9. The Swap

Chapter 9 The Swap For the rest of the week, I worked with Goofy. He did not learn any letters. Or any words. None. But we had fun chasing Hector and rolling around together. Even though it had nothing to do with reading. On Friday I sat on the front steps with Goofy.

第九章交换那一周剩下的时间里，我和高飞一起工作。 他没有学会任何字母。 或者任何言语。一个也没有。但我们一起追赫克托，一起打滚，玩得很开心。 尽管这与阅读毫无关系。 星期五，我和高飞坐在前面的台阶上。

I had on my Grandma sweater. Because Mom made me wear it. Again. Mom was mulching the garden. Mulch is kind of like dirt. Mom says when she puts it around the plants, it's like giving them a blanket. But if you ask me, a blanket shouldn't smell like cow poop. "Why aren't you and Goofy working?" Mom asked. "The trick contest is tomorrow," I said. "And he still hasn't learned anything." I sighed. "I think maybe Goofy is a dummy, Mom." I whispered that last part so he wouldn't hear me. "Roscoe, Goofy is the best dog in the world," Mom said. "But he's just a dog.

我穿着我奶奶的毛衣。 因为妈妈让我戴的。 再一次。妈妈正在给花园盖覆盖物。 护根物有点像泥土。 妈妈说，当她把它放在植物周围时，就像给它们盖了一条毯子。 但要我说，毯子不应该闻起来像牛屎。 “你和高飞为什么不工作?”母亲问。 “明天是魔术比赛，”我说。 “他还是什么都没学到。” 我叹了口气。“我想也许高飞是个傻瓜，妈妈。” 我小声说最后一段，这样他就听不见了。 “罗斯科，高飞是世界上最好的狗，”妈妈说。 “但他只是一只狗。

He can only do doggie things. If you work hard with him, maybe he can learn to fetch or shake hands. But mostly he's going to do what he does best—love you!" "But he doesn't even know one letter, Mom!" I said. Mom shook her head. "Maybe the problem isn't the student," she said. "Maybe the problem is the teacher." "But I'm a good teacher!" I cried. "That poodle you told me about—" Mom said. "Edward." "Edward," Mom said. "Edward wasn't reading, sweetie. It's just a trick his owner taught him. A good trick, but still a trick." Mom stood up. "I'm going to the garage to get some more mulch. I'll be right back." I pictured that trophy. Shiny. Heavy. Gold.

他只会做狗狗做的事。 如果你和他一起努力，也许他能学会拿东西或握手。 但最重要的是，他会做他最擅长的事——爱你!”“但是他连一个字母都不认识，妈妈!”我说。 妈妈摇了摇头。“也许问题不在于学生，”她说。 “也许问题出在老师身上。” “但我是个好老师!”我哭了。 “你跟我说的那只狮子狗——”妈妈说。 “爱德华”。“爱德华，”妈妈说。 “亲爱的，爱德华没在看书。 这只是他的主人教他的把戏。 好把戏，但还是把戏。” 妈妈站了起来。“我要去车库再拿些护根物。 我马上就回来。”我想象着那个奖杯。 闪亮的。重。黄金。

If Goofy weren't so goofy, I could have that trophy. Down the sidewalk I saw Martin and Edward. Martin waved. He paused and said something to Edward. Edward waved his little poodle paw at me. Goofy ran over to say hello. The old-fashioned dog way. With major sniffing and tail wagging. "Hey," I said. I gave Edward a pat. Today he was wearing a pink-and-green sweater. "Is that a white tiger on your sweater?" Martin asked. "It's a panda," I said.

如果高飞不那么蠢，我就能得到那个奖杯了。 在人行道上，我看到了马丁和爱德华。 马丁挥手。他停顿了一下，对爱德华说了些什么。 爱德华向我挥动他的小狮子狗爪子。 高飞跑过来打招呼。 老式的狗的方式。 用鼻子嗅，摇尾巴。 “嘿，”我说。我拍了拍爱德华。 今天他穿了一件粉绿相间的毛衣。 “你毛衣上有只白虎吗?”马丁问道。 “是一只熊猫，”我说。

"It's like you've got a whole zoo on there," Martin said. "Hey, how did you teach Edward to read?" I asked. Martin just shrugged. "It's kind of a secret," he said. "I'm trying to teach Goofy so he can be in the trick contest," I said. "But he's not a very good student." Goofy licked my hand. I felt awful for saying that about a friend. "Don't get me wrong," I added. "He's the greatest. He just doesn't know his letters." "Well," Martin said, "even Edward took a long time to learn." "I wish I could take Edward to the contest," I said. "He'd for sure win."

马丁说:“就像你在那里有一个动物园。” “嘿，你是怎么教爱德华识字的?”我问。 马丁只是耸耸肩。“这是一个秘密，”他说。 “我想教高飞，这样他就能参加魔术比赛了，”我说。 “但他不是个好学生。” 高飞舔我的手。我为自己这么说朋友而感到内疚。 “别误会，”我补充道。 “他是最伟大的。他只是不认识他的字母。” “嗯，”马丁说，“就连爱德华也花了很长时间才学会。” “我真希望能带爱德华去看比赛，”我说。 “他肯定会赢。”

Goofy sighed and lay down on the sidewalk. I felt even worse. Martin thought for a minute. Then he started grinning. "You know," he said, "I might be able to let you borrow Edward." I felt my eyes get wide. "You would let me borrow Edward for the contest?" I cried. "Name your price!" Martin thought. "You know, I do like that sweater. It's very unusual." I had to think for a minute. "You mean this sweater? This one I'm wearing? With smiley faces and monkeys on it?" "Yep," said Martin. "It's one of a kind." "That's for sure," I agreed. "But the thing is, my grandma knitted this for me. With love."

高飞叹了口气，躺在人行道上。 我感觉更糟了。马丁想了一会儿。 然后他开始咧着嘴笑。“你知道，”他说，“我也许可以把爱德华借给你。” 我觉得我的眼睛睁得大大的。“你会让我借爱德华参加比赛吗?”我哭了。 “开价吧!”马丁的想法。 “你知道，我确实喜欢那件毛衣。 这很不寻常。”我想了一下。 “你是说这件毛衣?”我穿的这件? 上面有笑脸和猴子吗?”“是的，”马丁说。 “这是独一无二的。”“那是肯定的。”我同意了。 “但问题是，我奶奶给我织了这个。 与爱。”