The Monster Under the Bed

张恒

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

“杰米，现在是时候准备睡觉了，”玛丽亚·潘宁顿说。“回你的房间去！”

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.

五岁的孩子尖叫着冲上楼梯，玛丽亚跟在他身后。两人进行了杰米的睡前日常活动后，玛丽亚终于把他塞到了床上。

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

“我爱你，杰米。”玛丽亚说，抚了抚他栗色的卷发，在额头上吻了一下，“做个美梦。”

“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.”

瑪丽亚打开窗户，让温暖的夏日微风进入杰米的房间，然后关灯下楼去找她的丈夫。“今天过得怎么样，弗兰克？”“不错。我们终于有个客户签了一个大单，感谢上帝。那家伙让我神经紧张！他表现得就像他完全掌控了这个地方……”弗兰克摇了摇头，“已经完成了，这才是重要的。”

“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.

“妈妈，爸爸，我听见有怪物。我的房间里有一个怪物！”杰米喊道。玛丽亚和弗兰克在转向他们的儿子之前，互相看了一眼——又来了。

“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，亲爱的，你房间里没有怪物，”弗兰克说道，走向小男孩。“现在，我希望你回到自己的房间睡个好觉。我不想你明天太累。”

“But...”

“但是……”

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

“没有但是，”弗兰克打断他，答道。“现在上床睡觉。”

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.

杰米噘起嘴走上楼梯，小心翼翼地走进他的房间。他爬到床上后，在黑暗中环顾四周，把毯子拉到脖子上，闭上眼睛，试图入睡。但是不对劲，他闻到了空气中有一种不属于房子里任何一个人的气味。

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

杰米再一次跑下楼。“我床下有一个怪物，妈妈，爸爸！”他喊道。抱怨了一下，玛丽亚和弗兰克转向他。

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

“杰米，”玛丽亚叹了口气。“你父亲以前告诉过你，床下没有怪物！不要让你的想象力吓到你。”

“There was some weird smell，” he announced.

“有奇怪的味道，”他述说道。

“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.”

“亲爱的，这一切都是你的想象！你需要休息一下，因为我知道你累的时候脾气有多暴躁。”玛丽亚弯下腰抱抱杰米。“你很安全，亲爱的。妈妈和爸爸非常爱你。现在，请回到你的房间。”

“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，”杰米低下頭说。他感到很挫败，拖着脚慢慢上楼。杰米透过门缝偷看他的卧室，他觉得看到了躺在床下的身体轮廓。这只是我的想象，这只是我的想象，他一遍又一遍地重复着。深吸一口气后，他跳上了床，躺在正中间。没事发生。杰米松了一口气，闭上了眼睛，试图入睡。妈妈是对的，他想，这只是我的想象。当有东西透过床垫戳到他时，他正处于半睡半醒之间。杰米发出一声惊恐的尖叫声，从他的床上跳起来，跑下楼去找父母。

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

跳进母亲的怀抱，他哭着说：“妈妈！怪物刚刚戳了我一下！我透过床垫感觉到了！”

“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！听我说，“玛丽亚以最沉着的声音回答道。“已经过了你睡觉的时间了，你需要去睡觉了，亲爱的！还记得我上次告诉你的事吗？这些是你想象出来的！冷静点，杰米。你是绝对安全的。”

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

“不是的！妈妈，爸爸，拜托，相信我！有怪物，它会抓住我！”杰米恳求道。

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

“没有怪物，杰米，”弗兰克说道。“事实上，怪物甚至不存在！现在，回你的房间去！”

“No， its...”

“不，它是……”

“I said， go to your room！”

“我说了，回你的房间去！”

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

杰米气得脸都红了，冲上楼梯，砰地一声关上了门。

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

“今天他怎么了？”弗兰克问道。

“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。他放学后似乎挺好的，就算是我让他上床睡觉的时候也没事，”玛丽亚叹了口气，摇了摇头。“他的想象力有时会让他变得更好。”

“Kids and their imaginations，” Frank smiled.

“孩子们和他们的想象力，”弗兰克笑着说。

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，杰米没有再下楼。他们清理完厨房后决定上床睡觉。

“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，”玛丽亚低声说。“他睡觉时很可爱。很快就回来。”玛丽亚走进儿子的房间，小心翼翼地不让门发出一点声音。令她惊慌的是，他不在床上。她转过身来，扫视房间，但没找到杰米。

“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.

“弗兰克！”她尖叫道。“杰米不在这里！”几秒钟之内，他冲进了房间。就在那时，她看到窗户大开着，就像眼镜蛇准备攻击时的嘴，一架梯子靠在上面。玛丽亚颤抖着，从空气中闻到了一种不熟悉的古龙水气味。

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

“弗兰克，弗兰克！他失踪了。有人抓走了他！“弗兰德搂住他心烦意乱的妻子，感到怒火中烧。

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

“我们会找到那个该死的怪物，玛丽亚，”他说，低沉的嗓音里满是愤怒。“我们会找回杰米！”

Notes

1. tuck [] vt. 卷起;挤进;用某物舒适地裹住;收拢

2. ruffle [] vt. 抚弄 （头发）

3. pout [] v. 撅嘴

4. grumpy [] adj. 脾气暴躁的;性情乖戾的

5. peek [] v. 窥视，偷看;微微露出，探出

6. leap [] v. 跳，跳跃;急速移动，猛冲

7. threshold [] n. 入口;门槛;开始;极限;临界值

8. poke [] vt. 刺，捅;戳

9. mattress [] n. 床垫;褥子;空气垫

10. plead [] vi. 恳求;辩护

11. slam [] vt. 砰地关上;猛力抨击

12. dismay [] n. 沮丧，灰心;惊慌

13. cobra [] n. 眼鏡蛇

14. distraught [] adj. 发狂的;心烦意乱的