6 TIGHT TENTACLES

TIGHT TENTACLES Ivy and Bean worked so hard on their fish prints that they forgot about getting sick. It was only on the way home that they remembered. Ivy looked down Bean's throat. "It's pink," she said. "It's always pink," said Bean. She felt her forehead "I have a headache" she said...

艾薇和比恩在他们的鱼纹上如此努力地工作，以至于他们忘记了生病。 只是在回家的路上，他们才想起来。 艾薇看着比恩的喉咙。 “是粉红色的，”她说。“它总是粉红色的，”比恩说。 她摸了摸额头，“我头疼”她说……

"That's good," said Ivy encouragingly. But when they got to Bean's house, Bean's mother said that a person with a headache was too sick to eat an ice-cream bar, and that's when Bean realized that she didn't have a headache after all. She felt fine. She still felt fine the next day. And the day after that. Ivy touched a kid with a rash. Nothing. Eric sneezed on Bean eight times. Nothing. Half the kids in the first grade had lice, but Ivy and Bean decided that lice wouldn't

“那很好，”艾薇鼓励地说。 但是当他们到达比恩的家时，比恩的妈妈说，一个头痛的人病得太重了，不能吃冰淇淋，这时比恩意识到她根本没有头痛。 她感觉很好。第二天她仍然感觉很好。 以及之后的一天。艾薇碰了一个长疹子的孩子。 什么都没有。埃里克对着憨豆打了八次喷嚏。 什么都没有。一年级有一半的孩子长虱子，但艾薇和比恩认为虱子不会

help. Their mothers would make them be squids with lice. By the end of the week, Ivy and Bean were completely unsick. They needed a new plan. But what? Usually Bean didn't worry much. In fact, grown-ups sometimes said she didn't worry enough. But that weekend, even while she was doing fun things like going to a fair that included a giant slide, Bean worried. Mostly it didn't feel like worry. What it felt like was fun with a little bit missing. When Bean came whooshing to the bottom of the giant slide, she thought, Why don't I feel totally great? And then she remembered. Because I have to be a squid in front of everyone.

的帮助。它们的妈妈会把它们做成带虱子的鱿鱼。 到了周末，艾薇和比恩完全康复了。 他们需要一个新的计划。但是什么? 通常比恩不怎么担心。 事实上，大人们有时会说她还不够担心。 但那个周末，即使她在做一些有趣的事情，比如去一个有巨大滑梯的集市，比恩也很担心。 大多数情况下，我感觉不到担心。 感觉就像有一点点缺失的乐趣。 当比恩呼啸着来到巨大的滑梯底部时，她想，为什么我感觉不太好呢？ 然后她想起来了。因为我必须在所有人面前表现得像只乌贼。

Ivy worried, too. Ivy usually didn't worry about real life. Ivy usually worried about things like the Permian extinction, when a whole lot of animals died. The Permian extinction was very upsetting, but it had happened 250 million years ago, so it wasn't real life anymore. This weekend Ivy didn't think about the Permian extinction. She thought about how she would feel being a squid on a stage in front of a whole lot of people. She knew how she would feel. Stupid. She would probably trip, because she usually

艾薇也很担心。艾薇通常不担心现实生活。 艾薇通常担心像二叠纪大灭绝这样的事情，当时很多动物都死了。 二叠纪大灭绝非常令人沮丧，但它发生在2.5亿年前，所以它不再是真实的生命了。 这个周末，艾薇没有想到二叠纪大灭绝。 她想象着在众人面前站在舞台上做一只乌贼会是什么感觉。 她知道自己会有什么感觉。 愚蠢的。她可能会绊倒，因为她经常

did. And even if she didn't trip, she would be a squid. Everyone would know that Madame Joy had made her a squid because she was the worst dancer in the class. Too bad the Permian extinction didn't wipe out squids, Ivy thought. On Sunday afternoon, Ivy went over to Bean's house to be measured for her squid costume. Bean's mother had said she would make both squid costumes because Ivy's mom didn't like to sew. But it wasn't even a real costume. Madame Joy's picture showed a white leotard with a circle of droopy white tentacles hanging from the waist. Madame Joy said that tentacles were a breeze to make. Bean's mom didn't think so. "Who ever heard of squid costumes, anyway?" she muttered. "No complaining," said Bean. "None of your lip there, missy," her

所做的。即使她没有绊倒，她也会变成一只乌贼。 每个人都知道乔伊夫人把她变成了一只乌贼，因为她是班上最差的舞者。 可惜二叠纪大灭绝没有消灭鱿鱼，艾薇想。 星期天下午，艾薇去比恩家为她的乌贼服装量尺寸。 比恩的妈妈说她会做两套乌贼服装，因为艾薇的妈妈不喜欢缝纫。 但那都不是真的戏服。 乔伊夫人的照片上是一件白色紧身衣，腰部挂着一圈下垂的白色触手。 乔伊夫人说做触手很容易。 比恩的妈妈可不这么认为。 “谁听说过乌贼装？”她喃喃地说。 “别抱怨，”比恩说。 “不许说话，小姐，”她说

mother said. That was grown-ups for you. They never followed their own rules. "I suppose I could stuff a bunch of tights and sew them on" Bean's mother, mumbled. Bean and Ivy exchanged looks. "Tights?" Bean said. "Like the kind you wear on your legs?" Her mother looked up. "Yes, tights. Stuffed tights. For the tentacles. Do you have a better idea?" Bean thought of the Wilis in their long feathery dresses. She thought of herself with

妈妈说。这对你来说是成年人的行为。 他们从不遵守自己的规则。 “我想我可以塞一堆紧身衣，然后缝在上面。”比恩的妈妈咕哝着。 比恩和艾薇交换了一下眼神。 “紧身衣?”豆说。“就像你穿在腿上的那种？”她妈妈抬起头来。 “是的,紧身衣。塞连裤袜。 因为触角。你有更好的主意吗？”比恩想起了穿着羽毛长裙的威利斯一家。 她想到了她自己