The Roadrunners

The Roadrunners

走鹃一家

Building a Nest It is a spring day in the desert. A bird is collecting sticks behind an old house on Cactus Road. She uses the sticks to make a nest. The bird is Mother Road Runner. Her name tells you that she likes to run. She doesn't fly well, so she doesn't make her nest high in a tree. She tucks the nest in some cactus plants.

搭鸟巢 沙漠里的一个春日。 仙人掌路的一栋老房子后面，一只小鸟正在捡小树枝。 她要用这些树枝搭一个鸟巢。 这只鸟就是走鹃妈妈。 听她的名字你就知道，她最爱跑步啦。 她不太会飞，所以不会把巢搭在高高的树上。 她把巢藏在几株仙人掌中间。

Eggs in the Nest. Mother Road Runner lays four eggs in the nest over the next four days. Then she settles down to sleep. She is tired after all her hard work. Later the sound of rain wakes Mother Road Runner. She leaves her nest and runs into the desert to sip rain water. Mother Road Runner always runs wherever she goes. Father Road Runner stays in the nest while she is gone. He protects the eggs until Mother Road Runner comes back.

巢里的蛋。接下来的四天里，走鹃妈妈在巢里下了四枚蛋 。干完这些活她累坏了，就蜷起身子睡了过去。没过多久 下雨的声音吵醒了走鹃妈妈，她离开巢穴，跑进沙漠里 喝雨水。不管去哪儿，走鹃妈妈总是跑着去的。 她不在的时候，走鹃爸爸就守在巢里。他会保护 这些蛋，直到走鹃妈妈回来。

Mother Road Runner sees some lizards near a rain puddle. Lizards are fast, but Mother Road Runner is faster. She zooms across the ground. She catches a lizard. It is a good snack for a Road Runner.

走鹃妈妈看见雨洼边有几只蜥蜴。蜥蜴跑得很快，可 走鹃妈妈跑得更快。她嗖地一下冲过地面，抓住了一只蜥蜴。 这可是走鹃的美味小零食呀。

Guarding the Nest. Mother and Father Roadrunner take turns guarding the nest for 14 days. Mother Roadrunner stays in the nest during the day. She goes out to hunt for food at night. Then Father Roadrunner watches the nest. When 14 days have passed, both Mother and Father Roadrunner stay close to the nest. Mother Roadrunner does make one quick trip to get some spiders, but she runs right back.

守巢穴。走鹃爸爸和走鹃妈妈轮流守着巢穴 一共要守14天。白天走鹃妈妈待在巢里，到了晚上她就出门 去觅食，这时候就由走鹃爸爸来看家。14天过去之后 走鹃爸爸和妈妈都不离巢太远。走鹃妈妈 只会快速跑出去抓几只蜘蛛，马上就会跑回来。

Soon one of the eggs moves a little. The baby roadrunner is inside the egg. It is tapping at the shell. The baby works hard. The baby uses its beak to poke and peck at the egg. It takes a long time to crack the egg's shell.

没多久，其中一枚蛋轻轻动了一下。 蛋里面住着走鹃小宝宝呢。 它正咚咚地敲着蛋壳。 小宝宝可努力啦。 它用小尖嘴戳呀啄呀，使劲弄破蛋壳。 要敲破蛋壳可得花好长时间呢。