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The Three Goats
三只山羊
Once, there were three goats.
从前，有三只山羊。
The three goats were sisters, and each sister was bigger than the other.
这三只山羊是姐妹，每一只都比另一只大。
The youngest sister was the smallest, the middle child was normal-sized, and the eldest goat was the biggest.
最小的妹妹最小，老二中间大小，最大的山羊最大。
One day, the three goats were happily eating grass in the field.
一天，三只山羊在地里开心地吃草。
They had eaten grass there for many years, but now there was not much grass left.
她们在那里吃草很多年了，但现在草不多了。
‘Oh no!’ said the youngest goat. ‘There is no grass left. What will we eat now?’
“哦，不！”最小的那只山羊说。“草地上没有草了。现在我们要吃什么？”
‘It’s because you ate all the grass!’ said the middle child.
‘那是因为你把草都吃光了！’老二说。
‘You’re such a greedy little goat. You think because you’re the youngest that you can eat all the grass.’
“你真是个贪婪的小山羊。你觉得自己是最小的，就可以吃掉所有的草。”
‘Stop!’ said the eldest goat.
‘别吵了！’最年长的山羊说。
‘This has happened before, but you two are probably too young to remember.
‘这种事以前也发生过，但你们两个可能太小了，记不起来了。
There is another field we can go to, where there will be lots more grass. Follow me.’
我们还可以去另一块地上吃草，那里的草更多。跟我来。’
The eldest goat took her two sisters through the field to a big bridge.
最年长的山羊带着她的两个姐妹穿过田野来到一座大桥前。
The bridge went over a river, and the water under the river flowed quickly.
桥横跨在一条河上，河下的水流得很快。
‘What’s that?!’ said the youngest goat.
“那是什么？”最小的那只山羊问。
‘That’s not grass!’ ‘Ha, silly sister!’ said the middle child.
“那不是草！”“哈，愚蠢的妹妹！”老二说。
But she also didn’t know what it was.
但她也不知道那是什么。
‘It is a bridge,’ explained the eldest. ‘It will take us to the other field where all the grass is.’
“这是一座桥，”老大解释说。“通过它我们可以去往另一块长满草的田野。”
‘But why can’t we just swim?’ said the youngest.
‘但是为什么我们不能直接游过去呢？’最小的山羊说。
‘Don’t be silly! Can’t you see how fast that water is flowing? If we went into that water, we would drown.’
‘别傻了！你没看到那水流得有多快吗？如果我们掉进水里，会被淹死的。’
‘Very true,’ said the eldest goat, who thought the middle goat was much sillier than the youngest.
‘非常正确，’最年长的山羊说，它认为中间的那只山羊比最小的那只愚蠢得多。
‘Now, the bridge is quite narrow, so we must walk across it one by one.’
现在，这座桥很窄，我们必须一个接一个地走过去。
‘I’ll go first!’ said the middle goat.
‘我先来！’中间的那只山羊说。
‘No, no,’ said the eldest. ‘Let the youngest go first. If the bridge is broken, then she won’t fall in. But we are bigger, and we could easily fall in the water.’
“不，不，”最大的山羊说。“让年纪最小的先走。如果桥断了，她也不会掉下去。但我们更大一些，很容易掉进水里。”
So the youngest goat was the first to cross the bridge.
于是最小的那只山羊是第一个过桥的。
The bridge was not broken, and she did not fall in.
桥没有断，她也没有掉进水里。
She walked across the narrow bridge, and soon she could not see or hear her sisters.
她走过狭窄的桥，很快就看不见也听不见她的姐妹们得声音了。
But before she could cross to the other side, there was a horrible noise.
但她还没来得及走到对岸，就听到了可怕的声音。
‘WRAAAAGH!’ A troll jumped out in front of the goat.
“哇！”一只丑巨人跳到了山羊的前面。
‘Ah!’ cried the youngest goat. ‘You’re not grass!’
“啊！”最小的山羊叫道。“你不是青草！”
‘No, I’m a troll!’ said the troll. ‘Oh,’ said the goat.
“不，我是个丑巨人！”丑巨人说。“哦，”山羊说。
‘I’m glad. I wouldn’t eat you if you were grass.’
“我很高兴。就算你是草，我也不会吃你。”
‘Uh, aren’t you afraid of me?’ said the troll.
“呃，你不怕我吗？”丑巨人说。
‘Not really,’ said the goat. ‘Why? Should I be afraid?’
“不怎么怕，”山羊说。“怎么了？我应该害怕吗？”
‘Yes, yes you should!’ said the troll.
“是的，是的，你应该怕我！”
‘I’m a big, hungry troll, and do you know what trolls eat?’
“我是一个又大又饿的丑巨人，你知道丑巨人吃什么吗？”
‘Grass?’ said the youngest goat. ‘We eat grass, and it’s very nice, so I think –’ ‘NO!’ said the troll.
“草？”最小的那只山羊说。“我们吃草，而且草很好吃，所以我想--”“不！”丑巨人说。
‘I eat goats.’ ‘Oh. But you’re not going to eat me, are you? I’m so young! I want to live a long life!’
“我吃山羊。”“哦，但你不会吃了我吧？我还这么小！我想活很久呢！”
‘Well, too bad!’ said the troll.
“那可太可惜了！”丑巨人说。
‘Because I’m going to eat you, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.’ ‘But really…’ said the goat.
“因为我要吃了你，你怎么也阻止不了我。”“但真的…”山羊说。
‘You said you’re big and hungry, but I’m just a little goat. If you eat me, you’ll still be hungry.
“你说你又大又饿，但我只是一只小山羊。就算你吃了我，你还是会很饿。
My sister will be coming soon, and she’s bigger than me, so you can eat her instead.’
我姐姐马上就要来了，她比我大，你可以吃她。”
‘And why don’t I just eat you and your sister?’ said the troll.
“那我何不把你和你姐姐都吃了呢？”丑巨人说。
‘Well, that would be greedy! But also, if you try to eat me, I’ll make lots of noise and my sisters will know not to cross the bridge!
“哦，那可太贪心了！但是，如果你想吃我，我就大喊大叫，我的姐姐们就知道不能过桥了！”
