Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 "So, these are our famous squirrels?" Dr. Simon said with a menacing grin as he approached the safe house with Ruben. Merle and Pearl's bent cage remained toppled on its side up against the hitching post. "You couldn't have set their cage upright?" Dr. Simon scolded Ruben. "These are our guests. Sloppy, Ruben, very sloppy." Ruben flushed at the sight. What happened to Dusty?! he thought, but he didn't dare say anything. He hadn't told Dr. Simon he had procured a donkey to help with his hike from Nazareth. Admitting that one of their party had escaped would only mean trouble for Ruben. He glared at the squirrels. Merle responded with an innocent shrug.

第二十章“那么，这些就是我们著名的松鼠了？”博士。 西蒙带着威胁的笑容说，他和鲁本一起走近了安全屋。 莫尔和珀尔那只弯曲的笼子仍然倒在拴绳的柱子上。 “你不能把它们的笼子竖起来吗？”博士。 西蒙责备鲁本。“他们是我们的客人。 邋遢，鲁本，非常邋遢。” 鲁本一看，脸就红了。 达斯迪怎么了？！他想，但他什么也不敢说。 他没有告诉西蒙医生，他已经买了一头驴来帮助他从拿撒勒徒步旅行。 承认他们中的一个人逃跑了只会给鲁本带来麻烦。 他怒视着松鼠。 梅尔淡淡地耸了耸肩。

"Bring them inside!" Dr. Simon ordered, and Ruben set the cage upright and wheeled it through the front door to the center of a living room area. Dr. Simon then sat in a nearby armchair and smiled at the squirrels. "Let's chat, shall we?" he said. Merle and Pearl exchanged nervous glances. "Don't be frightened. My name is Dr. Simon. I am the curator of the Antiquities Museum in Jerusalem and your biggest fan." "Our... biggest... fan?" Pearl asked, confused.

“把他们带进来！”西蒙医生下令，鲁本把笼子放直，推着它穿过前门，来到客厅的中央。 然后，西蒙博士坐在旁边的一把扶手椅上，对松鼠们微笑。 “我们谈谈，好吗？”他说。 莫尔和珠儿紧张地交换了一下眼色。 “不要害怕。我的名字是博士。 西蒙。我是耶路撒冷古物博物馆的馆长，也是你最大的粉丝。” “我们…最大的…粉丝?”珠儿疑惑地问。

"With fans like you, who needs enemies?!" Merle added. "On the contrary! I will make you famous," Dr. Simon replied. "People will flock from all over the world to see the renowned Dead Sea Squirrels! Not only do you have the ability to speak, but you are living relics from the first century, AND super cuddly-wuddly!" "Cuddly... wuddly?" Merle questioned. "What if we don't want to be famous?" Pearl asked. "What if we just want to be normal squirrels enjoying our retirement?" "Ha!" Dr. Simon laughed. "There's nothing normal about you, nor about the rest of the collection I am assembling." "The rest of the collection?" Merle inquired. "The Bible speaks specifically of only two talking beasts: the serpent and Balaam's donkey." Merle and Pearl shared a quick look. They knew all about Balaam's donkey's descendants. Dr. Simon continued, "But there are others: Zephaniah's Cockatoo, the Perch of Galilee, the Lizard of Judah! I could go on!" "You have all of these animals?" Pearl asked. "Not all, not yet. I am in process. But once my collection is complete, I will have assembled the most extraordinary petting zoo the world has ever known!"

“有你这样的粉丝，谁还需要敌人？！”默尔补充道。 “恰恰相反！”我会让你出名的。 西门回答说。“人们将从世界各地蜂拥而至，观看著名的死海松鼠！”你不仅有说话的能力，而且你是一世纪的活遗迹，而且超级可爱！”“可爱的… wuddly ?”默尔质疑。 “如果我们不想出名怎么办？”珠儿问道。 “如果我们只想做普通的松鼠，享受退休生活呢？”“哈!”博士。 西门笑了。“你一点也不正常，我正在收集的其他藏品也不正常。” “剩下的收藏呢？”默尔问道。 《圣经》特别提到了两种会说话的动物：蛇和巴兰的驴。 莫尔和珀尔迅速地看了一眼。 他们知道巴兰驴儿的一切事。 西门博士又说，还有别的，就是西番雅的鹦鹉，加利利的鲈鱼，犹大的壁虎。我可以继续说下去！”“这些动物你都有吗？”珠儿问道。 “不是全部，还没有。我在过程中。 但是，一旦我的收藏完成了，我将建立一个世界上最不寻常的宠物动物园！”

"A petting zoo?" Merle gasped. "That sounds horrible! I hate being petted!" "It's true," Pearl confirmed. "He's not the touchy-feely type." Dr. Simon was not interested in the squirrels' opinion on the matter and carried on with his speech. "You will remain here until the coast is clear— until your friends Dr. Gomez and Michael have given up their search and returned home." Pearl brightened, then squeaked in squirrel, "They've come for us?! I knew they would!" The squirrels had hoped that Michael and Dr. Gomez would have followed the trail

“宠物动物园？”默尔深吸一口气。 “听起来太可怕了！”我讨厌被人抚摸！”“是真的，”珠儿证实道。 “他不是那种容易动情的人。” 西蒙博士对松鼠们对这件事的看法不感兴趣，继续他的演讲。 “你要呆在这里，直到风平浪静——直到你的朋友Dr。 戈麦斯和迈克尔已经放弃了寻找，回家了。” 珠儿高兴起来，然后用松鼠似的尖声说：“他们来找我们了？！”我就知道他们会的！”松鼠们曾希望迈克尔和迈克尔博士。 戈麦斯会跟着线索走的

of clues they had left: the dancing video, the emails from Father Phillip, and the trail message from Noah. But Dr. Simon had just done them the huge favor of revealing their friends' whereabouts! "Yippee!" Merle responded in human. Dr. Simon raised a brow, confused by their sudden excitement. "You are strange little beasts, aren't you?" he said, shaking his head before exiting. "C'mon, Dusty! We're counting on you, buddy," Merle whispered, hoping that their donkey friend would somehow find Michael and his dad.

他们留下的线索：跳舞视频，菲利普神父的邮件，诺亚的跟踪信息。 但西蒙医生刚刚帮了他们一个大忙，告诉了他们朋友的下落！“好啊! !”莫尔用人类的方式回答。 西蒙医生扬起眉毛，对他们突然的兴奋感到困惑。 “你们真是奇怪的小野兽，不是吗？”他说着，摇了摇头，然后离开了。 “来吧,尘土飞扬!我们就指望你了，伙计。”莫尔低声说，希望他们的驴朋友能找到迈克尔和他爸爸。