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All I can say is, prison's gotta be a lot better than THIS. I'm pretty sure they guarantee you a warm cell and three meals a day, so when the police do come back, believe me, I'll be ready to go. Tuesday When I woke up today, I realized I'd somehow lost Alfrendo again, but I wasn't too upset about it. I was pretty happy to be reunited with my doll yesterday, but it hasn't been easy picking up where we left off. This morning I noticed it was snowing a lot less, but the electricity was still out, and Mom said we were just gonna have to adapt to our new circumstances until the snow melted. She said I hadn't showered in a few days and I

我只能说，监狱肯定比这好得多。 我很确定他们保证你有温暖的牢房和一日三餐，所以当警察回来的时候，相信我，我会准备好离开的。 星期二当我今天醒来的时候，我意识到我不知怎么又失去了阿尔弗伦多，但我并没有太难过。 昨天我和我的娃娃团聚了，我很高兴，但要重新开始并不容易。 今天早上我注意到雪少了很多，但还是没电，妈妈说我们得适应新环境，直到雪融化。 她说我好几天没洗澡了，我

couldn't live like a "savage." I promised Mom I'd bathe TWICE a day once the electricity came back on, but she made me go upstairs to take a shower anyway. The water was freezing cold, and the only towel in the bathroom was one Mom used yesterday. So I had to dry myself with some gauze I found in the cabinet under the sink. After I got dressed, I heard a knock on the front door. I thought maybe the police had finally come to take me away, and I felt dizzy. But when I looked out the window I saw ROWLEY standing there, and he had something in his hands.

不能像“野蛮人”那样生活。 我答应妈妈，一旦电恢复，我一天要洗两次澡，但她还是让我上楼去洗澡。 水很冷，浴室里唯一的毛巾是妈妈昨天用的那条。 所以我只好用在水槽下面的柜子里找到的纱布擦干身子。 我穿好衣服后，听到前门有人敲门。 我想也许警察终于来把我带走了，我感到头晕。 但当我向窗外望去时，我看到罗利站在那里，手里拿着什么东西。

I thought Rowley had come to RESCUE us. But when I opened the door, he told me he brought us Christmas cookies, and then he asked me if I wanted to come outside and play. I told him he was out of his MIND and asked him how his family was surviving without any electricity, but he looked confused. Rowley said his family still had electricity and everyone else on the street did, too. And sure enough, I could see people's Christmas lights on up and down the street. Then Rowley asked me if I wanted to make a

我以为罗利是来救我们的。 但当我打开门时，他告诉我他给我们带来了圣诞饼干，然后他问我是否想出去玩。 我告诉他他疯了，问他没有电他的家人是怎么活下来的，但他看起来很困惑。 罗利说，他家还有电，街上的其他人也都有电。 果不其然，我可以看到街上人们的圣诞灯亮着。 然后罗利问我是否想做一个

snowman. I slammed the door shut, but only after I helped myself to a few cookies. I told Mom what Rowley said about the electricity, and she told me to go down to the basement to see if there was something wrong with our fuse box. When I opened it up and looked at the circuit breaker, here's what I found — The only switch that was ON was the one for Manny's room. I ran upstairs, and when I opened Manny's door I got a blast of heat. Manny was sitting there with a space heater, a pile of food, and a bunch of OTHER stuff, too.

雪人。我砰地关上了门，但那是在我给自己吃了几块饼干之后。 我把罗利说的关于电的事告诉了妈妈，她让我去地下室看看保险丝盒是不是出了问题。 当我打开它看断路器时，我发现——唯一开着的开关是曼尼房间的那个。 我跑上楼，打开曼尼家的门，一阵热浪袭来。 曼尼坐在那里，拿着一个暖炉，一堆食物，还有一堆其他的东西。

When things got bad, Manny must've figured it was every man for himself. I think he would've let the rest of us freeze to death as long as HE had enough to survive. Mom asked Manny why he cut off the power to the rest of the house, and he started blubbering that it was because no one ever taught him how to tie his shoes. While Mom dealt with Manny, I went down to the basement and switched on the circuit breakers for

当事情变糟的时候，曼尼一定觉得每个人都是为了自己。 我想只要他有足够的能量，他就会让我们冻死的。 妈妈问曼尼为什么要切断家里其他地方的电源，他开始哭起来，说是因为没人教他怎么系鞋带。 妈妈处理曼尼的事时，我去地下室打开了断路器

the rest of the house. The electricity came back on, and the furnace kicked in. A few minutes after that, Dad called. He said the highways were clear and that he was coming home. I looked out the window and saw the plow coming up our hill. Mom said it was a "miracle" that Dad was gonna be home for Christmas Eve, but to be honest with you, I had totally forgotten what day it was until that moment. Dad picked up some food on the way home, and the rest of us ate like a pack of wolves. And let me just say, I'll never take food for granted again.

房子的其余部分。电又通了，炉子开始烧起来了。 几分钟后，爸爸打来电话。 他说公路畅通，他要回家了。 我向窗外望去，看到犁头正向我们家的山上开过来。 妈妈说爸爸能回家过平安夜是个“奇迹”，但说实话，直到那一刻我才完全忘记那天是什么日子。 爸爸在回家的路上买了些吃的，我们其他人狼吞虎咽地吃着。 我只想说，我再也不会把食物视为理所当然了。