12 The Breakfast

The Breakfast Ebenezer woke up the following morning feeling most unwell. When he opened his eyes, everything was blurry, and he had to put on his monocle just to see the duvet. And then, when he let out his morning yawn, his elbows and arms creaked like they were a set of old doors.

第二天早上，埃比尼泽醒来时觉得很不舒服。 当他睁开眼睛时，一切都很模糊，他必须戴上单片眼镜才能看到羽绒被。 然后，当他早上打呵欠时，他的胳膊肘和胳膊嘎吱作响，就像一扇旧门。

He stood up and discovered that his legs were wobbling. They both still worked, but they had lost much of their strength during the night. It took even longer than it had done the day before to reach the bathroom, and when he arrived, he almost burst into tears. Ebenezer was upset by his reflection. His face was now entirely wrinkled with age. Just to make himself feel worse, Ebenezer started to count the number of wrinkles that had appeared on his forehead overnight. He had reached number eight, when he was interrupted by the sound of the beast's bell. "This day keeps getting better and better," he moaned to the wrinkly mirror. Ebenezer trudged upstairs. The sound of the bell grew louder and more demanding as he made his way to the top floor.

他站起来，发现自己的腿在发抖。 他们俩都还在工作，但他们在夜里失去了很多力气。 他比前一天花了更长的时间才到达洗手间，当他到达时，他几乎哭了出来。 埃比尼泽被自己的想法弄得心烦意乱。 随着年龄的增长，他的脸现在完全布满了皱纹。 为了让自己感觉更糟，埃比尼泽开始数自己额头上一夜之间出现的皱纹。 他刚走到八号，就被野兽的铃声打断了。 “今天真是越来越好了，”他对着满是皱纹的镜子呻吟道。 埃比尼泽拖着沉重的脚步上楼。 他向顶楼走去，铃声越来越响，越来越刺耳。

The beast continued to ring the bell, even when Ebenezer was in the room. It only stopped after Ebenezer coughed in a pointed fashion. "What in the name of hot biscuits took you so long?" spat the beast. It was not in a jolly mood. "Terribly sorry, my legs are a bit slow this morning," answered Ebenezer. The beast targeted its three black eyes at Ebenezer. It burst into laughter. "Ho ho ho, oh, Ebenezer, is that really what you look like without the potion?" it said. "Gosh, those 511 years really haven't been kind to you, have they?" The beast was truly tickled by the sight of Ebenezer's new oldness. It laughed and laughed, until it broke out into a coughing fit.

即使埃比尼泽在房间里，那只野兽也继续按铃。 直到埃比尼泽尖锐地咳了一声，才停了下来。 “该死的热饼干，你怎么花了这么长时间？”野兽吐唾沫。 它的心情并不愉快。 “非常抱歉，今天早上我的腿有点慢，”埃比尼泽回答说。 这只野兽把三只黑眼睛对准了埃比尼泽。 它突然大笑起来。“嗬嗬嗬，哦，埃比尼泽，你没喝魔药真的是这个样子吗？” “天哪，这511年真的对你不好，是吗？”看到埃比尼泽的新面貌，那畜生真的很高兴。 它笑啊笑，直到突然咳嗽起来。

Ebenezer walked over and gave the beast a firm pat on the back. The beast coughed out some stationery (a ruler, a protractor, and a packet of pencils), and then it was back to normal again. "You shouldn't have made me laugh so much, Ebenezer!" said the beast crossly. "You know how bad it is for my chest. Really, you could have given me some warning before you came up here looking like that." "Sorry, but I'm afraid that my appearance was a bit of a shock to me as well. I couldn't give you much warning, because I had no idea that I would wake up looking like this. I can't remember the last time I was without the potion for so long." "April 1902," said the beast. "It was when you took ages to bring me that Baskerville

埃比尼泽走过去，坚定地拍了拍野兽的后背。 那野兽咳出了一些文具（一把尺子、一个量角器和一包铅笔），然后一切又恢复了正常。 “你不该让我笑这么多，埃比尼泽！”野兽生气地说。 “你知道这对我的胸部有多糟糕。 真的，在你打扮成这样来这里之前，你应该事先告诉我的。” “对不起，但我恐怕我的外表对我来说也有点震惊。 我不能提前给你太多警告，因为我不知道我醒来时会变成这个样子。 我都不记得上次这么长时间没有魔药是什么时候了。” “1902年4月。”野兽说。 “就是在你花了好长时间才把那个巴斯克维尔带来的时候

hound to eat. But I don't remember you looking quite this old and rotten." "Speaking of the potion, I don't suppose there's any chance you might be able to give me a small advance?" asked Ebenezer. "Yes, yes, yes—that's why I rang for you. How's the child doing?" "She's doing fine, actually. A lot better. You know, she's not as awful as I thought—she apologized to someone yesterday, and she didn't let me sleep on a toad, so… yes. Progress, I would say." The beast was not impressed. It didn't care about Bethany's emotional journey to becoming a better-behaved person. It only wanted to know whether the child was now large enough to eat.

猎狗吃。但我不记得你看起来这么老，这么烂。” “说到魔药，我看你有没有可能预付我一点钱？”埃比尼泽问。 “是的，是的，是的——这就是我给你打电话的原因。 孩子怎么样了？”“实际上，她做得很好。 好多了。她没我想的那么糟，她昨天跟别人道了歉，而且她不让我睡在癞蛤蟆上，所以… 我会说这是进步。”野兽不为所动。 它不关心宝芬妮成为一个更好的人的情感旅程。 它只想知道孩子现在是否大到可以吃东西了。

"The child seemed a little rounder, when I saw her," said the beast. "There was more skin on her bones, and more juiciness in her cheeks. You have done good work, Ebenezer." Ebenezer blushed. It was always a nice surprise to receive compliments from the beast. "And you know, I haven't had so much as a bite to eat, since that singing parrot," continued the beast. "My stomach has started to growl." "Oh, poor you," said Ebenezer. "You should have said. Would you perhaps like a little snack?" "I would rather a fat child, Ebenezer! How much clearer can I be?" Ebenezer's chest tightened. He started to feel uneasy.

“我看到这孩子的时候，她似乎更圆一些。”野兽说。 她的骨头上有更多的皮肤，脸颊上有更多的汁液。 你做得很好，埃比尼谢。” 埃比尼泽脸红了。收到野兽的赞美总是一件令人惊喜的事。 “你知道，自从那只会唱歌的鹦鹉之后，我还没有吃过一口东西。”野兽继续说。 “我的胃开始咕咕叫了。” “哦，可怜的你，”埃比尼泽说。 “你应该早点说。你要不要来点零食？”“我宁愿要一个胖孩子，埃比尼泽！”我还能说得更清楚吗？”埃比尼泽的胸紧了起来。 他开始感到不安。