Chapter 1

NANCY KRULIK

南希KRULIK

Chapter 1 "Princess Serena!" Lady Frump shouted angrily. "Come down from there right now! Princesses do not hang from the ceiling." But the Royal Princess of Empiria was not ready to come down. She didn't want to sit at

第一章“塞蕾娜公主！”特朗普夫人愤怒地喊道。 “马上从那儿下来！”公主不是挂在天花板上的。” 但是帝国的公主还没有准备好下来。 她不想坐在那儿

the table with her classmates, learning about the proper manners to use at a tea party. Who cared how you held your pinkie when you picked up your teacup? Tea parties were no fun at all. But swinging from the rafters—now, that was fun! The princess began swaying back and forth over the heads of the other girls in her class. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. She swung her legs higher and higher in the air. "Wheeee!" the princess shouted down to her classmates. "You guys should really try this. It's amazing. I feel like I'm flying." The girls stared up at her in surprise. No one disobeyed Lady Frump. Ever. She was the toughest, scariest teacher at the Royal School of Ladylike Manners.

她和同学们一起坐在桌子上，学习在茶话会上的正确礼仪。 谁在乎你拿起茶杯时怎么拿小指？ 茶话会一点也不好玩。 但是在椽子上荡来荡去——现在，那很有趣！公主开始在班上其他女孩的头顶上来回摇摆。 来来回回。来来回回。 来来回回。她把腿在空中荡得越来越高。 “嘘！”公主对她的同学喊道。 “你们真的应该试试这个。 令人惊奇的。我感觉自己在飞。” 女孩们惊讶地抬头看着她。 没有人不服从特朗普夫人。 永远。她是皇家淑女礼仪学校里最严厉、最可怕的老师。

But Lady Frump didn't frighten the princess at all. Nobody frightened her. She was the bravest girl in all of Empiria. Maybe even in the whole world. So she just kept swinging. Back and forth. Back and... "WHOA!" The princess let out a loud yelp as she lost her grip on the rafters. SPLASH! The princess's royal bottom landed right in a big bowl of ooey-gooey purplish pomegranate pudding. SMASH. Spoons, forks, knives, teacups, and saucers crashed to the floor. There was broken china everywhere. The princess looked up at Lady Frump. The teacher's face was beet red. Her eyes were tightened into tiny angry slits. And she was clutching her handkerchief in a sweaty fist.

但特朗普夫人一点也没吓到公主。 没有人吓唬她。她是整个帝国最勇敢的女孩。 甚至可能是全世界。 所以她一直在摇摆。 来来回回。回去…… “哇!”公主抓不住房梁，大叫了一声。 飞溅!公主的皇家屁股正好落在一大碗黏糊糊的紫色石榴布丁上。 粉碎。勺子、叉子、刀子、茶杯和碟子都摔在地上。 到处都是破碎的瓷器。 公主抬头看着特朗普夫人。 老师的脸涨得通红。 她的眼睛眯成了愤怒的小缝。 她满头大汗地攥着手绢。

"Oops," the princess said sheepishly. "Now look what you've done!" Lady Frump scolded. "Why didn't you come down carefully when I asked you to, Princess Serena?" "Well, for one thing, that's not my name," the princess replied. "I've told you that a million times." A few of the girls gasped. "Serena is the name your father, King Alexander, gave you," Lady Frump reminded her.

“哎哟！”公主不好意思地说。 “看看你都干了些什么！”特朗普夫人责骂道。 “我叫你下来的时候，你为什么不小心呢，塞蕾娜公主？”“嗯，首先，那不是我的名字，”公主回答。 “我跟你说过无数次了。” 几个女孩倒吸了一口气。 “塞蕾娜是你父亲亚历山大国王给你取的名字，”特朗普夫人提醒她。

"But it's not the right name for me," the princess explained. "Serena comes from the word serene. And serene means calm and peaceful. I'm neither of those." Lady Frump couldn't argue with that. Nobody could argue with that. "That's why I gave myself a new name," the princess continued. "From now on, I want everyone to call me Princess Pulverizer." "Princess Pulverizer is not a proper name for a royal girl," Lady Frump told her. "Says who?" Princess Pulverizer argued. "I... I... well...," Lady Frump stammered. The girls all stared at Princess Pulverizer in awe. She'd stumped Lady Frump. Amazing. "Never mind," Lady Frump said, wiping her forehead with her handkerchief. "I will have two of the scullions from the kitchen come and clean up this mess later. And you, Princess Serena, will help them."

“但是这个名字不适合我，”公主解释道。 “塞蕾娜来自宁静这个词。 而serene的意思是平静和和平。 我两者都不是。”特朗普夫人对此无可辩驳。 没有人会反对这一点。 “这就是为什么我给自己起了个新名字，”公主继续说道。 “从现在开始，我希望大家都叫我粉碎机公主。” “粉碎机公主不是王室女孩的合适名字，”特朗普夫人告诉她。 “谁说的?”粉碎机公主争辩道。 “我……我…嗯…特朗普夫人结结巴巴地说。 女孩们都敬畏地盯着粉碎机公主。 她难倒了特朗普夫人。不可思议。 “没关系，”特朗普夫人一边说，一边用手帕擦着额头。 “我要叫厨房里的两个帮厨过来收拾一下。 而你，塞蕾娜公主，会帮助他们的。”