【正文】 Translation exercise: Children‘s literature (2) Student translations I’m not Oscar’s Friend Anymore 1. Arlene Hsu I’m not Oscar’s friend anymore Written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat Illustrated by Tony De Luna Translated by Echo Magazine The world‘s best children‘s picture books selected by Echo For my best friend (p. 1) Oscar is my neighbor down the street. What a dummy I was to be his friend, but I didn‘t know any better. Just one or two days ago, he said something really fresh with me. That was so horrible. Here I won‘t waste time repeating what he said. Of course, I retorted right away, wouldn‘t let him take advantage of me. Who‘d have thought, his words got meaner. Since then, we are not friends anymore. (p. 2) It only took us two minutes to make enemies, and I‘m not Oscar‘s friend anymore. If we wished to start over, it should at least take ten thousand years! See? When I said ―ten thousand years,‖ actually, I meant ―forever.‖ Oscar really sucks! If he had a grape soda in his hand, he would definitely get me half drenched. (p. 3) When we were friends, I used to draw a picture of him. Well, I made a few mistakes, and now it‘s time to fix them. We keep scores as a game. My scores are surely adding up, and now I have 265 points. How about Oscar? He will have 73 points and no more. It serves him right! What‘s so good about Oscar anyway? Every spring, he gets infected by poison ivy. I hate it when he smells like calamine lotion! (p. 4) Also, I just can‘t figure out why he calls me during meals all the time? I always try to be patient and talk to him. However, who wouldn‘t love to have hot soup? (p. 5) Let me guess, Oscar. Now you must miss me like hell! Let me guess. When you wake up in the morning, the first face in your mind must be mine! Of course, you want to have a lot of fun with me…… Alas! What a pity! I‘m not your friend anymore. Why don‘t you just go back into your bed and enjoy the nightmare called ―I‘ll never make up with him!‖ Do you know what can be worse than a demon? Hee hee! It‘s a nightmare e true! (p. 6) Oscar, you may go out wearing a brown sock and a black one, because you can‘t get me out of your head. Maybe you won‘t notice until the afternoon that you wear your shirt back to front. And you don‘t understand what happened. Ha! What‘s more bewildered, you miss me so much that you go brush your teeth and b your hair without your mommy hurrying. This is so hilarious! (p. 7) Oscar, you‘ll have to watch TV by yourself. Do you wonder why the funny cartoons suddenly turn into boring news? (p. 8) The doorbell rings. Oscar rushes to the door. Ha! You think it is me? It is not! It‘s the United Parcel man asking for your mom. (p. 9) Now the cleaning woman es. Oscar is bound to tell her about his woes. Excellent. She hands you a rag so that you can help clean the room while pouring your miseries. You deserve it! After cleaning, she will fort you with words like, ―Don‘t worry. You will be friends again in a few days.‖ It‘s a pity that what she says is not the truth at all. (p. 10) Oscar, I will never be your friend again. Remember! I ―was‖ your friend, and that‘s it! You wait until next year, after winter, then spring, summer, fall……… I‘m still not going to be your friend again. You lose your energy and pace up and down in the house. Your mommy will think you are sick and take you to a doctor. (p. 11) Just you wait, just you wait! Waiting to be called in the clinic is not pleasant. Naughty kids run back and forth around you. In the end, they glue their lollipops in your hair. The doctor finally sees you. He shakes his head and says, ―You‘re fine. But, it‘s still good to e. You can have a shot just in case.‖ (p. 12) Your mommy says, ―How poor of you to have that shot. Let‘s go have some chocolate soda.‖ But, Oscar, the soda tastes like medicine. That‘s right! Exactly like the taste of it. (p. 13) You didn‘t realize how lucky you were. You were the one who didn‘t cherish our friendship. Now you have lost me, and you were just like a tattered boat sinking into the sea. Well……… Well……… I‘m not someone who would turn away from this……… Okay! After a careful consideration, I think I will be Oscar‘s friend. Fine. I will give him the chance