Puscilla

Puscilla

野獸盡可能快地奔跑，穿過狹窄的城市街道，複雜地繞路，試圖甩掉追捕者。就像過去一樣，他肩上扛著他的女人，她因某種無法理解的命運轉折來到了這個時代。只是現在他的女人穿著的不是獸皮，而是一件平民風格的裙子。野獸看起來與他以前的穴居人形象以及最近的動物形態截然不同。

Beast ran as fast as he could, winding down the narrow city streets, complicating his route, trying to throw the pursuers off his trail. Just as he had in the past, he carried his woman across his shoulder who had by some incomprehensible turn of fate ended up here in the current era. Only now his woman was clothed not in animal skins but in a civilian-style dress. Beast looked very different to his former, cave man self, too, as well as to his more recent animal form.

他現在是一個英俊的年輕人，留著棕色的及肩長髮，穿著黑色天鵝絨長外套，配有大金扣，同款褲子和帶褶邊的雪白襯衫。他以前的外貌只剩下他那雙大而憂鬱的眼睛和與他貴族風格西裝極不相稱的毛絨便鞋。他的神情中仍有一些東西保持不變，認識他的人可以準確地認出他就是他們所知的野獸。

He was a handsome young man now with brown shoulder-length hair dressed in a black velvet frock coat with large gold buttons, the same style trousers and a snow-white shirt with a frill. All that remained from his former appearance were his big sad eyes and shaggy loafers that were quite incongruous when matched with his aristocratic looking suit. There was still something about his countenance that remained the same and by which those who knew him could accurately recognize him as the Beast they knew.

野獸不知道他究竟要把他的女人帶到哪裡，但他非常清楚為什麼。如果一個女人處於危險中，而無法消除危險的根源，你就要把她帶離危險源頭越遠越好。而且這次，他的女人並沒有像過去那樣大喊大叫，讓整個森林都聽到。相反，這次她發出輕聲的，甚至可以說是滿足的聲音，讓人聯想到貓咪的咕嚕聲。

Beast did not know exactly where he was dragging his woman, but he was totally clear on the reason why. If a woman is in danger and if it is impossible to eliminate the cause of the danger, you pick up the woman and carry her as far away from the source of the danger as possible. Moreover, this time, his woman was not kicking and screaming for the whole forest to hear as she had done in the past. On the contrary, this time she was making quiet, you could even say, contented sounds reminiscent of a purring cat.

「真奇怪，她為什麼在咕嚕？」野獸心想。他剛想到這個問題，女人又發出一聲，遠不像人類的聲音，更像是一聲長長的「喵——！」這時，野獸驚訝地發現，他扛著的不是女人，而是一隻像豹一樣大的大貓。是的，這確實很特別，但考慮到幾分鐘前他還是毛絨野獸，這並不算太驚訝。年輕的野獸人繼續奔跑，肩上扛著他的負擔。

’Weird, why is she purring?’ thought Beast. No sooner had he formulated this thought than the woman once again made a sound that far from resembling anything human was more like a loud, protracted ‘Mi-i-ia-a-ow!’ Only then did Beast to his immense surprise discover that it was not a woman he was carrying but a large cat the size of a panther. Yes, it was quite something, but Beast had no real call to be surprised considering that just a few minutes earlier he had been nothing else but Shaggy Beast. The young Beast-man continued to run without stopping carrying his burden on his shoulder.

就在這時，聽到這聲古老的呼喚，整個附近的所有貓和公貓都從附近的小巷、入口和大門中出現，跟著逃亡者，絕望地喵喵叫著，每隻都有自己的方式。

At that moment, having heard the relict call, all the cats and tom cats across the entire neighborhood appeared out of all the nearby alleys, entrances and gates and ran after the fugitives, meowing desperately, each in their own way.

貓群不斷壯大，新的成員不斷加入，持續地喊著「喵喵！」橫躺在野獸肩上的大貓也隨之回應著她自己的「喵喵！」

The catty horde swelled all the time as new members joined it all continuously yelling ‘Miaow-Miaow!’ The big cat lying across Beast’s shoulders echoed in turn with her own ‘Miaow-miaow!’

誰知道這會持續多久，會怎麼結束，如果不是年輕的野獸跑進一個小廣場，終於把他的貓放到地上，抖了抖自己，突然變回了毛絨野獸。所有聚集的貓和公貓都驚訝地愣住了。然後野獸對著牠們吼道：「吼——！」這時，所有的貓和公貓再次四散逃跑，發出「喵喵！」的聲音。現在坐在地上，尾巴繞著腿的大貓模糊地露出貓咪的微笑，滿意地咕嚕著，「喵——！」

And who knows how long this would have gone on for and how it would have ended had not the young Beast-youth run into a small square, finally dropped his cat to the ground, given himself a good shake and suddenly transformed back into Shaggy Beast. All the cats and tom cats who had gathered around froze in surprise. And then Beast roared at them, ‘R-r-r-a-a-ahhh!’ at which point all the cats and tom cats ran away again scattering in all directions making ‘Miaow- miaow!’ noises as they went. The big cat, who was now sitting on the ground with its tail wrapping around its legs blurred into a catty smile and purred with great satisfaction, ‘Mia-a-a-oow!’

---

* * *

同時，女醫生、護士和「探險隊」在綁架者消失在拐角後，才從震驚中恢復過來。

Meanwhile, the female doctor, the nurses and the ‘expedition’ team only managed to recover from their stunned stupor once the kidnapper had disappeared around the corner.

「那到底是什麼？！」醫生尖叫道。

“What on earth was tha-a-at?!” screamed the doctor.

「在下面！」黃色潛水艇喊道。「救命！」橙色奶牛喊道。

“Under below!” cried Yellow Submarine. “Help!” shouted Orange Cow

「集合，起床號！警報！警報！」綠色傻瓜喊道。

“Company, reveille! Alert! Alert!” shouted Eejit Green.

「上車！快！」女醫生命令道。「追上他們！」

“In the car! Quick!” ordered the female doctor. “After them!”

男護士們嘟囔著爬上救護車。

Grumbling, the male nurses climbed into the ambulance.

「追上他們！」傻瓜一邊喊一邊把他的棍子楔在車輛的後輪下。

“Catch them up!” shouted Eejit while wedging his club beneath one of the vehicle’s back wheels.

「治癒他們，治癒他們！」潛水艇喊道，把她的錨勾在路邊，緊緊抓住救護車的後面。

“Heal them, heal them!” shouted Submarine hooking her anchor up against the curb and gripping onto the back of the ambulance.

「追捕血腥的瘋子！」奶牛跳到車前喊道。

“In hot pursuit of a bloody maniac!” shouted Cow jumping ahead of the vehicle.

「追捕野蠻的虐待狂！」傻瓜揮舞著雙手喊道。「快點，你們在磨蹭什麼！」

“In pursuit of a savage sadist!” shouted Eejit, waving his hands about. “Faster, what are you hanging about for!”

只有戰士布倫希爾德保持冷靜，環顧四周，似乎在聆聽什麼。此時，救護車突然停下，左右滑行。

Only the warrior Brunhilda remained calm looking about her appearing to be listening for something. Meanwhile, the ambulance came to an abrupt halt skidding from side to side.

「發生什麼事？」醫生說，當她和護士們都從車裡擠出來查看時。潛水艇迅速跳到一邊，傻瓜把手插進褲子口袋。

“What is going on?” The doctor said as both she and the nurses piled out of the vehicle to take a look. Submarine quickly jumped to the side and Eejit thrust his hands into his trouser pockets.

「哦，這真是個矛盾的發現！」他驚呼道。「看來有一塊來歷不明的浮木卡在你的輪子下。所以這就是妨礙緊急救援成功的原因！」

“Oh, what a paradoxical discovery!” he exclaimed. “There appears to be a piece of driftwood of unknown origin stuck right under your wheel. So that’s what’s hindering the successful dispatch of emergency assistance!”

「這是個恐怖分子，你們團伙中的一員！而且看來你們都是一夥的！」醫生用嚴厲的目光盯著整個團隊說。

“It’s a terrorist, one of your gang! And you, it seems, are all in it together!” said the doctor gripping the entire crew with a hard stare.

一名護士從輪子下抽出棍子，另一名則從腰帶上取下手銬。

One of the nurses pulled the club from out under the wheel while another took a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

「你到底是什麼意思！」傻瓜說。「我們非常支持法律至高無上的地位，反對一切非法行為，並完全支持所有社會成員的康復。」

“What on earth do you mean!” said Eejit. “We are extremely supportive of the supremacy of the rule of law over all manner of illegal initiative, as well as the full recovery of all accountable members of society.”

「你不能用你的花言巧語來愚弄我！」醫生大喊。「說吧，說出來！那個人是誰，他綁架我們的病人是為了什麼目的？」

“You can’t fool me with your smooth talk!” yelled the doctor. “Go on, out with it! Who is the subject and with what aim has he abducted our patient?”

「最尊敬的同事，」傻瓜回答。「正如我們已經所述，我們有幸成為紅十字會和新月會的員工，或者更具體地說，是訓練中的編造發明家……呃，我是說調查員，尋找和研究各種治療疾病的方法。我們無法說出我們的同伴是什麼動機。我們也發現自己迷失在瘋狂的猜測和暗示中。然而，你可能會發現以下假設是可靠的：……」

“Most honorable colleague,” answered Eejit. “As we have already stated, we have the honor of being employees of the Red Cross and Crescent, or more specifically, trainee confabulating inventors... uh-h, I mean investigators sourcing and researching all manner of means and methods for the cure of all manner of disease. We cannot say what motives drive our comrade. We too find ourselves lost in a mad fog of conjecture and insinuation. However, you may find one reliable assumption to be the following:...”

「你的那位發明家是個危險的愛情狂！」醫生不耐煩地喊道。「而你們都是他的同夥，或者更糟，是一整個愛情狂團伙！」

“That inventor of yours is a dangerous love maniac!” the doctor shouted impatiently. “And you are all his accomplices or worse, an entire gang of love maniacs!”

「抱歉，親愛的同事，但在針對我們正派自我的毫無根據的指控中，你提到了一個我們目前不熟悉的醫學術語。

“Excuse me, dear colleague, but in the unfounded accusation aimed at our decent selves, you make mention of a medical determinant currently unfamiliar to us.

你能不能啟發我們……‘愛情狂’這個詞的精髓意義何在？或者你是指‘色情夢想家’或‘愛情探險者’，甚至是‘浪漫騷擾者’？」

Could you not enlighten us... wherein lies the quintessential significance of the term ‘love maniac’? Or perhaps you meant ‘erotic dreamer’ or ‘amorous prospector’, or even ‘romantic harasser’?”

「騷擾者對我們毫無興趣。我們的範疇嚴格限於愛情的困擾。愛情狂是同一種疾病的最惡性形式。你們，我的親愛的，只是想再次甜言蜜語地蒙蔽我！」

“Harassers are of no interest to us whatsoever. Our profile is strictly limited to the affliction of love. Love mania is the same disease in its most pernicious form. You, my darlings, are just trying to sweetly pull the wool over my eyes, again!”

「一點也不甜！我是說，一點也不！我們只是想了解……」 「夠了！我沒時間在這裡和你們爭論不休！」

“Not at all sweetly! I mean, not at all! We simply wish to understand...” “That’s enough! I haven’t got time to stand here splitting hairs with you lot!”

「但我還沒有提出我對我們同伴匆忙行為的重大假設。該假設如下……」

“But I have not yet put forward my significant supposition concerning the motives of our comrade’s hasty act. Said supposition is as follows...”

「切入正題！」

“Get to the point!”

「好吧，簡而言之，假設的真正意義是這樣的：我們的同伴根本不是那種可憐的垂涎三尺的崇拜者，計劃對病人施加愛情，而是一個過於熱心的自然科學家，他屈從於他的過度熱情，決定，這麼說吧，通過成功地綁架病人來繞過你們，從而希望引發一種壓力狀態，根據他的嚴格科學假設，病人應該能夠迅速康復……

“Well, in brief, the real meaning of the supposition is this: Our comrade is not at all the kind of pathetically drooling admirer who would plan to exert love over the patient, but rather an overly zealous natural scientist who, yielding to his exorbitant zeal, decided to, so to speak, run circles around you by successfully treating the patient via the method of her abduction, thereby hoping to bring on a state of stress as a result of which, according to his strictly scientific hypothesis, the patient ought to make the swiftest of recoveries...

「好吧，我們會抓住你的發明家-調查員，然後我們會弄清事情的真相，」醫生打斷了傻瓜深刻而有意義的演講。「好吧，大家上車。我們出發吧！」她命令護士們。

“Well, we’re going to catch your inventor-investigator and then we’ll get to the bottom of things,” said the doctor interrupting Eejit’s deep and meaningful speech. “Right, everyone in the car. Let’s get a move on!” she ordered to the nurses.

「我們全力支持！」剛剛在奶牛耳邊低語的布倫希爾德的聲音傳來。「你可以完全依賴我們的合作！」

“We’re all for it!” came the voice of Brunhilda who had just whispered something into Cow’s ear. “You have our full cooperation!”

「是的，是的，你可以依賴我們的多邊和無限的共謀！」傻瓜肯定布倫希爾德的立場。

“Yes, yes, you can rely on our multilateral and unlimited complicity!” said Eejit affirming Brunhilda’s position.

「我為什麼不飛在前面給你們指路，」奶牛展開翅膀提議。「從上面我能比你們更清楚地看到他們走的方向。」

“Why don’t I fly ahead and show you the way,” offered Cow spreading her wings. “From above I’ll be able to see more clearly than you can which way they went.”

「好吧，啟動你的無人機，」醫生同意。「我們會跟著他。」

“Okay, launch your drone,” agreed the doctor. “We’ll follow him.”

咆哮的救護車引擎、閃爍的燈光和可怕的警報聲以極快的速度出發，前往綁架者藏身的地方，而奶牛則升上空中，引領追蹤。

The roaring ambulance engine, the flashing light and terrible-sounding siren all set off at great speed to where the kidnapper was hiding while Cow rose up into the air to lead the chase off the trail.

---

* * *

野獸站著看著大貓，而貓則坐著回望著他。她有黑色的皮毛和白色的襪子，除了奢華的蓬鬆尾巴外，其他地方都是光滑的，尾巴是姜黃色的，上面有白色斑點，與她的耳朵顏色相同。她不算是稀有品種，但仍然是一隻美麗的貓。

Beast stood looking at the big cat and the cat sat looking back at him. She had black fur with white socks and was smooth-haired with the exception of a luxuriously fluffy tail which was a ginger color with white spots the same color as her ears. She was not exactly a rare breed, but she was still a beautiful cat.

他們互相看著，然後不約而同地變成人形，沒有說一句話。野獸再次成為年輕人，而在貓中，他看到了他的女人。這一系列的變形似乎都沒有讓他們感到驚訝。

They looked and looked at each other and then, without saying a word, they simultaneously assumed human form. Beast was a young man again and, in the cat, he saw his woman. Neither seemed surprised by this series of metamorphoses.

「是你嗎？」他問。「是我，」她回答。「你認出我了嗎？」 「是的，我的主人。」

“Is it you?” he asked. “It’s me,” she replied. “Did you recognize me?” “Yes, my lord.”

「你怎麼會在這裡？你在這裡做什麼？」

“How come you are here? What are you doing here?”

「我不知道。我只知道我在這裡。那你呢，我的主人？你是怎麼來到這裡的？」

“I don’t know. I’m here, that’s all I know. And what about you, my lord? How did you come to be here?”

「我也不知道。你還記得嗎？」 「記得。」

“I don’t know either. Do you remember?” “Yes.”

「我一生都在後悔當時的行為，現在仍然如此。」

“All my life I have regretted how I behaved back then, and I still do.”

「沒關係，我的主人。那是我的錯，我已經受到了懲罰。」 「我也是。沒有人愛我。你是怎麼受罰的？」 「每個人都愛我，但他們都離開我。」

“It’s all right, my lord. It was my fault and I have been punished for it.” “As have I. Nobody loves me. How have you been punished?” “Everyone loves me, but they all leave me.”

他們都沉默了片刻。「你會變形嗎？」野獸問。

They were both silent for a few moments. “Do you metamorphose?” asked Beast.

「什麼時候，你是說，當我痛苦時還是當我停止痛苦時？」女人回答。「當有人拋棄我時，我會變成女人。當有人接納我時，我又變回貓。但這是我通常的樣子。」

“When, what do you mean, when I suffer or when I stop suffering?” answered the woman. “When someone dumps me, I transform into a woman. And when someone pick me up, I turn back into a cat. But this is how I usually look.”

就在那時，女人在野獸眼前變成了一個介於貓和女人之間的形態。她穿著一件黑色毛皮夾克，袖子三分之四長，膝蓋長的褲子。她的穿著與野獸在他們一起在洞穴時為她縫製的衣服非常相似。她的頭上裝飾著一頭濃密的黑髮，穿著一雙白色的靴子和白色的手套。她有一張漂亮的臉龐，面部特徵中有明顯的貓科動物特徵。除此之外，一條異國情調的蓬鬆亮姜黃色尾巴從後面伸出，上面有白色斑點，頭頂上還有一對小耳朵。除此之外，她的外貌完全是人類的，並且相當時尚。

In that moment, right in front of Beast’s eyes, she transformed into something halfway between a cat and a woman. She was wearing a black, fur jacket with three quarter length sleeves and knee-length trousers. Her attire was very similar to the clothes Beast had sewn for her when they were together in the cave. Her head was adorned with a thick shock of black hair, and she was wearing a pair of white booties and white gloves. She had a pretty face and there was something distinctly feline about her features. Aside from that, an exotic, fluffy, bright ginger tail with white spots protruded upwards from behind and there were a set of little ears on the top of her head. In everything else, her appearance was entirely human and altogether quite chic.

---

* * *

正是在這種形態下，布倫希爾德、傻瓜和潛水艇發現了坐在長椅上的野獸青年和貓女。他們跑到這對面前，驚訝地盯著他們，喘著氣。遠處傳來瘋狂救護車警報的聲音，從中他們得出結論，奶牛成功地混淆了追捕。

It was in this form that Brunhilda, Eejit and Submarine found the Beast-youth and the cat-woman sitting on the bench. They came running up to the pair and stared at them in surprise as they caught their breath. The howl of the crazy ambulance siren could be heard somewhere in the distance from which they concluded that Cow had successfully confused the chase.

「終於找到你們了，」布倫希爾德打破沉默說。女王幾乎沒有把目光從野獸身上移開，顯然對他的新形象很感興趣。

“At last, we’ve found you,” said Brunhilda breaking the silence. The queen barely took her eyes off Beast clearly intrigued by his new guise.

「順便說一句，我堅持我們應該根據那無神的、頑固的喵聲來設定我們的路線是完全正確的，」傻瓜說。

“I was categorically correct by the way insisting that we should set our course on the sound of that Godless, inveterate miaow,” said Eejit.

「這簡直像是某種狂歡節化妝舞會！」潛水艇驚呼道。「還是化妝舞會狂歡節？」

“This is right out of some carnival masquerade!” exclaimed Submarine. “Or a masquerade carnival?”

「野獸，也許你可以介紹一下我們？」布倫希爾德說。

“Beast, perhaps you could introduce us?” said Brunhilda.

「我的女人，」野獸從長椅上站起來，指著貓女說。「至少，她曾經是。而這些是我的朋友，」他說。「女王布倫希爾德，綠色傻瓜和黃色潛水艇。」

“My woman,” said Beast getting up from the bench and pointing at the cat- woman. “At least, she was once. And these are my friends,” he said. “Queen Brunhilda, Eejit Green and Yellow Submarine.”

「你忘了在女王前加上‘我的’，」布倫希爾德嫉妒地瞟了一眼貓女說。「真的是你嗎？」

“You forgot to add ‘my’ to queen,” said Brunhilda throwing jealous glances at the cat-woman. “Is that really you?”

「是的，我的女王，真的是我。我的外貌變了，但我不知道為什麼。這也不是第一次發生。」

“Yes, my queen, it’s really me. My appearance has changed but I don’t know why. This isn’t the first time it’s happened either.”

「那你是誰，哦，奇蹟中的奇蹟？」傻瓜對貓女說。

“And who are you, oh miracle of miracles?” said Eejit, addressing the cat- woman.

「我是普西拉，」她站起來說。

“I’m Puscilla,” she said getting up.

「她也會變形，」野獸替他的女人解釋道。

“She also changes form,” Beast explained on his woman’s behalf.

「那麼，你是貓咪還是普西拉，哦，奇蹟中的奇蹟？」傻瓜問。

“So, are you pussy or are you Puscilla, oh miracle of miracles?” asked Eejit.

「很明顯，我既是普西拉也是普西拉，」貓女回答，走來走去，樂於展示自己。

“It’s quite obvipuss that I am both Puscilla and Puscilla,” the cat-woman replied as she walked back and forth in front of them taking great pleasure in showing herself off.

「原來如此，」女王評論道。「那你之前是誰？」

“So, that’s how it is,” the queen remarked. “And who were you before?”

「我曾經是女人，然後是貓，再然後又是女人，然後又是貓，如此反覆多次。」

“I was a woman, before that a cat, then a woman again, and then again a cat, and so on many times.”

「我想大家都很喜歡你吧？」布倫希爾德繼續說。「不完全是。起初他們愛我，然後就拋棄我。」

“And everyone adores you, I suppose?” Brunhilda continued. “Not really. First, they love me, then they dump me.”

「發生了什麼事？你怎麼會在救護車裡？」 「我又被拋棄了。」

“And what happened? Why did you end up in the ambulance?” “I was dumped again.”

「誰拋棄了你？」 「我的完美貓。」

“Who dumped you?” “My purrfect.”

「告訴我們更多。」

“Tell us more.”

「他是如此引人注目，鬍鬚濃密，尾巴大而有條紋！真正的穿靴子的貓！他在我身邊走來走去是多麼威風！他用尾巴撓我的耳朵是多麼撩人！哦，他用下巴蹭我的脖子是多麼溫柔！他咕嚕的聲音是多麼誘人！而我，貓眼的我，完全被這一切迷住了。

“He was so striking, whiskered, large-tailed and striped! A real puss-in-boots! How imposingly he paced about me! How he tickled my ears with his tail! Oh, how he rubbed his chin against my neck! And how seductively he purred! And I, catty-eyed than I am, was completely taken in by it all.

起初，我們生活在貓科的友好和和諧中，但後來他開始越來越頻繁地消失。他與一些貓賊混在一起，開始從事貓類交易。然後他被貓騙子追捕，他們想把他關進貓咪監獄。他躲了一段時間在貓墓中，很少露面。最後一次來，他收集了所有的貓裝，宣佈貓爭和貓分，因為他說我看起來不夠好。」

At first, we lived in feline friendliness and moggy harmony but then he started disappearing more and more often. He got caught up with some catty-bandits and started trading in catty-band traffic. Then he was hunted by moggy fraudsters who wanted to get him locked up in the pussy pound. He hid for a while in a cat-a-crypt and was rarely seen. The last time he came by, he collected all his catty-clobber announcing catty-strife and pussy-split because, he said, I didn’t look good enough.”

「‘他是什麼意思，你看起來不夠好？’」潛水艇問。

“’What did he mean, you don’t look good enough?’ asked Submarine.

「我也是這麼問的，‘你是什麼意思我看起來不夠好？’我意思是你們自己評判；我看起來不好嗎？」

“That’s what I said, ‘What do you mean I don’t look good enough?’ I mean judge for yourselves; don’t I look good?”

普西拉轉身炫耀她的身材，手像前爪一樣動著。「是的！你絕對可以這麼說！」潛水艇說。

Puscilla spun around flaunting her figure and moving her hands like front paws. “Yup! You could definitely say that!” said Submarine.

「看吧！很明顯我看起來很棒。而他竟然拋棄了我！想像一下，我當時的貓咪困境！」

“There! It is completely obvipuss that I look great. And he went ahead and dumped me! Imagine, the moggy mess I was in!”

「你有試著撫摸他的毛，說，‘我的完美貓，不要去貓墓，你會感冒的’嗎？」這句話從他們上方傳來，這時，奶牛降落到地面。

“Did you try stroking his fur and saying, ‘My purrfect, don’t go to the cat-a- crypt, you’ll catch a cold’?” The phrase came from somewhere above them and at that moment, Cow plopped down to the ground.

「呼，我差點沒能甩掉他們。然後我聽到了你們談話的尾聲，就懸在空中。我不是故意打斷的。」

“Phew, I almost did not manage to break away from them. Then I caught the end of your conversation and hung in the air. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

「哦！你是誰？」普西拉驚訝地問。「這是橙色奶牛，」野獸說。

“Oh! And who might you be?” asked Puscilla in surprise. “This is Orange Cow,” said Beast.

「奶牛成功地把追捕引開了，」潛水艇補充說。「嗨——！」奶牛微笑著說。

“Cow managed to lead the chase off our trail,” added Submarine. “He-e-ello-o!” smiled Cow.

「你為什麼要問？嗨，我是普西拉。」

“And why do you ask? Hi, I’m Puscilla.”

「我可能錯了，但我認為人們總是拋棄普西拉的原因是因為普西拉總是只想到自己，」奶牛回答。

“I might be wrong, but I think the reason people always dump Puscilla is because Puscilla has a tendency to think only of herself,” replied Cow.

「你說得對！但你怎麼猜到的？我承認這是我的一個弱點。我太以貓為中心了，」普西拉看著野獸說。「我正在努力改變。」

“You’re right! But how did you guess? I admit it is a weakness I suffer from. I’m far too ailorouscentric,” said Puscilla looking across as Beast. “I am trying to change.”

---

* * *

同時，之前聽起來很遠的警報聲越來越近。

In the meantime, the howl of the siren that had until now sounded far away was getting closer.

「呃，那瘋狂的救護車！」潛水艇驚呼。「我們該怎麼辦？」 「我們得找個地方躲起來，」奶牛說。

“Uh, that crazy ambulance!” Submarine exclaimed. “What are we going to do?” “We’ll have to find somewhere to hide,” said Cow.

「我們不能永遠躲著，」布倫希爾德說。

“We can’t hide forever,” said Brunhilda.

「這都是我的錯，」普西拉說。「我們不要再跑了。我自己來應付他們。」

“This is all my fault,” said Puscilla. “Let’s not run anymore. I’ll deal with them myself.”

「但怎麼做？」野獸問。

“But how?” asked Beast.

「我已經讓自己變得強壯，可以照顧自己。」

“I’ve got myself fit and can look after myself.”

「但怎麼做？」傻瓜問。「我想我不能再蒙蔽他們的眼睛了。」

“But how?” asked Eejit. “I don’t think I can pull the wool over their eyes any longer.”

「我不會讓他們傷害任何人，包括我自己。」說完這句話，野獸抓住了傻瓜的棍子。

“I won’t let them hurt anyone or me for that matter.” With these words, Beast grabbed Eejit’s club.

「我的朋友，這工具是極端手段，應該只在萬不得已時使用，而且無論如何，它和你的精緻裝扮完全不搭，」傻瓜指出。

“My friend, this tool is an extreme measure and should only be used as a last resort and anyway, it looks totally out of place with your sophisticated outfit,” noted Eejit.

「如果這能靠武力解決，我早就解決了，」女王說，提起裙子露出藏著的劍。「但如果我們走那條路，只會給自己帶來更多麻煩。」

“If this was something that could be decided by force, I would have settled it a long time ago,” said the queen raising her skirts to reveal a hidden sword. “But we’ll only cause ourselves more problems if we go that route.”

還沒等他們說完，一輛救護車呼嘯著轉過街角，急煞停下，剎車聲刺耳，警報仍在響。醫生從駕駛室跳下來，雙手叉腰。

Before they could finish, an ambulance came hurling around the corner and pulled up sharply with the sound of screeching brakes, its siren still howling. The doctor jumped out of the cabin and put her hands on her hips.

「好吧，抓到你們了，發明家-調查員！」

“Right. Got you, inventor-investigators!”

「我們正要告訴你一個好消息。病人正在康復，」傻瓜說，指著逃亡者的方向。「你的援助如此迅速無情，以至於病人僅僅聽到你優雅的警報聲就立即康復。」

“We were just about to inform you of the good news. The patients are recovering,” said Eejit, gesturing in the direction of the runaways. “Your assistance is so swift and merciless that the sick recover instantly at the mere sound of your graceful siren.”

醫生斜眼瞥了一下，撅起嘴。

The doctor gave a squint and a pout.

「省省你的口舌，親愛的，還有你的優雅辯才。」她揮手示意其他人關掉警報。「病人不會就這樣康復。任何病人都需要治療。妥善治療！但你們這個農場，嗯，治療不是這個詞！好吧，」她說，並向旁邊聚集的護士點頭，「把那兩個帶進來！」

“Save your breath, darling and your graceful eloquence.” She waved for the others to turn off the siren. “The sick don’t recover just like that. Any patient has to be healed. Properly healed! But this farmyard of yours, well, healing isn’t the word for it! Right,” she said and nodded to the nurses who had meanwhile gathered beside her, “bring in those two!”

野獸站在普西拉面前保護她，仍然緊握著棍子。「是這樣的嗎！」醫生喊道。「在執行時刻進行抵抗！我們會呼叫後援，把你們整個團隊都記錄在案！」

Beast stood in front of Puscilla guarding her and still gripping the club. “Like that is it!” shouted the doctor. “Rendering resistance at the moment of execution! We’ll call for back-up and get your entire crew-stew on the books!”

「等一下，」普西拉從野獸背後走出來說。「你們被筆下逮捕。我應該開始清除嗎？」

“Just a minute,” said Puscilla, who came out from behind Beast’s back. “You’re under pen arrest. Should I launch liquidation?”

醫生的態度變了，瞬間臉色蒼白。

The doctor’s manner changed, and she turned instantly pale.

「什麼……？怎麼會……？」醫生結結巴巴地說，努力找回她的話。「你是誰？」

“What...? How so...?” the doctor stammered struggling to find her words. “And who might you be?”

「我是作家，」普西拉回答。「我現在就寫你，你就會消失。」

“I’m a writer,” replied Puscilla. “I’ll write you now and you’ll disappear.”

「作家……！她是作家……！」護士們先是低聲說，然後退後了幾步。

“Writer...! She’s a writer...!” the nurses spoke first in a whisper and took a few faltering steps backward.

「親愛的，你為什麼不早說？」醫生用完全不同的語氣說。「所以，你已經感覺好多了？我們想……我們以為……我們想幫助你！你看起來那麼不快樂！」

“My dear, why on earth didn’t you say so?” said the doctor in a very different tone. “So, you’re feeling better already? We wanted... we thought... we wanted to help you! You looked so unhappy!”

「你覺得呢？」普西拉用冷漠的語氣問，玩弄著她的尾巴。「不，我可以向你保證，我完全而且非常貓咪地快樂。」

“You think?” inquired Puscilla in an indifferent tone and playing with her tail. “No, I can assure you, I’m totally and very catty happy.”

「真的嗎？那就是搞錯了。但你必須理解，我們的職責要求我們……！我們的任務是讓病人恢復快樂。」

“Really? So, there’s been a mistake. But you must understand that our duty obliges us...! Our task is to return patients to a state of happiness after all.”

「而我的任務是寫作並消除虛構角色。所以，我應該開始清除嗎？」

“And my task is to write and eliminate fictional characters. So, should I start the liquidation?”

「不，不，當然不！我看得出你真的好多了！無論如何，我們必須走了，我們非常著急！」

“No, no, of course not! I can see that you really are better! Anyway, we must be going, we’re in a terrible hurry!”

整個救護車團隊匆忙回到車內。

The entire ambulance team rushed back inside the vehicle.

「我們要表達我們瘋狂的感謝！」傻瓜在他們身後喊道。

“We’d like to express our manic gratitude!” Eejit shouted after them.

醫生給了他一個厭惡的眼神，砰地關上救護車門。車輛尖叫著啟動，沿著路飛馳而去。

The doctor threw him a dirty look and slammed the ambulance door. The vehicle screeched into motion and hurtled off down the road.

普斯奇拉

Puscilla

Beast拼盡全力奔跑，在狹窄的城市街道中盤旋穿梭，改變路線，試圖甩掉追趕者。正如往昔，他肩上扛著那位因莫名命運轉折而來到此時代的女人。但如今，她已不再身著獸皮，而是穿上了平民風格的洋裝；而Beast自己也已與他昔日穴居人的模樣大相逕庭，更與最近的獸化形態截然不同。

Beast ran as fast as he could, winding down the narrow city streets, complicating his route, trying to throw the pursuers off his trail. Just as he had in the past, he carried his woman across his shoulder who had by some incomprehensible turn of fate ended up here in the current era. Only now his woman was clothed not in animal skins but in a civilian-style dress. Beast looked very different to his former, cave man self, too, as well as to his more recent animal form.

他如今是一位英俊的青年，棕色的肩長髮自然披散，穿著一件黑色天鵝絨大衣，上面繫著大號金鈕，並配以同款風格的褲子和一件雪白帶荷葉邊的襯衫。儘管他的臉龐依稀保留著那曾令認識他的人辨識出的悲傷大眼，以及與那貴族服飾格格不入的毛絨便鞋，但他散發出的氣質依然讓人認出他正是他們熟知的Beast。

He was a handsome young man now with brown shoulder-length hair dressed in a black velvet frock coat with large gold buttons, the same style trousers and a snow-white shirt with a frill. All that remained from his former appearance were his big sad eyes and shaggy loafers that were quite incongruous when matched with his aristocratic looking suit. There was still something about his countenance that remained the same and by which those who knew him could accurately recognize him as the Beast they knew.

Beast並不確切知道自己將那女子拖往何處，但他對此舉的動機卻瞭如指掌：若一位女子處於危險之中，而卻無法消除危險源頭，那就應抱起她，盡可能遠離那難以撲滅的威脅。而這一次，他的同伴也不再像過去那樣大聲尖叫使整個森林皆知，反而發出輕柔、甚至可以說滿足的聲響，令人聯想到一隻溫馴咕嚕的貓咪。

Beast did not know exactly where he was dragging his woman, but he was totally clear on the reason why. If a woman is in danger and if it is impossible to eliminate the cause of the danger, you pick up the woman and carry her as far away from the source of the danger as possible. Moreover, this time, his woman was not kicking and screaming for the whole forest to hear as she had done in the past. On the contrary, this time she was making quiet, you could even say, contented sounds reminiscent of a purring cat.

「奇怪，為何她會發出咕嚕聲？」Beast心想。剛說完，他的同伴又發出一陣聲響，與人類的呼喊全然不同，更像是一聲悠長響亮的「咪—呀—喵！」就在那一刻，Beast驚訝地發現，他抱的竟非女子，而是一隻如美洲豹般大小的巨大貓咪。是的，這情形真令人匪夷所思，但考慮到就在幾分鐘前，他還僅僅是一隻毛茸茸的Beast，於是也就不那麼詫異了。這位年輕的獸人繼續不停奔跑，肩上依然扛著他那沉重的負擔。

’Weird, why is she purring?’ thought Beast. No sooner had he formulated this thought than the woman once again made a sound that far from resembling anything human was more like a loud, protracted ‘Mi-i-ia-a-ow!’ Only then did Beast to his immense surprise discover that it was not a woman he was carrying but a large cat the size of a panther. Yes, it was quite something, but Beast had no real call to be surprised considering that just a few minutes earlier he had been nothing else but Shaggy Beast. The young Beast-man continued to run without stopping carrying his burden on his shoulder.

就在那時，隨著那最後一聲回響，整個鄰里中所有的家貓和公貓，紛紛從附近的巷弄、入口和大門中湧出，追逐著這對逃逸的身影，聲聲絕望地喵喵叫，每一隻都有各自獨特的方式。

At that moment, having heard the relict call, all the cats and tom cats across the entire neighborhood appeared out of all the nearby alleys, entrances and gates and ran after the fugitives, meowing desperately, each in their own way.

那貓群不斷壯大，新的成員不斷加入，大喊「喵—喵！」；而那隻趴在Beast肩上的大貓亦隨之回應，發出自己的「喵喵！」

The catty horde swelled all the time as new members joined it all continuously yelling ‘Miaow-Miaow!’ The big cat lying across Beast’s shoulders echoed in turn with her own ‘Miaow-miaow!’

誰能知這場追逐會持續多久，又會如何結束？要不是年輕的Beast突然闖入一個小廣場，最終放下那隻貓於地上，狠狠甩了甩身子，然後猛地變回毛茸茸的Beast，那聚集在周圍的各隻貓和公貓早已驚愕凝固。隨後，Beast向牠們咆哮：「嗚—嗚—啊—！」聽後，所有貓與公貓又各自四散而逃，在逃跑時紛紛發出「喵—喵！」的聲音。而那隻大貓，如今正趴在地上，尾巴纏繞著雙腿，露出了一抹狡黠的笑容，滿意地咕嚕著，「喵—呀！」

And who knows how long this would have gone on for and how it would have ended had not the young Beast-youth run into a small square, finally dropped his cat to the ground, given himself a good shake and suddenly transformed back into Shaggy Beast. All the cats and tom cats who had gathered around froze in surprise. And then Beast roared at them, ‘R-r-r-a-a-ahhh!’ at which point all the cats and tom cats ran away again scattering in all directions making ‘Miaow- miaow!’ noises as they went. The big cat, who was now sitting on the ground with its tail wrapping around its legs blurred into a catty smile and purred with great satisfaction, ‘Mia-a-a-oow!’

---

* * *

與此同時，女醫生、護士和「探險隊」成員，只有等到綁架者轉角消失後，才從震驚的恍惚中恢復過來。

Meanwhile, the female doctor, the nurses and the ‘expedition’ team only managed to recover from their stunned stupor once the kidnapper had disappeared around the corner.

「那究竟是什麼東西？！」女醫生尖叫道。

“What on earth was tha-a-at?!” screamed the doctor.

“往下看！”Yellow Submarine大喊著，“救命！”Orange Cow也隨之叫喊。

“Under below!” cried Yellow Submarine. “Help!” shouted Orange Cow

「各單位，起床集合！警報！警報！」Eejit Green大聲喊道。

“Company, reveille! Alert! Alert!” shouted Eejit Green.

「上車！快！」女醫生命令道，「追上他們！」

“In the car! Quick!” ordered the female doctor. “After them!”

男護士邊嘟囔邊爬進了救護車。

Grumbling, the male nurses climbed into the ambulance.

「快把他們逮住！」Eejit邊喊邊將他的棍子楔在車輛後輪的一側。

“Catch them up!” shouted Eejit while wedging his club beneath one of the vehicle’s back wheels.

「救治他們，救治他們！」Submarine喊道，她把錨掛在路緣上，緊緊抓住救護車後部。

“Heal them, heal them!” shouted Submarine hooking her anchor up against the curb and gripping onto the back of the ambulance.

「正在全力追捕那個血腥的瘋子！」Cow一邊跳到車前大聲喊道。

“In hot pursuit of a bloody maniac!” shouted Cow jumping ahead of the vehicle.

「追捕那個野蠻的施虐狂！」Eejit喊道，雙手揮舞著，「快點，你們還等什麼！」

“In pursuit of a savage sadist!” shouted Eejit, waving his hands about. “Faster, what are you hanging about for!”

唯有女戰士Brunhilda保持著冷靜，環顧四周，似乎正仔細聆聽著什麼；與此同時，救護車突然急停，左右橫滑。

Only the warrior Brunhilda remained calm looking about her appearing to be listening for something. Meanwhile, the ambulance came to an abrupt halt skidding from side to side.

「到底發生了什麼？」女醫生邊說邊和護士們一起從車上蜂擁而出查看情況；Submarine迅速跳到一旁，而Eejit則把雙手插進褲袋。

“What is going on?” The doctor said as both she and the nurses piled out of the vehicle to take a look. Submarine quickly jumped to the side and Eejit thrust his hands into his trouser pockets.

「哦，多麼矛盾的發現啊！」他驚呼道，「看來有一塊來歷不明的浮木卡在你的車輪下，這正是妨礙緊急救援成功派遣的原因！」

“Oh, what a paradoxical discovery!” he exclaimed. “There appears to be a piece of driftwood of unknown origin stuck right under your wheel. So that’s what’s hindering the successful dispatch of emergency assistance!”

女醫生冷峻地盯著所有人說：「那是恐怖分子，屬於你們那幫人的一員！而看來你們全都是同夥！」

“It’s a terrorist, one of your gang! And you, it seems, are all in it together!” said the doctor gripping the entire crew with a hard stare.

一位護士從車輪下取出了棍子，另一位則從腰帶上取下一副手銬。

One of the nurses pulled the club from out under the wheel while another took a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

「你到底是什麼意思！」Eejit大聲嚷道，「我們極力支持法治至上的理念，並要求對所有應負責任的人徹底追究！」

“What on earth do you mean!” said Eejit. “We are extremely supportive of the supremacy of the rule of law over all manner of illegal initiative, as well as the full recovery of all accountable members of society.”

女醫生大聲喊道：「別用那套花言巧語來騙我！快點，說清楚：到底是誰？他帶著什麼企圖綁架了我們的病人？」

“You can’t fool me with your smooth talk!” yelled the doctor. “Go on, out with it! Who is the subject and with what aim has he abducted our patient?”

「尊敬的同事，」Eejit回答道，「正如我們之前所說，我們有幸成為紅十字會與新月會的員工，或者更確切地說，是那些正在接受訓練的即興發明家……啊，我的意思是，調查員，致力於搜集並研究各種治療各類疾病的方法。我們無法確定驅使我們那位夥伴的動機，而我們自己也陷入了一片瘋狂的猜測與暗示之中。不過你可以認為，這裡有一個可靠的假設：……」

“Most honorable colleague,” answered Eejit. “As we have already stated, we have the honor of being employees of the Red Cross and Crescent, or more specifically, trainee confabulating inventors... uh-h, I mean investigators sourcing and researching all manner of means and methods for the cure of all manner of disease. We cannot say what motives drive our comrade. We too find ourselves lost in a mad fog of conjecture and insinuation. However, you may find one reliable assumption to be the following:...”

女醫生不耐煩地喊道：「你們那位發明家簡直是一個危險的愛情狂人！而你們全都是他的同謀，或者更糟，整個團伙都是愛情狂人！」

“That inventor of yours is a dangerous love maniac!” the doctor shouted impatiently. “And you are all his accomplices or worse, an entire gang of love maniacs!”

「對不起，親愛的同事，但在你對我們提出那毫無根據的指控時，提到了我們現在所不了解的一項醫學決定因素。」

“Excuse me, dear colleague, but in the unfounded accusation aimed at our decent selves, you make mention of a medical determinant currently unfamiliar to us.

「您能否啟發我們……‘愛情狂人’這個詞究竟有哪些本質上的意義？或者您是否指的是‘情色夢想家’、‘愛慕探險者’，甚至是‘浪漫騷擾者’？」

Could you not enlighten us... wherein lies the quintessential significance of the term ‘love maniac’? Or perhaps you meant ‘erotic dreamer’ or ‘amorous prospector’, or even ‘romantic harasser’?”

「騷擾者對我們毫無吸引力。我們只關心那種由愛情所引起的苦楚，而愛情狂熱正是這種疾病最具破壞性的形式。親愛的，你們只是在試圖再一次甜言蜜語地糊弄我！」

“Harassers are of no interest to us whatsoever. Our profile is strictly limited to the affliction of love. Love mania is the same disease in its most pernicious form. You, my darlings, are just trying to sweetly pull the wool over my eyes, again!”

「一點也一點都不甜蜜！我是說，根本不甜蜜！我們僅僅是想搞清楚……」 「夠了！我可沒空在這裡跟你們雞毛蒜皮地爭辯！」

“Not at all sweetly! I mean, not at all! We simply wish to understand...” “That’s enough! I haven’t got time to stand here splitting hairs with you lot!”

「但我還未將關於我們夥伴倉促行動動機的重要 假設提出來。這個假設是這樣的……」

“But I have not yet put forward my significant supposition concerning the motives of our comrade’s hasty act. Said supposition is as follows...”

「快說重點！」

“Get to the point!”

「簡而言之，這個假設的真正含義是：我們的夥伴絕非那種令人憐憫、垂涎三尺、企圖以愛來控制病人的崇拜者，而是一位過於熱忱的自然科學家，他因過分的熱情而決定，意即通過採取‘綁架’的方式成功治療病人，進而希望激發一種壓力狀態，根據他嚴謹的科學假設，病人因此能夠獲得最快速的康復……」

“Well, in brief, the real meaning of the supposition is this: Our comrade is not at all the kind of pathetically drooling admirer who would plan to exert love over the patient, but rather an overly zealous natural scientist who, yielding to his exorbitant zeal, decided to, so to speak, run circles around you by successfully treating the patient via the method of her abduction, thereby hoping to bring on a state of stress as a result of which, according to his strictly scientific hypothesis, the patient ought to make the swiftest of recoveries...

「好吧，我們要抓住你們那位發明家兼調查員，然後查明真相，」女醫生打斷了Eejit那充滿深意的演說說，「好了，車上各位，快上車，走吧！」她這樣命令護士們。

“Well, we’re going to catch your inventor-investigator and then we’ll get to the bottom of things,” said the doctor interrupting Eejit’s deep and meaningful speech. “Right, everyone in the car. Let’s get a move on!” she ordered to the nurses.

「我們全力支持！」Brunhilda的聲音響起，她剛剛在Cow耳邊低語了些什麼，「你們可以完全依靠我們的合作！」

“We’re all for it!” came the voice of Brunhilda who had just whispered something into Cow’s ear. “You have our full cooperation!”

「是的，是的，你們可以依靠我們多方面且無限制的同謀關係！」Eejit肯定地說，支持了Brunhilda的見解。

“Yes, yes, you can rely on our multilateral and unlimited complicity!” said Eejit affirming Brunhilda’s position.

「為何不讓我先飛過去為你們指引方向？」Cow展開雙翼提議，「從高空中，我能比你們更清楚地看出他們究竟走向何方。」

“Why don’t I fly ahead and show you the way,” offered Cow spreading her wings. “From above I’ll be able to see more clearly than you can which way they went.”

「好，放出你的無人機，」女醫生同意道，「我們跟上去！」

“Okay, launch your drone,” agreed the doctor. “We’ll follow him.”

那洶湧轟鳴的救護車引擎、閃爍的燈光以及刺耳的警笛聲以極快的速度趕往綁架者藏匿之處，而Cow則昇空領頭，將追蹤帶離原路。

The roaring ambulance engine, the flashing light and terrible-sounding siren all set off at great speed to where the kidnapper was hiding while Cow rose up into the air to lead the chase off the trail.

---

* * *

Beast站著注視著那隻大貓，而那隻貓也回望著他。她擁有黑色的毛皮，腳踝處猶如穿著白襪，身上大部分毛髮光滑柔順，唯獨那條極盎然蓬鬆的尾巴呈現出薑黃色並飾有與耳朵同色的白點。雖然她並非罕見品種，但仍是一隻極美的貓咪。

Beast stood looking at the big cat and the cat sat looking back at him. She had black fur with white socks and was smooth-haired with the exception of a luxuriously fluffy tail which was a ginger color with white spots the same color as her ears. She was not exactly a rare breed, but she was still a beautiful cat.

他們彼此凝視良久，隨後竟在無語中同時化作人形。Beast又回到了年輕人的模樣，而在那隻貓的眼中，他看見了自己的女人。這連串變化，似乎都沒有令彼此感到絲毫驚愕。

They looked and looked at each other and then, without saying a word, they simultaneously assumed human form. Beast was a young man again and, in the cat, he saw his woman. Neither seemed surprised by this series of metamorphoses.

「是你嗎？」他問。「是我，」她回答，「你認出我了嗎？」「是的，我的主。」

“Is it you?” he asked. “It’s me,” she replied. “Did you recognize me?” “Yes, my lord.”

「你怎麼會在這裡？你在這裡做什麼？」

“How come you are here? What are you doing here?”

「我不知道，我只知道我在這裡。而你呢，我的主？你又是如何來到這裡的？」

“I don’t know. I’m here, that’s all I know. And what about you, my lord? How did you come to be here?”

「我也不知道。你還記得嗎？」 「記得。」

“I don’t know either. Do you remember?” “Yes.”

「我一生都在懊悔曾經的所作所為，至今依然如此。」

“All my life I have regretted how I behaved back then, and I still do.”

「沒關係，我的主，都是我的錯，我也已受到了懲罰。」 「我也是，沒有人愛我。你是怎麼被懲罰的？」 「每個人都愛我，但最後卻都離我而去。」

“It’s all right, my lord. It was my fault and I have been punished for it.” “As have I. Nobody loves me. How have you been punished?” “Everyone loves me, but they all leave me.”

他們沉默了片刻。「你會變形嗎？」Beast問道。

They were both silent for a few moments. “Do you metamorphose?” asked Beast.

「什麼時候？你是說當我受苦時，還是當我不再受苦時？」那女人回答，「當有人甩了我，我便變作女人；而當有人撿起我，我又會變回貓。但這就是我平常的樣子。」

“When, what do you mean, when I suffer or when I stop suffering?” answered the woman. “When someone dumps me, I transform into a woman. And when someone pick me up, I turn back into a cat. But this is how I usually look.”

此時，就在Beast眼前，她變成了介於貓與女人之間的形態。她穿著一件黑色毛皮夾克，袖長至四分之三，搭配膝蓋長褲。這身裝束與當初他們在洞穴中共度時光時，Beast為她縫製的衣服極為相似。她的頭上蓬鬆的黑髮掩映著，一雙潔白的靴子與手套相映成趣。她的面容秀麗，而五官中隱約流露出一絲貓咪的韻味。除此之外，一條異國風情、蓬鬆亮麗的薑黃色尾巴上飾有與耳朵同色的白點，高高豎起於身後。其餘部分，她看起來完全是個人類，而且極為時尚雅致。

In that moment, right in front of Beast’s eyes, she transformed into something halfway between a cat and a woman. She was wearing a black, fur jacket with three quarter length sleeves and knee-length trousers. Her attire was very similar to the clothes Beast had sewn for her when they were together in the cave. Her head was adorned with a thick shock of black hair, and she was wearing a pair of white booties and white gloves. She had a pretty face and there was something distinctly feline about her features. Aside from that, an exotic, fluffy, bright ginger tail with white spots protruded upwards from behind and there were a set of little ears on the top of her head. In everything else, her appearance was entirely human and altogether quite chic.

---

* * *

正是以這副模樣，Brunhilda、Eejit與Submarine發現了那位年輕的Beast與貓女正安坐於長椅上。他們跑上前，氣喘吁吁地驚愕凝視著這對組合。遠處傳來那瘋狂救護車警笛的嗥叫，這使得他們斷定Cow已成功擾亂追捕行動。

It was in this form that Brunhilda, Eejit and Submarine found the Beast-youth and the cat-woman sitting on the bench. They came running up to the pair and stared at them in surprise as they caught their breath. The howl of the crazy ambulance siren could be heard somewhere in the distance from which they concluded that Cow had successfully confused the chase.

「終於找到你們了，」Brunhilda打破沉默道。女王目不轉睛地盯著Beast，對他那嶄新的造型顯然充滿好奇。

“At last, we’ve found you,” said Brunhilda breaking the silence. The queen barely took her eyes off Beast clearly intrigued by his new guise.

「我一直堅持依靠那無神且根深蒂固的‘喵’聲來指引行程，結果證明我說得沒錯。」Eejit如是說。

“I was categorically correct by the way insisting that we should set our course on the sound of that Godless, inveterate miaow,” said Eejit.

「這簡直像是嘉年華假面舞會中的一幕！」Submarine驚呼，「或者說，一場假面嘉年華？」

“This is right out of some carnival masquerade!” exclaimed Submarine. “Or a masquerade carnival?”

「Beast，也許你能向我們介紹一下？」Brunhilda說道。

“Beast, perhaps you could introduce us?” said Brunhilda.

「我的女人，」Beast從長椅上站起來，指著那位貓女說，「至少，她曾經是我的女人。而這些，則是我的朋友——女王Brunhilda、Eejit Green以及Yellow Submarine。」

“My woman,” said Beast getting up from the bench and pointing at the cat- woman. “At least, she was once. And these are my friends,” he said. “Queen Brunhilda, Eejit Green and Yellow Submarine.”

「你竟然忘了加上‘我的’在女王前面，」Brunhilda一邊投以嫉妒的目光，一邊說，「真的是你嗎？」

“You forgot to add ‘my’ to queen,” said Brunhilda throwing jealous glances at the cat-woman. “Is that really you?”

「是的，我的女王，真的是我。我的外貌變了，但我也不知道為什麼，而且這也不是第一次發生。」

“Yes, my queen, it’s really me. My appearance has changed but I don’t know why. This isn’t the first time it’s happened either.”

「那你到底是誰，哦，奇蹟中的奇蹟？」Eejit對著貓女問道。

“And who are you, oh miracle of miracles?” said Eejit, addressing the cat- woman.

「我是Puscilla，」她一邊站起來一邊回答。

“I’m Puscilla,” she said getting up.

「她也會變形，」Beast替她解釋道。

“She also changes form,” Beast explained on his woman’s behalf.

「那麼，你到底是‘pussy’還是Puscilla呢，哦，奇蹟中的奇蹟？」Eejit問。

“So, are you pussy or are you Puscilla, oh miracle of miracles?” asked Eejit.

「這實在是顯而易見——我既是Puscilla又是Puscilla，」貓女邊來回踱步、滿足地蕩出自己的風采邊回答道。

“It’s quite obvipuss that I am both Puscilla and Puscilla,” the cat-woman replied as she walked back and forth in front of them taking great pleasure in showing herself off.

「原來如此，那你以前是誰呢？」女王評論道。

“So, that’s how it is,” the queen remarked. “And who were you before?”

「我曾是個女人，之後變成貓，再變回女人，再變成貓，這樣反覆了好幾次。」

“I was a woman, before that a cat, then a woman again, and then again a cat, and so on many times.”

「我猜你應該受到所有人的崇拜吧？」Brunhilda繼續道。

“And everyone adores you, I suppose?” Brunhilda continued. “Not really. First, they love me, then they dump me.”

「那後來怎麼了？你為何最終進了救護車？」

“And what happened? Why did you end up in the ambulance?” “I was dumped again.”

「誰甩了你？」

“Who dumped you?” “My purrfect.”

「再多說點吧。」

“Tell us more.”

「他實在太迷人了——鬍鬚濃密、尾巴長且有條紋！簡直就像個穿著靴子的貓咪！他走路的風範那般威風凜凜，他的尾巴輕撥我的耳朵；哦，他那親昵地以下巴蹭著我的脖子，以及那極具誘惑力的咕嚕聲——而我，滿懷貓一般銳利的眼神，徹底被他迷住了。」

“He was so striking, whiskered, large-tailed and striped! A real puss-in-boots! How imposingly he paced about me! How he tickled my ears with his tail! Oh, how he rubbed his chin against my neck! And how seductively he purred! And I, catty-eyed than I am, was completely taken in by it all.

一開始，我們之間充滿了貓咪般的友善與家貓的和諧，但後來他卻越來越頻繁地消失了。他捲入了一些所謂的「貓派匪徒」（catty-bandits），開始從事那類「貓派交易」（catty-band traffic）。接著，他又遭到一些家貓詐騙犯的追殺，這些人試圖把他關進「貓咪收容所」（pussy pound）。他躲藏了一段時間在一個被戲稱為「貓墓穴」（cat-a-crypt）的地方，鮮少露面。上次他出現時，還整理好所有「貓風裝束」（catty-clobber），宣告展開「貓式爭鬥」（catty-strife）與分手（pussy-split），因為他說，我看起來不夠好看。

At first, we lived in feline friendliness and moggy harmony but then he started disappearing more and more often. He got caught up with some catty-bandits and started trading in catty-band traffic. Then he was hunted by moggy fraudsters who wanted to get him locked up in the pussy pound. He hid for a while in a cat-a-crypt and was rarely seen. The last time he came by, he collected all his catty-clobber announcing catty-strife and pussy-split because, he said, I didn’t look good enough.”

「‘他到底是什麼意思，說我不夠好看？’」Submarine問道。

“’What did he mean, you don’t look good enough?’ asked Submarine.

「我正是這麼說的——‘你是說我不夠好看？’」我意思是，你們自己看看；我難道不好看嗎？

“That’s what I said, ‘What do you mean I don’t look good enough?’ I mean judge for yourselves; don’t I look good?”

Puscilla轉了個圈，炫耀著她曼妙的身段，雙手宛如前爪般地揮舞著。「對！你完全可以這麼說！」Submarine說。

Puscilla spun around flaunting her figure and moving her hands like front paws. “Yup! You could definitely say that!” said Submarine.

「看吧！這完全顯而易見 (obvipuss) 我看起來棒極了。而他卻硬把我甩了！想想看，我當時那狼狽的樣子！」

“There! It is completely obvipuss that I look great. And he went ahead and dumped me! Imagine, the moggy mess I was in!”

「你有沒有試過輕撫他那柔軟的毛，然後說：‘我親愛的完美 (purrfect)，別去那貓墓穴，小心著涼’？」這話似乎從他們頭頂上方傳來，此刻，Cow便猛地蹲下來。

“Did you try stroking his fur and saying, ‘My purrfect, don’t go to the cat-a- crypt, you’ll catch a cold’?” The phrase came from somewhere above them and at that moment, Cow plopped down to the ground.

「呼，我差點就沒能擺脫他們。接著，我聽到了你們談話的尾聲，便懸在半空中。我並非故意要打斷的。」

“Phew, I almost did not manage to break away from them. Then I caught the end of your conversation and hung in the air. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

「哦！那你究竟是誰？」Puscilla驚訝地問。「這位是Orange Cow，」Beast回答道。

“Oh! And who might you be?” asked Puscilla in surprise. “This is Orange Cow,” said Beast.

「Cow成功地把追蹤者引離了我們的蹤跡，」Submarine補充道。「哈——哈囉！」Cow笑著說。

“Cow managed to lead the chase off our trail,” added Submarine. “He-e-ello-o!” smiled Cow.

「那你為何這麼問？嗨，我是Puscilla。」

“And why do you ask? Hi, I’m Puscilla.”

「我或許錯了，但我想人們總是把Puscilla甩掉，是因為Puscilla總是只顧著自己。」Cow回答。

“I might be wrong, but I think the reason people always dump Puscilla is because Puscilla has a tendency to think only of herself,” replied Cow.

「你說得對！但你怎麼猜到的？我承認這是我的一大弱點，我太過以自我為中心（ailorouscentric）了，」Puscilla看向Beast說，「我正在努力改變。」

“You’re right! But how did you guess? I admit it is a weakness I suffer from. I’m far too ailorouscentric,” said Puscilla looking across as Beast. “I am trying to change.”

---

* * *

與此同時，先前還遠在天邊的警笛長嘯正逐漸逼近。

In the meantime, the howl of the siren that had until now sounded far away was getting closer.

「呃，那輛瘋狂的救護車！」Submarine驚呼，「我們該怎麼辦？」「我們得找個地方躲起來，」Cow回答。

“Uh, that crazy ambulance!” Submarine exclaimed. “What are we going to do?” “We’ll have to find somewhere to hide,” said Cow.

「我們無法永遠躲藏下去，」Brunhilda說道。

“We can’t hide forever,” said Brunhilda.

「這完全都是我的錯，」Puscilla說，「別再逃了，我會親自處理他們。」

“This is all my fault,” said Puscilla. “Let’s not run anymore. I’ll deal with them myself.”

「可…可是怎麼辦？」Beast問。

“But how?” asked Beast.

「我已經鍛鍊得很精悍，能照顧好自己。」

“I’ve got myself fit and can look after myself.”

「可是…怎麼辦？」Eejit問，「我看我再也無法蒙混過關了。」

“But how?” asked Eejit. “I don’t think I can pull the wool over their eyes any longer.”

「我絕不會讓他們傷害任何人，連我自己也不例外。」話音剛落，Beast便抓住了Eejit的棍子。

“I won’t let them hurt anyone or me for that matter.” With these words, Beast grabbed Eejit’s club.

「朋友，這工具屬於極端手段，只能作為最後的辦法，而且，它與你那精緻的裝扮完全不搭配，」Eejit指出。

“My friend, this tool is an extreme measure and should only be used as a last resort and anyway, it looks totally out of place with your sophisticated outfit,” noted Eejit.

「如果這類事情能靠武力解決，我早就辦妥了，」女王說道，她提起裙子露出一把隱藏的劍，「但如果走這條路，只會讓我們惹出更多麻煩。」

“If this was something that could be decided by force, I would have settled it a long time ago,” said the queen raising her skirts to reveal a hidden sword. “But we’ll only cause ourselves more problems if we go that route.”

還未等他們說完，一輛救護車猛地繞過轉角疾馳而來，隨著尖銳的煞車聲，警笛仍在嗥叫。女醫生從車艙中跳出，雙手叉腰。

Before they could finish, an ambulance came hurling around the corner and pulled up sharply with the sound of screeching brakes, its siren still howling. The doctor jumped out of the cabin and put her hands on her hips.

「好，逮住你們這些發明家兼調查員！」

“Right. Got you, inventor-investigators!”

「我們正準備告訴你們個好消息，病人正在康復，」Eejit一邊說，一邊朝那些逃跑的方向示意，「你們的支援如此迅速而毫不留情，僅僅聽見你們那優雅的警笛聲，病人就能立刻好轉。」

“We were just about to inform you of the good news. The patients are recovering,” said Eejit, gesturing in the direction of the runaways. “Your assistance is so swift and merciless that the sick recover instantly at the mere sound of your graceful siren.”

女醫生眯起眼，嘟了嘟嘴。

The doctor gave a squint and a pout.

「省省你的口舌吧，親愛的，還有你那優雅的辭令。」她揮手示意其他人關閉警笛，「病人不會就這樣突然康復。每個病人都必須接受治療，徹底治愈！但你們那農場似的地方，呵，哪裡談得上治療！對吧？」她說著點頭示意已聚集在旁的護士，「把那兩個弄進來！」

“Save your breath, darling and your graceful eloquence.” She waved for the others to turn off the siren. “The sick don’t recover just like that. Any patient has to be healed. Properly healed! But this farmyard of yours, well, healing isn’t the word for it! Right,” she said and nodded to the nurses who had meanwhile gathered beside her, “bring in those two!”

Beast站在Puscilla前方守護著她，手中仍緊握著那根棍子。「就這樣反抗嗎！」女醫生大聲喊道，「在執行時刻竟敢抗拒！我們將召喚後援，然後把你們整個團伙都記進案底！」

Beast stood in front of Puscilla guarding her and still gripping the club. “Like that is it!” shouted the doctor. “Rendering resistance at the moment of execution! We’ll call for back-up and get your entire crew-stew on the books!”

「等一下，」Puscilla從Beast背後走出來說，「你已被監押。要不要我啟動清算程序？」

“Just a minute,” said Puscilla, who came out from behind Beast’s back. “You’re under pen arrest. Should I launch liquidation?”

醫生的態度突然轉變，她的臉色頓時變得蒼白。

The doctor’s manner changed, and she turned instantly pale.

「什麼……？怎麼會這樣……？」醫生結結巴巴地說，努力找尋合適的語言，「你究竟是誰呢？」

“What...? How so...?” the doctor stammered struggling to find her words. “And who might you be?”

「我是作家，」Puscilla回答，「我現在就寫下你的故事，保證你會隨之消失。」

“I’m a writer,” replied Puscilla. “I’ll write you now and you’ll disappear.”

「作家……！她真的是作家……！」護士們先是低語驚呼，隨即卻踉蹌地後退了幾步。

“Writer...! She’s a writer...!” the nurses spoke first in a whisper and took a few faltering steps backward.

「親愛的，你怎麼不早說呢？」醫生改變語氣說道，「你現在感覺好些了嗎？我們本以為……我們一直想幫你！你看起來實在太不快樂了！」

“My dear, why on earth didn’t you say so?” said the doctor in a very different tone. “So, you’re feeling better already? We wanted... we thought... we wanted to help you! You looked so unhappy!”

「你覺得是這樣嗎？」Puscilla冷淡地問，一邊玩弄著自己的尾巴，「不，我可以向你保證，我完全且十分充滿貓樣的快樂。」

“You think?” inquired Puscilla in an indifferent tone and playing with her tail. “No, I can assure you, I’m totally and very catty happy.”

「真的嗎？那就一定是弄錯了。但你必須明白，我們的職責迫使我們如此……！畢竟，我們的任務是讓病人恢復到快樂的狀態。」

“Really? So, there’s been a mistake. But you must understand that our duty obliges us...! Our task is to return patients to a state of happiness after all.”

「而我的任務則是撰寫並消滅虛構角色。所以，我現在是否該啟動清算程序？」

“And my task is to write and eliminate fictional characters. So, should I start the liquidation?”

「不，不，當然不是！我看得出來你確實好些了！不管怎樣，我們必須得走了，我們急得要命！」

“No, no, of course not! I can see that you really are better! Anyway, we must be going, we’re in a terrible hurry!”

整個救護車團隊迅速衝回車內。

The entire ambulance team rushed back inside the vehicle.

「我們要向你表達我們狂熱的感激之情！」Eejit在他們之後大聲喊道。

“We’d like to express our manic gratitude!” Eejit shouted after them.

醫生向他投以不悅的眼神，猛地關上了救護車門。車輛隨即發出尖銳的摩擦聲，疾馳在道路上消失。

The doctor threw him a dirty look and slammed the ambulance door. The vehicle screeched into motion and hurtled off down the road.