The children were having breakfast.

孩子们正在吃早餐。

This was not a pleasant sight.

这不是让人看了会开心的一幕。

Mrs. Large took a tray from the cupboard.

庞太太从厨房的柜子里拿出餐具。

She set it with a teapot, a milk jug, her favorite cup and saucer, a plate of marmalade toast and a leftover cake from yesterday.

将茶壶、牛奶罐、她最喜欢的杯子、涂上橙汁果酱的烤面包片、以及昨天剩下的小蛋糕放入餐具中。

She stuffed the morning paper into her pocket and sneaked off toward the door.

再把报纸放进口袋，悄悄地往门口走去。

“Where are you going with tray, Mom?” asked Laura.

萝拉问：妈妈，你要带着餐具去哪里？

“To the bathroom,” said Mrs. Large.

庞太太回答：去浴室。

“Why?” asked the other two children.

为什么？另外两个孩子问。

“Because I want five minutes’ peace from all of you,” said Mrs. Large. “That’s why.”

庞太太回答说：因为我想一个人安静5分钟。

在庞太太的后面，孩子们跟着爬上楼。我们可以去吗？No,” said Mrs. Large, “you can’t.”

不庞太太说：不能跟着。What shall we do then?” asked Laura.

我们要做什么？萝拉问道You can play,” said Mrs. Large. “Downstairs. By yourselves. And keep an eye on the baby.”

你应该注意在楼下玩。**安全。I’m not a baby,” muttered the little one.

最小的孩子嘟着嘴说：我不是婴儿。

Mrs. Large ran a deep, hot bath.

庞太太很快就把它装满了热水

She emptied half a bottle of bubble bath into the water, plunked on her shower cap and got in.

她把半瓶泡泡浴精都倒进水里，然后戴上浴帽，扑通一声坐在浴缸里。

She poured herself a cup of tea and lay back with her eyes closed. It was heaven.

她给自己倒了一杯茶，然后闭上眼睛，躺在浴缸里——这就是天堂。

“Can I play you my tune?” asked Lester.

莱斯特问：我为你吹笛子好吗？

Mrs. Large opened one eye. “Must you?” she asked.

你一定要吹吗？庞太太睁开眼睛说。

“I’ve been practicing,” said Lester, “You told me to. Can I? Please, just for one minute.”

莱斯特说：我一直在训练，你叫我练习，好吗？拜托，就一分钟。

“Go on then,” sighed Mrs. Large. 那吹吧庞太太叹了口气

So Lester played. He played “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” three and a half times.

于是，莱斯特开始吹了。他把《小星星》这首歌吹了三遍半。

In came Laura. “Can I read you a page from my read you a page from my reading book?” she asked.

萝拉进来了。我能给你读一页故事吗？

“No, Laura,” said Mrs. Large. “Go on, all of you, off downstairs.”

庞太太说:没有萝拉。出去，大家都下楼。

“You let Lester play his tune,” said Laura.

你让莱斯特吹笛子，萝拉说。

“I heard. You let Lester play his tune," said Laura."I heard. You like him better than me. It’s not fair.”

"我听说你更喜欢他，不喜欢我，这不公平"

“Oh, don’t be silly, Laura,” said Mrs. Large “Go on then. Just one page.”

没有这回事，萝拉庞太太说好吧,你读,但只能读一页哦。

So Laura read. She read four and a half pages of “Little Red Riding Hood.”

于是萝拉开始读。她读了《小红帽》这本书四页半。

In came the little one with a trunkful of toys.

最小的着一个鼻子玩具进来了。

“For you!” he beamed, flinging them all into the bath water.

给你！他笑了，把所有的玩具都扔进水里。

“Thank you, dear,” said Mrs. Large weakly.

庞太太有气无力地说：谢谢你，小宝贝。

“Can I see the cartoons in the paper?” asked Laura.

罗拉问：我能看报纸上的漫画吗？

“Can I have the cake?” asked Lester.

莱斯特问：我能吃那个蛋糕吗？

“Can I get in with you?” asked the little one.

我可以和你一起洗澡吗？

Mrs. Large groaned.

庞太太发出了哦-哦-的无奈叹息

In the end they all got in.

最后，三个孩子都跳进了浴缸。

The little one was in such a hurry that he forget to take off his pajamas.

弟弟太着急了，连睡衣都忘了脱。

Mrs. Large got out. She dried herself, put on her bathrobe and headed for the door.

走出浴缸的庞太太，身穿浴袍，准备走出浴室。

“Where are you going now, Mom?” asked Laura.

你现在要去哪里，妈妈？萝拉问：

“To the kitchen,” said Mrs. Large.

庞太太说：去厨房

“Why?” asked Lester.

为什么？莱斯特问

“Because I want five minutes’ peace from all of you,” said Mrs. Large. “That’s why.”

庞太太回答说：因为我想一个人安静5分钟。

And off she went downstairs,

然后，她走下楼

where she had three minutes and forty-five seconds of peace before they all came to join her.

在孩子们还没下楼之前，她安静地度过了三分钟和四十五秒。

短短三分钟四十五秒，孩子们又来了~~~~