足球怪獸（2）

李明娟

The train went on， moving away from the sound. I jumped out of the carriage and walked back up the track. The tunnels were lined with sheets of black cloth. When I pulled one back I found the blue phantom1 in a secret room.

火車繼續(xù)前進，遠離了那個聲音，我跳出車廂，往回走到軌道上。隧道兩旁布滿黑布，當我向后拉起一塊時，在一個密室里發(fā)現(xiàn)了那個藍色的幻影。

The room clearly wasnt part of the ride. In fact it looked like a pretty nice kids bedroom， with a bed， a desk and shelves of books; it even had a small TV. The phantom was sitting on the bed. When he saw me， he was surprised and wiped his eyes.

房間顯然不是旅程的一部分。實際上，它看起來像是一個漂亮孩子的臥室，有一張床、一張桌子和書架，甚至還有一臺小電視?；糜白诖采希斔吹轿視r很驚訝，揉了揉眼睛。

“Have you come to make fun of the scares again？” he asked.

他問：“你又來嘲笑沒用的驚嚇了嗎？”

“Er， no，” I said， finding out for the first time that the phantom was about my age. I thought he is pretty young in phantom years because some of them had been around for centuries. “Actually， I wanted to say sorry.”

“呃，不是，”我第一次意識到幻影大約和我的年齡差不多。我覺得作為幻影他還很年輕，因為其中有些已經(jīng)存在幾個世紀了?！皩嶋H上，我想說聲對不起。”

“Its OK，” he said. “You were right anyway. The scares are boring， and now theyre closing the ride down because I cant make anyone scared. And kids only go on the rides with the loudest screams.”

“沒關(guān)系。”他說，“無論如何，你是對的?？謶质菬o聊的，現(xiàn)在他們因為我無法嚇得任何人尖叫而關(guān)閉了火車。孩子們在尖叫聲最大的情況下才會不停持續(xù)坐這趟火車?！?/p>

“I could scream，” I said. “If you think it would help.”

“我可以尖叫。” 我說，“如果你認為這能幫上忙?！?/p>

“One scream cant compete2 with the Dinosaur Dipper or the Rocket Launcher，” said the phantom. “But thanks for offering， and for not laughing at me when I jumped in front of the train.”

“一個人的尖叫聲無法與恐龍七星或火箭發(fā)射車抗衡?！被糜罢f，“但是感謝你的提議，還有當我跳到火車前面時沒有嘲笑我?！?/p>

“Why would I laugh？” I asked.

“我為什么要笑呢？”我問。

“Thats what kids used to do before the big rides came，” he said. “I tried to be scary， but they thought I was just someone in a silly blue suit. Some even threw their apples at me， which wasnt very nice.”

“這是孩子們在大型游樂設(shè)施來之前常常會做的事情?！彼f，“我試著變得很嚇人，但他們認為我只是穿著傻兮兮的藍色外套的人。有人甚至朝我扔蘋果，這不是很好?！?/p>

Suddenly the black curtain flapped back.

突然，黑色的窗簾被人拉開。

“What on earth！” gasped3 the woman from the ghost-train booth， moving her head between the phantom and me and looking pretty scared.

“到底是怎么回事？”女人在幽靈列車的展位上喘著氣，她的頭在幻影和我之間轉(zhuǎn)動，看上去非常害怕。

“Its OK，” I said. “Hes very friendly—”

“沒事。”我說，“他非常友善——”

“I know hes friendly！” shouted the woman. “But what about you？ As soon as the empty train came out I knew youd be walking around and making trouble. Your mother told me.”

“我知道他很友善！”女人喊道，“但是你呢？空火車一出來，我就知道你會在周圍亂闖惹麻煩，你媽媽和我說過的?！?/p>

“Uh？” I said， because I couldnt work out what was going on.

“嗯？”我說，因為我沒弄清楚發(fā)生了什么事。

“Oh dear！” she shouted. “Now everyone will find out about my Bluey.”

“哦，天哪！”她喊道，“現(xiàn)在大家都會發(fā)現(xiàn)我的布魯伊?！?/p>

“Its OK， Mum，” said the phantom quickily comforting4 the woman.

“沒關(guān)系，媽媽?！被糜罢f，急忙安慰那個女人。

I couldnt work out how a woman could have a phantom for a kid， but they both looked scared， which might be a first for this train. And the thing they were scared of was me telling Mum about the phantom.

我無法弄清楚一個女人如何讓一個孩子成為幽靈，但他們倆都看上去很害怕，這可能是第一次在這輛列車上發(fā)生。他們害怕的是，我會告訴媽媽有關(guān)幻影的事。

“I wont tell，” I smiled. “Mum wouldnt believe me anyway—she never does.”

“我不會告密的?！蔽椅⑿χf，“媽媽無論如何都不相信我——她從不相信?！?/p>

“What do you mean？” said the woman.

“你是什么意思？”女人問道。

“Oh， I see strange things all the time，” I said.

“哦，我總是看到奇怪的東西，”我說。

Blueys mum told that she had inherited6 the young phantom along with the train. She decided to adopt7 him as she didnt have any children of her own. Then I told them all about my unbelievable8 stories to show that I was OK.

布魯伊的媽媽解釋說，她繼承了年幼的幻影和這輛火車，并決定收養(yǎng)他，因為她沒有自己的孩子。然后我告訴他們所有我難以置信的冒險，證明我還好。

“In fact this may be the least scary thing thats happened to me！” I said.

我說：“實際上，這可能是發(fā)生在我身上最不可怕的事情！”

“Thanks a lot，” sighed Bluey.

“非常感謝?！辈剪斠羾@了口氣。

“No， I didnt mean...” I said， thinking I might offended9 him.

“不，我不是故意的……”我說，意識到自己可能冒犯了他。

“Its OK，” Blueys mum smiled and touched the phantoms hair. “I guess some phantoms are just naturally scary， while others are not. And I wouldnt want you any other way.”

“沒關(guān)系?！辈剪斠恋膵寢屝α?，撫摸了一下幻影的頭發(fā)?！拔也掠行┯撵`天生就很恐怖，其他的卻不嚇人，而且我別無他求。”

“Actually，” I said， “I think phantoms can be whatever they want to be.”

“實際上，”我說，“我認為幻影可以隨心所欲。”

“What？” they both said.

“什么？”他們倆一起問道。

I told them about the time I met a shape-shifting phantom in a pet shop. He turned from a goldfish into a tiger to scare me away.

我告訴他們，我在一家寵物店遇到變形幽靈的那次，他從一條金魚變成了一只老虎，想嚇走我。

“I cant shape-shift，” said the phantom.

幻影說：“我不能變形?！?/p>

“Have you ever tried？” I asked.

“你曾經(jīng)嘗試過嗎？”我問。

“Of course not，” he said. “I wouldnt know how.”

“當然沒用，”他說。“我不會?！?/p>

“Well， the one in the pet shop seemed to concentrate10 when he did it，” I said. “You could always give it a go.”

“嗯，寵物店里的那個人似乎是在專心致志的時候做到的?！蔽艺f，“你可以嘗試一下?！?/p>

“What should I concentrate on？” he asked.

“我應(yīng)該專注于什么？”他問。

“Ive got an idea！” I said， and quickly took Bluey and his mum to the part of the ghost train with the werewolf11. “Now concentrate on him—but you might want to think you have two fangs12 instead of one.”

“我有個主意！”我說，然后迅速將布魯伊和他的媽媽一起帶到了幽靈火車上出現(xiàn)狼人的那一節(jié)?！艾F(xiàn)在專注到他身上——你可以想像一下，你有兩顆尖牙，而不是一顆?！?/p>