精靈鼠小弟 第41期:雪球的朋友們

Snowbell, the cat, enjoyed nighttime more than daytime.

那只叫雪球的貓，更喜歡過晚上，而不是白天。

Perhaps it was because his eyes liked the dark.

可能因為他的眼睛對黑暗比較適應吧。

But I think it was because there are always so many worth-while things going on in New York at night.

不過我想那是因為紐約的夜里總有許多值得注意的東西。

Snowbell had several friends in the neighborhood. Some of them were house cats, others were store cats.

雪球在家附近有許多鄰居，其中的一些是家貓，還有一些是店里的貓。

He knew a Maltese cat in the A and People, a white Persian in the apartment house next door, a tortoise-shell in the delicatessen,他認識一只在A&P超市的馬耳他貓，一只住在公寓樓的另一個門里的白波斯貓，a tiger cat in the basement of the branch library, and a beautiful young Angora who had escaped from a cage in a pet shop on Third Avenue一只住在一家熟菜店里的玳瑁貓，一只住在圖書館分館地下室的虎斑貓，一只從第三街的寵物店的籠子里逃出來的漂亮的小安哥拉貓，and had gone to live a free life of her own in the tool house of the small park near Stuart's home.

她在斯圖亞特家附近的公園旁的一個小工具室里過著她自由自在的生活。

One fine spring evening Snowbell had been calling on the Angora in the park.

一個很好的春夜，雪球去拜訪在公園住的安哥拉貓。

He started home, late, and it was such a lovely night she said she would walk along with him to keep him company.

等他在晚些時候想要回家時，她說因為這個夜晚太可愛了，所以想陪他一起散步。

When they got to Mr. Little's house, the two cats sat down at the foot of at all vine which ran up the side of the house past George's bedroom.

他們一直走到利特爾家，來到喬治臥室窗外的常春藤下，才坐下來休息。

This vine was useful to Snowbell, because he could climb it at night and crawl into the house through George's open window.

這常春藤對雪球來說特別有用，因為在夜里他可以從喬治臥室敞開的窗子里爬到這常春藤上，悄悄地溜出去。

Snowbell began telling his friend about Margalo and Stuart.

雪球開始告訴他的朋友有關瑪戈和斯圖亞特的事。