Compost

Story 23. Compost. Mike was the youngest in his family. His older brother and sister did important chores like babysitting and mowing the lawn. Mike wanted to do an important chore too. One day, Mom said, You can be in charge of the compost. This didn't sound too important, but Mike started working anyway. He collected his family's kitchen waste. He put it in a bucket that his mom kept in the backyard and covered it. Every Saturday, Mike mixed the waste with a shovel. It was smelly, and Mike could see worms in there. This doesn't seem like an important chore, thought Mike. Still, he did his chore faithfully for ten long weeks. How is the compost coming along, Mike? asked Mom. Is it ready?

第23个故事 堆肥 迈克是家里最小的孩子。 他的哥哥姐姐都做照看小孩、修剪草坪这类重要的家务。 迈克也想做一项重要的家务。 有一天，妈妈说： 你可以负责堆肥的工作。 这听起来好像没那么重要，但迈克还是开始干了起来。 他收集家里的厨余垃圾。 他把垃圾倒进妈妈放在后院的桶里，再把桶盖好。 每周六，迈克都会用铲子把垃圾搅拌均匀。 味道臭烘烘的，迈克还能看到里面有虫子在爬。 这看起来根本不是什么重要的家务，迈克心里想。 尽管如此，他还是老老实实干了整整十个星期的活。 “迈克，堆肥做得怎么样了？”妈妈问道。 “可以用了吗？”

Ready for what? asked Mike. Follow me, said Mike's mom. She spread the compost around her vegetable garden. This will help my vegetables grow. You made great compost! Mike was proud.

“用来做什么呀？”迈克问道。 “跟我来。”迈克的妈妈说。 她把堆肥撒在了自家菜园的四周。 这能帮助我的蔬菜生长。 你做的堆肥太棒了！ 迈克感到非常自豪。