Morty's Swim Surprise

Morty's Swim Surprise. Written by Kathy Hogan. Illustrated by David Opie. Focus question. What is the effect of Morty wishing he could join the country club like the other mice?

《莫蒂的游泳惊喜》 凯西·霍根 撰文 大卫·奥皮 绘图 思考问题 莫蒂渴望像其他老鼠一样加入乡村俱乐部，这个愿望带来了什么结果？

Morty stared out his window as mice in flip -flops scampered to the country club pool in the bright morning sun. When Ben and Fred scurried past, Morty felt more down than ever. The night before, Father had announced that they wouldn't be joining the country club that summer in order to save money. He said that they could stay cool by scampering in the sprinkler instead. The cool mice all go to the pool, Morty thought. He reluctantly scuffled outside to join his younger brothers, Mac and Arnie, in the backyard.

明媚的清晨阳光下，穿人字拖的老鼠们蹦跳着赶往乡村俱乐部泳池，莫蒂趴在窗边望着他们。 当本和弗雷德跑过窗前，莫蒂的心情比以往更低落了。 昨天晚上，爸爸宣布为了省钱，今年夏天他们不加入乡村俱乐部了。 爸爸说，他们可以在喷水头下蹦着玩，一样能凉快。 莫蒂心想：酷老鼠都去泳池玩啦。 他磨磨蹭蹭不情愿地走出房门，到后院找弟弟麦克和阿尼。

After five boring minutes of standing in the sprinkler, Morty had a brilliant idea. Let's dig our own pool, he suggested. We can even make a slide and a diving board. It will be way cooler than the pool at the country club. Mack and Arnie were excited about the idea. How about a swing, too? Arnie squeaked. Sure, Morty replied. That tree in Mom's flower garden is perfect for a rope swing that would fling us right into the water.

在喷水头下无聊地站了五分钟后，莫蒂想到了一个绝妙的主意。 我们自己挖一个泳池吧，他提议道。 我们还能做滑梯和跳水板呢。 这可比乡村俱乐部的泳池酷多了。 麦克和阿尼一听这个主意，兴奋极了。 那再加一个秋千好不好？ 阿尼尖声问道。 当然没问题，莫蒂回答。 妈妈花园里的那棵树刚好做绳秋千，荡起来正好能把我们甩进水里。

Will Mom be mad about her flower bushes? Mack asked. Not when she sees how great our new pool is, Morty assured them. Let's take an oath of secrecy. No one tells Mom or Dad until the pool is finished. The brothers put their paws together and nodded in agreement. They scurried to the garage for shovels and began digging.

妈妈的花灌丛被弄坏，她会生气吗？ 麦克问道。 等她看到我们的新泳池有多棒，就不会生气啦，莫蒂向他们保证。 我们来发誓保密吧。 泳池完工之前，谁都不能告诉爸爸妈妈。 兄弟三个把爪子搭在一起，点头同意了。 他们飞快跑到车库拿铲子，立刻动手挖了起来。

The soil began to pile up as Morty and his brothers dug and dug. The hole was misshapen, not perfectly square as Morty had imagined. It wasn't level either, because he was digging faster than Mack and much faster than Arnie. Worst of all, after hours of work, the hole wasn't even knee deep. Can I quit? Arnie whined. I'm tired. This is a lot harder than I thought, Morty admitted. Now I know why bulldozers were invented, Mack groaned.

莫蒂和兄弟俩挖呀挖，泥土越堆越高。 挖出来的坑歪歪扭扭，根本不是莫蒂原本想象的方方正正的样子。 坑也不平整，因为莫蒂挖得比麦克快，比阿尼就更快了。 最糟糕的是，挖了好几个小时，坑连膝盖深都不到。 我能停下不挖了吗？ 阿尼哼哼着说。 我累死了。 这比我预想的难太多了，莫蒂承认道。 现在我知道为什么要发明推土机了，麦克抱怨道。

Morty dropped his shovel in exhaustion. Let's just fill the pool now, he said. It won't be deep, but it's getting harder to dig through this packed soil. Yeah, we can have a wading pool, Mack agreed. But it's too shallow for a diving board, a swing, or a slide. We'll bruise our tails, Arnie chimed in. That's okay, Morty said as he turned on the hose. Even a wading pool is better than the sprinkler. It was late, and the boys headed inside for dinner. After their bellies were full, they promptly fell asleep, weary from an afternoon of digging.

莫蒂累得扔下了铲子。 我们就这样填上水吧，他说。 虽然不会很深，但硬结的泥土越挖越难挖了。 对呀，我们就做一个踩水小池子，麦克同意道。 不过池子太浅了，玩不了跳水板、秋千和滑梯呀。 我们会摔疼尾巴的，阿尼跟着说道。 没关系的，莫蒂一边说一边打开了水管。 就算是小踩水池，也比玩喷水头好呀。 天晚了，男孩们回屋吃晚饭了。 吃饱肚子之后，挖了一下午的他们累坏了，倒头就睡着了。