Maxwell Loses a Tooth 麦克斯韦掉牙了

张恒选译

Maxwell put up his hand and wanted his teacher， Mrs. Gilbert， to see him.

麦克斯韦举起手，等待他的老师吉尔伯特太太注意到他。

“Do you have a question， Maxwell？” she asked.

“你有问题吗，麦克斯韦？”她问。

“Its more like a problem，” Maxwell said. “I lost my tooth.”

“这更像是一个难题。”麦克斯韦说，“我掉牙了。”

Maxwell stood up and held out his hand to show his class his baby tooth.

麦克斯韦站起来，伸出手向班级展示他的乳牙。

“Congratulations1，” Mrs. Gilbert said. Then she asked the class if anyone had any idea for Maxwell. Keiko put up her hand first. Keiko was from Japan.

“恭喜！”吉尔伯特夫人说。然后她问全班有没有人对麦克斯韦说说想法。惠子首先举起了手，她来自日本。

“Is it an upper2 or a lower3 tooth？” Keiko asked.

“是上齿还是下齿？”惠子问。

“A lower tooth，” Maxwell said. He showed the class the empty4 place in his mouth.

“下齿，”麦克斯韦说。他张开嘴，向全班同学展示了嘴里的空缺处。

“You should throw5 your baby tooth over the roof6 of your house，” Keiko said.

惠子说：“你应该把乳齿扔在你家房子的屋顶上。”

“Why should I do that？” Maxwell said.

“我为什么要那样做呢？”麦克斯韦说。

“Because then your new tooth will grow well. When you lose an upper tooth you should put it under the floor.”

“因为这样你的新牙齿才会长得好。当你上齿掉了时，应将其埋在地底下。”

Mrs. Gilbert thought this was a good idea， but Frida didnt think so. Frida was from Austria.

吉尔伯特夫人认为这是个好主意，但弗里达不同意，她来自奥地利。

“You shouldnt throw your baby tooth away， Maxwell. You should keep it and give it to your mother，” Frida said.

弗里达说：“麦克斯韦，你不应该扔掉你的乳牙。你应该把它留给你妈妈。”

“Why should I do that？” asked Maxwell.

“我为什么要那样做呢？”麦克斯韦问。

“She will make it into a necklace7 for you to wear.”

“她会把它做成项链给你戴。”

Jorge shook8 his head and put up his hand. He had some different ideas for Maxwell. Jorge was from Mexico.

豪爾赫摇摇头，举起了手。豪尔赫有不同的想法要说给麦克斯韦听，他来自墨西哥。

“You should take your tooth home. Then you should put it under your pillow9 when you go to bed，” Jorge said.

豪尔赫说：“你应该把牙齿带回家。然后在睡觉时，应该把它放在枕头下。”

“Why should I do that？” Maxwell said.

“我为什么要那样做呢？”麦克斯韦说。

“Because then the tooth mouse will come. He will keep your tooth and pay you with good luck. Sometimes the tooth mouse even brings a small toy.”

“因为那会出现牙齿老鼠。它会保存好你的牙齿并回报给你好运。有时候，牙齿老鼠甚至会给你带一个小玩具。”

Maxwell liked Jorges advice the best. Mrs. Gilbert gave him a box to keep his tooth in. She didnt want him to lose his tooth again.

麦克斯韦最喜欢豪尔赫的建议。吉尔伯特太太给了他一个盒子，让他保存牙齿。她不想他再掉一次牙。

“Whatever you want to do， you should show your mother your tooth when you get home，” Mrs. Gilbert said.

吉尔伯特夫人说：“无论你想怎么做，回家时都应该给妈妈看看你掉的牙齿。”

When Maxwell got home， he showed his mother the empty spot in his mouth. Then he opened the box and showed her his tooth.

麦克斯韦回家后，给妈妈看他嘴里的缺口。然后他打开盒子，给她看他的牙齿。

“Congratulations！ What are you going to do with your tooth， Maxwell？” his mother asked.

“祝贺你！麦克斯韦，你想怎么做？”他妈妈问。

“Im going to put it under my pillow，” he said. And he did.

他说：“我要把它放在枕头底下。”然后他就这么做了。

When Maxwell woke up the next morning he looked under his pillow. The tooth was gone. In its place， Maxwell found a one dollar bill. He also found a letter. This is what the letter said：

第二天早上麦克斯韦醒来时，他往枕头下面看，牙齿不见了。在它之前待的地方，麦克斯韦发现了一张一美元的钞票。他还找到了一封信，那封信是这样说的：

Dear Maxwell，

Congratulations！You lost your first tooth. I will keep it forever10. You should buy something nice for yourself with this money.

Love，

The Tooth Fairy11

亲爱的麦克斯韦，

恭喜你！你掉了第一颗牙齿，我会永远保存它。你可以用这笔钱给自己买些喜欢的好东西。

爱你的，

小牙仙

“I should tell my class about the tooth fairy，” Maxwell thought. “Everyone should lose a  tooth！”

“我应该告诉班上同学有关小牙仙的事情。”麦克斯韦想，“每个人都应该掉牙齿！”

（英语原文选自：englishclub.com）

【Notes】

1. congratulation  n. 祝贺;贺辞

2. upper  adj. 上面的，上部的;较高的

3. lower  adj. 下方的;在底部的

4. empty  adj. 空的

5. throw  vt. 投;拋;掷

6. roof  n. 屋顶;最高处，顶部

7. necklace  n. 项链

8. shake  vt. 动摇;摇动;摇 （头）

9. pillow  n. 枕头

10. forever  adv. 永远;不断地;常常

11. fairy  n. 仙女，小精灵