2. Bradley’s Nightmare

Chapter 2 Bradley's Nightmare "You guys were pretty quiet in your room," their father said. "Were you hatching some evil plan?" He grinned. "No, but we think the new neighbors are going to build something in their backyard," Bradley said. "They might cut the tree down!" "How do you know?" their mother asked. She passed a plate full of fried chicken. "Brian is spying on them with the binoculars," Bradley said.

“你们几个在房间里很安静，”他们的父亲说。 “你在策划什么邪恶的计划吗？”他咧嘴一笑。 “没有，但我们认为新邻居会在他们的后院建一些东西，”布拉德利说。 “他们可能会把树砍倒！”“你怎么知道的？”他们的母亲问。 她递过来一盘炸鸡。 “布莱恩正在用双筒望远镜监视他们，”布拉德利说。

"Mr. and Mrs. Sargent are from Florida," the boys' father said, passing the green beans to Josh. "A lot of people in Florida have swimming pools in their yards. Maybe the Sargents are going to put in a swimming pool." "Sweet!" Josh said. "They could hire me to keep it clean." "I'll bet they're going to plant a vegetable garden," Mrs. Pinto said. "I think Martha Sargent misses her garden in Florida." "Mom, it's almost Thanksgiving," Bradley said. "Why would she plant a garden now?" "You're right, honey," his mom said. "I meant in the springtime." "Good, maybe she'll give us some of her vegetables," Mr. Pinto said. "No way!" Josh said. "We don't need more vegetables in this house. Mom makes us eat too many already. One of these days, I'm going to turn green!" "Like Kermit the Frog," Bradley said, grinning at Josh. "I should invite them over for a meal," their mother said. "I think Martha and Ralph miss their

“萨金特夫妇来自佛罗里达，”男孩们的父亲一边说，一边把青豆递给乔希。 “佛罗里达州很多人的院子里都有游泳池。 也许中士们打算建一个游泳池。” “甜!”杰克说。“他们可以雇我来保持清洁。” 平托太太说：“我敢打赌他们会在花园里种蔬菜。” “我想玛莎·萨金特想念她在佛罗里达的花园。” “妈妈，快到感恩节了，”布拉德利说。 “她为什么现在要种花园呢？”“你说得对，宝贝，”他妈妈说。 “我是说在春天。” “很好，也许她会给我们一些她的蔬菜，”平托说。 “不可能!”杰克说。“我们家不需要更多的蔬菜了。 妈妈已经让我们吃太多了。 总有一天，我会变成绿色的！”“就像青蛙科米特，”布拉德利说，咧嘴对着乔希笑。 “我应该请他们过来吃饭，”他们的母亲说。 “我想玛莎和拉尔夫想念他们的

kids and grandkids." "Just don't invite their dog," Josh said. "He'd eat us!" After supper, Bradley and Brian went upstairs. Brian stepped into the bathroom, and Bradley went into their bedroom and picked up his book. "I can't wait for Thanksgiving," he said. "Only a few more days!" "Me too," Brian said. He came out of the bathroom, wiping toothpaste off his chin. "Pumpkin pie! Ice cream! Mashed potatoes!" He knelt in front of the window and looked outside. "Oh my gosh! Bradley, come and see!" Bradley jumped off his bed and knelt next to Brian. The dead tree was hidden from sight. The neighbors had draped a huge blue tarp around the tree. The tarp hung from the branches all the way to the ground. It was like a big blue tent with the tree inside. Suddenly a light went on inside the tarp, making it glow. Mr. and Mrs. Sargent were in there. Bradley could see their shapes moving around.

孩子和孙子。”“别邀请他们的狗，”乔希说。 “他会吃掉我们的！”晚饭后，布拉德利和布莱恩上了楼。 布赖恩走进浴室，布拉德利走进他们的卧室，拿起他的书。 “我等不及感恩节了，”他说。 “再过几天就好了！”“我也是，”布莱恩说。 他从浴室出来，擦去下巴上的牙膏。 “南瓜饼!冰淇淋!土豆泥!”他跪在窗前向外望去。 “哦，我的天哪！布拉德利，快来看！”布拉德利从床上跳下来，跪在布莱恩旁边。 那棵枯树藏得看不见。 邻居们在树周围盖了一块巨大的蓝色篷布。 篷布从树枝上一直垂到地面。 它就像一个大大的蓝色帐篷，里面有棵树。 突然，防水布里面亮了一盏灯，把它照亮了。 萨金特夫妇在里面。 布拉德利可以看到他们的身影在四处移动。

"I don't think they're building a swimming pool," Brian whispered. "And they're not making a garden, either," Bradley said. "So what are they doing?" "What if Mr. and Mrs. Sargent are spies?" Brian whispered. "Or bank robbers! Maybe they're burying money they stole in their latest robbery! We need to get inside that tarp!" "We?" Bradley said.

“我想他们不是在建游泳池，”布莱恩低声说。 “他们也不是在造花园，”布拉德利说。 “那么他们在做什么呢？”“万一萨金特夫妇是间谍呢？”布莱恩低声说。 “或者银行抢劫犯！”也许他们在埋葬他们在最近一次抢劫中偷来的钱！我们得钻进防水布里去！”“我们?”布拉德利说。

"Yeah, you, me, Lucy, and Nate," Brian said. "Let's call them!" Lucy Armstrong was the cousin of Josh's friend Dink. She was staying with Dink's family for a

“是的，你，我，露西和内特，”布莱恩说。 “我们给他们打电话吧！”露西·阿姆斯特朗是乔希的朋友丁克的表妹。 她在丁克家住了

year while her parents worked on a Native American reservation in Arizona. Nate's older sister, Ruth Rose, was Josh's other best friend. His family lived next door to Dink, so all the kids were friends. Bradley looked at the clock. "It's too late to call," he said. "But we'll see them tomorrow morning at school." He changed into his pajamas. "There is something weird about our new neighbors," Brian said. "And we're going to find out what!" Bradley fell asleep thinking about what could be going on inside the strange blue tarp. He dreamed that he was climbing over the fence to get a closer look. Suddenly the giant black dog appeared out of the night. It leaped on Bradley and started to— Bradley woke up screaming. "It's only a nightmare," he whispered to himself. But it had seemed so real! Bradley closed his eyes and thought about Thanksgiving pumpkin pie and ice cream. Finally, he went back to sleep.

那年，她的父母在亚利桑那州的印第安人保留区工作。 内特的姐姐露丝·罗斯是乔什的另一个好朋友。 他家就住在丁克隔壁，所以所有的孩子都是朋友。 布拉德利看了看钟。 “现在打电话太晚了，”他说。 “但是我们明天早上在学校见到他们。” 他换上睡衣。 “我们的新邻居有点奇怪，”布莱恩说。 “我们要弄清楚是什么！”布拉德利睡着了，想着奇怪的蓝色篷布里可能发生了什么。 他梦见自己爬过栅栏，想近距离看一看。 突然，那只巨大的黑狗从黑夜中出现了。 它跳到布拉德利身上，开始——布拉德利尖叫着醒来。 “这只是一场噩梦。”他低声对自己说。 但这一切似乎是那么真实！布拉德利闭上眼睛，想着感恩节的南瓜派和冰淇淋。 最后，他又睡着了。