11 FINALLY!

FINALLY! CHAPTER 11 "Psssssst!" My eyes sprang open. What was that weird noise? I turned my head and almost crashed into my mom's face. I jumped.

终于!第十一章“嘘！”我的眼睛一下子睁开了。 那奇怪的声音是什么？ 我转过头，差点撞到妈妈的脸。 我吓了一跳。

My mom laughed. "Sorry to startle you, sweetie!" She lifted a hand to show me a fully packed backpack. "I told your dad we had cabin fever and needed to go for an early morning hike." I had to squint because it was so bright in my room. Wait a second! Bright! Sun! "It's sunny!" I exclaimed. "Yep." Mom nodded. "The news said that all the snow should melt this afternoon. That wild storm

妈妈笑了。“抱歉吓到你了，亲爱的！”她举起一只手给我看一个装得满满的背包。 “我跟你爸爸说我们得了幽居病，需要早起去徒步旅行。” 我不得不眯着眼睛看，因为我的房间太亮了。 等一下！明亮!太阳!“天气晴朗的话!”我叫道。 “是的。”妈妈点了点头。“新闻说今天下午所有的雪都会融化。 狂风暴雨

has finally passed, and it's going to warm up today." I listened as I shoved on my snow gear. "But this morning it's 31 degrees out," Mom continued. "Do you remember what that means?" I nodded. "Water has a freezing point of 32 degrees. Since 31 degrees is below that, everything will be frozen. But once it's above 32 degrees, the water won't stay frozen... so the ice and snow will melt?" Mom smiled. "You got it! It's supposed to be 55 by this afternoon, so it will seem downright hot!" We paused briefly in the kitchen where I grabbed a piece of buttered toast my mom had made for breakfast on the go. Sassafras filled his cheeks with cat food and then waited patiently to be outfitted with his cat snowshoes.

终于过去了，今天会暖和起来。” 我一边听着，一边穿上我的雪地装备。 “但是今天早上外面有31度，”妈妈继续说。 “你还记得那是什么意思吗？”我点了点头。 “水的冰点是32度。 因为低于31度，所有东西都会结冰。 但一旦温度超过32华氏度，水就不会冻住了。 那么冰雪会融化吗？”妈妈笑了。 “你说对了！今天下午应该是55华氏度，所以看起来会非常热！”我们在厨房里停了一会儿，我拿了一块我妈妈在忙碌中做的早餐黄油吐司。 sasafras在他的脸颊上填满了猫粮，然后耐心地等着给他穿上猫雪鞋。

This time a prancing Sassafras led the way. I tried to calm my hammering heart. I really hoped the plants would be OK. And the caterflies and their eggs were safe! I slowed down as the catnip plants came into view. Oh no. All the catnip plants around the cave entrance had wilted. Several of the leaves were brown. What had I done?

这一次，一棵腾跃的檫树走在前面。 我试着让我怦怦直跳的心平静下来。 我真的希望植物没事。 毛毛虫和它们的蛋都安全了！猫薄荷映入眼帘时，我放慢了脚步。 哦,不。洞口周围所有的猫薄荷都枯萎了。 有几片叶子是棕色的。 我做了什么？

A tear rolled down my cheek. What would the caterflies do? Their babies needed to eat the host plant—and lots of it—as soon as they hatched. Only a few plants were left. Would their baby caterpillars starve because of my mistake? Mom came over and put a hand under my chin. She tilted my face up to hers. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. But first, let's find the caterflies!"

一滴眼泪顺着我的脸颊滚落下来。 毛毛虫会怎么做呢？ 它们的宝宝一孵出来就需要吃寄主植物，而且要吃很多。 只剩下几株植物了。 他们的幼虫会因为我的错误而饿死吗？ 妈妈走过来，把手放在我的下巴下。 她把我的脸凑近她的脸。 “别担心，亲爱的。我有一些锦囊妙计。 但首先，让我们找到毛毛虫！”

I wiped the snow off a nearby rock with my glove, and Sassafras sat down and waited. He kept glancing at the catnip, but he knew we needed to save it for the caterflies. I was proud of him—it must have been like sitting in a candy shop and not eating any of the candy! The three of us looked around, but there was no sign of the caterflies. I was terrified to walk closer to the cave—what if I accidentally stepped on one? Sassafras sniffed the air and let out a loud "Meeeeooooowwww."

我用手套擦去附近一块岩石上的雪，萨萨法斯坐下来等着。 他不停地看猫薄荷，但他知道我们得把它留给毛毛虫吃。 我为他感到骄傲——那感觉一定就像坐在糖果店里却不吃糖果一样！我们三个环顾四周，但没有看到毛毛虫的踪影。 我害怕走近洞穴——如果我不小心踩到了一个怎么办？ 黄樟嗅了嗅空气，大声地叫了一声“Meeeeooooowwww”。