2. Lost Leprechaun

Chapter 2 Lost Leprechaun Bradley woke up thirsty the next morning. He knew there was a carton of orange juice in the fridge. His stomach growled. Maybe he'd find doughnuts in the kitchen, too. He looked over at his brother's bed. Brian was sound asleep. Bradley slipped out of the room. He tiptoed down the hallway and stairs so he wouldn't wake his family. The kitchen clock said seven-thirty. The sun was starting to shine through the window over the sink. Bradley smiled.

第二章迷路的小妖精布莱德雷第二天早上醒来感到口渴。 他知道冰箱里有一盒橙汁。 他的肚子咕咕叫。也许他也会在厨房里找到甜甜圈。 他看了看弟弟的床。 布莱恩睡得很熟。布拉德利溜出了房间。 为了不吵醒家人，他蹑手蹑脚地走下走廊和楼梯。 厨房的时钟是七点半。 太阳开始透过窗户照到水槽上。 布拉德利笑了。

He didn't see any doughnuts, but he poured himself a glass of juice. He drank it and listened to a few birds outside the window. Then he remembered the leprechaun statue on the porch. He wanted to check it out again before the contest the next day. Bradley opened the front door. He stepped onto the porch in his bare feet. Then he gasped. The leprechaun was gone! Bradley turned and ran back inside the house. He bumped into Josh in his pajamas. "Whoa, slow down! What's the matter?" Josh said. "The leprechaun is gone!" Bradley shouted just as his parents came into the kitchen. "What's wrong?" his mother asked. "Why the shouting?" "The leprechaun ran away from home," Josh said, cracking a grin.

他没有看到任何甜甜圈，但他给自己倒了一杯果汁。 他喝着水，听着窗外几只鸟的叫声。 然后他想起了门廊上的小矮妖雕像。 他想在第二天比赛前再去看看。 布拉德利打开前门。 他光着脚走上门廊。 然后他倒吸了一口气。小妖精走了！布拉德利转身跑回屋里。 他撞到了穿着睡衣的乔什。 “哇，慢点!”怎么啦？”杰克说。 “小矮妖走了！”布拉德利喊道，这时他的父母正走进厨房。 “怎么了？”他妈妈问。 “为什么大喊大叫？”“小妖精离家出走了。”乔希说着，咧嘴一笑。

Bradley raced up the stairs to his room. "Get up, Brian!" he shouted. He yanked off his pajamas and started getting dressed. "What's all the yelling?" Brian asked. One of his eyes peeked out from under the bedcovers. "The leprechaun is gone!" Bradley said. Brian sat up. His hair was all spiky. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Bri, it's not on the porch where we left it!" Bradley said. "Someone must have stolen it." Brian yawned. "Who'd want a smelly old leprechaun?" he asked. Bradley tossed a pillow at his brother. "I want it!" he said.

布拉德利跑上楼回到自己的房间。 “起来，布莱恩！”他喊道。 他猛地脱下睡衣，开始穿衣服。 “你们在喊什么？”布莱恩问。 他的一只眼睛从床罩下面探了出来。 “小矮妖走了！”布拉德利说。 布莱恩坐了起来。他的头发都是尖的。 “你是什么意思？”他问。 “布莱，它不在我们放它的门廊上！”布拉德利说。 “一定是有人偷了。” 布莱恩打了个哈欠。“谁会想要一个又臭又老的小矮妖呢？” 布拉德利朝他弟弟扔了一个枕头。 “我想要！”他说。

Brian ducked from the pillow. "What are you gonna do?" he asked. "Look for it," Bradley said. He pulled on his sneakers. "And you're gonna help." Two minutes later Bradley and Brian were in the backyard. "Brad, if someone stole it, why are we searching our own yard?" Brian asked. Bradley peered inside a clump of bushes. "Maybe someone hid it out here to play a trick on us." The brothers looked under shrubs, in the barn, and even up in trees. Their mother opened the back door. "You boys come in and eat some breakfast!" she yelled. Bradley and Brian walked back into the kitchen. Before sitting down at the table, Bradley called Lucy. "Someone stole the leprechaun!" he told her. "Call Nate and come over." "Maybe someone just took it for a joke," the boys' mother said after Bradley hung up. She looked at Josh.

布莱恩从枕头上俯下身来。 “你打算怎么办？”他问。 “找一下，”布拉德利说。 他穿上运动鞋。 “你要帮忙。”两分钟后，布拉德利和布莱恩在后院。 “布拉德，如果有人偷了它，我们为什么要搜查我们自己的院子？”布莱恩问。 布拉德利往灌木丛里看了看。 “也许有人把它藏在这里，想捉弄我们。” 兄弟俩在灌木丛下，谷仓里，甚至树上都找遍了。 他们的妈妈打开了后门。 “你们几个进来吃早饭吧！”她喊道。 布拉德利和布莱恩走回厨房。 在餐桌旁坐下之前，布拉德利叫了露西。 “有人偷走了小矮妖！”他告诉她。 “叫内特过来。” 布拉德利挂断电话后，孩子们的母亲说：“也许有人只是把这当成了一个玩笑。” 她看着乔希。

"Don't look at me!" he said. "It's probably your buddy Nate. He loves playing jokes on people." Bradley thought about Nate. Would he steal the leprechaun they had all worked on so hard? While they were eating oatmeal, the phone rang. Josh jumped for it. "Hello?" he said. "Just a minute." Josh placed the phone next to Bradley's orange juice. "For you," he said. "Someone with a bad cold." Bradley picked up the phone and said, "Hello?" "Lucky O'Leary stole your leprechaun," a hoarse voice said. Then the caller hung up.

“别看我！”他说。 “可能是你的朋友内特。 他喜欢跟人开玩笑。” 布拉德利想起了内特。 他会偷走他们苦心经营的小矮妖吗？ 当他们正在吃燕麦片时，电话响了。 乔希跳了起来。“喂?”他说。 “等一下。”乔什把手机放在布拉德利的橙汁旁边。 “给你的，”他说。“得了重感冒的人。” 布拉德利拿起电话说：“喂？”“幸运的奥利里偷走了你的小妖精。”一个沙哑的声音说。 然后打电话的人挂断了电话。