2015-01-11

【Aiden in English】

        Nothing interesting ever happens on Mulberry Street, Mike thought. There was nothing ever to keep him occupied. No videogames because his parents didn't allow him to play. No television because there wasn't any cable. No parties because no one ever saved enough money. The only fun there was on Mulberry Street was the next door family. They had a daughter named Sarah Whiteham, and she was just as bored as he was. These two were Mulberry Street’s only children. They both lived in medium sized house and were good friends, but since nothing exciting ever happened, they rarely got together. That is, until one day……

        Mike hopped off the school bus one chilly autumn afternoon to find that Mulberry Street was getting another resident. Another victim for the least interesting place on earth, Mike thought. He could hear the whirr of the machinery and the cracking sound of splintering trees. Mike noticed a new pathway next to his house and raced over to it. Leaves crunched under his shoes as he walked down the brand new black-top driveway. As the construction site came into view, Mike let out a huge gasp. Bulldozers had cleared out an enormous area of land and the foundation of a building was already set. The base was at least ten times the size of Mike’s house. This was probably a recreational center or something, Mike thought, no way this could be someone’s house. But why, questioned Mike, of all the places in the world, would a company want to move here? His suspicions were answered, for he was wrong. A few days later, after the news spread like a wild fire, a sign was put up in front of the structure. Mike saw it and couldn’t believe his eyes. His new neighbor was a multi-millionaire. Something exciting was going to happen, and he could feel it in the air.

        Days turned into weeks. Weeks became months. Each and every day, the mansion grew. One day, Mike stepped off the school bus into the crisp December air to find that the mansion had been complete. It stood like a castle above Mike’s house, covering his property in the huge menacing shadows that it cast. Considering Mike had nothing better to do, he went over to the huge mansion to introduce himself to his new neighbors. As Mike got closer, he got a better look at the giant monstrosity. The house had a double door, grand and elegant. The entryway was stylish and had a balcony that over looked the front yard. The rest of the house extended off of the foyer and stairs around the back like a spider. Mike approached the front doors with an overwhelmed feeling in his stomach. Well the house surely gave a great first impression, Mike thought. Then, with the word Y.O.L.O. ringing in his head, Mike pressed the doorbell. 

        Ding-Dong! Mike jumped like a rabbit. Immediately a red hair girl with pig tails opened the door. She had her hands on her hips and a large frown planted on her face. She looked like a few years younger than Mike, and wore a T-shirt that read “I have A LOT of friends. I, Me, My, Myself……” Immediately he knew she was one of those spoiled little brats that always wanted things their way or the highway. The girl, after studying her new visitor, asked:” So what are you doing here, kid? I’ve got better things to do. Daddy and I are going to town soon for some Ice Cream, so you better explain yourself!” Whoa, Mike thought. It was bad manners and bad grammar. A double whammy to the face! “So? Who are you and what are you doing on my property?!!” Mike instantly shouted back:” The name is Mike. Michael William Smith! I’m your new neighbor, and you’re being quite rude to the person who is going to introduce you to everyone else at school.” As soon as those words left Mike's lips, he knew that he had made a big mistake. This wasn’t the girl to get a bad side on, considering that her family was rich. Just when the girl was about to smack a retort right back at Mike, a man dressed in a suit and tie walked to the door. He said:” Hey you two, what’s the fuss about?” Mike replied politely:” Nothing sir, it's just tha-“”He was rude to me, Daddy! He shouted at me and spit at me and yelled and screamed and…and…. He's a very, very, very bad boy Daddy! I want to move away now Daddy because I don’t want to live next to this boy for the rest of my life! I want to li-“. Before she could waste any more precious oxygen, her father hushed her and told the girl to go inside. “I am extremely sorry for that. Please, let me introduce myself. My name is Jim Lucas Cornelius, the founder and president of the Corwell Corps, which I’m sure you’re familiar with (Mike had no idea what that company is, does, nor did he care). You can call me Mr. C if you wish. That was my little daughter. She is named after Julius Caesar but, after all, she is a girl, hence her name, Julia.” Mr. C sure could make a formal introduction, Mike thought. He was polite too, so why couldn’t his daughter learn to be more like him? Mike introduced himself as politely as possible, but failed while doing so, stumbling through his full name. He wasn’t the most talkative person towards adults. “Calm down you nervous wreck”, Mr. C casually said,” We’re neighbors now, so any tension between us should be gone.” Mike cracked a smile. “So,” Mr. C continued,” I’ve decided to host a party this coming Saturday. Feel free to come at any time, ‘cause I’m planning to party all day. By that time our home should be in perfect shape, assuming my daughter doesn’t trash the place, and please do spread the word to your friends, neighbors, anyone you think that would like to come.” Mike nodded. There had never been a party on Mulberry Street, and Mike thought that there would never be either. He bid goodbye, and raced off to tell everyone the news.

        Saturday arrived in a flash. It seemed just like yesterday when Mike was standing at the front door of Mr. C’s house arguing with Julia. Now Mike’s family was up and arguing about the cloths that they were going to wear, what order they walked into the house, how we all were going to behave and not break anything, and even learning the formal dining manners. All the dining manners that Mike cared about was eating with silverware, just to eat whatever Mom okayed, not to play with your food, not to talk about anything disgusting, and not to leak gas from any part of the body (Mike’s all-time favorite). Then Mom went on talking about things like “ladies first”, “don’t chug down water”, “eating slowly”, and “the fork on the left is the salad fork”. By the time they were finished, Mike’s brain hurt from all the things to do and the sun began to set. Finally, his Mom let him go while she would get the present she wrapped for Julia. Mike ran to Mr. C’s house as fast as his clothes allowed him. Soon, he approached the giant double doors of the giant entryway to the giant house which felt like a giant castle once again, just that this time, the giant mansion was a lot less intimidating. He rang the doorbell, and almost instantly the doors flew open, startling Mike. There, in the doorway, stood a girl with red pig tails, dressed exactly the same way the last time they met. Julia shouted:” We got another one Daddy, another one!!!!” Mr. C came to the front door a few moments later, smiled, and invited Mike inside. Apparently, the word had spread to every corner of Mulberry Street and even further, because as soon as Mike walked inside, he was greeted by a hundred or so “hellos” and “how ya’ doin’s”. Mike saw some familiar faces like Sarah and her parents, Mrs. and Mr. Whiteham were there, but mostly everyone else was either a relative or someone that snuck in. Servants sprung up behind him and took his coat. It was then that Mike truly noticed the beauty of the Cornelius household. The entry hall was grand like a king’s home, with golden light reflecting off the delicate furniture. Pictures of natural scenery hung on walls, painted with professional skill. The ceiling was a beautiful arch, almost like a dome, and a blue and white perfect sky, and hanging from the dome was a chandelier. It was crystal white glass, bouncing off light of its elegant long arms. Hundreds of small candles flickered and burned, bathing the entrance in light and warmth. Mr. C clapped his hands and snapped Mike out of his little day dream. “Okay people, let’s get the show on the road!” shouted Mr. C. “Who’s hungry for turkey?!” 

        The next hour was just a crazy, mad frenzy of people stuffing their faces with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, pizza, sandwiches, and anything else that the Cornelius house cooks made. Before the crowds of people got to the food, plates of mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables and PBJ sandwiches lined a long, long table in the dining room. Outside, cooks roasted sausages and ribs, and the smell filtered into the air inside the mansion. Mike couldn’t hold his hunger anymore. The food was so close, but since Mr. C said to wait, it seemed light-years away. Finally, the doors to the kitchen swung open downstairs with a bang, and up came two servants slowly and carefully carrying a huge, sizzling turkey.  The skin looked like a golden color, crisp and tasty, and the scent was all too good for Mike to wait. He wanted it, and by the looks of the other guests, they were just as, maybe even much hungrier than he was. As the servants set the food down on the long table, Mr. C shouted:” Alright everyone, dinners served!” Immediately, like an overflowing dam on the verge of breaking, the flood of desperate, hunger people were released. The party guests rushed towards the food like it was the treasure after a long, long quest. In minutes, the enormous, golden turkey had been devoured, leaving nothing but crumbs. People heaped entire bowls of mashed potatoes onto their bowl, while others stuffed sandwiches in their mouths whole. Within a few moments, most of the food was either in someone’s stomach or on the floor, but even food on the floor didn’t last very long. After the food on the table had been eaten so clean that some plates even shined (Mike set a note not to go near them), people began looking to the floor and the trash for “leftovers”. Mike grabbed a sandwich and was even fortunate enough to get hold of a slice of turkey. He backed out of the war zone and ate his dinner in silence in a small corner of the room. It looked as if I wouldn’t need my table manners now, Mike thought.

        After the horrible dinner experience, Mr. C calmed the guests and told everyone that they were going to play a game. “Alright! Alright! Now we’re going to have some fun. It’s something I do at all my parties, and I call it “Security”. It’s basically hide and seek, and I hope that everyone knows the game, ‘cause I’m the security guard for this round, or the Seeker for the first round. You all have to play and have ten seconds to hide, so off you go!” Guests, still recovering from the food, were startled as the entertainment suddenly began, and so they wobbled to a hiding place so they could sit and digest. Mike took a lead over the older people, and beside him emerged Sarah. “Hey, so it looks like the parties going pretty rough so far, doesn’t it?” ”You bet!” replied Mike as he ran up the stairs to the second floor. The next floor seemed much like his own, with cheap furniture and carpets, and not as many paintings and pictures. They found a small room where they doubted Mr. C would find them. When they went inside, Mike was shocked to find everyone’s stuff piled in neat stacks or hanging in a closest. This is the perfect place, Mike thought. And judging by the facial expression on Sarah’s face, she was thinking the exact same thing that he was thinking. So they jumped behind stacked suitcases and other belongings and waited.

        Waiting patiently was never Mike’s strong suit, so during his wait with Sarah, he shifted a lot. On one movement though, Mike accidentally knocked over the stacked belongings. The sound of the items hitting the floor was loud, even though the carpet softened the noise. But that didn’t stop Mr. C from coming up and taking a look. He stuck his head inside the room, and there Mike sat. The only thing was that Mike’s attention wasn’t on Mr. C. He crawled forward a few steps, and picked up a small square box with the words “Please Do Not Open” on one of the sides. It must’ve fell when I knocked the things over, thought Mike. He examined the box, and then opened it. He gasped.

        The box was for a ring. It had a soft linen cloth on the bottom and top to protect the precious jewel, but the container was empty. Mr. C walked over and took the box from Mike’s hands. A few moments later, he had gathered all the guests in the dining room that was surprising to be suddenly so immaculate. Getting everyone together was hard, considering everyone thought it was a trick to get them caught. But when the word “robbery” left Mr. C.’s mouth, people filled the dining room like moths attracted to light. First came the Hills, a couple. They were trailed by the Millers, a family with a grown-up daughter that stilled lived with them even though she graduated college for three years now. Then came the Jasksons, the Flinchers, the Weggenhoffers, the Helens, the Clarks, and the Hugglinduoppliers. “Okay people,” announced Mr. C. “I’ll keep this simple. If you stole something, please raise your hand.” No one did. Then Mr. C showed everyone the box. There were only two people that reacted. They were the Thorkens, a couple that have been married for forty or so years (rumor is that today was their anniversary) that live a few houses down from Mike’s home. Mrs. Thorken said: “That box holds a ring that my great-great-great-grandparents passed down to me. It holds so much memories, I can’t bear if I am the one to lose it in the entire family tree. I would be so ashamed of myself!” Mr. Thorken gave her a big hug to comfort her, and then faced the rest of the guests. “I will find the ring,” said Mr. Thorkens, “and I’ve got experience on my side!” He’s right, Mike thought, Mr. Thorkens was a detective when he was younger. He was like the Sherlock Holmes of Mulberry Street, only the hardest case he ever had was probably in Calculus. “The first thing is first. To the crime scene!” shouted Mr. Thorken.

        The room was in the exact same way when Mike discovered the empty container. “Alright. First, I need everyone except a spectator of the crime scene and everyone else down the hall,” ordered Mr. Thorken. “Come on! Chop chop! We don’t exactly have all day!” He told Mike and Sarah who was also with him to describe everything, even the smallest detail. He said everything he could remember, playing back to when he walked in with Sarah. Sarah chimed into his description when a detail was left out, or to offer her point of view. Mr. Thorken thanked them and let them go to join the others. As Mike walked towards the other guests, he noticed Julia standing in a small corner, being quite quiet for her standards. She seemed to be hiding herself from everyone else. “It wasn’t me! I swear.” “Not me either!” Mike’s attention was torn away from Julia and focused on the fuss that was taking place. “I was hiding downstairs the whole time,” declared Mr. Clark, “It couldn’t have been me!” “I would never do something like that!” shouted Mrs. Helen. Sarah moved to a quiet room to avoid the talk, and sat there to calm herself. Then, Mr. Thorken came over and said:” Hey everyone. I’ve figured out how to get the robber. I have brought a small gizmo that sees fingerprints, and I can match them to one of yours. But I’m going to fetch a battery from my bag. As soon as I’m back, I can scan the box to find the culprit.” Then, he pulled Mike over and whispered:”Okay Mike. When I’m gone, hide in the closest in the room. If someone comes in and touches the box, then jump out and shout his/her name. I’m counting on you.” Mike nodded, since he knew the trick. The thief would come into the room and clean the box because he or she was afraid to be caught with the fingerprint scanner. But there was no scanner. However, there was another person or Mike in the room, so if anyone came in, then the person in the room caught the thief. Mike crept into the room, and went into the closet.  He waited, and waited, and waited afterwards. Finally, a shadow covered the entrance and a figure emerged. It was Sarah, and she looked around the room. As she scanned the area, she walked over to the closet and opened the door. “I knew you were there Mike, and I know the plan. I just wanted to see the robber myself, that is, if he or she falls for it.” Mike nodded, afraid to make any more sound. The closet was huge, able to fit ten or so people. Sarah wedged in, and just as she did, another figure entered the room. The person wore gloves, and took a look around. Mike and Sarah held their breaths. The figure walked towards the box, opened it, and pulled out a towel from his pocket. The person wiped the cushion for the ring thoroughly. At that instant, Mike knew this person was looking at the thief. “Hey!” shouted Mike as he leaped from the closet. “Put your hands in the air!” The figure shrieked, and immediately, Mike recognized the voice. The thief was Julia.

        “How could you Julia?” shouted Mr. C, “How could do such a thing!” After everyone heard the fuss in the room and came over, Julia started one of her fits after things didn’t go her way. “It was so beautiful Daddy! I wanted it! I wanted it more than anything else!” The rather different conclusions to the fun night made most of the guests go, and Mike’s family wanted to leave too. Julia had the ring in her pocket for the whole party, and pretty much kept quiet after she stole the ring. When Mike caught Julia red-handed, she fell, and the ring fell out of her pocket. That pretty much solved any further suspicion towards whether Julia wasn’t the thief. Everyone filed out quickly after that, and Mr. and Mrs. Thorkens got their ring back. The next day, a sign was put up in front of the mansion that said the Cornelius family was moving. No one really cared, because that long night was too much excitement for the residents of Mulberry Street.

【紅霞譯文】

        邁克認為，桑樹街上沒啥有趣的事情可談，實在找不出什麼東西能吸引住他，沒有遊戲可玩，父母一向不准沾手；沒有電視可看，家裡尚未安裝有限裝置；沒有派對可搞，無人手頭有閒錢。桑樹街上唯一說得過去的就是隔壁鄰居，他們有一女兒，名叫薩拉·瓦特漢姆，她像邁克一樣閒得無聊，整條街上就這麼兩個孩子。兩家房子不大不小，鄰里關係比較好，既然沒啥新鮮玩意，因此他倆難得湊在一塊，直到有一天……

        秋天寒冷的下午，邁克走出校車，發現桑樹街搬來新家，世上又多了一個無聊的人，邁克心裡嘀咕着。這時只聽馬達轟鳴砍樹聲響，邁克注意到新開闢出來的一條小道恰好直通自家大門，走在剛剛鋪完的柏油路面，腳底吱吱嘎嘎踩出一地碎葉。施工現場映入眼帘，邁克禁不住倒吸了一口氣，推土機已開闢出大塊空地，地基也初具規模，地下室面積至少比邁克家大上十倍，在他看來，如此偌大的地盤也許只能用來修建娛樂中心之類的場所，而絕非私人住宅。邁克開始納悶，世界之大無奇沒有，但哪家公司居然要搬到這裡？邁克很快消除了心中疑慮，不能不叫他跌破眼睛。幾天之後，消息如同熊熊火焰迅速蔓延開來，工地前面標牌佇立，邁克看後甚至不敢相信自己的眼睛，新鄰居竟然是位千萬富翁，好戲還在後面，邁克感覺到空氣中瀰漫着舒心的味道。

        幾天過去了，數周消逝了，若干月不見了，隨着時間拉長，豪宅建築變大。一天當邁克再度走下校車，十二月凜冽的寒風一股腦兒把落成的豪宅吹到了自己眼前，它像一座城堡傲然挺立於邁克家之上，其可怕的背影恰好把邁克家罩得嚴嚴實實。反正閒着沒事，邁克便主動登門拜訪新來的鄰居。邁克越走近這座豪宅越覺得耐看，大門為雙對門，既氣派又漂亮；門徑通道別致，設計講究；陽台正面對着前院，背面銜接門廳，樓梯宛如蜘蛛藏在其後。邁克誠惶誠恐地朝前門走去，由衷感嘆豪宅大氣，腦海里下意識響起叮咚聲，邁克順手按下了門鈴。

        叮咚！邁克像只兔子跳了一下，只見一位滿頭紅髮扎着馬尾辮的小姑娘過來開門，她兩手放在屁股背後，緊緊鎖住眉頭，看上去好像比邁克小几歲，其身上穿的T恤上面寫着“我有很多朋友：主語的我、賓語的我、定語我、還有我自己……”邁克當即意識到站在眼前的女孩肯定是高速公路上橫衝直撞的那主。女孩上下打量這位不速之客，毫不客氣地問：“小孩，有何貴幹？我有很多要事在身，正打算和爸爸進城買冰激凌吃，趕緊如實道來你是誰！” 喔，邁克不由得一愣，瞧她那副玩世不恭的態度，聽她那口出言不遜的腔調，也不撒泡尿照照自己什麼德行！“喂，你到底是什麼人，來我家幹啥好事？！！”邁克毫不示弱地回答：“我叫邁克，邁克爾·威廉·史密斯！本人住你家隔壁，你為何如此無理對待一位想主動把你引薦給學校其他同學的好心人呢？”話音剛落，邁克立刻意識到犯了大忌，她不過是個有錢任性的丫頭片子。正當女孩準備反駁時，一位身穿西服打着領帶的紳士朝大門走來，只聽他說：“嘿你們兩位，怎麼嗆來嗆去？”邁克聽後禮貌地解釋：“沒什麼，先生，是……”“爸爸，他對我無理！還大聲叫喊還吐唾沫還狂吼還尖叫還…還…，爸爸，他是一個徹頭徹尾的十足的真正的痞子！我現在就要搬走，從今往後再也不跟這個臭小子做鄰居！我要住……”尚未等她來得及耗完寶貴的氧氣，爸爸打斷女兒並示意她回到房間裡去。“我非常抱歉，請允許我先介紹一下自己。我叫吉姆·盧卡斯·科尼利厄斯，是考維爾有限公司創始人及其董事長，想必你已聽說（邁克對之一無所知，也不了解公司是幹什麼的，根本不在乎他所說的）。如果願意，你直接叫我C先生好了。剛才你見到的那位是我小女兒，其名字由尤利烏斯·凱撒而來，既然身為女孩，也就改稱朱莉婭。”邁克覺得C先生待人接物非常得體，為何他的女兒不多多地向老爸學習？邁克開始畢恭畢敬地介紹自己，但說得極為癟嘴，報姓名時竟然卡了殼，在大人面前他並不健談。“放鬆點，冒失鬼”，C先生漫不經心地說：“現在既然我們已成鄰居，彼此之間不應再有任何摩擦。”邁克咧嘴一笑。“好吧，” C先生繼續說：“本周六我決定舉辦聚會，歡迎你隨時參加，因為我打算要熱鬧一整天，假如我女兒沒有節外生枝，想必到時家裡會一切就緒，請你務必把話轉達給你的朋友、鄰居、任何願意參加的人。”邁克點頭應允。桑樹街上從未搞過聚會，邁克也從未期待舉行。道別了C先生，邁克急忙跑去告訴大家這個消息。

        眨眼工夫到了周六，對於邁克來說，站在C先生門口與朱莉婭鬥嘴就好像昨天發生的事情。現在邁克一家正忙於為聚會穿什麼衣服、走進主人家的順序、做客舉止及不損害東西、甚至學習就餐禮儀上等問題而爭論不休，其中最讓邁克糾結的莫過於使用銀器餐具吃飯，其它方面只要照媽媽說的去做就成，不玩食物、不說髒話、不放屁打嗝（邁克專長），媽媽還強調“女士優先”、“喝水不要發出咕嘟咕嘟的響聲”、“細嚼慢咽”、“沙拉叉位於左邊”。等全家聊完該做的不該做，不僅邁克的腦袋瓜趨於崩潰，而且太陽也下山了。最後媽媽讓他先走，自己留下來準備給朱莉婭打點禮物。邁克在保持衣冠成型的前提下以最快速度朝C先生家奔去，不久便踏上通往豪宅兩扇氣派雙門前那條講究的門徑通道上，這回再度看到這座豪宅已不像早先那樣局促不安。他按下門鈴，幾乎就在同時大門自動打開，嚇了邁克一跳，門內站着一位紅髮馬尾辮穿着打扮與上次見過完全相仿的女孩，朱莉婭大聲喊道：“爸爸，又來了一位，新的！！！！” 片刻之間，C先生走到門前面帶微笑，邀請邁克進屋。顯然，消息早已傳遍桑樹街各個角落乃至更遠的地方，因為等邁克一走進門廳，差不多聽見一百遍“招呼聲” 及“問候語”，邁克認出其中一些熟悉的面龐，像薩拉和瓦特漢姆夫婦，但多數來賓要麼是鄰居們的親戚朋友要麼是趁機夾三進來的局外人。傭人不覺出現在邁克身後並順手接過外衣，直到這個時候他才真正目睹科尼利厄斯家的精美之處。門廳寬敞如同國王的宮殿，金光閃閃的燈光把家具襯托得富麗堂皇；牆上貼着風景畫，作品都是出自專業畫家之手；天花板為拱形圓頂，被藍天白雲襯托得十分好看；吊燈懸掛在圓頂之下，纖細的白色水晶玻璃折射出瑰麗的光彩；數以百計的燭光閃爍，營造出明快溫馨的氛圍。C先生拍了一下手，把邁克從遐思中驚醒過來。“大家來吧，讓我們一起同歡共樂！” C先生高聲叫道：“想吃火雞嗎？！”

        接下來的一個鐘頭人們大塊朵頤，凡是科尼利厄斯家廚子烹飪的火雞、肉汁、土豆泥、比薩餅、三明治及其它上桌的飯菜統統一包在內，餐廳長條桌面上擺滿了一盤盤土豆泥、蔬菜及花生醬果凍三明治。廚子正在院子裡忙着燒烤香腸排骨，一股股噴香撲鼻的氣味飄進室內，邁克實在難忍飢餓煎熬，況且食物就在身旁，可C先生仍讓來賓稍等片刻，對他來說好比若干光年一樣漫長。終於樓下廚房門“嘭”地一聲忽然打開，兩位傭人端着剛出爐的大火雞慢慢走過來。火雞看上去色澤金黃酥脆可口，甜膩的油香味讓邁克甚感饞涎欲滴，真恨不得馬上咬上一口。邁克側目環視四周，其他來客也好不到哪裡，甚至比他更望眼欲穿。等傭人把火雞擱到長桌上擺好位置，C先生一聲令下：“各位來賓，晚宴開始！”頓時，飢腸轆轆的人潮宛如大壩決堤洪水泛濫，紛紛湧向食物，在他們看來眼前面對的仿佛是一堆期盼良久的金銀財寶。幾分鐘的工夫，碩大無比金光四射的火雞被一掃而光，只剩下少許殘屑碎渣；有人蒯上一大碗土豆泥，有人索性把整個三明治塞進嘴巴。之後大部分能吃的東西不是吞進肚裡就是落到地板上，而地板上的沒待多久瞬間也蕩然無存，大家把桌上的吃得乾乾淨淨，空無一物的盤子顯得比先前更加鋥亮（邁克還留下勿摸字條）。有人開始把目光轉向地面，毫不猶豫地清理完畢所有“殘羹剩飯”。邁克撿起一個三明治，同時還非常幸運地找到一塊火雞肉，明智地離開這個是非之地，獨自躲到牆角靜靜地享受美味珍饌，這樣反倒更好，犯不上顧忌用餐規矩，邁克寬慰地想。

        剛剛見識過晚餐上爭先恐後一幕，C先生招呼來賓平靜下來，接着開始動員大家玩遊戲。“好！好！這下到了我們一起熱鬧的時候，下面即將進行的是我家每次聚會必玩的遊藝項目，我叫它“保安”，基本算作捉迷藏的一種，希望人人都知道怎麼玩，因為第一輪先由我來做“保安員”即追捕者，你們必須做好準備，只有十秒躲藏時間，現在開始！”來的客人正撐得要命，一時緩不過勁來，他們搖搖晃晃先把自己藏起來再說，起碼可以坐下喘口氣，好生消化剛才海吃山喝的東西。邁克先於老人幫一步，薩拉緊隨其後。“嘿，聚會搞得還挺鬧騰，是不是？”“沒錯！”邁克一邊回答，一邊跑往二樓樓梯。二樓上的擺設跟他自己房間差不多，家具簡易地毯普通，沒有裝飾過多的繪畫與圖片。他倆發現一個小房間，自以為C先生無法找到他們。他倆鑽了進去，邁克驚奇地發現裡面有一壁櫥，每樣東西全部堆放或懸掛得整整齊齊，邁克認為這正自己喜歡的地方，從薩拉面部表情上來看，她感同身受，就這樣，他倆躲進成堆的箱子及物品背後等待起來。

        耐心等待絕不是邁克的強項, 所以在與薩拉一塊靜候的時候，他老是動來動去。有一次，邁克不慎碰翻了物品盒子，東西掉在地板上帶來的動靜很大，儘管地毯削弱噪聲，但C先生還是忍不住親自前來察看，他探過頭朝邁克坐的地方瞧了一眼。邁克不再把注意力放在C先生身上，而是向前爬了幾步，伸手夠出一個側面寫着“請勿打開”字樣的小方盒子，心想肯定是剛才自己撞翻箱子時掉出來的東西。他先檢查盒子外表，然後打開一看，呼吸變得急促起來。

        這是裝戒指的盒子，其底部頂部鋪有亞麻軟布以保護貴重珠寶，但盒子是空的，裡面什麼也沒有，C先生走上前來，從邁克手上拿起盒子。過了一會兒，C先生召集全體來賓到餐廳碰頭，令人佩服的是餐廳已被清理得一塵不染。此時組織大家湊在一起實在不易，因為難免會被人誤解為故意設套，但是當“盜竊”一詞從C先生口中說出之後，人們像飛蛾撲火似的紛紛出現在指定地點，先是黑爾夫婦；後面跟着米勒一家，儘管其長大成人的女兒已大學畢業三年，仍舊啃老住在父母家；還有傑克遜夫婦、弗林車夫婦、崴根好佛夫婦、海倫夫婦、克拉克夫婦以及哈格林杜普里亞夫婦。“來賓們，” C先生宣布：“我長話短說，如果你偷了東西，那麼請舉手。”沒人舉手。然後C先生拿出盒子給大家看，只有兩個人看後有所反應，他們是結婚差不多有四十年之久的索爾肯夫婦，傳說今天是他倆的結婚周年紀念日，他們住在與邁克家相隔幾處房子以遠的地方。索爾肯太太說：“盒子裡有一個戒指，那是曾曾曾祖父母傳給我的，它隱含許多記憶，我無法想象這個傳家寶從我手中丟失，如果真是那樣，我會為自己感到羞愧！” 索爾肯先生緊緊擁抱她，藉之深表安慰之情，然後轉過身來面對大家。“我要找到這個戒指，” 索爾肯先生說：“在破案方面我有經驗！”沒錯，邁克陷入沉思，索爾肯先生年輕時曾是一位偵探，可以說他是桑樹街的夏洛克·福爾摩斯，唯一能難倒他的問題恐怕只有微積分。“當務之急，先來看犯罪現場！” 索爾肯先生提高嗓門說道。

        房間擺設保持原樣完全，與邁克發現空盒子並無任何差異。“這樣好了，首先，除了檢查人員以外，我需要每個人都到樓下去。”索爾肯先生以命令口吻說：“來吧，動作快點！加油！我們可不想花上一整天時間！”他要求邁克與莎拉詳細介紹所見所聞，邁克回憶起當時與莎拉共同目睹一幕，莎拉插話補充邁克忽略的細節，並同時發表個人見解。索爾肯先生對他倆的描述表示感謝，並允許兩人回到聽眾席上。正當邁克朝人群走去，只見朱莉婭安安靜靜地站在角落裡，與往常判若兩人，她好像有意避開公眾視線。“不是我干的，我發誓！”“也不是我干的！”邁克的注意力從朱莉婭身上轉移到其他人爭吵上來。“我一直躲在樓下，”克拉克先生鄭重申明：“這不可能是我！” “我從來不做這種事！”海倫太太喊道。莎拉不願再談什麼，獨自走進一間沒人的房間想坐下來清靜一會。索爾肯先生又開始發話：“嘿來賓們，我已經想出找到小偷的辦法，這個小裝置可以用來辨認指紋，裡面的指紋將與你們其中一位相吻合，現在我要去取袋子裡裝的電池，等我回來以後，立刻掃描查找罪犯。”隨後他把邁克拉到一邊小聲說道：“邁克，我離開期間，你要把它藏到屋裡壁櫥中，如果有人來動這個盒子，你就站出來道出名字，這裡全靠你了。”邁克點點頭，因為他知道其中的玄機。做賊心虛，竊賊肯定會溜進房間，試圖擦乾淨盒子，只要沒留下指紋，指紋掃描儀就無據可查。但根本就沒有什麼掃描儀，然而邁克需要做的就是留在屋內守株待兔，只要有人進來，那人肯定是小偷。邁克鑽進壁櫥，等呀、等呀、等呀、不停地等。終於，門口被影子遮住，接着真人現身，是薩拉，她環視了一下房間，鎖定目標後動手打開櫥門。“邁克，我猜你在這裡，當然也知道你想幹什麼。假如有人露面，我想親眼看見小偷的模樣。”邁克點了點頭，因為擔心動靜太大而沒敢吱聲。壁櫥超大，足以容下十個人左右，莎拉鑽了進來，這時另一人影閃進房間，那人帶着手套，掃了一眼四周。邁克和薩拉屏住呼吸，眼瞅着那人徑直朝掃描儀走來，先打開盒子，然後再從口袋裡掏出手紙仔細擦拭戒指墊子，邁克猜測這人恐怕就是小偷。“嘿！”邁克迅速從壁櫥竄了出來，大聲疾呼：“舉起手來！”那人尖叫了一聲，邁克馬上識別出這一聲音，原來小偷是朱莉婭。

        “怎麼是你，朱莉婭？”C先生吼道：“你怎麼能幹這種事！”人們一聽到喊聲都涌了過來，朱莉婭眼見事情敗露只好坦白交待：“爸爸，它很漂亮！我想要它！除了它，我什麼都不想要！”快樂今宵就這樣落下帷幕，客人們先後離去，邁克一家也打算道別。晚會期間，朱莉婭一直把戒指放在衣兜里，因為贓物在身而使她沉默寡言。邁克現場抓賊時，她摔倒在地，戒指從衣兜里掉了出來。到此為止懸案已告一段落，既然水落石出，也就無需進一步討論朱莉婭是不是小偷的問題。人們很快各奔東西，索爾肯夫婦帶回戒指。第二天，豪宅前立了牌子，上面寫着科尼利厄斯一家要搬家，沒人真正關心此事，因為桑樹街的居民仍然沉浸在昨晚快樂時光中。