Chapter 1

THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS Nutty Study Buddies From the co-creator of VeggieTales Mike Nawrocki Illustrated by Luke Seguin-Magee

死海松鼠坚果学习伙伴来自VeggieTales的共同创造者Mike Nawrocki，由Luke Seguin-Magee绘制

CHAPTER 1 "Merle! Wake up, Merle!" Merle Squirrel heard his wife, Pearl, calling him softly. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by Pearl, Michael, Justin, and Sadie. "What happened? Where am I?" Merle asked groggily. The last thing he remembered was being in the lunchroom of Walnut Creek Elementary School munching on a chicken nugget. "We're back home, Merle," Michael said.

第一章“莫尔！醒醒吧，莫尔！”松鼠莫尔听见他的妻子珠儿在轻声叫他。 他慢慢睁开眼睛，发现自己被珍珠、迈克尔、贾斯汀和赛迪包围着。 “发生了什么事?我在哪儿？”莫尔昏昏沉沉地问。 他记得的最后一件事是在核桃溪小学的餐厅里大嚼鸡块。 “我们回家了，莫尔。”迈克尔说。

"I think my news was a little too much for you." Sadie smiled at him. Sadie had discovered that the squirrels had witnessed the Sermon on the Mount firstpaw (which is like firsthand, except for squirrels), which meant that they must have been suspended in time in a cave by the Dead Sea for nearly 2,000 years. Merle and Pearl knew the world was much different now than the one they remembered, but knowing just how much time had passed had overwhelmed Merle. "I didn't know squirrels could faint," Justin said. "I've seen goats do it." Justin stiffened his limbs and fell sideways onto the bed. "You'd faint too if you realized you were 2,000 years old," Merle answered. "It's not natural. Squirrels usually go for a few decades, tops."

“我想我的消息对你来说有点太多了。” 赛迪对他笑了笑。赛迪发现松鼠们亲眼目睹了登山宝训（除了松鼠，这就像是亲眼目睹的），这意味着它们一定是在死海边的一个山洞里被悬吊了近2000年。 梅尔和珀尔知道，现在的世界与他们记忆中的世界大不相同，但知道时间已经过去了这么久，梅尔还是不知所措。 “我不知道松鼠也会晕倒，”贾斯汀说。 “我见过山羊这样做。”贾斯汀僵住四肢，侧身倒在床上。 “如果你意识到自己已经2000岁了，你也会晕过去的，”梅尔回答。 “这是不自然的。松鼠通常最多活几十年。”

"We've got Methuselah beat by a long shot!" Pearl said proudly. "But we were asleep for most of it, so I'm not sure it counts for the record." "This is huge, guys," Sadie said. "Michael, we need to tell your dad. He'll know what to do." "No way!" Michael said. "I would get so busted. I just got done being grounded for getting lost in the cave. I don't know what Dad would do if he found out I smuggled back talking artifacts!" "I resent being called an artifact." Merle sniffed. "Makes me feel old." "You are old, dear." Pearl patted his paw. "What if they have to go back to the Dead Sea?" Michael said. "I don't wanna go back there!" Merle protested. "It's too hot!" "We're not even from there. We were just on 'vacation,'" Pearl said, making air quotes with her paws. "I like it here, where there are trees and nuts and chicken nuggets," Merle said. "Don't make us go back!" "Nobody's making anybody go back." Michael crossed his arms. "You can hide out in my backpack. No one needs to know." "Michael," Sadie said, "they can't hide in your backpack forever." "No offense to your backpack," Pearl agreed, "but it is a little snug."

“我们以很大的优势击败了玛土撒拉！”珠儿骄傲地说。 “但我们大部分时间都在睡觉，所以我不确定这算不算记录。” “这是件大事，伙计们，”赛迪说。 “迈克尔，我们得告诉你爸爸。 他知道该怎么做。”“不可能!”迈克尔说。 “我会被逮个正着。我刚受够了因为在山洞里迷路而被禁足。 我不知道如果爸爸发现我偷偷带回来会说话的神器，他会怎么做！”“我讨厌被人称作神器。” 默尔闻了闻。“让我觉得自己老了。” “你老了，亲爱的。”珠儿拍了拍他的爪子。 “如果他们不得不回到死海怎么办？”迈克尔说。 “我不想回去！”默尔抗议道。 “太热了！”“我们甚至都不是那里的人。 我们只是在‘度假’，”珀尔说着，用爪子在空中打了个引号。 “我喜欢这里，这里有树、坚果和鸡块，”梅尔说。 “别逼我们回去！”“没人会让任何人回去。” 迈克尔交叉着双臂。“你可以躲在我的背包里。 没人需要知道。”“迈克尔，”赛迪说，“它们不能永远藏在你的背包里。” “我无意冒犯你的背包，”珀尔表示赞同，“但它有点紧。”

"Well, Jane will be at school tomorrow, so maybe you guys can hang out in my room," Michael suggested. Michael's little sister, Jane, attended preschool three days a week. While she was at school, the family cat, Mr. Nemesis, stayed closed up in her room. "Good idea," Merle said. "While you're at school tomorrow, we'll stay here and come up with a plan for where to settle down." "Squirrel witness protection! It's like a spy movie!" Justin said. "I like it!" "Well, we should get going, Justin," Sadie said. "We all have a math test to study for." "Don't remind me!" Michael groaned as Sadie and Justin headed out.

“嗯，简明天会在学校，所以也许你们可以在我的房间里玩。”迈克尔建议道。 迈克尔的妹妹简每周上三天学前班。 当她在学校的时候，家里的猫，克星先生，一直关在她的房间里。 “好主意，”梅尔说。“明天你在学校的时候，我们就呆在这里，想一个在哪里安顿下来的计划。” “松鼠证人保护！”这就像一部间谍电影！”贾斯汀说。 “我喜欢！”“好了，我们该走了，贾斯汀。”赛迪说。 “我们都有数学考试要准备。” “别提醒我！”迈克尔呻吟着，赛迪和贾斯汀走了出去。