Chapter 1

THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS Squirreled Away From the co-creator of VeggieTales Mike Nawrocki Illustrated by Luke Seguin-Magee

死海松鼠从VeggieTales的共同创作者迈克·纳夫罗基身边躲了起来，由卢克·塞根-马吉绘制

CHAPTER 1 ISRAEL, NEAR THE DEAD SEA PRESENT DAY Michael and Justin had been best friends ever since kindergarten, and when our story begins, they were a few days away from being fifth graders at Walnut Creek Elementary School. On this exact day, however, they were exploring a cave in the Middle East. If you're wondering where the Middle East is, look for east on a map and go to the middle. If you can't find east, just take a right at the Mediterranean Sea. And if you're curious about why Michael and Justin were there... we'll get to that later. "What is that?" Michael questioned, pointing his flashlight at something on a small ledge popping out from the rock wall a few feet above Justin's head. "You think it's some kind of animal?" "Whatever it is, it's not moving," Justin replied. "Maybe it's a bat," Michael suggested. "Bats hang upside down," Justin said. "Maybe it's a dead bat? That would be cool." Michael grinned.

第一章以色列死海附近的今天迈克尔和贾斯汀从幼儿园起就是最好的朋友，当我们的故事开始的时候，他们离核桃溪小学五年级还有几天。 然而，就在这一天，他们正在中东的一个洞穴探险。 如果你想知道中东在哪里，在地图上找东方，然后去中间。 如果你找不到东边，就在地中海右转。 如果你好奇迈克尔和贾斯汀为什么会在那里… 我们稍后会讲到。“那是什么？”迈克尔问，用手电指着贾斯廷头顶几英尺高的岩壁上伸出来的一个小岩架上的什么东西。 “你认为它是某种动物吗？”“不管它是什么，它都不会动，”贾斯汀回答。 “也许是一只蝙蝠。”迈克尔建议道。 “蝙蝠倒挂着。”贾斯廷说。 “也许是一只死蝙蝠？”那太酷了。” 迈克尔笑了。

Justin grimaced. "That would be disgusting." "You do know a pet bat would make us the coolest kids in the fifth grade, right?" Michael said. "A dead pet bat?" Justin raised his eyebrows. As the two friends debated the value of a dead bat, the alarm on Justin's wristwatch went off. "Oh no!" Justin said, looking down at the rubbery band around his wrist. "We have to go!" Michael stood on his tiptoes. "Give me a quick boost so I can see what's up there." "We don't have time! If we're late for dinner again, your dad will kill us!" "Relax. We're not going to be late," Michael assured his friend. "Just give me a boost." Justin knew Michael well enough to realize that arguing with him would only waste more time, so he reluctantly assumed the boosting position. Michael placed his right shoe in Justin's cupped hands then stepped up and wedged his left shoe into a small crack in the cave wall. As Michael pushed himself up with his left leg toward the mystery ledge, his foot slipped out of the

贾斯汀扮了个鬼脸。“那太恶心了。” “你知道宠物蝙蝠会让我们成为五年级最酷的孩子，对吧？”迈克尔说。 “一只死去的宠物蝙蝠？”贾斯汀扬起眉毛。 正当两个朋友在争论一只死蝙蝠的价值时，贾斯汀手表上的闹钟响了。 “哦,不!”贾斯汀低头看着手腕上的橡皮筋说。 “我们得走了！”迈克尔踮起脚尖。 “快推我一把，让我看看上面有什么。” “我们没时间了！”如果我们再迟到，你爸爸会杀了我们的！”“放松。 我们不会迟到的。”迈克尔向他的朋友保证。 “给我点动力吧。”贾斯汀很了解迈克尔，他知道和他争论只会浪费更多的时间，所以他不情愿地站在了助推的立场上。 Michael把右脚的鞋子放在Justin的手里，然后走上前，把左脚的鞋子塞进山洞壁上的一个小裂缝里。 正当迈克尔用左腿把自己推到神秘的壁架上时，他的脚滑了出来

crack, and he fell face first into the wall. Justin held helplessly onto Michael's right foot as Michael's face slid down the gravelly wall and onto the dusty cave floor. "Owwwww," Michael groaned, his voice muffled by the dirt. A second alarm sounded on Justin's watch. "Time's up. Let's go!"

啪的一声，他脸朝下摔在墙上。 贾斯汀无助地抓住迈克尔的右脚，迈克尔的脸顺着砾石墙滑到满是灰尘的洞穴地面上。 “哇——”迈克尔呻吟着，他的声音被泥土掩盖了。 贾斯汀的手表上响起了第二次警报。 “时间到了。我们走吧!”