7. Bunny in a Boat

Chapter 7 Bunny in a Boat The kids hiked on River Road, along Indian River. The sun shone brightly on the snow and the water. "How far is it to the bait shop?" Lucy asked. "It's just up the river, past the middle school," Bradley said. Soon they saw the bait shop. It was a small wooden building with windows facing the river. Smoke came from a chimney. A black pickup truck sat next to the shop. "I hear a noise," Nate said. They all did. THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! The kids walked around the building to the entrance. A tall man with a beard was chopping wood. His nose was red and his breath was white.

第七章船上的兔子孩子们沿着印度河在河路上徒步旅行。 阳光灿烂地照在雪地和水面上。 “到鱼饵店有多远？”露西问。 “就在河的上游，过了中学就到了，”布拉德利说。 很快他们看到了鱼饵店。 那是一座小木屋，窗户对着河。 烟从烟囱里冒出来。 一辆黑色皮卡停在商店旁边。 “我听到有声音，”内特说。 他们都这么做了。啪的一声,啪的一声,啪的一声,孩子们绕着大楼走到入口处。 一个留着胡子的高个子男人正在砍柴。 他的鼻子是红的，呼吸是白的。

"Hi, Mr. Pinkowski," Bradley said. The man looked up and smiled. He set his ax down and wiped his face with a handkerchief. "Hi, kids." He smiled at Lucy. "Have we met?" "This is Lucy," Bradley said. "She's Dink's cousin from California." Ron put out his hand and they shook. "You kids want to buy some bait?" he asked. "No, but we have a question for you," Bradley said. "Do you know anyone with a black-and-white rabbit?" He handed Ron the pictures.

“你好，平考斯基先生，”布拉德利说。 那人抬起头，笑了。 他放下斧头，用手帕擦了擦脸。 “你好,孩子们。”他朝露茜笑了笑。 “我们见过面吗？”“我是露西，”布拉德利说。 “她是丁克从加利福尼亚来的表妹。” 罗恩伸出手，他们握了握手。 “你们想买些鱼饵吗？”他问。 “没有，但我们有个问题要问你，”布拉德利说。 “你认识养黑白兔子的人吗？”他把照片递给罗恩。

"Well, he's sitting in one of my boats, all right," Ron said. "But I've never seen the bunny before." The kids told Ron about finding the rabbit in the closet at school. They explained that Douglas wouldn't eat and told him what the vet said.

“嗯，他坐在我的一条船上，没错。”罗恩说。 “但是我从来没见过兔子。” 孩子们告诉罗恩在学校的壁橱里找到兔子的事。 他们解释说道格拉斯不肯吃东西，并把兽医的话告诉了他。

Ron pulled on his nose. "I wish I could help," he said. "Have you tried asking at the pet shop on Main Street?" "Yes, but they don't know the rabbit, either," Lucy said. "Wait a second," Ron said. "My wife might have rented out the boat." He pulled out a cell phone and punched in some numbers. "Honey, it's me at the shop. Do you remember renting one of the boats to a guy with a rabbit? You did? Who was it, do you remember? The Pinto twins and their friends are here trying to find the rabbit's owner." Ron listened for another minute, then said good-bye. "My wife says it was an older man with white hair," he told the kids. "He rented the boat last summer." "Did your wife write down his name?" Bradley asked. He had his fingers crossed. Ron nodded his head. "Yep, we always take names when we rent boats," he said. "But it's tax time. We sent all our paperwork to our accountant.

罗恩捏了捏鼻子。“我希望我能帮上忙，”他说。 “你在大街上的宠物店问过吗？”“是的，但他们也不认识那只兔子。”露茜说。 “等一下。”罗恩说。 “我妻子可能把船租出去了。” 他拿出手机，输入了一些数字。 “亲爱的，是我在商店。 你还记得把其中一艘船租给一个带兔子的人吗？ 你做了吗?是谁，你还记得吗？ 平托双胞胎和他们的朋友正在这里寻找兔子的主人。” 罗恩又听了一分钟，然后说再见。 “我妻子说那是一个白发老人，”他告诉孩子们。 “他去年夏天租了这条船。” “你妻子记下他的名字了吗？”布拉德利问。 他祈求好运。 罗恩点了点头。“是的，我们租船的时候总是取名字，”他说。 “但现在是缴税时间。我们把所有的文件都寄给了会计。

The slip of paper with his name on it is in a box with hundreds of others." The kids thanked Ron Pinkowski and left. A cold wind blew off the river. A few small snowflakes flew into their faces. Bradley felt his stomach sink. They were running out of clues and time. Someone in this town has to know who owns Douglas, he thought. Then he realized there was a person in town who knew everyone! "Come on, we're going to Ellie's Diner!" Bradley yelled into the wind. "I don't have any money," Nate said. "We're going there to talk to Ellie," Bradley said. "She knows everyone, so maybe she knows rabbits, too!" Cutting across the school grounds, it took them only a few minutes to reach the diner. The inside was warm and smelled like doughnuts. They sat in a booth by the window and took off their mittens. "Hi, kids," Ellie said. She was wiping a shelf where she kept doughnuts, cookies, and bagels.

那张写着他名字的纸条和其他几百张纸条一起放在一个盒子里。” 孩子们谢了罗恩·平科夫斯基，然后离开了。 一阵冷风从河上吹来。 几朵小雪花飞到他们的脸上。 布拉德利感到他的胃在下沉。 他们已经没有线索和时间了。 镇上一定有人知道道格拉斯的主人是谁，他想。 然后他意识到镇上有一个人认识所有的人！“来吧，我们要去艾丽餐厅！”布拉德利对着风喊道。 “我没有钱，”内特说。 “我们要去那里和埃莉谈谈，”布拉德利说。 “她认识每个人，所以也许她也认识兔子！”穿过学校场地，他们只花了几分钟就到了餐厅。 里面很暖和，闻起来像甜甜圈。 他们坐在窗边的一个小隔间里，摘下了连指手套。 “嗨，孩子们，”艾莉说。她在擦一个架子，架子上放着甜甜圈、饼干和百吉饼。

She placed some cookies on a plate. "Here, eat these. They're left over. If you don't want them, I'll feed them to the squirrels." The kids thanked Ellie and each took a cookie. Bradley pulled out the pictures again. "This is Douglas. We're looking for his owner," he said. He explained how they had found Douglas at school the morning before. "He misses his owner and won't eat," Bradley said. "We think the owner is an older man with white hair," said Nate. Ellie studied the pictures. "I've seen this rabbit," she said.

她把一些饼干放在盘子里。 “给，吃这些。它们是剩下的。 如果你不想吃，我就拿它们喂松鼠。” 孩子们谢了埃莉，每人拿了一块饼干。 布拉德利又拿出了照片。 “我是道格拉斯。我们正在寻找它的主人。”他说。 他解释了前一天早上他们是如何在学校找到道格拉斯的。 布拉德利说：“它想念主人，不吃东西。” “我们认为主人是一位白发苍苍的老人，”内特说。 埃莉研究着这些照片。 “我见过这只兔子，”她说。