Chapter 3

Chapter 3 With black shoe polish in his hair and plastic fangs in his mouth, Dink looked like Dracula. His mom had made him a cape from an old black raincoat. He tied the cape around his neck just as the doorbell rang. A strange creature stood on his porch. The thing was wrapped in green cloth. Tufts of red hair poked out at the top. Large black high-tops stuck out at the bottom. "How do I look?" the thing asked. Dink took out his fangs and grinned. "Like some weird vegetable. Half carrot and half

丁克头发上涂着黑色鞋油，嘴里叼着塑料尖牙，看起来像德古拉。 他妈妈用一件旧的黑色雨衣给他做了一件斗篷。 他把斗篷系在脖子上，这时门铃响了。 一个奇怪的生物站在他的门廊上。 那东西是用绿布包着的。 一簇簇红头发从头顶伸出来。 大号黑色高帮鞋从底部伸出来。 “我看起来怎么样?”那东西问。 丁克拿出他的尖牙，咧嘴一笑。 “就像某种奇怪的蔬菜。 一半胡萝卜，一半胡萝卜

asparagus." Josh shuffled inside the house. "You look pretty good, Dink. I like the blood dripping down your chin." The bell dinged again. This time it was a miniature Elvis. Ruth Rose was wearing a white suit with sequins everywhere. She even carried a little guitar. Her Elvis wig made her look about two inches taller. Ruth Rose strummed her guitar and wiggled her hips. "Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen," she said, taking a bow. "Come on in, Elvis," Dink said. "We have to talk about Operation Redhead before we go trickor- treating." They sat at Dink's kitchen table. A basket of candy stood waiting for the neighborhood kids.

芦笋。”乔希慢吞吞地走进屋子。 “你气色不错，丁克。 我喜欢血从你的下巴滴下来。” 铃声又响了。这次是微缩版的猫王。 露丝·罗斯穿着一件到处都是亮片的白色西装。 她甚至还带了一把小吉他。 她的猫王假发使她看起来高了两英寸。 露丝·罗斯弹着吉他，扭动着臀部。 “女士们先生们，非常感谢你们，”她说着鞠了一躬。 “进来吧，埃尔维斯，”丁克说。 “在我们去捣蛋之前，我们得谈谈红头发行动。” 他们坐在丁克的餐桌旁。 一篮子糖果等着邻居家的孩子们。

"Here's my plan," Dink said. "Every house we go to, we ask if anyone knows a skinny redheaded kid." "That's my plan!" Ruth Rose said. Dink grinned. "Oh, yeah, I forgot." One of Ruth Rose's black eyebrows was crooked. "We have to keep our eyes peeled. Check out tall kids trick-or-treating." "Got it," Dink said. "Anyone with red hair, we ask them if they took a video of the bank robber," Ruth Rose went on. "Check," Dink said. "Any other ideas?" "Yeah, I got a great idea," Josh said. "Let's stop talking and get moving!" Dink's mother walked into the kitchen. She screamed and clutched her chest. "Oh, my goodness! Monsters in my kitchen!" Ruth Rose stood up. "I'm not a monster, Mrs. Duncan. I'm Elvis!" Dink's mom adjusted Ruth Rose's left eyebrow. "I know, honey. You make a great Elvis. But these other two!" She shuddered and made a terrified face.

“这是我的计划，”丁克说。 “我们每到一家，都会问是否有人认识一个瘦小的红发孩子。” “这就是我的计划!”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克咧嘴一笑。“哦，是的，我忘了。” 露丝·罗斯的一条黑眉毛歪了。 “我们必须保持警惕。 看看高个子孩子们不给糖就捣蛋的游戏。” “明白了，”丁克说。“凡是红头发的人，我们都会问他们有没有拍下银行抢劫犯的视频，”露丝·罗斯接着说。 “检查，”丁克说。“还有别的主意吗?”“是啊，我有个好主意，”乔希说。 “我们别说话了，赶紧行动吧!”丁克的妈妈走进厨房。 她尖叫着抓着胸口。 “噢，我的天哪!我的厨房里有怪物!”露丝·罗斯站了起来。 “我不是怪物，邓肯太太。 我是猫王!”丁克的妈妈捋了捋露丝·罗斯的左眉。 “我知道，亲爱的。你是伟大的猫王。 但是这另外两个!”她打了个寒颤，做了个惊恐的表情。

"We're going now, Mom." Dink fit the plastic fangs over his teeth. He handed Josh a paper bag and took one for himself. "Please be back in two hours," his mother said. "Dad and I will have some cider and doughnuts for you." The three kids each took a different street. They agreed to meet back at Dink's house in about two hours. Dink headed down Woody Street. He looked at every tall kid in a costume, checking for red hair. But most of the kids out were shorter than him. He counted seventeen ghosts, twenty little witches, eight angels with floppy wings, and a zillion small furry animals. Dink rang Mrs. Davis's doorbell. "Trick or treat!" "Oh, hello, Dink!" said Mrs. Davis. She dropped a small bag of candy kisses into his sack. "Have you seen any redheaded kids tonight?" Dink asked. "Redheads?" Mrs. Davis patted her white hair. "I'm afraid I don't know anyone besides your friend Josh who has red hair."

“我们现在就走，妈妈。”丁克把塑料尖牙套在牙齿上。 他递给乔希一个纸袋，自己也拿了一个。 “请两小时后回来，”他妈妈说。 “爸爸和我会给你一些苹果酒和甜甜圈。” 三个孩子各自走不同的街道。 他们约好两小时后在丁克家见面。 丁克朝伍迪街走去。 他看着每一个穿戏服的高个子孩子，检查他们有没有红头发。 但大多数孩子都比他矮。 他数了数，十七个鬼魂，二十个小女巫，八个长着松软翅膀的天使，还有无数毛茸茸的小动物。 丁克按了戴维斯夫人的门铃。 “不给糖就捣蛋!”“哦，你好，丁克!”戴维斯夫人说。 她往他的袋子里扔了一小袋糖果。 “你今晚看到红头发的孩子了吗?”丁克问道。 “红头发?”戴维斯夫人拍了拍她的白发。 “恐怕除了你那个红头发的朋友乔希，我谁也不认识。”

Dink thanked Mrs. Davis for the candy and walked next door to old Mr. Kramer's house. Mr. Kramer was a little deaf. "Do you know a skinny redhead?" asked Dink in a loud voice. Mr. Kramer turned one ear and leaned toward Dink. "What's that you say? A tinny red bed?" "A skinny redhead!" Dink yelled even louder. He wished he had Ruth Rose with him. She was the only one loud enough for Mr. Kramer to hear. Mr. Kramer dropped a nickel in Dink's bag and slammed the door. Dink sighed. He followed some ghosts to the next house on Woody Street. A gorilla opened the door when Dink rang the bell. It had a hairy chest and a huge mouth filled with yellow teeth. "Trick or treat!" said Dink. The gorilla dropped a banana into Dink's bag. "Have you seen any tall redheaded teenagers walking around?" Dink asked. The gorilla grunted and shook his head.

丁克谢过戴维斯夫人送的糖果，走到隔壁老克莱默先生的家。 克莱默先生有点聋。 “你认识一个瘦小的红发女郎吗?”丁克大声问道。 克莱默先生把一只耳朵转向丁克。 “你说什么?”一张小小的红床?”“一个瘦小的红头发!”丁克叫得更大声了。 他真希望露丝·罗斯和他在一起。 只有她的声音大到能让克莱默先生听见。 克莱默先生在丁克的包里丢了一枚五分钱硬币，然后砰地关上了门。 丁克叹了口气。他跟着几个鬼魂来到了伍迪街的下一个房子。 丁克按铃时，一只大猩猩开了门。 它有一个毛茸茸的胸部和一个满是黄色牙齿的大嘴巴。 “不给糖就捣蛋!”丁克说。 大猩猩把一根香蕉扔进丁克的包里。 “你见过高个子的红发少年吗?”丁克问道。 大猩猩哼了一声，摇了摇头。

"Thanks anyway," said Dink. Two hours later, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose poured their candy onto Dink's dining room table. Dink took out his fangs. "Any luck?" he asked. Josh unwrapped his face. "I saw four redheads. Two girls about ten years old and two adults. No one I talked to knew a skinny redhead in high school." Ruth Rose took off her wig and eyebrows and dropped them into her plastic jack-o'-lantern. "Same here," she sighed, slumping in her chair. "Nobody knew the right redhead. And I asked everybody!" Josh ripped open a miniature bag of M&M's.

“不管怎样，谢谢你。”丁克说。 两个小时后，丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯把糖果倒在丁克的餐桌上。 丁克拿出了他的尖牙。“运气好吗?”他问。 乔希打开他的脸。“我看到四个红头发的人。 两个十岁左右的女孩和两个成年人。 我在高中的时候没人认识一个瘦小的红发女孩。” 露丝·罗斯摘下假发和眉毛，把它们扔进她的塑料南瓜灯里。 “我也一样，”她叹了口气，瘫坐在椅子上。 “没人认识那个红头发的人。 我问了所有人!”乔希撕开了一小袋M&M巧克力豆。