Tick Tock Turkey and the Disappearing Sandwich（滴答火鸡与消失的三明治）

This is a story about a very odd bird called Tick Tock Turkey, his friend Future Dog, and a sandwich that disappeared, mysteriously, into thin air.

这是一个关于一只极为奇特的鸟的故事，这只鸟叫滴答火鸡，它还有个朋友叫未来狗，以及一个神秘消失得无影无踪的三明治。

Tick Tock Turkey is a brown feathery bird, a bit scruffy, and a bit clumsy. He has a special watch with a red button that he wears on one of his wings.

滴答火鸡是一只棕色羽毛的鸟，有点邋遢，还笨手笨脚的。它的一只翅膀上戴着一块有红色按钮的特殊手表。

Future Dog – as you can probably guess – is a dog, and she comes from the future. She has black fur, blue and gold hair on her head, and wears dark sunglasses all the time. Even at night.

未来狗—— 你大概能猜到 —— 是一只狗，它来自未来。它浑身黑毛，头顶有蓝金色的毛发，还总是戴着深色太阳镜，哪怕是在夜里。

Tick Tock Turkey and Future Dog have an interesting talent. They can travel in time. They can go forward into the future, when things haven’t happened yet, or backward into the past, when things have already happened. Time travel is quite complicated, so it’s a good idea to explain one or two things about it.

滴答火鸡和未来狗有一项有趣的本领。他们能够进行时间旅行。他们可以前往还未发生任何事的未来，也可以回到已经发生过各种事的过去。时间旅行相当复杂，所以有必要解释一下其中的一两个要点。

You’re probably thinking: ‘It isn’t possible to travel in time. It can’t be done!’ However hard you try, no matter what you do, it’s always right now. It’s never yesterday, and it’s never tomorrow. It is always today. You might say to yourself: ‘I can’t wait until tomorrow! It’s going to be so much more exciting than today!’ and then jump into bed and shut your eyes tight and make yourself go to sleep so that tomorrow comes quickly.

你可能在想：“时间旅行是不可能的，根本办不到！” 不管你怎么努力，无论你做什么，时间永远是当下。它永远不是昨天，也永远不是明天，永远都是今天。你也许会对自己说：“我迫不及待要到明天了！明天肯定比今天有趣多了！” 然后就跳上床，紧紧闭上眼睛，催自己入睡，好让明天快点到来。

But what happens when you wake up? It’s not tomorrow at all. It’s just a different today. It’s always today, no matter what you do.

但当你醒来时会怎样呢？根本不是明天，只是又一个不同的今天罢了。无论你做什么，时间永远都是今天。

Just imagine that you could say to yourself: ‘I’m so bored with Monday. And Tuesday doesn’t look very exciting. Wednesday and Thursday look pretty dull. Now, I was planning to go out for ice cream on Friday, which will be much more fun. So, I’m going to push a button and make it Friday, right now. I’ll just zoom into the future and miss out all those boring days in between…’

不妨设想一下，你可以对自己说：“我对周一厌烦透顶了。周二看起来也没什么意思。周三和周四似乎相当无趣。嗯，我本来计划周五出去吃冰淇淋，那肯定有趣得多。所以，我要按个按钮，让现在就变成周五。我直接飞速穿越到未来，跳过这中间那些无聊的日子……”

So you push a button, and zap! It’s Friday! And there’s so much ice cream you can’t stop yourself even though you know you’re probably going to have a sore tummy and a headache.

于是你按下按钮，嗖的一下！就到周五了！面前有那么多冰淇淋，你根本忍不住，即便你知道这样可能会肚子疼、头疼。

Hang on. That doesn’t happen, does it? No one can push a button and zoom into the future.

等等。这并不会发生，对吧？没人能按个按钮就飞速穿越到未来。

But what if you could say to yourself: ‘I really enjoyed going to the beach last weekend. The sun was so hot and I got to lounge around for hours and swim in the sea and look for crabs in the rock pools and play football on the sand. But now it’s raining and miserable and I’m stuck indoors. So, I’m going to push a button and make it last weekend, right now. I’ll just zoom into the past and get away from this boring rainy day…’

但要是你能对自己说：“我上个周末去海滩玩得可开心了。太阳火辣辣的，我在那儿悠闲地躺了好几个小时，还去海里游泳，在岩石水洼里找螃蟹，在沙滩上踢足球。可现在外面下雨，天气糟透了，我被困在屋里。所以，我要按个按钮，让现在变回上个周末。我直接飞速回到过去，躲开这无聊的下雨天……”

So you push a button, and zap! It’s last weekend! And you can play and swim and eat ice lollies all day and then, when the day is over, you can zoom back to this morning and do it all over again!

于是你按下按钮，嗖的一下！就回到上个周末了！你可以一整天玩耍、游泳、吃冰棍，等这一天结束，你还能再飞速回到今天早上，然后再重新玩一遍！

Hang on. That doesn’t happen either, does it? No one can push a button and zoom into the past whenever they feel like it.

等等。这同样也不会发生，对吧？没人能想穿越回过去就按个按钮穿越回去。

Well, that scruffy Tick Tock Turkey, and that flashy Future Dog, they can travel in time. They can go forward into the future, or backward into the past, using a special time-travelling watch.

嗯，那只邋遢的滴答火鸡和那只炫酷的未来狗，它们能够进行时间旅行。它们可以借助一块特殊的时间旅行手表，前往未来，或者回到过去。

Now, time travel isn’t always as much fun as it sounds. Sometimes time travel can cause plenty of bother. It’s complicated zooming back to yesterday, or zooming forward to tomorrow, and then zooming back to today and still remembering when it is and where you are. In fact, sometimes time travel can cause so much bother that it hardly seems worthwhile.

要知道，时间旅行并不总是像听起来那么有趣。有时候，时间旅行会带来诸多麻烦。飞速回到昨天，或者飞速前往明天，然后再回到今天，还得记得当下是什么时间、自己身处何方，这可相当复杂。事实上，有时候时间旅行带来的麻烦太多，似乎根本不值得这么做。

Tick Tock Turkey’s disappearing sandwich caused a lot of confusion. The story of Tick Tock Turkey’s sandwich is a good one to hear, if you want to know just how peculiar time travelling can be.

滴答火鸡消失的三明治就引发了诸多混乱。如果你想知道时间旅行究竟能有多奇特，那么滴答火鸡三明治的故事很值得一听。

Tick Tock Turkey and Future Dog live in a strange place called Egg Island. Egg Island isn’t the biggest island in the world, but it’s not small either. It has a mountain in the middle, surrounded by a deep, dark jungle, and a bright sandy beach all the way around its shores.

滴答火鸡和未来狗生活在一个名为蛋之岛的奇特地方。蛋之岛并非世界上最大的岛屿，但也不算小。岛中央有一座山，四周环绕着幽深茂密的丛林，海岸沿线则是一片明亮的沙滩。

Across the island there are hundreds of stone turkeys, tall statues with enormous stone eggs balanced on their heads, each carved from the mountain rock by clever turkeys long ago. Egg Island used to be part of the land of Turkeytopia, a whole country of birds. But now Egg Island drifts across the seas of the world, like an enormous boat with no sail.

在整个岛上，矗立着数百尊石火鸡雕像，这些高大的雕像头顶着巨大的石蛋，每一尊都是很久以前由聪明的火鸡们用山上的岩石雕刻而成。蛋之岛曾经是火鸡托邦大陆的一部分，那曾是一整个鸟类的国度。但如今，蛋之岛就像一艘没有帆的巨大船只，在世界的海洋上四处漂泊。

Egg Island also does something mysterious. It doesn’t only drift across the seas, it also floats through time. It drifts forward into the future, and backward into the past, as the tide takes it. When Egg Island comes ashore, which it does every now and then, for a little while, there is no telling where, or when, it could be!

蛋之岛还会做一些神秘的事。它不仅在海面上漂流，还会在时间中穿梭。随着潮水的推动，它时而漂向未来，时而回到过去。当蛋之岛时不时靠岸停留片刻时，没人说得清它会在何时何地出现！

On one very misty morning on Egg Island, with the shadows of the big turkey statues growing ever shorter as the sun rose ever higher, with the strange animals in the jungle making ever stranger noises as it grew ever hotter, Tick Tock Turkey set about making the best sandwich ever.

在蛋之岛一个雾气弥漫的清晨，随着太阳越升越高，巨大火鸡雕像的影子越来越短，丛林里奇怪的动物在天气愈发炎热时发出愈发怪异的声响，滴答火鸡开始动手制作史上最棒的三明治。

Tick Tock Turkey didn’t just like sandwiches. Everybody likes sandwiches. Tick Tock Turkey thought that sandwiches were the best kind of food that had ever been invented. And this particular sandwich was going to be the single best sandwich that had ever been made. Ever.

滴答火鸡可不只是喜欢三明治。每个人都喜欢三明治。滴答火鸡认为三明治是有史以来发明的最好的食物。而这个特别的三明治将会是有史以来做出来的最棒的一个，空前绝后。

Tick Tock Turkey took the business of making sandwiches very seriously, and everything had to be done just right. First of all, he cleared some space on a flat tree stump at the edge of the jungle by the beach. This would be his sandwich-making table. He scampered into the jungle and gathered up some thick crusty bread slices from the bread bushes beside one of the jungle lakes. On Egg Island, all kinds of food grow just like this. When it comes to the best sandwich ever made, only the flattest, crustiest, chunkiest pieces of bread will do. Tick Tock Turkey picked two of the crustiest and chunkiest.

滴答火鸡对待制作三明治这件事非常认真，每一个步骤都必须恰到好处。首先，他在海滩边丛林边缘的一个平坦树桩上清理出一块空间，这将成为他的三明治制作台。然后，他急匆匆地跑进丛林，从丛林中一个湖边的面包灌木丛中收集了一些厚厚的硬皮面包片。在蛋之岛，各种各样的食物就是这样生长的。要做出史上最棒的三明治，只有最扁平、最硬皮、最厚实的面包片才行。滴答火鸡挑选了两片最硬皮、最厚实的面包片。

He took an empty coconut shell and dipped it into the lake – which was made of warm butter – filled it up to the brim, and brought the bread and butter back to the table. Next, Tick Tock Turkey fetched some orange lettuce, some blue tomatoes and a big yellow onion. Things are sometimes unusual colours on Egg Island! When he had taken those things and put them on the table, he went back to the jungle and fetched a big wedge of purple cheese from the cheese tree, and some peppery mustard from the mustard swamp. Mustard was Tick Tock Turkey’s favourite.

他拿起一个空椰子壳，伸进湖里舀黄油—— 这湖全是温热的黄油 —— 把椰子壳装得满满当当，然后带着面包和黄油回到 “工作台”。接下来，滴答火鸡又去采摘了一些橙色生菜、蓝色番茄和一个大黄洋葱。在蛋之岛，东西的颜色有时就是这么奇特！把这些食材放到桌上后，他再次回到丛林，从奶酪树上取下一大块紫色奶酪，又从芥末沼泽里弄来些辣芥末。芥末是滴答火鸡的最爱。

He was getting extremely hungry now – his mouth was starting to water, and he couldn’t wait to put all the ingredients together. But he didn’t have everything he needed. Two more essential ingredients would give the sandwich that special something. Can you guess what they were?

此刻，他已经饿得不行了，口水都快流下来，迫不及待地想把所有食材组合在一起。但还缺了点东西，有两样关键配料能让这个三明治独具风味。你能猜到是什么吗？

That’s right – pink gravy, and hot chocolate sauce.

没错，就是粉色肉汁和热巧克力酱。

No sandwich is complete without pink gravy and hot chocolate sauce.

少了粉色肉汁和热巧克力酱，三明治就不完整。

Tick Tock Turkey rummaged through the jungle vines until he found a nice, healthy gravy plant. He picked a pair of plump, pink gravy fruit. He climbed up a rocky slope to the huge, old chocolate tree, pecked into the trunk with his beak, and out oozed some thick, sugary chocolate. He filled up another coconut shell, carrying it to the beach on the end of his wing like a bucket, swishing little drops of hot brown chocolate behind him.

滴答火鸡在丛林藤蔓间翻找，终于找到一株长势良好的肉汁植物，摘下两颗饱满的粉色肉汁果。接着，他爬上一个石坡，来到那棵高大古老的巧克力树前，用嘴啄开树干，浓稠香甜的巧克力便流了出来。他用另一个椰子壳接住，像提着桶一样，用翅膀端着它回到海滩，身后洒下星星点点温热的棕色巧克力。

Finally, with all of the ingredients in front of him, Tick Tock Turkey was at last ready to begin making the best sandwich ever!

终于，所有食材都摆在眼前，滴答火鸡终于准备好开始制作史上最棒的三明治啦！

‘You’d better watch this, Future Dog,’ he called out across the beach, ‘this is going to be an absolutely incredible sandwich. Big and tasty. The best!’

“你最好瞧瞧这个，未来狗，” 他冲海滩那头喊道，“这将会是一个绝对令人难以置信的三明治。个头大，味道美，堪称一绝！”

All this time, Future Dog had been sitting on the beach nearby, lounging in the shade of a tall turkey statue, reading her book, and sipping from a cup of cool, delicious papaya fruit juice. Future Dog knew that Tick Tock Turkey was always up to some silly plan or another, trying to make sailboats from banana skins or trying to build beach houses with sand. And even though Tick Tock Turkey had been scampering backwards and forwards all morning, dashing into the jungle one minute, and dashing back onto the beach the next minute, gobbling and squawking excitedly with his wings laden with weird food,Future Dog hadn’t been paying much attention. She’d seen it all before.

这段时间，未来狗一直坐在不远处的海滩上，在一座高大的火鸡雕像阴影下悠闲地看书，时不时啜一口清凉美味的木瓜汁。未来狗知道，滴答火鸡总是在琢磨些傻乎乎的点子，不是想用香蕉皮做帆船，就是想用沙子盖沙滩小屋。尽管整个上午滴答火鸡都在来回奔忙，一会儿冲进丛林，一会儿又冲回海滩，兴奋地咯咯叫着，翅膀上还满载着奇奇怪怪的食物，但未来狗并没有太在意。这些她以前都见识过了。

When the sandwich was done, with all the ingredients – including the pink gravy and chocolate sauce – packed inside the chunky slices of bread, Tick Tock Turkey decided that his sandwich looked absolutely delicious.

三明治做好了，所有食材，包括粉色肉汁和巧克力酱，都夹在了厚实的面包片中间，滴答火鸡觉得他做的三明治看上去美味极了。

‘Have a look!’ he squawked. ‘Come on, Future Dog. Come here and have a look at my fantastic sandwich!’

“快瞧瞧！” 他嘎嘎叫道，“来吧，未来狗。过来看看我这超级棒的三明治！”

Future Dog wasn’t in the mood. ‘Do I have to?’ she asked. ‘Only that smell of onions and mustard and gravy and chocolate all mixed together is wafting around and making me feel a bit queasy.’

未来狗兴致缺缺。“我非得看吗？” 她问道，“只是洋葱、芥末、肉汁和巧克力混在一起的味道飘得到处都是，让我感觉有点恶心。”

Tick Tock Turkey scampered over to Future Dog and pulled the book from her paws.

滴答火鸡蹦蹦跳跳地跑到未来狗身边，从她爪子下抽走了书。

‘Come on!’ he said. ‘Even if it’s not your favourite, I’m telling you it’s an amazing job – in fact, it’s a work of art, and you’d better look quick before I gobble it up!’

“来吧！” 他说，“即便这不是你喜欢的口味，但我跟你说，这活儿干得超棒 —— 事实上，这简直就是一件艺术品，趁我还没把它狼吞虎咽下去，你最好赶紧瞧瞧！”

Future Dog shrugged: ‘Oh well, I suppose I should have a look,’ she said. ‘After all, you have been working very hard.’

未来狗耸了耸肩：“哦，好吧，我想我应该看看，” 她说，“毕竟你忙活了半天。”

Then, as they were about to look at Tick Tock Turkey’s sandwich, there was a sudden loud WHOOSH, quickly followed by a second loud WHOOSH. They jumped. In fact, the second WHOOSH wasn’t so much a WHOOSH as a WHOOSH backwards. A sort of SHOOWH.

就在他们准备欣赏滴答火鸡的三明治时，突然传来一声响亮的“嗖” 声，紧接着又是一声响亮的 “嗖” 声。他俩吓了一跳。实际上，第二声 “嗖” 与其说是 “嗖”，倒更像是反向的 “嗖”，有点像 “嗖呜”。

‘What the egg was that?’ said Tick Tock Turkey.

“搞什么鬼？” 滴答火鸡说。

‘I’m not sure,’ said Future Dog. ‘Although it did sound a bit familiar…’

“我不太确定，” 未来狗说，“不过这声音听起来有点耳熟……”

‘Forget it,’ said Tick Tock Turkey, ‘I’m too hungry to care. It’s just some stupid island wind. Future Dog, here it is… the best sandwich ever!’

“管它呢，” 滴答火鸡说，“我都饿过头了，没心思管。肯定是岛上什么讨厌的风。未来狗，瞧…… 史上最棒的三明治！”

They looked over at the table to admire Tick Tock Turkey’s work.

他们望向桌子，准备欣赏滴答火鸡的杰作。

But there was nothing there.

但桌上什么都没有。

‘What?!’ cried Tick Tock Turkey. ‘Where’s my sandwich? Where’s it gone? What?!’ He flapped his wings until feathers fluttered to the sand. He ran around in a tiny circle.

“什么？！” 滴答火鸡叫道，“我的三明治呢？它去哪儿了？什么？！” 他使劲扇动翅膀，羽毛纷纷飘落在沙滩上。他原地团团转。

Future Dog scratched her head. ‘Well, that is peculiar,’ she said. ‘But no one’s been here. It seems to have gone very quickly.’

未来狗挠了挠头。“嗯，这可真奇怪，” 她说，“但刚才没人来过这儿啊。三明治好像一下子就没了。”

‘What?’ gobbled Tick Tock Turkey. ‘It was there a second ago! I only turned my back for an instant.What?’

“什么？” 滴答火鸡急得直叫，“刚才还在这儿呢！我就转身一小会儿。 什么？”

‘And you didn’t see anyone else?’ asked Future Dog.

“你没看到其他人吗？” 未来狗问。

‘No one. What?’

“没人。什么？”

‘And you’re sure it was there?’

“你确定刚才三明治在那儿？”

‘Of course it was there! It was big and huge and delicious and it smelled wonderful!’

“它当然在那儿！又大又厚实，美味极了，闻起来香得不得了！”

Future Dog nodded. ‘Well, I don’t agree that it smelled wonderful, but it certainly stunk enough to have been there alright.’

未来狗点点头。“嗯，我可不觉得它闻起来香，但那味儿确实够冲，足以证明它刚才肯定在这儿。”

Tick Tock Turkey fumed and squawked and ran around in another tiny circle.

滴答火鸡气得一边嘎嘎叫，一边又原地转起了小圈。

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, and stuck one wing up in the air.

突然，他猛地停住，一只翅膀举向空中。

‘There’s nothing for it,’ he said. ‘I’m going to use the Time Watch!’

“没办法了，” 他说，“我要用时光手表！”

‘The Time Watch?’ said Future Dog, ‘are you sure that’s really necessary? The sandwich can’t be far away. Even if someone has pinched it, they can’t have got far into the jungle and I’m sure we can catch them up.’

“时光手表？” 未来狗说，“你确定真有必要吗？三明治不可能跑远。就算有人偷走了，他们也不可能一下子就钻进丛林深处，咱们肯定能追上。”

‘No,’ said Tick Tock Turkey, fiddling with the winder on the watch, ‘the only way to be absolutely sure that I get my sandwich back in exactly the way I want it – and that means without anyone else having got their grubby hands on it or nibbled at it – is to go back in time to when it was there, and stop the thief before he makes his getaway!’

“不行，” 滴答火鸡拨弄着手表上的旋钮，说道，“要确保我能丝毫不差地拿回我的三明治，也就是没人碰过、没人咬过，唯一的办法就是回到三明治还在的时候，在小偷带着它逃走之前拦住他！”

Future Dog scratched her chin. ‘Yes,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘I suppose that makes sense. You could turn the watch back a few minutes, pop through a time hole, and stop the thief in his tracks. Well, Tick Tock Turkey, for a very silly bird, that sounds like a clever plan.’

未来狗挠了挠下巴。“嗯，” 她若有所思地说，“我觉得这有道理。你可以把手表往回拨几分钟，穿过时间空洞，当场抓住小偷。嘿，滴答火鸡，虽说你这鸟儿平时傻乎乎的，但这计划听起来还挺聪明。”

‘You bet,’ said Tick Tock Turkey. He stood by the empty table and twisted the winder on the watch so that the big hand turned backwards. Two minutes – to when the sandwich was still there.

“那当然，” 滴答火鸡说。他站在空荡荡的桌子旁，转动手表上的旋钮，让分针倒转。倒转两分钟 —— 回到三明治还在的时候。

He pushed the red button on the side of the watch… And WHOOSH! A time hole opened in front of him, like a hazy cloud of light and sparks, floating in the air.

他按下手表侧面的红色按钮…… 嗖的一声！一个时间空洞在他面前打开，就像一团闪烁着微光与火花的朦胧云雾，悬浮在空中。

‘I can see my sandwich!’ he squawked, peering through the hole. ‘And it looks delicious! And I can see myself talking to you, Future Dog, and I’m asking you to come and have a look at it! That means the thief will grab the sandwich any second now!’

“我看到我的三明治了！” 他嘎嘎叫着，透过空洞张望，“看起来美味极了！我还看到自己在和你说话，未来狗，我正叫你过来看呢！这就意味着小偷随时都会抢走三明治！”

‘And can you see the thief?’ asked Future Dog.

“你看到小偷了吗？” 未来狗问。

‘Not yet,’ said Tick Tock Turkey, ‘there doesn’t seem to be anyone else there. He must be hiding. But he’ll strike any second. I’m not taking any chances – I won’t let my sandwich get stolen twice!’

“还没，” 滴答火鸡说，“那儿好像没别人。他肯定藏起来了。但他随时都会动手。我可不想冒任何风险 —— 我不会让我的三明治被偷第二次！”

And with that, Tick Tock Turkey dived into the time hole. He vanished for a moment, and then, as quickly as he had gone, he reappeared, popping out with his sandwich safely between his wings. The hole shut behind him with a loud SHOOWH!

说着，滴答火鸡一头扎进了时间空洞。他消失了一会儿，然后，就像他离开时一样迅速，他又重新出现了，翅膀间稳稳夹着他的三明治。他身后的空洞伴随着一声响亮的“嗖呜” 声关上了。

Tick Tock Turkey looked triumphant. ‘I’ve got my sandwich back! Yes! I’ve foiled the thief!’

滴答火鸡一脸得意。“我拿回我的三明治啦！耶！我挫败了小偷的阴谋！”

‘Hang on,’ said Future Dog. ‘I thought those whooshing and shoowhing sounds we heard earlier were a bit familiar. It was a time hole opening and closing.’

“等等，” 未来狗说，“我就觉得之前听到的那些‘嗖’和‘嗖呜’的声音有点耳熟。那是时间空洞开合的声音。”

Tick Tock Turkey shrugged. ‘Whatever. I’ve got it back – that’s the important thing.’

滴答火鸡耸耸肩。“管它呢。重要的是我把三明治拿回来了。”

Future Dog sighed. ‘Well, Tick Tock Turkey, it means that the thief who stole your sandwich was a time traveller, just like us.’

未来狗叹了口气。“唉，滴答火鸡，这意味着偷你三明治的贼跟我们一样，也是个时间旅行者。”

‘Doesn’t matter,’ said Tick Tock Turkey. ‘What’s important is that I’ve beaten the thief at his own game, and now the best sandwich ever is back!’

“无所谓，” 滴答火鸡说，“关键是我以其人之道还治其人之身，打败了那个贼，现在史上最棒的三明治又回来了！”

Future Dog slapped her forehead with her paw. ‘Oh dear,’ she said. ‘I think I know who took your sandwich.’

未来狗用爪子拍了拍自己的额头。“哎呀，” 她说，“我想我知道是谁拿走了你的三明治。”

‘Nonsense,’ said Tick Tock Turkey. ‘I grabbed the sandwich before the thief got there, so we’ll never know.’

“别胡说，” 滴答火鸡说，“我在贼赶到之前就把三明治抢回来了，所以我们永远也不会知道是谁。”

Future Dog sighed, ‘Well, I do know. You took the sandwich, Tick Tock Turkey.’

未来狗又叹了口气，“不，我知道。是你拿走了三明治，滴答火鸡。”

Tick Tock Turkey shook his head: ‘What?’

滴答火鸡摇了摇头：“啥？”

‘You stole it from yourself!’

“你从自己手里偷走了它！”

‘What?’

“啥？”

‘The time traveller who stole your sandwich was you, from the future, coming back to get it!’

“偷你三明治的时间旅行者就是你，来自未来的你，回来拿三明治！”

Tick Tock Turkey shook his head again, this time so hard that feathers flew off in all directions. ‘I’m so confused!’ he squawked.

滴答火鸡又摇了摇头，这次摇得太用力，羽毛四处乱飞。“我完全糊涂了！” 他嘎嘎叫道。

‘It’s the only explanation,’ said Future Dog. ‘You stole your own sandwich from yourself. I’ve been time travelling for much longer than you, Tick Tock Turkey, and it’s the only possible explanation.’

“这是唯一的解释，” 未来狗说，“你从自己手里偷走了三明治。我进行时间旅行的时间比你长得多，滴答火鸡，这是唯一合理的解释。”

‘Well, I reckon it’s just stupid,’ said Tick Tock Turkey, quite annoyed, ‘because why would I have gone back in time and taken it if someone hadn’t come and taken it into the future in the first place?’

“哼，我觉得这简直蠢透了，” 滴答火鸡相当恼火地说，“因为如果一开始没人把三明治带到未来，我干嘛要回到过去把它拿走呢？”

Future Dog nodded thoughtfully. ‘It is rather complicated.’

未来狗若有所思地点点头。“这确实相当复杂。”

Tick Tock Turkey squawked crossly. ‘I can’t believe that someone would come from the future and steal my sandwich. The cheek!’

滴答火鸡生气地嘎嘎叫着。“真不敢相信会有人从未来跑过来偷我的三明治。太过分了！”

He looked down at the big sandwich in front of him. ‘Oh,’ he said, frowning, ‘but I’ve still got the sandwich. Does that mean I’m the thief? What? Ow. My head hurts from all this thinking.’

他低头看着面前的大三明治。“哦，” 他皱着眉头说，“可三明治还在我这儿。这是不是意味着我就是那个小偷？啥？哎呀。想这些想得我头疼。”

‘Cheer up,’ said Future Dog. ‘You can’t really steal from yourself, can you?’

“开心点，” 未来狗说，“你总不能真的偷自己的东西吧，对吧？”

‘I suppose not,’ said Tick Tock Turkey. ‘But I think I just did!’

“我想也是，” 滴答火鸡说，“但我觉得我刚才就这么做了！”

‘Tuck into your sandwich,’ said Future Dog. ‘After all, you’ve travelled in time to get it, and isn’t it supposed to be the best sandwich ever?’

“快吃你的三明治吧，” 未来狗说，“毕竟，你为了拿到它还进行了时间旅行，而且这不是号称史上最棒的三明治吗？”

Tick Tock Turkey shrugged, took an enormous bite from his sandwich, and started to gobble it down.

滴答火鸡耸耸肩，对着三明治狠狠咬了一大口，然后大快朵颐起来。

And aah… It was indeed. The best sandwich ever.

啊…… 这三明治确实堪称史上最棒。