Max冬冬

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. I get up early.
I wonder what I should wear. I look through all of my favorite clothes.
Oh! I have new school clothes. I get dressed.
I have pencils and notepaper.
I have a new backpack to carry everything.
I am ready for my first day of school.
But first I must eat. Mom makes my favorite breakfast.
Pancakes, syrup, and one gooey egg. Yummy!
After I eat, I brush my teeth.
Now I am ready to catch the bus.
I wait and I wait. Maybe the bus left without me.
“No,” says Mom. “There it is. You’re right on time.”
I have a new classroom.
I have a new desk.
Now it is time to get to work.
First we do addition.
Miss Kitty calls on me.
Five! I got that one. Mom helped me with my math.
It is time for lunch. We walk to the cafeteria. I have a special lunch that Mom made just for me.
I hope Mom put a surprise in my lunch.
Boy, am I surprised!
We play at recess. First I swing.
Then I crawl.
I climb the monkey bars.
We play tag. No one can catch me.
The bell rings to go inside.
And I was winning, too!
We build famous buildings. I make the Empire State Building.
Oops! I just knocked down the Eiffel Tower. Sorry!
In art class, Miss Kitty asks us to draw a picture of something we did over the summer break.
I draw a picture of Dad and me in a sailboat.
The bell rings. Time to go already?
That was a fun first day of school. I can’t wait for tomorrow!

A Day When Everything Went Wrong
英文创作：冬冬 中文翻译：冬爸

It was a frosty morning, Sunday, I think.
I woke up with a drowsy blink.
And I saw a book
That was pink.
I bent down to pick it up, well, what would I do?
Out of nowhere into the window a bird flew!
It knocked over my bookshelf and table,
And my spaceship nightlight, too!
The bird flew away as fast as could be,
And made little chirping sounds as if saying, “tee-hee!”
I picked up a rock from my private collection
And said to myself, “Hey, I’ll shoot thee!”
The little bird flew away,
And I picked up my book, and thus started my day.
I was putting on my spotted shirt,
When I found out on it stuck a piece of blue clay.
I got rid of it and ran to the sink—
The little white one that was stained with ink.
But I turned the faucet a little too hard,
And, boy, I had a drink!
There was water in one ear,
For now it couldn’t hear!
And it would take some time to get the water out.
That was what I did fear.
For breakfast we made great food,
And after breakfast I went into the wood,
I had a bad sprain in the trees,
And now I was in a bad mood.
We spent the afternoon at the pier,
And twilight was here.
Just then I fell into the lake,
But I didn’t drop a tear!
Finally it was time for bed,
The painful memories would soon only be in my head.
And now if you meet a guy who’s had a day like me,
This story ought to keep them fed.

乱糟糟的一天

那是一个霜冻的早晨，
我记得是一个星期天。
睁开惺忪的睡眼，
一本粉红色的小书映入眼帘。
我弯腰捡起书本，（也不知自己要做甚），
突然，一只小鸟破窗而入，从天降临。
它撞上了书架，撞上了书桌，
又撞上了我航天飞船彩色的眼！
小鸟迅速起飞，
似乎在说，“呵呵，嘿嘿”。
我从私人珍藏里抓起一个石块，
心里说着：“看看，我要揍谁?！”
小鸟快速逃离,
我拿起书本，新的一天就这样开启。
我穿上一件带点点的衬衣，
却发现上面有一块蓝色的泥。
我弄掉泥巴，走近厨房里的洗碗池，
白白的洗碗池上却有着墨水的痕迹。
我打开水龙头，嗯，有点太用力，
天啊，水花溅了我一身，让我措手不及。
水花飞进
一只耳朵，这会儿它一点也听不见。
要把水弄出来真的需要不少时间，
这的确让我有点担心。
美美地吃完一顿早餐，
尔后来到一片树林。
脚踝扭伤，行走不便
这下真的有点伤心。
码头上消磨了午后时光，
很快迎来了华灯初上。
一不小心坠入湖中，
可我并没有泪波荡漾。
终于到了就寝的时间，
痛苦的经历只属于我一个人。
如果您偶遇一位和我一样的倒霉蛋儿，
我的故事一定会让他感到同病相怜。

It’s Easter, Little Critter

“Wake up!” Little Sister and I shouted.
“It’s Easter, Mom and Dad!”
We ran downstairs.
The Easter bunny brought us baskets and a big surprise.
It was a real bunny. Little Sister named him Egg.
“Happy Easter, Egg!” I said.
After breakfast, Little Sister and I helped make an Easter basket for Grandma and Grandpa. I tested the jellybeans to make sure they were okay.
I made a special card just for Grandma.
Egg wiggled his nose because he thought my card was funny.
Then we put on our brand-new Easter outfits.
I got dressed all by myself.
I even did my tie just like Dad!
When we got to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, we decorated Easter eggs. “I’m going to make a special Easter egg just for you, Grandpa!” I said.
I held the egg really carefully, but eggs are kind of slippery, you know.
Coloring Easter eggs is fun!
Finally, it was time. “May the great Easter egg hunt begin!” Grandpa yelled.
Little Sister found the most Easter eggs.
But I found the most special egg of all. Hi, little chickie!
I realized I hadn’t seen my bunny in a while. “Where’s Egg?” I asked.
Everyone looked all over for Egg…
…but we couldn’t find him anywhere.
Finally, I found him.
He had made a new bunny friend!
Then we all sat down to Easter dinner. “Happy Easter, everyone!” I said. It was the most fun Easter yet.

英语创作：冬冬 汉语翻译：冬爸

The Black Sheep Who Never Sleep

In the drowsy little meadow, where the breeze blew,
There were some black sheep, well, twenty-two.
They hopped, they jumped, they did some cartwheels,
And sometimes they flew!
They had a problem, the sheep,
From birth to death, they never did sleep!
The little black creatures, with their eyes wide open,
Could drive a car and make the horn go beep!
One fine day,
A young sheep, called May,
Yelled aloud,
"Look at the bay!
The beautiful ships and sails and more!
The travelers trade money for items galore!
But look at us!
On this hill, with nothing but a horn!"
May thought they should change a bit,
The first rule: stay fit.
So the sheep must work out all day,
Or get thrown in a pit!
They would jump and run,
But they didn't think it's fun.
They thought it's torture,
So they said, "We're done!"
May was thinking,
She was also blinking.
When she finally thought up a plan,
Her eyelids were clinking!
Then on some hay she fell.
Well, she slept, and she slept well.
She slept for ten hours straight.
She woke up, and in her head rang a bell.
She said, "All of us, us cute little sheep,
Shall lie on the hay and sleep
For ten hours straight,
And not make a peep!"
So that's what they did,
And farewell I bid,
For I've told you the story
Of how the sheep closed their eyelids.


从来不睡觉的黑羊

懒洋洋的草地上，微风轻拂，
这里住着22只黑羊，我来数一数。
忽而蹦着跳着，忽而翻着筋斗，
忽而又迅若奔雷，动若脱兔。
可是，有一个问题让他们心堵，
从生到死，不知道睡眠为何物！
这些小黑家伙，睁着大大的眼睛，
个个都会开车，只听喇叭按得“嘟嘟嘟嘟”。
在一个晴朗的一天，
小羊“美眉”高声呼喊：
“快瞧，快瞧，
前面的港湾！
美丽的船只，白白的船帆，
游人拿着银子把东西兑换。
再看看我们，啥也没有，
除了小喇叭，就是这小山。”
“美眉”心想，不能老是这样：
第一个改变，就是要保持健康！
小羊们从此都天天锻炼，
否则，就要给扔进土坑，出来无望。
他们蹦啊跳啊，跑个没完，
可在他们眼里一点都不好玩，
于是，便说：“就此打住！”
因为这简直就像折磨一般！
“美眉”的大脑开始运转，
大大的眼睛忽闪忽闪。
两只眼皮很快开始打架，
一个妙计却浮出水面！
她倒在了一堆干草上面，
很快进入了深度睡眠。
这一觉睡了10个钟头，
醒来后，大脑里的灯泡突然来电。
于是，她说：“可爱的羊们，
快躺在草上，快快入眠！
要睡就睡上10 个钟头，
谁也不准、不准睁眼！”
小羊们就这样坠入了睡眠！
我也要跟大家说声再见，
因为我已经把故事从头讲完，
你知道小羊们是如何闭上了眼帘。

Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is just around the corner.

Little Sister and I go to the clubhouse to make special cards for mom.

Mom asks, “What are you doing?”

We say, “Nothing. We’re just going to the clubhouse to play.”

Little Sister collects flowers from Mom’s garden.

I collect great rocks and sticks that I just know Mom will love.

Little Sister makes a nice card.

I start to make a card. But my stuff won’t stay glued.

I just draw a picture instead.

Dad takes Little Sister and me to the mall. We find great Mother’s Day presents.

I find some hand cream. It comes out really fast!

Little Sister finds a dress and jewelry for Mom.

"Dad, these hats fly far!” I say.

Oops! We bought the hat, too.

It’s Mother’s Day.

Mom gets to sleep late. But we can’t wait to surprise her.

I call, “Hey, Mom, look at the presents we got for you!”

She is so happy.

Little Sister makes a tray for Mom.

Dad has a cup of coffee.

I’m making scrambled eggs.

Wow! They sure are scrambled now.

We get dressed. Little Sister and I will help Mom. We will clean up the den.

Little Sister dusts everything and I clean the curtains.

"Mom, I need some help in here.”

We will take Mom to a fancy restaurant for lunch, but right now she is too busy.

We are waiting for Grandma and Grandpa. They are coming also.

Mom had a busy day. She looks a little tired.

She fell asleep. Mom just got too excited.

After Mom has a nap, we order pizza instead. Mom wants to rest on Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom and Grandma!

Happy Halloween, Little Critter

It’s Halloween and Little Sister and I are going to a spooky Halloween party.
The party is at a haunted house.
I knock on the door.
It creaks open.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
“Boo!” says the ghost.
“Happy Halloween, Tiger!”
We bob for apples. I pick one up when suddenly a mean, green monster crashes into me.
“MOAN! GROAN!” says the monster.
“Happy Halloween, Malcolm!”
A witch in a pointed black hat hands me a cup of witch’s brew. “Eye of worm, hair of snake, chewed-up gum, spider cake. Dash of slime, toe of bug…
…drink this up or be a SLUG!”
“Happy Halloween, Gabby!”
It is time to carve pumpkins. I give mine a creepy mouth and lots of teeth.
Uh-oh, here comes a mummy. The mummy reaches out to grab me. “Aaahhh!” I scream.
“Happy Halloween, Gator!”
We play Pin the Broom on the Witch. I go first. I close my eyes and pin my broom…right on the witch’s head.
A dragon comes creeping up behind me. It opens its great big mouth and I see all of its pointy, sharp teeth.
The dragon roars. “ROAR!”
“Happy Halloween, Maurice and Molly!”
There is a skeleton who is eating spiders.
The skeleton comes closer and closer.
It shoves the plate of spiders at me.
Clank, clank go the skeleton’s bones…
“Happy Halloween, Bun Bun!”
We play Catch the Ghost. I am it. I close my eyes. “Five, four, three, two, one… ready or not, here I come!” I say.
I open my eyes. It is very dark. There are lots of noises.
Clank! Moan! Boo! Roar!
Suddenly, the lights go on.
“Happy Halloween, Little Critter!” say all my friends.

Just a Day at the Pond
I went to Grandma and Grandpa’s to spend a day at the pond. Little Sister came, too. Mom and Dad were going shopping. They would pick us up later.
Little Sister went with Grandma to make a picnic lunch.
I went to the shed to pick out some fishing poles with Grandpa.
Grandpa put a wagon on the big tractor for us to ride to the pond. I drove, but not by myself.
We picked a great picnic spot. Little Sister wanted to go swimming, but I wanted to go fishing first.
I put a worm on the hook. It was slimy.
I waited and waited for a fish to bite my worm.
Suddenly…
…something was tugging on my fishing line. It was pulling me into the water.
“Help, Grandpa,” I yelled.
Then the line broke. I thought it was a shark, but it was just a turtle.
Little Sister was swimming with Grandma. “Teach me to swim, Grandpa,” I said.
I ran to the waters edge, but then I changed my mind.
I wanted to catch frogs instead.
I found a bunch of frogs.
I snuck up on them very quietly.
But the frogs were too fast.
I was all muddy.
Grandma had to pour a million buckets of water over me.
“Oh, look!” she said. “Little Sister is swimming so well with Grandpa.”
I could swim if I wanted to, but I decided to explore instead. I found a good hiking stick.
I found a hole in the ground. I stuck my hiking stick into it. Something made a buzzing sound.
It was ground bees. I ran as fast as I could.
Grandpa came and got me. We jumped into the pond and the bees went away.
I was floating. I kicked my feet…
…and paddled my arms as fast as I could. I was swimming with Grandpa.
I swam with Grandma and Little Sister, too.
“Wow, Grandpa,” I said. “I guess I can swim after all.”

Grandma, Grandpa and Me

Tonight I am sleeping over at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
I brought lots of fun toys for Grandma and Grandpa to play with.
I got to sleep in a big bed all by myself…until it started to thunder and lightning.
Then Grandma and Grandpa wanted me to sleep with them, because they don’t like thunderstorms.
We woke up really early, because Grandma and I were going to make a pie to enter in a contest at the Country Fair. We had lots to do to get ready.
First, I helped Grandpa milk the cows. I held the bucket really tight, but the milk spilled a little.
Then I went to the henhouse to get some eggs. “Hello, hens!” I said.
“Cluck! Cluck!” went the hens. That’s how hens say hello, you know.
After that, Grandma and I picked blueberries. I filled up my whole basket—well, almost.
I had to eat some to make sure they were good enough to put in our pie.
Then it was time to make the pie. First, we made the crust. I showed Grandma how to stir up all the ingredients with a big spoon.
Then I rolled out the dough. It’s kind of sticky, so you have to be really careful.
After that we mixed the blueberries with sugar and filled the crust. Then we put it in the oven to bake.
Finally, I helped Grandma mix the eggs and milk to make her special cream topping.
“Please add lots of my secret ingredient,” Grandma said.
“Where is it?” I asked.
Grandma pointed to her heart. She told me that lots of love makes a pie taste really good.
At last, it was time to go to the Country Fair. Hooray! First, we went to the pie-judging booth to drop off the pie. I carried it the whole way all by myself.
Then Grandpa and I played Ring Toss and I won a prize!
We went to the Fun House.
After that, Grandpa played a game to test his strength. I had to help him a little.
Then it was time for the pie-judging contest. The judges tasted all the pies, and I tasted them, too. Guess who won?
Grandma! She gave me the blue ribbon for being such a good helper. I told Grandma I knew our pie would taste best, because it had the most love in it.
When we got home, we all flew the kite I won. We had a really fun day, Grandma, Grandpa, and me!

It’s Earth Day
Today we learned all about Earth Day. It is a special day. It is when we celebrate our planet.
We watched a movie about the Earth’s climate. Climate is how hot or cold it usually is outside. The Earth is getting hotter and the ice at the North
Pole is melting!
That’s where the polar bears live. Yikes! I have to help slow down the melting.
“Dad!” I asked. “What can we do to stop the ice from melting?”
“Let’s find out,” he said.
It turns out that the energy we use doing everyday things like driving cars and watching TV are making the Earth warmer.
“We have to save energy,” I said. I turned off the computer and all the lights as fast as I could to save energy.
“Be careful, Dad,” I said.
The next morning, when Little Sister was brushing her teeth, I turned the faucet off.
“Saving water helps the polar bears,” I said.
I didn’t want to take the school bus the next morning. But Mom said, “The bus saves energy because all the moms and dads don’t have to drive their cars.”
Good thinking, Mom.
After school, my friends and I collected cans, bottles, and newspapers, and then took them to the recycling center. We put the money we earned in a big jar to give to a Critterville charity called We Love Polar Bears.
The next day was Earth Day. Our whole class went to the park to plant trees. Trees are good for the Earth. They help suck up bad stuff in the air.
It was hard work.
“Come on, guys,” I said. “Do it for the Earth and for the polar bears!”
Our teacher thought I should dig smaller holes.
We made signs that said: REDUCE! REUSE! RECYCLE!
Then we put the signs up everywhere to remind everyone how they can help, too.
That night I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the kitchen for a snack. Then I saw a little sign that said: CLIMATE CONTROL.
“That’s it!” I yelled. “I know how to save the polar bears! I have to change the climate!”
The next morning, I got right to work. I made a list just like Mom would go.
Next, I drew up the plans just like Dad.
Little Sister helped collect everything on the list. The most important thing was ice. We needed lots of ice.
I put all the parts together.
“What is it?” Mom asked.
“It’s a Climate Control Machine,” I answered. “It will cool down the Earth and save the polar bears.”
“How does it work?” asked Mom.
“Well,” I said, “the fan blows air over the ice and makes the Earth’s air cooler and keeps the ice at the North Pole from melting. And that will save the polar bears.”
I put a thermometer on top. I waited for the Climate Control Machine to start working. But my ice kept melting so I had to borrow ice from everyone in my neighborhood.
I worked very hard all day long, but the temperature stayed the same. Finally, after it became dark, it got colder. Hooray!
But the next morning, the temperature went back up.
“The Climate Control Machine doesn’t work,” I said. “It will never save the polar bears.”
“That’s’ not true,” said Dad. “Because of what we learned, I turn off my computer at night. Little Sister turns off my computer at night. Little Sister turns off the water when she brushes her teeth. And we all turn off the lights when we leave the room.”
Then Dad added, “You and your friends collected bottles, cans, and newspapers to recycle. You also planted trees for fresh clean air.”
But the next morning, the temperature went back up.
“The Climate Control Machine doesn’t work,” I said. “It will never save the polar bears.”
“That’s not true,” said Dad. “Because of what we learned, I turn off my computer at night. Little Sister turns off the water when she brushes her teeth. And we all turn off the lights when we leave the room.”
Then Dad added, “You and your friends collected bottles, cans, and newspapers to recycle. You also planted trees for fresh clean air.”
That made me think.
“Wow,” I said. “We are all Climate Control Machines because everything we do can help save the Earth! Don’t forget the polar bears.”

Just a Big Storm

A storm was coming. We saw dark clouds and lightning in the distance.
“Let’s check the weather channel,” said Mom.
The weather critter said, “A big storm with lightning, rain, and hail will pass right over Critterville.”
“We better get ready for anything,” Dad said.
“We may lose power.” Dad checked all the flashlights.
Little Sister and I got water in buckets for the toilet.
We put up a sign that read, “Remember: Pour water in tank before you flush.”
We filled up pots at the sink for drinking water.
We put a sign on the fridge: “Do not open.”
Then we rescued stuff from our yard.
The wind began to blow. It blew harder and harder. It began to rain, too.
I saw our neighbor’s garbage can fly right past our window.
Suddenly, the power went out. It was getting dark and we couldn’t turn on a light.
Mom and Dad got out our battery-powered lanterns, and everyone had their very own flashlight.
The wind was cold, so Dad built a fire in the woodstove. We made knots out of newspaper to start the fire.
We found an old phone in the closet and plugged it into the wall.
Did you know old phones work sometimes when you have no power?
I called some of my friends. They didn’t have any power either.
I asked Mom and Dad if I could have everyone come over for a sleepover.
Mom and Dad said, “No.” That didn’t seem fair.
We baked potatoes in the woodstove and made grilled cheese with a pie iron. I was careful and didn’t touch the hot stove.
We played board games by lantern light.
“This is just like camping,” I said.
We got sleeping bags and all slept on the living room floor. Dad told ghost stories.
There was lots of thunder and lightning. I wasn’t scared. I snuggled real close to Mom, just in case.
We couldn’t sleep. Mom read a book to us. Dad fell asleep first.
When we woke up, our power was back on. We saw the power company critters working on the electrical poles.
That was neat.
I was sad that it was all over, but Mom and Dad were happy. They said they wanted to take showers. Why would they want to do that?
Our phone rang. It was Grandma and Grandpa. They were worried about us.
“Grandma, it wasn’t so bad,” I said. “It was just a big storm.”