4. Polly Says No

Chapter 4 Polly Says No The kids walked to the barn. Pal led the way with his tail wagging. Polly the pony was nibbling on straw in her stall. When the kids came near, she looked at them with big brown eyes. She let out a soft nicker and her ears went straight up. Bradley stepped into the stall and slipped a halter over Polly's head. She playfully bumped her head against his and brushed his cheek with her soft lips. "We'll need to make holes in the wig for her ears," Bradley said.

第4章波莉说不孩子们向谷仓走去。 帕尔摇着尾巴走在前面。 小马波莉正在她的马厩里啃着稻草。 当孩子们走近时，她用棕色的大眼睛看着他们。 她轻轻地哼了一声，耳朵竖了起来。 布拉德利走进马厩，把笼头套在波莉的头上。 她开玩笑地把头撞在他的头上，用她柔软的嘴唇拂过他的脸颊。 布拉德利说：“我们需要在假发上打几个洞，让她的耳朵听。”

"Got it," Lucy said. Brian handed her the scissors, and he turned the wig inside out. The inside was stretchy cloth. With Brian holding the wig, Lucy cut two holes big enough for two pony ears. "Let's try it on her," Brian said. Bradley held the harness while Brian and Lucy slipped the wig onto Polly's head. Brian reached underneath and popped her ears up through the two holes. "How does she look?" Lucy asked. "Like a pony with a wig on," Nate said. Suddenly Polly snorted and threw her head back. She stamped her feet on the stall floor. "I knew she wouldn't like it," Bradley said. He pulled the wig off. "Settle down, girl." Polly quieted right down. But she kept her eyes on the wig in Bradley's hand. "Okay, I guess we won't put Polly's costume on until the last minute, either," Bradley said. "I think we should tie the hat to the wig," Lucy said. "Then we can just plop the whole thing on her head when we get to the parade. We can tie it on with more of the ribbon."

“明白了。”露茜说。布赖恩把剪刀递给她，把假发翻过来。 里面是弹性布。 布莱恩拿着假发，露西剪了两个洞，大到可以容下两只小马耳朵。 “让我们在她身上试试，”布莱恩说。 布拉德利拿着挽具，布莱恩和露西给波莉戴上假发。 布莱恩伸手到下面，把她的耳朵从两个洞里塞了出来。 “她看起来怎么样？”露西问。 “就像戴着假发的小马，”内特说。 波莉突然哼了一声，仰起头来。 她在马厩的地板上跺着脚。 “我知道她不会喜欢的，”布拉德利说。 他摘下了假发。“安静点，姑娘。” 波莉立刻安静下来。但她的眼睛一直盯着布拉德利手里的假发。 “好吧，我想我们也要到最后一刻才穿上波莉的戏服。”布拉德利说。 “我想我们应该把帽子和假发绑在一起。”露茜说。 “等我们到游行队伍的时候，我们就可以把这整件东西都塞到她头上。” 我们可以用更多的丝带把它系上。”

"Good idea," Brian said. "And we can tape the buckles on her hooves at the same time." "Okay, we have to go," Bradley said. He started to lead Polly out of her stall. "Not so fast!" a voice said from the barn door. It was Josh, the twins' older brother. He was still in pajamas. "Mom and Dad said I have to go to the parade with you guys." "We don't need a babysitter!" Brian squawked. "No one's talking about a babysitter," Josh said. "I'll just be there in case anything goes wrong."

“好主意，”布莱恩说。“我们可以同时把皮带扣在她的蹄子上。” “好吧，我们得走了，”布拉德利说。 他开始把波莉从她的马厩里拉出来。 “别这么快！”一个声音从谷仓门口传来。 是双胞胎的哥哥乔希打来的。 他还穿着睡衣。“爸爸妈妈说我必须和你们一起去游行。” “我们不需要保姆！”布莱恩会抗议。 “没人说要请保姆，”乔希说。 “万一出了什么差错，我就在那儿。”

"Nothing is going to go wrong," Bradley said. "It's a parade!"

布拉德利说：“不会出错的。” “这是游行！”

"Don't argue," Josh said. "I'm only doing what Mom and Dad told me. I'm meeting Dink and Ruth Rose there, anyway." Nate giggled. "In your jammies?" he asked. "Duh," Josh said. "I need to grab some breakfast and change." "We have to go now!" Bradley said. "We can't be late for the pet parade!" Josh thought for a minute. "Okay, go ahead," he said. "I'll catch up with you on the trail!" He turned and sped across the backyard. "What's the trail?" Lucy asked. "Come on, we'll show you," Brian said. They cut through the meadow that surrounded the twins' house. Grasshoppers and butterflies flew into the air as their feet disturbed the tall grasses. Bradley held Polly's harness lead, and Brian held Pal's leash. Nate and Lucy carried the wig, hat, buckles, and Declaration of Independence. They crossed Woody Street and walked between two thick posts on the other side. "This is the trail," Brian said. They were standing in a clearing. Years of hikers walking

“别吵了，”乔希说。“我只是在做爸爸妈妈告诉我的事情。 反正我要在那儿见丁克和露丝·罗斯。” 内特咯咯笑了。“穿着睡衣？”他问。 “废话，”乔希说。“我得吃点早餐，换身衣服。” “我们得走了！”布拉德利说。 “我们不能错过宠物游行！”乔希想了一会儿。 “好吧，去吧，”他说。 “我会在小路上追上你的！”他转过身，飞快地穿过后院。 “什么线索？”露西问。 “来吧，我们带你去看。”布赖恩说。 他们穿过那对双胞胎房子周围的草地。 蚱蜢和蝴蝶飞到空中，因为它们的脚扰乱了高高的草。 布拉德利牵着波莉的缰绳，布莱恩牵着帕尔的皮带。 内特和露西带着假发、帽子、皮带扣和《独立宣言》。 他们穿过伍迪街，从对面两根粗粗的柱子中间走过。 “这就是那条路，”布莱恩说。 他们站在一块空地上。 多年的徒步旅行

there had worn the ground smooth. A path led south. They could see the high school buildings. "Our dad looked it up," Bradley said. "The Mohegans used to walk here!" "That's a Native American tribe, right?" Lucy asked. "Yup," Nate said. "Mr. Vooray told us they had farms near here. They fished in the river!" The kids followed the smooth trail through the high school grounds and past Crystal Pond. A sign by the pond said DUCK CROSSING. The trail ended next to the veterinarian's office on East Green Street. They saw Dr. Henry hurry down his front steps. He was wearing a straw hat and a red, white, and

那里的地面已经磨平了。 一条小路向南延伸。他们可以看到高中的建筑。 “我们的爸爸查了一下，”布拉德利说。 “莫希干人过去常在这里散步！”“那是一个美洲土著部落，对吗？”露西问。 “是的，”内特说。“沃莱先生告诉我们，他们在这附近有农场。 他们在河里钓鱼！”孩子们沿着平坦的小路穿过高中场地，经过水晶池塘。 池塘边的牌子上写着“鸭子过街”。 这条小路在东格林街的兽医办公室旁边结束。 他们看见亨利医生匆匆走下门前的台阶。 他戴着一顶草帽，穿着红白相间的