The Chickens Take a Holiday 小鸡放假

李明娟选译

The sun was about to rise1 on Farmer Tims farm. Chester Chicken woke up the cows with his important news2.

在农夫蒂姆的农场里，太阳马上就要升起，小鸡切斯特用一条重要消息唤醒了奶牛们。

“The chickens are taking a holiday today，” Chester Chicken said.

切斯特说：“鸡今天休假。”

“Is that so？” said Daisy the cow. “What is so special？”

“是这样吗？”奶牛黛西说，“有什么特殊的原因吗？”

“We worked too hard this week，” Chester said.

切斯特说：“本周我们工作太努力了。”

“You did？” asked Daisy.

“真的吗？”黛西问。

“Yes！We laid3 ten eggs this week，” Chester said， “and there are only five of us.”

切斯特说：“是的！我们本周产了十个鸡蛋，而我们只有五只鸡。”

Daisy smiled4 and nodded5 her head. Ten was a lot of eggs for five chickens.

黛西笑了笑，點了点头。十只鸡蛋对五只鸡来说够多了。

“Enjoy your day off，” she said.

她说：“好好享受假期吧。”

“But what about us？” the other cows said to Daisy， “We gave Farmer Tim 100 pails6 of milk this week. There are only ten of us！”

“但是我们呢？”其他奶牛对黛西说，“本周我们给农夫蒂姆产了100桶牛奶。我们只有十头牛！”

Daisy agreed7 with the cows， too. 100 pails of milk would make a lot of cheese8.

黛西也同意这些奶牛的说法，100桶牛奶能做很多奶酪。

“But we cant take a holiday on the same day as the chickens，” Daisy said. “What would Farmer Tim say？”

“但是我们不能和小鸡在同一天度假。” 黛西说，“农夫蒂姆会怎么说？”

Daisy and the cows moved over to a patch of grass9 to have their breakfast.

黛西和奶牛们走到一块草地上吃早餐。

“The chickens are taking a holiday，” Daisy told the trees. “And we dont think its fair10.”

“这些鸡正在度假。” 黛西对树说，“而且我们认为这不公平。”

The trees were not happy with this news.

树木们听到这个消息不高兴了。

“Ive dropped11 over 1，000 apples this year，” one said.

有的说：“今年我掉落了1000多个苹果。”

“And Ive had a million12 cherries13 picked！” said another.

“而我已经被采摘了几百万颗樱桃！”另一个说。

The wind blew and the trees put on their angry14 faces.

一阵风吹了过来，树木们露出生气的样子。

“We deserve15 a holiday more than the chickens！” the trees all shouted. “We worked too hard all year.”

“我们比鸡更应该度假！”树木们一起大喊，“全年我们都在非常努力地工作。”

This woke up the rake16 that was sitting on the grass under the trees.

这声音唤醒了坐在树下草地上的耙子。

“Have you heard the news？” the apple tree asked the rake. “The chickens are taking a holiday. They think they worked too hard this week.”

“你听说那个消息了吗？”苹果树问耙子，“鸡正在度假。它们认为这周它们工作太辛苦了。”

The rake stood up and said， “I raked over one million leaves this year. And theres only one of me！If anyone deserves a holiday， it is a poor17 tired rake.”

耙子站起来说道：“今年我耙了超过一百万片叶子。而我只有一个人！如果有谁应该度假，那就是可怜的疲惫不堪的我。”

Just then Rowdy Rooster jumped on the fence18 and began to crow19. It was time for the farmer to wake up.

就在这时，公鸡罗迪跳上篱笆开始打鸣。农夫该醒了。

The chickens and cows and trees waited20 for Farmer Tim to come out and pick up the rake.

鸡、牛和树木等着农夫蒂姆出来捡起耙子。

But a minute later Farmer Tim did not come out.

但是一分钟过去了，农夫蒂姆没有出现。

Rowdy called two more times.

罗迪又喊了他两次。

“Call him again，” the chickens shouted to the rooster. “He must be having a dream.”

“再喊他一次。” 其它鸡对公鸡大喊，“他一定还在做梦。”

Rowdy made one last call and this time Farmer Tim woke up. But he didnt come out and pick up the rake， milk the cows， or find the eggs under the chickens. He opened the window and shouted. Everyone could hear：

罗迪叫了最后一次，这次农夫蒂姆醒了。但是他没有出来捡耙子，没有给奶牛挤奶，也没有找鸡屁股底下的鸡蛋。他打开了窗户，大声地喊叫着，让每个人都可以听到：

“I worked too hard this week， I say. Its time to take a holiday！”

“我这周工作太辛苦了，是时候放个假了！”

（英语原文选自：englishclub.com）

【Notes】

1. rise  v. 攀升;起床;升起

2. news  n. 新闻，消息

3. lay  vi. 下蛋

4. smile  v. 微笑;微笑着表示

5. nod  v. 点头;点头表示

6. pail  n. 桶，提桶

7. agree  vt. 同意，赞成

8. cheese  n. [食品] 奶酪;干酪

9. a patch of grass 草丛，一块草地

10. fair  adj. 公平的

11. drop  v. 掉，投下

12. million  n. 百万;无数

13. cherry  n. 樱桃;樱桃树

14. angry  adj. 生气的;愤怒的

15. deserve  v. 应受，应得

16. rake  n. 耙子;v. 用耙子耙

17. poor  adj. 貧穷的;可怜的

18. fence  n. 栅栏;围墙

19. crow  v. 打鸣

20. wait  v. 等候