Chapter 1

The Quicksand Question

流沙问题

CHAPTER 1 It was Saturday night. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were having a sleep-over in Josh's barn. Dink tipped a jarful of coins onto his sleeping bag. "I can't believe the duck bank is nearly full," he said. "I know," Ruth Rose said, emptying her piggy bank. "We've been saving for a whole year!" "Quiet, you two," Josh said, stacking nickels, dimes, and quarters on his sleeping bag. "I can't count if you're talking!" The "duck bank" was a large plastic bank, shaped like a duck, that stood in the fire station on Main Street. It was four feet tall and made of clear plastic. Everyone in town had been dropping money into it. They were going to use the money to pay for a special bridge just for ducks. For years, mother ducks had been crossing River Road to build nests in the woods near

第一章那是星期六的晚上。 丁克、乔什和露丝·罗斯在乔什的谷仓里过夜。 丁克把一罐硬币倒在他的睡袋上。 他说:“我不敢相信鸭子池快满了。” “我知道，”露丝·罗斯说着，倒空了她的储蓄罐。 “我们已经存了整整一年的钱了!”“安静，你们两个。”乔希说着，把五分、一角和25美分的硬币堆在睡袋上。 “你说话我就数不清了!”“鸭子银行”是一个巨大的塑料银行，形状像一只鸭子，矗立在主街的消防站。 它有四英尺高，由透明塑料制成。 镇上的每个人都在往里面投钱。 他们打算用这笔钱为鸭子建造一座特殊的桥。 多年来，鸭妈妈一直穿过河路，在附近的树林里筑巢

Bridge Lane. After their ducklings were born, the mother ducks would lead their ducklings back across the road to the river. The problem was, the little ducks were hard to see. Many drivers had almost had accidents. Finally, the town held a meeting to decide what to do. One person suggested hiring a duck crossing guard. A man who had almost driven off the road wanted the ducks rounded up and put in cages. Another person suggested digging a tunnel under River Road. But a girl from Dink's school had the best idea. "My grandparents feed ducks in their yard in Florida," she'd explained. "The ducks have to cross a busy street, so my grandfather built a little bridge. My grandmother sprinkled corn on the bridge to let the ducks know it was for them. Now the ducks use the bridge all the time." Everyone loved the idea. Mr. Plank, the shop teacher at the high school, raised his hand. "The kids in my class can design the bridge," he said. "When we've collected enough money, I'll help them build it."

桥巷。小鸭子出生后，母鸭子会带着小鸭子穿过马路回到河边。 问题是，小鸭子很难被看到。 许多司机差点出了车祸。 最后，镇上召开了一次会议来决定该怎么办。 有人建议雇一个鸭子过路警卫。 一个人几乎把车开离了公路，他想把鸭子围起来关在笼子里。 另一个人建议在河路下面挖一条隧道。 但是丁克学校的一个女孩想出了最好的主意。 “我祖父母在佛罗里达的院子里喂鸭子，”她解释道。 “鸭子们必须穿过一条繁忙的街道，所以我爷爷建了一座小桥。 我奶奶把玉米撒在桥上，让鸭子知道这是给它们吃的。 现在鸭子们一直在用这座桥。” 每个人都喜欢这个主意。普兰克先生，高中的工艺教师，举起了手。 “我们班的孩子可以设计这座桥，”他说。 “当我们筹集到足够的资金时，我会帮助他们建造它。”

Now the bank was nearly full. On Monday morning the money would be counted by Mr. Fiskell, the president of the Green Lawn Savings Bank. As soon as school let out next week, Mr. Plank and the high school kids would start building the bridge. Josh finished counting his money. "Nine dollars and ten cents," he said. He rubbed his stomach. "Money makes me hungry!" He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a tin of chocolate chip cookies. He also had some apples, carrots, and dog biscuits. In her stall, Polly the pony lay sleeping on a pile of hay. Josh's dog, Pal, was curled up next to her.

现在银行几乎满了。 周一上午，绿草坪储蓄银行(Green Lawn Savings Bank)行长菲斯凯尔将清点这笔钱。 下周一放学，普朗克先生和高中生们就会开始建造这座桥。 乔希数完了他的钱。 “九美元十美分，”他说。 他揉了揉肚子。“钱让我饿了!”他抓起背包，拿出一罐巧克力饼干。 他还吃了一些苹果、胡萝卜和狗饼干。 在她的马厩里，小马波莉躺在一堆干草上睡觉。 乔希的狗狗，帕尔，蜷缩在她旁边。

Outside, June crickets were chirping in the field behind the barn. "I've got ten dollars and twenty-two cents," Dink said. "What about you, Ruth Rose?" "Fourteen dollars and thirty cents," Ruth Rose said. "How much do you suppose is in the duck bank?" Ruth Rose liked to wear all one color. Tonight her outfit matched her sleeping bag: she wore lime green shorts and T-shirt. "A lot," Josh said. "It's up to the duck's neck. And the three of us are putting in over thirty dollars!" He opened the tin of cookies, took two for himself, and passed the rest to Ruth Rose. "We should think of a name for the bridge," he said. "How about Waddle Way?" He kicked off his sneakers and slipped into his sleeping bag. Dink switched off his flashlight. "What about calling it Duck Drive?" "How about Critter Crossing?" Ruth Rose said. "I like that," Dink said, yawning. Josh shut off his flashlight. He snorted. "Critter Crossing, Ruth Rose? Gee, why not call it Bunny Bridge?"

外面，六月的蟋蟀在谷仓后面的田野里叽叽喳喳。 “我有10美元22美分，”丁克说。 “你呢，露丝·罗斯?”“14美元30美分，”露丝·罗斯说。 “你猜鸭子池里有多少钱?”露丝·罗斯喜欢只穿一种颜色的衣服。 今晚，她的衣服和她的睡袋很相配:她穿着石灰绿色的短裤和t恤。 “很多，”乔希说。“这是鸭子的脖子。 我们三个人的投入超过了30美元!”他打开饼干罐头，自己拿了两块，剩下的递给了露丝·罗斯。 “我们应该为这座桥取个名字，”他说。 “摇摆路怎么样?”他踢掉球鞋，钻进睡袋。 丁克关掉了手电筒。 “叫它鸭子路怎么样?”“《动物之城》怎么样?”露丝·罗斯说。 “我喜欢这样，”丁克打着哈欠说。 乔希关掉了手电筒。 他哼了一声。“《动物日记》，露丝·罗斯?” 咦，为什么不叫它兔子桥呢?”

Ruth Rose laughed in the dark barn. "Critter Crossing is good because other animals might use the bridge," she said. "Bunnies, turtles, raccoons.…" "Buffalo," Josh added. After a few minutes, the kids drifted off to sleep. Polly whinnied softly in her stall. Pal snored on his pile of hay. Much later, something woke Dink. He sat up in his sleeping bag. Next to him, Josh and Ruth Rose were only lumps in the darkness. Then Dink heard Polly stamp her hooves. When his eyes adjusted, he could see that the white pony was standing. Pal was awake, too. Dink crawled out of his sleeping bag and walked over to the animals. He stroked Polly's warm nose. "What is it, girl?" he whispered. Polly snorted and shook her mane. Dink knelt and scratched Pal behind his ears. "Bet you just had a bad dream," he murmured. Using his flashlight, Dink checked his watch. It was one o'clock, and he was wide awake. He pushed the barn door open and walked outside. The night was warm and quiet. Even the crickets were asleep. Josh's house was dark except

露丝·罗斯在黑暗的谷仓里大笑。 她说:“《动物穿越》很好，因为其他动物可能会使用这座桥。” “兔子、乌龟、浣熊。“水牛，”乔希补充道。 几分钟后，孩子们渐渐睡着了。 波莉在她的马厩里轻声地呜呜叫着。 帕尔在他的干草堆上打呼噜。 很久以后，有什么东西把丁克吵醒了。 他在睡袋里坐了起来。 在他身边，乔希和露丝·罗斯只是黑暗中的两个肿块。 然后丁克听到波莉跺脚。 当他的眼睛恢复正常时，他可以看到那匹白色的小马站在那里。 朋友也醒了。丁克从睡袋里爬出来，走向动物们。 他抚摸着波莉温暖的鼻子。 “怎么了，姑娘?”他低声说。 波莉哼了一声，抖了抖鬃毛。 丁克跪下来挠了挠帕尔的耳后。 “我打赌你刚刚做了一个噩梦。”他喃喃地说。 丁克用手电筒看了看表。 已经一点钟了，他完全醒着。 他推开谷仓的门，走了出去。 夜晚温暖而安静。 就连蟋蟀也睡着了。 乔什的房子很黑，除了