Chapter 4
The giant shark bared row upon row of razor-sharp white teeth as its mouth spread into a wide, hungry grin.
“Hello!” said the shark.
“Well, hi!” Dory said cheerfully.
“Name’s Bruce.” The shark held out a fin. Marlin shivered, too frightened to do anything.
“That’s all right,” Bruce told Marlin. “I understand. Why trust a shark—right?”
Bruce studied the two smaller fish. “How would you morsels like to come to a little get-together I’m having?”
Dory smiled. “You mean like a party?”
“Yeah, right—a party. What do you say?” Bruce asked.
Dory looked over at Marlin and said, “Ooh, I love parties. That sounds like fun.”
Marlin couldn’t believe his ears. A shark party? He was sure they wanted to eat him.
“You know,” said Marlin, “parties are fun, and it’s tempting. But we can’t because—” Bruce wrapped a fin around each fish.
They were trapped! “Aw, come on,” he said. “I insist.”
“Oookay,” Marlin said nervously, “that’s all that matters...”
Bruce led Marlin and Dory over a rocky ridge into an undersea crater. The giant hole was littered with floating sea mines. Heavy iron chains moored them in place.
“Hey, look!” said Dory, pointing to the mines. “Balloons! It is a party!”
Bruce laughed. “Mind your distance, though. Those ‘balloons’ can be a bit dodgy. You wouldn’t want one of them to pop!”
Bruce weaved safely through the mines, taking Dory and Marlin with him. They drew closer to a shipwreck—a sunken submarine. They peered inside through a hole blasted in its middle.
“Anchor! Chum!” Bruce called out. “We’ve got company!”
A hammerhead shark and a mako shark circled below. “Well, it’s about time, mate,” said Anchor, the hammerhead, anxiously.
Chum agreed. “We’ve already gone through the snacks. And I’m still starving.”
Bruce pushed Marlin and Dory down into the sub. More sharks! Marlin thought. And they were all snapping their jaws hungrily.
Brrring! A diving bell rang.
“Right, then, the meeting has officially come to order,” Bruce said, ushering them into the group. Then he swam to a rusted makeshift podium.
All the sharks turned to him, listening closely.
It is a meeting! Marlin thought.
“Let us all say the pledge,” Bruce continued.
Together, all the sharks recited, “I am a nice shark. Not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends. Not food.”
Bruce nodded. “Today’s meeting is Step Five: Bring a Fish Friend. Now, do you all have your friends?”
“Got mine!” Anchor said proudly. He lifted a fin. A scared, shaking fish peeked out.
“Hey there!” Dory said, waving.
“How ’bout you, Chum?” Bruce asked. “Oh, well… I, um… seem to have misplaced my… uh… friend,” Chum said, embarrassed. He smiled just enough to reveal the skeletal remains of a fish tail stuck between his teeth.
“That’s all right, Chum,” said Bruce. “I had a feeling this would be a difficult step. You can help yourself to one of my friends.” “Aw, thanks, mate,” Chum said, hugging Marlin tightly. “A little chum for Chum, eh?”
Marlin sighed nervously.
“I’ll start the testimonies. It’s been three weeks since my last fish, on my honor, or may I be chopped up and made into soup.”
The other sharks clapped. “You’re an inspiration to all of us!”
Bruce looked around. “Who’s next?” Dory swam up to the podium. Marlin groaned. What was she doing?
“Hi, I’m Dory. And, uh, well… I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a fish!” she said.
Everyone applauded. “Good on ya, mate,” said one shark.
“That’s incredible,” said another.
While the sharks were distracted, Marlin freed himself. He tried to get Dory’s attention at the podium.
Then Bruce spotted Marlin out of the corner of his eye. “How ’bout you, mate? What’s your problem?” he asked.
Nervously, Marlin answered, “Me? I don’t have a problem.”
Bruce didn’t believe Marlin and pushed him up to the podium. Excited to see that he was a clownfish, the sharks asked Marlin to tell them a joke.
“So the sea mollusk says to the sea cucumber…” Marlin was struggling to entertain the sharks when he spied a hole in the roof. And there, dangling from a piece of metal, was a diver’s mask!
第 4 章
巨大的鯊魚露出一排排像刀片一樣鋒利的白色牙齒,咧著嘴貪婪地大笑。
“你好!”鯊魚說。
“嗯,你好!”多莉高高興興地說。
“我叫布魯斯。”鯊魚伸出一只鰭。馬林嚇得發(fā)抖,什么都不敢做。
“沒關(guān)系,”布魯斯告訴馬林,“我理解。為什么要相信鯊魚——對吧?”
布魯斯打量著這兩條小魚。“你們這兩個小不點(diǎn)愿意參加我的小聚會嗎?”
多莉笑了。“你是說聚會嗎?”
“是啊,對的——聚會。怎么樣?”布魯斯問。
多莉朝馬林看了一眼,說:“哦,我喜歡聚會。聽著很好玩。”
馬林覺得難以置信。鯊魚聚會?他確定他們想吃了他。
“你知道,”馬林說,“聚會很好玩,很誘人。但是我們?nèi)ゲ涣?,因?yàn)?mdash;—” 布魯斯用雙鰭把這兩條小魚圍住。
他們被困住了!“呀,來吧,”他說,“我堅(jiān)持讓你們參加。”
“好……好吧,”馬林緊張地說,“既然這么要緊……”
布魯斯領(lǐng)著馬林和多莉經(jīng)過崎嶇的海底山脈,來到一個水下的大坑。巨大的洞里到處都是漂浮的水雷。沉重的鐵鏈把它們固定住。
“喂,看啊!”多莉指著那些水雷說。“氣球!真是聚會!”
布魯斯大笑。“不過,要保持距離。那些氣球有點(diǎn)危險(xiǎn)。你可不會想讓任何一個爆炸。”
布魯斯帶著多莉和馬林,在水雷之間安全地迂回穿行。他們靠近了一艘沉船——一艘沉沒的潛水艇。船中間炸出了一個洞,他們從這個洞口往里看。
“安安!阿沈!”布魯斯叫喊著,“我們來客人了!”
一頭錘頭鯊和一頭灰鯖鯊在下面轉(zhuǎn)圈。“嗯,來得正好,兄弟。”錘頭鯊安安急切地說。
阿沈表示同意。“我們已經(jīng)吃過點(diǎn)心。可我還是餓得發(fā)慌。”
布魯斯把馬林和多莉往下推進(jìn)了潛水艇。更多的鯊魚!馬林心想。他們都饑腸轆轆地吧唧著嘴巴。
丁零零!潛水鈴響了。
“好了,那么,會議正式開始。”布魯斯一邊說,一邊把他們帶到隊(duì)伍里。然后,他游到一個生銹的臨時講臺上。
所有的鯊魚都轉(zhuǎn)向他,認(rèn)真地聽著。
這是個會議!馬林想。
“讓我們一起宣誓。”布魯斯繼續(xù)說道。
所有的鯊魚一起朗誦:“我是一頭好鯊魚。不是沒有腦子只會吃的機(jī)器。如果我要改變這個形象,我必須先改變自己。魚類是朋友。不是食物。”
布魯斯點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。“今天進(jìn)行大會的第五項(xiàng)議程:帶一位魚類朋友回來。那么,你們都把朋友帶來了嗎?”
“我?guī)砹?”安安驕傲地說。他舉起一只魚鰭。一條嚇得發(fā)抖的魚向外偷看。
“喂,你好!”多莉說著揮了揮手。
“你呢,阿沈?”布魯斯問。“哦,嗯……我,呃……好像把我的……呃……朋友放錯地方了。”阿沈不好意思地說。他笑了,正好露出嵌在牙縫里魚尾巴的殘骸。
“沒關(guān)系,阿沈,”布魯斯說,“我覺得和魚類做朋友確實(shí)很難。我的朋友你就隨便選一個吧。”“呀,謝謝了,老兄。”阿沈說著,緊緊地?fù)肀яR林,“做阿沈的小伙伴,嗯?”
馬林緊張地嘆了口氣。
“我先開始陳述。我以自己的名譽(yù)發(fā)誓,我已經(jīng)三個星期沒吃魚了,否則就把我剁碎了做湯。”
其他鯊魚鼓掌。“你是我們所有魚的精神領(lǐng)袖!”
布魯斯向四周看看,問道:“接下來該誰了?”多莉游到講臺上。馬林嘆息著。她在干什么?
“大家好,我是多莉。呃,嗯……我認(rèn)為,我從來沒吃過魚!”她說。
大家都熱烈鼓掌。“你太棒了,伙計(jì)。”一頭鯊魚說。
“太不可思議了。”另一頭鯊魚說。
趁著鯊魚們都被吸引住了,馬林掙脫了出來。他試圖引起講臺上多莉的注意。
于是,布魯斯用眼角的余光看到了馬林。“你呢,兄弟?你有什么問題?”他問道。
馬林緊張地回答:“我?我沒什么問題。”
布魯斯不相信馬林的話,把他推上了講臺。鯊魚們看到他是小丑魚都很興奮,讓馬林給他們講笑話。
“所以這個軟體動物對海參說……”馬林努力地逗樂鯊魚們,這時他發(fā)現(xiàn)船艙頂上有個洞。就在那兒,一塊金屬制品搖搖晃晃地懸掛在上面,那是潛水員的面罩!