Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The next morning, Dink's hair was stiff with black shoe polish. He shampooed three times before he got out of the shower. The bathroom mirror was fogged up when he tried to see his reflection. He wiped the mirror, looked at himself, and gasped. His hair wasn't its usual blond and it wasn't vampire black. It was a muddy brown color, like the rusty parts on his bike. "Mom! Help!" His mother peeked into the bathroom. "What's the…oh, I see." She giggled.

第4章第二天早上，丁克的头发被涂上了黑色的鞋油。 他洗了三次洗发精才洗完澡。 当他想看清自己的倒影时，浴室的镜子被雾遮住了。 他擦了擦镜子，看了看自己，倒吸了一口气。 他的头发不是通常的金色，也不是吸血鬼的黑色。 那是一种浑浊的棕色，就像他自行车上生锈的零件一样。 “妈妈!救命!”他妈妈偷看了一下浴室。 “那是什么……哦，我明白了。”她咯咯笑了。

"It's not funny, Mom. How am I supposed to go outside like this? My hair looks like it rusted!" "Honey, lots of kids will have traces of makeup on their faces or color in their hair today. It's the day after Halloween." Dink rubbed a towel over his hair as hard as he could. He looked in the mirror. Now he had frizzy rust-colored hair. "Be thankful it's Saturday," his mother said, smiling. "At least you don't have to go to school today." After breakfast, Dink jammed his baseball cap over his hair and headed for Josh's house. When Dink got there, Josh was already shooting hoops in front of his barn. He grinned at Dink. "What's wrong with your hair?" he asked. Dink yanked his hat off. "Take a look. The stupid shoe polish from last night won't wash out. I had to be a vampire, right? I couldn't just be a cowboy or an astronaut." Josh dribbled and took a shot. He missed the hoop. "So have you thought of a plan for finding that kid with the video?" Josh asked.

“这不好玩，妈妈。我这副样子怎么出去? 我的头发看起来像生锈了!”“亲爱的，今天很多孩子的脸上或头发上都有化妆的痕迹。 这是万圣节的第二天。” 丁克用毛巾使劲擦他的头发。 他照镜子。现在他有一头卷曲的铁锈色头发。 “谢天谢地，今天是星期六，”他母亲微笑着说。 “至少你今天不用去上学了。” 早餐后，丁克用棒球帽盖住头发，向乔希的家走去。 丁克到的时候，乔希已经在他的谷仓前打篮球了。 他朝丁克咧嘴一笑。“你的头发怎么了?”他问。 丁克猛地摘下帽子。“看一看。 昨晚那该死的鞋油洗不掉。 我必须是吸血鬼，对吧? 我不能只做牛仔或宇航员。” 乔希运球后投了一球。 他没中篮。“那你想好找到那个拿着录像带的孩子的计划了吗?”杰克问。

"No," said Dink, jamming his hat back over his hair. "Well, what do we do now?" said Josh. "Ask at more houses?" "I don't know," Dink said. "Now that Halloween is over, we'd look pretty suspicious. Besides, Green Lawn has hundreds of houses. We'd be knocking on doors for a month." Josh made a perfect shot. "Two points!" "We have to use our heads instead of our feet," Dink said, grabbing the ball after Josh's basket. A door slammed behind them. "Uh-oh," Josh mumbled. "Josh, it's time to go," his mother called. "Come in and brush your teeth, please." "I have a dentist appointment," Josh said. "Call me later, okay?" "Okay." Dink tossed Josh's ball into the barn and started walking away. "Hey!" Josh yelled behind him. "I think your new hair color looks just adorable!" "Very funny," Dink muttered, tugging his hat down even tighter. Maybe I'll cut my hair off, he thought. Go to school bald on Monday.

“不，”丁克说，把帽子塞到头发后面。 “好吧，我们现在做什么?”乔希说。 “问更多的房子?”“我不知道，”丁克说。 “现在万圣节已经过去了，我们看起来会很可疑。 此外，绿草坪有数百所房子。 我们会花一个月的时间挨家挨户敲门。” 乔希投中了一个完美的球。“两个点!”“我们必须用我们的头脑，而不是我们的脚，”丁克说，在乔希的投篮后抓住球。 他们身后一扇门砰地关上了。 “哦哦。”乔希咕哝着。“乔希，该走了。”他妈妈喊道。 “请进来刷牙。” “我约了牙医，”乔希说。 “晚点打给我，好吗?”“好吧。” 丁克把乔什的球扔进谷仓，然后走开了。 “嘿!”乔希在他身后喊道。 “我觉得你的新发色太可爱了!”“真有趣。”丁克嘟囔着，把帽子拉得更紧了。 也许我该把头发剪掉，他想。 星期一光头上学。

Suddenly, he stopped walking. Thinking about cutting his hair off gave him an idea. He ran toward Main Street. At Howard's Barbershop, he peered through the glass. Howard was watching an I Love Lucy rerun on a small TV set. Dink walked in, setting off the sleigh bells hanging over the door. Whenever he came to Howard's for a haircut, Dink thought about Christmas. "What'll it be today, Dink?" Howard asked. "Want a flattop? How about one of them Mohawk jobbies, with the stripe down the middle?" "I don't want a haircut," Dink said. "I need to ask you something." Howard squinted one blue eye. He lifted Dink's baseball cap. "What happened to your hair?" Dink blushed. "I was a vampire last night. I used black shoe polish in my hair and it won't come out. I tried."

突然，他停了下来。 想到要把头发剪掉，他有了一个主意。 他朝主街跑去。 在霍华德理发店里，他透过玻璃往外看。 霍华德正在一台小电视机上看重播的《我爱露西》。 丁克走了进来，拉开了挂在门上的雪橇铃。 每当他来霍华德理发时，丁克都会想到圣诞节。 “今天吃什么，丁克?”霍华德问道。 “想要平顶发型吗?”那种莫霍克发型怎么样，中间有条纹的那种?”“我不想理发，”丁克说。 “我想问你点事。” 霍华德眯起一只蓝眼睛。 他摘下丁克的棒球帽。 “你的头发怎么了?”丁克脸红了。 “我昨晚变成吸血鬼了。 我在头发上涂了黑色鞋油，就是洗不掉。 我试过了。”

Howard grinned. "Hop up in the chair, me lad. I'll dose you with me special shampoo. You can ask your question while I perform a little magic." Dink hung his hat on a peg and climbed into the barber chair. Howard pulled a bottle and some white towels out of a cupboard. "I was wondering if you know any kids with red hair," Dink said. "Besides Josh." Howard draped a towel around Dink's shoulders and pinned it in back. He misted Dink's hair with a spray bottle of water. "I might," he answered. "Why do you want me to dye your hair red?" Dink laughed. "No, I'm looking for a certain kid who has red hair. I think he's a teenager."

霍华德咧嘴一笑。“跳上椅子，我的孩子。 我给你用我特制的洗发水。 你可以在我表演魔术的时候问问题。” 丁克把帽子挂在钉子上，爬上理发椅。 霍华德从橱柜里拿出一个瓶子和一些白毛巾。 “我想知道你是否认识红头发的孩子，”丁克说。 “除了杰克。”霍华德在丁克的肩膀上搭了一条毛巾，把它别在后面。 他用一瓶水喷丁克的头发。 “我可以，”他回答。“你为什么要我把你的头发染成红色?”丁克笑了。 “不，我在找一个红头发的孩子。 我觉得他是个青少年。”

"I know one teenager who had red hair," Howard said, pouring green shampoo onto Dink's hair. "But I shaved it all off last week. Came running in here all excited, out of breath. 'Shave my head!' he tells me. So I did." The smell of the shampoo made Dink's eyes water. He felt his heart start to tap-dance. "Was he carrying a video camera?" Dink asked. Howard rubbed the shampoo into Dink's hair. "Why all the questions about this redheaded boy?" he asked. Dink thought for a few seconds, then decided to spill the beans. He told Howard about the bank robber, about the kid with the video camera, and about the three hundred dollars the detective had promised. Howard chuckled. "Oh, now I see why the boy ran in here yelling for me to cut off all his hair. He didn't want the bank bandit to recognize him. So if I tell you this lad's name, you're going to persuade him to give you the videotape?" "Yes, if I can," Dink said. "What about the money?" said Howard. Dink looked at Howard in the mirror. "What about it?"

“我认识一个红头发的青少年，”霍华德一边说，一边把绿色洗发水倒在丁克的头发上。 “但我上周把它剃光了。 兴奋地跑进来，上气不接下气。 “给我剃头!”他对我说。 于是我照做了。”洗发水的气味使丁克的眼睛流泪。 他感到自己的心开始跳起了踢踏舞。 “他带着摄像机吗?”丁克问道。 霍华德把洗发水揉进丁克的头发里。 “为什么要问这么多关于这个红发男孩的问题?” 丁克想了几秒钟，然后决定把秘密说出来。 他告诉霍华德银行抢劫犯的事，拿着摄像机的孩子的事，还有侦探答应给他三百美元的事。 霍华德咯咯地笑了。“哦，现在我明白为什么那个男孩跑到这里喊着让我把他的头发都剪掉了。 他不想让银行强盗认出他来。 所以如果我告诉你这个小伙子的名字，你会说服他把录像带给你吗?”“是的，如果我能的话，”丁克说。 “那钱呢?”霍华德问。 丁克看着镜子里的霍华德。 “怎么了?”