18 THE ENTERTAINING ROBOT

CHAPTER 18 THE ENTERTAINING ROBOT The children wandered out behind the farm buildings, through a clearing, and over to an old oak tree. It was the same tree their father had climbed when he was a boy. Mr. Shareef's initials were carved into the bark, at the bottom of a long list of initials. For generations, all the Shareefs had carved their initials into that tree, going back to the ancestors who first built the farm. Someday, the children would add their initials to the list. Beneath the leafy branches was a scattering of acorns. Jad cleared a spot for himself, sat down, and pulled a small computer from his pocket while Jaya climbed above. The siblings spent the afternoon there, lazing around the tree, until the robot marched past carrying the big, heavy toolbox.

孩子们走到农场的房子后面，穿过一片空地，来到一棵老橡树前。 这就是他们的父亲小时候爬过的那棵树。 沙里夫的首字母刻在树皮上，在一长串首字母的末尾。 世世代代，所有的谢里夫家族都把自己名字的首字母刻在那棵树上，这可以追溯到最初建造这座农场的祖先。 总有一天，孩子们会在名单上加上自己名字的首字母。 在茂密的树枝下散落着橡子。 杰德为自己腾出一块地方，坐了下来，从口袋里拿出一台小电脑，贾雅爬到上面。 兄弟姐妹们在那里度过了一个下午，在树旁懒洋洋地呆着，直到机器人提着又大又重的工具箱走过。

"Whatcha doing, Roz?" called Jad. The robot stopped. "The Drone has crash-landed again," she said. "I am going to fix it again." "Do you need any help?" "I do not need any help." "I'm bored," said Jaya, her legs dangling above her brother's head. "Can you do something fun, Roz?" The robot put down her toolbox and said, "What would you like me to do?" "I don't know," said Jaya, thinking hard. "Can you do a backflip?" "Yes, I can do a backflip." A grin spread across the girl's face. "Roz, I order

“你在干什么，罗兹？”杰德叫道。 机器人停住了。“无人机又迫降了，”她说。 “我要再修一遍。” “你需要帮忙吗？”“我不需要任何帮助。” “我很无聊，”贾雅说，她的腿悬在哥哥的头上。 “你能做点有趣的事吗，罗兹？”机器人放下她的工具箱说：“你想让我做什么？”“我不知道。”贾亚说，苦思冥想。 “你会后空翻吗？”“是的，我会后空翻。” 女孩的脸上绽开笑容。 “罗兹，我点了

you to do a backflip!" At that, Roz crouched, and then she leaped into the air, flipped backward, and gently landed on her feet. A perfect backflip. Jad put his computer away. Jaya jumped down from her branch. The children were impressed. "What else can you do?" said Jad. "Can you juggle?" "Yes, I can juggle." "I order you to juggle, um, some of these acorns!" Roz walked up to the tree, picked three large acorns from the ground, and began juggling them in perfect rhythm. Jaya studied the robot's movements and then began tossing acorns into the air as well. The first one went a little too high, the next one went a little too far, and soon they all went tumbling back into the grass. "Do you know any jokes?" said Jad. "Why did the chicken cross the road?" "Never mind." Jad scratched his head. "Can you tell us a story?" "What kind of story would you like to hear?" "A robot story!" said Jad. "An animal story!" said Jaya.

你得做个后空翻！”听了这话，罗兹蹲了下来，然后跳到空中，向后翻了个身，轻轻地落在地上。 一个完美的后空翻。杰德把他的电脑收起来。 Jaya从树枝上跳了下来。 孩子们被打动了。 “你还能做什么？”杰德说。 “你会玩杂耍吗？”“是的，我会玩杂耍。” “我命令你玩杂耍，嗯，这些橡子！”罗兹走到树前，从地上捡起三颗大橡子，开始以完美的节奏杂耍它们。 Jaya研究了机器人的动作，然后也开始向空中扔橡子。 第一个飞得有点高，第二个飞得有点远，很快他们都滚回了草地上。 “你知道什么笑话吗？”杰德说。 “为什么鸡要过马路？”“不要紧。” 杰德挠了挠头。“你能给我们讲个故事吗？”“你想听什么样的故事？”“机器人的故事！”杰德说。 “一个动物的故事！”

"How about a robot and animal story?" said Roz. The children smiled at each other. Then they sat against the tree and looked up at their robotic storyteller. "Once upon a time, there was a robot who lived alone on an island," Roz began. "She spent her time wandering across mountains and forests and meadows. And then something terrible happened. Rocks fell and the robot tumbled off a cliff! She survived the fall, but sadly, the rocks killed two geese and smashed four of their eggs. The robot stood there, staring at the poor goose family, until she heard a tiny voice peeping from somewhere nearby. She followed the peeping voice and discovered a perfect goose egg, sunk in the dirt. The robot carefully picked up the egg and carried it away, and when the gosling hatched from his shell the first thing he saw was the robot looking back. 'Mama! Mama!' he peeped. The gosling thought the robot was his mother, and from that day on, she was. The robot adopted the gosling as her son, and together they made a funny little happy family. The end." The children sat there and thought about Roz's strange story. Then they looked up at her and said, "What happened next?"

“机器人和动物的故事怎么样？”罗兹说。 孩子们相视一笑。 然后他们靠着树坐下来，抬头看着他们的机器人讲故事的人。 “很久很久以前，有一个机器人独自住在一个岛上，”罗兹开始说。 她把时间都花在了山林草地上。 然后可怕的事情发生了。 石头掉了下来，机器人从悬崖上摔了下来！她从坠落中幸存下来，但不幸的是，石头砸死了两只鹅，砸坏了四只蛋。 机器人站在那里，盯着可怜的鹅一家，直到她听到一个微小的声音从附近的某个地方偷窥。 她跟着那窃窃私语的声音，发现了一个完美的鹅蛋，陷在泥土里。 机器人小心翼翼地捡起鸡蛋，把它带走了，当小鹅从壳里孵出来时，他看到的第一件事就是机器人在回头看。 “妈妈!妈妈!他偷偷地说。小鹅以为机器人是他的妈妈，从那天起，她就是。 机器人把小鹅当作自己的儿子，他们一起组成了一个有趣的幸福小家庭。 最后。”孩子们坐在那里，想着罗兹的奇怪故事。 然后他们抬头看着她说：“接下来发生了什么？”