1 Furp the Fish

Furp the FISH MANY YEARS AGO, decades before you were born, there stood a long-forgotten seaside town, with a rickety old pier that stretched out into the sea. At the end of the pier was a fair run by grumpy old folk with weather-beaten faces, and battered hats and coats.

许多年前，在你出生的几十年前，有一座早已被人遗忘的海边小镇，一个摇摇晃晃的老码头伸向大海。 码头尽头是一群脾气暴躁的老人在集市上奔跑，他们的脸饱经风霜，头上戴着破旧的帽子和外套。

It wasn't a fair fair. Locals called it THE UNFAIR FAIR, because at this fair nobody ever won anything. It was impossible to: knock the coconut off its post, or boot the football through the hole, or hook the duck and win a goldfish. That is until the day our story begins. "I GOT ONE!" exclaimed a boy, bouncing up and down in his battered shoes. His name was Leo, and he had never been so excited in all his little life.

这不是一个公平的公平。当地人称之为“不公平的集市”，因为在这个集市上从来没有人赢得过任何东西。 不可能把椰子从柱子上敲下来，也不可能把足球踢进洞里，更不可能把鸭子钩住，赢得一条金鱼。 直到我们的故事开始的那天。 “我有一个！”一个男孩叫道，穿着破旧的鞋子跳上跳下。 他的名字叫利奥，在他小小的生命中从来没有这么兴奋过。

Behind the stall, the lizard of a man spat out his cigarette. "You what?" "I HOOKED A DUCK!" Indeed, Leo had. On the end of the fishing rod was a battered toy duck. "You cheated!" snarled the stallholder. "No! I didn't!" protested Leo. "I was just lucky, and I am never, ever lucky!" Little did he know how unlucky he was about to become. The man grumbled and grunted. It was clear no one had ever managed to hook one of his ducks before. "Sorry, sir, but do I win a prize?" asked Leo with a hopeful smile. It was met with a sinister grin. The old man Sniggered to himself as he reached under the counter. With some difficulty, he lifted up a goldfish. Now, I know what you are thinking: how could a goldfish be one of the world's worst pets? Well, this was no ordinary goldfish. This was the biggest goldfish that ever lived. The goldfish was so large that

在货摊后面，一个身材魁梧的男人吐出了他的香烟。 “你说什么?”“我钓到了一只鸭子！”的确，利奥有。 钓鱼竿的末端是一只破旧的玩具鸭子。 “你作弊了！”摊贩咆哮道。 “不!我没有！”里奥抗议道。 “我只是运气好，我永远不会幸运！”他一点也不知道自己即将变得多么不幸。 那人咕哝着，咕哝着。 很明显，以前从来没有人能钩住他的鸭子。 “对不起，先生，我中奖了吗？”里奥满怀希望地笑着问。 这句话得到了一个邪恶的微笑。 老人伸手到柜台下面，暗自窃笑。 费了好大劲，他举起了一条金鱼。 现在，我知道你在想什么：金鱼怎么会是世界上最糟糕的宠物之一呢？ 这可不是一条普通的金鱼。 这是有史以来最大的金鱼。 金鱼太大了，以至于

it seemed bigger than the bowl in which it was swimming. A goldfish is normally this big. But this goldfish was this big. Leo peered through the glass and smiled at his new pet. The creature had bulging eyes and big SHARP teeth.

它似乎比它游泳的碗还大。 金鱼通常有这么大。 但这条金鱼有这么大。 里奥透过玻璃看着他的新宠物，微笑着。 这种生物有突出的眼睛和锋利的大牙齿。