18 The Song of the Beast

The Song of the Beast Isn't this a nice change of roles?" said the beast. "Now you're the one trapped up here, whilst I'm free to roam around downstairs and have fun with Bethany." "What have you done with her?" asked Ebenezer. His voice was croaky from all the strangling. "I haven't feasted yet, if that's what you're asking," said the beast. "There's way too much fun to be had before all that. Bethany needs to realize that, deep down, she's just as beastly as me."

野兽之歌这不是一个很好的角色转换吗？”野兽说。 “现在你被困在这里了，而我可以在楼下闲逛，和宝芬妮玩得开心。” “你对她做了什么？”埃比尼泽问。 他的声音因被勒死而嘶哑。 “我还没有吃过大餐，如果你是问这个的话。”野兽说。 “在这一切之前，有太多的乐趣可以享受。 宝芬妮需要意识到，在内心深处，她和我一样残忍。”

"Bethany is nothing like you!" croaked Ebenezer. He was using his strongest voice, but it barely came out louder than a whisper. "Oh, I'm not so sure about that," said the beast as it stretched a wicked little smile across Claudette's beak. "Let's look at the facts, shall we? Yesterday, she fed me a live-worm sandwich, and today she is planning a horrible revenge for the rest of the neighborhood. I find it truly empowering to watch her at work." "Those things are different. She thought Claudette was telling her to do them!" "Hmm, yes. And I wonder what else she will do if 'Claudette' says it's okay," said the beast. "I've been thinking about that Gloria Cussock who she dislikes so much. Tell me,

“伯大尼一点也不像你！” 他用尽了最有力的声音，但发出来的声音比耳语还小。 “哦，我不太确定，”野兽说，它把一个邪恶的微笑伸向克劳德特的嘴。 “让我们看看事实，好吗？” 昨天，她给我吃了个活虫子三明治，今天她又在计划对其他邻居进行可怕的报复。 我觉得看着她工作真的很有力量。” “这些事情是不同的。 她以为是克劳德特让她这么做的！”“嗯,是的。 我在想，如果‘克劳德特’同意了，她还会做些什么呢？”野兽说。 “我一直在想那个她非常不喜欢的Gloria Cussock。 请告诉我,

do you think that I might be able to get Bethany to feed her to me?" "Don't be absurd. SHE'LL NEVER—" said Ebenezer. "Tut-tut. 'Never' isn't a very hopeful word now, is it?" said the beast. "Besides, you don't know Bethany like I do. You didn't see how hurt she was when I told her you abandoned her." The beast drank the look of devastation on Ebenezer's face as if it were a delicious blood-milkshake. "Bethany thinks I'm her only real friend left in the world. She thinks I'm the only person who can save her from a life at the orphanage—isn't that hysterical?" said the beast. "And I think she might do just about

你觉得我能让宝芬妮把她喂给我吗？”“别傻了。 她永远不会——”埃比尼泽说。 “啧。‘永远不’现在不是一个充满希望的词了，是吗？”野兽说。 “再说，你不像我这样了解宝芬妮。 当我告诉她你抛弃了她时，你没有看到她有多伤心。” 那畜生把埃比尼泽脸上惨状的表情当作美味的血奶昔喝了下去。 “宝芬妮认为我是她在这个世界上唯一真正的朋友。 她认为我是唯一能把她从孤儿院救出来的人——这是不是太歇斯底里了？”野兽说。 “我想她大概也会这么做

anything if I convinced her that Gloria had hurt Claudette in some way." "NO!" Ebenezer wrestled against the shirt, and once again lost miserably. The beast shook Claudette's head disappointedly. "Hey now, don't be silly," it said. "I know why you're acting like this. You probably think you have to side with Bethany because I won't take you back, don't you? Hmm? Well, you'll be pleased to hear that I've thought a lot about our time together—before the unpleasant Bethany blip." The beast hobbled over and gently stroked Ebenezer with one of Claudette's talons. It left a deep cut in his cheek. "Don't worry about death, Ebenezer. I know it's always been your greatest fear," it said. "Whilst I was plotting my revenge in

只要我能让她相信格洛丽亚以某种方式伤害了克劳德特。” “不!”埃比尼泽和衬衫扭打在一起，又一次惨败。 那畜生失望地摇了摇克劳德特的头。 “嘿，别傻了，”它说。 “我知道你为什么这样。 你可能觉得你必须站在宝芬妮一边因为我不会让你回心转意，对吧？ 嗯?好吧，你会很高兴听到，我对我们在一起的时光想了很多——在宝芬妮的不愉快插曲之前。” 那畜生一瘸一拐地走过来，用克劳德特的一只爪子轻轻地抚摸着埃比尼泽。 这在他的脸颊上留下了深深的伤口。 “别担心死亡，埃比尼泽。 我知道这一直是你最大的恐惧。” "当我在策划复仇的时候

Claudette's belly, I thought about what a good servant you've been. All the other ones I've had grew weak and widdly so quickly, but with you, it took five hundred years before we had any problems. I couldn't bear to lose such a valuable member of staff." "I won't serve you again," said Ebenezer. He couldn't believe he had thought for a moment that he might miss this dreadful creature. "Yes, you will. After I've killed Bethany, all the unpleasantness will be forgotten, and we'll go back to the old routine," said the beast. "You'll bring me my meals, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. You might be sulky for a week or two, but you'll get over it—just like you got over your pet cat. What was her name again? Was it Mistress Tibbs?"

克劳德特的肚子，我在想你是个多么好的仆人。 我养过的其他孩子很快就变弱变胖了，但你，我们花了五百年才出现问题。 我不能忍受失去这样一位有价值的员工。” “我不会再为你服务了，”埃比尼泽说。 他简直不敢相信他曾经有那么一瞬间想到他会想念这个可怕的家伙。 “是的，你会的。“等我杀了宝芬妮，所有的不愉快就会被忘记，我们就会回到以前的生活。”野兽说。 “你给我送饭来，我给你一切你想要的。 你可能会生气一两个星期，但你会克服它——就像你克服你的宠物猫一样。 她叫什么来着？是蒂布斯太太吗？”

"His name was Lord Tibbles, and this is nothing like that! Please, please let Bethany go," said Ebenezer. "Give all the punishments to me." The beast let out a slithery chuckle and hobbled away from Ebenezer. As it hobbled, feathers fell off Claudette's back. "Oh no, I've been waiting for this particular dish for quite some time. It's why I've taken time to season the meal, by buttering her up with cruelty and bitterness," said the beast. "My only regret is that you won't be able to see my triumph in person. We must have a little think about how we can involve you in this wonderful event." The beast hobbled around the attic and had that little think. It stopped hobbling after it was struck by a tremendous idea. The beast

“他的名字是提布尔斯勋爵，这可不是那样！”求你了，求你让宝芬妮走吧，”埃比尼泽说。 “把所有的惩罚都给我吧。” 那畜生发出一声滑溜溜的咯咯笑，一瘸一拐地离开了埃比尼泽。 当它蹒跚前行时，克劳德特背上的羽毛掉了下来。 “哦，不，这道菜我等了好久了。 这就是我花时间给这顿饭调味的原因，用残忍和苦涩给她涂上黄油，”野兽说。 “我唯一的遗憾是你不能亲眼看到我的胜利。 我们必须稍微考虑一下如何让你参与到这场精彩的活动中来。” 那只野兽在阁楼上一瘸一拐地走着，有了那个小小的想法。 它在有了一个伟大的想法之后，就不再蹒跚前行了。 野兽