Dia for Maria

Dia for Maria, written by Katherine Follett, illustrated by Carolina Farias. Focus question. How do Maria and her family celebrate loved ones who have passed away?

《给玛丽亚的亡灵节》，作者：凯瑟琳·福利特，绘者：卡罗莱纳·法里亚斯。 核心问题 玛丽亚和家人是怎么纪念逝去的亲人的？

Ratona was a cat named Mouse. She was small and gray and had a tiny, squeaky meow. She liked to sit in a hole in the shed wall.

拉托娜是一只名字叫“小老鼠”的猫咪。 她个子小小的，浑身灰毛，叫声又细又尖。 她总喜欢蹲在棚屋墙的小洞里。

Ratona lived for a long time. Eight months ago, she died. I'm not sad anymore, but I think about her often. One day, Mamá was setting up Tía Teresa's ofrenda, a special altar for Day of the Dead. Teresa passed away when I was a baby. Mamá, can we celebrate pets? I asked.

拉托娜活了好长时间。 八个月前，她去世了。 我现在已经不难过了，不过我经常想起她。 有一天，妈妈正在布置特蕾莎姨妈的亡灵节祭坛， 那是亡灵节专用的祭祀台哦。 我还在襁褓里的时候，特蕾莎姨妈就去世了。 “妈妈，我们可以纪念宠物吗？” 我问道。

This is mostly for family, though I suppose Ratona was part of ours, Mama said. We can celebrate her the day before, I suggested.

“这祭坛本来是给家人设的， 不过拉托娜也算我们家的一份子呀。”妈妈说。 “我们可以提前一天纪念她呀。”我提议道。

Later, Mama and I went to the market in Puebla. We got paper banners, sugar skulls, and marigolds.

后来，我和妈妈去了普埃布拉的集市。 我们买了纸幡、糖骷髅，还有万寿菊。

On October 31st, my friends came over. Adriana brought her dog, Sal, or Salt. She had a photo of Sal's sister, Pimienta, or Pepper, who died last summer. Gloria had a picture of Raul the Rooster, a pet she had lost. We set up the banners, marigolds, and photos where Ratona used to sit.

10月31日那天，我的朋友们都来我家了。 阿德里亚娜带来了她的狗狗萨尔，也叫“小盐”。 她还带了萨尔的妹妹皮米恩塔的照片， 皮米恩塔也叫“小胡椒”，去年夏天去世了。 格洛丽亚带了她去世的宠物公鸡劳尔的照片。 我们把纸幡、万寿菊和照片都摆在拉托娜以前常蹲的地方。