Chapter 11

ChAPTER ELEVEN He was enormous. Up-to-the-ceiling, arms-the-size-of-six-year-old-children enormous. The type of enormous that was the last thing people saw before they were eaten and their bones spat out like toothpicks. He was wearing an apron splattered with red. A hat like a giant sinister meringue was perched upon his head.

第十一章 他身形无比巨大。 脑袋顶得到天花板，胳膊粗得和六岁小孩一样的那种巨大。 就是那种人被吃掉、骨头像牙签一样被吐出来之前，最后见到的那种庞大家伙。 他穿着一件溅满红色污渍的围裙。 一顶像邪恶巨型蛋白霜的帽子歪戴在他头上。

Rupert let out a high-pitched scream. Kate was flooded with panic. What did this all mean? And- more importantly- was she about to be eaten?! STOP! she cried. "I probably taste horrible! I'm not made of sugar and spice and all things nice; I probably taste like notebooks and pencils!" The Tiger laughed a slow, silky laugh.

鲁珀特发出一声尖锐的尖叫。 凯特心里满是恐慌。 这到底是怎么回事？ 还有——更重要的是——她会不会马上就要被吃掉了？！ 住手！ 她大喊道。 “我吃起来肯定很糟糕！ 我又不是糖啊香料啊那些甜滋滋的好东西做的，我尝起来说不定就像笔记本和铅笔！” 老虎慢悠悠地笑了起来，笑声低哑顺滑。

Kate noticed his teeth, which were perfectly white and very, very sharp. "You think that I would want to eat YOU? By the stripes on my back, you're no tiramisu!" "What?" Kate was confounded. "Well, what's all this then?" She glanced around at the lit stove, the red-splashed apron, the rows of knives on the countertops. "And w-w-why

凯特注意到他的牙齿，洁白整齐，还非常非常锋利。 “你觉得我会想吃你？ 以我背上的条纹起誓，你可根本不是提拉米苏！” “什么？” 凯特彻底懵了。 “那这都是怎么回事啊？” 她扫了一眼烧着的炉子、溅了红印的围裙，还有台面上排成排的刀具。 “还、还、还有为什么”

are you speaking in rhyming couplets?" stammered Rupert?" "Firstly," snapped the Tiger, "I don't know what you mean. To constantly rhyme? What a tiresome routine." He paused and sighed a long, dramatic sigh. "But I suppose it's about time I told my story, My struggle... my rise... my fall from glory."

你说话要押两行韵呀？”鲁珀特结结巴巴地问。 “首先，”老虎厉声说，“我听不懂你在说什么。 要一直押韵？ 这套路也太烦人了。” 他顿了顿，长长地、夸张地叹了口气。 “不过我也该讲讲我的故事了，我的挣扎……我的崛起……我从荣光里跌落的经历。”

"Er... please do" said Kate. She edged towards an upturned pot and sat down. What else could she do? The Tiger clearly wanted an audience, and didn't seem about to eat anyone- at least, not yet. The Tiger turned down the flames on the stove till they were a faint glow, cleared his throat and began. "All my life I've had one dream, A single goal, one constant theme, To be a chef, to wear the apron, To drizzle syrup over bacon." He paused, and looked down at Kate over his shoulder. She gulped. "Very ni—"

“呃……请讲吧。”凯特说。 她慢慢挪到一个倒扣的锅旁边，坐了下来。 她还能怎么办呢？ 老虎显然想找个听众，而且看起来暂时不打算吃人——至少现在不会。 老虎把炉火调小，直到只剩微弱的火光，清了清嗓子开口了。 “我这一生只有一个梦想，一个目标，始终没变的向往，就是当个厨师，穿上围裙，把糖浆淋在培根上。” 他停了下来，扭头低头看着凯特。 她咽了下口水。 “非常好——”

"I'm talented too- in the kitchen I'm sleek! I've perfected the rarest of pastry techniques. A bain-marie? I know just what that is. And no lacework is finer than my chocolate lattice. From the lakes of Japan to the cold highland moors I've served quivering jellies, pecan pies, s'mores..." Kate looked at Rupert in a way that meant, "WHAT IS GOING ON?" Rupert stared back in a way that meant, "I HAVE NO IDEA BUT AT LEASTWE'RE NOT GETTING EATEN?!"

“我可有才了——在厨房里我手脚麻利得很！ 我掌握了最罕见的面点手艺。 水浴加热法？ 我可清楚那是什么了。 我的巧克力格子雕花，比任何蕾丝花边都要精致。 从日本的湖泊到寒冷的高地荒原，我给客人上过颤巍巍的果冻、山核桃派、棉花糖夹心饼干……”凯特看向鲁珀特，眼神在说“这到底是怎么回事？” 鲁珀特也回看她，眼神在说“我完全不知道 但至少我们不会被吃掉了啊？！”