Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 The door of an oversize wheeled birdcage slammed shut. Ruben had slipped out early in the morning, while Merle and Pearl were still sleeping, to purchase a macaw cage from a nearby pet store and had brought it back to the hotel. "It's a lot roomier than your luggage!" Merle said, rocking happily back and forth on a bird swing hanging from the top of the cage above Pearl, who was lounging on a folded fluffy hotel towel lining the floor of the coop. "Much more natural light!" Pearl added. "And much better security!" Ruben said, clicking a padlock over the door. "Good luck escaping from here!"

一个超大的带轮子的鸟笼的门砰地关上了。 鲁本一大早溜出去，趁梅尔和珀尔还在睡觉，从附近的宠物店买了一个金刚鹦鹉笼子，并把它带回了酒店。 “它比你的行李大得多！”梅尔一边说，一边在鸟笼上方的秋千上愉快地来回摇摆。珠儿正懒洋洋地躺在鸡笼地板上铺着的折叠着的松软毛巾上。 “更多的自然光！”珍珠补充道。 “而且更安全！”鲁本说着，敲了敲门上的挂锁。 “祝你从这里逃出去好运！”

"You'll be rolling us all the way to Ein Karem, will you?" Pearl wondered. "Not a chance!" Ruben replied. "We're taking a taxi." Or so he thought. "No way!" the cab driver complained, waving Ruben off. "I'm not driving you 150 kilometers, unless you pay me double— I have to drive all the way back, you know!" "But I don't have double!" Ruben pleaded. "Then I suggest you and your little bird-squirrels take the bus," the driver said, then she sped away from the hotel carport. The bus also turned out not to be an option. "Absolutely not!" the ticket agent exclaimed. "No pets on the bus!" "They're emotional support animals," Ruben begged.

“你要把我们一路滚到艾因卡莱姆，是吗？”珍珠很好奇。 “不可能！”鲁本答道。 “我们坐出租车。”至少他是这么想的。 “没门！”出租车司机抱怨道，挥手示意鲁本走开。 “我不会开车送你150公里，除非你付我双倍的钱——你知道，我得一路开车回来！”“但我没有双份！”鲁本辩护。 “那么我建议你和你的小鸟松鼠们坐公共汽车，”司机说，然后她加速离开了酒店的车库。 公交车也被证明不是一个选择。 “绝对不行！”售票员惊呼道。 “禁止宠物上公交车！”“它们是情感支持动物，”鲁本恳求道。

"Give me a break," the agent scoffed. "Unless they are Seeing Eye squirrels, they don't get on the bus!" He slammed the ticket window shut. "We're back to walking, then?" Merle said casually as he continued swinging to and fro. "Take your time. No rush!" "I'm not walking, er... rolling you all that way!" Ruben huffed. "I guess we'll just have to stay here, then!" Pearl said brightly. Ruben opened his mouth to reply, but then he saw something across the street. It was a gravelly lot surrounded by a short chain-link fence, populated by half a

“饶了我吧，”代理人嘲笑道。 “除非它们是通灵眼松鼠，否则它们是不会上公共汽车的！”他砰地关上了售票窗口。 “那么，我们又开始走路了？”莫尔一边继续来回摇摆，一边漫不经心地说。 “慢慢来。不冲!”“我不走了，嗯…… 把你一路滚过来！”鲁本怒喝道。 “那么，我想我们只好呆在这里了！”珠儿欢快地说。 鲁本张嘴想回答，但他看到街对面有什么东西。 那是一块砾石地，周围有一圈短铁链围成的栅栏，里面住着半个

dozen donkeys and an elderly man dressed for the first century. On the fence hung a sign reading Donkey Depot.

十几头驴子和一位穿着一世纪服装的老人。 篱笆上挂着一块牌子，上面写着“驴仓库”。