5 A Cry for Help

5 A Cry for Help "Did you say somethine, Violet?" her mom asked from the front seat. "Uh, no," Violet replied. Aunt Anne pulled the car into a parking lot.

“你刚才说什么了吗，维奥莱特？”妈妈在前排座位上问。 “呃，没有，”维奥莱特回答。安妮阿姨把车开进了停车场。

They all walked out to the sidewalk. A long line of people waited outside Caldwell's Hardware.

他们都走到人行道上。 考德威尔五金店外面排着长长的队伍。

At the end of the line, Violet spotted her friend Brittany Brightman. Brittany looked nice, as always. She wore an orange headband in her dark braided hair. A necklace with a tiny letter B dangling from it hung around her neck.

在队伍的最后，维奥莱特发现了她的朋友布列塔尼·布莱曼。 布列塔尼看起来一如既往地漂亮。 她的黑发上扎着一条橙色的发带。 她脖子上挂着一条项链，上面挂着一个小小的字母B。

They got in line behind Brittany and her dad. "What's going on?" Aunt Anne asked Mr. Brightman. "I have a leaky faucet," he replied. "It seems like everybody in town does. Kind of weird, isn't it?" Leon nudged Violet. She knew he was thinking the same thing. The water sprite was very busy! "There's nothing to do but wait," Violet's mom said cheerfully. "Great, Leon muttered. "We'll be here all day." Violet sighed. She knew he was right.

他们排在布列塔尼和她爸爸后面。 “发生什么事了？”安妮姨妈问布莱曼先生。 “我的水龙头漏水了，”他回答。 “似乎镇上的每个人都知道。 有点奇怪，不是吗？”利昂推了推维奥莉特。 她知道他也这么想。 水精灵很忙！“除了等，没别的事可做，”维奥莱特的妈妈高兴地说。 “太好了，”利昂喃喃道。“我们会在这里待一整天。” 紫叹了口气。她知道他是对的。

Brittany tapped her dad's arm. "Can Violet, Leon, and I go to the pet store instead of waiting in line?" she asked. Violet liked to visit Miller's Pet Shop. It had lots of colorful fish, beautiful birds, and lizards that looked like tiny dinosaurs. Violet looked at her Mom. "Please? It's right next door." Violet's mom turned to Aunt Anne. "It is next door," she said. "And I know the owner, Joe Miller. They'll be all right in there." Aunt Anne nodded. "Fine with me."

布列塔尼拍了拍她爸爸的胳膊。 “维奥莱特、利昂和我可以去宠物店而不是排队吗？”她问。 维奥莱特喜欢去米勒宠物店。 那里有许多五颜六色的鱼、美丽的鸟和看起来像小恐龙的蜥蜴。 维奥莱特看着她的妈妈。“请吗? 就在隔壁。”维奥莱特的妈妈转向安妮姨妈。 “就在隔壁，”她说。 “我认识老板乔·米勒。 他们在那里会没事的。” 安妮姨妈点点头。“我无所谓。”

"Thanks!" Violet cried. She and Leon followed Brittany into the store. The store was empty, except for Mr. Miller. He was filling the birds' water dishes. Violet noticed that his faucet was leaking, too. "Hi, Mr. Miller, Violet said. "Our parents said we could look around while they wait in line at the hardware store."

“谢谢!”紫哭了。她和利昂跟着布列塔尼进了商店。 除了米勒先生，店里空无一人。 他正在给鸟儿盛水。 维奥莱特注意到他的水龙头也在漏水。 “嗨，米勒先生，”维奥莱特说。 “我们的父母说，当他们在五金店排队时，我们可以四处看看。”