15 The Apology After-Party

The Apology After-Party No one showed up; no one called to tell me they weren't coming. I prepared all this food for nothing, and I feel like a flipping idiot. Even Geoffrey…," said Bethany as she crossly brushed the tears from her eyes. Ebenezer looked around at the slowly ruining sandwiches, the jugs of fizzy orange that were losing their sparkle, and the seagull napkins that would all have to be unfolded and put away. He was distracted from his Claudette concerns because he couldn't

派对后的道歉没有人来；没人打电话告诉我他们不来了。 我白白准备了这么多食物，我觉得自己像个白痴。 即使是杰弗里……”宝芬妮一边说一边生气地擦去眼里的泪水。 埃比尼泽环顾四周，看着那些正在慢慢变质的三明治，一壶一壶的冒着气泡的橘子汁正在失去光泽，还有那些海鸥餐巾，它们都得打开放好。 他从克劳德特的事上分心了，因为他做不到

believe that anyone could do this to Bethany, let alone a whole neighborhood. "Claudette said they definitely all got their invitations. She's gone now to see what flipping happened," said Bethany. "She thinks that—" The phone rang, and Bethany leaped over—answering before the first ring had rung. "Claudette? Oh, hey—it's you. My bad, I was expecting someone else." Miss Muddle was on the line. Bethany wiped her eyes with her sleeves and tried to put on a cheery voice, even though she was feeling about as poopy as a lamppost that's been attacked by a dog with diarrhea. "What time do you want me there for the first shift? I have a LOT of questions about the book, 'cause I barely understood a word of

我不敢相信会有人对宝芬妮做出这种事，更别说整个社区了。 克劳德特说他们肯定都收到了邀请。 她现在去看看发生了什么事，”宝芬妮说。 “她认为——”电话铃响了，宝芬妮在第一个铃响之前就跳过去接了电话。 “克劳德特?哦，嘿，是你。 我的错，我在等别人。” 马德尔小姐来电话了。 贝瑟妮用袖子擦了擦眼睛，努力装出一副愉快的样子，尽管她觉得自己就像一根被拉肚子的狗咬了的灯柱一样便便。 “你想让我什么时候上第一班？” 关于这本书我有很多问题，因为我几乎一个字都不懂

it.… You what?… That wasn't me! I wasn't trying to get you into trouble with the health inspector, I promise!… No, really, seriously, I haven't been out of the house today.… I wouldn't even know where to get that many frogs from.… Hello? HELLO?!" Bethany looked at the phone receiver as if it had just tried to bite her ear off. Then she smashed it against the wall. "Miss Muddle says I'm never allowed in the sweetshop again," she said, smashing and smashing until there was nothing left but a wire in her hand. "Someone broke in and unleashed an army of frogs in her laboratory, spoiling all her picnic baskets. She thinks I did it!" "You didn't, did you?" asked Ebenezer. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he

它。你什么？那不是我！我不是想让你在卫生检查员那里惹上麻烦，我保证！不，真的，说真的，我今天没出过家门。我甚至不知道从哪里弄到那么多青蛙。…你好吗? 喂? !”贝瑟尼看着电话听筒，好像听筒要把她的耳朵咬掉似的。 然后她把它往墙上摔。 “马德尔小姐说再也不许我进糖果店了。”她说着，不停地砸呀砸，直到手里只剩下一根铁丝。 有人破门而入，在她的实验室里放了一大群青蛙，把她所有的野餐篮子都弄坏了。 她认为是我干的！”“你没有，是吗？”埃比尼泽问。 话一出口，他就

wished he could take them back again. "Of course you didn't," he said, way too late. "I know you didn't. It's just that you used to be rather fond of putting frogs in unexpected—" "You're just like all the others," said Bethany. "If even you don't believe me, then how am I ever gonna—what's the point in—" Claudette flew back into the house. She swooped into the grand sitting room and wrapped Bethany in a feathery hug. She was much better at comforting Bethany, and Ebenezer felt foolish for having suspected her of being anything other than a loyal friend. "I'm so sorry, poppet," said Claudette. She tried using her wings to dry Bethany's tears, but Bethany wasn't having any of it. She wriggled out of Claudette's grasp and

真希望他能把它们带回去。 “你当然没有。”他说，但为时已晚。 “我知道你没有。只是你过去很喜欢把青蛙放在意想不到的地方——”“你和其他人一样，”宝芬妮说。 “如果连你都不相信我，那我怎么能——这有什么意义——”克劳德特飞回屋里。 她冲进大客厅，把宝芬妮紧紧地搂在怀里。 她更善于安慰伯大尼，埃比尼泽怀疑她不是一个忠实的朋友，觉得自己很愚蠢。 “我很抱歉，宝贝，”克劳德特说。 她试着用翅膀擦干宝芬妮的眼泪，但宝芬妮一点也不喜欢。 她挣脱了克劳德特的手

demanded to be told what everyone had said about her. "Oh, poppet, you really don't want to know," said Claudette. "Tell me NOW!" said Bethany. Claudette looked at Ebenezer, as if pleading with him to help her out. Ebenezer didn't know what he should do. "Well, poppet," said Claudette with a resigned sigh, "the reason no one came is because… no one likes you. The bird-keeper, the Cussocks, the zoo, all the children at the orphanage—they dislike you because of the pranks you've pulled in the past. None of them trust you, and they thought that this party was just an excuse for some fresh horridness."

要求知道大家是怎么说她的。 “哦，宝贝，你不会想知道的，”克劳德特说。 “现在就告诉我！”伯大尼说。 克劳德特看着埃比尼泽，好像在恳求他帮她一把。 埃比尼泽不知道该怎么办。 “嗯，宝贝，”克劳德特无奈地叹了口气，“没人来是因为……没人喜欢你。 鸟饲养员、库索克一家、动物园、孤儿院的孩子们都不喜欢你，因为你过去常搞恶作剧。 他们没有一个人信任你，他们认为这次聚会只是为一些新的恐怖活动找借口。”

Bethany collapsed into a nearby chair, looking as though she'd been slapped across the face by a large and extremely unfriendly fish. Ebenezer watched Claudette closely as she hobbled around the room and seemed to grow angrier and angrier about what had happened. "It just makes me so cross that they won't give you a chance," said Claudette. "This neighborhood needs to be taught a lesson.…" "This neighborhood does need to be taught a lesson…," said Bethany. The fish look vanished from her face and was replaced with a more determined kind of expression. "I mean, this whole thing makes me question why anyone should bother trying to be good in the first place," said Claudette,

宝芬妮瘫倒在旁边的一把椅子上，看上去就像被一条极其不友好的大鱼扇了耳光。 克劳德特一瘸一拐地在房间里走来走去，埃比尼泽紧紧盯着她，似乎对发生的事情越来越生气。 “这让我很生气，他们不会给你机会的，”克劳德特说。 “这个社区需要得到教训。贝瑟妮说：“这个社区确实需要好好教训一下了。” 鱼一样的神情从她脸上消失了，取而代之的是一种更加坚定的表情。 “我的意思是，这整件事让我质疑，为什么一开始就有人要费心去做个好人，”克劳德特说，