7 More Bad News

CHAPTER 7 More Bad News It looked like a tornado had hit my room. All the blankets that were supposed to be on the bed were on the floor. So were my stuffed animals and my books and the deck of cards to play Spit. The cards were out of the package and spread out like they'd been dropped like confetti. My dresser drawers were all open, the clothes spilling out. Maybe I'm not the neatest girl in the world. And maybe I don't make my bed perfectly

第7章 更多坏消息 我的房间看起来就像被龙卷风扫过一样。 本来该铺在床上的毯子全都掉在了地上。 我的毛绒玩具、书，还有玩斯皮特牌的那副牌也都在地上。 牌全都拆了包装散落在外，像彩屑一样撒得到处都是。 我的梳妆台抽屉全敞着，衣服都溢出来了。 或许我本来就不是世界上最爱干净的小姑娘。 或许我也从来没办法把床铺得妥妥帖帖

every morning. And maybe sometimes I forget to put my clothes in the hamper at the end of the day. But this was messier than my room had ever been. For a second I was speechless. And then the tears came all over again, hot as fudge straight out of the oven. I shouted as loud as I could: "MOM! DAD! COME QUICK!" Mom came racing in. Dad was right behind her, with Marco in his arms. I didn't even need to tell them what was wrong. They knew just by looking. They also knew who did it. "Penny!" Dad said sharply, which made Marco start to cry a little bit. Well, that made two of us. Dad jiggled him up and down. "Penny!" Mom repeated, just as sharply. Penny was nowhere in sight. It was the

每天早上。 而且我有时候傍晚就是会忘记把衣服放进衣篮。 可这次比我的房间有史以来最乱的时候还要乱。 有那么一瞬间，我惊得说不出话。 接着眼泪又涌了出来，热得像刚从烤箱拿出来的软糖。 我拼尽全力大喊：“妈妈！ 爸爸！ 快来呀！” 妈妈飞快地冲了进来。 爸爸跟在她身后，怀里抱着马尔科。 我根本不用告诉他们出了什么事。 他们看一眼就明白了。 他们也知道是谁干的好事。 “彭妮！” 爸爸厉声说道，吓得马尔科都哭了两声。 呵，这下好了，我们俩都哭了。 爸爸上下颠着哄马尔科。 “彭妮！” 妈妈也跟着厉声喊了一句。 哪儿都找不到彭妮的影子。 这还是

first time in days she hadn't been at Mom's side. I was still in the doorway, but now I stepped farther into the room. Something cracked under my foot. My little clay turtle. "Oh no, it's broken," I said, holding out the pieces toward Mom and Dad. My best friend Willa and I had made twin turtles. We let the clay dry instead of smashing it up and putting it back in the can. Before she moved to Pennsylvania, I gave Willa mine. Then she gave me hers. That way we could remember each other. But now it was ruined. "I'm going to find your sister," Mom said. When Mom came back, she was dragging Penny by the hand. "Penelope Jane," Dad

这么多天来，她第一次没黏在妈妈身边。 我本来还站在门口，接着我往房间里多走了几步。 有什么东西在我脚底下被踩碎了。 是我的小黏土乌龟。 “哦不，它碎了，”我拿着碎片递给爸爸妈妈，说道。 这是我和我最好的朋友薇拉一起做的一对双胞胎乌龟。 我们没有把它捣碎放回罐子，而是让黏土自然晾干了。 在薇拉搬去宾夕法尼亚州之前，我把我做的那只送给了她。 然后她把她做的这只送给了我。 这样我们就能一直记住彼此了。 可现在它彻底坏掉了。 “我去找你妹妹，”妈妈说。 妈妈回来的时候，正拉着彭妮的手把她拖进来。 “佩内洛普·简，”爸爸

said, in a voice I recognized —his angry voice. "Your sister's room is a mess." Penny nodded, and babbled like a baby. "Why did you do this?" Mom asked. "And I want to hear your words, Penny. No baby talk." "I didn't know any better." "That's just not true," Mom said. "You know the difference between right and wrong. I know you're having a hard time adjusting to life with a new baby, but you can't make a mess just because you're upset. Now, you're going to clean up this up." "I don't know how to clean up. I'm too little." Mom shook her head. "If you're big enough to make a mess in your sister's room, you are big enough to clean it up." "Mom and I trust you to be careful

开口了，用我熟悉的语气——他发怒的语气。 “你把姐姐的房间弄成了一团乱。” 彭妮点点头，像小宝宝一样咿咿呀呀。 “你为什么要这么做？” 妈妈问道。 “我要听你好好说话，彭妮。 别装小孩说婴语。” “我哪懂这么多呀。” “这可不是真话，”妈妈说。 “你明明分得清对错的。 我知道你很难适应家里多了个小宝宝，但你不能因为心情不好就乱搞破坏。 现在，你必须把这里收拾干净。” “我不会收拾呀。 我还太小啦。” 妈妈摇了摇头。 “既然你够大了能把姐姐房间弄乱，你就够大了能收拾干净。” “妈妈和我相信你会小心对待

around things that belong to other people," Dad added. Careful around things that belong to other people. I bet that meant dogs, too. "Does that mean I'm allowed to mess up stuff in my own room?" Penny asked. "I'd prefer it if you didn't," Mom told her. "But you can do whatever you want to do in your own room."

别人的东西，”爸爸补充道。 要小心对待属于别人的东西。 我猜这话对狗狗也同样适用。 “那是不是说我自己房间的东西我就可以随便乱弄啦？” 彭妮问道。 “我当然希望你不要乱弄，”妈妈回答她。 “但你在自己房间里想做什么都可以。”