A very boisterous birthday bash 生日狂歡派對
his is the worst birthday ever,” Mark said to himself as he walked home from school. His tail hung low and his trunk dragged along the sidewalk. None of his friends had remembered his birthday. In fact, he hadn’t received a single card or present.
As he approached his house he noticed a banner hanging between the two oak trees in his garden. The sign said “Happy birthday Mark! We love you!” Suddenly all of his friends jumped out of the bushes and shouted “Surprise!” Kathleen ran forward and gave Mark a hug. “You didn’t think we’d forget your birthday, did you? Follow me. This will be the best birthday ever,” she said.
The first game they played was pin the tail on the donkey — with a real donkey. Everybody was having a great time until a duck with a wrinkled old beak appeared in the garden. It was Mrs Fozel, Mark’s neighbor. “How can I get to sleep with you kids making all that noise?” she screeched. “We’re very sorry Mrs Fozel. We’ll try to be quieter,” said Mark.
After she left, everybody wondered what they could play. “Why don’t we play on the see-saw? That shouldn’t be too noisy,” said Kathleen. So she got out the see-saw and pretty soon they’d forgotten all about pin the tail on the donkey. They played in total silence, but before long Mrs Fozel and her wrinkled old beak appeared once more. She looked furious. “How many times do I have to tell you kids to stop disturbing me? I’m trying to sleep, but all I can feel is BUMP BANG CRASH every time you use that see-saw. It’s like an earthquake,” she screamed. Mark felt guilty. “Perhaps we shouldn’t let the rhinos and elephants use the see-saw anymore,” he said.
Write your own ending to the story! 寫下你的故事結局:
Idea 1: Kathleen suggests soapbox racing. How do they make the carts? Who is the fastest? Where do they race? Do they annoy Mrs Fozel?
想法一：凱薩琳提議玩「肥皂盒賽車」，他們會怎麼做賽車？誰的車跑得最快？他們在哪裡比賽？他們有吵到佛佐太太嗎？
Idea 2: Kathleen organizes a puppet show. What kind of puppets does she make? What kind of show is it? Are they noisy?
想法二：凱薩琳籌劃了一場偶戲。她做了哪種戲偶？那是場什麼樣的表演？他們有很吵嗎？
Idea 3: They have a pillow fight! Whose pillows do they use? Where do they have the fight? What does Mrs Fozel think?
想法三：他們決定打枕頭仗！他們拿誰的枕頭來玩？他們在哪裡打枕頭仗？佛佐太太會怎麼想？
Mrs Fozel went home but everyone was sad. They sat around wondering what to do, when suddenly Kathleen stood up. “I know what we can do! This will be great, and not even Mrs Fozel will be able to spoil our fun…”
(JOHN PHILLIPS, STAFF WRITER)
馬克從學校走回家時自言自語地說：「這真是有史以來最慘的生日了。」他的尾巴垂得低低的，長鼻子也在人行道上拖行。沒有任何朋友記得他的生日。事實上，他沒有收到半張卡片或禮物。
快到家時，他看到他花園兩株橡樹之間掛著一面橫幅標語，上面寫著：「馬克，生日快樂！我們愛你！」忽然，他所有的朋友都從樹叢裡跳出來大喊：「驚喜！」凱薩琳跑向前擁抱馬克，她說：「你不會真以為我們忘記你的生日了吧？跟我來，這會是你最棒的一個生日。」
他們玩的第一個遊戲是「釘上驢尾巴」──用的是一隻真正的驢子。大家都玩得很開心，直到一隻滿嘴皺紋的鴨子出現在花園裡。她是馬克的鄰居佛佐太太，她尖聲地說：「你們這些小鬼頭在這邊吵吵鬧鬧的，我怎麼睡得著？」馬克說：「非常抱歉，佛佐太太。我們會小聲一點。」
她離開之後，大家都思索著還可以玩什麼。凱薩琳說：「我們何不來玩翹翹板？那應該不會太大聲。」她把翹翹板拿出來後，大家很快就把「釘上驢尾巴」拋到九霄雲外了。他們靜悄悄地玩著翹翹板，可是過沒多久，佛佐太太和她那皺巴巴的鴨嘴又出現了。她怒氣沖沖地大吼著說：「到底要我說多少遍，你們這些小鬼才不會再煩我？我想要睡覺，但你們每玩一次翹翹板，我就感覺一陣乒砰框啷的，就像是地震一樣。」馬克覺得很愧疚他說：「或許我們不該讓犀牛和大象玩翹翹板了。」
佛佐太太回家後，大家都覺得糟透了。他們圍坐成一圈，思索著要玩什麼時，凱薩琳突然站起來說：「我知道我們可以玩什麼了！這一定很棒，而且就連佛佐太太也不會來掃興了…」
（翻譯：袁星塵）
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