011 动物朋友

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Lottie couldn't understand why Sara didn't wear pretty dresses anymore

洛蒂不明白为什么萨拉不再穿漂亮的裙子了。

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Or why Sara had to work now

也不明白为什么萨拉现在必须工作。

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" There's a new girl in your room," Lottie said to Sara

“你房间里来了个新女孩，”洛蒂对萨拉说。

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" Where do you sleep?"

“你睡在哪里？”

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" Don't worry. I have a room," said Sara

“别担心，我有房间，”萨拉说。

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But she wouldn't tell Lottie where it was

但她不肯告诉洛蒂它在哪里。

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Lottie was determined to find out

洛蒂下定决心要查个明白。

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She listened to the older girls talking, and then she knew

她听到大女孩们的谈话，然后她就知道了。

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Late one afternoon she climbed the stairs to the attic. She opened a door

一天傍晚，她爬上通往阁楼的楼梯，打开了一扇门。

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There was Sara, standing on a table and looking out the skylight

萨拉就在那里，站在桌子上，望着天窗外面。

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" Sara!" Lottie looked horrified at the bare and empty attic

“萨拉！” 洛蒂惊恐地看着这个空荡荡的阁楼。

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" This room is so ugly!"

“这房间太丑了！”

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" Shh, Lottie!" Sara said quickly." Don't cry or make any noise

“嘘，洛蒂！” 萨拉急忙说，“别哭，也别出声。

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You'll get us both in trouble. This isn't such a bad room."

你会让我们俩都惹上麻烦的。这房间没那么糟。”

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Lottie bit her lip as she looked around again." Why not, Sara?"

洛蒂咬着嘴唇，又环顾了一下四周。“为什么，萨拉？”

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Sara hugged Lottie and forced herself to smile even though it had been a hard day

萨拉拥抱了洛蒂，虽然这一天很艰难，她还是强挤出笑容。

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Then she helped Lottie to climb on top of the table so they could look out the skylight

然后她帮洛蒂爬上桌子，这样她们就可以透过天窗往外看了。

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" You can see all sorts of things from here," said Sara

“从这里能看到各种各样的东西，” 萨拉说。

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" Things that you can't see from downstairs

“楼下看不到的东西。

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I wish someone lived in the house next door, but it's empty

真希望隔壁房子有人住，但它是空的。”

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If a person looked out the skylight in that house, we could talk."

要是有人从那栋房子的天窗望出来，我们就能说话了。”

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Two sparrows twittered and hopped about on the roof

两只麻雀在屋顶上叽叽喳喳，跳来跳去。

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" I see birds!" exclaimed Lottie

“我看到鸟了！”洛蒂喊道。

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" I wish we could feed them," said Sara

“真希望能喂喂它们。”萨拉说。

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" I have a bun from lunch!" Lottie shrieked

“我午餐还剩个小面包！”洛蒂尖声说道。

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She pulled a bun from her pocket

她从口袋里掏出一个小面包。

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The two girls broke the bun into pieces and fed the birds

两个女孩把面包掰成小块，喂给小鸟。

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" Oh, I like it here!" said Lottie." It's much nicer than downstairs."

“哦，我喜欢这儿！”洛蒂说，“比楼下好多了。”

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Sara nodded." It's so little, and high above everything, it's like a nest in a tree," she said

萨拉点点头。“这里这么小，又高高在上，就像树上的一个鸟巢。”她说。

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" In the morning I can lie in bed and look right up at the sky

“早上我可以躺在床上，直接望着天空。

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And if there are stars at night, I can lie here and count them."

要是有星星，我还可以躺在这里数一数。

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" I'd like to live here too!" Lottie declared

“我也喜欢住在这里！”洛蒂大声说。

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Sara laughed." It's time for you to go, Lottie

萨拉笑了。“你该回去了，洛蒂。

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I don't want anyone to find you here."

我可不想让人在这儿发现你。”

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Sara helped Lottie off the table and out the door

萨拉把洛蒂从桌子上扶下来，送出了门。

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Then she sat and looked around the room

然后她坐下来，环顾房间。

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Without Lottie, it was much harder to pretend her room was nice

没有洛蒂在，假装这个房间还不错就难多了。

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The bed was hard and covered with a dingy blanket

床很硬，上面只盖着一条昏暗破旧的毯子。

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The floor was cold and bare, and the footstool with the injured leg was the only seat in the room

地板冰冷光秃，那条坏了一条腿的脚凳是房间里唯一能坐的地方。

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" Sometimes this is the loneliest place in the world," she said

“有时候，这里是世上最孤独的地方。”她说。

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Just then she heard a little noise

就在这时，她听到了一点声响。

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A large rat stood quite close to her, sniffing the air

一只大老鼠站在离她很近的地方，嗅着空气。

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Another child might have jumped back, but Sara stayed still

换作别的孩子可能会吓得往后跳，但萨拉一动不动。

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The rat could smell some crumbs that Lottie had dropped

老鼠闻到了洛蒂掉下的一些面包屑。

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The rat looked odd and strange, like a gnome with gray whiskers

这只老鼠看起来古怪又奇特，就像长着灰色胡须的小矮人。

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" I won't hurt you," Sara said quietly

“我不会伤害你的，”萨拉轻声说。

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" Prisoners in the Bastille made friends with rats. I could be your friend."

“巴士底狱的囚犯们和老鼠交过朋友。我可以做你的朋友。”

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The rat came closer and ate a small crumb

老鼠走近了一些，吃掉了一小块面包屑。

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Then he snatched a bigger crumb and ran into his hole

然后它抓了一块更大的面包屑，跑进了洞里。

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" He probably took that home to his family!"

“它很可能是把那个带回家给家人了！”

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Sara was delighted with her new friend." I think I'll call him Mel."

萨拉对她的新朋友感到很高兴。“我想叫他梅尔。”

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Over the next week Mel gradually grew to trust Sara

接下来的一周里，梅尔渐渐开始信任萨拉。

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She gave him food and never frightened him

她给他食物，从不吓唬他。

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One night Ermengarde came to visit

一天晚上，厄门加德来拜访她。

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She sat on Sara's bed while Sara sat on the footstool

她坐在萨拉的床上，而萨拉坐在脚凳上。

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" I have a new friend," said Sara

“我交了个新朋友。”萨拉说。

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" But you must promise not to be frightened by him. He's a rat."

“但你必须保证不被他吓到。他是只老鼠。”

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" A rat!" Ermengarde cried and pulled her shawl tightly around her

“老鼠！”厄门加德叫起来，把披肩紧紧裹在身上。

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" He's very nice," Sara went on." I call him Mel. Watch this, Ermengarde."

“他非常友善。”萨拉接着说，“我叫他梅尔。看这个，厄门加德。”

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Sara gave a low whistle, and Mel came out of his hole

萨拉轻轻吹了声口哨，梅尔就从洞里出来了。

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She dropped some crumbs on the floor. Mel gobbled them up

她往地板上扔了些面包屑。梅尔狼吞虎咽地吃掉了。

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" He always saves a few for his wife and children," said Sara

“他总会给妻子和孩子留一些。”萨拉说。

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" They live in a cozy nest in the wall."

“他们住在墙里一个舒适的小窝里。”

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Ermengarde was delighted by this story." Tell me more."

厄门加德听了很高兴。“再多讲点。”

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But before Sara could say anything, someone knocked twice on the wall

但萨拉还没来得及说什么，有人敲了两下墙。

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" What's that?" Ermengarde's eyes were wide with fear

“那是什么？”厄门加德吓得睁大了眼睛。

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" Just the prisoner in the next cell," Sara said

“只是隔壁牢房的囚犯。”萨拉说。

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" Becky!" Ermengarde exclaimed

“贝基！”厄门加德惊叫道。

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" Two knocks mean ' Are you there?'" Sara explained

“敲两下意思是‘你在吗？’”萨拉解释道。

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Then she rapped three times on the wall

然后她敲了三下墙。

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" And three knocks mean ' Yes, all is well.'"

“敲三下意思是‘是的，一切都好。’”

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Becky knocked four times

贝基敲了四下。

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" That means ' Good night. Sleep well,'" said Sara

“那意思是‘晚安，睡个好觉。’”萨拉说。

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Ermengarde beamed." It's just like a story!"

厄门加德眉开眼笑。“这简直就像故事里一样！”

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" Yes. You can be an escaped prisoner in the story," Sara told her

“是啊。你可以在故事里扮演一个逃犯。”萨拉告诉她。

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" But now it's time to sneak to your bed downstairs."

“但你现在得偷偷溜回楼下的床上了。”