23 Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia

Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish pictures by Lynn Sweat

《圣诞快乐，阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚》，作者佩吉·帕里什，插画林恩·斯威特

"Amelia Bedelia," said Mrs. Rogers, "Christmas is just around the corner." "It is?" said Amelia Bedelia. "Which corner?" Mrs. Rogers laughed and said, "I mean tomorrow is Christmas Day." "I know that," said Amelia Bedelia.

“阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚，”罗杰斯太太说，“圣诞节马上就要到啦。” “真的吗？”阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚问。 “在哪个拐角呀？” 罗杰斯太太笑着说：“我的意思是明天就是圣诞节啦。” “我知道呀。”阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚说。

"There's still so much to do," said Mrs. Rogers. "We'll never finish!" "We'll make it," said Amelia Bedelia. "Just tell me what to do "First," said Mrs. Rogers, "make a date cake. Put lots of dates in it." "All right," said Amelia Bedelia. She started to the kitchen.

“还有好多事要做呢，”罗杰斯太太说， “咱们肯定做不完了！” “咱们能做完的，”阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚说， “你告诉我要做什么就行。首先呀，”罗杰斯太太说，“做一个枣子蛋糕。 多放些枣子进去。” “好的。”阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚说。 她动身往厨房去。

"Wait," said Mrs. Rogers. "Put these nuts in the cake, too." She gave Amelia Bedelia a bag of nuts. "Anything else?" said Amelia Bedelia. "Do pop some corn," said Mrs. Rogers. "I want to make popcorn balls." "How much should I pop?" said Amelia Bedelia. "I'll need six cups," said Mrs. Rogers.

“等一下，”罗杰斯太太说， “把这些坚果也放进蛋糕里。” 她递给阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚一袋坚果。 “还有别的事吗？”阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚问。 “一定要爆点玉米花，”罗杰斯太太说， 我要做玉米花糖球。” “我要爆多少呀？”阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚问。 “我需要六杯的量。”罗杰斯太太说。

Amelia Bedelia went to the kitchen. "I have never heard of date cake," she said. "But I'll try my hand at it." Amelia Bedelia put some of this and a little of that into a bowl. She mixed and she mixed. Soon her batter was ready.

阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚走进了厨房。 “我从来没听说过枣子蛋糕呢，”她说， “不过我要试试看。” 阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚往碗里放了点这个，又加了点那个。 她搅呀搅呀。 很快面糊就准备好了。

"Now," she said, I need lots of dates." Amelia Bedelia thought about this. "A calendar!" she said. "That has lots of dates." Amelia Bedelia got a calendar. She cut off all of the dates. She dumped them into the cake.

“现在呀，”她说，“我需要好多日期（注：英文date可指枣子也可指日期）。” 阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚想了想。 “日历！” 她说道。 “那上面有好多日期呀。” 阿米莉亚·贝迪莉亚拿来一本日历。 她把所有的日期都剪了下来。 把它们都倒进了蛋糕面糊里。