儿童绘本 • Can't Sleep without Sheep

作者：Susanna Leonard Hill

插画：Mike Wohnoutka

朗读：Mia

配乐：分别节选及改自金子隆博的《みんなの散歩道》和沢田完的《のび太とドラえもん》

翻译：Bryan

Ava had a hard time falling asleep. Her mind was always so busy!

艾娃睡不着觉，总是想这想那！

"Try counting sheep," suggested her mother. So she did.

她的妈妈建议说：“试着数数羊吧。”于是她就照做了。

"One sheep jumping over the fence…two sheep jumping over the fence…three sheep jumping over the fence…"

“一只羊跳过栅栏，两只羊跳过栅栏，三只羊跳过栅栏… ”

But her mind was full of ideas and questions, thoughts of today, and plans for tomorrow. Night after night, the sheep had to jump the fence many times.

可是她的心里还是充满了各种念头和疑问，今天的想法啦，明天的计划啦。一晚又一晚，小羊们每天都得跳好多次栅栏。

"Can we please stop?" asked the sheep. "We're exhausted."

“拜托拜托，我们可以停下了吗？”小羊们问道。“我们累得跳不动了。”

"No! I need you to keep jumping!" said Ava.

“不行！我需要你们接着跳！”艾娃说。

"In that case," said the sheep, "we quit."

“那样的话，”小羊们说，“我们不干了。”

"You can't quit!" said Ava. "How will I get to sleep?"

“不可以呀！”艾娃说。“你们不干了，我怎么睡得着？”

"Don't worry. We'll find a replacement," they promised.

“别担心，我们会找其它动物替代我们的。”小羊们保证。

Horses seemed like the best choice. But they were so beautiful that Ava made the fence higher and wider to see how well they could jump.

马儿看起来是最好的选择，可是他们太漂亮了，艾娃把篱笆做得更高更宽，就为了看看他们怎么跳过去。

"Horses are too much fun!" said the sheep. "We need somebody less pretty. Send in the chickens."

“马儿太有趣了！”小羊说，“我们得要一些没那么漂亮的家伙，把鸡送过来吧。”

The chickens tried to get over the fence. They wanted to get over the fence. Ava laughed and laughed, but she did not go to sleep.

小鸡们努力要越过栅栏，可是怎么都跳不过去。艾娃看了哈哈大笑，可她还是没有睡着。

"We need somebody less ridiculous," said the sheep. "Pigs?"

“我们需要一些没那么搞笑的家伙，”小羊说，“猪怎么样？”

The pigs were not in any hurry.

猪不慌不忙地来了。

"One pig over the fence," said Ava. Then she had to wait while the others stopped to snack.

“一头猪越过栅栏，”艾娃数着，可是其它猪们开始吃起点心来，艾娃也只好等着。

"Pigs are too slow," decided the sheep.

“猪实在是太慢了。”小羊决定不用它们。

The cows were a complete disaster!

奶牛们来的时候完全就是一个灾难！

This was harder than the sheep thought! But they were just getting started.

这比羊刚开始想的还要困难，可是还不止这些呢。

The penguins looked at the fence, then looked at themselves.

企鹅们看看栅栏，再看看他们自己。

"We need a plan," they said.

他们说：“我们需要一个计划。”

“Next!” said the sheep.

“下一个！”小羊直接拒绝了。

The hippos waddled forward. "This could take a while," said one sheep.

河马们摇摇摆摆地走来。“这恐怕得花好长时间了。”一只羊说道。

The animals grew impatient.

其它动物们越来越不耐烦了。

"Is it our turn?" asked the herd of buffalo.

“轮到我们了吗？”一群水牛问道。

"No, we're next!" shouted the flamingos, the armadillos, and the beavers.

“没有，我们才是下一个！”火烈鸟、犰狳、海狸们齐声叫道。

"We'll see about that!" roared the buffalo.

“咱们走着瞧！”水牛吼道。

The stampede began as the buffalo charged the fence. Dust rose in clouds. Splinters flew everywhere. It was chaos!

水牛们争先恐后地冲过栅栏，一时间尘土飞扬，碎片四溅，闹得乱糟糟的！

"STOP!" cried Ava. "I'll never get to sleep like this!"

“停！”艾娃说，“这样我永远也没办法睡着了！”

"Wow, " said the sheep. "Who knew we'd be so hard to replace?"

“哇，”羊说道，“谁会想到我们这么难被替代？”

"I knew," Ava replied. "You always show up for work, You line up nicely and jump calmly. You're fluffy and peaceful and perfect!"

“我早就知道啦，”艾娃回答说，“你们从来也不旷工，你们排着整整齐齐的队伍，跳得不慌不忙，你们毛茸茸的又那么安静，你们是最完美的！”

"Well," said one sheep, "It's nice to be appreciated."

“嗯，”一只羊说道，“被人夸奖的感觉还是很棒的。”

"Please, will you stay?" begged Ava. "I need you to help me fall asleep."

“拜托拜托，你们可以留下来吗？”艾娃恳求道，“我需要你们来帮我入睡。”

"Don't worry," said the sheep. "You can count on us!"

“放心吧，”羊说，“你可以继续数我们啦！”

So she did.

于是艾娃又开始数羊了。