1 GROWING FOOD

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 GROWING FOOD "Blech!" Pip wrinkled his froggy nose as he poked at a leaf in my garden. "Humans really eat these things?" I giggled and nodded. "Kale is totally delicious! My mom makes kale chips by tearing it up, adding a little salt, and baking it in the oven. They taste just like potato chips—yum!" Pip narrowed his eyes at me. "Potatoes are also a weird thing to eat. Humans are so strange." "Mrrowww?" Sassafras tapped a kale plant further down the row. "Oh no, not you, too!" I scooted over and ruffled his fur. But he didn't look up at me. Instead he kept poking at a kale leaf. He sniffed at the leaf's underside and leapt backward. "Oooh, what is that?" I touched what looked like

第1章种植食物“呸！”匹普在我花园里戳树叶时皱起了他的青蛙鼻子。 “人类真的吃这些东西吗？”我咯咯地笑着点了点头。 “羽衣甘蓝太好吃了！”我妈妈做羽衣甘蓝片的方法是把它撕碎，加一点盐，然后在烤箱里烤。 它们吃起来就像薯片一样好吃！”匹普眯起眼睛看着我。 “土豆也是一种奇怪的食物。 人类太奇怪了。”“Mrrowww ?”萨萨弗拉斯在这排更远的地方种植了一棵羽衣甘蓝。 “哦，不，你也不行！”我飞快地跑过去，把它的毛弄皱。 但他没有抬头看我。 相反，他一直在戳甘蓝叶。 他嗅了嗅叶子的底部，向后一跳。 “哦，那是什么？”我摸到了它的样子

a pile of tiny green dots on the bottom of my kale leaf. They moved. "Whoaaa!" Sassafras started sneezing and snorting. He batted at his nose with his paws. "Oh dear." I grabbed him and plucked a single green dot off his nose. I held it up to my face and squinted. "I see six legs! It must be some kind of insect?" "Oooh, an insect?" Pip hopped over. "Finally, something delicious in your garden!" "Ha," I said as I got down on my stomach to take a closer look at the kale leaf. "Nooo! There are a ton of tiny holes. These bugs are eating my kale!" I tried shaking the leaf, and Sassafras tried batting at it, but the bugs stayed put. "Allow me!" said Pip. He reached out, pulled off a bug, and popped it on his tongue. But then he made an "O" shape with his mouth and his eyes crossed. "Ew! They're so sour!" He handed the wet bug back to me. "Sorry, Zoey."

我的羽衣甘蓝叶子底部有一堆小绿点。 他们感动。“Whoaaa !”黄樟开始打喷嚏和打鼾。 他用爪子拍打鼻子。 “哦,亲爱的。”我抓住他，从他鼻子上摘下一个绿点。 我把它举到面前，眯起眼睛。 “我看见六条腿！”一定是某种昆虫吧？”“哦，一只昆虫？”皮普跳了过来。 “你的花园里终于有好吃的东西了！”“哈，”我边说边趴在地上仔细看那片羽衣甘蓝叶子。 “人参公鸡!有很多小洞。 这些虫子在吃我的羽衣甘蓝！”我试着摇叶子，黄樟试着拍叶子，但虫子呆在那里不动。 “允许我！”匹普说。他伸出手，扯下一只虫子，把它放在舌头上。 但后来他做了个“O”字，嘴巴和眼睛交叉在一起。 “哟!它们太酸了！”他把湿虫子还给了我。 “对不起,佐伊。”

"Um…" I wiped the slobbery bug on my pants. "Thanks for trying, Pip." I sat down with a big sigh. "We can't get them off—and there are so many! Apparently they're too gross to eat. But they're going to eat all of my kale if we don't do something!" Pip patted my arm. "I'm sure you'll think of a plan, Zoey!"

“嗯……”我擦了擦裤子上的口水虫。 “谢谢你的努力，匹普。”我长叹一声坐了下来。 “我们没法把它们弄下来，而且它们太多了！”显然它们太恶心了，不能吃。 但是如果我们不做点什么，他们会把我所有的羽衣甘蓝都吃掉的！”匹普拍了拍我的胳膊。 “我相信你会想出一个计划的，佐伊！”

I turned to Sassafras. "What do you think, Sass? Any ideas?" But he wasn't listening. He was looking off into the trees, ears twitching. "Maybe Mom will know what—" I started to say before Pip shouted at me. "Why did you even invite me over if you're just going to go back inside?!" He crossed his arms and scowled. "Well, I—" But before I could finish, he kept on yelling!

我转向黄樟。“你觉得怎么样，萨斯？” 有什么想法?”但他不听。 他望着远处的树林，耳朵抽搐着。 “也许妈妈会知道——”在皮普对我大喊大叫之前，我开始说。 “你既然要回屋里去，为什么还要请我过来？！”他双臂交叉，皱着眉头。 “嗯，我——”但我还没说完，他就继续大喊大叫！