Chapter 5

Chapter FIVE We all swam back to the house, and Emerald's dad led us into the kitchen. Emerald and I sat down on stools while he made us some shrimp sandwiches with the crusts cut off and two seaberry smoothie drinks. Emerald looked the happiest I had seen her all night as she chatted with her dad and ate the midnight mermaid snacks.

第五章我们都游回了家，翡翠的爸爸把我们领进了厨房。 祖母绿和我坐在凳子上，他给我们做了一些去皮的虾三明治和两杯海莓冰沙饮料。 祖母绿看起来是我见到她以来最开心的一个晚上，她一边和爸爸聊天，一边吃着午夜美人鱼零食。

She seemed completely different to how she had been earlier. Now I understood why Marina had invited her to the party. She could be really fun and friendly. I felt much less afraid of her now. 'Here's starfish plushie!' said Sirena, swimming into the room. She tossed it at Emerald and it floated through the water towards her. Emerald reached out her hands and grabbed it, hugging it to her chest.

她似乎和以前完全不一样了。 现在我明白了玛丽娜为什么邀请她来参加聚会。 她真的很有趣，也很友好。 我现在觉得不那么怕她了。 “这是海星毛绒玩具！”西雷娜游进房间说。 她把它扔向祖母绿，它顺着水漂向她。 祖母绿伸出双手，抓住它，把它抱在胸前。

'Thanks, Sirena,' she said, only a tiny bit grudgingly. 'I'm so sorry I forgot to put it in your bag,' said Emerald's dad. 'Sirena and I have been a bit distracted these past few days with... something.' 'I know,' replied Emerald, her face falling. 'Something for you,' said Emerald's dad. 'Me?!' said Emerald, her eyes lighting up again. 'I thought you had forgotten all about me!' 'Don't be silly!' said her dad. 'How could I ever forget about you?' 'Yes,' said Sirena. 'You've been the

“谢谢你，西雷娜，”她说，只是有点勉强。 “我很抱歉，我忘了把它放进你的包里。” “塞丽娜和我这几天有点走神…… 某物。“我知道，”祖母绿回答，她的脸垂了下来。 “给你的东西，”祖母绿的爸爸说。 “我? !”祖母绿说，她的眼睛又亮了。 “我还以为你把我全忘了呢！”“别傻了！”她爸爸说。 “我怎么可能忘记你呢？”“是的，”西雷娜说。 “你一直是

only thing on our minds lately! We were planning a surprise for you to come home to tomorrow. But as you're here now, I wonder if...' '...We ought to give it to you now instead!' finished Emerald's dad. 'We had to swim a long way to get it. That's why we're back so late tonight.' 'What is it?' asked Emerald. Her eyes narrowed, ever so slightly suspiciously. I could tell she still didn't trust her dad's new girlfriend. 'I'll go and get it, said Sirena with a smile, and she disappeared from the kitchen for a moment, coming back with the box she had been carrying before in

最近我们脑子里只有一件事！我们正计划给你一个惊喜，让你明天回家。 但既然你现在在这里，我想知道……“…我们应该现在就把它给你！祖母绿的爸爸说完。 “我们游了很长一段路才找到它。 所以我们今晚才回来这么晚。“什么事？”祖母绿问。 她眯起眼睛，露出一丝怀疑的神色。 我看得出来，她还是不信任她爸爸的新女友。 “我去拿，”西雷娜笑着说，然后从厨房里消失了一会儿，拿着刚才拿进来的盒子回来了

her arms. 'Here,' she said, putting it on the table. Emerald stared at the box in wonder. It had lots of air holes or waterholes on the sides of it. 'Ooh!' I said, excited to see what was inside. 'What could it be, Emerald? Go on, open it!' Emerald lifted the lid and peered inside. Her face broke into a smile SO big that I thought she might burst from happiness.

她的手臂。“给你，”她说着把它放在桌子上。 祖母绿惊奇地盯着盒子。 它的侧面有很多通气孔或水孔。 “哦!”我说，兴奋地想看看里面是什么。 “会是什么呢，祖母绿？” 快，打开它！”祖母绿掀开盖子往里面看。 她的脸上突然绽开笑容，我想她可能会从幸福中迸发出来。

'Is it really for me?' she asked, staring at her dad as though she couldn't believe it. 'Of course it is!' said her dad. 'I know how much you've wanted a pet. I thought now might be the perfect time to get you one!' Emerald put her hands into the box and lifted out something small and wriggly. It was an inky black octopus with little green fins on either side of its head, just like Emerald's! 'It's a girl octopus,' said Sirena. 'She's a very special rare sort. That's why we had to go so far to get her!' The little octopus wriggled her

“真的是给我的吗？”她问，眼睛盯着父亲，仿佛不敢相信。 “当然是！”她爸爸说。 “我知道你有多想要一只宠物。 我想现在也许是给你买一个的最佳时机！”祖母绿把手伸进盒子里，拿出一个小小的、扭动着的东西。 这是一只墨黑的章鱼，头的两边长着绿色的小鳍，就像祖母绿的一样！“是一只小章鱼，”西雷娜说。 “她是一个非常特别的稀有品种。 这就是为什么我们要走这么远去接她！”小章鱼扭动着她