Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Eventually, most people, if they are wise enough, learn that you are better off dealing with problems sooner rather than later. A problem hardly ever just goes away. Even some kids have learned this lesson. Sadly, Michael was not one of them. No sooner had the broken pieces of the elephant settled on the floor than Michael had collected them in a box and moved them to the garage workshop. "Maybe Mom doesn't need to find out," Michael said. "How could she not?" asked Merle. "This elephant is in a million pieces." "Glue." Michael started pulling drawers open. "What's glue?" Merle asked. "Nothin'. What's glue with you?" Michael laughed. Merle looked puzzled. "What's so funny?"

最终，大多数人，如果他们足够聪明的话，会认识到你最好尽早处理问题。 问题几乎永远不会消失。 甚至一些孩子也学到了这一课。 遗憾的是，迈克尔并不是其中之一。 大象的碎片刚落在地板上，迈克尔就把它们收集到一个盒子里，搬到了车库车间。 “也许妈妈不需要知道，”迈克尔说。 “她怎么能不呢？”莫尔问。 “这头大象已经支离破碎了。” “胶水”。迈克尔开始拉开抽屉。 “什么胶水?”默尔问道。 ”一文不值。你是怎么回事？”迈克尔笑了。 莫尔看起来很困惑。“什么事这么好笑？”

"Never mind. Just a silly joke. Glue is a sticky liquid that you can use to put things back together." "Like sap?" "Sap?" Michael said. "Not much. What's sap with you?" Merle and Michael both laughed. "That actually kind of works," Michael said. "You two are hilarious." Pearl shook her head. "How is glue going to keep your mom from finding out you broke her elephant?" "We'll glue it back together, and hopefully she won't be able to tell it was ever broken," Michael said. "She'll never need to know what happened." Pearl frowned. "Like not telling your dad you smuggled two rodents out of Israel? I'm sensing a pattern here."

“没关系。只是一个愚蠢的玩笑。 胶水是一种粘性液体，你可以用它把东西粘在一起。” “如sap ?”“Sap ?”迈克尔说。 “不多。你怎么啦？”莫尔和迈克尔都笑了。 “这其实挺管用的，”迈克尔说。 “你们俩太搞笑了。”珠儿摇了摇头。 “胶水怎么能让你妈妈不发现你弄坏了她的大象呢？”迈克尔说：“我们会把它粘在一起，希望她看不出它已经坏了。” “她永远不需要知道发生了什么。” 珍珠皱起了眉头。“比如不告诉你爸爸你从以色列走私了两只啮齿动物？” 我感觉到了一种模式。”

It took the better part of two hours, but with Merle's help, Michael was able to put the elephant back together, piece by piece. In the end, it mostly looked like an elephant, depending on where on an elephant you expected the trunk to be. Merle had become fascinated by glue during the process and had succeeded in creating a rather interesting sculpture out of items he found lying around the garage. "Okay!" Michael dusted off his hands. "Help me put the elephant back, guys. Be careful, the glue isn't completely dry."

这花了将近两个小时的时间，但在梅尔的帮助下，迈克尔终于把大象一块一块地组装起来。 最后，它看起来很像一头大象，这取决于你认为鼻子在大象的哪个部位。 在这个过程中，梅尔对胶水着迷了，并用他在车库周围找到的东西成功地创造了一个相当有趣的雕塑。 “好吧!”迈克尔掸掉手上的灰尘。 “帮我把大象放回去，伙计们。 小心，胶水还没有完全干。”