7 Fred the Ghostly Ghost

CHAPTER 7 FRED THE GHOSTLY GHOST 'Why are you shouting, Andy?' says Terry. 'Because I'm trying to scare you,' I say. 'Pretty scary, huh?' 'Not really,' says Terry. 'Ghosts aren't real. And even if they were, they wouldn't scare me.' 'Actually, ghosts are real,' says the kind scarecrow, 'and they can be quite scary. Did I ever tell you the story of Fred the ghostly ghost?'

第七章幽灵弗雷德“你为什么大喊大叫，安迪？”特里说。 “因为我想吓唬你，”我说。 “很可怕，是吧？”“不完全是，”特里说。 “鬼不是真的。就算有，也吓不倒我。“事实上，鬼是真的，”善良的稻草人说，“而且它们很可怕。” 我有没有跟你讲过弗雷德的鬼故事？”

'I don't think so,' says Terry. 'But a story about a ghost called Fred doesn't sound very scary.' 'I can assure you it is,' says the scarecrow. 'In fact, it's probably far too frightening to tell now when we're all alone out here in the woods in the dark.' 'I've never heard a ghost story,' says Mary Lollipoppins. 'But I'm sure I'd like it. I won't be scared.' 'Me neither,' says Edward. 'Robots don't get scared.'

“我不这么认为，”特里说。 “但是关于一个叫弗雷德的鬼魂的故事听起来并不可怕。“我可以向你保证，”稻草人说。 “事实上，当我们独自一人在黑暗的树林里时，现在说出来可能太可怕了。“我从没听过鬼故事，”玛丽棒棒糖说。 “但我肯定我会喜欢的。 我不会害怕的。“我也是，”爱德华说。 “机器人不会害怕。”

'Please tell us about Fred,' I say. 'I'm not sure if I can,' says the scarecrow. 'I'm a kind scarecrow and it wouldn't be kind to scare people with a spooky ghost story.' 'But it would be kind to tell people a spooky ghost story if they really wanted you to,' I say. 'Especially if they said please,' says Terry.

“请给我们讲讲弗雷德。”我说。 稻草人说：“我不知道我能不能做到。” “我是一个善良的稻草人，用一个令人毛骨悚然的鬼故事来吓唬人们是不友好的。我说：“不过，如果人们真想听的话，你给他们讲个鬼故事也挺好的。” “尤其是他们说请的时候，”特里说。

'Pretty please?' says Fancy Fish. 'Pretty please with lollipops on top?' says Mary. 'And ice-cream?' says Edward. The scarecrow shrugs. 'All right,' it says. 'I'll tell you, but I'll try to make it a bit less scary.' We all lean forward. I pass the torch and the scarecrow begins speaking in a low voice. 'It was a dark and stormy night.' Terry gasps, his eyes wide.

“漂亮吗?花式鱼说。 “请在上面放上棒棒糖好吗？”玛丽说。 ”和冰淇淋吗?爱德华说。 稻草人耸了耸肩。“好吧，”它说。 “我会告诉你的，但我会尽量让它不那么可怕。”我们都身体前倾。 我把火把递给稻草人，稻草人开始低声说话。 “那是一个漆黑的暴风雨之夜。”特里喘着气，眼睛睁得大大的。

'Well,' says the kind scarecrow, noticing Terry's fright, 'when I say "dark", I don't mean dark dark. It was quite light actually. In fact, to tell you the truth, it wasn't even night-time. It was the middle of the day. And there was no storm—just a light and pleasant summery breeze.' 'Oh, thank goodness,' says Terry. 'That was getting kind of scary. But where's Fred? When does he come into the story?' 'Right now,' says the scarecrow. 'One pleasant summer's day, Fred went to bed—'

“好吧，”好心的稻草人注意到特里的惊恐，说道，“我说的‘黑暗’并不是指黑暗。 实际上很轻。 事实上，跟你说实话，当时还不是晚上。 那是在中午。 也没有暴风雨——只是一阵宜人的夏日微风。“哦，谢天谢地，”特里说。 这有点吓人。 弗雷德在哪儿？他什么时候进入这个故事？“现在，”稻草人说。 “一个宜人的夏日，弗雷德上床睡觉了——”

'He went to bed in the middle of the day?' says Pinchy. 'That's weird.' 'Yes,' says the scarecrow. 'Fred was weird, but he was also quite tired. He only intended to have a short nap but when he got into bed he bumped his head—'

“他中午就上床睡觉了？”Pinchy说。 这是奇怪的。“是的，”稻草人说。 “弗雷德很奇怪，但他也很累。 他本来只想小睡一会儿，但一上床就撞到了头——”