Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 Over the next few days, several more animals– this time dogs– went missing from addresses all across town, and finally the newspapers were joining the dots. 'Pilfering Pet-Predator Poaches Pooches!' read one headline. 'Dog-Gone Mystery Sends Town Barking Mad!' read another. 'Interest Rates Set to Rise as Inflation Slows Down!' read another, which only ever printed the really boring news. The police were baffled. All sorts of animals were going missing and there was a growing collection of conflicting clues: bones in the Pit of Penguins at the zoo, the video of a small bear at the school and large feline footprints in people's back gardens– it seemed like the whole town had gone wild.

在接下来的几天里，又有几只动物——这次是狗——从镇上各个地址失踪，最后报纸也把这些线索联系起来。 “偷宠物——捕食者偷猎狗！”其中一条标题写道。 “狗失踪之谜让小镇疯狂！”另一条写道。 “随着通胀放缓，利率将上升！”另一家报纸上写道，它只刊登真正无聊的新闻。 警察被难住了。各种各样的动物都失踪了，而且有越来越多相互矛盾的线索：动物园里企鹅坑里的骨头，学校里一只小熊的视频，人们后花园里的大猫脚印——似乎整个城镇都变得疯狂了。

Charlie's friends had stopped accusing him directly, but he could see– even behind Flora's eyes and despite her strenuous denials– that there was still doubt there. It was agreed that they should break into the zoo as soon as possible. 'So we can finally found out the truth about Charlie,' said Mohsen. 'No!' said Flora, glancing at Charlie. 'So we can stop more animals from getting eaten!' So the following day, the four friends found themselves outside the zoo just after closing time. Their faces were stern, ready for action. 'Right,' said Flora. 'We need to be extra careful to make sure nobody sees Charlie changing now. Because if anybody else finds out, they're going to think he's the one eating the animals.' 'Ah,' said Wogan. 'There might be a little problem with–' 'It's fine, Flora,' Mohsen was simultaneously replying. 'Apart from us, only Dylan knows about Charlie's powers. And no one is going to believe him. So as long as we keep completely quiet, everything will be OK.' 'Yes, about that,' said Wogan. 'There's a chance I might have–' 'You're right, Mohsen,' said Flora. 'I shouldn't worry. It's not like any of us would be stupid enough to blab to anyone.' 'Hi, guys!' said a voice suddenly.

查理的朋友们已经不再直接指责他了，但他可以从弗洛拉的眼睛里看到——尽管她极力否认——他们之间仍然存在怀疑。 大家一致同意他们应该尽快闯入动物园。 “这样我们终于可以找出查理的真相了，”莫森说。 “不!弗洛拉瞥了查理一眼说。 “这样我们就能阻止更多的动物被吃掉！”所以，第二天，这四个朋友发现自己在动物园关门时间刚过。 他们表情严肃，准备行动。 “好的，”弗洛拉说。“我们需要格外小心，确保没人看到查理现在的变化。 因为如果其他人发现了，他们会认为他就是吃动物的人。“啊，”沃根说。 “没事，弗洛拉。”莫森同时回答道。 除了我们，只有迪伦知道查理的超能力。 没人会相信他的。 所以只要我们保持安静，一切都会好起来的。“是的，关于那件事，”沃根说。 “我也许还有机会——”“你说得对，莫森，”弗洛拉说。 “我不应该担心。我们又不会蠢到把这事告诉别人。“嗨，伙计们！”一个声音突然说。

Three of the four friends swung round in shock; the fourth looked guilty. It was Daisy and Lola. 'Erm, hi. What are you doing here?' asked Flora. 'We're here to help break into the zoo,' said Daisy brightly. 'To see if it's Charlie eating all the animals,' explained Lola. 'You know, when he changes into an animal himself.' 'H-h-how did you…?' stammered Flora. 'Thanks for inviting us, Wogan!' said Daisy. 'Hey, why are you running away?' 'WOGAN! COME BACK HERE IMMEDIATELY!' roared Flora. Wogan slunk back to the gang, a look of terror on his face. 'I-I-I…' Wogan stuttered. 'DONOT SAY A WORD,' Flora roared again. 'Look,' said Charlie, glaring at Wogan. 'It can't be helped now, so let's carry on and find out what's happening, OK? Anybody have an idea how to get in?' Charlie looked up at the huge wire fence that confronted them. 'Well, we could just use the key,' said Lola, holding up a key. 'What's that?' asked Charlie. 'It's the key,' replied Lola, looking at Charlie as if he was simple. 'To the zoo.' 'H-h-how…?' stammered Charlie. 'Do you guys always stammer this much?' asked Daisy.

四个朋友中有三个震惊地转过身来；第四个看上去有罪。 是黛西和萝拉。“嗯,你好。 你在这里做什么？弗洛拉问。 “我们是来帮忙闯入动物园的，”黛西欢快地说。 “看看是不是查理在吃所有的动物，”萝拉解释说。 “你知道，当他自己变成动物的时候。“你——你怎么……？”弗洛拉结结巴巴地说。 “谢谢你邀请我们，沃根！”黛西说。 “嘿，你为什么要跑？”“WOGAN !马上给我回来！弗洛拉吼道。 沃根偷偷溜回了人群，脸上带着恐惧的表情。 “我——我——我——”沃根结结巴巴地说。 “什么也别说，”弗洛拉又吼道。 “瞧，”查理瞪着沃根说。 “现在没办法了，所以让我们继续下去，看看发生了什么事，好吗？” 有人知道怎么进去吗？”查理抬头看着他们对面巨大的铁丝栅栏。 “好吧，我们可以用钥匙，”萝拉举起一把钥匙说。 “那是什么?查理问。 “这是钥匙，”萝拉回答，看着查理，好像他很单纯。 “去动物园。“H-h-how……?查理结结巴巴地说。 “你们总是这么结巴吗？”黛西问。

'My mum's one of the hippo-keepers,' said Lola. 'So I borrowed the key when she wasn't looking. I thought it would be useful. You know, since we're breaking into the zoo.' The four friends stood there in stunned silence until Wogan broke it. 'Yes! That's… That's why I invited them! I knew Lola's mum worked here so I knew she'd bring the key!' Five deeply suspicious faces hard-stared at Wogan.

“我妈妈是河马饲养员之一，”萝拉说。 所以我趁她不注意的时候借了钥匙。 我想它会有用的。 你知道，因为我们要闯进动物园。”四个朋友呆呆地站在那里，直到沃根打破沉默。 “是的!这就是我邀请他们的原因！我知道萝拉的妈妈在这里工作，所以我知道她会带钥匙来的！”五张疑神疑鬼的脸紧紧盯着沃根。

'Anyway!' said Wogan brightly. 'Enough friendly chit-chat. Let's get going!' Lola sprang into action, unlocked the gate and, a moment later, they were all inside. 'Right,' said Mohsen. 'Which way? Which animals should we talk to first?' 'Well, which were the first to go missing?' asked Charlie. 'Chinchillas,' said Flora. 'Then eagles, a llama, and some penguins. The penguins would be a good place to start because that's where the bones were found and–' 'Ooooooh! Penguins!' cried Daisy. 'They're so sweet! Let's go to the penguins!' 'Ooooooh!' agreed Wogan. 'Yes! Penguins! I love penguins!' 'You've changed your tune,' said Mohsen. 'Last time we were here you said you hated them. You called them greasy-looking–' Wogan shushed Mohsen, glaring at him. 'Aw!' said Daisy, who fortunately hadn't heard Mohsen. 'You like penguins too, Wogan?' 'Oh yeah,' replied Wogan, nodding. 'Big fan of penguins. Long-time favourite. Definitely.' 'Me too!' beamed Daisy. 'Would you like to come to the school dance, Wogan?' 'I– uh– I guess so! Yes!' Wogan blushed. Daisy rushed off, smiling. 'You don't mind, do you, Charlie?' asked Wogan. 'If I go with Daisy?' 'Not at all,' Charlie said.

“不管怎样!沃根高兴地说。 “友好的闲聊就够了。 我们走吧！”萝拉立刻行动起来，打开大门，不一会儿，他们都进去了。 “好的，”莫森说。“哪条路? 我们应该先和哪些动物交谈？“那么，谁是最先失踪的呢？”查理问。 “龙猫，”弗洛拉说。 “然后是老鹰、一只美洲驼和一些企鹅。 企鹅是一个很好的开始，因为那是骨头被发现的地方，而且——”“哦哦！企鹅!黛西叫道。 “它们真可爱！”我们去找企鹅吧！“Ooooooh !沃根同意道。 “是的!企鹅!我喜欢企鹅！“你改变了你的调子，”莫森说。 “上次我们来的时候，你说你讨厌他们。 你说他们看起来很油腻——”沃根让莫森安静下来，瞪着他。 “哦!黛西说，幸好她没有听到莫森的声音。 “你也喜欢企鹅吗，沃根？”“哦，是的，”沃根点头回答。 “我是企鹅的忠实粉丝。长期的最爱。 肯定。“我也是！”黛西笑道。 “你愿意来参加学校舞会吗，沃根？”“我——嗯——我想是的！”是的!”Wogan脸红了。 黛西笑着跑开了。 “你不介意吧，查理？”沃根问。 “如果我和黛西一起去呢？”“一点也不，”查理说。

Flora looked like she was about to lose her temper AGAIN, so before she could say anything, Charlie blurted out, 'OK then! Penguins it is!' They set off quickly. The zoo was eerily silent, apart from the odd snuffle and squeak from a curious animal. If Charlie wasn't mistaken, there was an air of fear hanging over the place. The animals seemed to be cowering in the corners of their cages as they walked past. Presently they arrived at the Pit of Penguins, which had about thirty or so penguins huddling round a large pool. 'I'm going to go around the corner to change,' Charlie announced, suddenly feeling shy in front of Daisy and Lola. 'If I'm anything close to a penguin, stick me in there.' Charlie went behind a small hut, closed his eyes. He remembered how the day after the school dance, his family was going to be torn apart. Nothing would be the same again. It was easy to change. As the electricity ripped through him, he tried to imagine not just a picture of a penguin, but what it was like to BE a penguin. He imagined the little wings and the curved beak. He imagined standing in the freezing Antarctic wind, warming an egg under his bum. He was getting smaller– a good sign! He was growing feathers– another good sign! He was growing wings! Was it finally happening? Had he finally worked out how to change into whichever animal he wanted?

弗洛拉似乎又要发脾气了，所以她还没来得及说话，查理就脱口而出：“好吧！是企鹅！”他们很快就出发了。 除了一只好奇的动物发出奇怪的鼻塞声和吱吱声外，动物园里出奇地安静。 如果查理没弄错的话，这里笼罩着一种恐惧的气氛。 当他们走过时，动物们似乎蜷缩在笼子的角落里。 不久，他们到达了企鹅坑，那里大约有30多只企鹅挤在一个大池塘周围。 “我要到街角去换衣服，”查理宣布，突然在黛西和萝拉面前感到害羞。 “如果我跟企鹅有点像，就把我塞进去。”查理走到一间小茅屋后面，闭上眼睛。 他记得在学校舞会的第二天，他的家庭将会四分五裂。 一切都将不再相同。 这很容易改变。当电流穿过他的身体时，他试图想象的不仅仅是一张企鹅的照片，而是一只企鹅是什么样子。 他想象着小翅膀和弯曲的喙。 他想象着站在冰冷的南极风中，在屁股下加热鸡蛋。 他越来越小了——这是个好兆头！他长出了羽毛——这又是一个好迹象！他长出了翅膀！终于发生了吗？ 他终于弄明白如何变成他想变成的动物了吗？