16-TWELVE STROKES

TWELVE STROKES The hunchback led us to a huge walk-in closet. "YOU WILL FIND YOUR UNIFORMS IN THERE," he said. "IF YOU NEED ANYTHING JUST ASK!" The hunchback turned to leave. "Thank you," I said, pulling out two matching coats from the closet. "By the way, what is your name?" I called after him. The hunchback whirled around and squeaked, "DON'T BOTHER ME!" "Oh, well, I didn't mean to pry." I mumbled. "I just wanted to know what we should call you," "DON'T BOTHER ME!" the hunchback cried again. I gulped. The hunchback seemed to be

驼背把我们领到一个巨大的步入式衣帽间。 “你会在那里找到你的制服，”他说。 “如果你需要什么，尽管说!”驼背转身要走。 “谢谢你。”我说着，从衣橱里拿出两件相配的外套。 “顺便问一下，你叫什么名字?”我在他身后喊。 驼背转过身来，尖叫道:“别打扰我!”“哦，好吧，我不是有意打听的。” 我咕哝道。“我只是想知道我们该怎么称呼你。”“别打扰我!”驼背又叫了起来。 我一饮而尽。驼背似乎是

getting upset. Maybe he had one of those really embarrassing names. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Lots of mice have names they don't like." I told the hunchback. "Yours can't be that bad." "DON'T BOTHER ME! MY NAME IS DON'T BOTHER ME!" he repeated. Benjamin was the first one to catch on. "Oh, of course, Mr. Don't-Bother-Me! That's a great name!" he said. The hunchback hobbled toward the door in a huff. "Do you want us to brush off the cobwebs?" I called after him. Once again, the hunchback whirled on me. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE COBWEBS! he shrieked, going into a tailspin, "THEY ARE SIXTEENTH CENTURY!" I looked around the room. "Well, what

变得心烦意乱。也许他有个很尴尬的名字。 我清了清嗓子，又试了一次。 “很多老鼠都有自己不喜欢的名字。” 我告诉驼背。“你的不可能那么糟。” “别烦我!”我的名字是“不要打扰我!”他重复道。 本杰明是第一个明白过来的。 “哦，当然，别打扰我先生!”真是个好名字!”他说。 驼背人气呼呼地一瘸一拐地向门口走去。 “你要我们把蜘蛛网刷掉吗?”我在他身后喊。 驼背又一次向我转过身来。 “你敢碰蜘蛛网!”他尖叫起来，精神错乱了，“他们是十六世纪的人!”我环顾了一下房间。 “嗯,什么

about some dusting?" I offered. Again, the hunchback threw a fit. His tail smacked the floor. He bared his teeth. "NOOOO! THAT'S COLLECTORS' DUST!" he screamed in a rage. "I WILL CHOP OFF YOUR PAWS IF YOU GO ANYWHRER NEAR IT!" "Um, well, what do you want us to do then?" I asked in my nicest voice. "GO DOWN TO THE KITCHEN AND GIVE THE NEW COOK A PAWS!" the hunchback instructed. He shot a loving glance at the many cobwebs hanging over our heads. Then he stormed off. Just then, I heard a clock strike. DONG! DONG! DONG! I counted twelve strokes. "Midnight!" whispered Benjamin, grabbing my paw. "Is that when the ghosts and vampires come out?"

撒点灰尘怎么样?”我提供。 驼背又发了一通脾气。 他的尾巴撞在地板上。 他露出了牙齿。“他!那是收集者的灰尘!”他愤怒地尖叫。 “如果你敢靠近它，我就砍下你的爪子!”“嗯，那你想让我们做什么?”我用我最优美的声音问道。 “到厨房去，给新来的厨师一只爪子!”驼背命令道。 他深情地瞥了一眼挂在我们头上的蜘蛛网。 然后他气冲冲地走了。就在这时，我听到了钟声。 越南盾!越南盾!越南盾!我数了12下。 “午夜!”本杰明小声说，抓住我的爪子。 “那是鬼魂和吸血鬼出来的时候吗?”