Chapter 1

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

死海松鼠拿撒勒的梅尔来自VeggieTales的共同创作者迈克·纳夫罗基，Luke Seguin-Magee绘制

CHAPTER 1 "The captain has turned off the fasten seat belt sign," a woman's voice announced over the flight loudspeaker. "Yes!" Merle whispered to Pearl, who was snuggled into the window seat with him. "This belt is so constricting." He unclicked the seat belt that had been stretched over both squirrels and stretched out his legs with a sigh. "Please keep your seat belts fastened at all times when seated," the woman's voice continued. "Oh, for Pete's sake," Merle complained. "Which is it? Off or on?!"

“机长已关闭系好安全带的指示。”一个女人的声音从飞机的扩音器里传来。 “是的!”莫尔悄悄地对和他一起依偎在靠窗座位上的珠儿说。 “这条腰带太紧了。” 他解开系在两只松鼠身上的安全带，叹了口气，伸开双腿。 “就座时请始终系好安全带，”那个女人的声音继续说道。 “哦，看在上帝的份上，”莫尔抱怨道。 “是哪一个？”开还是关？”

"SHHHHH! I told you to not speak," hushed the man in the suit and sunglasses. Merle and Pearl now knew their squirrelnapper by his actual name: Ruben. The evening before, the squirrels had been tricked by his ingenious drone scheme, and they had all but airmailed themselves right into his clutches. In the hours that followed, they were whisked to the airport, fitted into oversize emotional support dog vests (which, even though they were designed for Chihuahuas, were way too roomy for squirrels), and loaded onto an international flight. "Sir, did you say you'd like the steak?" a flight attendant asked as she rolled up with the food cart. Merle nodded his head vigorously. "Oh, look at you!" the flight attendant gushed at him. "Aren't you adorable?" She turned to Ruben. "It's like your little support squirrel knows what I'm saying. He probably wants another bag of nuts!" She giggled. Merle shook his head with equal vigor and held out his paws for a steak, earning an elbow to the side from Pearl and a look of disbelief from the flight attendant. "Thank you, miss." Ruben grabbed the steak tin and set it on his seat table. "Could I also get another one for my little friends? They are such a support to me."

“嘘!我告诉过你不要说话，”那个穿西装、戴太阳镜的男人轻声说。 莫尔和珀尔现在知道了这只松鼠的真名：鲁本。 前一天晚上，松鼠们被他巧妙的无人机计划骗了，它们几乎把自己空运到他的魔爪里。 在接下来的几个小时里，它们被迅速送到机场，穿上超大号的情感支持狗背心（尽管它们是为吉娃娃设计的，但对松鼠来说太大了），然后被送上一架国际航班。 “先生，您是说您要牛排吗？”一名空姐推着餐车走过来问道。 莫尔使劲地点了点头。 “哦，看看你！”空乘人员对他滔滔不绝。 “你是不是很可爱？”她转向鲁本。 “就像你的小支持松鼠知道我在说什么。 他可能还想要一袋坚果！”她咯咯笑了。 莫尔同样精力充沛地摇着头，伸出爪子去吃牛排，珠儿用胳膊肘顶了他一下，空乘人员也投以难以置信的目光。 “谢谢你，小姐。”鲁本抓起牛排罐头放在他的座位上。 “我能再给我的小朋友们买一个吗？” 他们给了我很大的支持。”

"I'm sure they are..." the flight attendant said, still looking shocked. She handed Ruben another steak meal. "Be sure they stay buckled while seated." She gave them an uncomfortable smile and slunk away. "When you get a chance, can you ask her for a cheese tray? Gorgonzola would be tremendous with this steak," Merle whispered to Ruben, holding up the business class flight menu. "SHHHHH!" Ruben shushed grumpily as Pearl buckled herself and Merle up again.

“我敢肯定他们……”空乘说，仍然显得很震惊。 她又递给鲁本一份牛排。 “坐着的时候一定要系好安全带。” 她给了他们一个不自在的微笑，然后溜走了。 “当你有机会的时候，你能向她要一个奶酪托盘吗？” 莫尔拿着商务舱的菜单，小声对鲁本说：“戈尔根佐拉干酪配这牛排太棒了。” “嘘!”当珠儿又把自己和莫尔系好安全带时，鲁本气呼呼地不吭声了。