晓菲

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Chapter FourCathy Queen of Cats

She says， I am the great great grand cousin of the queen of France. She lives upstairs， over there， next door to Joe the baby -grabber. Keep away from him， she says. He is full of danger.

Benny and Blanca own the corner store. Theyre okay except dont lean on the candy counter.

Two girls raggedy as ratslive across the street. You dont want to know them. Edna is the lady who owns the building next to you. She used to own a building big as a whale， but her brother sold it. Their mother said no， no， dont ever sell it. I wont. And then she closed her eyes and he sold it. Alicia is stuck -up ever since she went to college. She used to like me but now she doesnt.

Cathy who is queen of cats has cats and cats and cats. Baby cats， big cats， skinny cats， sick cats. Cats asleep like little donuts. Cats on top of the refrigerator. Cats taking a walk on the dinner table. Her house is like cat heaven.

You want a friend， she says. Okay， Ill be your friend.But only tillnextTuesday.Thats when we move away. Got to. Then as if she forgot I just moved in， she says the neighborhoodis getting bad.

Cathys father will have to fly to France one day and find her great great distant grand cousin on her fathers side and inherit the family house. How do I know this is so？ She told me so. In the meantime theyll just have to move a little farther north from Mango Street， a little farther away every time people like us keep moving in.

Chapter FiveA House of My Own

Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a mans house. Not a daddys. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow， my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories. My two shoes waiting beside the bed. Nobody to shake a stick at. Nobodys garbage to pick up after. Only a house quiet as snow， a space for myself to go， clean as paper before the poem.

Chapter SixThe House on Mango Street I

We didnt always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor， and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina， and before that I cant remember. But what I remember most is moving a lot. Each time it seemed thered be one more of us. By the time we got to Mango Street we were six———Mama， Papa， Carlos， Kiki， my sister Nenny and me.

The house on Mango Street is ours， and we dont have to pay rent to anybody， or share the yard with the people down stairs， or be careful not to make too much noise， and there isnt a landlord banging on the ceiling with a broom. But even so， its not the house wed thought wed get.

We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick. The water pipes broke and the landlord wouldnt fix them because the house was too old. We had to leave fast. We were using the washroom next doorandcarryingwateroverinemptymilk gallons. Thats why Mama and Papa looked for a house， and thats why we moved into the house on Mango Street， far away， on the other side of town.

Chapter SevenThe House on Mango Street II

They always told us that one day we would move into a house， a real that would be ours for always so we wouldnt have to move each year. And our house would have running water and pipes that worked. And inside it would have real stairs， not hallway stairs， but stairs inside like the house on T.V. And wed have a basement and at least threewashroomssowhenwetookabathwe wouldnt have to tell everybody.

Our house would be white with trees around it， a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed.

第四章貓皇后凯茜

她说，我是法兰西皇后的远远远房表亲。她住在楼上，那边，那个“捉小孩的人”乔的隔壁。离他远点，她告诉我说，他很危险。

街角那家小店是班尼和布兰卡的。他们还蛮好，可只有靠在糖果柜台上时才对你好。

两个像老鼠一样邋遢的女孩住在街对面。你不会想去认识她们的。埃德娜是你家隔壁房子的主人。她过去有幢大得像鲸鱼的房子，可她弟弟把它卖了。他们的妈妈说，别，别呀，千万别卖。我不会的。可后来她一闭眼，他就卖了它。阿莉西娅自从上了大学就傲气起来。她过去挺喜欢我，可现在不了。

猫皇后凯茜养了好多好多猫。猫宝宝、大个猫、瘦猫、病猫。睡姿像个面包圈的猫。爬到冰箱顶上的猫。在餐桌上散步的猫。她的房子就像个猫天堂。

你想要个朋友。她说，好的，我会做你的朋友，可只能做到下星期二，那时我们就得搬走了，不得不搬了。然后，她似乎忘了我才搬进来，说，这个社区的人越来越杂了。

凯茜的父亲有一天会要飞到法国去，找到远方的、她父亲那边的远远远房表亲，去继承家宅。我是怎么知道这些的呢？是她告诉我的。同时，他们要从芒果街向北面搬迁，离开这里一点路，在每次像我们这样的人家不断搬进来的时候。

第五章我自己的房子

不是小公寓。也不是阴面的大公寓。也不是哪个男人的房子。也不是爸爸的房子。是完完全全属于我自己的。那里有我的前廊、我的枕头，我漂亮的紫色矮牵牛。我的书和我的故事。……