The Monster Under the Bed

張恒

“Jamie， its time to get ready for bed，” called Maria Pennington. “Race you to your room！”

“杰米，現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候準(zhǔn)備睡覺(jué)了，”瑪麗亞·潘寧頓說(shuō)?！盎啬愕姆块g去！”

The five-year old screamed， and rushed up the stairs， Maria behind him. The two went through Jamies bedtime routine before Maria finally tucked1 him into bed.

五歲的孩子尖叫著沖上樓梯，瑪麗亞跟在他身后。兩人進(jìn)行了杰米的睡前日常活動(dòng)后，瑪麗亞終于把他塞到了床上。

“I love you， Jamie，” Maria said， ruffling2 his chestnut-brown curls and planting a kiss on his forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

“我愛(ài)你，杰米。”瑪麗亞說(shuō)，撫了撫他栗色的卷發(fā)，在額頭上吻了一下，“做個(gè)美夢(mèng)?！?/p>

“Night night，” replied Jamie.

“晚安！”杰米回答。

Maria opened the window， letting the warm summer breeze enter Jamies room， then turning off the light， and going downstairs to her husband. “How was work today， Frank？” “Fine. We finally got a client to sign onto a big deal， thank God. The guy got on my nerves！ He acted like he completely ran the place and...”Frank shook his head. “Its done， thats what matters.”

瑪麗亞打開(kāi)窗戶，讓溫暖的夏日微風(fēng)進(jìn)入杰米的房間，然后關(guān)燈下樓去找她的丈夫?！敖裉爝^(guò)得怎么樣，弗蘭克？”“不錯(cuò)。我們終于有個(gè)客戶簽了一個(gè)大單，感謝上帝。那家伙讓我神經(jīng)緊張！他表現(xiàn)得就像他完全掌控了這個(gè)地方……”弗蘭克搖了搖頭，“已經(jīng)完成了，這才是重要的?！?/p>

“Mommy， Daddy， I hear a monster. Theres a monster in my room！” Jamie cried. Maria and Frank gave each other a look saying， Here he goes again， before turning towards their son.

“媽媽，爸爸，我聽(tīng)見(jiàn)有怪物。我的房間里有一個(gè)怪物！”杰米喊道?，旣悂喓透ヌm克在轉(zhuǎn)向他們的兒子之前，互相看了一眼——又來(lái)了。

“Jamie， sweetie， there is no monster in your room，” said Frank， walking towards the little boy. “Now I want you to go back to your room and get some sleep. I dont want to you be tired tomorrow.”

“杰米，親愛(ài)的，你房間里沒(méi)有怪物，”弗蘭克說(shuō)道，走向小男孩。“現(xiàn)在，我希望你回到自己的房間睡個(gè)好覺(jué)。我不想你明天太累?！?/p>

“But...”

“但是……”

“No buts，” replied Frank， cutting him off. “Now up to bed.”

“沒(méi)有但是，”弗蘭克打斷他，答道。“現(xiàn)在上床睡覺(jué)?！?/p>

Pouting3， Jamie went up the stairs and carefully entered his room. He looked around in the darkness before climbing into bed， and pulling the blanket up to his neck. He closed his eyes， trying to fall asleep. But something was wrong. He smelled the air， smelling something that didnt belong to anyone in the house.

杰米噘起嘴走上樓梯，小心翼翼地走進(jìn)他的房間。他爬到床上后，在黑暗中環(huán)顧四周，把毯子拉到脖子上，閉上眼睛，試圖入睡。但是不對(duì)勁，他聞到了空氣中有一種不屬于房子里任何一個(gè)人的氣味。

Again， Jamie ran down the stairs. “Theres a monster under my bed， Mommy and Daddy！” he shouted. Groaning， Maria and Frank turned to him.

杰米再一次跑下樓?！拔掖蚕掠幸粋€(gè)怪物，媽媽，爸爸！”他喊道。抱怨了一下，瑪麗亞和弗蘭克轉(zhuǎn)向他。

“Jamie，” sighed Maria. “Your father told you before， there is no monster under your bed！ Dont let your imagination scare you out.”

“杰米，”瑪麗亞嘆了口氣。“你父親以前告訴過(guò)你，床下沒(méi)有怪物！不要讓你的想象力嚇到你?！?/p>

“There was some weird smell，” he announced.

“有奇怪的味道，”他述說(shuō)道。

“Honey， thats all in your imagination！You need to get some rest， because I know how grumpy4 you are when youre tired.” Maria bent down to hug Jamie. “Youre safe， sweetie. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Now， please go to back to your room.”

“親愛(ài)的，這一切都是你的想象！你需要休息一下，因?yàn)槲抑滥憷鄣臅r(shí)候脾氣有多暴躁?！爆旣悂啅澫卵ПЫ苊?。“你很安全，親愛(ài)的。媽媽和爸爸非常愛(ài)你?，F(xiàn)在，請(qǐng)回到你的房間?！?/p>

“Okay，” said Jamie， hanging his head. Defeated， he dragged his feet as he slowly walked up the stairs. Peeking5 through the door into his bedroom， Jamie thought he saw the outline of a body lying under the bed. Its just my imagination. Its just my imagination， he repeated over and over again. Taking a deep breath， he leapt6 onto the bed and lay in the very middle. Nothing happened. Relieved， Jamie closed his eyes， trying to fall asleep. Mommy was right， he thought. It was just my imagination. He was halfway between the threshold7 of consciousness and dreamland when something poked8 him through the mattress9. Jamie let out a scream of terror and jumped out of his bed， down to his parents.

“好吧，”杰米低下頭說(shuō)。他感到很挫敗，拖著腳慢慢上樓。杰米透過(guò)門縫偷看他的臥室，他覺(jué)得看到了躺在床下的身體輪廓。這只是我的想象，這只是我的想象，他一遍又一遍地重復(fù)著。深吸一口氣后，他跳上了床，躺在正中間。沒(méi)事發(fā)生。杰米松了一口氣，閉上了眼睛，試圖入睡。媽媽是對(duì)的，他想，這只是我的想象。當(dāng)有東西透過(guò)床墊戳到他時(shí)，他正處于半睡半醒之間。杰米發(fā)出一聲驚恐的尖叫聲，從他的床上跳起來(lái)，跑下樓去找父母。

Jumping into his mothers arms， he wailed， “Mommy！ The monster just poked me！I felt it through the mattress！”

跳進(jìn)母親的懷抱，他哭著說(shuō)：“媽媽！怪物剛剛戳了我一下！我透過(guò)床墊感覺(jué)到了！”

“Jamie！Listen to me，” replied Maria in her steadiest voice. “Its way past your bedtime. You need sleep， sweetie！And remember what I told you last time？ Its your imagination！Calm down， Jamie. You are perfectly safe.”

“杰米！聽(tīng)我說(shuō)，“瑪麗亞以最沉著的聲音回答道?！耙呀?jīng)過(guò)了你睡覺(jué)的時(shí)間了，你需要去睡覺(jué)了，親愛(ài)的！還記得我上次告訴你的事嗎？這些是你想象出來(lái)的！冷靜點(diǎn)，杰米。你是絕對(duì)安全的?！?/p>

“No！Mommy， Daddy， please， believe me！Theres a monster， and its going to get me！” pleaded10 Jamie.

“不是的！媽媽，爸爸，拜托，相信我！有怪物，它會(huì)抓住我！”杰米懇求道。

“There is not a monster， Jamie，” said Frank. “In fact， monsters dont even exist！ Now， go to your room！”

“沒(méi)有怪物，杰米，”弗蘭克說(shuō)道?！笆聦?shí)上，怪物甚至不存在！現(xiàn)在，回你的房間去！”

“No， its...”

“不，它是……”

“I said， go to your room！”

“我說(shuō)了，回你的房間去！”

His face red with anger， Jamie rushed up the stairs， and slammed11 the door.

杰米氣得臉都紅了，沖上樓梯，砰地一聲關(guān)上了門。

“Whats going on with him today？” Frank asked.

“今天他怎么了？”弗蘭克問(wèn)道。

“I dont know. He seemed fine after school， even when I was putting him to bed，” sighed Maria， shaking her head. “His imagination gets the better of him sometimes.”

“我不知道。他放學(xué)后似乎挺好的，就算是我讓他上床睡覺(jué)的時(shí)候也沒(méi)事，”瑪麗亞嘆了口氣，搖了搖頭?！八南胂罅τ袝r(shí)會(huì)讓他變得更好?！?/p>

“Kids and their imaginations，” Frank smiled.

“孩子們和他們的想象力，”弗蘭克笑著說(shuō)。

To his parents relief， Jamie didnt come downstairs again. They finished cleaning up the kitchen and decided to go to bed themselves.

令父母感到欣慰的是，杰米沒(méi)有再下樓。他們清理完廚房后決定上床睡覺(jué)。

“Im going to check on him，” whispered Maria. “Hes so cute when he sleeps. See you in a second.” Careful not to cause the door to make a noise， Maria entered her sons room. To her dismay12， he wasnt in his bed. She turned around， scanning the room， but Jamie wasnt anywhere to be found.

“我要去看看他，”瑪麗亞低聲說(shuō)?！八X(jué)時(shí)很可愛(ài)。很快就回來(lái)?！爆旣悂喿哌M(jìn)兒子的房間，小心翼翼地不讓門發(fā)出一點(diǎn)聲音。令她驚慌的是，他不在床上。她轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身來(lái)，掃視房間，但沒(méi)找到杰米。

“Frank！” she screamed. “Jamies not here！” Within seconds， he rushed into the room. Thats when she saw the window， wide open， like the mouth of a cobra13 ready to strike. A ladder leaned against it. Trembling， Maria smelled the air， breathing in the scent of an unfamiliar cologne.

“弗蘭克！”她尖叫道?！敖苊撞辉谶@里！”幾秒鐘之內(nèi)，他沖進(jìn)了房間。就在那時(shí)，她看到窗戶大開(kāi)著，就像眼鏡蛇準(zhǔn)備攻擊時(shí)的嘴，一架梯子靠在上面?，旣悂嗩澏吨?，從空氣中聞到了一種不熟悉的古龍水氣味。

“Frank， Frank！Hes gone. Someones taken him！” Putting his arm around his distraught14 wife， Frank felt a fire burn in his stomach.

“弗蘭克，弗蘭克！他失蹤了。有人抓走了他！“弗蘭德?lián)ё∷臒┮鈦y的妻子，感到怒火中燒。

“Well get that goddamn monster， Maria，” he said， his voice low with anger. “Well get our Jamie back！”

“我們會(huì)找到那個(gè)該死的怪物，瑪麗亞，”他說(shuō)，低沉的嗓音里滿是憤怒?！拔覀儠?huì)找回杰米！”

Notes

1. tuck [] vt. 卷起;擠進(jìn);用某物舒適地裹住;收攏

2. ruffle [] vt. 撫弄 （頭發(fā)）

3. pout [] v. 撅嘴

4. grumpy [] adj. 脾氣暴躁的;性情乖戾的

5. peek [] v. 窺視，偷看;微微露出，探出

6. leap [] v. 跳，跳躍;急速移動(dòng)，猛沖

7. threshold [] n. 入口;門檻;開(kāi)始;極限;臨界值

8. poke [] vt. 刺，捅;戳

9. mattress [] n. 床墊;褥子;空氣墊

10. plead [] vi. 懇求;辯護(hù)

11. slam [] vt. 砰地關(guān)上;猛力抨擊

12. dismay [] n. 沮喪，灰心;驚慌

13. cobra [] n. 眼鏡蛇

14. distraught [] adj. 發(fā)狂的;心煩意亂的