Toys for a Big Boy大男孩的玩具

Ronit Subramanian was seven years old and he was the tallest student in hisclass. It made him feel very proud. But when he remembered some of the things heused to do as a small kid， he felt a little shy. He wished his mother would not tellthose stories to her friends again and again.

Last week his mother’s old school friend had come to see her. They weremeeting after 10 years. Ronit was just back from school when he heard his mothersay， “You know what my Ronit used to do as a baby？ He used to think everythingand everyone was a part of the Subramanian family. So he would call the refrigerator‘fridge Subramanian’. And he would call the dog that curled1 up on our doormat2outside‘doggy Subramanian’.”Ronit heard his mother’s friend laughing and he ranout of the house—without any lunch. “I wish mother would not do these things，”hesaid for the thousandth time.

That evening， his mother showed him the toys and games her friend had got forhim， one stuffed3 dolphin and a game of blocks4. Ronit got unhappy.“These are kids’toys and games. I am a big boy now. My hero is Spiderman. That’s the toy I want formy birthday this year—spiderman and the spray5 that makes the spider web.”

“Are you saying you no longer want your favourite stuffed toy—Pepper theDoggy？”Ronit’s mother asked.“I don’t want kids’toys. I don’t want kids’toys andgames any more. I am a big boy，”Ronit shouted.“Okay， okay， we heard you，”saidhis parents.

羅內特·蘇布蘭馬尼安七歲了，他是班上最高的學生。這讓他感到非常自豪。但是當他想起小時候經常做的一些事情時，他感到有點害羞。他希望他的母親不要一遍又一遍地給她的朋友們講那些往事。

上周他母親的老校友來看過她，（畢業）10 年后她們又見面了。羅內特剛從學校回來，這時他聽到媽媽說“： 你知道我的羅內特小時候經常做什么嗎？他過去認為一切事物和每個人都是蘇布蘭馬尼安家庭的一部分。所以他稱冰箱為‘蘇布蘭馬尼安家的冰箱’。他會把蜷縮在我家門口門墊上的小狗叫做‘蘇布蘭馬尼安家的小狗’。”羅內特聽到母親的朋友在笑，他就跑出了家———午飯都沒吃。“我希望媽媽不要再做這事情了。”這話他說了上千次了。

那天晚上，媽媽給他看了她朋友給他買的玩具和游戲，是一只毛絨海豚和一個積木游戲。羅內特不高興了，“這些都是兒童玩具和游戲。我現在是一個大男孩了。我心中的英雄是蜘蛛俠。我今年生日想要的玩具是蜘蛛俠和能噴出蜘蛛網的噴射器。”

“你是說你不想再要你最喜歡的毛絨玩具———小狗佩珀了嗎？”羅內特的母親問道。“我不想要兒童玩具，我不想再要兒童玩具和游戲了。我是一個大男孩。”羅內特喊道。“好的，好的，我們聽到了。”他的父母說。

A month later， Ronit’s parents bought him a Spiderman kit6 for his eighthbirthday. They bought him a Spiderman T-shirt and trousers， a shiny7 Spiderman toyand a glove with a spray bottle attached8 to it. “Wear the glove and then press9 thespray button. It will make a web pattern10 on the wall，”Ronit’s father said. Ronit，and even his father， were so excited with the spray that they used it again and againto see who could make a bigger web！

After his friends left， Ronit opened each gift. Yes！ He was a big boy now. Hehad got so many gifts of toys and games and they were all for big boys. He liked aLego robot， a car racing video game， and， best of all， a cool skateboard11. Ronitwent to sleep holding the Spiderman. You see he had decided he no longer wantedhis favourite stuffed toy， Pepper the Doggy.

As soon as his head hitthe pillow， Ronit fell asleep.He now slept in a room of hisown， with sunny yellow walls.But until yesterday， he hadgone to sleep holding PepperDoggy’s ear. The softness12 ofthe toy always made himhappy. But Spiderman was a metal13 toy. It was cold to touch. That night， Ronit dreamtthat he was being run after by icy monsters14 who were out to freeze15 him into astatue16. In his dream he shouted for Pepper. Not finding Pepper， he woke up crying.

His mother heard him crying and ran into his room. “I want Pepper. He is myfriend. Big boys also have doggy friends，”cried Ronit. Pepper has come back intoRonit’s bed. Every night， Ronit and Pepper have a new adventure17. In his dreams，Ronit sees Pepper in a Spiderman outfit18. Isn’t that cool？

一個月后，羅內特的父母在他八歲生日時給他買了一套蜘蛛俠套裝。他們給他買了一件蜘蛛俠T 恤和褲子，一個閃亮的蜘蛛俠玩具和一只連著噴射器的手套。“戴上手套，然后按下噴射器按鈕，它會在墻上形成一個網狀圖案。”羅內特的父親說。羅內特，甚至他的父親，都對這種噴射器非常感興趣，所以他們玩了一次又一次，看誰能噴出更大的網！

朋友們離開后，羅內特拆開了每個禮物。是啊！他現在是個大男孩了。他收到了很多玩具和游戲作為禮物，都是給大男孩的。他喜歡那個樂高機器人，賽車電子游戲，最喜歡的是一塊酷酷的滑板。羅內特睡著時還抱著蜘蛛俠。你看，他已經決定不再要他最喜歡的毛絨玩具小狗佩珀了。

頭一碰到枕頭羅內特就睡著了。他現在睡在自己的房間里，一間有著陽光一樣的黃色墻壁的房間。但是直到昨天，他還抓著小狗佩珀的耳朵睡覺。玩具的柔軟觸感總是讓他開心。但是蜘蛛俠是一個金屬玩具，摸起來很冷。那天晚上，羅內特夢見自己被冰冷的怪物追趕，這些怪物想把他凍成一尊雕像。他在夢里喊佩珀，但找不到它，然后哭著醒來。

媽媽聽到他在哭，忙沖進他的房間。“我要佩珀。它是我的朋友。”羅內特喊道，“大男孩也有小狗朋友。”佩珀回到了羅內特的床上。每天晚上，羅內特和佩珀都經歷了新的冒險。在夢里，羅內特看到了穿著蜘蛛俠制服的佩珀。是不是很酷？

（英語原文選自：pitara.com）