6 THE MONSTER

CHAPTER 6 THE MONSTER The cows were munching hay in their stalls when the big barn door slid open and a mechanical monster stomped in from the rain. The creature marched down the center aisle, her footsteps echoing through the cavernous space, until she found an empty corner. And there she stood, in the shadows, as a storm began to rage outside. Everybody listened as the rain poured and the wind howled and the thunder cracked. By midnight, the storm had blown over, and there was only a gentle sprinkling on the roof. But the herd couldn't rest with that monster lurking in the corner. Cows began quietly mooing to each other. "What is the monster doing?" "She hasn't moved in hours." "I bet she's waiting to eat us in our sleep!" The cows gasped at this horrible thought. And then an old cow named Annabelle tried to calm down the

奶牛们正在牛栏里大嚼干草，突然牲口棚的大门打开了，一个机械怪物从雨中踩了进来。 这个生物沿着中间的过道走去，她的脚步声在洞穴般的空间里回荡，直到她发现了一个空的角落。 她就站在那里，在阴影中，外面的暴风雨开始肆虐。 每个人都听着倾盆大雨，狂风呼啸，雷声隆隆。 午夜时分，暴风雨过去了，屋顶上只有轻微的雨点。 但是这个潜伏在角落里的怪物让鹿群无法休息。 奶牛开始安静地相互移动。 “怪物在干什么？”“她已经好几个小时没动了。” “我敢打赌，她等着在我们睡觉的时候把我们吃掉！”一想到这个可怕的想法，奶牛们倒吸了一口冷气。 然后一头叫安娜贝尔的老牛试图让他们平静下来

herd. "Relax, everyone," she said. "There were monsters like this at my last farm, and they never ate any cows. Come to think of it, they never ate anything at all." "If this monster has never eaten anything at all, she must be awfully hungry by now!" said a cow named Tess. "I saw the farmer driving the monster around in his truck," said a calf named Lily. "I don't think he would have done that if she were dangerous." Nobody knew quite what to think of the strange creature in their midst. "I think the monster is harmless." "I think the monster is unnatural!" "I think the monster is moving!" The herd fell silent as the monster marched out from the shadows and into the middle of the barn. And then the monster did the impossible. She did the unthinkable. She spoke to the cows in the language of the animals. "I am not a monster, I am a robot. My name is Roz."

群。“大家放轻松，”她说。 “我上一个农场里也有这样的怪物，它们从不吃牛。 想想看，他们什么也不吃。” “如果这个怪物从来没有吃过任何东西，她现在一定饿得要命！”一头名叫苔丝的母牛说。 “我看见农夫开着卡车载着怪物到处转，”一头名叫莉莉的小牛说。 “如果她很危险，我认为他不会那么做。” 谁也不知道该怎么看待他们中间这个奇怪的家伙。 “我认为怪物是无害的。” “我认为这个怪物是不自然的！”“我想怪物在动！”当怪物从阴影中走出来，进入谷仓中央时，牛群安静了下来。 然后怪物完成了不可能的事。 她做了一件不可思议的事。她用动物的语言对奶牛说话。 “我不是怪物，我是机器人。 我叫罗兹。”