Chapter 1

The Lucky Lottery

幸运彩票

Chapter 1 "READY, AIM, FIRE!" yelled Ruth Rose. She and Dink hurled snowballs at Josh's fort. Josh's grinning face popped up. "Missed by a mile!" he yelled. "You throw like a girl, Ruth Rose!" "I am a girl!" Ruth Rose yelled back. She whipped another snowball, catching Josh in the face. The sides were uneven, but no one cared. It was Dink, Ruth Rose, and her little brother, Nate, against Josh and his dog, Pal.

第一章“准备，瞄准，开火!”露丝·罗斯喊道。 她和丁克向乔希的堡垒扔雪球。 乔希咧嘴笑了起来。 “差一英里!”他喊道。 “露丝·罗斯，你投球像个女孩子!”“我是女孩!”露丝·罗斯喊道。 她又打了一个雪球，打在乔希的脸上。 两边凹凸不平，但没人在意。 这是丁克，露丝·罗斯和她的弟弟内特，对乔什和他的狗，帕尔。

Nate was in charge of making snowballs for his sister and Dink. Pal raced around barking and trying to catch the snowballs in his mouth. More snowballs flew at Josh's fort. Suddenly, Dink yelled, "Stop!" Two little kids in lumpy snowsuits had wandered into Dink's backyard. "Who're they?" asked Ruth Rose. Dink shrugged. He and Ruth Rose dropped their snowballs and walked over to the newcomers. The taller one was a boy. He wore a dark blue parka and a green ski hat. The shorter one was a girl. Her red hair framed blue eyes and pink cheeks. "Hi," Dink said. "Who're you?" "I'm Josephine!" the girl said. "And I'm Ben," the boy said. "We brought you a message from our big brother." Josh climbed out of his fort and walked over. "Who's your brother?" he asked. "Lucky O'Leary!" Josephine said. "Oh, now I recognize you," Ruth Rose said. "You live over on Robin Road." Ben O'Leary unzipped his parka pocket and pulled out a crumpled note. "Here, Lucky said to

内特负责为他妹妹和丁克做雪球。 帕尔跑来跑去，狂吠着，试图抓住嘴里的雪球。 更多的雪球飞向乔希的堡垒。 突然，丁克喊道:“停下!”两个穿着厚厚的防雪服的小孩走进了丁克家的后院。 “他们是谁?”露丝·罗斯问。 丁克耸耸肩。他和露丝·罗斯放下雪球，走向新来的人。 较高的那个是男孩。他穿着一件深蓝色的派克大衣，戴着一顶绿色的滑雪帽。 较矮的是一个女孩。 她的红头发衬托着蓝眼睛和粉红色的脸颊。 “嗨，”丁克说。“你是谁?”“我是约瑟芬!”女孩说。 “我是本，”男孩说。 “我们给你带来了我们大哥的口信。” 乔希爬出堡垒，走了过去。 “你哥哥是谁?”他问。 “幸运奥利里!”约瑟芬说。 “哦，现在我认出你了，”露丝·罗斯说。 “你住在罗宾路那边。” 本·奥利里拉开派克大衣口袋的拉链，掏出一张皱巴巴的纸条。 “给你，”Lucky说

read it right now." He handed the note to Dink. Dink flattened out the paper. Guys, I need you. Come to my house now. Urgent! Lucky "Did Lucky say what this is about?" Dink asked. "It's a secret!" Josephine said, her eyes wide. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose looked at each other. "Let's go!" Ruth Rose said. She pointed her brother toward their house. "Nate, please go stay with Mom. Tell her I had to go on a secret mission!" Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose followed Ben and Josephine. With Pal at their side, they headed for the west side of Green Lawn. It was Christmas vacation, and the store windows on Main Street were decorated with tiny white lights. Snow covered the grass, but the streets and sidewalks had been cleared. "Is your brother home from college?" Dink asked Ben.

现在就读吧。”他把纸条递给丁克。 丁克把纸压平。 伙计们，我需要你们。现在到我家来。 紧急!幸运"幸运有没有说这是怎么回事"丁克问道。 “这是个秘密!”约瑟芬睁大眼睛说。 丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯面面相觑。 “我们走吧!”露丝·罗斯说。 她指给弟弟看他们的房子。 “内特，去陪妈妈吧。 告诉她我要执行一项秘密任务!”丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯跟在本和约瑟芬后面。 在帕尔的陪同下，他们朝绿草坪西边走去。 那是圣诞节假期，大街上的商店橱窗都装饰着白色的小灯。 雪覆盖了草地，但街道和人行道已被清理干净。 “你哥哥从大学回来了吗?”丁克问本。

Ben nodded. "He came home a couple days ago." "We bought a Christmas tree and presents!" Josephine added. The kids crossed Main Street and headed up Bridge Lane. They turned left and stopped at 33 Robin Road. The house was tall and blue. Kids' toys and sports stuff were scattered across the yard and front porch. The five kids tromped up the steps. Josephine threw open the front door and clumped down the hall, leaving snow tracks on the floor. Dink and the rest of the kids knocked the snow off their boots before stepping inside. Josh told Pal to wait on the front porch. "Lucky's in the kitchen," Ben said, leading the way. Lucky was making lunch for his six brothers and sisters. Lined up on the counter were six grilled-cheese sand-wiches, six glasses of milk, and six bananas. "We brought 'em!" Josephine said. She and Ben hung up their jackets and sat at the table with the rest of their sisters and brothers.

本点了点头。“他几天前回家了。” “我们买了一棵圣诞树和礼物!”约瑟芬说。 孩子们穿过主街，向桥巷走去。 他们向左转，停在罗宾路33号。 房子又高又蓝。 孩子们的玩具和运动用品散落在院子和前廊上。 五个孩子迈着沉重的步子走上台阶。 约瑟芬推开前门，步履蹒跚地走下大厅，地板上留下了雪印。 丁克和其他孩子敲掉靴子上的雪，然后走进去。 乔什让帕尔在前廊等着。 “幸运仔在厨房里，”本说，在前面带路。 幸运仔正在为他的六个兄弟姐妹做午餐。 柜台上一字排开地摆着六个烤奶酪三明治、六杯牛奶和六根香蕉。 “我们把他们带来了!”约瑟芬说。 她和本把外套挂起来，和其他兄弟姐妹一起坐在桌旁。

Lucky had grown taller since Dink had last seen him. His hair was longer, too. "Hey," Lucky said, nodding at Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. To his brothers and sisters, he said, "Okay, you guys eat your lunches. Be good, and no fighting! Ben's in charge." "Why does he get to be in charge?" Josephine piped up. "Because I said so," Lucky said. Then he smiled at Josephine. "You can be Ben's assistant, okay?" Lucky beckoned for Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose to follow him. Stepping over soccer balls, mittens, books, and hockey sticks, they trailed after Lucky into the living room. A tall Christmas tree stood in one corner, half decorated. Ornaments and strings of lights covered the floor. Lucky threw himself into a chair and rubbed the top of his head. "Someone robbed us," he said. Dink looked around the room. "What did they take?" he asked. "Lottery tickets," Lucky said. "Every year, my grandfather sends us kids a Christmas card with seven lottery tickets inside. Every year, he uses

自从丁克上次见到Lucky以来，他长高了。 他的头发也变长了。“嘿，”幸运仔说着，朝丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯点点头。 他对他的兄弟姐妹们说:“好了，你们吃午饭吧。 乖乖的，不要打架!本负责。” “为什么他能做主?”约瑟芬尖声说。 “因为是我说的，”Lucky说。 然后他对约瑟芬笑了笑。 “你可以做本的助理，好吗?”幸运之神招呼丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯跟他走。 他们跨过足球、连指手套、书和曲棍球棒，跟着拉奇走进客厅。 一个角落里立着一棵高高的圣诞树，装饰了一半。 地板上挂满了装饰品和一串串的灯。 幸运仔一屁股坐到椅子上，揉了揉头顶。 “有人抢劫了我们，”他说。 丁克环顾了一下房间。 “他们拿走了什么?”他问。 “彩票，”Lucky说。 “每年，我爷爷都会给我们这些孩子寄一张圣诞贺卡，里面有七张彩票。 每年，他都会使用