姊姊這學期的中文老師,十多歲便來美國,中英文俱佳,上課氣氛輕鬆活潑,而且非常鼓勵小朋友發揮創造力。只是,有一個"小小的"問題: 姊姊升上初中之後,英文學校的功課增加了許多; 所以,一週一次的中文學校和中文功課,在時間利用的先後順序(priority)中,已經排到最後面了。

這週姊姊中文學校功課之一,是要寫一篇文章,龜兔賽跑的"續集":

"因為兔子不服氣,於是他們又比了一次..."

有一天下午,我發現姊姊打算"投機取巧",利用"谷歌翻譯"(Google Translate),把英文翻譯成中文,來完成她的中文作業; 不過,姊姊在看完了谷歌翻譯的中文之後,還是決定放棄,因為,實在是...不怎麼通順!

我看了以下姊姊花了一小時創作的英文原稿之後,不得不深深佩服她驚人的想像力和創造力: 龜兔賽跑,竟然可以寫成令人毛骨悚然的"靈異故事"!

"After the race ended, the rabbit demanded a rematch with the turtle. By the way, the rabbit's name was Bob and the turtle's name was Bartholomew. All the animals in the forest came to watch the race. A bear was the referee for the race. 

In the midst of the race, Bob saw a doll that looked just like the bear referee, and picked it up. That slowed him down. Bartholomew was sure he would win, until he saw a house at the top of a hill and ran inside to take a break. He eventually came out, and saw Bob, doll still in hand.

They were neck and neck and kept running and running. Bartholomew asked, "Why did you pick up the doll?" Bob replied, "It told me to." Bartholomew chuckled, thinking that Bob was just joking with him. Running and running, they soon found out that there was no end the trail. Now, by this time the animals back in the forest had given up on the fact that Bob and Bartholomew would ever return. 

A lonely and lost figure wandered out in front of them. He asked where they were going. They had told him about the race and that was the end of the conversation. They had been running for such a long time that they weren't aware of the how long they had been running for and no feeling in their bodies. The doll was dropped onto the road. They agreed to take another break and conveniently, there was another house at the top of the hill that they were running on.

They knocked on the door but there was no reply. They made the choice to go in anyways and saw that the house looked long forgotten and old. Everything was different shades of gray, and all the windows were cracked. They found the living room and in there was a painting of the figure that they had encountered holding the doll that Bob had dropped. Thinking that it was just a coincidence, they both went to sleep in a little room they discovered in the house. The next morning, Bob found Bartholomew lying quietly on the floor, with the doll in his hand. When Bob turned Bartholomew over, he realized that Bartholomew was dead. Foolishly, he decided to stay another night in the house.

The second morning, Bob found the doll lying in Bartholomew's bed. He ran outside, only to find a silhouette of the figure he had met before. He ran back inside and when he looked into the mirror, he saw the doll, staring back at him."

~ The End ~

以下是姊姊在"媽咪翻譯"的大力幫忙下所完成的中文翻譯:(算是母女倆共同完成的吧!)

"比賽結束之後,兔子要求與烏龜重新比賽一次。這隻兔子的名字是鮑勃,而烏龜的名字是巴塞洛謬。所有森林動物都前來觀看比賽;這次比賽的裁判是熊。

在比賽到一半時,鮑勃看到一個娃娃,看上去很像裁判熊,他就停下來把娃娃撿起來,鮑勃的速度因此而減慢。巴塞洛謬確信他會贏,於是他決定在山頂上的一棟房子裡面休息一下。他走出來的時候,看到鮑勃,手上還拿著娃娃。

他們保持著相同的速度跑了一會兒, 巴塞洛謬隨口問鮑勃:你為什麼撿起娃娃？鮑勃說:是它要我這麼做的。巴塞洛謬聽了呵呵笑,以為鮑勃只是在跟他開玩笑。他們一直跑一直跑,但是他們很快就發現,他們找不到終點! 到這個時候,森林中的動物們都覺得,鮑勃和巴塞洛謬大概不會回來了。

忽然,他們看到一個孤獨的,迷失的身影在他們面前徘徊。他問他們要去哪兒? 他們告訴他,他們正在比賽,談話就結束了。他們跑了這麼長的時間,沒有意識到到底跑了多久;他們的身體已經沒有任何感覺。娃娃被扔到了路上。他們同意再休息一下,這時,他們看到了山頂上的另一幢房子。

他們敲了敲門,但是沒有回應。他們決定進去;房子看上去很老舊,像是早已經被人遺忘。房子裡的每樣東西都是深淺不同的灰色,所有的窗戶都破了。他們找到了客廳,並在客廳裡發現一幅人像畫...人像畫中,是他們在路上遇到的孤獨身影,和鮑勃已經扔掉了的娃娃。他們以為這只是一個巧合;兩人來到一個小房間,他們留在小房間睡覺。第二天早上,鮑勃發現巴塞洛謬靜靜的躺在地板上,動也不動,手裡拿著那個娃娃。鮑勃把巴塞洛謬的身體翻過來一看,巴塞洛謬已經死了。鮑勃不知怎麼想的,決定再在那裡留一個晚上。

第二天早上,鮑勃發現,娃娃躺在巴塞洛謬的床上。他跑到外面,看到了他之前見過的那人的身影。他跑回房子裡,當他看著鏡子,他看見那個娃娃,正從鏡子裡...回望著他。"

~ 結束~

是不是很恐怖?