8 Trish the Troll

TRISH the Troll ONCE UPON A TIME, at the top of a very tall block of flats, lived a girl called Trish. From her window the little girl would look down upon the world, and daydream that she had complete power over everyone.

从前，在一幢很高的公寓楼的顶上，住着一个名叫崔西的女孩。 从她的窗口，小女孩会俯视世界，做白日梦，她有完全的权力控制每一个人。

She would close one eye and hold her fingers up to the other. She would spot someone walking along fifty floors below-it might be an old lady walking her dog, a child playing with a ball or a young mother hurrying home with her shopping-and, whoever they were, Trish would get them in her sights and pretend she was squishing them between her fingers. "You are squished. and you, and you..." she would say to herself, and a broad smile would spread across her face. "I will Squish you all!" Trish longed for some way of squishing people for real.

她会闭上一只眼睛，把手指放在另一只眼睛上。 她会看到楼下五十层楼有人在走——可能是一位遛狗的老太太，可能是一个玩球的孩子，也可能是一位匆忙回家买东西的年轻母亲——不管他们是谁，崔西都会把他们放在她的视线里，假装用手指捏住他们。 “你被压扁了。还有你，还有你……” 她会这样自言自语，脸上就会绽开灿烂的笑容。 “我要把你们都压扁！”崔西渴望用某种方式真正地把人压扁。

The idea came, as good ones often do, while she was sitting on the toilet. It was break-time at school, and Trish was sat on the loo, staring up at all the graffiti that decorated the walls and door. There was barely a space that wasn't covered by some words or drawings. Some of the graffiti gave a newsflash on the love lives of the teachers: MISS TROUT LOVES MR PRUFROCK. I saw Mr Bongers and Miss Danube sitting in a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G.! MISS BIRCH HAS GOT THE HOTS FOR MR FUMBLE. Other graffiti took the form of an alternative school report: MATHS IS BORING! I HATE HISTORY! SCIENCE SUCKS!

当她坐在马桶上的时候，这个好主意就来了。 这是学校的课间休息时间，崔西坐在厕所上，盯着墙上和门上的涂鸦。 几乎没有一个空间不被一些文字或图画所覆盖。 一些涂鸦是关于老师们爱情生活的新闻快报：特劳特小姐爱着普鲁弗洛克先生。 我看见邦格斯先生和多瑙河小姐坐在树上咕咕叫！伯奇小姐迷上了芬布尔先生。 其他涂鸦的形式是另一份学校报告：数学很无聊！我讨厌历史！科学很糟糕!

There were quite a few harsh restaurant reviews of the school canteen: DON'T EAT THE SAUSAGE ROLLS UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE! YOU NEED TO CUT THE CUSTARD WITH A KNIFE. BRING BACK TURKEY TWIZZLERS! Trish wondered what it would feel like if she wrote something really nasty. Would that be like squishing someone for real? In her blazer pocket the girl kept a thick felt-tip pen. She placed the lid in her mouth as she pondered what to write. The most popular girl in school was Megan. Megan was always kind to the younger children, included all the other kids in games and had a smile for everyone, even the grumpiest teachers, like Mr Bongers. Finally Trish scribbled in big black letters: MEGAN'S GOT BOG BREATH. Megan didn't have bog breath. It didn't matter.

学校食堂里有不少尖刻的餐厅评论：除非你想死，否则不要吃香肠卷！你需要用刀切蛋奶冻。 把火鸡扭扭糖带回来！崔西想知道，如果她写了一些非常难听的东西会是什么感觉。 那是不是就像真的把人压扁了？ 在她的外套口袋里，女孩放着一支粗毡尖笔。 她把盖子放在嘴里，思考着写什么。 学校里最受欢迎的女孩是梅根。 梅根对年幼的孩子总是很好，和所有其他孩子一起玩游戏，对每个人都微笑，即使是像邦格斯先生这样脾气最坏的老师。 最后，崔西用黑色大字潦草地写了几个字：梅甘有沼泽味。 梅根没有沼泽味。 没关系。

All that mattered to Trish was that once she had read it Megan would feel well and truly squished. Trish left the cubicle, and walked past the mirror. As she glanced at herself, she noticed something startling. A big wart had appeared on the end of her nose. "What is this?" muttered Trish to herself. It was very strange. She hadn't noticed anything when she'd left her flat this morning. The girl pulled her hair down to hide it, and hurried off to her next lesson. By lunchtime news had spread across the school like wildfire about what had been scrawled on the toilet wall. Poor Megan was crying and being comforted by her friends. Trish lingered nearby, munching on a Scotch egg so she could listen in. "BOG BREATH?! I don't have bog breath, do I?" spluttered Megan through tears.

对崔西来说，最重要的是，一旦她读了这封信，梅根就会感到很舒服，真的被压扁了。 崔西离开了小隔间，走过镜子。 她瞥了一眼自己，发现了一件令人吃惊的事。 她的鼻尖上长了一个大瘤。 “这是什么？”崔西自言自语道。 这很奇怪。今天早上她离开公寓时，什么也没注意到。 女孩把头发捋下来遮住，匆匆去上下一节课。 到了午餐时间，关于厕所墙上涂鸦的消息像野火一样传遍了学校。 可怜的梅根哭了，她的朋友们在安慰她。 崔西在附近徘徊，大嚼着一个苏格兰蛋，这样她就能听进去了。 “沼泽呼吸? !我没有沼泽呼吸，对吧？”梅金含着眼泪急促地说。