Chapter 1

tony DIJERLIZZI &ÆOLLY BLACK BOOK THE FIELD GUIDE

托尼·迪杰里兹&ÆOLLY黑皮书田野指南

Chapter One IN WHICH the Grace Children Get Acquainted with Their New Home If someone had asked Jared Grace what jobs his brother and sister would have when they grew up, he would have had no trouble replying. He would have said that his brother, Simon, would be either a veterinarian or a lion tamer. He would have said that his sister, Mallory, would either be an Olympic fencer or in jail for stabbing someone with a sword. But he couldn't say what job he

如果有人问贾里德·格雷斯（Jared Grace），他的哥哥和妹妹长大后会从事什么工作，他会毫不犹豫地回答。 他可能会说，他的弟弟西蒙（Simon）要么会成为一名兽医，要么会成为一名驯狮员。 他会说，他的妹妹马洛里（Mallory）要么会成为奥运会击剑运动员，要么会因为持刀伤人而入狱。 但他说不出他的工作

would grow up to have. Not that anyone asked him. Not that anyone asked his opinion on anything at all. The new house, for instance. Jared Grace looked up at it and squinted. Maybe it would look better blurry. "It's a shack," Mallory said, getting out of the station wagon. It wasn't really, though. It was more like a dozen shacks had been piled on top of one another. There were several chimneys, and the whole thing

长大后会拥有。没人问过他。 没有人问过他对任何事情的看法。 比如新房子。 杰瑞德·格雷斯抬头看着它，眯起眼睛。 也许模糊一点会更好看。 “这是个窝棚，”马洛里说着，下了旅行车。 但事实并非如此。这更像是一打棚屋一堆一堆的。 那里有几个烟囱，还有所有的东西

was topped off by a strip of iron fence sitting on the roof like a particularly garish hat. "It's not so bad," their mother said, with a smile that looked only slightly forced. "It's Victorian." Simon, Jared's identical twin, didn't look upset. He was probably thinking of all the animals he could have now. Actually, considering what he'd packed into their tiny bedroom in New York, Jared figured it would take a lot of rabbits and hedgehogs and whatever else was out here to satisfy Simon.

屋顶上有一道铁栅栏，就像一顶特别花哨的帽子。 “没那么糟，”母亲说，脸上带着勉强的微笑。 “维多利亚时代”。西蒙，杰瑞德的同卵双胞胎，看起来并不沮丧。 他可能在想他现在可以拥有的所有动物。 事实上，考虑到他在纽约的小卧室里装了很多东西，贾里德觉得要想让西蒙满意，得有很多兔子和刺猬，还有别的什么。

"Come on, Jared," Simon called. Jared realized that they had all crossed to the front steps and he was alone on the lawn, staring at the house. The doors were a faded gray, worn with age. The only traces of paint were an indeterminate cream, stuck deep in crevices and around the hinges. A rusted ram's-head door knocker hung from a single, heavy nail at its center. Their mother fit a jagged key into the lock, turned it, and shoved hard with her shoulder. The door opened into a dim hallway. The only window

“加油，杰瑞德，”西蒙喊道。 贾里德意识到他们都走到前面的台阶上了，他独自一人站在草坪上，盯着房子看。 门由于年久失修，已经褪了灰色。 唯一的油漆痕迹是一种不确定的奶油，粘在裂缝深处和铰链周围。 一个锈迹斑斑的公羊头门环，挂在门环中央一颗沉重的钉子上。 他们的母亲把一把参差不齐的钥匙插进锁里，转动钥匙，用肩膀使劲地推。 这扇门通向一条昏暗的走廊。 唯一的窗口

was halfway up the stairs, and its stained glass panes gave the walls an eerie, reddish glow. "It's just like I remember," she said, smiling. "Only crappier," said Mallory. Their mother sighed but didn't otherwise respond. The hallway led into a dining room. A long table with faded water spots was the only piece of furniture. The plaster ceiling was cracked in places and a chandelier hung from frayed wires. "Why don't you three start bringing things in from the car?" their mother said. "Into here?" Jared asked. "Yes, into here." Their mother put down her suitcase on the table, ignoring the eruption of dust. "If your great-aunt Lucinda hadn't let us stay, I don't know where we would have gone. We should be grateful." None of them said anything. Try as he might, Jared didn't feel anything close to grateful. Ever since their dad moved out, everything had gone bad. He'd messed up at school, and the fading

在楼梯的一半，它的彩色玻璃窗格使墙壁发出一种怪异的红色光芒。 “就像我记得的那样，”她笑着说。 “只是更糟。”马洛里说。 他们的母亲叹了口气，但没有回应。 走廊通向一间餐厅。 唯一的家具是一张长桌子，上面有褪色的水渍。 石膏天花板有些地方裂开了，一盏枝形吊灯挂在磨损的电线上。 “你们三个为什么不从车里拿东西进来呢？”妈妈说。 “到这儿?”杰瑞德问。“是的，到这里来。” 他们的母亲把手提箱放在桌子上，没有理会灰尘的爆发。 “要不是你的露辛达姨婆让我们留下来，我不知道我们会去哪儿。 我们应该心存感激。”他们谁也没说什么。 尽管杰瑞德很努力，但他一点也不感激。 自从他们的爸爸搬出去以后，一切都变糟了。 他在学校搞砸了，而且日渐衰弱