5 The Bethany

The Bethany You want to adopt Bethany?!" asked Miss Fizzlewick. They were back in her office. Miss Fizzlewick had sent all the children to their rooms, except Bethany, who was told to wait outside. "Yes, please," said Ebenezer. "Is that going to be a problem?"

“你想收养宝芬妮？！”菲兹乐维克小姐问。 他们回到了她的办公室。 菲兹乐维克小姐已经把所有的孩子都打发回了自己的房间，只有宝芬妮被要求在外面等着。 “好的，”埃比尼泽说。 “这会是个问题吗？”

"It will probably turn into a problem for you," said Miss Fizzlewick, pursing her lips. She told Ebenezer about how Bethany had arrived at the orphanage after her parents had died in a fire, and she warned him that Bethany had been nothing but trouble ever since. Bethany had pulled every prank and trick imaginable since she had been at the orphanage. She had squirted superglue on toilet seats so that anyone who sat on one would be trapped in the bathroom for days, she had filled the sugar pot with chili powder to ruin Miss Fizzlewick's cups of tea, and she had left banana peels on every staircase, which led to nasty falls for many of the children.

“这可能会给你带来麻烦。”菲兹乐维克小姐噘着嘴说。 她告诉埃比尼泽，伯大尼的父母在一场火灾中丧生后，她是如何来到孤儿院的，并警告他，从那以后，伯大尼就一直是个麻烦。 自从来到孤儿院，贝瑟尼就把所有能想到的恶作剧和诡计都搞了个遍。 她在马桶座圈上喷了强力胶，这样坐在马桶座圈上的人就会被困在浴室里好几天；她在糖罐里装满了辣椒粉，把菲兹乐维克小姐的茶杯给毁了；她在每个楼梯上都放了香蕉皮，导致很多孩子都摔了一跤。

Miss Fizzlewick explained that it wasn't just the naughtiness that was an issue, it was the joy that Bethany took in doing horrible things. Unlike most children, Bethany didn't show any remorse after she had been told off. She seemed to be very proud of her behavior. "I've never met any girl so determined to be unladylike," said Miss Fizzlewick. "You'll have a battle on your hands if you take her in." "I'm confident it's a battle I can win," said Ebenezer. "Don't be. There was another woman like you who came here a few years ago. She thought she knew everything about children, and that she could get the better of Bethany." "What happened to her?" "She took Bethany home, but brought her back three days later after Bethany threw all

菲兹乐维克小姐解释说，这不仅仅是淘气的问题，而是宝芬妮在做可怕的事情时所获得的快乐。 与大多数孩子不同，贝瑟尼在被训斥后没有表现出任何悔恨。 她似乎对自己的行为感到非常自豪。 “我从来没见过哪个女孩子这么不淑女，”菲兹乐维克小姐说。 “如果你把她带走，你就有麻烦了。” “我相信这是一场我能赢的战斗，”埃比尼泽说。 “不要。几年前还有一个和你一样的女人来过这里。 她以为自己对孩子的事了如指掌，以为自己能管住伯大尼。” “她怎么了？”她把宝大尼带回家，但三天后，宝大尼把所有的东西都扔了，她又把她带了回来

of the woman's china dolls into the washing machine." Ebenezer was happy to hear this. He was sure that he had finally found the perfect child to feed to the beast. "Bethany has no manners. She never wears any of the pretty dresses that are laid out for her, and she eats her food like a barnyard animal," said Miss Fizzlewick. "I want you to think very carefully before taking her into your home." Ebenezer thought carefully. This took all of three seconds. "I still want Bethany," he said. "And I can promise you that I will never bring her back." And so it was settled. Miss Fizzlewick told Bethany that she had a new home, and that she was to collect her things at once. By the

把那个女人的中国娃娃扔进洗衣机。” 埃比尼泽听到这个消息很高兴。 他确信他终于找到了一个完美的孩子来喂野兽。 “宝芬妮没有礼貌。她从来不穿那些为她准备的漂亮衣服，而且她吃东西就像谷仓院子里的动物一样。”菲兹乐维克小姐说。 “我希望你在带她回家之前仔细考虑一下。” 埃比尼泽仔细地想。 这只花了三秒钟。 “我还是想要宝芬妮，”他说。 “我可以向你保证，我再也不会让她回来了。” 事情就这样解决了。菲兹乐维克小姐告诉宝芬妮她有了新家，要她马上收拾她的东西。 由

time Ebenezer had finished signing all the necessary forms, Bethany was waiting outside with a box containing a catapult, a toothbrush, a whoopee cushion, a pile of clothes, a crumpled photograph, the last two worms, and a stack of comics. There was a twinkle of mischief in Bethany's eyes as she looked at Ebenezer. She was sizing up her latest target and thinking of all the ways that she might go about tormenting him. "Last chance, Mr. Tweezer. Are you absolutely sure about this?" asked Miss Fizzlewick, looking doubtful that Bethany wouldn't soon be back in the orphanage. "Positive," answered Ebenezer. "Goodbye." Ebenezer led Bethany to his car, while whistling a happy tune.

埃比尼泽签完所有必要的表格后，宝芬妮就在外面等着，手里拿着一个盒子，里面有一个弹弓、一把牙刷、一个呜呼坐垫、一堆衣服、一张皱巴巴的照片、最后两只虫子和一堆漫画。 宝芬妮看着埃比尼泽时，眼睛里闪烁着调皮的光芒。 她在打量着她的最新目标，想着她可以用各种方法来折磨他。 “最后一次机会，镊子先生。 你真的有把握吗？”菲兹乐维克小姐问，她对宝芬妮不会很快回到孤儿院表示怀疑。 “肯定的，”埃比尼泽回答。 “再见。”埃比尼泽一边吹着欢快的口哨，一边把宝芬妮领到他的车旁。

"You're a rubbish whistler. You sound like a granny trying to spit out a cough drop," said Bethany, as she climbed into the back seat. In response, Ebenezer continued to whistle—louder and with more enthusiasm than before. He started the engine. He was just pulling out of the orphanage when he saw Geoffrey running toward the car, shouting, "Wait!", "Stop!", and "Oh, bother, please don't go!" "Drive!" Bethany shouted at Ebenezer. "Don't just sit there, you nitwit, let's go!"

“你是个胡说八道的人。 你的声音听起来像个老奶奶在吐止咳药，”宝芬妮一边说，一边爬上了后座。 作为回应，埃比尼泽继续吹口哨——声音更大，比以前更热情。 他发动了引擎。他刚从孤儿院出来，就看见杰弗里朝汽车跑去，喊着：“等等！”、“停下！”和“噢，麻烦，请不要走！”“开车!”宝芬妮对着埃比尼谢大喊。 “别坐在那儿，你这个笨蛋，我们走吧！”