向红

Philip had trouble2 holding onto things. His parents were always getting angry3 with him for losing his clothes， his toys， or his homework. They didnt realize4 that it really wasnt Philips fault5—his things actually liked to run away from him！

菲利普很难保管好东西。他的父母总是因为他弄丢了衣服、玩具或家庭作业而生他的气。他们没有意识到这不是菲利普的错——实际上是他的东西喜欢从他身边逃走！

When Philip was two， his blanket6 grew legs and ran out of the house. His mother and father werent very happy. They thought that it was his fault.

菲利普两岁时，他的毯子长了腿，跑出了屋子。爸妈很不高兴，他们认为是他的错。

When Philip was three， he loved playing with his toy airplane. One day， it flew off the shelf and out the window， all by itself. Philip got blamed7 again. “You need to learn how to take better care of your toys，” his parents said.

菲利普三岁时，他喜欢玩玩具飞机。有一天，它自己从架子上飞出了窗外，菲利普再次受到指责。父母说：“你需要学会如何更好地保管好你的玩具。”

A year later， Philip had 12 pairs of socks run away from him！They were smart and had planned their escape8 well because Philip never knew how they did it. When his mother went to buy him more socks， she asked what kind he wanted. “The kind of socks that cant climb out of a sock drawer，” he said. She thought he was making fun of her.

一年后，菲利普的12双袜子不翼而飞！它们很聪明，而且已经做好逃跑计划，因为菲利普一直没有弄清楚它们是如何做到的。当妈妈去给他买更多袜子时，问他想要哪种袜子。他说：“那种不能从袜子抽屉里爬出来的袜子。”她以为他在开玩笑。

Whenever Philip did his homework， he had to hold the paper down. If he let it go for one second， it would run off the desk and try to go outside. If you thought Philips parents didnt like his explanations9， you should have seen his teachers reaction10！

菲利普每次做作业时，都必须把纸压住。如果他放开一秒钟，作业就会从桌子上跑下来，并试图走到外面去。如果你认为菲利普的父母不喜欢他的解释，那你应该看看老师的反应！

One day， Philips mom bought him a new ruler for him to bring to school. “Everyone will need a ruler tomorrow，” his teacher had said. His mother was very clear that Philip had better not lose the ruler.

一天，菲利普的妈妈给他买了一把崭新的尺子，让他带去学校。“每个人明天都要带一把尺子。”老师说。妈妈非常清楚，菲利普最好不要弄丟尺子。

Philip worked hard to make sure that the ruler didnt run away. He took a line and tied one end around the ruler and the other end around his dresser. All night， he kept one eye on the ruler， even as he was falling asleep.

菲利普特别注意确保尺子不会逃跑。他拿起一根绳子，将一端绑在直尺上，另一端绑在梳妆台上。他整夜都在密切注视着尺子，即使是在睡着的时候。

Philip thought he was smarter than the ruler， but he was wrong. It grew arms and legs and ran straight for the door. The line stopped it from getting out， but Philip had fallen asleep and didnt see it. The ruler used its hands to untie11 the line and crept12 out the door， trying not to wake Philip up.

菲利普以为他比尺子聪明，但他错了。它长出了胳膊和腿，直奔门口而去。绳子阻止了它出去，但是这时候菲利普已经睡着了，没有看到。尺子用双手解开绳子，悄悄爬出了门口，尽量不吵醒菲利普。

Because the ruler was so tall and thin， it had trouble keeping its balance13 on the stairs and it fell down. The noise was loud enough to wake Philip up. He chased14 the ruler all through the house.

因为尺子又高又细，很难在楼梯上保持平衡，所以它摔倒了。响声足够吵醒菲利普，他在整间房子里追赶尺子。

The ruler ran through the dining room， and Philip followed after. It ran through the kitchen and then went straight out to the front door. Philip caught it right before it got to the sidewalk15.

尺子跑過餐厅，菲利普紧随其后。它穿过厨房，然后直接跑向前门。菲利普在它到达人行道之前就抓住了它。

“Gotcha！” he said. And just like that， the ruler stopped trying to run away. Philip put it on the ground and it happily walked right back up to his room. He finally understood why the ruler was running way—it was playing a game！It just wanted to have some fun.

“抓住你啦！”他说。就这样，尺子不再尝试逃跑。菲利普把它放在地上，高兴地回到了自己的房间。他终于明白了尺子为什么要逃跑——因为它在玩游戏！它只是想找点乐子。

After that， Philip found a way to keep his toys fun without having them run away. His parents never shouted at him for losing things anymore.

此后，菲利普找到了一种方法，可以让他的玩具持续开心不再逃跑。父母再也没有因为丢东西而对他大喊大叫。

（英语原文选自：www.gutenberg.org）