3 The Great Game

The Great Game I'm dying," said the beast, all those centuries ago. Ebenezer looked behind him. The Nickles weren't far away, and they were each armed with sticks, rocks, and mud. He looked back at the beast and wondered what to do. "If I don't have something to eat soon, I'll disappear entirely. Please, show me some kindness." Ebenezer had never been needed by anyone before. He generally felt like he got in

“我要死了。”几百年前，野兽说。 埃比尼泽回头看了看。 尼克一家就在不远处，他们每个人都带着木棍、石头和泥土。 他回头看了看野兽，不知道该怎么办。 “如果我不快点吃点东西，我就会彻底消失。 请对我好一点。” 以前从来没有人需要过埃比尼泽。 他总觉得自己被录取了

people's ways—especially his mother's. It was a rare sensation to feel like he could actually help someone, and he seized upon the opportunity by feeding the beast a few handfuls of grass and daisies. "Very kind of you," said the beast in a soft and slithery voice. "But that's the wrong kind of kindness. None of this will give me the strength I need." Ebenezer looked behind him again and saw that the Nickles were almost within rock-throwing distance. He ran farther into the field and picked some blackberries from a nearby bush. "Well done for trying," said the beast through tiny, gritted fangs. "But this isn't exactly a proper meal now, is it? Surely,

人们的方式，尤其是他母亲的方式。 这是一种难得的感觉，觉得他真的可以帮助别人，他抓住机会喂了几把草和雏菊。 “你真是太好了。”野兽用一种轻柔而滑溜溜的声音说。 “但这不是一种善良。 这些都不能给我所需的力量。” 埃比尼泽又回头看了看，发现尼克一家已经快到可以扔石头的地方了。 他跑进田野，从附近的灌木丛里摘了一些黑莓。 “你的尝试做得很好。”野兽尖牙尖牙地说。 “但这可不是一顿像样的饭，对吧？” 可以肯定的是,

somewhere, you can find me something with… a pulse?" Ebenezer quickly searched around, but the only living thing he could find was a spider, who was dozing on a cobweb between two bushes. He apologized to the spider before offering it to the beast. The beast devoured the spider and its home in one bite. A dribbly smile spread across its lips, and its small body grew ever so slightly larger. "Keep up the good work and bring me MORE!" said the beast. Fortunately for Ebenezer, a butterfly happened to fly right into his path. Unfortunately for the butterfly, Ebenezer fed it to the beast.

你能在什么地方给我找个……还有脉搏的东西吗？”埃比尼泽迅速地四处寻找，但他能找到的唯一活着的东西是一只蜘蛛，它正在两丛灌木之间的蛛网上打瞌睡。 他向蜘蛛道了歉，然后把蜘蛛给了野兽。 那野兽一口就把蜘蛛和它的家都吃掉了。 它的嘴唇上绽开一丝微笑，它小小的身体也变得越来越大。 “继续干下去，多给我带回来！”野兽说。 埃比尼泽很幸运，一只蝴蝶碰巧飞到了他的路上。 不幸的是，埃比尼泽把蝴蝶喂给了野兽。

The dribbly smile stretched wider, and the beast's body expanded a little more. "Clever little boy—now you're getting the hang of it," said the beast. "We'll soon get me back to full strength." Ebenezer was pleased to have made the peculiar creature happy, but his pleasure was interrupted by a rock, which sailed through the air, whacked his shoulder, and ripped his ruffled shirt. Nicholas had thrown it, and he had a pointed stick in his other hand. His siblings were both carrying splotchy mud balls. "There's no running away now, Ebenoozer Loooser," said Nicholas. "I'm awfully dangerous with sticks like these." Ebenezer instinctively covered the beast with his other hand so that the Nickles

他的笑容更灿烂了，野兽的身体也舒展了一些。 “聪明的小男孩——现在你掌握诀窍了。”野兽说。 “我们很快就能让我完全恢复体力。” 埃比尼泽很高兴能让这个奇怪的家伙开心，但是他的快乐被一块石头打断了，石头从空中飞过，击中了他的肩膀，撕裂了他皱巴巴的衬衫。 尼古拉斯把它扔了出去，另一只手拿着一根尖尖的棍子。 他的兄弟姐妹都抱着脏兮兮的泥球。 “现在逃不掉了，懒汉，”尼古拉斯说。 “我拿着这样的棍子是非常危险的。” 埃比尼泽本能地用另一只手盖住了那只野兽，这样尼克尔斯就可以

couldn't hurt it. He smiled weakly at the three of them. "Congratulations, you win!" said Ebenezer, trying to speak in a light, chummy tone. "Such a smashing game. Is it my turn to chase you now?" "This isn't a game, you friendless Loooser," said Nicola. She threw a mud ball, which hit him right in the stomach and left a horrid mark on his shirt. "Please, don't be like that. You might like me, if you gave me a chance," said Ebenezer. "And I'd really appreciate it if you could be careful. This shirt is made from the finest silk." This did little to improve Ebenezer's relationship with the children. Nicco threw

也无妨。他对他们三个微微一笑。 “祝贺你，你赢了！”埃比尼泽说，试图用轻松、友好的语气说话。 “真是一场精彩的比赛。现在轮到我追你了吗？”“这不是游戏，你这个没有朋友的懒虫，”尼古拉说。 她扔了一个泥球，正好打在他的肚子上，在他的衬衫上留下了一个可怕的印记。 “请不要这样。 如果你给我一个机会，你可能会喜欢我的，”埃比尼泽说。 “如果你能小心一点，我会很感激的。 这件衬衫是用最好的丝绸做的。” 这并没有改善埃比尼泽与孩子们的关系。 Nicco扔

his mud ball and left a nasty bruise on Ebenezer's kneecap. "Owww. This is my third most favorite pair of trousers," said Ebenezer, rubbing his kneecap with the hand that was being used to cover the beast. "What's that?" asked Nicholas, pointing with his pointy stick. Ebenezer saw that the beast was wiggling angrily in his hand. "How dare you treat my servant like this! Don't you know who I am?" it asked Nicholas. "Is that a pet worm? You really are such a loooser, Ebenoozer," said Nicholas. "Right, that's it!" The beast closed its three black eyes and shut its dribbling mouth. It started to wiggle its blob of a body and made a low humming noise as it moved from side to

在埃比尼泽的膝盖骨上留下了严重的瘀伤。 “噢。这是我第三喜欢的裤子，”埃比尼泽一边说，一边用那只用来盖住野兽的手揉着膝盖骨。 “那是什么？”尼古拉斯用他的尖棍指着问道。 埃比尼泽看到那只野兽在他手里愤怒地扭动着。 “你怎么敢这样对待我的仆人！”你不知道我是谁吗？”它问尼古拉斯。 “那是宠物虫吗？”“你真是个懒汉，埃比努泽，”尼古拉斯说。 “对，就是这样！”那畜生闭上了三只黑眼睛，闭上了淌着口水的嘴巴。 它开始扭动它那一团一团的身体，从一边移动到另一边时发出低沉的嗡嗡声