7 Coming Clean

CHAPTER 7 Coming Clean There's a blanket Penny and I like to use whenever we're sick. It looks just like an ordinary blanket, but we call it Magic Blankey. Before I write any more there are two things I want to say about that: 1. I know that's a really babyish name, but that's what we've always called it, starting when I was very little. 2. Obviously it's not really magic. But

第七章 坦白真相 佩妮和我生病的时候，总喜欢盖一床毯子。 它看起来和普通毯子没两样，但我们叫它魔法小毯子。 在我接着往下讲之前，有两件事我得说清楚：第一，我知道这名字听着很幼稚，但从我很小的时候起，我们就一直这么叫它了。 第二， 它当然不是真的有魔法。 不过

sometimes it's nice to pretend, when you're sick. Whenever Penny or I get sick, Mom takes Magic Blankey out of the hall closet. She spreads it out on the couch in the den, so it's kind of like a bed, and we're allowed to watch whatever we want on TV. The funny thing is, we NEVER use Magic Blankey when we're healthy. There was a Superstar Sam marathon on TV. But I had already seen all the episodes, and I felt weird about lying there watching TV because I knew I wasn't really sick. Now that we were home, my stomach wasn't even jumpy anymore. What if there was actually something magic about Magic Blankey, and it turned you into the opposite of whatever you were?

生病的时候，偶尔假装一下也很不错呀。 每次我或者佩妮生病，妈妈都会把魔法小毯子从门厅的壁橱里拿出来。 她把毯子铺在书房的沙发上，铺得像小床一样，还允许我们随便看想看的电视节目。 有意思的是，我们身体健康的时候从来不会用这张魔法小毯子。 那天电视正在播《明星山姆》马拉松展播。 可所有的剧集我都看过了，而且躺在那看电视我觉得怪怪的，因为我知道自己根本没生病。 回到家之后，我的胃甚至都不闹得慌了。 要是魔法小毯子真的有魔法呢？要是它能把你变成你原本状态的反面呢？

Like, if you were sick, you got healthy, and if you were healthy, you got sick. "I think I'm going to rest in my room," I told Mom. I kicked the blanket off and stood up. "Do you need anything?" she asked. She was sitting on the side chair with her feet up on the ottoman. Mom says when you're pregnant, your ankles swell up and

比如说，你生病它就让你变健康，你健康它就让你生病。 "我想回我房间休息了，"我对妈妈说。 我把毯子蹬开，站了起来。 "你需要什么东西吗？" 她问道。 她坐在边椅上，脚搁在脚凳上。 妈妈说怀孕的时候，脚踝会肿起来，还

start to hurt. It doesn't really make any sense, since it's not like the baby is in your ankles. But anyway, she looked comfy. Her hands were on her big, blown-up belly, like she was cradling a giant jawbreaker candy. I didn't want to make her move, especially if the baby got hurt from her driving me home. "No, I'm fine," I told her. "I'll come check on you later," Mom said. When I got to my room, I thought maybe I would work on my book. Or maybe I would write a different kind of book—not an autobiography but a short story. Once upon a time there was a girl whose best friend moved away. She never got another best friend, and so she lived unhappily ever after.

开始发疼。 这说起来真的很奇怪，宝宝又不在你脚踝里呀。 不过不管怎么说，她看起来挺舒服的。 她的手放在圆滚滚的大肚子上，就像捧着一颗超大的硬糖球。 我不想让她动来动去，尤其是刚才她开车送我回家，万一把宝宝累坏了可不好。 "不用啦，我没事，"我对她说。 "我等会儿过来看看你，"妈妈说。 回到房间后，我想着说不定可以接着写我的书。 或者写点不一样的——不是自传，写个小故事。 从前有个小姑娘，她最好的朋友搬走了。 她再也没有交到新的好朋友，从此一直过着不开心的日子。

What a sad story. I tried picturing Batts Confections in my head, because sometimes that makes me feel better, except I didn't even know what it looked like, because the candy garden was gone. I ended up taking a nap even though I hadn't even known I was tired. I didn't get up until I heard Mom's voice saying, "I think she may be asleep, but let me check." When I opened my eyes, Mom was walking toward me. The Magic Blankey was tucked under her arm and the phone was pressed against her ear. "Oh no, Dave, I think I just woke her," Mom said. She came over and put the blanket down on the bed. I moved my foot so it wasn't touching it. Mom leaned down to feel my forehead. "She doesn't feel hot, but the nurse said it was her stomach. Let me ask Stel, it's Daddy on

真是个伤心的故事。 我试着在脑子里想象巴茨糖果店的样子，因为这么做有时候能让我开心一点，可我根本想象不出来它现在是什么样，因为糖果花园已经拆了。 结果我不知不觉就睡着了，我之前都没发现自己居然这么累。 我一直没醒，直到听见妈妈说："我觉得她可能睡着了，我进去看看。" 我睁开眼睛的时候，妈妈正朝我走过来。 魔法小毯子夹在她胳膊底下，电话贴在她耳边。 "哎呀，戴夫，我好像把她吵醒了，"妈妈说。 她走过来，把毯子放在我的床上。 我把脚挪开，不让它碰到毯子。 妈妈弯下腰摸我的额头。 "她没发烧，不过护士说她是肚子不舒服。 我问问斯特尔，你爸爸打电