2. The Crabby Witch

Chapter 2 The Crabby Witch Soon all the kids had gone inside the haunted hotel. Only Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy were still outside. "I wonder what they're doing in there," Lucy said. "Getting eaten up by the ogre," Nate muttered. "The ogre is still outside," Brian said. "I say we go in right now. I need candy!" "How about you, Nate?" Lucy asked.

很快，所有的孩子都进了闹鬼的旅馆。 只有布拉德利、布莱恩、内特和露西还在外面。 “我不知道他们在里面干什么。”露茜说。 “被食人魔吃掉了。”内特咕哝道。 “食人魔还在外面，”布莱恩说。 “我说我们现在就进去。 我需要糖果！”“你呢，内特？”露西问。

Nate looked at the ogre standing in front of the hotel. "Do you think it's really, really scary in there?" he asked. "I hope so!" Brian said. "Probably just average scary," Bradley said. "The adults who planned this wouldn't want to scare us to death!" "Come on, Nate," Brian said. "We're the last ones out here. Those other kids are going to steal the candy and get the prize!" Nate took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do it!" he said. "Awesome!" Brian said, slapping Nate on the back. Nate stood as tall as he could. "Who's afraid of some ogre?" he said. "Not us!" they all yelled. Then they marched toward the hotel entrance. They stopped about ten feet from the ogre. "Can I change my mind again?" Nate whispered. "No!" Brian said. "It does look real," Bradley whispered. Then he laughed. "But ogres aren't real!"

内特看着站在旅馆门前的食人魔。 “你觉得那里真的、真的很可怕吗？”他问。 “我希望如此！”布莱恩说。“可能只是一般的恐惧，”布拉德利说。 “策划这件事的大人们不会想把我们吓死的！”“来吧，内特，”布莱恩说。 “我们是最后一批离开这里的人。 其他孩子会去偷糖果拿奖品的！”内特深吸了一口气。 “好吧，我们开始吧！”他说。 “棒极了!”布莱恩拍了拍内特的背说。 内特站得尽可能高。 “谁怕食人魔？”他说。 “不是我们！” 然后他们向旅馆门口走去。 他们在离食人魔大约十英尺的地方停了下来。 “我能再改变主意吗？”内特低声说。 “不!”布莱恩说。“看起来是真的，”布拉德利低声说。 然后他笑了。“但食人魔不是真的！”

"It's just a costume," Lucy said. The kids walked over to the ogre. "Welcome to the haunted house," the ogre said. Bradley thought he'd heard that deep voice before. "Follow me!" The ogre reached for the door. Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy followed. The door groaned when the ogre pulled it open. The ogre tapped Bradley on the head. "Are you supposed to be a box of laundry soap?" he asked. "N-no," Bradley stuttered. "I'm Mount Rushmore." "Cool," the deep voice said. "Be careful inside." Again, Bradley thought he recognized the voice. "Be careful of what?" Nate asked.

“这只是一套服装。”露茜说。 孩子们走向食人魔。 “欢迎来到鬼屋，”食人魔说。 布拉德利觉得他以前听过那个低沉的声音。 “跟我来!”食人魔伸手去开门。 布拉德利、布莱恩、内特和露西紧随其后。 食人魔打开门时，门发出了呻吟声。 食人魔敲了一下布拉德利的头。 “你应该是一盒洗衣皂吗？”他问。 “不，不，”布拉德利结结巴巴地说。 “我是拉什莫尔山。”“酷。”那个低沉的声音说。 “进屋要小心。”布拉德利又一次觉得自己认出了这个声音。 “小心什么？”内特问道。

The ogre laughed. "Everything!" He stepped aside. Bradley and his cardboard box waddled through the door. Brian was right behind him, pushing his way in. Lucy was next, and Nate came last. He took very small steps.

食人魔笑了。“一切!”他站到一边。 布拉德利和他的纸板箱摇摇摆摆地走进门来。 布莱恩就在他后面，想挤进去。 露西是下一个，内特是最后一个。 他迈出了很小的一步。

The first thing Bradley noticed was the fog. It was like walking into a cloud. Foggy mist was all around them. Bradley could barely see his feet. "Follow the green footprints," the ogre said. Then the door creaked shut, and the kids were alone. "What green footprints?" Bradley whispered. The four kids were standing in the dark. Tiny lights on the ceiling blinked on and off through the mist. "It's so quiet in here!" Bradley whispered. He wondered where all the other kids were. Suddenly a tall witch appeared out of the mist. She shone a light into Bradley's eyes. Bradley gulped. "Where did you come from?" he asked. "From a daaaaarrrrk plaaaace," the witch hissed. Brian and Lucy giggled. Nate moaned. The witch wore a long black dress and a pointy hat. Bradley was sure he saw spiders crawling in her tangled hair. She had a crooked nose, a hairy wart, and gross teeth.

布拉德利首先注意到的是雾。 就像走进了一片云。 雾气笼罩着他们。 布拉德利几乎看不见自己的脚。 “跟着绿脚印走。”食人魔说。 然后门嘎吱嘎吱地关上了，只剩下孩子们。 “什么绿色脚印？”布拉德利低声说。 四个孩子站在黑暗中。 天花板上的小灯在雾中忽明忽暗地闪烁着。 “这里好安静！”布拉德利低声说。 他想知道其他孩子都到哪里去了。 突然，一个高大的女巫从雾中出现。 她用灯光照着布拉德利的眼睛。 布拉德利一饮而尽。“你从哪里来？”他问。 “从一个可怕的地方来的。”女巫嘶嘶地说。 布莱恩和露西咯咯地笑。内特抱怨道。 女巫穿着一件黑色长裙，戴着一顶尖尖的帽子。 布拉德利确信他看到蜘蛛在她纠结的头发里爬。 她的鼻子歪歪扭扭，长着一颗毛茸茸的疣，牙齿粗糙。

"You're late!" the witch said. She reached a skinny hand toward Bradley. Her fingernails were long and black. "Give me your hand!" "No way!" Bradley said. "Chill out," the witch said. "I just want to take you to the green footprints. Follow me." The four kids followed the witch into the gloomy place. "Um, Miss Witch?" Bradley said. "What happened to the other kids who came in here?" "No questions!" she said, pointing to the floor. "Just follow these footprints!" Then the witch walked away. "Why is she so crabby?" Nate asked. Bradley saw big green footprints on the floor, glowing in the dark.

“你迟到了！”女巫说。 她向布拉德利伸出瘦削的手。 她的指甲又长又黑。 “把手给我！”“不可能!”布拉德利说。 “冷静点，”女巫说。 “我只想带你去绿色的足迹。” 跟我来。”四个孩子跟着女巫走进了阴暗的地方。 “嗯，女巫小姐？”布拉德利说。 “其他来这里的孩子怎么样了？”“没有问题！”她指着地板说。 “跟着这些脚印走！”然后女巫走开了。 “她怎么这么暴躁？”内特问道。 布拉德利看到地板上有大大的绿色脚印，在黑暗中发光。