Doctor Dolittle's Garden

O Jardim do Doutor Dolittle

Hugh Lofting

ESL Easy Read

Reading Comprehension B1 • Original Text • Português Support

SAMPLE

Copyright

Fonte original — domínio público

Esta edição ESL Easy Read foi adaptada a partir de Doctor Dolittle's Garden, de Hugh Lofting, publicado originalmente em 1927.

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 1927.

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 2023.

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's Garden

Autor: Hugh Lofting

Primeira publicação: 1927

Verifique você mesmo

As fontes abaixo permitem verificar gratuitamente a identificação da obra, a data de publicação e, no caso do Project Gutenberg, o status de domínio público nos Estados Unidos:

→ Project Gutenberg

O registro do Project Gutenberg identifica esta obra como domínio público nos Estados Unidos.

→ Internet Archive

Preserva digitalizações e registros bibliográficos de edições impressas da obra original.

Esta adaptação ESL Easy Read

Nenhum direito autoral é reivindicado sobre o texto original em domínio público. A estrutura editorial desta edição, as versões de leitura simplificada, as traduções de apoio, o layout, a capa e o aparato pedagógico são protegidos por direitos autorais.

© 2026 MicMac from Las Vegas LLC. Todos os direitos reservados.

Introdução

Como ler este livro

Cada livro desta coleção é apresentado em um nível de leitura simplificada, de acordo com o CEFR — Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para Línguas.

A2 — Básico: indicado para leitores que já compreendem frases simples, vocabulário frequente e textos curtos sobre situações do cotidiano.

B1 — Intermediário: indicado para leitores que conseguem compreender as ideias principais de textos claros e acompanhar uma narrativa com vocabulário e estruturas de dificuldade moderada.

B2 — Intermediário avançado: indicado para leitores que já conseguem compreender textos mais complexos, acompanhar descrições detalhadas e reconhecer uma variedade maior de vocabulário e estruturas gramaticais.

Este livro foi adaptado para o nível B1.

Assim, 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 e os acontecimentos principais da obra original.

Como usar as notas

No texto de leitura simplificada, cada parágrafo possui um link Pt/En. Esse link abre uma nota com a tradução em português do texto simplificado e o trecho correspondente no texto original em inglês.

No texto original em inglês, o link PT leva diretamente ao parágrafo correspondente na versão em português. Na tradução portuguesa, o link En retorna ao parágrafo correspondente no texto original.

A tradução para o português é feita a partir do texto em inglês simplificado, e não diretamente do texto original. O objetivo é ajudar você a compreender com precisão a frase simplificada que está estudando naquele momento.

O texto original em inglês é apresentado separadamente para a etapa seguinte do aprendizado, quando você já estiver preparado para ler e comparar a obra em sua forma original.

Cada nota contém links que permitem retornar exatamente ao parágrafo que você estava lendo.

Sobre este livro

Em O Jardim do Doutor Dolittle, o oitavo livro da amada série de Hugh Lofting, o excêntrico naturalista Doutor John Dolittle continua suas aventuras na fictícia vila inglesa de Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. Já tendo dominado as línguas dos animais, o doutor agora volta sua atenção para o mundo dos insetos e plantas. Auxiliado por seus leais companheiros animais — incluindo a papagaia Polinésia, o porco Gub-Gub, o cão Jip, a pata Dab-Dab, o macaco Chee-Chee, a coruja Too-Too e o pushmi-pullyu — ele cria um elaborado jardim projetado para atrair e estudar insetos. O conflito central surge quando o doutor descobre que os insetos têm suas próprias sociedades e línguas complexas, que ele precisa aprender para se comunicar com eles. A história progride através de uma série de episódios onde o doutor e seus amigos encontram várias espécies de insetos, cada uma com costumes e problemas únicos. O tom é caprichoso e educativo, misturando fantasia com humor suave. O cenário permanece a idílica zona rural inglesa, com o jardim servindo como um microcosmo do mundo natural. À medida que o doutor se aprofunda na vida dos insetos, ele descobre um mistério envolvendo uma civilização perdida de formigas, levando a uma jornada que testa seu entendimento da natureza e da amizade. A narrativa enfatiza temas de curiosidade, respeito por todas as criaturas e a alegria da descoberta, sem revelar o resultado final do mistério da civilização das formigas.

Nota editorial

A tradução para o português e a versão Reading Comprehension B1 foram geradas com apoio de inteligência artificial e submetidas a revisão editorial.

Em caso de dúvida ou observações, fale conosco.

MicMac from Las Vegas LLC
Contato: admin@micmacfromlasvegas.com

Outros livros e materiais

Materiais e outros livros da série ESL Easy Read:

Coleção Doctor Dolittle

Doctor Dolittle in the Moon

Doctor Dolittle's Caravan

Doctor Dolittle's Circus

Doctor Dolittle's Garden

Doctor Dolittle's Post Office

Doctor Dolittle's Zoo

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

Outras coleções disponíveis

Anne of Green Gables / L. M. Montgomery

Gothic and Terror Classics

A Selva de Burroughs

Marte de Burroughs

Sherlock Holmes

The Land of Oz

www.micmacfromlasvegas.com

Reading Comprehension B1

1 - THE DOG MUSEUM

2 - QUETCH

3 - THE DICK WHITTINGTON DOG

4 - THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALITY

5 - GIPSY LIFE

6 - THE ACROBAT

7 - THE MONASTERY

8 - THE SHEPHERD IN DISTRESS

9 - CITY LIFE

THE DOG MUSEUM

Pt/En Thomas Stubbins remembered his time as Assistant Manager of the Zoo very happily.

Pt/En A part of the Doctor's garden was called "Animal Town." Thomas Stubbins found it difficult to limit the number of members in the animal clubs. The club for mixed-breed dogs was the hardest to manage. A dog named Jip often tried to bring new stray dogs in, and Thomas Stubbins had to be firm to prevent the club from becoming too full.

Pt/En The Doctor and Thomas Stubbins agreed to keep the number of members in clubs limited. However, they encouraged the animals to develop new ideas. These ideas were meant to make Animal Town a more interesting and comfortable place to live. The Dog Museum was one of these interesting new ideas.

Pt/En For many years, the Doctor had his own museum. It was a large room where he kept natural history items like bones and minerals. The dogs often looked at the Doctor's museum, especially the bones. This made them want to start their own museum.

Pt/En A special dog, who had joined the club a few months earlier, helped the dogs start their museum. This dog had a strong natural desire to collect things. He collected items like prune stones, umbrella handles, and door knobs. He always claimed that his collection of prune stones was the biggest and best in the country.

Pt/En Quetch was a dog and Toby's friend. He helped protect smaller dogs at their club. Quetch suggested that the club should start its own museum. The club members agreed with this idea. They used a part of the gym to create the first museum space.

Pt/En The other club members often called Quetch "Professor". He was very good at organizing things. Everyone was excited about the Dog Museum and gave things for it. Many dogs brought items to the museum. Professor Quetch, who was in charge, was very busy receiving and organizing all the new items.

Pt/En The museum had many different kinds of items. It was not only about nature but also about history. The section with bones was the largest. Most of these bones were from food like beef, mutton, and ham.

Pt/En There were also fish bones. Professor Quetch showed the narrator a whole fish that he called "The Oldest Fish in the World". A dog named Blackie found it. The fish had a very strong smell. Dogs from a place far away complained because the smell bothered them. Professor Quetch was angry and said they did not understand science. Some neighbours also complained. Because of the complaints, the "oldest fish" had to be thrown away.

Pt/En Professor Quetch was the name of a dog.

Pt/En The Dog Museum had a large section for old things. It held Quetch's special collection of items like prune-stones, umbrella handles, and door-knobs. Dogs also helped find many treasures by digging. They found things such as saucepan lids, bent spoons, hats, tin cans, and broken teapots. Almost all kinds of hardware and home items were there. A very important and special item was a sock that the famous Doctor himself had worn.

Pt/En For the first few days, the dogs dug a lot. Jip and Kling had heard the Doctor say that Romans once had a camp where Puddleby town now stands. They hoped to find Roman jewelry if they dug carefully. They dug in Colonel Bellowes' tulip garden. They found a plant bulb, but the Colonel saw them and chased them. They escaped and took the bulb home. This was how the museum's plant collection started. The bulb had a label.

Pt/En The label explained that a famous naturalist and explorer named Jip had given the orchid. It said that Jip was disturbed while working and was chased by dangerous people for a long distance. However, he got away from his pursuers and managed to bring this very valuable plant back to the Dog Museum.

Pt/En The Colonel saw Jip and Kling and chased them.

QUETCH

Pt/En The Dog Museum continued for much longer than expected. The writer thought the dogs would lose interest, but the collections grew very quickly. After some weeks, the museum filled the entire gymnasium. During a wrestling match, one dog accidentally threw another dog into the Botanical Department. It became clear that the museum was becoming too big for the gymnasium.

Pt/En It was the semi-final match of a wrestling contest.

Pt/En The House Committee met again. They decided that sports and science were equally important. They would remove most of the old items and only keep things that were real and useful for dogs and Dog History.

Pt/En Jip's special golden collar was a main exhibit. Professor Quetch showed bones he said were chewed by famous dogs. He also showed a small barrel that he claimed St. Bernard dogs carried in the Alps. He put a label on a bone saying it was a toy for Empress Josephine's pet poodle.

Pt/En Instead of many items, there were now only a few glass cases with special objects. These were kept for many years and shown to all visitors, dogs and people. Professor Quetch always guided visitors through the museum. He made sure people did not lean on the cases and dogs did not take the historic bones.

Pt/En The third story was Jip's own tale about helping a Lame Man's Dog earn money. The fourth story was about Professor Quetch. He was a dog with a lot of character but did not like to talk about himself. He always said he was too busy with his museum duties.

Pt/En The museum was much smaller now, so it needed less work. One day, Jip brought happy news. He said Quetch had promised to tell his life story the next night. The story would be called "The Story of the Dog Who Set Out to Seek His Fortune."

Pt/En I thought the story would be good, so I asked the Doctor if he wanted to listen. He used to come to the dogs' story times often, but lately he had been too busy. However, he agreed to make this a special occasion and promised to be there.

Pt/En The next night, the Dogs' Dining Room was very full. All the dog members were there, waiting for the story. It was also a special 'Guest Night', which meant members could bring friends to dinner.

Pt/En Professor Quetch started his story by saying he was born to poor but honest parents. His father was an Aberdeen terrier who was good at herding sheep, and his mother was a West Highland dog. They lived with small farmers in Scotland. When Quetch and his brothers and sisters were puppies, they had enough food. But as they grew older, the farmers did not have much food for their large family and the workers, and certainly not enough for many hungry puppies.

Pt/En Quetch mentioned that his father was a very good sheep dog.

Pt/En The narrator explained that they lived in a stable behind a farm-house. They had their own horse-stall, which was warm and filled with dry straw. One night, the narrator stayed awake late and heard his mother and father talking. His parents were named Jock and Jenny.

Pt/En Jenny told Jock that she had heard the farmer talking about getting rid of their puppies soon.

Pt/En Jock replied that this was expected. He thought the farmer would probably keep one or two puppies. He hoped they would keep Quetch, as Quetch was a bright young dog and already helped him with the sheep. Jock thought the other puppies were not very clever.

Pt/En Jenny became very angry and said that the puppies were just as clever as their father.

Pt/En Jock agreed with Jenny, but he also said that the farmer, McPherson, could not keep all the puppies because he had his own family to support and could barely look after them.

Pt/En The dog heard his father talk about giving away puppies. He thought this was unfair because dogs should have rights and choose their own lives. He felt angry and decided that he would not be given away like an old pair of shoes. He believed he was an individual, just like the farmer, and wanted the world to know this.

THE DICK WHITTINGTON DOG

Pt/En The dog explained that his story is about a dog who wanted to live his own life. He knew many people tried to do the same. He did not think his life was very exciting, but he hoped his adventures might be interesting to others. He wanted to show how he gained his freedom and independence.

Pt/En A few days later, the dog saw that his mother's worries were correct. The farmer, McPherson, brought friends to see the puppies, hoping they would adopt one. A man chose the dog. The dog thought the man was foolish and not refined. The man examined the dog like he was a pig for sale. The dog decided he would not belong to this man. The man asked McPherson to keep the dog for two more days before he would return to collect him.

Pt/En The dog thought about people who went to seek their fortunes. He wondered why a dog could not do the same. He knew he had to leave to avoid being taken by the foolish man. He had not seen much of the world, so he decided he would go and seek his fortune the very next day.

Pt/En The next morning, the dog woke up before anyone else on the farm. He gathered some old bones and put them in a handkerchief, which were all his belongings. He then set out to make his own way in the world. It was late in the autumn, and still dark and cold. As he reached the road, he looked back at the farm buildings. With a happy feeling, he waved his tail and trotted away.

Pt/En He stated that he wanted to begin a new career.

Pt/En He realized he was very inexperienced and knew very little, not even about the area near the farm or where the road was going. However, this made the adventure more exciting, and he decided to follow the road to see what would happen.

Pt/En After walking for about an hour, he felt hungry. He stopped by the road, took out his food, and chose a ham bone that was not completely eaten. He began to eat it and managed to gnaw off half of it with his good, young teeth.

Pt/En He felt better but still a bit hungry. As he was preparing to leave, he heard a noise. He quietly went to investigate, hoping to catch a rabbit for more food. Instead, he found an old tramp waking up in the field where he had slept. He felt a connection with the tramp, as he was also homeless. He watched as the tramp milked a cow into a tin. The tramp then left the milk and went away. While he was gone, he crept out and drank all the milk.

Pt/En He saw an old tramp waking up.

Pt/En Feeling much better, the narrator started walking along the road. After a short distance, he decided to go back and meet the tramp. He thought he might feel guilty about the milk he had taken, or perhaps he felt a connection with the tramp and wanted to get to know him.

Pt/En When the narrator returned to the edge of the meadow, he saw the tramp in the distance milking the cow again. He waited until the tramp had finished and then came out to show himself.

Pt/En The tramp spoke to the narrator, saying that he knew the narrator had taken his milk. However, the tramp said it was not a problem because he had found more. He then invited the narrator to come closer and asked for his name.

Pt/En The narrator thought the tramp was a good person and enjoyed his company. They both agreed to travel together. The tramp was skilled at finding food, often begging meals from farmhouses and sharing them. The narrator was good at catching rabbits and pheasants, which they cooked by the road. Together, they managed to live well.

Pt/En They traveled through several towns and saw many interesting sights. The narrator appreciated that the tramp allowed him complete freedom. Although they often felt very cold at night, the tramp was good at finding places to sleep, such as in haystacks or old barns. He also always shared his coat to keep the narrator warm when they slept.

THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALITY

Pt/En The narrator's friend needed money, perhaps to travel. One afternoon, he went to a farmhouse and asked the woman who opened the door if she wanted to buy a dog.

Pt/En The narrator was so shocked that he ran away and did not look back. He felt sad and confused. Later, he became angry. He thought it was wrong for his friend to try to sell him, especially since the narrator had helped him catch food.

Pt/En After walking for some miles, the narrator saw some children playing with a ball. He liked playing ball games and joined them. He helped them by chasing the ball. They all had a good time together for a while.

Pt/En When the children had to go home for supper, the narrator followed them, hoping to eat with them. The children told their mother that he had played with them and followed them. The mother chased him away with a broom, saying that stray dogs carry diseases. The narrator felt that people treated animals badly, either by keeping them when they wanted freedom or by chasing them away when they wanted to be friendly.

Pt/En The mother quickly chased the narrator away using a broom.

Pt/En The dog felt hungry. A little girl started crying because she thought he was hungry. The dog pretended to go away, but he hid close by. He saw the mother's shadow and knew the children would be eating supper alone. He went to the dining-room window and tapped on the glass. At first, the children were a little afraid. But then one child looked and saw the dog sitting on the windowsill outside.

Pt/En The children let the dog inside. They hid him in a closet so their mother would not see him. They also gave him a good meal. Later, when the children were supposed to be asleep, one of them secretly went downstairs and took the dog to their room. The dog slept on a soft pillow under a bed. The dog thought this was very kind and good hospitality.

Pt/En One of the children went downstairs.

Pt/En In the morning, the dog left without the mother seeing him. All four children were sad and crying at the garden gate. The dog remembered their kindness and hospitality. He did not want to leave them. However, the children's mother said that stray dogs have diseases, which made the dog angry. The children secretly gave him oatmeal and gravy for breakfast. Feeling brave, the dog walked on the road, wondering what would happen next.

GIPSY LIFE

Pt/En After walking about three miles, the dog met a Gipsy caravan on the road. A dog was looking for rats near the caravan. The dog went up to him and offered to help hunt rats. The Gipsy dog was quiet, but the other dog liked him. They hunted rats together and had a good chase.

Pt/En The narrator spoke to a Gipsy dog and asked about travelling with caravans. He was thinking about joining the Gipsies because they seemed like people who lived on the road, similar to him. The dog explained that life with the Gipsies was very free for dogs, and they were not bothered much.

Pt/En The dog mentioned that food was not always regular, but explained that Gipsy life was generally unplanned. He thought the narrator might enjoy travelling and seeing new places. The dog felt this was better than being a pet dog on a leash. He invited the narrator to join them, saying the Gipsies would probably not even notice him for a few days.

Pt/En The narrator agreed to join the Gipsies and generally had a good time. He confirmed that the food situation was difficult, with many days having no food at all. However, the Gipsy dog, whose name was Mudge, was very skilled at finding food even in hard situations. The narrator suspected Mudge was a very good thief and often did not know where Mudge found supplies.

Pt/En When they were hungry and about to go to bed without food, Mudge told the narrator not to worry. Mudge said he thought he could find some food and asked the narrator to wait for him.

Pt/En The narrator asked Mudge if he could go along to find the food.

Pt/En He said he thought it was better not to hunt together, as hunting alone was sometimes easier.

Pt/En He would leave and return in about thirty minutes with unusual food. Sometimes he brought a hot steak-and-kidney pudding, and other times a roast chicken with sausages.

Pt/En Another time he brought a roast chicken.

Pt/En It was obvious that Mudge had taken someone else's dinner. The narrator was too hungry to think about where the food came from, but suspected that some people were very angry with Mudge. He was surprised that Mudge was never caught.

Pt/En Life was mostly enjoyable. They visited fairs and saw towns during celebrations. The narrator met Toby, a dog who was a Punch-and-Judy performer. He liked the travelling life because they were often in the countryside, which was fun for a dog. There were always rats to chase, hares to hunt, and birds to catch.

Pt/En The narrator explained that a part of his life lasted about three months and ended suddenly. They were visiting a large town's fair. Their show had a fortune-telling booth where an old Gipsy woman, the mother of their boss, read fortunes with cards. Some rich people stopped to have their fortunes told, while the narrator and Mudge waited outside the tent.

Pt/En Mudge whispered to the narrator that they should leave because he did not like the look of the people. He mentioned that he had lost a friend in a similar situation before.

Pt/En The narrator asked Mudge what he meant by that.

Pt/En Mudge explained that their boss, Joe, only noticed stray dogs when other people did, and then he would try to sell them. Mudge said his own friend was a whippet that Joe sold to a visitor. Mudge believed he himself would not be sold because he wasn't good-looking, but he thought the narrator looked smart and could attract attention, especially from women. Mudge advised the narrator to leave until the crowd was gone.

Pt/En Mudge started to leave, but the narrator called him back. The narrator was interested in fortune-telling and wanted the old woman to read his palm. He had looked at the lines on his paw-pads and thought they looked unusual. He was curious about his future and felt he was destined for a great career.

Pt/En The speaker was observing the lines on their paw-pads.

Pt/En The speaker told Mudge to wait and asked him why he was worried. They also questioned how Joe could sell them if they did not belong to him.

Pt/En Mudge told the speaker not to worry, explaining that Joe would sell anything if he could. Mudge advised the speaker to leave quickly.

Pt/En Mudge's advice was good, but it was too late. As the speaker turned to leave, one woman was pointing at them and talking to Joe, who seemed very interested. The speaker did not see Mudge again for about half an hour. They moved to another part of the fairgrounds and waited until visitors had left the fortune-telling booth.

Pt/En While the speaker was watching a strong man lift weights, the Gipsy dog came up from behind and whispered to them.

Pt/En Mudge told Quetch that he had to leave quickly because a woman liked him very much and wanted to buy him. Mudge also said that Joe was looking for Quetch everywhere.

Pt/En Quetch asked why he could not just hide until the woman had gone away.

Pt/En Mudge explained that it was useless to hide because Joe was determined to sell Quetch. Joe knew that Quetch was the type of dog ladies liked. Mudge added that if Joe missed the chance to sell Quetch now, he would probably keep him on a chain to make sure he could sell him later.

Pt/En Quetch was surprised and asked Mudge if Joe would really do that. He then asked Mudge why he stayed with such a man and invited Mudge to leave with him.

Pt/En Mudge smiled and shook his head.

Pt/En Mudge shook his head.

Pt/En He told Quetch that Joe was fine with him. He explained that Joe might not be a gentleman, but he was good to him. Joe saw him as part of the Romany people, who stick together. He thought Joe would not sell him, even for money, because Joe was strange but always fair. He decided to stay with the Romany people and their caravan, saying he would miss Quetch but wished him good luck. He advised Quetch to leave quickly, warning that Joe would sell him if he caught him.

Pt/En The narrator felt very sad because he had become fond of Mudge, who was a Gipsy dog that did not talk much. He left the fair and started walking alone on the Road of Fortune.

Pt/En The narrator felt that the world was disappointing. He thought that whenever he found a good way of life, something or someone would always stop him from enjoying it.

Pt/En He still wanted to see more of the world. His experiences so far had not given him the independent life he was looking for. He regretted not having his fortune told. He looked at his paw again and was sure it was a good one. It was a nice, sunny day, so he stopped feeling sad. He walked forward, excited to see what new things the road would bring.

THE ACROBAT

Pt/En The narrator had a very difficult day finding food and was extremely hungry by the evening. He looked in back yards for leftovers but only found trouble, getting into fights with other dogs who did not want him there.

Pt/En Feeling very hungry and bored, the narrator walked through the streets. He saw a man performing acrobatics, standing on his hands and doing flips. The man was alone, and people were putting money into a hat he had placed on the ground.

Pt/En The narrator saw a man doing acrobatic tricks.

Pt/En The narrator thought about how the acrobat made money from his performance. He remembered seeing dog acts in circuses and knew he could do similar tricks, like standing on his paws or doing somersaults. He decided he could perform on the street too, but he needed a hat for people to put money into, hoping they would give him food instead.

Pt/En The narrator searched for a hat, first in garbage piles, but found none. He then went to a hat shop where the owner was busy. Seeing many hats, the narrator tried to take one quickly, but the shopkeeper threw his book at him and chased him away.

Pt/En The narrator continued walking along the street.

Pt/En The narrator told themselves not to worry and that they would find a hat later.

Pt/En As the narrator turned onto another street, they saw an old gentleman. He was wearing a tall, elegant hat that the narrator wanted for their performance.

Pt/En The narrator thought that if they could make the old gentleman trip, his hat would fall off. Then, the narrator could take the hat to another part of town and start their show.

Pt/En The narrator quickly ran between the old man's feet. The man fell down, and his hat rolled into the gutter. The narrator grabbed the hat and ran away down the street, disappearing around the corner before the man could get up.

Pt/En The character ran a long way to a different part of the town. He felt safe from being followed there. He arrived at a busy street corner.

Pt/En He thought that his next step was to gather a crowd of people.

Pt/En He placed his hat on the side of the road, got inside it, and barked loudly. Soon, people walking by stopped to see what was happening. He continued to make noise and wished he had a drum. Then, he got out of the hat, bowed to the people, and began his performance. He asked for money, stood on his back legs, and did somersaults. He felt his show was as good as, or even better than, the acrobat's show.

Pt/En He entered the hat and began to bark.

Pt/En The audience was confused by what they saw. They stared with surprise. Then they started asking each other who the dog belonged to and who he was with.

Pt/En People found it hard to believe that the dog was performing by himself. They thought his owner was hiding and training him. The audience threw pennies into a hat, but the dog could not eat money.

Pt/En Eventually, the crowd understood the dog was performing alone. Some kind ladies used their money to buy meat for him from a nearby shop. He ate the meat with great pleasure, and they brought him more. As more people arrived, the dog ate so much that he could not do any more tricks.

Pt/En The dog's performance earned him a good meal, but it also put his freedom in danger. Many people in the audience wanted to adopt him, thinking he needed a home. They did not understand that a dog could be happy being his own boss.

Pt/En One older woman thought the dog was very clever and looked hungry. She suggested taking him home if he did not belong to anyone, saying he deserved a good home.

Pt/En The dog decided to end his act quickly, but it was difficult to leave. So many people had gathered that they blocked the street. Some people began arguing about who would adopt him. The dog felt no happiness from this attention and looked for a way to escape.

Pt/En The old man saw his hat on the street, filled with meat and liver. He was very angry and pushed through the crowd to get it. While he was taking the food out, the narrator quickly left. The man's loud complaints about his stolen hat made people look at him. The narrator used this chance to get into the middle of the street.

Pt/En The man took the meat out of his hat.

Pt/En The people soon noticed that the narrator was gone.

Pt/En Someone shouted for people to stop the narrator because he was getting away.

Pt/En As the narrator ran around a corner, he realized that the whole town was chasing him.

Pt/En The speaker explained that he had eaten a lot of rich food, like sausages, veal kidneys, and pork chops. Because of this, running was very difficult for him. However, he understood that he had to run as fast as he could to keep his freedom.

Pt/En Fortunately, it was dark. As soon as the speaker left the main roads, moving away from the shops and into quiet, dimly lit side streets, he was able to escape from the people following him.

Pt/En About ten minutes later, when the speaker had slowed down on the open road outside the town, he thought to himself.

Pt/En He decided that he had managed to earn his living that night. However, he also thought that next time he would try a different method.

THE MONASTERY

Pt/En Quetch's story had been going on for several hours, but the audience remained very interested. The writer, who was taking notes for a book about dogs, felt his fingers were stiff but was too absorbed in the terrier's history to notice the time. The Doctor also did not check his watch. They might have continued listening all night, but Dab-Dab suddenly arrived to tell them it was very late and time for the Doctor to go to bed.

Pt/En Dab-Dab suddenly appeared.

Pt/En The rest of the story about the dog was postponed until the next night.

Pt/En When the next evening arrived, the crowd was very eager to listen, showing that the delay had made them more interested in hearing the rest of the story.

Pt/En Quetch explained that the next part of his story was unusual. The weather was getting colder because it was late in the year. He found a haystack to sleep in, but a strong, cold wind blew into his shelter. He decided he needed to find a different place to sleep and continued down the road.

Pt/En As he walked further, he heard a bell and saw a large stone building with a chapel. He realized it was a monastery, a place where monks lived. He saw men in robes going into the chapel for vespers, which he knew was their evening prayer service.

Pt/En The dog explained that he was not a religious dog, but he had friends from many different religions. He saw a chapel that looked warm and inviting. Since the doors were closing soon, he joined the people and went inside for the evening service.

Pt/En Some monks did not agree with him entering the chapel. They thought he was not a Roman Catholic dog and should not be there. He found a comfortable seat, but a brother quickly took him to the door and put him outside.

Pt/En The dog was surprised because he thought monasteries were usually welcoming. He felt it was unfair to be thrown out into the cold. As he wondered what to do, the organ began to play and the monks started singing. The dog believed he could sing better. He stood by the chapel door and joined their singing, following the tune.

Pt/En The dog joined the singing with the monks.

Pt/En To his surprise, the dog's singing seemed to make the organ stop. Then, he heard people whispering behind the closed chapel door.

Pt/En One monk thought a noise was the Devil trying to stop their prayers. He told Brother Francis not to open the door.

Pt/En The Abbot, who was the head of the monks, came to the door to see what was happening. He was a good man who believed in dealing with problems. He ordered the door to be opened immediately and smiled when he saw me sitting outside.

Pt/En The Abbot invited me inside to find shelter from the wind and cold.

Pt/En I went inside quickly and sat down. Some monks looked surprised and upset, but since their Abbot had let me in, they could not object. They continued their service.

Pt/En After the service, the monks left solemnly. I walked with the Abbot, realizing he was a good person to be with. We walked through a stone passage and entered another door, which led to the dining room. I was happy to find it, as the cold wind had made me very hungry and the smell of good cooking greeted me.

Pt/En The narrator lived like a monk for several months and found it to be a good experience. He said the monks were friendly people. Once he joined their group, he had a lot of freedom to go where he wanted and do what he liked. He felt it was a very pleasant and free part of his life. The old Abbot was a cheerful and funny man who seemed to use his friendship with the narrator to relax. They often had fun running together in the meadows, chasing animals like otters or hares where they could not be seen.

Pt/En The narrator and the Abbot often had fun running together.

Pt/En Life in the monastery was quiet, with days filled with prayers, gardening, and farm work. However, the narrator found enjoyment in his duties. He kept the monastery and farm buildings free from rats in exchange for food and lodging. The Abbot, who was a geologist, collected stones and rocks, and the narrator helped him find them.

Pt/En The narrator had a peaceful life as a monk dog. However, he wanted to see more of the world. This desire led him to say goodbye to the monastery and the friendly Abbot, and he began travelling again.

THE SHEPHERD IN DISTRESS

Pt/En Winter had arrived, making it difficult to be without a home. For about two weeks, the narrator experienced extreme cold and hunger due to icy winds. He understood why dogs depend on humans and considered finding any master, even a strict one, just to get enough food and a warm place to sleep in return for his service.

Pt/En The narrator felt very sad and hungry. He was walking along the road when he saw a shepherd who was having trouble controlling his sheep. The shepherd had a dog, but the dog was not good at its job.

Pt/En The narrator was weak from hunger but saw a chance to help. The shepherd was very worried. A strong wind was blowing, and it was getting dark. The sheep were running in different directions because of the wind. The shepherd's dog was not helpful. The narrator knew how to herd sheep because he had helped his father on a farm.

Pt/En Soon, the shepherd saw that his dog was not helping and called it away. This was the narrator's chance. The narrator quickly moved the sheep and guided them through a gate into a safe enclosure. The shepherd was very happy and thankful. If the sheep had been lost in the storm, the shepherd would have faced serious problems.

Pt/En This event started two long friendships, one with the shepherd and one with his dog. The narrator went home with them and received a good meal and a warm place to sleep. While they ate, the shepherd told his wife how the narrator had appeared and saved the sheep when they seemed sure to be lost.

Pt/En The shepherd told his wife that the narrator had saved the day.

Pt/En The dog found it strange that the shepherd, who was not an educated man, did not try to control him or treat him like property. The dog believed the shepherd respected him because he was an expert at his job. He felt he was working as an independent specialist for the first time and could choose whether to stay or leave.

Pt/En Even though the shepherd was poor, he gave the dog excellent meals, as good as his own. The dog then spent several weeks training the shepherd's collie, teaching him how to herd sheep in different weather conditions.

Pt/En Herding sheep is not as simple as it looks. Sheep behave differently depending on the weather, such as if it is fine, rough, hot, or raining. A good sheep dog needs to understand these differences and react appropriately.

Pt/En The dog gave the shepherd's dog, named Raggles, a complete training program. The dog enjoyed teaching. After two weeks, Raggles became a skilled sheep dog, capable of managing a flock even during difficult conditions like a sudden snowstorm at dusk, which is one of the hardest tasks for a sheep dog.

CITY LIFE

Pt/En The dog's desire to explore the world led him to leave the sheep farm, just as he had left his previous life. He said goodbye to the shepherd and his dog and set out again. Feeling a bit lonely on the farm, he decided to try living in a city. He traveled to a large town, thinking it would be easy for a dog to live there like a person. However, he soon discovered this was not true.

Original English Text

1 - THE DOG MUSEUM

2 - QUETCH

3 - THE DICK WHITTINGTON DOG

4 - THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALITY

5 - GIPSY LIFE

6 - THE ACROBAT

7 - THE MONASTERY

8 - THE SHEPHERD IN DISTRESS

9 - CITY LIFE

THE DOG MUSEUM

PT I SUPPOSE THERE is no part of my life with the Doctor that I, Thomas Stubbins, look back on with more pleasure than that period when I was Assistant Manager of the Zoo.

PT We had come, as I have told you elsewhere, to call that part of the Doctor's garden "Animal Town." One of my greatest difficulties was in keeping down the membership in the various clubs and institutions. Because of course a limit had to be put on them. The hardest one to keep in check was the Home for Crossbred Dogs. Jip was always trying to sneak in some waif or stray after dark; and I had to be quite stern and hard-hearted if I did not want the mongrels' club disorganized by over-crowding.

PT But while the Doctor and I were agreed that we must keep a fixed limit on all memberships, we encouraged development, expansion and new ideas of every kind on the part of the animals themselves that would help to make Animal Town a more interesting and more comfortable place to live in. Many of these were extremely interesting. Among them was the Dog Museum.

PT For many years the Doctor had had a museum of his own. This was a large room next to the study where bones, mineral specimens and other natural-history things were kept. There is an old saying: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. A natural interest in bones often led the dogs to contemplate this display and finally to start a museum of their own.

PT This was helped to some extent by a peculiar dog who had some months before become a member of the club. The peculiarity of his character was that he had an inborn passion for collecting. Prune-stones, umbrella-handles, door-knobs — there was no end to the variety of his collections. He always maintained that his prune-stone collection was the largest and finest in the country.

PT This dog's name was Quetch. He was a great friend of Toby, who had first introduced him and put him up for membership at the club. He was a good second to Toby in upholding the rights of the small dogs at the club-house and seeing that they didn't get bullied out of any of their privileges. In fact Blackie and Grab always said that the small dogs, with Toby and Quetch to champion them, bossed the club a good deal more than they had any business to. Well, Quetch it was (he was a cross between a West Highland terrier and an Aberdeen) who first suggested the idea that the Mongrels' Club should have a museum of its own. With his passion for collecting, he was probably counting on getting the job of museum curator for himself-which he eventually did. The House Committee met in solemn council to discuss the pros and cons and ways and means. The idea was finally adopted by a large majority vote and a section of the gymnasium was screened off to form the first headquarters of the museum.

PT Quetch (he was always called "Professor" by the other members of the club) — Professor Quetch, besides being a keen scientist, had a genius for organization almost as good as the white mouse's. And even he could not find fault with the general enthusiasm with which the Dog Museum was supported, and contributed to, by the members of the club. There was hardly a dog in the Home who didn't turn to collecting and bringing in material. And Quetch the curator had his paws more than full receiving and arranging the continuous flow of specimens of every kind that poured in.

PT The Museum was not confined to natural history. It was also an archæological or historical museum. The bones department was perhaps the largest. Personally, I don't think that any student of comparative anatomy would have found it scientifically very helpful. For the bones were mostly beef, mutton and ham bones.

PT But not all. There were fish bones. In fact there was one whole fish, which Professor Quetch proudly ordered me to label, " The Oldest Fish in the World " I could well believe it was. Blackie the retriever had dug it up — from the place where some one had carefully buried it a long time ago. Its odour was so far-reaching that the members of the Badgers' Tavern (which was at least a hundred yards away from the Home for Crossbred Dogs) sent in a request that something be done about it. They said that while they were not usually over-sensitive to smells, this one kept them awake at night. Professor Quetch was very much annoyed and sent a message back to the badgers that they were a lot of low-brow, meddlesome busybodies who didn't appreciate science. But some of the Doctor's neighbours across the street also complained; and the "oldest fish in the world" had to go — back to the garbage heap.

PT "Professor Quetch"

PT The archæological side of the Dog Museum was even more varied and extensive than the natural history departments. Here could be found Quetch's own priceless collection of prune-stones, umbrella handles and door-knobs. But these formed only a small part of the whole. The habit of digging — generally for rats — natural to all dogs, now led to the unearthing of treasures of every variety. Saucepan-lids, bent spoons, top hats, horse-shoes, tin cans, pieces of iron pipe, broken tea-pots, there was hardly anything in the way of hardware and domestic furnishings that wasn't represented. A sock which had been worn full of holes by the great Doctor himself was one of the most sacred and important exhibits.

PT For the first few days there was a general frenzy of digging. Jip and Kling had heard the Doctor say that the Romans had once had a military camp on the site now occupied by the town of Puddleby. They were determined that they'd find Roman jewelry if they only dug patiently enough. Among other places they tried was Colonel Bellowes' tulip bed. They had just dug up a bulb when they were seen by the Colonel and chased. But they got away — and home with the bulb. And that was how the Botanical Department of the museum began. The bulb in question had a label set under it reading:

PT " This Orchid was donated by the famous naturalist and explorer, Jip. The intrepid collector was disturbed at his work and chased for miles by savage natives. He eluded his pursuers however and succeeded in bringing back this priceless specimen to the Dog Museum."

PT "They were seen by the Colonel and chased"

QUETCH

PT THE D OG M USEUM continued for much longer than I had thought it would. My private opinion had been that the dogs were only captivated by the novelty of the idea and would drop it altogether when its newness had worn off. Some weeks after its beginning the collections had grown so fast that they filled the whole gymnasium. During the semi-final bout of a wrestling contest a Great Dane threw Blackie the retriever through the dividing screen and landed him in the middle of the Botanical Department. It was clear that the gymnasium was getting crowded out by the museum.

PT "The semi-final bout of a wrestling contest"

PT So a second meeting of the House Committee was called. And it was decided that since athletics were equally important as science, most of the junk should be thrown out, and only those things kept that were really genuine and of special application to dogs and Dog History.

PT Jip's famous golden collar (which he only wore on holidays and occasions of importance) was made one of the star exhibits. There were also a few bones which Professor Quetch insisted had been chewed by the great dogs of history. There was, also, a small keg which he said had been carried round the necks of the St. Bernard dogs who went to the aid of lost travellers in the snow-swept passes of the Alps. How he knew the record of these relics no one could tell. On the other hand, no one could deny it when he put up a label under a veal bone saying that this object had been the earliest plaything of the Empress Josephine's pet poodle.

PT At all events, the enormous array of hardware and rubbish which had formed the first displays gave place to one or two glass cases where a small collection of objects of great virtue was set forth. And for many years these remained a permanent part of the institution, and all visitors, whether dogs or people, were shown them. Professor Quetch never allowed visitors into the museum, however, without personally conducting them, to see that they didn't lean on the cases — if they were people — or, if they were dogs, that they didn't take away the historic bones.

PT The third story in the "Tales of the Home for Crossbred Dogs" was Jip's own tale of how he had posed for the great George Morland and helped the Lame Man's Dog earn money for his crippled master. For the fourth story Professor Quetch himself was called upon. Both Toby and Kling had often told me that they knew that he had led rather an interesting life, and I could well believe it, for he was certainly a dog of individuality and character. He was not easy to persuade however. In spite of his being, like Toby, a self-important, plucky, little animal, he wasn't boastful or given to talking about himself. He had always, when asked to tell the story of his life, made the excuse that he was too busy with his duties as curator of the museum.

PT However, now that the museum had been considerably reduced in size, he did not have to give so much attention to it. And one day Jip came to me highly delighted with the news that Quetch had promised to-morrow night to give us an account of his life which was to be entitled "The Story of the Dog Who Set Out to Seek His Fortune."

PT Feeling it would probably be a good yarn well told, I asked the Doctor if he would come and listen. In former times he had frequently attended the dogs' after-supper story-tellings. But of late he had seldom had the time to spare. However, he said he would make this a special occasion and be there without fail.

PT When the following night came the Dogs' Dining Room was jammed. For not only was every single member present, eagerly waiting to hear the yarn, but it turned out that this was Guest Night, the second Friday in the month, when members were allowed to bring friends to dinner as guests of the Club.

PT "I was born," Professor Quetch began, "of poor but honest parents. My father was a hard-working Aberdeen terrier and my mother was a West Highland of excellent pedigree. Our owners were small farmers in Scotland. My father helped regularly with the sheep. In spite of his size, he was a mighty good sheep dog and could round up a flock or cut out a single ewe from the herd with great skill. When we children were puppies we got fed well enough, because we were easy to feed, not requiring much more than milk. But as soon as we began to grow up into regular dogs it was another story. We saw then that the farmer that owned us had hardly enough food most of the time to feed his own family and the hands who worked for him, let alone a large litter of hungry terriers.

PT "He was a mighty good sheep dog"

PT "We lived in a stable behind the farm-house where we had an old disused horse-stall to ourselves. It was well lined with dry straw, snug and warm. One night I happened to lie awake late and I overheard my mother and father talking. Their names were Jock and Jenny.

PT "'You know, Jock,' said my mother, 'very soon that farmer is going to get rid of these puppies of ours. I heard him talking about it only the other day.'

PT "'Well,' said my father, 'I suppose that was to be expected. They'll keep one or two, I imagine. I hope they leave Quetch here. He seems a bright youngster and is already quite a help to me with those silly sheep. For the rest, I think they're rather stupid.'

PT "'Stupid indeed!' snapped my mother with great indignation. 'They're every bit as clever as their father, that's certain.'

PT "'All right, have it your own way, Jenny,' said my father, snuggling his nose down into the straw to go to sleep — he never cared for arguments anyway— 'have it your own way. But you can hardly expect McPherson to keep the whole litter when he can barely support his own family.'

PT "With that my father fell asleep and I fell to thinking. First of all, it seemed to me very wrong that dogs should be disposed of in this haphazard, hit-and-miss fashion. If we were given away, to whom would we be given? Had dogs no rights at all? My father was a worker on the farm, doing his daily job as faithfully and as well as any of the clodhoppers who drove the plough or cut the corn. And here he was calmly talking about his own children being given away as though they were apples or turnips! It made me quite angry. I lay awake far into the night wondering why dogs were not allowed to lead their own lives and shape their own careers. It was an outrage. I got myself quite worked up over it. And before I fell asleep I made up my mind that no one was going to give me away as though I were no more than an old pair of shoes. I was an individual, the same as the farmer himself. And I was going to make the world acknowledge that fact or know the reason why."

THE DICK WHITTINGTON DOG

PT " P ERHAPS THE ONLY notable thing about this yarn of mine is that it is the story of a dog trying to lead his own life. I know of course that there are many of you present who have struggled to do the same. That was one reason why I wasn't keen to tell a story: I didn't feel that my life had anything particularly thrilling about it. But at all events what small adventures I ran into may have been different from your own, and the way I attacked the problem of winning liberty and independence for myself may interest you.

PT "A few days after I had overheard my parents' conversation I began to see that my mother's fears were right. Almost every day McPherson the farmer would bring friends of his in to see us, hoping they'd be willing to adopt one or other of us. As luck would have it, I was selected the very first. A stupid fat man — I think he was a farmer too — chose me out of the whole litter. I wouldn't have chosen him from among a million. He had no wits at all and no — er — refinement, none whatever. He turned me over and prodded me and examined me as though I were a pig for the fatting market instead of a dog. I determined right away that whatever happened I wouldn't become his property. Luckily he couldn't take me immediately and he asked McPherson to keep me for him a couple of days, at the end of which he would come and fetch me.

PT "I had heard of boys setting out to seek their fortunes. Never of a dog. And yet why not? The more I thought of the idea, the more it appealed to me. I had to go somewhere if I didn't want to be taken away by that stupid man. I had seen nothing of the world so far. Very well then: I would set out to seek my fortune — yes, to-morrow!

PT "The next morning I was up before any of the farm was stirring. I had collected several old bones, and with these as all my earthly possessions tied up in a red handkerchief, I set out to carve a career for myself. I remember the morning so well. It was late in the Fall and the daylight would not appear for an hour yet. But an old rooster was already crowing in a hoarse voice through the misty chill air as I gained the road and looked back at the farm buildings huddled in the gloom of the hollow. With a light heart I waved my tail at him and trotted off down the road.

PT "I set out to carve a career for myself"

PT "Dear me, how inexperienced I was! I realize that now. Literally I knew nothing — not even the geography of the immediate neighbourhood around the farm. I didn't know where the road I was travelling along led to. But at that time such a thing only added to the thrill of the adventure. I would stick to this road, I told myself, and see what fortune it brought me to.

PT "After I had jogged along for about an hour I began to feel very much like breakfast. I therefore retired off the road into a hedge and opened my bundle of bones. I selected a ham bone which had not been quite so thoroughly chewed as the rest and set to work on it. My teeth were young and good and I soon managed to gnaw off the half of it.

PT "After that I felt much better, though still somewhat hungry. I re-packed my baggage, but just as I was about to set off I thought I heard a noise the other side of the hedge. Very quietly I crept through, thinking I might surprise a rabbit and get a better breakfast. But I found it was only an old tramp waking up in the meadow where, I suppose, he had spent the night. I had a fellow feeling for him. He was homeless too, and, like me, a gentleman of the road. Within the thicket I lay and watched him a moment. There was a herd of cows in the field. Presently the tramp went and began milking one of them into a tin which he carried. When he had the tin filled he brought it back to the corner of the field where he had slept and set it down. Then he went away — I suppose to get something else. But while he was gone I crept out of the hedge and drank up all the milk.

PT "It was only an old tramp waking up"

PT "Considerably refreshed, I set off along the road. But I hadn't gone more than a few hundred yards when I thought I'd go back and make the tramp's acquaintance. Maybe I felt sort of guilty about the milk. But anyway a fellow feeling for this adventurer whom I had robbed made me turn back.

PT "When I regained the corner of the meadow I saw him in the distance milking the cow again. I waited till he returned. Then I came out and showed myself.

PT "'Ah, young feller me lad!' says he. 'So it was you who pinched my milk. Well, no matter. I got some more now. Come here. What's your name?'

PT "Well, he seemed a decent sort of man and I kind of palled on to him. I was glad of his company. On both sides it seemed to be taken for granted that we would travel together along the road. He was much better at foraging food than I was — in some ways; and I was better than he was in others. At the farmhouses he used to beg meals which he always shared with me. And I caught rabbits and pheasants for him which he cooked over a fire by the roadside. Together we managed very well.

PT "We went through several towns on our way and saw many interesting things. He allowed me complete liberty. That I will always remember to his credit. Often at nights we nearly froze. But he was a good hand at finding sleeping-places, burrowing into the sides of haystacks, opening up old barns and such like. And he always spread part of his coat over me when he lay down to sleep."

THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALITY

PT " B UT THE DAY soon came when my new friend played me false. He wanted money. I fancy it was to get coach-fare to go to some other part of the country. I don't know. Anyway one afternoon he knocked at a farm-house door. I thought that as usual he was going to ask for food. Imagine my horror when he said to the woman who answered the door, 'Do you want to buy a dog, Ma'am?'

PT "I just ran. I left him standing at the door there and never looked back. It was such a shock to my faith in human nature that for the present I did nothing but feel blue. Puzzled, I went on down the road, still seeking my fortune, alone. It was only later that I began to feel angry and indignant. The cheek of the man, trying to sell me when he hadn't even bought me! — Me, the free companion of the road who had been in partnership with him! Why, I had caught dozens of rabbits and pheasants for that ungrateful tramp. And that was how he repaid me!

PT "After jogging miserably along for a few miles I came upon some children playing with a ball. They seemed nice youngsters. I was always fond of ball games and I just joined in this one, chased the ball whenever it rolled away and got it for them. I could see they were delighted to have me and for quite a while we had a very good time together.

PT "Then the children found it was time to go home to supper. I had no idea where my own supper was coming from so I decided I'd go along with them. Maybe they would let me join them at their meal too, I thought. They appeared more pleased than ever when I started to follow them. But when they met their mother at the gate and told her that I had played with them and followed them home she promptly chased me off with a broom. Stray dogs, she said, always had diseases. Goodness only knows where she got that from! Stray dogs too, if you please. To her every animal who wasn't tagged on to some stupid human must be a stray, something to be pitied, something disgraceful. Well anyway, to go on: that night it did seem to me as though mankind were divided into two classes: those that enslaved dogs when they wanted to be free; and those that chased them away when they wanted to be friendly.

PT "She promptly chased me off with a broom"

PT "One of the children, a little girl, began to cry when her mother drove me off, saying she was sure I was hungry. — Which I was. She had more sense than her mother, had that child. However I thought I'd use a little strategy. So I just pretended to go off; but I didn't go far. When the lights were lit in the dining-room I waited till I saw the mother's shadow on a blind in another part of the house. I knew then that the children would be alone at their supper. I slipped up to the window, hopped on to the sill and tapped gently on the pane with my paw. At first the children were a bit scared, I imagine. But presently one of them came over, raised the corner of the blind and saw me squatting on the sill outside.

PT "Well, to make a long story short, the youngsters not only took me in, but they stowed me away in a closet so their mother wouldn't see me and gave me a fine square meal into the bargain. And after they were supposed to be fast asleep one of them crept downstairs and took me up to their nursery where I slept under a bed on a grand soft pillow which they spread for me. That was what I call hospitality. Never was a tramp dog treated better.

PT "One of them crept downstairs"

PT "In the morning I managed to slip out unseen by Mama and once more I hit the trail. Not only was one child crying this time, but the whole four of them were sniffling at the garden gate as I said goodbye. I often look back on those children's hospitality as one of the happiest episodes in my entire career. They certainly knew how to treat dogs — and such people, as we all know, are scarce. I hated to leave them. And I don't believe I would have done if it hadn't been for their mama and her insulting remark about all stray dogs having diseases. That was too much. So, with a good plate of oatmeal porridge and gravy inside me — which the children had secretly given me for breakfast — I faced the future with a stout heart and wondered as I trotted along the highway what Fortune would bring forward next,"

GIPSY LIFE

PT " A BOUT THREE MILES further on I overtook a Gipsy caravan creeping along the road through the morning mist. At the rear of the procession a dog was scouting around in the ditches for rats. I had never met a Gipsy dog, so, rather curious, I went up to him and offered to help him hunt for rats. He seemed a sort of a grouchy silent fellow but I liked him for all that. He made no objection to my joining him and together we gave several rats a good run for their money.

PT "Little by little I drew the Gipsy dog out and questioned him as to what sort of a life it was to travel with the caravans. These people too were folk of the road like me, and I had serious thoughts of throwing in my lot with them for a while. From what he told me I gathered that a dog led quite a free life with the Gipsies and was interfered with very little.

PT "'The grub is kind of irregular,' said my friend, who had got over his grouchiness somewhat and seemed inclined to take to me. 'But then the whole of the Gipsy business is irregular, one might say. If you can stand that you'll probably rather like the life. It's interesting, travelling around all the time. We do see the world, after all. If we have hardships, at least it's better than being treated like a lap dog, trotted out on a leash and living on the same street all the time. Why don't you try it for a while? Just tag along with me. No one will mind. Likely as not the Gipsies themselves will never even notice that you've joined the caravan — at least not for a few days anyhow.'

PT "I did not need very much persuasion and it turned out eventually that I did join the Gipsies and on the whole had quite a good time with them. My friend had certainly been right about the food. To say it was irregular was putting it mildly. There were many days and nights when there simply wasn't any. But the Gipsy dog, through long experience in this kind of life, knew all sorts of dodges for getting provender under difficult conditions. I strongly suspect that my friend was one of the cleverest larder burglars that ever lived. Often I didn't even know where he got the supplies from and no amount of questioning would make him tell. Many a night when we were both starving, around supper time, with the prospect of going to bed hungry beneath the caravans, Mudge would say to me — that was his name, Mudge —

PT "'Oh, golly! I'm not going to bed hungry. Listen, Quetch: I think I know where I may be able to raise some fodder. You wait here for me.'

PT "'Shall I come too?' I'd say.

PT "'Er — no. Better not, I think,' he'd mutter. 'Hunting is sometimes easier single-handed.'

PT "Then off he would go. And in half an hour he'd be back again with the most extraordinary things. One night he would bring a steak-and-kidney pudding, tied up in the muslin it was boiled in — complete, mind you, and steaming hot. Another time it would be a roast chicken, stuffed with sage and onions, with sausages skewered to its sides.

PT "Another time it would be a roast chicken"

PT "Of course it didn't take much detective work to tell, on occasions of this kind, that Mudge had just bagged some one else's dinner. I'm afraid I was usually far too hungry to waste time moralizing over where the things came from. Still, I strongly suspect that some good housewives called down many curses on Mudge's head during the course of his career. But the marvellous thing to me was how he did it without ever being caught.

PT "Yet the life was certainly pleasant for the most part. We visited all the fairs and saw the towns in holiday mood. It was in these days that I met Toby, who was, as you know, then a Punch-and-Judy dog. Yes, I liked the Gipsy life — chiefly because we were nearly always in the country, where a dog's life has most fun in it. Along the lanes there were always rats to dig for; across the meadows there were always hares to chase; and in the roadside woods and copses there were always pheasants and partridges to catch.

PT "That chapter of my life lasted about three months and it ended, as did the one before it, suddenly. We had been visiting a fair in a town of considerable size. Part of our own show was a fortune-telling booth. Here an old Gipsy woman, the mother of our boss, used to tell people's fortunes with cards. A party of quite well-to-do folk stopped at the booth one day to have their fortunes told. Mudge and I were hanging around outside the tent.

PT "'Let's get away from here,' he whispered to me. 'I don't like the looks of this mob. I lost a friend like that once before.'

PT "'Like what?' I asked.

PT "'Oh, Joe,' said Mudge. — Joe was the name of our boss.— 'Joe never notices any stray dogs who join the caravan till somebody else notices them. Then he tries to sell them.... This friend of mine was a whippet. One of the visitors to the booth took a fancy to him and Joe just sold him then and there. I'd never get sold because I'm not nifty-looking. But you, you're smart enough to catch anyone's eye — specially the women. Take my advice; fade away till this mob's gone.'

PT "Mudge was already moving off, but I called him back. I was interested in this fortune-telling business. I hoped to get my own fortune told by the old woman. She read people's palms. I had been looking at the lines in my paw-pads and they seemed to me quite unusual. The future interested me. I was keen to know what sort of a career I had before me. I felt it ought to be a great one.

PT "I had been looking at the lines in my paw-pads"

PT "'Just a minute, Mudge,' I said. 'Why get worried? How can Joe sell me when I don't belong to him?'

PT "'Don't you worry about that,' said Mudge. 'Joe would sell anything, the Houses of Parliament or the coat off the Prime Minister's back — if he could. A word to the wise. Fade away.'

PT "Mudge's advice was sound, but for me it came a bit late. I noticed as I turned to follow him that one of the women was already pointing at me and that Joe, to whom she was talking, was very interested in the interest she was showing. For about half an hour after that I saw nothing more of Mudge. I had moved round to another part of the fair grounds till the visitors should have departed from the fortune-telling booth.

PT "While I was looking at a strong man lifting weights the Gipsy dog suddenly came up to me from behind and whispered:

PT "'It's all up, Quetch. You'll have to clear out. That woman liked you so much that she said she'd buy you when Joe offered you to her. He is hunting for you everywhere now.'

PT "'But why,' I asked, 'can't I just keep out of the way till the woman has gone?'

PT "'It is no use,' said Mudge. 'Joe won't rest till he has sold you, now that he knows you're the kind of dog the ladies take a fancy to. What's more, if he misses this sale he will likely keep you on a chain right along, so as to make sure of you next time some one wants to buy you.'

PT "'Good gracious, Mudge!' I cried. 'Would he really do that? But tell me: Why do you yourself live with such a man? Come with me and we will go off together.'

PT "Mudge grinned and shook his head.

PT "Mudge shook his head"

PT "'Joe is all right to me,' he said. 'He may not be what you'd call exactly a gentleman. But he's all right to me. You're a stranger, you see. He looks on me as one of the tribe, the Romany folk, you understand. Their hand is against every man, but not against one another. Even if I were good enough looking to bring him a ten-pound note I doubt if Joe would sell me. He is a queer one, is Joe. But he's always been square to me.... No, Quetch, I'll stay with the caravan, with the Romany folk. Once a vagabond, always a vagabond, they say. I'll miss you. But, well... Good luck to you, Quetch... Better be going now. If Joe once lays hands on you you'll never get away till he sells you, you can be sure of that.'

PT "So, very sad at heart — for I had grown very fond of the strange Mudge, the Gipsy mongrel, the dog of few words — I left the fair and struck out along the road again, the Road of Fortune, alone.

PT "Dear me, what an unsatisfactory world it was! When one did find a nice kind of life something or somebody always seemed to shove you out of it just as you were beginning to enjoy it.

PT "Still, I had much of the world to see yet. And after all, my experiences so far had not brought to me that ideal independent sort of life that I was looking for. I was sorry I had not been able to have my fortune told. I looked at my paw again. I was sure it must be a good one. It was a nice sunny day. I soon threw aside my gloomy thoughts and trotted forward, eager to see what every new turn in the road might bring."

THE ACROBAT

PT " T HAT DAY I had very bad luck in the matter of food. I hardly got anything to eat all day. By the evening I was positively ravenous. I came to a town. Hoping to pick up bones or scraps that other dogs had left, I searched several back yards. But all I got was two or three fights with wretched inhospitable curs who objected to my coming into their premises.

PT "Then, famished and very bored with life, I wandered through the streets. At a corner I came upon an acrobat performing. He was standing on his hands and doing somersaults and things like that. He was all alone. There was a hat laid on the curb-stone in front of him, and from time to time people threw coppers into it.

PT "I came upon an acrobat performing"

PT "This set me thinking. The man was evidently making his living this way. In my life with the Gipsies I had often seen dog-acts in the circus ring. Some of the tricks I had practised myself when I had had a notion to go in for a circus career, and I had become skilled in quite a few of them. I could stand on my front paws, beg with a lump of sugar on my nose, throw a back somersault and so forth. Very well then, I said to myself, why shouldn't I give a one-dog show on the streets of this town the same as the man was doing? But I needed a hat for the people to throw money into — only in my case I hoped they would throw cutlets and sausages instead. Yes, the first thing to do was to get a hat.

PT "I knew that hats were to be found in shops and on garbage-heaps. I set off and hunted round the backs of houses. The garbage-heaps of this town had everything on them but hats. Most annoying. Where could I find one? I must have a hat. I passed a hat shop. The shop-keeper was busy writing in a book. There were lots of hats on the counter and many more, in boxes, on the floor. I was desperate. He could easily spare me one — he had so many. I dashed in and tried my luck. Bother it! I couldn't get the hat out of the box quick enough. The shop-keeper threw his book at me and chased me out.

PT "I went on down the street.

PT "'Never mind,' I said to myself. 'I'll get a hat, somehow, yet.'

PT "As I turned the corner into another street I saw an old gentleman crossing the road. He was all muffled up and full of dignity. And on his head he had an elegant high hat — just the kind of hat I wanted for my performance.

PT "'Ah!' I said to myself. 'If I can only trip that old gentleman up, his hat will roll off and I can take it to another part of the town and begin my show.'

PT "No sooner said than done. I leapt out into the road and ran between his feet. He stumbled and came down with a grunt on his stomach. His hat rolled into the gutter. I grabbed it and shot off down the street. Before the old gentleman had time to pick himself up I was round the corner and out of sight.

PT "I didn't stop running till I got to an entirely different part of the town, quite a distance away. Here I felt I was safe from pursuit. I found myself at a busy street corner.

PT "'Now,' I thought, 'the next thing is to collect a crowd.'

PT "I set the top hat on the curb-stone, got inside it and started barking for all I was worth. Very soon passers-by began to stop and wonder what it was all about. I went on yelping — I was sorry I hadn't a drum, that's what I should have had. Then I got out of the high hat, bowed to the audience and began my show. I begged, stood on my front paws, threw somersaults, etc. It was quite as good a show as the acrobat had given — better in fact.

PT "I got inside it and started barking"

PT "The audience didn't know quite what to make of it. They gaped and gaped. Then they began asking one another, 'Where's his master?... Who's he with?'

PT "The silly people couldn't believe I was my own master, giving my own show. After a little they came to the conclusion it was some new trick, that my master had hidden himself somewhere near and was just proving how wonderfully I had been trained by not appearing on the scene himself till after the performance was over. Then pennies began dropping into the hat. That was all very well, but I couldn't eat pennies.

PT "However the crowd finally did realize that I was entirely on my own. And some old ladies in the audience, instead of giving me coins, took their money into a butcher's shop near by and bought some meat to give me. This I gobbled up with great relish and they went and got some more. The crowd grew bigger and bigger meanwhile. And pretty soon, eating between somersaults, I was as full as an egg and I couldn't have done another trick if you had given me a kingdom.

PT "Well, my act earned me a very square meal, but it also nearly cost me my liberty. Why is it that people just can't seem to understand that a dog may be satisfied to be his own boss? Before my show had gone very far many well-meaning people among the audience decided they ought to adopt me.

PT "' Such a clever little dog!' cried one old lady. 'I think I'll take him home with me — that is, if no one really owns him. Did you see the way he ate those sausages I gave him? He must be starving. He ought to have a good home, such a clever dog.'

PT "At that I made up my mind to close my act in a hurry. But it wasn't at all easy to get away, I found. By this time I had attracted such a crowd at the corner that the traffic was held up. People were jammed in around me like a solid wall. Several persons in the audience began to argue as to which of them should adopt me. I should have been flattered no doubt but I wasn't. I looked around frantically for a means of escape.

PT "Then suddenly the old gentleman whose hat I had stolen came up on the outskirts of the throng and recognized his topper, filled with pieces of meat and calves' liver, sitting on the curb-stone. Furious with rage he began milling his way in through the mob. While he was picking up his hat and emptying the meat out of it — I hadn't been able to eat more than half of the crowd's contributions — I scuttled out through the lane he had made coming in. The people's attention was suddenly turned to his lamentations and the story of how I had stolen his hat. And while they were listening I got through into more open country in the middle of the street.

PT "Emptying the meat out of it"

PT "But the crowd was not long in missing me.

PT "'Stop him! Grab him! He's getting away!'some one called.

PT "And then as I bolted round the corner I realized that I had the whole town chasing me.

PT "I had eaten so many sausages and veal kidneys and pork chops that running at all was no easy matter. However I saw plainly that if I was going to keep my treasured liberty I had got to put my best foot forward.

PT "Luckily it was quite dark now. And as soon as I got off the main thoroughfares, away from the shops and into the dimly lit back streets I soon gave the crowd the slip.

PT "Ten minutes later, when I slowed down on the open road again outside the town, I said to myself —

PT "'Well, I earned my own living to-night all right. But next time I do it I'll try some other way.'"

THE MONASTERY

PT Q UETCH ' S STORY HAD now been going on for some hours. And the attention of the audience lot slackened in the least. For my part, while my fingers felt a bit stiff from writer's cramp (for you must remember I was taking down all these stories in short-hand, to be put into the book, Tales of the Home for Crossbred Dogs ), I was still too deeply absorbed in the history of this strange little terrier to bother about the time. Neither had it occurred to the Doctor to look at his watch. And it is quite likely that we would all have sat on there listening till the cocks crowed if Dab-Dab had not suddenly appeared and told us that it was long after midnight and high time that the Doctor was abed.

PT "Dab-Dab suddenly appeared"

PT So the rest of the Story of the Dog Who Set Out to Seek His Fortune was put off till the following night.

PT But when the next evening came I could see by the eager way the crowd got ready to listen that the delay had only made them that much keener to hear the remainder of it.

PT "The next chapter in my story," Quetch continued, "was rather odd — peaceful but odd. The colder weather was coming on — for it was late in the year. When I felt that I was well beyond the reach of pursuit of the angry old gentleman and the townsfolk, I began to keep an eye open for a decent place to sleep. The best I could find was a haystack, into which I burrowed a sort of hole and curled myself up inside. I was just about to drop off when a biting cold wind sprang up in the East and began blowing right into my little den. I soon realized that I had got to make a move. I tried the other side of the stack but it wasn't much better. So I decided to go on down the road and find another place.

PT "I hadn't gone very far when I heard a bell tolling. I peered into the darkness off to the side of the road and saw a large stone building. At one end there was a sort of chapel with stained glass windows, dimly lighted. It was the only habitation in the neighbourhood, standing in the midst of its own grounds apparently. I went up closer and saw that there were men dressed in robes solemnly gathering in the little chapel. It was evidently a monastery. I knew, because there had been one near our home farm. These monks would be going into vespers, the evening service.

PT "Well, I was never what you would call a religious dog. On the other hand, no one could call me bigoted or intolerant. Among my friends upon the Scotch farm I had had Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist dogs. One of my closest chums had been an Airedale who belonged to a Jewish rabbi. The little chapel looked warm and inviting compared to the cold night outside. The doors would soon close. I joined the procession and went in to vespers.

PT "Well, it seemed that some of the monks were not as broad-minded about matters of religion as I myself. They objected to my coming in. I suppose they thought I wasn't a Roman Catholic dog and hadn't any business there. Anyway, I had no sooner found an empty pew, free from draughts and curled myself up to listen to the service in comfort, than I was grabbed by one of the lay brothers, carried to the door and put out.

PT "I was greatly shocked by this. I had always understood that monasteries were famous for their hospitality. What sort was this, when a gentleman of the road, taking shelter from a windy night within their walls, was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and shoved out into the cold? While I was wondering what I would do next the organ started playing and the monks began singing psalms. Such voices, my gracious! I could do better myself. I would show them. I leant against the chapel door and joined in the chorus. Of course I couldn't sing the words. But I had no difficulty in following the general lines of the tune quite as musically as they were doing.

PT "I joined in the chorus"

PT "To my surprise, my joining the choir seemed to stop the organ. Next I heard whisperings behind the closed door of the chapel.

PT "'Perhaps it is the Devil, Brother Francis,' I heard one monk say, 'trying to disturb us at our devotions. Do not open the door on any account.'

PT "This wasn't very flattering, nor in the least helpful. But presently the Abbot, that is the head of the monks, came down to the door of the chapel to see what all the disturbance was about. The Abbot was a very fine man. He became, afterwards, a great friend of mine. Devil or no devil, the Abbot believed in facing the problems of life. He ordered the door to be opened at once. He smiled when he saw me sitting on the step outside.

PT "'Come in, stranger,' said he, 'and take shelter from the wind and cold.'

PT "I didn't wait for any second invitation but trotted in at once and made myself comfortable in one of the pews. Several of the monks looked kind of shocked and scandalized. But as it was their own abbot who had let me in there wasn't anything they could do about it. Then they went on with the service.

PT "After it was over they all started to troop out again. They were very solemn and serious. I joined the procession, sticking close to the Abbot, who was, I realized, a good person to keep in with. From the door of the chapel, two by two, with our eyes on the ground, we trapsed along a stone-paved cloister and entered another door. Beyond this, I was delighted to discover, lay the dining-room, or refectory, as it is always called in monasteries. Good cooking smells greeted our nostrils. With the cold nippy wind I already had a great appetite again.

PT "Well, I followed the monastic life for several months. It wasn't half bad. The monks were a very nice lot of men when you got to know them. And as soon as I was accepted into the order I was allowed to go everywhere and do pretty much as I pleased. In that respect it was one of the freest, most agreeable chapters in my whole career. The old Abbot was lots of fun. Naturally of a very cheerful disposition, he often had, I could see, very hard work keeping up the solemn dignity which seemed to be expected of his position as head of the monastery. I am sure that he found in his friendship for me a chance to let off steam and be natural. Many was the jolly run we had together, down in a hollow of the monastery meadows where no one could see us, in pursuit of an otter or a hare.

PT "Many was the jolly run we had together"

PT "Of course it was quiet, there's no denying that. Prayers, digging in the garden, farm and house work, were all we did; and day followed day in peaceful sameness. But for my part I managed to get a good deal of fun out of it. In return for my board and lodging I kept the monastery and the farm-buildings free from rats. That gave me plenty to do. And it was about this time that I first became a collector. The Abbot was a geologist and he used to collect stones and pieces of rock. I helped him in digging for them.

PT "Yes, I had a very peaceful life while I was a Monk Dog. I would probably have stayed with it much longer if it had not been for my desire to see more of the world. This finally led me to bid farewell to the monastery and its nice abbot and set forth once more upon my wanderings."

THE SHEPHERD IN DISTRESS

PT " T HE W INTER WAS now in full swing and it was not a good season to be homeless. For a week or two I spent about the hardest time that I have ever gone through. Icy blizzards were blowing most of the time. When I wasn't nearly frozen I was almost starved to death. I could well understand then, I assure you, why it was that we dogs, as a race, had remained dependent upon Man. Many a time I was tempted to get adopted by any master or mistress, no matter how stupid or severe, so long as I got one square meal a day and a warm bed in return for my bondage.

PT "One day when I was down to a very low level of misery and want, trudging along the road wondering where my next meal was coming from, I saw a shepherd having a hard time rounding up his flock. He had a sheep dog with him, but the animal was a fool and no good at the business.

PT "I was awfully weak for want of food, but I saw here a chance of something worth while. The shepherd was in despair. The wind was blowing like a crazy hurricane, now this way, now that. Darkness was coming on. The sheep were scattered in all directions, scared by the gale. The man's dog was more a nuisance than a help. He tried hard enough; but he just didn't know the business of sheep-herding, and that was all there was about it. Having helped my father on the home farm — he was one of the best sheep dogs that ever barked, even if he was only a terrier — I did know something about it.

PT "After a little the poor shepherd saw that his dog was worse than useless and he whistled and called him off the job. That was my chance. In less time than it takes to tell, I shot round that flock and herded it up through the gate that I saw the shepherd was trying to pass it through. Once I had the sheep in the fenced enclosure the job was done and the shepherd was happy. I came up to him wagging my tail. He fell on my neck and almost wept. If that flock had been lost in the night storm I suppose he would have got into serious trouble.

PT "That was how I started two friendships which lasted a long while — one with the shepherd, the other with his dog. I went home with the two of them that night and was rewarded with a good hearty meal of stew and a warm bed. While supper was being prepared I heard the shepherd telling his wife how, when it looked as though the flock would be surely lost, I had appeared on the scene and saved the day.

PT "Telling his wife that I had saved the day"

PT "But the curious thing about this incident was that the shepherd, by no means an educated person, never tried to take advantage of me, restrict my liberty or capture me as his property. I suppose, being a sheep-herder himself, he recognized in me an expert in his own trade who was entitled to respect. In other words, I had, for perhaps the first time in Dog History, hired myself out as an independent specialist and could leave or stay with the job as I pleased.

PT "Poor though he was, the man gave me splendid meals, in every way as good as his own. I took his dog in hand — he was a collie, a decent fellow even if he was a bit stupid — and taught him over several weeks how sheep-herding should be done under varying conditions of weather.

PT "You know, that game is not quite as easy as it looks to the man who passes by. Sheep are a herd animal — very much a herd animal. If the weather is fine they behave one way; if it is rough they behave another; if it is hot they do this; if it rains they do that and so forth. Now if you're a sheep dog — a good sheep dog — you've got to know these things and act accordingly.

PT "Well anyway, I put the shepherd's dog through a regular course. I enjoyed it myself — as one always does when teaching the other fellow. By the end of a fortnight poor Raggles, as he was called, was a really good sheep dog and could be trusted to take care of a flock even if a blizzard sprang up at twilight, which is perhaps the hardest thing that a sheep dog is ever called upon to do."

CITY LIFE

PT " B UT MY YEARNING to see the world led me to drop that too, just as it had the peace of the monastic life. And the day came when I said good-bye to the shepherd and his dog and set out once more. It had been kind of lonely on the sheep farm and I thought I would like to try city life for a while. I journeyed on till I came to a big town. You see, being still pretty inexperienced, I thought it would be quite a simple matter for a dog to go to a city and take up his residence there like a person. But I discovered it wasn't.

Versão em Português

1 - O MUSEU DOS CÃES

2 - QUETCH

3 - O CÃO DICK WHITTINGTON

4 - A HOSPITALIDADE DAS CRIANÇAS

5 - VIDA CIGANA

6 - O ACROBATA

7 - O MOSTEIRO

8 - O PASTOR EM APUROS

9 - VIDA NA CIDADE

O MUSEU DOS CÃES

En Thomas Stubbins lembrava-se do seu tempo como Assistente de Gerente do Zoológico com muita alegria.

En Uma parte do jardim do Doutor era chamada de "Cidade dos Animais." Thomas Stubbins achava difícil limitar o número de membros nos clubes de animais. O clube para cães de raça mista era o mais difícil de administrar. Um cachorro chamado Jip frequentemente tentava trazer novos cães de rua, e Thomas Stubbins tinha que ser firme para evitar que o clube ficasse muito cheio.

En O Doutor e Thomas Stubbins concordaram em manter o número de membros nos clubes limitado. No entanto, eles incentivaram os animais a desenvolver novas ideias. Essas ideias tinham como objetivo tornar a Cidade dos Animais um lugar mais interessante e confortável para se viver. O Museu dos Cães foi uma dessas novas ideias interessantes.

En Por muitos anos, o Doutor teve seu próprio museu. Era uma sala grande onde ele guardava itens de história natural como ossos e minerais. Os cães frequentemente olhavam o museu do Doutor, especialmente os ossos. Isso fez com que quisessem começar seu próprio museu.

En Um cachorro especial, que havia se juntado ao clube alguns meses antes, ajudou os cães a iniciar seu museu. Esse cachorro tinha um forte desejo natural de colecionar coisas. Ele colecionava itens como caroços de ameixa, cabos de guarda-chuva e maçanetas. Ele sempre afirmava que sua coleção de caroços de ameixa era a maior e melhor do país.

En Quetch era um cachorro e amigo de Toby. Ele ajudava a proteger os cães menores no clube. Quetch sugeriu que o clube deveria ter seu próprio museu. Os membros do clube concordaram com a ideia. Eles usaram uma parte da academia para criar o primeiro espaço do museu.

En Os outros membros do clube costumavam chamar Quetch de "Professor". Ele era muito bom em organizar coisas. Todos estavam empolgados com o Museu dos Cães e doaram itens para ele. Muitos cães trouxeram objetos para o museu. O Professor Quetch, que estava no comando, estava muito ocupado recebendo e organizando todos os novos itens.

En O museu tinha muitos tipos diferentes de itens. Não era apenas sobre natureza, mas também sobre história. A seção de ossos era a maior. A maioria desses ossos eram de alimentos como carne bovina, carneiro e presunto.

En Havia também ossos de peixe. O Professor Quetch mostrou ao narrador um peixe inteiro que ele chamava de "O Peixe Mais Velho do Mundo". Um cachorro chamado Blackie o encontrou. O peixe tinha um cheiro muito forte. Cachorros de um lugar distante reclamaram porque o cheiro os incomodava. O Professor Quetch ficou bravo e disse que eles não entendiam de ciência. Alguns vizinhos também reclamaram. Por causa das reclamações, o "peixe mais velho" teve que ser jogado fora.

En Professor Quetch era o nome de um cachorro.

En O Museu dos Cães tinha uma grande seção para coisas antigas. Guardava a coleção especial de Quetch de itens como caroços de ameixa, cabos de guarda-chuva e maçanetas. Os cães também ajudaram a encontrar muitos tesouros cavando. Encontraram coisas como tampas de panela, colheres tortas, chapéus, latas e bule quebrados. Quase todos os tipos de ferragens e itens domésticos estavam lá. Um item muito importante e especial era uma meia que o famoso Doutor ele mesmo havia usado.

En Nos primeiros dias, os cães cavaram muito. Jip e Kling tinham ouvido o Doutor dizer que os romanos uma vez tiveram um acampamento onde hoje fica a cidade de Puddleby. Eles esperavam encontrar joias romanas se cavassem com cuidado. Cavaram no jardim de tulipas do Coronel Bellowes. Encontraram um bulbo de planta, mas o Coronel os viu e os perseguiu. Eles escaparam e levaram o bulbo para casa. Foi assim que começou a coleção de plantas do museu. O bulbo tinha uma etiqueta.

En A etiqueta explicava que um famoso naturalista e explorador chamado Jip havia dado a orquídea. Dizia que Jip foi perturbado enquanto trabalhava e foi perseguido por pessoas perigosas por uma longa distância. No entanto, ele escapou de seus perseguidores e conseguiu trazer esta planta muito valiosa de volta ao Museu dos Cães.

En O Coronel viu Jip e Kling e os perseguiu.

QUETCH

En O Museu dos Cães continuou por muito mais tempo do que o esperado. O escritor pensou que os cães perderiam o interesse, mas as coleções cresceram muito rapidamente. Após algumas semanas, o museu encheu o ginásio inteiro. Durante uma partida de luta livre, um cão acidentalmente jogou outro cão no Departamento de Botânica. Ficou claro que o museu estava ficando grande demais para o ginásio.

En Era a partida semifinal de uma competição de luta livre.

En O Comitê da Casa se reuniu novamente. Decidiram que esportes e ciência eram igualmente importantes. Removeriam a maioria dos itens antigos e manteriam apenas coisas reais e úteis para cães e a História dos Cães.

En O colar de ouro especial de Jip era uma das principais exposições. O Professor Quetch mostrou ossos que ele disse terem sido mastigados por cães famosos. Ele também mostrou um pequeno barril que afirmava que os cães São Bernardo carregavam nos Alpes. Ele colocou uma etiqueta em um osso dizendo que era um brinquedo do poodle de estimação da Imperatriz Josefina.

En Em vez de muitos itens, agora havia apenas algumas vitrines com objetos especiais. Eles foram mantidos por muitos anos e mostrados a todos os visitantes, cães e pessoas. O Professor Quetch sempre guiava os visitantes pelo museu. Ele garantia que as pessoas não se apoiassem nas vitrines e que os cães não levassem os ossos históricos.

En A terceira história era o próprio conto de Jip sobre como ajudou o Cachorro do Homem Coxo a ganhar dinheiro. A quarta história era sobre o Professor Quetch. Ele era um cão de muito caráter, mas não gostava de falar sobre si mesmo. Ele sempre dizia que estava muito ocupado com seus deveres no museu.

En O museu estava muito menor agora, então precisava de menos trabalho. Um dia, Jip trouxe notícias felizes. Ele disse que Quetch tinha prometido contar sua história de vida na próxima noite. A história se chamaria "A História do Cão que Saiu em Busca de sua Fortuna".

En Eu pensei que a história seria boa, então perguntei ao Doutor se ele queria ouvir. Ele costumava ir frequentemente às horas de histórias dos cães, mas ultimamente estava muito ocupado. No entanto, ele concordou em tornar esta uma ocasião especial e prometeu estar lá.

En Na noite seguinte, a Sala de Jantar dos Cães estava muito cheia. Todos os membros cães estavam lá, esperando pela história. Era também uma 'Noite de Convidados' especial, o que significava que os membros podiam trazer amigos para o jantar.

En O Professor Quetch começou sua história dizendo que nasceu de pais pobres, mas honestos. Seu pai era um terrier Aberdeen que era bom em pastorear ovelhas, e sua mãe era uma cachorra West Highland. Eles viviam com pequenos fazendeiros na Escócia. Quando Quetch e seus irmãos e irmãs eram filhotes, eles tinham comida suficiente. Mas, à medida que cresciam, os fazendeiros não tinham muita comida para sua grande família e os trabalhadores, e certamente não o suficiente para muitos filhotes famintos.

En Quetch mencionou que seu pai era um cão pastor muito bom.

En O narrador explicou que eles moravam em um estábulo atrás de uma casa de fazenda. Eles tinham sua própria baia de cavalo, que era quente e cheia de palha seca. Uma noite, o narrador ficou acordado até tarde e ouviu sua mãe e seu pai conversando. Seus pais se chamavam Jock e Jenny.

En Jenny disse a Jock que ela tinha ouvido o fazendeiro falando sobre se livrar dos filhotes deles em breve.

En Jock respondeu que isso era esperado. Ele achava que o fazendeiro provavelmente ficaria com um ou dois filhotes. Ele esperava que ficassem com Quetch, pois Quetch era um cão jovem e inteligente e já o ajudava com as ovelhas. Jock achava que os outros filhotes não eram muito inteligentes.

En Jenny ficou muito irritada e disse que os filhotes eram tão inteligentes quanto o pai deles.

En Jock concordou com Jenny, mas também disse que o fazendeiro, McPherson, não podia ficar com todos os filhotes porque ele tinha sua própria família para sustentar e mal podia cuidar deles.

En O cachorro ouviu seu pai falar sobre dar os filhotes. Ele achou isso injusto porque os cães deveriam ter direitos e escolher suas próprias vidas. Ele ficou com raiva e decidiu que não seria dado como um par de sapatos velhos. Ele acreditava que era um indivíduo, assim como o fazendeiro, e queria que o mundo soubesse disso.

O CÃO DICK WHITTINGTON

En O cachorro explicou que sua história é sobre um cachorro que queria viver sua própria vida. Ele sabia que muitas pessoas tentavam fazer o mesmo. Ele não achava sua vida muito emocionante, mas esperava que suas aventuras pudessem ser interessantes para os outros. Ele queria mostrar como conquistou sua liberdade e independência.

En Alguns dias depois, o cachorro viu que as preocupações de sua mãe estavam corretas. O fazendeiro, McPherson, trouxe amigos para ver os filhotes, esperando que eles adotassem um. Um homem escolheu o cachorro. O cachorro achou o homem tolo e sem refinamento. O homem examinou o cachorro como se ele fosse um porco para venda. O cachorro decidiu que não pertenceria a esse homem. O homem pediu a McPherson que guardasse o cachorro por mais dois dias antes de voltar para pegá-lo.

En O cachorro pensou sobre pessoas que foram buscar a sorte. Ele se perguntou por que um cachorro não poderia fazer o mesmo. Ele sabia que tinha que partir para evitar ser levado pelo homem tolo. Ele não tinha visto muito do mundo, então decidiu que iria buscar sua sorte no dia seguinte.

En Na manhã seguinte, o cachorro acordou antes de todos na fazenda. Ele juntou alguns ossos velhos e os colocou em um lenço, que eram todos os seus pertences. Então ele partiu para fazer o seu próprio caminho no mundo. Era final do outono, e ainda estava escuro e frio. Ao chegar à estrada, ele olhou para trás, para os edifícios da fazenda. Com um sentimento feliz, ele abanou o rabo e trotou para longe.

En Ele afirmou que queria começar uma nova carreira.

En Ele percebeu que era muito inexperiente e sabia muito pouco, nem mesmo sobre a área perto da fazenda ou para onde a estrada ia. No entanto, isso tornou a aventura mais emocionante, e ele decidiu seguir a estrada para ver o que aconteceria.

En Depois de caminhar por cerca de uma hora, ele sentiu fome. Ele parou na estrada, pegou sua comida e escolheu um osso de presunto que não estava completamente comido. Ele começou a comê-lo e conseguiu roer metade com seus dentes bons e jovens.

En Ele se sentiu melhor, mas ainda um pouco faminto. Enquanto se preparava para sair, ouviu um barulho. Ele foi silenciosamente investigar, esperando pegar um coelho para mais comida. Em vez disso, encontrou um velho andarilho acordando no campo onde havia dormido. Ele sentiu uma conexão com o andarilho, pois também era sem-teto. Ele observou enquanto o andarilho ordenhava uma vaca em uma lata. O andarilho então deixou o leite e foi embora. Enquanto ele estava fora, ele saiu escondido e bebeu todo o leite.

En Ele viu um velho andarilho acordando.

En Sentindo-se muito melhor, o narrador começou a andar pela estrada. Após uma curta distância, ele decidiu voltar para encontrar o andarilho. Ele pensou que poderia se sentir culpado pelo leite que havia tomado, ou talvez sentiu uma conexão com o andarilho e quis conhecê-lo.

En Quando o narrador voltou à beira do prado, ele viu o andarilho ao longe ordenhando a vaca novamente. Ele esperou até que o andarilho terminasse e então saiu para se mostrar.

En O andarilho falou com o narrador, dizendo que sabia que o narrador havia pegado seu leite. No entanto, o andarilho disse que não era um problema porque ele havia encontrado mais. Ele então convidou o narrador para se aproximar e perguntou seu nome.

En O narrador achou que o andarilho era uma boa pessoa e gostou de sua companhia. Ambos concordaram em viajar juntos. O andarilho era habilidoso em encontrar comida, muitas vezes pedindo refeições em casas de fazenda e dividindo-as. O narrador era bom em pegar coelhos e faisões, que eles cozinhavam à beira da estrada. Juntos, eles conseguiam viver bem.

En Eles viajaram por várias cidades e viram muitas paisagens interessantes. O narrador apreciou que o andarilho lhe permitia total liberdade. Embora muitas vezes sentissem muito frio à noite, o andarilho era bom em encontrar lugares para dormir, como em palheiros ou celeiros antigos. Ele também sempre dividia seu casaco para manter o narrador aquecido quando dormiam.

A HOSPITALIDADE DAS CRIANÇAS

En O amigo do narrador precisava de dinheiro, talvez para viajar. Uma tarde, ele foi a uma fazenda e perguntou à mulher que abriu a porta se ela queria comprar um cachorro.

En O narrador ficou tão chocado que fugiu e não olhou para trás. Ele se sentiu triste e confuso. Depois, ficou com raiva. Ele achou errado o amigo tentar vendê-lo, especialmente porque o narrador o havia ajudado a pegar comida.

En Depois de caminhar por alguns quilômetros, o narrador viu algumas crianças brincando com uma bola. Ele gostava de jogos com bola e se juntou a elas. Ele as ajudou correndo atrás da bola. Todos se divertiram juntos por um tempo.

En Quando as crianças tiveram que ir para casa jantar, o narrador as seguiu, esperando comer com elas. As crianças disseram à mãe que ele havia brincado com elas e as seguido. A mãe o expulsou com uma vassoura, dizendo que cachorros de rua transmitem doenças. O narrador sentiu que as pessoas tratavam os animais mal, seja os prendendo quando eles queriam liberdade, seja os expulsando quando eles queriam ser amigáveis.

En A mãe expulsou rapidamente o narrador usando uma vassoura.

En O cão sentiu fome. Uma menina começou a chorar porque achou que ele estava com fome. O cão fingiu ir embora, mas se escondeu por perto. Ele viu a sombra da mãe e soube que as crianças jantariam sozinhas. Foi até a janela da sala de jantar e bateu no vidro. No começo, as crianças ficaram um pouco assustadas. Mas então uma criança olhou e viu o cão sentado no parapeito da janela lá fora.

En As crianças deixaram o cão entrar. Elas o esconderam em um armário para que a mãe não o visse. Também lhe deram uma boa refeição. Mais tarde, quando as crianças deveriam estar dormindo, uma delas desceu as escadas secretamente e levou o cão para o quarto. O cão dormiu em um travesseiro macio debaixo de uma cama. O cão achou isso muito gentil e uma boa hospitalidade.

En Uma das crianças desceu as escadas.

En De manhã, o cão saiu sem que a mãe o visse. Todas as quatro crianças estavam tristes e chorando no portão do jardim. O cão lembrou-se da bondade e hospitalidade delas. Ele não queria deixá-las. No entanto, a mãe das crianças disse que cães de rua têm doenças, o que deixou o cão irritado. As crianças secretamente lhe deram mingau de aveia e molho para o café da manhã. Sentindo-se corajoso, o cão andou pela estrada, pensando no que aconteceria a seguir.

VIDA CIGANA

En Depois de andar cerca de três milhas, o cão encontrou uma caravana cigana na estrada. Um cão estava procurando ratos perto da caravana. O cão se aproximou dele e se ofereceu para ajudar a caçar ratos. O cão cigano era quieto, mas o outro cão gostou dele. Eles caçaram ratos juntos e tiveram uma boa perseguição.

En O narrador conversou com um cão cigano e perguntou sobre viajar com caravanas. Ele estava pensando em se juntar aos ciganos porque pareciam pessoas que viviam na estrada, semelhantes a ele. O cão explicou que a vida com os ciganos era muito livre para os cães, e eles não eram incomodados.

En O cão mencionou que a comida nem sempre era regular, mas explicou que a vida cigana era geralmente desplanejada. Ele achava que o narrador poderia gostar de viajar e conhecer novos lugares. O cão sentia que isso era melhor do que ser um cão de estimação na coleira. Ele convidou o narrador para se juntar a eles, dizendo que os ciganos provavelmente nem o notariam por alguns dias.

En O narrador concordou em se juntar aos ciganos e geralmente se divertiu. Ele confirmou que a situação da comida era difícil, com muitos dias sem comida alguma. No entanto, o cão cigano, cujo nome era Mudge, era muito habilidoso em encontrar comida mesmo em situações difíceis. O narrador suspeitava que Mudge fosse um ladrão muito bom e muitas vezes não sabia de onde Mudge conseguia os suprimentos.

En Quando estavam com fome e prestes a ir para a cama sem comida, Mudge disse ao narrador para não se preocupar. Mudge disse que achava que poderia encontrar comida e pediu ao narrador que esperasse por ele.

En O narrador perguntou a Mudge se ele poderia ir junto para encontrar a comida.

En Ele disse que achava melhor não caçar juntos, pois caçar sozinho às vezes era mais fácil.

En Ele saía e voltava em cerca de trinta minutos com comida incomum. Às vezes trazia um pudim quente de bife e rim, e outras vezes um frango assado com salsichas.

En Outra vez ele trouxe um frango assado.

En Era óbvio que Mudge havia pegado o jantar de outra pessoa. O narrador estava com muita fome para pensar de onde vinha a comida, mas suspeitava que algumas pessoas estavam muito zangadas com Mudge. Ele ficou surpreso que Mudge nunca foi pego.

En A vida era principalmente agradável. Eles visitavam feiras e viam cidades durante as celebrações. O narrador conheceu Toby, um cachorro que era performer de Punch e Judy. Ele gostava da vida viajante porque estavam frequentemente no campo, o que era divertido para um cachorro. Sempre havia ratos para perseguir, lebres para caçar e pássaros para pegar.

En O narrador explicou que uma parte de sua vida durou cerca de três meses e terminou de repente. Eles estavam visitando a feira de uma cidade grande. O show deles tinha uma barraca de adivinhação onde uma velha cigana, a mãe do chefe deles, lia a sorte com cartas. Algumas pessoas ricas pararam para ler a sorte, enquanto o narrador e Mudge esperavam do lado de fora da barraca.

En Mudge sussurrou para o narrador que eles deveriam ir embora porque ele não gostou da aparência das pessoas. Ele mencionou que já havia perdido um amigo em uma situação semelhante antes.

En O narrador perguntou a Mudge o que ele queria dizer com aquilo.

En Mudge explicou que o chefe deles, Joe, só notava cães de rua quando outras pessoas notavam, e então tentava vendê-los. Mudge disse que seu próprio amigo era um whippet que Joe vendeu para um visitante. Mudge acreditava que ele mesmo não seria vendido porque não era bonito, mas achava que o narrador parecia esperto e poderia chamar atenção, especialmente das mulheres. Mudge aconselhou o narrador a sair até a multidão ir embora.

En Mudge começou a sair, mas o narrador o chamou de volta. O narrador estava interessado em adivinhação e queria que a velha lesse a palma da mão dele. Ele tinha olhado as linhas nas almofadas de suas patas e achou que pareciam incomuns. Ele estava curioso sobre seu futuro e sentia que estava destinado a uma grande carreira.

En O falante estava observando as linhas em suas patas.

En O falante disse a Mudge para esperar e perguntou por que ele estava preocupado. Eles também questionaram como Joe poderia vendê-los se eles não pertenciam a ele.

En Mudge disse ao falante para não se preocupar, explicando que Joe venderia qualquer coisa se pudesse. Mudge aconselhou o falante a sair rapidamente.

En O conselho de Mudge era bom, mas já era tarde demais. Quando o falante se virou para sair, uma mulher estava apontando para eles e falando com Joe, que parecia muito interessado. O falante não viu Mudge novamente por cerca de meia hora. Eles se moveram para outra parte do parque de diversões e esperaram até que os visitantes tivessem saído da tenda de adivinhação.

En Enquanto o falante observava um homem forte levantando pesos, o cachorro cigano apareceu por trás e sussurrou para eles.

En Mudge disse a Quetch que ele tinha que sair rapidamente porque uma mulher gostava muito dele e queria comprá-lo. Mudge também disse que Joe estava procurando Quetch em todos os lugares.

En Quetch perguntou por que ele não podia simplesmente se esconder até que a mulher tivesse ido embora.

En Mudge explicou que era inútil se esconder porque Joe estava determinado a vender Quetch. Joe sabia que Quetch era o tipo de cachorro de que as senhoras gostavam. Mudge acrescentou que, se Joe perdesse a chance de vender Quetch agora, provavelmente o manteria na corrente para garantir que pudesse vendê-lo depois.

En Quetch ficou surpreso e perguntou a Mudge se Joe realmente faria isso. Ele então perguntou a Mudge por que ele ficava com um homem assim e convidou Mudge para ir embora com ele.

En Mudge sorriu e balançou a cabeça.

En Mudge balançou a cabeça.

En Ele disse a Quetch que Joe estava bem com ele. Explicou que Joe talvez não fosse um cavalheiro, mas era bom para ele. Joe o via como parte do povo cigano, que fica unido. Ele achava que Joe não o venderia, nem por dinheiro, porque Joe era estranho, mas sempre justo. Decidiu ficar com o povo cigano e sua caravana, dizendo que sentiria falta de Quetch, mas lhe desejava boa sorte. Aconselhou Quetch a ir embora rápido, avisando que Joe o venderia se o pegasse.

En O narrador ficou muito triste porque se apegou a Mudge, um cachorro cigano que não falava muito. Ele saiu da feira e começou a andar sozinho na Estrada da Sorte.

En O narrador sentiu que o mundo era decepcionante. Ele pensava que, sempre que encontrava um bom jeito de viver, algo ou alguém o impedia de aproveitar.

En Ele ainda queria ver mais do mundo. Suas experiências até agora não lhe deram a vida independente que procurava. Lamentou não ter mandado ler a sorte. Olhou para a pata novamente e teve certeza de que era uma boa pata. Era um dia bonito e ensolarado, então ele parou de se sentir triste. Andou para frente, animado para ver o que as novas curvas da estrada trariam.

O ACROBATA

En O narrador teve um dia muito difícil para encontrar comida e estava extremamente faminto à noite. Ele procurou nos quintais por restos, mas só encontrou problemas, entrando em brigas com outros cachorros que não o queriam por lá.

En Sentindo muita fome e tédio, o narrador andou pelas ruas. Ele viu um homem fazendo acrobacias, se equilibrando nas mãos e dando cambalhotas. O homem estava sozinho, e as pessoas estavam colocando dinheiro em um chapéu que ele havia colocado no chão.

En O narrador viu um homem fazendo truques acrobáticos.

En O narrador pensou sobre como o acrobata ganhava dinheiro com sua apresentação. Ele lembrou de ter visto apresentações de cães em circos e sabia que poderia fazer truques semelhantes, como ficar nas patas dianteiras ou dar cambalhotas. Ele decidiu que também poderia se apresentar na rua, mas precisava de um chapéu para as pessoas colocarem dinheiro, esperando que lhe dessem comida em vez disso.

En O narrador procurou um chapéu, primeiro em montes de lixo, mas não encontrou nenhum. Ele então foi a uma loja de chapéus onde o dono estava ocupado. Vendo muitos chapéus, o narrador tentou pegar um rapidamente, mas o lojista atirou seu livro nele e o expulsou.

En O narrador continuou andando pela rua.

En O narrador disse a si mesmo para não se preocupar e que encontraria um chapéu mais tarde.

En Quando o narrador virou em outra rua, viu um senhor idoso. Ele usava um chapéu alto e elegante que o narrador queria para sua apresentação.

En O narrador pensou que, se conseguisse fazer o senhor idoso tropeçar, seu chapéu cairia. Então, o narrador poderia levar o chapéu para outra parte da cidade e começar seu espetáculo.

En O narrador correu rapidamente entre os pés do velho. O homem caiu, e seu chapéu rolou para a sarjeta. O narrador pegou o chapéu e fugiu rua abaixo, desaparecendo na esquina antes que o homem pudesse se levantar.

En O personagem correu por um longo caminho até uma parte diferente da cidade. Ele se sentiu seguro de ser seguido ali. Ele chegou a uma esquina movimentada.

En Ele pensou que seu próximo passo era reunir uma multidão de pessoas.

En Ele colocou seu chapéu na beira da estrada, entrou dentro dele e latiu alto. Logo, as pessoas que passavam pararam para ver o que estava acontecendo. Ele continuou a fazer barulho e desejou ter um tambor. Então, ele saiu do chapéu, fez uma reverência para as pessoas e começou sua apresentação. Ele pediu dinheiro, ficou em pé sobre as patas traseiras e fez cambalhotas. Ele sentiu que seu show era tão bom quanto, ou até melhor, que o show do acrobata.

En Ele entrou no chapéu e começou a latir.

En O público ficou confuso com o que viu. Eles olharam com surpresa. Então começaram a perguntar uns aos outros a quem o cachorro pertencia e com quem ele estava.

En As pessoas acharam difícil acreditar que o cachorro estava se apresentando sozinho. Elas pensaram que o dono estava escondido e treinando o animal. A plateia jogou moedas em um chapéu, mas o cachorro não podia comer dinheiro.

En Eventualmente, a multidão entendeu que o cachorro estava se apresentando sozinho. Algumas senhoras bondosas usaram seu dinheiro para comprar carne para ele em uma loja próxima. Ele comeu a carne com grande prazer, e elas trouxeram mais. Conforme mais pessoas chegavam, o cachorro comeu tanto que não conseguiu fazer mais truques.

En A apresentação do cachorro lhe rendeu uma boa refeição, mas também colocou sua liberdade em perigo. Muitas pessoas na plateia queriam adotá-lo, pensando que ele precisava de um lar. Elas não entendiam que um cachorro podia ser feliz sendo seu próprio chefe.

En Uma senhora mais velha achou o cachorro muito inteligente e com fome. Ela sugeriu levá-lo para casa se ele não pertencesse a ninguém, dizendo que ele merecia um bom lar.

En O cachorro decidiu encerrar sua apresentação rapidamente, mas foi difícil sair. Tantas pessoas se reuniram que bloquearam a rua. Algumas pessoas começaram a discutir sobre quem o adotaria. O cachorro não sentiu felicidade com essa atenção e procurou uma maneira de escapar.

En O velho viu seu chapéu na rua, cheio de carne e fígado. Ele ficou muito irritado e atravessou a multidão para pegá-lo. Enquanto ele tirava a comida, o narrador saiu rapidamente. As reclamações altas do homem sobre seu chapéu roubado fizeram as pessoas olharem para ele. O narrador aproveitou essa chance para ir para o meio da rua.

En O homem tirou a carne do chapéu.

En As pessoas logo perceberam que o narrador havia sumido.

En Alguém gritou para as pessoas pararem o narrador porque ele estava fugindo.

En Enquanto o narrador corria em volta de uma esquina, ele percebeu que a cidade inteira estava o perseguindo.

En O narrador explicou que ele tinha comido muita comida pesada, como salsichas, rins de vitela e costeletas de porco. Por causa disso, correr era muito difícil para ele. No entanto, ele entendeu que precisava correr o mais rápido possível para manter sua liberdade.

En Felizmente, estava escuro. Assim que o narrador saiu das ruas principais, afastando-se das lojas e entrando em ruas laterais tranquilas e mal iluminadas, ele conseguiu escapar das pessoas que o seguiam.

En Cerca de dez minutos depois, quando o narrador havia diminuído a velocidade na estrada aberta fora da cidade, ele pensou consigo mesmo.

En Ele decidiu que tinha conseguido ganhar a vida naquela noite. No entanto, ele também pensou que da próxima vez tentaria um método diferente.

O MOSTEIRO

En A história de Quetch já durava várias horas, mas a plateia continuava muito interessada. O escritor, que estava tomando notas para um livro sobre cães, sentia os dedos rígidos, mas estava tão absorto na história do terrier que não notou o tempo. O Doutor também não verificou o relógio. Eles poderiam ter continuado ouvindo a noite toda, mas Dab-Dab chegou de repente para dizer que era muito tarde e que era hora do Doutor ir para a cama.

En Dab-Dab apareceu de repente.

En O resto da história sobre o cachorro foi adiado para a noite seguinte.

En Quando a noite seguinte chegou, a multidão estava muito ansiosa para ouvir, mostrando que o atraso os deixou mais interessados em ouvir o resto da história.

En Quetch explicou que a próxima parte de sua história era incomum. O tempo estava ficando mais frio porque era final do ano. Ele encontrou um palheiro para dormir, mas um vento forte e frio soprou para dentro de seu abrigo. Ele decidiu que precisava encontrar um lugar diferente para dormir e continuou pela estrada.

En Enquanto ele caminhava mais, ouviu um sino e viu um grande edifício de pedra com uma capela. Ele percebeu que era um mosteiro, um lugar onde os monges viviam. Ele viu homens de vestes entrando na capela para as vésperas, que ele sabia ser o serviço de oração noturno.

En O cachorro explicou que não era um cachorro religioso, mas tinha amigos de muitas religiões diferentes. Ele viu uma capela que parecia acolhedora e convidativa. Como as portas estavam se fechando em breve, ele se juntou às pessoas e entrou para o serviço noturno.

En Alguns monges não concordaram com ele entrando na capela. Eles pensaram que ele não era um cachorro católico romano e não deveria estar lá. Ele encontrou um assento confortável, mas um irmão rapidamente o levou até a porta e o colocou para fora.

En O cachorro ficou surpreso porque pensava que os mosteiros geralmente eram acolhedores. Ele achou injusto ser expulso para o frio. Enquanto pensava no que fazer, o órgão começou a tocar e os monges começaram a cantar. O cachorro acreditava que cantava melhor. Ele ficou perto da porta da capela e se juntou ao canto deles, seguindo a melodia.

En O cachorro se juntou ao canto com os monges.

En Para sua surpresa, o canto do cachorro parecia fazer o órgão parar. Então, ele ouviu pessoas sussurrando atrás da porta fechada da capela.

En Um monge pensou que um barulho era o Diabo tentando interromper suas orações. Ele disse ao Irmão Francisco para não abrir a porta.

En O Abade, que era o chefe dos monges, foi até a porta para ver o que estava acontecendo. Ele era um bom homem que acreditava em lidar com os problemas. Ele ordenou que a porta fosse aberta imediatamente e sorriu ao me ver sentado do lado de fora.

En O Abade me convidou para entrar e me abrigar do vento e do frio.

En Entrei rapidamente e me sentei. Alguns monges pareciam surpresos e chateados, mas como o Abade deles me deixou entrar, eles não puderam objetar. Eles continuaram o serviço.

En Após o serviço, os monges saíram solenemente. Caminhei com o Abade, percebendo que ele era uma boa pessoa para se estar. Caminhamos por uma passagem de pedra e entramos por outra porta, que levava à sala de jantar. Fiquei feliz em encontrá-la, pois o vento frio me deixou com muita fome e o cheiro de boa comida me saudou.

En O narrador viveu como monge por vários meses e achou que foi uma boa experiência. Ele disse que os monges eram pessoas amigáveis. Quando se juntou ao grupo, teve muita liberdade para ir aonde queria e fazer o que gostava. Ele sentiu que foi uma parte muito agradável e livre de sua vida. O velho Abade era um homem alegre e engraçado que parecia usar a amizade com o narrador para relaxar. Eles frequentemente se divertiam correndo juntos nos prados, perseguindo animais como lontras ou lebres onde não podiam ser vistos.

En O narrador e o Abade frequentemente se divertiam correndo juntos.

En A vida no mosteiro era tranquila, com dias preenchidos por orações, jardinagem e trabalho na fazenda. No entanto, o narrador encontrava prazer em suas tarefas. Ele mantinha o mosteiro e as construções da fazenda livres de ratos em troca de comida e moradia. O Abade, que era geólogo, colecionava pedras e rochas, e o narrador o ajudava a encontrá-las.

En O narrador teve uma vida pacífica como cão monge. No entanto, ele queria ver mais do mundo. Esse desejo o levou a se despedir do mosteiro e do Abade amigável, e ele começou a viajar novamente.

O PASTOR EM APUROS

En O inverno havia chegado, tornando difícil ficar sem um lar. Por cerca de duas semanas, o narrador experimentou frio extremo e fome devido aos ventos gelados. Ele entendeu por que os cães dependem dos humanos e considerou encontrar qualquer dono, até mesmo um severo, apenas para ter comida suficiente e um lugar quente para dormir em troca de seu serviço.

En O narrador estava muito triste e com fome. Ele estava andando pela estrada quando viu um pastor que estava com dificuldade para controlar suas ovelhas. O pastor tinha um cachorro, mas o cachorro não era bom no seu trabalho.

En O narrador estava fraco de fome, mas viu uma chance de ajudar. O pastor estava muito preocupado. Um vento forte estava soprando e estava escurecendo. As ovelhas corriam em direções diferentes por causa do vento. O cachorro do pastor não era útil. O narrador sabia como pastorear ovelhas porque havia ajudado seu pai em uma fazenda.

En Logo, o pastor viu que seu cachorro não estava ajudando e o chamou de volta. Essa foi a chance do narrador. O narrador rapidamente moveu as ovelhas e as guiou por um portão para um cercado seguro. O pastor ficou muito feliz e agradecido. Se as ovelhas tivessem se perdido na tempestade, o pastor teria enfrentado sérios problemas.

En Esse evento iniciou duas longas amizades, uma com o pastor e outra com seu cachorro. O narrador foi para casa com eles e recebeu uma boa refeição e um lugar quente para dormir. Enquanto comiam, o pastor contou à sua esposa como o narrador apareceu e salvou as ovelhas quando parecia que elas seriam perdidas.

En O pastor contou à sua esposa que o narrador havia salvado o dia.

En O cão achou estranho que o pastor, que não era um homem instruído, não tentasse controlá-lo ou tratá-lo como propriedade. O cão acreditava que o pastor o respeitava porque ele era um especialista em seu trabalho. Ele sentiu que estava trabalhando como um especialista independente pela primeira vez e podia escolher entre ficar ou ir embora.

En Mesmo sendo pobre, o pastor deu ao cão refeições excelentes, tão boas quanto as suas. O cão então passou várias semanas treinando o collie do pastor, ensinando-lhe como pastorear ovelhas em diferentes condições climáticas.

En Pastorear ovelhas não é tão simples quanto parece. As ovelhas se comportam de maneira diferente dependendo do clima, como se está bom, tempestuoso, quente ou chuvoso. Um bom cão pastor precisa entender essas diferenças e reagir adequadamente.

En O cão deu ao cão do pastor, chamado Raggles, um programa de treinamento completo. O cão gostou de ensinar. Após duas semanas, Raggles se tornou um cão pastor habilidoso, capaz de cuidar de um rebanho mesmo em condições difíceis como uma tempestade de neve súbita ao anoitecer, que é uma das tarefas mais difíceis para um cão pastor.

VIDA NA CIDADE

En O desejo do cão de explorar o mundo o levou a deixar a fazenda de ovelhas, assim como havia deixado sua vida anterior. Ele se despediu do pastor e de seu cão e partiu novamente. Sentindo-se um pouco solitário na fazenda, decidiu tentar viver em uma cidade. Viajou para uma grande cidade, pensando que seria fácil para um cão viver lá como uma pessoa. No entanto, logo descobriu que isso não era verdade.

THE DOG MUSEUM

Português

Thomas Stubbins lembrava-se do seu tempo como Assistente de Gerente do Zoológico com muita alegria.

Original English

I SUPPOSE THERE is no part of my life with the Doctor that I, Thomas Stubbins, look back on with more pleasure than that period when I was Assistant Manager of the Zoo.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Uma parte do jardim do Doutor era chamada de "Cidade dos Animais." Thomas Stubbins achava difícil limitar o número de membros nos clubes de animais. O clube para cães de raça mista era o mais difícil de administrar. Um cachorro chamado Jip frequentemente tentava trazer novos cães de rua, e Thomas Stubbins tinha que ser firme para evitar que o clube ficasse muito cheio.

Original English

We had come, as I have told you elsewhere, to call that part of the Doctor's garden "Animal Town." One of my greatest difficulties was in keeping down the membership in the various clubs and institutions. Because of course a limit had to be put on them. The hardest one to keep in check was the Home for Crossbred Dogs. Jip was always trying to sneak in some waif or stray after dark; and I had to be quite stern and hard-hearted if I did not want the mongrels' club disorganized by over-crowding.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Doutor e Thomas Stubbins concordaram em manter o número de membros nos clubes limitado. No entanto, eles incentivaram os animais a desenvolver novas ideias. Essas ideias tinham como objetivo tornar a Cidade dos Animais um lugar mais interessante e confortável para se viver. O Museu dos Cães foi uma dessas novas ideias interessantes.

Original English

But while the Doctor and I were agreed that we must keep a fixed limit on all memberships, we encouraged development, expansion and new ideas of every kind on the part of the animals themselves that would help to make Animal Town a more interesting and more comfortable place to live in. Many of these were extremely interesting. Among them was the Dog Museum.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Por muitos anos, o Doutor teve seu próprio museu. Era uma sala grande onde ele guardava itens de história natural como ossos e minerais. Os cães frequentemente olhavam o museu do Doutor, especialmente os ossos. Isso fez com que quisessem começar seu próprio museu.

Original English

For many years the Doctor had had a museum of his own. This was a large room next to the study where bones, mineral specimens and other natural-history things were kept. There is an old saying: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. A natural interest in bones often led the dogs to contemplate this display and finally to start a museum of their own.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Um cachorro especial, que havia se juntado ao clube alguns meses antes, ajudou os cães a iniciar seu museu. Esse cachorro tinha um forte desejo natural de colecionar coisas. Ele colecionava itens como caroços de ameixa, cabos de guarda-chuva e maçanetas. Ele sempre afirmava que sua coleção de caroços de ameixa era a maior e melhor do país.

Original English

This was helped to some extent by a peculiar dog who had some months before become a member of the club. The peculiarity of his character was that he had an inborn passion for collecting. Prune-stones, umbrella-handles, door-knobs — there was no end to the variety of his collections. He always maintained that his prune-stone collection was the largest and finest in the country.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quetch era um cachorro e amigo de Toby. Ele ajudava a proteger os cães menores no clube. Quetch sugeriu que o clube deveria ter seu próprio museu. Os membros do clube concordaram com a ideia. Eles usaram uma parte da academia para criar o primeiro espaço do museu.

Original English

This dog's name was Quetch. He was a great friend of Toby, who had first introduced him and put him up for membership at the club. He was a good second to Toby in upholding the rights of the small dogs at the club-house and seeing that they didn't get bullied out of any of their privileges. In fact Blackie and Grab always said that the small dogs, with Toby and Quetch to champion them, bossed the club a good deal more than they had any business to. Well, Quetch it was (he was a cross between a West Highland terrier and an Aberdeen) who first suggested the idea that the Mongrels' Club should have a museum of its own. With his passion for collecting, he was probably counting on getting the job of museum curator for himself-which he eventually did. The House Committee met in solemn council to discuss the pros and cons and ways and means. The idea was finally adopted by a large majority vote and a section of the gymnasium was screened off to form the first headquarters of the museum.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Os outros membros do clube costumavam chamar Quetch de "Professor". Ele era muito bom em organizar coisas. Todos estavam empolgados com o Museu dos Cães e doaram itens para ele. Muitos cães trouxeram objetos para o museu. O Professor Quetch, que estava no comando, estava muito ocupado recebendo e organizando todos os novos itens.

Original English

Quetch (he was always called "Professor" by the other members of the club) — Professor Quetch, besides being a keen scientist, had a genius for organization almost as good as the white mouse's. And even he could not find fault with the general enthusiasm with which the Dog Museum was supported, and contributed to, by the members of the club. There was hardly a dog in the Home who didn't turn to collecting and bringing in material. And Quetch the curator had his paws more than full receiving and arranging the continuous flow of specimens of every kind that poured in.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O museu tinha muitos tipos diferentes de itens. Não era apenas sobre natureza, mas também sobre história. A seção de ossos era a maior. A maioria desses ossos eram de alimentos como carne bovina, carneiro e presunto.

Original English

The Museum was not confined to natural history. It was also an archæological or historical museum. The bones department was perhaps the largest. Personally, I don't think that any student of comparative anatomy would have found it scientifically very helpful. For the bones were mostly beef, mutton and ham bones.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Havia também ossos de peixe. O Professor Quetch mostrou ao narrador um peixe inteiro que ele chamava de "O Peixe Mais Velho do Mundo". Um cachorro chamado Blackie o encontrou. O peixe tinha um cheiro muito forte. Cachorros de um lugar distante reclamaram porque o cheiro os incomodava. O Professor Quetch ficou bravo e disse que eles não entendiam de ciência. Alguns vizinhos também reclamaram. Por causa das reclamações, o "peixe mais velho" teve que ser jogado fora.

Original English

But not all. There were fish bones. In fact there was one whole fish, which Professor Quetch proudly ordered me to label, " The Oldest Fish in the World " I could well believe it was. Blackie the retriever had dug it up — from the place where some one had carefully buried it a long time ago. Its odour was so far-reaching that the members of the Badgers' Tavern (which was at least a hundred yards away from the Home for Crossbred Dogs) sent in a request that something be done about it. They said that while they were not usually over-sensitive to smells, this one kept them awake at night. Professor Quetch was very much annoyed and sent a message back to the badgers that they were a lot of low-brow, meddlesome busybodies who didn't appreciate science. But some of the Doctor's neighbours across the street also complained; and the "oldest fish in the world" had to go — back to the garbage heap.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Professor Quetch era o nome de um cachorro.

Original English

"Professor Quetch"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Museu dos Cães tinha uma grande seção para coisas antigas. Guardava a coleção especial de Quetch de itens como caroços de ameixa, cabos de guarda-chuva e maçanetas. Os cães também ajudaram a encontrar muitos tesouros cavando. Encontraram coisas como tampas de panela, colheres tortas, chapéus, latas e bule quebrados. Quase todos os tipos de ferragens e itens domésticos estavam lá. Um item muito importante e especial era uma meia que o famoso Doutor ele mesmo havia usado.

Original English

The archæological side of the Dog Museum was even more varied and extensive than the natural history departments. Here could be found Quetch's own priceless collection of prune-stones, umbrella handles and door-knobs. But these formed only a small part of the whole. The habit of digging — generally for rats — natural to all dogs, now led to the unearthing of treasures of every variety. Saucepan-lids, bent spoons, top hats, horse-shoes, tin cans, pieces of iron pipe, broken tea-pots, there was hardly anything in the way of hardware and domestic furnishings that wasn't represented. A sock which had been worn full of holes by the great Doctor himself was one of the most sacred and important exhibits.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Nos primeiros dias, os cães cavaram muito. Jip e Kling tinham ouvido o Doutor dizer que os romanos uma vez tiveram um acampamento onde hoje fica a cidade de Puddleby. Eles esperavam encontrar joias romanas se cavassem com cuidado. Cavaram no jardim de tulipas do Coronel Bellowes. Encontraram um bulbo de planta, mas o Coronel os viu e os perseguiu. Eles escaparam e levaram o bulbo para casa. Foi assim que começou a coleção de plantas do museu. O bulbo tinha uma etiqueta.

Original English

For the first few days there was a general frenzy of digging. Jip and Kling had heard the Doctor say that the Romans had once had a military camp on the site now occupied by the town of Puddleby. They were determined that they'd find Roman jewelry if they only dug patiently enough. Among other places they tried was Colonel Bellowes' tulip bed. They had just dug up a bulb when they were seen by the Colonel and chased. But they got away — and home with the bulb. And that was how the Botanical Department of the museum began. The bulb in question had a label set under it reading:

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

A etiqueta explicava que um famoso naturalista e explorador chamado Jip havia dado a orquídea. Dizia que Jip foi perturbado enquanto trabalhava e foi perseguido por pessoas perigosas por uma longa distância. No entanto, ele escapou de seus perseguidores e conseguiu trazer esta planta muito valiosa de volta ao Museu dos Cães.

Original English

" This Orchid was donated by the famous naturalist and explorer, Jip. The intrepid collector was disturbed at his work and chased for miles by savage natives. He eluded his pursuers however and succeeded in bringing back this priceless specimen to the Dog Museum."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Coronel viu Jip e Kling e os perseguiu.

Original English

"They were seen by the Colonel and chased"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

QUETCH

Português

O Museu dos Cães continuou por muito mais tempo do que o esperado. O escritor pensou que os cães perderiam o interesse, mas as coleções cresceram muito rapidamente. Após algumas semanas, o museu encheu o ginásio inteiro. Durante uma partida de luta livre, um cão acidentalmente jogou outro cão no Departamento de Botânica. Ficou claro que o museu estava ficando grande demais para o ginásio.

Original English

THE D OG M USEUM continued for much longer than I had thought it would. My private opinion had been that the dogs were only captivated by the novelty of the idea and would drop it altogether when its newness had worn off. Some weeks after its beginning the collections had grown so fast that they filled the whole gymnasium. During the semi-final bout of a wrestling contest a Great Dane threw Blackie the retriever through the dividing screen and landed him in the middle of the Botanical Department. It was clear that the gymnasium was getting crowded out by the museum.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Era a partida semifinal de uma competição de luta livre.

Original English

"The semi-final bout of a wrestling contest"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Comitê da Casa se reuniu novamente. Decidiram que esportes e ciência eram igualmente importantes. Removeriam a maioria dos itens antigos e manteriam apenas coisas reais e úteis para cães e a História dos Cães.

Original English

So a second meeting of the House Committee was called. And it was decided that since athletics were equally important as science, most of the junk should be thrown out, and only those things kept that were really genuine and of special application to dogs and Dog History.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O colar de ouro especial de Jip era uma das principais exposições. O Professor Quetch mostrou ossos que ele disse terem sido mastigados por cães famosos. Ele também mostrou um pequeno barril que afirmava que os cães São Bernardo carregavam nos Alpes. Ele colocou uma etiqueta em um osso dizendo que era um brinquedo do poodle de estimação da Imperatriz Josefina.

Original English

Jip's famous golden collar (which he only wore on holidays and occasions of importance) was made one of the star exhibits. There were also a few bones which Professor Quetch insisted had been chewed by the great dogs of history. There was, also, a small keg which he said had been carried round the necks of the St. Bernard dogs who went to the aid of lost travellers in the snow-swept passes of the Alps. How he knew the record of these relics no one could tell. On the other hand, no one could deny it when he put up a label under a veal bone saying that this object had been the earliest plaything of the Empress Josephine's pet poodle.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Em vez de muitos itens, agora havia apenas algumas vitrines com objetos especiais. Eles foram mantidos por muitos anos e mostrados a todos os visitantes, cães e pessoas. O Professor Quetch sempre guiava os visitantes pelo museu. Ele garantia que as pessoas não se apoiassem nas vitrines e que os cães não levassem os ossos históricos.

Original English

At all events, the enormous array of hardware and rubbish which had formed the first displays gave place to one or two glass cases where a small collection of objects of great virtue was set forth. And for many years these remained a permanent part of the institution, and all visitors, whether dogs or people, were shown them. Professor Quetch never allowed visitors into the museum, however, without personally conducting them, to see that they didn't lean on the cases — if they were people — or, if they were dogs, that they didn't take away the historic bones.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

A terceira história era o próprio conto de Jip sobre como ajudou o Cachorro do Homem Coxo a ganhar dinheiro. A quarta história era sobre o Professor Quetch. Ele era um cão de muito caráter, mas não gostava de falar sobre si mesmo. Ele sempre dizia que estava muito ocupado com seus deveres no museu.

Original English

The third story in the "Tales of the Home for Crossbred Dogs" was Jip's own tale of how he had posed for the great George Morland and helped the Lame Man's Dog earn money for his crippled master. For the fourth story Professor Quetch himself was called upon. Both Toby and Kling had often told me that they knew that he had led rather an interesting life, and I could well believe it, for he was certainly a dog of individuality and character. He was not easy to persuade however. In spite of his being, like Toby, a self-important, plucky, little animal, he wasn't boastful or given to talking about himself. He had always, when asked to tell the story of his life, made the excuse that he was too busy with his duties as curator of the museum.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O museu estava muito menor agora, então precisava de menos trabalho. Um dia, Jip trouxe notícias felizes. Ele disse que Quetch tinha prometido contar sua história de vida na próxima noite. A história se chamaria "A História do Cão que Saiu em Busca de sua Fortuna".

Original English

However, now that the museum had been considerably reduced in size, he did not have to give so much attention to it. And one day Jip came to me highly delighted with the news that Quetch had promised to-morrow night to give us an account of his life which was to be entitled "The Story of the Dog Who Set Out to Seek His Fortune."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Eu pensei que a história seria boa, então perguntei ao Doutor se ele queria ouvir. Ele costumava ir frequentemente às horas de histórias dos cães, mas ultimamente estava muito ocupado. No entanto, ele concordou em tornar esta uma ocasião especial e prometeu estar lá.

Original English

Feeling it would probably be a good yarn well told, I asked the Doctor if he would come and listen. In former times he had frequently attended the dogs' after-supper story-tellings. But of late he had seldom had the time to spare. However, he said he would make this a special occasion and be there without fail.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Na noite seguinte, a Sala de Jantar dos Cães estava muito cheia. Todos os membros cães estavam lá, esperando pela história. Era também uma 'Noite de Convidados' especial, o que significava que os membros podiam trazer amigos para o jantar.

Original English

When the following night came the Dogs' Dining Room was jammed. For not only was every single member present, eagerly waiting to hear the yarn, but it turned out that this was Guest Night, the second Friday in the month, when members were allowed to bring friends to dinner as guests of the Club.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Professor Quetch começou sua história dizendo que nasceu de pais pobres, mas honestos. Seu pai era um terrier Aberdeen que era bom em pastorear ovelhas, e sua mãe era uma cachorra West Highland. Eles viviam com pequenos fazendeiros na Escócia. Quando Quetch e seus irmãos e irmãs eram filhotes, eles tinham comida suficiente. Mas, à medida que cresciam, os fazendeiros não tinham muita comida para sua grande família e os trabalhadores, e certamente não o suficiente para muitos filhotes famintos.

Original English

"I was born," Professor Quetch began, "of poor but honest parents. My father was a hard-working Aberdeen terrier and my mother was a West Highland of excellent pedigree. Our owners were small farmers in Scotland. My father helped regularly with the sheep. In spite of his size, he was a mighty good sheep dog and could round up a flock or cut out a single ewe from the herd with great skill. When we children were puppies we got fed well enough, because we were easy to feed, not requiring much more than milk. But as soon as we began to grow up into regular dogs it was another story. We saw then that the farmer that owned us had hardly enough food most of the time to feed his own family and the hands who worked for him, let alone a large litter of hungry terriers.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quetch mencionou que seu pai era um cão pastor muito bom.

Original English

"He was a mighty good sheep dog"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador explicou que eles moravam em um estábulo atrás de uma casa de fazenda. Eles tinham sua própria baia de cavalo, que era quente e cheia de palha seca. Uma noite, o narrador ficou acordado até tarde e ouviu sua mãe e seu pai conversando. Seus pais se chamavam Jock e Jenny.

Original English

"We lived in a stable behind the farm-house where we had an old disused horse-stall to ourselves. It was well lined with dry straw, snug and warm. One night I happened to lie awake late and I overheard my mother and father talking. Their names were Jock and Jenny.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Jenny disse a Jock que ela tinha ouvido o fazendeiro falando sobre se livrar dos filhotes deles em breve.

Original English

"'You know, Jock,' said my mother, 'very soon that farmer is going to get rid of these puppies of ours. I heard him talking about it only the other day.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Jock respondeu que isso era esperado. Ele achava que o fazendeiro provavelmente ficaria com um ou dois filhotes. Ele esperava que ficassem com Quetch, pois Quetch era um cão jovem e inteligente e já o ajudava com as ovelhas. Jock achava que os outros filhotes não eram muito inteligentes.

Original English

"'Well,' said my father, 'I suppose that was to be expected. They'll keep one or two, I imagine. I hope they leave Quetch here. He seems a bright youngster and is already quite a help to me with those silly sheep. For the rest, I think they're rather stupid.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Jenny ficou muito irritada e disse que os filhotes eram tão inteligentes quanto o pai deles.

Original English

"'Stupid indeed!' snapped my mother with great indignation. 'They're every bit as clever as their father, that's certain.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Jock concordou com Jenny, mas também disse que o fazendeiro, McPherson, não podia ficar com todos os filhotes porque ele tinha sua própria família para sustentar e mal podia cuidar deles.

Original English

"'All right, have it your own way, Jenny,' said my father, snuggling his nose down into the straw to go to sleep — he never cared for arguments anyway— 'have it your own way. But you can hardly expect McPherson to keep the whole litter when he can barely support his own family.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cachorro ouviu seu pai falar sobre dar os filhotes. Ele achou isso injusto porque os cães deveriam ter direitos e escolher suas próprias vidas. Ele ficou com raiva e decidiu que não seria dado como um par de sapatos velhos. Ele acreditava que era um indivíduo, assim como o fazendeiro, e queria que o mundo soubesse disso.

Original English

"With that my father fell asleep and I fell to thinking. First of all, it seemed to me very wrong that dogs should be disposed of in this haphazard, hit-and-miss fashion. If we were given away, to whom would we be given? Had dogs no rights at all? My father was a worker on the farm, doing his daily job as faithfully and as well as any of the clodhoppers who drove the plough or cut the corn. And here he was calmly talking about his own children being given away as though they were apples or turnips! It made me quite angry. I lay awake far into the night wondering why dogs were not allowed to lead their own lives and shape their own careers. It was an outrage. I got myself quite worked up over it. And before I fell asleep I made up my mind that no one was going to give me away as though I were no more than an old pair of shoes. I was an individual, the same as the farmer himself. And I was going to make the world acknowledge that fact or know the reason why."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

THE DICK WHITTINGTON DOG

Português

O cachorro explicou que sua história é sobre um cachorro que queria viver sua própria vida. Ele sabia que muitas pessoas tentavam fazer o mesmo. Ele não achava sua vida muito emocionante, mas esperava que suas aventuras pudessem ser interessantes para os outros. Ele queria mostrar como conquistou sua liberdade e independência.

Original English

" P ERHAPS THE ONLY notable thing about this yarn of mine is that it is the story of a dog trying to lead his own life. I know of course that there are many of you present who have struggled to do the same. That was one reason why I wasn't keen to tell a story: I didn't feel that my life had anything particularly thrilling about it. But at all events what small adventures I ran into may have been different from your own, and the way I attacked the problem of winning liberty and independence for myself may interest you.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Alguns dias depois, o cachorro viu que as preocupações de sua mãe estavam corretas. O fazendeiro, McPherson, trouxe amigos para ver os filhotes, esperando que eles adotassem um. Um homem escolheu o cachorro. O cachorro achou o homem tolo e sem refinamento. O homem examinou o cachorro como se ele fosse um porco para venda. O cachorro decidiu que não pertenceria a esse homem. O homem pediu a McPherson que guardasse o cachorro por mais dois dias antes de voltar para pegá-lo.

Original English

"A few days after I had overheard my parents' conversation I began to see that my mother's fears were right. Almost every day McPherson the farmer would bring friends of his in to see us, hoping they'd be willing to adopt one or other of us. As luck would have it, I was selected the very first. A stupid fat man — I think he was a farmer too — chose me out of the whole litter. I wouldn't have chosen him from among a million. He had no wits at all and no — er — refinement, none whatever. He turned me over and prodded me and examined me as though I were a pig for the fatting market instead of a dog. I determined right away that whatever happened I wouldn't become his property. Luckily he couldn't take me immediately and he asked McPherson to keep me for him a couple of days, at the end of which he would come and fetch me.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cachorro pensou sobre pessoas que foram buscar a sorte. Ele se perguntou por que um cachorro não poderia fazer o mesmo. Ele sabia que tinha que partir para evitar ser levado pelo homem tolo. Ele não tinha visto muito do mundo, então decidiu que iria buscar sua sorte no dia seguinte.

Original English

"I had heard of boys setting out to seek their fortunes. Never of a dog. And yet why not? The more I thought of the idea, the more it appealed to me. I had to go somewhere if I didn't want to be taken away by that stupid man. I had seen nothing of the world so far. Very well then: I would set out to seek my fortune — yes, to-morrow!

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Na manhã seguinte, o cachorro acordou antes de todos na fazenda. Ele juntou alguns ossos velhos e os colocou em um lenço, que eram todos os seus pertences. Então ele partiu para fazer o seu próprio caminho no mundo. Era final do outono, e ainda estava escuro e frio. Ao chegar à estrada, ele olhou para trás, para os edifícios da fazenda. Com um sentimento feliz, ele abanou o rabo e trotou para longe.

Original English

"The next morning I was up before any of the farm was stirring. I had collected several old bones, and with these as all my earthly possessions tied up in a red handkerchief, I set out to carve a career for myself. I remember the morning so well. It was late in the Fall and the daylight would not appear for an hour yet. But an old rooster was already crowing in a hoarse voice through the misty chill air as I gained the road and looked back at the farm buildings huddled in the gloom of the hollow. With a light heart I waved my tail at him and trotted off down the road.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele afirmou que queria começar uma nova carreira.

Original English

"I set out to carve a career for myself"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele percebeu que era muito inexperiente e sabia muito pouco, nem mesmo sobre a área perto da fazenda ou para onde a estrada ia. No entanto, isso tornou a aventura mais emocionante, e ele decidiu seguir a estrada para ver o que aconteceria.

Original English

"Dear me, how inexperienced I was! I realize that now. Literally I knew nothing — not even the geography of the immediate neighbourhood around the farm. I didn't know where the road I was travelling along led to. But at that time such a thing only added to the thrill of the adventure. I would stick to this road, I told myself, and see what fortune it brought me to.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Depois de caminhar por cerca de uma hora, ele sentiu fome. Ele parou na estrada, pegou sua comida e escolheu um osso de presunto que não estava completamente comido. Ele começou a comê-lo e conseguiu roer metade com seus dentes bons e jovens.

Original English

"After I had jogged along for about an hour I began to feel very much like breakfast. I therefore retired off the road into a hedge and opened my bundle of bones. I selected a ham bone which had not been quite so thoroughly chewed as the rest and set to work on it. My teeth were young and good and I soon managed to gnaw off the half of it.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele se sentiu melhor, mas ainda um pouco faminto. Enquanto se preparava para sair, ouviu um barulho. Ele foi silenciosamente investigar, esperando pegar um coelho para mais comida. Em vez disso, encontrou um velho andarilho acordando no campo onde havia dormido. Ele sentiu uma conexão com o andarilho, pois também era sem-teto. Ele observou enquanto o andarilho ordenhava uma vaca em uma lata. O andarilho então deixou o leite e foi embora. Enquanto ele estava fora, ele saiu escondido e bebeu todo o leite.

Original English

"After that I felt much better, though still somewhat hungry. I re-packed my baggage, but just as I was about to set off I thought I heard a noise the other side of the hedge. Very quietly I crept through, thinking I might surprise a rabbit and get a better breakfast. But I found it was only an old tramp waking up in the meadow where, I suppose, he had spent the night. I had a fellow feeling for him. He was homeless too, and, like me, a gentleman of the road. Within the thicket I lay and watched him a moment. There was a herd of cows in the field. Presently the tramp went and began milking one of them into a tin which he carried. When he had the tin filled he brought it back to the corner of the field where he had slept and set it down. Then he went away — I suppose to get something else. But while he was gone I crept out of the hedge and drank up all the milk.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele viu um velho andarilho acordando.

Original English

"It was only an old tramp waking up"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Sentindo-se muito melhor, o narrador começou a andar pela estrada. Após uma curta distância, ele decidiu voltar para encontrar o andarilho. Ele pensou que poderia se sentir culpado pelo leite que havia tomado, ou talvez sentiu uma conexão com o andarilho e quis conhecê-lo.

Original English

"Considerably refreshed, I set off along the road. But I hadn't gone more than a few hundred yards when I thought I'd go back and make the tramp's acquaintance. Maybe I felt sort of guilty about the milk. But anyway a fellow feeling for this adventurer whom I had robbed made me turn back.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quando o narrador voltou à beira do prado, ele viu o andarilho ao longe ordenhando a vaca novamente. Ele esperou até que o andarilho terminasse e então saiu para se mostrar.

Original English

"When I regained the corner of the meadow I saw him in the distance milking the cow again. I waited till he returned. Then I came out and showed myself.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O andarilho falou com o narrador, dizendo que sabia que o narrador havia pegado seu leite. No entanto, o andarilho disse que não era um problema porque ele havia encontrado mais. Ele então convidou o narrador para se aproximar e perguntou seu nome.

Original English

"'Ah, young feller me lad!' says he. 'So it was you who pinched my milk. Well, no matter. I got some more now. Come here. What's your name?'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador achou que o andarilho era uma boa pessoa e gostou de sua companhia. Ambos concordaram em viajar juntos. O andarilho era habilidoso em encontrar comida, muitas vezes pedindo refeições em casas de fazenda e dividindo-as. O narrador era bom em pegar coelhos e faisões, que eles cozinhavam à beira da estrada. Juntos, eles conseguiam viver bem.

Original English

"Well, he seemed a decent sort of man and I kind of palled on to him. I was glad of his company. On both sides it seemed to be taken for granted that we would travel together along the road. He was much better at foraging food than I was — in some ways; and I was better than he was in others. At the farmhouses he used to beg meals which he always shared with me. And I caught rabbits and pheasants for him which he cooked over a fire by the roadside. Together we managed very well.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Eles viajaram por várias cidades e viram muitas paisagens interessantes. O narrador apreciou que o andarilho lhe permitia total liberdade. Embora muitas vezes sentissem muito frio à noite, o andarilho era bom em encontrar lugares para dormir, como em palheiros ou celeiros antigos. Ele também sempre dividia seu casaco para manter o narrador aquecido quando dormiam.

Original English

"We went through several towns on our way and saw many interesting things. He allowed me complete liberty. That I will always remember to his credit. Often at nights we nearly froze. But he was a good hand at finding sleeping-places, burrowing into the sides of haystacks, opening up old barns and such like. And he always spread part of his coat over me when he lay down to sleep."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALITY

Português

O amigo do narrador precisava de dinheiro, talvez para viajar. Uma tarde, ele foi a uma fazenda e perguntou à mulher que abriu a porta se ela queria comprar um cachorro.

Original English

" B UT THE DAY soon came when my new friend played me false. He wanted money. I fancy it was to get coach-fare to go to some other part of the country. I don't know. Anyway one afternoon he knocked at a farm-house door. I thought that as usual he was going to ask for food. Imagine my horror when he said to the woman who answered the door, 'Do you want to buy a dog, Ma'am?'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador ficou tão chocado que fugiu e não olhou para trás. Ele se sentiu triste e confuso. Depois, ficou com raiva. Ele achou errado o amigo tentar vendê-lo, especialmente porque o narrador o havia ajudado a pegar comida.

Original English

"I just ran. I left him standing at the door there and never looked back. It was such a shock to my faith in human nature that for the present I did nothing but feel blue. Puzzled, I went on down the road, still seeking my fortune, alone. It was only later that I began to feel angry and indignant. The cheek of the man, trying to sell me when he hadn't even bought me! — Me, the free companion of the road who had been in partnership with him! Why, I had caught dozens of rabbits and pheasants for that ungrateful tramp. And that was how he repaid me!

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Depois de caminhar por alguns quilômetros, o narrador viu algumas crianças brincando com uma bola. Ele gostava de jogos com bola e se juntou a elas. Ele as ajudou correndo atrás da bola. Todos se divertiram juntos por um tempo.

Original English

"After jogging miserably along for a few miles I came upon some children playing with a ball. They seemed nice youngsters. I was always fond of ball games and I just joined in this one, chased the ball whenever it rolled away and got it for them. I could see they were delighted to have me and for quite a while we had a very good time together.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quando as crianças tiveram que ir para casa jantar, o narrador as seguiu, esperando comer com elas. As crianças disseram à mãe que ele havia brincado com elas e as seguido. A mãe o expulsou com uma vassoura, dizendo que cachorros de rua transmitem doenças. O narrador sentiu que as pessoas tratavam os animais mal, seja os prendendo quando eles queriam liberdade, seja os expulsando quando eles queriam ser amigáveis.

Original English

"Then the children found it was time to go home to supper. I had no idea where my own supper was coming from so I decided I'd go along with them. Maybe they would let me join them at their meal too, I thought. They appeared more pleased than ever when I started to follow them. But when they met their mother at the gate and told her that I had played with them and followed them home she promptly chased me off with a broom. Stray dogs, she said, always had diseases. Goodness only knows where she got that from! Stray dogs too, if you please. To her every animal who wasn't tagged on to some stupid human must be a stray, something to be pitied, something disgraceful. Well anyway, to go on: that night it did seem to me as though mankind were divided into two classes: those that enslaved dogs when they wanted to be free; and those that chased them away when they wanted to be friendly.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

A mãe expulsou rapidamente o narrador usando uma vassoura.

Original English

"She promptly chased me off with a broom"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cão sentiu fome. Uma menina começou a chorar porque achou que ele estava com fome. O cão fingiu ir embora, mas se escondeu por perto. Ele viu a sombra da mãe e soube que as crianças jantariam sozinhas. Foi até a janela da sala de jantar e bateu no vidro. No começo, as crianças ficaram um pouco assustadas. Mas então uma criança olhou e viu o cão sentado no parapeito da janela lá fora.

Original English

"One of the children, a little girl, began to cry when her mother drove me off, saying she was sure I was hungry. — Which I was. She had more sense than her mother, had that child. However I thought I'd use a little strategy. So I just pretended to go off; but I didn't go far. When the lights were lit in the dining-room I waited till I saw the mother's shadow on a blind in another part of the house. I knew then that the children would be alone at their supper. I slipped up to the window, hopped on to the sill and tapped gently on the pane with my paw. At first the children were a bit scared, I imagine. But presently one of them came over, raised the corner of the blind and saw me squatting on the sill outside.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

As crianças deixaram o cão entrar. Elas o esconderam em um armário para que a mãe não o visse. Também lhe deram uma boa refeição. Mais tarde, quando as crianças deveriam estar dormindo, uma delas desceu as escadas secretamente e levou o cão para o quarto. O cão dormiu em um travesseiro macio debaixo de uma cama. O cão achou isso muito gentil e uma boa hospitalidade.

Original English

"Well, to make a long story short, the youngsters not only took me in, but they stowed me away in a closet so their mother wouldn't see me and gave me a fine square meal into the bargain. And after they were supposed to be fast asleep one of them crept downstairs and took me up to their nursery where I slept under a bed on a grand soft pillow which they spread for me. That was what I call hospitality. Never was a tramp dog treated better.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Uma das crianças desceu as escadas.

Original English

"One of them crept downstairs"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

De manhã, o cão saiu sem que a mãe o visse. Todas as quatro crianças estavam tristes e chorando no portão do jardim. O cão lembrou-se da bondade e hospitalidade delas. Ele não queria deixá-las. No entanto, a mãe das crianças disse que cães de rua têm doenças, o que deixou o cão irritado. As crianças secretamente lhe deram mingau de aveia e molho para o café da manhã. Sentindo-se corajoso, o cão andou pela estrada, pensando no que aconteceria a seguir.

Original English

"In the morning I managed to slip out unseen by Mama and once more I hit the trail. Not only was one child crying this time, but the whole four of them were sniffling at the garden gate as I said goodbye. I often look back on those children's hospitality as one of the happiest episodes in my entire career. They certainly knew how to treat dogs — and such people, as we all know, are scarce. I hated to leave them. And I don't believe I would have done if it hadn't been for their mama and her insulting remark about all stray dogs having diseases. That was too much. So, with a good plate of oatmeal porridge and gravy inside me — which the children had secretly given me for breakfast — I faced the future with a stout heart and wondered as I trotted along the highway what Fortune would bring forward next,"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

GIPSY LIFE

Português

Depois de andar cerca de três milhas, o cão encontrou uma caravana cigana na estrada. Um cão estava procurando ratos perto da caravana. O cão se aproximou dele e se ofereceu para ajudar a caçar ratos. O cão cigano era quieto, mas o outro cão gostou dele. Eles caçaram ratos juntos e tiveram uma boa perseguição.

Original English

" A BOUT THREE MILES further on I overtook a Gipsy caravan creeping along the road through the morning mist. At the rear of the procession a dog was scouting around in the ditches for rats. I had never met a Gipsy dog, so, rather curious, I went up to him and offered to help him hunt for rats. He seemed a sort of a grouchy silent fellow but I liked him for all that. He made no objection to my joining him and together we gave several rats a good run for their money.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador conversou com um cão cigano e perguntou sobre viajar com caravanas. Ele estava pensando em se juntar aos ciganos porque pareciam pessoas que viviam na estrada, semelhantes a ele. O cão explicou que a vida com os ciganos era muito livre para os cães, e eles não eram incomodados.

Original English

"Little by little I drew the Gipsy dog out and questioned him as to what sort of a life it was to travel with the caravans. These people too were folk of the road like me, and I had serious thoughts of throwing in my lot with them for a while. From what he told me I gathered that a dog led quite a free life with the Gipsies and was interfered with very little.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cão mencionou que a comida nem sempre era regular, mas explicou que a vida cigana era geralmente desplanejada. Ele achava que o narrador poderia gostar de viajar e conhecer novos lugares. O cão sentia que isso era melhor do que ser um cão de estimação na coleira. Ele convidou o narrador para se juntar a eles, dizendo que os ciganos provavelmente nem o notariam por alguns dias.

Original English

"'The grub is kind of irregular,' said my friend, who had got over his grouchiness somewhat and seemed inclined to take to me. 'But then the whole of the Gipsy business is irregular, one might say. If you can stand that you'll probably rather like the life. It's interesting, travelling around all the time. We do see the world, after all. If we have hardships, at least it's better than being treated like a lap dog, trotted out on a leash and living on the same street all the time. Why don't you try it for a while? Just tag along with me. No one will mind. Likely as not the Gipsies themselves will never even notice that you've joined the caravan — at least not for a few days anyhow.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador concordou em se juntar aos ciganos e geralmente se divertiu. Ele confirmou que a situação da comida era difícil, com muitos dias sem comida alguma. No entanto, o cão cigano, cujo nome era Mudge, era muito habilidoso em encontrar comida mesmo em situações difíceis. O narrador suspeitava que Mudge fosse um ladrão muito bom e muitas vezes não sabia de onde Mudge conseguia os suprimentos.

Original English

"I did not need very much persuasion and it turned out eventually that I did join the Gipsies and on the whole had quite a good time with them. My friend had certainly been right about the food. To say it was irregular was putting it mildly. There were many days and nights when there simply wasn't any. But the Gipsy dog, through long experience in this kind of life, knew all sorts of dodges for getting provender under difficult conditions. I strongly suspect that my friend was one of the cleverest larder burglars that ever lived. Often I didn't even know where he got the supplies from and no amount of questioning would make him tell. Many a night when we were both starving, around supper time, with the prospect of going to bed hungry beneath the caravans, Mudge would say to me — that was his name, Mudge —

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quando estavam com fome e prestes a ir para a cama sem comida, Mudge disse ao narrador para não se preocupar. Mudge disse que achava que poderia encontrar comida e pediu ao narrador que esperasse por ele.

Original English

"'Oh, golly! I'm not going to bed hungry. Listen, Quetch: I think I know where I may be able to raise some fodder. You wait here for me.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador perguntou a Mudge se ele poderia ir junto para encontrar a comida.

Original English

"'Shall I come too?' I'd say.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele disse que achava melhor não caçar juntos, pois caçar sozinho às vezes era mais fácil.

Original English

"'Er — no. Better not, I think,' he'd mutter. 'Hunting is sometimes easier single-handed.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele saía e voltava em cerca de trinta minutos com comida incomum. Às vezes trazia um pudim quente de bife e rim, e outras vezes um frango assado com salsichas.

Original English

"Then off he would go. And in half an hour he'd be back again with the most extraordinary things. One night he would bring a steak-and-kidney pudding, tied up in the muslin it was boiled in — complete, mind you, and steaming hot. Another time it would be a roast chicken, stuffed with sage and onions, with sausages skewered to its sides.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Outra vez ele trouxe um frango assado.

Original English

"Another time it would be a roast chicken"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Era óbvio que Mudge havia pegado o jantar de outra pessoa. O narrador estava com muita fome para pensar de onde vinha a comida, mas suspeitava que algumas pessoas estavam muito zangadas com Mudge. Ele ficou surpreso que Mudge nunca foi pego.

Original English

"Of course it didn't take much detective work to tell, on occasions of this kind, that Mudge had just bagged some one else's dinner. I'm afraid I was usually far too hungry to waste time moralizing over where the things came from. Still, I strongly suspect that some good housewives called down many curses on Mudge's head during the course of his career. But the marvellous thing to me was how he did it without ever being caught.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

A vida era principalmente agradável. Eles visitavam feiras e viam cidades durante as celebrações. O narrador conheceu Toby, um cachorro que era performer de Punch e Judy. Ele gostava da vida viajante porque estavam frequentemente no campo, o que era divertido para um cachorro. Sempre havia ratos para perseguir, lebres para caçar e pássaros para pegar.

Original English

"Yet the life was certainly pleasant for the most part. We visited all the fairs and saw the towns in holiday mood. It was in these days that I met Toby, who was, as you know, then a Punch-and-Judy dog. Yes, I liked the Gipsy life — chiefly because we were nearly always in the country, where a dog's life has most fun in it. Along the lanes there were always rats to dig for; across the meadows there were always hares to chase; and in the roadside woods and copses there were always pheasants and partridges to catch.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador explicou que uma parte de sua vida durou cerca de três meses e terminou de repente. Eles estavam visitando a feira de uma cidade grande. O show deles tinha uma barraca de adivinhação onde uma velha cigana, a mãe do chefe deles, lia a sorte com cartas. Algumas pessoas ricas pararam para ler a sorte, enquanto o narrador e Mudge esperavam do lado de fora da barraca.

Original English

"That chapter of my life lasted about three months and it ended, as did the one before it, suddenly. We had been visiting a fair in a town of considerable size. Part of our own show was a fortune-telling booth. Here an old Gipsy woman, the mother of our boss, used to tell people's fortunes with cards. A party of quite well-to-do folk stopped at the booth one day to have their fortunes told. Mudge and I were hanging around outside the tent.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge sussurrou para o narrador que eles deveriam ir embora porque ele não gostou da aparência das pessoas. Ele mencionou que já havia perdido um amigo em uma situação semelhante antes.

Original English

"'Let's get away from here,' he whispered to me. 'I don't like the looks of this mob. I lost a friend like that once before.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador perguntou a Mudge o que ele queria dizer com aquilo.

Original English

"'Like what?' I asked.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge explicou que o chefe deles, Joe, só notava cães de rua quando outras pessoas notavam, e então tentava vendê-los. Mudge disse que seu próprio amigo era um whippet que Joe vendeu para um visitante. Mudge acreditava que ele mesmo não seria vendido porque não era bonito, mas achava que o narrador parecia esperto e poderia chamar atenção, especialmente das mulheres. Mudge aconselhou o narrador a sair até a multidão ir embora.

Original English

"'Oh, Joe,' said Mudge. — Joe was the name of our boss.— 'Joe never notices any stray dogs who join the caravan till somebody else notices them. Then he tries to sell them.... This friend of mine was a whippet. One of the visitors to the booth took a fancy to him and Joe just sold him then and there. I'd never get sold because I'm not nifty-looking. But you, you're smart enough to catch anyone's eye — specially the women. Take my advice; fade away till this mob's gone.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge começou a sair, mas o narrador o chamou de volta. O narrador estava interessado em adivinhação e queria que a velha lesse a palma da mão dele. Ele tinha olhado as linhas nas almofadas de suas patas e achou que pareciam incomuns. Ele estava curioso sobre seu futuro e sentia que estava destinado a uma grande carreira.

Original English

"Mudge was already moving off, but I called him back. I was interested in this fortune-telling business. I hoped to get my own fortune told by the old woman. She read people's palms. I had been looking at the lines in my paw-pads and they seemed to me quite unusual. The future interested me. I was keen to know what sort of a career I had before me. I felt it ought to be a great one.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O falante estava observando as linhas em suas patas.

Original English

"I had been looking at the lines in my paw-pads"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O falante disse a Mudge para esperar e perguntou por que ele estava preocupado. Eles também questionaram como Joe poderia vendê-los se eles não pertenciam a ele.

Original English

"'Just a minute, Mudge,' I said. 'Why get worried? How can Joe sell me when I don't belong to him?'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge disse ao falante para não se preocupar, explicando que Joe venderia qualquer coisa se pudesse. Mudge aconselhou o falante a sair rapidamente.

Original English

"'Don't you worry about that,' said Mudge. 'Joe would sell anything, the Houses of Parliament or the coat off the Prime Minister's back — if he could. A word to the wise. Fade away.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O conselho de Mudge era bom, mas já era tarde demais. Quando o falante se virou para sair, uma mulher estava apontando para eles e falando com Joe, que parecia muito interessado. O falante não viu Mudge novamente por cerca de meia hora. Eles se moveram para outra parte do parque de diversões e esperaram até que os visitantes tivessem saído da tenda de adivinhação.

Original English

"Mudge's advice was sound, but for me it came a bit late. I noticed as I turned to follow him that one of the women was already pointing at me and that Joe, to whom she was talking, was very interested in the interest she was showing. For about half an hour after that I saw nothing more of Mudge. I had moved round to another part of the fair grounds till the visitors should have departed from the fortune-telling booth.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Enquanto o falante observava um homem forte levantando pesos, o cachorro cigano apareceu por trás e sussurrou para eles.

Original English

"While I was looking at a strong man lifting weights the Gipsy dog suddenly came up to me from behind and whispered:

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge disse a Quetch que ele tinha que sair rapidamente porque uma mulher gostava muito dele e queria comprá-lo. Mudge também disse que Joe estava procurando Quetch em todos os lugares.

Original English

"'It's all up, Quetch. You'll have to clear out. That woman liked you so much that she said she'd buy you when Joe offered you to her. He is hunting for you everywhere now.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quetch perguntou por que ele não podia simplesmente se esconder até que a mulher tivesse ido embora.

Original English

"'But why,' I asked, 'can't I just keep out of the way till the woman has gone?'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge explicou que era inútil se esconder porque Joe estava determinado a vender Quetch. Joe sabia que Quetch era o tipo de cachorro de que as senhoras gostavam. Mudge acrescentou que, se Joe perdesse a chance de vender Quetch agora, provavelmente o manteria na corrente para garantir que pudesse vendê-lo depois.

Original English

"'It is no use,' said Mudge. 'Joe won't rest till he has sold you, now that he knows you're the kind of dog the ladies take a fancy to. What's more, if he misses this sale he will likely keep you on a chain right along, so as to make sure of you next time some one wants to buy you.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quetch ficou surpreso e perguntou a Mudge se Joe realmente faria isso. Ele então perguntou a Mudge por que ele ficava com um homem assim e convidou Mudge para ir embora com ele.

Original English

"'Good gracious, Mudge!' I cried. 'Would he really do that? But tell me: Why do you yourself live with such a man? Come with me and we will go off together.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge sorriu e balançou a cabeça.

Original English

"Mudge grinned and shook his head.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mudge balançou a cabeça.

Original English

"Mudge shook his head"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele disse a Quetch que Joe estava bem com ele. Explicou que Joe talvez não fosse um cavalheiro, mas era bom para ele. Joe o via como parte do povo cigano, que fica unido. Ele achava que Joe não o venderia, nem por dinheiro, porque Joe era estranho, mas sempre justo. Decidiu ficar com o povo cigano e sua caravana, dizendo que sentiria falta de Quetch, mas lhe desejava boa sorte. Aconselhou Quetch a ir embora rápido, avisando que Joe o venderia se o pegasse.

Original English

"'Joe is all right to me,' he said. 'He may not be what you'd call exactly a gentleman. But he's all right to me. You're a stranger, you see. He looks on me as one of the tribe, the Romany folk, you understand. Their hand is against every man, but not against one another. Even if I were good enough looking to bring him a ten-pound note I doubt if Joe would sell me. He is a queer one, is Joe. But he's always been square to me.... No, Quetch, I'll stay with the caravan, with the Romany folk. Once a vagabond, always a vagabond, they say. I'll miss you. But, well... Good luck to you, Quetch... Better be going now. If Joe once lays hands on you you'll never get away till he sells you, you can be sure of that.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador ficou muito triste porque se apegou a Mudge, um cachorro cigano que não falava muito. Ele saiu da feira e começou a andar sozinho na Estrada da Sorte.

Original English

"So, very sad at heart — for I had grown very fond of the strange Mudge, the Gipsy mongrel, the dog of few words — I left the fair and struck out along the road again, the Road of Fortune, alone.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador sentiu que o mundo era decepcionante. Ele pensava que, sempre que encontrava um bom jeito de viver, algo ou alguém o impedia de aproveitar.

Original English

"Dear me, what an unsatisfactory world it was! When one did find a nice kind of life something or somebody always seemed to shove you out of it just as you were beginning to enjoy it.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele ainda queria ver mais do mundo. Suas experiências até agora não lhe deram a vida independente que procurava. Lamentou não ter mandado ler a sorte. Olhou para a pata novamente e teve certeza de que era uma boa pata. Era um dia bonito e ensolarado, então ele parou de se sentir triste. Andou para frente, animado para ver o que as novas curvas da estrada trariam.

Original English

"Still, I had much of the world to see yet. And after all, my experiences so far had not brought to me that ideal independent sort of life that I was looking for. I was sorry I had not been able to have my fortune told. I looked at my paw again. I was sure it must be a good one. It was a nice sunny day. I soon threw aside my gloomy thoughts and trotted forward, eager to see what every new turn in the road might bring."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

THE ACROBAT

Português

O narrador teve um dia muito difícil para encontrar comida e estava extremamente faminto à noite. Ele procurou nos quintais por restos, mas só encontrou problemas, entrando em brigas com outros cachorros que não o queriam por lá.

Original English

" T HAT DAY I had very bad luck in the matter of food. I hardly got anything to eat all day. By the evening I was positively ravenous. I came to a town. Hoping to pick up bones or scraps that other dogs had left, I searched several back yards. But all I got was two or three fights with wretched inhospitable curs who objected to my coming into their premises.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Sentindo muita fome e tédio, o narrador andou pelas ruas. Ele viu um homem fazendo acrobacias, se equilibrando nas mãos e dando cambalhotas. O homem estava sozinho, e as pessoas estavam colocando dinheiro em um chapéu que ele havia colocado no chão.

Original English

"Then, famished and very bored with life, I wandered through the streets. At a corner I came upon an acrobat performing. He was standing on his hands and doing somersaults and things like that. He was all alone. There was a hat laid on the curb-stone in front of him, and from time to time people threw coppers into it.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador viu um homem fazendo truques acrobáticos.

Original English

"I came upon an acrobat performing"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador pensou sobre como o acrobata ganhava dinheiro com sua apresentação. Ele lembrou de ter visto apresentações de cães em circos e sabia que poderia fazer truques semelhantes, como ficar nas patas dianteiras ou dar cambalhotas. Ele decidiu que também poderia se apresentar na rua, mas precisava de um chapéu para as pessoas colocarem dinheiro, esperando que lhe dessem comida em vez disso.

Original English

"This set me thinking. The man was evidently making his living this way. In my life with the Gipsies I had often seen dog-acts in the circus ring. Some of the tricks I had practised myself when I had had a notion to go in for a circus career, and I had become skilled in quite a few of them. I could stand on my front paws, beg with a lump of sugar on my nose, throw a back somersault and so forth. Very well then, I said to myself, why shouldn't I give a one-dog show on the streets of this town the same as the man was doing? But I needed a hat for the people to throw money into — only in my case I hoped they would throw cutlets and sausages instead. Yes, the first thing to do was to get a hat.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador procurou um chapéu, primeiro em montes de lixo, mas não encontrou nenhum. Ele então foi a uma loja de chapéus onde o dono estava ocupado. Vendo muitos chapéus, o narrador tentou pegar um rapidamente, mas o lojista atirou seu livro nele e o expulsou.

Original English

"I knew that hats were to be found in shops and on garbage-heaps. I set off and hunted round the backs of houses. The garbage-heaps of this town had everything on them but hats. Most annoying. Where could I find one? I must have a hat. I passed a hat shop. The shop-keeper was busy writing in a book. There were lots of hats on the counter and many more, in boxes, on the floor. I was desperate. He could easily spare me one — he had so many. I dashed in and tried my luck. Bother it! I couldn't get the hat out of the box quick enough. The shop-keeper threw his book at me and chased me out.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador continuou andando pela rua.

Original English

"I went on down the street.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador disse a si mesmo para não se preocupar e que encontraria um chapéu mais tarde.

Original English

"'Never mind,' I said to myself. 'I'll get a hat, somehow, yet.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quando o narrador virou em outra rua, viu um senhor idoso. Ele usava um chapéu alto e elegante que o narrador queria para sua apresentação.

Original English

"As I turned the corner into another street I saw an old gentleman crossing the road. He was all muffled up and full of dignity. And on his head he had an elegant high hat — just the kind of hat I wanted for my performance.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador pensou que, se conseguisse fazer o senhor idoso tropeçar, seu chapéu cairia. Então, o narrador poderia levar o chapéu para outra parte da cidade e começar seu espetáculo.

Original English

"'Ah!' I said to myself. 'If I can only trip that old gentleman up, his hat will roll off and I can take it to another part of the town and begin my show.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador correu rapidamente entre os pés do velho. O homem caiu, e seu chapéu rolou para a sarjeta. O narrador pegou o chapéu e fugiu rua abaixo, desaparecendo na esquina antes que o homem pudesse se levantar.

Original English

"No sooner said than done. I leapt out into the road and ran between his feet. He stumbled and came down with a grunt on his stomach. His hat rolled into the gutter. I grabbed it and shot off down the street. Before the old gentleman had time to pick himself up I was round the corner and out of sight.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O personagem correu por um longo caminho até uma parte diferente da cidade. Ele se sentiu seguro de ser seguido ali. Ele chegou a uma esquina movimentada.

Original English

"I didn't stop running till I got to an entirely different part of the town, quite a distance away. Here I felt I was safe from pursuit. I found myself at a busy street corner.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele pensou que seu próximo passo era reunir uma multidão de pessoas.

Original English

"'Now,' I thought, 'the next thing is to collect a crowd.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele colocou seu chapéu na beira da estrada, entrou dentro dele e latiu alto. Logo, as pessoas que passavam pararam para ver o que estava acontecendo. Ele continuou a fazer barulho e desejou ter um tambor. Então, ele saiu do chapéu, fez uma reverência para as pessoas e começou sua apresentação. Ele pediu dinheiro, ficou em pé sobre as patas traseiras e fez cambalhotas. Ele sentiu que seu show era tão bom quanto, ou até melhor, que o show do acrobata.

Original English

"I set the top hat on the curb-stone, got inside it and started barking for all I was worth. Very soon passers-by began to stop and wonder what it was all about. I went on yelping — I was sorry I hadn't a drum, that's what I should have had. Then I got out of the high hat, bowed to the audience and began my show. I begged, stood on my front paws, threw somersaults, etc. It was quite as good a show as the acrobat had given — better in fact.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele entrou no chapéu e começou a latir.

Original English

"I got inside it and started barking"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O público ficou confuso com o que viu. Eles olharam com surpresa. Então começaram a perguntar uns aos outros a quem o cachorro pertencia e com quem ele estava.

Original English

"The audience didn't know quite what to make of it. They gaped and gaped. Then they began asking one another, 'Where's his master?... Who's he with?'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

As pessoas acharam difícil acreditar que o cachorro estava se apresentando sozinho. Elas pensaram que o dono estava escondido e treinando o animal. A plateia jogou moedas em um chapéu, mas o cachorro não podia comer dinheiro.

Original English

"The silly people couldn't believe I was my own master, giving my own show. After a little they came to the conclusion it was some new trick, that my master had hidden himself somewhere near and was just proving how wonderfully I had been trained by not appearing on the scene himself till after the performance was over. Then pennies began dropping into the hat. That was all very well, but I couldn't eat pennies.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Eventualmente, a multidão entendeu que o cachorro estava se apresentando sozinho. Algumas senhoras bondosas usaram seu dinheiro para comprar carne para ele em uma loja próxima. Ele comeu a carne com grande prazer, e elas trouxeram mais. Conforme mais pessoas chegavam, o cachorro comeu tanto que não conseguiu fazer mais truques.

Original English

"However the crowd finally did realize that I was entirely on my own. And some old ladies in the audience, instead of giving me coins, took their money into a butcher's shop near by and bought some meat to give me. This I gobbled up with great relish and they went and got some more. The crowd grew bigger and bigger meanwhile. And pretty soon, eating between somersaults, I was as full as an egg and I couldn't have done another trick if you had given me a kingdom.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

A apresentação do cachorro lhe rendeu uma boa refeição, mas também colocou sua liberdade em perigo. Muitas pessoas na plateia queriam adotá-lo, pensando que ele precisava de um lar. Elas não entendiam que um cachorro podia ser feliz sendo seu próprio chefe.

Original English

"Well, my act earned me a very square meal, but it also nearly cost me my liberty. Why is it that people just can't seem to understand that a dog may be satisfied to be his own boss? Before my show had gone very far many well-meaning people among the audience decided they ought to adopt me.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Uma senhora mais velha achou o cachorro muito inteligente e com fome. Ela sugeriu levá-lo para casa se ele não pertencesse a ninguém, dizendo que ele merecia um bom lar.

Original English

"' Such a clever little dog!' cried one old lady. 'I think I'll take him home with me — that is, if no one really owns him. Did you see the way he ate those sausages I gave him? He must be starving. He ought to have a good home, such a clever dog.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cachorro decidiu encerrar sua apresentação rapidamente, mas foi difícil sair. Tantas pessoas se reuniram que bloquearam a rua. Algumas pessoas começaram a discutir sobre quem o adotaria. O cachorro não sentiu felicidade com essa atenção e procurou uma maneira de escapar.

Original English

"At that I made up my mind to close my act in a hurry. But it wasn't at all easy to get away, I found. By this time I had attracted such a crowd at the corner that the traffic was held up. People were jammed in around me like a solid wall. Several persons in the audience began to argue as to which of them should adopt me. I should have been flattered no doubt but I wasn't. I looked around frantically for a means of escape.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O velho viu seu chapéu na rua, cheio de carne e fígado. Ele ficou muito irritado e atravessou a multidão para pegá-lo. Enquanto ele tirava a comida, o narrador saiu rapidamente. As reclamações altas do homem sobre seu chapéu roubado fizeram as pessoas olharem para ele. O narrador aproveitou essa chance para ir para o meio da rua.

Original English

"Then suddenly the old gentleman whose hat I had stolen came up on the outskirts of the throng and recognized his topper, filled with pieces of meat and calves' liver, sitting on the curb-stone. Furious with rage he began milling his way in through the mob. While he was picking up his hat and emptying the meat out of it — I hadn't been able to eat more than half of the crowd's contributions — I scuttled out through the lane he had made coming in. The people's attention was suddenly turned to his lamentations and the story of how I had stolen his hat. And while they were listening I got through into more open country in the middle of the street.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O homem tirou a carne do chapéu.

Original English

"Emptying the meat out of it"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

As pessoas logo perceberam que o narrador havia sumido.

Original English

"But the crowd was not long in missing me.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Alguém gritou para as pessoas pararem o narrador porque ele estava fugindo.

Original English

"'Stop him! Grab him! He's getting away!'some one called.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Enquanto o narrador corria em volta de uma esquina, ele percebeu que a cidade inteira estava o perseguindo.

Original English

"And then as I bolted round the corner I realized that I had the whole town chasing me.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador explicou que ele tinha comido muita comida pesada, como salsichas, rins de vitela e costeletas de porco. Por causa disso, correr era muito difícil para ele. No entanto, ele entendeu que precisava correr o mais rápido possível para manter sua liberdade.

Original English

"I had eaten so many sausages and veal kidneys and pork chops that running at all was no easy matter. However I saw plainly that if I was going to keep my treasured liberty I had got to put my best foot forward.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Felizmente, estava escuro. Assim que o narrador saiu das ruas principais, afastando-se das lojas e entrando em ruas laterais tranquilas e mal iluminadas, ele conseguiu escapar das pessoas que o seguiam.

Original English

"Luckily it was quite dark now. And as soon as I got off the main thoroughfares, away from the shops and into the dimly lit back streets I soon gave the crowd the slip.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Cerca de dez minutos depois, quando o narrador havia diminuído a velocidade na estrada aberta fora da cidade, ele pensou consigo mesmo.

Original English

"Ten minutes later, when I slowed down on the open road again outside the town, I said to myself —

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Ele decidiu que tinha conseguido ganhar a vida naquela noite. No entanto, ele também pensou que da próxima vez tentaria um método diferente.

Original English

"'Well, I earned my own living to-night all right. But next time I do it I'll try some other way.'"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

THE MONASTERY

Português

A história de Quetch já durava várias horas, mas a plateia continuava muito interessada. O escritor, que estava tomando notas para um livro sobre cães, sentia os dedos rígidos, mas estava tão absorto na história do terrier que não notou o tempo. O Doutor também não verificou o relógio. Eles poderiam ter continuado ouvindo a noite toda, mas Dab-Dab chegou de repente para dizer que era muito tarde e que era hora do Doutor ir para a cama.

Original English

Q UETCH ' S STORY HAD now been going on for some hours. And the attention of the audience lot slackened in the least. For my part, while my fingers felt a bit stiff from writer's cramp (for you must remember I was taking down all these stories in short-hand, to be put into the book, Tales of the Home for Crossbred Dogs ), I was still too deeply absorbed in the history of this strange little terrier to bother about the time. Neither had it occurred to the Doctor to look at his watch. And it is quite likely that we would all have sat on there listening till the cocks crowed if Dab-Dab had not suddenly appeared and told us that it was long after midnight and high time that the Doctor was abed.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Dab-Dab apareceu de repente.

Original English

"Dab-Dab suddenly appeared"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O resto da história sobre o cachorro foi adiado para a noite seguinte.

Original English

So the rest of the Story of the Dog Who Set Out to Seek His Fortune was put off till the following night.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quando a noite seguinte chegou, a multidão estava muito ansiosa para ouvir, mostrando que o atraso os deixou mais interessados em ouvir o resto da história.

Original English

But when the next evening came I could see by the eager way the crowd got ready to listen that the delay had only made them that much keener to hear the remainder of it.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Quetch explicou que a próxima parte de sua história era incomum. O tempo estava ficando mais frio porque era final do ano. Ele encontrou um palheiro para dormir, mas um vento forte e frio soprou para dentro de seu abrigo. Ele decidiu que precisava encontrar um lugar diferente para dormir e continuou pela estrada.

Original English

"The next chapter in my story," Quetch continued, "was rather odd — peaceful but odd. The colder weather was coming on — for it was late in the year. When I felt that I was well beyond the reach of pursuit of the angry old gentleman and the townsfolk, I began to keep an eye open for a decent place to sleep. The best I could find was a haystack, into which I burrowed a sort of hole and curled myself up inside. I was just about to drop off when a biting cold wind sprang up in the East and began blowing right into my little den. I soon realized that I had got to make a move. I tried the other side of the stack but it wasn't much better. So I decided to go on down the road and find another place.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Enquanto ele caminhava mais, ouviu um sino e viu um grande edifício de pedra com uma capela. Ele percebeu que era um mosteiro, um lugar onde os monges viviam. Ele viu homens de vestes entrando na capela para as vésperas, que ele sabia ser o serviço de oração noturno.

Original English

"I hadn't gone very far when I heard a bell tolling. I peered into the darkness off to the side of the road and saw a large stone building. At one end there was a sort of chapel with stained glass windows, dimly lighted. It was the only habitation in the neighbourhood, standing in the midst of its own grounds apparently. I went up closer and saw that there were men dressed in robes solemnly gathering in the little chapel. It was evidently a monastery. I knew, because there had been one near our home farm. These monks would be going into vespers, the evening service.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cachorro explicou que não era um cachorro religioso, mas tinha amigos de muitas religiões diferentes. Ele viu uma capela que parecia acolhedora e convidativa. Como as portas estavam se fechando em breve, ele se juntou às pessoas e entrou para o serviço noturno.

Original English

"Well, I was never what you would call a religious dog. On the other hand, no one could call me bigoted or intolerant. Among my friends upon the Scotch farm I had had Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist dogs. One of my closest chums had been an Airedale who belonged to a Jewish rabbi. The little chapel looked warm and inviting compared to the cold night outside. The doors would soon close. I joined the procession and went in to vespers.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Alguns monges não concordaram com ele entrando na capela. Eles pensaram que ele não era um cachorro católico romano e não deveria estar lá. Ele encontrou um assento confortável, mas um irmão rapidamente o levou até a porta e o colocou para fora.

Original English

"Well, it seemed that some of the monks were not as broad-minded about matters of religion as I myself. They objected to my coming in. I suppose they thought I wasn't a Roman Catholic dog and hadn't any business there. Anyway, I had no sooner found an empty pew, free from draughts and curled myself up to listen to the service in comfort, than I was grabbed by one of the lay brothers, carried to the door and put out.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cachorro ficou surpreso porque pensava que os mosteiros geralmente eram acolhedores. Ele achou injusto ser expulso para o frio. Enquanto pensava no que fazer, o órgão começou a tocar e os monges começaram a cantar. O cachorro acreditava que cantava melhor. Ele ficou perto da porta da capela e se juntou ao canto deles, seguindo a melodia.

Original English

"I was greatly shocked by this. I had always understood that monasteries were famous for their hospitality. What sort was this, when a gentleman of the road, taking shelter from a windy night within their walls, was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and shoved out into the cold? While I was wondering what I would do next the organ started playing and the monks began singing psalms. Such voices, my gracious! I could do better myself. I would show them. I leant against the chapel door and joined in the chorus. Of course I couldn't sing the words. But I had no difficulty in following the general lines of the tune quite as musically as they were doing.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cachorro se juntou ao canto com os monges.

Original English

"I joined in the chorus"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Para sua surpresa, o canto do cachorro parecia fazer o órgão parar. Então, ele ouviu pessoas sussurrando atrás da porta fechada da capela.

Original English

"To my surprise, my joining the choir seemed to stop the organ. Next I heard whisperings behind the closed door of the chapel.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Um monge pensou que um barulho era o Diabo tentando interromper suas orações. Ele disse ao Irmão Francisco para não abrir a porta.

Original English

"'Perhaps it is the Devil, Brother Francis,' I heard one monk say, 'trying to disturb us at our devotions. Do not open the door on any account.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Abade, que era o chefe dos monges, foi até a porta para ver o que estava acontecendo. Ele era um bom homem que acreditava em lidar com os problemas. Ele ordenou que a porta fosse aberta imediatamente e sorriu ao me ver sentado do lado de fora.

Original English

"This wasn't very flattering, nor in the least helpful. But presently the Abbot, that is the head of the monks, came down to the door of the chapel to see what all the disturbance was about. The Abbot was a very fine man. He became, afterwards, a great friend of mine. Devil or no devil, the Abbot believed in facing the problems of life. He ordered the door to be opened at once. He smiled when he saw me sitting on the step outside.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O Abade me convidou para entrar e me abrigar do vento e do frio.

Original English

"'Come in, stranger,' said he, 'and take shelter from the wind and cold.'

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Entrei rapidamente e me sentei. Alguns monges pareciam surpresos e chateados, mas como o Abade deles me deixou entrar, eles não puderam objetar. Eles continuaram o serviço.

Original English

"I didn't wait for any second invitation but trotted in at once and made myself comfortable in one of the pews. Several of the monks looked kind of shocked and scandalized. But as it was their own abbot who had let me in there wasn't anything they could do about it. Then they went on with the service.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Após o serviço, os monges saíram solenemente. Caminhei com o Abade, percebendo que ele era uma boa pessoa para se estar. Caminhamos por uma passagem de pedra e entramos por outra porta, que levava à sala de jantar. Fiquei feliz em encontrá-la, pois o vento frio me deixou com muita fome e o cheiro de boa comida me saudou.

Original English

"After it was over they all started to troop out again. They were very solemn and serious. I joined the procession, sticking close to the Abbot, who was, I realized, a good person to keep in with. From the door of the chapel, two by two, with our eyes on the ground, we trapsed along a stone-paved cloister and entered another door. Beyond this, I was delighted to discover, lay the dining-room, or refectory, as it is always called in monasteries. Good cooking smells greeted our nostrils. With the cold nippy wind I already had a great appetite again.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador viveu como monge por vários meses e achou que foi uma boa experiência. Ele disse que os monges eram pessoas amigáveis. Quando se juntou ao grupo, teve muita liberdade para ir aonde queria e fazer o que gostava. Ele sentiu que foi uma parte muito agradável e livre de sua vida. O velho Abade era um homem alegre e engraçado que parecia usar a amizade com o narrador para relaxar. Eles frequentemente se divertiam correndo juntos nos prados, perseguindo animais como lontras ou lebres onde não podiam ser vistos.

Original English

"Well, I followed the monastic life for several months. It wasn't half bad. The monks were a very nice lot of men when you got to know them. And as soon as I was accepted into the order I was allowed to go everywhere and do pretty much as I pleased. In that respect it was one of the freest, most agreeable chapters in my whole career. The old Abbot was lots of fun. Naturally of a very cheerful disposition, he often had, I could see, very hard work keeping up the solemn dignity which seemed to be expected of his position as head of the monastery. I am sure that he found in his friendship for me a chance to let off steam and be natural. Many was the jolly run we had together, down in a hollow of the monastery meadows where no one could see us, in pursuit of an otter or a hare.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador e o Abade frequentemente se divertiam correndo juntos.

Original English

"Many was the jolly run we had together"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

A vida no mosteiro era tranquila, com dias preenchidos por orações, jardinagem e trabalho na fazenda. No entanto, o narrador encontrava prazer em suas tarefas. Ele mantinha o mosteiro e as construções da fazenda livres de ratos em troca de comida e moradia. O Abade, que era geólogo, colecionava pedras e rochas, e o narrador o ajudava a encontrá-las.

Original English

"Of course it was quiet, there's no denying that. Prayers, digging in the garden, farm and house work, were all we did; and day followed day in peaceful sameness. But for my part I managed to get a good deal of fun out of it. In return for my board and lodging I kept the monastery and the farm-buildings free from rats. That gave me plenty to do. And it was about this time that I first became a collector. The Abbot was a geologist and he used to collect stones and pieces of rock. I helped him in digging for them.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador teve uma vida pacífica como cão monge. No entanto, ele queria ver mais do mundo. Esse desejo o levou a se despedir do mosteiro e do Abade amigável, e ele começou a viajar novamente.

Original English

"Yes, I had a very peaceful life while I was a Monk Dog. I would probably have stayed with it much longer if it had not been for my desire to see more of the world. This finally led me to bid farewell to the monastery and its nice abbot and set forth once more upon my wanderings."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

THE SHEPHERD IN DISTRESS

Português

O inverno havia chegado, tornando difícil ficar sem um lar. Por cerca de duas semanas, o narrador experimentou frio extremo e fome devido aos ventos gelados. Ele entendeu por que os cães dependem dos humanos e considerou encontrar qualquer dono, até mesmo um severo, apenas para ter comida suficiente e um lugar quente para dormir em troca de seu serviço.

Original English

" T HE W INTER WAS now in full swing and it was not a good season to be homeless. For a week or two I spent about the hardest time that I have ever gone through. Icy blizzards were blowing most of the time. When I wasn't nearly frozen I was almost starved to death. I could well understand then, I assure you, why it was that we dogs, as a race, had remained dependent upon Man. Many a time I was tempted to get adopted by any master or mistress, no matter how stupid or severe, so long as I got one square meal a day and a warm bed in return for my bondage.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador estava muito triste e com fome. Ele estava andando pela estrada quando viu um pastor que estava com dificuldade para controlar suas ovelhas. O pastor tinha um cachorro, mas o cachorro não era bom no seu trabalho.

Original English

"One day when I was down to a very low level of misery and want, trudging along the road wondering where my next meal was coming from, I saw a shepherd having a hard time rounding up his flock. He had a sheep dog with him, but the animal was a fool and no good at the business.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O narrador estava fraco de fome, mas viu uma chance de ajudar. O pastor estava muito preocupado. Um vento forte estava soprando e estava escurecendo. As ovelhas corriam em direções diferentes por causa do vento. O cachorro do pastor não era útil. O narrador sabia como pastorear ovelhas porque havia ajudado seu pai em uma fazenda.

Original English

"I was awfully weak for want of food, but I saw here a chance of something worth while. The shepherd was in despair. The wind was blowing like a crazy hurricane, now this way, now that. Darkness was coming on. The sheep were scattered in all directions, scared by the gale. The man's dog was more a nuisance than a help. He tried hard enough; but he just didn't know the business of sheep-herding, and that was all there was about it. Having helped my father on the home farm — he was one of the best sheep dogs that ever barked, even if he was only a terrier — I did know something about it.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Logo, o pastor viu que seu cachorro não estava ajudando e o chamou de volta. Essa foi a chance do narrador. O narrador rapidamente moveu as ovelhas e as guiou por um portão para um cercado seguro. O pastor ficou muito feliz e agradecido. Se as ovelhas tivessem se perdido na tempestade, o pastor teria enfrentado sérios problemas.

Original English

"After a little the poor shepherd saw that his dog was worse than useless and he whistled and called him off the job. That was my chance. In less time than it takes to tell, I shot round that flock and herded it up through the gate that I saw the shepherd was trying to pass it through. Once I had the sheep in the fenced enclosure the job was done and the shepherd was happy. I came up to him wagging my tail. He fell on my neck and almost wept. If that flock had been lost in the night storm I suppose he would have got into serious trouble.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Esse evento iniciou duas longas amizades, uma com o pastor e outra com seu cachorro. O narrador foi para casa com eles e recebeu uma boa refeição e um lugar quente para dormir. Enquanto comiam, o pastor contou à sua esposa como o narrador apareceu e salvou as ovelhas quando parecia que elas seriam perdidas.

Original English

"That was how I started two friendships which lasted a long while — one with the shepherd, the other with his dog. I went home with the two of them that night and was rewarded with a good hearty meal of stew and a warm bed. While supper was being prepared I heard the shepherd telling his wife how, when it looked as though the flock would be surely lost, I had appeared on the scene and saved the day.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O pastor contou à sua esposa que o narrador havia salvado o dia.

Original English

"Telling his wife that I had saved the day"

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cão achou estranho que o pastor, que não era um homem instruído, não tentasse controlá-lo ou tratá-lo como propriedade. O cão acreditava que o pastor o respeitava porque ele era um especialista em seu trabalho. Ele sentiu que estava trabalhando como um especialista independente pela primeira vez e podia escolher entre ficar ou ir embora.

Original English

"But the curious thing about this incident was that the shepherd, by no means an educated person, never tried to take advantage of me, restrict my liberty or capture me as his property. I suppose, being a sheep-herder himself, he recognized in me an expert in his own trade who was entitled to respect. In other words, I had, for perhaps the first time in Dog History, hired myself out as an independent specialist and could leave or stay with the job as I pleased.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Mesmo sendo pobre, o pastor deu ao cão refeições excelentes, tão boas quanto as suas. O cão então passou várias semanas treinando o collie do pastor, ensinando-lhe como pastorear ovelhas em diferentes condições climáticas.

Original English

"Poor though he was, the man gave me splendid meals, in every way as good as his own. I took his dog in hand — he was a collie, a decent fellow even if he was a bit stupid — and taught him over several weeks how sheep-herding should be done under varying conditions of weather.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

Pastorear ovelhas não é tão simples quanto parece. As ovelhas se comportam de maneira diferente dependendo do clima, como se está bom, tempestuoso, quente ou chuvoso. Um bom cão pastor precisa entender essas diferenças e reagir adequadamente.

Original English

"You know, that game is not quite as easy as it looks to the man who passes by. Sheep are a herd animal — very much a herd animal. If the weather is fine they behave one way; if it is rough they behave another; if it is hot they do this; if it rains they do that and so forth. Now if you're a sheep dog — a good sheep dog — you've got to know these things and act accordingly.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

Português

O cão deu ao cão do pastor, chamado Raggles, um programa de treinamento completo. O cão gostou de ensinar. Após duas semanas, Raggles se tornou um cão pastor habilidoso, capaz de cuidar de um rebanho mesmo em condições difíceis como uma tempestade de neve súbita ao anoitecer, que é uma das tarefas mais difíceis para um cão pastor.

Original English

"Well anyway, I put the shepherd's dog through a regular course. I enjoyed it myself — as one always does when teaching the other fellow. By the end of a fortnight poor Raggles, as he was called, was a really good sheep dog and could be trusted to take care of a flock even if a blizzard sprang up at twilight, which is perhaps the hardest thing that a sheep dog is ever called upon to do."

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL

CITY LIFE

Português

O desejo do cão de explorar o mundo o levou a deixar a fazenda de ovelhas, assim como havia deixado sua vida anterior. Ele se despediu do pastor e de seu cão e partiu novamente. Sentindo-se um pouco solitário na fazenda, decidiu tentar viver em uma cidade. Viajou para uma grande cidade, pensando que seria fácil para um cão viver lá como uma pessoa. No entanto, logo descobriu que isso não era verdade.

Original English

" B UT MY YEARNING to see the world led me to drop that too, just as it had the peace of the monastic life. And the day came when I said good-bye to the shepherd and his dog and set out once more. It had been kind of lonely on the sheep farm and I thought I would like to try city life for a while. I journeyed on till I came to a big town. You see, being still pretty inexperienced, I thought it would be quite a simple matter for a dog to go to a city and take up his residence there like a person. But I discovered it wasn't.

BACK TO READING   BACK TO ORIGINAL