14

And it turned out I was RIGHT. I knew I was gonna have to finish all the chores before Mom and Dad got home, but I figured I had plenty of time and I deserved to enjoy myself for a little while. So I made myself comfortable on their bed and turned on the TV. Ordinarily I get a little weirded out being in Mom and Dad's bed, but today I decided to make an exception. ESPECIALLY when I realized one of their blankets was the one we got from Aunt Dorothy for Christmas. Watching TV in bed was AWESOME, or at least for a WHILE. I was comfortable for the FIRST two hours, but after that my neck started hurting from lying in that position.

结果还真被我说中了。 我知道得赶在爸妈回家前做完所有家务，但我觉得时间还很充裕，我也理应先开心玩一小会儿。 于是我舒舒服服窝在爸妈的床上，打开了电视。 平时待在爸妈的床上我会觉得怪怪的，但今天我决定破例一回。 尤其是我发现，其中一条毯子就是圣诞节多萝西姨妈送我们的那条。 躺在床上看电视可太爽了，至少爽了好一阵子。 头两个小时我躺得挺舒服，可之后保持同一个姿势，我的脖子开始疼了。

I've already decided that when I get a place of my own, I'm gonna attach my TV to the CEILING so I can look straight UP at it. But I'm gonna have someone install the TV who knows what they're DOING, because I don't need to be the next Flat Stanley. I must've dozed off for a while, because when the phone rang it startled me. It was MOM, and I figured she was checking in on me to see if I'd finished my chores. But the reason she was calling was to tell me she couldn't make it home in time to pick up Manny at daycare, so she was gonna have Mrs. Drummond drop Manny off at the HOUSE.

我早就决定了，等我以后有了自己的房子，我要把电视装在天花板上，这样就能直直仰着看它了。 不过我得找懂行的人来装电视，我可不想变成下一个扁平斯坦利。 我肯定是打了会儿瞌睡，因为电话响的时候把我吓了一大跳。 是妈妈打来的，我以为她是来查岗，看我家务做完没有。 但她打电话是说，她没法及时赶去托儿所接曼尼，所以会让德拉蒙德夫人把曼尼送回家里。

That meant I had to BABYSIT, which was gonna really mess up the rest of my day. When Mrs. Drummond dropped off Manny a half hour later, I didn't know what to DO with him. I put Manny in Mom and Dad's room and turned on some cartoons, but he followed me back downstairs. So I guess Manny just wanted to be with ME. I tried to remember what Rodrick used to do with me when I was little. But all I could think of was the time he gave me lemon juice and told me it was SODA.

那意味着我得临时看孩子，这下我这天剩下的计划全乱了。 半小时后德拉蒙德夫人把曼尼送来，我完全不知道该带他做什么。 我把曼尼留在爸妈房间，打开了动画片，可他还是跟着我下了楼。 所以曼尼就是想跟我待在一起。 我努力回想，我小时候罗德里克一般都带我玩什么。 可我能想到的，就只有那次他给我柠檬汁，还骗我说那是汽水。

Then I remembered a game me and Rodrick used to play that was actually FUN. We pretended the floor was LAVA, and we had to stay OFF of it by using cushions and pillows from the couch. Me and Rodrick used to play that game for HOURS. I figured if I got Manny started, he could keep himself entertained while I wrapped up my chores. But when I told Manny how the game WORKED, he totally freaked out.

接着我想起我和罗德里克以前常玩的一个真的挺好玩的游戏。 我们假装地板是岩浆，得踩着沙发的靠垫和枕头，绝对不能碰地板。 我和罗德里克以前玩这个游戏能玩上好几个小时。 我想着，我带曼尼玩起来，他就能自己玩得开心，我就能去做完家务了。 可我跟曼尼讲完游戏规则，他直接吓得崩溃了。

So now Manny wouldn't go anywhere near the FLOOR. And that made things really inconvenient for me. But I still had to do my chores, or I'd be in trouble when Mom and Dad got home. And I had a BIG one in front of me, which was shoveling the driveway. I knew Manny would have a total meltdown if I left him inside with all that lava, so I got him dressed in his snow gear, which wasn't easy.

所以现在曼尼哪儿都不去，就是不碰地板。 这可把我搞得太不方便了。 但我还是得做完家务，不然爸妈回家我就完蛋了。 我还有个大活在等着我，就是铲车库前车道的雪。 我知道要是把他留在满是岩浆的屋里，曼尼肯定会彻底崩溃，所以我费劲帮他穿上了全套雪具。

I figured Manny could play on the back deck while I shoveled the driveway, and he'd be safe because the deck is closed in. The snow in the driveway was wet and heavy, and it was hard to make any progress. After a half hour, I decided to take a break and soak my hands in some warm water. While I was inside, I figured I'd check and see how Manny was doing out on the back deck. But Manny was GONE. He had built a little staircase out of snow to escape.

我想着我铲车道的时候，曼尼可以在后露台玩，露台是围起来的，他待在那儿很安全。 车道上的雪又湿又重，铲起来进度特别慢。 半小时后，我决定歇一会儿，把手泡进温水里暖一暖。 我回屋的时候，想着顺便去后露台看看曼尼怎么样了。 可曼尼不见了。 他用雪堆了个小台阶，自己跑出去了。