2 Hamsters vs Gerbils

HAMSTERS VS GERBILS HAMSTERS AND GERBILS can be the world's best pets. However, when you put the two together, they become the world's worst pets! IT'S WAR! Let me tell you a tale...

仓鼠和沙鼠可能是世界上最好的宠物。 然而，当你把它们放在一起时，它们就成了世界上最糟糕的宠物！这是战争!让我给你讲个故事……

Once upon a time, there was a sweet little girl called Betsy, who was crackers about hamsters. She had hamster cuddly toys. She had posters of hamsters up on her walls. She had hamster jigsaw puzzles. She had jumpers with hamsters on them. She even wore hamster slippers. Not made from real hamsters, though. That would be cruel. Even just in a book.

从前，有一个可爱的小女孩叫贝琪，她非常喜欢仓鼠。 她有仓鼠毛绒玩具。 她的墙上贴着仓鼠的海报。 她有仓鼠拼图。 她穿的毛衣上有仓鼠。 她甚至穿着仓鼠拖鞋。 不过不是用真的仓鼠做的。 那太残忍了。即使只是在一本书里。

But Betsy didn't have a real hamster. After Betsy pleading, and pleading some more, her mother took her to the local pet shop on her tenth birthday. There the girl chose the cutest, fluffiest hamster you ever did see. Its soft fur was the colour of caramel and it had the pinkest, perkiest nose. She called it Hartley. Hartley the hamster. With her father's help, Betsy built her pet a lovely cage. It had a nest of sawdust, a toilet roll to climb through, a big wheel to spin on, a water bowl and even a little hamster house in which to sleep. Betsy kept the cage on a side table right next to her bed. That way she could play her trumpet to Hartley as he drifted off to sleep. HOO! HOO! HOOOOOO! The hamster would put his paws over his ears until she stopped. Then Betsy would say, "I love you even more than ice

但是贝琪没有一只真正的仓鼠。 贝琪一再恳求之后，在她十岁生日那天，母亲带她去了当地的宠物店。 在那里，女孩选了一只你见过的最可爱、毛茸茸的仓鼠。 它柔软的皮毛是焦糖的颜色，它的鼻子是最粉红色、最活泼的。 她叫它哈特利。仓鼠哈特利。 在父亲的帮助下，贝琪给她的宠物做了一个可爱的笼子。 它有一个木屑的窝，一个可以爬过的厕纸，一个可以旋转的大轮子，一个水碗，甚至还有一个可以睡觉的小仓鼠屋。 贝琪把笼子放在她床边的一张边桌上。 这样她就可以在哈特利渐入梦乡的时候给他吹小号了。 呼! !呼! !HOOOOOO !仓鼠总是用爪子捂住耳朵，直到她停下来。 贝琪会说：“我爱你胜过爱冰

cream, my beautiful little Hartley, and I always will." Hartley smiled from ear to ear. He was the happiest hamster in the world. However, something was about to happen that would shatter the rodent's life. Forever. DUM! DUM! DUM! One morning, many months later, Betsy was passing Chomp's Pets on her way home from school when she spotted a dear little creature in the window. She thought it was even cuter than Hartley. It looked like a hamster, but it was smaller, had a longer tail and a pointier, perkier and pinkier* nose. *A real made-up word you will find in the brand-new revised and updated Walliamsictionary, available everywhere in bargain bins. The little creature's fur was the shade of butter. It sat up on its back legs, and it looked straight at Betsy with its big, round eyes.

亲爱的，我美丽的小哈特利，我会永远爱你的。” 哈特利笑得合不拢嘴。 他是世界上最快乐的仓鼠。 然而，一件即将发生的事情粉碎了这只啮齿动物的生活。 直到永远。DUM !DUM !DUM !几个月后的一天早晨，贝琪放学回家的路上路过Chomp的宠物店，这时她在橱窗里发现了一只可爱的小动物。 她觉得它比哈特利还可爱。 它看起来像一只仓鼠，但体型更小，尾巴更长，鼻子更尖、更神气、更粉。 *一个真正的生造词，你会在全新修订和更新的《沃尔玛词典》中找到，在廉价垃圾桶里随处可见。 这小家伙的皮毛是黄油的颜色。 它用后腿坐起来，用圆圆的大眼睛直直地看着贝琪。

Betsy tried to walk past, but she just couldn't. "Excuse me?" she said as she entered the shop. The old pet-shop owner, Mrs Chomp, was slumped on a stool. In her arms was a humongous guinea pig, as big as a beach ball, which she stroked tenderly. "Oh, hello again, Betsy!" replied Mrs Chomp as she threw a doggie treat in the air for the guinea pig to catch in its mouth... ...before tossing another into her own mouth. CHOMP! CHOMP! "How is your little hamster getting on?" "Very well, thank you. I just wondered about the tiny buttery fellow in the window." "Oh yes. Beautiful little chap! New in today!" "Is he a hamster? Because I thought he could be best friends with my Hartley." "Oh no, no, no. That's a gerbil." "Oh." "Gerbils are smaller than hamsters and have longer tails." "Yes. I see," said Betsy, looking over at the creature,

贝琪想走过去，但她就是走不过去。 “你说什么？”她走进店里说。 老宠物店老板乔普夫人瘫坐在凳子上。 她怀里抱着一只巨大的豚鼠，像沙滩球一样大，她温柔地抚摸着它。 “哦，又见到你了，贝琪！”Chomp太太回答道，她把一份狗粮扔向空中，让天竺鼠衔进嘴里。 ．．．然后又往自己嘴里扔了一颗。 CHOMP !CHOMP !“你的小仓鼠怎么样了？”“很好，谢谢你。 我只是想知道橱窗里那个毛茸茸的小家伙。” “哦,是的。漂亮的小家伙！今天新来的！”“他是仓鼠吗？” 因为我觉得他可以和我的哈特利成为最好的朋友。” “哦，不，不，不。那是一只沙鼠。” “哦。”沙鼠比仓鼠小，尾巴长。 “是的。我明白了，”贝琪望着那只动物说，