Chapter 11

Chapter eleven, It took me a long time to walk to school the next morning. It was the same distance as always— a half block to the corner and another half block to PS 87. But I was walking as slowly as I could because I knew what was waiting for me when I got there. "You're walking as slow as a snail this morning," Frankie noticed. "Actually," my sister, Emily, chimed in. "Snails don't walk. Walking means you have legs. Snails glide on surfaces." "Fine," Frankie said. "Then Hank is gliding very slowly on the sidewalk surface." Frankie's mom, who was taking us to school, agreed.

第二天早上，我花了很长时间才走到学校。 这段距离和往常一样——离弯道有半个街区，离PS 87又有半个街区。 但我走得尽可能慢，因为我知道当我到达那里时等待我的是什么。 “你今天早上走得跟蜗牛一样慢，”弗兰基注意到。 “事实上，”我妹妹艾米丽插嘴说。 “蜗牛不会走路。走路意味着你有腿。 蜗牛在表面上滑行。” “好吧，”弗兰基说。“然后汉克在人行道上慢慢地滑行。” 送我们去学校的弗兰基的妈妈同意了。

"Usually you're bouncing all around, Hank," she said. "Like yesterday, when you apparently didn't stay with your class during the field trip." "You know about that, too?" I asked. "Sure," she said. "We discussed your elephant adventure over our meatloaf and mashed potatoes last night." "My family discussed it over chocolate pudding," Ashley said. Was the whole world talking about my mistake? I guess they were. And the worst part was, so was Principal Love. I found that out the minute I arrived at school. He was standing on the front steps in his weird Velcro sneakers, greeting all the students. As soon as he saw me, he came marching over. I could hear his sneakers squeaking on the pavement. I didn't like the sound of that.

“汉克，你通常都是蹦蹦跳跳的，”她说。 “就像昨天，你在实地考察时显然没有和同学们在一起。” “你也知道这件事？”我问。 “当然，”她说。“我们昨晚边吃肉饼和土豆泥边讨论了你的大象冒险。” “我的家人边吃巧克力布丁边讨论这件事，”阿什利说。 全世界都在谈论我的错误吗？ 我想是的。最糟糕的是，洛夫校长也是。 我一到学校就明白了。 他穿着奇怪的魔术贴运动鞋站在前面的台阶上，向所有的学生打招呼。 他一看见我，就大步走过来。 我能听到他的运动鞋在人行道上发出的吱吱声。 我不喜欢你这么说。

"Well, young man, that was quite a scare you gave everyone yesterday." I noticed that the mole on his cheek, which looks like the Statue of Liberty, seemed to be shaking its head at me. Was his mole angry, too? "Ms. Flowers said that part of your punishment was to write a report on your trip to the zoo," he went on. "I'll be there for your presentation." "You mean you're coming to my class?" "Yes, indeed." "And actually sitting down to listen to me?"

“喂，年轻人，你昨天可把大家吓了一跳。” 我注意到他脸颊上的痣，看起来像自由女神像，似乎在向我摇头。 他的鼹鼠也生气了吗？”女士。 弗劳尔斯说，对你的惩罚之一就是写一篇关于你去动物园旅行的报告，”他接着说。 “我会去听你的报告的。” “你是说你要来上我的课？”“没错。” “然后真的坐下来听我说话？”

"Yes, indeed, again." "Wow," I said. "That's going to be so.. um... it's going to be so... I just can't think of the word right now." "There are many words to describe my visit," Principal Love said. "Thrilling. Stimulating. Delightful." I didn't tell him, but, actually, the word I had in mind was scary. Really scary.

“是的，真的，又来了。”“哇，”我说。 “这将是如此……嗯… 它会变得非常……我现在就是想不出这个词来。” “有很多词可以形容我的访问，”洛夫校长说。 “激动人心的。刺激。愉快的。” 我没告诉他，但实际上，我想到的词很吓人。 真的可怕。