20 The High-Flying Prankster

The High-Flying Prankster Bethany was flying high—literally. She was flying higher than ever before because the beast was getting cocky in its new body. Usually, Claudette kept close to the ground because she wanted to keep Bethany safe, but the beast was plagued with no such concerns. It weaved in and out of the soggy clouds, doing occasional twirls and singing rowdy songs at the top of Claudette's voice.

贝瑟尼真的飞得很高。 她飞得比以往任何时候都高，因为这只野兽在它的新身体里变得骄傲自大了。 通常，克劳德特会靠近地面，因为她想保证宝芬妮的安全，但这只野兽却没有这种担心。 它在湿漉漉的云层中穿梭，偶尔旋转一下，用克劳德特的声音高声唱着吵闹的歌曲。

At this height, the neighborhood seemed so small, so pathetic—like some kind of toy town that could be crushed at any moment. As Bethany looked upon it, she felt like one of the superheroes from her comics. The people beneath had rejected her, and soon, they would realize that they should have been her friends, not her enemies. The more she thought about the Gloria idea, the more she liked it too—After all, it was the least that she deserved for attacking Claudette. Bethany expected to feel nervous as they traveled to the orphanage, but she felt remarkably excellent. At this point, the beast dropped her. It's amazing how a little thing like being dropped from a great height can affect someone's mood. Within moments, Bethany's

在这个高度，这个社区显得那么小，那么可怜——就像某种随时可能被摧毁的玩具小镇。 当宝芬妮看着它的时候，她觉得自己就像漫画中的超级英雄一样。 下面的人拒绝了她，很快，他们就会意识到他们应该是她的朋友，而不是她的敌人。 她越想格洛丽亚这个主意，她就越喜欢——毕竟，这是她攻击克劳德特所应得的最起码的惩罚。 宝芬妮本以为他们去孤儿院的路上会感到紧张，但她却感觉非常好。 就在这时，野兽扔下了她。 令人惊讶的是，像从很高的地方掉下来这样的小事会影响一个人的情绪。 不一会儿，宝芬妮的

spirits were no longer riding high, and as she tumbled through the air, the neighborhood didn't seem quite so pathetic or toy-townish. It had taken on more terrifyingly lifelike dimensions, and she shared her new review of the place by screaming for dear life. She was just about to be impaled by the pointy roof of the library when the beast scooped her up with Claudette's talons. "What the flip did you do that for?" screamed Bethany. "I thought it would be fun," said the beast. Bethany wondered whether she might have enjoyed it if she knew she was going to be saved. Two weeks previously, on one of their bucket-list days, she had made Ebenezer take her on a roller coaster, and she had loved it,

人们的情绪不再高高在上，当她在空中翻滚时，周围的人看起来也不那么可怜了，也不那么像玩具城了。 它呈现出更可怕的逼真的维度，她尖叫着分享她对这个地方的新评价。 她正要被图书馆尖尖的屋顶刺穿，这时那只野兽用克劳德特的爪子把她抓走了。 “你到底做了什么？”宝芬妮尖叫道。 “我想这会很有趣，”野兽说。 伯大尼在想，如果她知道自己要得救了，她会不会高兴呢？ 两周前，在他们的遗愿清单日，她让埃比尼泽带她去坐过山车，她很喜欢，

even though he'd trembled for hours afterwards. "Do it again," said Bethany. "This time, go higher." The beast shrugged Claudette's wings and flew Bethany even farther beyond the clouds before dropping her again. This time, she screamed for joy. They did this as they flew to the orphanage. Bethany was having fun because

尽管之后他浑身发抖了好几个小时。 “再来一遍，”宝芬妮说。 “这一次，爬得更高。”野兽耸耸克劳德特的翅膀，把宝芬妮飞到云外更远的地方，然后又把她放下来。 这一次，她高兴得尖叫起来。 他们在飞往孤儿院的途中这样做了。 宝芬妮玩得很开心是因为

she knew that Claudette would always be there to catch her, whilst the beast liked thinking that Bethany could smash into the ground at any moment. In between the screams, they would peek and peer at the people below who were making their way to the theater. Many of them were chatting excitedly about the evening that lay ahead of them. A day ago, Bethany would have loved to join in with their excited chatter, but now she just looked forward to destroying their happiness. The beast landed Bethany on the opposite side from the orphanage. It started to fly away. "Hey! Where are you going?" shouted Bethany.

她知道克劳德特会一直在那里抓住她，而野兽喜欢认为宝芬妮随时可能撞到地上。 在尖叫的间隙，他们会偷看和窥视下面正在向剧院走去的人。 他们中的许多人都在兴奋地谈论着即将到来的夜晚。 一天前，贝瑟尼很想加入他们兴奋的闲聊，但现在她只想破坏他们的幸福。 野兽把宝芬妮送到了孤儿院的对面。 它开始飞走了。“嘿!你要去哪里？”伯大尼喊道。

"What, are you looking for a snack or something?" asked the beast. It lifted one of Claudette's talons in the air and farted out a stinky, grayish egg. When it cracked open, the street was filled with the stench of a rotten shepherd's pie. "I need to set up a camera at the theater because I'm broadcasting the performance for someone special. I'm sure you'll be able to bring Gloria in on your own." The beast flew away, leaving Bethany unable to ask any questions about broadcasting or special guests. She crossed the road and pushed open the rusted orphanage gates. Gloria was holding her final hijacking rehearsal on the front lawn. There was no stage, but this didn't matter, because Gloria was happy to use Timothy's back instead. She

“什么，你是在找零食还是什么？”野兽问。 它把克劳德特的一只爪子举到空中，放了一个发臭的灰色鸡蛋出来。 当它裂开的时候，街上充满了腐烂的羊肉饼的臭味。 “我需要在剧院里安装一台摄像机，因为我要为一个特别的人转播演出。 我相信你可以自己把格洛丽亚带进来。” 野兽飞走了，让宝芬妮无法问任何关于广播或特别嘉宾的问题。 她穿过马路，推开了孤儿院锈迹斑斑的大门。 格洛丽亚正在前草坪上进行最后一次劫机彩排。 没有舞台，但没关系，因为格洛丽亚很乐意用蒂莫西的背来代替。 她