1. A Royal Mission

1 A Royal Mission Stanley Lambchop loved Saturday mornings. He loved waking up without an alarm clock. He loved staying in his pajamas instead of getting dressed. He loved watching cartoons with his younger brother, Arthur. And he especially loved eating waffles for breakfast. "That's enough syrup, Stanley," said his mother, Mrs. Lambchop. There was already a big puddle on his plate.

斯坦利·兰博切喜欢星期六的早晨。 他喜欢不用闹钟就能醒来。 他喜欢穿着睡衣，而不是穿衣服。 他喜欢和弟弟亚瑟一起看动画片。 他特别喜欢早餐吃华夫饼。 “糖浆够了，斯坦利，”他的母亲兰勃切太太说。 他的盘子里已经有一大坑了。

"Okay, Mom." Stanley put down the bottle of syrup and picked up his knife and fork. The phone rang as he was about to take his first bite. Mrs. Lambchop frowned. "Who on earth is calling at this hour?" Stanley didn't care if it was too early for anyone to call their house. He had to grab that phone before Arthur did! Both brothers always liked to answer first. "I got it!" Stanley sprang out of his chair. He raced across the kitchen toward the ringing phone. Arthur was already way ahead of him! Mr. Lambchop was standing between the boys and the phone, pouring more batter into the waffle maker. The thick batter moved slowly. Arthur waited for his father to step out of the way. Meanwhile, Stanley slipped around him and kept on running! He never knew when being flat would come in handy. Ever since a bulletin board had fallen off his bedroom wall and onto him, Stanley had been barely thicker than a piece of paper. He could fit

“好的,妈妈。”斯坦利放下糖浆瓶，拿起刀叉。 他正要吃第一口时，电话铃响了。 兰切普太太皱起眉头。“到底是谁在这个时候打电话来?”斯坦利不在乎现在给他们家打电话是否为时过早。 他必须抢在亚瑟之前拿到电话!兄弟俩总是喜欢先回答。 “我知道了!”斯坦利从椅子上跳了起来。 他跑过厨房，奔向电话铃。 阿瑟已经走在他前面了!兰博切先生站在孩子们和电话之间，往华夫饼机里倒更多的面糊。 粘稠的面糊移动得很慢。 阿瑟等着父亲让开。 与此同时，斯坦利从他身边溜走，继续跑!他从不知道什么时候会派上用场。 自从一块布告栏从他卧室的墙上掉下来砸到他身上后，斯坦利就只比一张纸厚一点点。 他能装得下

easily into tight corners and small spaces. Being flat had made him famous, too. Flat Stanley had traveled all over the world! Stanley grabbed the phone before it rang again. "Hello!" he said, a little out of breath. "Hello?" a voice replied. It sounded crackly and far away. It also had an accent, which Stanley could tell by the way the caller said his name. "May I speak to Stonley Lombchop, please?" "This is he," said Stanley, as his mother had taught him. "Jolly good, Mr. Lombchop," said the voice. "I am calling with an important request."

很容易进入狭窄的角落和小空间。 平的身材也让他出名了。 Flat Stanley周游了世界!斯坦利在电话再次响起之前抓起电话。 “你好!”他说，有点上气不接下气。 “喂?”一个声音回答。声音噼里啪啦地响着，从远处传来。 它还有口音，斯坦利可以从打电话的人叫他名字的方式听出来。 “我可以和斯通利·隆切讲话吗?”“就是他，”斯坦利说，就像他妈妈教他的那样。 “太好了，朗切普先生。”那声音说。 “我打电话来有一个重要的请求。”

"Um... yes... jolly good," said Stanley. "May I ask who's calling, please?" "This is Detective James Bates, from Scotland Yard." Stanley almost dropped the phone. Scotland Yard was the most famous police force in the whole world. It was not in Scotland, though, which was a little confusing. It was actually in London!

“嗯……是的……太好了。”斯坦利说。 “请问您是哪位?”“我是苏格兰场的詹姆斯·贝茨警探。” 斯坦利差点把电话掉在地上。 苏格兰场是全世界最著名的警察部队。 但它不在苏格兰，这让人有点困惑。 它实际上是在伦敦!

Detective Bates kept talking. "Her Mojesty, the queen, would like your help." "Her Majesty, the queen of England?" Stanley blurted out. That got his whole family's attention. "The queen of England?" repeated Mrs. Lambchop. She motioned for Stanley to give her the phone. Stanley tried to explain. "The queen isn't on the phone. It's someone calling for the queen..." But his mother took the phone and started talking. After that, he could only hear one half of the conversation. "Mmm-hmm," said Mrs. Lambchop. "We could do that. The boys have a school vacation coming up." She was quiet for a minute. Detective Bates said something Stanley couldn't hear. "That would be perfect!" said Mrs. Lambchop. She was quiet while the detective spoke again. "Yes, yes," said Mrs. Lambchop. "We will be ready tomorrow. Tip-top. Cheerio!"

贝茨警探一直在说。 “女王陛下需要你的帮助。” “陛下，英国女王?”斯坦利脱口而出。 这引起了他全家的注意。 “英国女王?”兰彻太太重复道。 她示意斯坦利把电话给她。 斯坦利试图解释。“女王不在接电话。 有人在找王后……” 但是他妈妈拿起电话开始说话。 在那之后，他只能听到一半的对话。 “嗯——嗯，”兰彻太太说。 “我们可以这么做。男孩们马上就要放假了。” 她沉默了一会儿。 贝茨警探说了些斯坦利听不见的话。 “那太好了!”兰彻太太说。 侦探又说话时，她沉默了。 “是的，是的，”兰彻太太说。 “我们明天就会准备好。 第一流的。恭喜恭喜!”