Lysperní jezleni a ti druzí

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky
http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDvahlav

 "Jabberwocky"
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

 "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

 He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

Ne, nebojte se, nechci po vás překlad celé básně! :)
Ale najděte si v pdf originálu stranu 189. Vaším úkolem bude přeložit právě jen tuto stránku (máme na to dva týdny času jako obyčejně).

Pro zajímavost - Jabberwocky přeložený do klingonštiny a dalších jazyků.
Podobné dadaistické repliky a dialogy najdete například v českém filmu Pudr a Benzín nebo Výbuch bude v pět (čas 43:40 a 71:00).

Znáte význam slov "smarmy" nebo "curmudgeon"? Najdete je v Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Nepřipadají vám, jako by vyšla ze slovního kufříku Lewise Carrolla? :)

To by se veterináři stát nemělo

Příběhy Jamese Herriota jsou proslavené a kouzelné svou bezprostředností.
Pokusme se tedy projednou přeložit text bez dalších analýz a uvažování, jen na základě porozumění, představy (vizualizace)a požitku z četby originálu!


P.S.
Věnujte větší pozornost interpunkci a eliminujte překlepy a přehlédnutí, která degradují vaši práci!


Chapter Fifteen.

The longer I worked in Darrowby the more the charms of the Dales
beguiled me. And there was one solid advantage of which I became more
aware every day - the Dales farmers were all stocksmen. They really knew
how to handle animals, and to a vet whose patients are constantly trying
to thwart him or injure him it was a particular blessing.

So this morning I looked with satisfaction at the two men holding the
cow. It wasn't a difficult job - just an intravenous injection of
magnesium lactate but still it was reassuring to have two such sturdy
fellows to help me. Maurice Bennison, medium sized but as tough as one
of his own hill beasts, had a horn in his right hand while the fingers
of his left gripped the nose; I had the comfortable impression that the
cow wouldn't jump very far when I pushed the needle in. His brother
George whose job it was to raise the vein, held the choke rope limply in
his enormous hands like bunches of carrots. He grinned down at me
amiably from his six feet four inches.

"Right, George," I said. "Tighten up that rope and lean against the cow
to stop her coming round on me." I pushed my way between the cow and her
neighbour, past George's unyielding bulk and bent over the jugular vein.
It was standing out very nicely. I poised the needle, feeling the big
man's elbow on me as he peered over my shoulder, and thrust quickly into
the vein.

"Lovely!" I cried as the dark blood fountained out and spattered thickly
on the straw bedding beneath. "Slacken your rope, George." I fumbled in
my pocket for the flutter valve. "And for God's sake, get your weight
off me."

Because George had apparently decided to rest his full fourteen stones
on me instead of the cow, and as I tried desperately to connect the tube
to the needle I felt my knees giving way. I shouted again, despairingly,
but he was inert, his chin resting on my shoulder, his breathing
stertorous in my ear.

There could only be one end to it. I fell flat on my face and lay there
writhing under the motionless body. My cries went unheeded; George was
unconscious.

The incident started me thinking about this question of people's
reactions to the sight of blood and other disturbing realities. Even
though it was only my second year of practice I had already formulated
certain rules about this and one was that it was always the biggest men
who went down. (I had, by this time, worked out a few other, perhaps
unscientific theories, e.g. big dogs were kept by people who lived in
little houses and vice versa. Clients who said 'spare no expense' never
paid their bills, ever. When I asked my way in the Dales and was told
'you can't miss it', I knew I'd soon be hopelessly lost.)

Věda a fikce

I v beletrii se často objevují pasáže textu s vědeckým nebo kvazivědeckým obsahem, ať už s cílem objasnit detektivní zápletku či dokreslit prostředí pro jednající postavy. Mezi experty v tomto oboru se řadí například Arthur Hailey nebo Michael Crichton.

1. Najděte si základní informace o autorovi a díle (například ZDE), zaměřte se na knihu Kmen Andromeda.
2. Přečtěte si několik ukázek z Crichtonových textů, které jsou dostupné online, včetně kapitoly reprodukované níže. POkuse se charakterizova jeho autorský styl a identifikovat překladatelské problémy. Své názory vložte do komentáře k tomuto blogu.
3. V části textu určenék překladu vyhledejte odborné termíny, najděte a ověřte jejich překlad a vytvořte si tak "slovníček", abyste odbornou terminologii překládali důsledně správně.
4. Přeložte tučně vyznačenou část kapitoly 27. Kompletní text románu je k dispozici v Capse.

---------------------------------------------
Michael Crichton - The Andromeda Strain (1969)
27. Scared to Death
HALL WALKED BACK TO HIS LAB AND STARED through the glass
at the old man and the infant. He looked at the two of them
and tried to think, but his brain was running in frantic
circles. He found it difficult to think logically, and his
earlier sensation of being on the verge of a discovery was
lost.
For several minutes, he stared at the old man while
brief images passed before him: Burton dying, his hand
clutched to his chest. Los Angeles in panic, bodies
everywhere, cars going haywire, out of control...
It was then that he realized that he, too, was Scared.
Scared to death. The words came back to him.
Scared to death.
Somehow, that was the answer.
Slowly, forcing his brain to be methodical, he went over
it again.
A cop with diabetes. A cop who didn't take his insulin
and had a habit of going into ketoacidosis.
An old man who drank Sterno, which gave him methanolism,
and acidosis.
A baby, who did ... what? What gave him acidosis?
Hall shook his head. Always, he came back to the baby,
who was normal, not acidotic. He sighed.
Take it from the beginning, he told himself. Be logical.
If a man has metabolic acidosis-- any kind of acidosis-- what
does he do?
He has too much acid in his body. He can die from too
much acid, just as if he had injected hydrochloric acid into
his veins.
Too much acid meant death.
But the body could compensate. By breathing rapidly.
Because in that manner, the lungs blew off carbon dioxide,
and the body's supply of carbonic acid, which was what carbon
dioxide formed in the blood, decreased.
A way to get rid of acid.
Rapid breathing.
And Andromeda? What happened to the organism, when you
were acidotic and breathing fast?
Perhaps fast breathing kept the organism from getting
into your lungs long enough to penetrate to blood vessels.
Maybe that was the answer. But as soon as he thought of it,
he shook his head. No: something else. Some simple, direct
fact. Something they had always known, but somehow never
recognized.
The organism attacked through the lungs.
It entered the bloodstream.
It localized in the walls of arteries and veins,
particularly of the brain.
It produced damage.
This led to coagulation. Which was dispersed throughout
the body, or else led to bleeding, insanity, and death.
But in order to produce such rapid, severe damage, it
would take many organisms. Millions upon millions, collecting
in the arteries and veins. Probably you did not breathe in so
many.
So they must multiply in the bloodstream.
At a great rate. A fantastic rate.
And if you were acidotic? Did that halt multiplication?
Perhaps.
Again, he shook his head. Because a person with acidosis
like Willis or Jackson was one thing. But what about the
baby?
The baby was normal. If it breathed rapidly, it would
become alkalotic-basic, too little acid-- not acidotic. The
baby would go to the opposite extreme.
Hall looked through the glass, and as he did, the baby
awoke. Almost immediately it began to scream, its face
turning purple, the little eyes wrinkling, the mouth,
toothless and smooth-gummed, shrieking.
Scared to death.
And then the birds, with the fast metabolic rate, the
fast heart rates, the fast breathing rates. The birds, who
did everything fast. They, too, survived.
Breathing fast?
Was it as simple as that?
He shook his head. It couldn't be.
He sat down and rubbed his eyes. He had a headache, and
he felt tired. He kept thinking of Burton, who might die at
any minute. Burton, sitting there in the sealed room.
Hall felt the tension was unbearable. He suddenly felt
an overwhelming urge to escape it, to get away from
everything.
The TV screen clicked on. His technician appeared and
said, "Dr. Hall, we have Dr. Leavitt in the infirmary."
And Hall found himself saying, "I'll be right there."
***
He knew he was acting strangely. There was no reason to
see Leavitt. Leavitt was all right, perfectly fine, in no
danger. In going to see him, Hall knew that he was trying to
forget the other, more immediate problems. As he entered the
infirmary, he felt guilty.
His technician said, "He's sleeping."
"Post-ictal," Hall said. Persons after a seizure usually
slept.
"Shall we start Dilantin?"
"No. Wait and see. Perhaps we can hold him on
phenobarb."
He began a slow and meticulous examination of Leavitt.
His technician watched him and said, "You're tired."
"Yes," said Hall. "It's past my bedtime."
On a normal day, he would now be driving home on the
expressway. So would Leavitt: going home to his family in
Pacific Palisades. The Santa Monica Expressway.
He saw it vividly for a moment, the long lines of cars
creeping slowly forward.
And the signs by the side of the road. Speed limit 65
maximum, 40 minimum. They always seemed like a cruel joke at
rush hour.
Maximum and minimum.
Cars that drove slowly were a menace. You had to keep
traffic moving at a fairly constant rate, little difference
between the fastest and the slowest, and you had to...
He stopped.
"I've been an idiot," he said.
And he turned to the computer.
***
In later weeks, Hall referred to it as his "highway
diagnosis. " The principle of it was so simple, so clear and
obvious, he was surprised none of them had thought of it
before.
He was excited as he punched in instructions for the
GROWTH program into the computer; he had to punch in the
directions three times; his fingers kept making mistakes.
At last the program was set. On the display screen, he
saw what he wanted: growth of Andromeda as a function of pH,
of acidity-alkalinity.
The results were quite clear:
[GRAPHIC: colony growth versus pH, bell shaped curve
centered at pH 7.41 and dying at 7.39/7.43]
The Andromeda Strain grew within a narrow range. If the
medium for growth was too acid, the organism would not
multiply. If it was too basic, it would not multiply. Only
within the range of pH 7.39 to 7.43 would it grow well.
He stared at the graph for a moment, then ran for the
door. On his way out he grinned at his assistant and said,
"It's all over. Our troubles are finished."
He could not have been more wrong.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet."

Shakespeare byl veliký básník.

Jak pravil jan Werich, jen málo podobných pravd můžete říct kdekoli na světě, aniž by vás tam či onde povožovali za někho, kdo přichází odtamdud.

1. Na capse je k dispozici soubor s různými verzemi českého překladu jediného Shakesperova sonetu. Vyberte si tu, která se vám subjektivně nejvíce zamlouvá, nejvíc vás oslovuje - a zauvažujte proč. Případně se pár řádek naučte nazpaměť, budete překvapeni, jaké nové rozměry textu při tom objevíte.

2. Přečtěte si úryvek z Hamleta a zauvažujte, jak byste přeložili označené repliky. Nezapomeňte, že se jedná o jevištní dílo - myslete na to, aby herci mohli text přirozeně deklamovat.

Hamlet
Alas, poor ghost!

Ghost
Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing
To what I shall unfold.

HAMLET
Speak; I am bound to hear.

Ghost
So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.

HAMLET
What?

Ghost
I am thy father's spirit,
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love--

HAMLET
O God!

Ghost
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.


Pár profesionálních překladů:
Josef Jiří Kolár, 1855
Hamlet. Duchu ubohý!
Duch. Mne nelituj, jen k tomu naklon sluch,
Co objevím.
Hamlet. Jsemt povinen te slyšet – mluv!
Duch. A povinen i mstít, když vyslyšíš.
Hamlet. A co?
Duch. Jsemt otce tvého duch,
Na cas odsouzen ku obcházce nocní,
A za dne vezen v ohni, až zlé hríchy
Za živa spáchané ve mne se stráví
A vyčistí. – Ó kdybych směl vyprávět
O tajných mukách svého vezení,
Nejmenší slovo té povídky by
Podrylo duši tvou, mladistvá krev
By v tobe zledovatela, tvé oci
Jak hvezdy z kruhu svých se vymknuly,
Tvé husté kadere rozptýlily,
A jeden každý vlas by vzhuru cnel
Jak bodliny zlostného ježovce.
Ten popis vecnosti však nehodí se
Pro ucho z masa, krve. – Slyš mne, slyš!
Jestlis kdy otce svého miloval –
Hamlet. Ó nebesa!
Duch. Ó pomstiž jeho príkrou, hnusnou vraždu!
Hamlet. Vraždu? –
Duch. Ba hnusnou vraždu, neb to každá jest;
Ta má však neprirozená a nejhnusnejší.



František Nevrla
Hamlet. Ó, duchu, běda!
Duch. Nelituj mne; však vážně vyslechni,
co chci ti sdělit.
Hamlet. Promluv; dám si pozor.
Duch. Však také pomsti, co ti oznámím.
Hamlet. A co?
Duch. Já duch jsem tvého otce;
jsem odsouzen, bych na čas v noci bloudil
a ve dne podroben byl stálé výhni,
než splatím zločiny, které jsem spáchal
v svém žití. Kdyby nevázal mne slib
nezradit tajnost mého vězení,
promluvil bych, že každé slůvko duši
by zděsilo ti, zmrazilo ti krev,
zrak z důlků vystoupil by ti až k hvězdám,
zmatek by rozvířil ti kadeře,
že každý vlas by rozježil se v hrůze,
jak ostny divokého zvířete.
Však toto prohlášení o věčnosti
není pro lidský sluch! Ó, slyš, ó, slyš!
Jestliže měls kdy svého otce rád –
Hamlet. Ó, nebesa!
Duch. – pak pomsti jeho neslýchanou vraždu!
Hamlet. Co, vraždu?
Duch. Je každá vražda hrozná, tato však
je hnusná, děsná, nepřirozená.

Slovo a hudba

Mluvená řeč má vždy jistý rytmus, pravidelnost, která ji činí lépe srozumitelnou. Překladatelé to vědí a rádi toho využívají - jak v přímé řeči, tak v různých hříčkách, narážkách... a samozřejmě v překladech básnických a písňových textů, kde je rytmus často důležitější než rým.

1. Dokážete najít v textu přízvučné slabiky? Nejsnazší to bývá u písňových textů - přízvuk textu se obvykle shoduje s přízvukem hudebním.
Zkopírujte si následující text do Wordu a barevně vyznačte přízvučné slabiky.

A
Hoj ty štědrý večere,
ty tajemný svátku,
cože komu dobrého
neseš na památku?

B
Znám křišťálovou studánku
kde nejhlubší je les
tam roste tmavé kapradí
a vůkol rudý vřes.

C
Byl pozdní večer, první máj,
večerní máj byl lásky čas
hrdliččin zval ku lásce hlas
kde borový zaváněl háj.

2. Srovnejte český a anglický text téže písně:
Krutá válka
Cruel war

3. Vyberte si jednu z následujících písní a napište k ní český text. Respektujte hudbu, zejména shodu hudebních a slovních přízvuků; obsah textu je jen na vás a nemusí s originálem vůbec souviset. Pokuste se výsledný text zazpívat!
Nahrávky všech tří skladeb jsou na capse.

Na překlad máte dva týdny, 25.10.se podíváme na pracovní verze - ty nemusíte vkládat na blog, jen je přineste na výuku. Hotový překlad vložte na blog do středy 2.11.2011.

Scarborough Fair
Simon + Garfunkel

Are you going to Scarborough Fair
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
(On the side of a hill in the deep forest green)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
(Tracing of sparrow on snowcrested brown)
Without no seams nor needle work
(Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
(Sleeps unaware of the clarion call)

Tell her to find me an acre of land
(On the side of a hill a sprinkling of leaves)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
(Washes the grave with silvery tears)
Between the salt water and the sea strands
(A soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather
(War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
(Generals order their soldiers to kill)
And gather it all in a bunch of heather
(And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Are you going to Scarborough Fair
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
 
Gangsta's Paradise
Coolio

(Spoken)
You want to tell me what this is all about?

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there's not much left
Cause I've been blastin' and laughin so long that
Even my ma'ma thinks that my mind is gone
But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
Me, be treated like a punk, you know that's unheard of
You better watch how you talkin, and where you walkin
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
I really hate to trip, but I gotta loc'-
As they grew I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool
I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
On my knees in the night
Sayin prayers in the street light


Been spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Been spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Keep spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Keep spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise


They got the situation, they got me facin'
I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the strip
So I gotta be down with the hood team
Too much television watchin' got me chasin' dreams
I'm an educated fool with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I'm a loc'ed out gangsta, set-trippin banger
And my homies is down, so don't arouse my anger, fool
Death ain't nuthin but a heart beat away
I'm livin life do-or-die-a, what can I say?
I'm twenty-three now, but will I live to see twenty-fow'?
The way things are goin' I don't know


Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me

Been spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Been spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Keep spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Keep spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise



Power and the money, money and the power
Minute after minute, hour after hour
Everybody's runnin, but half of them ain't lookin
What's goin on in the kitchen, but I dont know what's cookin
They say I got ta learn, but nobody's here to teach me,
If they cant understand it, how can they reach me?
I guess they can't; I guess they won't
I guess they front; that's why I know my life is outta luck, fool!


Been spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Been spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Keep spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise
Keep spending most our lives living in the Gangsta's Paradise

Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me
 
Boat on the River
Styx

Take me down to my boat on the river
I need to go down, I need to come down
Take me back to my boat on the river
And I won't cry out any more
Time stands still as I gaze In her waters
She eases me down, touching me gently
With the waters that flow past my boat on the river
So I won't cry out anymore

Oh the river is deep
The river it touches my life like the waves on the sand
And all roads lead to Tranquillity Base
Where the frown on my face disappears
Take me back to my boat on the river
And I won't cry out anymore

Oh the river is wide
The river it touches my life like the waves on the sand
And all roads lead to Tranquillity Base
Where the frown on my face disappears
Take me back to my boat on the river
And I won't cry out anymore
And I won't cry out anymore
And I won't cry out anymore

Synonyma

Absolutní synonymie sice neexistuje, ovšem právě ta relativní nám poskytuje široké spektrum vyjadřovacích možností v nejrůznějších stylových rovinách.
Důležité ovšem je stylové roviny nemíchat - hlavně ne v promluvě jedné postavy!

Synonymické slovníky - online zdroje:
http://slovniky.lingea.cz/
http://www.slovnik-synonym.cz/
http://www.synonyma-online.cz/

1. Porovnejte výsledky svého pátrání po synonymech; vyberte dva výrazy z pěti, na kterých jste pracovali, a celý soubor synonym V POŘADÍ OD NEJVULGÁRNĚJŠÍHO PO NEJKNIŽNĚJŠÍ vložte do komentáře k tomuto blogu.

Some ideas HERE

2. V dvojicích vzájemně zhodnoťte své překlady textu Agathy Christie. Zaměřte se na jazykovou správnost (včetně interpunkce!) a na zachování stylové roviny - zejména v promluvách jednotlivých postav. Připomeňte si jejich charakteristiku z minulé hodiny.

Texty odevzdané v pondělí s návrhy oprav najdete na konci dnešní hodiny ve formátu .doc v Capse.

V říši nemejského lva

Agatha Christie patří mezi mistry detektivkářského jazyka a zejména konverzace; sbírka povídek "Herkulovské úkoly Hercula Poirota" (The Labours of Hercules, 1947) je toho zajisté dokladem.

1. Přečtěte si nejprve celou povídku - je k dispozici v úložišti http://prekladani.capsa.cz. Zaměřte se zejména na děj předcházející ukázce.
2. Pokuste se v duchu o charakteristiku promlouvajících osob z následující ukázky určené k překladu, najděte v jejich řeči typické jazykové prostředky a uvažujte, jak je přeložit. Nakolik se jejich řeč vzájemně liší? Nakolik odráží jejich společenské postavení a povahu?
3. Představte si jednotlivé postavy (věk, oblečení, gestkulace...) pomoci může i filmová ukázka, například TATO.
4. Přeložte část textu vyznačenou tučně a vložte svůj překlad do komentáře k tomuto blogu. (Tuto část jsme probrali v hodině.)
5. Přeložte celou ukázku. Vložte svůj překlad do komentáře k tomuto blogu do 10.10. 20:00.



Prémiová otázka: Název tohoto příspěvku je inspirován jistým literárním a historickým kontextem. Jakým?

--------------------

"But surely. Sir Joseph, the proper thing (and a very much more inexpensive thing) would have been to send for the police ?"
Sir Joseph rubbed his nose. He said: "Are you married, Mr. Poirot ?"
"Alas," said Poirot, "I have not that felicity."
"H'm," said Sir Joseph. "Don't know about felicity, but if you were, you'd know that women are funny creatures. My wife went into hysterics at the mere mention of the police — she'd got it into her head that something would happen to her precious Shan Tung if I went to them. She wouldn't hear of the idea—and I may say she doesn't take very kindly to the idea of your being called in. But I stood firm there and at last she gave way. But, mind you, she doesn't like it."
Hercule Poirot murmured: "The position is, I perceive, a delicate one. It would be as well, perhaps, if I were to interview Madame your wife and gain further particulars from her whilst at the same time reassuring her as to the future safety of her dog ?
Sir Joseph nodded and rose to his feet. He said: "I'll take you along in the car right away.

In a large, hot, ornately-furnished drawingroom two women were sitting. As Sir Joseph and Hercule Poirot entered, a small Pekinese dog rushed forward, barking furiously, and circling dangerously round Poirot's ankles.
"Shan -- Shan, come here. Come here to mother, lovey-- Pick him up. Miss Carnaby."
The second woman hurried forward and Hercule Poirot murmured: "A veritable lion, indeed."
Rather breathlessly Shan Tung's captor agreed.
"Yes, indeed, he's such a good watchdog. He's not frightened of anything or any one. There's a lovely boy, then.
Having performed the necessary introduction, Sir Joseph said: "Well, Mr. Poirot, I'll leave you to get on with it," and with a short nod he left the room.
Lady Hoggin was a stout, petulantlooking woman with dyed henna red hair. Her companion, the fluttering Miss Carnaby, was a plump, amiable-looking creature between forty and fifty. She treated Lady Hoggin with great deference and was clearly frightened to death of her.
Poirot said: "Now tell me. Lady Hoggin, the full circumstances of this abominable crime."
Lady Hoggin flushed. "I'm very glad to hear you say that, Mr.
Poirot. For it was a crime. Pekinese are terribly sensitive -- just as sensitive as children. Poor Shan Tung might have died of fright if of nothing else.
Miss Carnaby chimed in breathlessly: "Yes, it was wicked -- wicked!"
"Please tell me the facts."
"Well, it was like this. Shan Tung was out for his walk in the Park with Miss Camaby -- "
"Oh dear me, yes, it was all my fault," chimed in the companion. "How could I have been so stupid -- so careless -- "
Lady Hoggin said acidly: "I don't want to reproach you. Miss Carnaby, but I do think you might have been more alert."
Poirot transferred his gaze to the companion. "What happened?"
Miss Carnaby burst into voluble and slightly flustered speech.
"Well, it was the most extraordinary thing! We had just been along the flower walk -- Shan Tung was on the lead, of course -- he'd had his little run on the grass -- and I was just about to turn and go home when my attention was caught by a baby in a pram -- such a lovely baby - it smiled at me -- lovely rosy cheeks and such curls. I couldn't just resist speaking to the nurse in charge and asking how old it was -- seventeen months, she said – and I'm sure I was only speaking to her for about a minute or two, and then suddenly I looked down and Shan wasn't there any more. The lead had been cut right through -- "
Lady Hoggin said: "If you'd been paying proper attention to your duties, nobody could have sneaked up and cut that lead.