Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 AROUND 3:30 P.M. THE POTTS HOUSE Mrs. Potts welcomed them, and it was clear she would have invited them in even if Mama hadn't brought her a tin of gingersnaps. She smiled at Mama and grabbed her hand.

第十四章下午三点半左右 波茨太太欢迎他们，很明显，即使妈妈没有给她带一罐姜饼，她也会邀请他们进来的。 她对妈妈笑了笑，抓住她的手。

"I'm so happy you're here," she said. "We've opened the house to anyone who needs a safe place." She brushed some rain from Lulu's curls and waved for them to follow her. "Let's find you a place to change." Mrs. Potts took them upstairs to a room so they could change into the dry clothes Mama had packed. (Charlie had lost track of how many times he'd changed today.) On the way back downstairs, Papa couldn't resist peeping into the bathroom. They all stared at the toilet before moving on. There were at least thirty people in the living room. But there was still plenty of space. The room was bigger than Charlie's entire five-room house. Lulu gaped at the fancy couches and chairs, the paintings on the wall, the vases filled with flowers. "Is this a castle?" she asked. "Yes," Charlie said.

“我很高兴你能来，”她说。 “我们已经向任何需要安全住所的人敞开了大门。” 她拂去露露卷发上的雨水，挥手让她们跟着她。 “我们给你找个地方换衣服吧。” 波茨夫人把他们带到楼上的一个房间里，让他们换上妈妈收拾好的干衣服。 （查理已经不记得自己今天换了多少次衣服。）下楼的路上，爸爸忍不住往浴室里偷看了一眼。 他们都盯着马桶看了看，然后继续往前走。 客厅里至少有三十个人。 但仍然有足够的空间。 这个房间比查理整个五个房间的房子还大。 露露目瞪口呆地看着那些别致的沙发和椅子，墙上的画和装满鲜花的花瓶。 “这是城堡吗？”她问。 “是的，”查理说。

And he meant it. There were electric lamps all around the room, but they weren't lit up; Charlie guessed that the electricity was out all over the city. Lanterns gave the room just enough light so that Charlie could see the faces of the people around him. He recognized most of them—families of kids who went to Charlie's school, people from church.

他是认真的。房间里到处都是电灯，但都没有亮着；查理猜想全城都停电了。 灯笼给房间提供了足够的光线，查理可以看到周围人的脸。 他认出了其中的大多数人——查理学校的学生家庭，教堂里的人。

There was Mr. Lutz, their butcher, and his family. There was Mrs. Butler, the teacher Charlie had been hoping to get this year. Women rocked babies. Men stood at the windows. Charlie spotted Mr. Potts, lurking in the doorway of the living room. "He doesn't look happy," Papa said. That was for sure. Mr. Potts scanned the room suspiciously, like he was sure someone was about to pocket one of the silver cups that lined the shelves. Mama shook her head. "I don't know how Mrs. Potts lives with him. He is quite… unpleasant." So is his son, Charlie thought. As for Gordon, Charlie didn't see him anywhere. Probably he'd locked himself in his fancy bedroom and was eating his supper off a golden platter. Charlie hoped he'd stay there. "The storm is getting stronger," Papa said softly. Charlie had been thinking the same.

那里有他们的屠夫卢茨先生和他的家人。 还有巴特勒太太，查理今年一直希望能请到的老师。 女人摇着婴儿。人们站在窗前。 查理发现了波茨先生，他正潜伏在客厅门口。 “他看起来不高兴，”爸爸说。 那是肯定的。波茨先生怀疑地扫视了一下房间，好像他肯定有人要把架子上的一个银杯放进口袋里。 妈妈摇了摇头。“我不知道波茨太太是怎么跟他住在一起的。 他很……讨厌。” 他的儿子也一样，查理想。 至于戈登，查理哪儿也没见过他。 也许他把自己锁在豪华的卧室里，用金盘子吃晚饭。 查理希望他能留在那里。 “风暴越来越强了，”爸爸轻声说。 查理也是这么想的。

The rain was banging harder against the roof, as though hundreds of carpenters were up there, all pounding hammers at once. The wind had taken on a new sound, a kind of roaring shriek. Whoooooo-eeeeeesh! "What that noise?" Lulu said, her eyes widening. Uh-oh. Up until now, Lulu had been amazingly calm. It really was just thunder that scared her, and so far there hadn't been a single boom. But with each shrieking gust of wind, Lulu's eyes were getting wider, and her lip was starting to quiver. They sat down on the floor. She climbed on Charlie's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Any second, Lulu was going to start to wail. Charlie had to think of something. Whoooooo-eeeeeesh! "Listen to those fairies!" Charlie exclaimed. It was worth a try… and it seemed to work.

雨打在屋顶上的声音更大了，好像有几百个木匠在上面同时敲打着铁锤。 风发出了一种新的声音，一种咆哮的尖叫声。 Whoooooo-eeeeeesh !“那是什么声音？”露露睁大眼睛说。 哦。直到现在，露露一直保持着惊人的冷静。 真正吓到她的只是雷声，而且到目前为止，连一声巨响都没有。 但随着一阵风的呼啸，露露的眼睛越来越大，她的嘴唇开始颤抖。 他们坐在地板上。 她爬上查理的腿，双臂搂住他的脖子。 露露随时都可能开始哭泣。 查理得想个办法。 Whoooooo-eeeeeesh !“听那些仙女的话！”查理喊道。 这值得一试，而且似乎很有效。

Lulu let go of his neck. "Fairies?" "Yes," Charlie said. "That's the sound they make when they're… uh… building a rainbow." Mama and Papa nodded along. "We have to stay very calm," Charlie went on. "Because if anyone cries or whines, we'll scare the fairies away before they're done." Lulu nodded. "Okay," she whispered. Mama gave Charlie's leg a grateful pat. More and more people came through the front door. They brought stories of what was happening outside. "I saw a huge pole flying through the sky. Like a stick." "Four horses swam down our street." "Houses are floating like boats."

露露放开了他的脖子。“精灵?”“是的，”查理说。 “那是他们……嗯……建造彩虹时发出的声音。” 妈妈和爸爸也跟着点头。 “我们必须保持冷静，”查理接着说。 “因为如果有人哭泣或哀嚎，我们就会在仙女们结束之前把他们吓跑。” 露露点点头。“好吧，”她小声说。 妈妈感激地拍拍查理的腿。 越来越多的人从前门进来。 他们带来了外面发生的事情。 “我看到一根巨大的杆子飞过天空。 像根棍子。”“四匹马游过我们的街道。” “房子像船一样漂浮着。”