Chapter 10

10 That Evening Can I just say how annoying was that Selentrus vastanavius the what's-His- Face? Who invites themself over for a party? So annoying. It would be like if we just turned up and then tried to kick someone out of their house so we could take all their food.

那个晚上我能说那个叫塞伦图斯·瓦斯塔纳维乌斯的叫什么来着的家伙有多烦人吗？ 谁会不请自来参加派对？ 那么烦人。这就像我们突然出现，然后把别人赶出家门，然后拿走他们所有的食物。

Isn't that what we did to Mean Cat? Parrots are such catbrains, I'm so glad we're pigeons. The sky grew darker as the evening sun disappeared into the night. The Human Lady still hadn't returned. Me and Dave sat on the porch by the cat flap, kicking tiny stones to each other. 'Dave, we can't let those birds in our house,' I said, breaking the silence. Dave stared hard at the ground. 'I don't think we have much of a choice. He got up and brushed off his feathers. 'Besides, it might be quite fun to have a party.

我们对贱猫不就是这么做的吗？ 鹦鹉真笨，我真高兴我们是鸽子。 随着傍晚的太阳消失在黑夜中，天空变得更暗了。 人类女士还没有回来。 我和戴夫坐在门廊的猫洞旁，互相踢着小石头。 “戴夫，我们不能让那些鸟进我们的房子，”我打破沉默说。 戴夫紧紧地盯着地面。 “我认为我们没有太多选择。 他站起来，掸掉身上的羽毛。 “再说，开个晚会也挺有意思的。

We are heroes after all.' 'You think this is a good idea?' 'Yes, Skipper,' Dave said. 'I've thought about it and now it makes sense. We should celebrate that we got rid of Mean Cat.' 'What about the Human Lady?' I asked. 'She might not like all these birds in her house.' 'When she comes back, we'll hide in the shed. That way she'll blame the other birds but still love us.' The more Dave spoke about the party, the more convinced I became. We were probably the first birds in the history of birds ever to defeat a cat. We were heroes. These birds wanted to celebrate us. With us. Ever since that goose ran off with our

我们毕竟是英雄。“你觉得这是个好主意吗？”“是的，船长，”戴夫说。 “我已经考虑过了，现在这是有道理的。 我们应该庆祝我们摆脱了贱猫。“那人类夫人呢？”我问。 “她可能不喜欢她家里的这些鸟。“等她回来，我们就躲在小屋里。” 这样她会责怪其他的鸟，但仍然爱我们。”戴夫说得越多，我就越相信。 我们可能是鸟类历史上第一批打败猫的鸟类。 我们是英雄。这些鸟想为我们庆祝。 和我们在一起。自从那只鹅带着我们的

croissant, me and Dave had always felt a bit on the outside. It was nice to finally be respected for all the things we had done. 'We could throw the most epic party ever,' I said, jumping to my feet. 'Exactly!' Dave hooted. 'Well be bird legends.' We spent the next hour laying out the biscuits we weren't really that keen on and hiding the biscuits with jam in the middle in a fancy tin we found at the back of a cupboard. We pre-crunched the breadsticks and flattened the bread rolls just the way all birds like them. We even found some old pizza crusts in the bin to decorate the kitchen floor.

羊角面包，我和戴夫总是觉得有点被边缘化。 很高兴我们所做的一切终于得到了尊重。 “我们可以举办有史以来最盛大的派对，”我说着跳了起来。 “完全正确!”戴夫高鸣。“我们将成为鸟类传奇。”接下来的一个小时里，我们把我们不怎么喜欢的饼干摆出来，把中间涂着果酱的饼干藏在橱柜后面一个别致的罐头里。 我们把面包棒预先弄碎，把面包卷压扁，就像所有鸟儿喜欢的那样。 我们甚至在垃圾桶里找到了一些旧披萨皮来装饰厨房的地板。

I felt jittery, excited and nervous. Dave was pacing, poking his head out of the cat flap every two minutes, checking for our guests. 'I see something,' he cooed, his eyes wide and twinkling. We stepped out of the cat flap into the garden. There, high in the darkening sky, was a V-shape of birds soaring towards us. As they came closer we could make out Selentrus Vastanavius the Fifth, bright and green, leading hundreds of birds to our party. He swooped down and landed by the cat flap.

我感到紧张、兴奋和紧张。 戴夫在踱步，每隔两分钟就从猫洞里探出头来，看看有没有客人。 “我看到了什么东西，”他低声说，眼睛睁得大大的，闪闪发光。 我们从猫洞走到花园里。 那里，在逐渐变暗的天空中，有一群v字形的鸟向我们飞来。 当他们走近时，我们可以辨认出塞伦图斯·瓦斯塔纳维乌斯五世，明亮而绿色，领着几百只鸟向我们飞来。 他突然俯冲下来，落在了猫洞旁边。

The blue capped chaffinch stepped forward. 'Pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip! Introducing Selentrus Vastanavius the Fifth. Leader of the Macaw Elite, Local Zoo Branch.' 'Good evening, Dave,' Selentrus Vastanavius the Fifth said, stepping forwards. 'And Other Pigeon.' 'Actually it's Skipper,' I said back. The garden filled with feathers and squawking as birds landed over the lawn, squeezing into any spare space, balancing on the washing line and pecking at the cushionless deckchair.

蓝帽苍头燕雀走上前。 “Pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip !介绍塞伦图斯·瓦斯塔纳维乌斯五世。 当地动物园分会的澳门精英领袖。“晚上好，戴夫，”塞伦图斯·瓦斯塔纳维乌斯五世说着，走上前去。 “还有另一只鸽子。“其实是船长，”我回答。 花园里满是羽毛，鸟儿在草坪上降落时发出吱吱的叫声，挤进任何空余的空间，在晾衣绳上保持平衡，啄着没有垫子的躺椅。