Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 When you're a squirrel from the Middle East who's been frozen in time for who knows how long, a fifth-grade classroom in modern-day middle Tennessee can be a

第十章如果你是一只来自中东的松鼠，被时间冻结了不知道多久，现代田纳西州中部五年级的一间教室可能会成为一个

fascinating place. Merle spent the morning peeking out of Michael's backpack, oohing and ahhing at all the amazing gadgets around him, while Pearl tried her best to keep him from being seen. From pencil sharpeners to smart boards to the teacher's laptop computer, Merle had no idea what all this stuff was and what it did, but he was very interested in finding out. After all, he was a squirrel who was good with his paws, and he'd enjoyed building things ever since he was a kit. He'd built the raft that had carried him and Pearl down the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. And while you could argue that the Dead Sea was not the best place in the world for two squirrels to vacation, there was no denying that it had been a fine raft, a fact Merle constantly reminded Pearl of. "Pearl!" Merle whispered. "Look at that contraption on the wall. The kids put a dull stick in, and it makes a kind of strange chewing noise. After a few seconds, it comes out a sharp stick!" "I don't see why a stick sharpener is necessary," Pearl said. "Are you kidding me? I could build tons of stuff with sharp sticks!" Merle exclaimed. "Like what?" "I don't know specifically at the moment, but I could figure something out."

迷人的地方。梅尔整个早上都在从迈克尔的背包里往外看，对着他周围那些神奇的小玩意啧啧称奇，而珀尔则尽力不让他被人看见。 从卷笔刀到智能板，再到老师的笔记本电脑，梅尔不知道这些东西是什么，有什么用，但他很想知道。 毕竟，他是一只善于用爪子的松鼠，从他还是个工具包的时候起，他就喜欢建造东西。 他造的木筏载着他和珠儿从约旦河顺流而下，来到死海。 虽然你可能会说死海不是世界上最适合两只松鼠度假的地方，但不可否认的是，那是一个很好的木筏，莫尔经常提醒珠儿这一点。 “珠儿!”默尔低声说。“看墙上那个精巧的装置。 孩子们把一根钝木棍放进去，它发出一种奇怪的咀嚼声。 几秒钟后，它就变成了一根锋利的棍子！”“我不明白为什么磨刀刀是必要的，”珍珠说。 “你在开玩笑吧？”我可以用锋利的树枝建造成吨的东西！”默尔喊道。 “像什么?”“我现在还不知道具体是什么，但我可以想出一些办法。”

"Shhhhh!" Pearl shushed her husband. "Keep your voice down." "I'm telling you, Pearl, this place is amazing!" Merle whispered. "If I hadn't gotten us lost in that cave, we would have never found this place! You're welcome." Pearl sniffed. "If it means spending every day in a backpack, I'm not ready to thank you, Merle." "True." Merle poked his head out of the backpack. "Pssssst! Michael! When's lunch?" Michael looked around, terrified that someone might have heard or seen Merle. Thankfully, no one had. "Soon!" Michael whispered. "Now get down and be quiet!"

“嘘!”珠儿让她丈夫安静下来。 “小声点。”“我跟你说，珀尔，这地方太棒了！”默尔低声说。 “要不是我让大家在那个山洞里迷了路，我们永远也找不到这个地方！”欢迎你。” 珍珠嗅。“如果这意味着每天都要在背包里度过，我可不想谢谢你，莫尔。” “真的。”莫尔从背包里探出头来。 “Pssssst !迈克尔!午餐是什么时候?”迈克尔环顾四周，害怕有人听到或看到莫尔。 谢天谢地，没有人这么做。“快!”迈克尔低声说。 “现在给我下来，保持安静！”