The next day, when Poppa and Arlo went out to the silo, they found corn scattered¹ all over the ground. "I've had it up to my snout with these critters," Poppa said angrily. He knew that if the family didn't have enough corn for the winter, they would struggle to survive. Poppa turned to Arlo. "That's why you're gonna catch it." Arlo smiled as he imagined his print up on top of the silo. He was ready!

 

Poppa collected some supplies and showed Arlo how to build a trap. He tied a rock to one end of a long rope, set up a net, and had Arlo place a pile of corn on the ground for bait.

 

When they were finished, he rolled a pumpkin² onto the pile to show Arlo how the trap worked. The pumpkin snapped up the rope, and the net fell to the ground as a jingling³ sound rang out. Then Poppa picked up a huge mallet⁴. "This is how you're gonna finish the job." He brought the mallet down fast, smashing the pumpkin to a pulp⁵. "When that critter's takin' care of, you'll put your mark on the silo, right next to mine."

 

Arlo's eyes lit up. "I'll take care of that critter, Poppa. It won't stand a chance."

 

Arlo then stood guard, pacing back and forth⁶ in front of the silo, waiting for the critter to fall into the trap. He tried to mentally prepare for his big moment, taking lots of deep breathes and telling himself over and over again that he could catch the critter... and finish it off.

 

A bug⁷ flew by his face and he scowled⁸ at it. "What are you doing, you bug?" Arlo said, practicing his tough voice. "Get out of here!"

 

He continued pacing, preparing, and trying not to let fear into his thoughts. But in reality, the excitement and determination he so wanted to feel was a lot more like... complete terror.

 

Just then, Arlo heard the jingling sound of the trap. His heart leapt. He felt a rush of anxiety and a fluttering of fear. He had caught something! He had caught the critter!

 

What looked like a critter to Arlo was actually a human boy. His two big brown eyes stared out through the net, and Arlo quickly jumped aside, hiding behind a bush.

 

Arlo peeked⁹ out from the safety of his hiding place. The critter was growling¹⁰ and thrashing about in the net. Then he tried to jump at Arlo!

 

Holding the mallet high above his head, Arlo approached, preparing to whack¹¹ the trapped pest. "Y-y-you're dead, critter," he stuttered.

 

But Arlo couldn't help but pause at the sight. The critter was choking from the net around his neck and struggling to breathe. And even though Arlo knew it was his job to catch the critter, he felt sorry for it. It was a living thing; and it just wasn't in Arlo's heart to bring the mallet down. Arlo sighed and pulled the trap, freeing his caught critter.

 

"Okay... you're free," said Arlo, hoping it would just run off. But the boy stared at him and then started walking toward him!

 

"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" Arlo asked, trying to back away. "Just—just leave! Flee!"

 

But the boy continued to investigate, sniffing¹² and sniffing. Arlo was afraid. He felt like he was about to be attacked! Finally, he tripped and screamed.

 

Hearing Arlo's cries, Poppa rushed over—just in time to see the wild pest escaping into the wilderness¹³. "ARLO!" Poppa scolded. "What are you doing?"

 

"It was was bitin', comin' at me and screechin' ... and I," Arlo stammered¹⁴.

 

"You had a job to do!" Poppa yelled. He looked around and saw the critter's tracks leading into the wilderness. "You're gonna finish your job. Right now," he said, firmly.

 

Poppa pushed Arlo along and they walked up to the fence. Then Poppa climbed over. To Arlo, it was as if Poppa was climbing right into the mouth of that terrible beast. The towering trees, the darkness, the rushing river, the wild animals... all just waiting to swallow them up.

 

"Out there?" Arlo asked nervously¹⁵, his mouth going dry.

 

Poppa turned to Arlo. "Do you want to be afraid for the rest of your life, Arlo?"

 

"No."

 

"Good. Let's go."

 

Determined¹⁶, Poppa pushed Arlo over the fence with his tail and the two went in search of the critter.

 

第二天，龙爸爸和阿乐来到筒仓处，发现玉米散了一地。“我一闻就知道是小动物干的，我受够它们了。”龙爸爸生气地说。他明白如果没有足够的玉米过冬，他们家将会在温饱线上挣扎。龙爸爸转向阿乐：“所以你得抓住它。”想象着自己的脚印可以留在筒仓的上面，阿乐笑了。他做好了准备！

 

龙爸爸拿了一些东西，教阿乐如何设置陷阱。他把长绳的一端系在了一块石头上，搭了一个网，让阿乐在地上放一堆玉米作诱饵。

 

一切准备好后，他先给阿乐演示陷阱是如何运作的。他把一个南瓜滚向玉米堆，绳子突然松开，随着叮当一声，网掉落到地上。龙爸爸抓起一把大木槌说：“然后你得这么做。”他扬起木槌快速朝南瓜砸去，南瓜一下成了果浆。“干掉那只小动物后，你就能在筒仓上留下标记，就留在我的旁边。”

 

阿乐眼前一亮：“我一定会干掉它的，爸爸，它逃不出我的手掌心。”

 

于是，阿乐站着岗，在筒仓前面来回踱步，等着小动物掉进陷阱。他试着在心理上做好迎接这一重大时刻的准备，他不停地深呼吸，反复告诉自己他一定可以抓住那只小动物……然后结束这一切。

 

一只虫子从他眼前飞过，阿乐怒视着它，佯装强硬地说：“你在干什么，你这死虫子？快滚！”

 

他继续踱着步，蓄势待发，努力赶走恐惧。但事实上，他如此渴望的兴奋和决心更像是……赤裸裸的恐惧。

 

就在这时，阿乐听到陷阱处传来叮当声，他的心怦怦直跳，一阵焦急和恐惧涌上心头。他抓到东西了！他抓到了那只小动物！

 

阿乐眼前那个长得像小动物的东西实际上是一个人类小男孩，两只棕色的大眼睛正向网外看，阿乐迅速地跳到一边，藏在了一片灌木丛后面。

 

阿乐从藏身的安全处偷偷向外看，这个小孩在网里猛烈挣扎，不断发出咆哮声，还奋力朝阿乐扑过去！

 

阿乐将木槌举过头顶，慢慢靠近，准备给落入陷阱的坏蛋重重一击。“你这个小东西，你……你……你死定了。”他结结巴巴地说。

 

但阿乐不禁停住了，因为他看到小孩儿的脖子卡在了网里，难以呼吸。尽管阿乐明白抓住这个小东西是他的职责，但他却对它心存同情。它是一条活生生的生命，用木槌打它也并非阿乐的本意。阿乐叹了口气，拉开陷阱，放走了那个小孩。

 

“好了……你自由了。”阿乐说，他希望它就这样跑掉。但是这个小男孩却一直盯着他看，然后向他走了过来！

 

“干……干……干什么？”阿乐一边努力往后退，一边问道。“走……走吧！快逃啊！”

 

但是小男孩继续在阿乐身上嗅来嗅去，探查着他。阿乐害怕起来，感觉小男孩就要攻击他！终于，阿乐绊倒了，他大叫起来。

 

听到阿乐的叫声，龙爸爸赶紧冲了过来——正好看到那个野东西逃到荒野里去了。“阿乐！”龙爸爸责骂道，“你在干什么？”

 

“它……它要咬我，还……还一直往我身边靠，它还尖……尖叫，我……”阿乐语无伦次地说道。

 

“我是让你去抓它！”龙爸爸大喊道。他环顾四周，发现小孩的足迹朝荒野里去了。“你要完成你的工作，就现在。”他坚定地说。

 

龙爸爸推着阿乐一起走到栅栏那里，龙爸爸翻了过去。在阿乐看来，爸爸就像是正好翻进了那只恐怖野兽的嘴里一样。高耸的树木、无尽的黑暗、湍急的河流、凶猛的野兽……所有这些都等待着要吞噬他们。

 

“去那儿吗？”阿乐紧张地问，他的嘴巴慢慢变干。

 

龙爸爸面向阿乐：“阿乐，你想余生都生活在恐惧之中吗？”

 

“不想。”

 

“那好，我们走。”

 

龙爸爸下定了决心，用尾巴推着阿乐翻过栅栏，父子俩踏上了追踪小孩的路。

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