7. Bradley Fights Back

Chapter 7 Bradley Fights Back In the car, Bradley sat between Josh and Brian. His parents were up front, chatting away. No one else noticed that Mom's shoes were soaking wet. Brian didn't seem to care that their mother was acting very strangely. Josh and Dad were talking about getting night crawlers and going fishing.

在车里，布拉德利坐在乔什和布莱恩之间。 他的父母在前面聊天。 没有人注意到妈妈的鞋子湿透了。 布莱恩似乎并不在意他们的母亲表现得很奇怪。 乔什和爸爸在说捉夜行动物去钓鱼。

Am I the only one who cares that Mom is acting like a duck? Bradley asked himself. So what if Hypo made her look human again—she's still a duck! The sun was out again when they got home. Bradley went right to the phone and called Nate. "Can you come over?" he asked his friend. "It's real important! And get Lucy!" When Bradley got to his room, Brian was on his bed, playing with an action figure. Pal was on the floor, sleeping on a pile of Brian's dirty clothes. "I called Nate," Bradley said. "He and Lucy are coming over. We have to talk." "About what?" Brian asked. "About what?" Bradley repeated, not believing his ears. "Didn't you see Mom splashing in a puddle at the restaurant? And did you hear her talking to those ducks?" "I think it's cool," Brian said, looking through his pile of comics. "And I'll bet you anything she lets me get ducks now. I might even let you help me take care of them. With all the money I make, I'll pay you a dollar an hour!"

难道只有我一个人在意妈妈表现得像只鸭子吗？ 布拉德利问自己。如果海波把她变成了人类又怎么样——她还是一只鸭子！他们到家时，太阳又出来了。 布拉德利直接拿起电话给内特打电话。 “你能过来吗？”他问他的朋友。 “这真的很重要！去找露西！”当布拉德利回到他的房间时，布莱恩正在床上玩一个玩偶。 帕尔躺在地板上，睡在一堆布莱恩的脏衣服上。 “我给内特打了电话，”布拉德利说。 “他和露西过来了。 我们必须谈谈。”“什么?”布莱恩问。 “什么?”布拉德利重复道，不相信自己的耳朵。 “你没看见妈妈在餐馆的水坑里戏水吗？” 你听见她和那些鸭子说话了吗？”“我觉得很酷，”布莱恩一边说，一边翻看着他那堆漫画。 “我敢跟你打赌，她现在让我捉鸭子了。 我甚至可能让你帮我照顾他们。 我赚了那么多钱，我每小时付给你一美元！”

Bradley just shook his head. He got out of his good clothes and hung them in his closet. He put on his jeans and a sweatshirt. Just then the doorbell rang. "Got it!" Josh yelled. Bradley could hear Josh's big feet running to open the door. "Hi, Nate. Hi, Lucy. The twins are upstairs." A minute later Nate and Lucy walked into the room. "What's going on?" Nate asked. "You sounded weird on the phone, Bradley." "That's because he is weird," Brian said. He flopped on his bed and picked up a comic book. "What's wrong with your mom?" Lucy asked. "She usually asks how we are, then reminds us to wipe our feet. She didn't say anything today." "Yeah," Nate said. "She's just standing at the sink with her hands in the dishwater." "See?" Bradley said to his brother. "They noticed, and they don't even live here!" "Noticed what?" Nate asked. "Ever since we got home from the high school last night, Mom's been acting strange," Bradley

布拉德利只是摇了摇头。 他把好衣服脱下来挂在衣橱里。 他穿上牛仔裤和运动衫。 就在这时，门铃响了。 “明白了!”杰克喊道。布拉德利能听到乔希的大脚跑去开门。 “嗨,内特。嗨,露西。双胞胎在楼上。” 一分钟后，内特和露西走进了房间。 “发生什么事了？”内特问道。 “你在电话里听起来怪怪的，布拉德利。” “那是因为他很奇怪，”布莱恩说。 他扑通一声躺在床上，拿起一本漫画书。 “你妈妈怎么了？”露西问。 她通常会问我们怎么样，然后提醒我们把脚擦干净。 她今天什么也没说。” “是的，”内特说。“她只是站在水池边，双手放在洗碗水里。” “看到了吗?”布拉德利对他哥哥说。 “他们注意到了，他们甚至不住在这里！”“发现什么?”内特问道。 “自从我们昨晚从高中回到家，妈妈就一直很奇怪，”布拉德利说

said. He shot his brother a look. "And Brian doesn't even care." Brian dropped his comic. "I do too care," he said. "But I just… I mean I want…" "Mom has been acting like a duck," Bradley said. "Since Hypo hypnotized her." "But it was just a trick," Lucy said. "Do you really believe that white duck was your mom?" "Guys, the duck was wearing Mom's nail polish and her new bracelet!" Bradley said. "Mom became a duck!" "Anyway, Hypo hypnotized her a second time, and she was fine," Brian said.

说。他看了他弟弟一眼。 “而布莱恩根本不在乎。” 布莱恩扔掉了他的漫画。“我太在乎了，”他说。 “但我只是……我的意思是我想……”“妈妈表现得像只鸭子，”布拉德利说。 “自从Hypo催眠了她之后。” “但这只是一个骗局。”露茜说。 “你真的相信那只白鸭子是你妈妈吗？”“伙计们，鸭子身上涂着妈妈的指甲油，还戴着妈妈的新手链！”布拉德利说。 “妈妈变成了鸭子！”“不管怎样，Hypo第二次催眠了她，她没事了，”布莱恩说。

"SHE'S FINE?" Bradley yelled. "Then how do you explain why she's always wet?" He told Nate and Lucy how Mrs. Pinto was splashing in the tub and in the puddle. "Wow," Nate said. "That's ducky." Bradley glared at him. "And tell them how all this started, Brian," Bradley went on. He picked up one of Brian's comics and pointed at the ad about ducks. "Tell them about this!"

“她很好吗?”布拉德利喊道。 “那你怎么解释她为什么总是湿的？”他告诉内特和露西，平托太太是如何在浴缸和水坑里戏水的。 “哇，”内特说。“这是极好的。” 布拉德利怒视着他。“告诉他们这一切是怎么开始的，布莱恩，”布拉德利继续说。 他拿起布莱恩的漫画，指着关于鸭子的广告。 “把这事告诉他们！”

Bradley, Nate, and Lucy stared at Brian, who had turned red. "I want to get some ducks," he said. "The guy in the ad says you can collect their feathers and make money. So I asked our mom, and she said no. I'm too young, she says, and she hates ducks." "So my brilliant brother gets Hypo to hypnotize her," Bradley added. "Suddenly my mother loves ducks. She talks to them and feeds them and plays with rubber ones in the tub! She brought corn into the bathroom!" "What are you going to do?" Lucy asked. "I don't know!" Bradley almost shouted. "All I know is I don't want a mom who's half duck!" "Like Spider-Man," Nate said. "This guy got bit by a spider, and he turned into one. But only part of the time. The rest of the—" "We all saw the movie," Bradley said. "That was make-believe. THIS IS REAL!" The four kids were quiet. Bradley was staring out the window. Nate and Lucy were looking at each other. Brian was chewing his bottom lip. Pal was snoring.

布拉德利、内特和露西盯着布莱恩，他的脸涨得通红。 “我想要一些鸭子，”他说。 “广告里的人说你可以收集它们的羽毛来赚钱。 所以我问了我们的妈妈，她说不行。 我太年轻了，她说，而且她讨厌鸭子。” “所以我聪明的哥哥让Hypo来催眠她，”布拉德利补充道。 “我妈妈突然喜欢上了鸭子。 她和他们说话，喂他们，在浴缸里玩橡胶娃娃！她把玉米带进了浴室！”“你打算怎么办？”露西问。 “我不知道！”布拉德利几乎喊了出来。 “我只知道我不想要一个半鸭子的妈妈！”“就像蜘蛛侠，”内特说。 “这家伙被蜘蛛咬了，然后变成了蜘蛛。 但只是部分时间。 剩下的——”“我们都看了电影，”布拉德利说。 “那是假装的。这是真的！”四个孩子都很安静。 布拉德利凝视着窗外。 内特和露西面面相觑。 布莱恩咬着他的下嘴唇。 朋友在打鼾。