典范英语8-1 刺猬女孩艾蜜

典范英语

8-1

刺猬女孩艾蜜

Amy the Hedgehogs Girl

Miserable Mr Peck

Her mum was in the kitchen when Amy rushed in.

‘How was school?’ asked Mrs Harris, expecting the usual answer, ‘OK.’

‘It

was

great,’

cried

Amy.

‘A

lady

gave

us

a

talk

on

wildlife

and

she

showed

us

a

hedgehog expert.

’

‘A what?’ said Mrs Harris.

‘A hedgehog expert. Someone who knows all about hedgehogs.’

‘That’s good,’

said Mrs Harris. ‘You’ll need to go the library and see if you can find some

books.’

‘Oh

dear,’

Amy groaned. ‘I’ll have to see Mr Peck.’

Mr Peck was t

he children’s librarian. He was a mean and miserable sort of person. He also

lived next door to Amy.

The library was almost empty when Amy arrived. She looked along the shelves, trying to

find a book on hedgehogs.

‘What are you doing?’ snapped a voice be

hind her.

Amy nearly jumped out of her socks. It was Mr Peck.

‘I was looking for a book about animals.’

‘Animals, indeed,’ sniffed Mr Peck. ‘What sort of animals? Tame animals? Wild animals?

Animals from Africa? India? Britain?’

‘Hedgehogs,’

said Amy.

‘Hedgehogs!’ bawled Mr Peck. ‘The very worst animals there are. They dig up vegetables

and bite lumps out of them.’

He pulled a book from the shelves.

‘If you must study the horrid things,

this is the best I can do.’

‘Thank you, said Amy politely.

‘Make

sure

you

bring

it

back

on

time.

And

don’t

you

dare

bring

hedgehogs

into

your

garden. Your garden is next to mine, do

n’t forget. If I see a hedgehog

near my carrots, do you

know what I am going to do?’

‘No,’

said Amy.

‘I’m going to squirt it with my spray gun.’

At home, Amy read the book on hedgehogs. She found out that they ate slugs and snails.

The book didn’t say anything about vegetables.

The next day she took the book back to the library.

Amy the Hedgehogs Girl

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典范英语

8-1

刺猬女孩艾蜜

‘What’s this?’ said Mr Peck. ‘This book is not due back for another twenty days.’

‘But I’ve read it,’ said Amy. ‘Have you got any more books about hedgehogs?’

‘Over there,’

snapped Mr Peck, pointing with his nose.

Amy walked slowly along the shelves. Where were the books about animals? She was just

about

to

risk

asking

Mr

Peck,

when

she

saw

something.

It

was

an

old

cassette

tape,

called

‘Calls of the Wild’. It looked as if nobody had ever played it.

Amy

took

it

down

from

the

shelf.

It

was

part

of

a

set

of

animal

noises.

This

was

tape

number 12 and it was called Hedgehogs.

Amy asked Mr Peck if she could borrow the cassette.

‘Of

course

you

can,’

he

said

rudely.

‘Though

anybody

who

wants

to

listen

to

horrid

animal noises must be mad.’

He stamped the cassette box.

‘And don’t forget to rewind the tape.’

Hedgehog talk

Amy sat in her room listening to the sounds of hedgehogs on her personal stereo, over and

over again. Amy repeated the sounds herself.

‘I’m talking hedgehog,’ thought Amy. ‘I wish I knew what I was saying. I really need a

hedgehog to help me. I’m sure there’s one in t

he garden. If I make hedgehog noises, perhaps it

will hear me.’

Amy ran down into the garden and made hedgehog noises as loudly as she could.

She

stopped

and

listened,

but

no

hedgehogs answered. Amy

tried

again.

But

only

a

cat

came into the garden.

‘I’m going to keep trying,’

said Amy. ‘I’m sure I

can do it.’ At last she got cold and she

went indoors.

The next night Amy tried again. She tried every night for a week.

‘What are you doing out there?’

asked Mrs Harris.

‘Wait and see,’ said Amy.

Just then the door bell rang. It was Mr Peck. He stood at the door in his dressing gown.

Amy noticed that his hair was wet.

‘Mrs Harris,’ said Mr Peck. ‘Every night when I have my bath I can hear a noise. It seems

to be coming from your garden.’

Amy giggled behind her hand.

‘Noise?’ said Mrs Harris.

Amy the Hedgehogs Girl

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