17 Papa"s New Pants
爸爸的新裤子
Papa saw purple pants at the market. He told the shopkeeper, "We"re having a picnic tomorrow. I must have those pants."
爸爸在商场看中了一条紫色的裤子，便对老板说：“我们明天要去野餐，我一定要买下这条裤子。”
When Papa tried them on, the shopkeeper said, "A perfect fit. A little long, but don"t worry. They need to be shortened only the length of a thumb."
他穿上裤子试了一下，老板评价道：“真合身。稍微有点儿长， 不过别担心，只要裁掉拇指那么长就行了。”
Papa paid for them and went home. He asked his wife, "Can you hem my new pants before the picnic tomorrow? They need to be shortened only the length of a thumb. I"d do it myself, but I make such a mess when I sew ."
爸爸付钱买下裤子，回家去了。他问妈妈：“你可不可以赶在明天野餐之前帮我把新裤子扦一下裤边呢？只需要裁掉拇指那么长就行了。我本来想自己动手的，不过我每次做针线活儿都会弄得一团糟。”
Mama said, "Can"t you see how busy I am? If we"re going to have a picnic, first I must bake the cakes. Then I must cut tomatoes and cucumbers for the salad."
妈妈回答道：“你没看见我有多忙吗？咱们要去野餐的话，我得先把蛋糕烤好，还得把番茄和黄瓜切好，这样才能做蔬菜沙拉。”
I can see how busy you are. Papa sighed. "I"ll ask Nina."
“我知道你有多忙了，”爸爸叹了口气，“那我去问问尼娜吧。”
He found his oldest daughter going out the door with her satchel . "Nina, can you shorten my pants for tomorrow? They need to be cut only the length of a thumb."
他看见大女儿正背着书包向门外走去。“尼娜，你可以帮爸爸把裤子改短一点吗？我明天穿。只需要剪掉拇指那么长就行了。”
Oh, Papa, Nina said, "look at this list Mama gave me. First I must go to the baker"s and order fresh pita for tomorrow. Then I must buy drinks at the grocery store. Ask one of the twins."
“噢，爸爸，”尼娜说，“看看妈妈给我的购物清单。我得先去面包店为明天的野餐预订一些新鲜的空心圆面包，接着还要去杂货店买饮料。你让双胞胎中的哪个帮你弄一下吧。”
The twins were in their bedroom. Margot was braiding Becky"s hair.
双胞胎在她们的卧室里，玛戈正在给贝姬编辫子。
Can one of you fix my pants for the picnic? asked Papa. "They need to be shortened only the length of a thumb."
“你们谁能帮爸爸扦一下裤边吗？我明天要穿去野餐，”爸爸问道，“只需要裁掉拇指那么长就行了。”
We want to look pretty for the picnic, Becky said. "When Margot finishes my hair, I"m going to braid hers."
“我们正在为明天的野餐梳妆打扮呢，”贝姬说，“玛戈帮我编好辫子以后，我还要帮她编呢。”
Max tugged at his father"s sleeve. "Let me shorten them. I know what to do."
马克斯拽了拽爸爸的袖子。“让我裁吧，我知道该怎么弄。”
Nonsense, said Papa, laughing. You"re too little."
“胡说，”爸爸笑着说，“你还太小呐。”
Papa was disappointed he wouldn"t be able to wear his new pants to the picnic. He went outside to water the garden.
爸爸不能穿着新裤子去野餐了，他感到很失望，就到外面给花圃浇水去了。
Max lifted the pants off the hook. I"ll show Papa that I"m not too young. After measuring the length of his thumb, Max cut a purple strip from each leg. Snip, snip. Then he folded the cut edges inside and stitched them with thread from Mama"s sewing box. When Max hung the pants back on the hook in Papa"s bedroom, he thought they looked as good as new.
马克斯把爸爸的裤子从挂衣钩上取了下来。我要向爸爸证明自己并不小。他先用拇指量了一下长度，然后从每条裤腿上剪下一块紫色布料。咔嚓，咔嚓。接着他把剪好的裤边折进去，从妈妈的针线盒里拿出针线把它们缝好。当马克斯重新把裤子挂回爸爸卧室里的挂衣钩上时，他觉得这条裤子看起来就像新买的一样好。
Papa is going to think we"re selfish, Margot said to her sister. "Why don"t we take a rest from this braiding? You hem one leg, and I"ll hem the other."
“爸爸会觉得咱们很自私，”玛戈对妹妹说，“要不咱俩先别编辫子了，一人负责缝一条裤腿怎么样？”
Becky agreed.
贝姬同意了。
Each girl measured the length of her thumb. Snip, snip. Off came a purple strip from the left leg. Snip, snip. Off came a strip from the right. They folded the rough edges under and, with purple thread from the sewing box, hemmed the pants.
她俩每人都用拇指量好长度。咔嚓，咔嚓。一条紫色布料从左边裤腿上掉了下来。咔嚓，咔嚓。又一条紫色布料从右边裤腿上掉了下来。她们把参差不齐的裤边折进去，从针线盒中取出紫色的线把裤边缝好。
Don"t say a word! said Becky. "It will be a surprise."
“一个字都不许说哦！”贝姬说，“这是一个惊喜。”
When Nina came home from shopping, the pants were back on their hook. I hope Papa didn"t think I was rude, rushing off like that. I can fix them now. Nina measured the length of her thumb. Snip, snip. When she finished hemming the pants, she returned them to Papa"s room.
当尼娜采购完回到家时，裤子又重新被挂回了衣钩上。尼娜想，刚刚我急匆匆地就跑了，希望爸爸不会觉得我很没礼貌，现在我有时间缝裤边了。尼娜用拇指比划了一下。咔嚓，咔嚓。她把裤边缝好以后，又把裤子放回了爸爸的房间。
After everyone had gone to sleep, Mama put the last of the food in the refrigerator. She sat down to rest. Poor Papa, she thought. I"ll fix those pants so he can wear them tomorrow. She snipped and stitched until the job was done.
大家都睡了，妈妈把准备好的最后一部分野餐放进冰箱，这才坐下来休息。可怜的爸爸，她心想，我帮他把裤子改改吧，范文，这样他明天就能穿了。妈妈剪剪缝缝，直到把裤子改好。
When Papa woke up in the morning, he saw his new pants and sighed. Maybe no one will notice they"re a bit too long, he thought. He pulled the pants on. What"s going on here? He wondered. The family found him standing in front of the mirror.
爸爸早上醒来看到自己的新裤子，叹了口气。他想，也许没人会注意到这裤子有点儿长吧。他穿上了新裤子。可现在这是怎么回事呢？爸爸很纳闷。全家人都看见爸爸站在镜子前面。
Papa, what happened to your pants? everyone asked.
“爸爸，你的裤子是怎么回事儿呀？”大家都问他。
I just took off a bit, Max said.
“我只剪短了一点点。”马克斯说。
You? Papa asked us to shorten them, the twins said.
“你？爸爸叫我俩改来着。”双胞胎说。
You also shortened them? said Nina. "So did I."
“你们也把这条裤子改短了？”尼娜问，“我也改了呀。”
And so did I! Mama said, suppressing a laugh.
“还有我！”妈妈补充道，忍着没笑出声来。
Oh, Papa, what will you do? Nina cried. "We can"t make them longer."
“噢，爸爸，那你要怎么办呢？”尼娜大声喊道，“我们也没法把裤子改长了呀。”
Papa laughed so hard that tears rolled down his cheeks. When at last he could speak, he said, "Nobody wanted to disappoint me. What a great family I have."
爸爸笑得眼泪都顺着脸颊流下来了。等他终于止住笑可以说话时，他说：“你们每个人都不想让我失望，我拥有一个多么棒的家庭呀！”
Wait, said Margot. "I have an idea. If everyone helps, we can have those pants ready in time."
“等等，”玛戈说，“我有一个主意。如果大家都来帮忙的话，我们还来得及把裤子改好。”
Max ran for the sewing basket. The twins measured and cut. Mama hemmed the left leg, Nina the right. When they finished sewing, Mama said, "Go try on your new shorts."
马克斯跑去拿针线筐，双胞胎量尺寸做裁剪，妈妈给左边的裤腿缝边，尼娜负责右边。两人把裤子缝好后，妈妈对爸爸说：“快去试试你的新短裤。”
Papa went into the bedroom to put them on, then came back out.
爸爸走进卧室把短裤换上，然后走了出来。
Max said, "Shorts are great to wear to a picnic."
马克斯说：“穿短裤去野餐才合适呢。”
Perfect, Papa agreed.
“简直是太完美了！”爸爸表示赞同。
(By Lila Julius)
