16 THE POINT

CHAPTER 16 THE POINT Alexander's eyes grew wide as the giant balloon snake towered overhead. "So. About these knots said Rip. FWISH! The snake wrapped itself around him. Knots, thought Alexander. His eyes lit up. "Rip, don't move." "No problem," Rip squeaked. "Hey, airhead!" Alexander shouted at the snake. The snake turned to face Alexander. Then it attacked! Alexander bounced to the left, dodging the snake's head.

当那条巨大的气球蛇高耸在头顶时，亚历山大的眼睛睁得大大的。 “所以。关于这些结，瑞普说。 FWISH !那条蛇把自己缠绕在他身上。 结，亚历山大想。他的眼睛亮了起来。 “里普，别动。”“没问题，”里普尖声说。 “嘿,傻瓜!”亚历山大对着蛇喊道。 蛇转过身来面对亚历山大。 然后它开始攻击！亚历山大跳向左边，躲开了蛇头。

He frog-hopped around the arena, changing direction with each leap. "Left! Right! Left!" he shouted. The snake followed Alexander's lead. Alexander sprung off a wall and flew behind the snake. "Down! Around!" Finally, he landed near the snake's tail and rocketed straight up. "PULL!" The snake's head shot through its own coils, stretching its body tight. Its huge jaws snapped at Alexander but missed. He fell to the ground and then looked up. The snake had let go of Rip. It had tied itself into a knot— a giant copy of the clown's balloon animal! The snake began twisting about, trying to untangle itself. But the more it struggled, the tighter it squeezed, until...

他在竞技场上像青蛙一样跳来跳去，每跳一次就改变方向。 “左!没错!左！”他喊道。 蛇跟着亚历山大走。 亚历山大从墙上跳下来，飞到蛇的后面。 “下来!周围!”最后，他降落在蛇尾巴附近，直线上升。 “拉!”蛇的头穿过自己的线圈，把身体绷紧了。 它的巨颚朝亚历山大咬去，但没咬着。 他倒在地上，然后抬起头来。 蛇已经放开了瑞普。 它把自己绑成一个结——一个巨大的小丑气球动物的复制品！蛇开始扭动身子，试图挣脱。 但它越挣扎，挤得越紧，直到……

BLAM! ...it exploded into a shower of confetti. Alexander ran over to untie Rip. Then the two boys bounced their way out of the fortress. Rip looked at the mop-haired, bug-eyed, gut-filled bag of bones that had saved his life. "Thanks, Alexander." Alexander grinned. "My friends call me Salamander." "You know," Rip said, "anyone brave enough to take on an army of SSSSNNMNHN! The boys turned around. The bouncy fortress had sprouted arms, legs, wings, and a long, spiky tail. It had turned into a huge balloon dragon! The dragon charged at the boys.

简直是噩梦!…它爆炸成一阵五彩纸屑。 亚历山大跑过去给瑞普松绑。 然后两个男孩弹跳着逃出了堡垒。 瑞普望着那个曾经救过他一命的、蓬乱的头发、凹凸的眼睛、充满内脏的骨头袋。 “谢谢,亚历山大。”亚历山大咧嘴一笑。 “我的朋友都叫我蝾螈。” “你知道的，”瑞普说，“任何一个有足够勇气去对抗一支军队的人！男孩们转过身来。 这个有弹性的堡垒长出了胳膊、腿、翅膀和一条长长的、带刺的尾巴。 它变成了一条巨大的气球龙！恶龙向男孩们冲去。

AAAAAHH!

AAAAAHH !

The dragon zoomed up into the sky like the world's loudest whoopee cushion. A blindfolded man stood where the balloon dragon had been. He was holding a long, sharp pin. "Did I win?" asked Alexander's dad. He peeked under his blindfold. "Nuts! Not even close!" The boys laughed. "I could really go for some cake," said Alexander.

这条龙嗖地蹿上天空，就像世界上最响亮的放屁垫。 一个蒙着眼睛的人站在气球龙所在的地方。 他手里拿着一根又长又尖的别针。 “我赢了吗？”亚历山大的爸爸问。 他在眼罩下偷看。 “疯子!差远了！”男孩们笑了。 “我真的很想吃蛋糕，”亚历山大说。

PFFFT! They hiked back to the party. Alexander's dad studied the donkey poster while the boys headed to the picnic table. They found the clown hiding underneath. His bald cap had fallen off, revealing a shock of white hair. "Mr. Hoarsely!" Alexander said. "You passed me that note?" "Boys you're not dead!?!" said Mr. Hoarsely. Rip flexed his muscles. Alexander rolled his eyes.

PFFFT !他们徒步回到聚会地点。 当孩子们走向野餐桌时，亚历山大的爸爸研究着驴的海报。 他们发现小丑藏在下面。 他的秃顶掉了下来，露出一绺白发。 “嘶哑地先生!”亚历山大说。 “你把那张纸条递给我了？”“孩子们，你们没死！？！”沙哑先生说。 里普舒展了一下肌肉。亚历山大翻了个白眼。