Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 "Set the bait," Rex said to Peter. Peter walked up quickly and dropped the dead mice in front of the hole. Then he dashed back. Peter might be a clown. But he was a brave clown. "Okay," Rex said in a steely voice. "Now we wait. You know what to do." All week at recess they'd worked out their plan, huddling together like spies while the girls jumped

第六章“放鱼饵，”雷克斯对彼得说。 彼得迅速走上前，把死老鼠扔在洞前。 然后他冲了回去。彼得可能是个小丑。 但他是一个勇敢的小丑。“好吧，”雷克斯语气强硬地说。 “现在我们等着。你知道该怎么做。” 整个星期的课间休息时间，他们都在制定计划，在女孩们跳的时候，他们像间谍一样挤在一起

rope and the younger kids played Red Rover. They figured they'd wait for King Rattler to poke his head out of his hole. Then they'd rush forward for the attack. Rex would chop the snake's head off with his ax. Peter would hack away with his hoe. Sven and John would stand by to smack it with their sticks. When it was over, Rex would get to cut off the rattle. That was only fair, since he'd found King Rattler's den and this whole mission was his idea. They chose a spot a few feet from the hole. They sat in the dirt, with their backs to the creek. John tried not to think about the sound an ax would make when it chopped through the neck of a huge snake. He wondered what it would do when its head was hacked off. Was it like a chicken, whose body kept moving, even without a head? Would its jaws keep snapping open and shut, fangs shooting out venom? He hoped the guys didn't notice.

绳子和年幼的孩子玩红色漫游者。 他们想等拉特勒国王从洞里探出头来。 然后他们会冲上去进攻。 雷克斯会用斧头砍下蛇头。 彼得会用锄头挖土。 斯文和约翰会站在旁边用棍子打它。 当它结束的时候，雷克斯会把拨浪鼓剪掉。 这很公平，因为他找到了拉特勒国王的巢穴，而这次任务是他的主意。 他们选了一个离洞几英尺远的地方。 他们坐在泥土里，背对着小溪。 约翰尽量不去想斧头砍断一条巨蛇脖子时发出的声音。 他想知道它的头被砍掉后会做什么。 是不是像一只小鸡，即使没有头，身体也在不停地移动？ 它的下颚会不停地张开合上，尖牙喷出毒液吗？ 他希望那些家伙不会注意到。

They were quiet for a while, but Peter couldn't keep his jaw shut for long. Rex kept shushing him, but it was no use. Soon enough, they were all jabbering again. They bickered about which candy at the general store was the best, and decided it was a tie between licorice and peppermint sticks. They talked about the girls at school. The guys all liked Annie, who had curly hair and very white teeth. John liked Myra, who had a loud laugh and was helping Franny learn to jump rope. But he kept that information to himself. The wind turned colder. None of them were wearing coats, and soon they were rubbing their arms to keep warm. "My pa says it's going to be a bad winter," Rex told them. "He says blizzards are going to start early." "How does he know?" John asked, hoping it wasn't such a dumb question.

他们沉默了一会儿，但彼得无法长时间保持沉默。 雷克斯不停地嘘他，但没有用。 很快，他们又开始叽叽喳喳了。 他们为杂货店里哪种糖果最好而争吵，最后决定甘草糖和薄荷糖平分胜券。 他们谈论学校里的女孩。 男孩们都喜欢安妮，她有一头卷发和一口洁白的牙齿。 约翰喜欢迈拉，她笑得很大声，正在帮助弗兰尼学习跳绳。 但他没有告诉别人。 风更冷了。他们都没穿外套，很快他们就开始搓胳膊取暖了。 “我爸爸说这将是一个糟糕的冬天，”雷克斯告诉他们。 “他说暴风雪要提前来了。” “他怎么知道的？”约翰问道，希望这不是一个愚蠢的问题。

"Birds have already gone south," Rex said, squinting up at the sky. "Animals know things we don't." Sven and Peter nodded in agreement. John wondered how any winter could be more miserable than last year's. He shivered just thinking about the bone-chilling cold. The first blizzard had struck in October. John and Pa were heading home from town when the sky turned dark. The snow started swirling so thick they couldn't see an inch in front of their faces. Luckily their ox, Shadow, stayed on the path and got them home before they were frozen solid. "At least in winter, there are no grasshoppers," Peter said. Sven groaned. "Nothing worse than grasshoppers," added Rex. John smiled a little because he was sure they were joking. Nobody could be afraid of a little grasshopper. They didn't even sting.

“鸟儿已经往南飞了，”雷克斯说，眯着眼睛望着天空。 “动物知道我们不知道的事情。” 斯文和彼得点头表示同意。 约翰不知道哪一个冬天会比去年更悲惨。 一想到刺骨的寒冷，他就浑身发抖。 第一场暴风雪发生在10月。 约翰和爸爸正在从镇上回家的路上，这时天变黑了。 雪开始纷飞，雪太厚了，他们看不见前面一英寸的东西。 幸运的是，他们的牛“影子”一直在路上，在他们被冻死之前把他们送回了家。 “至少在冬天，没有蚱蜢，”彼得说。 斯文呻吟着。“没有什么比蚱蜢更糟糕的了，”雷克斯补充道。 约翰微微一笑，因为他确信他们是在开玩笑。 没有人会害怕一只小蚱蜢。 它们甚至不蜇人。

"You never heard about the grasshopper attacks?" Rex asked. John studied Rex's face, and realized he wasn't joking. And then, leaning in close, the guys told John the story.

“你没听说过蚱蜢袭击吗？”雷克斯问道。 约翰端详着雷克斯的脸，意识到他不是在开玩笑。 然后，他们靠得更近了，把这个故事告诉了约翰。