Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 BARON VON GRUMP STARED AT the letter in his hand. "This can't be right," he said. "This can't be right at all." "Caw?" asked Edgar, his pet crow. "Yes, here!" said Baron Von Grump. "To this very place. To our windmill!" "Caw?" "When?" said Baron Von Grump. "Why, I haven't the slightest idea. She could show up at any moment. She could be almost here. She could be passing through the village at this very second!" "Caw!" said Edgar. He flew to the windowsill and peered out over the village.

第一章冯·格伦普男爵盯着手里的信。 “这不可能，”他说。 “这不可能是对的。” “叫？”埃德加问，他的宠物乌鸦。 “是的，在这儿！”冯·格朗普男爵说。 “就在这个地方。去我们的风车！”“乌鸦叫?”“什么时候？”冯·格朗普男爵问。 “啊，我一点也不知道。 她随时都可能出现。 她可能就快到了。她此刻可能正在穿过村子呢！”“哇！”艾加说。 他飞到窗台上，凝视着窗外的村庄。

Baron Von Grump stared at the letter again. "An extended stay," he moaned. "To visit the countryside." He collapsed into his favorite chair and groaned. "Caw?" asked Edgar. "That's it!" said Baron Von Grump, jumping out of his seat. "That's exactly it, Edgar! We'll pack up and leave. We'll hang a sign on the door that says, 'Not home, gone away.' Why, she'll have no choice but to turn around and go right back to her noisy, busy, hustle-and-bustle city. Hurry, Edgar, we must be quick. There's no telling when she might—" Three loud knocks at his front door interrupted him.

冯·格朗普男爵又盯着那封信。 “延长逗留时间。”他呻吟道。 “去乡下看看。” 他瘫倒在他最喜欢的椅子上，呻吟着。 “法律？”艾加问。“就是这样！”冯·格朗普男爵说着从座位上跳了起来。 “就是这样，艾加！”我们要收拾行李离开。 我们会在门上挂个牌子，写着“不回家，走了”。她别无选择，只能掉头回到她那喧闹、忙碌、喧嚣的城市。 快点，埃德加，我们得快点。 说不准她什么时候会——”前门传来三声响亮的敲门声，打断了他的话。

"Arrive," grumbled Baron Von Grump, falling back into his chair. But wait, what about the Junior Monster Scouts? Where are they? Why are we reading about Baron Von Grump? This book series isn't called the Baron Von Grump series, is

“来。”冯·格朗普男爵嘟囔着，倒在椅子上。 等等，那少年怪兽童子军呢？ 他们在哪里？我们为什么要读关于冯·格朗普男爵的书？ 这个系列不叫男爵·冯·格朗普系列，是

it? No, of course not! It's called the Junior Monster Scouts series, and that's who we really want to read about. What's that? You want to know who is knocking at Baron Von Grump's door? All in due time, but first let's see what our favorite Junior Monster Scouts are up to on this nice sunny day. "Okay, Little Junior Monster Scouts," said Vampyra, "let's try the scout oath." "Repeat after us," said Franky. "After us," said Wolfy's little sister Fern and the rest of the cubs.

它吗?不，当然不是！它被称为少年怪兽童子军系列，这才是我们真正想读的。 那是什么?你想知道是谁在敲男爵的门吗？ 一切都在适当的时候，但首先让我们看看我们最喜欢的少年怪物童子军在这个阳光明媚的日子里在做什么。 “好吧，小怪兽童子军，”Vampyra说，“让我们试试童子军誓言吧。” “跟我们说，”弗兰基说。 “跟在我们后面，”狼的妹妹芬和其他的小熊们说。

"No, repeat what we say," Wolfy said. "What we say," said Fern and the cubs. "No, repeat the oath," said Vampyra. Fern scratched her head. "But we don't know it," she said.

“不，重复我们说过的话，”狼说。 “我们说什么，”芬和小熊们说。 “不，再说一遍誓言。”万皮拉说。 弗恩挠了挠头。“但我们不知道，”她说。

Wolfy rolled his eyes. "That's what we're trying to teach you," he said. "This is very confusing," said Fern. As you can see, Vampyra, Franky, and Wolfy were trying very hard to teach the newly created Little Junior Monster Scouts the scout oath. Perhaps you and I could recite it together? After all, by reading these books, you are an honorary scout. Yes, of course you are! It doesn't matter if you don't have fur, or claws, or pointy teeth. What matters is that you are kind, and helpful, and follow all the other Scout Laws that are at the back of this book. But first, let's start with the oath. Ready? Okay, repeat after me: I promise to be nice, not scary. To help, not harm. To always try to do my best. I am a monster, but I am not mean. I am a Junior Monster Scout!

狼翻了个白眼。“这就是我们想教你的，”他说。 “这太令人困惑了，”弗恩说。 正如你所看到的，吸血鬼、弗兰克和狼正努力教新成立的小怪兽童子军童子军誓词。 也许你和我可以一起背诵？ 毕竟，通过阅读这些书，你是一名荣誉童子军。 是的，你当然是！如果你没有毛，没有爪子，没有尖尖的牙齿，那也没关系。 重要的是你要善良，乐于助人，并遵守本书后面的所有其他童军法则。 但首先，让我们从誓言开始。 准备好了吗?好吧，跟我说：我保证对人好，不吓人。 帮助，而不是伤害。总是尽力做到最好。 我是个怪物，但我并不卑鄙。 我是少年怪兽童子军！