Chapter 7

Chapter Seven IN WHICH the Fate of the Mice Is Discovered I really need your help," said Jared. His brother and sister were lying on the rug in front of the television. Each one had a controller, and from where he was standing, he could see colors flit across their faces as the screen changed. Mallory snorted but didn't reply. Jared took that as a positive response. At this point, anything that didn't involve fists was a positive response.

第七章发现老鼠的命运我需要你的帮助。”杰瑞德说。 他的弟弟和妹妹躺在电视机前的地毯上。 每个人都有一个控制器，从他站的地方，他可以看到随着屏幕的变化，他们脸上的颜色在闪烁。 马洛里哼了一声，但没有回答。 杰瑞德认为这是积极的回应。 在这一点上，任何不涉及拳头的行为都是积极的回应。

"I know you think I did it," Jared said, opening the book to the page about boggarts. "But, honest, I didn't. You heard the thing in the walls. There was the writing on the desk and the footprints in the flour. And remember the nest? Remember how you guys pulled everything out of that nest?"

“我知道你认为是我干的。”杰瑞德说，打开书翻到博格特那一页。 “但是，老实说，我没有。你听到墙里的声音了。 桌子上有字迹，面粉上有脚印。 还记得那个鸟巢吗？还记得你们是怎么把那窝里的东西都掏出来的吗？”

Mallory stood up and snatched the book out of his hands. "Give it back," Jared pleaded, making a grab for it. Mallory held it over her head. "This book is what started all the trouble." "No!" Jared said. "That's not true. I got the book after your hair was knotted. Give it back, Mallory. Please give it back." Now she held it in two hands, one on either side of the open book, poised to rip it apart. "Mallory, no! No!" Jared was nearly speechless with panic. If he didn't think of something quick, the book was going to be in pieces. "Wait, Mal," Simon said, getting up from the floor. Mallory waited. "What help did you want, Jared?" Jared took a deep breath. "I've been thinking that if our messing up the nest is what got it upset, then maybe we could make it a new nest. I—I took a birdhouse and put some stuff in it.

马洛里站起来，从他手里抢过书。 “还给我，”贾里德恳求道，伸手去抓它。 马洛里把它举过头顶。 “所有的麻烦都是从这本书开始的。” “不!”杰瑞德说。“这不是真的。 我是在你头发打结之后拿到这本书的。 还给我，马洛里。请把它还给我。” 现在她用两只手捧着它，一只放在打开的书的两边，准备把它撕成碎片。 “马洛里,不!不!”杰瑞德惊恐得几乎说不出话来。 如果他不赶快想个办法，这本书就会支离破碎。 “等等，马尔，”西蒙说着，从地板上站了起来。 马洛里等待着。“你需要什么帮助，贾里德？”杰瑞德深吸了一口气。 “我一直在想，如果是我们把鸟巢弄乱了，那么也许我们可以给它建一个新的鸟巢。 我拿了个鸟笼，放了点东西进去。

"I thought—well—I thought that maybe the boggart was a little bit like us, because it's stuck here too. I mean, maybe it doesn't even want to be here. Maybe being here makes it mad." "Okay, before I say I believe you," Mallory said, holding the book in a less threatening position, "tell me exactly what you want us to do." "I need you guys to work the dumbwaiter," Jared said, "so I can bring the house up to the library. I thought it would be safe there." "Let's see this house," Mallory said. She and Simon followed Jared into the hall, and he showed it to them. It was made from a wooden birdhouse large enough for a crow to roost in. Jared had found it among the ones hung in the attic. Sliding up the back, he showed them how he had arranged everything except the cockroaches neatly inside. On the walls, he had taped up the newspaper words and also a few small pictures from magazines.

“我想——嗯——我想也许博格特有点像我们，因为它也被困在这里。 我是说，也许它根本不想待在这里。 也许在这里会让它发疯。” “好吧，在我说我相信你之前，”马洛里说，用一种不那么吓人的姿势拿着书，“告诉我你到底想让我们做什么。” “我需要你们去修理一下升降机，”贾里德说，“这样我就可以把房子搬到图书馆去。 我以为在那里会很安全。” “让我们看看这所房子，”马洛里说。 她和西蒙跟着杰瑞德进了大厅，杰瑞德把它拿给他们看。 它是用一个大得足以让乌鸦栖息的木制鸟笼做成的。 贾里德在阁楼上挂的那些画中找到了它。 他从后门溜了上去，向他们展示了除了蟑螂之外，他是如何把里面的一切都安排得整整齐齐的。 他把报纸上的文字和几张杂志上的小图片用胶带贴在墙上。

"Did you cut up Mom's stuff to make that?" Simon asked. "Yeah," Jared said, and shrugged. "You really did a lot of work," Mallory said. "So you'll help me?" Jared wanted to ask for the book back, but he didn't want to make his sister mad all over again. Mallory looked at Simon and nodded.

“你是把妈妈的东西切碎做的吗？”西蒙问。 “是啊，”贾里德说，耸了耸肩。 “你真的做了很多工作，”马洛里说。 “所以你会帮助我？”杰瑞德想要回那本书，但他不想再把妹妹惹毛。 马洛里看着西蒙点了点头。

"I want to go first, though," said Simon. Jared hesitated. "Sure," he said. Walking quietly past the den where their mother was phoning construction people, they went into the kitchen. Simon hesitated in front of the dumbwaiter. "Do you think my mice are alive?" Jared didn't know what to say. He thought about the tadpoles, frozen in ice. He wanted Simon to help but didn't want to lie. Simon got down on his knees and climbed into the dumbwaiter. In a few moments, Mallory had wheeled him up inside the wall. Simon gave a small gasp as he started moving, but then they heard nothing, even after the dumbwaiter stopped. "You said there was a desk in there and papers," Mallory said. "Yeah." Jared wasn't sure what she was driving at. If she didn't believe him, she could ask Simon when he came back down. "Well, they needed to get it in there somehow. And it wasn't little, right? So an adult worked in

“不过我想先去，”西蒙说。 Jared犹豫了。“当然，”他说。 他们悄悄走过妈妈给建筑工人打电话的小房间，走进厨房。 西蒙在电梯前犹豫了一下。 “你认为我的老鼠还活着吗？”杰瑞德不知道该说什么。 他想到了冻在冰里的蝌蚪。 他想让西蒙帮忙，但又不想撒谎。 西蒙跪了下来，爬进了电梯。 不一会儿，马洛里就把他推到墙里去了。 西蒙开始移动时微微喘了口气，但他们什么也没听到，甚至在电梯停了之后。 “你说里面有一张桌子和一些文件，”马洛里说。 “是的。”杰瑞德不确定她是什么意思。 如果她不相信他，她可以在西蒙回来的时候问他。 “嗯，他们总得想办法把它弄进去。 而且也不小，对吧？ 所以一个成年人在里面工作