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?

《玛丽亚的亡灵日》，作者：凯瑟琳·福利特，插画：卡罗莱娜·法里亚斯。 思考问题。 玛丽亚和家人是怎么纪念去世的亲人呢？

Having a cat named Mouse sounds like a joke. Ratona's name was not meant to be funny, though. She was a lot like a mouse. She was small, with thick gray fur, and her meow was a tiny squeak. She loved to hide in holes. Her favorite spot was a missing brick in the wall of our garden shed.

养一只叫老鼠的猫咪，听起来就像个笑话。 不过，拉托娜这个名字本来不是为了逗笑的。 她长得真的很像一只小老鼠。 她个头小小的，长着厚实的灰毛，叫声细得就像小小的吱吱声。 她最喜欢躲在洞洞里。 她最爱的藏身点，是我们花园棚屋墙上缺了一块砖的地方。

Ratona lived for a very long time. About eight months ago, she died. I'm not sad anymore, but I think about her often. One day, I was thinking about Ratona, just as mamá set a picture of Tía Teresa on an ofrenda, a special altar. Mamá was getting ready for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Teresa passed away when I was a baby. Mamá, is Día de los Muertos also for pets?

拉托娜活了好长好长时间。 大约八个月前，她去世了。 我现在不再难过了，可我还是常常想起她。 有一天，我正想着拉托娜，刚好妈妈把特雷莎姨妈的照片摆到灵坛上，灵坛是亡灵节专用的祭坛。 妈妈正在准备亡灵节，也就是死者之日。 特雷莎姨妈在我还是小婴儿的时候就去世了。 妈妈，亡灵节也可以用来纪念宠物吗？

Usually, Día de los Muertos is for family, mamá said, thinking, though I suppose Ratona was part of our family, too. Maybe we can have a special celebration for her, I suggested. It can be the day before Día de los Muertos. That sounds like a nice idea, Maria, Mama said. Some of your friends can come celebrate their pets, too.

妈妈说，通常亡灵节是纪念家里去世的亲人的，不过想了想又说，拉托娜本来也是我们家的一员呀。 我提议，那我们也可以给她办一场特别的纪念活动呀。 就放在亡灵节的前一天好了。 妈妈说，玛丽亚，这个主意听起来很棒呀。 还可以叫你的好朋友过来，一起纪念他们逝去的宠物哦。

That afternoon, Mama and I went to the big market in Puebla. I clutched her hand so I wouldn't get lost in the crowd. There were dozens of booths selling toys, flowers, decorations, and firecrackers for Día de los Muertos. I bought pink and red paper banners and three pretty candy calaveras or sugar skulls. Mama got a big bundle of orange marigolds. I even found a funny skeleton doll holding a cat.

那天下午，我和妈妈去了普埃布拉的大集市。 我紧紧攥着她的手 生怕自己在人群里走丢。 集市里有几十家摊位，卖着亡灵节要用的玩具、鲜花、装饰品和鞭炮。 我买了粉、红色的纸旗子，还有三个好看的糖骷髅头。 妈妈买了一大束橙色的万寿菊。 我还找到了一个好玩的骷髅玩偶，它怀里抱着一只小猫。

After school, on October 31st, my friends Adriana and Gloria came over. Adriana brought her big white dog, Sal, or Salt. She had a photo of Sal's sister, Pimienta, or Pepper, who died last summer. Gloria also had a picture of a pet she had lost. This is Raúl, the world's friendliest rooster. Let's set up the ofrenda by the garden shed, I said. That's where Ratona used to sit. We arranged marigolds in and around Ratona's hole and hung paper banners on the wall. Then we set up our photos among the flowers.

十月三十一日放学后，我的朋友阿德里亚娜和格洛丽亚来我家了。 阿德里亚娜带来了她的大白狗萨尔，也就是盐。 她带了萨尔姐姐皮米恩塔（也就是胡椒）的照片，皮米恩塔去年夏天去世了。 格洛丽亚也带了一张她逝去宠物的照片。 这是劳尔，全世界最友好的公鸡。 我说，我们在花园棚屋旁边搭灵坛吧。 拉托娜以前就常待在这里。 我们在拉托娜的洞洞里外都摆上万寿菊，还把纸旗子挂在了墙上。 接着我们把照片摆在了花丛中间。