English Original
In downtown New York, in a somewhat trashy apartment, lived a man named Howard. He was in his mid-twenties and had a terrible fear of cockroaches. If you've ever been to New York and stayed in a rundown place, you know there are too many to count!
One evening, Howard came home from work seeking relaxation. All he wanted was a bowl of ice cream and the newspaper. As he rummaged through messy cabinets for a bowl and spoon, a big, juicy cockroach jumped out of a drawer! After leaping in fright and calming down, he spotted another roach. "There's got to be a way to get rid of them," he muttered.
While eating his ice cream, an ad in the paper caught his eye: "Got Roaches? Come to Sam's Pet Club for the natural predator—a gecko!"
"A gecko?" Howard thought skeptically. As another roach scuttled past, he felt sick. It seemed worth a try. The next day, he visited the pet store.
He learned about the geckos, bought one, and drove home. "Great," he thought, "another critter loitering in my house."
At home, he released the gecko as instructed. It immediately chased a cockroach under the refrigerator. Howard heard a loud "GECKO, GECKO!"—the sound it makes when swallowing. "At least it's working," he said.
Days passed, and cockroaches became fewer. Howard didn't like the gecko running around, but shrugged it off—better one gecko than a thousand roaches. He always closed his bedroom door, but somehow the lizard always got in.
One evening, Howard saw the gecko chase one of the last roaches under the fridge. The cockroach scurried under easily, but the gecko struggled. That's when Howard realized: the gecko was getting bigger. That night, he tried everything to keep it out of his room before falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, police found only a small, blood-like stain on the bed. A worried neighbor had reported a faint scream and a haunting "GECKO, GECKO!" sound. They searched everywhere but found nothing: no Howard, no gecko, no cockroaches. They left, confused, never to see Howard again. The only place they didn't check was under the bed, where the gecko was—big as ever, and full at last.
中文翻译
在纽约市中心一间有些脏乱的公寓里，住着一个名叫霍华德的年轻人。他二十多岁，对蟑螂有着极度的恐惧。如果你去过纽约，住过破旧的地方，你就会知道那里的蟑螂多到数不清！
一天晚上，霍华德下班回家，想放松一下。他只想吃碗冰淇淋，看看报纸。当他在杂乱的橱柜里翻找碗和勺子时，一只肥大的蟑螂从抽屉里跳了出来！他吓得跳起来，好不容易平静下来，又发现另一只蟑螂。“一定得想办法除掉它们，”他嘀咕道。
吃着冰淇淋时，报纸上的一则广告引起了他的注意：“家有蟑螂？来萨姆宠物俱乐部找天然捕食者——壁虎！”
“壁虎？”霍华德怀疑地想。又一只蟑螂匆匆爬过，他感到一阵恶心。这似乎值得一试。第二天，他去了宠物店。
他了解了壁虎的信息，买了一只，开车回家。“太好了，”他想，“又多了个小东西在我家里溜达。”
到家后，他按指示放出了壁虎。它立刻追着一只蟑螂钻到了冰箱底下。霍华德听到响亮的“咕咚！咕咚！”声——那是壁虎吞咽时发出的声音。“至少它在干活了，”他说。
几天过去了，蟑螂越来越少。霍华德不喜欢壁虎到处跑，但他耸耸肩忍了——总比满屋蟑螂强。他总是关上卧室门，但不知怎的，这只蜥蜴总能进来。
一天傍晚，霍华德看到壁虎在冰箱底下追逐最后几只蟑螂之一。蟑螂轻易地疾跑钻入，壁虎却挣扎着才挤进去。这时霍华德才意识到：壁虎变大了。那天晚上，他想尽办法不让它进房间，然后沉沉睡去。
第二天早上，警察只在床上发现了一小块像血迹的污渍。一位担忧的邻居报告说听到微弱的尖叫和令人毛骨悚然的“咕咚！咕咚！”声。他们搜遍了屋子，却一无所获：没有霍华德，没有壁虎，没有蟑螂。他们满腹狐疑地离开了，再也没见过霍华德。唯一没检查的地方是床底下，壁虎就在那里——和往常一样大，终于吃饱了。