Chapter 10

Chapter 10 SMALL BUSINESS OWNERSHIF! IT'S LIKE PUTTING THE WHOLE WORLO ON A LEASH AND HAWING IT DRAG YOU AROUND. In the real world, Morgan was feeling sicker with each passing day. He was almost paranoid enough to believe it had something to do with the witch's curse. But if that was true, shouldn't his friends be sick, too?

第十章小企业主！这就像把整个世界拴在皮带上，让它拖着你到处走。 在现实世界中，摩根一天比一天病得重。 他几乎偏执到相信这和女巫的诅咒有关。 但如果这是真的，他的朋友不也应该生病吗？

Jodi, for one, seemed healthier than ever. As her pet-walking service got more popular, she seemed to have more and more energy. The one thing she seemed unable to do…was to say no. "I thought you were a dog walker," said Po. "What's that guy doing here?" And he pointed at an iguana on a leash. "The iguana makes more sense than the fish," said Theo, and he tapped at the goldfish bowl in Po's lap. "You leave Bubbles out of this!" said Po. "She just wanted some fresh air." Theo rolled his eyes. "I think fresh air is the last thing a water-breather wants." "Are you sure we can't take some of those leashes for you?" asked Harper. Jodi shot her brother a quick look before answering. "No, no," she said. "I'm fine. I'm good! Super responsible, that's me." Morgan could only sneeze in reply. Jodi was holding leashes for no fewer than six dogs, one iguana, and a birdcage on wheels. Somehow, she managed to keep all the animals on the path. Even Baron Sweetcheeks, in his plastic exercise ball, was

比如，乔迪似乎比以前更健康了。 随着她的宠物遛狗服务越来越受欢迎，她似乎越来越有精力了。 有一件事她似乎做不到，那就是拒绝。 “我还以为你是遛狗的呢，”阿宝说。 “那家伙在这儿干什么？”他指着一只拴着皮带的鬣蜥。 “鬣蜥比鱼更有意义，”西奥说着，敲了敲阿宝腿上的金鱼缸。 “别把泡泡扯进来！”阿宝说。 “她只是想呼吸点新鲜空气。” 西奥翻了个白眼。“我认为新鲜空气是一个在水中呼吸的人最不需要的东西。” “你确定我们不用给你拿几条皮带吗？”哈帕问。 乔迪在回答之前迅速地看了她哥哥一眼。 “不，不，”她说。“我很好。 我很好!超级负责任，这就是我。” 摩根只能打个喷嚏作为回答。 乔迪牵着至少六只狗、一只鬣蜥和一个带轮子的鸟笼的皮带。 不管怎样，她设法把所有的动物都留在了小路上。 就连穿着塑料健身球的甜颊男爵也在

careful to stay close to her. Morgan and Jodi had volunteered to care for the hamster during the school break, and Jodi hadn't wanted to leave him home alone. Suddenly, the hamster squeaked as if excited. He rolled ahead of the group. It seemed like he recognized a woman on the path ahead of them. She was pushing a baby stroller and wearing large sunglasses. When she took off her sunglasses and smiled at them, Morgan recognized her, too. It was Ms. Minerva, their homeroom teacher.

小心靠近她。 摩根和乔迪自愿在学校放假期间照顾这只仓鼠，乔迪不想把它一个人留在家里。 突然，仓鼠好像兴奋地叫了起来。 他滚到那群人的前面。 他似乎认出了前面路上的一个女人。 她推着一辆婴儿车，戴着一副大大的太阳镜。 当她摘下墨镜对着他们微笑时，摩根也认出了她。 是他们的班主任密涅瓦女士打来的。

"Baron Sweetcheeks, is that you?" she said. "And my favorite students are all here! I almost couldn't see you past all those…dogs." The way she said the word, Morgan figured something out right away: Ms. Minerva was not a dog person. "Hi, Ms. Minerva!" said Harper. "I didn't know you had a baby." Ms. Minerva laughed. "Just my fur baby. This is Dewey." She pulled the cover of the stroller back, revealing an orange-striped cat, crooked whiskers, and a very annoyed expression. "He's an indoor cat," she said by way of explanation.

“甜颊男爵，是你吗？”她说。 “我最喜欢的学生都来了！”我几乎看不见你走过那些……狗。” 从她说这个词的方式中，摩根立刻明白了一些事情。 密涅瓦不是一个爱狗的人。 “嗨，米勒娃女士！” “我不知道你有孩子了。” 密涅瓦笑了。“只是我的皮毛宝贝。 这是杜威。”她拉开婴儿车的盖子，露出一只橙色条纹的猫，歪歪扭扭的胡须，一副非常恼火的表情。 “它是只待在室内的猫，”她解释道。

Morgan had never seen a cat in a baby stroller before. But he had learned a long time ago that adults did some very strange things. Suddenly, Jodi lurched forward. One of the dogs had taken an interest in Ms. Minerva's cat, and now he tugged against his leash. "Wait, is that…is that Doc's dog?" asked Ms. Minerva, suddenly alarmed. "Oh, no. There's bad blood between these two…." Time seemed to freeze. Morgan held his breath as dog and cat locked eyes. He saw Jodi's grip tighten on the leash. She was obviously desperate to prevent Nicolaus from attacking.

摩根以前从未见过猫坐在婴儿车里。 但他很久以前就知道成年人会做一些非常奇怪的事情。 突然，乔迪蹒跚向前。 其中一只狗对她很感兴趣。 密涅瓦的猫，现在他拽着皮带。 “等等，那是……那是医生的狗吗？” 密涅瓦突然警觉起来。 “哦,不。这两个人之间有仇....” 时间似乎凝固了。狗和猫对视时，摩根屏住了呼吸。 他看见乔迪的手紧紧地抓着狗绳。 她显然不顾一切地想阻止尼古拉斯的进攻。

But to everyone's surprise, it wasn't the dog who attacked. Ms. Minerva's orange cat shrieked. The sound was unearthly; Morgan clapped his hands to his ears to block it out. But he couldn't stop the cat from launching itself out of the stroller and onto the dog's back. The dog howled, the cat hissed, and Jodi cried out in surprise. The animals all panicked, pulling in eight different directions at once. Jodi fell. She lost her grip on the leashes. And the pets went wild.

但出乎所有人意料的是，攻击他的并不是狗。 密涅瓦的橙色猫尖叫起来。 那声音令人难以置信；摩根用手捂住耳朵，不让他听见。 但他没能阻止猫从婴儿车里跳出来，跳到狗的背上。 狗在嚎叫，猫在嘶嘶叫，乔迪惊讶地叫了起来。 动物们都惊慌失措，同时向八个不同的方向拉。 乔迪•下降。她失去了对皮带的控制。 宠物们都疯了。