Before she could jump off the table, 在它跳离桌子前，

a crowd of children ran happily into the room, shouting and blowing horns. 一群孩子高兴地进了屋子，他们叫喊着、吹着喇叭。

Some were dressed like brownies. One was dressed like a witch, and one like a fairy. 有些人穿得像布朗尼。一个人穿得像女巫，另一个像仙女。

The black cat had never seen or heard anything like this before. 黑猫以前从未见过或听到过这样的事。

She was so frightened that she could hardly move. 它非常害怕，几乎动不了。

But when the children came running over to the table, 但当孩子们跑到桌子跟前时，

the black cat gave one big leap to the top of the jack-o-lantern. 黑猫大步跳到了南瓜灯的顶上。

She dug her sharp claws into him and held on with all her might. 它锋利的爪子陷入灯里，用尽全力紧紧抓着。

When the children saw a black cat in the middle of the table, 孩子们看到桌子中央的黑猫时，

they screamed and shouted with joy. 高兴得尖叫起来。

"Look, mother,"cried one boy. “妈妈，看啊，”一个男孩叫道，

"A real black cat come to our Halloween party. Did an old witch bring her?" “一只真正的黑猫来参加我们的万圣节派对了。是老巫婆带它来的吗？”

Kind little Ruth tried to coax her. "Come, poor kitty, nice kitty." she said. 善良的小露丝试图哄骗它。“过来，可怜的小猫，可爱的小猫！”她说。

But the black cat only dug her claws deeper into the jack-o-lantern. 但黑猫只是更深地抓着南瓜灯。

Her tail grew big. She humped her back up very high, and showed her teeth. 它把尾巴变大，把背弓得很高，露出了牙齿。

"Poor thing, she is afraid of the noise," said mother. “可怜的家伙啊，它害怕噪音，”妈妈说，

"Stop shouting and blowing your horns. Let us be quiet for a minute, “停止叫喊和吹喇叭。我们安静一分钟，

and perhaps we can coax her to drink some milk. Please get a saucer, Ruth." 或许我们可以哄着它喝点儿牛奶。露丝，拿个碟子来。”

Ruth poured part of her cup of milk into a saucer. 露丝把她杯中的牛奶倒了一部分到碟子里。

Mother set the saucer down on the floor. "Come, kitty," she said very softly. 妈妈把碟子放在地上，温柔地说：“小猫，来喝吧。”

When the black cat saw the milk, she leaped down and began to drink. 当黑猫看到牛奶时，跳下来开始喝奶。

"Poor hungry kitty!" said mother, and she began to pet the cat. “可怜的饥饿小猫啊！”，妈妈说，她开始抚摸黑猫。

No one else had ever fed and petted the black cat. 从来没有人喂过和爱抚过这只黑猫。

So when she had finished her saucer of milk, she lay down at mother's feet and went to sleep. 所以它喝完碟子里的牛奶时，躺在妈妈的脚上睡着了。

"She is a real Halloween kitty," said Ruth. "May we keep her?" “它是一只真正的万圣节猫咪，”露丝说，“我们可以养它吗？”

"Yes," said mother. "I believe she will be pretty when we wash her. “当然，”妈妈说，“我相信我们给它洗完澡时，它会很漂亮。

What shall we name her?" 我们给它起什么名？”

"Call her 'Witch'," said Ruth's brother. "That's a good name for a Halloween cat." “叫它‘Witch’吧，”露丝的哥哥说，“这很适合万圣节猫咪。”