Chapter 3

Chapter 3 ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE. AND ALL OF US, MERELY PEOPLE IN CHICKEN OUTFITS. Woodsword Middle School was practically vibrating with excitement. Students clustered in tight groups, bouncing in place before the morning bell. The chatter in the hallway was louder than ever. Po felt the excitement in his bones. He tapped his fingers on the spinning wheels of his wheelchair. "This might be the best day of school ever," he said. "Oh, I don't know," Morgan said. "The field trip to the landfill was pretty great."

整个世界是一个舞台。 而我们所有人，只不过是穿着鸡皮衣服的人。 木剑中学几乎充满了兴奋。 学生们紧紧地聚集在一起，在早上的铃声响起之前就在原地跳来跳去。 走廊里的说话声比以前更响了。 阿宝从骨子里感到了兴奋。 他用手指轻敲着轮椅旋转的轮子。 “这可能是上学以来最棒的一天，”他说。 “哦，我不知道，”摩根说。 “对垃圾填埋场的实地考察非常棒。”

"Nobody liked that field trip," Po said. He turned in his chair and gave Morgan a suspicious look. "What's wrong, buddy? You look sort of…green." It was true. Morgan looked queasy. There were bags under his eyes, too, as if he hadn't slept. Morgan sighed. "I'm nervous," he said. "I've never tried out for a play before." "None of us have," said Po. "That's what makes it so exciting!" Po had been quietly waiting for this day for a long time. Years, in fact. Every winter, the older

“没人喜欢那次实地考察，”阿宝说。 他在椅子上转过身来，怀疑地看了摩根一眼。 “怎么了，伙计？”你看起来有点……脸色发青。” 这是真的。摩根看起来很不舒服。 他的眼睛下面也有眼袋，好像他没有睡觉。 摩根叹了口气。“我很紧张，”他说。 “我以前从来没有试演过话剧。” “我们都没见过，”阿宝说。 “这就是为什么它如此令人兴奋！”阿宝已经静静地等待这一天很久了。 事实上，很多年了。每年冬天，年龄越大

students at Woodsword put on a play. Everyone participated—some as actors, some as dancers or singers, and some on the backstage tech crew. When he was a younger kid, Po had marveled at the performances. He could still remember the Russian dances of The Nutcracker, the cardboard- sword duels of Romeo and Juliet, and the papiermaché chains rattled by the ghosts of A Christmas Carol. This year, Po and his friends were "the older students." It was finally their turn to put on a show. Po hoped to be front and center. "Don't be nervous, pal," Po said to Morgan. "If you don't want to be onstage, you can just sign up for the tech crew." Morgan frowned. "Here's the thing, though— I want an acting part. Even though I'm super nervous about it." He shrugged. "Is that weird?" "Not at all." Po patted his friend's arm. "I love playing basketball, and I always have. But I still get nervous before every single game." "Really?" Morgan asked.

木剑学院的学生们上演了一出戏。 每个人都参与其中——有些是演员，有些是舞者或歌手，还有一些是后台技术人员。 当阿宝还是个小孩子的时候，他就对这些表演感到惊奇。 他还记得《胡桃夹子》中的俄式舞蹈，《罗密欧与朱丽叶》中的硬纸板剑决斗，以及《圣诞颂歌》中幽灵发出的叮当声。 今年，阿宝和他的朋友们是“年长的学生”。 终于轮到他们表演了。 阿宝希望站在前面和中心。 “别紧张，伙计，”阿宝对摩根说。 “如果你不想上台，你可以报名加入技术团队。” 摩根皱起了眉头。“不过，事情是这样的——我想演个演员。 尽管我对此非常紧张。” 他耸了耸肩。“奇怪吗？”“一点也不。” 阿宝拍了拍他朋友的胳膊。 “我喜欢打篮球，我一直都喜欢。 但每场比赛前我还是会紧张。” “真的吗?”摩根问道。

"Really," Po answered. They'd arrived at the auditorium, where their whole grade was gathering. Classes had been canceled for the morning so that Ms. Minerva could get through all the tryouts before lunch. Students were supposed to study while they waited for their turn to audition. Po and Morgan got in the line at the side of the stage. They could see Harper and Jodi sitting together, going through a stack of flash cards. "There's a simple trick I use whenever I start to feel nervous," Po told Morgan. "I close my eyes for a few seconds, and I focus on breathing. In and out. In and out. And I tell myself that no matter what happens, I'll be okay." "And that really works?" Morgan asked. "Most of the time," said Po. "Sometimes I'm forced to rely on plan B, which is to imagine that everybody but me is dressed like a chicken." He rubbed his chin. "But that is risky, because you don't want to start laughing when

“真的吗？”阿宝回答。他们来到了礼堂，整个年级的学生都聚集在那里。 上午的课被取消了。 密涅瓦可以在午饭前通过所有的选拔赛。 学生们在等待试镜的时候应该学习。 阿宝和摩根在舞台边上排队。 他们可以看到哈珀和乔迪坐在一起，翻阅一叠记忆卡。 阿宝告诉摩根：“每当我感到紧张时，我就会用一个简单的技巧。” “我闭上眼睛几秒钟，专注于呼吸。 进进出出。进进出出。我告诉自己，不管发生什么，我都会没事的。” “那真的有用吗？”摩根问道。 “大多数时候，”阿宝说。 “有时我不得不依赖B计划，即想象除了我之外的每个人都穿得像只鸡。” 他揉了揉下巴。“但这是有风险的，因为你不会想笑的。

you're trying to line up a three-point shot." Morgan chuckled. Some of the color had come back to his face. "Thanks, Po," he said. "I'll keep that in mind." He peered over the heads of the students in front of them. "I just hope this line moves before I completely lose my nerve!" Po watched from the wings while Morgan took the stage. His friend shook with nervous energy in the spotlight. But Po saw the moment Morgan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he

你要试着投一个三分球。” 摩根咯咯地笑了。他脸上又恢复了一些血色。 “谢谢，阿宝，”他说。“我会记住的。” 他越过前面学生的头顶往外看。 “我只希望在我完全失去勇气之前，这条线能移动！”阿宝在侧翼看着摩根上台。 他的朋友在聚光灯下紧张得浑身发抖。 但阿宝看到了摩根闭上眼睛深吸一口气的瞬间。 当他

opened his eyes again, his trembling had stopped. "Hello, Morgan," said Ms. Minerva. She was seated in the front row of the auditorium. Beside her was Ash, who had volunteered to be the stage manager. As far as Po could tell, the stage manager did a little bit of everything. "Are you trying out for an acting role?" Ash asked, glancing at her clipboard. "Or singing?" "Acting!"Morgan blushed a deep shade of pink. "Definitely acting." Po chuckled. The last time Morgan had

他再次睁开眼睛，他的颤抖已经停止了。 “你好，摩根，”密涅瓦女士说。 她坐在礼堂的第一排。 在她旁边的是阿什，他自愿担任舞台监督。 据阿宝所知，舞台监督每件事都做了一点。 “你是在试演一个角色吗？”艾什瞥了一眼她的写字板，问道。 “唱歌?”“行动!摩根的脸涨得通红。 “绝对表演。”阿宝咯咯地笑了。 摩根最后一次