Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 If you are ever forced to walk from Nazareth to Ein Karem, your best bet would be to travel most of the way along the Nativity Trail. It's said to be the path Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the very first Christmas. Dusty, as a career Bible tour donkey, had made the 100-mile, 11-day trek dozens of times, but he had been quite enjoying his retirement and was none too happy to have to make the journey again. Ruben, while also not happy to have to walk, was eager to get to his final destination as fast as possible. "C'mon, donkey!" Ruben groaned as he pushed a shoulder against Dusty's tail end. "Faster!" "Hee-haw!" Dusty brayed. In donkey that means, "What's the rush?" Meanwhile, Merle and Pearl lounged comfortably in their shaded birdcage atop Dusty's saddle. "This is every bit as comfortable as the airplane ride," Merle commented as he rocked on the bird swing, remembering their business-class flight from a couple of nights before. "When's the snack cart come by?"

第八章如果你被迫从拿撒勒步行到Ein Karem，你最好的选择是沿着耶稣诞生之路走大部分的路。 据说这是约瑟夫和玛丽从拿撒勒到伯利恒过第一个圣诞节的路。 达斯迪是一头职业的圣经之旅驴，已经完成了长达11天、100英里的长途跋涉几十次了，但他很享受退休后的生活，对再次踏上这段旅程一点也不高兴。 鲁本虽然也不喜欢走路，但他渴望尽快到达最终目的地。 “来吧,驴!”鲁本呻吟着用肩膀顶着达斯迪的尾巴。 “快!”“驴叫声!”尘土飞扬地嘶叫。 这句话的意思是“急什么？”与此同时，梅尔和珠儿悠闲地躺在达斯迪马鞍上的鸟笼里。 “这和坐飞机一样舒适，”梅尔一边在秋千上摇摆，一边说，他想起了前几天晚上的商务舱飞行。 “小吃车什么时候来？”

"Grrrrr," Ruben growled, not amused. Pearl, sipping on a lemonade, examined the trail map they had been given by Jacob. "So, it looks like we'll follow this trail all the way to Jericho and break off there toward Jerusalem?" "That's right," a voice answered over Ruben's grunts. Pearl jumped, startled. She glanced up from the map to Merle. "Did you say something, Merle?"

鲁本吼道，不觉得好笑。 珠儿啜着柠檬水，细看着雅各布给他们的那张地图。 “那么，看起来我们将沿着这条路一直走到耶利哥，然后在那里中断，前往耶路撒冷？”“没错。”一个声音盖过了鲁本的咕哝声。 珠儿吓了一跳。她从地图上抬头看了看莫尔。 “你刚才说什么了吗，莫尔？”

"Nope," Merle answered. "Wasn't me." The two squirrels, in unison, raised an eyebrow and turned slowly toward the back of Dusty's head. If they hadn't been on his back, they would have noticed the donkey's scrunched-up face. It was the kind of look you get when you say something you wish you hadn't. Like when the teacher asks, "Who wants to help me... clean up?" and you say, "Me!" before you realize what the question was. "Ruben?" asked Pearl cautiously, but Ruben was too busy pushing and grunting to hear. "Hee-haw!" Dusty hastily brayed, which in donkey means, "Nope. Wasn't me either." Merle leaned down to Pearl and whispered, "Was it Dusty? Can he speak human?" Pearl, her eyes still wide with surprise, shrugged. "I heard the words, 'That's right.'" "I heard them too," Merle replied quietly.

“没有，”莫尔回答。“不是我。” 两只松鼠异口同声地扬起眉毛，慢慢地转向达斯迪的后脑勺。 如果他们没有骑在驴子背上，他们就会注意到驴子皱巴巴的脸。 当你说了你不想说的话时，就会有这种表情。 比如当老师问：“谁想帮助我……” 你还没意识到问题是什么，就说：“我！” “鲁本？”珠儿小心翼翼地问，但鲁本正忙着推搡和嘟哝，没听见。 “驴叫声!”达斯迪急忙叫了一声，这在驴子的语言里意味着：“不行。 我也不是。”莫尔俯下身来，对珠儿低声说：“是达斯迪吗？ 他会说人话吗？”珠儿仍然睁大着惊讶的眼睛，耸了耸肩。 “我听到了那句话，‘没错。“我也听到了，”莫尔平静地回答。