12 Yeah, But What’s Mightier Than a Sword

CHAPTER TWELVE YEAH, BUT WHAT'S MIGHTIER THAN A SWORD? I know," Franny said, and she picked up a pen. She quickly drew a big screw on her chest and some lines on her sleeves to look like the Franbots' segmented arms and legs. She drew screws on her face, and stood as stiffly as she could.

第十二章是的，但有什么比剑更强大呢？ 我知道，”弗兰妮说着，拿起一支笔。 她很快在胸前画了一个大螺丝钉，在袖子上画了一些线条，看起来就像弗兰博的胳膊和腿。 她在脸上画了几个螺丝，尽量僵硬地站着。

"I hope this works," she whispered. Franny knew that if her performance showed any lack of confidence, the Franbots would see right through her disguise. The Franbots were scattered all over the lab, busy practicing their various excellent skills. Franny walked right up to Franbot Number One, who was playing the bagpipes, and in the most mechanical voice she could fake, she asked: "Practicing for the recital tomorrow, are you?"

“我希望这有用，”她低声说。 弗兰妮知道，如果她的表演表现出任何缺乏自信的地方，弗兰克一家就会一眼看穿她的伪装。 弗兰克兄弟们分散在实验室里，忙着练习他们的各种高超技能。 弗兰妮径直走到正在吹风笛的弗兰伯特一号面前，用她能装出的最机械的声音问道：“你在为明天的独奏会练习吗？”

The Franbot looked up. "Recital?" it repeated, totally fooled by Franny's drawn-on screws and segments.

弗兰博抬起头来。“独奏会？”它重复了一遍，完全被弗兰尼画上的螺丝钉和零件给愚弄了。

"That's right," Franny said. "A recital. Everybody will be there. Everybody will be watching. Everybody will be judging your performance to see if you're really excellent, or not." Franbot Number One looked worried. "How do you think I'll do?" it said. Franny shook her head sadly. "Average. The other players can play much louder, and hold the notes much longer." "But, I must be excellent," the Franbot whimpered. "I've also heard that several of them can hit a high J note," Franny added. "There's no such thing as a J note," the Franbot scoffed. "The musical scale doesn't go up to J."

“没错，”弗兰尼说。 “一个独奏。每个人都会去的。 每个人都会看的。 每个人都会评判你的表现，看你是否真的优秀。” 弗兰伯特一号看上去很担心。 “你觉得我会怎么样？”它说。 弗兰妮伤心地摇了摇头。 “平均水平。其他演奏者可以弹得更大声，音符保持得更久。” “但是，我必须是优秀的，”弗兰博呜咽着说。 弗兰尼补充说：“我还听说有几个人能唱出高J音。” “根本就没有‘J’这种东西。”弗兰博嘲笑道。 “音阶没有升到j。”

"Maybe your scale doesn't. But don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be okay."

“也许你的秤没有。 不过别担心。我相信你会没事的。”

That wasn't good enough for Franbot Number One. It was driven to be excellent, and that's exactly what it planned to be. Determined to hit the impossibly high note that Franny had made up, it gathered up all of its breath, put its steel lips over the mouthpiece of the bagpipe...

这对弗兰伯特一号来说还不够好。 它被驱使着变得优秀，这正是它的计划。 它下定决心要唱出弗兰妮编出来的那个不可思议的高音，它屏住呼吸，把它的钢嘴唇放在风笛的吹口上……