5 FOOTPRINT

CHAPTER 5 FOOTPRINT "Well, it sort of looked like, uh… I mean, it had five toes. Or maybe six? Ummm…" Uh-oh. Remembering the footprint was hard now that it wasn't in front of me. Mom nodded and squinted and then nodded some more. Then her eyes got big and she held up a finger. "I've got an idea!" she said and went to the craft supply closet. She set a big bucket labeled Plaster of Paris on the kitchen table with a thud. "Plaster?" I asked. "I don't want to do crafts right now. I want to figure out what that creature was." "Oh, but that's exactly what we're going to do!" Mom said. "I'd come with you to see the footprint, but your dad might be a little suspicious if we both

“嗯，它看起来有点像，呃……我是说，它有五个脚趾。 或者六个？嗯…”哦。 现在记起那个脚印很困难，因为它不在我面前。 妈妈点了点头，眯起眼睛，又点了点头。 然后她睁大了眼睛，举起一根手指。 “我有个主意！”她边说边走向工艺用品柜。 她砰的一声把一只写着“巴黎灰泥”的大桶放在厨房的桌子上。 “石膏?”我问。“我现在不想做工艺品。 我想弄清楚那是什么东西。” “哦，但这正是我们要做的！”母亲说。 “我本想和你一起去看脚印的，但如果我们俩都去，你爸爸可能会有点怀疑

took off into the forest without inviting him along." She winked. "So I'll show you how to make a mold of the footprint you can bring back to show me." "Whoaaa, cool!" I said. Sassafras, in his excitement, jumped onto the container. I grabbed him and sat with him in my lap on a kitchen chair. "Okeydokey, let's see here," Mom mumbled as she grabbed a measuring cup and used it to fill a water bottle with two cups of tap water. Next she pulled out a big plastic ziplock bag and another measuring cup. She measured four cups of plaster of paris powder into the bag, then sealed it shut. "When you get there, you'll need to find a bunch of small sticks and one big one." "Sticks! Got it," I said. "Use the small sticks to make a circle around the footprint. They'll help keep your plaster from flowing everywhere."

没邀请他就跑进了森林。” 她眨了眨眼。“那么我来教你如何制作一个脚印的模型，你可以带回来给我看。” “Whoaaa,太酷了!”我说。萨萨弗拉斯兴奋地跳到容器上。 我一把抓住他，让他坐在我腿上的厨房椅子上。 “好吧，让我看看，”妈妈咕哝着，抓起一个量杯，用它装满了一个水瓶，里面装了两杯自来水。 接着，她拿出一个大塑料自封袋和另一个量杯。 她量了四杯巴黎石膏粉放进袋子里，然后把它封上。 “当你到达那里时，你需要找到一堆小树枝和一根大树枝。” “棒!明白了。”我说。“用小棍子在脚印周围围一个圈。 它们可以防止石膏到处流。”

"Meow!" said Sassafras, and I nodded. "Then take this water," she held up the water bottle, "and add it to this bag of plaster." She held up the ziplock bag as Sassafras touched his nose to it and stared inside. "Use the big stick to mix it until it's smooth. Then carefully pour it into the center of the footprint until you fill up the whole footprint right up to that stick border."

“喵！”萨萨法斯说，我点了点头。 “那就拿这水，”她举起水瓶，“把它加到这袋石膏里。” 她举起自封袋，萨萨弗拉斯用鼻子碰了碰，盯着里面看。 “用大棒把它搅拌均匀。 然后小心地把它倒进脚印的中心，直到你把整个脚印填满，直到那个小棒的边缘。”

"OK, got it," I said. "Then what?" "Then play for about thirty minutes. After that, check the plaster with your finger," Mom continued. "When it's hard to the touch, gently wiggle the plaster out of the ground and bring it home to dry overnight. After it's completely dry you can use a damp paper towel to clean off any remaining dirt." A big grin spread across my face. "This is so cool!" I hopped up out of the chair and gave my mom a big hug. "Thank you!!!"

“好的，明白了，”我说。“然后呢?”“然后玩大约30分钟。 然后，用你的手指检查一下石膏，”妈妈继续说。 “当石膏摸起来很硬的时候，轻轻地把它从地上摇出来，带回家过夜晾干。 完全干燥后，你可以用湿纸巾擦掉任何残留的污垢。” 我的脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。 “这太酷了！”我从椅子上跳起来，给了妈妈一个大大的拥抱。 “谢谢! !”