9 Money and Kittens

CHAPTER 9 Money and Kittens The next day the boy returned. He rang the doorbell over and over again until Sebastian answered it. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked as he flung the door open. "I want to see Clara," the boy answered. "What do you want with her?" Sebastian asked roughly. "She owes me eight pennies," explained the boy. "You're crazy!" Sebastian laughed.

第九章钱和小猫第二天，男孩又来了。 他一遍又一遍地按门铃，直到塞巴斯蒂安去应门。 “这是什么意思？”他猛地把门打开，问道。 “我想见克拉拉，”男孩回答。 “你找她有什么事？”塞巴斯蒂安粗暴地问道。 “她欠我8便士，”男孩解释说。 “你疯了!”塞巴斯蒂安笑了。

"She owes me four pennies for showing her the way to the tower and four pennies for showing her the way back." "You're telling lies! The young lady never goes out. She can't even walk! Leave us alone!" Sebastian tried to close the door. But the boy was not easily frightened. He remained there and said in a firm voice, "But I saw her in the street. She has short curly black hair, black eyes, and wears a brown dress. She doesn't talk quite like we do." Uh-oh, Sebastian thought, laughing to himself. The little miss has been in more trouble. "Come inside," he said to the boy. Sebastian led the way. When they reached the den, he introduced the boy to the girls and the tutor. The boy gave them a half smile, then placed a small turtle he had been holding onto the floor in front of him. The sight of such a strange creature caused the

“我指给她去塔的路，她欠我四便士；我指给她回来的路，她欠我四便士。” “你在说谎！”这位年轻女士从不出门。 她甚至不能走路！离我们远点！”塞巴斯蒂安试图把门关上。 但是这个男孩并不容易被吓倒。 他站在那里，用坚定的声音说：“可是我在街上看见她了。 她有黑色的短卷发，黑色的眼睛，穿着一件棕色的衣服。 她说话不太像我们。” 哦哦，塞巴斯蒂安想，暗自发笑。 这个小姑娘遇到了更多的麻烦。 “进来吧，”他对男孩说。 塞巴斯蒂安带路。当他们到达书房时，他把男孩介绍给女孩们和家庭教师。 男孩对他们微微一笑，然后把他一直抱着的一只小乌龟放在他面前的地板上。 看到这样一个奇怪的生物引起了

girls to laugh. It took only a few seconds for Ms. Rottenmeier to appear at the door. "Stop it!" she cried, trying to drown out the girls' giggles. The children softened their laughter, but Clara couldn't hide her squeals of delight. Sebastian stayed outside, laughing so hard that he almost couldn't stand up. The boy's pet turtle, which he seemed to carry everywhere, was crawling toward the woman's feet. Ms. Rottenmeier jumped onto a chair and began screaming. "Take them out, boy and animal! Get them away at once!" she ordered. Sebastian pulled the boy away, grabbing his turtle for him on his way out the door. When they reached the porch, he put something in the boy's hand. "There is the money from Miss Clara. Spend it wisely!" And with that, Sebastian shut the front door.

女生要笑。她只花了几秒钟的时间。 罗特麦耶出现在门口。 “住手！”她叫道，试图盖过女孩们的笑声。 孩子们的笑声变得柔和了，但克拉拉无法掩饰她喜悦的尖叫。 塞巴斯蒂安呆在外面，笑得几乎站不起来。 男孩的宠物乌龟，他似乎走到哪里都带着它，正向女人的脚边爬去。 罗特麦耶跳上椅子，开始尖叫。 “把他们拿出来，孩子和动物！”马上把他们带走！”她命令道。 塞巴斯蒂安把男孩拉开，在出门的路上把他的乌龟给了他。 当他们走到门廊时，他把什么东西放在男孩的手里。 “这是克拉拉小姐给的钱。 明智地使用它！”说完，塞巴斯蒂安关上了前门。

A few minutes later Sebastian interrupted the lesson again. He stepped into the room and said that someone had brought a large basket. It was to be given to Miss Clara at once. "For me?" said Clara in surprise. "Bring it to me, please!" "After your lesson," Ms. Rottenmeier said firmly. "Oh, but I won't be able to keep my mind on the lesson. I shall just sit and stare at the basket like I am doing right now." The cover of the basket was loose. At this moment, several kittens came tumbling onto the floor and began racing about the room in every direction. "Oh, the dear little things! Look how pretty they are!" Clara exclaimed. "Look at this one, Heidi. And look at this one!" In her delight, Heidi chased the kittens from one corner of the room to the other.

几分钟后，塞巴斯蒂安又打断了他的课。 他走进房间，说有人带来了一个大篮子。 这封信要马上交给克拉拉小姐。 “给我的？”克拉拉惊讶地说。 “请把它拿给我！”“在你的课之后，”老师说。 罗特麦耶坚定地说。“哦，但是我不能把注意力集中在功课上。 我就像现在这样坐在那里盯着篮子看。” 篮子的盖子松了。 这时，几只小猫滚到地板上，开始在房间里到处乱跑。 “啊，这些可爱的小东西！”看他们多漂亮啊！”克拉拉喊道。 “看这个，海蒂。看看这个！”海蒂高兴地把小猫们从房间的一个角落追到另一个角落。

The tutor stood by the table, not knowing what to do. Ms. Rottenmeier was so upset that she stood speechless. She watched as the kittens ran about the room and made the girls giggle nonstop. Finally she found her voice and began to yell for Sebastian and Tinette. The two came quickly. Within a few minutes they had the kittens scooped up and back in the basket. They carried them off and put them with the other kittens. Ms. Rottenmeier was left alone with the girls. Instead of yelling, she gave the girls a mean look and left. By the end of the afternoon Ms. Rottenmeier knew that the day's wild events had been caused by Heidi. The girl had been trouble since the first moment she arrived. Perhaps if Ms. Rottenmeier could make her feel unwanted she would beg to leave. "Adelheid, I know of only one punishment that will suit what you have done! You are a

家庭教师站在桌子旁，不知道该怎么办。 罗特麦耶女士非常难过，站在那里说不出话来。 她看着小猫们在房间里跑来跑去，逗得女孩们咯咯地笑个不停。 她终于开口了，开始喊塞巴斯蒂安和蒂内特。 两人很快就来了。几分钟之内，他们就把小猫捞起来放回篮子里。 他们把它们带走，和其他小猫放在一起。 罗特麦耶女士被单独留在了女孩们身边。 她没有大喊大叫，而是刻薄地看了女孩们一眼，然后离开了。 下午快结束的时候。 罗特麦耶知道这一天的疯狂事件是海蒂引起的。 这个女孩从一到就一直麻烦不断。 也许如果罗特麦耶能让她觉得自己不受欢迎，她就会请求离开。 “阿得海德，我知道只有一种惩罚能惩罚你的所作所为！你是一个

terrible little girl and I want you to learn that you cannot act like such an animal around us. Perhaps you will learn your lesson if I put you in a dark cellar with the rats and black beetles." This last sentence made Clara gasp. "Oh, no, Ms. Rottenmeier. You must wait until Papa comes. He will be home soon. I will tell him everything and he can decide what is to be done with Heidi." Ms. Rottenmeier could not go against the child's wishes. "Then we shall wait for your father, Miss Clara. But I will be speaking to him as well." The next few days went by without any major events. Clara had grown much more cheerful since Heidi had moved in. The little visitor added a delightful spirit to the lessons and the routine of the day. She was always trying to get out of her work. She mixed up all of her letters and seemed quite unable to

我想让你知道，在我们身边你不能表现得像个禽兽。 如果我把你和老鼠、黑甲虫关在一个黑暗的地窖里，也许你会得到教训。” 这最后一句话使克拉拉倒吸了一口气。 “哦，不，罗特麦耶女士。你必须等到爸爸来。 他很快就会回家。我会把一切都告诉他，他可以决定怎么处理海蒂。” 罗特麦耶女士不能违背孩子的意愿。 “那么我们就等着你父亲吧，克拉拉小姐。 但我也要和他说话。” 接下来的几天没有什么大事发生。 自从海蒂搬进来以后，克拉拉变得高兴多了。 这位小客人给课堂和日常生活增添了愉快的气氛。 她总是想逃避工作。 她把所有的信都弄混了，似乎做不到