The Stowaway偷乘者

Melanie Sequiera

Marco Puss， the famous cat explorer，arrived at the docks2 one day. It was allnew to him—the noise， the interestingsmells， the ship.

“A house on water，”he thought.“Howexciting！ ”Tail in the air， he stalked3 upthe gangway4. When he was halfway up heheard a shout.

“Whose cat is that？ Get it off theship！ ”

Marco was booted5 off the ship. Hisdignity6 was hurt.

“Ill get on that ship somehow or myname is not Marco Puss！ ”he vowed7.

A big basket lay nearby along withother baggage8. Marco hid in it. Soon aman came along and picked up the basket.Marco was carried up the gangway anddown a companionway9 till they reachedthe ships galley10. There the basket wasset down.

“Here you are， Cook，”said a voice.“The food you ordered.”

The cover was lifted. Marco jumpedout and ran through the doorway. Behindhim came shouts as others joined the cookin the chase11. The noise brought Captainon the scene.

“Whats all this hullabaloo12 about？”he asked angrily. “Cook！ Why are yourunning about with a rolling pin13？”

Cook explained，“It was in the basket，sir！ A dirty black cat！ ”

“We cant wait for it to be found，”said Captain. “All hands to their posts. Ifyou come across the cat， just throw it intothe sea.”

Cook， kind at heart， now felt sorry thathe had made a fuss14. “Let it be， Captain，”he said.“Cats are good mousers， and if thereis one thing Im afraid of， its mice！ ”

And a sailor15 put in timidly16，“Itsgood to have a cat on board， sir. They bringgood luck.”

“Pah！ ”said Captain.“Not a black cat.Black cats always bring bad luck and I wonthave one on my ship. When you find it，drown17 it！ ”

How afraid Marco was when he heardthe words！ He hardly dared to breathe！“What am I to do？”he thought. “Im safeenough here for the moment， but sooner orlater Ill have to go out for food. Thankheavens！ I had a good feed in the basket.”

There was a slight sound behind him.Turning around quickly， he pounced18. “Ah， arat！ ”he said in surprise. “I dont eat rats as arule， but I guess youll come in handy19 on areallyhungryday.”

“Please， sir，”the mouse cried. Suddenlya wonderful idea struck Marco. His blue eyesbegan to shine.

Setting the mouse comfortably betweenhis paws， Marco explained，“Im going to letyou go， Mousie—but first youll have topromise to do me a little favour.

“Anything， sir， anything！ ” promisedthe mouse.

“All right then， listen carefully...”

Just before supper-time that evening， Cookwas taking a huge pie from the oven20 whensuddenly something ran between his feet.

“A mouse！ ”he screamed21， droppingthe pie all over the floor. “A mouse in mykitchen！ Help！ Help！ ”

Captain hurried into the galley. Hefound Cook standing on top of the table，screaming over and over again.“Mouse！Help！ I knew that cat should have beenallowed to run free. It would have caught themouse.”

“Nonsense22！ ”said Captain. “We donot need a cat to catch a mouse. Set thetraps！ ”

In their hiding place， Marco shook withlaughter.“Well done， little mouse！”he said.“Tomorrow at lunchtime， Ill send you outagain. Now listen. They are going to setcheese traps for you. You are not to go nearthe cheese， do you hear？”

The mouse looked unhappy. “I likecheese，”she said.

“Very well， then. I will eat you，”saidMarco. “For if you go near the trap theyllget you and youll be killed anyway！ ”

The mouse backed away hurriedly.“Iwont go near the trap. I promise！ ”

The next morning， Cook was mixing acake when suddenly the mouse ran across thetable. Cook had dropped the bowl.

The passengers were so angry that theyshouted at Captain，“Never again will wetravel on your ship！ ”

Captain was angry and worried.

“This wont do， Cook，”he said.“Fortwo days running， the meals have beenspoilt23.”

The day of the great ship dinner arrivedand still the traps remained empty.

“I will not cook dinner！ ”cried Cook.‘Iknow that mouse will come！ ”

“Dont be silly， Cook，” Captain saidseriously. ‘You have to prepare something tocalm the passengers down. But Ill tell youwhat... Ill bring along some sailors whollkeep a watch here and catch that mouse if itappears. You go ahead with your cooking.”

“You heard that？”said the mouseworriedly.“Theyll be waiting for me！ ”

“Then， now is the time to go，”decided Marco.“Lets go a little earlier.”

The mouse rushed through the doorlike lightning24， climbed up a table andgrabbed25 a piece of cake. BeforeCaptain arrived in the doorway the mousehad left safely.

Poor Cook jumped up with a scream.What a mess！

The news went around quickly.

“Its no ordinary26 mouse，”whis -pered27 the sailors fearfully.

“Get me off the ship，”cried Cook.“Put out a lifeboat！ Im not staying amoment longer. The mouse is out to getme， I know！ ”

It was at that moment that Marcodecided to make his entrance. Everyonestared in amazement as the cat stalkedin， tail waving gently in the air， proudand unafraid.

“Its the stowaway！”went up a whisper.

Marco sniffed28 at the ground with theair of a great detective. “Just like SherlockHolmes，”whispered someone in admiration.

Nose to the ground， Marco followedthe route29 that mouse had taken. Tenminutes later he returned and laid a pieceof cake at Cooks feet. Then， sitting down，he began to wash his face as though he hadjust had a most satisfying meal.

“It has caught it！ It has caught themouse！ ”cried Cook， hugging Marco.

“Caught it and ate it， looks like，”saida sailor.

“Well， Captain，”said another sailor.“Shall I take it now and throw itoverboard？”

Captain looked ashamed. “Let itstay，”he said， bending down and pettingMarco. “And see that its well lookedafter for the rest of the journey！ ”

“Never fear， Captain，” said Cook.“Three good meals a day itll get， cookedand served by my own hands！ ”

Later that night， Marco visited thehiding place he no longer needed. A smallanimal came out of the shadows andaccepted the piece of cake Marco hadbrought for her. Then she rubbed herselfagainst his leg.

“So youre no longer afraid of me， areyou？”said Marco.

The mouse looked at him cheekily30.“No， if you please， Mr. Puss. For if you fallout with Cook or Captain， youll be needingme again！ ”

有一天，著名的貓探险家马尔科·普斯抵达了码头。喧闹声、有趣的气味、大船———对他来说，这一切都很新鲜。

“水上的房子。”他想，“多么令人兴奋啊！”他高高地翘着尾巴，趾高气昂地走上舷梯。当爬到一半时，他听到一声喊叫。

“那是谁的猫？ 把它弄下船！”

马尔科被踢下了船。他的尊严受到了伤害。

“我会设法登上那艘船，否则我就不叫马尔科·普斯！”他发誓说。

一个大篮子和其他行李一起放在附近。马尔科躲在篮子里。不久，一个人走过来，提起篮子。马尔科被提上舷梯，又提下一条舱梯，直到他们到达船上的厨房。在那里，篮子被放了下来。

“给你，厨师。”一个声音说，“你点的食物。”

盖子被揭开。马尔科跳出来，从门口逃走了。他身后传来呼喊声，是其他人和厨师在一起追赶他。嘈杂声把船长引到了现场。

“吵吵闹闹的是怎么回事？”

他生气地问道，“厨师！你为什么拿着擀面杖到处跑？”

厨师解释道：“它在篮子里，先生！一只脏黑猫！”

“我们等不及想找到它了。”

船长说，“所有人都回到各自的岗位上。如果你碰到那只猫，就把它进海里。”

厨师心地善良，现在为自己的大惊小怪感到抱歉。“随它去吧，船长。”他说，“猫是很好的捕鼠动物。如果我有一样害怕的东西的话，那就是老鼠！”

一名水手怯生生地说：“有只猫在船上真好，先生。它们带来好运。”

“呸！”船长说，“那可不是指黑猫。黑猫总是带来厄运，我的船上不允许有黑猫。当你找到它时，把它淹死！”

当听到这些话，马尔科多么害怕呀！他几乎不敢呼吸！

“我该怎么办？”他想着，“我在这里暂时足够安全，但迟早我得出去找东西吃。谢天谢地！我在篮子里饱餐了一顿。”

他身后传来一阵轻微的声响。他迅速转过身来，猛扑过去。“啊，一只老鼠！”他惊讶地说，“我通常不吃老鼠，但我想在一个非常饥饿的日子里，你会派上用场的。”

“求你了，先生。”老鼠哭着说。马尔科突然想到一个好主意。他的蓝眼睛一亮。

把老鼠舒服地放在爪子之间后，马尔科解释道：“我会让你走的，小老鼠———但首先你必须答应帮我一个小忙。”

“什么都行，先生，什么都行！”老鼠连连答应道。

“那好吧，仔细听好了……”

就在那天晚上的晚饭之前，厨师正从烤箱里取出一个巨大的馅饼，突然有什么东西从他的脚下跑过。

“一只老鼠！”他尖叫着，把馅饼掉到了地上。“我厨房里有只老鼠！救命啊！救命啊！”

船长匆匆走进厨房。他发现厨师站在桌子上，一遍遍地尖叫着。“老鼠！救命！我就知道应该允许那只猫自由奔跑。它本来会抓住那只老鼠。”

“胡说！”船长说，“我们不需要猫来抓老鼠。设置陷阱！”

在他们的藏身处，马尔科笑得直颤。“干得好，小老鼠！”他说，“明天午餐时间，我会再次送你出去。现在听着。他们会为你设置奶酪陷阱。你不能靠近奶酪，听到了吗？”

老鼠看起来不太开心。“我喜欢奶酪。”她说。

“ 那么好吧。我会吃掉你的。”马尔科说，“因为如果你靠近陷阱，他们会抓住你，你无论如何都会被杀掉！”

老鼠急忙后退。“我不会靠近陷阱。我保证！”

第二天早上，厨师正在搅拌蛋糕，突然老鼠从桌子上跑了过去。厨师把碗摔了。

乘客们非常愤怒，他们对船长喊道：“我们再也不会乘坐你的船了！”

船长又气又急。

“这样不行，厨师。”他说，“连续两天，饭菜都被糟蹋了。”

大船晚宴的日子到了，陷阱仍然空空如也。

“我不会去做饭！”厨师哭喊道，“我知道那只老鼠会来的！”

“别傻了，厨师。”船长严肃地说，“你必须准备一些东西来安抚乘客。但我要告诉你……我会带一些水手来，他们会在这里守着。如果那只老鼠出现，他们会抓住它。你继续做你的饭吧。”

“你听到了吗？”老鼠担心地说，“他们会等着我！”

“那么，现在该走了。”马尔科决定说，“我们早一点点去。”

老鼠像闪电一样迅速穿过门，爬上一张桌子，抓起一块蛋糕。在船长赶到门口前，老鼠已经安全离开。

可怜的厨师尖叫着跳了起来。

真是一片混乱！

消息很快传开了。

“这不是普通的老鼠。”水手们惊恐地低声说。

“让我下船。”厨师哭喊着说，“放出一艘救生艇！我一刻也不想多待了。我知道，老鼠出来整我了！

正是在那一刻，马尔科决定登场。每个人都惊讶地盯着这只猫。他大摇大摆走进来，尾巴在空中轻轻摆动，骄傲而无畏。

“是偷乘者！”有人小声说。

马尔科带着一副大侦探的神气嗅着地面。“就像夏洛克·福尔摩斯。”有人低声赞叹道。

马尔科鼻子贴地，沿着那只老鼠走过的路线走。十分钟后，他回来了，并把一块蛋糕放在厨师的脚边。然后，他坐下来，开始洗脸，就好像刚吃了一顿最满意的饭。

“它抓住了它！它抓住了老鼠！”厨师抱着马尔科喊道。

“ 看起来像是抓住并吃了它。”一名水手说。

“好吧，船长。”另一个水手说，“我要现在把它抓起来扔到海里吗？”

船長看起来很羞愧。“让它留下来。”他说着，弯下身子抚摸着马尔科。“在接下来的旅程中，请确保它得到妥善照顾！”

“别担心，船长。”厨师说，“它会一天吃三顿美餐，我亲自做，亲自端给它！”

当天晚些时候，马尔科造访了他不再需要的藏身之处。一只小动物从阴影中跑出来，接住了马尔科给她带来的那块蛋糕，然后在他的腿上蹭了蹭。

“所以你不再怕我了，是吗？”

马尔科说。

老鼠嬉皮笑脸地看着他。“是的，普斯先生。因为如果你和厨师或船长闹翻了，你会再次需要我的！”

Notes

1. stowaway 偷乘者

2. dock 码头；船埠

3. stalk 高视阔步地走

4. gangway 舷梯

5. boot 猛踢；解雇

6. dignity 尊严；自尊

7. vow 立誓；发誓

8. baggage 行李

9. companionway 舱梯

10. galley  船上的厨房

11. chase 追赶；追逐

12. hullabaloo 喧嚣；吵闹声

13. rolling pin 擀面杖

14. fuss 大惊小怪

15. sailor 水手；船员

16. timidly  羞怯地；胆小地

17. drown 使……淹死

18. pounce 猛扑；扑过去抓住

19. come in handy 派得上用场

20. oven 烤炉；烤箱

21. scream 尖叫

22. nonsense 胡说；废话

23. spoil 破坏；糟蹋

24. lightning 闪电

25. grab 攫取；抓住

26. ordinary 普通的；平常的

27. whisper 低语；小声说

28. sniff 嗅；闻

29. route  路线

30. cheekily 厚脸皮地