7. The Long Neck

Chapter 7 The Long Neck "What do you mean?" Nate asked. "The trap is just the way we left it. Nothing fell in, Bradley." "It's not the way we left it," Bradley said. He opened the gate and ran into the garden. "I left a big strawberry right in the middle of it. Now look!" He held up what was left of the strawberry. A bite had been taken out of it. "I don't believe it!" Brian said. He moved the branches aside and peered down into the hole.

第七章长脖子“你是什么意思？”内特问道。 “陷阱还是我们离开时的样子。 什么也没掉进去，布拉德利。” “这不是我们离开的方式，”布拉德利说。 他打开大门，跑进花园。 “我在它中间放了一个大草莓。 现在看!”他举起剩下的草莓。 它被咬掉了一口。 “我不相信！”布莱恩说。 他把树枝挪到一边，往洞里看。

"Nothing's down there." "Something bit the berry without falling in!" Lucy said. "It has to be some kind of bird," Nate announced. "It just flew in here, took a bite, then flew away again." "I don't think so," Lucy said. "When birds peck at something, their beaks leave tiny holes." She pointed at the strawberry Bradley was holding. "See, half the berry is gone, but there are no beak holes. Some creature took a real bite!" "Maybe it was something with a long neck," Brian said. "It could reach its neck out and take a bite without stepping on the trap!" "Like what?" Bradley scoffed. "A giraffe?" Nate laughed. "No, a python!" "In Connecticut?" Brian asked. Lucy giggled. "Maybe it was an octopus." "They don't have necks," Bradley said. "But they do have all those long arms!" Lucy answered. She waved her arms in the air. Bradley threw the damaged strawberry into the field behind the barn. He kicked a rock into the fence.

“下面什么也没有。”“有什么东西咬了浆果，却没有掉进去！”露西说。 “一定是某种鸟。”内特宣布。 “它只是飞进来，咬了一口，然后又飞走了。” “我可不这么认为。”露茜说。 “当鸟啄东西时，它们的喙会留下一些小洞。” 她指着布拉德利手里拿着的草莓。 “看，一半的浆果不见了，但是没有喙孔。 有什么生物真的咬了我一口！”“也许是长脖子的东西，”布莱恩说。 “它可以伸出脖子，在不踩到陷阱的情况下咬一口！”“像什么?”布拉德利嘲笑。 “长颈鹿?”内特笑了。 “不，是蟒蛇！”“在康涅狄格州?”布莱恩问。 露西咯咯笑了。“也许是一只章鱼。” “它们没有脖子，”布拉德利说。 “但是他们的胳膊很长啊！”露西回答。 她在空中挥动双臂。 布拉德利把坏了的草莓扔到谷仓后面的地里。 他把一块石头踢进篱笆。

"Now what do we do?" Nate asked again. "Now we get mad!" Bradley said. Just then Josh yelled from the house, "Lunch in five minutes, you guys! You too, Nate and Lucy!" "Great, I'm starving!" Nate said. "First we have to do something," Bradley said. "Come with me." He ran into the barn and over to the workbench. "Help me get this down," he said. "What?" Brian asked. "Dad's seine," Bradley said. "What's a seine?" Nate asked. "A big fishing net," Bradley said. "It's that rolled-up thing." The kids tugged the net off the bench. It plopped down on the barn floor. "Our dad showed us how to catch minnows with this thing in the river," Brian said. "It's huge when it's opened." The kids unrolled the net onto the floor. It was a big square, ten feet by ten feet. "What're we going to do with it?" Nate asked. "Cover the strawberries," Bradley said. "Come on, let's drag it outside."

“现在我们该怎么办？”内特又问了一遍。 “现在我们要生气了！”布拉德利说。 就在这时，乔希从屋子里喊道：“五分钟后吃午饭，伙计们！你也是，内特和露西！”“太好了，我饿死了！”内特说。 “首先我们得做点什么，”布拉德利说。 “跟我来。”他跑进谷仓，跑到工作台前。 “帮我把这个弄下来，”他说。 “什么?”布莱恩问。“爸爸的塞纳河，”布拉德利说。 “塞纳河是什么？”内特问道。 “一个大渔网，”布拉德利说。 “就是那个卷起来的东西。” 孩子们把网从长凳上拖了下来。 它扑通一声落在谷仓的地板上。 “爸爸教我们如何用这个东西在河里抓鲦鱼，”布莱恩说。 “它一打开就很大。” 孩子们把网铺在地板上。 这是一个很大的正方形，十英尺乘十英尺。 “我们拿它怎么办？”内特问道。 “盖上草莓，”布拉德利说。 “来吧，我们把它拖到外面去。”

The kids lugged the net through the door, through the gate, and into the garden. "First, let's make sure there are no more bitten berries," Bradley said. They found a few that had been bitten and threw them into the field. Then they each took a corner of the net and dropped it over the strawberry patch. Through the holes in the net, they could see several ripe strawberries. "Something could still crawl under the net," Lucy said. "Not when we're done," Bradley said. "Get those bricks." There was a pile of bricks in the corner of the garden. The kids each grabbed some, and they laid them on the edges of the net, all around. "Nothing is getting under there!" Brian said, wiping his hands on his shorts. "I hope you're right," Bradley said. "Let's go eat!" Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy ran across the yard and into the kitchen. Josh, Dink, and Ruth

孩子们拖着网穿过门，穿过大门，进入花园。 布拉德利说：“首先，我们要确保不再有被咬伤的浆果。” 他们找到了几只被咬过的，把它们扔到田里。 然后他们每个人拿起网的一角，把它扔在草莓地里。 透过网眼，他们可以看到几颗成熟的草莓。 “说不定还有什么东西在网底下爬呢。”露茜说。 布拉德利说：“我们做完了就不会了。” “去拿那些砖头。”花园的角落里有一堆砖。 孩子们每人抓了一些，把它们放在网的边缘，到处都是。 “什么也进不去！”布莱恩边说边在短裤上擦擦手。 “我希望你是对的，”布拉德利说。 “我们去吃饭吧！”布拉德利、布莱恩、内特和露西跑过院子，进了厨房。 乔什，丁克和露丝

Rose were eating tuna sandwiches at the table. Pal was in his favorite spot, next to Josh's feet. Four plates holding sandwiches sat on the counter. Near each plate were a napkin, a glass of milk, and two cookies.

Rose在餐桌上吃金枪鱼三明治。 帕尔在他最喜欢的地方，乔什的脚旁边。 柜台上放着四个盛着三明治的盘子。 每个盘子旁边都放着一张餐巾、一杯牛奶和两块饼干。

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Bradley asked Josh. "Dad went to get a haircut for Father's Day," Josh said. "And Mom is on a secret mission." "Secret?" Brian said. "Cool, tell us!" "She didn't even tell me," Josh said. "Wash your hands, please." "They're clean," Brian said. "We just washed Polly and our hands at the same time." Josh inspected his little brothers' hands. "Wash again now, please. Use a brush on those fingernails." The four younger kids lined up at the sink and washed. "What're you kids doing in the garden?" Dink asked. The four kids took turns explaining how some creature was biting and ruining the strawberries and some of the other stuff. "We built a scarecrow, but that didn't work," Lucy said. "Then we dug a hole in the ground and made a trap, but nothing fell in," Nate said.

“爸爸妈妈在哪儿？”布拉德利问乔希。 “父亲节那天，爸爸去理发了，”乔希说。 “妈妈在执行一项秘密任务。” “秘密?”布莱恩说。“酷，告诉我们！”“她甚至都没告诉我，”乔希说。 “请洗手。” “它们很干净，”布莱恩说。 “我们只是同时洗了波莉和我们的手。” 乔希检查了他弟弟们的手。 “现在请再洗一遍。用刷子刷一下指甲。” 四个小一点的孩子在水池边排队洗脸。 “你们这些孩子在花园里干什么？”丁克问道。 四个孩子轮流解释有什么生物咬坏了草莓和其他一些东西。 “我们做了一个稻草人，但是没用。”露茜说。 “然后我们在地上挖了一个洞，做了一个陷阱，但什么也没掉进去，”内特说。