13 LETTING HER HAIR DOWN

CHAPTER 13 LETTING HER HAIR DOWN These ants are gi-normous!" said Alexander. "Gi-norm-ants!" Nikki said. The ants were each about the size of a football. They finished eating the cookie, and then turned toward Rip, antennae wiggling. An ant nuzzled against Rip's knee. Rip knelt down.

“这些蚂蚁真了不起！”亚历山大说。 “Gi-norm-ants !”尼基说。 每只蚂蚁都有足球那么大。 他们吃完饼干，然后转向里普，触角摆动着。 一只蚂蚁用鼻子蹭着瑞普的膝盖。 瑞普跪了下来。

"Careful, Rip!" said Alexander. "They're not going to hurt us, Salamander," Rip said. "I hear more clicking it's coming from the ants!" "They're communicating with you?!" asked Alexander. "Yeah, I think so!" Rip said, petting a gi-norm-ant. "All these ants remind me of the time that ant farm broke, during our battle with the P-Rex..." Nikki's eyes widened. "Rip!" she said. "These are those ants! You and the ants ate monster candy that day! Remember?" "So now you turn into a monster when you eat sweets, and so do they!" said Alexander.

“小心点，里普！”亚历山大说。 “他们不会伤害我们的，蝾螈，”里普说。 “我听到更多来自蚂蚁的咔哒声！”“他们在和你交流？！”亚历山大问。 “是的，我想是的！”瑞普说着，抚摸着一只gi-norm-ant。 “所有这些蚂蚁让我想起了蚂蚁农场破产的时候，在我们和P-Rex的战斗中……” 妮基睁大了眼睛。“撕！”她说。 “就是那些蚂蚁！”那天你和蚂蚁吃了怪兽糖！还记得吗?”“所以现在你一吃糖果就变成怪物了，他们也一样！”亚历山大说。

"That's what I was afraid of," said a cold voice. Principal Vanderpants pushed her way through the curtains. Alexander, Rip, and Nikki all gasped. "Uh-oh," whispered Alexander. "She wasn't supposed to show up until we were ready for Step 3!" Principal Vanderpants addressed Alexander, Rip, and Nikki as though she had caught them chewing gum.

“这正是我所担心的。”一个冰冷的声音说。 范德帕斯校长推开帘子。 亚历山大、里普和尼基都倒吸了一口气。 “哦哦，”亚历山大低声说。 “在我们准备好进行第三步之前，她不应该出现的！”范德培斯校长对亚历山大、里普和妮基说话，就好像她抓到他们在嚼口香糖似的。

"First, you troublemakers let my forkupine escape," Ms. Vanderpants said. She looked at the giant blue ants zigzagging away from her. "And now I've got monster ants to deal with." "You're the one making trouble!" said Nikki, stepping forward. "We saw your secret file in the UPSTAIRS BASEMENT!" Ms. Vanderpants paused. Her face turned as red as a gummy worm. "Yes. I've been watching you. But you need to trust me, I—" "Trust you?!" said Alexander. "The way we trusted Dr. Tallow? The teacher you hired who tried to destroy us? Never! Now where's the notebook? We want it back!" "Excuse me!" Mr. Mingus's head appeared through the curtains. "Could you keep it down back here? I'm trying to rap about table manners!" He popped back out.

“首先，你们这些捣蛋鬼放了我的叉式冲床。” Vanderpants说。她看着巨大的蓝色蚂蚁从她身边蜿蜒而去。 “现在我要对付的是巨蚁。” “你才是那个制造麻烦的人！”妮基说着向前走了一步。 “我们在楼上的地下室看到了你的秘密文件！”Ms。 Vanderpants暂停。她的脸红得像一只软糖虫。 “是的。我一直在观察你。 但是你要相信我，我——”“相信你？！”亚历山大说。 “就像我们信任塔洛医生那样？” 你雇的那个想毁掉我们的老师？ 从来没有!现在笔记本在哪里？ 我们要拿回来！”“对不起!”明格斯先生的头从窗帘里露出来。 “你能小声点吗？” 我想说唱一下餐桌礼仪！”他突然走了出来。

Alexander gave Rip a look as he wiggled the brownie in his hand. Rip nodded back. Ms. Vanderpants sighed. "You're totally right, Alexander. If I want you to trust me, I should be honest about who I am." Then she balled her hands, arched her back, and, with a growl, burst through her gray suit. She had a leathery shell on her back, a long tail, and scaly feet with sharp claws. She pulled a few pins from her hair and uncoiled her braid.

亚历山大看了瑞普一眼，他摇晃着手中的布朗尼。 里普也点了点头。范德帕斯叹了口气。 “你说得对，亚历山大。 如果我想让你信任我，我就应该诚实地面对自己。” 然后她双手揉成一团，弓起背，咆哮一声，从她灰色的衣服里冲了出来。 她的背上有一层坚韧的壳，一条长长的尾巴，一双长着锋利爪子的鳞状脚。 她从头发上取下几根别针，把辫子卷起来。

Alexander's jaw dropped. Ms. Vanderpants had a sharp, silvery horn growing out of her head. "What kind of monster are you?" asked Nikki. "A unicorn-turtle?" said Rip. "A turtle-corn?" Ms. Vanderpants groaned. "No, Ripley. I'm a nar-madillo. Part narwhal, part armadillo. And now, you three have a choice. You can listen to what I have to say... or you're doomed!"

亚历山大的下巴掉了下来。Ms。 范德帕斯的头上长着一个锋利的银色角。 “你是什么样的怪物？”尼基问。 “独角兽龟？”瑞普说。 “turtle-corn ?”范德帕斯呻吟着。 “不,里普利。我是纳玛地洛。 一部分是独角鲸，一部分是犰狳。 现在，你们三个有个选择。 你可以听听我要说什么…… 否则你就完蛋了！”