Marvin Redpost lived in a two-story gray house. There was a fence around the house. The fence was all white except for one red post next to the gate.
马文·雷德波斯特住在一栋灰色的两层小楼里。房子四周围着栅栏，栅栏全是白的，只有大门旁边那一根是红的。
Marvin tapped the red post as he walked through the gate.
马文穿过大门时，拍了拍那根红柱子。
He stopped outside the front door. He tried kissing his elbow again.
他在前门外停下，又试着亲自己的手肘。
“What are you doing, Mar?” asked Jacob, coming home behind him.
「你在干嘛，马？」雅各布从后面走过来问他。
Jacob was Marvin’s older brother.
雅各布是马文的哥哥。
Marvin froze. “Uh …” he said. He looked at his bent arm. “I’m practicing karate.”
马文僵住了。「呃……」他说。他看了看自己弯着的手臂。「我在练空手道。」
“Cool,” said Jacob.
「酷，」雅各布说。
They walked inside together. Marvin admired his older brother. Jacob was cool.
他们一起进了屋。马文很佩服他哥哥。雅各布很酷。
There was no way Jacob would ever try to kiss his elbow.
雅各布绝不会去试着亲手肘。
Marvin also had a little sister named Linzy. Linzy was four.
马文还有个小妹妹叫琳琪。琳琪四岁。
“I got a sticker,” Linzy said.
「我得了个贴纸，」琳琪说。
“Good,” said Marvin. He set down his books on the kitchen counter.
「不错，」马文说。他把书放到厨房台面上。
“You can’t have it,” said Linzy.
「你不能要，」琳琪说。
“I don’t want it,” Marvin assured her.
「我不想要，」马文向她保证。
“I’m telling!” Linzy snapped.
「我要告状！」琳琪气呼呼地说。
“What?” asked Marvin.
「什么？」马文问。
“Mommy!” Linzy shouted.
「妈妈！」琳琪喊。
Their mother came into the kitchen.
他们的妈妈走进厨房。
“Marvin said he didn’t like my sticker!” said Linzy. “He said it was a stupid sticker!”
「马文说他不喜欢我的贴纸！」琳琪说，「他说那是张破贴纸！」
“I never said that,” said Marvin.
「我没说过，」马文说。
“Linzy earned that sticker in gymnastics,” Mrs. Redpost said proudly.
「琳琪是在体操课上挣来这张贴纸的，」雷德波斯特太太骄傲地说。
“That’s good, Linzy,” said Marvin.
「真棒，琳琪，」马文说。
“Watch,” said Linzy.
「看，」琳琪说。
Marvin watched his sister do a somersault in the hall.
马文看着妹妹在走廊里翻了个跟头。
“That’s great, Linzy!” he told her.
「太棒了，琳琪！」他对她说。
He meant it, too.
他说的是真心话。
Marvin couldn’t do a somersault. He just thought girls were better at somersaults than boys.
马文不会翻跟头。他只是觉得女孩翻跟头比男孩强。
Just before going to bed, Marvin tried to kiss his elbow one more time.
临睡前，马文又试了一次亲手肘。
He’d been trying all evening. Between homework problems. Before and after he brushed his teeth. While feeding General Jackson.
他一整晚都在试。做作业的间隙。刷牙前后。喂杰克逊将军的时候。
General Jackson was his pet lizard. The General lived in a glass cage next to Marvin’s desk.
杰克逊将军是他的宠物蜥蜴。将军住在马文书桌旁边的玻璃笼子里。
“This is stupid,” Marvin told General Jackson. “Even if I could kiss my elbow, nothing would happen.”
「真傻，」马文对杰克逊将军说，「就算我能亲到手肘，也不会发生什么。」
General Jackson stuck out his tongue.
杰克逊将军吐出舌头。
Marvin was wearing Ninja Turtle pajamas.
马文穿着忍者神龟睡衣。
He liked being a boy. He was glad he was a boy! Girls were stupid and weird. One thing for sure. He did not want to turn into a girl!
他喜欢当男孩。他很高兴自己是男孩！女孩又蠢又怪。有一点可以肯定：他不想变成女孩！
At least not forever. Maybe it would be okay for a few minutes. Just to see what it was like.
至少不想永远变。也许变几分钟还行。就想看看是什么感觉。
But you can’t turn into a girl just by kissing your elbow, he thought. That was stupid. Casey Happleton was stupid. Why would anyone want to turn into a girl if girls were always saying stupid things like that?
但亲个手肘又不会真变成女孩，他想。那太傻了。凯西·哈普尔顿才傻。女孩老说那种傻话，谁还会想变成女孩？
He tried kissing his elbow again.
他又试着亲手肘。
It just bugged him that he couldn’t do it.
就是做不到，让他很烦躁。
It was twelve o’clock. Midnight.
十二点了。午夜。
Marvin lay asleep, all twisted and tangled in his sheets. He was hugging his pillow.
马文睡着了，整个人在床单里扭成一团。他抱着枕头。
A full moon shone through the window.
满月透过窗户照进来。
He rolled over. Then he flopped back the other way.
他翻了个身，又扑腾到另一边。
As he rolled and flopped around in his bed, he got more and more tangled in his sheets.
他在床上翻来滚去，被床单缠得越来越紧。
Then, still hugging his pillow, he rolled right off the edge of the bed.
接着，他还抱着枕头，就整个滚下了床沿。
But he never hit the floor. He was so tangled that the sheets held him up.
但他没落到地上。他缠得太紧，床单把他吊住了。
“Huh-wha?” he said.
「嗯——啥？」他说。
He found himself hanging upside down. All wrapped up like a mummy.
他发现自己倒挂着，裹得像个木乃伊。
He tried to get back onto the bed. He pulled a sheet.
他想爬回床上。他拽了一下床单。
Suddenly his elbow was jerked almost to his mouth. Then it bounced back.
突然，他的手肘被猛地拉到嘴边，又弹了回去。
He tugged the sheet again.
他又扯了下床单。
Again his elbow jerked to his mouth.
手肘又被拉到嘴边。
He pulled, then kept on pulling, harder and harder.
他拉，继续拉，越来越用力。
His elbow moved closer and closer.
他的手肘越来越近。
It felt like his arm was breaking.
感觉胳膊要断了。
He stretched out his lips.
他把嘴唇撅起来。
It felt like his shoulder was about to pop out.
感觉肩膀要脱臼了。
He gave it one hard yank!
他猛地一使劲！
The sheet pulled out from under the mattress. He fell to the floor.
床单从床垫下被抽了出来。他摔到地上。
But as his head hit the carpet, he kissed himself on the elbow.
但他的头碰到地毯时，他亲到了自己的手肘。