Chapter 3

Chapter three, On Saturday morning, we brought all our bags down to the lobby where Papa Pete and Frankie were waiting for us. "Thanks for letting us borrow your car, Papa Pete," I said. "My pleasure," he answered, handing the keys to my dad. "I filled it up with gas, so you're ready to roll." "Are you sure this car can make the trip?" he asked. "I don't want it to break down on the side of the highway." "This old car loves the highway," Papa Pete said. "I've taken it on a lot of road trips."

第三章星期六早上，我们把所有的行李搬到大厅，皮特爸爸和弗兰基在那里等我们。 “谢谢你把车借给我们，皮特爸爸，”我说。 “这是我的荣幸，”他回答说，把钥匙递给了我爸爸。 “我给车加满了油，你可以上路了。” “你确定这辆车能走完全程吗？”他问。 “我可不想它在高速公路边上抛锚。” “这辆旧车喜欢高速公路，”皮特爸爸说。 “我开过很多次自驾游。”

"That's my point," my dad said. "Who knows if it has one more road trip in it? So why take a chance? Let's forget the trip and all go to a Saturday afternoon movie. What do you say, kids?" "I say camping." Then I started to chant, "Camping, camping, camping." Frankie and Emily joined in. My mom laughed. It looked like my father was going to cry. "Seems like you have your answer, Stan," my mom said. "Let's load up the car and go." We all helped put our stuff in the trunk. When it was almost full, my dad suddenly stopped and slapped his forehead. "Wait a minute," he said. "I can't go. What about Cheerio? I have to take care of him. He's just a puppy." "Remember that Mrs. Fink in apartment 10C has agreed to walk and feed Cheerio twice a day?" my mom said.

“这就是我要说的，”爸爸说。 “谁知道它是否还有一次公路旅行？” 所以为什么要冒险呢？让我们忘掉旅行，星期六下午去看电影吧。 你们说呢，孩子们？”“我说野营。” 然后我开始吟唱，“露营，露营，露营。” 弗兰基和艾米丽也加入了进来。 妈妈笑了。我父亲似乎要哭了。 “看来你已经有了答案，斯坦。”我妈妈说。 “我们把东西装上车走吧。” 我们都帮忙把我们的东西放进后备箱。 快满的时候，爸爸突然停了下来，拍了拍额头。 “等一下，”他说。“我不能去。 那麦圈呢？我得照顾他。 他只是一只小狗。”“还记得住在10C公寓的芬克太太答应每天两次遛狗喂麦片吗？”妈妈说。

"But what happens if she can't find her false teeth? She won't leave her apartment. That happened once, and we didn't see her for three days. No, I can't risk that. I'm staying home with Cheerio. Have a great time, everyone." He ran into the lobby. I followed him and found him pushing the elevator button over and over again. "Dad, you just gave me a great idea," I said. "We'll take Cheerio. It will be the biggest adventure of his little puppy life." "You can't take a dog into the wilderness," my dad said as the elevator doors opened.

“但如果她找不到假牙怎么办？” 她不肯离开她的公寓。 那只发生过一次，我们三天没见过她。 不，我不能冒这个险。我和麦圈呆在家里。 祝大家玩得愉快。” 他跑进大厅。我跟着他，发现他一遍又一遍地按电梯按钮。 “爸爸，你给了我一个好主意，”我说。 “我们买麦圈。这将是它小狗一生中最大的一次冒险。” “你不能带狗去荒野，”爸爸说，这时电梯门开了。

"Of course you can," I said as we got in the elevator. "They're animals. They love wilderness." I didn't stop talking until we were inside our apartment. "Cheerio!" I called. "Want to go on a road trip?" Cheerio jumped off the couch and almost flew into my arms. "See?" I said to my dad. "He wants to go. How can we say no to this face?" Cheerio looked over at my dad, and I swear he smiled right at him. That cute doggy's smile can even melt my dad's heart.

“你当然可以，”我们进电梯时我说。 “他们的动物。他们喜欢荒野。” 直到我们进了我们的公寓，我才停止说话。 “好呀!”我叫。“想去自驾游吗？”麦圈从沙发上跳下来，差点扑到我怀里。 “看到了吗?”我对爸爸说。“他想去。 我们怎么能拒绝这张脸呢？”麦圈看着我爸爸，我发誓他对他笑了。 那可爱的狗狗的微笑甚至可以融化我爸爸的心。

"Fine," he said, sighing deeply. "I'll let Mrs. Fink know what we're doing. Hank, get Cheerio's things together." Everyone cheered when we came out of our building with Cheerio. Emily reached out and scratched Cheerio under the chin. "You are not as cute as my Katherine, and you can't catch flies with your tongue. But I'm glad you're coming along, anyway." My mom hugged Dad and smiled. "You did the right thing, Stan," she said. "You'll see. We're going to have a great time." My dad just grunted like a hippo stuck in the mud. We piled into the car. As I was getting in, Papa Pete handed me a brown paper bag. "Here's a little surprise for you kids," he said. I didn't even have to open the bag to know what was inside. It was pickles, Papa Pete's favorite snack. We always have a pickle together when we've got a big problem to solve.

“很好，”他说，深深地叹了口气。 “我会告诉芬克太太我们在做什么。 汉克，把麦圈的东西收拾好。” 当我们带着Cheerio走出大楼时，每个人都欢呼起来。 艾米丽伸出手搔了搔麦圈的下巴。 “你没有我的凯瑟琳可爱，而且你的舌头抓不到苍蝇。 不过我还是很高兴你能来。” 妈妈抱着爸爸笑了。 “你做得对，斯坦。”她说。 “你会看到的。我们会玩得很开心的。” 我爸爸就像一头陷在泥里的河马一样咕哝着。 我们挤进汽车。在我上车的时候，皮特爸爸递给我一个棕色纸袋。 “这是给你们的一个小惊喜，”他说。 我甚至不用打开袋子就能知道里面是什么。 那是泡菜，皮特爸爸最喜欢的小吃。 当我们有大问题要解决的时候，我们总是一起找个麻烦。

"I brought a pickle for each of you kids," he said. "Just don't let Cheerio get them." "Thanks, Papa Pete," we all said. Frankie calls him Papa Pete, too, even though he's not his grandfather. "See you tomorrow," my mom called to Papa Pete. "Don't forget to put on bug spray," he replied as he waved good-bye. We took off. Mom and Dad sat up front. The three of us were in the backseat. Well, make that the four of us because I had Cheerio on my lap. As we drove out of the city, Frankie, Emily, and I played this game where you count

“我给你们每个孩子都带了一个泡菜，”他说。 “千万别让麦圈把它们抢走。” “谢谢，皮特爸爸，”我们都说。 弗兰基也叫他皮特爸爸，尽管他不是他的祖父。 “明天见，”妈妈对皮特爸爸说。 “别忘了喷杀虫剂，”他一边挥手告别一边回答。 我们起飞了。妈妈和爸爸坐在前面。 我们三个人坐在后座上。 那就我们四个人吧因为我腿上有麦圈。 我们开车出城的时候，弗兰基，艾米丽和我玩了一个你数数的游戏