5 Halloween in July

5 Halloween in July Lin, Malo and Small Raccoon reached the main gates of the zoo within minutes. For a moment, Lin hesitated. She paced the length of the huge iron gates, wringing her paws and taking deep breaths to stay calm. What would they face at the

5 七月的万圣节 林、马洛和小浣熊没几分钟就走到了动物园的大门前。 有那么一瞬间，林犹豫了。 她沿着巨大的铁门来来回回地走，爪子拧来拧去，深呼吸着让自己保持冷静。 他们在马路对面的窝里会遇到什么呢？

nest across the road? She'd heard rumours about eight-year-old children. What if they were true? What if they really did have small armouries called "pencil cases" full of sharpened spears called "pencils'? And what if it so happened that they really didn't lick themselves clean and instead chose to wash under an indoor rain cloud? Lin shuddered at how disgusting a child could be. She clasped her paws together and took another deep breath. I need to rescue Fu,

马路对面的窝里？ 她听过不少关于八岁人类小孩的传闻。 要是那些传闻都是真的怎么办？ 要是他们真的有叫“铅笔盒”的小型武器库，里面装满了叫“铅笔”的锋利长矛怎么办？ 要是他们真的不把自己舔干净，反而选择在室内的雨云下面洗澡怎么办？ 想到人类小孩能这么脏，林打了个哆嗦。 她把爪子攥在一起，又深吸了一口气。 我得去救福，

she reminded herself and stepped out on to the pavement. The trail of panda cake had stopped abruptly at the zoo gates. But Small Raccoon was proving to be very useful now and led the way to the road. She held up a paw and then waved Lin and Malo across. As you can imagine, a panda, a raccoon and a capuchin monkey crossing the road was a rather unusual sight. The man jogging past deeply regretted leaving his camera at home that day.

她在心里提醒自己，抬脚迈上了人行道。 熊猫蛋糕的痕迹到动物园门口就突然断了。 不过这时候小浣熊可派上大用场了，它领着大家往马路那边走。 它抬起一只爪子示意，接着挥爪让林和马洛先过马路。 你能想象吗，一只熊猫、一只浣熊加上一只卷尾猴一起过马路，这画面可太少见了。 旁边刚好路过的慢跑男子可后悔死了，懊恼自己今天怎么没把相机带出门。

Still, it would remain one of the greatest memories of his whole life, right after winning a twig in a raffle and before the birth of his two grandchildren. Once they were safely across, Small Raccoon steered Lin and Malo to a gravel path. A grand house stood at the end of the long drive that led to a giant, ornate front door, flanked by four golden ornamental lions. Lin gazed at the pristine green lawns and manicured hedges shaped like small boats. Or possibly coats. Lin had missed

不过这还是成了他这辈子最棒的回忆之一，排在抽奖抽中一根小树枝之后，两个孙子出生之前。 等他们安全过了马路，小浣熊领着林和马洛走到了一条碎石小路上。 长长的车道尽头立着一栋气派的大房子，正对着一扇华丽的巨型前门，门两边摆着四只金色的装饰狮子。 林盯着眼前整洁翠绿的草坪，还有修剪成小船模样的树篱。 也可能是大衣的形状。 林之前在熊猫学校也没上成

that class at Panda School too. "This must be the predator's nest," Lin said, trying hard to keep her voice steady. Small Raccoon jabbed her paws repeatedly at the red-brick walls, her eyes huge with fear. "I think Fu is in there," Malo said, interpreting the mime for Lin. "But where's all the bamboo?" Lin questioned. "Where's all the long grass? How can anyone live like this?!" "There's not much to swing from, is there?"

那节课。 “这肯定就是捕食者的窝了。”林说道，努力让自己的声音听着稳一点。 小浣熊的爪子一个劲地指着红砖墙，眼睛瞪得圆圆的，满是害怕。 “我觉得福就在里面。”马洛帮林翻译小浣熊的动作。 “可是竹子都在哪呢？” 林疑惑地问。 “长草都在哪啊？ 这地方怎么住人啊？！” “连个能荡来荡去的地方都没有，对吧？”