Chapter 10

Chapter ten The next day at school, all I thought about was Cheerio. I'm usually pretty bad about paying attention. Like when Principal Love is talking on the loudspeaker, I always stare at the clouds outside, wondering if ants could build a colony in them. After school, my dad came to pick me up. When I saw him, I was totally surprised. He was holding a leash, and at the end of it was my new dog. "Cheerio!" I called out. "Hey, is that your dog?" Nick McKelty said as he tripped down the front steps. "He's really short." "But very cute," Katie Sperling said. Katie

第十章第二天在学校，我满脑子想的都是麦圈。 我通常不太会集中注意力。 就像当爱校长在扩音器里讲话时，我总是盯着外面的云，想知道蚂蚁会不会在上面筑巢。 放学后，爸爸来接我。 当我看到他的时候，我完全惊呆了。 他拿着一根皮带，皮带的末端是我的新狗。 “好呀!”我喊道。“嘿，那是你的狗吗？”尼克·麦凯尔蒂边说边走下前门的台阶。 “他真的很矮。”“但是很可爱，”凯蒂·斯珀林说。 凯蒂

has loved animals ever since we were in preschool. Everyone wanted a chance to pet him, but all Cheerio wanted was to see me. He tugged on the leash and stood up on his hind legs, panting. I ran to him and knelt down, letting him kiss me all over my face. "Taking Cheerio on a walk together was a great idea, Dad," I said. "Why don't we take him to the park? The fresh air will be good for all of us." "You might be right, Hank," my dad answered. "I just read an article that says exercise can sharpen the mind." My dad has a way of making everything fun seem like a life lesson. But I didn't care. I was getting park time with Cheerio. I couldn't wait to see what he'd think of all that grass.

从幼儿园开始我就喜欢动物。 每个人都想有机会抚摸它，但麦圈唯一想要的就是见我。 他拉着皮带，用后腿站起来，喘着气。 我跑向他，跪了下来，让他亲我的脸。 “带麦圈一起散步是个好主意，爸爸，”我说。 “我们为什么不带他去公园呢？” 新鲜空气对我们大家都有好处。” “你可能是对的，汉克，”爸爸回答说。 “我刚读了一篇文章，上面说锻炼可以使头脑敏锐。” 我爸爸总能把所有有趣的事情都变成人生的一课。 但我不在乎。我和麦圈一起去公园。 我迫不及待地想知道他对那些草有什么看法。

We walked down 78th Street all the way to Riverside Park. The minute Cheerio saw the grass, he took off running. I was holding the leash, and he practically pulled me off my feet. There were so many new things for him to explore. He couldn't decide what to do first. He ran to the rocks and sniffed all around them. He ran to the tree and sniffed some more. When he found a fire hydrant, I thought his nose was going to fall off from over-sniffing. We headed toward the basketball courts. "Oh, look who's there shooting some hoops," my dad said. "Isn't that boy in your class? He's with his father, who just bought the bowling alley on Eighty-Sixth street." When I looked over to the basketball court, my heart sank down to my knees. There was Nick McKelty, shooting baskets with his dad. Nick was the last person I wanted to see right now.

我们沿着78街一直走到河滨公园。 Cheerio一看到草地，就跑开了。 我当时牵着皮带，他几乎把我拉倒了。 有那么多新事物等着他去探索。 他无法决定先做什么。 他跑到岩石旁，四处嗅了嗅。 他跑到树上，又闻了一些。 当他发现一个消防栓时，我以为他的鼻子会因为过度嗅而掉下来。 我们朝篮球场走去。 “哦，看谁在那儿打篮球呢，”爸爸说。 “那个男孩不是你们班的吗？” 他和他父亲在一起，他父亲刚买下了八十六街的保龄球馆。” 当我望向篮球场时，我的心都沉到了膝盖上。 尼克·麦凯尔蒂和他爸爸在一起投篮。 尼克是我现在最不想见到的人。

"Let's go say hello," my dad suggested. "Let's not and say we did." "Well, I'm going to say hello," my dad said. "A man with a new bowling alley is going to need some help with his computers. And, might I remind you, that is what I do for a living." Before I could stop him, my dad had marched up to Mr. McKelty and introduced himself. Right away, they started talking about business. I don't know why grown-ups always do that. That left me and Nick McKelty staring at each other with nothing to say.

“我们去打个招呼吧。”爸爸建议道。 “让我们不说，就说我们做了。” “好吧，我要去打个招呼，”爸爸说。 “一个新开了一个保龄球馆的人需要一些电脑方面的帮助。 我要提醒你，我就是靠这个谋生的。” 我还没来得及阻止他，父亲已经大步走到麦凯尔蒂先生面前，做了自我介绍。 他们马上开始谈生意。 我不知道为什么大人们总是这么做。 这让我和尼克·麦凯尔蒂面面相觑，无话可说。

"Your dog looks like a hot dog," McKelty sneered. Cheerio just wagged his tail happily. i guess some puppies don't know a jerk when they see one. "I bet he feels like one, too," McKelty added. Then he bent down to touch Cheerio. But instead of petting him, he unhooked his leash from his collar! Cheerio took off running. "Come back, Cheerio!" I yelled as he chased a fat gray squirrel around the park. But Cheerio wasn't interested in listening. All he was thinking about was catching that squirrel. "Hank!" my father called out. "Get your dog!"

“你的狗看起来像个热狗，”麦凯尔蒂冷笑道。 麦圈高兴地摇着尾巴。 我猜有些小狗根本认不出混蛋。 “我敢打赌他也觉得自己像个孩子，”麦凯尔蒂补充道。 然后他弯下腰去摸麦圈。 但他没有抚摸它，而是把皮带从项圈上解开了！Cheerio开始跑步。 “回来，麦圈！”当他在公园里追逐一只灰色的大松鼠时，我喊道。 但是麦圈对听不感兴趣。 他满脑子想的都是抓松鼠。 “汉克！”父亲喊道。 “带上你的狗！”

I went after him, but I couldn't catch him. No matter which direction I went, Cheerio ran the opposite way. To him, it was a game. McKelty just stood there laughing his head off. "You are such a loser, Zippertooth," he said under his breath as I ran by him for the fifth time. My dad joined in the chase. He ran after Cheerio, but he didn't have any more success than I did. A mom pushing a stroller stepped out of the way so he could run by her. Two little kids on the swings just pointed and laughed. Cheerio never got tired. Finally, he stopped right next to the fountain to catch his breath. Panting hard, he looked up at the statue in the middle of it. It's a statue of a man on a horse. I think Cheerio thought he could play with the horse, because he jumped right into the fountain. "Now I've got you cornered!" my dad yelled. And with that, he jumped into the fountain, too, shoes and all. A tourist with a camera stopped

我去追他，但没能抓住他。 不管我往哪个方向走，Cheerio总是往相反的方向跑。 对他来说，这是一场游戏。麦凯尔蒂只是站在那里笑得前仰后合。 “你真是个失败者，拉链牙，”当我第五次从他身边跑过时，他低声说。 我爸爸也加入了追击。 他追着麦圈跑，但他没有比我更成功。 一位推着婴儿车的母亲让开，好让他从她身边跑过。 两个小孩子在秋千上指指点点，哈哈大笑。 麦圈从不累。最后，他停在喷泉旁边喘口气。 他喘着粗气，抬头看了看雕像。 这是一个骑马的人的雕像。 我想麦里奥以为他可以和马玩，因为他直接跳进了喷泉里。 “现在我把你逼得走投无路了！” 说完，他也跳进了喷泉，连鞋带鞋。 一个带着照相机的游客停了下来