[ti:]
[ar:]
[al:]
[00:01.16]Chapter 6 Outside the Hospital
[00:07.98]Merrick had a lo of friends now,
[00:11.32]but he was more like a child than a man.
[00:15.56]He could read about things, and talk to his visitors,
[00:20.22]but he could not go out of the hospital by himself.
[00:24.24]He thought and played like a child.
[00:29.25]After Christmas, he wanted to go to the theatre.
[00:33.56]This was very difficult,
[00:36.25]because I did not want the people in the theatre to see him.
[00:41.44]But a kind lady from the theatre-Mrs Kendal-helped us.
[00:47.97]We bought tickets for a box at the side of the theatre
[00:53.34]We went to the theatre in a cab with dark windows,
[00:57.53]and we went into the theatre
[00:59.74]by a door at the back-the Queen's door. Nobody saw us.
[01:07.11]Three nurses sat at the front of the box,
[01:10.62]and Merrick and I sat in the dark behind them.
[01:15.45]Nobody in the theatre could see us,
[01:18.50]but we could see the play.
[01:21.93]It was a children's Christmas play.
[01:24.80]Merrick loved it. It was a most wonderful, exciting story.
[01:31.19]Often he laughed,
[01:33.55]and sometimes he tried to sing like the children in the theatre.
[01:38.49]He was like a child.
[01:40.53]For him, everything in the story was true.
[01:46.50]Once he was very afraid,
[01:49.08]because the bad man in the play was angry and had a knife.
[01:53.96]At first Merrick wanted to leave the theatre, but I stopped him.
[02:00.26]Then he was very angry with this bad man in the play.
[02:05.56]He hit his hand on his chair,
[02:08.33]and stood up and talked to the man.
[02:11.43]But nobody heard him.
[02:13.79]When the bad man went to prison, Merrick laughed.
[02:19.75]Merrick thought the beautiful young lady
[02:22.33]in the play was wonderful.
[02:24.71]He wanted to talk to her too.
[02:28.38]At the end of the play he was very happy
[02:32.01]because she married a good young man.
[02:36.44]He remembered this play for a long time,
[02:39.74]and he talked a lot about the people in it.
[02:44.58]'What do you think they did after we left?'
[02:49.82]he asked me. 'Where do the young lady and the young man live?
[02:57.53]What are they doing now?'
[03:00.68]'I don't know, I said. 'Perhaps they live in the country. '
[03:06.99]Merrick thought about this for a long time.
[03:10.89]Then he said：'Dr Treves, can I go to the country, please?
[03:20.47]I saw the country once from a train, but I never went there.
[03:29.34]I often read about it in books.
[03:33.45]It's very beautiful, isn't it?
[03:37.81]I would like to see it. '
[03:42.31]The visit to the theatre was difficult
[03:45.42]but a visit to the country was more difficult.
[03:50.12]But again, one of his new friends helped us.
[03:55.00]She had a small house in the country,
[03:58.15]and Merrick could stay in it for the summer, she said.
[04:03.50]I took Merrick to the country in a train with dark windows,
[04:08.08]so nobody could see him.
[04:11.02]Then we went in a cab to the country house.
[04:15.54]There were a lot of trees near the house,
[04:18.95]but no people lived near it.
[04:22.65]A countryman brought food to the house everyday,
[04:26.45]but no people came near it.
[04:30.17]I stayed with him that night.
[04:33.18]At night, it was very dark and quiet.
[04:38.39]In the morning, hundreds of birds sang in the trees,
[04:43.11]and everything outside the house was green.
[04:47.16]Merrick walked under the big trees,
[04:50.59]looking at things happily,
[04:52.93]and singing his strange song.
[04:57.74]I went back to London,
[05:00.08]but Merrick stayed there for six weeks.
[05:03.60]He was wonderfully happy.
[05:06.38]Every week, he wrote me a letter.
[05:11.62]Apple Tree House,
[05:14.25]West Wickham,
[05:16.25]Berkshire.
[05:18.36]21st July 1889
[05:25.18]Dear Dr Treves,
[05:28.71]I had a wonderful day again today,
[05:33.12]It was very warm,
[05:35.25]so I walked under the trees and sat by a stream.
[05:41.93]The water in the stream made a beautiful noise,
[05:46.86]like singing. Did you know that?
[05:51.39]I listened to it for two hours.
[05:56.17]Lots of little birds came near me .
[06:00.47]One had a red body in front, and a brown back.
[06:06.26]I gave it some bread, and it sat on my hand.
[06:12.50]A lot of birds are my friends, now.
[06:17.58]I watched the fish in the stream, too.
[06:22.10]They were very exciting,
[06:24.91]because they move very fast.
[06:28.72]One minute they were there,
[06:31.51]and the next minute I couldn't see them.
[06:35.82]But I waited quietly, and they always came back.
[06:42.09]I put my hand in the water,
[06:45.34]but I couldn't touch them.
[06:49.16]I met a big dog yesterday.
[06:52.69]It made a very loud noise,
[06:56.09]but I was not afraid.
[06:59.43]I sat down quietly and looked it,
[07:04.26]and it came and smelt my hand.
[07:08.46]I saw it again today, and gave it some bread.
[07:14.17]It likes me now.
[07:17.84]I am going to put some flowers from the country in this letter.
[07:24.17]There are hundreds of flowers here. Did you know that?
[07:30.38]I like the little blue ones best,
[07:34.29]but they are all beautiful.
[07:37.74]I have lots of them in my room.
[07:41.29]I give them water every morning.
[07:45.50]Little flowers are very thirsty, you know!
[07:49.88]I am very happy here, doctor,
[07:53.69]but I want to see you again soon, too.
[07:58.04]With love from your friend,
[08:01.55]Joseph Merrick
[08:05.80]At the end of the summer he came back to London.
[08:10.77]He was very well, and his skin looked much better.
[08:16.21]He talked about the country a lot,
[08:19.44]but he was happy to see his friends and his books again, too.