📖 The Wide Window

In the third book of the Series of Unfortunate Events, the unlucky Baudelaire orphans must move again to one of their distant relative after their parents were killed in a house fire. This time, their foster parent was Aunt Josephine, a very paranoid woman who was extremely passionate about grammar, always correcting the three orphans if they said something grammatically wrong. Her home was a very old and worn-down one, sitting on flimsy wooden stilts at the top of a big hill. At the bottom of the hill was a massive lake, and it was so big that it produced a hurricane that was about to hit the village at the top of the hill. So, the new family went down the hill to the grocery store to buy food for the hurricane, encountering "Captain Sham", who was really Count Olaf disguised as a sailor. He was back once again to steal the orphan's inherited money. The kids knew "Captain Sham" was really Count Olaf, but the problem is that Aunt Josephine didn't, and after a conversation, she was given his business card before going back to their home. Later that day, Captain Sham convinced Aunt Josephine by force to write an official message saying she died by jumping out the window, and that her final message was to let Captain Sham be the children's guardian(so he could get their money). Since, by law, they were about to be in the custody of the horrible Count Olaf, the orphans must prove "Captain Sham" is really Coutn Olaf before the adoption papers are signed. A very entertaining book filled to the brim with lessons and harsh realities, this book shows how you should never give up, no matter how bad of a situation you are in, because there is always that glimmer of hope.

《不幸事件簿》系列的第三本书中,不幸的波德莱尔孤儿在父母死于一场房屋火灾后,又一次被迫搬去和一位远房亲戚生活。这一次,他们的监护人是约瑟芬姨妈——一位极度偏执、却对语法充满热情的女人,只要三个孤儿在说话时犯了语法错误,她就一定会立刻纠正。 她的家是一栋非常古老、破旧的房子,坐落在一座大山顶端,靠着摇摇欲坠的木桩支撑着。山脚下是一片巨大的湖泊,湖大到足以形成一场即将袭击山顶村庄的飓风。于是,这个新组成的家庭下山去杂货店为飓风做准备,在那里遇到了"夏姆船长"——其实是伪装成水手的奥拉夫伯爵。他再次出现,企图夺走孤儿们的遗产。 孩子们知道"夏姆船长"其实就是奥拉夫伯爵,但问题是约瑟芬姨妈并不知道。交谈之后,她在回家前还收下了他的名片。当天晚些时候,夏姆船长用暴力逼迫约瑟芬姨妈写下一份正式声明,谎称自己跳窗身亡,并在遗言中指定夏姆船长成为孩子们的监护人(这样他就能得到他们的钱)。由于法律规定,孤儿们即将落入可怕的奥拉夫伯爵的监护之下,他们必须在收养文件签署之前证明"夏姆船长"其实就是奥拉夫伯爵。 这是一本极具娱乐性的书,充满了教训和残酷的现实。它告诉读者:无论身处多么糟糕的境地,都绝不能放弃,因为总会有一丝希望的光芒存在。