20 The Triumph

The Triumph Mr Jenkins had not gone more than a few paces towards The Grand High Witch's table when a piercing scream rose high above all the other noises in the room, and at the same moment I saw The Grand High Witch go shooting up into the air! Now she was standing on her chair, still screaming… Now she was on the table-top, waving her arms… 'What on earth's happening, Grandmamma?' 'Wait!' my grandmother said. 'Keep quiet and watch.' Suddenly all the other witches, more than eighty of them, were beginning to scream and jump up out of their seats as though spikes were being stuck into their bottoms. Some were standing on chairs, some were up on the tables and

詹金斯先生刚朝大女巫的桌子走了几步，一声刺耳的尖叫盖过了房间里所有的噪音，与此同时，我看见大女巫猛地蹿到空中!一会儿她站在椅子上，还在尖叫……一会儿她站在桌子上，挥舞着双臂……“奶奶，到底发生了什么事?”“等等!我祖母说。 “保持安静，看着点。”突然，其他所有的女巫——总共八十多个——都开始尖叫起来，从座位上跳了起来，好像有尖刺扎进了他们的屁股。 有些人站在椅子上，有些人站在桌子上

all of them were wiggling about and waving their arms in the most extraordinary manner. Then, all at once, they became quiet. Then they stiffened. Every single witch stood there as stiff and silent as a corpse. The whole room became deathly still. 'They're shrinking, Grandmamma!' I said. 'They're shrinking just like I did!' 'I know they are,' my grandmother said. 'It's the Mouse-Maker!' I cried. 'Look! Some of them are growing fur on their faces! Why is it working so quickly, Grandmamma?' 'I'll tell you why,' my grandmother said. 'Because all of them have had massive overdoses, just like you. It's thrown the alarm-clock right out of whack!'

他们所有的人都在扭动身体，以最不寻常的方式挥舞着手臂。 然后，他们突然安静下来。 然后他们僵住了。每一个女巫都站在那里，像一具尸体一样僵硬、沉默。 整个房间变得死气沉沉。 “它们在萎缩，奶奶!”我说。 “他们也像我一样萎缩了!”“我知道，”祖母说。 “是造鼠人!”我哭了。 “看!他们中的一些人在脸上长毛了!为什么这么快就见效了，奶奶?“我来告诉你为什么，”祖母说。 “因为他们都和你一样，用药过量。 它把闹钟弄坏了!”

Everyone in the Dining-Room was standing up now to get a better view. People were moving closer. They were beginning to crowd round the two long tables. My grandmother lifted Bruno and me up so that we wouldn't miss any of the fun. In her excitement, she jumped up on to her chair so that she could see over the heads of the crowd. In another few seconds, all the witches had completely disappeared and the tops of the two

餐厅里的每个人都站了起来，以便看得更清楚。 人们越来越近。 他们开始围着两张长桌。 我奶奶把我和布鲁诺抱起来，这样我们就不会错过任何乐趣。 她兴奋地跳到椅子上，以便能越过人群的头顶看过去。 又过了几秒钟，所有的女巫都消失了，两个人的顶端也不见了

long tables were swarming with small brown mice. All over the Dining-Room women were screaming and strong men were turning white in the face and shouting, 'It's crazy! This can't happen! Let's get the heck out of here quick!' Waiters were attacking the mice with chairs and wine-bottles and anything else that came to hand. I saw a chef in a tall white hat rushing out from the kitchen brandishing a frying-pan, and another one just behind him was wielding a carving-knife above his head, and everyone was yelling, 'Mice! Mice! Mice! We must get rid of the mice!' Only

长桌上挤满了棕色的小老鼠。 整个餐厅的女人都在尖叫，强壮的男人脸色发白，喊道:“太疯狂了!这是不可能的!我们赶快离开这鬼地方吧!”侍者们用椅子、酒瓶和手边的任何东西攻击老鼠。 我看见一个戴着高高的白帽子的厨师挥舞着煎锅从厨房里冲出来，另一个在他后面的厨师在他头顶上挥舞着菜刀，每个人都在喊:“老鼠!老鼠!老鼠!我们必须把老鼠赶走!”只有

the children in the room were really enjoying it. They all seemed to know instinctively that something good was going on right there in front of them, and they were clapping and cheering and laughing like mad. 'It's time to go,' my grandmother said. 'Our work is done.' She got down off her chair and picked up her handbag and slung it over her arm. She had me in her right hand and Bruno in her left. 'Bruno,' she said, 'the time has come to restore you to the famous bosom of your family.'

房间里的孩子们都很喜欢。 他们似乎都本能地知道，好事就发生在他们面前，他们都在疯狂地鼓掌、欢呼、大笑。 “该走了，”祖母说。 “我们的工作完成了。”她从椅子上站起来，拿起手提包，挎在胳膊上。 她右手抱着我，左手抱着布鲁诺。 “布鲁诺，”她说，“是时候让你回到著名的家族怀抱了。”

'My mum's not very crazy about mice,' Bruno said. 'So I noticed,' my grandmother said. 'She'll just have to get used to you, won't she?' It was not difficult to find Mr and Mrs Jenkins. You could hear Mrs Jenkins's shrill voice all over the room. 'Herbert!' it was screaming. 'Herbert, get me out of here! There's mice everywhere! They'll go up my skirts!' She had her arms high up around her husband and from where I was she seemed to be swinging from his neck. My grandmother advanced upon them and thrust Bruno into Mr Jenkins's hand. 'Here's your little boy,' she said. 'He needs to go on a diet.' 'Hi, Dad!' Bruno said. 'Hi, Mum!' Mrs Jenkins screamed even louder. My grandmother, with me in her hand, turned and marched out of the room. She went straight across the hotel lobby and out through the front entrance into the open air. Outside it was a lovely warm evening and I could hear the waves breaking on the beach just

“我妈妈不太喜欢老鼠，”布鲁诺说。 “所以我注意到了，”祖母说。 “她一定会习惯你的，是不是?”找到詹金斯夫妇并不难。 整个房间都能听到詹金斯太太刺耳的声音。 “赫伯特!它在尖叫。 “赫伯特，把我弄出去!”到处都是老鼠!它们会挂在我裙子上的!”她的手臂高举着她的丈夫，从我的角度看，她似乎在他的脖子上摇摆。 我祖母走上前去，把布鲁诺塞到詹金斯先生手里。 “这是你的小男孩，”她说。 “他需要节食。“嗨，爸爸!”布鲁诺说。 “嗨,妈妈!”詹金斯太太尖叫得更大声了。 我的祖母，手里抱着我，转身走出了房间。 她径直穿过旅馆大厅，穿过前门，来到户外。 外面是一个温暖可爱的夜晚，我能听到海浪拍打着海滩的声音