Chapter 12

Chapter twelve On Monday morning at breakfast, I asked my dad if Cheerio could walk with us to school. "I'd rather he didn't," my dad said. "His habit of sniffing everything he walks by will make you late." "But, Dad, this is his last day with Fred," I argued. "And I'm sure they need to say good bye Besides, I promised Fred he could have one last ride on Cheerio's back." "Oh no," my dad said. "I have to draw the line at that. There will be no doggy-back riding as long as I'm in charge." I knew that tone of voice. And I knew that I'd never be able to change his mind. "Okay," I agreed. "Cheerio comes, but Fred

星期一早上吃早饭的时候，我问爸爸麦圈可不可以和我们一起步行去学校。 “我宁愿他不要，”爸爸说。 “他习惯闻他走过的每样东西，这会让你迟到的。” “但是，爸爸，这是他和弗雷德在一起的最后一天。”我争辩道。 “我肯定他们需要说再见。此外，我答应过弗雷德，让他最后一次骑在麦圈的背上。” “哦，不，”我爸爸说。“我必须在这方面划清界限。 只要我还在掌权，就不许再骑狗了。” 我知道这种语气。 我知道我永远无法改变他的想法。 “好吧，”我同意了。“麦圈来了，可是弗雷德

stays in his tank. That's a deal." "If Cheerio goes, then Katherine goes, too," Emily said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "That's too many animals," my dad said. "You should always have more people than animals on any walk." "But Katherine will be lonely and feel left out," Emily said. "She's a very sensitive iguana." She turned to my mom and smiled sweetly at her, which is something you don't see often. "Would you do me a favor?" she asked my mom. "Could you give Katherine a bath in the sink after we leave? She finds that very relaxing." "Emily, I have to go to work," my mom told her. "Besides, we're not running an iguana spa here," my dad added. "Fine," Emily said. "Then I'll just set up her favorite book outside her tank, so she can spend the morning reading."

呆在他的水箱里。一言为定。” “如果麦圈走了，凯瑟琳也就走了，”艾米丽一边吃着炒蛋一边说。 “动物太多了，”爸爸说。 “散步时，人应该比动物多。” 艾米丽说：“但是凯瑟琳会很孤独，觉得自己被冷落了。” “她是一只非常敏感的鬣蜥。” 她转向我妈妈，对她甜甜地笑了笑，这是你不常看到的。 “你能帮我一个忙吗？”她问我妈妈。 “我们离开后，你能在水池里给凯瑟琳洗个澡吗？” 她觉得这样很放松。” “艾米丽，我得去上班了，”妈妈告诉她。 “再说，我们这里又不是开鬣蜥水疗馆，”爸爸补充说。 “很好，”艾米丽说。“然后我会把她最喜欢的书放在她的水箱外面，这样她就可以在早上读书了。”

"News flash, Emily," I said. "Lizards can't read." "Katherine can. Her favorite book is called The Big Book of Flies. I read it to her before she goes to sleep." "Oh, so that's why she hisses all night," I said. I hurried into my room before she could say anything else. This time, I checked to make sure the cover was tightly in place on Fred's tank. When I returned to the living room with the tank in hand, my dad had already put Cheerio on his leash. It's a good thing that PS 87 is only a block from our apartment building. By the time we reached the front steps, that frog tank had become very heavy. Frankie and Ashley were waiting for us at the school entrance. They wanted to say good-bye to Fred, too. Not Emily, though. She just kissed Dad good-bye and bolted into the building. As she ran up the stairs, Principal Love came running down. "Fred!" he yelled. "My little buddy! It's so

“快讯，艾米丽，”我说。 “蜥蜴不识字。””凯瑟琳。 她最喜欢的书叫《苍蝇大书》。 我在她睡觉前读给她听。” “哦，这就是她整晚嘶嘶叫的原因。”我说。 她还没来得及说什么，我就匆匆走进房间。 这一次，我检查了一下，确保盖子紧紧地盖在弗雷德的坦克上。 当我拿着油罐回到客厅时，爸爸已经把麦圈拴在皮带上了。 PS 87离我们的公寓楼只有一个街区，这是件好事。 当我们走到前面的台阶时，那个蛙缸已经变得很沉了。 弗兰基和艾希礼在学校门口等着我们。 他们也想跟弗雷德道别。 但艾米丽不是。她跟爸爸吻别就跑进了大楼。 当她跑上楼时，洛夫校长跑了下来。 “弗雷德！”“我的小伙伴！”它是如此

good to see you!" He put his face right up next to the tank. Poor Fred, I thought. He was getting a real up- close view of Principal Love's mole. "How'd the weekend go?" Principal Love asked me. "Did this little rascal give you any problems?" "Not even one," I answered. "Yeah," Frankie agreed. "Piece of cake." "You can say that again." Ashley nodded. "Things couldn't have gone any smoother." We all stood there, nodding our heads like bobblehead dolls. "I am so pleased to hear that," Principal

很高兴见到你！”他把脸贴在水箱旁边。 可怜的弗雷德，我想。他真正近距离地观察了洛夫校长的痣。 “周末过得怎么样？”爱校长问我。 “这个小流氓给你找麻烦了吗？”“一个也没有，”我回答。 “是的，”弗兰基同意了。“小菜一碟。” “你说得对。”阿什利点点头。 “事情再顺利不过了。” 我们都站在那里，像摇头娃娃一样点头。 “我很高兴听到这个消息，”校长说

Love said. "I have to admit, Hank, when I heard that you were taking him home, I was a little nervous. I think we both know that you can be forgetful from time to time. I worried that perhaps you might leave the top off, and Fred would get out." I burst out laughing, a little too loud and a little too hard. Frankie and Ashley joined in. We sounded like a pack of laughing hyenas.

爱说。“我得承认，汉克，当我听说你要带他回家时，我有点紧张。 我想我们都知道你有时会健忘。 我担心你可能不把顶盖盖上，弗雷德就会出来。” 我突然大笑起来，笑得有点太大声，也有点太用力。 弗兰基和艾希礼也加入进来。 我们的声音听起来像一群大笑的鬣狗。

"Leave the top off!" I howled. "You must be thinking of someone else!" Principal Love bent down and took the tank from my hands. "Hello there, buddy," he said to Fred. "Do you want to come inside with Daddy?" Just as he turned to head up the stairs, Cheerio let out several loud good-bye barks. Principal Love turned around, and I got a good look at the tank. Fred had jumped onto the glass and was hanging on with his little suction cups, looking down at Cheerio. "What's all this about?" Principal Love asked.

“别盖上！”我号啕大哭。 “你一定是在想别人！”洛夫校长弯下腰，从我手中接过坦克。 “你好，伙计。”他对弗雷德说。 “你想和爸爸一起进去吗？”正当他转身上楼时，麦圈大声叫了几声再见。 勒夫校长转过身来，我看清楚了坦克。 弗雷德跳到杯子上，拿着他的小吸盘吊在杯子上，低头看着麦圈。 “这是怎么回事？”洛夫校长问。