1 BED BUGGED

CHAPTER 1 BED BUGGED Alexander watched the six-legged creature creep out of its tunnel. It wiggled its antennae. Then it lifted a big white crystal above its shiny black shell. Alexander leaned in. There were a hundred more of these things crawling around.

亚历山大看着这个六条腿的生物从隧道里爬出来。 它摆动着触角。然后，它在闪亮的黑色外壳上举起了一块巨大的白色水晶。 亚历山大倾身向前。还有上百个这样的东西在爬来爬去。

"Hey, kiddo," said Alexander's dad. "Is that an ant farm?" "Yeah," said Alexander. "We've been studying ants all week for science class. Our farms are due tomorrow." "Look at them go!" said Alexander's dad. "All those legs and antennae! And those sharp jaws! They give me the willies!"

“嘿，孩子，”亚历山大的爸爸说。 “那是蚂蚁农场吗？”“是的，”亚历山大说。 “我们整个星期都在为科学课研究蚂蚁。 我们的农场明天就要交了。” “看他们走了！”亚历山大的爸爸说。 “那些腿和触角！”还有那些锋利的下巴！他们让我心惊肉跳！”

Alexander smiled. "They're just ants, Dad!" "I know, AI," his dad said. "But they are so creepy!" Alexander had seen things much creepier than bugs since moving to Stermont. He had seen monsters! Slimy, drooling, chomping, honest-to-badness monsters! The town was full of them.

亚历山大笑了。“它们只是蚂蚁，爸爸！”“我知道，AI，”他爸爸说。 “但它们太吓人了！”自从搬到斯特蒙特后，亚历山大见过比虫子更可怕的东西。 他看到了怪物！黏糊糊的、流口水的、咬人的、彻头彻尾的怪物！镇上到处都是这样的人。

"Creepy or not, your ant farm is awesome," his dad said. "I'm super proud of you, AI." Alexander smiled. "Thanks, Dad!" He gave his dad a good-night squeeze and climbed into bed. "Sleep tight!" said Alexander's dad. He pointed to the ant farm. "And don't let the bedbugs bite!"

“不管恐怖与否，你的蚂蚁农场太棒了，”他爸爸说。 “我为你感到超级骄傲，人工智能。” 亚历山大笑了。“谢谢你,爸爸!”他给了爸爸一个晚安的拥抱，爬上了床。 “睡个好觉！”亚历山大的爸爸说。 他指着蚂蚁农场。 “别让臭虫咬了！”

Alexander waited for his dad to close the door. Then he reached under his pillow and pulled out an old notebook. He had found the notebook on his first day in Stermont and had been studying it ever since. It was filled with drawings and notes about monsters. Alexander started to open the notebook— but then froze. He could hear the faint SKRITCHH, SKRITCHH of the ants digging around. Or, at least, he thought he could. Well, he thought, maybe ants are a little creepy. He buried his head under his pillow.

亚历山大等着他爸爸把门关上。 然后他把手伸到枕头下面，拿出一本旧笔记本。 他在斯特蒙特的第一天就发现了这本笔记本，从那以后就一直在研究它。 里面全是关于怪物的图画和笔记。 亚历山大开始打开笔记本——但随即僵住了。 他能听到微弱的斯克里奇声，蚂蚁在周围挖土的声音。 或者，至少，他认为他可以。 好吧，他想，也许蚂蚁有点吓人。 他把头埋在枕头下面。