Ch3-Beasts on the Nile

CHAPTER THREE Beasts on the Nile "All aboard!" said Charles. The English couple led the way across a short gangplank onto the deck of their sailboat. The boat had a long cabin and a tall mast with a furled sail. Two crew members in white clothes

第三章尼罗河上的野兽“都上船吧！”查尔斯说。 这对英国夫妇带路穿过一段短跳板，登上他们帆船的甲板。 这艘船有一个长长的船舱和一根卷着帆的高桅杆。 两名穿白衣的船员

were mopping the deck. "Miss Selina!" one called. "Lord and Lady Bickerson are waiting inside, to visit with Miss Florence." "Oh, no! I didn't know they were coming," Selina said under her breath. Charles stopped and stroked his mustache. "Excuse me, my dear," he said. "But while those particular folk are aboard, I believe I shall take a stroll. Pleasure to meet you, Jack and Annie." He tipped his hat, then retreated back down the gangplank. "Coward!" called Selina. Charles turned and saluted her from the riverbank. "Do give my best to the Bickersons, darling! Ta-ta!" he said, and took off. "Who are the Bickersons?" asked Annie. Selina sighed. "Lord and Lady Bickerson are aristocrats from London," she said. "They're friends of Florence's family. Come and meet them, brave American children. It might be good for your education." The boat rocked gently on the calm water as Jack and Annie followed Selina across the deck.

我们在拖甲板。“塞琳娜小姐！” “比克森大人和夫人在里面等着，他们要拜访弗洛伦斯小姐。” “哦,不!我不知道他们会来，”塞琳娜压低声音说。 查尔斯停下来，抚摸着他的胡子。 “对不起，亲爱的，”他说。 “不过，既然这些特别的人都在船上，我想我还是出去走走吧。 很高兴认识你们，杰克和安妮。” 他脱帽致敬，然后退下跳板。 “懦夫！”塞琳娜喊道。查尔斯转身在河岸上向她敬礼。 “请代我向比克森一家问好，亲爱的！”塔——塔！”他说着就走了。 “比克森一家是谁？”安妮问。 塞琳娜叹了口气。“比克森勋爵和夫人是伦敦来的贵族，”她说。 “他们是弗洛伦斯家的朋友。 勇敢的美国孩子们，来见见他们吧。 这可能对你的教育有好处。” 杰克和安妮跟着塞琳娜穿过甲板，船在平静的水面上轻轻地摇晃着。

"Aristocrats?" Annie whispered to Jack. "That's like royalty, right?" "Sort of," said Jack. "We have to act proper." "No problem," said Annie. "We've hung out with Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and King Philip the Second of Macedonia." "Yeah, well, don't mention that to anyone," said Jack. "Duh," said Annie. Selina stopped in front of one of the cabin doors and took a deep breath. "Are you ready?" she asked Jack and Annie. "Yes!" said Jack, eager to get out of the heat and away from the flies. Selina opened the door and motioned for Jack and Annie to follow her. They walked into a small sitting room with green paneled walls and dark woodwork. It took a moment for Jack's eyes to adjust to the shadowy room. It was much cooler inside than outside, but the red-faced man and woman sitting stiffly on straight-backed chairs were both fanning themselves frantically.

“贵族?”安妮小声对杰克说。 “这就像皇室一样，对吧？”“算是吧。”杰克说。 “我们必须采取适当的行动。”“没问题，”安妮说。 “我们和奥地利的玛丽亚·特蕾莎皇后以及马其顿国王菲利普二世一起出去玩。” “是啊，好吧，别跟任何人提起这件事。”杰克说。 “废话，”安妮说。塞琳娜在一扇小屋门前停了下来，深吸了一口气。 “你们准备好了吗？”她问杰克和安妮。 “是的！”杰克说，他急于摆脱炎热，远离苍蝇。 塞琳娜打开门，示意杰克和安妮跟她走。 他们走进一间小客厅，墙壁镶着绿色镶板，木制品是深色的。 过了一会儿，杰克的眼睛才适应了昏暗的房间。 室内比室外凉爽得多，但僵硬地坐在直背椅子上的红脸男人和女人都在疯狂地扇着风。

"Lord and Lady Bickerson, hello! I am sorry that Florence is not here now. I'm sure she will be back soon!" said Selina. "But in the meantime, please meet Jack and Annie from America." "Hello," Jack said with a bow. "Greetings, my lord. Greetings, my lady," Annie said with a curtsy. The aristocrats barely nodded. They fanned themselves harder. "Have a seat, children," said Selina. Jack and Annie sat on the edge of the sofa. Jack tried to keep his back as straight as he could. When he saw Lady Bickerson scowl at his hat, he quickly pulled it off. "How are your lordship and ladyship today?" asked Selina. The two aristocrats spoke at once. "Terrible and wretched!" said Lord Bickerson. "Burning up!" said his wife. "Oh, I'm so sorry," said Selina. But Jack noticed she didn't sound sorry at all. "We saw a dreadful beast this morning!" said Lady Bickerson. "A dreadful beast?" Selina repeated.

“比克森勋爵和夫人，你们好！”很抱歉，弗洛伦斯现在不在。 我相信她很快就会回来的！”Selina说。 “但与此同时，请认识一下来自美国的杰克和安妮。” “你好，”杰克鞠躬说。 “您好，大人。“你好，夫人。”安妮行了个屈膝礼说。 贵族们几乎没有点头。 他们给自己扇得更厉害了。 “请坐，孩子们，”塞琳娜说。 杰克和安妮坐在沙发边上。 杰克尽量挺直腰板。 当他看到比克森夫人对他的帽子怒目而视时，他赶紧把帽子摘了下来。 “今天先生和夫人好吗？”塞琳娜问。 两个贵族立刻说话了。 “可怕又可怜！”比克森勋爵说。 “烧起来了！”他妻子说。 “哦，我很抱歉，”塞琳娜说。 但杰克注意到她听起来一点也不抱歉。 “今天早上我们看到了一只可怕的野兽！”比克森夫人说。 “可怕的野兽？”塞琳娜重复。

"Yes, a crocodile!" said Lord Bickerson. "And a servant told us a hippopotamus was spotted upriver yesterday. Nile hippos kill people, you know. And Egyptian jackals have been seen recently, too. They come out at night and slay small animals." He looked at Jack and Annie. "They have even been known to attack children." "Furthermore, our servants have been telling us about the snakes in Egypt," said Lady Bickerson. "The black mamba, for instance. One bite from that monster contains enough poison to kill twenty people!" "Oh, my, let's hope—" began Selina. "Of course the biggest killer in this land is the vicious little mosquito!" Lord Bickerson interrupted. "Egyptian mosquitoes can carry terrible diseases. Malaria, for one… fever, coma, death!" "Oh, such misery," said Selina. "Yes, aren't we all terribly miserable and frightened in Thebes?" said Lady Bickerson. "Actually I'm not miserable or frightened," Annie said thoughtfully. "We saw a crocodile today, too. But it was harmless." She smiled at

“是的，鳄鱼！”比克森勋爵说。 “一个仆人告诉我们，昨天在上游发现了一头河马。 你知道，尼罗河河马会杀人。 埃及胡狼最近也出现了。 他们晚上出来杀小动物。” 他看着杰克和安妮。 “他们甚至还会袭击儿童。” “此外，我们的仆人一直在告诉我们埃及的蛇，”比克森夫人说。 “比如黑曼巴。 那怪物咬一口就能毒死二十个人！”“哦，天哪，让我们希望——”塞琳娜开始说。 “当然，这片土地上最大的杀手是恶毒的小蚊子！”比克森勋爵打断了他的话。 “埃及蚊子可以携带可怕的疾病。 比如疟疾……发烧、昏迷、死亡！”“啊，太不幸了，”塞琳娜说。 “是的，我们在底比斯不是都非常痛苦和害怕吗？”比克森夫人说。 “其实我并不痛苦，也不害怕，”安妮若有所思地说。 “我们今天也看到了一条鳄鱼。 但这是无害的。”她微笑着说

Lord and Lady Bickerson. They stared back at Annie as if she were a little mosquito. Suddenly a servant threw open the door, stood at attention, and spoke in a loud voice. "Countess von Kensky!" A glamorous-looking woman draped in a red silk shawl bustled in. Her dark hair was piled high on her head. On her shoulder was a tiny monkey. The monkey looked like a little elf, with a wrinkled face, big, pointed ears, and bushy eyebrows. "Ohhh, look! It's so cute!" cried Annie. "Countess von Kensky, I believe you have met Lord and Lady Bickerson?" said Selina. "Oh, yes!" said the countess, nodding to the Bickersons. "But neither Koku nor I have met these lovely children! Who are you?" "Jack and Annie from America," said Annie. "Delightful!" said the countess. "Jack and Annie, this is Koku von Kensky! I am from Budapest, Hungary, but she is a baby baboon from the Sudan, in Africa! Koku, say hello." As the countess leaned down toward Jack and Annie,

比克森勋爵和夫人。他们盯着安妮，好像她是一只小蚊子。 突然，一个仆人打开门，立正站着，大声说话。 “冯·肯斯基伯爵夫人！”一个披着红色丝巾的迷人女人匆匆走了进来。 她的黑发高高地披在头上。 她的肩膀上有一只小猴子。 猴子看起来像个小精灵，满脸皱纹，耳朵又大又尖，眉毛浓密。 “呵呵,瞧!它太可爱了！”安妮叫道。 “冯·肯斯基伯爵夫人，我想你已经见过比克森夫妇了吧？”塞琳娜说。 “啊，是的！”伯爵夫人向比克森一家点点头，说道。 “但是我和Koku都没有见过这些可爱的孩子！”你是谁？”“来自美国的杰克和安妮，”安妮说。 “好极了！”伯爵夫人说。 “杰克和安妮，我是库·冯·肯斯基！”我来自匈牙利的布达佩斯，而她是一只来自非洲苏丹的小狒狒！Koku，打个招呼。” 伯爵夫人向杰克和安妮俯下身来，