Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 "Merle! Merle!" Pearl shouted into the geraniums. "Are you okay?!" Merle popped his head out of the leaves. "Now that I'm out of that vest, I'm fine," he said. Pearl looked down at her vest. "Mine's kind of growing on me... it goes nicely with my pearls, don't you think?" Merle looked down the street and stiffened. "I think we need to run!" Ruben was headed toward them on foot. He, in turn, was being chased by the disgruntled motorist he'd rear-ended.

第十一章“莫尔！默尔!”珠儿对着天竺葵喊道。 “你还好吗？！”莫尔从树叶里探出头来。 “现在我脱下了那件背心，我没事了，”他说。 珠儿低头看着她的背心。 “我越来越喜欢我的了…… 它和我的珍珠项链很配，你不觉得吗？”莫尔朝街那头看了看，僵住了。 “我想我们得跑了！”鲁本正步行向他们走来。 反过来，他被他追尾的那个不满的司机追赶。

After a few blocks of running, climbing, and jumping, the squirrels felt pretty sure they had lost Ruben. "Where to now?" Merle wondered, catching his breath. "You tell me!" Pearl replied. "This is your town." "It's completely different! I have no idea where we are!" Merle said. "And we left the map in the car." "Shalom!" a voice squeaked out in squirrel from a nearby tree. Merle and Pearl turned and looked up to see an elderly Persian squirrel, also known as the Caucasian squirrel, the same species as Merle and Pearl. Shalom is a greeting in Hebrew (and squirrel) that means "peace." "You look lost. Tourists?"

在跑、爬、跳了几个街区后，松鼠们很确定他们已经失去了鲁本。 “现在去哪儿？”莫尔屏住呼吸，疑惑着。 “你告诉我！”珠儿回答道。 “这是你的小镇。”“完全不一样！”我不知道我们在哪里！”默尔说。 “我们把地图忘在车里了。” “平安！”附近一棵树上传来一个松鼠般的声音。 梅尔和珀尔转过身，抬头看到一只年老的波斯松鼠，也被称为高加索松鼠，与梅尔和珀尔是同一物种。 Shalom是希伯来语（和松鼠）的问候语，意思是“平安”。 “你看起来迷路了。来旅游的吗?”

"Shalom, brother!" Merle replied. "It's been a while since I've been here. I'm a little turned around. Maybe you could point us toward the synagogue?" In the first century, most villages in Israel had a synagogue, a Jewish place of worship, in the heart of the town. Merle figured he might be able to get his bearings if he found a familiar landmark. "Which one? There are tons of them," the friendly squirrel replied. "Plus, you're in the wrong part of town for that. This is the Latin quarter— you're more likely to find a church here. There's actually a really famous one a few blocks up. You can't miss it." The squirrel pointed down the street. Not having any better ideas, Merle and Pearl thanked the helpful local and the three squirrels all said "Shalom!" again to each other. Then Merle and Pearl headed in the recommended direction. Sure enough, three blocks down, they came upon a large, beautiful church. "Basilica of the Annunciation," Pearl read on a plaque near the door. Merle shrugged. "Let's check it out." The two squirrels scurried up the wall and into an open window.

“再见,兄弟!”默尔答道。 “我来这里已经有一段时间了。 我有点晕头转向。 也许你能告诉我们去犹太教堂的路？”在公元一世纪，以色列的大多数村庄都有一个犹太教堂，一个犹太人做礼拜的地方，在城镇的中心。 莫尔想，如果找到一个熟悉的地标，也许就能找到方向。 “哪一个?它们有很多，”友好的松鼠回答。 “另外，你来错地方了。 这是拉丁区，你更有可能在这里找到教堂。 几个街区外就有一家很有名的。 你不会错过的。”松鼠指着街道。 梅尔和珠儿想不出更好的办法，便向这位乐于助人的当地人道谢，三只松鼠又互相说了一声“你们好！” 然后莫尔和珀尔就朝他们推荐的方向走去。 果然，过了三个街区，他们来到了一座又大又漂亮的教堂。 “报喜大教堂，”珠儿在门边的一块牌匾上念着。 默尔耸耸肩。“我们来看看。” 两只松鼠爬上了墙，钻进了一扇开着的窗户。