Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Little Black Dog Qiang Pounces

It was gloomy all morning. On the way Jonah went home for lunch, it started to rain.When he got home, he opened the kitchen door, and when he ran in hastily, there was a roar of thunder along with a blinding flash of lightning.At this time, Jonah's pet dog Qiang pounced, and got into the kitchen in fright. "Oh, what's the matter?" Aunt Annie shouted as she was putting dishes on the table, "The house will collapse, how can you run in like this!" "You can't run!" Jonah said. "Tommy Williams and I were playing ball when it started to rain. Look, it's a downpour!" Jonah said, leaning over and picking up Qiangpu , Let it watch the rain through the window.

Qiangpu is a black, fluffy and cute Scottish terrier, without any miscellaneous hair from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. Borrowed from a dog, his sideburns made his black, jewel-like eyes visible only through slits of tangled beard. Qiangpu was not interested in the heavy rain outside the window, it struggled in Jonah's arms. "Okay, okay, if you don't want to watch it, then don't watch it." Jonah patted it and put it on the ground, "Aunt Ani, the rain is really heavy, can it stop in the afternoon?" Aunt Annie Ellery was a small woman, almost as tall as Jonah.Her hair was gray and she wore glasses that were always blinking merrily.

"The work will stop." She said with certainty, "Although there are often such showers in summer, it doesn't last long. Don't go outside to play when the rain stops. Everywhere is wet." "I want to go to Uncle Buzz." Jonah said, sitting down to eat, "Uncle said he wanted to make a nest for Qiangpu." "Really? That would be great!" said Aunt Annie. "But does Mr. Boots have any free time? Nothing else?" "It's all right, Uncle Boots said he's having a hard time," Jonah replied. "Poor Mr. Boots!" sighed Aunt Annie, "he's a very good carpenter, but it's unlucky that he doesn't get any work at all here in Edinburgh. "

"Uncle Boots said to go to Clinton to find some work." Jonah said, "Or to Clinton or to Rivanton. He said that he plans to leave tomorrow." "Really? It would be nice to find some work." Aunt Annie said. Jonah had finished his lunch, and it was still raining.But he still put on the raincoat and asked Qiang Pu to follow him.Qiang Pu was lying in the corner of the kitchen with his chin resting on his front legs.Hearing the master's greeting, he ran out immediately.But when it reached the steps in front of the door, as soon as the raindrops hit the tip of its nose, it refused to move.

"I'm so unmotivated! This little rain is nothing!" Jonah said. Qiang Pu yelled, probably saying: "Yes, you are wearing a raincoat, of course you are not afraid, but I am not wearing anything!" Even so, Qiang Pu followed his master timidly and set off. This Edinboro, where Aunt Anne Ellery and Jonah lived, was a small place with a single side street and twelve families.There is also the only shop here, the owner of which is called Pindra.The shop was round the corner in the very center of Edenborough, and from here there was a road to the town of Clinton, three miles away, which led to the larger town of Rifonton.

Rivanton is about ten miles from here, already connected by train.Mr. Pindra, besides tending the shop, is also the postmaster.However, there are very few letters from outside here, so he still devotes all his energy to the business of the store. Jonah and Qiangpu walked carefully on the muddy road, and there were many small streams rushing along the road.After passing Mr. Pindra's shop, there is a small house not far away, which is Mr. Boots' residence.Mr. Boots used the room again as a workshop, so it was like a small warehouse.There was a shed at the back of the house where the truck that Mr. Boots used to bring lumber up here from Rivanton was parked.

There is a small sign written by Mr. Boots himself on the front door of the workshop, which reads: Jonah knocked on the door, and after hearing Uncle Boots' answer, he entered the house.In the workshop, there is a long wooden workbench against the wall.There are various tools such as hammers and saws hanging on the top of the table, and many new boards are piled under the table.On the other side of the room, there are stairs leading to a small attic on the roof, where Uncle Boots sleeps.There is a wooden shelf under the stairs, and there are many paint buckets on the shelf.Some barrels are half left, and some barrels are still shiny new and have not been used at all.These paints are prepared by Uncle Buzz to paint houses for users.There was also an iron stove near the corner, and a coal box with a lid beside it, which Uncle Boots used to cook.When Jonah and Qiang rushed in, Old Man Booth was bending over to watch the coffee pot on the stove, lest the coffee boil and overflow.

"Oh, it's little Jonah, hello." The old man Buzz said, "Yo, Qiangpu is here too, welcome! Hey, use the cloth over there to polish your shoes before coming here. Oh, rain It's not too small!" Booth is an old man with a kind face and a pair of very clear blue eyes.Although the top of his head is bald, there is still a ring of white hair around it, and a long beard grows on his chin.His face and hands were bronzed by the sun. Qiang Pu shook his body vigorously, shaking off the rainwater.Jonah shines his shoes and hangs his raincoat on the wall. "Uncle Buzz, can you help me build a nest for Qiangpu later?" Jonah asked earnestly, "Maybe you are busy with work today?"

"Where's the work?" said Uncle Boots. "I was wondering if you'd come! There's nothing better than working at home in weather like this. You let me finish this cup of coffee before I do it." While Uncle Boots drank his coffee, Jonah walked up and down the room.He couldn't get enough of the various tools on the workbench. These tools were placed neatly, neatly and sharply.A few new shavings of pine were strewn about the workbench, filling the room with fragrance.The raindrops are beating on the roof, as if playing a piece of music.Staying here makes Jonah both leisurely and comfortable.Qiang Pu found a place by the stove, curled up and dozed off.

While looking at Uncle Boots' tools, Jonah found a beautiful wooden box.There was a lid on the box, and it was made of a very smooth soft wood.He asked, "Uncle, what is this for?" Uncle Boots replied: "This is a sewing box. I want to take it to Rivanton to try it out. Maybe there will be some orders!" Jonah said with admiration: "This box is so beautiful, how did you think of making this?" "Yes," the old man said slowly, "I think of my sister's sewing box. She cherishes it very much. This thing is very convenient to use. Maybe some of this stuff can be sold."

"Uncle, your sister lives in Rivanton?" Jonah asked. "My sister is dead, Jonah." Old man Buzz said sadly, "She has been dead for more than a year." Uncle Buzz sighed, "My sister surprised a man named Strika Well, it was a long time ago. Immediately after they got married, they moved from here. Poor sister, she suffered a lot. First, his man died, and then his son ran away from home . She has suffered a lot, and I have never been able to bring her back to Edinburgh." "Where is your nephew now?" Jonah asked. "How old is he? About my age?" Uncle Booth shook his head and said, "Are you asking about Eddie Strika? No, he's twice your age, and he's grown up." "Where does he live?" Jonah asked. The old man was a little hesitant.After a long time, he said unhappily: "Now in prison...Jonah, uncle didn't want to tell you about this, but I said it casually, you must keep the secret for uncle, and you can't tell it like anyone else. " "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Jonah promised, "This is a big deal. I wonder what bad things he did?" "Here's the thing," said Old Booth. "My sister said in her last letter that he had done nothing wrong. His mistake started with running away from home, and somehow got involved with some rogues." Made friends. One time, the gang shot a guy, snatched a watch and slipped away. Eddie didn't know about it, but the gang made him go to a pawnshop to pawn it. Watch, but was found and caught by the police. I can’t explain the details too much. I believe that if he stayed with his mother, he probably wouldn’t have made such a fuss. Jonah, this matter is Speaking of which, I'm really worried and scared about this matter, eh..." The old man calmed down, wiped his nose vigorously, and looked at the wood under the workbench.Stretch turned his head to Jonah: "These are some good woods. It's perfect for making a nest for Qiangpu. I'll measure the size right away." Jonah was very disturbed, feeling that he had caused Uncle Boots a lot of trouble.The old man Buzz saw Jonah's thoughts, smiled kindly, and let the little guy around him watch him choose the plank.After making the selection, he said very seriously: "Okay, let's measure the length of Qiangpu first, so that we can know how big the door should be. Then we will find a nest that is proportional to the size of the door. If we make the nest first, we can't get in." It's useless to go." Jonah smiled, he was very moved by Uncle Boots's meticulousness.He immediately helped Qiangpu up and asked the old man to measure the size carefully. "Okay!" the old man said after measuring the size, "The door is one foot, and the two sides of the door are one foot. According to the ratio, the length of the nest is three feet. According to this size, Qiangpu can move freely in the nest. Also convenient." "No, I think the door can be smaller, ten inches high and wide, so that there will be less rain coming in." Jonah said. "Oh, that's fine too. When the height and width of the nest are eighteen feet each, Qiang Pu will feel very comfortable as usual." "Okay, that's pretty!" Jonah agreed wholeheartedly. Old Man Booth immediately began to draw a sketch of the kennel.He concentrates on it, just as he carefully designs the structural drawings of houses.Jonah held his breath and watched quietly from the sidelines. The sketch was finally designed, and the old man Buzz checked it carefully again, feeling very satisfied.He thought about it again, and said to Jonah: "That's right, there is a wooden square left for Aunt Annie to repair the wall, and it is suitable to use it as the frame of this nest." Mark the size of the wooden square and let Jonah saw it. In this way, the old and the young are constantly busy with their hands and feet.The raindrops kept beating on the window, and time slipped away quietly in the sound of their crackling work.The last process is to make a movable roof. After the completion, the old man Buzi said to Jonah: "Please ask Aunt Ani to make a straw bag so that Qiangpu can sleep comfortably. Remember, put grass in the nest." When removing the bag, take the roof off first, it is much more convenient than stuffing it through the door." Jonah happily agreed, and he felt very proud.It seems that Qiang Pu knew that this was his own nest, and without waiting for the master's order, he walked in with pride, and cried out happily.It turned around and came out again wagging its tail. "Awesome! I've never seen such a beautiful kennel!" Jonah exclaimed excitedly. "For Qiangpu, I think it's rough and simple." Old man Buzi said. "I don't think so. Aunt Annie couldn't be happier!" said Jonah. The old man Buzz looked towards the side of the stairs, touched his mouth, and said, "What's missing? Can you paint it? It will be more beautiful if it's all white." "Of course it's great!" Jonah was so happy that he almost jumped up, "That's great! Shall we swipe now?" The old man Buzz shook his head and said, "Painting on rainy days doesn't like drying. It's better to wait until it's sunny." At this moment, the sun appeared in the sky, and through the glass on the window, the water droplets on the leaves were seen shining. "Look—" Jonah pointed out the window, "now the sun is out!" "Yeah. But the air is still humid." The old man disagreed to paint immediately, "Don't worry, wouldn't it be great to paint tomorrow? Besides, it's time for dinner." After finishing speaking, he looked at the workbench. "Well, Uncle's going to Mr. Pindra's to get some ham or something. Come back tomorrow, Jonah, when we'll finish it. Maybe you've got an appointment to go fishing tomorrow." "Yes. But it's got to this point, and it should be done. Besides, I don't have a hook, I don't have a line, I don't have anything. Aunt Annie said she would give me money, but she seems to take this Forget about it." "Then don't bother Auntie." Uncle Boots said lovingly, "I have old fishing gear here, I'll give it to you. You come here tomorrow, after painting, take the fishing gear away." "Thank you, Uncle Buzz." Jonah thanked, "Uncle, if the walls are painted white, what color should the roof be painted?" "Yeah, let's do some research. What color do you think looks good?" Elder Boots asked, "As long as you like it, there are any colors." They came to the wooden shelf with the paint buckets, and Jonah took a good look at all the stickers. "Green, it's a good color." Jonah said after reading it, "Aunt Annie's roof is also green, I think the same color is good." "That's a good idea." Elder Boots admired him from the bottom of his heart, "Okay, let's pack up, I'm going shopping, and you should go home too." They went out of the cabin and went together to Mr. Pindra's shop.Uncle Boots bought a can of sardines there. "Oh, yes. There's a letter from you, George," said Mr. Pindra, putting the can down on the counter. "I'm going to deliver it if you don't come." "My letter?" Uncle Buzz was a little surprised, "No one wrote me a letter!" Old Buzz took the letter, put on his glasses and stared at the writing on the envelope, "Yes, it's my name. But what is it? Who wrote it?" "You'll know it when you open it," said Mr. Pindra briskly. Old Man Booth smiled.He opened the letter and read it word by word.Before he finished reading, his hands began to tremble, showing a look of terror that he had never seen before.Suddenly, he put away the letter with trembling hands, and hurried out without saying a word. Jonah and Mr. Pindra stared at the back of the old man Booth dumbfounded. "What's the matter, uncle?" Jonah wondered. Mr. Pindra shook his head. "It must be some bad news. Even if it is, it's none of the old man's business. Otherwise, he'll tell us. Let's hope it's not so serious." "Well, I hope so," said Jonah heartily. "So farewell, Mr. Pindra." After leaving the store, Jonah looked towards Old Man Booth's hut.He saw a very old, shabby pickup truck stop in front of Uncle Boots' house, and two men got out of the car.Jonah knew one of them. His name was Lester Seid, but everyone called him Leicester Seid for short.Seid lived in a cabin in the woods by Roster's Pond, about a mile or two from Edenborough.Jonah didn't know who the other man was, but he looked very much like a farmer. Jonah saw the two men strike up a conversation with Old Man Boots at the door.As soon as he spoke, the old man shook his head, and the more he spoke, the more he shook his head.Jonah could see that the uncle was getting restless.Finally, Uncle Buzz turned around and walked towards the house, and the two men followed behind Uncle... Qiangpu was playing on the road, Jonah whistled, and the two of them walked home slowly one after the other, Jonah was thinking about the letter that terrified the old man Buzz, what was written in it?He was very disturbed.After walking a short distance, Jonah was called to him. He looked up, and it turned out to be Mr. Pindra's niece, Clarabell Smith.She came to visit her uncle's house in summer, and she was a very likable girl. "Have you seen the rainbow?" she asked excitedly, "It's so beautiful!" Jonah shook his head and said, "No, I didn't see it. Is there a rainbow?" Jonah asked back. "Of course. As soon as the rain stopped and the sun came up, the rainbow came up. It's gone now. Look, there's still there behind your house. I said, Jonah, where did the rainbow go when it was gone?" " Jonah stared at Clarabell and asked suspiciously, "What's the matter with you? Is there something wrong with your head?" "Don't worry, I'm fine. But where did the rainbow go?" Clarabell was still entangled, "What happened to those colors?" "What color are you talking about?" Jonah reversed. "The rainbow has no color. It's just that people think it has color." "How can you say that? It has colors." Clarabell said angrily. "You're not right. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw red, blue, and any other color." "How should I put it? They're just little drops of water, or the moisture left in the air after the rain." "I understand, but I wonder where they went after that. I think the drops must have all fallen to the ground and turned into ponds of all colors: red ponds, blue ponds, and all kinds of A colorful pond. That's what I thought, and it must be!" "But rainwater is indeed colorless. I used a cup to catch rainwater before, and it has no color at all. Rainwater is in the air, and only when it is illuminated by sunlight at a certain angle can you see the color. That is to say, the rain is shining. Glow. Got it?" Clarabell pondered for a while, then said doubtfully, "Maybe it's like what you said." Jonah chuckled and said, "To be honest, I don't understand either. Next time we see a rainbow, let's catch it and break it down." Clarabell laughed loudly: "My boy, little Jonah, you are amazing!" "Okay, let's talk about it later," Jonah said with a smile. "I should go home. Goodbye, Clarabell." Jonah and Qiangpu raced back home, and at the kitchen door, he almost covered Aunt Ani. "Oh, my God!" Aunt Annie was startled, "Jonah, do you still have the energy to run down the street again? Go buy eggs from Mr. Jason for me, and I want to make egg soup for dinner Eat it, but there is only one egg left." "Okay." Jonah picked up the basket out of breath, "Well, Aunt Annie, Qiangpu's nest will be repaired soon, and the only thing left is to paint." "Really? Is it ready?" Aunt Annie asked pleasantly, "That's great! Go then, or you won't be in time for dinner. You two run!" Mr. Johnson's chicken farm is not far away, and Jonah will arrive in a blink of an eye.Hearing the knock on the door, Mr. Jensen came out wiping his mouth and asked, "Are you buying eggs? Let's go to the chicken coop to get the newly laid eggs." The two walked towards the Chicken Club.In a fenced-in chicken farm, a dozen hens and chicks are pecking at the ground.The place is very quiet, next to the small river that flows through the forest.Jonah looked around curiously, and suddenly asked, "Uncle, where's your dog? Is it for sale?". "Well," said Mr. Johnson, "such a lovely puppy is not easy to buy. Well, my Chin Chin has a pedigree, and it may be somewhere around here. " At this moment, all the chickens in the chicken coop screamed and flew around as if they were threatened by something.After a while, Chinqin hurried out from behind the chicken coop with a dead hen in his mouth.As soon as it saw Mr. Johnson, it immediately wagged its tail, waving its long smooth ears and ran towards its owner. Mr. Johnson's face suddenly became gloomy, and he was almost out of breath.When Chinqin approached, he grabbed the dead hen and dragged the startled Chinqin towards the warehouse. "Oh, it's poor, uncle." Jonah yelled loudly, "What the hell is this for?" "Needless to say!" Mr. Johnson yelled, "This thing has the bad habit of biting the hen, it's time to turn around, I'll take care of it!" "Uncle, wait a minute!" Jonah yelled, "Maybe it wasn't killed by Chin Chin. What if something else came?" "That's right, that's what this thing does!" Mr. Johnson said angrily, "Didn't you hear the chicken screaming so much? And it's a chicken that loves to lay eggs. Dogs like this, once tasted Once the taste of biting the chicken is like, there is no cure, no matter what method you use, it will not change." Jonah picked up the dead hen, touched it, and said, "Wait a minute, Mr. Johnson, you're still calm." He checked it carefully again, and found that there was not a drop of blood on the chicken feathers, just A few drops of blood seeped from the throat.He gently opened the feathers at the throat again, and saw the wound, it was a very small hole, as if pierced by the tip of a knife. "Look!" Jonah couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart, "Look here, Uncle Jason." "What's the matter there?" said Mr. Johnson displeased. "It wasn't Uncle's dog," Jonah said loudly. "Look, the feathers aren't hurt at all. If the dog killed it, you'd have to pick it up and bite it, and it'd make a mess. There's only this big A small eye, it must be a weasel or something." Jason looked at the wound on the hen's throat, nodded slowly, and finally agreed: "Well, yes, you are right. Maybe it was bitten by a weasel." "When the weasel was biting the chicken, Chinqin must have discovered it in time. It was threatened by Chinqin, so it left the chicken and ran away. That's why Chinqin took the dead hen to his uncle." Jonah tried his best to explain . "You're right." Mr. Johnson was completely convinced. "Jonah, thank you very much, you are right, Chin Chin brought it to me like an egg. Alas, I almost got it all wrong!" Jason bent down, patted Chinqin's head lightly, stroked its ears and said, "What a nice dog!" Jonah hurried home with a basket and told Aunt Ani what happened just now. "Ah, how wonderful, Jonah." Aunt Ani was very moved, "Did you come up with this all? The credit is not small!" "It's not all my own idea. If it wasn't inspired by Uncle Boots..." Jonah immediately stopped talking.Because he remembered the old man Booth's instruction that Eddie's affairs should not be told to anyone.He went on, "Uncle Booth said people over-simplify things. And that's the worst thing in the world." "Yeah, that's the truth." Aunt Annie nodded, "It's good that you can remember these words. Alright, go wash your face and hands, we're going to eat soon." "Wait," Jonah said, "I'll send Qiangpu some food first." After eating and washing the dishes, Aunt Ani lit the lamp in the bedroom.The two played checkers until it was time for Jonah to go to bed.During this period of time, Qiang Pu was happily sleeping under the kitchen table.Before going to bed, Jonah led the sleepy Qiang Pu outside and tied him with an iron chain to an old wooden box.This wooden box has been Qiangpu's nest for a long time. "Son, you're going to have a new litter soon." Jonah said to Qiang Pu, "probably tomorrow." The little black dog wagged its tail and wobbled into the wooden box in sleepiness.Afterwards, everything fell silent. After a while, the lights in the village were also extinguished.In Mr. Johnson's chicken farm, the weasel wanted to take advantage of the darkness and sneak into the chicken coop to do bad things.