Chapter 12

Chapter twelve, I kept hoping that Ms. Flowers had forgotten about my three-paragraph report. She didn't mention it after she took attendance. She didn't mention it when she wrote her quote of the day on the board. She didn't mention it when she announced that it was taco day in the cafeteria. I was starting to feel pretty good and was even thinking how much I'd like a taco for lunch. But then Principal Love walked in, and I lost my appetite completely. "Principal Love has joined us for Hank's presentation," Ms. Flowers said to the class. "Hank, are you ready?" My mind screamed no. My mouth said yes.

第十二章，我一直希望。 弗劳尔斯忘记了我的三段报告。 她点名后没提这件事。 她在黑板上写下当天的名言时并没有提到。 她在餐厅宣布今天是墨西哥卷饼日的时候可没提。 我开始感觉很好，甚至在想我午餐有多想吃一个墨西哥卷饼。 但当爱校长走了进来，我完全失去了胃口。 “洛夫校长来参加汉克的演讲了。” 花儿对全班说。 “汉克，你准备好了吗？”我的心尖叫着不。 我的嘴答应了。

"Fine," she said. "Please come up to the front of the class and read us your report." I opened my notebook and took out the piece of lined paper I had worked on. Nick McKelty leaned across his desk as far as he could without flipping over. Even though I tried to hide the paper, he got a quick look at it. "Hey, there's nothing written on there," he shouted. "It's totally empty." "It is not," I said. "See, there's the title, How to Hug an Elephant." "Oh is that what it says?" McKelty snorted. "To me, it looks like somebody threw up on your paper." "Nick, that's enough," Ms. Flowers said. "Hank, can I please see your report?" My heart started to beat faster. "It's not what it looks like," I said as I got close to her desk. "I know it looks empty, but there's a lot of thought behind it." Ms. Flowers held out her hand, and I had no choice but to give her the paper.

“很好，”她说。“请到教室前面来，把你的报告读给我们听。” 我打开笔记本，拿出刚才写好的那张横格纸。 尼克·麦凯尔蒂尽量把身子靠在桌子上，以免翻身。 尽管我试图把报纸藏起来，他还是很快地看了一眼。 “嘿，上面什么也没写。”他喊道。 “完全是空的。”“不是的，”我说。 “看，这就是标题，《如何拥抱大象》。” “哦，上面是这么写的吗？”McKelty哼了一声。 “对我来说，就像有人吐在你的纸上一样。” “尼克，够了。” 花说。“汉克，我能看看你的报告吗？”我的心跳加快了。 “事情不是你看到的那样，”我走近她的桌子时说道。 “我知道它看起来很空，但它背后有很多想法。” 弗劳尔斯女士伸出手来，我别无选择，只好把报纸递给她。

"Hank," she said, looking at both sides. "There's nothing but a big hole in the middle of this page." "I know. That's where all the thoughts fell through. They went right down that hole and into the carpet in my bedroom. But luckily for all of us, I still have them here in my mind." Before she could answer, I turned to the class and started to talk. "Yesterday I had the most amazing experience with Elsie the elephant," I began. "I learned that Elsie can use the end of her trunk like fingers. That's how she picks up things to eat. I also learned that if an elephant raises her trunk up in the air while she's trumpeting, it means she's happy to see you. But the most important thing I learned from Elsie is that elephants have feelings as big as their bodies."

“汉克，”她说，看了看两边。 “这一页中间只有一个大洞。” “我知道。所有的想法都在那里落空了。 它们顺着洞钻进了我卧室的地毯。 但幸运的是，我们所有人都还记得。” 她还没来得及回答，我就转向全班同学，开始说话。 “昨天我和大象埃尔西有了一次最奇妙的经历，”我开始说。 “我知道埃尔西可以像用手指一样用鼻子的末端。 她就是这样拿东西吃的。 我还了解到，如果大象在吹喇叭的时候把鼻子举到空中，那就意味着她很高兴见到你。 但我从埃尔西身上学到的最重要的东西是，大象的感情和它们的身体一样强大。”

"How'd you learn that?" McKelty shouted out. "Did you two dance or something?" "Actually, Elsie and I played soccer. And it turns out she's a natural. She could score a goal from a mile away." "I don't believe you," he said. "Well, it's true. You can ask Frankie and Ashley. They saw her do it." "We sure did," Frankie said. "That Elsie's got a great goal kick," Ashley added. "Elephants are the largest land animals in the world," I continued. "When one of their friends in the herd dies, they feel sad. When Elsie arrived at the zoo, she felt very sad. But after my visit with her, I believe she showed the zookeeper another side of her, a happy side."

“你怎么知道的？”麦凯尔蒂喊道。 “你们俩跳舞了吗？”“事实上，埃尔西和我踢足球。 事实证明她很有天赋。 她能在一英里外进球。” “我不相信你，”他说。 “嗯，这是真的。你可以问弗兰基和阿什莉。 他们看到她这么做了。”“当然了，”弗兰基说。 “那个埃尔西踢了一个很棒的进球，”阿什利补充道。 “大象是世界上最大的陆地动物，”我继续说。 “当牧群里的一个朋友死了，他们会感到悲伤。 当埃尔西到达动物园时，她感到非常难过。 但在我拜访她之后，我相信她向动物园管理员展示了她的另一面，快乐的一面。”

"Sounds like you helped her feel better, Hank," Katie Sperling said. "I think that's so cool." A bunch of the other kids nodded. "Yeah, I think I did. So I'm really sorry that I scared everyone by getting lost. And that I did something dangerous by going into the enclosure. I'm also sorry I messed up your visit to the zoo. But I hope you understand that something wonderful happened with Elsie." "I have a question," Principal Love said from the back of the room. "Okay, Principal Love. I call on you." "Your behavior prevented your classmates

“听起来你让她感觉好些了，汉克，”凯蒂·斯珀林说。 “我觉得这太酷了。”一群孩子点了点头。 “是的，我想我做到了。所以我真的很抱歉我迷路吓到了大家。 我进入围栏做了件很危险的事。 我也很抱歉搞砸了你的动物园之行。 但我希望你明白，埃尔西身上发生了一件奇妙的事。” “我有一个问题，”洛夫校长在教室后面说。 “好的，爱校长。我呼唤你。” “你的行为妨碍了你的同学

from enjoying the field trip as much as you did," he said. "How do you plan to make that up to them?" That was a good question. I had been thinking about it a lot. "First, let me repeat to everyone how sorry I am. And second, I have decided to donate everything in my piggy bank to a Save the Elephants organization. Elephants like Elsie are in danger, and I want to help them." "Why, Hank, what a wonderful idea," Ms. Flowers said. "I counted my money last night, and I'm pretty sure I have twenty-seven dollars and thirteen cents. It might be fifteen cents, I just couldn't keep track. Anyway, I'm donating the money in the name of all of you in Ms. Flowers's second-grade class." To my surprise, everyone started to cheer.

因为我和你一样喜欢实地考察，”他说。 “你打算怎么补偿他们？”这是个好问题。 我一直在想这件事。 “首先，让我向所有人重申我的歉意。 第二，我决定把存钱罐里的钱都捐给拯救大象组织。 像埃尔西这样的大象正处于危险之中，我想帮助它们。” “啊，汉克，真是个好主意。” 花说。“我昨晚数了数我的钱，我很确定我有二十七块十三美分。 可能是15美分，我就是记不住。 不管怎样，我是以你们所有人的名义在。 弗劳尔斯的二年级班级。” 令我吃惊的是，每个人都开始欢呼起来。