1. The Flying Fortunatos

Calendar Mysteries August Acrobat by Ron Roy

罗恩·罗伊的《八月杂技》

Chapter 1 The Flying Fortunatos Bradley Pinto pushed open the door of the Shangri-la Hotel. Inside, the lobby was quiet and cool. Comfortable furniture was placed around a big red carpet. A ceiling fan hummed, blowing air through the room. Behind the hotel counter stood Mr. Linkletter. He calmly watched as Bradley walked toward him. "Hi, Mr. Linkletter," Bradley said. He flashed his best smile.

布莱德利·平托推开了香格里拉饭店的门。 在里面，大厅安静而凉爽。 大红地毯周围摆放着舒适的家具。 吊扇嗡嗡作响，把空气吹进了房间。 林克莱特先生站在旅馆柜台后面。 他平静地看着布拉德利朝他走来。 “你好，林克莱特先生，”布拉德利说。 他露出了最美好的笑容。

Everyone in Green Lawn liked Mr. Linkletter, even though he almost never smiled. His mustache did wrinkle a little now and then, however. Bradley noticed that the mustache was wrinkling now. That was almost a smile! "Good morning, young Mr. Pinto," Mr. Linkletter said. "Are you Bradley or Brian?" "I'm Bradley," Bradley said. "How does your family tell you two apart?" Bradley grinned. "Our freckles are different," he said. Mr. Linkletter blinked once, then nodded. He shoved the hotel register book in front of Bradley. "Checking in?" he asked. "How long will you be staying?" Bradley laughed. "You're joking with me, right?" "I never joke," Mr. Linkletter said. But the mustache moved upward, and his kind eyes gleamed. "Why are you here, Mr. Bradley?" Bradley pulled a pile of tickets from his pocket. They were held together with a rubber band. He removed one ticket and showed it to Mr.

绿草坪的每个人都喜欢林克莱特先生，尽管他几乎从不笑。 不过，他的胡子偶尔也会起一点皱。 布拉德利注意到他的胡子开始皱起来了。 那几乎是一个微笑！“早上好，年轻的平托先生，”林克莱特先生说。 “你是布拉德利还是布莱恩？”“我叫布拉德利，”布拉德利说。 “你的家人是怎么区分你们俩的？”布拉德利咧嘴一笑。 “我们的雀斑是不同的，”他说。 林克莱特眨了眨眼睛，然后点了点头。 他把旅馆登记簿塞到布拉德利面前。 “登记入住？”他问。“你要住多久？”布拉德利笑了。 “你是在跟我开玩笑吧？”“我从不开玩笑，”林克莱特说。 但他的胡子向上翘了翘，和善的眼睛里闪烁着光芒。 “你为什么在这里，布拉德利先生？”布拉德利从口袋里掏出一叠票。 他们用橡皮筋绑在一起。 他取下一张票，拿给他看。

Linkletter. "Would you like to buy a ticket?" he asked. "They're two dollars each." Mr. Linkletter took the ticket and read what was printed on the blue paper. "Who are the Flying Fortunatos?" he asked. "It's like a circus," Bradley explained. "They're acrobats… I think. Anyway, they're coming to town Monday. Brian, Nate, Lucy, and I are selling tickets!" Mr. Linkletter's eyebrows moved up toward his hair, like two jumping caterpillars. "Why?" he asked Bradley. "Why what?" Bradley asked right back. "Why are you selling tickets for the Flying Fortunatos?" "Oh. See, Brian read in one of his comics that the circus was looking for kids to sell tickets, so he signed us up for one hundred," Bradley explained. He held up his stack. "We each have to sell twenty-five," he added. "If we sell them all, we get in free! Plus we get free popcorn and hot dogs. I really like hot dogs!"

总是飞来。“你想买票吗？”他问。 “每个两美元。” 林克莱特先生接过票，读了蓝纸上的字。 “谁是会飞的福图纳托斯？”他问。 “这就像一个马戏团，”布拉德利解释道。 “他们是杂技演员……我想。” 不管怎样，他们星期一要进城。 布莱恩、内特、露西和我在卖票！”林克莱特的眉毛向上移向头发，就像两只跳跃的毛毛虫。 “为什么？”他问布拉德利。“为什么?”布拉德利马上反问。 “你为什么要卖飞天星的票？”“哦。 布莱恩在他的漫画中读到马戏团在找孩子卖票，所以他给我们签了100张票，”布拉德利解释说。 他举起他的那堆东西。“我们每人得卖25个，”他补充说。 “如果我们把它们都卖了，我们就免费进去了！”而且我们还有免费的爆米花和热狗。 我真的很喜欢热狗！”

Mr. Linkletter gazed down at Bradley for a moment. Finally, the mustache twitched. "I'll take four," Mr. Linkletter said, reaching for his wallet. "My three nephews will be my guests." "Awesome, thank you!" Bradley shouted. He pulled three more tickets out and slid them toward Mr. Linkletter. Mr. Linkletter handed Bradley eight crisp dollar bills. "You're very welcome," he said, slipping the tickets into his suit jacket pocket. "Where will you go next?" Bradley glanced out the window. "The town hall, I guess," he said. "I have this whole section of town." "The town hall is closed on Saturday," Mr. Linkletter said. He leaned over the counter. "Try the senior center. I have a feeling those folks would like to see flying acrobats." His mustache wrinkled. "And they really like hot dogs, too." "Thanks again, Mr. Linkletter," Bradley said. He took his twenty-one tickets and flew out the door.

林克莱特先生盯着布拉德利看了一会儿。 最后，胡子抽动了一下。 “我要四个，”林克莱特说着，伸手去拿他的钱包。 “我的三个侄子将是我的客人。” “太棒了，谢谢！”布拉德利喊道。 他又抽出三张票，递给林克莱特。 林克莱特递给布拉德利八张崭新的美钞。 “不用谢，”他边说边把票塞进西装口袋里。 “你接下来要去哪里？”布拉德利朝窗外看了一眼。 “我想是市政厅吧，”他说。 “我有整个镇子的地盘。” “市政厅周六关门，”林克莱特说。 他靠在柜台上。 “去老年中心试试。我有一种感觉，那些人喜欢看会飞的杂技演员。” 他的胡子皱了起来。“他们也很喜欢热狗。” “再次感谢，林克莱特先生，”布拉德利说。 他拿着他的21张票飞出门去了。