A Sick Day for Amos

A Sick Day for Amos

By Phillip C. Stead

Amos was an early riser.

Every morning, he waited for the number five bus.

“Next stop, City Zoo,” the bus driver would call.

“6 a.m. Right on time,” he’d reply.

Amos had a lot to do at the zoo, but he always made time to visit his good friends.

He would play the chess with the elephant who thought and thought before making a move,

run races with the tortoise who never ever lost,

sit quietly with the penguin who was very shy,

lend a handkerchief to the rhino who always had a runny nose,

and at sunset, read stories to the owl who was afraid of the dark.

One day Amos awoke with the sniffles, and the sneezes, and the chills.

He swung his achy legs out of bed, curled them back again and said, “Ugh, I don’t think I’ll be going to work today.”

Meanwhile, at the zoo, the animals waited for their friend.

The elephant arranged and polished his chess.

The tortoise stretched his legs and limbered up.

The penguin sat patiently all by himself.

The rhino worried that his allergies were worsening.

The owl perched atop of story books, scratching his head with concern.

“Where is Amos?” the animals wondered.

Later that day… they went on the bus and went to Amos’s house.

“Horary! My good friends are here!”

They cook soup for Amos,

They keep Amos’s feet warm.

“Ah-coo!” Amos awoke with a sneeze.

The rhino was ready with a handkerchief.

“I’m beginning to feel much better, thankyou,” said Amos to his friends.

Amos set his alarm clock, “it’s getting late,” he said. “After all, we have a morning bus to catch.”

So Amos said goodnight to the elephant.

And goodnight to the tortoise.

And goodnight to the penguin.

And goodnight to the rhino.

And goodnight to the owl,

And the owl—knowing that Amos was afraid of the dark—read a story aloud before turning out the light.

【注：音频故事较原文有所改编】