4 The Idea

CHAPTER 4 The Idea "It's not fair!" Those were the first words I heard when Dad and I walked in the door. Can you guess who said them? If you said Penny, then you'd be right. I couldn't see her, but I could hear her. Dad had a bag from Batts Confections. It was silver, with BATTS CONFECTIONS in red letters. He put it down on the shelf in the front hall. That's the same shelf where Mom

第四章 一个主意 “这不公平！” 我和爸爸刚进门，听到的第一句话就是这个。 你能猜到是谁说的吗？ 要是你猜是佩妮，那你可太对啦。 我看不见她，但我听得见她的声音。 爸爸提着个巴茨糖果店的袋子。 袋子是银色的，上面印着红色的“巴茨糖果店”字样。 他把袋子放在了前厅的架子上。 妈妈平时就把信件放在同一个架子上。

puts the mail. I flipped through the pile, but there was only grownup stuff. That means bills, bills, bills. Dad and I were taking our shoes off, as we always do before we walk around the house, when Mom came out from the kitchen to say hello. "Where's Pen?" Dad asked. "In her room, moping," Mom said. "I think she's a bit embarrassed." "Have you been able to get the story out of her?" Dad asked. "Something about the baby," Mom said. "I was just about to go check on her again." "Wait, where's the rest of the mail?" I asked. "That's it, on the shelf." "But I didn't see Joshua's birthday invitation. And how come you didn't tell me he was having his party at the store, anyway?"

放信件的地方。 我翻了翻那堆东西，全是大人的玩意儿。 意思就是，账单，账单，还是账单。 我和爸爸正脱鞋呢，我们进屋前总这么做，这时妈妈从厨房出来跟我们打招呼。 “小佩在哪儿？” 爸爸问。 “在她房间闹别扭呢，”妈妈说。 “我觉得她有点不好意思。” “你问清楚是怎么回事了吗？” 爸爸问。 “好像和小宝宝有关，”妈妈说。 “我正打算再去看看她呢。” “等等，剩下的邮件在哪儿啊？” 我问。 “就那些啊，都在架子上。” “可我没看见约书亚的生日邀请啊。 还有，你怎么都没告诉我他要在店里办派对呀？”

"I didn't schedule anything at the store for Joshua," Dad said. "Oh, I did," Mom said. "Sorry, hon. I've been pretty distracted with this baby stuff." "Are you sure the invitation didn't come? Evie got hers, and maybe you were distracted about the mail, too." Mom shook her head. "That's just the way of the post office. You can mail a stack of invitations, but if they're all headed out to different places, sometimes they don't get there at the exact same time. The party's on Friday, right?" I nodded. "Evie and I don't like him, but we decided we'll go anyway." Speaking of things I don't like: "Something smells fishy," I added. "I'm marinating the salmon," Mom said. "It will be ready in an hour, along with

“我没在店里给约书亚安排任何活动啊，”爸爸说。 “哦，是我安排的，”妈妈说。 “对不起呀亲爱的。 我最近满脑子都是小宝宝的事，分心了。” “你确定邀请函没寄到吗？ 伊薇都收到了，说不定你看邮件的时候也分心了呢。” 妈妈摇了摇头。 “邮局就是这样的呀。 你寄出一沓邀请函，要是都寄去不同的地方，有时候就不会刚好同一天送到。 派对是周五对不对？” 我点了点头。 “我和伊薇不喜欢他，但我们还是决定要去。” 说到我不喜欢的东西：“怎么闻着有鱼腥味呀？”我补了一句。 “我在腌三文鱼呢，”妈妈说。 “一小时后就好，还有

asparagus and rice." Here's my plan for when I grow up. I'll make dinners that are always delicious. Mondays will be spaghetti-and-meatball night, and my kids will be allowed to use as much shaky cheese as they want. The more cheese the better. In fact, everyone'll have their own personal bottle of cheese. Tuesdays we'll have hot dogs and French fries. Wednesdays can be shrimp, which is the only kind of seafood that I like to eat. And Thursdays... okay, I haven't decided on the Thursday meal yet, or any of the rest of the days of the week.

芦笋和米饭哦。” 我长大以后有个计划。 我要做的饭永远都特别好吃。 周一就是意大利面配肉丸日，我的小孩想撒多少摇摇芝士都可以。 芝士越多越好嘛。 其实呀，每个人都能有自己专属的一瓶芝士。 周二我们吃热狗和炸薯条。 周三可以吃虾，这是我唯一爱吃的海鲜。 至于周四嘛……好吧，我还没想好周四吃什么，这周剩下的日子也都还没定呢。

But I'll write them down as soon as I figure it out. "I don't really like salmon or asparagus," I told Mom. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "That's all we've got." "But if you eat it, there's a treat from the store in your future," Dad added. "Stuart's brainchild." "Stuart's what?" "Brainchild," Dad said. "It's another word for invention." "Oh, I get it," I said. "What kind of kid would your brain have? The invention kind!" "Exactly," Dad said. "That's a cool word," I said. "What is his brainchild this time?" "If I tell you, it would ruin the surprise." "I don't need a surprise," I said.

不过我一想好就会把它们都记下来的。 “我不太喜欢三文鱼和芦笋，”我跟妈妈说。 “听到你这么说我好遗憾呀，”她说。 “可我们家只有这些了哦。” “但要是你乖乖吃了，之后就有店里来的小奖励哦，”爸爸补充道。 “斯图尔特的brainchild。” “斯图尔特的什么？” “Brainchild，”爸爸说。 “就是发明的另一种说法哦。” “哦，我懂啦，”我说。 “你的大脑能生出什么小孩呀？ 当然是发明小孩啦！” “没错，”爸爸说。 “这个词好酷呀，”我说。 “他这次的发明是什么呀？” “要是我告诉你，惊喜就没啦。” “我不需要惊喜呀，”我说。