6. Snakes Eat Eggs, Too

Chapter 6 Snakes Eat Eggs, Too "What will we do if the raccoons have the eggs?" Brian asked. They were waiting for a light to change so they could cross Main Street. Bradley grinned. "Ask them to give them back," he said. "What if the eggs are already in their stomachs?" Nate asked.

第六章蛇也吃蛋“如果浣熊吃了蛋，我们该怎么办？”布莱恩问。 他们在等红绿灯，这样他们就可以穿过主街了。 布拉德利咧嘴一笑。“让他们把它们还给我，”他说。 “如果鸡蛋已经在它们的胃里呢？”内特问道。

"Then we'll let them keep them," Bradley said. The kids crossed the street and headed for Center Park. "I saw the raccoons walk into those trees," Lucy said. She pointed to the trees near the high school playing fields. "Maybe they have a home there," Bradley said. Pal tugged on his leash and led the kids to the trees. He sniffed the ground and whimpered. "Pal, if I let you off your leash, will you lead us to the raccoons?" Bradley asked the dog. Pal said, "Woof!" Bradley unsnapped the leash, and Pal took off, barking. He raced to a tall tree and put his front paws on the trunk. The kids ran over to the tree. They looked up into the branches. "What does a raccoon nest look like?" Nate asked. "I think they sleep inside the trunk," Bradley said.

“那我们就让他们留着吧，”布拉德利说。 孩子们过了马路，朝中央公园走去。 “我看见浣熊走进那些树里，”露西说。 她指着高中操场附近的树。 “也许他们在那里有个家，”布拉德利说。 帕尔拉着他的皮带，把孩子们带到树上。 他嗅了嗅地面，呜咽着。 “伙计，如果我放开你的皮带，你能带我们去找浣熊吗？”布拉德利问狗。 伙计说：“汪！”布拉德利解开皮带，帕尔一边叫一边跑开了。 他跑到一棵高大的树上，把前爪放在树干上。 孩子们跑到树旁。 他们抬头看了看树枝。 “浣熊窝是什么样子的？”内特问道。 布拉德利说：“我认为它们睡在后备箱里。”

Pal let out another loud bark. He tried to climb the tree. "Oh my gosh, look!" Lucy said. About six feet above their heads, a raccoon face peered out of a hole in the tree trunk. The raccoon made a little coughing noise at Pal. "Now what?" Nate asked, looking up. "We found the nest, but we still don't know if they have our eggs." "And I'm not climbing up there to look in the nest," Brian added. "Momma Raccoon doesn't look happy to see us." "I don't think the raccoons took them," Lucy said. "Why not?" Bradley asked. "Guys, remember when we saw the raccoons in the park?" Lucy asked. "They walked right past us." "Yeah, the mom was leading the three babies," Brian said. "Well, none of them had an egg in its mouth," Lucy said. "And they weren't carrying an egg in

朋友又大声叫了一声。 他试图爬上那棵树。 “哦，我的天哪，看！”露西说。 在他们头顶上方大约六英尺的地方，一张浣熊脸从树干的一个洞里探出头来。 浣熊对着帕尔发出轻微的咳嗽声。 “现在什么?”内特抬起头问。 “我们找到了鸟巢，但我们仍然不知道它们是否有我们的蛋。” “我也不是爬上去看鸟巢的，”布莱恩补充道。 “浣熊妈妈看到我们看起来不太高兴。” “我不认为浣熊把它们带走了。”露茜说。 “为什么不?”布拉德利问。“伙计们，还记得我们在公园里看到的浣熊吗？”露西问。 “他们从我们身边走过。” “是的，妈妈带着三个孩子，”布莱恩说。 “嗯，它们嘴里都没有鸡蛋。”露茜说。 “而且他们没有把鸡蛋带进去

their paws, either." "You're right," Bradley said. "They were probably just going home to sleep. Raccoons hunt for food at night." "Maybe they ate the eggs before we saw them," Nate suggested. "They could have," Bradley said. "But they'd leave the eggshells on the ground. Let's go look!" The kids ran toward the pond. "Let's split up," Bradley said. "Look everywhere on the ground." "What if the raccoons ate the eggshells, too?" Brian asked. Bradley shook his head. "Yuck, I don't think painted eggshells would taste very good!" The kids walked around the pond. Right away Pal started barking at the swans. They were on the water, flapping their wings. "Chill out, Mr. and Mrs. Swan," Nate said. "No one is going to hurt you. We're just looking for eggshells."

它们的爪子也是。”“你说得对，”布拉德利说。 “他们可能只是回家睡觉。 浣熊在晚上觅食。” “也许它们在我们看到它们之前就把蛋吃了。”内特暗示道。 “他们可能有，”布拉德利说。 “但它们会把蛋壳留在地上。 我们去看看吧！”孩子们向池塘跑去。 “我们分开吧，”布拉德利说。 “看看地上的每一个地方。” “如果浣熊也吃了蛋壳怎么办？”布莱恩问。 布拉德利摇了摇头。“哎呀，我觉得彩绘的蛋壳味道不太好！”孩子们绕着池塘走。 帕尔立刻开始对着天鹅叫。 它们在水面上拍打着翅膀。 “冷静点，斯旺先生和斯旺太太，”内特说。 “没有人会伤害你。 我们只是在寻找蛋壳。”

"Maybe they have a nest somewhere," Lucy said. "They think we're going to bother it." The kids walked quietly and carefully through the tall grass. Bradley led the way, with Pal in front on his leash. Out on the pond, the two swans kept watch. "Careful," Bradley whispered over his shoulder. "There may be snakes." "Who's afraid of snakes?" Brian said. "I am!" Nate answered. Suddenly Pal barked and tugged on his leash. Bradley saw the hair on Pal's neck stand up. "What is it, Pal?" Bradley asked. He looked at the ground in front of Pal. Then he saw what had made Pal bark. A black snake was curled up in a patch of sunlight. The snake raised its head and poked its tongue into the air. Nate came up behind Bradley. "What's going on?" he asked.

“也许它们在什么地方有窝。”露茜说。 “他们认为我们会打扰它。” 孩子们安静而小心地走过高高的草丛。 布拉德利在前面带路，帕尔牵着狗链走在前面。 在池塘外面，两只天鹅在看守着。 “小心，”布拉德利回过头来小声说。 “可能有蛇。”“谁怕蛇？”布莱恩说。 “我!”奈特回答。突然，帕尔吠了起来，拉着他的皮带。 布拉德利看到帕尔脖子上的头发都竖起来了。 “怎么了，伙计？”布拉德利问。 他看着帕尔面前的地面。 然后他明白了是什么让帕尔吠叫。 一条黑蛇蜷缩在一片阳光下。 蛇抬起头，把舌头伸到空中。 内特从布拉德利身后走过来。 “发生了什么事？”他问。

Bradley pointed at the snake. "Don't move!" he whispered. Nate took one look and gasped. "I couldn't move if I t-tried!" he stammered.

布拉德利指着那条蛇。 “别动！”他小声说。 内特看了一眼，倒吸了一口气。 “我动也动不了！”他结结巴巴地说。