Chapter 5

Chapter five As I pushed open the door to my room, my heart sank all the way down to my shoes. I could see the screen cover lying on my bed. It was definitely not where it was supposed to be. But maybe Fred was still in there. I ran across the room to get a closer look. Everything in the tank was just as I had left it... except that Fred wasn't there. I pushed aside all the plants to see if he was hiding in the leaves. He wasn't. I picked up the hollow plastic log to see if he had wiggled inside it. He hadn't. He was just plain gone. "Fred!" I called out, looking desperately around my room. "This isn't funny. Come on out from wherever you're hiding."

当我推开房间的门时，我的心都沉到了鞋子上。 我能看到我床上的纱罩。 这绝对不是它应该在的地方。 但也许弗雷德还在里面。 我跑过房间去凑近看。 水箱里的一切都和我离开时一样…… 除了弗雷德不在。 我把所有的植物都推到一边，看看他是否藏在树叶里。 他不是。我拿起中空的塑料圆木，想看看他是否在里面扭动过。 他没有。他就这样消失了。 “弗雷德!”我喊道，绝望地环顾我的房间。 “这一点都不好笑。从你躲藏的地方出来吧。”

There was no answer. Not even the smallest croak. I got on all fours and looked under my bed and under my desk. I even picked up my wastebasket and looked in. There was nothing there but a plastic spoon with chunks of last night's strawberry yogurt crusted on it. What had I done? Had I lost Fred forever? What was wrong with me that I couldn't even follow the one most important rule? I knew that rule, I really did. I went over it and over it. But somehow, it just fell out of my brain. I pounded my forehead with the palm of my hand, hoping to get my brain working again. That must have shaken something loose, because an idea suddenly popped into my head. I crouched into my best frog position and tucked my legs up next to my chest. Then I

没有人回答。甚至连最小的叫声都没有。 我趴在地上，看了看床底下和桌子底下。 我甚至拿起废纸篓往里看了看。 那里什么也没有，只有一个塑料勺子，上面粘着昨晚吃的草莓酸奶。 我做了什么？我永远失去了弗雷德吗？ 我到底是怎么了，连一条最重要的规则都遵守不了？ 我知道这条规则，真的。 我想了一遍又一遍。 但不知怎么的，我突然就想不起来了。 我用手掌拍打着前额，希望我的大脑能重新运转起来。 那一定是动摇了什么东西，因为一个想法突然出现在我的脑海里。 我蜷缩成最好的青蛙姿势，把腿塞到胸口。 然后我

started hopping around my room and croaking, trying to sound just like Fred. I hoped that I was saying something cool in frog talk. Something like, "See, we can have a lot of fun together. We can hop the night away, so come on out." I hopped and croaked for what must have been five minutes. My legs and throat were getting really tired, but I couldn't give up. That frog was my responsibility, and I wasn't going to stop until I found him. I did stop, though, when I heard a hissing sound at my bedroom door. I looked up to see my sister, Emily, standing there, with Katherine draped around her shoulders like a scarf. Although Emily has been known to hiss, this time it was Katherine making the noise.

开始在我的房间里跳来跳去，嘶哑地叫着，试图模仿弗雷德的声音。 我希望我说的是很酷的青蛙话。 比如，“看，我们在一起可以有很多乐趣。 我们可以跳过去过夜，快出来吧。” 我又跳又叫，大概有五分钟。 我的腿和喉咙真的很累，但我不能放弃。 那只青蛙是我的责任，不找到他我是不会罢休的。 不过，当我听到卧室门口的嘶嘶声时，我还是停了下来。 我抬起头，看见妹妹艾米丽站在那里，凯瑟琳像围巾一样披在她的肩膀上。 虽然艾米丽也会发出嘘声，但这次是凯瑟琳发出的。

"Katherine is annoyed by your stupid frog imitation," Emily said. "Tell your lizard I'm not stupid," I shot back. "Then why are you acting stupid?" "I really need to find Fred, and you're not helping the situation. He got out." Emily glanced over at the tank and saw the screen cover lying on my bed. "He didn't just get out," she said. "You let him get out. And you say you're not stupid? You

“凯瑟琳被你愚蠢的青蛙模仿惹恼了，”艾米丽说。 “告诉你的蜥蜴我不笨，”我反驳道。 “那你为什么这么傻？”“我真的需要找到弗雷德，而你在帮倒忙。 他出来了。”艾米丽瞥了一眼水箱，看到了我床上的纱罩。 “他不只是出去了，”她说。 “你放他出去了。你说你不笨？ 你

didn't even put the cover back on." "Emily, I don't need your comments right now. So just take your hissing friend and go. I've got to call Frankie. At least he's someone who's willing to help." As Emily turned to go, Katherine looked at me and let out another hiss. "And I don't appreciate your advice, either," I said to the iguana, just in case she could understand English. I ran into the living room, picked up the phone, and called Frankie. It took me three times to get the number right. I know his phone number by heart, but in my mind, the numbers always get flipped around. "Frankie," I said as soon as he answered. "I have a problem. Can you come here right away?" "No can do, Hank. It's family game night. I'm stuck here." "Then come tomorrow first thing. And bring Ashley. It's an emergency." "What's the emergency?" a voice from

连封面都没盖上。” “艾米丽，我现在不需要你的评论。 所以带上你的嘶嘶朋友走吧。 我得打电话给弗兰基。至少他是一个愿意帮忙的人。” 艾米丽转身要走时，凯瑟琳看着我，又发出了一声嘘声。 “我也不欣赏你的建议，”我对鬣蜥说，以防它能听懂英语。 我跑进客厅，拿起电话，给弗兰基打了个电话。 我花了三次才算对这个数字。 我记住了他的电话号码，但在我的脑海里，号码总是颠倒的。 “弗兰基，”他一回答我就说。 “我有个问题。你能马上过来吗？”“不行，汉克。 这是家庭游戏之夜。我被困在这里了。” “那明天第一件事就来。 把艾希礼带来。这是紧急情况。” “有什么紧急情况？”一个声音从

behind me said. It was a voice I was hoping not to hear. The voice of my dad. I hung up and turned to him, trying to smile in a real casual way. "Oh, it's nothing important, Dad. Just kid stuff." "Hank, don't lie to me. Your voice didn't sound like just kid stuff." "Okay, fine. I'm in trouble. It's Fred—I've lost him." My dad sighed. I'd heard that sigh a million times. "It's always something with you, Hank. Your

我身后说。那是一个我不希望听到的声音。 我爸爸的声音。我挂了电话，转向他，试图以一种真正随意的方式微笑。 “哦，没什么大不了的，爸爸。 只是小孩子的东西。”“汉克，别骗我。 你的声音听起来不像小孩子的声音。” “好,很好。我有麻烦了。 是弗雷德——我跟丢了。” 爸爸叹了口气。我听过无数次这样的叹息。 “汉克，你总是有些毛病。 你的