Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN Santa and the Slippery-Slip It didn't take very long. In quite a little while the sleigh landed on a broad bough near the top of the tree, and they all got out. "My room is just a bit higher up," said Moon-Face, and led the way. They were soon in his little round room. He pointed to the curious hole in the middle of the floor. "There you are," he said. "That's the slippery-slip- you fly out of the trapdoor at the bottom, and land on a soft cushion of moss." "Splendid!" said Santa Claus. Will somebody else go first, please? Goodness, it's exactly the same as I read about in the books!"

第七章 圣诞老人和滑溜溜滑道 没花多长时间。 没一会儿，雪橇就落在了树顶附近的一根粗树枝上，大家都下了雪橇。 “我的房间还要再往上走一点。”月亮脸说着，在前面带路。 他们很快就来到了他那间圆圆的小房间里。 他指了指地板中间那个古怪的洞。 “就是这儿啦。”他说。 “这就是滑溜溜滑道——你会从底部的活动板门飞出去，落到一块软软的苔藓垫子上。” “太棒了！”圣诞老人说。 请问有没有人愿意先滑呀？ 天哪，这和我在书里读到的一模一样！

"Er- do you think you could just change us back to our ordinary selves?" asked Joe, afraid that in his excitement Santa Claus might forget to do what they so badly wanted. "I feel as if I'm going to somersault again, and I don't want to turn head-over-heels all the way down the slippery-slip. "Change you back? Yes, of course; it's

“呃——您能不能把我们变回原来的样子呀？”乔问，他怕圣诞老人太兴奋，会忘了帮他们完成这个迫切的心愿。 “我感觉自己又要翻跟头了，我可不想顺着滑溜溜滑道一路翻着跟头滑下去。 “把你们变回去？ 当然可以呀，这很

easy!" said Santa Claus. "The slippery- slip is just the right place for a spell. Shut your eyes, please." They all shut their eyes. Santa Claus touched each one gently, chanting a curious little song: "Go in as you are, Come out as you were, Go in as you are, Come out as you were!"

简单！”圣诞老人说。 “滑溜溜滑道正好是施魔法的好地方。 请你们闭上眼睛。” 大家都闭上了眼睛。 圣诞老人轻轻碰了碰每一个人，嘴里哼着一段古怪的小调：“进去时是现在的你，出来时是从前的你，进去时是现在的你，出来时是从前的你！”

They opened their eyes. Moon- Face got a cushion and pulled Beth on to it. He gave her a tremendous push and she shot down the slippery-slip at top speed -round and round- and then out she flew through the trapdoor at the bottom. "Oh!" she said, breathless. "I'm myself again. I'm not a stiff- jointed doll any longer!" She got up- and out of the trapdoor flew Joe.

他们睁开了眼睛。 月亮 脸拿了个垫子，把贝丝拉到垫子上。 他用力推了她一把，她就顺着滑溜溜滑道飞快地滑了出去——转啊转啊——然后就从底部的活动板门飞了出去。 “哇！” 她喘着气说。 “我变回自己啦。 我再也不是关节僵硬的玩偶啦！” 她刚站起来——乔就从活动板门里飞了出来。

"Joe! You're all right again! You're you!" cried Beth in delight. "And here comes Silky- she's not a doll any more- and here's Frannie- she's all right, too. Look out- here's the Old Saucepan Man- yippee, he's back to normal!"

“乔！ 你又恢复正常啦！ 你变回你自己啦！”贝丝开心地大叫。 “还有西尔基过来了——她也不是玩偶了——还有弗兰妮——她也没事啦。 小心——老平底锅 人来了——耶，他也变回正常样子啦！