Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 BARON VON GRUMP COVERED HIS ears. He growled. He groaned. He grimaced. Why is everyone so loud? And happy? Why, he'd even heard a villager say "Good morning" to another villager just a minute ago. Every villager was out and about, young and old, waving their little cheese flags, and wearing hats made of cheese wheels. There was even a parade and a wagon piled high with cheese. White cheese, yellow cheese, pink cheese, cheese with holes. Square cheese, round cheese. Cheese, cheese, cheese, CHEESE! "They are driving me crazy with all of their noise!" he said to Edgar. "How am I

第四章冯·格伦普男爵捂住了耳朵。 他咆哮道。他呻吟着。他扮了个鬼脸。 为什么每个人都这么大声？和快乐吗? 咦，就在一分钟前，他还听到一个村民对另一个村民说“早上好”。 每个村民，无论老老少少，都在外面走来走去，挥舞着他们的小奶酪旗，戴着奶酪轮子做的帽子。 甚至还有游行队伍和一辆堆满了奶酪的马车。 白奶酪，黄奶酪，粉红奶酪，有洞的奶酪。 方形奶酪，圆形奶酪。 奶酪，奶酪，奶酪，奶酪！“他们吵吵闹闹快把我逼疯了！”他对艾加说。 “我怎么样？”

supposed to practice my violin with them making such a racket? And oh, the stench! The horrible, terrible stink of their cheeses." Baron Von Grump pinched his nose shut with a clothespin. "Bud I hab a plan. I doh justh whut to do!" "Caw! Caw!" said Edgar. Baron Von Grump went down, down, down the sagging staircase of the Old Windmill, all the way to the basement. Edgar flew down the stairs, leading the way. Baron Von Grump hardly ever went down to the basement. He lived in the top room of the very old, very rickety, very crooked windmill. The basement was dark, and damp, and filled with rats. Big, hairy black rats with long pink tails and bright red eyes. Baron Von Grump lit a candle. The rats blinked. There were a lot of rats. There was a lot of blinking.

他们吵吵闹闹，我还能练小提琴吗？ 哦，臭气熏天！他们奶酪那可怕、可怕的臭味。” 冯·格朗普男爵用衣夹夹住了他的鼻子。 “不过我有个计划。我只是在做该做的事！”“乌鸦叫!叫！”艾加说。 冯·格朗普男爵往下走，往下走，沿着老风车的楼梯一直走到地下室。 埃德加飞奔下楼，在前面带路。 冯·格朗普男爵几乎从不到地下室去。 他住在那座非常古老、摇摇晃晃、歪歪斜斜的风车的顶层。 地下室又黑又潮，到处都是老鼠。 又大又多毛的黑老鼠，长着粉红色的长尾巴和鲜红的眼睛。 冯·格朗普男爵点燃了一支蜡烛。 老鼠眨着眼睛。有很多老鼠。 有很多人眨眼。

"Hey," said a very big rat, munching on a wedge of cheese, "put that candle out!" The rats did not like light very much. "How would you like all the cheese you could eat?" asked Baron Von Grump. The rats liked cheese a lot. They liked cheese more than they disliked light. The rats listened to what Baron Von Grump had to say. Baron Von Grump said that there was a lot of cheese in the village. He said that each house was filled with cheese. He also said that the rats could have all of it... as long as

“嘿，”一只非常大的老鼠说，嘴里嚼着一块楔形奶酪，“把蜡烛灭了！”老鼠不太喜欢光。 男爵冯·格朗普问道：“你想吃那么多奶酪吗？” 老鼠非常喜欢奶酪。 他们喜欢奶酪甚于讨厌光线。 老鼠们听着冯·格朗普男爵要说的话。 冯·格朗普男爵说村子里有很多奶酪。 他说每个房子里都装满了奶酪。 他还说老鼠可以吃所有的东西…… 只要…

they chased the villagers away. And chewed their cheese quietly. "Hmm," said the big rat. "I'll put it to a vote." The big rat called all of the other rats together and explained Baron Von Grump's offer. The rats thought this was a very good idea. Unfortunately, the village was much brighter than the basement of the Old Windmill, but the village was also filled with cheese. "We'll do it!" said the big rat. He swallowed his wedge of cheese. He burped. He did not have very nice manners. Baron Von Grump smiled. It was a very small smile, a crooked smile, certainly not a full smile. But it was something. Edgar's beady little black eyes seemed to smile as well. "Soon," said Baron Von Grump, "those villagers will be gone, and I'll finally have

他们赶走了村民。 静静地咀嚼着奶酪。 “嗯，”大老鼠说。“我要投票表决。” 大老鼠把其他老鼠叫到一起，解释了男爵的提议。 老鼠们认为这是个好主意。 不幸的是，村子里比老风车的地下室明亮得多，但村子里也充满了奶酪。 “我们来吧！”大老鼠说。 他吞下了那块楔形奶酪。 他打嗝。他没有很好的礼貌。 冯·格伦普男爵笑了。这是一个很小的微笑，一个扭曲的微笑，当然不是一个完整的微笑。 但这是有意义的。埃德加的小黑眼睛似乎也在微笑。 “很快，”冯·格朗普男爵说，“那些村民就会消失，而我最终将拥有。

some peace and quiet. I will finally be able to play my violin without all of their cheering and chattering and cheese stink!"

一些和平和安静。我终于可以拉我的小提琴了，没有他们的欢呼、喋喋不休和奶酪的臭味！”