Chapter 1

here's hank a short tale about a long dog

这里给汉克讲一个关于长狗的小故事

Chapter one, "Hank, I can see tiny bits of tuna fish swimming around on your tongue," my sister, Emily, said. "Then don't look," I told her. "Just listen. My mouth is full of words that are trying to come out." "Well, the tuna fish is coming out with them. And it's gross." I put down my fork. Actually, I was looking for an excuse to put it down, anyway. My mom had whipped up another one of her healthy dinners, which looked and tasted like a science experiment. If you ask me, tuna fish and blueberries do not belong together on the same plate.

第一章，“汉克，我看到你舌头上有一小块金枪鱼在游动，”我妹妹艾米丽说。 “那就别看了，”我告诉她。 “就听。我嘴里满是想说的话。” “嗯，金枪鱼和他们一起出来了。 这很恶心。”我放下叉子。 其实我是想找个借口把它放下。 我妈妈又做了一顿健康晚餐，看起来和尝起来都像一个科学实验。 要我说，金枪鱼和蓝莓不应该放在同一个盘子里。

"Besides, I don't care what you have to say," Emily went on. "Katherine was here first, and that's that." As she spoke, I noticed that her tongue didn't look so great either. It was all blue from the blueberries. It looked like the entire Smurf family was living in her mouth. "Emily, honey," my mom cut in, "Hank has a right to express his opinion." "That's right," I said. "And my opinion is that this family needs a pet." "We have a pet, and her name is Katherine," Emily snapped. "Katherine is an iguana," I answered. "All she does is hiss and catch flies. She can't even play ball. We need a dog." My dad stopped midbite and gave me a look. "Who's going to take care of this dog?" he asked. "A pet needs to be fed and walked and washed and taught proper rules of behavior." "And that's what I want to do," I said. "I can't wait for that job."

“再说，我才不管你要说什么呢，”爱米丽接着说。 “凯瑟琳先来的，就是这样。” 她说话的时候，我注意到她的舌头看起来也不太好。 全是蓝莓的蓝色。 看起来整个蓝精灵家族都住在她的嘴里。 “艾米丽，亲爱的，”妈妈插嘴说，“汉克有权表达自己的意见。” “没错，”我说。“我的看法是，这个家庭需要一只宠物。” “我们有一只宠物，她的名字叫凯瑟琳，”艾米丽厉声说。 “凯瑟琳是一只鬣蜥，”我回答。 “她只会嘶嘶叫，抓苍蝇。 她甚至不会打球。我们需要一只狗。” 我爸爸中途停下来，看了我一眼。 “谁来照顾这只狗？”他问。 “宠物需要喂养、散步、洗澡，并被教导适当的行为准则。” “这就是我想做的，”我说。 “我等不及那份工作了。”

"Hank," Emily said with a sigh. "We can't have a dog because Katherine is just a baby. A big dog would scare her. As her mother, that would break my heart." "Oh, now you're her mother?" I said. "That makes sense, actually, because you look alike. You both have scales on your feet, claws on your hands, and long, sticky tongues that collect insects." "Hank, that's enough," my mom said. She got up and started to gather the dishes. Emily got up, too, and headed to her bedroom. She returned with Katherine wrapped around her shoulders like a scarf.

“汉克，”艾米丽叹了口气说。 “我们不能养狗，因为凯瑟琳还是个婴儿。 一只大狗会吓着她的。 作为她的母亲，这会让我心碎。” “哦，现在你是她妈妈了？”我说。 “这说得通，因为你们长得很像。 你们俩脚上都有鳞片，手上都有爪子，还有长长的黏糊糊的舌头，用来收集昆虫。” “汉克，够了，”妈妈说。 她站起来，开始收拾盘子。 爱米丽也站起来，朝她的卧室走去。 她回来时，凯瑟琳像围巾一样围着她的肩膀。

"You're not bringing that lizard to the table, are you?" I complained. "She's a member of this family, too," Emily told me. The minute Emily sat down in her chair, Katherine whipped out her long tongue and snatched the last bite of my buttered roll. It was the one thing I wanted to eat. I had been saving that bite to drown out the taste of the rest of

“你不会把那条蜥蜴带到桌子上吧？”我抱怨道。 “她也是这个家庭的一员，”艾米丽告诉我。 爱米丽刚在椅子上坐下，凯瑟琳就伸出长长的舌头，把我的黄油面包卷咬了最后一口。 这是我唯一想吃的东西。 我一直留着那一口来盖过其他的味道

dinner. "Hey, Kathy!" I hollered. "Drop that roll right now. It's mine." It was too late. The roll had disappeared into her scaly iguana body. Katherine smiled at me as if to say, Tough patooties, kid. "You see what I mean, Dad?" I said. "It's not fair that Emily can have that lizard as a pet. She and her roll-stealer hang out in her room after dinner. But what about me? I'm all alone in my room, with nothing to do." "Actually, Hank," my dad said, "I was

晚餐。“嘿,凯西!”我大声喊道。 “马上放下那卷书。 它是我的。”太迟了。 那卷卷已经消失在她那有鳞的鬣蜥身体里了。 凯瑟琳对我笑了笑，好像在说：“孩子，真不容易。” “你明白我的意思吗，爸爸？”我说。 “艾米丽可以把那只蜥蜴当宠物，这是不公平的。 晚饭后，她和偷卷的人在她的房间里闲逛。 那我呢？我一个人在房间里，无事可做。” “事实上，汉克，”爸爸说，“我是