5. The Duchess of Bathwater

Chapter 5 The Duchess of Bathwater “So, what are you?” asked Clarence. “Uh,” said Marvin. It was after school. He had just walked out of class with Nick and Stuart. “He’s a prince!” said Nick. Marvin wished Nick hadn’t said that. Clarence glared at Marvin. Marvin shrugged. “I’m sorry I pushed you this morning,” said Clarence. “Huh?” said Marvin. “Oh, well, that’s okay. I don’t mind.” Clarence held out his hand. Marvin shook it.

“那么，你是什么人?”克拉伦斯问。 “嗯，”马文说。那是放学后。 他刚和尼克、斯图尔特一起走出教室。 “他是个王子!”尼克说。 马文真希望尼克没这么说。 克拉伦斯怒视着马文。 马文耸耸肩。“对不起，我今天早上推了你，”克拉伦斯说。 “嗯?马文说。“哦，好吧，没关系。 我不介意。”克拉伦斯伸出手来。 马文摇了摇它。

“Hah!” laughed Nick. “You’re afraid Marvin’ll throw you in the dungeon.” “I wouldn’t do that,” Marvin told Clarence. He wished Nick would quit saying things that could make Clarence mad. Clarence looked at Marvin. “Do you want a quarter?” he asked. Marvin shook his head. Stuart elbowed him. “Take it, Marvin,” he whispered. Clarence pulled a quarter out of his pocket. “Here, you can have it.” “No, that’s okay,” said Marvin. “Take it,” said Clarence. Marvin took it. “Thanks,” said Clarence. “You’re welcome,” said Marvin.

“哈!尼克笑着说。“你怕马文把你扔进地牢。“我不会那么做的，”马文告诉克拉伦斯。 他希望尼克不要再说那些会惹克拉伦斯生气的话。 克拉伦斯看着马文。 “你想要25美分吗?”他问。 马文摇了摇头。斯图亚特用肘撞了他一下。 “拿去吧，马文。”他小声说。 克拉伦斯从口袋里掏出一枚25美分的硬币。 “给，你拿去吧。“不，没关系，”马文说。 “拿去吧，”克拉伦斯说。 马文拿了。“谢谢，”克拉伦斯说。 “不用客气。”马文说。

Clarence walked away. Nick and Stuart cracked up. Casey Happleton and Judy Jasper came out the door. “Good-bye, Prince Marvin,” said Casey.

克拉伦斯走开了。尼克和斯图亚特大笑起来。 凯西·哈普尔顿和朱迪·贾斯帕走了出来。 “再见，马文王子，”凯西说。

“See you tomorrow, Prince,” said Judy. The two girls ran away, giggling. Marvin looked at the quarter. He wished Clarence hadn’t given it to him. “A quarter is nothing to a prince,” said Stuart. “Do you know how much your allowance is going to be?” “A hundred dollars a week?” guessed Nick. “More,” said Stuart. “A thousand?” asked Marvin. Stuart shook his head. Then he said, “Your weight in gold.” Nick whistled. “You should eat more,” said Stuart. “The more you weigh, the bigger your allowance.” “You could have three ice cream sundaes a day,” said Nick. “Four,” said Stuart. “Five,” said Nick. “Six!” said Marvin. “C’mon,” said Stuart. “Let’s go to your house and call up your father.” “Why?” asked Marvin. His father worked at an office

“明天见，王子，”朱迪说。 两个女孩咯咯地笑着跑开了。 马文看了看硬币。 他希望克拉伦斯没有把它给他。 “四分之一对王子来说不算什么，”斯图亚特说。 “你知道你的零用钱是多少吗?””“一星期一百美元?尼克猜测道。 “更多，”斯图亚特说。“一千?马文问。 斯图亚特摇了摇头。然后他说:“你的重量是金子。”尼克吹口哨。 “你应该多吃点，”斯图亚特说。 “你的体重越重，你的零花钱就越多。“你可以一天吃三个冰淇淋圣代，”尼克说。 “四个，”斯图亚特说。“五个，”尼克说。 “六个!马文说。“来吧，”斯图亚特说。 “我们去你家给你爸爸打电话吧。”“为什么?马文问。 他的父亲在办公室工作

in Washington, D.C. “The King of Shampoon,” said Stuart. “Oh, my father!” said Marvin. “Duh,” said Nick. They went to Marvin’s house. He tapped the red post as he walked through the gate. They went straight to the phone in the kitchen. Stuart gave Marvin the number to call. Marvin looked at the phone. “Don’t you want to call him?” asked Stuart. “Sure, I do,” said Marvin. He wasn’t sure. “Well, do it,” said Nick. “I will,” Marvin said. “Don’t rush me.” He picked up the phone. “What are you going to say?” asked Nick. Marvin took a deep breath, then dialed the number. “Are you going to call him Dad?” asked Nick. A woman answered the phone. “How may I direct your call, please?” she asked. “I would like to speak to His Royal Highness, the King of Shampoon, please,” said Marvin.

“洗发水之王，”斯图亚特说。 “噢，我的父亲!马文说。 “废话，”尼克说。他们去了马文家。 他走过大门时轻拍了一下红柱子。 他们直接去厨房接电话。 斯图尔特给了马文打电话的号码。 马文看了看电话。 “你不想给他打电话吗?”斯图亚特问。 “当然，我知道。”马文说。 他不确定。“好吧，照做吧，”尼克说。 “我会的，”马文说。 “别催我。”他拿起电话。 “你要说什么?”尼克问。 马文深吸了一口气，然后拨了号码。 “Are you going to call him Dad?尼克问。 一个女人接了电话。 “请问您需要我帮您转接电话吗?”她问。 “我想和香波之王殿下说话。”马文说。

“Oh, that’s good,” said Nick. “I’m sorry, the King isn’t here. May I help you?” said the woman. “It’s me!” exclaimed Marvin. “I’m the King’s son. The one he’s looking for.” “And your name?” “My name?” Marvin smiled at Nick and Stuart. “Prince Robert.” The woman laughed. “That may very well be,” she said. “However, we’ve received lots of calls. Do you go by a different name?” “Oh,” said Marvin. “Marvin Redpost.” “And when can you come in for your test?” “My test?” “Yes, a blood test.” “Oh,” said Marvin. “I was afraid I’d have to know the capital of Shampoon, or stuff like that.” The woman laughed. “No, it’s not that kind of test,” she said. Marvin liked the way the woman laughed. It sounded almost as if she was singing. “How about eleven o’clock tomorrow?” she asked.

“哦，那很好，”尼克说。 “对不起，国王不在这里。 我能为您效劳吗?女人说。 “这是我!马文叫道。 “我是国王的儿子。 他在找的那个。“你叫什么名字?”“我的名字?”马文对尼克和斯图尔特笑了笑。 “罗伯特王子”。女人笑了。 “很有可能，”她说。 “然而，我们接到了很多电话。 你有别的名字吗?“哦，”马文说。 ”马文Redpost。“那你什么时候能来做检查呢?”“我的考试?”“是的，验血。”“哦，”马文说。 “我怕我得知道香波的名字，或者诸如此类的东西。”女人笑了。 “不，这不是那种测试，”她说。 马文喜欢那个女人笑的样子。 听起来她几乎像是在唱歌。 “明天11点怎么样?”她问。