“最棒小孩”，該你上場

不要因為羨慕別人的生活而對自己所擁有的視而不見，比如親人和朋友。學會珍惜這些幸福，哪怕是微小的瞬間，你，就會是最棒的那一個。

On the first day of school， Tiffany's teacher told the class， \"Every one of you will have a turn to be the Terrific Kid of the Day!\"

All year， Terrific Kids celebrated their special days in special ways， but Tiffany hoped her turn would never come.

When Benjy was the Terrific Kid， his Aunt Sarah taught the class how to draw funny cartoon faces. Tiffany didn't have any aunts who drew cartoons. She didn't have any aunts at all.

When Kenyatta was the Terrific Kid， his twin baby sisters came to school. Tiffany didn't have baby sisters or brothers to play with the kids in her class. She didn't have sisters or brothers at all.

When Curtis's turn arrived， he pinned photos of his family and pets on his Terrific Kid bulletin board. His family came to school. Curtis's mom baked brownies. Curtis's father was a gardener and gave every child a tiny buttercup1) plant. Curtis's uncle and grandmother taught the class the Spanish song \"De Colores\". Tiffany didn't have a dad who gardened or an uncle or grandmother who sang Spanish songs. She didn't have a dad or uncle or grandmother at all.

After school that day， Tiffany walked to the library for Story Hour. Mrs. Kaplan， the children's librarian， greeted Tiffany with a bright smile. \"Today's story is about your favorite animal， Tiffany!\"

A dog story! Tiffany loved dogs， but wasn't allowed to have pets.

\"Will you work the puppet while I read the story?\" Mrs. Kaplan asked Tiffany.

The little black and white dog puppet felt soft and cuddly2). Tiffany's nimble3) fingers flipped the puppet's floppy4) black ears while Mrs. Kaplan read the story.

After Story Hour， Tiffany waited until 7:00 for her mom to pick her up. Her mother was tired after such a long day at work.

\"We'll stop at Tico Tony's tonight， sweetie，\" her mother said.

\"Yum!\" Tiffany replied. Tico Tony's tacos5) were Tiffany's favorite treats.

As Tiffany and her mom reached their building， Mrs. Washington waved from the apartment next door. She liked to be called Granny. Sometimes Tiffany pretended that Mrs. Washington was her real grandmother.

\"How about a big Tiffany Hug?\" called Mrs. Washington.

Footsteps danced and echoed through the hall. DeShawn bounced toward them. He lived two apartments down.

\"Yo， Tiffany! Give me a high five6)!\" He tried to slap Tiffany's hand.

\"Too slow， down below!\" Tiffany laughed. They slapped hands upside down.

That night， Tiffany turned and tossed under her blanket. She kept thinking about being a Terrific Kid. Almost all the kids in her class had taken a turn. \"I hope my turn never comes，\" Tiffany prayed. \"And if I am picked， I hope I get sick. Amen!\"

Sure enough， Tiffany's turn came. When she told Mrs. Kaplan that the next day was her turn to be the Terrific Kid， she had tears in her eyes.

When Tiffany's mom arrived， Mrs. Kaplan asked her into her office to chat while Tiffany waited.

On the way home， Tiffany and her mom stopped for tacos. Tico Tony noticed Tiffany's sad face. \"Hey， Tiffany! What's up?\" Tico Tony listened while Tiffany told him about her dreaded Terrific Kid day. \"We think you're a Terrific Kid.\" He smiled. \"So stop worrying， kiddo!\" He winked knowingly at her mother.

That night， Tiffany's mom stayed up late baking oatmeal7) cookies. Tiffany packed her magazine pictures of puppies with her Raggedy Ann doll8). Then， the dreaded9) day arrived. Tiffany walked slowly to school with her mom. Her Terrific Kid day wouldn't be terrific. Just oatmeal cookies， puppy pictures， and a doll.

When Tiffany and her mom got to her classroom， there was a sign on the door. It said \"Tiffany Brown—Terrific Kid of the Day\".

Tiffany's eyes grew round. She could not believe such nice words. Everyone clapped when Tiffany and her mom came into the room. Tiffany tacked10) up her puppy pictures. Just then there was a knock at the door.

\"Is this the room of Tiffany Brown， Terrific Kid of the Day?\" asked a voice.

\"It certainly is，\" her teacher called. \"Won't you come in?\"

Tiffany's heart leaped when she saw Mrs. Kaplan， Tico Tony， Granny Washington， and DeShawn walk into the room.

\"We came to honor our friend on her special day，\" Mrs. Kaplan said.

Tiffany helped Tico Tony give out delicious tacos. Mrs. Kaplan read Tiffany's favorite dog story while Tiffany moved the dog puppet. Granny Washington showed the kids how to make cat's cradles with string. DeShawn and Tiffany taught the kids a hip-hop dance. Tiffany's mom's oatmeal cookies were a hit.

\"Good cookies and an awesome dance!\" Curtis said.

\"You have a great family of friends，\" Kenyatta said.

Tiffany couldn't stop smiling. Her teacher stood in front of the room. \"I'm so lucky to have a class full of Terrific Kids! Always keep celebrating yourselves and each other!\"

開學第一天，蒂法尼的老師就向全班宣布：“你們每個人都將輪流做一次‘今日最棒小孩’！”

一年以來，“最棒小孩”都用獨特的方式慶祝了這個屬于他們的特殊日子，但蒂法尼卻希望永遠不要輪到她。

班吉做“最棒小孩”時，他的薩拉姨媽教全班同學畫有趣的卡通人臉。蒂法尼沒有會畫卡通畫的姨媽。她根本就沒有姨媽。

肯雅塔做“最棒小孩”時，他那還是嬰兒的雙胞胎妹妹來到了學校。蒂法尼既沒有小嬰兒妹妹也沒有小嬰兒弟弟可以帶來和班里其他孩子玩。她根本就沒有弟弟妹妹。

輪到柯蒂斯當“最棒小孩”時，他把家人和寵物的照片釘在了他的“最棒小孩”布告牌上，然后全家人來了學校。柯蒂斯的媽媽烤了布朗尼蛋糕。柯蒂斯的爸爸是一個園丁，他送給了每個小朋友一小株金鳳花。柯蒂斯的叔叔和奶奶教全班小朋友唱了一首西班牙歌曲《多姿多彩》。蒂法尼沒有當園丁的爸爸也沒有會唱西班牙歌曲的叔叔或奶奶。她根本就沒有爸爸、叔叔或奶奶。

那一天放學后，蒂法尼走去圖書館上故事課。孩子們的圖書管理員卡普蘭夫人笑得一臉燦爛，歡迎蒂法尼到來。“今天的故事是關于你最喜歡的動物的哦，蒂法尼！”

是一個關于小狗的故事！蒂法尼非常喜歡小狗，可是媽媽不準她養寵物。

“我講故事的時候你拿著小狗玩偶配合我好嗎？”卡普蘭夫人問蒂法尼。

這是一只黑白相間的小狗玩偶，摸起來軟軟的，抱著非常舒服。卡普蘭夫人講故事的時候，蒂法尼就用她那靈巧的手指歡快地翻動著小狗玩偶那對耷拉著的黑色耳朵。

故事課上完了，蒂法尼就在圖書館等著，直到七點媽媽才來接她。工作了一整天之后，媽媽非常疲憊。

“寶貝，今晚我們到蒂科·托尼的店里停一下買點吃的。”媽媽說。

“太好了！”蒂法尼回答。蒂科·托尼店里的墨西哥玉米卷是她最喜歡的美食。

蒂法尼和媽媽到家時，她看見華盛頓夫人在隔壁公寓朝她們揮手。華盛頓夫人喜歡別人叫她“奶奶”。有時候，蒂法尼假裝華盛頓夫人真的就是她奶奶。

“來個大大的蒂法尼擁抱吧？” 華盛頓夫人大聲喊道。

這時，走廊里傳來一陣歡快的腳步聲，德肖恩一蹦一跳地朝她們跑來。他住在樓下，他家比蒂法尼家低兩層。

“嗨，蒂法尼！擊個掌吧！”他舉起手來想要和蒂法尼擊掌。

“太慢了，在下面呢！”蒂法尼大笑。他倆指尖朝下擊了一掌。

那天晚上，蒂法尼蓋著毯子翻來覆去地睡不著。她一直在想做“最棒小孩”的事兒。她班上幾乎所有的孩子都輪過了。“我希望永遠不要輪到我，”蒂法尼祈禱，“如果真選到我了，希望我會生病。阿門！”

果然不出所料，很快就輪到蒂法尼做“最棒小孩”了。當她告訴卡普蘭夫人第二天要輪到她做“最棒小孩”時，她的眼睛里閃爍著淚光。

蒂法尼的媽媽到學校后，卡普蘭夫人請她到她的辦公室里聊了聊，蒂法尼等在外面。

回家的路上，蒂法尼和媽媽又停下來買墨西哥玉米卷吃。蒂科·托尼注意到蒂法尼愁容滿面。“嗨，蒂法尼！出什么事兒了嗎？”蒂科·托尼靜靜地聽著蒂法尼向他傾訴她是多么害怕做“最棒小孩”。“可我們覺得你就是‘最棒小孩’啊！”他微笑著說，“所以，別擔心了，小家伙！”他會心地朝蒂法尼的媽媽眨了眨眼睛。

那天晚上，蒂法尼的媽媽做了很多燕麥餅干，忙到很晚才睡。蒂法尼把她從雜志上剪下來的各種小狗圖片還有她的破爛娃娃都裝到了包里。然后，恐怖的日子終于到了。蒂法尼和媽媽一起往學校走，走得很慢很慢。她的“最棒小孩”日不會出彩。只有燕麥餅干、小狗圖片和一個布娃娃。

當蒂法尼和媽媽走到教室門口時，她看到教室門上貼了一張紙條，紙條上寫著“蒂法尼·布朗——今日最棒小孩”。

蒂法尼的眼睛都瞪圓了。她簡直不敢相信這么棒的詞兒用在了她的身上。當蒂法尼和媽媽走進教室時，每個人都鼓起了掌。蒂法尼拿出她的小狗圖片，把它們一張一張釘到布告牌上。就在這時，有人敲門。

“這是今日‘最棒小孩’——蒂法尼·布朗的教室嗎？ ”一個聲音問道。

“當然是啦，”她的老師喊道，“請進來吧！”

當蒂法尼看見卡普蘭夫人、蒂科·托尼、華盛頓奶奶和德肖恩挨個走進房間時，她的心怦怦直跳。

“今天對我們的朋友來說是一個特別的日子，我們是來為她慶祝的。”卡普蘭夫人說。

蒂科·托尼帶來了好吃的墨西哥玉米卷，蒂法尼幫著他把美食分給大家。卡普蘭夫人給大家講蒂法尼最喜歡的小狗的故事，蒂法尼則在一旁拿著小狗玩偶比劃著。華盛頓奶奶教孩子們怎樣用細繩子給小貓織一個搖籃。德肖恩則和蒂法尼一起教孩子們跳了一段街舞。蒂法尼媽媽做的燕麥餅干也大受歡迎。

“餅干真好吃，街舞也棒極了！” 柯蒂斯說。

“你有好大一幫朋友啊！”肯雅塔說。

蒂法尼不禁露出了微笑。她的老師站在教室前面說：“我們班的每個孩子都是‘最棒小孩’，我很幸運教我們班！今后你們也一定要經常贊美自己和你身邊的人！”

1.buttercup [?b?t?k?p] n. 毛茛屬植物；金鳳花

2.cuddly [?k?dli] adj. (動物玩具)毛茸茸的，柔軟的，很適合抱的

3.nimble [?n?mbl] adj. 靈活的，靈巧的

4.floppy [?fl?pi] adj. <口>下垂的

5.taco [?t?k??] n. (碎肉、干酪、豆子等作餡的)墨西哥煎玉米卷

6.high five: <美口> (運動員等相互間致意用的)舉手擊掌

7.oatmeal [???tmi?l] n. 燕麥粉；燕麥片

8.Raggedy Ann doll: 破爛娃娃。始于1915年，原創者是美國人Johnny Gruelle，他在女兒拿來的一個破舊布娃娃臉上畫上了新的臉龐，并稱其為Raggedy Ann。

9.dreaded [?dred?d] adj. 令人害怕(或恐懼)的

10.tack [t?k] vt. 用平頭釘釘