3 Close Calls

CHAPTER 3 Close Calls Even though I was sad about Penny Jr., it was kind of exciting to have a secret mission. Dad called Mom to tell her to keep Penny out of the house for at least another hour, and we drove over to Man's Best Friend. That's the pet store in the same outdoor shopping center as Batts Confections. As we walked across the parking lot, I thought of something. "You want to protect Penny and make sure she doesn't get upset

第三章 惊险的侥幸 虽然小佩妮的事让我很难过，但有个秘密任务还挺刺激的。 爸爸给妈妈打电话，让她至少再带佩妮在外面逛一个小时，然后我们开车去了“人类最好的朋友”宠物店。 那家宠物店和“巴茨糖果店”在同一个露天商业区里。 我们穿过停车场的时候，我突然想到了一件事。 “你想要保护佩妮，确保她不会因为

about things," I said. "I'm your daughter too, so that means you don't want me to be upset." "I sure don't," Dad said. "How do I know that Fudge is really Fudge, and not a new Fudge?" "He's not," Dad said. "You better really be telling the truth," I told him. "Because I don't want a replacement Fudge. I only want the real Fudge." "Fudge is Fudge," Dad said. "How can I be sure you're not lying?" "I promise you I'm not lying." "Do you pinky swear?" I asked. "Pinky swear," Dad said. He shifted Marco to the side and hooked pinkies with me. "Come on, girls. If we're quick enough, we can stop by the store and you can each get a treat." We walked into Man's Best Friend and

这些事难过，”我说。 “我也是你的女儿呀，所以也就是说你也不想让我难过对不对。” “那当然啦，”爸爸说。 “我怎么知道福吉真的是福吉，不是另一只新的福吉呀？” “不是新的，”爸爸说。 “你最好真的没骗我，”我对他说。 “因为我不想要替代的福吉。 我只想要真的那只福吉。” “福吉就是福吉呀，”爸爸说。 “我怎么确定你没撒谎呀？” “我向你保证我没撒谎。” “你拉钩发誓吗？” 我问。 “拉钩发誓，”爸爸说。 他把马可往旁边挪了挪，伸出小拇指和我拉钩。 “走吧，姑娘们。 要是我们动作够快，还能顺道去趟商店，你们每人可以挑一份小零食。” 我们走进“人类最好的朋友”宠物店，然后

headed all the way to the back, to where the fish are. "Can I help you?" one of the pet store workers asked. "We are in the market for a goldfish," Dad told him. The man picked up his fish-scooping net. "Let me know which one you want." Lucy and I stepped closer to the goldfish tank. "We need to find one that looks exactly like Penny Jr.," Lucy told him. "That's our fish that just died." "My condolences," the pet store man said. "What does "condolences" mean?" I asked. Learning new big words is another one of my favorite things. "It means I'm sorry for your loss," the man explained. "Thank you," I said. "But it's not really my loss—it's my sister's. Penny Jr. was her fish,

径直走到店的最后面，就是养鱼的区域。 “我能帮你们什么吗？” 一个宠物店的工作人员问道。 “我们想买一条金鱼，”爸爸告诉他。 那个人拿起他的捞鱼网。 “看好了想要哪条就告诉我。” 我和露西凑得离金鱼缸更近了点。 “我们得找一条和小佩妮长得一模一样的，”露西告诉他。 就是我们那条刚去世的鱼。” “节哀呀，”宠物店的工作人员说。 ““节哀”是什么意思呀？” 我问。 学新的大词也是我最喜欢的事之一。 “意思就是我为你们失去的小东西感到难过，”那个人解释道。 “谢谢你，”我说。 “不过其实不是我失去啦——是我姐姐的。 小佩妮是她的鱼，

and she doesn't know that it died. So if you ever see me in here again with my sister, you have to pretend you never saw me, because this is a secret mission." "Excuse me," a boy called from in front of a tank of tadpoles—those are the fishy things that later turn into frogs. "I need some help!" The pet store man turned to Lucy and me. "Call me when you've settled on the one you want and I'll come back with the net. And don't worry, I'll keep your secret." He went to help the boy, and Lucy, Dad, and I got to work studying the goldfish in the tank. "They all look the same to me," Dad said. "That's why it's a good thing I'm on this mission with you," Lucy said. "I'll make sure to pick the exact right Penny Jr. fish." "It's that one over there," I said. "Right by

她还不知道鱼死了呢。 所以要是你以后再看到我和我姐姐来这儿，你得假装从来没见过我哦，因为这是个秘密任务。” “不好意思，”一个男孩在装蝌蚪的鱼缸前面喊——蝌蚪就是那种以后会变成青蛙的、像小鱼一样的东西。 “我需要帮忙！” 宠物店的工作人员转向我和露西。 “你们选好想要哪条了就叫我，我到时候拿网过来。 别担心，我会帮你们保守秘密的。” 他过去帮那个男孩了，我、露西和爸爸就开始认真研究鱼缸里的金鱼。 “在我看来它们长得都一样啊，”爸爸说。 “所以幸好我和你们一起执行这个任务呀，”露西说。 “我肯定能挑到完全对的那条小佩妮。” “就是那边那条，”我说。 “就在

the blue rock. It looks so much like Penny Jr., it's probably her cousin." Lucy shook her head. "Too shiny," she said. "Trust me. Penny Jr. was my fish for the day, so I know." "Not a whole day," I said. "And she wasn't even alive when she was your fish. How about that one?" "No, that one's too dull." She pointed to a fish swimming toward the top of the tank. "It's that one." I stepped closer and traced the fish's path with my finger. I had to admit that Lucy was right: It looked so much like Penny Jr. they could be twin sisters. We called the pet store man back over, and told him the fish we wanted. He had a plastic bag, and he first scooped some water out from the tank with a cup, so the new

蓝色石头旁边。 它看起来和小佩妮太像了，说不定是她的表亲呢。” 露西摇了摇头。 “太亮了，”她说。 “相信我。 小佩妮那天归我养，所以我知道她长什么样。” “根本没到一整天，”我说。 而且她归你养的时候已经死了呀。 那条怎么样？” “不行，那条颜色太暗了。” 她指着一条往鱼缸上游的鱼。 “就是那条。” 我凑得更近了点，用手指跟着那条鱼游动的轨迹画。 我不得不承认露西是对的：它和小佩妮长得太像了，简直可以当双胞胎姐妹。 我们把宠物店的工作人员叫回来，告诉他我们要那条鱼。 他拿了个塑料袋，先用水杯从鱼缸里舀了些水出来，这样新的