6 Grandpa's Tale

6. GRANDPA'S TALE Matilda had met Grandpa Rogers before, but he was older and more gnarly than she remembered. The dim candlelight cast shadows across his face, which cracked into a toothless grin at the sight of her. "ARRR... Matilda," Grandpa said. "I hear ye've got a pirate problem?" "I don't have a pirate problem, Mr. Rogers," said Matilda. "But Dull-on-Sea does have one."

6. 爷爷的故事玛蒂尔达以前见过罗杰斯爷爷，但他比她记忆中的老得多，也粗糙得多。 昏暗的烛光在他的脸上投下了阴影，他一看见她，脸上绽开了一个没有牙齿的笑容。 “ARRR…玛蒂尔达，”爷爷说。 “我听说你们遇到了海盗的麻烦？”“我没有海盗的问题，罗杰斯先生，”玛蒂尔达说。 “但是海上无灵确实有一个。”

Matilda pulled the newspaper clippings from her satchel. Eyewitness Mervyn Wobley had helped the police put together a sketch of the pirate captain, which had been on the front page of all the papers a month before. Grandpa scratched his chin with his hook as he squinted at the clipping. "ARRR, just as I suspected.... If it ain't OI' Twirly!" "OI' Twirly?" asked Jim. "Aye, but he'd be Cap'n Twirlybeard to you, boy," Grandpa said, "or he'd be cuttin' out yer tongue and feedin' it to the fishes!

玛蒂尔达从书包里拿出剪报。 目击者默文·沃利帮助警方拼凑出了一幅海盗船长的素描，一个月前，这幅素描出现在所有报纸的头版上。 爷爷眯着眼睛看剪报，用钩子挠了挠下巴。 “啊，正如我所料.... 这不是旋转吗？”“嘿，旋转？”吉姆问。 “是啊，但对你来说，他会是旋转胡子船长，孩子，”爷爷说，“否则他会把你的舌头割下来喂鱼！”

"Y'see, Jim Lad, in the good old days, Cap'n Twirlybeard and his crew were the scourge of the seas. Their ship, the Black Rat, was lightning fast and brimmin' with cannons. All feared OI' Twirly's flag, and many thought him invincible." Grandpa waved his hook in the air. "But one fateful day, he and his crew were ambushed ashore by His Majesty's Marines. 'Tis said they fought to the last, and OI' Twirly his'self was the last pirate standing. But even with his crew slain around him, he refused to surrender...." Grandpa smiled. "Y'know, I thinks I can remember a chantey that tells the tale. Would ye like to hear it?"

“你看，吉姆·拉德，在过去的美好岁月里，旋须船长和他的船员是海上的祸害。 他们的船“黑鼠号”像闪电一样快，船上装满了大炮。 所有人都害怕旋转的旗帜，许多人认为他是不可战胜的。” 爷爷在空中挥舞着钩子。 但在命运的一天，他和他的船员在岸上遭到了英国海军陆战队的伏击。 据说他们战斗到最后一刻，我是最后一个海盗。 但即使他周围的船员都被杀了，他还是拒绝投降....” 爷爷笑了。“你知道，我想我还记得一首讲述这个故事的圣歌。 你想听听吗？”

Matilda and Jim nodded excitedly. "Sing it, Grandpa!" Grandpa Rogers plucked a battered concertina from beside his chair. He cleared his throat with a hollow cough, and after gargling some grog, he began. "They say OI' Twirly's fought his last, paid the price for his piratin' past. The king's men took him on dry land, Ambushed for a final stand.

玛蒂尔达和吉姆兴奋地点了点头。 “唱吧，爷爷！”罗杰斯爷爷从他的椅子旁拿出一把破旧的手风琴。 他空洞地咳了一声，清了清嗓子，漱了些烈酒，就开始了。 “他们说i ' Twirly最后一次战斗，为他的海盗过去付出了代价。 国王的人把他带到陆地上，伏击他作最后一战。

Outnumbered twenty men to one. Soon his crew were dead and gone. OI' Twirly clung to a clifftop tree, Blade in hand, his back to the sea. Muskets filled the air with sound, Blew OI' Twirly off the ground, Down and down from the cliff he fell, To his death, cursed to hell....

人数是二十比一。 很快，他的船员都死了。 OI' Twirly紧紧抓住一棵悬崖顶上的树，手里拿着刀刃，背对着大海。 火枪响动了空气，把他吹离了地面，他从悬崖上摔了下来，摔死了，下了地狱....