9. Happy Swans, Hungry Kids

Chapter 9 Happy Swans, Hungry Kids While they waited, the kids played with the baby goat. He nibbled on their fingers and licked the palms of their hands. "Okay, we're all set!" Tom said a few minutes later. He came back with a tall man wearing a green sweatshirt like his. "This is Luke. He's a volunteer like Mr. Neater, and he's going to help us."

第九章快乐的天鹅，饥饿的孩子们在等待的时候，孩子们和小山羊玩耍。 他啃着他们的手指，舔着他们的手掌。 “好了，我们都准备好了！”几分钟后汤姆说。 他带着一个高个子男人回来了，他穿着一件和他一样的绿色运动衫。 “这是卢克。他和尼特先生一样是志愿者，他会帮助我们的。”

Luke was carrying a plastic kiddie pool. "We use this for ducklings," he said. "But it'll be perfect for your project." The three adults, four kids, and Pal headed back to Center Park. "Can you take us to the swans' nest?" Tom asked. "Sure," Bradley said. He and Pal led the way. "Look," Lucy whispered as they approached the nest. One of the swans was lying on the nest. The other one swam in the pond nearby. "The mother is on the nest," Luke whispered. "Her mate keeps an eye on her to make sure she's safe." "That poor mother swan is trying to hatch the eggs," Mr. Neater said. "Okay, to make this work, we need to get her off the nest," Luke said. He walked toward the nest, waving the kiddie pool.

卢克带着一个塑料儿童泳池。 “我们用这个喂小鸭子，”他说。 “但它对你的项目来说是完美的。” 三个大人，四个孩子和帕尔回到了中央公园。 “你能带我们去天鹅窝吗？”汤姆问。 “当然，”布拉德利说。他和帕尔走在前面。 “看。”他们走近鸟巢时，露茜小声说。 一只天鹅正躺在鸟巢上。 另一只在附近的池塘里游泳。 “妈妈在巢上，”卢克低声说。 “她的伴侣一直盯着她，以确保她的安全。” “那只可怜的天鹅妈妈正在努力孵蛋，”尼特说。 “好吧，要想成功，我们得让她离开窝。”卢克说。 他朝鸟巢走去，挥舞着儿童泳池。

The mother swan hissed at him, but she hopped off her nest and backed away. Never taking her eyes off the humans, she waded into the pond. She joined her mate and glared at the intruders. With the mother swan out of the nest, everyone could see the golden Easter eggs. Mr. Neater removed the eggs and handed them to the four kids. Suddenly the mother swan streaked over toward the kids, hissing and snapping her beak. Luke and Tom waved their arms, and she went back to the pond. But she did not look happy. "It's okay, Momma Swan," Mr. Neater said. "Pretty soon, you'll have babies to keep you busy!" "Ready to get wet?" Tom asked Luke and Mr. Neater. He kicked off his sneakers. "How deep is the water?" Mr. Neater asked. He was pulling off his shoes and socks. "Not very," Luke said, removing his sneakers. "I helped clean up some litter last year. I only got wet up to my knees."

天鹅妈妈朝他嘶嘶地叫了一声，但她跳下了窝，退了回去。 她目不转睛地盯着人类，涉水进入池塘。 她和同伴一起怒视着闯入者。 天鹅妈妈离开了巢，每个人都能看到金色的复活节彩蛋。 尼特先生取出鸡蛋，递给四个孩子。 突然，天鹅妈妈向孩子们飞奔过来，嘶嘶地叫着，用嘴咬着。 卢克和汤姆挥挥手，她回到池塘。 但她看起来并不高兴。 “没事的，天鹅妈妈，”尼特先生说。 “很快，你就会有孩子让你忙了！”“准备好淋湿了吗？”汤姆问卢克和尼特先生。 他踢掉了他的运动鞋。 “水有多深？”尼特先生问。 他正在脱鞋和袜子。 “不太喜欢。”卢克说着，脱下了他的运动鞋。 “去年我帮忙清理了一些垃圾。 我只是湿到了膝盖。”

"Can we help?" Bradley asked. "Absolutely," Tom said. "After all, this was your idea! But first, this." Very gently, Tom took the two real swan eggs out of his sweatshirt pouch. He laid them in the center of the swans' nest. "Now let's gather around the nest," Tom said. "All seven of us will lift it together and place it inside the kiddie pool." "Careful not to let the nest break apart," Mr. Neater said. On a count of three, they picked up the nest and set it into the plastic pool. "Great!" Tom said. "Now Mr. Neater, Luke, and I will float it out to the island. I think the water is too deep for you kids." The three adults waded into the water. They floated the kiddie pool—with the swan nest inside—between them. The two swans hissed and flapped their wings. They followed the group to the island.

“我们能帮忙吗？”布拉德利问。 “当然，”汤姆说。“毕竟，这是你的主意！”但首先，这个。” 汤姆轻轻地从他的运动衫口袋里拿出两个真正的天鹅蛋。 他把它们放在天鹅窝的中央。 “现在让我们聚集在鸟巢周围，”汤姆说。 “我们七个人一起把它抬起来，放在儿童泳池里。” “小心别让鸟巢裂开，”尼特说。 数到三，他们就捡起鸟巢，把它放进塑料池里。 “太好了!”汤姆说。“现在，尼特先生、卢克和我要把它浮到岛上去。 我想水对你们这些孩子来说太深了。” 三个成年人涉水而入。 他们在孩子们的池塘里漂浮着——天鹅窝就在他们中间。 两只天鹅发出嘶嘶声，拍打着翅膀。 他们跟着那群人到了岛上。

Bradley, Brian, Lucy, and Nate watched them lift the nest out and set it on the island rocks. Then the three adults came back with the kiddie pool. "This should be interesting," Tom said. He sat on the shore. "Let's watch and see what they do." The two swans swam up to the little island. They stretched their long necks and looked inside their nest. Then they both began grunting. "They've seen the eggs!" Bradley said. It took just a few seconds for the mother swan to sit on the eggs. Her mate stayed near the nest.

布拉德利、布莱恩、露西和内特看着他们把鸟巢搬出来，放在岛上的岩石上。 然后三个大人带着儿童泳池回来了。 “这应该很有趣，”汤姆说。 他坐在岸边。“让我们看看他们会怎么做。” 两只天鹅游向小岛。 它们伸长长脖子往巢里看。 然后他们都开始哼哼起来。 “他们看到蛋了！”布拉德利说。 天鹅妈妈只花了几秒钟就坐到了蛋上。 她的配偶待在巢附近。

"I think the problem has been solved," Mr. Neater said. He grinned at the kids. "That was a great idea!" "So now the raccoons and snakes won't be able to get their eggs, right?" Nate said. "That's right," Tom said. "Where the nest was before, any creature could sneak up and steal the eggs while Momma Swan was off the nest. But

“我认为问题已经解决了，”尼特说。 他对孩子们咧嘴一笑。“这是个好主意！”“所以现在浣熊和蛇就不能得到它们的蛋了，对吗？”内特说。 “没错，”汤姆说。“以前鸟巢在哪里，当天鹅妈妈离开鸟巢时，任何生物都可以偷偷摸摸地偷走蛋。 但