1 BEDTIME

PROLOGUE These days my cat Sassafras and I are always desperately hoping we'll hear our barn doorbell. I know most people are excited to hear their doorbell ring. It might mean a present or package delivery, or a friend showing up to play. But our doorbell is even more exciting than that. Because it's a magic doorbell. When it rings, it means there's a magical animal waiting outside our barn. A magical animal who needs our help. My mom's been helping them basically her whole life. And now I get to help, too…

这些天，我和我的猫Sassafras总是绝望地希望我们能听到我们谷仓的门铃。 我知道大多数人听到门铃响都很兴奋。 它可能意味着一个礼物或包裹的递送，或者一个朋友出现在一起玩。 但我们家的门铃比那更令人兴奋。 因为这是一个魔法门铃。 当它响的时候，就意味着有一只神奇的动物在我们的谷仓外面等着。 一只需要我们帮助的神奇动物。 我妈妈基本上一辈子都在帮助他们。 现在我也要帮忙了…

CHAPTER 1 BEDTIME I steadied my ruler in the soil next to my pea plant. "Whoa! It's up to 8 inches now, Sassafras." I wrote down the date and the new height in my science journal. Sassafras touched his nose to the plant and meowed. "I know! I'm totally surprised too. When Clara asked me what would happen if we used a marker to color on all the pea plant leaves, I thought for sure the pea plant would stop growing or maybe even die." I turned my science journal toward Sassafras, and he gave it a sniff. "I can't wait to surprise her with it when she comes over to play again."

我把尺子插在豌豆苗旁边的土里。 “哇!现在有8英寸高了，萨萨弗拉斯。” 我把日期和新的高度记在我的科学日志上。 黄樟用鼻子碰了碰植物，喵喵叫了一声。 “我知道!我也很惊讶。 克拉拉问我，如果我们用记号笔在豌豆的叶子上涂色会发生什么，我想豌豆肯定会停止生长，甚至可能会死亡。” 我把我的科学杂志翻到黄樟，他闻了闻。 “我迫不及待地想给她一个惊喜，当她再来玩的时候。”

Mom popped her head in. "Ready to read, Zoey?" "Yes!" I yelped and hopped up from my desk. "Pajamas and cap?" "Check!" "Teeth brushed?" "Check!" "Pea plant measured?" "Check! And look—it's still growing." I handed Mom my journal.

妈妈把头探了进来。“准备好读书了吗，佐伊？”“是的!”我大叫一声，从桌子上跳了起来。 “睡衣和帽子？”“检查!”“刷牙?”“检查!”“量过豌豆苗了吗？”“检查!看，它还在生长。” 我把日记递给妈妈。

Mom took it and looked it over. "Well done! And you know what I'm going to ask next, right?" I nodded eagerly. "'What other questions do you have now?' I have a bunch! Like what happens if I color the top and the bottom of the leaf? And what if I try a different color on each plant? Will some colors grow better? Oh! And what about different kinds of plants? Is it just pea plants that keep growing with marker on their leaves?" Mom patted my head and smiled. "All excellent questions! But since it's time for bed, we'll have to work on them tomorrow. Shall I begin our story?" Sassafras started purring and hustled over to my lap. I giggled as I put away my science journal. Mom got cozy at the foot of my bed and opened the book. "Now where were we?" "We were right at the part where—" Sassafras leaped out of my lap and held very still with his ears pointing outside. I looked at Mom. "Did you hear something? Was that…?" It was unmistakable this time. That was

妈妈拿过来看了看。 “做得好!你知道我接下来要问什么，对吧？”我急切地点点头。 “‘你现在还有什么问题吗？’我有一堆！比如如果我给叶子的顶部和底部上色会怎么样？ 如果我在每棵植物上尝试不同的颜色呢？ 有些颜色会长得更好吗？ 哦!那不同种类的植物呢？ 难道只有豌豆在长，叶子上有记号吗？”妈妈拍了拍我的头，笑了。 “都是很好的问题！”但既然该睡觉了，我们明天还要做。 我可以开始讲故事了吗？”檫树开始咕噜咕噜地叫，争先恐后地跑到我的腿上。 我咯咯地笑着，把我的科学杂志收起来。 妈妈舒服地坐在我的床脚，打开了书。 “我们说到哪儿了？”“我们刚才说到——”萨萨法斯从我腿上跳了下来，一动不动，耳朵指向外面。 我看着妈妈。“你听到什么声音了吗？” 是……?”这一次是毫无疑问的。 这是

definitely the sound of the barn doorbell!

绝对是谷仓门铃的声音！