The Creature Constitution

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

《小动物宪章》 托林·安德森 撰文 克里斯·鲍德温 绘图

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 1786. None of the creatures in Independence Hall were able to sleep. Every night the mice in the basement tumbled through the spiders' webs. The spiders pursued the mice screaming at the top of their lungs. The crickets in the closets kept everyone awake with their all -night chirping. Early in the morning, the pigeons in the clock tower started singing. They woke up anyone who managed to catch even a few moments of sleep. All the animals were exhausted and miserable.

1786年，费城，独立宫。 独立宫里的小动物们全都睡不着觉。 每天晚上，地下室的老鼠都会撞破蜘蛛网。 蜘蛛追着老鼠跑，扯着嗓子大声叫。 壁橱里的蟋蟀整夜叫个不停，吵得大家都没法睡。 天刚蒙蒙亮，钟楼里的鸽子就开始唱歌了。 哪怕刚睡着一小会儿，也会被它们吵醒。 所有小动物都累坏了，心情糟透了。

Maddie was sick and tired of being exhausted and miserable. She had the largest ears of any mouse in Independence Hall, and she heard everything. The nights were becoming noisier, and she was concerned that no one would ever have a good night's sleep.

麦蒂受够了这种疲惫又糟糕的日子。 她是独立宫里耳朵最大的老鼠，什么动静都听得见。 晚上越来越吵，她很担心大家再也睡不了好觉了。

One morning, she heard humans discussing something that sounded important. Maddie sneaked into the room and listened as they argued about their new nation's constitution. They needed some rules that everyone in the country would follow. The rules would bring the separate parts of the country together.

一天早上，她听到人类在讨论一件听起来很重要的事。 麦蒂偷偷溜进房间，偷听他们讨论新国家的宪章。 他们需要一套所有国民都要遵守的规则。 这些规则能把国家的各个部分团结起来。

Maddie thought a constitution was an excellent idea, so she organized a meeting of all the creatures. Every single creature came, from the spiders in the basement to the pigeons in the clock tower. There were so many animals packed together around the bell in the clock that they could barely move.

麦蒂觉得制定宪章真是个好主意，于是她召集所有小动物开会。 每一只小动物都来了，从地下室的蜘蛛到钟楼的鸽子全都来了。 钟周围挤了那么多小动物，挤得他们几乎动不了。

Thank you for coming everybody, Maddie said. The humans have a great idea. They are writing a constitution. We should have our own constitution. What's a constitution? asked a pigeon. It's a document that explains rules that we all

“谢谢大家来参加会议，”麦蒂说。 “人类想到了一个好主意。” “他们正在制定宪章。” “我们也应该有我们自己的宪章。” “宪章是什么呀？” 一只鸽子问道。 “它是一份写明咱们所有人都要