Unit 7: There's a Boy under the Bed

Smook sat on his bed and picked the icky marshmallow bits out of his sardine-and-broccoli muffin.

斯莫克坐在床上，把他沙丁鱼西兰花松饼里黏糊糊的棉花糖碎块挑出来。

When he dropped them on the floor, a small pink hand reached out from under the bed and snatched them up.

当他把它们掉在地板上时，一只粉红色的小手从床底下伸出来，一把抓走了它们。

"Aaargh, Mum!" screamed Smook. "There's a boy under the bed!"

“啊——，妈妈！”斯莫克尖叫道。“床底下有个男孩！”

Smook sat quivering on his bed, as far away from the edge as he could get.

斯莫克坐在床上发抖，尽量离床边远远的。

"Don't be silly, Smook. There's no such thing as a boy," his mother called.

“别傻了，斯莫克。哪有什么男孩这种东西，”他妈妈喊道。

Smook sat in his bed and tried to read his book, but he could not stop shaking. All he could think of was the hand... but it was no good. He would have to have another look.

斯莫克坐在床上想看书，但他止不住发抖。他满脑子都是那只手……可是这样不行。他得再看一眼。

Smook slid over to the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath and then slowly leaned over the side. He croaked to himself over and over, "Boys don't exist. Boys don't..."

斯莫克滑到床边。他深吸一口气，然后慢慢侧过身去。他一遍又一遍哑着嗓子对自己说：“男孩不存在。男孩不存在……”

"Boo!" "Aaargh!" Smook flopped to the floor — thump!

“Boo！” “啊——！”斯莫克砰的一声倒在地上！

"Mum, Mum — there really is a boy under my bed!"

“妈妈，妈妈——床底下真的有个男孩！”

"Goodness," said Mum, "you really are upset. Would you feel better if I came and looked under your bed, too?"

“天哪，”妈妈说，“你真的很难过。如果我来看看你的床底下，你会不会好一点？”

"Yes, please," squeaked Smook.

“好的，请妈妈来，”斯莫克尖声说。

Smook watched from the door as his mum poked a broom under his bed.

斯莫克从门边看着妈妈把扫帚伸到床底下。

"See?" she said. "There's nothing there." "Ouch!" said a small voice.

“看到了吗？”她说。“什么都没有。”“哎哟！”一个小声音叫道。

Smook's mum flip-flopped backwards. "Come out of there," she croaked.

斯莫克的妈妈向后退去。“从那儿出来，”她哑声说。

A boy crawled out from under the bed.

一个男孩从床底下爬了出来。

Smook was disappointed. The boy was small and scrawny, and he did not look scary at all.

斯莫克很失望。这个男孩又小又瘦，看起来一点也不吓人。

"How did you get here?" asked Smook's mum.

“你怎么到这儿来的？”斯莫克的妈妈问。

"My sisters found a secret trapdoor," said the boy. "They shoved me through it and then locked it behind me. I came out under there." He pointed to Smook's bed.

“我的姐妹们发现了一个秘密活板门，”男孩说。“她们把我推过去，然后在我身后锁上了门。我从那儿出来了。”他指着斯莫克的床。

"Why did they do that?" asked Smook. "Because I put ants in their soup and slug slime on their toast." Smook could not believe it. "They pushed you through the trapdoor because you were nice to them?" The boy shrugged.

“她们为什么那样做？”斯莫克问。“因为我在她们的汤里放蚂蚁，在她们的吐司上涂鼻涕虫黏液。”斯莫克不敢相信。“她们把你推进活板门，是因为你对她们很好？”男孩耸了耸肩。

Smook's mother found the trapdoor and tried to open it. "It's still locked," she said. "What are we going to do with you?"

斯莫克的妈妈找到了活板门，想打开它。“门还锁着，”她说。“我们该怎么安置你呢？”

"Can't he stay, Mum?" Smook asked. "Just till his sisters unlock the door?"

“妈妈，他能不能留下来？”斯莫克问。“就等到他的姐妹们打开门？”

"Well, OK," Smook's mum said. She looked the boy up and down. "But you'll have to check the door every hour, Smook. I don't want any more humans in my home, and when the boy's gone back through that trapdoor, I'm nailing it shut."

“好吧，”斯莫克的妈妈说。她上下打量着男孩。“但是你每小时都要去检查门，斯莫克。我不希望家里再有人类，等男孩从活板门回去后，我要把它钉死。”

Smook showed the boy his collection of dried fish heads. They made cheese and liquorice biscuits with spiders on top. The boy also taught Smook's pet, Colossa, how to fetch.

斯莫克给男孩看他收藏的干鱼头。他们做了上面有蜘蛛的奶酪甘草饼干。男孩还教斯莫克的宠物科洛萨如何取回东西。

The next morning, they found that the trapdoor was unlocked. "Please don't go," said Smook. "I'll never be scared of boys again."

第二天早上，他们发现活板门没锁了。“请不要走，”斯莫克说。“我再也不怕男孩了。”

"I'll be back," said the boy as he wriggled through the trapdoor. "Not if I can help it," said Smook's mum, nailing the trapdoor shut.

“我会回来的，”男孩说着扭动着穿过活板门。“只要我帮得上忙，就不会，”斯莫克的妈妈说着把活板门钉死了。

At dinner time, Smook could not even look at his snailburgers and seaweed salad. He already missed the boy under the bed. He went and got the hammer...

到了晚饭时间，斯莫克甚至看都不看他的蜗牛汉堡和海带沙拉。他已经想念床底下的男孩了。他去拿锤子……

As I walked into my classroom, I noticed an unfamiliar face. He was seated quietly at the back of the classroom, studying the people around him behind his thick glasses.

当我走进教室时，我注意到一张陌生的面孔。他安静地坐在教室后排，透过厚厚的眼镜打量着周围的人。

"Azri!" my best friend, Raju, called out to me. "Hey, buddy! How was your holiday? You had a good break from me, didn't you?" My friendly banter with Raju made me forget all about the bespectacled boy at the back of the room.

“阿兹里！”我最好的朋友拉朱对我喊道。“嘿，伙计！假期过得怎么样？你没见到我，很开心吧，是不是？”我和拉朱友好的打趣让我完全忘了后排那个戴眼镜的男孩。

After singing the national anthem and reciting our pledge, Mr Koh, our form teacher, gestured to someone at the back. I realised that he was inviting the quiet stranger to the front.

唱完国歌、念完誓词后，我们的班主任柯老师向后排的某个人示意。我意识到他在邀请那个安静的陌生人到前面来。

"Students, this is Jia Xin," Mr Koh announced, "He has just transferred from another school. I hope all of you will welcome him with open arms. Would you like to say something, Jia Xin?"

“同学们，这是家欣，”柯老师宣布，“他刚从另一所学校转来。我希望大家都能热情地欢迎他。家欣，你想说点什么吗？”

Jia Xin shook his head and smiled sheepishly. His gaze then shifted to the floor. Mr Koh turned to Tom and asked, "Will you be kind enough to be Jia Xin's buddy?" There was a pause before Tom shrugged his shoulders and uttered, "Well, okay."

家欣摇了摇头，羞怯地笑了笑。然后他的目光移到了地板上。柯老师转向汤姆问道：“你愿意做家欣的伙伴吗？”汤姆停顿了一下，耸耸肩说：“好吧。”

Throughout the week, Jia Xin kept to himself. We saw him buried in books most of the time, and Tom nowhere near him. Raju and I tried to strike a conversation with him a few times, but each time we asked him a question, he would simply walk away with his sheepish smile.

整整一周，家欣都独来独往。我们大部分时间都看见他在埋头看书，汤姆也不靠近他。拉朱和我试着跟他搭过几次话，但每次我们问他问题，他只是带着羞怯的笑容走开。

Eventually, we came to the conclusion that he was unfriendly.

最后，我们得出结论：他不友好。

One day, Mr Koh announced the class had to work in groups of three for a project. Raju and I felt uneasy when we learnt that Mr Unfriendly was our third member.

有一天，柯老师宣布全班要三人一组做一个项目。当拉朱和我得知“不友好先生”是我们组的第三名成员时，我们感到不安。

That afternoon, as Raju and I were walking home from school, a commotion at a playground caught our attention. A group of boys had formed a circle around a bespectacled boy while laughing and jeering at him. Some were making funny noises.

那天下午，当拉朱和我放学回家时，操场上的一阵骚动引起了我们的注意。一群男孩围着一个戴眼镜的男孩，一边笑一边嘲笑他。有些人还发出奇怪的声音。

Raju walked right into the centre of the ring and said, "Let us deal with him, boys! Leave us!" The boys could have thought that Raju and I were going to taunt their victim further, so they nodded and walked away. Relieved by their reaction, we led "the victim" by the shoulder to a more comfortable place — my home.

拉朱径直走进圆圈中央说：“让我们来对付他，小子们！走开！”那些男孩可能以为拉朱和我要进一步嘲笑他们的受害者，于是他们点点头走开了。因为他们的反应而松了一口气，我们带着“受害者”去了更舒服的地方——我家。

My mother welcomed us with hot drinks and biscuits. The boy took a few deep breaths and when he finally calmed down, said, "Th-th-th-thank you for ch-ch-ch-chasing th-th-th-them away."

我妈妈用热饮和饼干欢迎我们。男孩深吸了几口气，当他终于平静下来后，说：“谢……谢……谢谢你们把……把……把他们赶走了。”

Raju and I bowed our heads in shame. "We're so sorry, Jia Xin. We didn't know this about you." Jia Xin opened up to us that afternoon and since then, we were inseparable.

拉朱和我羞愧地低下了头。“对不起，家欣。我们不知道你就是这样。”那天下午，家欣向我们敞开了心扉，从那以后，我们形影不离。