World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
The Hound of the Baskervilles
巴斯克维尔的猎犬
The Hound of the Baskervilles (巴斯克维尔的猎犬, Bāsīkèwéi'ěr de lièquǎn) is a classic by Arthur Conan Doyle, retold in simple Mandarin as an 8-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 4 (Upper intermediate).
Retold from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel: Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson face a family curse, a glowing hound, and a killer hiding in the fog of the moor.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — The warm, calm storyteller who sets the scene.
- Sherlock Holmes · 福尔摩斯 — The famous detective, sharp, dry and secretly fond of his friend.
- Dr. Watson · 华生 — Holmes's loyal friend, a kind doctor who is braver than he thinks.
- Dr. Mortimer · 莫蒂默 — A worried country doctor who brings the case to Holmes.
- Sir Henry · 亨利 — The brave young heir who refuses to be scared away.
- Barrymore · 巴里摩尔 — The solemn butler of Baskerville Hall who hides a family secret.
- Stapleton · 斯台普顿 — A friendly butterfly hunter with a smile that hides something.
- Beryl · 贝丽尔 — Stapleton's frightened wife, who is made to pose as his sister.
- Inspector Lestrade · 莱斯特雷德 — A grumbling Scotland Yard inspector who joins the night watch.
- The Cab Driver · 车夫 — A puzzled London cab driver who repeats a very odd name.
8 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Curse
诅咒
A country doctor brings Holmes an old family curse and a giant paw print. Now the last Baskerville is on his way to London, and the moor is waiting.
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Chapter 2: The Warning Letter
警告信
Sir Henry arrives with a strange letter and a missing shoe. Someone is following him through London, and Holmes must send Watson to the moor alone.
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Chapter 3: Baskerville Hall
庄园的夜
Watson and Sir Henry reach the dark hall on the moor. The butler is nervous, the soldiers hunt an escaped convict, and someone is crying in the night.
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Chapter 4: The Butterfly Man
捉蝴蝶的人
Watson meets a friendly butterfly hunter on the moor, and then a frightened woman who tells him to leave. Why is everyone so sure that a bird is making that awful cry?
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Chapter 5: The Candle in the Window
窗前的蜡烛
At midnight Watson and Sir Henry catch the butler signaling with a candle to someone on the moor. Then they chase a shadow, and something terrible is waiting in the dark.
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Chapter 6: The Man on the Hill
山上的人
Watson climbs alone to a stone hut where a stranger is spying on him. When the stranger finally speaks, it is the one voice Watson never expected.
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Chapter 7: The Hound in the Fog
雾中的猎犬
On a foggy night three men wait beside the path while Sir Henry walks alone. Then a great shape with burning eyes leaps out of the mist.
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Chapter 8: The End of the Hound
猎犬的结局
The mire closes over the man behind the curse, and Holmes explains every trick. Baskerville Hall can finally breathe again.
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Key words in The Hound of the Baskervilles
Behind the story
This story is retold from Arthur Conan Doyle's novel, published in 1902 and set on the wild Dartmoor country of southwest England. It is one of the four novels about the detective Sherlock Holmes, and many readers still count it as the best of them.
Chinese readers have known Holmes in translation for well over a century. In Chinese he is 福尔摩斯 and his friend is 华生, and this book appears there as 巴斯克维尔的猎犬. The tale of a ghostly dog, a family curse and a lonely moor is still a favorite for mystery lovers, and for anyone who likes a scary story told by the fire.
Did you know?
- Doyle wrote the novel after hearing old English legends about ghostly black dogs that haunt lonely roads and moors.
- Dr. Watson tells the story in his own words, and for a long part of the book he works alone while Holmes stays out of sight.
- The moor in the story is based on Dartmoor, a real national park in Devon, famous for its stone hills, fog and deep bogs.