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儿童英语读物 The Disappearing Friend Mystery CHAPTER 6 Paint Footprints

时间:2017-07-21 08:09来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The next morning was bright and sunny. The old boxcar seemed almost to shine as the Alden children walked toward it, carrying the new art supplies. Watch barked and pranced1 happily alongside2.

“We’ll have plenty of time to make posters today,” said Violet as she led the way into the old boxcar. She looked around. It was a comfortable place to be, friendly and full of good memories.

Jessie began to arrange the new supplies neatly3 on the table.

“I’ll fill the old pitcher4 with water,” said Benny. He took the white pitcher off the shelf. Violet had found it in the dump when they lived in the boxcar.

“That’s a very good idea, Benny,” said Henry.

So Benny went to get water for the watercolors with Watch following friskily5 at his heels.

“It won’t matter that we didn’t get to make posters yesterday,” said Henry. “We can make twice as many today.”

When Benny and Watch got back with the water, Henry, Jessie, and Violet had already settled down around the table.

“Here’s a place for you, Benny,” said Violet. “I’ve put a poster board out for you and a pencil so you can draw your design first.”

“Will you write the words for me?” Benny asked Violet as he slid into his seat.

“Of course I will,” said Violet. “Just tell me what you want to say.”

“I’ll have to think about that,” said Benny. He paused, then added, “It will probably make me hungry soon.”

“Oh, Benny. We just had breakfast.” Jessie laughed.

The Aldens got to work. They had made several posters when Beth appeared in the doorway6 of the boxcar. She was holding Mr. Alden’s old shirt, neatly washed and folded. She had on her own old clothes today—cutoff jeans and a faded blue work shirt.

“Hi, Beth,” said all the Aldens.

“Hi,” said Beth cheerfully.

“I’ll take the shirt to Mrs. McGregor,” said Benny, jumping up.

“I can do that, Benny,” Beth said.

“That’s okay,” answered Benny. “Mrs. McGregor might have some biscuits left over from breakfast.”

Everyone laughed as Benny hurried back to the house.

“Oh, look!” Beth looked at all the posters the children had already made. They were lined up neatly around the room to dry. “These are wonderful.” She turned to the Aldens and smiled. “I’ll have to get started!”

Rolling up her sleeves, and grabbing7 a paintbrush, Beth sat down at the table. Soon she had finished her first poster and had started on her second one.

“You’re an excellent artist, Beth,” said Henry, admiring the neat drawing of a girl walking a dog. “That looks just like Jessie.”

“It’s supposed to,” Beth said, looking pleased.

“And that’s Watch!” exclaimed Jessie, happily.

“Yes, it is!” Beth nodded. Her smile became a huge grin8. “This is so much fun. I thought when we moved it would be hard to make new friends. But it hasn’t been hard at all. You’re all so nice and friendly.”

Henry suddenly got up and went to the door. “Benny hasn’t come back yet. Do you think he found some biscuits?”

“Probably!” said Jessie. “I could use a break, too.”

“I know!” said Violet excitedly. “Let’s each take a poster in and show it to Grandfather.”

“We can have a poster show!” said Jessie. “It will be hard to pick out the best ones, though.”

“I know which poster I’m choosing,” said Jessie, and she carefully picked up the one Beth had made of Jessie walking Watch, to advertise dog walking.

So Beth and Henry and Violet each chose a poster and went up to the house to show their work to Grandfather Alden.

“Oh—maybe we should bring one of Benny’s, too,” Beth suggested. “I’ll run back and get one.”

“Okay,” said Jessie as Beth headed back to the boxcar.

Grandfather Alden was in his study with a tall dark-haired man. When Grandfather looked up and saw the children standing9 at the door, he motioned for them to come in. “I have some people here you’ll be glad to see,” Grandfather said to his guest.

The man turned and smiled. “Your grandchildren!” he said.

“Dr. Moore,” said Henry. He shook hands with Dr. Moore. Then Jessie and Violet did, too.

Dr. Moore had given Henry work when the Aldens were living in their boxcar, before Grandfather found them. It was Dr. Moore who had figured out the mystery of Grandfather’s missing grandchildren. And it was Dr. Moore who had helped bring Grandfather Alden and the Alden children together at last.

“What do you have here?” asked Dr. Moore, noticing the colorfully painted poster boards.

“We’ve started a job service called The Boxcar Helpers. We want to help raise money for the new wing at the Greenfield Hospital,” explained Jessie.

“A wonderful idea,” said Dr. Moore. He looked around. “But where is Benny?”

“Here I am,” said Benny. “I was in the kitchen with Mrs. McGregor.”

“We’ve brought some of our posters to show off to Grandfather,” Jessie told Dr. Moore.

“I brought one of yours, too, Benny. Here,” Beth said, coming into the study with another poster.

The Aldens introduced Beth to Dr. Moore. Then Benny took his poster and held it up proudly.

“It’s excellent, Benny,” said Grandfather. “All of them are.” He paused and looked more closely at the one that Jessie was holding. “Jessie, that looks like you and Watch.”

“It is. Beth drew it,” Jessie said.

“Very good, Beth.” Grandfather nodded approvingly, his eyes twinkling. “I think with posters like these, you will have plenty of people calling with jobs.”

“Do you want a new wing built at the Greenfield Hospital, Dr. Moore?” asked Violet.

Dr. Moore looked surprised. “Of course I do, Violet. Why?”

Violet and the others told Dr. Moore about the conversation they’d overheard10 at the hospital between Mr. Alvarez and the angry doctor.

Dr. Moore looked thoughtful. “Yes, it is true,” he said. “Being from Silver City myself, I know some of my neighbors were very upset when the board decided11 not to build a new hospital there. But I thought everyone had accepted the idea by now. I didn’t realize there were still problems.”

He looked at the Aldens and Beth. “But don’t let that stop you. I will certainly recommend you for any jobs I hear about. I know you’re good workers.”

“And we’ll make lots of money,” crowed Benny. “Let’s go make lots more posters. Soon we will have enough.”

As the Aldens walked back to the boxcar with Beth, they explained who Dr. Moore was. Jessie told Beth how Violet had gotten sick while they were all living in the boxcar, and how Dr. Moore had taken her to his house and made her well again.

Suddenly Benny shouted “Look!” An odd sight met their eyes. On the stump12 outside the boxcar were footprints—brightly colored paint footprints.

The children looked into the boxcar, where they saw more footprints. “Oh, no!” Jessie cried. The posters were no longer lined up neatly against the wall to dry. They were scattered13 all over the floor. Water had been poured on some of them, so the paint had run. Some of the posters had paint smeared14 across them in big, angry slashes15. Not a single poster had been left untouched.

“Our posters!” gasped16 Violet.

“They’re ruined,” said Henry.

“Who would do something like this?” Jessie looked angrily around the boxcar, as if she could catch whoever had done it.

“Maybe it was the wind?” whispered Beth.

“No.” Henry shook his head.

“Maybe it was Watch?” Beth offered.

“Watch would never do something like this.” Imitating his brother, Benny shook his head vigorously17.

Jessie said, “This wasn’t an accident. Look at these footprints smeared all around. Someone had to take the paint over to the posters to mess them all up like that.”

Beth cleared her throat. “At least we had the best posters inside with us, so they weren’t ruined.”

The angry look began to leave Jessie’s face. “That’s true, Beth. Let’s clean this up and get back to work.”

“Yes. We can always make more posters,” agreed Henry. “You know, it’s almost as if someone doesn’t want us to get started raising money for the new hospital wing.”

“But why?” asked Violet. “I don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand it either,” said Henry, sounding puzzled.

Luckily, there was plenty of poster board and paint. Everyone got back to work. At last the posters were finished and dry. The children decided to take them into town and put them up before anything else happened.

Every storekeeper quickly agreed to let the children put up their posters. But when they got to the flower shop, the children had a problem.

As the children walked in the door, a tall woman was turning away from the counter, holding an armful of roses.

“It’s her,” whispered Jessie. “It’s that doctor from the hospital.”

The doctor was smiling and smelling her roses. Then she saw the posters.

She stopped. “The Boxcar Helpers. Let us help you—and help the hospital,” she read aloud. “What is this?”

“We want to help raise money for the new wing of the Greenfield Hospital,” said Henry carefully. “So we’ve started a helper service.”

The doctor frowned. “A helper service,” she repeated, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Yes,” said Violet bravely. “All the money we earn doing odd jobs and errands18 will go to the hospital for the new wing that will be built.”

“Well I don’t approve,” said the doctor. “We don’t need a new wing—Silver City needs a new hospital. This is ridiculous.”

The doctor’s eyes narrowed angrily. She pushed past the children and out the door.

The florist19, who had been listening, shook his head.

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie. “Does this mean you won’t let us put up a poster?”

“Well-ll,” said the florist. “She’s a good customer. I’d hate to lose her.” He paused.

“Please?” said Benny.

“Well,” said the florist again, “I guess that new wing is going to be good for business. People often send flowers to patients in the hospital. Okay, you can put your poster up in the front window in the corner.”

“Thank you!” said Henry.

Soon they had posters all over town, from the supermarket to the bicycle shop.

Just as they were putting their last poster in the window of the ice cream shop, an older woman passed by and stopped to read it.

“How lovely,” she said. She looked at Beth. “That is a very good project, Heather. Your family must be proud. Well, I’ll have to remember to call you if I need help with anything.”

As the woman left, Henry frowned. “Heather?” he said.

Beth shrugged20. “When you’re new in town, people get your name mixed up sometimes. It happens to me every time we move.” She didn’t seem too interested. She put the last piece of tape on the poster and stepped back. “There.”

“Now all we have to do is wait for people to call,” said Henry.

“I think people will,” said Benny. “Lots of people. We’ll be very busy!”

“I guess,” said Henry. “We should probably have just a little ice cream—while we still have some free time!”

“Hooray!” said Benny, leading the way to the ice cream counter.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pranced 7eeb4cd505dcda99671e87a66041b41d     
v.(马)腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
  • The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句
2 alongside XLWym     
adv.在旁边;prep.和...在一起,在...旁边
参考例句:
  • There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
  • Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。
3 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
4 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
5 friskily fdefa12128fcf3c73c922d509d5cda59     
adv.活泼地,闹着玩地
参考例句:
  • He moves about friskily despite his age. 尽管上了年纪,他走起路来步履仍然很矫健。 来自互联网
6 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
7 grabbing 6631ce3e19c459ec52654b31168f12de     
v.抢先,抢占( grab的现在分词 );(尤指匆忙地)取;攫取;(尤指自私、贪婪地)捞取
参考例句:
  • The plane was grabbing for altitude. 这架飞机在抢占高度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He sprang to his feet, grabbing his keys off the coffee table. 他一跃而起,从茶几上一把抓起自己的钥匙。 来自辞典例句
8 grin D6iyY     
n./vi.露齿而笑,咧嘴一笑
参考例句:
  • I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
  • She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。
9 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
10 overheard overheard     
adj. 串音的, 偶而听到的 动词overhear的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • We talked quietly so as not to be overheard. 我们低声交谈,以免别人听到。
  • I told Lucy the news under my breath, but Joyce overheard me. 我低声地把这个消息告诉露西,可还是被乔伊斯听到了。
11 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
12 stump hGbzY     
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走
参考例句:
  • He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
  • He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。
13 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
14 smeared c767e97773b70cc726f08526efd20e83     
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上
参考例句:
  • The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
  • A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。
15 slashes 56bb1b94ee9e9eea535fc173e91c6ee0     
n.(用刀等)砍( slash的名词复数 );(长而窄的)伤口;斜杠;撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 );鞭打;割破;削减
参考例句:
  • They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
  • Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤,有的被砍伤,而有的头部首创,伤势不一而足。 来自互联网
16 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 vigorously jeIzw0     
ad.用力地;有力地;剧烈地
参考例句:
  • He rubbed his limbs vigorously to get the blood circulating. 他用力摩擦四肢让血液循环开来。
  • He shook the blankets vigorously to get rid of the dust. 他使劲抖动毯子以抖掉尘土。
18 errands 73b17faa22c4125bdd671cd69e0185d6     
n.errand的复数;差使( errand的名词复数 );差事
参考例句:
  • He often runs errands for his grandmother. 他经常给他的祖母跑腿儿。
  • I have a few errands to do in the town. 我在城里有些差事要办。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 florist vj3xB     
n.花商;种花者
参考例句:
  • The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
  • Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好?
20 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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