真是忙碌的一天!给三个小男孩吃饱了,让他们洗完澡,换上睡衣。玛丽给他们讲故事,他们终于都睡着了。 「当保姆照顾三个男孩,四岁、六岁、八岁,真累人!」她想。
「睡觉」,她想,「要是我能就好了!」但她有艰深的作业要做。她靠在椅背上,把脚舒适地放在沙发上。她想,谁说当保姆赚钱是件易事,他们显然未曾见过这三个男孩。电视开著,房间里很暖和,而且灯光暗淡。玛丽的眼皮感到沉重。她想:「我不能入睡」——当然,这正是在她做的。
奇怪的是,她很快就梦见自己是位世界著名的厨师。她发了大财,戴钻石和穿名牌。大多数日子里,她轻松自在地呆在游泳池,会见富人和名人,或享受她的爱好——阅读。她甚至有自己的电视节目,还当主角。
这是说她没变得太骄傲之前了。「我绝对是世界上最好的」:她想,当她准备去做美味的鸡,但似乎诸事不顺。面粉洒在地上、鸡蛋倒了,手指给切破了。尽管重重障碍,她还能把鸡放入烤炉。不久,厨房冒烟了,鸡着火了。玛丽惊慌失措,但她走不动,只僵在原地,她努力地挪动,但动弹不了,直到一阵尖叫声惊醒了她。
她感到震惊和困惑——厨房有烟冒出来。她抢前去查看究竟,只见三张小脸满脸歉意,和一些烤得很焦的面包。 「对不起,我们饿了,你睡着了,所以我们自己烤面包吃」,一个男孩解释说。玛丽松了口气,给他们弄点小吃,打发他们回去睡觉了。她答应他们永不再在工作时打瞌睡了!
猜这是原文全文:
What a busy day! The three boys were fed, bathed and changed into their night clothes. Mary had TOLD them a story and finally they were asleep. "Babysitting the three boys aged eight, six and four is extremely TIRING, " she thought.
"Sleep, " she considered, "if only I could!" But she had difficult homework to complete. Leaning back, she PUT her feet onto the sofa to get comfortable. Whoever said babysitting was a(n) EASY way to make money obviously hadn't met the three boys, she thought. The television was on, the room was warm, and the lights were dim. Mary's EYES felt heavier and heavier. I mustn't sleep, she thought - which was EXACTLY what she did, of course.
Strangely enough, she soon DREAMT that she was a world famous chef. She made a FORTUNE and wore diamonds and designer clothes. Most days she relaxed by the pool, meeting the rich and famous or READING-her favorite hobby. She EVEN took the leading role in her own TV show.
That is, until she became too PROUD." I am definitely the best in the world, " she thought, as she prepared a tasty chicken dish. But NOTHING seemed to go right. She spilt the flour, she dropped an egg and she cut her finger. Despite all the troubles, she MANAGED to get the chicken into the stove. Soon, smoke blanketed the room. The chicken was on fire. PANIC set in, but Mary could not run - she was FROZEN to the spot. She tried hard to move, but could not, UNTIL a sharp sound awoke her.
She got shocked and confused - SMOKE was pouring from the kitchen. Rushing to investigate, she was met by three GUILTY little faces and some very burnt bread. "Sorry, we were hungry and you were ASLEEP, so we tried to make some bread," explained a boy. Relieved, Mary made them a snack and sent them back to bed. She PROMISED them never to fall asleep on the job again!