5 DOWN FOR THE COUNT

CHAPTER 5 DOWN FOR THE COUNT Fiddly-ho! Follow me, kids!" Joan the Safety Cone led Alexander's class on a parade through the park. Alexander noticed that everything in Safety Land was soft. The handrails were soft. The pretzels were soft. The sidewalks were soft. Soft music even played in the background.

第五章去找伯爵！跟我来，孩子们！”安全锥琼带领亚历山大的班级游行穿过公园。 亚历山大注意到安全地带的一切都是柔软的。 扶手很软。椒盐脆饼很软。 人行道很软。甚至还播放了轻柔的背景音乐。

At one point, Mr. Hoarsely sang along. "Here we are!" said Joan. "The world's safest haunted house!" The parade stopped at a cozy cottage. There were no spiderwebs, no gravestones, and no old boarded-up windows. "I'll lead the way!" yelled Mr. Hoarsely, adjusting his elbow pads.

沙哑曾一度跟着唱。 “我们到了！”琼说。“世界上最安全的鬼屋！”游行队伍在一所舒适的小屋前停了下来。 没有蜘蛛网，没有墓碑，也没有用木板封起来的旧窗户。 “我来带路！”沙哑地喊道，调整着他的护肘。

The door opened without making a creak, and Alexander's class walked inside. The room was well-lit, with thick carpeting, padded walls, and clearly marked emergency exits. Alexander walked between Rip and Nikki. "Not exactly spooky, is it?" he said. "Look!" said Mr. Hoarsely, clapping. "Magic!" He pointed to a purple curtain covered with strange symbols.

门开了，没有吱呀一声，亚历山大的同学走了进去。 房间里光线充足，铺着厚厚的地毯，墙壁上有软垫，紧急出口的标志很清楚。 亚历山大走在里普和尼基之间。 “不是很恐怖，对吧？”他说。 “看！”沙哑地先生拍着巴掌说。 “神奇!”他指着一块紫色的窗帘，上面写着奇怪的符号。

"TA-DAAA!" An oddly dressed man stepped through the curtain. He wore a wizard's hat, a tuxedo, and a shiny purple cape. His left arm was in a huge sling. FLOMP! The curtain fell on the man's head. "Oops, sorry!" he said. "Cheap curtain!" He tossed the curtain aside. Alexander noticed a zigzag cut along one edge.

“TA-DAAA !”一个穿着奇装异服的人从窗帘里走了进来。 他戴着一顶巫师帽，身穿燕尾服，披着一件闪亮的紫色斗篷。 他的左臂吊在一个巨大的吊带上。 FLOMP !窗帘落在那个人的头上。 “哎呀，对不起！”他说。“廉价的窗帘!”他把窗帘掀到一边。 亚历山大注意到一条边上有一个锯齿形的切口。

"Ahem," said the man. "I am the Wonderful, Mysterious, Amazing Count Chad!" He took a little bow. Half a deck of cards fell out of his sleeve. The students giggled. "No laughing!" snapped Count Chad. "I'm not a jokey magician—I'm a real magician!" He wiped his brow, but his handkerchief was tied to four more handkerchiefs. They all became twisted in his sling. "Now," Count Chad said, untangling himself, "watch me pull a rabbit from my hat!" "Oooh!" said Dottie, smiling. The magician reached into his hat and pulled out a half-eaten carrot. "Hmmmmm," he said. "Maybe later." "Oh," said Dottie, frowning.

“嗯哼，”那人说。“我是奇妙的，神秘的，了不起的查德伯爵！”他微微鞠了一躬。 半副牌从他的袖子里掉了出来。 学生们咯咯地笑。“不许笑！”查德伯爵厉声说。 “我不是一个开玩笑的魔术师——我是一个真正的魔术师！”他擦了擦额头，但他的手帕和另外四块手帕绑在一起。 它们都在他的吊索下扭曲了。 “现在，”查德伯爵一边说，一边解开身上的缠结，“看我从帽子里拿出一只兔子来！”“哦！”多蒂微笑着说。 魔术师把手伸进帽子里，拿出一根吃了一半的胡萝卜。 “嗯，”他说。“也许。” “哦，”多蒂皱着眉头说。

"Instead, I WILL PREDICT THE FUTURE!" He wiggled his eyebrows as he pulled a crystal ball from his cape. The ball began to glow. Count Chad held the ball close to Alexander as he spoke. "I see a boy! A boy who has faced terrible, difficult, monstrous challenges!" Alexander looked into the ball. Cloudy shapes danced in the glass. "But this boy should beware..." continued Count Chad, of the dreadful, horrible, unspeakable COASTER GHOST!" FLASH! The image in the crystal ball came into focus. Everyone gasped. A skull face with bloodshot eyes stared back at Alexander.

“相反，我将预测未来！”他扭动着眉毛，从斗篷里掏出一个水晶球。 球开始发光了。查德伯爵一边说，一边把球贴近亚历山大。 “我看见一个男孩！”一个面对过可怕、困难、可怕挑战的男孩！”亚历山大看着球。 阴云在玻璃杯里舞动。 “但是这个孩子应该当心……” 查德伯爵继续说，那个可怕的、可怕的、说不出的飞车鬼！”闪光!水晶球里的图像清晰了。 每个人都气喘吁吁地说。一张骷髅脸，满是血丝的眼睛盯着亚历山大。