12. A Perfect Plan

Chapter 12 A Perfect Plan "Why?" all four kids asked at once. "There are three of us working here," Barney told the kids. "Brenda, Tom, and me. We feed the animals, make sure they get exercise, clean their cages, do just about everything. But I'm going back to college, and Brenda is getting married and moving away. That leaves just Tom, and he can't do everything by himself." Barney picked up Slinky and set him on his shoulder. "We'll have to find homes for all the animals if we close," he said. "I'm taking Slinky with me to college." Bradley thought about all the other animals at the petting zoo. He'd been coming here since he was a baby.

“为什么？”四个孩子同时问道。 “我们有三个人在这里工作，”巴尼告诉孩子们。 “布伦达、汤姆和我。我们喂养动物，确保它们得到锻炼，清洁笼子，做几乎所有的事情。 但我要回大学了，布兰达要结婚搬走了。 那就只剩下汤姆了，他不可能什么事都自己做。” 巴尼抱起弹簧狗，把它放在自己的肩膀上。 他说：“如果关门，我们就得给所有的动物找个家。” “我要带弹簧狗去上大学” 布拉德利想到了动物园里所有其他的动物。 他从小就经常来这里。

"So you see why we can't take your friend's rabbit," Barney said. "We can't even keep our own rabbits." Just then Barney's telephone rang. He waved good-bye to the kids and answered the phone. The kids walked outside. They cut between the town hall and the library to West Green Street. "Is this where Mr. Neater will be living?" Lucy asked. She pointed to the building next to the police station. "Yeah, and it's a nice place," Bradley said. "Our mom volunteers there once a week," Brian added. "She helps the people do art projects and stuff." "Oh my gosh, I've got it!" Bradley cried. "Got what?" his brother asked. "A new plan, but first we have to go see Mr. Neater again." Bradley explained his idea on the way. Five minutes later, they knocked on Mr. Neater's front door.

“现在你明白为什么我们不能带走你朋友的兔子了吧，”巴尼说。 “我们连自己的兔子都养不了。” 就在这时，巴尼的电话响了。 他向孩子们挥手告别，接起电话。 孩子们走了出去。他们从市政厅和图书馆之间抄近路到西格林街。 “尼特先生会住在这里吗？”露西问。 她指着警察局旁边的大楼。 “是啊，那是个好地方，”布拉德利说。 “我们的妈妈每周在那里做一次志愿者，”布莱恩补充说。 “她帮助人们做艺术项目之类的。” “哦，天哪，我找到了！”布拉德利哭了。 “得到了什么？”他哥哥问。 “一个新计划，但首先我们得再去看看尼特先生。” 布拉德利在路上解释了他的想法。 五分钟后，他们敲了尼特先生的前门。

Mr. Neater answered. He was holding Douglas in his arms. "Well, hello again," the man said. "Come in out of the cold." The kids piled their coats on a chair. "We have an idea about Douglas," Bradley said. Mr. Neater was stroking Douglas's long, silky ears. "Please tell us. We're all ears," he said with a grin. The kids told Mr. Neater about their visit to the petting zoo. They explained what Barney told them about the place maybe having to close down. "Douglas might love living there," Mr. Neater said. "But if they're going to shut down…" "They wouldn't have to shut down if they had more people to take care of the animals," Lucy put in. "We thought you could volunteer there after you retire from the school," Bradley said. "That way you could see Douglas every day, and he wouldn't feel lonely!" Nate added.

尼特先生回答。他把道格拉斯抱在怀里。 “嗯，又见到你了，”那人说。 “从寒冷中进来吧。” 孩子们把外套堆在椅子上。 “我们对道格拉斯有个想法，”布拉德利说。 尼特先生抚摸着道格拉斯长长的、柔滑的耳朵。 “请告诉我们。我们洗耳恭听，”他笑着说。 孩子们告诉尼特先生他们去宠物动物园的事。 他们解释了巴尼告诉他们的那地方可能要关门了。 “道格拉斯可能会喜欢住在那里，”尼特说。 “如果有更多的人照顾这些动物，他们就不必关门了。”露茜插嘴说。 “我们认为你从学校退休后可以在那里做志愿者，”布拉德利说。 “那样你就可以天天见到道格拉斯了，他也不会感到孤独了！”内特说。

Mr. Neater stared at the four kids. "Volunteering at the petting zoo might be fun," he said after a minute. "And it's only a few minutes' walk from elderly housing." "You'll do it?" Bradley cried. Mr. Neater smiled. "If it's okay with Douglas, it's okay with me!" Douglas went to live at the petting zoo. Mr. Neater moved into elderly housing and began volunteering at the zoo. He saw his rabbit every day. One Saturday the kids decided to pay Mr. Neater a visit at the zoo. What a surprise they got when they walked into the warm animal building. Bradley saw at least ten elderly people wearing dark green shirts. One man was brushing a small goat. A woman was placing fresh straw in cages. Two men were washing the floor with a garden hose.

尼特先生盯着那四个孩子。 “在宠物动物园做志愿者可能很有趣，”他过了一分钟说。 “而且从养老院走几分钟就到了。” “你会做吗?”布拉德利哭了。 尼特先生笑了。“如果道格拉斯同意，我也同意”道格拉斯住进了宠物动物园。 尼特先生搬进了老人住房，开始在动物园做志愿者。 他每天都看到他的兔子。 一个星期六，孩子们决定去动物园拜访尼特先生。 当他们走进温暖的动物馆时，他们感到多么惊讶啊！ 布拉德利看到至少有十个穿着深绿色衬衫的老人。 一个人正在给一只小山羊刷毛。 一位妇女正在把新鲜稻草放进笼子里。 两个人正在用花园水管洗地板。

Mr. Neater walked over to the kids. He was holding Douglas. "Hey, kids," he said. "Hi, Mr. Neater!" the kids said. "Who are all these people?" Bradley asked. "They're all volunteers from elderly housing," Mr. Neater said. "I got them to agree to help out here at the zoo. They love the animals, and the animals get a lot more care and attention." A woman with white hair walked by with a bag of corn in her hand. A white duck followed her, quacking loudly. Bradley smiled. His plan had worked. "Can I hold Douglas?" he asked. Mr. Neater placed Douglas in Bradley's arms. The rabbit sniffed Bradley's sweater. Then he closed his eyes and snuggled into the soft wool.

尼特先生走向孩子们。 他抱着道格拉斯。“嘿，孩子们，”他说。 “嗨，尼特先生！”孩子们说。 “这些人是谁？”布拉德利问。 “他们都是老年住房的志愿者，”尼特说。 “我让他们同意在动物园帮忙。 他们爱这些动物，这些动物得到了更多的照顾和关注。” 一个满头白发的女人手里拿着一袋玉米走过。 一只白鸭子跟着她，大声地嘎嘎叫着。 布拉德利笑了。他的计划成功了。 “我能抱一下道格拉斯吗？”他问。 尼特先生把道格拉斯放在布拉德利的怀里。 兔子闻了闻布拉德利的毛衣。 然后他闭上眼睛，依偎在柔软的羊毛里。