Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 'Of course I can do it. It's a piece of cake, especially for a fully fledged ninja deputy!' Everyone in the milk bar roared with laughter and encouragement. Toto the Ninja Cat sat at the end of the table, her head in her paws, trying not to laugh and praying her dear friend and two brothers didn't do anything too stupid The cats were celebrating, and with good reason. They had recently foiled the evil King Roderick the

第一章我当然能做到。 这是小菜一碟，尤其是对一个羽翼丰满的忍者副手来说！”牛奶吧里的每个人都哄堂大笑，互相鼓励。 忍者猫托托坐在桌子的尽头，头埋在爪子里，努力忍住不笑，祈祷她亲爱的朋友和两个兄弟不要做什么太愚蠢的事情。 他们刚刚挫败了邪恶的罗德里克国王

Spotlessly Clean's dastardly plan to steal the animal Crown Jewels, frame Toto's boss Larry, raise an army of rats and pretty much destroy everything on earth (it was a weird plan). And they had done such a good job that Larry had bestowed the title of DEPUTY NINJA CAT on Toto's brothers Silver and Socks and their dear friend Catface (the most popular cat-rat in

一尘不染的卑鄙计划是偷动物皇冠珠宝，陷害托托的老板拉里，养一群老鼠，几乎摧毁地球上的一切（这是一个奇怪的计划）。 他们做得很好，拉里给了托托的兄弟西尔弗和袜子，以及他们的好朋友猫脸（最受欢迎的猫鼠）“副忍者猫”的称号

London town). While this was a huge honour, Larry was at GREAT PAINS to point out: 'It certainly does not mean you are actual ninjas.' For one thing, none of them had the patience to get through the training, which took ages. Plus, although they were all brave (and for that alone, Toto was proud of all three of them), none were terribly gifted in the fighting department. Silver wasn't bad but, in his own words, the training 'got in the way of good eating time. Socks was spirited but too tiny to fight off anyone with big muscles. Catface had fenced as a young rat, and had picked up the odd move from Toto, but, as he readily admitted, he was 'mostly hopeless at that sort of thing. But being a deputy ninja came with a badge and an allowance of twenty-five litres of Jersey milk and five hampers of cheese a year... and that was not to be sniffed at. So after the ceremony the team had decided

伦敦镇)。虽然这是一个巨大的荣誉，但拉里煞费苦心地指出：“这当然不意味着你们是真正的忍者。”首先，他们没有一个人有耐心完成训练，这需要很长时间。 此外，虽然他们都很勇敢（仅凭这一点，托托就为他们三个人感到骄傲），但没有一个人在战斗方面有特别的天赋。 西尔弗还不错，但用他自己的话来说，训练“妨碍了他享受美好的饮食时光”。 “袜子”精神抖擞，但个子太小，打不过肌肉发达的人。 猫脸在幼年的时候就已经学会了围栏，并且从托托那里学来了一些古怪的动作，但是，正如它欣然承认的那样，它“在这方面几乎是没有希望的”。 但作为一名副忍者，要有徽章和每年25升泽西牛奶和五篮奶酪的津贴…… 这是不容忽视的。 仪式结束后，团队做出了决定

to celebrate at THE LEGENDARY MILK BAR THE SOUR SAUCER, under Blackfriars Bridge on the banks of the River Thames. The last time the cats had been here the atmosphere had been very different: the whole bar had been full of cut-throats and smugglers intent on making them walk the famous plank that jutted out over the cold waters of the river below. Luckily, thanks to Toto, that gang was behind bars now, and while the clientele was still on the salty side (mostly made up of ships' dogs, rats and cats) it was a lot safer to drink in. So Catface, Silver and Socks had been making the most of their Jersey milk allowance and were now keen to take on the challenge of the plank... which brings us back to why Toto had her head in her paws... 'A piece of cake! I'll wager with any one of you fine ladies or gents that I, Catface, Alexandre Rattinoff the Thirty-third, and my two fellow deputies can leap from

在泰晤士河畔黑衣修士桥下的传奇牛奶酒吧THE SOUR SAUCER庆祝。 猫们上次来这里的时候，气氛就大不一样了：整个酒吧里都是杀手和走私犯，他们想让猫们走那条著名的栈道，这条栈道伸在下面冰冷的河水上。 幸运的是，多亏了托托，那伙人现在已经被关进了监狱，虽然客人们仍然很咸（主要是船上的狗、老鼠和猫），但在里面喝酒要安全得多。 猫脸、小银和短袜一直在充分利用他们的泽西牛奶津贴，现在他们渴望接受平板支撑的挑战…… 这让我们回到了为什么托托把她的头放在她的爪子里…… “小菜一碟！”我敢跟你们中的任何一位女士或先生打赌，我，猫脸，亚历山大·拉蒂诺夫三十三，还有我的两位同僚都能从

the plank, SOMERSAULT IN THE AIR and land perfectly on that lovely boat moored below without getting even one strand of our fur wet. What say you all to my bet... a litre of your best milk? Henry! Set them up, we'll be back in a jiffy? Henry, the landlord of The Sour Saucer, who was an enormous, gruff, but well-meaning Maine Coon, rolled his eyes and went back to drying glasses. 'Come on then, chaps, away we go. Catface ushered his friends towards the plank. They didn't look entirely convinced this was a good idea. 'Catface, are you sure about this? It's dark and- MAMMA MIA!- an awfully long way down, Silver kind-of-protested. 'Too right, bro, and I'm not exactly the world's best swimmer, said Socks. 'Oh, stuff and nonsense,' replied Catface. 'You won't even get your paws wet. Think of all the tips you've

我们上了木板，在空中翻了个筋斗，然后完美地降落在下面那艘停泊着的可爱的小船上，连一根皮毛都没有弄湿。 你们对我的打赌怎么样？ 一升你们最好的牛奶？ 亨利!准备好，我们马上就回来？ 酸碟酒吧的老板亨利是一只粗壮、粗暴但心地善良的缅因浣熊，他翻了个白眼，继续干眼镜。 “来吧，伙计们，我们走吧。 猫脸领着他的朋友们走向木板。 他们似乎并不完全相信这是个好主意。 “猫脸，你确定吗？” 天很黑，而且——妈妈咪呀！——下去的路太长了，西尔弗有点反对。 “太对了，兄弟，我也不是世界上最好的游泳运动员，”索克斯说。 “哦，胡说八道，”猫脸回答。 “你的爪子都不会湿的。 想想你所有的建议

picked up from your sister down the years. Now, come, gentlemen. The rat turned once more to the patrons of the bar, who were all now enthralled at what might happen. 'My friends, witness the awesome skill, bravery and power of the deputy ninjas. We shall rejoin you anon!' At this the rat LEAPT INTO THE DARK VOID, followed reluctantly by Silver and Socks. The whole of the bar crowded around the windows to watch. Toto raced to a window herself, and even though she was almost totally blind, she could just about make out the shadows of shapes hurtling through the night air. Despite Catface's false bravado, all three managed to perform some pretty impressive somersaults as he was yelling, 'See, what did I tell you!' Toto couldn't help but feel a little proud... until they crashed through the deck of the beautiful little yacht one by one, going straight through the hull and

多年来从你姐姐那里学来的。 来吧，先生们。老鼠再次转向酒吧里的顾客们，他们都为即将发生的事情而着迷。 “我的朋友们，请见证副忍者们惊人的技巧、勇敢和力量。 我们很快就会回来的！”听了这话，老鼠跳进了黑暗的虚空，西尔弗和索克斯不情愿地跟在后面。 整个酒吧的人都挤在窗户周围观看。 托托自己跑到一扇窗户前，虽然她几乎完全看不见，但她还是能辨认出在夜空中飞驰的影子。 尽管猫脸装出了虚张声势的样子，但三个人都成功地完成了几个令人印象深刻的空翻，他一边大喊：“看，我告诉过你什么！”托托不禁感到有点骄傲…… 直到它们一个接一个地撞穿了这艘漂亮的小游艇的甲板，直接穿过船体，然后