Chapter 8

8 The Chapter Which I, Dave Pigeon, Have Decided To Call CHAPTER EIGHT You know that's the same title, right? Of course it isn't. The bit where it says 'CHAPTER EIGHT' looks much more chaptery. It looks exactly the same.

第八章我戴夫·比昂决定命名为第八章你知道这是同一个标题，对吧？ 当然不是。写着“第八章”的那部分看起来更像章节。 看起来一模一样。

skipper, stop beak-flapping. There are pigeons out there waiting for this book, desperate to find out what happens next, and you are wasting time. We were safely back in the shed. Mean Cat was pacing in front of the shed door. She was snarling and spitting and mad as a bagel-starved pigeon. Thanks to Dave's flowerpot lock she hadn't been able to get back into the Human Lady's house. And for the moment she couldn't get into the shed either. 'What was the plan once I lured her out?' I asked.

船长，别拍嘴了。 有一群鸽子在等着这本书，急切地想知道接下来会发生什么，而你是在浪费时间。 我们安全地回到了小屋里。 坏猫在小屋门前踱来踱去。 她咆哮着，吐口水，气得像只饿了百吉饼的鸽子。 多亏了戴夫的花盆锁，她才没能回到人类女士的房子里。 此刻她也进不了小屋。 “我引诱她出来后的计划是什么？”我问。

'I hadn't thought that far,' Dave said, panicked. 'I didn't think your plan would actually work. He marched up and down, flapping his good wing and jumping every time we heard Mean Cat yowl at the door. 'We need a cannon,' he screeched. 'We can launch her off into space!' 'We don't have a cannon.' 'You'll have to go inside the Human Lady's house and get one.' 'I'm not going out there with that cat on the loose!' I cried. 'Plus you don't even know if there is a cannon in the house.' 'Well, you'll have to go out there anyway,' Dave squeaked. 'I forgot to pick up our dinner from the garden.'

“我还没想那么远，”戴夫惊慌地说。 “我没想到你的计划会奏效。 每当我们听到卑鄙的猫在门口嚎叫时，它就上下踱步，拍打着它那美丽的翅膀，跳起来。 “我们需要一门大炮。”他尖叫道。 “我们可以把她发射到太空！”“我们没有大炮。”“你得到人类夫人的房子里去拿。”“我可不想带着那只猫出去！”我哭了。 “而且你甚至不知道房子里有没有大炮。“好吧，无论如何你都得出去一趟。”戴夫尖声说。 “我忘了去花园里取晚饭了。”

Out on the grass was a huge wedge of crusty, crumbly bread. And a very wet, angry cat circling it. 'I risked my life, and you couldn't even manage to think of a plan to get rid of Mean Cat—'

外面的草地上有一大块又硬又脆的面包。 还有一只湿漉漉的生气的猫围着它转。 “我冒着生命危险，你却连一个除掉贱猫的计划都想不出来——”

'I told you my cannon plan,' Dave butted in. '—and on top of that, you dropped the dinner?!' I continued. 'I've only got one wing, Skipper!' He tottered off, his feathers at their hufflest fluffiest. My stomach gurgled as I looked at the bread. Dave's stomach growled back from the other side of the shed. 'Sorry,' he grumbled. I ignored him. Dave awkwardly flapped back across the shed and stood behind me. 'I said I'm sorry.' He hopped in front of me. His eyes were

“我告诉过你我的大炮计划，”戴夫插嘴说。 “最重要的是，你把晚餐掉了？！”我接着说到。 “我只有一只翅膀，船长！”他摇摇晃晃地走了，羽毛蓬松得最厉害。 我看着面包，肚子咕咕直叫。 戴夫的肚子在棚子的另一边咕噜着。 “对不起，”他嘟囔着。我不理他。 戴夫笨拙地拍着翅膀穿过棚子，站在我身后。 “我说了对不起。”他跳到我前面。 他的眼睛是

wide and teary. 'Friends?' 'Friends,' I sighed. 'I didn't mean to leave our dinner out there.' 'I know.' 'I promise I'll find a way to get rid of her,' he said. 'Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a peanut in my eye.' That's not how it goes, by the way. Yes, it is. It's the Pigeon's Promise. It's supposed to be 'Cross my heart and hope to fly, above the clouds, in the sky!

宽宽的，泪流满面。“朋友?“朋友，”我叹了口气。 “我不是故意把晚餐留在那儿的。”“我知道。“我保证我会想办法摆脱她，”他说。 “我发誓，希望能飞起来，把一颗花生塞进我的眼睛。”顺便说一句，事情不是这样的。 是的，它是。这是鸽子的承诺。 它应该是“我发誓，希望能飞，在云之上，在天空！”