The Creature Constitution

The Creature Constitution. Written by Torrin Anderson. Illustrated by Chris Baldwin.

《小动物公约》，作者：托林·安德森，绘者：克里斯·鲍德温。

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 1786. None of the creatures in the hall were able to sleep. Every night, the mice would run through the spider's webs. Then the spiders would chase the mice.

1786年，费城独立厅 小动物们都睡不着觉。 每天晚上，老鼠会钻过蜘蛛网， 蜘蛛们就追着老鼠跑。

The crickets would chirp all night. The pigeons in the clock tower would start singing early in the morning. Everyone was tired and unhappy.

蟋蟀整晚叽叽喳喳叫。 钟塔里的鸽子天还没亮就开始唱歌 大家都又累又不开心。

Maddie the mouse had the biggest ears in the hall. She heard everything. She worried that no one would ever sleep.

老鼠麦迪的耳朵是整个大厅里最大的。 什么动静都逃不过她的耳朵。 她很担心大家以后都没法睡个好觉。

Then the humans began meeting in the hall. Maddie sneaked into the room and listened as they talked. They needed something with rules that everyone would follow. They called it a constitution.

后来人类开始在大厅里开会。 麦迪偷偷溜进房间，偷听他们说话。 他们需要一套所有人都要遵守的规则。 他们把这套规则叫做宪法。

Maddie thought a constitution was a great idea. She called a meeting. Every creature came. There were so many animals that they could barely move.

麦迪觉得宪法真是个好主意。 她召集了一场会议。 所有小动物都来参加了。 动物多得都快挤不下了。