6 The Beginning of the Armadillos

CHAPTER 6 The Beginning of the Armadillos In olden days, on the banks of the wild and dangerous Amazon River, there lived two very good friends. One was Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog who ate shelled snails and things. The other was Slow-and-Solid Tortoise who ate green lettuces and things. Painted Jaguar, who ate anything he could catch, also lived along the banks of the Amazon River. When he could not catch deer or monkeys, he would catch frogs and beetles. When there were no more deer,

第六章犰狳的起源古时候，在荒凉而危险的亚马逊河畔，住着两个非常要好的朋友。 一个是多刺的刺猬，他吃有壳的蜗牛和其他东西。 另一只是吃绿色生菜之类的东西的慢固乌龟。 画美洲虎，谁吃他能抓到的任何东西，也住在亚马逊河岸边。 当他抓不到鹿或猴子时，他会抓青蛙和甲虫。 当没有鹿的时候，

monkeys, frogs, or beetles left, he asked his mother what else he should catch. "Hedgehogs and Tortoises," she said. "To catch a Hedgehog, drop him into the water. He'll uncoil, and then you can eat him. To catch a Tortoise, scoop him out of his shell with your paw." One beautiful night along the banks of the wild and dangerous Amazon River, Painted Jaguar found Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. In defense, Stickly- Prickly Hedgehog curled himself into a ball. Slow-and-Solid Tortoise drew his head and feet into his shell. But Painted Jaguar didn't care. "Which one of you is a Hedgehog, and which one of you is a Tortoise?" he asked. "Why do you want to know?" asked Slow-and-Solid Tortoise from inside his shell. Painted Jaguar explained about his

剩下猴子、青蛙和甲虫，他问妈妈还能抓些什么。 “刺猬和乌龟，”她说。 “要抓住刺猬，就把它扔到水里。 他会展开，然后你就可以吃了他。 要抓乌龟，就要用爪子把他从壳里挖出来。” 在一个美丽的夜晚，沿着狂野而危险的亚马逊河岸边，彩绘美洲虎发现了多刺的刺猬和缓慢而坚实的乌龟。 为了防御，多刺的刺猬把自己蜷缩成一个球。 慢而实的乌龟把他的头和脚缩进壳里。 但是美洲虎不在乎。 “你们谁是刺猬，谁是乌龟？”他问。 “你为什么想知道？”缓慢而坚实的乌龟在壳里问。 彩绘美洲虎解释了他的情况

mother's advice. "I think your mother is all mixed up," said Stickly-Prickly. "The truth is, when you uncoil a Tortoise, you should scoop him out of the water." "And when you paw a Hedgehog, you must drop him on his shell," added Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "Or perhaps when you water a Hedgehog you must drop him into your paw," said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. "Or when you meet a Tortoise you must shell him until he uncoils," said Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "Stop! You make my spots ache. I don't want your advice at all. I just want to know which of you is which," cried Painted Jaguar. "I'm not telling you," said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. "Just try scooping me out of my shell."

母亲的建议。“我想你妈妈完全搞错了。” “事实是，当你展开一只乌龟时，你应该把它从水里捞出来。” “当你用爪子抓刺猬的时候，你必须把他摔在他的壳上。”慢而坚实的乌龟补充道。 “或者，当你给刺猬浇水时，你必须把它放进你的爪子里。”刺猬多刺说。 “或者当你遇到一只乌龟的时候，你必须向他开膛，直到他挣脱。”缓慢而坚实的乌龟说。 “停!你让我浑身都疼。 我根本不需要你的建议。 我只是想知道你们谁是谁，”彩豹叫道。 “我不会告诉你的。”刺猬多刺说。 “试着把我从壳里捞出来。”

"Aha!" said Painted Jaguar. "So you're the Tortoise!" Painted Jaguar reached for Stickly- Prickly Hedgehog just as he curled himself up into a ball. "Ow!" said Painted Jaguar. He felt a sting as he knocked Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog deep into the bushes. His paw was full of prickles. Then he turned to Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "So you must be a Tortoise!" Painted Jaguar said, nursing his prickly paw in his mouth. "I'll just scoop you out of your shell." "Are you sure that's what your mother said?" asked Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "I thought she told you to drop me into the water and then scoop me out of my shell." Painted Jaguar thought a moment. He couldn't remember what his mother had said. "Now I'm all mixed up," he said. "You seem quite anxious for me to drop you into the water. That makes me think you

“啊哈！”彩豹说。 “原来你是乌龟！”油漆美洲虎伸手去抓粘刺的刺猬，就在他蜷缩成一个球的时候。 “噢！”彩豹说。 当他把多刺的刺猬撞到灌木丛深处时，他感到一阵刺痛。 他的爪子上满是刺。 然后他转向慢固乌龟。 “那么你一定是一只乌龟了！”彩绘美洲虎说，嘴里衔着带刺的爪子。 “我要把你从壳里挖出来。” “你确定你妈妈是这么说的吗？”缓慢而坚实的乌龟问。 “我以为她让你把我扔进水里，然后把我从壳里捞出来。” 彩豹想了一会儿。 他记不起妈妈说了什么。 “现在我全搞混了，”他说。 “你好像很想让我把你扔进水里。 这让我觉得你

really don't want to be. Which means, that's exactly what I'll do!" cried Painted Jaguar as he dropped Slow-and-Solid Tortoise into the river. As soon as Slow-and-Solid Tortoise hit the water, he swam away as fast as he could. "They got away!" Painted Jaguar told his mother as he explained what had happened that day. Meanwhile, Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-and-Solid Tortoise knew that Painted Jaguar would be back. So they came up with a new and clever plan. Slow-and-Solid Tortoise taught Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog how to swim. Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog loosened Slow-and-Solid Tortoise's back shell plates so he could curl up in a ball. As they each practiced curling up and swimming, a curious thing occurred. Slow-and-Solid Tortoise's back plates started to overlap

真的不想成为。也就是说，这正是我要做的！”彩绘美洲虎喊道，他把缓慢而坚实的乌龟扔进了河里。 慢固乌龟一下水，就以最快的速度游开了。 “他们跑了！”“彩绘美洲虎”一边向妈妈解释当天发生的事情，一边告诉妈妈。 与此同时，多刺的刺猬和缓慢而坚实的乌龟知道彩豹会回来。 所以他们想出了一个新的聪明的计划。 慢固的乌龟教多刺的刺猬如何游泳。 多刺的刺猬松开了坚固缓慢的乌龟背上的甲壳，这样他就可以蜷缩成一个球了。 当他们各自练习蜷曲和游泳时，一件奇怪的事情发生了。 慢固龟的背板开始重叠

instead of lying side by side. And Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog's prickles began to blend together. After several days of practicing each other's moves, they looked very similar. In fact, they looked nothing like what they were before. They gazed at their reflections in the water of the wild and dangerous Amazon River. "We will certainly confuse Painted Jaguar now," they laughed together. "Let's go find him." They came upon Painted Jaguar, still nursing his prickly paw. "Good morning," said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. "How is your mother?" asked Slow-and-Solid Tortoise. "Who are you?" asked Painted Jaguar. "And how do you know my mother?"

而不是肩并肩躺着。 多刺的刺猬的刺开始融合在一起。 经过几天的相互练习，他们看起来非常相似。 事实上，它们看起来一点也不像以前那样了。 他们凝视着自己在狂野而危险的亚马逊河中的倒影。 “我们现在肯定会把‘漆豹’弄糊涂了。”他们异口同声地笑着。 “我们去找他吧。”他们遇到了“彩绘美洲虎”，它还在抚弄着它那带刺的爪子。 “早上好。”刺猬多刺说。 “你妈妈还好吗？”乌龟问。 “你是谁？”彩豹问。 “你是怎么认识我妈妈的？”