王子复仇记—小骗子华勒-3

One day Whopper had two cents in his pocket. He was going to buy some candy with it. He wanted to get some orange candy.

On his way to the drugstore, he heard something growling behind him.

Whopper jumped in surprise. A black puppy came out of the bushes. The dog was wagging its tail.

The puppy was very friendly. But Whopper was afraid of it because he was a coward.

"Oh!" cried Whopper. And he began to run. He looked back and found that the puppy wasn't following him.

The puppy's leash was caught on some bushes.

The little dog pulled and pulled to get free, but in vain.

Whopper kept running all the way to the drugstore. He went there every day to buy some candy.

He ran into the drugstore and cried, "I was bitten by a dog! I was bitten by a big dog!"

There were a customer and the drugstore keeper in the shop.

The customer was on the telephone in the corner of the shop. He looked at Whopper.

Whopper lowered his voice but he was still excited.

Whopper said to the drugstore keeper, "A huge dog ran after me! A huge dog ran after me!"

"It must be a St. Bernard. It was a St. Bernard!" said the shopkeeper.

"But St. Bernards are usually friendly dogs... It must be a police dog," added the shopkeeper.

"Oh! It may be a police dog," Whopper cried happily. "The dog ran after me a long way and it kept barking at me. I tried to climb a tree, but the big dog attacked me. I just got over the fence."

But suddenly Whopper remembered his promise to George and Peter's mother. He stopped talking.

He had to tell the truth again. "It wasn't a police dog," he said. "It was a little black dog and it didn't run after me."

Whopper spoke in a low voice, but the man on the telephone heard him clearly.

The man came near Whopper and asked, "What kind of dog did you see? Where did you see it?"

"I saw it near the bushes," answered Whopper.

He feared that he would get into trouble with the man.

Whopper wanted to change his story again, but he thought of George and decided to tell the truth.

"Oh, it was only a little black dog," he said. "The little dog's leash was caught on the bushes. So it could not run after me."

"Where are the bushes?" asked the man. "Take me to the bushes!"

Whopper took the man to the bushes. The puppy was still there. It was barking louder and louder.

"Oh! My dog," cried the man. He took the puppy in his arms. The leash came loose from the bushes.

He said to Whopper, "Thank you, boy. My dog ran away this morning. So I was calling to the lost and found department. I'll give you a reward."

Whopper did not answer, but his eyes were shining with excitement.

The man gave him a five-dollar bill.

Whopper watched the man and said to him, "Thank you very much. I'm going to stop making up big stories. I'll never tell lies again."

Whopper was very happy. The man was glad, too.

The man went away with his dear puppy in his arms.

Whopper went back home and showed his parents the bill. He promised them never to tell lies again.

有一天华勃的口袋里有两分钱。他正要用这些钱去买一些橘子糖。

在往杂货店的路上，他听到有东西在他后面吼叫。

华勃吃惊地跳了起来。一只小黑狗从树丛中跑出来，摇着尾巴。

这只小狗狗很友善，但是华勃因为胆子小，因此很怕它。

华勃大叫一声：『啊！』便开始跑了起来。他往后看却发现小狗狗并没有跟着他。

原来拴小狗的皮带缠在树丛上了。

小狗拼命地往外扯，却挣脱不出来。

华勃一路跑到他每天去买糖果的那家杂货店。

他跑进杂货店大叫：『我被狗咬了！我被一只大狗咬了！』

那时店里面有一名顾客和店主。

那名客人正在店里的角落讲电话。他看着华勃。

华勃降低音量，但还是很激动的样子。

他对店老板说：『有一只大狗在追我！有一只大狗在追我！』

店老板说：『那一定是只圣伯纳犬。那是只圣伯纳犬！』

『但圣伯纳犬通常是很友善的……，那一定是只警犭，』店老板又说。

华勃高兴地大叫：『哦！那可能是只警犭。那只狗追了我好长一段路，而且一直对着我叫。我想爬到树上，但那只大狗攻击我。我刚跳过篱笆过来。』

但是他突然想起对乔治和彼得妈妈的承诺，便不再说话。

他只得再一次说实话。他说：『那不是警犭。那只是一只小黑狗，而且它也没有追着我跑。』

华勃虽然压低音量，但是那个在讲电话的男人却很清楚地听到他说的话。

他走向华勃问道：『你看到的是哪一种狗？在哪里看到它的？』

华勃回答说：『我是在矮树丛附近看到的。』

他担心会因那个男人而惹上麻烦。

华勃又想改变他的说法，但是想起了乔治，所以他还是决定说实话。

他说：『哦，那只是一只小黑狗。它的狗炼被矮树丛缠住了，所以根本不可能追着我跑。』

那个男人问说：『矮树丛在哪里？快带我去！』

华勃便带着那个男人到矮树丛去。那只小狗还在那里，而且愈叫愈大声。

那个男人大叫：『哦！我的小狗！』他把小狗抱在怀里，链子便从矮树丛中松开了。

他对华勃说：『小男孩，谢谢你。我的狗今早跑掉了，所以我正在打电话给失物招领处。我会酬谢你的。』

华勃没有回话，但是他的眼里闪着兴奋的光芒。

那个男人给了华勃一张五元钞票。

华勃看着那个男人说：『非常谢谢你。我以后不再捏造夸大故事。我以后再也不会说谎了。』

华勃很高兴，那个男人也很高兴。

那男人便抱着他心爱的小狗狗离开了。

华勃回家后把钱拿给他父母看，并答应他们以后再也不会说谎了。