8 NOT TOO BIG, NOT TOO LITTLE

NOT TOO BIG, NOT TOO LITTLE Ivy and Bean walked slowly back to Pancake Court. Finally, Ivy spoke. "You're right about baby sisters. They're terrible." "Big sisters are worse," said Bean. "If big ones are bad and little ones are bad, that doesn't leave much." "There's twins," Bean said. "I always wished I was a twin. Think how cool it would be, like having a friend in your house. It would be like you and me, only sisters." Ivy nodded. "But you can't get a twin. You have to be born that way." "Wouldn't it be great?" said Bean dreamily. "You could gang up on your older sister." Ivy frowned. "I don't have an older sister."

不要太大也不要太小艾薇和比恩慢慢地走回煎饼庭院。 最后，艾薇开口了。“关于小妹妹，你是对的。 他们可怕的。”“大姐姐更糟糕，”比恩说。 “如果大的不好，小的不好，那就不会留下太多。” “有一对双胞胎，”比恩说。 “我一直希望我是双胞胎。 想想这有多酷，就像有个朋友在你家里一样。 就像你和我，只是姐妹。” 艾薇点点头。“但是你不能得到一个双胞胎。 你必须生来如此。” “那不是很棒吗？”比恩如梦如幻地说。 “你可以联合起来对付你姐姐。” 艾薇皱起了眉头。“我没有姐姐。”

"But if you did, and you had a twin, you could gang up on her. You'd be able to play with her stuff. And for once in your life you might win an argument." Bean thought some more. "Plus, it would be fun. If you and I were twins, we'd get to play all the time and every night would be like a sleepover." "Except we wouldn't be us," said Ivy. "Because we wouldn't have our parents." Bean shrugged. "It wouldn't matter! We'd have each other!" Ivy thought about that. "Yeah. But it's too late. We're not twins." "Life isn't fair," said Bean gloomily.

“但如果你有，而且你有一个双胞胎，你可能会联合起来对付她。 你可以玩她的东西。 在你的一生中，你也许能赢得一次争论。” 比恩又想了想。“另外，这会很有趣。 如果你和我是双胞胎，我们就可以一直玩，每天晚上就像在朋友家过夜一样。” “除了我们不再是我们自己，”艾薇说。 “因为我们没有父母了。” 豆耸耸肩。“没关系！”我们会拥有彼此的！”艾薇想了想。 “是的。但是已经太迟了。我们不是双胞胎。” “生活是不公平的。”比恩沮丧地说。

But that night, Bean had an amazing idea. It was an idea that would fix Ivy's spoilment and life's unfairness at the same time. It was an idea that would make everything better. Plus it was an idea that didn't need gods or electricity or magic to work. All it needed was nature.

但那天晚上，比恩有了一个绝妙的主意。 这个想法可以同时解决艾薇被宠坏的问题和生活的不公平。 这个想法会让一切变得更好。 而且这个想法不需要神、电或魔法来实现。 它所需要的就是大自然。

Here's how Bean's idea went: Kids grow. Everyone knows that. All the time, they're growing and growing. They get taller. Their feet get bigger. Even their heads grow, which is weird but true. What's covering all these growing parts? Skin, that's what! And what does that mean about skin? It's growing, too! All the time! So, let's say you wanted to be a twin. Let's say you wanted to be a twin with your friend. All you would have to do is tie yourself to her with string and wait. After a while, your skins would grow together, and you would become twins. Easy-peasy! Bean wanted to go over to Ivy's house right that minute, to tell her the amazing idea. Bean's mom said Absolutely not and It's 10 P.M. and Why aren't you asleep?

比恩的想法是这样的：孩子会成长。 每个人都知道。一直以来，它们都在不断生长。 他们变高了。他们的脚变大了。 甚至他们的头也会长大，这很奇怪，但却是真的。 是什么覆盖了这些正在生长的部分？ 皮肤，就是这个！这对皮肤意味着什么呢？ 它也在生长！一直都是！假设你想成为双胞胎。 假设你想和你的朋友成为双胞胎。 你要做的就是用绳子把自己绑在她身上，然后等着。 过了一段时间，你们的皮肤就会长在一起，你们就会变成双胞胎。 非常简单!比恩当时就想去艾薇家，告诉她这个绝妙的主意。 比恩的妈妈说绝对不行，现在是晚上10点 你为什么不睡觉？

"Okay, okay," grumped Bean, as she thumped back to her room. "But don't be surprised when you have to buy more food. And maybe a bigger bed, too." Her mom looked confused. "What?" "You'll see!"

“好吧，好吧。”比恩嘟囔着，噔噔地回到自己的房间。 “但当你不得不购买更多食物时，不要感到惊讶。 也许还需要一张更大的床。” 她妈妈看起来很困惑。“什么?”“你会看到!”