02-MY WALLET BLEEDS

MY WALLET BLEEDS I barely had taken two pawsteps into the room when Grandfather William began SHOUTING at me. "Graaandson! How dare you arrive at this hour?" he thundered. I cringed. Where had I heard that shrieking voice before? "But, Grandfather, it's nine o'clock! This is when the office opens," I explained. Grandfather William just shook his head. "RIDICULOUS!" he cried. "Do you realize you've slept half the day away, Grandson?! I've been here since six o'clock!!!" A light went on inside my mouse-sized brain. So that was the shrieking voice I had heard on the phone this morning. "Thanks for the wake-up call," I grumbled.

我刚走进房间两步，威廉爷爷就开始对我大喊大叫。 “Graaandson !你怎么敢在这个时候来?”他怒吼道。 这话让我觉得厌烦。我以前在哪里听到过那尖叫的声音? “可是，爷爷，都九点钟了!”这是办公室开门的时间，”我解释说。 威廉爷爷只是摇了摇头。 “荒唐!”他叫道。“你知道你已经睡了半天了吗，孙子?”我从六点就在这儿了!!”我那老鼠般大小的大脑里亮了一盏灯。 这就是我今天早上在电话里听到的尖叫声。 “谢谢你的叫醒电话，”我抱怨道。

Curling his whiskers, he sniggered with satisfaction. "Now, you listen to me, sonny boy!" he ordered, pulling my ear. "Things are looking bad around here, very bad indeed! Do you know why?" I opened my mouth to reply, but he didn't give me a chance to answer. "I'll tell you why!" he bellowed. "Because you're spending too much! TOO MUCH! T-o-o m-u-c-h! You must economize! Economize, economize, economize!" Then he stuck his snout in my ear. "Do you know the meaning of the word, my dear grandson?" he hollered at the top of his lungs. "I'm talking Economize!

他卷着胡须，满意地窃笑起来。 “现在，你听我说，好孩子!”他拉着我的耳朵命令道。 “这里的情况看起来很糟糕，非常糟糕!”你知道为什么吗?”我张开嘴想回答，但他不给我回答的机会。 “我告诉你为什么!”他吼道。 “因为你花钱太多了!”太过分了!T-o-o m-u-c-h !你必须节约!节约，节约，节约!”然后他把鼻子伸进我的耳朵里。 “你知道这个词的意思吗，我亲爱的孙子?”他扯着嗓子喊道。 “我说的是节约!

E as in END THIS EXTRAVAGANCE IMMEDIATELY! C as in CUT BACK ON ALL EXPENSES! O as in ON YOUR TOES! THINGS ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE!!! N as in No MORE SPENDING! O as in OH, WHAT A MESS YOU HAVE MADE OF THINGS! M as in MEND YOUR WAYS, GRANDSON, OR I'M TAKING BACK THE FIRM! I as in I FEEL SICK WHEN I HEAR SUCH THINGS! Z as in ZERO, ZILCH, NO SPENDING! E as in ECONOMIZE ON EVERYTHING!" I gulped. "Y" as in yikes! I thought. I guess it wouldn't be a good time to tell Grandfather William about the expensive leather loveseat I had ordered for my office. "B-but, Grandfather..." I began.

马上结束这种铺张浪费!削减所有的开支!哦，踮起脚尖!事情就要改变了!!N代表不再花钱!哦，你把事情搞得一团糟!我的意思是:改邪归正，孙子，否则我就收回公司!当我听到这样的事情时，我觉得很恶心!Z的意思是零，零，不花钱!就是什么都要节约!”我一饮而尽。 “Y”就是yikes!我想。 我想现在不是告诉威廉爷爷我为办公室订了一张昂贵的皮沙发的好时机。 “但是,爷爷……”我开始。

He pulled my other ear. "Grandfather, my paw! Starting today, I'm keeping track of EVERYTHING!" he shouted, waving the account books under my snout. "I expect to see lots of changes. For example, how did you get here this morning?" I chewed my whiskers. "Well, I took a taxi," I replied. He slammed his paw on the table. "Exactly! This is what I'm talking about! My wallet BLEEDS when I hear such things." He grabbed me by the tie. "Grandson, from now on you'll take the subway to work. No, even better, you can come ON PAW. This way, you'll save on the fare and you'll get in first-rat shape!!!" I felt completely dazed and confused. I tried to sit down to catch my breath.

他扯了我另一只耳朵。“爷爷，我的爪子!”从今天开始，我要把每件事都记录下来!”他喊道，在我的鼻子下面挥舞着账簿。 “我希望看到很多变化。 比如说，你今天早上是怎么到这儿来的?”我咬着胡须。 “嗯，我打的，”我回答。 他把爪子重重地放在桌子上。 “完全正确!这就是我说的!听到这样的话，我的钱包就出血了。” 他抓住我的领带。“孙子，从现在起你要乘地铁上班。 不，更好的是，你可以自己来。 这样一来，你不仅可以省下车费，而且还能保持一流的状态!”我感到完全茫然和困惑。 我试着坐下来喘口气。

But when I looked around for a chair, I realized Grandfather William had already made some changes. Some perfectly horrifying changes! All of my furniture was gone! The desk designed for me by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Rat was nowhere in sight. I whirled around in shock! What had happened to my precious leather pawchair, my imported Cheshire cat-fur carpet, my expensive artwork, and my priceless library? The office was empty! My heart sank like the big ball of cheese in Singing Stone Plaza on New Year's Eve. I had been robbed by my own relative! A plastic table and a plastic chair were the only

但当我四处寻找椅子时，我意识到威廉爷爷已经做了一些改变。 一些完全可怕的变化!我所有的家具都不见了!著名建筑师弗兰克·劳埃德·拉特为我设计的桌子不见了踪影。 我震惊地转过身来!我那珍贵的皮椅、进口的柴郡猫毛地毯、昂贵的艺术品和无价的图书馆都去哪儿了? 办公室是空的!我的心像除夕夜唱石广场的大奶酪球一样沉了下去。 我被我自己的亲戚抢了!只有一张塑料桌子和一把塑料椅子