Maxwell Loses a Tooth 麥克斯韋掉牙了

張恒選譯

Maxwell put up his hand and wanted his teacher， Mrs. Gilbert， to see him.

麥克斯韋舉起手，等待他的老師吉爾伯特太太注意到他。

“Do you have a question， Maxwell？” she asked.

“你有問題嗎，麥克斯韋？”她問。

“Its more like a problem，” Maxwell said. “I lost my tooth.”

“這更像是一個難題?！丙溈怂鬼f說，“我掉牙了?！?/p>

Maxwell stood up and held out his hand to show his class his baby tooth.

麥克斯韋站起來，伸出手向班級展示他的乳牙。

“Congratulations1，” Mrs. Gilbert said. Then she asked the class if anyone had any idea for Maxwell. Keiko put up her hand first. Keiko was from Japan.

“恭喜！”吉爾伯特夫人說。然后她問全班有沒有人對麥克斯韋說說想法。惠子首先舉起了手，她來自日本。

“Is it an upper2 or a lower3 tooth？” Keiko asked.

“是上齒還是下齒？”惠子問。

“A lower tooth，” Maxwell said. He showed the class the empty4 place in his mouth.

“下齒，”麥克斯韋說。他張開嘴，向全班同學展示了嘴里的空缺處。

“You should throw5 your baby tooth over the roof6 of your house，” Keiko said.

惠子說：“你應該把乳齒扔在你家房子的屋頂上?！?/p>

“Why should I do that？” Maxwell said.

“我為什么要那樣做呢？”麥克斯韋說。

“Because then your new tooth will grow well. When you lose an upper tooth you should put it under the floor.”

“因為這樣你的新牙齒才會長得好。當你上齒掉了時，應將其埋在地底下?！?/p>

Mrs. Gilbert thought this was a good idea， but Frida didnt think so. Frida was from Austria.

吉爾伯特夫人認為這是個好主意，但弗里達不同意，她來自奧地利。

“You shouldnt throw your baby tooth away， Maxwell. You should keep it and give it to your mother，” Frida said.

弗里達說：“麥克斯韋，你不應該扔掉你的乳牙。你應該把它留給你媽媽?！?/p>

“Why should I do that？” asked Maxwell.

“我為什么要那樣做呢？”麥克斯韋問。

“She will make it into a necklace7 for you to wear.”

“她會把它做成項鏈給你戴。”

Jorge shook8 his head and put up his hand. He had some different ideas for Maxwell. Jorge was from Mexico.

豪爾赫搖搖頭，舉起了手。豪爾赫有不同的想法要說給麥克斯韋聽，他來自墨西哥。

“You should take your tooth home. Then you should put it under your pillow9 when you go to bed，” Jorge said.

豪爾赫說：“你應該把牙齒帶回家。然后在睡覺時，應該把它放在枕頭下?！?/p>

“Why should I do that？” Maxwell said.

“我為什么要那樣做呢？”麥克斯韋說。

“Because then the tooth mouse will come. He will keep your tooth and pay you with good luck. Sometimes the tooth mouse even brings a small toy.”

“因為那會出現牙齒老鼠。它會保存好你的牙齒并回報給你好運。有時候，牙齒老鼠甚至會給你帶一個小玩具。”

Maxwell liked Jorges advice the best. Mrs. Gilbert gave him a box to keep his tooth in. She didnt want him to lose his tooth again.

麥克斯韋最喜歡豪爾赫的建議。吉爾伯特太太給了他一個盒子，讓他保存牙齒。她不想他再掉一次牙。

“Whatever you want to do， you should show your mother your tooth when you get home，” Mrs. Gilbert said.

吉爾伯特夫人說：“無論你想怎么做，回家時都應該給媽媽看看你掉的牙齒?！?/p>

When Maxwell got home， he showed his mother the empty spot in his mouth. Then he opened the box and showed her his tooth.

麥克斯韋回家后，給媽媽看他嘴里的缺口。然后他打開盒子，給她看他的牙齒。

“Congratulations！ What are you going to do with your tooth， Maxwell？” his mother asked.

“祝賀你！麥克斯韋，你想怎么做？”他媽媽問。

“Im going to put it under my pillow，” he said. And he did.

他說：“我要把它放在枕頭底下?！比缓笏瓦@么做了。

When Maxwell woke up the next morning he looked under his pillow. The tooth was gone. In its place， Maxwell found a one dollar bill. He also found a letter. This is what the letter said：

第二天早上麥克斯韋醒來時，他往枕頭下面看，牙齒不見了。在它之前待的地方，麥克斯韋發現了一張一美元的鈔票。他還找到了一封信，那封信是這樣說的：

Dear Maxwell，

Congratulations！You lost your first tooth. I will keep it forever10. You should buy something nice for yourself with this money.

Love，

The Tooth Fairy11

親愛的麥克斯韋，

恭喜你！你掉了第一顆牙齒，我會永遠保存它。你可以用這筆錢給自己買些喜歡的好東西。

愛你的，

小牙仙

“I should tell my class about the tooth fairy，” Maxwell thought. “Everyone should lose a? tooth！”

“我應該告訴班上同學有關小牙仙的事情?！丙溈怂鬼f想，“每個人都應該掉牙齒！”

（英語原文選自：englishclub.com）

【Notes】

1. congratulation ?n. 祝賀;賀辭

2. upper ?adj. 上面的，上部的;較高的

3. lower ?adj. 下方的;在底部的

4. empty ?adj. 空的

5. throw ?vt. 投;拋;擲

6. roof ?n. 屋頂;最高處，頂部

7. necklace ?n. 項鏈

8. shake ?vt. 動搖;搖動;搖 （頭）

9. pillow ?n. 枕頭

10. forever ?adv. 永遠;不斷地;常常

11. fairy ?n. 仙女，小精靈