Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 THE VILLAGE WAS FILLED WITH rats. Big rats, short rats, thin rats, long rats. Rats scampered down the streets. They crawled into houses through windows. They slid under doors. They hopped onto roofs and dropped down the chimneys. They twitched their pink tails and grinned with their yellow teeth. The rats ran everywhere ... and everywhere they ran, the villagers ran too. "This is great!" said the rats. "So much cheese!"

村子里到处都是老鼠。 大老鼠，矮老鼠，瘦老鼠，长老鼠。 老鼠在街上蹦蹦跳跳。 他们从窗户爬进房子。 他们从门缝里钻出来。它们跳上屋顶，又从烟囱里掉下来。 它们抖动着粉红色的尾巴，露出黄色的牙齿咧嘴笑着。 老鼠到处乱跑…… 他们跑到哪里，村民们也跟着跑到哪里。 “太棒了！”老鼠们说。 “这么多奶酪！”

Now, mind you, the rats were not hurting anyone. They certainly did not want to overly upset the villagers. All they wanted was cheese, and Baron Von Grump had been right. There was a lot of cheese in this village! But the villagers did not know what the rats wanted. The villagers did not stop to ask the rats why they had come in through the windows and down the chimneys, and why they were on the village streets. The villagers just ran in circles. They climbed atop wagons. They stood on chairs.

提醒你一下，老鼠并没有伤害任何人。 他们当然不想过分激怒村民。 他们想要的只是奶酪，冯·格朗普男爵是对的。 这个村子里有很多奶酪！但是村民们不知道老鼠想要什么。 村民们没有停下来问老鼠为什么从窗户和烟囱进来，为什么在村里的街道上。 村民们只是在原地打转。 他们爬上马车。他们站在椅子上。

"There are too many of them!" said a villager. "We'll never get rid of them all!" said another. "They're eating our cheese!" cried a third villager. "Everyone!" said the mayor, shouting through a very loud bullhorn. "Gather your things. Pack your bags. Collect your children. We must leave the village!" Baron Von Grump clapped his hands together. He leaned out of his window and watched. "My plan is working!" he said. "Soon those cheese-eating, song-singing, gum- chewing, happy villagers will be gone and I'll be able to play, play, play my violin without any distraction!" He spun in a circle, jumped up, and clicked his heels together. Edgar sat on the

“他们人太多了！”一个村民说。 “我们永远也摆脱不了他们！”另一个说。 “他们在吃我们的奶酪！”第三个村民叫道。 “所有人！”市长用一个非常大的扩音器喊道。 “收拾好你的东西。收拾行李。 接你的孩子。我们必须离开这个村子！”冯·格朗普男爵拍了拍手。 他探出窗户看着。 “我的计划成功了！”他说。 “很快，那些吃着奶酪、唱着歌、嚼着口香糖的快乐村民就会消失，我就可以拉、拉、拉我的小提琴了，没有任何干扰！”他转了个圈，跳了起来，把脚跟踩在一起。 埃德加坐在椅子上。

edge of a rafter and bobbed his head up and down. "Caw! Caw!" "Yes, my friend," said Baron Von Grump, "the sooner the better." He did not like the villagers' panicked hollering and shouting, and he certainly did not like the mayor's bullhorn. Baron Von Grump slammed his shutters closed again. He stomped to his favorite chair, sat down, and opened his violin case. He blew off the dust and the cobwebs and lifted the violin to his chin. He placed the bow on the strings. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and drew the bow across the strings. It made a terrible screech. "Caw! Caw!" shrieked Edgar. He flew straight to the window... and into the closed shutters.

靠着一根椽子的边缘，他的头上下摆动着。 “乌鸦叫!乌鸦叫!”“是的，我的朋友，”冯·格朗普男爵说，“越快越好。” 他不喜欢村民们惊慌失措的喊叫，当然也不喜欢市长的扩音器。 冯·格朗普男爵又砰地关上了百叶窗。 他跺着脚走到他最喜欢的椅子前，坐下来，打开他的小提琴盒。 他吹掉灰尘和蜘蛛网，把小提琴举到下巴边。 他把弓放在弦上。 他深吸一口气，闭上眼睛，拉起琴弓。 它发出一声可怕的尖叫声。 “乌鸦叫!叫！”艾加尖叫起来。 他径直飞向窗户…… 钻进了紧闭的百叶窗。

"Well, of course it's not tuned!" growled Baron Von Grump, waving his bow. "How am I supposed to tune it when I can't even hear myself think?!" Edgar shrugged his wings. Baron Von Grump shoved his violin back into the case and slapped the lid closed.

“哦，当然没调好！”冯·格朗普男爵咆哮着，挥舞着他的弓。 “我连自己的思想都听不见了，我要怎么调音啊？！”埃德加耸耸翅膀。 冯·格朗普男爵把他的小提琴塞回箱子里，啪的一声关上了盖子。