Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 'OK– so here's the plan,' Flora said to her three friends the next day. 'At break time, as soon as the bell goes, we make a diversion to get Dylan out of the room and make sure he forgets his bag. Then, Charlie, you try and turn into something small. If you turn into something like a mouse, hide in his bag, and poke your head out and see what Dylan's up to when he goes to his locker or the basement. If you turn into anything smaller, like a flea or something, you can just hop on to Dylan and spy from there.' 'OK, Captain!' Charlie said, smiling and giving a smart salute. 'Can I create the diversion?' asked Wogan, with his hand up. 'You sure can,' said Flora. 'It certainly sounds like an excellent plan, Flora,' said Mohsen. 'Completely foolproof.'

“好——计划是这样的，”第二天，弗洛拉对她的三个朋友说。 “课间休息时，铃声一响，我们就转移注意力，让迪伦离开房间，确保他忘记带包。” 然后，查理，你试着变成一个小东西。 如果你变成老鼠之类的东西，躲进他的包里，然后探出头来看看迪伦去储物柜或地下室的时候在干什么。 如果你变成了更小的东西，比如跳蚤什么的，你可以跳到迪伦身上，从那里监视。“好的，船长！”查理笑着说，潇洒地行了个礼。 “我能转移注意力吗？”沃根举起手问。 “你当然可以，”弗洛拉说。 “弗洛拉，这听起来确实是个很好的计划，”莫森说。 “万无一失”。

'That's right,' agreed Wogan. 'I can't see this going wrong at all. There's absolutely no way it will turn into a disaster and put Charlie in mortal danger.' The moment the bell went, the friends sprang into action. Flora and Mohsen went to guard the door as the class flocked out. Meanwhile, Wogan walked up to Dylan and poked him in the chest. 'Oi– Van der Gruyne,' he said. 'What?' Dylan sneered. Only at that moment did Wogan realize he hadn't yet thought how he was going to create the diversion he was supposed to be carrying out. 'I… err… I… errrrrr…' 'Come on!' snapped Dylan. 'I haven't got all day!' 'I… errrrrrrrrrrr… was… ermmmmm… wondering if you'd like to go to the school dance with me?' 'If I'd WHAT?' Dylan replied, a look of disbelief on his face.

“没错。”沃根同意道。 “我完全看不出有什么问题。 这绝对不可能变成一场灾难，把查理置于致命的危险之中。”铃声一响，朋友们立即行动起来。 学生们蜂拥而出时，弗洛拉和莫森去守着门。 与此同时，沃根走到迪伦面前，戳了戳他的胸口。 “喂——范德格鲁恩，”他说。 “什么?”迪伦冷笑道。就在那一刻，沃根才意识到，他还没有想好该如何转移大家的注意力。 “我……呃……我……呃……”迪伦厉声说。 “我没有一整天的时间！”“我……呃……呃……想知道你是否愿意和我一起去参加学校的舞会？”“如果我什么？”迪伦回答，脸上带着难以置信的表情。

'If you'd like to go to the school dance with me?' Wogan repeated, looking like he didn't quite believe the words coming out of his own mouth. 'No!' barked Dylan. 'I would not like to go to the school dance with you. In fact, I can't think of a single thing I'd less like to do.' 'Is it because you're a rubbish dancer?' asked Wogan gently. 'There's no need to be embarrassed if you are.' 'A what? How DARE you? No, I am NOT a rubbish dancer! I'm a better dancer than you! WHO told you I was rubbish?'

“你愿意和我一起去参加学校的舞会吗？”沃根重复了一遍，看起来他不太相信从自己嘴里说出来的话。 “不!迪伦吼道。“我不想和你一起去参加学校的舞会。 事实上，我想不出一件我不喜欢做的事。“是因为你跳得很烂吗？”沃根温和地问。 “如果你感到尴尬，也没必要感到尴尬。“什么？” 你怎么敢？不，我不是垃圾舞者！我跳得比你好！谁告诉你我是垃圾的？”

'Oh, you know, just people. But you don't have to prove anything to anyone.' 'I could prove it ANY time, you lanky wazzock!' 'Well, you could show me how good a dancer you are right now. In the playground. Unless you're too scared?' 'RIGHT! Come on!' shouted Dylan, standing up. 'Let's go! Right now! To the playground! DANCEOFF!' Dylan stormed out of the classroom and Wogan quickly followed, giving his friends two thumbs up behind Dylan's back. Once they had both gone and the room was empty, Flora said, 'OK, Charlie, now's your chance! Think SMALL!' Charlie sat on Dylan's desk so he wouldn't have far to travel if he did manage to turn small.

“哦，你知道的，就是人。 但你不需要向任何人证明什么。“我随时都可以证明，你这个瘦长的笨蛋！”“好吧，你现在就可以让我看看你舞跳得有多好。” 在操场上。除非你太害怕？“对!来吧!迪伦喊道，站了起来。 “我们走吧!现在!去操场！DANCEOFF !”迪伦怒气冲冲地走出教室，沃根也紧随其后，在迪伦背后给他的朋友们竖起了两个大拇指。 等他们都走了，房间空了，弗洛拉说：“好了，查理，你的机会来了！认为小!”查理坐在迪伦的桌子上，这样如果他真的变小了，就不用跑太远了。

He closed his eyes and remembered the previous evening: his father forcing smiles and jokes while he packed his belongings in boxes and suitcases; Charlie trying not to cry in front of his dad and making it worse. That was when the realization had really hit Charlie– his dad was actually moving out. Nothing was ever going to be the same again, and none of his family was even asking if he was OK because everybody was too wrapped up in their own problems. As Charlie began to change, he had one word in his mind: tiny. Because that was how he felt when he

他闭上眼睛，想起了前一天晚上：父亲强颜欢笑，开着玩笑，他把东西装进箱子和手提箱；查理在他爸爸面前忍住没哭，结果更糟了。 这时，查理才真正意识到——他爸爸真的要搬出去了。 一切都不会再和以前一样了，他的家人甚至没有人问他是否还好，因为每个人都太专注于自己的问题了。 当查理开始改变时，他的脑海里有一个词：微小。 因为他就是这么想的，当他

saw all the huge problems in his life– like a tiny worm. Charlie began shrinking fast, his legs and arms disappearing. And he kept shrinking. And he kept shrinking. More. And more. Until he was tinier than he had ever been. Smaller than a fly. Smaller than a flea. Charlie had changed, he realized, into a tiny, TINY worm.fn1 Two thoughts hit Charlie in quick succession. The first was a burst of delight– he was closer than ever to being able to choose what creature he changed into! Before, he had just tried picturing what the animal looked like but that hadn't worked– he needed to feel how that animal felt. If he wanted to change into a gazelle, he couldn't just think of a gazelle– he needed to imagine what it was like being a gazelle, running across the vast plains of the Serengeti, scanning the horizon for deadly lions. If he wanted to change into a bird, he couldn't just think of an eagle or a magpie– he needed to feel the wind beneath his wings, his feathers ruffling silently as he glided, cradled by a current of air. Charlie had finally cracked it, he was sure. The second thought that hit Charlie was that he was in BIG, trouble. Or, more accurately, tiny, tiny trouble. When he had changed, he had been sitting on Dylan's desk. But now he was so tiny, the

看到了他生活中所有的大问题——就像一条小虫子。 查理开始迅速萎缩，他的腿和胳膊消失了。 他一直在萎缩。他一直在萎缩。 更多。和更多。直到他变得比以前更小。 比苍蝇还小。比跳蚤还小。 他意识到，查理已经变成了一条很小很小的虫子。两种想法接连在查理脑中闪现。 首先是一阵喜悦——他比以往任何时候都更接近于能够选择自己要变成什么生物了！以前，他只是试着想象动物的样子，但这行不通——他需要感受动物的感受。 如果他想变成一只瞪羚，他不能只想到瞪羚——他需要想象成为一只瞪羚是什么感觉，在塞伦盖蒂的广阔平原上奔跑，扫视地平线寻找致命的狮子。 如果他想变成一只鸟，他不能只想到一只鹰或一只喜鹊——他需要感受翅膀下的风，他的羽毛在气流的怀抱中滑翔时无声地抖动。 查理终于破解了，他确信。 查理的第二个想法是他有大麻烦了。 或者，更准确地说，是很小很小的麻烦。 换衣服的时候，他一直坐在迪伦的桌子上。 但现在他太小了，他