10 The Apology

The Apology The beast was right. Bethany was in no mood for mischief. After she'd changed clothes and cleaned the soot from her face, she sat downstairs and stared sadly into thin air. She didn't even have enough energy to watch television. When Ebenezer saw this, he experienced a strange and unfamiliar feeling. At first he

野兽是对的。 宝芬妮没有心情胡闹。 她换好衣服，擦干净脸上的烟灰后，坐在楼下，悲伤地盯着稀薄的空气。 她甚至没有足够的精力看电视。 当埃比尼泽看到这一点时，他经历了一种奇怪而陌生的感觉。 起初他

thought he was having stomach issues, so he filled up several hot-water bottles and strapped them to his waist, and then, when this didn't work, he presumed that it must be a headache. He fetched an ice pack from one of the freezers and bandaged it to his head. It wasn't until the ice pack had melted and the hot- water bottles had cooled that he realized that something else was wrong. No matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of this unpleasant gnawing at the pit of his stomach, and he couldn't shake his feelings of discomfort. It took Ebenezer a few more minutes before he realized that he was feeling guilty about what had happened. He knew that he should be happy, and he knew that he probably ought to thank the beast for helping

他以为自己的胃出了问题，于是他装了几个热水瓶，绑在腰上，然后，当这不起作用时，他推测一定是头痛。 他从冷冻室里取出一个冰袋，用绷带包扎在头上。 直到冰袋融化，热水瓶冷却，他才意识到有些地方出了问题。 不管他做什么，他都无法摆脱这种不愉快的啃噬他的胃窝，他无法摆脱这种不舒服的感觉。 埃比尼泽又过了几分钟才意识到他对所发生的事情感到内疚。 他知道他应该很高兴，他知道他也许应该感谢野兽的帮助

him to control Bethany. However, for some reason, it didn't feel right. There was even a part of him that wished Bethany would start pulling pranks again. Bethany deserved some sort of an apology. The beast wasn't going to give her one, so Ebenezer decided that he would have to do it himself. He went upstairs and changed into a blue shirt and a pair of gentle beige trousers, because he felt that this was exactly the sort of outfit that one should wear to say sorry. When he came back downstairs, he found Bethany waiting for him by the front door. She was wearing her coat and carrying the box of things she had brought with her from the orphanage.

来控制宝芬妮然而，出于某种原因，它感觉不对。 他甚至有点希望宝芬妮能重新开始搞恶作剧。 宝芬妮应该得到某种道歉。 野兽不打算给她一个，所以埃比尼泽决定他必须自己做。 他上了楼，换上一件蓝衬衫和一条柔和的米色裤子，因为他觉得这正是一个人在道歉时应该穿的衣服。 当他回到楼下时，他发现宝芬妮在前门等他。 她穿着大衣，提着一箱她从孤儿院带来的东西。

"Ah, Bethany, so glad you're up and about. I need to say something to you," said Ebenezer. "I want to say I'm sorry," said Bethany. This was a bit of a shock for Ebenezer. He felt that he might have to change into a different outfit in order to deal with this conversation. "I beg your pardon, did you say that you wanted to apologize?" "Yes. But not to you. Can you drive me to the orphanage?" Ebenezer was too surprised to make a fuss. He didn't think to ask any questions until they were both in the car. "Why have you brought your box?" he asked, putting on his seat belt.

"啊，宝芬妮，很高兴你能起来走动。 我有话要对你说，”埃比尼泽说。 “我想说对不起，”宝芬妮说。 这对埃比尼泽来说有点震惊。 他觉得为了应付这场谈话，他可能得换一套衣服。 “对不起，你是说你想道歉吗？”“是的。 但不是对你。你能开车送我去孤儿院吗？”埃比尼泽太惊讶了，没有大惊小怪。 直到他们俩都进了车，他才想到要问任何问题。 “你为什么把箱子带来了？”他问，系上安全带。

"Because it's part of my apology," she answered, not putting on hers. "Be quiet, I need to practice. I've never done one before." Ebenezer drove while Bethany practiced quietly to herself. After a short drive, they arrived at the orphanage. Miss Fizzlewick was coming to the end of her daily "ladylike smiles" lesson. She had lined up all the girls in the playground and was forcing them to stretch fake smiles across their faces. "Come on, Amy, you can do better! No one's going to love you with a face like that," said Miss Fizzlewick. "But my face is hurtsing," said Amy, as she clung tighter to Miss Lillipie, the teddy bear. "That's no excuse, pain is a necessary part of becoming a lady! I want you all to go back

“因为这是我道歉的一部分，”她回答，并没有装出道歉的样子。 “安静点，我需要练习。 我以前从来没有做过。” 埃比尼泽开车，宝芬妮自己静静地练习。 开车没多久，他们就到了孤儿院。 菲兹乐维克小姐每天的“淑女微笑”课快上完了。 她让所有的女孩在操场上站成一排，强迫她们在脸上露出假笑。 “加油，艾米，你可以做得更好！”你长着这样一张脸，没有人会喜欢你的。”菲兹乐维克小姐说。 “但是我的脸很痛，”艾米说，她紧紧地抱着泰迪熊利力皮小姐。 “这不是借口，痛苦是成为一个淑女的必要部分！”我要你们都回去

to your rooms, stare in the mirror, and continue practicing. You're not allowed to stop until your gums bleed," said Miss Fizzlewick. She ushered the children into the main building, and as the last one went in, she turned around to find Ebenezer and Bethany walking up the drive. She trotted out her best fake smile for Ebenezer (the sight was far from pleasant). She tutted at Bethany. "I wish I could say I was surprised to find you here again. What did you do this time, Bethany?" sighed Miss Fizzlewick. "She didn't do anything," said Ebenezer. Of course, this wasn't true, but he felt that there was no need to bring up Bethany's

回到你的房间，盯着镜子，继续练习。 除非你的牙床流血，否则不许停下来。”菲兹乐维克小姐说。 她把孩子们领进了主楼，当最后一个孩子进去时，她转过身来，发现埃比尼泽和宝芬妮正沿着车道走着。 她向埃比尼泽露出她最好的假笑（这景象一点也不令人愉快）。 她对宝芬妮嘘寒问热。“我真希望我能说我很惊讶又在这里找到你。 这次你又干了什么，宝芬妮？”菲兹乐维克小姐叹了口气。 “她什么也没做，”埃比尼泽说。 当然，这不是真的，但他觉得没有必要提起宝芬妮的事