O salto estava dado. E nós avançávamos pelas areias de um mundo novo.

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Zip! A fonte foi feita.

Original English

“Zip! - The spring was made”

Original Português

“Zás! - O salto estava dado”

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2. THE LAND OF COLOURS AND PERFUMES

A2 Português (simplified)

Éramos um grupo muito estranho para ser o primeiro a pousar num mundo novo. Mas também éramos um grupo muito bom em muitos aspectos. Polynesia era uma daquelas aves capazes de viver em qualquer lugar difícil. Precisava apenas de algumas sementes e água, e continuava alegre. Chee-Chee era diferente. Precisava de mais comida, mas conseguia encontrá-la sozinho. Era muito bom em procurar frutas e nozes silvestres e sabia pelo cheiro se eram seguras para comer. Nem John Dolittle conseguia explicar como fazia, e Chee-Chee também não sabia.

Original English

W E WERE AFTER all, when you come to think of it, a very odd party, this, which made the first landing on a new world. But in a great many ways it was a peculiarly good combination. First of all, Polynesia: she was the kind of bird which one always supposed would exist under any conditions, drought, floods, fire or frost. I’ve no doubt that at that time in my boyish way I exaggerated Polynesia’s adaptability and endurance. But even to this day I can never quite imagine any circumstances in which that remarkable bird would perish. If she could get a pinch of seed (of almost any kind) and a sip of water two or three times a week she would not only carry on quite cheerfully but would scarcely even remark upon the strange nature or scantiness of the rations. Then Chee-Chee: he was not so easily provided for in the matter of food. But he always seemed to be able to provide for himself anything that was lacking. I have never known a better forager than Chee-Chee. When every one was hungry he could go off into an entirely new forest and just by smelling the wild fruits and nuts he could tell if they were safe to eat. How he did this even John Dolittle could never find out. Indeed Chee-Chee himself didn’t know.

Original Português

ÉRAMOS, afinal de contas, quando se pensa bem, um grupo muito estranho, aquele que fez o primeiro desembarque em um novo mundo. Mas, de muitas maneiras, era uma combinação particularmente boa. Antes de tudo, Polynesia: ela era o tipo de ave que se imaginava capaz de existir sob quaisquer condições - seca, enchente, fogo ou geada. Não tenho dúvida de que, naquele tempo, à minha maneira juvenil, eu exagerava a adaptabilidade e a resistência de Polynesia. Mas, mesmo hoje, nunca consigo imaginar direito nenhuma circunstância em que aquela ave extraordinária pudesse perecer. Se ela conseguisse uma pitada de sementes (de quase qualquer espécie) e um gole de água duas ou três vezes por semana, não só seguiria em frente com bastante alegria, como mal comentaria a natureza estranha ou a escassez das rações. Depois havia Chee-Chee: ele não era tão fácil de prover em matéria de alimento. Mas parecia sempre capaz de arranjar por si mesmo tudo o que faltava. Nunca conheci melhor forrageador do que Chee-Chee. Quando todos estavam famintos, ele podia entrar sozinho numa floresta inteiramente nova e, apenas pelo cheiro das frutas silvestres e das nozes, dizer se eram seguras para comer. Como fazia isso, nem John Dolittle jamais conseguiu descobrir. Na verdade, o próprio Chee-Chee não sabia.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Ele usava o olfato para saber se a comida era segura.

Original English

“By smelling he could tell if they were safe to eat”

Original Português

“Pelo cheiro, ele sabia se eram seguras para comer”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Eu não tinha formação científica, mas podia ajudar como secretário em expedições de história natural. Também conhecia bem o Doutor e seu modo de trabalhar.

Original English

Then myself: I had no scientific qualifications but I had learned how to be a good secretary on natural history expeditions and I knew a good deal about the Doctor’s ways.

Original Português

Depois, eu: não tinha qualificações científicas, mas havia aprendido a ser um bom secretário em expedições de história natural e conhecia bastante os modos do Doutor.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O Doutor era muito especial. Não fingia ter certeza das coisas antes de aprendê-las. Enfrentava problemas novos como uma criança, por isso aprendia facilmente e deixava que os outros lhe ensinassem.

Original English

Finally there was the Doctor. No naturalist has ever gone afield to grasp at the secrets of a new land with the qualities John Dolittle possessed. He never claimed to know anything, beforehand, for certain. He came to new problems with a childlike innocence which made it easy for himself to learn and the others to teach.

Original Português

Por fim havia o Doutor. Nenhum naturalista jamais saiu a campo para arrancar de uma terra nova os seus segredos com as qualidades que John Dolittle possuía. Ele nunca afirmava saber coisa alguma, de antemão, com certeza. Chegava aos problemas novos com uma inocência infantil que tornava fácil, para ele, aprender e, para os outros, ensinar.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Éramos um grupo estranho. Muitos cientistas teriam rido de nós. Mas tínhamos muitas qualidades que outras expedições não possuíam.

Original English

Yes, it was a strange party we made up. Most scientists would have laughed at us no doubt. Yet we had many things to recommend us that no expedition ever carried before.

Original Português

Sim, éramos um grupo estranho. A maioria dos cientistas teria rido de nós, sem dúvida. E, no entanto, tínhamos muitas coisas a nosso favor que nenhuma expedição jamais levara antes.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O Doutor não perdeu tempo. Outros exploradores talvez fincassem uma bandeira e cantassem músicas, mas John Dolittle não. Quando viu que estávamos prontos, mandou começar. Chee-Chee, Polynesia e eu o seguimos.

Original English

As usual the Doctor wasted no time in preliminaries. Most other explorers would have begun by planting a flag and singing national anthems. Not so with John Dolittle. As soon as he was sure that we were all ready he gave the order to march. And without a word Chee-Chee and I (with Polynesia who perched herself on my shoulder) fell in behind him and started off.

Original Português

Como de costume, o Doutor não perdeu tempo com preliminares. A maioria dos outros exploradores teria começado plantando uma bandeira e cantando hinos nacionais. Com John Dolittle não era assim. Tão logo teve certeza de que estávamos todos prontos, deu a ordem de marcha. E, sem uma palavra, Chee-Chee e eu (com Polynesia, que se empoleirara em meu ombro) nos pusemos atrás dele e partimos.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Nas primeiras horas na Lua, tudo parecia um sonho. Sabíamos que estávamos num mundo novo e nos sentíamos muito leves, como se caminhássemos no ar. Eu continuava falando com o Doutor, Chee-Chee e Polynesia só para me sentir normal. Mas minha própria voz soava estranha e fazia tudo parecer ainda mais irreal.

Original English

I have never known a time when it was harder to shake loose the feeling of living in a dream as those first few hours we spent on the Moon. The knowledge that we were treading a new world never before visited by Man, added to this extraordinary feeling caused by the gravity, of lightness, of walking on air, made you want every minute to have some one tell you that you were actually awake and in your right senses. For this reason I kept constantly speaking to the Doctor or Chee-Chee or Polynesia - even when I had nothing particular to say. But the uncanny booming of my own voice every time I opened my lips and spoke above the faintest whisper merely added to the dream-like effect of the whole experience.

Original Português

Nunca conheci momento em que fosse mais difícil afastar a sensação de estar vivendo num sonho do que naquelas primeiras horas que passamos na Lua. O conhecimento de que pisávamos um mundo novo, jamais antes visitado pelo Homem, somado àquela sensação extraordinária causada pela gravidade - de leveza, de caminhar no ar - fazia a gente querer, a cada minuto, que alguém nos dissesse que estávamos de fato acordados e em perfeito juízo. Por essa razão, eu falava constantemente com o Doutor, ou com Chee-Chee, ou com Polynesia - mesmo quando não tinha nada de particular a dizer. Mas o estrondo misterioso da minha própria voz, toda vez que eu abria os lábios e falava acima do mais débil sussurro, apenas aumentava o efeito onírico de toda a experiência.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Aos poucos nos acostumamos. Havia muitas coisas novas e estranhas para ver. As cores cambiantes confundiam-nos, e não sabíamos para que lado ir. O Doutor tinha uma pequena bússola, mas ela não funcionava bem. A agulha apenas girava.

Original English

However, little by little, we grew accustomed to it. And certainly there was no lack of new sights and impressions to occupy our minds. Those strange and ever changing colours in the landscape were most bewildering, throwing out your course and sense of direction entirely. The Doctor had brought a small pocket compass with him. But on consulting it, we saw that it was even more confused than we were. The needle did nothing but whirl around in the craziest fashion and no amount of steadying would persuade it to stay still.

Original Português

Contudo, pouco a pouco, fomos nos acostumando. E certamente não faltavam novas visões e impressões para ocupar nossas mentes. Aquelas cores estranhas e sempre mutáveis da paisagem eram muito desconcertantes, desviando por completo nosso rumo e nosso senso de direção. O Doutor havia trazido consigo uma pequena bússola de bolso. Mas, ao consultá-la, vimos que ela estava ainda mais confusa do que nós. A agulha não fazia senão girar da maneira mais maluca, e nenhuma tentativa de firmá-la a convencia a ficar parada.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O Doutor tinha uma bússola.

Original English

“The Doctor had brought a compass”

Original Português

“O Doutor havia trazido uma bússola”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Então o Doutor parou de usar a bússola. Usou seus mapas da Lua, os olhos e o senso de direção. Ia em direção à árvore que vira no fim de uma cadeia. Mas todas as cadeias pareciam iguais. Os mapas não ajudavam. Atrás de nós, conseguíamos reconhecer alguns picos, mas nada à frente fazia sentido. Tínhamos certeza de que caminhávamos para o lado afastado da Lua, que as pessoas na Terra nunca haviam visto.

Original English

Giving that up, the Doctor determined to rely on his moon maps and his own eyesight and bump of locality. He was heading towards where he had seen that tree - which was at the end of one of the ranges. But all the ranges in this section seemed very much alike. The maps did not help us in this respect in the least. To our rear we could see certain peaks which we thought we could identify on the charts. But ahead nothing fitted in at all. This made us feel surer than ever that we were moving toward the Moon’s other side which earthly eyes had never seen.

Original Português

Desistindo disso, o Doutor resolveu confiar em seus mapas lunares, em seus próprios olhos e em seu senso de localização. Ele seguia na direção onde tinha visto aquela árvore - que ficava no fim de uma das cadeias. Mas todas as cadeias daquela região pareciam muito semelhantes. Nesse aspecto, os mapas não nos ajudavam em nada. Atrás de nós podíamos ver certos picos que julgávamos conseguir identificar nas cartas. À frente, porém, nada correspondia de modo algum. Isso nos fez sentir mais seguros do que nunca de que estávamos avançando para o outro lado da Lua, que olhos terrestres jamais haviam visto.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O Doutor disse a Stubbins que talvez só houvesse água do outro lado. Pensou que essa poderia ser a razão pela qual os astrônomos não acreditavam que houvesse água ali.

Original English

“It is likely enough, Stubbins,” said the Doctor as we strode lightly forward over loose sand which would ordinarily have been very heavy going, “that it is only on the other side that water exists. Which may partly be the reason why astronomers never believed there was any here at all.”

Original Português

“É bem provável, Stubbins”, disse o Doutor enquanto avançávamos a passos leves sobre a areia solta, que em circunstâncias comuns teria tornado a marcha muito pesada, “que a água só exista do outro lado. Isso talvez seja em parte a razão pela qual os astrônomos nunca acreditaram que houvesse alguma aqui.”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Eu estava tão ocupado procurando coisas estranhas que não percebi como o clima era ameno e agradável. John Dolittle temia um calor ou frio extremos, mas não havia nenhum dos dois. O ar era estranho, mas o clima era muito agradável. Uma brisa suave soprava o tempo todo, e a temperatura quase não mudava.

Original English

For my part I was so on the look-out for extraordinary sights that it did not occur to me, till the Doctor spoke of it, that the temperature was extremely mild and agreeable. One of the things that John Dolittle had feared was that we should find a heat that was unbearable or a cold that was worse than Arctic. But except for the difficulty of the strange new quality of the air, no human could have asked for a nicer climate. A gentle steady wind was blowing and the temperature seemed to remain almost constantly the same.

Original Português

Quanto a mim, eu estava tão atento à procura de visões extraordinárias que não me ocorreu, até o Doutor falar nisso, que a temperatura era extremamente branda e agradável. Uma das coisas que John Dolittle temera era encontrarmos um calor insuportável ou um frio pior que o ártico. Mas, tirando a dificuldade da estranha nova qualidade do ar, nenhum ser humano poderia desejar clima mais agradável. Soprava um vento suave e constante, e a temperatura parecia permanecer quase sempre a mesma.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Procuramos pegadas por toda parte. Sabíamos muito pouco sobre os animais dali. Mas a areia solta não nos dizia nada. Nem Chee-Chee, que era bom em encontrar rastros raros, conseguiu achar algum.

Original English

We looked about everywhere for tracks. As yet we knew very little of what animal life to expect. But the loose sand told nothing, not even to Chee-Chee, who was a pretty experienced hand at picking up tracks of the most unusual kind.

Original Português

Procuramos rastros por toda parte. Até então sabíamos muito pouco sobre que vida animal esperar. Mas a areia solta nada revelava, nem mesmo a Chee-Chee, que era bastante experiente em descobrir rastros dos tipos mais incomuns.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Havia muitos cheiros. A maioria eram agradáveis aromas de flores trazidos pelo vento das montanhas à frente. Às vezes vinha um cheiro ruim com eles. Mas não conseguíamos dar nome a nenhum, exceto ao cheiro dos sinos lunares que a mariposa trouxera.

Original English

Of odours and scents there were plenty - most of them very delightful flower perfumes which the wind brought to us from the other side of the mountain ranges ahead. Occasionally a very disagreeable one would come, mixed up with the pleasant scents. But none of them, except that of the moon bells the moth had brought with us, could we recognize.

Original Português

Havia abundância de odores e aromas - em sua maioria perfumes de flores muito agradáveis que o vento nos trazia do outro lado das cadeias de montanhas à nossa frente. De vez em quando vinha um odor muito desagradável, misturado aos aromas bons. Mas não conseguíamos reconhecer nenhum deles, exceto o das campainhas-da-lua que a mariposa trouxera conosco.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Andamos quilômetros, passando por uma crista após outra, mas ainda não víamos a árvore do Doutor. Cruzar as montanhas era mais fácil ali do que na Terra, porque saltar para cima e para baixo era simples. Mesmo assim, tínhamos muita bagagem e todos carregávamos cargas pesadas. Depois de duas horas e meia, começamos a ficar cansados e tristes. Polynesia ofereceu-se para voar adiante e olhar ao redor, mas o Doutor não quis. Por enquanto, queria que ficássemos juntos.

Original English

On and on we went for miles, crossing ridge after ridge and still no glimpse did we get of the Doctor’s tree. Of course crossing the ranges was not nearly as hard travelling as it would have been on Earth. Jumping and bounding both upward and downward was extraordinarily easy. Still, we had brought a good deal of baggage with us and all of us were pretty heavy-laden; and after two and a half hours of travel we began to feel a little discouraged. Polynesia then volunteered to fly ahead and reconnoitre, but this the Doctor was loath to have her do. For some reason he wanted us all to stick together for the present.

Original Português

Seguimos e seguimos por milhas, atravessando crista após crista, e ainda assim não tivemos vislumbre algum da árvore do Doutor. É claro que atravessar as cadeias não era uma viagem nem de longe tão difícil quanto teria sido na Terra. Saltar e pular, tanto para cima quanto para baixo, era extraordinariamente fácil. Ainda assim, havíamos trazido bastante bagagem conosco, e todos estávamos muito carregados; depois de duas horas e meia de viagem, começamos a nos sentir um pouco desanimados. Polynesia então se ofereceu para voar à frente e fazer um reconhecimento, mas o Doutor relutou em deixá-la fazê-lo. Por alguma razão, ele queria que todos nós ficássemos juntos por enquanto.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Saltar para cima e para baixo era muito fácil.

Original English

“Jumping was extraordinarily easy”

Original Português

“Saltar era extraordinariamente fácil”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Depois de mais meia hora, ele concordou em deixá-la voar, desde que permanecesse à vista. Ela procuraria a árvore do alto.

Original English

However, after another half-hour of going he consented to let her fly straight up so long as she remained in sight, to see if she could spy out the tree’s position from a greater height.

Original Português

Contudo, depois de mais meia hora de marcha, ele consentiu em deixá-la voar diretamente para cima, desde que permanecesse à vista, para ver se conseguia avistar a posição da árvore de uma altura maior.

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3. THIRST!

A2 Português (simplified)

Então descansamos um pouco sobre nossas bolsas. Polynesia voou direto para cima como uma grande ave. Subiu cada vez mais. A cerca de trezentos metros, parou e voou em círculo. Depois desceu novamente. O Doutor estava impaciente. Eu não entendia por que ele não queria que ela se afastasse, mas não disse nada.

Original English

S O WE RESTED on our bundles a spell while Polynesia gave an imitation of a soaring vulture and straight above our heads climbed and climbed. At about a thousand feet she paused and circled. Then slowly came down again. The Doctor, watching her, grew impatient at her speed. I could not quite make out why he was so unwilling to have her away from his side, but I asked no questions.

Original Português

ASSIM, DESCANSAMOS um pouco sobre nossos fardos, enquanto Polynesia fazia uma imitação de um abutre planando e subia, subia, diretamente acima de nossas cabeças. A cerca de mil pés de altura, ela parou e circulou. Depois desceu devagar outra vez. O Doutor, observando-a, ficou impaciente com a sua lentidão. Eu não conseguia entender direito por que ele estava tão pouco disposto a tê-la longe de seu lado, mas não fiz perguntas.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Polynesia disse que vira a árvore, mas ela ainda parecia distante. O Doutor perguntou por que demorara tanto para descer. Ela disse que estava confirmando o caminho para poder nos guiar. Sabia claramente a direção. Então recomeçamos e nos sentimos mais calmos e seguros.

Original English

Yes, she had seen the tree, she told us, but it still seemed a long way off. The Doctor wanted to know why she had taken so long in coming down and she said she had been making sure of her bearings so that she would be able to act as guide. Indeed, with the usual accuracy of birds, she had a very clear idea of the direction we should take. And we set off again, feeling more at ease and confident.

Original Português

Sim, ela tinha visto a árvore, contou-nos, mas ela ainda parecia estar muito distante. O Doutor quis saber por que ela levara tanto tempo para descer, e ela disse que estivera se certificando de seus pontos de referência para poder servir de guia. De fato, com a precisão habitual das aves, tinha uma ideia muito clara da direção que deveríamos tomar. E partimos outra vez, mais tranquilos e confiantes.

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A2 Português (simplified)

A árvore parecia muito mais perto vista de cima do que realmente estava. O ar lunar também fazia as coisas parecerem mais próximas. Além disso, pensávamos que a árvore tinha o tamanho de uma árvore comum da Terra. Mas, quando chegamos, descobrimos que era muito, muito maior.

Original English

The truth of it was of course that seen from a great height, as the tree had first appeared to us, the distance had seemed much less than it actually was. Two more things helped to mislead us. One, that the moon air, as we now discovered, made everything look nearer than it actually was in spite of the soft dim light. And the other was that we had supposed the tree to be one of ordinary earthly size and had made an unconscious guess at its distance in keeping with a fair-sized oak or elm. Whereas when we did actually reach it we found it to be unimaginably huge.

Original Português

A verdade, naturalmente, era que, vista de uma grande altura, como a árvore nos aparecera pela primeira vez, a distância parecia muito menor do que realmente era. Duas outras coisas ajudaram a nos enganar. Uma, que o ar lunar, como então descobrimos, fazia tudo parecer mais próximo do que de fato era, apesar da luz suave e vaga. A outra era que havíamos suposto que a árvore fosse de tamanho terreno comum e fizéramos uma estimativa inconsciente de sua distância compatível com um carvalho ou um olmo de bom porte. Ao passo que, quando de fato a alcançamos, descobrimos que era inimaginavelmente enorme.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Nunca esquecerei aquela árvore. Foi nosso primeiro olhar de perto para a vida lunar. Quando paramos sob ela, a noite se aproximava - na Lua, o mais próximo que havia de noite. A árvore talvez tivesse noventa metros de altura e fosse muito larga. Parecia estranha, diferente de qualquer árvore que eu já vira. Parecia viva. Chee-Chee ficou tão assustado que seus pelos se arrepiaram. Demorou muito até o Doutor e eu conseguirmos fazê-lo ajudar a montar o acampamento sob os galhos.

Original English

I shall never forget that tree. It was our first experience of moon life, in the Moon. Darkness was coming on when we finally halted beneath it. When I say darkness I mean that strange kind of twilight which was the nearest thing to night which we ever saw in the Moon. The tree’s height, I should say, would be at least three hundred feet and the width of it across the trunk a good forty or fifty. Its appearance in general was most uncanny. The whole design of it was different from any tree I have ever seen. Yet there was no mistaking it for anything else. It seemed - how shall I describe it? - alive . Poor Chee-Chee was so scared of it his hair just stood up on the nape of his neck and it was a long time before the Doctor and I persuaded him to help us pitch camp beneath its boughs.

Original Português

Jamais esquecerei aquela árvore. Foi nossa primeira experiência de vida lunar, na Lua. A escuridão vinha chegando quando finalmente paramos sob ela. Quando digo escuridão, refiro-me àquele estranho tipo de crepúsculo que foi a coisa mais próxima da noite que jamais vimos na Lua. A altura da árvore, eu diria, era de pelo menos trezentos pés, e a largura do tronco, uns bons quarenta ou cinquenta. Seu aspecto geral era dos mais sinistros. Todo o seu desenho era diferente do de qualquer árvore que eu já tivesse visto. Ainda assim, não se podia confundi-la com outra coisa. Ela parecia - como hei de descrevê-la? - viva. O pobre Chee-Chee ficou tão assustado com ela que os pelos da nuca se eriçaram, e passou muito tempo antes que o Doutor e eu o persuadíssemos a nos ajudar a montar acampamento sob seus galhos.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Não era como nenhuma árvore que eu já tivesse visto.

Original English

“It was different from any tree I have ever seen”

Original Português

“Era diferente de qualquer árvore que eu já tivesse visto”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Ficamos quietos e tristes enquanto nos preparávamos para nossa primeira noite na Lua. Não sabíamos por quê, mas todos nos sentíamos inquietos. O vento soprava suave e constante. Havia luz suficiente para enxergar, mas durante a maior parte da noite a Terra não podia ser vista.

Original English

Indeed we were a very subdued party that prepared to spend its first night on the Moon. No one knew just what it was that oppressed us but we were all conscious of a definite feeling of disturbance. The wind still blew - in that gentle, steady way that the moon winds always blew. The light was clear enough to see outlines by, although most of the night the Earth was invisible, and there was no reflection whatever.

Original Português

De fato, éramos um grupo muito abatido quando nos preparávamos para passar nossa primeira noite na Lua. Ninguém sabia exatamente o que nos oprimia, mas todos tínhamos consciência de uma sensação definida de perturbação. O vento ainda soprava - daquele modo suave e constante como os ventos lunares sempre sopravam. A luz era clara o bastante para se distinguirem contornos, embora durante a maior parte da noite a Terra estivesse invisível, e não houvesse reflexo algum.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Lembro-me do Doutor. Enquanto desfazíamos as malas e preparávamos o restante do chocolate para o jantar, ele continuava olhando nervosamente para os galhos estranhos acima de nós.

Original English

I remember how the Doctor, while we were unpacking and laying out the rest of our chocolate ration for supper, kept glancing uneasily up at those strange limbs of the tree overhead.

Original Português

Lembro-me de como o Doutor, enquanto desempacotávamos e separávamos o restante de nossa ração de chocolate para a ceia, continuava lançando olhares inquietos para aqueles galhos estranhos da árvore acima de nossas cabeças.

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A2 Português (simplified)

O Doutor continuava olhando nervosamente para cima.

Original English

“The Doctor kept glancing up uneasily”

Original Português

“O Doutor continuava lançando olhares inquietos para cima”

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A2 Português (simplified)

O vento movia os galhos, sem dúvida. Mas soprava sempre de maneira constante e uniforme. Os galhos não se moviam de modo constante. Essa era a parte estranha. Quase parecia que a árvore se movia sozinha, como um animal preso ao chão. Mas não podíamos ter certeza, pois o vento soprava o tempo todo.

Original English

Of course it was the wind that was moving them - no doubt of that at all. Yet the wind was so deadly regular and even. And the movement of the boughs wasn’t regular at all. That was the weird part of it. It almost seemed as though the tree were doing some moving on its own, like an animal chained by its feet in the ground. And still you could never be sure - because, after all, the wind was blowing all the time.

Original Português

É claro que era o vento que os movia - disso não havia dúvida alguma. No entanto, o vento era tão mortalmente regular e uniforme. E o movimento dos ramos não era regular de modo algum. Essa era a parte estranha. Quase parecia que a árvore fazia certos movimentos por conta própria, como um animal acorrentado pelos pés ao chão. E, ainda assim, nunca se podia ter certeza - porque, afinal, o vento soprava o tempo todo.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Ela também emitia um som de lamento. Sabíamos que as árvores da Terra gemiam ao vento. Mas aquele som era diferente. Não combinava com o vento constante em nossos rostos.

Original English

And besides, it moaned. Well, we knew trees moaned in the wind at home. But this one did it differently - it didn’t seem in keeping with that regular even wind which we felt upon our faces.

Original Português

E, além disso, ela gemia. Bem, sabíamos que as árvores gemiam ao vento lá em casa. Mas esta o fazia de modo diferente - não parecia condizer com aquele vento regular e uniforme que sentíamos no rosto.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Até Polynesia ficou confusa e preocupada, o que não era fácil. As aves conhecem muito bem árvores e vento. Eu esperava que ela entrasse na árvore, mas não entrou. Quanto a Chee-Chee, não chegaria perto dela. Eu tinha certeza de que ele não investigaria seus segredos.

Original English

I could see that even the worldly-wise practical Polynesia was perplexed and upset. And it took a great deal to disturb her. Yet a bird’s senses towards trees and winds are much keener than a man’s. I kept hoping she would venture into the branches of the tree; but she didn’t. And as for Chee-Chee, also a natural denizen of the forest, no power on earth, I felt sure, would persuade him to investigate the mysteries of this strange specimen of a Vegetable Kingdom we were as yet only distantly acquainted with.

Original Português

Eu podia ver que até a prática e experimentada Polynesia estava perplexa e perturbada. E era preciso muito para perturbá-la. No entanto, os sentidos de uma ave para árvores e ventos são muito mais agudos que os de um homem. Eu ficava esperando que ela se aventurasse pelos galhos da árvore; mas ela não o fez. E quanto a Chee-Chee, também habitante natural da floresta, eu tinha certeza de que nenhum poder na Terra o persuadiria a investigar os mistérios daquele estranho espécime de um Reino Vegetal com o qual, por ora, só estávamos familiarizados de longe.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Depois do jantar, o Doutor manteve-me ocupado durante horas, escrevendo anotações. Havia muito a registrar sobre aquele primeiro dia num mundo novo. Anotamos a temperatura, o vento, a hora de chegada, a pressão do ar e outras coisas importantes para o Doutor.

Original English

After supper was despatched, the Doctor kept me busy for some hours taking down notes. There was much to be recorded of this first day in a new world. The temperature; the direction and force of the wind; the time of our arrival - as near as it could be guessed; the air pressure (he had brought along a small barometer among his instruments) and many other things which, while they were dry stuff for the ordinary mortal, were highly important for the scientist.

Original Português

Depois que a ceia foi despachada, o Doutor me manteve ocupado por algumas horas tomando notas. Havia muito a registrar daquele primeiro dia em um novo mundo. A temperatura; a direção e a força do vento; a hora de nossa chegada - tão aproximadamente quanto se podia adivinhar; a pressão do ar (ele trouxera consigo um pequeno barômetro entre seus instrumentos) e muitas outras coisas que, embora fossem matéria árida para o mortal comum, eram de grande importância para o cientista.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Gostaria de lembrar cada pequeno detalhe daquele tempo. Quero recordar exatamente como acordamos na Lua pela primeira vez. Estávamos muito cansados, por isso dormimos bem. Quando acordei, passei muito tempo tentando entender onde estava. Então vi que John Dolittle já estava acordado, usando seus instrumentos.

Original English

Often and often I have wished that I had one of those memories that seem to be able to recall all impressions no matter how small and unimportant. For instance, I have often wanted to remember exactly that first awakening on the Moon. We had all been weary enough with excitement and exercise, when we went to bed, to sleep soundly. All I can remember of my waking up is spending at least ten minutes working out where I was. And I doubt if I could have done it even then if I had not finally realized that John Dolittle was awake ahead of me and already pottering around among his instruments, taking readings.

Original Português

Muitas e muitas vezes desejei ter uma daquelas memórias que parecem capazes de recordar todas as impressões, por menores e mais sem importância que sejam. Por exemplo, muitas vezes quis lembrar exatamente aquele primeiro despertar na Lua. Estávamos todos cansados o bastante, de emoção e exercício, quando fomos dormir, para cair num sono profundo. Tudo de que me lembro ao acordar é de ter passado pelo menos dez minutos tentando descobrir onde eu estava. E duvido que tivesse conseguido mesmo então, se não tivesse finalmente percebido que John Dolittle estava acordado antes de mim e já remexia entre seus instrumentos, fazendo medições.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Agora precisávamos de comida. Não havia café da manhã. O Doutor começou a preocupar-se por termos deixado a mariposa cedo demais. Muitas horas depois, percebemos que ainda não havíamos encontrado animais. Mas parecia longe demais voltar para perguntar a ela, e não sabíamos se continuava ali.

Original English

The immediate business now on hand was food. There was literally nothing for breakfast. The Doctor began to regret his hasty departure from the moth. Indeed it was only now, many, many hours after we had left him in our unceremonious haste to find the tree and explore the new world, that we realized that we had not as yet seen any signs of animal life. Still it seemed a long way to go back and consult him; and it was by no means certain that he would still be there,

Original Português

A questão imediata que tínhamos agora em mãos era comida. Não havia literalmente nada para o café da manhã. O Doutor começou a lamentar sua partida apressada da mariposa. De fato, só agora, muitas e muitas horas depois de tê-la deixado em nossa pressa pouco cerimoniosa para encontrar a árvore e explorar o novo mundo, percebemos que ainda não havíamos visto sinal algum de vida animal. Mesmo assim, parecia um longo caminho voltar para consultá-la; e não era de modo algum certo que ela ainda estivesse lá,

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A2 Português (simplified)

Ainda precisávamos de comida, então fomos procurá-la. Arrumamos rapidamente nossas coisas e escolhemos uma direção. Pensávamos que devia haver mais árvores e água em algum lugar. Mas olhamos ao redor e não vimos outras árvores.

Original English

Just the same, we needed food, and food we were going to find. Hastily we bundled together what things we had unpacked for the night’s camping. Which way to go? Clearly if we had here reached one tree, there must be some direction in which others lay, where we could find that water which the Doctor was so sure must exist. But we could scan the horizon with staring eyes or telescope as much as we wished and not another leaf of a tree could we see.

Original Português

Ainda assim, precisávamos de comida, e comida haveríamos de encontrar. Às pressas juntamos as coisas que havíamos desempacotado para o acampamento da noite. Que caminho tomar? Claramente, se tínhamos aqui alcançado uma árvore, devia haver alguma direção em que houvesse outras, onde pudéssemos encontrar aquela água que o Doutor tinha tanta certeza de que devia existir. Mas podíamos esquadrinhar o horizonte com olhos arregalados ou com o telescópio tanto quanto quiséssemos, e nem outra folha de árvore conseguíamos ver.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Desta vez, Polynesia não esperou. Voou para o alto para observar o lugar.

- Polynesia subiu voando ao céu.

Original English

This time without waiting to be ordered Polynesia soared into the air to do a little scouting.

“Polynesia soared into the air”

Original Português

Desta vez, sem esperar ordem, Polynesia elevou-se no ar para fazer um pequeno reconhecimento.

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Original Português

“Polynesia elevou-se no ar”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Quando voltou, disse: - Não vejo árvore alguma. Este lugar parece o Deserto do Saara. Mas ali, atrás daquela cadeia alta com o topo estranho em forma de chapéu, talvez haja alguma coisa.

Original English

“Well,” she said on her return, “I don’t see any actual trees at all. The beastly landscape is more like the Sahara Desert than any scenery I’ve ever run into. But over there behind that higher range-the one with the curious hat-shaped peak in the middle - you see the one I mean?”

Original Português

“Bem”, disse ela ao voltar, “não vejo árvores de verdade em parte alguma. A paisagem maldita parece mais o deserto do Saara do que qualquer cenário que eu já tenha encontrado. Mas ali, atrás daquela cadeia mais alta - aquela com o curioso pico em forma de chapéu no meio - você está vendo a que quero dizer?”

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Sim - disse o Doutor. - Estou vendo. Continue.

Original English

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “I see. Go on.”

Original Português

“Sim”, disse o Doutor. “Estou vendo. Continue.”

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Bem, atrás dela há uma linha escura no horizonte. Não posso dizer que sejam árvores. Mas acho que existe algo além de areia. Devemos partir agora. É uma longa caminhada.

Original English

“Well, behind that there is a dark horizon different from any other quarter. I won’t swear it is trees. But myself, I feel convinced that there is something else there besides sand. We had better get moving. It is no short walk.”

Original Português

“Bem, atrás dela há um horizonte escuro, diferente de qualquer outro quadrante. Não vou jurar que sejam árvores. Mas, por mim, estou convencida de que há ali alguma coisa além de areia. É melhor começarmos a andar. Não é uma caminhada curta.”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Foi uma caminhada muito longa. Transformou-se numa corrida difícil contra a fome e a morte. Não esperávamos por isso. Ficar sem café da manhã não era um grande problema; todos já havíamos feito isso. Mas as horas passaram e continuamos vendo apenas colinas de areia e vulcões secos. Todos ficamos mais fracos e tristes.

Original English

Indeed it was no short walk. It came to be a forced march or race between us and starvation. On starting out we had not foreseen anything of the kind. Going off without breakfast was nothing after all. Each one of us had done that before many a time. But as hour after hour went by and still the landscape remained a desert of rolling sand-dunes, hills and dead dry volcanoes, our spirits fell lower and lower.

Original Português

E de fato não era uma caminhada curta. Transformou-se numa marcha forçada, ou numa corrida entre nós e a fome. Ao partir, não havíamos previsto nada do gênero. Ficar sem café da manhã não era, afinal, grande coisa. Cada um de nós já havia feito isso muitas vezes antes. Mas, à medida que hora após hora passava e a paisagem continuava sendo um deserto de dunas ondulantes, colinas e vulcões mortos e secos, nosso ânimo caía cada vez mais.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Foi uma ocasião em que John Dolittle esteve em seu melhor. Já estava preocupado, mas não demonstrava. À medida que a fome e a sede pioravam, ele ficava mais alegre. Não contava piadas ruins. Ajudava-nos a manter o bom humor. Quando contava uma história engraçada, era na hora certa e nos fazia rir. Mais tarde, soube que fazia isso nas expedições de sua juventude. Isso o ajudava a ser escolhido para as viagens.

Original English

This was one of the times when I think I saw John Dolittle really at his best. I know, although I had not questioned him, that he had already been beset with anxiety over several matters on the first steps of our march. Later he spoke of them to me: not at the time. And as conditions grew worse, as hunger gnawed at our vitals and the most terrible thirst parched our tongues - as strength and vitality began to give way and mere walking became the most terrible hardship, the Doctor grew cheerier and cheerier. He didn’t crack dry jokes in an irritating way either. But by some strange means he managed to keep the whole party in good mood. If he told a funny story it was always at the right time and set us all laughing at our troubles. In talking to him afterwards about this I learned that he had, when a young man, been employed on more than one exploration trip to keep the expedition in good humour. It was, he said, the only way he could persuade the chief to take him, since at that time he had no scientific training to recommend him.

Original Português

Foi uma das ocasiões em que, penso eu, vi John Dolittle realmente no seu melhor. Sei, embora não o tivesse interrogado, que já estava tomado de ansiedade por diversos assuntos nos primeiros passos de nossa marcha. Mais tarde ele falou deles comigo: não naquela hora. E, à medida que as condições pioravam, que a fome roía nossas entranhas e a sede mais terrível ressecava nossas línguas - à medida que a força e a vitalidade começavam a ceder e o simples caminhar se tornava a mais terrível das dificuldades, o Doutor ficava cada vez mais alegre. Ele tampouco soltava piadas secas de um modo irritante. Mas, por algum meio estranho, conseguia manter todo o grupo de bom humor. Se contava uma história engraçada, era sempre no momento certo e nos punha a todos rindo de nossos problemas. Ao conversar com ele mais tarde sobre isso, soube que, quando jovem, fora empregado em mais de uma viagem de exploração para manter a expedição de bom humor. Era, dizia ele, a única maneira pela qual conseguia convencer o chefe a levá-lo, já que naquele tempo não tinha formação científica que o recomendasse.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Não acho que nosso grupo teria continuado sem sua companhia bondosa e alegre. Nunca sentira tanta sede. Cada passo parecia poder ser o último.

Original English

Anyway, I sincerely doubt whether our party would have held out if it had not been for his sympathetic and cheering company. The agonies of thirst were something new to me. Every step I thought must be my last.

Original Português

De qualquer modo, duvido sinceramente que nosso grupo tivesse resistido se não fosse por sua companhia solidária e animadora. As agonias da sede eram algo novo para mim. A cada passo eu pensava que seria o último.

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A2 Português (simplified)

No fim do segundo dia, ouvi Polynesia dizer: - Florestas à frente! Acho que já estava meio sonhando. Mesmo assim, continuei andando atrás dos outros. Sei que encontramos água, pois, antes de adormecer, Chee-Chee me deu um pouco de água fresca num copo feito de uma folha dobrada.

Original English

Finally at what seemed to be the end of our second day, I vaguely heard Polynesia saying something about “Forests ahead!” I imagine I must have been half delirious by then. I still staggered along, blindly following the others. I know we did reach water because before I fell and dozed away into a sort of half faint I remember Chee-Chee trickling something marvellously cool between my lips out of a cup made from a folded leaf.

Original Português

Finalmente, no que parecia ser o fim de nosso segundo dia, ouvi vagamente Polynesia dizer alguma coisa sobre “Florestas à frente!” Imagino que eu já estivesse meio delirante então. Ainda cambaleava, seguindo cegamente os outros. Sei que chegamos à água porque, antes de cair e adormecer numa espécie de meio desmaio, lembro-me de Chee-Chee deixando escorrer entre meus lábios algo maravilhosamente fresco, de uma taça feita com uma folha dobrada.

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Lembro-me de Chee-Chee colocar algo fresco entre meus lábios.

Original English

“I remember Chee-Chee trickling something cool between my lips”

Original Português

“Lembro-me de Chee-Chee deixando escorrer algo fresco entre meus lábios”

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4. CHEE-CHEE THE HERO

A2 Português (simplified)

Quando acordei, senti muita vergonha. Que espécie de explorador eu era! O Doutor já se movimentava, assim como Chee-Chee e Polynesia. John Dolittle veio imediatamente até mim ao perceber que eu estava acordado.

Original English

WHEN I AWOKE I felt very much ashamed of myself. What an explorer! The Doctor was moving around already - and, of course, Chee-Chee and Polynesia. John Dolittle came to my side immediately he saw I was awake.

Original Português

QUANDO ACORDEI, senti muita vergonha de mim mesmo. Que explorador! O Doutor já se movimentava de um lado para outro - e, naturalmente, Chee-Chee e Polynesia também. John Dolittle veio para o meu lado assim que viu que eu estava desperto.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Ele pareceu saber o que eu estava pensando. Disse que eu não devia sentir vergonha. Chee-Chee e Polynesia estavam acostumados a lugares quentes e secos. Ele também.

Original English

As though he knew the thoughts that were in my mind he at once started to reprimand me for feeling ashamed of my performance. He pointed out that after all Chee-Chee and Polynesia were accustomed to travelling in hot dry climates and that so, for that matter, was he himself.

Original Português

Como se conhecesse os pensamentos que me passavam pela mente, ele imediatamente começou a me repreender por eu sentir vergonha de meu desempenho. Observou que, afinal de contas, Chee-Chee e Polynesia estavam acostumados a viajar em climas quentes e secos e que, nesse ponto, ele próprio também estava.

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Considerando tudo, Stubbins - disse ele - , você se saiu muito bem. Continuou andando até o fim e só caiu quando a ajuda estava perto. Ninguém poderia pedir mais. Conheci muitos exploradores habilidosos que não teriam feito nem de longe tão bem. Foi uma parte muito difícil da viagem. Você foi maravilhoso. Sente-se e tome o café da manhã. Graças a Deus, finalmente temos comida!

Original English

“Taken all in all, Stubbins,” said he, “your own performance has been extremely good. You made the trip, the whole way, and only collapsed when relief was in sight. No one could ask for more than that. I have known many experienced explorers who couldn’t have done nearly as well. It was a hard lap - a devilish hard lap. You were magnificent. Sit up and have some breakfast. Thank goodness, we’ve reached food at last!”

Original Português

“Considerando tudo, Stubbins,” disse ele, “o seu próprio desempenho foi extremamente bom. Você fez a travessia, o caminho inteiro, e só desabou quando o socorro já estava à vista. Ninguém poderia pedir mais do que isso. Conheci muitos exploradores experientes que não teriam feito nem de longe tão bem. Foi uma etapa dura - diabolicamente dura. Você foi magnífico. Sente-se e tome um pouco de café da manhã. Graças a Deus, finalmente chegamos à comida!”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Sentei-me, fraco e faminto. Ao meu redor havia muitas frutas. Mais tarde aprendi o que eram. Chee-Chee, que tinha medo de muitas coisas, encontrara alimento selvagem para todos nós. O Doutor e eu nunca tínhamos visto aquelas comidas estranhas. Mas, se Chee-Chee dizia que eram seguras, confiávamos nele.

Original English

Weak and frowsty, I sat up. Arranged immediately around me was a collection of what I later learned were fruits. The reliable Chee-Chee, scared though he might be of a moving tree or a whispering wind, had served the whole party with that wonderful sense of his for scenting out wild foodstuffs. Not one of the strange courses on the bill of fare had I or the Doctor seen before. But if Chee-Chee said they were safe we knew we need not fear.

Original Português

Fraco e entorpecido, sentei-me. Disposta imediatamente ao meu redor havia uma coleção do que mais tarde vim a saber serem frutas. O confiável Chee-Chee, por mais medo que pudesse ter de uma árvore em movimento ou de um vento sussurrante, havia servido todo o grupo com aquele seu maravilhoso senso para farejar alimentos silvestres. Nenhum dos estranhos pratos daquele cardápio tinha sido visto antes por mim ou pelo Doutor. Mas, se Chee-Chee dizia que eram seguros, sabíamos que não precisávamos temer.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Algumas frutas eram do tamanho de um grande tronco. Outras, tão pequenas quanto uma noz. Estávamos famintos, por isso comemos sem parar. Também tínhamos água em cascas de nozes grandes e em copos de folhas. Nunca tivera um café da manhã tão maravilhoso.

Original English

Some of the fruits were as big as a large trunk; some as small as a walnut. But, starving as we were, we just dived in and ate and ate and ate. Water there was too, gathered in the shells of enormous nuts and odd vessels made from twisted leaves. Never has a breakfast tasted so marvellous as did that one of fruits which I could not name.

Original Português

Algumas das frutas eram grandes como um baú enorme; outras, pequenas como uma noz. Mas, famintos como estávamos, simplesmente nos atiramos sobre elas e comemos, comemos e comemos. Havia também água, recolhida em cascas de nozes enormes e em vasos curiosos feitos de folhas retorcidas. Nunca um café da manhã me pareceu tão maravilhoso quanto aquele, feito de frutas que eu não sabia nomear.

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Algumas frutas eram grandes como um tronco.

Original English

“Some of the fruits were as big as a trunk”

Original Português

“Algumas das frutas eram grandes como um baú”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Chee-Chee! Pobre e assustado Chee-Chee. Você venceu o medo e entrou sozinho na selva para buscar comida quando estávamos fracos. Outros só viam um macaco de realejo. Mas nós sabíamos que você nos salvou da fome. Será sempre um dos grandes heróis. Ainda bem que estava conosco! Sem sua habilidade na selva e seu coração corajoso, poderíamos ter morrido na areia da Lua.

Original English

Chee-Chee! - Poor little timid Chee-Chee, who conquered your own fears and volunteered to go ahead of us alone, into the jungle to find food when our strength was giving out. To the world you were just an organ-grinder’s monkey. But to us whom you saved from starvation, when terror beset you at every step, you will for ever be ranked high in the list of the great heroes of all time. Thank goodness we had you with us! Our bones might to-day be mouldering in the sands of the Moon if it had not been for your untaught science, your jungle skill - and, above all, your courage that overcame your fear!

Original Português

Chee-Chee! - Pobre pequeno e tímido Chee-Chee, que venceu os próprios medos e se ofereceu para seguir adiante sozinho, entrando na selva em busca de comida quando nossas forças se esgotavam. Para o mundo, você era apenas o macaco de um tocador de realejo. Mas, para nós, a quem salvou da fome quando o terror o cercava a cada passo, você será para sempre colocado em lugar alto na lista dos grandes heróis de todos os tempos. Graças a Deus, tínhamos você conosco! Nossos ossos poderiam estar hoje se desfazendo nas areias da Lua, se não fosse por sua ciência instintiva, sua habilidade de selva - e, acima de tudo, sua coragem, que venceu o medo!

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A2 Português (simplified)

Enquanto comia a fruta estranha e bebia água, olhei para cima e vi uma crista. No alto havia uma floresta espessa. Pequenos grupos de arbustos e árvores desciam dela em vários pontos. Nunca soubemos como uma árvore solitária conseguia viver tão longe. John Dolittle achava que uma nascente subterrânea lhe dava água. Ela devia estar ali havia muitos anos, talvez centenas ou milhares. Tivemos sorte de encontrá-la. Isso mostrou que aquela parte da Lua podia ser habitada. Sem ela, nossa viagem poderia ter terminado em morte.

Original English

Well, to return: as I ate these strange fruits and sipped the water that brought life back I gazed upward and saw before me a sort of ridge. On its level top a vegetation, a kind of tangled forest, flourished; and trailing down from this ridge were little outposts of the Vegetable Kingdom, groups of bushes and single trees, that scattered and dribbled away in several directions from the main mass. Why and how that lone tree survived so far away we could never satisfactorily explain. The nearest John Dolittle could come to it was that some underground spring supplied it with enough water or moisture to carry on. Yet there can be no doubt that to have reached such enormous proportions it must have been there hundreds - perhaps thousands - of years. Anyway, it is a good thing for us it was there. If it had not been, as a pointer towards this habitable quarter of the Moon - it is most likely our whole expedition would have perished.

Original Português

Bem, para voltar ao assunto: enquanto eu comia aquelas frutas estranhas e sorvia a água que me devolvia a vida, olhei para cima e vi diante de mim uma espécie de crista. No alto plano dela florescia uma vegetação, uma espécie de floresta emaranhada; e, descendo dessa crista, vinham pequenos postos avançados do Reino Vegetal, grupos de arbustos e árvores solitárias, que se espalhavam e se escoavam em várias direções a partir da massa principal. Por que e como aquela árvore isolada sobrevivia tão longe, jamais conseguimos explicar de modo satisfatório. O mais perto que John Dolittle chegou de uma explicação foi supor que alguma nascente subterrânea lhe fornecesse água ou umidade suficiente para continuar vivendo. Ainda assim, não pode haver dúvida de que, para ter alcançado proporções tão enormes, ela devia estar ali havia centenas - talvez milhares - de anos. De qualquer modo, foi uma sorte para nós que ela estivesse ali. Se não tivesse estado, servindo de indicação para aquele quadrante habitável da Lua, muito provavelmente toda a nossa expedição teria perecido.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Depois de comer, o Doutor e eu perguntamos a Chee-Chee sobre a floresta onde encontrara a comida.

Original English

When the Doctor and I had finished our mysterious breakfast we started to question Chee-Chee about the forest from which he had produced the food we had eaten.

Original Português

Quando o Doutor e eu terminamos nosso misterioso café da manhã, começamos a interrogar Chee-Chee sobre a floresta de onde ele havia tirado a comida que tínhamos comido.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Chee-Chee disse que não sabia como conseguira. Contou que mantivera os olhos fechados quase todo o tempo, pois estava muito assustado. Correu entre árvores, plantas, raízes e trepadeiras. Continuou farejando comida, porque também estava faminto. Logo encontrou frutas. Subiu numa árvore com os olhos quase sempre fechados. Então viu um monstro e ficou muito assustado. Disse que a selva era estranha e lanosa. Mas as nozes cheiravam bem, então pegou algumas. Desceu correndo e tornou a farejar. Encontrou mais frutas em outra árvore e pegou algumas. Depois correu para casa. No caminho, sentiu o cheiro de uma raiz boa, parecida com gengibre, mas melhor. Cavou um pouco, mantendo os olhos fechados, pegou um pedaço e correu para casa. Então disse: - Aqui estou. Acabou!

Original English

“I don’t know how I did it,” said Chee-Chee when we asked him. “I just shut my eyes most of the time - terribly afraid. I passed trees, plants, creepers, roots. I smelt - Goodness! I too was hungry, remember. I smelt hard as I could. And soon of course I spotted food, fruits. I climbed a tree - half the time with my eyes shut. Then I see some monster, golly! What a jungle - different from any monkey ever see before - Woolly, woolly! - Ooh, ooh! All the same, nuts smell good. Catch a few. Chase down the tree. Run some more. Smell again. Good! - Up another tree. Different fruit, good just the same. Catch a few. Down again. Run home. On the way smell good root. Same as ginger - only better. Dig a little. Keep eyes shut - don’t want to see monster. Catch a piece of root. Run all the way home. Here I am. Finish!”

Original Português

“Não sei como fiz,” disse Chee-Chee quando lhe perguntamos. “Só fechei os olhos a maior parte do tempo - morrendo de medo. Passei por árvores, plantas, cipós, raízes. Senti cheiro - Céus! Eu também estava com fome, lembrem. Farejei o mais forte que pude. E logo, claro, descobri comida, frutas. Subi numa árvore - metade do tempo com os olhos fechados. Então vejo um monstro, caramba! Que selva - diferente de qualquer uma que macaco já viu - Peluda, peluda! - Uh, uh! Mesmo assim, nozes cheiram bem. Pegar algumas. Descer correndo da árvore. Correr mais. Cheirar de novo. Bom! - Subir em outra árvore. Fruta diferente, boa do mesmo jeito. Pegar algumas. Descer de novo. Correr para casa. No caminho, cheiro bom de raiz. Igual gengibre - só que melhor. Cavar um pouco. Manter olhos fechados - não quero ver monstro. Pegar pedaço de raiz. Correr todo o caminho para casa. Aqui estou. Fim!”

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A2 Português (simplified)

- Subi numa árvore.

Original English

“‘I climbed a tree’”

Original Português

“Subi numa árvore”

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A2 Português (simplified)

Chee-Chee contou sua viagem corajosa, mas isso não nos disse muito sobre a floresta lunar. Ainda assim, estávamos descansados e fortes e agora queríamos observar o lugar.

Original English

Well, dear old Chee-Chee’s story was descriptive of his own heroic adventures but it did not give us much idea of the moon forest which we were to explore. Nevertheless, rested and fit, we now felt much more inclined to look into things ourselves.

Original Português

Bem, a história do bom e velho Chee-Chee descrevia suas próprias aventuras heroicas, mas não nos dava muita ideia da floresta lunar que iríamos explorar. Ainda assim, descansados e em forma, sentíamo-nos agora muito mais inclinados a examinar as coisas por nós mesmos.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Deixamos a bagagem no primeiro ponto de pouso. Depois caminhamos até as árvores no alto da colina, a cerca de seis quilômetros. Pensávamos que conseguiríamos voltar aos dois últimos acampamentos.

Original English

Leaving what luggage we had brought with us from our original landing point, we proceeded towards the line of trees at the summit of the bluff, about four miles ahead of us. We now felt that we could find our way back without much difficulty to the two last camps we had established.

Original Português

Deixando para trás a bagagem que havíamos trazido de nosso ponto original de aterrissagem, seguimos em direção à linha de árvores no cume do barranco, cerca de quatro milhas à nossa frente. Sentíamos agora que poderíamos encontrar o caminho de volta, sem muita dificuldade, para os dois últimos acampamentos que tínhamos estabelecido.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Seguimos em direção ao penhasco, onde as plantas cresciam espessas no topo.

O chão ainda era de areia solta, mas perto do penhasco parecia mais firme sob os pés.

Original English

“We approached the bluff on whose brow the vegetation flourished”

The going was about the same, loose sand - only that as we approached the bluff we found the sand firmer to the tread.

Original Português

“Aproximamo-nos do barranco em cujo alto florescia a vegetação”

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Original Português

O terreno era mais ou menos o mesmo, areia solta - só que, à medida que nos aproximávamos do barranco, a areia se tornava mais firme sob os pés.

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

Na última subida até as árvores, não conseguíamos ver o topo do penhasco. O caminho era muitas vezes íngreme. Eu sentia que estávamos prestes a fazer grandes descobertas e aprender algo importante sobre a Lua.

Original English

On the way up the last lap towards the vegetation line we were out of view of the top itself. Often the going was steep. All the way I had the feeling that we were about to make new and great discoveries - that for the first time we were to learn something important about the true nature of the mysterious Moon.

Original Português

Na subida da última etapa em direção à linha de vegetação, ficávamos sem ver o próprio topo. Muitas vezes a marcha era íngreme. Durante todo o caminho tive a sensação de que estávamos prestes a fazer novas e grandes descobertas - de que, pela primeira vez, iríamos aprender algo importante sobre a verdadeira natureza da misteriosa Lua.

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5. ON THE PLATEAU

A2 Português (simplified)

Nosso primeiro olhar de perto para as florestas lunares foi emocionante. Quando levantamos a cabeça acima do penhasco, vimos ao longe uma parede de selva. É difícil descrever aquelas árvores. Não eram como as da Terra. Pareciam um pouco com plantas que conhecemos, mas não com árvores.

Original English

I NDEED OUR FIRST close acquaintance with the forests of the Moon was made in quite a dramatic manner. If it had been on a stage it could not have been arranged better for effect. Suddenly as our heads topped the bluff we saw a wall of jungle some mile or so ahead of us. It would take a very long time to describe those trees in detail. It wasn’t that there were so many kinds but each one was so utterly different from any tree we had seen on the Earth. And yet, curiously enough, they did remind you of vegetable forms you had seen, but not of trees.

Original Português

DE FATO, NOSSO PRIMEIRO contato próximo com as florestas da Lua se deu de maneira bastante dramática. Se tivesse acontecido num palco, não poderia ter sido arranjado com melhor efeito. De repente, quando nossas cabeças passaram acima do barranco, vimos uma muralha de selva a uma milha, mais ou menos, diante de nós. Levaria muito tempo para descrever aquelas árvores em detalhe. Não era que houvesse tantos tipos, mas cada uma era tão completamente diferente de qualquer árvore que tivéssemos visto na Terra. E, no entanto, curiosamente, elas faziam lembrar formas vegetais que já havíamos visto, embora não árvores.

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A2 Português (simplified)

Uma área parecia formada por samambaias. Outra parecia uma planta florida com muitas flores pequenas no topo. Tinha a mesma forma, mas era muito, muito maior. O topo era tão espesso que a chuva não passava. O Doutor e eu a chamamos de Árvore-Guarda-Chuva. Nenhuma árvore era igual às da Terra. Havia muitas outras plantas estranhas; algumas lembravam coisas conhecidas, mas nem sempre sabíamos dizer o quê.

Original English

For instance, there was one whole section, several square miles in extent apparently, that looked exactly like ferns. Another reminded me of a certain flowering plant (I can’t recall the name of it) which grows a vast number of small blossoms on a flat surface at the top. The stems are a curious whitish green. This moon tree was exactly the same, only nearly a thousand times as big. The denseness of the foliage (or flowering) at the top was so compact and solid that we later found no rain could penetrate it. And for this reason the Doctor and I gave it the name of the Umbrella Tree . But not one single tree was there which was the same as any tree we had seen before. And there were many, many more curious growths that dimly reminded you of something, though you could not always say exactly what.

Original Português

Por exemplo, havia uma seção inteira, aparentemente com várias milhas quadradas de extensão, que parecia exatamente feita de samambaias. Outra me lembrava certa planta florida (não consigo recordar o nome) que produz uma imensa quantidade de pequenas flores numa superfície plana no alto. Os caules são de um verde-esbranquiçado curioso. Essa árvore lunar era exatamente igual, só que quase mil vezes maior. A densidade da folhagem (ou floração) no alto era tão compacta e sólida que mais tarde descobrimos que nenhuma chuva conseguia penetrá-la. E por esse motivo o Doutor e eu lhe demos o nome de Árvore Guarda-Chuva. Mas não havia ali uma única árvore que fosse igual a qualquer árvore que já tivéssemos visto. E havia muitas, muitas outras formas curiosas de crescimento que lembravam vagamente alguma coisa, embora nem sempre se pudesse dizer exatamente o quê.

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

- A Árvore-Guarda-Chuva.

Original English

“The Umbrella Tree”

Original Português

“A Árvore Guarda-Chuva”

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

Uma coisa estranha nos perturbou um pouco. Ouvimos um som estranho. Já sabíamos que até sons suaves podiam viajar longe na Lua. Assim que chegamos ao platô no alto do penhasco, ouvimos. Era música. Mas não parecia um instrumento. Parecia uma pequena orquestra tocando muito suavemente em algum lugar distante. Já estávamos nos acostumando às coisas estranhas, mas aquela música escondida ainda me incomodou um pouco, e sei que também incomodou o Doutor.

Original English

One odd thing that disturbed us quite a little was a strange sound. Noises of any kind, no matter how faint, we already knew could travel long distances on the Moon. As soon as we had gained the plateau on top of the bluff we heard it. It was a musical sound. And yet not the sound of a single instrument. It seemed almost as though there was a small orchestra somewhere playing very, very softly. We were by this time becoming accustomed to strange things. But I must confess that this distant hidden music upset me quite a little, and so, I know, it did the Doctor.

Original Português

Uma coisa estranha que nos perturbou bastante foi um som esquisito. Ruídos de qualquer espécie, por mais fracos que fossem, já sabíamos que podiam viajar longas distâncias na Lua. Assim que alcançamos o planalto no alto do barranco, nós o ouvimos. Era um som musical. E, no entanto, não era o som de um único instrumento. Parecia quase que havia em algum lugar uma pequena orquestra tocando muito, muito suavemente. A essa altura já estávamos nos acostumando a coisas estranhas. Mas devo confessar que aquela música distante e escondida me inquietou bastante; e o mesmo, sei eu, aconteceu com o Doutor.

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

Paramos no alto do penhasco para descansar antes do último quilômetro até a selva. A paisagem lunar parecia muito clara e separada em cada parte. Provavelmente porque tudo na Lua era muito menor que na Terra. À nossa frente havia um platô plano de areia dura, liso como um lago. A selva estava à frente e o penhasco que subíramos atrás. Olhei para a floresta e me perguntei o que havia do outro lado. Também pensei se ali a paisagem mudava tão bruscamente quanto naquele ponto.

Original English

At the top of the bluff we rested to get our wind before we covered the last mile up to the jungle itself. It was curious how clearly marked and separated were those sections of the Moon’s landscape. And yet doubtless the smaller scale of all the geographical features of this world, so much less in bulk than our own, could partly account for that. In front of us a plateau stretched out, composed of hard sand, level and smooth as a lake, bounded in front by the jungle and to the rear of us by the cliff we had just scaled. I wondered as I looked across at the forest what scenery began on the other side of the woods and if it broke off in as sharp a change as it did here.

Original Português

No alto do barranco descansamos para recuperar o fôlego antes de percorrer a última milha até a própria selva. Era curioso como eram claramente marcadas e separadas aquelas seções da paisagem lunar. E, no entanto, sem dúvida a escala menor de todos os acidentes geográficos daquele mundo, tão inferior em volume ao nosso, podia explicar isso em parte. À nossa frente estendia-se um planalto, composto de areia dura, liso e nivelado como um lago, limitado adiante pela selva e, atrás de nós, pelo penhasco que acabávamos de escalar. Enquanto eu olhava para a floresta, perguntava-me que paisagem começaria do outro lado das matas e se ela também se interromperia numa mudança tão brusca quanto ali.

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

Primeiro precisávamos encontrar água, então pedimos a Chee-Chee que nos guiasse. O macaco foi adiante, seguindo suas próprias pegadas da noite anterior. No platô aberto, foi fácil. Mas, na borda da floresta, ficou mais difícil. Ele havia passado entre as árvores balançando de galho em galho. Disse que se sentia mais seguro assim. Também contou que encontrara a água pelo cheiro. Mais uma vez percebi como tínhamos sorte de tê-lo conosco. Só um macaco poderia encontrar água naquela floresta escura. Pediu que esperássemos na borda enquanto verificava se conseguia achar o caminho de volta. Então sentamos e esperamos.

Original English

As the most important thing to attend to first was the establishment of a water supply, Chee-Chee was asked to act as guide. The monkey set out ahead of us to follow his own tracks which he had made last night. This he had little difficulty in doing across the open plateau. But when we reached the edge of the forest it was not so easy. Much of his travelling here had been done by swinging through the trees. He always felt safer so, he said, while explaining to us how he had been guided to the water by the sense of smell. Again I realized how lucky we had been to have him with us. No one but a monkey could have found his way through that dense, dimly lit forest to water. He asked us to stay behind a moment on the edge of the woods while he went forward to make sure that he could retrace his steps. We sat down again and waited.

Original Português

Como a coisa mais importante a cuidar primeiro era estabelecer um suprimento de água, pediu-se a Chee-Chee que servisse de guia. O macaco partiu à nossa frente para seguir as próprias pegadas que havia feito na noite anterior. Ele teve pouca dificuldade em fazê-lo pelo planalto aberto. Mas, quando chegamos à borda da floresta, a coisa não foi tão fácil. Boa parte de seu trajeto ali tinha sido feita balançando-se pelas árvores. Ele sempre se sentia mais seguro assim, disse, enquanto nos explicava como havia sido guiado até a água pelo olfato. Mais uma vez percebi a sorte que havíamos tido em tê-lo conosco. Ninguém, a não ser um macaco, poderia ter encontrado caminho através daquela floresta densa e mal iluminada até a água. Ele nos pediu que ficássemos para trás por um momento na borda da mata, enquanto avançava para se certificar de que conseguiria refazer seus passos. Sentamo-nos novamente e esperamos.

Back to A2    Original English

A2 Português (simplified)

- Você chegou a acordar durante a noite, Stubbins? - perguntou o Doutor depois de um tempo.

- Não - respondi. - Estava cansado demais. Por quê?

- E você, Polynesia? - perguntou ele, sem me responder.

- Sim - disse ela. - Acordei várias vezes.

Original English

“Did you wake up at all during the night, Stubbins?” the Doctor asked after a little.

“No,” I said. “I was far too tired. Why?”

“Did you, Polynesia?” he asked, ignoring my question.

“Yes,” said she, “I was awake several times.”

Original Português

“Você chegou a acordar em algum momento durante a noite, Stubbins?” perguntou o Doutor depois de um pouco.

Back to A2    Original English

Original Português

“Não,” respondi. “Eu estava cansado demais. Por quê?”

Back to A2    Original English

Original Português

“E você, Polynesia?” perguntou ele, ignorando minha pergunta.

Back to A2    Original English

Original Português

“Sim,” disse ela, “acordei várias vezes.”

Back to A2    Original English

Glossary: New Words

Priority words from the simplified reading, selected by CEFR level, rarity and editorial usefulness. Each entry shows up to six real sentences from this book; every Back to A2 link opens the exact sentence in the simplified version.

Ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ (2)

Português: envergonhado; vergonha; humilhado

Simple English: Feeling embarrassed or guilty about personal actions.

Example: She felt ashamed for forgetting her friend's birthday party.

Uses in this book:

1. When I woke up, I felt very ashamed. Back to A2

2. He told me not to be ashamed. Back to A2

beat /biːt/ (1)

Português: bater; vencer; batida

Simple English: The main rhythm or pulse of a musical piece or poem.

Example: The beat of the song made everyone want to dance immediately.

Uses in this book:

1. You beat your fear and went alone into the jungle to find food when we were weak. Back to A2

beyond /bɪˈɒnd/ (1)

Português: além

Simple English: At or to the side that is further; exceeding a point.

Example: Her talents go beyond just singing; she can also dance beautifully.

Uses in this book:

1. Most were lovely flower smells that the wind brought from beyond the mountains ahead. Back to A2

bush /bʊʃ/ (11)

Português: Bush; arbusto; mato

Simple English: A dense plant with many small branches.

Example: They planted a bush in the garden to add color and beauty.

Uses in this book:

1. Small groups of bushes and trees grew down from it in different places. Back to A2

chapter /ˈtʃæptər/ (1)

Português: capítulo

Simple English: A distinct period in history or someone's life.

Example: The end of the war marked a new chapter in the nation’s history.

Uses in this book:

1. I thought Jip might help me, so I read him some of my chapters. Back to A2

Cheerful /ˈtʃɪrfəl/ (2)

Português: alegre; animada

Simple English: Full of happiness, positivity, and good spirits.

Example: Even on rainy days, she remains cheerful and optimistic about life.

Uses in this book:

1. She only needed a little seed and some water, and she stayed cheerful. Back to A2

2. As hunger and thirst got worse, he became more cheerful. Back to A2

claim /kleɪm/ (1)

Português: reivindicar; reivindicação; afirmam

Simple English: To state something is true without providing proof evidence.

Example: She made a claim about her success in the project.

Uses in this book:

1. He did not claim to know things for sure before he learned them. Back to A2

confusing /kənˈfjuːzɪŋ/ (1)

Português: confuso; confundindo; desconcertante

Simple English: Difficult to understand or unclear, causing uncertainty.

Example: The confusing directions led us to the wrong location for the meeting.

Uses in this book:

1. The changing colours were confusing, and we could not tell which way to go. Back to A2

creature /ˈkriːtʃər/ (18)

Português: criatura

Simple English: Any living being that can move on its own.

Example: The forest is full of strange creatures at night.

Uses in this book:

1. I do not remember any, but I think there must have been some kind of rat-like creature there. Back to A2

desert /dɪˈzɜːrt/ (2)

Português: deserto; desertar; sobremesa

Simple English: A dry area with little rain.

Example: The Sahara is a desert.

Uses in this book:

1. This place looks like the Sahara Desert. Back to A2

Emergency /ɪˈmɜːrdʒənsi/ (1)

Português: emergência; urgente

Simple English: Unexpected dangerous situation needing immediate attention.

Example: In case of an emergency, call the rescue services immediately.

Uses in this book:

1. John Dolittle took out some emergency chocolate he had saved. Back to A2

even /ˈiːvən/ (57)

Português: mesmo; sequer; até

Simple English: Used to emphasize something surprising or unexpected.

Example: Even the most skilled artists can make mistakes sometimes.

Uses in this book:

1. In a low whisper, he told us not to leave the flowers for even a moment. Back to A2

2. Even John Dolittle could not explain how he did it, and Chee-Chee did not know either. Back to A2

3. But my own voice sounded strange and made it feel even more unreal. Back to A2

4. Even Chee-Chee, who was good at finding rare tracks, could not find any. Back to A2

5. But the wind was always steady and even. Back to A2

6. Even Polynesia felt confused and worried, and that was not easy to do. Back to A2

exploration (1)

Português: exploração; investigação; descoberta

Simple English: the act of travelling through or studying something new

Example: Space exploration is expensive.

Uses in this book:

1. Later, I learned that he had done this on exploration trips when he was young. Back to A2

finding /ˈfaɪndɪŋ/ (3)

Português: encontrar; achando; achar

Simple English: A piece of information discovered from research.

Example: The key finding of the study suggests that diet greatly affects mental health.

Uses in this book:

1. Even Chee-Chee, who was good at finding rare tracks, could not find any. Back to A2

firm /fɜːrm/ (1)

Português: firme; empresa; escritório

Simple English: A company or business, often owned by two or more partners.

Example: He works at a law firm that specializes in family law.

Uses in this book:

1. The ground was still loose sand, but near the bluff it felt firmer under our feet. Back to A2

fold /foʊld/ (1)

Português: dobre; dobrar; dobra

Simple English: To bend something so that one part completely covers another.

Example: Please fold the paper in half before putting it away.

Uses in this book:

1. I know we found water, because before I fell asleep, Chee-Chee gave me a little cool water from a cup made of a folded leaf. Back to A2

Frightened /ˈfraɪtnd/ (3)

Português: assustado; amedrontado; assustou

Simple English: Feeling afraid suddenly due to danger or threat.

Example: She was frightened when she heard the loud noise outside.

Uses in this book:

1. Chee-Chee was so frightened that his hair stood up. Back to A2

2. Then he saw a monster and was very frightened. Back to A2

gentle /ˈdʒɛntl/ (1)

Português: gentil; suave; delicado

Simple English: Showing kindness and empathy toward others.

Example: The gentle puppy played softly with the children in the yard.

Uses in this book:

1. A gentle wind blew all the time, and the temperature stayed almost the same. Back to A2

impatient /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/ (2)

Português: impaciente; impacientes

Simple English: Easily annoyed by delay; eager for something to happen.

Example: He grew impatient waiting for the train to arrive on time.

Uses in this book:

1. The Doctor was impatient. Back to A2

line (3)

Português: linha; fila; limites

Uses in this book:

1. “Well, behind that there is a dark line on the horizon. Back to A2

load /loʊd/ (2)

Português: carga; carregar; carregamento

Simple English: To fill a space with items in an efficient way.

Example: They need to load the boxes onto the truck for delivery today.

Uses in this book:

1. Still, we had much baggage, and we were all carrying heavy loads. Back to A2

loose (2)

Português: solta; frouxo; perder

Uses in this book:

1. But the loose sand told us nothing. Back to A2

2. The ground was still loose sand, but near the bluff it felt firmer under our feet. Back to A2

narrow (1)

Português: estreito; estreitar; restringir

Uses in this book:

1. The long, narrow valley we were going into did not seem to have much life in it. Back to A2

needle /ˈniːdl/ (1)

Português: agulha; seringa

Simple English: The thin, sharp leaf found on pine and other coniferous trees.

Example: The needles of the pine tree are sharp and provide a distinct smell in winter.

Uses in this book:

1. The needle just spun around. Back to A2

neither (1)

Português: nenhum dos dois; nem um nem outro; nenhum

Simple English: not one and not the other

Example: Neither answer is correct.

Uses in this book:

1. John Dolittle had feared very hot or very cold weather, but it was neither. Back to A2

northern /ˈnɔːrðərn/ (1)

Português: norte; setentrional; nórdica

Simple English: Positioned in or toward the north direction geographically relative.

Example: The northern part of the country is known for its beautiful landscapes.

Uses in this book:

1. It made me think of the Northern Lights. Back to A2

obey /oʊˈbeɪ/ (2)

Português: obedecer; obedecei; cumpra

Simple English: To follow rules, commands, orders given by authority.

Example: Children must learn to obey their parents and teachers at school.

Uses in this book:

1. The flowers were heavy to carry, but we obeyed. Back to A2

organ /ˈɔːrɡən/ (1)

Português: órgão

Simple English: A vital body part with a specific biological function.

Example: The heart is an organ that pumps blood throughout the body.

Uses in this book:

1. Other people saw only an organ-grinder’s monkey. Back to A2

partly /ˈpɑːrtli/ (1)

Português: parcialmente

Simple English: To some degree; not completely or wholly.

Example: The event was partly successful, but improvements are needed.

Uses in this book:

1. Others were partly covered by sand. Back to A2

pick (5)

Português: escolher; buscá; picareta

Uses in this book:

1. But nuts smelled good, so he picked some. Back to A2

2. He found more fruit in another tree and picked some. Back to A2

race /reɪs/ (1)

Português: corrida; raça; regata

Simple English: Group of humans categorized by physical attributes like skin.

Example: Many people celebrate diversity among different races in society today.

Uses in this book:

1. It became a hard race against hunger and death. Back to A2

rare /rɛər/ (1)

Português: raro; rara; raros

Simple English: Not common and occurring infrequently in general situations.

Example: It is rare to see such a beautiful rainbow in winter.

Uses in this book:

1. Even Chee-Chee, who was good at finding rare tracks, could not find any. Back to A2

remind /rɪˈmaɪnd/ (1)

Português: lembrar; recordar; relembre

Simple English: To cause someone to remember a duty or task.

Example: Please remind me to call my mother later today.

Uses in this book:

1. There were many other strange plants too, and some reminded us of things we knew, but we could not always say what. Back to A2

root /ruːt/ (7)

Português: raiz; radicular; torcer

Simple English: The part of a plant that grows underground to get nutrients.

Example: The root of the plant spreads deep into the soil for stability.

Uses in this book:

1. He ran past trees, plants, roots, and vines. Back to A2

2. On the way he smelled a good root, like ginger but better. Back to A2

scientific /ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk/ (2)

Português: científica

Simple English: Based on science principles methods or systematic research.

Example: Her scientific research focused on climate change and its effects.

Uses in this book:

1. I took many notes for the Doctor, but most of them are scientific. Back to A2

sense /sɛns/ (6)

Português: sentido; senso; sensação

Simple English: Natural ability to perceive touch, sight, taste, smell.

Example: My sense of smell helps me enjoy food more.

Uses in this book:

1. He used his Moon maps, his eyes, and his sense of direction. Back to A2

2. Behind us, we could match some peaks, but nothing ahead made sense. Back to A2

separate /ˈsɛpəreɪt/ (1)

Português: separado; separar; distintas

Simple English: To end a relationship or live apart from a partner.

Example: They had to separate after realizing they wanted different things in life.

Uses in this book:

1. The Moon's land looked very clear and separate in each part. Back to A2

shadow /ˈʃædoʊ/ (6)

Português: sombra; sombrear

Simple English: Dark shape made when an object blocks light.

Example: The tree cast a long shadow on the ground during the sunset.

Uses in this book:

1. When I looked back, the pink places were green, and the violet shadows were rose. Back to A2

shape /ʃeɪp/ (12)

Português: forma; moldar

Simple English: The form of something.

Example: The box has a square shape.

Uses in this book:

1. Their tops were cut off and shaped like cups. Back to A2

2. Wind, weather, and time had changed some of them into strange shapes. Back to A2

3. But over there, behind that high range with the strange hat-shaped top, there may be something.” Back to A2

4. It was the same shape, but much, much bigger. Back to A2

sharp /ʃɑːrp/ (1)

Português: afiada; nítidas; acentuada

Simple English: Having a cutting edge or point that can cut.

Example: Be careful with that knife; it is very sharp.

Uses in this book:

1. I also wondered if it changed as sharply there as it did here. Back to A2

shell (1)

Português: casca; concha; cobertura

Simple English: the hard outer covering of something

Example: The egg shell was broken.

Uses in this book:

1. We also had water in shells of big nuts and in leaf cups. Back to A2

silence (7)

Português: silêncio; quietude; calma

Simple English: the absence of sound

Example: A deep silence filled the room.

Uses in this book:

1. All four of us ate it in silence. Back to A2

smooth /smuːð/ (1)

Português: liso; suave; alise

Simple English: Having an even surface without bumps or roughness.

Example: The table has a smooth surface, perfect for writing.

Uses in this book:

1. It was smooth like a lake. Back to A2

Stand /stænd/ (5)

Português: carrinho; ficar; suportar

Simple English: To be on your feet.

Example: Please stand here.

Uses in this book:

1. It was very easy to stand up. Back to A2

steady /ˈstɛdi/ (7)

Português: constante; firme; estável

Simple English: Not changing significantly over time.

Example: She maintained a steady pace while running during the marathon event.

Uses in this book:

1. But the wind was always steady and even. Back to A2

2. The branches did not move in a steady way at all. Back to A2

3. It did not match the steady wind on our faces. Back to A2

steep /stiːp/ (1)

Português: íngreme; acentuada; escarpadas

Simple English: (Of an angle) measuring less than ninety degrees.

Example: The mountain climb was steep, making it very challenging for hikers.

Uses in this book:

1. The path was often steep. Back to A2

step /stɛp/ (19)

Português: passo; etapa; pisar

Simple English: A flat surface used for moving up or down.

Example: He fell down the step outside the front door.

Uses in this book:

1. He will write it step by step from when they first saw the Moon. Back to A2

2. Each step felt like it might be my last. Back to A2

track /træk/ (15)

Português: faixa; pista; trilha

Simple English: Path or course used by vehicles or trains.

Example: The train travels on the track through the mountains.

Uses in this book:

1. We looked everywhere for tracks. Back to A2

2. Even Chee-Chee, who was good at finding rare tracks, could not find any. Back to A2

3. The monkey went ahead and followed his own tracks from the night before. Back to A2

trip /trɪp/ (23)

Português: viagem; desengate; tropeçar

Simple English: A journey.

Example: We took a trip to Rome.

Uses in this book:

1. I had no science training, but I could help as a secretary on nature trips. Back to A2

2. But we had many good things that other trips did not have. Back to A2

3. Later, I learned that he had done this on exploration trips when he was young. Back to A2

4. It helped him get chosen for the trips. Back to A2

trust /trʌst/ (5)

Português: confiar; confiança; fideicomisso

Simple English: To believe someone is honest or reliable.

Example: I trust her completely.

Uses in this book:

1. But if Chee-Chee said they were safe, we trusted him. Back to A2

unlike /ʌnˈlaɪk/ (1)

Português: ao contrário

Simple English: Used to show differences between two things or people.

Example: Unlike cats, dogs love to play fetch with their owners.

Uses in this book:

1. It looked strange and unlike any tree I had ever seen. Back to A2

whisper /ˈwɪspər/ (21)

Português: sussurro; sussurrar; cochichar

Simple English: To speak very quietly so others nearby cannot easily hear.

Example: She had to whisper so the teacher wouldn’t hear their conversation.

Uses in this book:

1. I thought of the Whispering Rocks on Spidermonkey Island. Back to A2

2. In a low whisper, he told us not to leave the flowers for even a moment. Back to A2

wise /waɪz/ (2)

Português: sábio; sensato; prudente

Simple English: Having deep knowledge and experience; capable of giving good advice.

Example: My grandfather is wise; he gives the best advice based on his experience.

Uses in this book:

1. Now I see that John Dolittle was wise to make us wait. Back to A2

within /wɪˈðɪn/ (1)

Português: dentro

Simple English: Before a specific period of time passes.

Example: Please complete your homework within two hours from now.

Uses in this book:

1. At last the moth came down to within twenty feet of the ground. Back to A2