Day 13 回顾
为了晚上可以跟父亲交差，Bryce和哥们Garrett决定亲自去Juli家偷窥。当他们正神秘叨叨地讨论Juli院子里有没有饲养公鸡时，Juli挎着篮子进来捡蛋（collect eggs）。院子里杂草丛生，到处是鸡屎，... ...
Day 14 男生视角
First she had to get all mushy with that mangy mutt of hers. She got down and nuzzled and ruffled(弄皱) and patted and hugged, telling him what a good boy he was. And when she finally let him go back to sleep, she had to stop and coo at the bird Garrett had scared out, and then she started singing. Singing. At the top of her lungs, she goes, “T've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outsi-ye-yide, I've got the month of May. I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girls. Talkin’'bout my little gir-ur-rls... ” She looks inside the coop and coos, “Hello, Flo! Good afternoon, Bonnie! Come on out, pun-kin!"
首先，她得先和她那只脏兮兮的狗黏糊一会儿。她蹲下来，又是亲，又是捏，拍拍他，抱抱他，嘴里说着他是个多么好的毛孩子。当她终于让他回去睡觉时，她停下来温柔地安抚因惊吓出来的那只鸡-Garrett，她开始唱啊，唱啊，她扯着嗓子唱：“阴天没有阳光。外面虽然寒冷，我却胜似在五月。我想你会问，什么让我有此感觉，因为我的女孩子。和我的小宝贝们聊天……”她朝笼子里看了看，温柔地说：“你好，弗洛！下午好，邦妮！出来吧，宝贝们！”
The coop wasn't big enough for her to walk in. It was more like a mini lean-to shack that even her dog would have trouble crawling in. Does that stop Juli Baker? No. She gets down on her hands and knees and dives right in. Chickens come squawking and flapping out, and pretty soon the yard's full of birds, and all we can see of Juli is her poop-covered shoes.
鸡笼不够大，她不能走进去。它更像是一个迷你倾斜式棚屋，连她的狗也很难爬进去。这难得倒朱莉吗？不可能，她手掌和膝盖着地，一下子钻了进去。鸡咯咯叫着，扑打着翅膀，很快院子里到处是鸡，我们能看到的只有她那双沾满鸡屎的鞋子。
That's not all we can hear, though. She's warbling inside that coop, going, “I don't need money, no fortune or faaa-ya-yame. I got all the riches, baby, anyone can claim. Well, I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girls. Talkin’ 'bout my little gir-ur-rls, my girls... ”
不过，我们所能听到的还不止这些。在鸡笼里她柔声说：“我不需要钱，也不需要财富，也不需要名声。我得到了所有的财富，宝贝们，任何人都可以要求得到的。我想你会说，是什么能让我有这种感觉呢？我的女孩们。和我的小宝贝说话，我的女孩子们……”
At this point I wasn't checking the chickens out for rubbery red stuff or feathers. I was looking at the bottom of Juli Baker's feet, wondering how in the world a person could be so happy tunneling through a dilapidated chicken coop with poop stuck all over her shoes.
有那么一刻，我不再查看鸡的橡状红色的冠子或羽毛。我注意力全在朱莉·贝克的脚底上，十分惊讶，一个人身处破破烂烂的鸡舍里，鞋子上到处沾满粪便，怎么可以这么开心。
Garrett got me back on track. “They're all chickens," he says. “Look at 'em."
加勒特把我拉回了现实（正轨）。“它们都是鸡，” 他说。“看看他们。”
I quit checking out Juli's shoes and started checking out birds. The first thing I did was count them. One-two-three-four-five-six. All accounted for（占比）. After all, how could anyone forget she'd hatched six? It was the all-time school record - everyone in the county had heard about that.
我视线从朱莉的鞋子上收回，开始观察这些鸡。首先我开始清点数目。1、2、3、4、5、6。所有的都在了。毕竟，谁会忘记她孵了六只呢？这是学校的历史记录——县里每个人都知晓。
But I was not really sure how to ask Garrett about what he had said. Yeah, they were all chickens, but what did that mean? I sure didn't want him coming down on me again, but it still didn't make sense. Finally I asked him, “You mean there's no rooster?"
但我真的不知道该怎么问加勒特他什么意思。是的，它们都是鸡，但那是什么意思呢？我不希望他又来说落我，但这么说还是没有意义。最后我问他：“你是说没有公鸡吗？”
“Correctomundo."
“How can you tell?”
He shrugged. “Roosters strut."
“Strut.”
“千真万确！”
“你怎么知道的？”
他耸了耸肩。“公鸡走起路来趾高气扬。”
“趾高气扬？”
“That's right. And look-none of them have long feathers. Or very much of that rubbery red stuff.” He nodded. “Yeah. They're definitely all chickens.”
“不会错的。看，没有长羽毛。或者大多是橡胶红色的东西。” 他点了点头。“是的。它们肯定都是鸡。”
That night my father got right to the point. “So, son, mission accomplished?" he asked as he stabbed（刺） into a mountain of fettuccine and whirled his fork around.
那天晚上，我父亲直奔主题，“那么，儿子，任务已经完成了？” 他一边问，一边刺进意大利宽面条，在叉子上卷成一团。
I attacked my noodles too and gave him a smile. “Uhhuh," I said as I sat up tall to deliver the news. “They're all chickens.”
我也学父亲处理面条，朝他笑着说。“嗯，” 我一边说着，一边正襟危坐，发布打探来的消息。“他们都是鸡。”
The turning of his fork came to a grinding halt. “And... ?”
他的叉子的转动突然停了下来。“还有？”
I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what. I tried to keep the smile plastered on my face as I said, “And what?”
He rested his fork and stared at me. “Is that what she said? ‘They're all chickens’?"
“Uh, not exactly.”
我感觉到有什么不对，但我不知道究竟出了什么问题。我试着一边保持脸上的微笑，一边说：“还有什么？”
他放下叉子，盯着我。“她是这么说的吗？” “他们都是鸡吗？”
“呃，不完全是这样。”
“Then exactly what did she say?”
“Uh... she didn't exactly say anything.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I went over there and took a look for myself." I tried very hard to sound like this was a major accomplishment, but he wasn't buying.
“You didn't ask her?”
“那她到底说了些什么？”
“呃……她什么也没说。”
“什么意思？”
“意思是我自己去哪儿看了一下。” 我尽力让人听上去像是一件了不起的成就，但他不买帐。
“你没有问她？”
“I didn't have to. Garrett knows a lot about chickens, and we went over there and found out for ourselves.”
“我不需要这么做。加勒特对鸡很在行，我们一起去那里观察得出结论。”
Lynetta came back from rinsing the Romano sauce off her seven and a half noodles, then reached for the salt and scowled（怒视） at me, saying, “You're the chicken."
莱内塔回来了，刚洗完几根面条上的罗马诺酱，伸手拿盐，瞪了我一眼说：“你就是小鸡。”
“Lynetta!” my mother said. “Be nice."
Lynetta stopped shaking the salt. “Mother, he spied. You get it? He went over there and looked over the fence. Are you saying you're okay with that?”
“丽妮塔！” 我妈妈说。“对弟弟说话客气点。”
莱内塔停止撒盐的动作。“妈妈，他偷窥。你明白吗？他去那边透过围栏偷窥。你能容忍吗？”
My mom turned to me. “Bryce? Is that true?"
Everyone was staring at me now, and I felt like I had to save face. “What's the big deal? You told me to find out about her chickens, and I found out about her chickens!"
"Brawk-brawk-brawk!” my sister whispered.
我妈妈转向我。“Bryce？这是真的吗？”
现在每个人都在盯着我看，我觉得我必须挽回面子。“这有什么大不了的？你让我去搞清楚她的鸡，我就去了！”
"呸-呸-呸！" 我姐姐小声嘀咕。
My father still wasn't eating. “And what you found out," he said, like he was measuring every word, “was that they're all... chickens.”
“Right.”
He sighed, then took that bite of noodles and chewed it for the longest time.
我父亲停下不吃了。“你的发现是，” 他字斟句酌地说，“它们都是……小鸡。
“对的。”
他叹了口气，然后叉了一口面条，嚼了很久。
It felt like I was sinking fast, but I couldn't figure out why. So I tried to bail out with, “And you guys can go ahead and eat those eggs, but there's no way I'm going to touch them, so don't even ask.”
我感觉心猛地一沉，但我说不清缘由。所以我试着摆脱窘境，说，“你们可以继续吃那些鸡蛋，但我不可能碰它们，不要问为什么。”
My mother 's looking back and forth from my dad to me while she eats her salad, and I can tell she's waiting for him to address my adventure as a neighborhood operative. But since he's not saying anything, she clears her throat and says, “Why's that?"
我妈妈一边吃沙拉，目光来回游离于我和爸爸之间，我知道她在等他对我窥探邻居的冒险壮举发表意见。但爸爸什么也没说，妈妈就清清嗓子，说：“为什么？”
“Because there’s... well, there’s... I don't know how to say this nicely.”
“Just say it,” my father snaps.
“因为有……嗯，有。我不知道该怎么说才好。”
“直接说出来吧，” 我父亲没好气地说。
“Well, there's, you know, excrement everywhere.”
“Oh, gross!” my sister says, throwing down her fork.
“You mean chicken droppings?” my mother asks.
“Yeah. There's not even a lawn. It's all dirt and, uh, you know, chicken turds. The chickens walk in it and peck through it and... ”
"Oh, gross!” Lynetta wails.
“Well, it's true!”
“嗯，你知道的，到处都是粪便。”
“哦，太恶心了！”我姐姐说着，放下了叉子。
“你是说鸡粪吗？” 我妈妈问。
“是的。那里甚至连一块草坪都没有。都是泥土，还有鸡屎。鸡在里面走来走去，啄个不停，还有……”
“哦，太恶心了！” Lynetta哀嚎。
“嗯，这是真的！”
Lynetta stands up and says, “You expect me to eat after this?" and stalks out of the room.
“Lynetta! You have to eat something,” my mother calls after her.
莱妮塔站起来说：“你希望我在这之后能吃到东西吗？”然后怒冲冲地走出了房间。
“莉妮塔！你得吃点东西，”我妈妈跟在她后面喊道。
“No, I don't!” she shouts back; then a second later she sticks her head back into the dining room and says, “And don't expect me to eat any of those eggs either, Mother. Does the word salmonella mean anything to you?”
“不，我也不要吃呢！” 她喊道；过了一秒钟，她头探回餐厅，说：“也别指望我吃那些鸡蛋，妈妈。沙门氏菌这个词对你来说没有意义吗？”
Lynetta takes off down the hall and my mother says, “Salmonella?” She turns to my father. “Do you suppose they could have salmonella?”
“I don't know, Patsy. I'm more concerned that our son is a coward.”
莱内塔下楼，我妈妈说：“沙门氏菌？” 她转向我父亲。“你认为他们会有沙门氏菌吗？”
“我不知道，帕齐。我更担心我们的儿子是个胆小鬼。”
“A coward! Rick, please. Bryce is no such thing. He's a wonderful child who's-”
“Who’s afraid of a girl.”
“Dad, I'm not afraid of her, she just bugs me!”
“Why?”
“You know why! She bugs you, too. She's over the top about everything!”
“懦夫！瑞克，求你了。布莱斯不是这样的人。他是个很棒的孩子。他......”
“他害怕一个女孩。”
“爸爸，我不怕她，只是她总是烦我！”
“为什么？”
“你知道为什么！她也烦过你。她什么事都做过分了！”
“Bryce, I asked you to conquer your fear, but all you did was give in to it. If you were in love with her, that would be one thing. Love is something to be afraid of, but this, this is embarrassing. So she talks too much, so she's too enthused about every little thing, so what? Get in, get your question answered, and get out. Stand up to her, for cryin' out loud! ”
“布莱斯，我要你克服恐惧，但你所做的就是退缩让步。如果你爱上了她，那将是一回事。爱是一种令人害怕的东西，但这件事只是令人难为情。她是话痨，所以她对每一件小事都太热心，那又怎样呢？先敲门进去，提问，得到答案，然后再出去。勇敢地面对她，大声说出你的问题。”
“Rick...,” my mom was saying, “Rick, calm down. He did find out what you asked him to--”
“No, he didn't!”
“What do you mean?”
“He tells me they're all chickens! Of course they're all chickens! The question is how many are hens, and how many are roosters.”
“瑞克……，”我妈妈说，“瑞克，冷静下来。他的确按你的要求找到了答案。”
“不，他没有！”
“你是什么意思？”
“他告诉我，它们都是鸡！它们当然都是鸡！问题是有多少是母鸡，有多少是公鸡。”
I could almost hear the click in my brain, and man, I felt like a complete doofus. No wonder he was disgusted with me. I was an idiot! They were all chickens... du-uh! Garrett acted like he was some expert on chickens, and he didn't know diddly-squat! Why had I listened to him?
我几乎能听到脑子里的咔哒声，伙计们，我感觉就像个十足的笨蛋。难怪他很讨厌我。我是个白痴！它们都是鸡…！加勒特表现得好像他是鸡类方面的专家，他啥也不知道！我为什么要听他的话？
But it was too late. My dad was convinced I was a coward, and to get me over it, he decided that what I should do was take the carton of eggs back to the Bakers and tell them we didn't eat eggs, or that we were allergic to them, or something.
但现在已经太晚了。我爸爸确信我是个胆小鬼，为了让我克服胆怯，他决定让我把这 盒鸡蛋送回Bakers家去，告诉他们我们不吃鸡蛋，或者我们对鸡蛋过敏，或者别的什么借口。
Then my mom butts in with, “What are you teaching him here, Rick? None of that is true. If he returns them, shouldn't he tell them the truth?”
然后我妈妈插嘴道：“瑞克，你看你教了他什么？ 这些都不是真实的。如果他归还鸡蛋，难道不应该告诉他们真相吗？”
“What, that you're afraid of salmonella poisoning?”“Me? Aren't you a little concerned, too?”
“什么，难道说你害怕沙门氏菌中毒？”
“我吗？你不也有点担心吗？”
"Patsy, that's not the point. The point is, I will not have a coward for a son!”
“But teaching him to lie?”
“Fine. Then just throw them away. But from now on I expect you to look that little tiger square in the eye, you hear me?”
“帕齐，这不是重点。关键是，我不想有个胆小鬼儿子！”
“但是你教他撒谎？”
“好吧，那就把它们扔掉吧。但从现在起，我希望你直视那个厉害小妞的眼睛，你听见了吗？”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, then.”
“好的，先生。”
“好，就这样吧。”
读后小记
Juli和狗、小鸡们互动的情节非常生活化，温情而生动。把小鸡当做朋友，给她们取名，和它们说说话，抱，摸，亲，贴各种互动，爱心满满，溢出屏幕。
谁不是这样呢？老家最近来了一只瘦骨嶙峋（skinny）的流浪猫-“小橘黄”，追着我们一天到晚喵喵叫个不停。最后应了那句俗语，“会哭的孩子有奶吃”，不堪其扰，加上爱心泛滥，我们将这个可怜巴巴的小东西收留，每天粥鱼相待。它一定很开心，凭借一己之力，成功地找到了长期饭票。
我给她或他取名为“参鱼条”，身姿和“参鱼条”相似，狭长的瘦身板，惹人怜爱，顿生恻隐之心。我一遍喂他或她一边叨叨不停，“你怎么这么烦啊”，“你不要绕着我的脚走，我摔了你可负不起责任”，诸如此类。
所以爱读这本小说，喜欢Juli也是喜欢动物，喜欢自然，喜欢有爱心的自己吧！
图片：老家收留的小橘黄---“参鱼条”
