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The Star Dipper
星之勺
Many, many years ago, there lived a little girl who was very kind. She and her mother lived in a small house near a big woods.
很多很多年以前，有一个非常善良的小女孩。她和她的妈妈住在大森林附近的小房子里。
One very warm night her mother was sick.
在一个非常暖和的夜晚，她的妈妈生病了。
"How I wish I had a drink of fresh, cool water." said the sick woman.
那个生病的女人说：“我多么希望能喝到清凉的水啊。”
"I will get you some water, mother," said the little girl. So she took a dipper from the kitchen and ran to the well.
小女孩说：“妈妈，我会为你取来的。”于是，她从厨房拿了一个长柄勺，跑到井边。
But she could not get any water. The well was dry.
但她得不到水。井干了。
"What shall I do?" said the little girl. "If my poor sick mother does not have a cool drink, she cannot go to sleep. I will run to the spring in the woods. It is very dark tonight, but I will not be afraid."
“我该怎么办？”小女孩说：“如果我那生病的妈妈喝不到清凉的水，就不能入睡。我要跑到树林的泉水那里取水。虽然今晚很黑，但我不会害怕的。”
Down the road she ran to the woods. There was no moon and she could hardly see where she was going. It was not easy to find the path among the trees.
她沿着路跑到了树林里。今晚没有月亮，她几乎看不到她要去的地方。在树中间找到路很不容易。
Once the little girl fell down, but she jumped up quickly. The stones hurt her feet but she ran on and on.
小女孩一摔倒，就马上跳起来。石头弄伤了她的脚，但她继续不停地跑。
"I must not think about myself now," she said. "I must find the spring."
“我现在不能想自己，”她说，“我必须找到泉水。”
At last she found the spring and filled her dipper. Then she started back through the woods.
最后她找到了泉水，装满了长柄勺。然后她又穿过树林回来。
On the way home she met a little dog. He looked at the dipper of water and began to bark. The little girl knew that he wanted a drink. "Come, little dog," she said. "I'll give you a fresh, cool drink."
她在路上遇到了一只小狗。它看着长柄勺里的水开始叫唤。小女孩知道它想喝水。“小狗，过来，”她说，“我给你一点儿凉水。”
She poured part of the water into her hand, and the little dog quickly drank every drop.
她在手里倒了一点儿水，小狗迅速地喝光每一滴水。
Then a strange thing happened. The old dipper changed to shining silver. It was as bright as the silver moon.
然后奇怪的事发生了。旧长柄勺变成了闪闪发光的银勺。它像银白的月亮一样明亮。
Now the little girl could see the path through the dark woods.
现在小女孩可以看到漆黑树林里的路了。
She hurried on, and soon she met an old, old man.
她急忙赶路，不久遇到一位非常老的人。
"Little girl, can you tell me where I can get a drink of nice, cool water?" he asked. "I have walked a long way to find some, but all the wells are dry."
“小女孩，你能告诉我哪里能喝到甘甜的凉水吗？”他问，“我走了很长的路想要找水，但所有的井都是干的。”
"I got some water from a spring," said the little girl. "I was taking it to my sick mother, but I will give it to you. I can go back and get more."
“我取了一些泉水，”小女孩说，“我正要带它回去给我生病的妈妈喝，但我先把它给你吧。我回去再取一些。”
The old man drank all the water from her dipper, and as he drank, the silver dipper changed to shining gold.
老人把她勺里的水全部喝光，在他喝水时，银勺变成了闪闪的金勺。
It was as bright as the sun, and made a great light among the dark shadows in the woods.
它像太阳一样明亮，照亮了树林中黑暗的阴影。
Then the little girl could see the path back to the spring. She filled the golden dipper and hurried home.
然后小女孩可以看到通往泉水的路了。她把金勺装满水，匆忙回家。
"Here is a cool drink." she said, as she gave the golden dipper to her mother.
“凉水来了！”她说，把金勺递给了她妈妈。
"Oh, how good this water is!" said her mother. She drank and drank until there was not a drop left in the dipper.
“噢，这水多么甘甜啊！”她的妈妈说。她喝啊喝，把勺子里的水喝得一滴不剩。
"Thank you, my dear," said the sick woman. "I can go to sleep now!"
“亲爱的，谢谢你，”这个生病的女人说。“我现在可以睡觉了！”
Suddenly a wonderful thing happened. The golden dipper changed to diamonds! Then the diamonds went high up into the sky and turned into seven bright stars. They looked just like a big dipper.
突然，奇妙的事发生了。金勺变成了钻石！这些钻石飞到天上，变成了7颗明亮的星星。它们看起来像一个大勺子。
That was a long, long time ago, but the star dipper is still in the sky.
这个故事发生很久很久了，但星星勺子仍在天上。
