The St. Patrick's Day Mystery

The St. Patrick's Day Mystery. Written by Jan Maeder. Illustrated by Stephen Marchese.

《圣帕特里克节之谜》。作者：简·梅德尔。插画：斯蒂芬·马尔凯塞。

Aja was excited when she arrived at school. It was her turn to be line leader. The bell rang for school to start. Aja proudly took her place at the front of the line. She walked beside her teacher, Ms. McBride, into the school and up to their classroom door.

阿佳到学校的时候特别开心。 今天轮到她当路队长啦。 上课铃响了，要正式上学啦。 阿佳骄傲地站到了队伍最前面的位置。 她走在老师麦克布赖德女士身边， 走进学校，往他们的教室门口走去。

What on earth? gasped Ms. McBride as she entered the room. The students crowded into the green and glittery classroom. All four walls were covered with decorations for St. Patrick's Day.

“这是怎么回事？”麦克布赖德女士走进教室的时候惊呼道。 学生们一窝蜂涌进了这间亮闪闪、满眼都是绿色的教室。 四面墙上都挂满了圣帕特里克节的装饰。

Our room looks awesome," said Sammy. Yay! Cheered the kids. Thank you, Ms. McBride! Ms. McBride smiled and shook her head. Don't thank me. I didn't do this. It must have been the leprechauns, she said with a grin.

“我们的教室看起来超棒！”萨米说。 “耶！” 孩子们都欢呼起来。 “谢谢你，麦克布赖德老师！” 麦克布赖德女士笑着摇了摇头。 “别谢我呀。” “这些不是我布置的。” “肯定是小矮妖干的。”她咧着嘴笑着说。

Really? said Lucy. Leprechauns came here? What are leprechauns? asked Sammy. Now the whole classroom was a buzz with excitement. Everyone come to the story rug, said Ms. McBride. I'll tell you the truth about leprechauns.

“真的吗？”露西说，“小矮妖来过这里？” “小矮妖是什么呀？”萨米问。 这下整个教室都闹哄哄的，大家都兴奋极了。 “大家都到故事毯这边来。”麦克布赖德女士说。 “我来给你们讲一讲小矮妖的真相。”

Aja smiled a little secret smile. Her older sister Ashley had Miss McBride as a teacher two years ago. Ashley had told Aja what to expect on St. Patrick's Day in Miss McBride's class. Leprechauns are magical little people from the island country of Ireland across the Atlantic Ocean. They like to wear green and enjoy playing tricks on people for fun, said Miss McBride. Lucy held up her hand. My dad told me that leprechauns bury a pot of gold at the end of each rainbow, she said. That's right, said Miss McBride, and if you catch a leprechaun, you get three wishes.

阿佳偷偷笑了一下。 她姐姐阿什利两年前刚好是麦克布赖德女士的学生。 阿什利早就告诉过阿佳，麦克布赖德老师班上的圣帕特里克节会是什么样的。 小矮妖是来自大西洋对岸岛国爱尔兰的魔法小精灵。 麦克布赖德女士说，他们喜欢穿绿色的衣服，还爱跟人开玩笑逗乐。 露西举起了手。 露西说：“我爸爸告诉我，小矮妖会把一罐金子埋在每道彩虹的尽头。” 麦克布赖德女士说：“没错，而且如果你抓住了一只小矮妖，你就能许三个愿望。”