Ruby 慢慢来

我是Rhea。

This is Rhea.

欢迎收听《小人物的小故事》。

Welcome to Little Stories for Tiny People.

哦，你不是小朋友？

Oh, you're not tiny?

你是大朋友。

You're big.

那好吧，大朋友们，欢迎你们。

Well, come on down, big friends.

今天，我的嘉宾是我的好朋友，毛毛虫卡桑德拉。

Today, I'm joined by my guest, a very good friend of mine, Cassandra the Caterpillar.

卡桑德拉这周嗓子哑了，所以她可能不太会说话，但她很期待听这周的故事，我希望你也是。

Cassandra has laryngitis this week, so she probably won't say much, but she's very excited to hear this week's story, and I hope you are too.

卡桑德拉，你准备好了吗？

Cassandra, are you ready?

我现在收到卡桑德拉大约30个点赞。

I'm getting about 30 thumbs up right now from Cassandra.

你们也能给我点个赞吗？

Can I see your thumbs up, too?

好的。

All right.

我们的故事叫《露比慢慢来》。

Our story is called "Ruby Takes Her Time".

记住，这个故事没有图片。

Remember, there are no pictures.

你得在脑海里想象那些画面。

You'll have to imagine the pictures in your mind.

你想怎么想象都可以。

You can imagine them however you want.

好，我们开始吧。

Okay, here we go.

当她的哥哥霍华德在人行道上飞奔时，鲁比却不紧不慢地走着。

While her brother Howard raced down the sidewalk, Ruby took her time.

她每遇到一朵蒲公英、一条虫子或一块石头都会停下来，嘴里哼着歌或念着童谣。

She stopped for each dandelion, worm, and rock as she hummed or said a rhyme.

“快点，鲁比，”霍华德说，好像他一点时间都没有似的。

"Come on, Ruby," Howard said, as if he had no time to spare.

鲁比抬头看了一眼，又低头看着地面，说：“哦，霍华德，我马上就来。”

Ruby glanced up, then back at the ground, saying, "Oh, Howard, I'll be right there."

她一边走，一边发现了许多好奇的小石子、毛茸茸的苔藓和数不清的毛毛虫。

As she walked along, she found curious pebbles, fuzzy moss, and caterpillars galore.

她有时想着继续往前走，但万一前面还有更多好东西呢？

She sometimes thought of moving on, but what if there was more?

当她终于走到游乐场时，口袋里装满了她找到的各种东西，霍华德只是说：“你花的时间可真够长的，”却从没问过她找到了什么。

When she finally reached the playground, her pockets heavy with everything she'd found, Howard just said, "You took long enough," and never asked to see her stuff.

然而，有一天，这一切彻底改变了。

Well, one day, all that changed for good.

那是一个夏天的下午。

It was a summer afternoon.

露比正在仔细看一块小木头，嘴里轻轻哼着小曲。

Ruby was examining a small piece of wood and softly humming a little tune.

露比听到一声微弱的喵叫，就在这时霍华德从她肩膀旁飞快地跑过。

Ruby heard a tiny mew, just as Howard whizzed by her shoulder.

“霍华德，你也听到了吗？”

"Howard, did you hear that too?"

“没有，”他嘟囔道。

"No," he groaned.

他觉得自己年纪大，什么都懂。

He thought he knew everything because he was older.

那声音又出现了。

There it was again.

喵，喵，喵。

Mew, mew, mew.

那是什么声音？

What was it?

露比觉得自己知道。

Ruby thought she knew.

她在一棵大橡树后面看了看，用手遮住刺眼的阳光。

She looked behind a large oak tree, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight.

那里有一只小猫。

There, a kitten.

哦，不是一只，是三只。

Oh, not one, but three.

“霍华德，看我发现了什么，”露比喊道，但他已经不见了。

"Howard, look what I found," Ruby called, but he was already out of sight.

小猫们抬头看着露比，它们的小腿看起来弱弱的。

The little cats gazed up at Ruby, their tiny limbs looking weak.

其中一只小猫慢慢走过来，用脸颊蹭了蹭露比的手。

One of the kittens ambled over and nuzzled Ruby's hand with its cheek.

“你妈妈呢？”

"Where's your mother?"

露比一边抱着新朋友，一边自言自语。

Ruby wondered aloud, cradling her new buddy.

但小猫只是抬头看着她，毛发又乱又脏。

But the kitten just looked up at her, his fur matted and muddy.

“我看得出你饿了，”露比说。

"I can tell you're hungry," Ruby said.

她现在有任务了。

She was on a mission now.

这些猫需要喂食。

These cats needed to be fed.

她把小猫们抱在怀里，快步走了起来。

She gathered the kittens up in her arms and started walking quickly.

她不能停下来看毛毛虫或树枝了。

She couldn't stop for caterpillars or sticks.

这些猫都病恹恹的。

These cats were sickly.

当她拖着步子走过操场时，霍华德朝露比这边看了一眼。

As she lumbered past the playground, Howard glanced Ruby's way.

他看见她手里抱着个毛茸茸的东西，这一次，他没有移开视线。

He saw something furry in her grasp, and for once, he didn't look away.

“你手里拿的是什么，露比？”

"What's that you have there, Ruby?

“那个毛茸茸的东西是什么？”

What is that furry thing?"

但露比正忙着她的任务，她不能为任何事情停下来。

But Ruby was on a mission, and she couldn't stop for anything.

在她身后，霍华德从秋千上跳了下来。

Behind her, Howard leapt off his swing.

霍华德终于跑到了家，气喘吁吁的。

Howard finally reached home, gasping out of air.

“你怎么这么快就到这儿了，Ruby？

"How did you get here so fast, Ruby?

好像你一点时间都没耽误。”

Like you had no time to spare."

“Howard，这些小猫咪需要喂食。

"Howard, these kittens need to be fed.

它们需要水。

They need water.

它们需要爱。

They need love.

它们需要一个温暖的窝。”

They need a warm bed."

“小猫咪？”

"Kittens?"

Howard惊呼道，终于看清了她找到的东西。

Howard exclaimed, finally seeing what she'd found.

“你找到这些的？”

"You found these?"

“是的。

"Yes.

在一棵树后面。

Behind a tree.

它们发出很小的声音。

They were making tiny sounds.

我想问你要不要抱一只，但我猜你有更重要的事要做。”

I'd ask if you'd like to hold one, but I'm sure you have better things to do."

“哦，”霍华德说。

"Oh," Howard said.

“我是说，我当然有，但如果你真要我抱，我也可以抽点时间。”

"I mean, of course I do, but I could spare a moment if you really want me to."

露比暗自笑了笑，把一只小猫递给了她的哥哥。

Ruby smirked to herself as she handed a kitten to her brother.

霍华德原本的计划全忘了，他们俩一起度过了一整天。

Howard's supposed plans vanished, and they spent the day with one another.

他们的父母同意让他们留下最小的那只，他们给它取名叫皮普。

Their parents agreed to let them keep the littlest one, whom they named Peep.

另外两只，他们送人了。

The other two, they gave away.

送给了他们的朋友卡洛斯和邻居霍洛韦太太。

to their friend Carlos and to their neighbor, Mrs. Holloway.

他们轮流喂皮普，带它去看兽医。

They took turns feeding Peep and taking her to the vet.

它成了他们形影不离的伙伴，一只可爱的小宠物。

She was their constant companion, a loving little pet.

现在，每次出门，霍华德还是会在人行道上飞奔，而鲁比还是会为每一朵蒲公英、每一条虫子、每一块石头停下来。

Now, whenever they went out, Howard still raced down the sidewalk, and Ruby still stopped for each dandelion, worm, and rock.

但当鲁比终于走到游乐场，口袋里装满了她捡到的东西时，霍华德会跑过来迎接她，问：“你今天发现了什么？”

But when Ruby finally reached the playground, her pockets heavy with everything she'd found, Howard would run to greet her, asking, "What did you find today?"

他会仔细看看每块石头，欣赏每只小虫子，然后他们一起玩。

He'd look at each stone, admire each bug, and then together they'd play.

那么，卡桑德拉，你觉得这个故事怎么样？

Well, Cassandra, how did you like the story?

哇，哇，卡桑德拉，我可不能一下子给你这么多击掌。

Whoa, whoa, Cassandra, I can't give that many high fives at once.

我觉得她很喜欢，我也真心希望你也喜欢。

I think she enjoyed it, and I really hope you did, too.

《小人物的小故事》是由我，瑞亚·佩克特，撰写、表演和制作的。

Little Stories for Tiny People is written, performed, and produced by me, Rhea Pechter.

彼得·凯管理我的网站，把我的故事放到网上，让大家都能享受。

Peter Kay runs my website and puts my stories on the internet for all of you to enjoy.

特别感谢猫头鹰奥马尔，他飞过来送了一杯水和一些胡萝卜。

Special thanks go out to Omar the Owl for flying in a glass of water and some carrots.

还有，一如既往，感谢你们的收听。

And thank you, as always, for listening in.