Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 Charlie rushed to his little sister's room. He found Lulu under the bed, wailing in fear. This was what Charlie hated about these storms—poor Lulu always got so scared! Charlie never used to care about bad weather. Sure, it could be annoying when a storm suddenly swept in. Sometimes when it rained hard, the streets would flood. That's why almost all the

查理冲到他妹妹的房间。 他发现露露在床底下害怕地哭泣。 这就是查理最讨厌暴风雨的地方——可怜的露露总是那么害怕！查理过去从不关心坏天气。 当然，当暴风雨突然袭来时，这可能很烦人。 有时雨下得很大，街道就会被淹没。 这就是为什么几乎所有的

houses and stores in Galveston were built up off the ground. Water would rush underneath, without wrecking what was inside. The wooden sidewalks were built up, too, two feet higher than the streets. Storms were just a part of life here in Galveston. Charlie knew that. But lately the sight of gray clouds filled Charlie with dread. Because the slightest rumble of thunder sent his little sister into these fits of terror. "Chowie!" she wailed from her hiding place. That's what she called him. Chowie. "The cloud monster!" she cried. "Ahhhhhhhhh! The cloud monster!" Lulu thought a bloodthirsty beast lived in the clouds and that every crack and boom of thunder was its ferocious roar. Charlie gently slid Lulu out from under the bed. He scooped her up and held her. Mama and Papa came in. Mama put her hand on Lulu's sweaty head, and Papa patted her back.

加尔维斯顿的房屋和商店都是从地面上建起来的。 水会从下面冲过去，而不会破坏里面的东西。 木制人行道也建起来了，比街道高两英尺。 暴风雨是加尔维斯顿生活的一部分。 查理知道这一点。但是最近，看到灰色的乌云使查理充满了恐惧。 因为最轻微的雷声都会使他的小妹妹陷入一阵一阵的恐惧之中。 “Chowie!”她在她的藏身之处嚎啕大哭。 她就是这么叫他的。 Chowie。“云怪！”她叫道。 “Ahhhhhhhhh !云怪！”露露以为云里住着一只嗜血的野兽，每一声霹雳和轰隆声都是它凶残的吼声。 查理轻轻地把露露从床底下滑了出来。 他把她抱起来，抱着她。 妈妈和爸爸进来了。妈妈把手放在露露汗津津的头上，爸爸拍了拍她的背。

"I'll take care of her," Charlie said to his parents. "Are you sure?" Mama asked. Charlie nodded—he usually managed to calm Lulu down. Mama and Papa left, and Charlie tried singing Lulu a song. "The itsy, bitsy spider…" "Cloud monster!" "Mary had a little lamb…" "Cloud monster!" Nothing was working. Charlie thought of the magician Meraki. One of Charlie's favorite chapters in Meraki's book was when Meraki was on a big ship, heading back to America from India. The ship sailed into a giant storm. Massive waves rose up and crashed over the ship's deck. The passengers huddled below, terrified. And what did Meraki do? He put on a magic show, of

“我会照顾她的，”查理对他的父母说。 “你确定吗？”妈妈问。 查理点了点头——他通常都能让露露平静下来。 爸爸妈妈走了，查理试着给露露唱首歌。 “小蜘蛛……”“云怪！”“玛丽有一只小羊羔……”“云怪！”什么都不起作用。 查理想起了魔术师梅拉基。 在默拉基的书中，查理最喜欢的一个章节是，默拉基在一艘从印度返回美国的大船上。 船驶入巨大的风暴中。 巨浪汹涌而起，拍打着船的甲板。 乘客们惊恐地挤在下面。 梅拉基做了什么？他表演了一场魔术表演

course, distracting the audience with his dazzling tricks. Charlie's tricks weren't very dazzling. Then again, Lulu got all excited when she saw a ladybug. "Lulu!" he said. "Can you help me find my magic coin?" Sniff. "The cloud—" "My magic coin, Lulu! I think you have it!" Lulu loosened her iron grip. She wiped her runny nose on Charlie's shirt. "Where the coin, Chowie?" she asked. Charlie's idea was working! But it also could be that the storm was already losing strength. The booms had turned to low rumbles. Charlie gently plopped Lulu down so she was sitting at the edge of the bed. "Is my coin inside your mouth?" he asked, brushing away her tears. "Open up." She opened her gummy mouth and sent a puff of milky breath up Charlie's nose.

当然，用他炫目的把戏分散观众的注意力。 查理的把戏不是很炫目。 然后，当露露看到一只瓢虫时，她又变得非常兴奋。 “露露！”他说。“你能帮我找到我的魔法硬币吗？”嗅嗅。 “云——”“我的魔法硬币，露露！我想你拿到了！”露露松开了铁腕。 她用查理的衬衫擦鼻涕。 “硬币在哪里，Chowie?”她问。 查理的主意成功了！但也有可能是风暴已经在失去力量。 轰鸣声变成了低沉的隆隆声。 查理轻轻地把露露放下来，让她坐在床边。 “我的硬币在你嘴里吗？”他擦去她的眼泪问道。 “开放”。她张开那张黏糊糊的嘴，把一股乳白色的气息吹进了查理的鼻子。

"Could it be here?" he said, checking between her fat little toes. "How about here?" he asked, peeking under her chin, then inside her slimy nose. "Hmmmmm," Charlie said. Lulu's eyes were getting brighter. She pressed her lips together. She was trying not to giggle. "Check under your pillow. I bet it's there," Charlie said. Lulu turned and lifted up her pillow. Charlie quickly reached into his pocket for the coin he always carried with him. He pushed it firmly into the flat part of his palm, locking it into place. He whipped his hand out of his pocket and put it up near Lulu's ear. Flicking his hand slightly, he made the coin drop into his fingertips. This magic move was known as the French drop, and it was one of the first tricks a beginner magician learned. "Ah-ha!" Charlie said, holding the coin out to Lulu.

“会在这儿吗？”他说着，在她那胖胖的小脚趾间检查着。 “那这里呢？”他问，从她的下巴下面看了看，又从她黏糊糊的鼻子里面看了看。 “嗯，”查理说。露露的眼睛越来越亮了。 她双唇紧闭。 她强忍着不笑出声来。 “看看你的枕头下面。我打赌它就在那儿。”查理说。 露露转过身，举起枕头。 查理迅速把手伸进口袋，掏出随身携带的硬币。 他把它牢牢地塞进手掌平坦的部分，锁住了它。 他把手从口袋里抽出来，凑近露露的耳朵。 他轻轻一甩手，硬币掉进了他的指尖。 这个魔术动作被称为法国掉落，这是初学者学会的第一个魔术之一。 “啊哈!”查理说着，把硬币递给了露露。

Lulu's eyes widened and she broke into a grin. "Do again!" she said. "Do again!" Charlie felt like taking a bow. Ten minutes later, Charlie walked into the kitchen. "Where's Lulu?" Mama asked. "Asleep," Charlie said.

露露睁大了眼睛，笑了起来。 “再来一次！”她说。“做了!”查理想鞠个躬。 十分钟后，查理走进厨房。 “露露在哪?”妈妈问。 “睡着了。”查理说。