C. - Hello ! How are you doing ? As for me, I am fine !*
S. -  Are you ? #

C. - Yes, indeed !  I' ve got  a very interesting and exciting story to tell.
 Let's begin right now !  Would you like to listen to it ?*
S. - Yes, I would. /No, I wouldn't./No, I would not.#

C. - Oh ! That 's  a detective story !*
S. - Is that ? #

C. - No doubt it is !  I bet,& you will never guess#, who the main character of the
 story is !*
S. - Will  not  I ? /Won 't  I?/Shall not  I?  /Shan 't  I ? #

C. - Never !  This  is  M.Poirot, the famous detective !& Do you realize# what he is
 going  to deal with  this  time ?*
S. - No , I  don 't./No , I do not .  /Yes , I do.#

C. - Well,  once  M.Poirot  got  a letter  from  a man  who  wanted him to
 investigate  the disappearance  of his wife's  Pekinese dog.  You see ?*
S. - Yes , I do. /No , I don 't  ./I do not .#

C. - Unbelievable, isn't  it ?*
S. - Yes , it is./No , it  isn 't. /No, it is not.#

C. - M.Poirot  has never dreamt  of  anything  like  that.*
S. - Hasn 't he ? /Has not he ?#

C. - Oh ! Goodness ! In the end of the story you will certainly know.*
S. - Will I ? /Shall I ? #

C. - You will. Well, nothing unusual about this case, really. If you think so, you
 are wrong. But in  one small detail there was still something unusual !*
S. - Was there ?#

C. - Patience, my friend !  M.Poirot  wanted to talk with the author of the
 letter  and, of course, he made an appointment with him.*
S. - Did he ?#

C. - Yes, sure ! That man ( who wrote the letter) reminded him of something ... ,
 or, may be, someone ... , but M.Poirot  couldn't  recollect.  A long time
 ago ... in  Belgium ... something connected  with ... soap !?  Could  you
 help me ? *
S. - No, I couldn't. /No , could not.  /Yes , I could.#

C. - Well, the author of the letter was known as Sir Joseph Hoggin. And  it was
 a little strange that he invited  M.Poirot, no one, but Poirot ! He seemed to
 know  that& M.Poirot  was the best specialist  at  that  sort of things# !*
S. - Was he ?#

C. - He, definitely, was. Why do you ask me such  silly  questions ? You'll know
 everything very soon.  Do you believe me ?*
S. - Yes, I do. /No, I don 't . /No , I do not. #

C. - O.K. ! So, M.Poirot, in his turn, was strangely attracted  by this  man's
 case.*
S. -  Was he ?#

C. - Probably, yes ! Sir Joseph Hoggin said that his wife's Pekinese dog  had
 disappeared a  week  ago . But ( what a strange thing ! ) , it  was  returned !
 Surprising,  isn't  it ?*
S. -  Yes , it is. /No , it is not. /No , it isn 't. #

C. - M.Poirot  was  very  much  surprised.  But, Sir Joseph Hoggin  had quite
 a different point of view !*
S. -  Did he ?#

C. - Sure !  According to his viewpoint he had been  cheated.*
S. - Had he ?#

C. - Exactly !  But don't be in a hurry ! I say, that  was his suspicion. That's
 why &he  told everything  to M.Poirot#.*
S. - Did he ?#

C. - Yes , quite  everything  he knew ! I see, you are getting curious  and want
 to be involved deeper ! It looks more and  more interesting , doesn't it ?*
S. - Yes , it does. /No , it doesn 't. /No , it does not .#

C. - Listen, the dog was stolen in the park where it was out with Lady Hoggin
 and  her companion.  The next day  his wife  got  a letter  with a demand
 of   L 200 !*
S. - Did she ?#

C. - Yes ! So, Lady  Milly  Hoggin  sent  the money  to the  given  address
 and ... did not tell anything to her husband ...*
S. - Didn 't  she ? /Did not she ? #

C. - Right ! Rather foolish of her to do that, isn't it ?*
S. - Yes, it is. /No , it is n 't. /No , it is not.#

C. - Well, people are free to have  their own  viewpoints  on different  problems,
 aren't they ?*
S. - Yes , they are. /No, they aren 't./No, they are not. #

C. - Everyone has the right to make his own mistakes !*
S. - Does he ? /Does  she ? #

C. - Hey, knock, knock ... Aren't  you sleeping ? Do you still follow me ?*
S. - Yes , I do. /No I don 't. /No, I do not.#

C. - All right ! Let's go on.  You know, the dog was returned that very evening !*
S. - Was it ? /Was he ? #

C. - Yes !  And  the whole thing  could  be forgotten ,... if ... if & Sir Joseph Hoggin
 hadn't  met  old  Samuelson  at  the club# !*
S. - Had he ?#

C. - Yes, he had. And  what  a shock ! The same thing had happened  with  the
 old  Mr.Samuelson ! And it  had costed  him  L 300 !*
S. - Had it ?#

C. - Yeah, big money ! Well, well, well ... &You  should have looked  after  your
 purse#  when  it  is  still  thick !*
S. - Should I ?#

C. - Well, after  all  that  Sir Joseph Hoggin  had sent  for  Mr.Poirot.*
S. - Had  he ? #

C. - Of course,  he had !  And  M.Poirot  interviewed   Lady Milly Hoggin's
 companion, Miss Carnaby.*
S. - Did he ?#

C. - He, definitely, did ! Miss Carnaby told   that  they were walking in the
 park and  were  just  about  going  home,  when  suddenly  they saw
 a woman  walking  with a pretty  child. Lady  Milly Hoggin  stopped
 to talk  with this woman.*
S. - Did she ?#

C. - Oh ! I am so tired ! Too many questions, Your Majesty! How curious you
 are !*
S. - Am I ?#

C. - You are ! But what to do ?! That was our condition ! O.K.  Let's go on !
 Well, Miss Carnaby was waiting for her mistress,  the dog was  with her
 on the lead ... But when  Miss Carnaby looked down ,... &there  wasn't any
 dog# ...!*
S. - Wasn 't there ?#

C. - No, there wasn't !  The lead  had been ... cut  through ...!*
S. - Had it ?#

C. - Those were the words of Miss Carnaby.  She  told  to Lady Hoggin  not
 to call  the police, as  she  was afraid  that &the dog  could  suffer  from it#.*
S. - Could it ?/Could he ?#

C. - May be,  who knows ! M.Poirot  asked  some  more questions about
 Miss Carnaby. What do you think ? Was  it  Miss Carnaby's  work ?*
S. - Yes , it was. /No , it wasn 't ./No, it was not .#

C. - Probably, you're on the right way ..., but let me continue the story.And,
 please, follow me ! Well, M.Poirot  found  out  that Miss Carnaby was not too intellectual,
 but &she had a kind  heart  and  a great  love  for  dogs#.*
S. - Did she ?#

C. - As far as I know, she did.  M.Poirot  visited  Mr.Samuelson.*
S. - Did he ?#

C. - By the way, that  was the same  story  with  the same  details.*
S. - Was that ?#

C. - Absolutely,  my friend !  The only differences  were: the robber's
 address  and  the sum of money  he demanded (L 300).  Isn't  it
 curious ?*
S. - Yes , it is. /No , it  isn 't./No , it is not .#

C. - Do you find the story really exciting ?*
S. - Yes , I do. /No , I don 't./No, I do not .#

C. - Well, the case  is going  to be  not  so ordinary !  Won't  it  turn
 to a murder ?*
S. - Yes, it will /No , it won 't./No, it  will not.#

C. - Hmm ... No one can be sure ... As for me,  I  had  a heart ache at this
 place of the story !*
S. - Did you ?#

C. - Sure ! O.K. ! Three days later M.Poirot  analysed  one  address that
 seemed  suspicious  to him.  Would  you  like  to know  the result ?*
S. - Yes , I would. /No , I wouldn 't ./No, I would not .#

C. - Ha-ha-ha !  That was the address of  Miss Carnaby, of course !*
S. - Was it ?#

C. - Yes ! The night  came down  when  &M.Poirot  found  her genuine address# !*
S. -  Did he ?#

C. - Sure ! Now,  listen  very  attentively !  Miss Carnaby loved the dogs  and
 &she ...  had  her own  Pekinese dog# !*
S. - Did she ?#

C. - Naturally ! Now listen to her secret ! Before going to the park she
 exchanged her dog with that of Lady Hoggin.In the park she cut
 the lead while Lady Hoggin was talking to her friend.The  dog  ran
 back  home ..., her home,of course ...!*
S. - Did he ? /Did it ? #

C. - Exactly !  A very simple thing to do !  And  Miss Carnaby had performed
 16 operations  like  this !  Can  you  imagine: L 200-L 300  per each !*
S. - Yes , I can. /No , I can 't./No, I can not.#
C. - Terrific ! That's really big money ! Oh, no ! That's very big money !
 No ! It's very-very big money ! Isn't it  your  sweetest  dream ?*
S. - Yes , it is. /No , it isn't./No, it is not .#

C. - I  sympathize  with  you !  But  let's go on. So,  M.Poirot  returned Sir
 J.Hoggin's  money, but  didn't name  the criminal,  because  he gave
 a promise to Miss Carnaby not to do it.  He had some reasons  for that.*
S. - Did he ?#

C. - Yes. She was a poor woman  and lived  together  with her sister who was
 an invalid.She did all that because &she needed money# !*
S. - Did she ?#

C. - Sure !  But  that  wasn't the only reason, of course.  There was something
 else !*
S. - Was there ?#

C. - Do you remember some unusual details  in this story ?*
S. - Yes , I do. /No , I don 't ./No, I do not .#

C. - First,  Lady Milly Hoggin  didn't  tell  anything to her husband. And,
 second, (I told you  in the beginning of the  story) &there was  something
 unusual  and suspicious in Sir Joseph Hoggin himself#.*
S. - Was there ?#

C. - Yes,  he had a terrific resemblance with a soap manufacturer from Belgium !*
S. - Did he ?#

C. - Absolutely ! And M.Poirot  remembered him to be involved  in a criminal
 story ! That man poisoned his wife because he had fallen in love with  his
 blond secretary and wanted to marry her ! You see ?*
S. - Yes, I do. /No I don 't. /No, I do not .#

C. - So,  M.Poirot  told  him  about it. and  warned  him  to be extremely careful.
 Would you like  to know Sir Joseph Hoggin's thoughts ?*
S. - Yes , I would. /No , I wouldn 't./No, I would not.#

C. - Oh,that's curious!His first thought was:"That M.Poirot is a damned
 clever little devi!"And his second one was more radical:"Greta can
 go hang!I am not going to risk myself for any damned platinum blond!"
 And there was much feeling in his words !*
S. - Was there ?#

C. - Definitely ! So much feeling that  he suddenly  called  his wife ... Greta !
 You  must have understood  the  reason !*
S. - Must I ?#

C. - Well, Your Majesty ! M.Poirot didn't explain  this moment and  I
 amn't going to go into details ...  Think of it later.  You're  a good
 company ! I wish you luck ! Hope to see you soon !*
