Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Dr. Gomez and Michael spent over a week searching museums, universities, and zoos for any sign of Merle and Pearl, with no luck. Dr. Gomez had made a list of locations to investigate, and Michael was in charge of checking them off once they had visited. He was growing tired of making check marks. "Old Town Nazareth," Michael sighed, glancing down at his clipboard as they pulled into a sunbaked parking lot lined by scraggly juniper trees. "A re-creation of Nazareth from back in the time of Christ." "According to their website, they've got animals," his dad said. "It's worth checking out." Unlike a museum or zoo, where you can wander around on your own, visitors experienced Old Town Nazareth on a guided tour. Michael and Dr. Gomez were placed in a group of eight people led by their friendly hostess, Hannah. After demonstrations of the types of tools used by carpenters like Jesus and his dad Joseph, of how meals were prepared and sheep's wool was woven into clothing inside a first-century home, Michael asked Hannah, "What types of animals did they have here in Nazareth?"

戈麦斯医生和迈克尔花了一个多星期的时间，在博物馆、大学和动物园里寻找梅尔和珀尔的踪迹，但一无所获。 戈麦斯医生列了一张要调查的地点的清单，迈克尔负责在他们去了之后核对一下。 他越来越厌倦打勾了。 “拿撒勒老城，”迈克尔叹了口气，低头看了看他的笔记板，他们把车开进了一个被太阳晒得焦头焦耳的停车场，两旁是参天的杜松树。 “基督时代拿撒勒的再现” “根据他们的网站，他们有动物，”他爸爸说。 “值得一试。” 不像博物馆或动物园，在那里你可以自己漫步，游客在导游的带领下体验拿撒勒古城。 迈克尔和戈麦斯医生被安排在由友好的女主人汉娜带领的八人小组中。 在展示了像耶稣和他的父亲约瑟夫这样的木匠使用的各种工具，以及如何在一世纪的家庭中准备饭菜和羊毛织成衣服之后，迈克尔问汉娜：“拿撒勒这里有什么类型的动物？”

"Let me show you!" she answered cheerfully, leading the group outside to a livestock pen containing four sheep, two goats, and a donkey. "As you can see here— there were sheep." On cue, one of the four sheep let out a "Baaaaa." The group giggled. "There were goats," Hannah said, then paused, awaiting a response that did not come. "I said... there were goats." One of the sheep gave a swift kick to a goat, who suddenly recalled its cue and bleated, "Beeeee!" The group laughed again. "And, of course, donkeys." The donkey let out a giant, "HEE-HAW!" And the group laughed even louder and applauded.

“让我指给你们看！”她高兴地回答，带着这群人来到外面的畜圈，里面有四只绵羊、两只山羊和一头驴。 “正如你在这里看到的——那里有羊。” 这时，四只羊中的一只发出了“咩咩”的叫声。 大家咯咯地笑起来。“那里有山羊，”汉娜说，然后停了下来，等待着没有回应的回答。 “我说…那里有山羊。” 一只绵羊迅速踢了一只山羊一脚，山羊突然想起了它的提示，咩咩地叫了一声：“哔！”大家又笑了起来。 “当然，还有驴子。” 驴子发出一声巨大的“嘻——嗬！”大家笑得更响了，鼓掌了。

"I think they've done this before," Dr. Gomez whispered to Michael with a smile. "Did they have squirrels?" Michael asked from the back of the group. "I suppose they did, but not for livestock. It's hard to milk a squirrel." The group found that particularly hilarious. "Come, let me show you the olive press," Hannah urged, the group now in the palm of her hand. As the tour continued on past the animal pen, Michael thought he heard a "Psst." Looking around he didn't see anyone, so he continued following Hannah.

“我想他们以前也这么做过。” 戈麦斯微笑着小声对迈克尔说。 “他们有松鼠吗？”迈克尔站在人群的后面问道。 “我想是的，但不是为了牲畜。 松鼠很难挤牛奶。” 小组发现这特别滑稽。 “来，让我给你看看橄榄榨机，”汉娜催促道，那群人现在都在她的手心。 当旅行继续经过动物围栏时，迈克尔觉得他听到了“嘘”的一声。 他环顾四周，没有看到任何人，所以他继续跟着汉娜。

This time Michael turned around. The donkey was staring at him dead in the eye. Michael crept back toward the pen as the rest of the group rounded a corner out of sight. "You American?" the donkey whispered. "Duh," one of the sheep said. "Uh... yeah. You can... talk?!" Michael stammered. "If you tell anyone, I will deny it," the donkey answered. By this time, Dr. Gomez had doubled back for Michael and stepped up beside him. "Word on the street is to be on the lookout for two Americans searching for squirrels," the donkey whispered. "Do you know where they are?!" Michael asked, a little too loudly. "Shh! Keep it down!" the donkey shushed him. "All I know is that they were seen headed down the Nativity Trail a few days back with my Uncle Dusty. At least I think he's my uncle." "Where'd you get this info?" Dr. Gomez inquired. "Heard it from my brother Shem, who heard it from our other brother Japheth." "Is your name Ham?" Dr. Gomez asked. "Yes. How did you know?" The donkey looked around nervously. "Just a guess," Dr. Gomez replied. "What's the Nativity Trail?" Michael asked.

这次迈克尔转过身来。 驴子死死地盯着他的眼睛。 迈克尔蹑手蹑脚地向围栏走去，这时其他人转过一个拐角，看不见了。 “你是美国人？”驴低声说。 “呸，”其中一只羊说。 “嗯…是的。你可以…说话? !”迈克尔结结巴巴地说。 驴回答说：“你若告诉人，我也不告诉。” 这时，戈麦斯医生已经向迈克尔折回，走到他身边。 “街上有消息说，要注意两个正在寻找松鼠的美国人。”驴低声说。 “你知道他们在哪儿吗？！”迈克尔问，声音有点太大了。 “嘘!小点声！”驴子让他安静下来。 “我只知道几天前有人看见他们和我叔叔达斯迪一起沿着耶稣诞生之路走。 至少我认为他是我的叔叔。” “你从哪里得到这个信息的？”博士。 戈麦斯问道。我哥哥闪听我哥哥雅弗说，闪又听我哥哥雅弗说。 “你叫哈姆吗？”戈麦斯医生问。 “是的。你怎么知道的？”驴子紧张地环顾四周。 “只是猜测，”戈麦斯医生回答。 “什么是耶稣诞生之路？”迈克尔问道。

"I'll tell you on the way," his dad said. They thanked Ham for the information and sprinted for the parking lot.

“我在路上告诉你，”他爸爸说。 他们感谢哈姆提供的信息，然后冲向停车场。