Katie was in the clear. The head teacher knew for a fact that it was somebody else who had been doing all the bad spells around school. But not everybody knew that she was innocent. In fact, as far as most people were concerned, Katie was still the Number One Suspect. This unpleasant state of affairs became home to Katie when somebody stuck a horrid poster about her on the classroom pin board. It showed a picture of a witch with a pointed hat and a broom, and beneath the picture was written:
凯蒂已经洗脱嫌疑。班主任确切地知道，在学校里到处施邪恶魔法的另有其人。然而，并非所有人都知道她是无辜的。事实上，在大多数人看来，凯蒂仍是头号嫌疑人。当有人把一张丑化她的可怕海报贴在教室的布告栏上时，这种令人不快的情况成了凯蒂生活的常态。海报上画着一个戴着尖顶帽、拿着扫帚的女巫，图片下方写着：
WANTED -
Dead or Alive
For Black Magic
Katie The Witch!
通缉——
不论死活
因施黑魔法
女巫凯蒂！
Katie did not notice the poster at first, but then Isabelle said: “Hey Katie, you’re notorious.”
起初凯蒂没注意到那张海报，接着伊莎贝尔说：“嘿，凯蒂，你出名啦。”
Katie wasn’t quite sure if notorious was a good or a bad word, but when she saw the poster she realised that it was definitely bad. She ripped the poster off the wall and tore it up. Then she saw that Isabelle, Mandy and Judy were smirking at her.
凯蒂不太确定“出名” 这个词是褒是贬，但看到海报后，她明白这肯定不是好词。她把海报从墙上扯下来，撕得粉碎。这时，她看到伊莎贝尔、曼迪和朱迪正对着她冷笑。
Mandy said: “Ooh Katie. I put up the poster. Are you going to turn me into a toad?”
曼迪说：“哦，凯蒂。海报是我贴的。你要把我变成一只癞蛤蟆吗？”
And Katie felt ever so tempted to do just that. But she held back because that would be doing Black Magic. And that really would be bad.
凯蒂心里真的很想这么做。但她忍住了，因为那属于施黑魔法，而那绝对是不对的。
Katie knew that almost all the girls in her class were gossiping about her. Isis remained her only loyal and true friend. The boys didn’t seem to care if she was a witch or not, but the boys didn’t talk about anything much anyway, apart from football and action movies. Except for one. And that was Paul.
凯蒂知道，班上几乎所有女生都在背后议论她。伊希斯是她唯一忠实可靠的朋友。男生们似乎不在乎她是不是女巫，反正除了足球和动作片，男生们也不怎么聊别的。不过有一个男生除外，那就是保罗。
You might think that Paul would be more wary of Katie than most. He had been acting the lead role in the school play that had gone embarrassingly wrong when somebody put a spell on it. He was good looking, and clever – so Katie thought – and the school play was the first time he had ever been in trouble.
你可能觉得保罗会比大多数人都更提防凯蒂。他在学校的戏剧表演中担任主角，结果有人施了魔法，表演尴尬地搞砸了。凯蒂觉得保罗长得帅又聪明，而那场学校戏剧表演是他头一回惹上麻烦。
But Paul didn’t seem at all cross with Katie. In fact, he was really nice to her. For example, on Friday afternoon in the art class, when Katie was painting a black cat, Mandy whispered that it was a witch’s cat.
但保罗似乎一点也不生凯蒂的气。事实上，他对她非常友善。比如说，周五下午的美术课上，凯蒂正在画一只黑猫，曼迪就小声嘀咕说那是女巫的猫。
But Paul said that the eyes in Katie’s painting were just like his own cat’s, and that he really liked his cat because she was mysterious and did her own thing.
但保罗说，凯蒂画里猫的眼睛和他自己养的猫的眼睛很像，他真的很喜欢他的猫，因为它很神秘，特立独行。
“Well, Paul likes weird things,” said Mandy. “In fact, he likes Katie.”
“哼，保罗就喜欢怪东西，” 曼迪说，“事实上，他喜欢凯蒂。”
And Judy asked, “Hey Paul, why do you talk to Katie? She put a jinx on your bid for stardom.” And the girls sniggered.
朱迪接着问：“嘿，保罗，你干嘛和凯蒂说话？她给你成为明星的机会下了咒。” 女孩子们听了都偷笑起来。
And Jemma, who had also been in the play with Paul, and who was still crushingly embarrassed about saying all the wrong lines in front of all the parents and governors – not just any old wrong lines – but really stupid ones – was furious with Katie, and she said:
杰玛也和保罗一起参演了那出戏，她还在为在所有家长和校董面前说错台词而尴尬不已—— 可不是普通的口误，而是说了些蠢到家的台词 —— 所以她对凯蒂很是恼火，她说：
“Look Paul, don’t you ever learn? Stay away from Katie. Witches are bad news.”
“听着，保罗，你就不长记性吗？离凯蒂远点。女巫没一个好东西。”
And Paul got really heated and said:
保罗一下子激动起来，说道：
“All you girls ever do is gossip and whisper nasty things. You don’t know everything. You just think you do. It wasn’t Katie who did those spells. Somebody stole her magic book.”
“你们这些女生就知道八卦，小声说些难听的话。你们又不是什么都知道，只是自以为知道罢了。那些魔法不是凯蒂施的。有人偷了她的魔法书。”
“Oh yeah, if you believe that you’ll believe anything,” said Jemma. And then they all had to be quiet because Miss Stripes the art teacher was looking at them.
“哦，是吗，要是这话你都信，那什么你都信了。” 杰玛说。这时，因为美术老师斯特赖普斯小姐正看着她们，她们都不得不安静下来。
And for the first time in a week, Katie felt really happy. In fact, she felt especially happy because Paul was sticking up for her. She knew that Jemma was particularly peeved because she really liked Paul. And that made her feel even more pleased, though perhaps it shouldn’t have done.
一周以来，凯蒂第一次真切地感到开心。事实上，她格外开心，因为保罗在为她挺身而出。她知道杰玛尤其恼火，因为她真的喜欢保罗。这让凯蒂更高兴了，尽管也许她不该这么想。
In fact, if there was any boy in the class who was ok, it was Paul. He was so nice that he was almost like a girl, only he was a boy. In fact, he was perfect.
事实上，班上如果有哪个男生还不错，那就是保罗。他人很好，好得几乎像个女生，可他偏偏又是个男生。实际上，他近乎完美。
But perhaps Paul wasn’t quite as perfect as he used to be. The next week he was late for school on Monday, and then on Tuesday, and then if he was late on Wednesday, he would be in serious trouble.
但或许保罗不像以前那么完美了。接下来那个星期，周一他上学迟到，周二也迟到了，要是周三还迟到，他可就有大麻烦了。
It was 9.30 on Wednesday morning. Miss Vile was taking the register. And Paul’s chair was empty.
周三上午九点半，维尔老师正在点名。保罗的座位空着。
Miss Vile said: “Imran – “Yes, Miss Vile.”
维尔老师喊道：“伊姆兰 ——” “到，维尔老师。”
“Jemma” – “Yes, Miss Vile.”
“杰玛”——“到，维尔老师。”
“Katie” – “Yes, Miss Vile.”
“凯蒂”——“到，维尔老师。”
And Katie thought: “Shall I, just this once, do just a little spell to help Paul out?”
凯蒂心想：“就这一次，我要不要施展一个小魔法帮保罗解围呢？”
Miss Vile had reached Matthew. Next it would be Nathan and then it would be Paul.
维尔老师点到了马修。接下来是内森，再之后就该点保罗了。
Katie wasn’t supposed to do spells at school, but then on the other hand, she really did owe Paul a favour, and she really didn’t want him to be in trouble, because that wouldn’t be fair, because normally he was so good.
凯蒂不该在学校施展魔法，可另一方面，她确实欠保罗一个人情，而且她真的不想看到保罗惹上麻烦，因为那不公平，毕竟他平时表现一直很好。
“Paul,” said Miss Vile. And before the teacher could look up at Paul’s empty chair, Katie quickly said a spell and made it look like he was sitting there and saying:“Yes, Miss Vile,” in a voice that sounded almost like his real one.
“保罗。” 维尔老师叫道。还没等老师抬头看向保罗空着的座位，凯蒂赶紧念了个咒语，让保罗看起来像是正坐在那儿，还模仿着他几乎一模一样的声音说道:“到，维尔老师。”
But just as the magic Paul was answering the register, the real Paul walked into the room. So if anyone else looked up, theywould see two Pauls. And that really could cause double trouble and confusion. Katie quickly said another spell to make the real Paul disappear for a moment while she sorted out the mess. Fortunately everyone was quite sleepy because it was first thing in the morning, and nobody seemed to notice the strange comings and goings of Paul’s likeness.
但就在魔法变出来的保罗应答点名时，真正的保罗走进了教室。所以要是这时有人抬头，就会看到两个保罗。那可真会引发大麻烦和混乱。凯蒂赶紧又念了个咒语，让真正的保罗暂时消失一会儿，好把这烂摊子收拾好。所幸大家因为大清早的都还迷迷糊糊的，似乎没人注意到保罗的“离奇状况”。
Katie was pleased because she had helped Paul, even though he didn’t know that she had – or so she thought. Just before the first lesson, Paul said:
凯蒂很高兴，因为她帮到了保罗，尽管她觉得保罗并不知道是她帮的忙。就在第一节课上课前，保罗说：
“Thanks for helping me out Katie. But there was no need. I don’t want you to get into trouble for doing magic.”
“谢谢你帮我解围，凯蒂。但真没必要。我不想你因为施魔法惹上麻烦。”
And Katie was surprised, because she didn’t think he could see through her magic.
凯蒂很惊讶，因为她以为保罗没看穿她的魔法。
“Oh really it was nothing,” she said. “I owed you.”
“哦，真的没什么，” 她说，“我欠你个人情。”
But Paul kept on getting into more trouble at school, and Katie wasn’t always there to help him. He forgot his homework, he lost his text books, and pretended to be feeling poorly when the class had to go on a long run around the playing fields when it was raining. Mr Sadie, the games teacher, didn’t believe him and made him run twice as far as everyone else. On that occasion, Katie gave Paul just a little help, and said a spell to make him run faster.
但保罗在学校里麻烦不断，凯蒂也不可能总在他身边帮他。他忘带作业，弄丢课本，下雨天全班要绕操场长跑时，他还假装身体不舒服。体育老师萨迪先生不相信他，罚他比其他人多跑一倍的距离。那次，凯蒂稍稍帮了保罗一把，施了个咒语让他跑得更快。
“Thanks once again,” said Paul later on.
“再次谢谢你。” 保罗稍后说道。
“Thanks for what?” asked Katie.
“谢我什么？” 凯蒂问道。
“Thanks for making me run faster.”
“谢你让我跑得更快。”
And this time Katie asked him how he knew that she had done some magic, because most people wouldn’t have noticed. And Paul let her into a secret. He told her that his grandfather had been a wizard. But his family were really embarrassed about it, and they hushed up this chapter in the family history and made Paul swear never to do any magic. His mum and dad thought that magic was something you should be ashamed of.
这次凯蒂问他怎么知道是她施了魔法，因为大多数人都不会察觉到。于是保罗向她透露了一个秘密。他告诉凯蒂，他的祖父曾是一名巫师。但他的家人对此深感尴尬，他们隐瞒了家族历史中的这一段，并让保罗发誓绝不能施展任何魔法。他的父母认为魔法是件丢人的事。
“That’s ridiculous,” said Katie. “But then, they aren’t the only ones who think like that. There’s a lot of prejudice against witches. People are afraid of us because they don’t understand us. That’s why it’s supposed to be a secret that I’m a witch.”
“这太荒谬了，” 凯蒂说，“但话说回来，不止他们这么想。人们对女巫有很多偏见。他们因为不了解我们而惧怕我们。这就是为什么我是女巫这件事得保密。”
“It’s not a very good secret,” said Paul. “Everyone knows it.”
“这秘密保得可不怎么样，” 保罗说，“大家都知道了。”
“And everyone blames me when things go wrong.”
“而且一出事大家就怪我。”
“Yes, I’ve noticed,” said Paul.
“是啊，我注意到了。” 保罗说。
Although what Paul had told Katie was a secret, she shared it with Isis because she was her best friend. And when Isis heard, she said:
尽管保罗告诉凯蒂的是个秘密，但她还是告诉了伊希斯，因为伊希斯是她最好的朋友。伊希斯听后说：
“Now it all makes perfect sense. It was Paul who stole your book. That’s why he’s sticking up for you. He feels guilty that everyone is blaming you for his naughty spells.”
“现在一切都说得通了。是保罗偷了你的魔法书。所以他才一直帮你说话。他因为大家把他那些捣蛋的魔法算在你头上而心怀愧疚。”
And at first Katie couldn’t believe that Paul would do something bad like stealing her book. But then she thought some more, and she had to admit that whoever stole her book seemed to have a talent for magic. Because it was one thing to read the spells in a book, and it was another to actually do them. In fact it was really only supposed to be witches and wizards who could do them.
起初，凯蒂不敢相信保罗会做出偷她魔法书这种坏事。但随后她又仔细琢磨了一番，不得不承认，不管是谁偷了她的魔法书，此人似乎都有魔法天赋。因为光是读懂魔法书里的咒语是一回事，真正施展出来又是另一回事。事实上，一般来说只有女巫和巫师才能施展咒语。
“It’s obvious,” said Isis. “You can’t see it because you’ve got a pang for Paul.”
“这很明显啊，” 伊希斯说，“你看不出来是因为你对保罗有好感。”
“I have not.”
“我才没有。”
“Yes, you have.”
“你就是有。”
“Well, perhaps just a bit,” admitted Katie.
“好吧，也许有那么一点点。” 凯蒂承认道。
The next week Paul did something really, really bad. He sneaked out of school at lunchtime and went for a walk around town on his own. And then some rough boys started picking on him. A police car was going by and saw that there was a fight about to happen. They stopped to help Paul and that was how they found out that he was playing truant from school. Now he was in big trouble. Like getting excluded from school kind of trouble. Miss Hepworth, the head teacher, called his mother in for a chat. The word was out that Paul was going to get the Big Push.
接下来的一周，保罗做了件极其糟糕的事。午餐时间，他偷偷溜出学校，独自在镇上闲逛。然后，几个小混混开始找他麻烦。一辆警车刚好路过，看到即将发生斗殴，便停下来帮保罗。也正因如此，他们发现保罗逃学了。这下他可惹上大麻烦了，可能会被学校开除的那种。班主任赫普沃思小姐把他妈妈叫来谈话。有传言说保罗要被学校劝退了。
Paul wasn’t in school, but Katie really wanted to talk to him. She had never been to Paul’s house, and she didn’t have his phone number or email address. But that didn’t stop her. Her mum had a magic phone that knew everyone’s number in the entire world, even the numbers of people like the Queen, or the President of the United States, or Sir Paul McCartney. Mum never used it to call people like them, because she said they were busy, and in any case, they didn’t need any help or advice from a witch because they had their own kind of magic. But the phone was incredibly useful when you lost a friend’s number, or didn’t have it in the first place. Katie picked it up and just said:
保罗没来学校，但凯蒂特别想跟他聊聊。她从没去过保罗家，也没有他的电话号码或电子邮箱地址。但这难不倒她。她妈妈有一部魔法电话，知晓世上所有人的号码，哪怕是像女王、美国总统，或是保罗・麦卡特尼爵士这类人的号码也不例外。妈妈从不拿它给这些人打电话，因为她说他们都很忙，而且不管怎么说，他们不需要女巫的帮助或建议，因为他们自有一套“魔法”。但当你弄丢朋友的号码，或者压根就没有对方号码时，这部电话就极其管用了。凯蒂拿起电话，只说了句：
“I’d like to call Paul please,” And the phone understood which Paul she meant and it called him right away.
“我想给保罗打电话。” 电话就明白她指的是哪个保罗，立刻帮她拨通了。
Paul’s mum answered and she heard her call up the stairs: “Paul. There’s a “Katie” on the phone for you.”
保罗的妈妈接了电话，凯蒂听到她朝楼上喊道：“保罗。有个叫凯蒂的给你打电话。”
And a bit later Paul picked up the receiver and said: “Hello Katie. Or perhaps I should say goodbye. You know they’re going to kick me out of school.”
过了一会儿，保罗拿起听筒说：“你好，凯蒂。或许我该说再见了。你知道的，他们要把我赶出学校了。”
“I’m so cross with you,” said Katie. “Why have you been acting so bad recently? You’ve always been so well behaved. In fact, up until recently you were Mr Perfect.”
“我对你太生气了，” 凯蒂说，“你最近为什么表现得这么糟糕？你向来都循规蹈矩的。事实上，就在不久前，你还是个完美先生呢。”
“Well, I suppose I got bored with being Mr Perfect,” said Paul. “Being bad seems like more fun. And besides, I’ve got something to confess. It was me who stole your spell book.”
“嗯，我想我对做完美先生感到厌倦了，” 保罗说，“做坏事似乎更有趣。而且，我有件事要坦白。是我偷了你的魔法书。”
“I figured that out for myself already,” said Katie. “But now I’m going to save you one last time. I’ll do a mind wipe on Mrs Hepworth so that she forgets all the bad things you’ve done.”
“我自己已经猜到了，” 凯蒂说，“但现在我最后再救你一次。我会对赫普沃思夫人施展记忆消除咒，让她忘掉你做过的所有坏事。”
And Paul said something that really surprised Katie: “No don’t do that,” he said. “I forbid you. I don’t want to be saved by your magic. I’ve got to face this myself.”
保罗说出的话让凯蒂大为震惊：“不，别那么做，” 他说，“我不许你这么做。我不想靠你的魔法获救。我得自己面对这一切。”
And although Katie argued with him, and she meant to ignore what he said and do the spell anyway, later that evening she decided to call Isis and ask her advice. And Isis said that yes, Paul had to take his lesson. It would be good for him.
尽管凯蒂跟他争论，还打算不管他说什么，执意施咒，但那天晚上晚些时候，她决定打电话给伊希斯征求意见。伊希斯说，没错，保罗必须吸取教训，这对他有好处。
And so Paul was expelled from school. And before he left, Paul told his friends that it was he who had stolen Katie’s spell book, and people understood at last that Katie really was innocent of doing all the bad spells around school.
于是，保罗被学校开除了。离校前，保罗向朋友们坦白是他偷了凯蒂的魔法书，大家终于明白，在学校里搞那些邪恶魔法的并非凯蒂，她确实是无辜的。
Katie was really sad that she wouldn’t be seeing Paul at school anymore. But she had one compensation. She did have his telephone number. And now all she had to do was think of a reason to invite him round in the holidays so that her mother could explain to him the difference between good and bad magic.
想到以后在学校再也见不到保罗，凯蒂心里十分难过。不过她也有个小小的慰藉，她总算有了保罗的电话号码。现在她只需想个理由，在假期邀请保罗来家里，这样她妈妈就能向他解释白魔法与黑魔法的区别了。
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