18 THE CAMOUFLAGED ROBOT

CHAPTER 18 THE CAMOUFLAGED ROBOT As you know, reader, Roz had always liked to keep herself as clean as possible. But her desire to stay alive was stronger than her desire to stay clean, and our robot decided it was time she got dirty. Roz was going to camouflage herself. She'd gotten the idea from the stick insect, but Roz quickly realized that camouflaging herself as a twig was out of the question. No, the robot would have to blend into the landscape itself. She began by smearing handfuls of thick mud over her entire body. Then she plucked ferns and grasses from the ground and sank their roots into her new muddy coating. She placed colorful flowers around her face to disguise her glowing eyes, and any bare patches were covered with tree leaves and strips of moss. Our robot now looked like a great tuft of plants walking through the forest. She waited for darkness, and then she padded to the center of a clearing, nestled herself between

第十八章伪装的机器人读者，你知道，罗丝一向喜欢把自己保持得尽可能干净。 但她想活下去的欲望比她想保持干净的欲望更强烈，我们的机器人决定是时候让她变得肮脏了。 罗兹打算伪装自己。 她从竹节虫那里得到了这个想法，但罗兹很快意识到，把自己伪装成树枝是不可能的。 不，机器人必须融入环境本身。 她开始在全身涂满厚厚的泥巴。 然后她从地上拔下蕨类植物和草，把它们的根埋进她的新泥泞的涂层里。 她把五颜六色的花放在脸上，以掩盖她发光的眼睛，任何裸露的地方都覆盖着树叶和苔藓条。 我们的机器人现在看起来就像一丛穿过森林的植物。 她等着天黑，然后蹑手蹑脚地走到一块空地的中央，把自己依偎在中间

some rocks, and became part of the landscape. A few hours later, the sky was brightening, the fog was lifting, the nighttime animals were slinking home, and the daytime animals were beginning to stir. It was just an ordinary morning on the island. However, there was that new tuft of plants in that one forest clearing. Only the bees had noticed the tuft. They buzzed around it, completely unaware that the robot was hidden beneath. And so Roz sat there, right in the open yet completely unseen, and observed the wilderness around her. She watched flowers slowly turn toward the sun. She listened to rodents crawl through the weeds.

一些岩石，成为了景观的一部分。 几个小时后，天空亮了起来，雾散了，夜间的动物悄悄地回家了，白天的动物也开始活动了。 这只是岛上一个普通的早晨。 然而，在那片森林空地上有一丛新的植物。 只有蜜蜂注意到了这簇草。 他们围着它嗡嗡作响，完全没有意识到机器人就藏在下面。 就这样，罗兹坐在那里，就在空旷的地方，却完全看不见，她观察着周围的荒野。 她看着花儿慢慢地转向太阳。 她听着啮齿动物在杂草中爬行。

She smelled the moist, piney air. She felt worms wiggle against her muddy sides. A week later, the tuft of plants was gone, but there was a new clump of seaweed on the shore. A week after that, the clump of seaweed was gone, but there was a new bramble on the mountain. Then there was a new log on the riverbank. Then a new rock in the forest.

她闻到了潮湿、松香的空气。 她感到有虫子在她泥泞的身体上蠕动。 一个星期后，那簇植物消失了，但岸上又长出了一簇新的海藻。 又过了一个星期，那丛海草不见了，但山上又长出了一棵新的荆棘。 然后，河岸上有一根新的圆木。 然后森林里又出现了一块新石头。