7 HATCHING SNAKES

CHAPTER 7 HATCHING SNAKES Now that I was pretty sure our barn wasn't going to burst into flames, I needed to help the dragon. His tiny body lay there like a little lump. Poor thing! I circled him a few times. At first I thought he might have a cold, but he didn't cough again. I flipped through my mom's science journals. There

现在我很确定我们的谷仓不会着火了，我需要帮助巨龙。 他的小身体像个小肿块一样躺在那里。 可怜的东西!我绕了他几圈。 起初我以为他可能是感冒了，但他不再咳嗽了。 我翻了翻我妈的科学期刊。 有

weren't any entries on dragons. I was stumped. I set the journals on the desk, which knocked my Thinking Goggles to the ground. Perfect! I dusted them off and popped them onto my head. I could feel a memory tickling my brain right away. Something that had happened last summer? Something with the forest? That was it! Last summer Mom and I were on a walk. Sassafras (who never missed a good hike) stopped in his tracks by a pile of rocks. He wouldn't budge. Mom knelt down to see what was so captivating.

没有任何关于龙的记录。 我被难住了。我把日记放在桌子上，把我的“思考镜”打翻在地。 完美!我掸掉它们身上的灰尘，猛地戴在头上。 我能立刻感觉到一段记忆在我的脑海里发痒。 去年夏天发生的事？ 跟森林有关？ 就是这样！去年夏天，妈妈和我在散步。 萨萨夫拉斯（他从不错过一次好的徒步旅行）在一堆岩石旁停下了脚步。 他不肯让步。妈妈跪了下来，想看看是什么东西如此迷人。

"Zoey! Do you see the little head peeking out of that egg? These snake eggs are hatching. Let's watch!" Each little snake head pushed and pushed until boom! Its egg burst open and a baby snake slithered out. Most of them barely rested before skittering off into the forest. We watched until only one egg was left. The little snake inside was having a really tough time. Once he popped out, he lay there without moving. He was so much smaller than his brothers and

“佐伊!你看到那个从蛋里探出来的小脑袋了吗？ 这些蛇蛋正在孵化。 让我们看一看!”每个小蛇头推啊推，直到轰！它的蛋裂开了，一条小蛇爬了出来。 他们中的大多数人几乎没有休息，就飞快地跑进了森林。 我们一直看着，直到只剩下一个蛋。 里面的小蛇过得很艰难。 他一跳出来，就一动不动地躺在那里。 他比他的兄弟们小得多

sisters. "What's wrong with him?" I looked around. "Where is their mother? Why isn't she helping them?" "Snakes aren't mammals like us. They're reptiles. They have scales, and the mother snake laid eggs. Remember how reptiles rarely take care of their babies?" I did remember reading that, but now that I was seeing it in person, it seemed cruel. "But they're so tiny! They can't take care of themselves. How will they know what to do?" "Even though they're small, they're born ready to take care of themselves. They know how to hunt to feed themselves and how to hide to keep themselves safe." I looked down at the tiny, weak snake. "What will happen to this one? He's so small." I frowned. "He seems sick." "When animals have a lot of babies at once, sometimes there are a few that aren't as big or as strong as the rest. Some people call them runts. I'm sorry to say it, but they usually don't survive."

姐妹。“他怎么了？”我环顾四周。 “他们的妈妈在哪里？”她为什么不帮助他们？”“蛇不是像我们这样的哺乳动物。 它们是爬行动物。它们有鳞片，蛇妈妈会下蛋。 还记得爬行动物很少照顾自己的孩子吗？”我确实记得读过，但现在我亲眼看到了，这似乎很残酷。 “但是它们太小了！”他们不能照顾自己。 他们怎么知道该怎么做？”“尽管它们很小，但它们生来就能照顾自己。 它们知道如何捕猎来养活自己，也知道如何躲藏来保证自己的安全。” 我低头看着那条又小又弱的蛇。 “这个人会怎么样？” 他这么小。”我皱起了眉头。 “他好像病了。”“当动物一次生很多孩子时，有时会有一些孩子没有其他孩子那么大或强壮。 有些人叫他们矮子。 我很抱歉这么说，但他们通常无法存活。”

A tear rolled down my cheek. Staring down at that tiny little snake and thinking of him dying was just too sad. Mom gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Why don't we give this snake a little help? We could make his first meal nice and easy. It might give him a boost. Many baby snakes like to eat worms..." Before my mom could finish her sentence, I was furiously digging. I am a champion worm finder. Within a minute, I found a good-sized one. I felt a little bad, because I kind of love worms, but we handed him over. Mom gently wiggled the worm in front of the baby snake, and he perked up. He swallowed the worm in one big gulp. Sassafras yelped as the little snake came to life and bolted into the bushes.

一滴眼泪顺着我的脸颊滚落下来。 低头看着那条小蛇，想着它快死了，真是太悲伤了。 妈妈捏了捏我的肩膀。 “我们为什么不帮帮这条蛇呢？” 我们可以让他的第一顿饭又好又简单。 这可能会给他带来鼓舞。 许多小蛇喜欢吃虫子……” 妈妈还没说完话，我就开始拼命挖了。 我是找虫冠军。 没过一分钟，我就找到了一个大号的。 我感觉有点不好，因为我挺喜欢虫子的，但我们还是把他交出去了。 妈妈在小蛇面前轻轻地摆动着虫子，小蛇就活跃起来了。 他一大口吞下了那条虫子。 当小蛇苏醒过来，窜进灌木丛时，檫树发出了尖叫。

I patted my Thinking Goggles. That was it! Maybe this baby dragon was the runt of his litter. Maybe he was hungry. I'd solved it! All I had to do was get him some... Wait. What do dragons eat?

我拍了拍我的思考镜。 就是这样！也许这只小龙是它一窝里最矮的。 也许他饿了。我解决了！我所要做的就是给他一些… 等待。龙吃什么？