4 The Basement Plan

CHAPTER FOUR THE BASEMENT PLAN ROSIE, SIMON, AND I kept our heads down while we worked on our food plates. "Why do they want to move?" Rosie asked as she colored some green broccoli bunches. "I think maybe Dad got a new job," I answered. I started to draw my chicken. "I heard Mom say she would quit her job." "So what are we going to do?" asked Simon. I couldn't see what he was drawing. But he squeezed a yellow colored pencil in his hand and scribbled really

第四章地下室的计划罗茜、西蒙和我低着头吃着餐盘。 “他们为什么要搬家？”罗茜一边给绿花椰菜上色一边问。 “我想也许爸爸找到了一份新工作，”我回答。 我开始画我的鸡。 “我听到妈妈说她要辞职。” “那我们怎么办呢？”西蒙问。 我看不清他在画什么。 但他手里捏着一支黄色的铅笔，潦草地写着

hard. The tip of his tongue stuck out from the corner of his mouth. "I don't know," I answered honestly. My chicken didn't look very good. It looked like a dog with a beak. I erased it and drew an egg instead. Then I started on my fruit section—bananas and oranges. Rosie didn't have any ideas. And neither did I. But Simon did. "We'll just trap them," Simon said without looking up. Rosie and I stopped drawing and turned to look at him. He must have felt our gaze because he explained some more as he worked. "We'll take their favorite foods and set little bits of it on each step headed down to your basement," Simon explained. "What are your mom's and dad's favorite foods?"

难以实现。他的舌尖从嘴角伸出来。 “我不知道，”我诚实地回答。 我的鸡肉看起来不太好。 它看起来像一只长着嘴的狗。 我把它擦掉，画了一个鸡蛋。 然后我开始我的水果部分——香蕉和橙子。 罗茜没有任何想法。 我也不知道，但西蒙知道。 “我们就把它们困住。”西蒙头也不抬地说。 罗茜和我停下画，转过身看着他。 他一定是感觉到了我们的目光，因为他一边工作一边又解释了一些。 西蒙解释说：“我们会把它们最喜欢的食物放在通往地下室的每一级台阶上。” “你爸爸妈妈最喜欢的食物是什么？”

"Mom likes chocolate," I answered. "And Dad likes french fries." "Great," Simon said, still scribbling away. "We'll get some french fries and chocolates and put them on your basement steps. We'll hide and watch your parents follow their favorite foods all the way downstairs."

“妈妈喜欢巧克力，”我回答。 “爸爸喜欢炸薯条。” “太好了，”西蒙一边说，一边继续写着。 “我们去买些薯条和巧克力，放在你地下室的台阶上。 我们躲起来，看着你爸妈跟着他们最爱的食物一路下楼。”

"When they get to the basement, we sneak in and slam the door shut." Simon paused. "Then we'll lock it three or four times." "You want me to capture my own parents?" I asked. "It's not bad capturing," Simon said, finally looking up at Rosie and me. "It's good capturing." "Umm, how is it good?" Rosie asked. She couldn't believe what Simon had suggested. Neither could I. "We'll give them food and stuff," Simon explained. "Not like bread and water. Good food. Like spaghetti and meatballs and grilled cheese and Fruit Roll-Ups. And we'll toss down comic books and other fun stuff. Like a jump rope. Or some monster truck toys!" "Simon, how long, umm, are we going to keep Molly's parents trapped in their own basement?"

“他们一到地下室，我们就溜进去，砰地一声把门关上。” 西蒙停顿了一下。“然后我们会锁上三四次。” “你想让我抓住自己的父母？”我问。 “拍得不错，”西蒙说，最后抬头看着罗西和我。 “这是很好的捕捉。”“嗯，怎么样？”罗西问道。 她不敢相信西蒙的建议。 我也不能。“我们会给他们食物和其他东西，”西蒙解释说。 “不像面包和水。 好的食物。比如意大利面，肉丸，烤奶酪和水果卷。 我们会扔下漫画书和其他有趣的东西。 比如跳绳。或者一些怪物卡车玩具！”“西蒙，我们要把莫莉的父母困在他们自己的地下室里多久？”

Rosie asked. "Just until high school graduation," Simon answered. "By then, Molly will be going to Harvard or Stanford or wherever and her parents can move anywhere they want! Bingo-bango-bongo! Problem solved!" I didn't know what to say. Neither did Rosie. But, unfortunately, Mr. Willow did. He was standing right behind Simon. And that meant trouble at Table 5.

罗西问道。“直到高中毕业，”西蒙回答。 “到那时，莫莉会去哈佛或斯坦福或任何地方，她的父母可以搬到他们想去的任何地方！”Bingo-bango-bongo !问题解决了!”我不知道该说什么。 罗茜也不知道。但不幸的是，威罗先生做到了。 他就站在西蒙的后面。 这就意味着5号桌的麻烦。