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THE COUNTRY BUNNY& AND THE LITTLE GOLD SHOES
W E HEAR of the Easter Bunny who comes each Easter Day before sunrise to bring eggs for boys and girls, so we think there is only one. But this is not so. There are really five Easter Bunnies, and they must be the five kindest, and swiftest, and wisest bunnies in the whole wide world, because between sunset on Easter Eve and dawn on Easter Morning they do more work than most rabbits do in a whole year.
我们都听说过复活节兔吧，每年复活节那天，在太阳升起之前，复活节兔都要给孩子们送来彩蛋。人们都以为复活节兔仅有一只兔子，但事实不是这样，复活节兔其实有五只。它们必须是天底下最善良、最敏捷、最机灵的兔子。因为从复活节前夕太阳开始落下，到复活节当天早晨的黎明时分，它们所做的事情，可比大多数兔子一整年做的事儿还要多呢！
When one of the Easter Bunnies grows old and can no longer run fast, the old, wise, and kind Grandfather Bunny who lives at the Palace of Easter Eggs calls the bunnies together from the whole world to select the very best one to take the place.
Often a mother bunny says to her child, “Now if you learn to be wise, and kind, and swift, some day you may grow up to be one of the Easter Bunnies.” And all of the babies try their very best, so that they can grow up and go to work for the Grandfather Bunny at the Palace of Easter Eggs.
One day a little country girl bunny with a brown skin and a little cotton-ball of a tail said, “Some day I shall grow up to be an Easter Bunny: — you wait and see!”
当其中某只复活节兔变得老了，再也跑不动了的时候，住在彩蛋宫里的那位年长、睿智而慈爱的兔爷爷便会召集天下所有兔子，从中挑选出一个最出色的来接替老兔子。
兔妈妈经常对孩子说：“如果你们现在学会更机灵、更善良、更敏捷，说不定哪天等你们长大了，就可以被选为复活节兔了。”于是所有兔宝宝都拼命表现，想着哪天长大了可以为住在彩蛋宫里的兔爷爷效劳呢！
有一天，一只棕色皮肤、长着棉球式小尾巴的乡下小母兔说：“等我哪天长大了，一定能成为复活节兔——你们等着瞧吧！”
Then all of the big white bunnies who lived in fine houses, andthe Jack Rabbits with long legs who can run so fast, laughed at the little Cottontail and told her to go back to the country and eat a carrot. But she said, “Wait and see!”
于是所有住在漂亮舒适房子里的大白兔，还有跑得飞快的长腿大野兔都开始嘲笑小棉尾兔，叫她回到乡下去吃胡萝卜。可棉尾兔说：“等着瞧吧！”
The little girl Cottontail grew up to be a young lady Cottontail. And by and by she had a husband and then one day, much to her surprise there were twenty-one Cottontail babies to take care of.
小棉尾兔长大了，她变成了一位年轻的棉尾兔女士。不久她又找到了一位郎君。令棉尾兔非常惊喜的是，她生下了二十一个棉尾兔宝宝，并得好好照看他们。
Then the big white rabbits and the Jacks with long legs laughed and laughed, and they said, “What did we tell you! Only a country rabbit would go and have all those babies. Now take care of them and leave Easter eggs to great big men bunnies like us.” And they went away liking themselves very much.
Cottontail stopped thinking about hopping over the world with lovely eggs for little boys and girls, and she took care of her babies.
And one day, when her children stopped being babies and were little girl and boy bunnies, she called them to her and said,
“Now we are going to have some fun.”
于是大白兔和长腿野兔一直嘲笑个不停。“我们跟你们说什么来着！只有乡下兔才这样回去生下这么多兔崽。现在就好好照看自己的兔崽，把彩蛋留给我们这样了不起的兔子来送吧！”他们洋洋自得地走了。
棉尾兔不再想着跳遍天下给孩子们送彩蛋的事了，她精心照看着自己的兔宝宝们。
有一天，她的孩子们不再是小宝宝了，一个个都长大成了兔娃娃，棉尾兔便对他们说：
“现在我们该做点有趣的事儿了！”
Then to two of them she gave little brooms and showed them how to sweep out the cottage, and two she taught how to make beds.
她给其中两只兔子各自一把小扫帚，教他们如何打扫屋子；又教另两只兔子如何整理床铺。
Two more went with her to the kitchen, and in no time at all had found out how to cook a good dinner.
两只兔子跟着妈妈来到厨房，很快他们就学会做一顿美餐了。
And with these went the two little dish-washers, and they made the glasses shine like crystal.
她教两只兔子清洗碗盘，他们将玻璃杯洗得水晶般闪亮。
Two had little washtubs full of soapsuds, and they washed all the linen.
另两只兔子在洗衣盆里弄满了肥皂泡，他们清洗所有麻布。
Two did the sewing and mending.
两只兔子负责针线活，缝缝补补。
Two who had sweet voices were taught to sing and two more to dance and these amused all the others while they worked so that they were gay and happy.
那两只有副好嗓子的兔子，兔妈妈就教他们唱歌；还有两只则学跳舞，他们在大伙干活时唱歌跳舞，给大家带来欢乐和幸福。
Two others were soon digging in the garden.
另有两只兔子立即开始在花园里挖土。
To two she gave paints and crayons, so they could make pretty pictures for the walls.
兔妈妈给这两只兔子蜡笔，让他们画出美丽的图画挂在墙上。
And when Mother Cottontail had given out all of the tasks, she looked around, and there was only one little boy bunny left, and he was sad and lonely. Then Mother Cottontail said to him, “You are the most polite of all my children so I shall make you keeper of my chair. And whenever I come to dinner you shall seat me politely at table.”
Then one day when the little rabbits were half grown up, she heard a great talk among the woods rabbits, and when she asked what it was about, they said, “Haven’t you heard? One of the five Easter Bunnies has grown too slow, and we are all going to the Palace of Easter Eggs to see Old Grandfather pick out a new one to take his place.”
棉尾兔妈妈派完了所有的活儿，她瞧了一下四周，只剩下一只小兔子没事干，他看起来有点儿伤心和孤独。于是棉尾兔妈妈对他说：“你是我最懂礼貌的孩子，我想让你守护我的座椅，当我来就餐的时候，你就有礼貌地让我入座。”
当小兔子们都长得半大了，兔妈妈听到森林兔们正叽里呱啦地说着什么，兔妈妈问他们在说些什么，他们说道：“难道你没有听说？有只复活节兔老了，走得太慢了，我们都要到彩蛋宫去见老兔爷爷，他要挑选一只新的复活节兔来接替呢。”
So she called her little Cottontails and they all set offto the Palace to see the fun. But their mother was sad because she thought that now she was nothing but an old mother bunny, and could only look on, and that a big handsome white rabbit or long-legged Jack would be chosen.
When they came to the Palace of Easter Eggs there were bunnies everywhere on the great lawn, and the ones that hoped to be the Easter Bunny stood together, and all the others looked at them and clapped their paws. Then the big front door opened and the old, wise, and kind Grandfather came hopping slowly out. And he told the biggest and those with the longest legs to show what they could do. They jumped and ran and showed him their pretty white fur, and they were all very fast and very clever.
于是棉尾兔妈妈叫上所有小棉尾兔，他们出发前往彩蛋宫去看热闹。棉尾兔妈妈有些伤感，她觉得自己除了是只老兔妈妈以外，什么也不是，只能眼看着那高大英俊的白兔或长腿野兔被选中了。
他们来到彩蛋宫，看到宽阔的大草坪上站满了兔子，那些期望自己被选为复活节兔的站在一堆，其他兔子则在一旁观看、鼓着掌。宫里的大门开了，年长、睿智而慈爱的兔爷爷慢慢走了出来。他吩咐那些个头最大的、腿最长的兔子给大伙展示一下自己的本事。他们跳呀，跑啊，向兔爷爷展示他们漂亮的白色毛发，他们确实都很敏捷而机灵。
But still he did not pick one. And he said to them, “You are pretty and you are fast but you have not shown me that you are either kind or wise. ”
Then his kind old eyes looked everywhere and at last they rested on little Cottontail Mother where she stood with her children around her. And he called her to come right up to the Palace steps. So she took her twenty-one children and went up and stood before him.
但是兔爷爷还是一只都没有选中，他对他们说：“你们确实很漂亮，也很敏捷，却 没让我看出你们有多善良和机灵呀！”
接着，他用那慈爱的双眼扫视四周，最后将目光停留在了棉尾兔妈妈身上，她站在那儿，孩子们围在身边。兔爷爷叫棉尾兔妈妈来到彩蛋宫的台阶前。于是兔妈妈带着二十一个孩子，走上前去，站到兔爷爷面前。
And when he spoke, his voice was so kind that she was not frightened at all. And he said, “What a large family you have, my dear. I suppose they take all of your time.”
But she said, “When they were babies, that was so, but now they are so well trained that they do most of the work for me.”
“Ah,” he said, smiling , “ you must be very wise to train so many children so well. But tell me, do they always look so happy, and do they always hold their ears up so prettily?”
“Indeed they do,” she answered. “We never have a tear or a cross word in our little country cottage. And if I do say it myself, they do carry their ears better than most bunnies.”
兔爷爷说话时，他的声音听起来是那么慈爱，棉尾兔妈妈一点也不感到害怕。他说道：“噢，亲爱的兔妈妈，你有这么一个大家庭！我想他们一定耗费了你很多时间吧！”
但棉尾兔妈妈答道：“他们很小的时候的确如此，但现在他们都受到了很好的训练，可以替我分担很多事情了。”
“啊，”兔爷爷笑着说，“你一定很有智慧，能把这么多孩子教养得这么好。请告诉我，他们一直看起来这么快乐么？他们一直都这样乖巧地竖着那漂亮的耳朵吗？”
“他们的确如此，”棉尾兔妈妈答道，“在我们乡下屋里，没有哭闹和争吵，如果我吩咐什么事，他们确实比别的兔子听得更加专注。”
“Then,” he said, patting the nearest bunny on the head, “you must be very kind indeed to have such a happy home. It is too bad that you have had no time to run and grow swift, as I might then have made you my fifth EasterBunny.”
At that Mother Cottontail started to laugh, then she whispered to the little bunnies, and every rabbit on the lawn looked to see what would happen and the old Grandfather leaned forward to watch. Suddenly all of her twenty-one children raced away.
“那么，”兔爷爷说，轻轻抚摸着离他最近的兔子的头，“你们生活在这么快乐的大家庭里，一定非常善良。真可惜啊，你没有时间训练跑步，让自己变得更加敏捷，要不我就会选你作为第五个复活节兔了。”
听到这话，棉尾兔妈妈开始笑了，她和小兔们低语一阵，草地上的所有兔子们都等着看会发生什么事。兔爷爷也倾着身子观看。突然，二十一只小兔子全部跑开了。
And Cottontail dashed after them, and in no time at all she had them all back again in front of the Palace. Then the old, kind, wise Grandfather Bunny said: “I see that you are swift also. It is too bad that you cannot go to carry my eggs, because you will have to stay at home to take care of your children.”
棉尾兔妈妈在后面追赶着他们。很快她又把他们叫回来，站到宫殿前。年长、慈爱而睿智的兔爷爷说：“我看到了，你也跑得轻快敏捷。真有点可惜啊，你不能提着我的彩蛋去派送，因为你不得不呆在家里照看自己的孩子们了。”
