7 Jasper Comes to Visit

CHAPTER 7 Jasper Comes to Visit That afternoon, Jasper returned to the hotel where he and his father were staying for the summer. "This hotel can't do anything right," Mr. King grumbled. "There's no newspaper in the morning. The tea is always cold. The rooms are cold. We'd be better off returning to the city," he complained.

第7章贾斯帕来访那天下午，贾斯帕回到了他和父亲夏天住的旅馆。 “这家酒店做什么都不对，”金先生抱怨道。 “早上没有报纸。 茶总是凉的。房间很冷。 我们还不如回到城里，”他抱怨道。

"Oh, but Father, I met Ben Pepper today. And his sister, Phronsie, who is the sweetest, cutest little thing you're ever likely to meet. They have a sister named Polly as well. I'd like to visit them over in the next town. May I, Father?" Jasper asked. Prince stood at Jasper's side, his ears up as if to ask Mr. King's permission as well. "Peppers? I've never heard of a family with that name. What's all this about, Jasper?" Mr. King asked grumpily. Jasper explained the whole rescue to Mr. King. In the meantime, Mr. King's newspaper finally arrived. His tea was hot, and the heater came on in the room. So, he agreed to stay at the hotel for a little bit longer. And, he gave Jasper permission to visit the Peppers. The next day, Ben was in the yard chopping wood for Polly's new stove while Polly was busy cleaning in the kitchen. "Hello!" said a familiar voice. Ben looked up to see Jasper King and Prince

“哦，但是爸爸，我今天遇到本·佩珀了。 还有他的妹妹弗朗西，她是你见过的最可爱最可爱的人。 他们也有一个叫波莉的妹妹。 我想去隔壁镇上拜访他们。 我可以吗，爸爸？”贾斯帕问道。 王子站在贾斯珀身边，竖起耳朵，好像也在请求金先生的许可。 “辣椒?我从没听说过有哪个家族叫这个名字。 这是怎么回事，贾斯帕？”金先生生气地问。 贾斯帕向金先生解释了整个营救过程。 与此同时，金先生的报纸终于到了。 他的茶是热的，房间里的加热器开了。 所以，他同意在酒店多待一段时间。 他还允许贾斯珀去拜访佩珀一家。 第二天，本在院子里给波莉的新炉子劈柴，而波莉则忙着打扫厨房。 “你好！”一个熟悉的声音说。 本抬头看到了贾斯珀·金和普林斯

standing in the lane. "Jasper!" Ben said with a big grin. In a flash, Polly was out the door. Without thinking, she flew to Prince and flung her arms around his neck. "You must be Polly," Jasper said. Embarrassed, Polly stood up and with a red face and held out her hand to Jasper. "Forgive me. We're just all so grateful that you and Prince saved our little girl," Polly said, her voice choked with emotion. Just then, Phronsie ran out the door right over to Prince. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his smooth black fur. Joel and Davie came into the front yard to see what all the commotion was about. Instantly, they made friends with Jasper and Prince. Ben showed Jasper around the Little Brown House. Joel and Davie happily played fetch with Prince. Polly and Phronsie told Jasper about the measles and the old black stove. Before long, it seemed

站在小巷里。“碧玉!”本咧着嘴笑着说。 一瞬间，波莉出了门。 她不假思索地飞向王子，双臂搂住他的脖子。 “你一定是波莉。”贾斯帕说。 波莉尴尬地站了起来，脸涨得通红，向贾斯帕伸出手。 “原谅我。我们都很感激你和王子救了我们的小女孩。”波莉说，她的声音因激动而哽咽。 就在这时，弗朗西跑出了门，径直向王子跑去。 她用双臂搂住他的脖子，把脸埋在他光滑的黑色皮毛里。 乔尔和戴维来到前院，想看看这是怎么回事。 他们很快就和贾斯帕和普林斯成为了朋友。 本带贾斯帕参观了布朗小屋。 乔尔和戴维愉快地和普林斯玩接球游戏。 波莉和弗朗西给贾斯帕讲了麻疹和那个旧黑炉子的事。 不久之后，它似乎

as though Jasper and the Peppers had been friends forever. Jasper sat happily in the kitchen and watched Polly make bread. "I wish I knew how to bake," Jasper said. "Mamsie and I will teach you when you come back," Polly said. "If you want us to," she added shyly. "I'd like that," Jasper said. "It's no fun spending the summer in the hotel with only Father and Prince to talk to." "Where's your mother?" Joel asked, wrestling on the floor with Prince and Davie. There was an awkward silence. Jasper lowered his eyes to the floor. "I don't have a mother," he replied in a soft voice. No mother! Polly couldn't imagine how anybody would feel without a mother. Her heart ached for the boy who'd rescued their Phronsie. "Then, I hope you'll come back every day," Polly told him.

好像贾斯帕和珀珀一家是永远的朋友。 贾斯帕愉快地坐在厨房里，看着波莉做面包。 “我希望我知道如何烘焙，”贾斯帕说。 “你回来后，玛西和我会教你的。”波莉说。 “如果你愿意的话，”她害羞地补充道。 “我很乐意。”贾斯帕说。 “整个夏天在旅馆里，只有爸爸和王子在一起聊天，真没意思。” “你妈妈呢？”乔尔问，在地板上与王子和大卫扭打在一起。 一阵尴尬的沉默。 贾斯帕垂下眼睛看着地板。 “我没有妈妈，”他轻声回答。 没有妈妈!波莉无法想象没有母亲的人会是什么感觉。 她为那个救了他们的弗朗西的男孩感到心痛。 “那么，我希望你每天都回来。”波莉对他说。

At that moment, Mrs. Pepper walked in. Her gaze swept over the kitchen and rested on Jasper. She looked into his merry brown eyes, which twinkled just like Polly's. "You must be the boy who saved my little girl," she said. "It was mostly Prince, Mrs. Pepper," Jasper murmured. "You'll never know just how much you did," Mrs. Pepper said, giving Jasper a beautiful smile. "I hope you'll stay with us for dinner," she offered. Jasper jumped up. "I'm afraid I can't. If I miss the coach back to the hotel, Father will never let me come back. Come, Prince," Jasper called. "Oh, please stay," Phronsie begged. "Please?" "I'll come again, if that's all right with you," Jasper asked Mrs. Pepper. "You're always welcome here, Jasper King. Just make sure it's all right with your father," Mrs. Pepper added. "I'll be back on Thursday!" Jasper called

正在这时，佩珀太太走了进来。 她的目光扫过厨房，落在贾斯帕身上。 她望着他那双快乐的棕色眼睛，那双眼睛像波莉的一样闪烁着光芒。 “你一定就是那个救了我小女儿的男孩吧，”她说。 “主要是王子，佩珀太太。”贾斯帕低声说。 “你永远不会知道你做了多少，”佩珀太太说，给了贾斯帕一个美丽的微笑。 “我希望你能留下来和我们一起吃晚饭，”她说。 贾斯帕跳了起来。“恐怕不行。 如果我错过了回旅馆的马车，父亲就不会让我回来了。 来吧，王子。”贾斯帕喊道。 “哦，请留下吧。”弗朗西恳求道。 “好吗?”“如果你不介意的话，我还会再来的。”贾斯帕问佩珀太太。 “这里永远欢迎你，贾斯帕·金。 确保你父亲不会介意，”佩珀太太补充道。 “我星期四回来！”碧玉叫

happily as he bounded out the door.

他高兴地跳出门去。