3 MAP OUT OF IT!

CHAPTER 3 MAP OUT OF IT! The door chimed as Alexander and his dad left the dinner. "Were those great pancakes, or what?" his dad asked. Alexander didn't answer. He was studying his paper place mat: a map of Stermont, laid out like a maze. "Hey, neat," said his dad. "Maybe we could take extras to hand out at your party." Alexander poked his nose over the map. "Party?" "Sure!" said his dad. "Your birthday party!" "But, Dad," Alexander grumbled, "I don't want a party. I don't even have a real birthday this year." "But that's the best part about a leap-year

第三章地图出来了！当亚历山大和他的父亲离开晚餐时，门响起了钟声。 “那些煎饼好吃吗？”他爸爸问。 亚历山大没有回答。他正在研究他的纸餐垫：一张斯特蒙特的地图，像迷宫一样排列着。 “嘿，小洁，”他爸爸说。 “也许我们可以多拿些在你的派对上分发。” 亚历山大用鼻子探了探地图。 “聚会吗?”“当然！”爸爸说。 “你的生日派对！”“但是，爸爸，”亚历山大抱怨道，“我不想要聚会。 我今年甚至都没有真正的生日。” “但这是跨越年最好的部分

birthday, A1," said his dad. "February twenty- ninth only comes around once every four years. So we get to choose your birthday this year. And I choose tomorrow!" Alexander frowned. "Besides," his dad continued, "I already made the party invitations." He stuffed a stack of envelopes into Alexander's backpack. "Pass 'em out to your new classmates today!"

生日，A1，”他爸爸说。 “二月二十九日每四年才有一次。 所以我们可以选择你今年的生日。 我选择明天！”亚历山大皱起了眉头。 “再说，”他爸爸接着说，“我已经准备好派对请柬了。” 他把一叠信封塞进亚历山大的背包里。 “今天就发给你的新同学！”

Alexander followed his dad toward their car. Way down the street, he could make out a wiggly shape in front of a bank another dancing balloon guy. This one was purple. "Hey," said Alexander. "There's another" he looked around "wait... where's our balloon goon? It was right here when we parked..." NOW SERVING BREAKFAST!

亚历山大跟着爸爸朝他们的车走去。 在街上，他能辨认出银行前有一个摇摇晃晃的人影另一个跳舞的气球人。 这个是紫色的。“嘿，”亚历山大说。 “还有一个，”他环顾四周，“等等…… 我们的气球小丑呢？我们停车的时候它就在这儿……” 现在开始供应早餐！

"Hmmm?" said his dad. He was fishing around for his keys. "I dunno. Maybe someone moved it." He unlocked the car. "Hop in, A1!" Alexander tried to yank open his door, but then CRUNCH! it scraped against the curb. "Huh?" he said. The car was lower to the ground than before. "Dad! This tire's flat." "No problemo," said his dad. "We'll just pop on the spare and wait a minute! This tire's flat, too." He rubbed his chin. Alexander took a step back. "Uh, Dad. All four tires are flat." "That's strange," said his dad. "Maybe there's glass on the road...."

“嗯？”他爸爸说。他在到处找钥匙。 “我不知道。也许有人动了它。” 他打开了汽车的锁。“上车吧，A1!”亚历山大试图猛拉他的门，但突然嘎吱一声！它擦到了路边。 “嗯？”他说。汽车离地面比以前低了。 “爸爸!这个轮胎没气了。”“没问题，”他爸爸说。 “我们就打开备用的，等一下！”这个轮胎也瘪了。” 他揉了揉下巴。亚历山大向后退了一步。 “嗯,爸爸。四个轮胎都没气了。” “真奇怪，”他爸爸说。 “也许路上有玻璃....”

Alexander looked across the street: two more cars with flat tires. Something weird is going on here, he thought. His dad stood up and brushed off his pants. "Sorry, Al. I have to call a tow truck. Do you think you could walk to school?" Alexander's eyes widened. "By myself?" "Sure, kiddo!" His dad smiled. "Here pass me that place-mat maze." His dad spread out the place mat on the hood of the car and pulled a pen from his pocket. "See we're here," he said, circling the diner. "And your new school is right there."

亚历山大看了看街对面：又有两辆车胎没气了。 这里发生了一些奇怪的事情，他想。 他爸爸站起来，刷掉了他的裤子。 “对不起，艾尔，我得叫辆拖车。” 你觉得你可以走路去学校吗？”亚历山大睁大了眼睛。 “我自己?”“当然,老兄!”爸爸笑了。 “给，把那个餐具垫迷宫递给我。” 爸爸把餐垫铺在汽车引擎盖上，从口袋里掏出一支笔。 “看，我们到了。”他绕着餐厅说。 “你的新学校就在那儿。”

He drew a path through the maze. "You head down Main Street and oops, dead end! Turn left and then north and then oh! We got stuck in the glue factory! Wait, wait. So you loop back oh, wow! This town has three graveyards! And then you go past that bakery. And bingo! You're at school!"

他画了一条穿过迷宫的路。 “你沿着主街走，哎呀，是死胡同！”向左转，然后向北，然后哦！我们被困在胶水厂了！等待,等待。 所以你循环回去哦，哇！这个镇有三个墓地！然后你经过那家面包店。 宾果!你在学校！”