BIG AND LITTLE WORKERS
大大小小的劳动者
The Red Wagon
Once there was a beautiful big red wagon in the window of a toy store.
Billy and George often came to the store window and looked at the toys. Among them were tops and sleds, books and balls, and other fine things. But the boys liked the red wagon best of all.
红色的玩具马车
从前，一家玩具店的橱窗里摆放着一辆漂亮的红色玩具马车。
比利和乔治经常去那家玩具店的橱窗前看里面的玩具。那里有陀螺、雪橇、书、球以及其他很多好玩的东西。但是他们中意的就数那辆红色的玩具马车了。
“I wish I had that wagon,” said Billy. “I could use it for so many things.”
“I wish it were mine,” said George. “I would play with it all day.”
The man who kept the store heard the boys talking about the big red wagon.
“Both of those boys want that wagon,” he said to himself. “I wonder which boy will get it.”
One day George’s mother wanted to bake a cake. She called George.
“I am going to bake a cake,” she said. “I need some flour and butter. Will you go to the store for me?”
“Wait a minute, Mother,” said George. “I want to spin my top for a while.”
“我真想拥有那辆马车，”比利说，“我可以用它来干很多事情。”
“我希望它是我的，”乔治说，“我可以整天都和它玩儿。”
商店老板听到他们在讨论那辆红色的玩具马车。
“两个小家伙都想要那辆马车，”他自言自语道，“我倒要看看究竟谁会得到它。”
一天，乔治的妈妈想要烤蛋糕。她喊来乔治。
“我要烤蛋糕，”她说，“我需要一些面粉和黄油。你能帮我去商店买些回来吗？”
“等一会儿，妈妈，”乔治说，“我想再玩一会儿陀螺。”
But he had such a good time spinning his top that he forgot all about going to the store.
The very same day Billy’s mother said, “Billy, I need some things from the store. Will you get them for me, please?”
“Yes, Mother,” answered Billy. “I’ll go right now.”
但是他玩陀螺玩得太入迷了，忘记了要去商店。
就在同一天，比利的妈妈说：“比利，我需要从商店买些东西回来，你能替我去吗？”
“好的，妈妈，”比利回答道，“我这就过去。”
When Billy went past George’s house, he saw George spinning his top on the walk.
“Come here, Billy,” George called. “Let’s spin our tops.”
“I can’t stop just now,” answered Billy. “Mother sent me on an errand. I’ll play with you after I come back.”
Billy went on. Soon he came past again with his arms full of packages.
当比利经过乔治家的时候，他看到乔治正在路上玩他的陀螺。
“快来，比利，”乔治喊道，“我们一起来玩陀螺吧。”
“我现在不能耽搁，”比利说，“妈妈交给我一个差事。等我回来之后，再和你一起玩吧。”
比利走了。不一会儿，他又从这里经过，双手抱着袋子。
That evening Billy helped his father rake the leaves. They raked them into a big pile. Then they carried them to the garden and burned them.
“I could do more work,” said Billy, “if I had a big red wagon.”
那天晚上，比利帮助他的爸爸用耙子搂叶子。他们把树叶搂在一起，然后弄到花园里，烧成了灰。
“如果我有一辆红色的马车的话，”比利说，“我还可以做更多的活儿。”
George’s father was raking leaves, too. He needed a helper, but George was in the park, playing ball.
The two boys would often meet at the toy store. One day when they saw the big red wagon, it had a green card on it.
“Oh, look!” said George. “The card says SOLD. Some boy is going to get the red wagon.”
The boys walked home slowly. They felt sad because the red wagon was sold. They wondered if any of their playmates would get it.
乔治的爸爸也在耙树叶。他需要一个帮手。但乔治却在花园里玩球。
两个男孩经常在玩具店碰面。一天，他们看到那辆红色的马车上面有一张绿色的卡片。
“噢，快看啊！”乔治说，“卡片上写着：已售出。有个男孩就要得到这辆红色马车了。”
两个男孩慢慢往家走。他们很难过，因为红色马车已经卖出去了。他们想知道是哪一个小伙伴得到了它。
Next morning Billy’s mother called, “Billy! Wake up! Wake up!”
Billy opened one eye. Then he opened the other eye. He saw something in his room that made him very wide awake.
There was the big red wagon! It had a card on it, but this card did not say SOLD. It said, “Happy Birthday to a good helper who needs a red wagon.”
第二天早上，比利的妈妈喊道：“比利，快醒醒，快醒醒！”
比利睁开一只眼，接着又睁开另一只眼。他看见房间里多了一样东西，那东西让他一下子就清醒过来了。
那辆红色的玩具马车！上面有一张卡片，卡片上写的并不是“已售出”，而是—— “需要红色马车的好帮手，祝你生日快乐。”