Chapter 1
One sunny morning, a bright yellow school bus rolled out of an elementary school parking lot. The fall leaves were turning brilliant colors against the blue sky, and children shouted noisily from the bus. They were excited because they were going on a field trip!
The children’s laughter and singing sounded typically happy, but the words to their song were a little odd: “The neck bone’s connected to the head bone. The head bone’s connected to the horn bone. The horn bone’s right above the wing bone ...”
Perhaps the song wasn’t odd for these kids. While they talked and acted like human kids, they were actually monster kids — and some of them did have head bones connected to their horn bones ... as well as wing bones, extra legs, multiple eyes, tentacles, and other monster characteristics. They attended Frighton Elementary School. And today, they were visiting the famous scream factory, Monsters, Incorporated, in Monstropolis!
As the bus came to a stop in the parking lot of Monsters, Inc., Mrs. Graves, a large, kindly pink teacher with horns and glasses, stood up and faced the excited youngsters. “Okay,” she said, “please remember our field trip rules: no pushing, no biting, and no fire-breathing.”
The bus door flew open and little blue-horned, purple-polka-dotted, and yellow-furred monsters poured out onto the curb, laughing and shouting. One immediately breathed fire on his friend’s neck.
Mrs. Graves leaned over and asked sternly, “What did I just say?” Then she tried to count the students who had come off the bus. “Eighteen, nineteen ...?” She glanced around at the group. “Okay, we’re missing one. Who are we missing?”
She looked over at the bus, noting the closed door. A little green hand was up in the air, waving through the door window.
“Oooh, Michael!” she said, concerned.
The bus door opened, and there stood six-year-old Mike Wazowski, a round, bright green, one-eyed monster about the size of a melon. As usual, Mike was smiling.
“Thanks, Joe!” Mike called to the bus driver. “Good luck finishing your crossword puzzle!”
“Sorry, Michael,” the driver replied. “I didn’t see you.” It wasn’t the first time the small green monster had accidentally been locked inside a bus. But Mike didn’t mind. Being overlooked was something that happened to him all the time. He’d learned to make the best of it.
“That’s okay,” Mike answered. “When I was on the bus I found a nickel!” He jumped down from the steps and walked toward Mrs. Graves, holding up the coin and murmuring, “I wish I had pockets ...”
Once Mike was on the ground, Mrs. Graves couldn’t help noticing just how small he was for his age. The other kids were taller and thicker, and they had lots of tentacles, eyes, and fur. Mike only had his one big eye.
Mike joined the group and Mrs. Graves did her best to corral the excited students. “Okay,” she said, “everybody partner up! Get your field trip buddy!”
As the kids scrambled, Mike bounced between them, trying to find a partner. “Jeremy? You and me?” Mike anxiously asked another young monster. But Jeremy turned away. “Okay, no biggie,” Mike said. He turned to another classmate. “Haley?” he asked hopefully. The other monster frowned. “No?” Mike said, watching as she headed toward another child. “Pairing up with Claire,” he said, nodding. “Great choice. She’s a good egg.”
Then he spotted Russell, the tallest kid in the class. “Russell!” he shouted happily. Seeing no recognition in Russell’s eyes, Mike tried to jog the kid’s memory. “Mike Wazowski? We carpool. We’re cousins.”
But Russell looked right over Mike’s head, high-fived another kid, and walked off. “Okay, good catching up,” Mike called after him. He looked around and saw that everyone had found a field trip buddy but him. For a second, Mike’s brave smile began to falter.
Mrs. Graves walked up to him. “Well, Michael,” she said, taking his hand, “it looks like it’s you and me again.”
Mike’s smile returned, and he tugged on her hand. “Come on, Karen!” he said, eager to catch up with his classmates. “We’re falling behind!”
“Please don’t call me Karen,” the teacher said as Mike pulled her along. Mike looked up and his eye grew wide as he and Mrs. Graves finally passed through the enormous factory doors and under the words MONSTERS, INC.
第 1 章
一個陽光明媚的早晨,一輛明黃色的校車從小學的停車場駛出。在藍天的映襯下,秋葉的顏色顯得愈發(fā)絢麗明亮。校車里不時傳出孩子們興奮的叫喊聲——他們要去戶外考察啦!
孩子們開心地笑著,歡快地唱著,但他們的歌詞卻有一點兒古怪:“頸骨連著頭骨,頭骨連著角骨,角骨就在翼骨上喲……”
或許對這些孩子們來說,這首歌并不奇怪。因為他們的舉止雖然和人類孩子沒有什么差別,但實際上,他們是一群小怪獸。他們之中確實有的頭上長著犄角,有的長著翅膀,有的多長了幾條腿或幾只眼睛,還有的長著觸須……模樣簡直是千奇百怪。這些小怪獸就讀于“驚嚇小學”,而今天,他們將要參觀最著名的尖叫工廠——位于怪獸之都的怪獸電力公司!
校車在怪獸電力公司的停車場穩(wěn)穩(wěn)停住,格拉芙夫人站起身,看著興奮的孩子們說:“聽著,別忘了我們實地考察的紀律:不許推搡,不許咬人,更不許噴火。”她是孩子們的老師,粉紅色的身子,身材高大,頭上長著角,戴著副眼鏡,看起來和藹 可親。
校車門開了,一群小怪獸一股腦兒沖到了馬路邊,一邊叫一邊笑。他們有的長著藍色的角,有的長著黃色的毛,還有的身上長著紫色的斑點。一只小怪獸剛下車就朝著小伙伴的脖子噴了一口火。
格拉芙老師彎下腰,嚴厲地說:“我剛剛說什么來著?”說完她開始清點人數(shù):“十八,十九……?”她環(huán)顧了一下整個隊伍說,“好吧,少了一個。我們把誰落下啦?”
她轉頭看了一眼校車,在關閉的車門處看見一只綠色的小手,那只手正舉在空中,隔著窗子朝她揮舞。
“哦——麥克!”她關切地說道。
校車門打開了,六歲的麥克·華斯基站在車門口。他是一只鮮綠色的獨眼小怪獸,圓乎乎的身子差不多只有一個瓜那么大。他的臉上像往常一樣掛著笑容。
麥克轉身向司機道謝:“喬,謝啦!祝你順利完成填字游戲哦!”
司機回應道:“不好意思,麥克,我剛才沒看見你。”其實麥克已經(jīng)不是第一次被不小心鎖在車里了,但他一點兒也不介意。他總是被忽視,而他已經(jīng)習慣了。
“沒關系啦,”麥克說,“我剛剛在車上還撿到了五美分呢!”他從臺階上跳下來,朝格拉芙老師走過去,手里拿著那枚硬幣,嘴里嘟嘟囔囔:“我要是有個口袋就好了……”
麥克剛一落地,格拉芙老師就注意到,他的確太矮小了,實在不像他這個年齡該有的大小。其他的小怪獸都是又高又壯,長著許多觸須、眼睛和毛發(fā),而麥克只長了一只大眼睛。
麥克入列了,格拉芙老師費了好大勁才把興奮的學生們聚集到一起,她說:“好了,孩子們,大家自由組合,找你們的考察伙伴吧!”
小怪獸們頓時亂作一團,麥克在人群中興奮地走來走去,想找一位搭檔。“杰里米?咱們一起吧?”他期待而又緊張地看著那個小怪獸,但是杰里米沒有理他,轉身走了。“好吧,沒關系,”麥克又滿懷希望地轉向另一個同學,“海莉?我們一起吧?”但海莉皺了皺眉。“不行嗎?”麥克說著,海莉已經(jīng)走向了另一個小怪獸。“她和克萊爾一組,”麥克點著頭自言自語道,“有眼光,她是個好人。”
接著,麥克發(fā)現(xiàn)了班里最高的小怪獸羅素。“羅素!”他高興地叫道。但是從羅素的眼神里,麥克看出羅素沒認出自己,于是他試著提醒羅素道:“我是麥克·華斯基,你不記得了嗎?我們一組吧?我們是表兄弟呢。”
但羅素的目光直接越過了麥克的頭頂,只見他和另一只小怪獸擊了個掌,一起走了。“好吧,他來得正好。”麥克沖著羅素的背影補充道。環(huán)顧四周,麥克發(fā)現(xiàn)除了自己,所有小怪獸都找到了他們的搭檔。一瞬間,麥克臉上樂觀的笑容慢慢褪去。
這時,格拉芙老師走過來,牽起麥克的手說:“麥克,看來又得咱倆搭檔了。”
麥克的臉上重新綻放出笑容,他拉起格拉芙老師的手,急于趕上前面的同學們:“快點兒,卡倫,我們要落后了!”
格拉芙老師被麥克拉著,一邊向前走,一邊說道:“請別叫我卡倫好吧。”麥克和格拉芙老師終于跨過巨大的工廠大門,站在了“怪獸電力公司”這幾個字下面。麥克抬起頭看著這一切,眼睛瞪得老大。