13 The Car Wash

The Car Wash written by Pam Holden illustrated by Michael Cashmore-Hingley

《洗车》，作者帕姆·霍尔顿，插画迈克尔·卡什莫尔-辛利

For as long as John could remember, his Dad had driven an old blue truck that rattled and bumped along. But one day he proudly drove home in a shiny, new red car. He gave short rides to all his friends and family, then he took John on a long drive to visit Grandpa. The trip took four hours because Grandpa's town was so far away. For the first hour, Dad and John sang songs together. That was fun, but after an hour, they had sung all the songs they could remember. "How far is it now, Dad?" asked John, looking at the clock near the steering wheel. "We have gone a quarter of the way," Dad answered.

从约翰记事起，他爸爸就开着一辆老旧的蓝色卡车，吱吱嘎嘎地颠簸着行驶。 但是有一天，他骄傲地开着一辆闪亮的红色新车回家了。 他短途载了他所有的朋友和家人，然后他带着约翰开了很长一段路去看望爷爷。 这次旅行花了四个小时，因为爷爷的城镇太远了。 第一个小时，爸爸和约翰一起唱歌。 这很有趣，但一个小时后，他们就把能记住的歌都唱完了。 “现在有多远了，爸爸?”约翰看着方向盘旁边的时钟问。 “我们已经走了四分之一的路了，”爸爸回答。

For the second hour, they took turns telling riddles and jokes. Then they played a guessing game called 'I Spy'. After an hour, they were tired of games. "Are we nearly at Grandpa's town?" John asked. "We are only halfway there," Dad told him, pointing to the clock.

第二个小时，他们轮流讲谜语和笑话。 然后他们玩了一个叫做“我是间谍”的猜谜游戏。 一个小时后，他们玩腻了。 “我们快到爷爷的镇子了吗?”约翰问道。 “我们才走了一半，”爸爸指着钟告诉他。

For the third hour, Dad told stories about the lakes, mountains and forests that they were driving past. "I'm sure we must be getting close now," said John. "No, there is still another hour to drive," answered Dad. "We are three-quarters of the way through the trip. Let's play some nice music on the radio."

在第三个小时里，爸爸讲述了他们开车经过的湖泊、山脉和森林的故事。 “我相信我们现在一定快到了，”约翰说。 “不，还得再开一个小时。”爸爸回答。 “我们已经完成了四分之三的旅程。 让我们在收音机里放一些好听的音乐吧。”

Before long, John fell asleep. He dreamed about huge giants marching over the mountains, fierce animals in the dark forests, and strange monsters swimming in the lakes. While he slept, Dad drove over muddy roads and through deep puddles. His new car was getting covered with splashes of mud, so Dad decided to go to a car wash before arriving at Grandpa's house.

不久，约翰就睡着了。 他梦见巨大的巨人在山上行军，凶猛的动物在黑暗的森林里，奇怪的怪物在湖里游泳。 睡觉的时候，爸爸开车驶过泥泞的道路，穿过深深的水坑。 他的新车溅满了泥，所以爸爸决定在去爷爷家之前先去洗车。

When John woke up, it was as dark as night in the car. At first he thought he must be inside a tunnel or a cave, but outside he saw something frightening. Green jungle vines were slapping against the windows on the left side of the car! Brown branches and leaves were brushing against the windows on the right side! There were strange sounds of swishing and bubbling.

约翰醒来时，车里漆黑一片。 起初他以为自己一定是在隧道或山洞里，但外面他看到了可怕的东西。 绿色的丛林藤蔓拍打着汽车左侧的窗户!棕色的树枝和树叶擦着右边的窗户!有奇怪的嗖嗖声和冒泡声。