Meet Kathleen the mouse and Mark the elephant. Kathleen is very brave and likes adventure, but Mark is very shy and scared of many things. But friends stay together, so Mark follows Kathleen wherever she goes. Sometimes they get into some very sticky situations.
見見老鼠凱薩琳和大象馬克。凱薩琳非常勇敢又喜歡冒險，但馬克的個性十分害羞，對許多事情都感到害怕。不過，朋友都喜歡黏在一塊兒，所以凱薩琳走到哪兒，馬克就會跟到哪兒。有時候，他們也會碰上非常棘手的情況...
"Cat and mouse" 貓鼠之間
Mark and Kathleen were walking home from the bus stop after their camping trip.
"Wow!" said Kathleen, "That trip was a lot of fun."
"For you maybe," replied Mark grumpily. "I was really cold all night, and there were huge spiders everywhere. I hate spiders!"
"Oh, stop moaning!" replied Kathleen cheerily. "Spiders are great animals. They eat mosquios and cockroaches."
"I suppose so," said Mark "But they still scare me a little."
Suddenly Kathleen stopped walking. "Shhh! Can you hear that?"
"What?" asked Mark.
"Shhh! Listen!"
Mark lifted up his big ears and listened hard. He heard a tiny crying sound. "It sounds like it's coming from under that bush," he said, pointing at a big bush at the side of the road.
"You're right!" said Kathleen excitedly. "Let's check it out!" she said as she began to stride over to the bush.
"We really should be getting home, Kathleen," said Mark nervously. "It's getting a little dark."
"Don't be such a wuss! Come on!"
Kathleen pulled the leaves apart. "Oh look!"
Kathleen pointed at a tiny black and white kitten, hiding under the bush. "Oh Mark, look! It's all on it's own. And it looks hurt."
(Catherine Thomas, Staff writer)
馬克和凱薩琳結束露營後，從公車站走回家。
「哇！」凱薩琳說︰「那趟旅程好有趣！」
「對你來說可能是，」馬克生氣地回答︰「我整晚都快凍僵了，而且到處都是大蜘蛛。我討厭蜘蛛！」
「別再抱怨了！」凱薩琳開心地說︰「蜘蛛是很棒的動物。牠們可以吃蚊子與蟑螂。」
1. grumpily adv.
暴躁地（bao4 zao4 di5）
Mark often acts grumpily if Kathleen wakes him up too early in the morning.
假如凱薩琳早上太早把馬克吵醒，馬克通常會暴跳如雷。2. moan v.i/v.t
抱怨（bao4 yuan4）
Claire always moans about doing her homework.
克萊兒總是抱怨要做功課。
3. tiny adj.
微小的（wei2 xiao3 de5）
A newborn baby's fingernails are tiny.
新生兒的指甲很小。
4. wuss n.
膽小鬼（dan3 xiao3 gui3）
Sarah is scared of all kinds of things, even rabbits. She's such a wuss!
莎拉無所不怕，連兔子都怕。她真是個膽小鬼！
「我想是吧，」馬克說︰「不過牠們還是讓我有點害怕。」
凱薩琳突然停下腳步。「噓！你聽見了嗎？」
馬克問︰「你說什麼？」
「噓！快聽！」
馬克豎起了大耳朵，仔細聆聽。他聽到了微弱的哭聲。他指著路旁濃密的樹叢說︰「聽起來好像是從樹叢下發出來的。」
凱薩琳興奮地說︰「你說對了！」她開始邁步走向樹叢說︰「我們去一探究竟！」
「我們真的該回家了，凱薩琳，」馬克緊張地說︰「天色愈來愈晚了。」
「別那麼沒用！來吧！」
凱薩琳撥開了樹葉說︰「噢，快看！」
凱薩琳指著躲在樹叢下的黑白色的小貓說︰「噢，馬克，看看這隻孤伶伶的小貓。牠好像受傷了。」 （翻譯︰賴美君）
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