03 The Great Mouse Plot

The Great Mouse Plot My four friends and I had come across a loose floor-board at the back of the classroom, and when we prised it up with the blade of a pocket-knife, we discovered a big hollow space underneath. This, we decided, would be our secret hiding place for sweets and other small treasures such as conkers and monkey-nuts and birds' eggs. Every afternoon, when the last lesson was over, the five of us would wait until the classroom had emptied, then we would lift up the floor-board and examine our secret hoard, perhaps adding to it or taking something away. One day, when we lifted it up, we found a dead mouse lying among our treasures. It was an

老鼠大阴谋我和四个朋友在教室后面偶然发现一块松动的地板，当我们用小刀把它撬开时，发现下面有一个很大的空心空间。 我们决定，这将是我们藏糖果和其他小宝贝的秘密地方，比如松果、猴果和鸟蛋。 每天下午，当最后一节课结束时，我们五个人都会等到教室里的人都走光了，然后我们会掀起地板，检查我们的秘密宝藏，也许会增加或拿走一些东西。 有一天，当我们把它抬起来时，我们发现一只死老鼠躺在我们的宝藏中。 这是一个

exciting discovery. Thwaites took it out by its tail and waved it in front of our faces. 'What shall we do with it?' he cried. 'It stinks!' someone shouted. 'Throw it out of the window quick!' 'Hold on a tick,' I said. 'Don't throw it away.' Thwaites hesitated. They all looked at me. When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty. I must tell you, therefore, that it was I and I alone who had the idea for the great and daring Mouse Plot. We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine. 'Why don't we', I said, 'slip it into one of Mrs Pratchett's jars of sweets? Then when she puts her dirty hand in to grab a handful, she'll grab a stinky dead mouse instead.' The other four stared at me in wonder. Then, as the sheer genius of the plot began to sink in, they all started grinning. They slapped me on the back. They cheered me and danced around the classroom. 'We'll do it today!' they cried. 'We'll do it on the way home! You had the idea,' they

令人兴奋的发现。斯韦茨抓住它的尾巴把它拿出来，在我们面前挥舞着。 “我们拿它怎么办呢?”他叫道。 “这糟透了!有人喊道。 “快把它扔出窗外!”“等一下，”我说。 “别把它扔掉。”Thwaites犹豫了。 他们都看着我。在描写自己的时候，一个人必须力求真实。 真理比谦虚更重要。 因此，我必须告诉你，是我，而且只有我一个人想出了这个伟大而大胆的老鼠阴谋。 我们都有辉煌和荣耀的时刻，这是我的。 “我们为什么不，”我说，“把它塞进普拉切特太太的糖果罐里呢?” 然后，当她伸出脏手去抓一把时，她会抓一只臭死老鼠。”另外四个人惊奇地盯着我。 然后，当人们开始理解这个情节的天才之处时，他们都笑了起来。 他们拍了拍我的背。 他们为我欢呼，围着教室跳舞。 “我们今天就去!”他们叫道。 “我们在回家的路上做!”“是你的主意，”他们说

said to me, 'so you can be the one to put the mouse in the jar.' Thwaites handed me the mouse. I put it into my trouser pocket. Then the five of us left the school, crossed the village green and headed for the sweet-shop. We were tremendously jazzed up. We felt like a gang of desperados setting out to rob a train or blow up the sheriff's office. 'Make sure you put it into a jar which is used often,' somebody said. 'I'm putting it in Gobstoppers,' I said. 'The Gobstopper jar is never behind the counter.' 'I've got a penny,' Thwaites said, 'so I'll ask for one Sherbet Sucker and one Bootlace. And while she turns away to get them, you slip the mouse in quickly with the Gobstoppers.' Thus everything was arranged. We were strutting a little as we entered the shop. We were the victors now and Mrs Pratchett was the victim. She stood behind the counter, and her small malignant pig-eyes watched us suspiciously as we came forward.

他对我说:“这样你就可以把老鼠放进罐子里了。”思韦茨把老鼠递给我。 我把它放进裤兜里。 然后我们五个人离开了学校，穿过村庄的草地，向糖果店走去。 我们非常兴奋。 我们感觉就像一群亡命之徒准备抢劫火车或炸毁警长办公室。 “一定要把它放在一个常用的罐子里，”有人说。 “我要把它放进‘跳跳糖’里。”我说。 “gobstoper罐子从来不放在柜台后面。“我有一便士，”思韦茨说，“所以我要一个冰沙吸盘和一个靴子。” 趁她转身去拿的时候，你赶紧把老鼠和跳跳糖塞进去。”一切就这样安排好了。 我们走进商店时有点趾高气扬。 现在我们是胜利者，普拉切特夫人是受害者。 她站在柜台后面，当我们走上前去时，她那双恶毒的小猪眼怀疑地盯着我们。

'One Sherbet Sucker, please,' Thwaites said to her, holding out his penny. I kept to the rear of the group, and when I saw Mrs Pratchett turn her head away for a couple of seconds to fish a Sherbet Sucker out of the box, I lifted the heavy glass lid of the Gobstopper jar and dropped the mouse in. Then I replaced the lid as silently as possible. My heart was thumping like mad and my hands had gone all sweaty. 'And one Bootlace, please,' I heard Thwaites saying. When I turned round, I saw Mrs Pratchett holding out the Bootlace in her filthy fingers. 'I don't want all the lot of you troopin' in 'ere if only one of you is buyin', she screamed at us. 'Now beat it! Go on, get out!' As soon as we were outside, we broke into a run. 'Did you do it?' they shouted at me. 'Of course I did!' I said. 'Well done you!' they cried. 'What a super show!' I felt like a hero. I was a hero. It was marvellous to be so popular.

“请给我来一杯冰沙吸盘，”思韦茨对她说，一边拿出他的硬币。 我一直站在人群的后面，当我看到普拉切特太太把头转开了几秒钟，从盒子里拿出一个雪葩吸盘时，我打开了Gobstopper罐子沉重的玻璃盖，把老鼠放了进去。 然后我尽可能悄无声息地把盖子盖上。 我的心像疯了一样狂跳，我的手都出汗了。 “再来一杯布特雷斯，谢谢。”我听见思韦茨说。 我转过身来，看见普拉切特太太用她那肮脏的手指把鞋带伸出来。 “如果你们只有一个人来买东西，我可不希望你们所有人都来。”她对我们吼道。 “现在滚开!”走吧，出去!”我们一到外面，就开始跑起来。 “是你干的吗?”他们对我喊道。 “当然了!”我说。 “干得好!”他们叫道。 “多么精彩的表演啊!”我觉得自己像个英雄。 我是个英雄。能如此受欢迎真是太好了。