足球怪兽（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.

火車继续前进，远离了那个声音，我跳出车厢，往回走到轨道上。隧道两旁布满黑布，当我向后拉起一块时，在一个密室里发现了那个蓝色的幻影。

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.

房间显然不是旅程的一部分。实际上，它看起来像是一个漂亮孩子的卧室，有一张床、一张桌子和书架，甚至还有一台小电视。幻影坐在床上，当他看到我时很惊讶，揉了揉眼睛。

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

他问：“你又来嘲笑没用的惊吓了吗？”

“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，”我第一次意识到幻影大约和我的年龄差不多。我觉得作为幻影他还很年轻，因为其中有些已经存在几个世纪了。“实际上，我想说声对不起。”

“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.”

“没关系。”他说，“无论如何，你是对的。恐惧是无聊的，现在他们因为我无法吓得任何人尖叫而关闭了火车。孩子们在尖叫声最大的情况下才会不停持续坐这趟火车。”

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

“我可以尖叫。” 我说，“如果你认为这能帮上忙。”

“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.”

“一个人的尖叫声无法与恐龙七星或火箭发射车抗衡。”幻影说，“但是感谢你的提议，还有当我跳到火车前面时没有嘲笑我。”

“Why would I laugh？” I asked.

“我为什么要笑呢？”我问。

“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.”

“这是孩子们在大型游乐设施来之前常常会做的事情。”他说，“我试着变得很吓人，但他们认为我只是穿着傻兮兮的蓝色外套的人。有人甚至朝我扔苹果，这不是很好。”

Suddenly the black curtain flapped back.

突然，黑色的窗帘被人拉开。

“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？”女人在幽灵列车的展位上喘着气，她的头在幻影和我之间转动，看上去非常害怕。

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

“没事。”我说，“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？空火车一出来，我就知道你会在周围乱闯惹麻烦，你妈妈和我说过的。”

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

“嗯？”我说，因为我没弄清楚发生了什么事。

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

“哦，天哪！”她喊道，“现在大家都会发现我的布鲁伊。”

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

“没关系，妈妈。”幻影说，急忙安慰那个女人。

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.

我无法弄清楚一个女人如何让一个孩子成为幽灵，但他们俩都看上去很害怕，这可能是第一次在这辆列车上发生。他们害怕的是，我会告诉妈妈有关幻影的事。

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

“我不会告密的。”我微笑着说，“妈妈无论如何都不相信我——她从不相信。”

“What do you mean？” said the woman.

“你是什么意思？”女人问道。

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

“哦，我总是看到奇怪的东西，”我说。

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.

布鲁伊的妈妈解释说，她继承了年幼的幻影和这辆火车，并决定收养他，因为她没有自己的孩子。然后我告诉他们所有我难以置信的冒险，证明我还好。

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

我说：“实际上，这可能是发生在我身上最不可怕的事情！”

“Thanks a lot，” sighed Bluey.

“非常感谢。”布鲁伊叹了口气。

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

“不，我不是故意的……”我说，意识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.”

“没关系。”布鲁伊的妈妈笑了，抚摸了一下幻影的头发。“我猜有些幽灵天生就很恐怖，其他的却不吓人，而且我别无他求。”

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

“实际上，”我说，“我认为幻影可以随心所欲。”

“What？” they both said.

“什么？”他们俩一起问道。

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.

我告诉他们，我在一家宠物店遇到变形幽灵的那次，他从一条金鱼变成了一只老虎，想吓走我。

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

幻影说：“我不能变形。”

“Have you ever tried？” I asked.

“你曾经尝试过吗？”我问。

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

“当然没用，”他说。“我不會。”

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

“嗯，宠物店里的那个人似乎是在专心致志的时候做到的。”我说，“你可以尝试一下。”

“What should I concentrate on？” he asked.

“我应该专注于什么？”他问。

“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.”

“我有个主意！”我说，然后迅速将布鲁伊和他的妈妈一起带到了幽灵火车上出现狼人的那一节。“现在专注到他身上——你可以想像一下，你有两颗尖牙，而不是一颗。”