1 Bees and Blahs

1 Bees and Blahs In a village by the sea live a witch and a witch-to-be. As the equinox comes round again, it's time for autumn to begin.

1 蜜蜂与絮语 海边的小村庄里，住着一位女巫和一个准女巫。 当秋分再次到来，秋天就正式拉开序幕啦。

"Well, isn't this lovely?" Mama Moon says. She's come downstairs this morning to find Blue already awake and dressed. "Happy equinox," Blue says. They kiss their mother's cheek, then hand her a cup of steamy coffee. "Mmm," says Mama, taking a sip. "Just the way I like it, with a tiny bit of milk and no sugar." "Because life is sweet enough," Blue says. "You know what isn't sweet? Getting up so early," says Gully, yawning. "All this just because the day and night are the same length?" "The equinox only happens twice a year," Blue reminds him. "The first day of spring and today, the first day of fall. Hooray!"

“哎呀，这可太贴心啦？” 月亮妈妈说道。 今早她下楼来，发现布鲁已经醒了，还穿好了衣服。 “秋分快乐呀。”布鲁说。 他们亲了亲妈妈的脸颊，递给他一杯冒着热气的咖啡。 “嗯~”妈妈抿了一口，发出满足的声音。 “正是我喜欢的口味，加了一点点奶，没放糖。” “因为生活本身已经够甜啦。”布鲁说。 “你知道什么东西不甜吗？ 起这么早啊。”格利打着哈欠说道。 “就为了白天和黑夜一样长，就要搞这么大阵仗？” “秋分一年可只有两次哦。”布鲁提醒他。 “一次是立春，还有就是今天，立秋呀。 太棒啦！”

"Rowrrrrr," Pearl grumbles. For once, she and Gully agree: it's too early in the morning for celebrating. Mama laughs and scratches her grumpy, sleepy cat behind the ears. "It's important that we notice and celebrate the world around us," Mama says. "The weather's going to start getting colder, and the days are going to start getting shorter. In the meantime, I'd better start today's baking!" "I'll set out all the ingredients and tools," says Blue. Shoop! With a wave of their hand, the drawers and cabinets open. Clatter-clink! Clatter-clonk! The measuring spoons and measuring cups and whisks and spatulas and mixing bowls march over to the countertop.

“呜——”珀尔不满地嘟囔着。 难得她和格利想法一致：大清早的就庆祝，也太早了点。 妈妈笑了起来，挠了挠她那只气鼓鼓、还没睡醒的小猫的耳后。 “留心庆祝我们身边的世界变化，是很重要的事哦。”妈妈说。 “接下来天气会慢慢变冷，白天也会越来越短啦。 不说这个啦，我得开始今天的烘焙啦！” “我来把所有食材和工具都摆好。”布鲁说。 咻！ 他们手一挥，抽屉和橱柜都自动打开了。 哐当叮当！ 哐当咚咚！ 量勺、量杯、打蛋器、刮刀还有搅拌碗，全都排着队走到了操作台上。

Bumpity-swish! Bumpity-swoosh! The flour and sugar and vanilla and all the other ingredients follow them. Zwoop-bada-bada-whoop! With a wave of Blue's other hand, the refrigerator opens. The milk and butter and eggs and berries join the group. "Your helping magic is really coming along," Mama notes. She gives Blue a hug. "Nothing pleases a cook or baker like someone else setting up the mise en place." "Bees and blahs?" says Gully. "Meez ahn plahz. It's French," Mama says. "It means "putting in place," having everything you need organized and ready before you start. That way you can really focus on what you're doing." "Ooh la la! That's a helpful step for lots of projects," Blue says. "But especially cooking and baking." "Cooking and baking are my favorite kinds of changing magic," says Mama. "I love putting different ingredients together and turning them into something better than they were on their own." "Me too!" says Blue. "It's a good thing you're giving me this head start, because today I have extra work to do," says Mama. "Beyond the everyday baking, I'm making my special equinox cakes and plenty of half-and-half cookies."

咚咚晃悠悠！ 咚咚呼啦啦！ 面粉、糖、香草精还有其他所有食材也跟着它们走了过来。 咻啪嗒啪嗒呼！ 布鲁另一只手一挥，冰箱门也打开了。 牛奶、黄油、鸡蛋和浆果也加入了队伍。 “你的帮忙魔法进步真的很大呀。”妈妈赞许道。 她给了布鲁一个拥抱。 “对于厨师和烘焙师来说，有人帮忙把备料准备好，可是最开心的事啦。” “蜜蜂与絮语？”格利疑惑地问。 “是备餐（mee ahn plahz）。 这是法语哦。”妈妈解释道。 “意思是‘各就各位’，就是在开始做饭前，把你需要的所有东西都整理好、准备齐全。 这样你就能全神贯注地做手头的事啦。” “哇哦！ 好多事情做之前这么准备都很有用哎。”布鲁说。 “尤其是做饭和烘焙的时候。” “做饭和烘焙是我最喜欢的变化魔法哦。”妈妈说。 “我可喜欢把不同的食材放在一起，把它们变成比单独的食材更棒的东西啦。” “我也是！”布鲁说。 “幸好你现在已经能上手帮忙啦，因为今天我有额外的活要做哦。”妈妈说。 “除了日常的烘焙，我还要做我特制的秋分蛋糕，还有好多对半双味曲奇呢。”