Chapter 3

Chapter 3 No one talked after Thumbs left. One by one, they stood, yawned, and left the circle. "Remember, buttermilk pancakes for breakfast," Lulu called as she walked toward the main house. The kids stayed behind to help Jud douse the fire with pond water. "Was there really a bear?" Josh asked Jud. "He was kidding, wasn't he?"

第三章大拇指走后没人说话。 他们一个接一个地站起来，打呵欠，离开了圈子。 “记住，早餐要吃酪乳煎饼。”璐璐一边朝主屋走去，一边叫道。 孩子们留下来帮朱迪用池塘里的水把火浇灭。 “真的有熊吗?”乔希问贾德。 “他在开玩笑，是不是?”

"I was away at college, so I don't know for sure," Jud said. "But I've never known Thumbs to be a kidder." "It could be a true story," Ruth Rose said. "I read a book about grizzly bears once. The mother bears protect their young until they're all grown up." Dink slung his arm around Josh's shoulders. "Don't worry even a hungry bear wouldn't want you. You're too skinny." "Want me to walk you kids back to your cabin?" Jud asked. "Nope," Josh said. "I'm not afraid of any old bear. Besides, I bet Thumbs was fooling us. How did he really lose his thumb, Jud?" Jud laughed. "You'll have to ask him," he said. "Sleep tight and don't let the critters bite!" Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose walked toward the three cabins. The stars cast a soft glow over the stones that lined the path. Light came from Fiona's and Ed's cabins, but the cabin in the middle was pitch-black. "I thought I left a light on," Ruth Rose said. "I thought you did, too," Dink told her.

“我在外面上大学，所以我不确定，”贾德说。 “可我从来不知道大拇指还会开玩笑。” “这可能是一个真实的故事，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我曾经读过一本关于灰熊的书。 母熊会保护它们的幼崽，直到它们全部长大。” 丁克伸出胳膊搂住乔希的肩膀。 “别担心，即使是一只饥饿的熊也不想要你。 你太瘦了。”“要我送你们回小屋吗?”Jud问道。 “不，”乔希说。“我不怕任何老熊。 再说，我敢说大拇指是在骗我们。 他到底是怎么失去拇指的，贾德?”Jud笑了。 “你得问他，”他说。 “睡个好觉，别让小动物咬了!”丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯朝那三间小屋走去。 星星在小路两旁的石头上投下柔和的光芒。 光线从菲奥娜和埃德的小屋里射出来，但中间的小屋里一片漆黑。 “我以为我忘了关灯，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我以为你也知道，”丁克告诉她。

"I know I did!" Ruth Rose said. Then she jumped on Josh's back and screamed, "THE GRIZZLY BEAR'S IN OUR CABIN!" "Very funny, Ruth Rosebush," Josh said. "See if I protect you when the bear really comes!" When they were all in their beds, Dink turned out the light next to his bunk. He rolled onto his side and gazed out the window. Fireflies flickered everywhere. Frogs and crickets made a sweet racket from the pond. "Good night, you guys," Ruth Rose said from the other side of the room. "Good night, Ruth Rose. Good night, grizzly bear," Dink said. "I'm not speaking to either one of you," Josh said from the top bunk. Dink smiled in his bunk. Josh is so easy to scare, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, Dink was wide awake. He thought he'd heard something thump outside the cabin. He sat up and peered through the window over Ruth Rose's bed. She was a sleeping lump under her blankets.

“我就知道!”露丝·罗斯说。 然后她跳到乔希的背上，尖叫道:“灰熊在我们的小屋里!”“很有趣，露丝·罗斯布什，”乔希说。 “看看熊真的来了，我能不能保护你!”当他们都上床睡觉时，丁克关了他旁边的灯。 他翻了个身，凝视着窗外。 萤火虫到处闪烁。 青蛙和蟋蟀从池塘里发出悦耳的叫声。 “晚安，伙计们，”露丝·罗斯从房间的另一边说。 “晚安，露丝·罗斯。晚安，灰熊。”丁克说。 “我不和你们俩说话。”乔希在上铺说。 丁克在他的铺位上笑了。乔希太容易被吓到了，他迷迷糊糊地睡着了。 突然，丁克完全清醒了。 他觉得自己听到舱外有什么东西砰砰作响。 他坐起来，透过露丝·罗斯床上的窗户往外看。 她盖着毯子睡着了。

Dink didn't know what time it was, but he didn't think he'd been sleeping for long. Josh was snoring. Maybe a pine cone fell on the porch, Dink said to himself. Yeah, pine cones can make big thumps when they fall from tall trees. Dink lay back down and closed his eyes. He tried to force himself back to sleep. Then he heard more noises. Something heavy was moving around on the porch, and it was no pine cone! Suddenly, a dark shape stepped in front of the window. Dink shuddered and fell back on his pillow. Whatever was out there was large enough to shut out the starlight. Dink heard a scraping noise, and then the shape moved away. Starlight once more flowed through the window. Dink pulled his covers up under his chin. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest. Calm down, he told himself. It couldn't be that lonely mother grizzly bear. Could it? Wishing he hadn't teased Josh about the bear, Dink finally went to sleep.

丁克不知道现在是几点，但他觉得自己睡得并不长。 乔希在打鼾。也许是松果掉在门廊上了，丁克自言自语道。 是的，松果从高大的树上掉下来会发出很大的响声。 丁克躺下，闭上眼睛。 他试图强迫自己重新入睡。 然后他听到更多的声音。 门廊上有个很重的东西在动，那可不是松果!突然，一个黑影走到窗前。 丁克打了个寒颤，倒在枕头上。 不管外面有什么东西，它大到足以挡住星光。 丁克听到一阵刮擦的声音，然后那个人影移开了。 星光又一次从窗口透了进来。 丁克把罩子拉到下巴下面。 他能感觉到自己的心怦怦直跳。 冷静下来，他告诉自己。 不可能是那只孤独的灰熊妈妈。 可以吗?丁克终于睡着了，他真希望自己没有拿熊的事取笑乔希。

The next morning, the breakfast bell woke the kids. Josh leaped off the top bunk, nearly landing on Dink. Ruth Rose dashed into the bathroom while the boys were getting dressed. Three minutes later, they were on the path to the main house. "Um, guys," Dink said, "I know you're not gonna believe me, but something was on our porch last night." "What kind of something?" Ruth Rose asked. "Did it have fur and big claws?" "Here we go again," Josh muttered. "Honest, something was out there," Dink continued. "I heard these thumps; then something blocked your window, Ruth Rose. There was a scratching noise, too." Josh laughed. "You guys are so lame. It was probably a raccoon." "If you're right, we'd better call The Guinness Book of World Records," Dink said. "Whatever stepped in front of that window was about six feet tall!" "I don't care if Frankenstein was peeking in our window," Josh said, racing toward the main house. "I need pancakes!"

第二天早上，早餐铃把孩子们吵醒了。 乔希从上铺跳了下来，差点落在丁克身上。 男孩们正在穿衣服时，露丝·罗斯冲进了浴室。 三分钟后，他们走上了通往主屋的小路。 “嗯，伙计们，”丁克说，“我知道你们不会相信我，但昨晚我们的门廊上有东西。” “什么样的东西?”露丝·罗斯问。 “它有毛和大爪子吗?”“我们又来了。”乔希喃喃地说。 “老实说，有些东西就在那里，”丁克继续说道。 “我听到了这些砰砰声;那你的窗户就被堵住了，露丝·罗斯。 还有抓挠的声音。” 杰克笑了。“你们太差劲了。 可能是一只浣熊。” “如果你是对的，我们最好打电话给吉尼斯世界纪录，”丁克说。 “那个站在窗前的东西大概有六英尺高!”“我不在乎弗兰肯斯坦是不是在我们的窗户里偷看。”乔希一边说，一边朝主屋跑去。 “我需要煎饼!”

The kids hurried into the dining room. Everyone was already seated. "Good morning," Ma Wheat said as she poured juice. "Hope you slept well and woke up hungry!" Platters of scrambled eggs, sausages, and pancakes filled the middle of the table. Everyone dug in. When most of the food was gone, Dink told everyone about the noises and the shape on their cabin porch. "Strange noises?" Pa said. "I didn't hear anything. How 'bout you, Jud?" "Nothin' could have woke me up, Pa," Jud said. "You hear anything, Ma?" Ma shook her head. "You hear any strange noises, Thumbs?" Thumbs grinned and shook his head. "Nope," he said, "but I thought I smelt bear when I walked over here this mornin'."

孩子们匆匆走进餐厅。 大家都已经坐好了。 “早上好，”麦妈妈一边倒果汁一边说。 “希望你睡得好，醒得饿!”一盘盘的炒鸡蛋、香肠和煎饼堆满了桌子中央。 每个人都开始吃。当大部分食物都吃完了，丁克告诉大家关于他们小屋门廊上的噪音和形状。 “奇怪的声音?”爸爸说。 “我什么也没听到。你呢，贾德?”“爸爸，什么也吵醒不了我。” “你听到什么了吗，妈妈?”妈妈摇了摇头。 “大拇指，你听到什么奇怪的声音了吗?”大拇指咧嘴一笑，摇了摇头。 “没有，”他说，“但是今天早上我走过这里的时候，我觉得我闻到了熊的味道。”