A bulldog sniffed¹ greedily at the ground, following the bird's tracks. The tracks stopped suddenly, and the dog sniffed madly. "Oh, here it is," he said after a moment. "I picked up the bird's scent²." The dog's name was Gamma, and he wore a high-tech³ collar like Dug's.

Another dog—a rottweiler named Beta— sniffed nearby. "Wait a minute, what is this? Chocolate? I smell chocolate."

"I'm getting prunes⁴ … and denture cream!" Gamma narrowed his eyes. "Who are they?"

"Master will not be pleased," Beta said. "We'd better tell him someone took the bird, right, Alpha?"

Alpha sat nearby, his back to the others. He was a fierce Doberman pinscher and the lead hunting dog. "No," Alpha said. "Soon enough the bird will be ours yet again. Find the scent, my compadres, and you two shall have much rewardings from Master for the toil⁵ factor you wage."

Though Alpha's commands seethed⁶ with menace, the voice from his collar came out high and squeaky.

"Hey, Alpha," Beta said, "I think there's something wrong with your collar. You must have bumped it."

"Yeah, your voice sounds funny!" Gamma agreed. He and Beta cracked up.

Alpha silenced them with a glare. "Beta. Gamma. Mayhaps you desire to—squirrel!"

All three dogs turned to stare at a tree. They stood stock-still, quivering with attention. Nothing moved. False alarm.

"Mayhaps you desire to challenge the ranking that I have been assigned by my strength and cunning?" Alpha finished.

Beta looked at the ground. "No, no. But maybe Dug would. You should ask him."

Gamma snickered. "Yeah, I wonder if he's found the bird on his very special mission."

"Do not mention Dug to me at this time," Alpha snapped. "His fool's errand will keep him most occupied, most occupied indeed. Hahaha! Do you not agree with that which I am saying to you now?"

"Sure," said Beta, "but the second Master finds out you sent Dug out by himself, none of us will get a treat."

"You are wise, my trusted lieutenant⁷." Alpha nosed a button on Beta's collar. A video screen flickered⁸ to life. "This is Alpha calling Dug. Come in, Dug."

The screen showed grass and rocks moving past. The camera on Dug's collar was pointed⁹ at the ground. "Hi, Alpha," Dug said. "Your voice sounds funny."

Alpha gritted¹⁰ his teeth. "I know, I know," he growled¹¹. "Have you seen the bird?"

"Why, yes," Dug said, "the bird is my prisoner now."

Gamma snorted. "Yeah, right."

But the camera shifted slightly, and a pink wing appeared on the screen. It was the bird! It lowered its head and hissed¹² at the camera.

"Impossible!" Alpha snarled¹³."Where are you?"

"I am here with the bird," Dug said, "and I will bring it back and then you will like me. Oh, gotta go."

A boy in uniform appeared on the screen. "Hey, Dug!" Russell said. "Who you talking to?"

The screen went blank.

"No, wait!" Alpha shouted at the blank screen. "Wait!"

"What's Dug doing?" Beta cried.

"Why is he with that small mailman?" Gamma asked. To the dogs, anyone in a uniform was a mailman.

Beta looked at Alpha. "Where are they?" Beta's collar beeped, locating Dug.

"There he is," Alpha cried. "Come on!"

The dogs blasted into the jungle. They were back on the trail.

Carl trudged¹⁴ along, pulling his house. The going wasn't so bad, as long as he wasn't walking against the wind. And it wasn't half as hard as putting up with that dog's constant begging.

"Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please be my prisoner!" Dug pleaded. He had latched¹⁵ on to Kevin's foot and wouldn't let go. The giant bird hardly seemed to notice, though. Kevin just kept plodding¹⁶ along, following Russell.

"Dug, stop bothering Kevin!" Russell ordered.

"That man there says I can take the bird," Dug said, nodding at Carl, "and I love that man there like he is my master."

"I am not your master!" Carl snapped. Sheesh, he thought irritably¹⁷ to himself, you would think I asked this circus act to come with me.

Finally, Kevin seemed to notice that there was a golden retriever attached to its leg. The bird stopped and tried to shake the dog off. But Dug didn't budge¹⁸, so Kevin hissed at him.

"I am warning you once again, bird!" Dug said. Kevin pecked at Dug, and the dog scrambled¹⁹ to attack.

"Hey, quit it!" Russell shouted.

Dug was discovering that it wasn't easy to attack a twelve-foot-tall bird. "I am jumping on you now, bird," the dog explained. It didn't do much good.

Russell waved his arms and tried to get between the dog and the bird. The group toppled to one side, dragging Russell and causing the house to wobble and tilt²⁰.

Crash!

A window smashed against a rock.

Carl gasped²¹, looking up at the house. Ellie's clubhouse—it was being ruined!

Dug and Kevin stopped fighting. The dog looked sheepishly at Carl. He could tell his new master was angry. Shouting was always a good clue.

Carl glared at Russell, who gave him a nervous smile. "I'm stuck with you." He turned to Dug and Kevin. "And if you two don't clear out of here by the time I count to three …" Carl raised his cane²² to show that he was serious.

But Dug didn't get the threat. All he saw were the tennis balls that were stuck to the bottom prongs of the cane. "A ball!" Dug cried, leaping and bounding. "Oh, boy, oh, boy! A ball!"

"Ball?" Carl stared at his cane. That wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. Still, it gave him an idea. Carl popped one of the balls off the end of his cane and waved it in front of Dug. "You want it, boy?"

"Yes, I do." Dug danced impatiently. "I do ever so want the ball!"

"Go get it!" Carl heaved the ball as hard as he could. It sailed down a ravine … and Dug streaked²³ after it. "Oh, boy, oh, boy!" Dug gushed²⁴. "I will get it and then bring it back!"

"Quick, Russell," Carl urged, "give me some chocolate."

Russell hesitated. He was saving that chocolate for Kevin. "Why?"

"Just give it to me!" Carl snapped.

Russell pulled the chocolate bar from his pocket and handed Carl a piece.

Carl waved the chocolate. "Bird," he called. "Bird!"

Kevin looked over. Carl tossed the chocolate, and the bird chased after it.

"Come on, Russell!" Carl shouted. He hurried away as fast as he could, which wasn't really very fast. After all, he was an elderly man pulling an entire house behind him.

"Wait," Russell said, following Carl."Wait, Mr. Fredricksen. What are we doing? Hey, uh, we're pretty far now. Kevin's going to miss me."

But Carl kept going. He climbed over a ridge²⁵. Finally, Carl paused and looked back. "I think that did the trick," he said to himself. He sat down on a log to rest.

But when he turned around, he came face to face with the golden retriever. The dog had the slobbery tennis ball in his mouth.

Then the bird showed up.

Dug dropped the ball in Carl's lap.

Well, that didn't work, Carl thought.

Darkness fell … and so did rain. Sheets of rain poured from the black sky. Every now and again, lightning flickered. It lit up the house, which was tied to a rock. Beneath it, Carl sat on a rock near a small fire as Russell tried to put up a tent. Dug was still wrapped around Kevin's leg. Both animals were asleep nearby.

"Which one's the front?" Russell asked himself as he fiddled²⁶ with different parts of the tent. "Is this step three, or step five?"

Carl rolled his eyes. Some Wilderness²⁷ Explorer, he thought.

Russell tightened²⁸ something. He loosened it again. "There!" Russell got tangled²⁹ in the tent poles and ropes. He frowned at one of the poles.

Carl looked away while Russell struggled.

"All done," Russell announced finally. He pointed proudly toward the tent. "That's for you!"

The tent fell over.

"Aw," Russell said. "Tents are hard."

"Wait, aren't you Super Wilderness Guy?" Carl asked. "With the GPMs and the badges?"

Russell bit his lip. "Yeah, but … can I tell you a secret?"

"No," said Carl.

"All right, here goes." Russell took a deep breath. "I never actually built a tent before. There. I said it."

"You've been camping before, haven't you?" Carl asked.

"Oh, never outside," Russell explained.

Carl eyed Russell's sash full of badges. "Why didn't you go ask your dad how to build a tent?"

Russell shrugged³⁰. "I don't think he wants to talk about this stuff."

"Why don't you try him sometime?" Carl suggested. "Maybe he'll surprise you."

"Well, he's away a lot," Russell explained. "I don't see him much."

"He's got to be home sometime."

"Well, I called, but Phyllis told me I bug³¹ him too much." Russell looked at the ground.

"Phyllis?" Carl repeated. "You call your own mother by her first name?"

"Phyllis isn't my mom," said Russell.

Carl looked away, finally understanding. Russell's parents must be divorced. "Oh," Carl said gently.

They both stared into the fire for a moment. Each was thinking his own thoughts.

"But he promised he'd come to my Explorer ceremony to pin on my Assisting the Elderly badge," Russell said at last. "So he can show me about tents then, right?"

Carl looked at Russell. The kid seemed hopeful, but also sad. Suddenly, Carl felt bad that he hadn't been nicer to Russell. The poor kid tried so hard. He had a sash full of badges, but he had never even been camping.

Carl thought about the pin that Ellie had given him. It was made out of a grape-soda bottle cap, but it meant the world to him. She'd given it to him because they were in an adventurers' club. But they'd never even had an adventure.

We're not so different, I guess, Carl thought, watching Russell.

The empty place on Russell's sash caught Carl's eye. Assisting the Elderly. Has anyone ever worked so hard to get a stupid badge? Carl wondered. He doubted it.

"Hey, uh, why don't you get some sleep?" Carl said gently. "Don't want to wake up the wild kingdom over there." He nodded at Dug and Kevin.

"Mr. Fredricksen, Dug says he wants to take Kevin prisoner," Russell said. "We have to protect him!" With a yawn, Russell lay down on the log next to Carl. "Can Kevin go with us?"

Carl sighed. "All right. He can come."

"Promise you won't leave him?" Russell asked.

"Yeah."

"Cross your heart?" Russell asked.

For a moment, Carl didn't answer. He'd only ever crossed his heart for Ellie. "Cross my heart," he said at last.

Carl glanced up at the house. The rain had stopped. The clouds had blown through, revealing a bright moon. The house was lit by its glow.

Carl looked around the camp—from Russell to Dug to the crazy-colored bird—and shook his head. At that moment, Paradise Falls seemed farther away than ever.

"What have I got myself into, Ellie?" Carl muttered.

 

一只斗牛犬贪婪地嗅着地面，追寻着鸟的踪迹。但是，鸟的气味忽然消失了，它发疯般地东嗅西嗅起来。“哦，在这儿！”过了一会儿它说道，“我闻到那只鸟的气味了。”这只斗牛犬叫小宝，也戴着个和道格一样的高科技项圈。

离小宝不远，有只罗特韦尔犬也正朝地面嗅着，这是二宝。“等等，这是什么味儿？巧克力？我闻到了巧克力味儿！”

“我还闻到了西梅干味儿……还有假牙稳固剂！”小宝眯了眯眼道：“那些人是谁？”

二宝说：“主人会不高兴的，我们最好报告一下，那只鸟让人带走了，对吧，大宝？”

大宝坐在不远处，背对着他俩。这是一头凶猛的杜宾犬，也是这群猎犬的首领。“不，”大宝说，“那只鸟逃不出我们的手掌心。继续追踪，同志们，要是立了大功，主人一定会重重有赏的。”

虽然大宝语气威严，但是项圈中发出来的声音却阴阳怪气，又高又尖。

“嘿，大宝，”二宝说，“你的项圈好像有点问题，肯定是撞坏了吧。”

“没错，你的声音听起来好好笑哦！”小宝赞同道。说完，他和二宝便哈哈大笑起来。

大宝瞪了他们一眼，他俩立马安静了。“二宝，小宝，看来你们是想——松鼠！”

听到这一声喊，三只狗都转过头，紧紧盯着一棵树。他们定在原地，身体因警觉而不由自主地颤抖。但是，那边没有一点儿动静，原来是假警报。

大宝接着说道：“看来你们是想把我从这个位置赶下来？这可是我凭着自己的能耐和聪明弄来的。”

二宝低下头看着地面说：“不，我们可不敢有这想法，不过道格或许有，你该问问他。”

小宝窃笑道：“是啊，不知道他的‘特殊任务’执行得怎么样了，有没有找到那只鸟。”

“别哪壶不开提哪壶！”大宝厉声说道，“那倒霉差事够他忙得团团转了，绝对的。哈哈哈！难道你们不这么觉得吗？”

“是够他忙活的，”二宝说，“可是主人一旦知道你让道格单独行动，我们都没好果子吃。”

“你们都是聪明人，是我信得过的副队长。”大宝用鼻子按下了二宝项圈上的一个按钮，一个显示屏闪现了出来。“大宝呼叫道格。快回话，道格。”

屏幕上，野草和石头不停地向后闪过，看来道格项圈上的摄像头正对着地面。“嗨，大宝，”道格说，“你的声音真可笑。”

大宝咬了咬牙，忍不住咆哮道：“我知道，我知道，你找到那只鸟了吗？”

“我找到了啊，”道格说，“它现在是我的俘虏。”

小宝很不屑地哼了一声，“哦，是嘛。”

摄像头微微地转了一下，一只粉色翅膀出现在屏幕上。正是那只鸟！它低下头，对着摄像头嘶叫了一声。

“不可能！”大宝吼道，“你在哪儿？”

“我和这只鸟在一起，”道格说，“我会把它带回去的，到时候你们就会喜欢我了。哦，我得挂了。”

这时，一个穿着制服的男孩出现在屏幕上。“嘿，道格！”小罗说，“你在跟谁说话呢？”

之后屏幕就变黑了。

“不，等等！”大宝冲着变黑的屏幕叫道，“等等！”

二宝大喊道：“道格在做什么？”

小宝也发出疑问：“他怎么跟那个小邮差在一块儿？”对这些狗来说，所有穿着制服的人都是邮差。

二宝望向大宝，问道：“他们在哪儿？”二宝的项圈嘟嘟响了起来，正在锁定道格的位置。

“他在那！”大宝喊道，“我们走！”

三只狗奔向丛林深处，继续追踪。

此时，卡尔正拖着房子艰难地前行着。其实只要不是逆着风走，情况也并没有那么糟，比忍受道格一路上不停地恳求声要好得多。

“哦，求你了，哦，求你了，哦，求你做我的俘虏吧！”道格恳求道。他抱着凯文的脚，不让大鸟走。然而凯文却完全无视他，只是跟着小罗，慢慢向前走。

“道格，别再烦凯文了！”小罗命令道。

“那位先生说我可以带走这只鸟，”道格冲卡尔点了点头说，“我喜欢那位先生，他就像我的主人一样。”

“我才不是你的主人！”卡尔厉声道。他焦躁地想，老天，我真是受够了这跟马戏团杂耍似的场面了！

凯文终于注意到了这只金毛猎犬一直在抱着它的腿。它停下来，想把道格从腿上甩开，但道格却纹丝不动，凯文便冲他嘶叫了一声。

道格冲凯文喊道：“我再警告你一次，大鸟！”凯文听后便用嘴去啄道格，而道格也起身回击。

“嘿，快停下！”小罗喊道。

道格发现要想攻击一只12英尺高的鸟并非易事。“大鸟，我这就扑上来了哦。”他解释道。然而这并没有用。

小罗挥舞着手臂，试图挤到他们中间，阻止这场争斗，结果这一堆人和动物倒在了一旁，房子也因此左摇右晃。

嘭！

房子撞到岩石上，一扇窗户碎了。

卡尔倒吸了一口气，抬头望了望——艾莉的俱乐部被他毁坏了！

道格和凯文也因此停止了争斗。道格局促不安地望着卡尔，他非常确定这位新主人生气了，因为怒吼通常意味着愤怒。

卡尔瞪着小罗，小罗紧张地笑了笑。“我受够你了！”说完，卡尔又转向道格和凯文，“我数到3，如果你俩还没从我面前消失的话……”说着卡尔举起了手杖，看来他是认真的。

然而道格却并没接收到这个威胁的信号，他的注意力全都被手杖底部叉子齿上的棒球吸引过去了。“球！”道格又蹦又跳地喊道，“哦，老天，哦，老天啊！是球！”

“球？”卡尔看了看自己的手杖。这个反应可出乎他的意料。不过，这倒让他想到了一个主意。卡尔从手杖底部拆下来一个球，拿到道格面前晃了晃。“你想要这个，小家伙？”

“是啊。”道格急得上蹿下跳，“我老早就想要这球了！”

“去捡吧！”卡尔使劲把球扔了出去。球沿着峡谷滚落下去……道格快速地追了上去。“哦，老天，哦，老天啊！”道格滔滔不绝地说着，“我会把球捡回来的！”

“快点，小罗，”卡尔催促道，“给我点巧克力。”

小罗犹豫起来，他的巧克力是留给凯文的。“要巧克力干什么？”

“给我就是了！”卡尔厉声说。

小罗从口袋里掏出巧克力，掰下一块递给卡尔。

卡尔晃了晃手中的巧克力，叫道：“鸟儿，鸟儿！”

凯文看了看他。卡尔把巧克力扔了出去，这只鸟便朝着巧克力追去。

“快走，小罗！”卡尔喊道。他用自己最快的速度向前走去，但其实也快不到哪儿去。毕竟他是个老头，而且还拖着一座房子。

“等一下，”小罗跟在卡尔后面说，“等一下，费迪逊先生。我们这是在做什么？嘿，哎，咱们已经走很远了，凯文会找不到我的。”

然而卡尔却继续向前。爬上一个山脊后，他终于停了下来，回头看了看。“看来那招奏效了。”他自言自语道，说完就坐在了一个原木上休息起来。

但是等他转过身来，却跟道格撞了个对脸。道格嘴里还叼着那个沾满了口水的网球。

紧接着凯文也出现了。

道格把球放到了卡尔的膝盖上。

好吧，看来它没奏效，卡尔心想。

夜幕降临……下起雨来。大雨穿过漆黑的夜空，倾盆而下。一道道闪电也时不时划破深夜，照亮了被拴在岩石上的房子。在房子下面，卡尔挨着一小团火苗，坐在火堆旁的岩石上，而小罗正努力地搭着帐篷。道格仍然紧紧地抱着凯文的腿，只是他们两个都在附近睡着了。

“哪个是前面？”小罗摆弄着帐篷的各个部件，自言自语道，“这是第三步还是第五步？”

卡尔翻了个白眼，心想，这就是传说中的野外探险家啊。

小罗把什么东西系紧了，然后又解开了。“是这样！”他用绳子把几个帐篷杆缠在一起，缠好后，对着其中一个杆子皱起眉头。

在小罗奋力地支着帐篷时，卡尔则向别处望去。

“好了。”小罗最终宣布道。他自豪地指着那个帐篷说：“这是给你的！”

谁知刚说完帐篷就倒了。

“噢，”小罗说，“搭帐篷真难。”

“等等，你不是超级野外探险家吗？”卡尔问道，“还有那个什么卫星导航和徽章。”

小罗咬了下嘴唇说：“是啊，不过……我能跟你说个秘密吗？”

“不能。”卡尔回答道。

“好吧，是这样的。”小罗深吸了一口气。“我其实从来没搭过帐篷。好了，我说完了。”

“你之前好歹野营过吧？”卡尔问道。

“嗯，但从没在野外过。”小罗解释道。

卡尔看了眼小罗那挂满徽章的肩带，问道：“那你为什么不问问你爸爸怎么搭帐篷？”

小罗耸了耸肩说：“我想他不会跟我聊这些的。”

“为什么不找机会试一下？”卡尔建议道，“说不定会有惊喜呢。”

“其实吧，他总是出差，”小罗说，“我很少见到他。”

“那他总有在家的时候吧。”

“我打过电话，但是菲利斯说我这样太打扰他了。”小罗低头看着地面说。

“菲利斯？”卡尔重复了一句，“你就这样直呼你妈妈的名字？”

“菲利斯不是我妈妈。”小罗说。

卡尔移开了视线，他终于清楚是怎么回事了。小罗的父母肯定是离婚了。于是他轻轻地说了一句：“哦。”

接下来的一段时间，两人都凝视着那团火焰，各怀心事。

最终还是小罗打破了沉默：“但是他保证过，会来参加我的探险家授奖仪式，为我戴上助老徽章。那样的话，他就可以教我怎么搭帐篷了，对吧？”

卡尔看着小罗，这孩子满怀期望，但又显得十分悲伤。忽然间，卡尔有点后悔之前没对小罗好一点。毕竟，这个可怜的小男孩是那么努力。而且，虽然他拥有一条挂满徽章的肩带，但却从没野营过。

卡尔想起艾莉送给他的那枚徽章，虽然那只是用葡萄味汽水瓶盖做的，但却对他非常重要。因为他们都是探险家俱乐部的成员，艾莉才把那枚徽章送给他。然而，他们却从未真正地探险过。

或许我和这个小男孩并没有那么不同，卡尔望着小罗，若有所思。

他忽然看到小罗肩带上那块空隙，那是留给助老徽章的。还有谁会这么努力，只为得到一枚傻透了的徽章？卡尔沉思道。他对此充满了怀疑。

“嘿，嗯，你要不要睡一会儿？”卡尔轻声道，“吵醒那俩野生动物可就有得受了。”他扬头指了指道格和凯文。

“费迪逊先生，道格说他要抓凯文做俘虏，”小罗说，“咱们得保护凯文！”他打了个哈欠，在卡尔旁边的木头上躺了下来，“凯文能跟我们一起走吗？”

卡尔叹了口气道：“好吧，带上他吧。”

“发誓你不会丢下他哦？”小罗问道。

“好。”

“你发誓？”小罗又问道。

卡尔思忖片刻，没有回答。除了艾莉，他这辈子还没对别人发过誓呢。但最终他还是答道：“我发誓。”

卡尔抬头瞟了一眼房子。雨停了，云散了，天边露出一轮明月，点点银辉洒落到房子上。

从小罗到道格，再到那只颜色夸张的大鸟，卡尔环顾了一下这个营地，摇了摇头。那一刻，他从没觉得离天堂瀑布有这么远过。

“我都做了些什么蠢事啊，艾莉？”卡尔喃喃道。

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