Once there was a rabbit colony that was different from any other. The rabbits here were in charge of decorating all the Easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to deliver. Everyone worked year round getting ready.
曾经，这里有一个和其他兔子不太一样的兔群。这里的兔子负责装饰复活节彩蛋，然后让复活节兔子去发放。每只兔子都是全年无休地去准备彩蛋。
Everyone except Ralph. He cared for only one thing in the world – soccer.
每只兔子都在准备彩蛋，除了Ralph。这个世界上他只在乎一件事情——足球。
It worried his mother and father.
这很让他的爸爸妈妈担心。
It worried the other rabbits in the colony.
这也让兔群里的其他兔子感到担心。
It worried his teachers in the school where all the young rabbits went to learn egg decorating. Where was Ralph while everyone else was hard at work in the classroom?He was outside working on his fancy footwork.
这让教所有小兔子学习装饰彩蛋的老师们担心。当所有兔子都在教室里努力工作的时候，Ralph在哪儿呢？他在外面专心工作于脚上功夫。
It worried his sister Liza – especially when he ruined her birthday party.
这也让他的姐姐Liza担心，特别是当他毁了Liza生日派对的时候。
Liza loved Ralph more than anyone else in the world. But she knew that one day he would get into trouble. He just didn’t fit in.
Liza比世上的任何人都爱Ralph。但是她知道总有一天Ralph会惹麻烦。他只是没有融入到兔群里。
Each year as Easter approached, everyone got busier and busier. The chickens laid more eggs. The painters, the jelly bean makers, and the basket stuffers all worked overtime.
每年当复活节到来的时候，每个人都会越来越忙。母鸡们会下更多的蛋。油漆工们，糖果工们，还有装彩蛋的篮子全都在工作。
Ralph had to work, too. But he had a hard time keeping his mind on his job.
Ralph一样也要工作。但是他很难集中注意力在工作上。
Instead, he was thinking about place kicks, and he tried just one. Oooops! Over went a full basket of eggs.
相反地，他总是想着如何去踢好球，比如“定位踢球”，而且他还试了一次。哦，天啊。他踢翻了装满了彩蛋的篮子！
The exhausted chickens groaned. The rabbits shouted at Ralph. “Go play soccer on the other side of the trees so we can finish our work in peace,” they said.
精疲力尽的母鸡开始抱怨了。兔子们也冲Ralph大喊。“去另一边踢球吧，这样我们才能安安静静地完成工作。”他们一起说道。
Ralph was glad to go. He went off to play by himself on the other side of the forest.
Ralph很开心地去踢球了。他到了森林的另一边自己玩上了球。
That night, he did not come home.
那天晚上，他没有回家。
His mother wept and wrung her hands. “Where could he be?” she wondered, “And with Easter just two days away.”
他的妈妈哭着然后握紧了她的手。“他会去哪儿呢？”她诧异地问道，“离复活节只有两天了啊。”
Morning came. Still Ralph had not come home. Liza slipped out to search for him.
清晨到来了。Ralph还是没有回家。Liza溜出家门去寻找弟弟Ralph了。
She found him not far away – locked up in a cage.
她在不远处就发现了Ralph—被锁在了一个笼子里。
A farmer had caught him while he was practicing his dribble in the cauliflower field.
当Ralph在花菜场地练习运球的时候，农夫抓到了他。
“The coach always told us to look where we were going, not at our feet,” Ralph joked sorrowfully. “Don’t worry,” Liza told him.“I’ll go and get help.”
“教练总告诉我们要看我们去的地方而不是盯着脚下，” Ralph苦笑着说。“别担心，”Liza告诉他“我会去找人来帮忙的。”
She ran back, past the busy rabbits, calling, “Mama, mama, we must save Ralph. The famer has caught him and is going to make him into Easter dinner!”
她跑回去，路过忙碌的兔子们，喊道：“妈妈，妈妈，我们必须去救Ralph。一个农夫抓住了他并且要拿他做复活节的晚餐！”
“Oh, I knew that bunny would get into trouble someday,” wept mama as she followed Liza to Ralph’s cage.
“天啊，我就知道总有一天兔宝贝要惹麻烦的，” 妈妈一边擦着泪水一边跟随Liza去找关Ralph的笼子。
It had thick bars and a heavy padlock. “We’ll never get him out of there,” moaned their mother when she saw Ralph inside.
笼子的条很厚，还有很重的锁。“我们永远都无法将他救出来了，”当妈妈看到Ralph困在笼子里时叹着气说。
“Of course we will,” said Liza firmly, “I think I can get the lock open.”
“我们当然能把他救出来，”Liza坚定地说，“我可以把锁打开的。”
Liza worked for hours. But the lock refused to be picked. The bars wouldn’t bend. The door couldn’t be pried off.
Liza花了几个小时的时间去开锁，但是这个锁就是打不开。笼子上的条也无法弯曲，门打不开了。
“If I ever get free,” whispered Ralph, “I promised I will never play soccer again.”
“如果我能重获自由，”Ralph小声地说，“我保证我再也不踢球了。”
“No, Ralph,” said Liza, “you want to be a soccer player. And you will be, too. But you also have to help with the eggs.”
“不，Ralph，”Liza说道，“你想成为足球运动员。而且你也一定能成为。但是你也要帮忙装饰彩蛋啊。”
“And not be such a nuisance,” added mama.
“然后不要做一个总是惹麻烦的人了，”妈妈补充道。
Ralph knew they were right. He promised to do what they said.
Ralph知道她们是正确的。他保证按她们说的去做。
Hours passed. Suddenly Liza cried, “I’ve got an idea that will do the trick! But we have to hurry.”
几个小时过去了。Liza突然叫道，“我有一个主意，那就是我们要做一场骗局！但是我们得快点儿。”
Liza and mama ran all the way home. In no time, Liza was back carrying a small bundle under her arms. She squeezed it carefully through the bars of Ralph’s cage. Then she whispered the plan.
Liza和妈妈跑着回到了家。很快地，Liza就带着一个小包裹跑回去了。她小心翼翼地将包裹塞到笼子里。然后她小声地说着计划。
The next morning there was a great commotion around cage.
第二天早上，笼子外面出现一阵骚动。
Inside it, next to Ralph, was a basket of the most beautiful Easter eggs anyone had ever seen. Some were polka dotted. Some were dyed deep purple, and some were painted with rainbows.
在笼子里面，Ralph的身边，有一只装满了彩蛋的篮子，这些彩蛋漂亮到所有人都没看见过。有些是波点的，有些被染成了深紫色，还有些被画上了彩虹。
The farmer’s children gathered around. “He must be the Easter Bunny,” they exclaimed with wonder. “How else could he have gotten those eggs? We must let him go or there won’t be any Easter for us.”
农夫的孩子们围成了一圈。“他一定是只复活节兔子，”他们惊奇地大叫着。“别人怎么能拿到这些彩蛋呢？我们必须让他出来，不然我们都收不到彩蛋了。”
So the farmer opened the cage door. Ralph ran home as fast as he could.
所以农夫打开了笼子的门。Ralph用最快的速度跑回了家。
But he didn’t forget Liza’s words. He did try harder with his painting.
但是他没有忘记Liza的话。他更加努力地装饰彩蛋。
Ralph even became known for one special design, which he did far better than anyone else, and almost as well as kicking, passing, and scoring.
Ralph甚至因为一个特别的设计而出了名，一个比其他人都好的创作。甚至和他踢球时的技巧一样好——他画出了一个足球模样的彩蛋！
网友评论