Colleen and the Leprechaun

Colleen and the Leprechaun. Written by Ellen Forrest. Illustrated by David Cockroft.

《科琳和小矮妖》 作者：埃伦·福雷斯特 绘者：大卫·科克罗夫特

Colleen goes to Ireland. Colleen was so excited. She had never been to Ireland before. She had never even been on an airplane. Now she was here, landing in Dublin, Ireland's capital city. Colleen and her parents were visiting her grandparents. She had never met them in person. She had only talked to them on the phone and seen them in family pictures.

科琳要去爱尔兰啦，她特别兴奋，以前从来没去过爱尔兰呢。 她甚至连飞机都没坐过，现在她已经落地在爱尔兰的首都都柏林啦。 科琳和爸爸妈妈要去看望爷爷奶奶，她还从来没和他们见过面呢。 她只和他们通过电话，在家庭照片里见过他们的样子。

As Colleen walked out of the airport, two strangers grabbed her and started hugging her. After a few seconds, she realized they were her grandparents.

科琳刚走出机场，两个陌生人就拉住她，抱了又抱。 过了几秒她才反应过来，这就是她的爷爷奶奶呀。

Colleen watched out the car window as the family drove by some fields. Her grandpa said mysteriously, Colleen, be sure to keep an eye out for the little people. Little people? questioned Colleen. Who are the little people?

一家人开车路过好几片田野，科琳盯着车窗外看。 爷爷神神秘秘地说：“科琳，你可要留心找‘小矮人’哦。” “小矮人？”科琳疑惑地问，“小矮人是谁呀？”

The little people are the fairies, said Grandma as she drove. Tales of the fairies go back to Celtic times in Ireland and Scotland. We have many legends and stories that tell about the fairies and their world.

奶奶开着车回答：“小矮人就是精灵呀。” 精灵的传说最早可以追溯到爱尔兰和苏格兰的凯尔特时代。 我们有好多好多讲精灵和他们世界的传说和故事呢。

Yes we do, said Grandpa. There are many kinds of fairies. A leprechaun is one kind. He looks like a small old man. He is not friendly, lives alone, and spends most of his time making shoes.

“没错呀。”爷爷说。 精灵分很多种哦。 小矮妖就是其中一种。 他长得就像个小小的老头儿。 他不太友好，独来独往，大部分时间都在做鞋子。