3 BAD NEWS BENEATH THE SEA

BAD NEWS BENEATH THE SEA Every week Bean and Ivy put on tights and leotards and went to Madame Joy's School of the Ballet, where they fell down and hurt themselves (Ivy) and were bored out of their minds (Bean). Every week they were told to watch Dulcie plié and kitty-jump across the floor even though she was only five. Every week they waited and waited for Madame Joy to clap her hands and say it was time to be butterflies. They hated being butterflies, but at least that meant ballet class was almost over. It seemed like it couldn't get worse. And then one day, instead of telling them to be butterflies, Madame Joy told them to sit in a circle on the floor. "We're going to be mushrooms," whispered Ivy to Bean.

海底的坏消息比恩和艾薇每周都穿上紧身衣和紧身衣去乔伊夫人的芭蕾舞学校，在那里他们摔倒了，伤了自己（艾薇），无聊得要命（比恩）。 每个星期，他们都被要求观看杜尔西在地板上蹦蹦跳跳，尽管她只有五岁。 每个星期，他们都等着，等着乔伊夫人拍手说，是时候做蝴蝶了。 他们讨厌做蝴蝶，但至少这意味着芭蕾舞课快结束了。 看起来不可能更糟了。 然后有一天，乔伊夫人没有让他们做蝴蝶，而是让他们在地板上坐成一圈。 “我们要变成蘑菇了。”艾薇小声对比恩说。

Bean didn't think so. When grown-ups asked you to sit in a circle, they were usually about to tell you something you didn't want to hear. Ms. Aruba-Tate, Ivy and Bean's second-grade teacher, was forever gathering them in a circle for bad news. Like, the class fish died over the weekend. Or, everyone has to start using real punctuation. Or, the pencil sharpener is off-limits. Circles meant trouble. Bean watched Madame Joy walk pointy- toed to a chair and sit. No floor for her. "Girls," she began, "I have something very special to tell you." "Oh, tell us, Madame Jwah!" cried Dulcie. She even clapped her hands. Madame Joy smiled. "As many of you know, we end each session with a lovely recital. A recital, girls, is a chance for you to dance before your friends and family so that they can see what you've learned."

比恩不这么认为。当大人们让你围成一圈时，他们通常是想告诉你一些你不想听的事情。 阿鲁巴-塔特是艾薇和比恩二年级的老师，她总是把他们围成一圈，告诉他们坏消息。 比如，班级里的鱼周末死了。 或者，每个人都必须开始使用真正的标点符号。 或者，卷笔刀是禁止使用的。 圆圈意味着麻烦。比恩看着乔伊夫人尖着脚尖走到椅子旁坐下。 没有地板给她。“姑娘们，”她开始说，“我有件非常特别的事要告诉你们。” “啊，告诉我们吧，上帝夫人！” 她甚至还拍了拍手。 乔伊夫人笑了。“正如你们许多人所知道的，我们以一场可爱的独奏结束每一次会议。 姑娘们，独奏会是你们在朋友和家人面前跳舞的机会，这样他们就能看到你们学到了什么。”

Ivy coughed. Madame Joy leaned forward eagerly. "Most of our recitals are held here at the school, but this time we have been invited to participate in The World of Dance! Isn't that wonderful?" Several girls said, "Oooooooh!" Bean was getting a not-so-good feeling. "What's The World of Dance?" she asked. Madame Joy's smile grew. "The World of Dance is a gathering of many different dance schools from all over town—tap dancers, jazz dancers, hip-hop dancers. We will be representing the ballet. Each group gets a chance to perform, just as in a regular recital, but we'll be performing on a real stage in a real theater!" "Oooooooh!" repeated the same girls. Bean was sick of hearing that. Ivy's hand shot into the air. "Can we do Giselle?"

艾薇咳嗽。乔伊夫人急切地向前倾着身子。 “我们大部分的演出都在学校举行，但这次我们被邀请参加了舞蹈世界！”这不是很奇妙吗？”几个女孩说：“哦哦哦！”比恩感觉不太好。 “什么是舞蹈世界？”她问。 乔伊夫人的笑容更灿烂了。“舞蹈世界聚集了来自全国各地的许多不同的舞蹈学校——踢踏舞、爵士舞、街舞。 我们将代表芭蕾舞团。 每个小组都有机会表演，就像在常规的独奏会上一样，但我们将在真正的剧院的真正的舞台上表演！”“呜——呜——呜！”同样的女孩重复着。 比恩听烦了。 艾薇的手猛地举到空中。 “我们能演吉赛尔吗？”

"Giselle?" Madame Joy looked surprised. "No. Goodness, no. We will be doing a lovely piece called 'Wedding Beneath the Sea.'" "Wedding Beneath the Sea"? Bean didn't care if she was rude. She yelled, "What are Ivy and me?" Madame Joy raised her eyebrows. "I was planning to discuss parts next, but if you must know, you and Ivy will be the two friendly squids."

“吉塞尔?”乔伊夫人显得很惊讶。 “没有。善良,不。我们将做一个可爱的作品，叫做“海底婚礼”。“海底婚礼”？ 比恩不在乎她是否粗鲁。 她喊道：“艾薇和我是什么？”乔伊夫人扬起了眉毛。 “我本来打算接下来讨论部分的，但如果你一定要知道，你和艾薇将是两只友好的鱿鱼。”

Nobody said, "Oooooooh." Squids? Ivy and Bean looked at each other. We have made a really terrible mistake. On the drive home, Bean and Ivy were quiet. That was because of the no- complaining rule. Quietly, they got out of the car and went into Bean's backyard. Quietly, they stuffed themselves into Bean's tiny playhouse and slumped against the walls. "Squids. Who ever heard of squids?" said Bean. "I don't even know what squids are." "I'm not totally sure," said Ivy, "but I

没有人说：“哦哦哦。”鱿鱼吗? 艾薇和比恩面面相觑。 我们犯了一个非常严重的错误。 在开车回家的路上，比恩和艾薇都很安静。 那是因为没有抱怨的规定。 他们悄悄地下了车，走进比恩家的后院。 他们悄悄地钻进比恩的小游戏室，伏在墙上。 “乌贼。谁听说过鱿鱼？”比恩说。 “我甚至不知道鱿鱼是什么。” “我不太确定，”艾薇说，“但是我

think they're ugly, and I think people eat them." "Oh, great," moaned Bean. "I can't believe that stupid Dulcie gets to be the mermaid, and we're squids." "I believe it," said Ivy. "We're awful." "We're not awful—" began Bean. "Oh yes we are," said Ivy. "I'm worse than you, but you're pretty bad, too." "That's because we hate it. If we liked it, we'd be better at it." "I thought I'd like it," said Ivy sadly. "So did I," said Bean. "I thought we'd be kicking some heads off. I didn't know about the positions and pliés and all that."

我认为它们很丑，而且我认为人们会吃它们。” “哦，太好了。”比恩呻吟道。“我真不敢相信愚蠢的达西会成为美人鱼，而我们是鱿鱼。” “我相信，”艾薇说。“我们很糟糕。” “我们不可怕——”比恩开始说。 “哦，是的，我们是，”艾薇说。 “我比你还坏，但你也很坏。” “那是因为我们讨厌它。 如果我们喜欢它，我们就会做得更好。” “我想我会喜欢的，”艾薇悲伤地说。 “我也是，”比恩说。“我以为我们会踢掉一些人的脑袋。 我不知道这些职位和福利之类的事情。”