4 Monsters

4. MONSTERS Grandpa really wasn't happy. "I was all cozy in me hammock, havin' an afternoon nap, and I'm awoken by a screechin' fiddle!" Grandpa shouted. "Who is this scupperlout? What's he doin' aboard our ship?"

4. 爷爷真的很不高兴。 “我正惬意地躺在吊床上，睡了个午觉，却被刺耳的小提琴声吵醒了！”爷爷喊道。 “这个大流氓是谁？”他在我们船上干什么？”

"Matilda found a treasure map, and it was the old fiddler who scribbled it. Or so he says," said Jim's mom. "My silly husband invited him aboard for the shanties, and hopin' he'd get some help with his map reading." "Even from 'ere, I don't like the look of him. And brush me barnacles, he sounds even worse than he looks!" said Grandpa. "He looks a bit like you," said Jim's dad. "But even thinner and less crotchety!"

“玛蒂尔达发现了一张藏宝图，是那个老小提琴手随手画的。 或者他是这么说的，”吉姆的妈妈说。 “我那愚蠢的丈夫邀请他上船住棚屋，希望他能在看地图方面得到帮助。” “即使在这里，我也不喜欢他的样子。 给我刷藤壶，他的声音比他的样子更糟糕！”爷爷说。 “他长得有点像你，”吉姆的爸爸说。 “但是更瘦，更不古怪！”

Grandpa scowled and hobbled across the deck to sit in his rickety rocking chair, pulling the cork out of a bottle of grog with the few teeth he had left. "There are tales I could tell ye, of swivel-tongued scugs who'd show ye their maps and take yer ship to the edge of beyond. I could tell ye of great galleons lost at sea on the promise of a map. Be warned!" Squawk landed on Grandpa's shoulder, ruffled his feathers, and said, "Tentacle!" Down at the other end of the ship, Jim had joined Matilda on the fo'c'sle. He was showing her the best way to coil ropes while they listened to the fiddler's latest ditty.

爷爷皱着眉头，一瘸一拐地穿过甲板，坐在摇摇晃晃的摇椅上，用剩下的几颗牙齿拔出一瓶烈酒的软木塞。 “我可以给你讲一些故事，讲的是那些会转弯抹角的家伙，他们会给你看地图，把你的船带到远方的边缘。 只要有一张地图，我就能告诉你在海上迷失的大帆船。 警告!”呱呱落在爷爷的肩膀上，揉了揉羽毛，说：“触手！”在船的另一端，吉姆和玛蒂尔达一起站在甲板上。 当他们听着小提琴手最新的小曲时，他正在向她展示卷绳的最佳方法。

"There is one small thing I forgot today— There's also a monster, or so they say, that likes to eat pirates who come for the treasure, and chew up their ships, just for good measure." "Did ye hear that, Tilly? A monster!" Jim looked worried. "Do ye reckon we should turn back to port?" "Nah, monsters aren't real," said Matilda. "We learned that in school." "Yes they are!" said Jim. "I've seen 'em on maps, and I've read 'bout them in Grandpa's old leather books. There's

“今天我忘了一件小事——还有一个怪物，至少他们是这么说的，喜欢吃来寻宝的海盗，把他们的船嚼烂，只是为了好玩。” “你听见了吗，蒂莉？”一个怪物!”吉姆看上去很担心。 “你看我们该回左舷吗？”“不，怪物不是真的，”玛蒂尔达说。 “这是我们在学校学到的。” “是的，他们是！”吉姆说。“我在地图上见过它们，在爷爷的旧皮书里读到过它们。 有

been many a tale of pirates devoured by monsters." "That's just it, they're tales, told by one sailor to another, and the so-called monsters get bigger and badder each time! There aren't real monsters, only shapes in the water or normal sea creatures... whales and sharks and giant squids and stuff. I saw a picture of this really big oarfish once, and it looked like a sea serpent. But

海盗被怪物吞噬的故事很多。” “说得对，这些都是水手讲给水手听的故事，所谓的怪物一次比一次大，一次比一次坏！没有真正的怪物，只有水中的形状或正常的海洋生物…… 鲸鱼、鲨鱼、巨型乌贼等等。 我曾经看过这条非常大的皇带鱼的照片，它看起来像一条海蛇。 但

it was just a fish, and fish don't eat people, not even pirates!" Matilda nearly jumped out of her skin when the fiddler's head suddenly appeared over her shoulder, accompanied by the high-pitched screech of his fiddle. "They ain't just tales! They ain't just whales! There's a beast out there! Ye'd better BEWARE!"

它只是一条鱼，鱼不吃人的，甚至不吃海盗！”当小提琴手的头突然出现在玛蒂尔达的肩膀上，伴着小提琴的尖声尖叫，玛蒂尔达几乎吓了一跳。 “它们不只是传说！”它们不只是鲸鱼！外面有只野兽！你们最好小心点！”