Mr. Popper’s Penguins（Ⅸ） 波普先生的企鹅 （九）

Richard and Florence Atwater

12 只企鹅给波普一家带来了很多欢乐，不过，本来就入不敷出的家庭无论如何也养不起这一大群企鹅了。最终，按照波普先生的建议，波普太太弹起钢琴曲来训练企鹅，很快，他们就排练出不少出色的节目。

Ten of the penguins now formed in a 1）semicircle as Nelson andColumbus in their midst put on a wild sparring contest. Their round blackheads leaned far back so that they could watch each other with bothround white eyes.

“Gork，” said Nelson， punching Columbus in the stomach with hisright flipper， and then trying to push him over with his left flipper.

“Gaw，” said Columbus， going into a 2）clinch and hanging his headover Nelsons shoulder as he tried to punch him in the back.

“Hey！ No fair！” said the manager. Columbus and Nelson broke looseas the other ten penguins， looking on， 3）applauded with their flippers.

Columbus now sparred politely with Nelson until Nelson hit him onthe eye， whereupon Columbus retreated with a loud “Ork”. The otherpenguins began to clap， and the audience joined them. As Mrs. Popper finished the Waltz， both Nelson and Columbus stopped fighting， putdown their flippers and stood still， facingeach other.

“Which bird won？ Whos ahead？”shouted the audience.

“Gook！” said all the ten penguins in the semicircle. This musthave meant “Look！” for Nelson turned to look at them， and Columbusimmediately punched him in the stomach with one flipper and knockedhim down with the other. Nelson lay there， with his eyes closed.Columbus then counted ten over the prostrate Nelson， and again theten other penguins applauded.

“Thats part of the act，” explained Janie. “The other penguinsall like Columbus to win， and so they all say ‘Gook！ at the end. Thatalways makes Nelson look away， so Columbus can sock him good.”

Nelson now rose to his feet， and all the penguins formed in a row，and bowed to the manager.

1） semicircle n. 半圓；半圆形

2） clinch n. 拥抱

3） applaud v. 鼓掌；称赞

10 只企鹅围成一个半圆，把尼尔森和克朗巴斯围在中间，让他们进行一场打斗。他们圆圆的黑脑袋都用力地向后仰，这样他们才能用圆圆的白眼睛看到对方。

“咕克。”尼尔森叫着，用右边的翅膀打着克朗巴斯的肚子，然后又用左边的翅膀去推他。

“咯。”克朗巴斯也叫着，紧紧地抱住尼尔森，并把头放在他肩膀上，好从后面给他一拳。

“嘿，不公平！”经理说。克朗巴斯和尼尔森松开了彼此，而另外10 只企鹅正看着他们，用翅膀给他们鼓着掌。

现在克朗巴斯风度翩翩地跟尼尔森进行着争斗，直到尼尔森朝他的眼睛来了一下，克朗巴斯大叫了一声“喔克！”其他的企鹅开始拍手，观众也跟着一起拍。当波普太太结束弹奏的时候，尼尔森和克朗巴斯也停止了打斗，放下了翅膀，安静地、面对面地站着。

“哪只鸟赢了？谁在前面？”观众叫道。

“咕克！”围成半圆形的10 只企鹅一起叫着，仿佛在说，“看！”

这时尼尔森转过头去看他们，克朗巴斯马上用一只翅膀打了他肚子一拳，然后用另一只翅膀把他打倒在地。尼尔森闭着眼睛躺在地上，克朗巴斯对着躺倒在地的尼尔森倒数了10 个数，然后那10 只企鹅再次鼓起了掌。

“在这部分的表演里，”珍妮说，“其他的企鹅们都想让克朗巴斯赢，所以他们在最后都说了‘咕克！尼尔森听到时，总会转过头去看，这时克朗巴斯就会狠狠揍他。”

这时，尼尔森站了起来，所有的企鹅排成一排，对着经理鞠了一躬。