“We must go on exploring the island,” said Henry, the morning after the clam digging.
“我们必须继续探索这座岛，”亨利在挖蛤蜊后的第二天早上说道。
“It may rain any day and the days are just flying by.”
“随时都可能下雨，而且日子过得飞快。”
“We can go this morning,” said Jessie, coming to the doorway of the barn.
“我们可以今天上午去，”杰西走到谷仓门口说道。
“The clams will not take very long to cook, and that’s all we are going to have for dinner except, of course, bread, butter, and milk.
“蛤蜊煮起来花不了多长时间，除了面包、黄油和牛奶之外，那就是我们午饭的全部了。
If we get back by eleven o’clock, we shall have plenty of time.”
如果我们十一点前回来，时间就绰绰有余了。”
“It’s settled, then,” said Henry.
“那就这么定了，”亨利说。
“Let’s take the big kettle. We might find something we want to bring home. Now where is Benny?”
“带上大水壶吧。我们可能会发现一些想带回家的东西。现在本尼在哪儿？”
“There he is,” said Jessie, pointing.
“他在那儿，”杰西指着说。
Benny was coming from the dock. He had a basket of groceries with him.
本尼正从码头走来，手里提着一篮食品杂货。
“Hurry up, Benny. We are going to explore,” said Henry, taking the kettle.
“快点，本尼。我们要去探险了，”亨利拿起水壶说道。
“Aren’t we going to cook my clams?” asked Benny.
“我们不煮我的蛤蜊了吗？”本尼问。
“Oh, yes. We’ll be back in plenty of time to cook your clams, Benny.”
“哦，当然要煮。我们会及时赶回来煮你的蛤蜊的，本尼。”
They started down the beach.
他们沿着海滩出发了。
“See this funny shell,” said Jessie. She dug it out with her foot. “It is just like a little boat. Let’s save it.” She dropped it into the kettle.
“看这个有趣的贝壳，”杰西说着用脚把它挖了出来，“它就像一艘小船。我们把它留下来吧。”她把它扔进了水壶里。
“And here’s a beautiful one,” said Violet. “Let’s save all the shells we find.”
“这里还有一个漂亮的，”维奥莱特说，“我们把找到的所有贝壳都留下来吧。”
“Look at this pretty purple flower, Jessie, right in the sand,” said Benny.
“看这朵漂亮的紫色小花，杰西，就在沙子里，”本尼说。
“Let’s save all the flowers we find, too,” said Jessie. “Put it in the kettle, Benny.”
“我们也把找到的花都留下来吧，”杰西说，“把它放进水壶里，本尼。”
Just then Henry began to jump around on the sand. The others watched him in surprise.
就在这时，亨利开始在沙滩上蹦跳起来。其他人惊讶地看着他。
“What in the world is the matter with you?” asked Jessie, as Watch began to jump with him.
“你到底怎么了？”杰西问道，这时小狗沃奇也跟着他一起跳了起来。
“I have a great idea! Oh, boy!” cried Henry.
“我有个绝妙的主意！天哪！”亨利喊道。
“Tell us,” said Violet, as they all sat down on the sand.
“告诉我们吧，”维奥莱特说，大家都坐在了沙滩上。
“Well,” began Henry, “you all know what a museum is—”
“嗯，”亨利开口道，“你们都知道博物馆是什么——”
“I don’t,” said Benny.
“我不知道，”本尼说。
“Oh, sure you do, Benny,” cried Henry. “You must have seen pictures of museums; places where they keep all kinds of birds and animals and flowers.”
“哦，你肯定知道，本尼，”亨利叫道，“你一定见过博物馆的照片；那是收藏各种鸟类、动物和花卉的地方。”
“And shells,” said Violet.
“还有贝壳，”维奥莱特补充道。
“That’s it,” cried Henry, looking at his sister. “You know what my idea is already, don’t you?”
“没错，”亨利看着妹妹喊道，“你已经知道我的主意了，对吧？”
“I think so,” said Violet. “And I think it is a perfectly wonderful idea.”
“我想是的，”维奥莱特说，“我觉得这真是个完美的绝妙主意。”
“Oh, do you?” asked Henry. “I wasn’t sure.”
“哦，是吗？”亨利问，“我还不确定呢。”
“What is this idea?” asked Jessie.
“是什么主意？”杰西问。
“Well,” answered Henry, “we are sure to find some interesting things on this island to keep. We found these things without looking at all. Maybe we shall find lots more—butterflies, birds, seaweed—”
“嗯，”亨利回答，“我们在这座岛上肯定能找到一些有趣的东西来收藏。我们没怎么找就发现了这些东西。也许我们还能找到更多——蝴蝶、鸟类、海藻——”
“We could clean out the upstairs in the barn,” said Jessie.
“我们可以把谷仓楼上打扫出来，”杰西说。
“And have a museum,” said Benny.
“然后建一个博物馆，”本尼说。
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!” said Jessie. “That will give us lots of things to do on rainy days. Violet could make little signs for everything, and you could make a table to go around the room. And I will dry the flowers between newspapers and put the shells in boxes.”
“我想不出比这更让我想做的事了！”杰西说，“这会让我们在雨天有很多事可做。维奥莱特可以给每样东西做小标签，你可以做一张环绕房间的桌子。我会把花夹在报纸里晾干，把贝壳放进盒子里。”
“We wouldn’t have real birds, would we?” asked Violet, looking worried.
“我们不会有真的鸟吧？”维奥莱特担心地问。
“Oh, no!” cried Henry. “We could cut birds out of heavy paper and color them—every bird we see.”
“哦，不会！”亨利叫道，“我们可以用厚纸剪出鸟的形状并上色——把我们见过的每种鸟都做出来。”
“Then we could cut down some small trees and put the birds on the branches,” said Jessie. “I’ve seen them in the museum.”
“然后我们可以砍些小树，把鸟放在树枝上，”杰西说，“我在博物馆里见过这样的展示。”
“Good!” said Henry. “We might find old birds’ nests to put up in the trees. We will have plenty of fun this whole summer.”
“太好了！”亨利说，“我们也许能找到旧鸟巢挂在树上。整个夏天我们都会玩得很开心。”
Violet began to write down in the little book: 1. Birds 2. Flowers 3. Seaweed 4. Shells 5. Butterflies
维奥莱特开始在小本子上写下：1. 鸟类 2. 花卉 3. 海藻 4. 贝壳 5. 蝴蝶
“That’s enough for a beginning,” said Henry, standing up. “We shall have to be on the watch every minute.”
“作为开始这就够了，”亨利站起身来说，“我们得时刻留心观察。”
And so the exploring party set out once more, looking at the trees for birds, and dropping flowers and shells into the kettle.
于是探险队再次出发，在树上寻找鸟类，并把花朵和贝壳丢进水壶里。
“How can I write the names of these shells when we don’t know their names?” asked Violet. She dropped a long, thin clam shell into the kettle, but nobody knew what it was.
“既然我们不知道这些贝壳的名字，我怎么写出它们的名字呢？”维奥莱特问。她把一个细长的蛤蜊壳丢进水壶，但没人知道那是什么。
“I suppose we could get a book about shells from the library,” said Henry. “Grandfather said we could go across to the mainland with Captain Daniel if we wanted to, but I don’t want to leave this island for even a minute.”
“我想我们可以从图书馆借一本关于贝壳的书，”亨利说，“爷爷说过如果愿意的话，我们可以跟丹尼尔船长去大陆那边，但我连一分钟都不想离开这座岛。”
“Something will turn up,” said Jessie.
“总会有办法的，”杰西说。
Something did turn up. The very minute the explorers came back to their barn, they saw Joe getting into the motorboat.
确实有了转机。探险队员们刚回到谷仓，就看到乔正登上摩托艇。
“Oh, wait!” called Jessie, running down to the dock.
“哦，等等！”杰西喊着跑向码头。
“Don’t hurry,” called Joe. “Plenty of time.”
“别急，”乔喊道，“时间多着呢。”
But all the children kept on running just the same.
但孩子们还是继续跑着。
“Are you going to the stores now, Joe?” asked Jessie.
“你现在要去商店吗，乔？”杰西问。
“That’s just where I am going,” replied Joe. “I will get anything you want and I shall be back in an hour.”
“我正要去那儿，”乔回答，“我会帮你们买任何想要的东西，一小时后就回来。”
“Then you will go right by the library!” cried Jessie. “Would you be willing to get us some books?”
“那你正好会经过图书馆！”杰西叫道，“你愿意帮我们买几本书吗？”
“Yes, I can get all the books you want by signing for them,” he said.
“可以，只要签个字，我就能帮你们借到所有想要的书，”他说。
Joe took out a pen and a piece of paper and gave them to Jessie. “Write the names of the books you want and I will get them.”
乔掏出一支笔和一张纸递给杰西。“把你们想要的书名写下来，我去帮你们拿。”
“I can’t,” answered Jessie, giving back the paper. “We don’t know the names of the books. But we want books with pictures in them to tell us the names of flowers, birds, shells, butterflies, and seaweed.”
“我写不出来，”杰西把纸还回去答道，“我们不知道书名。但我们想要带插图的书，能告诉我们花卉、鸟类、贝壳、蝴蝶和海藻的名字。”
Joe smiled in a queer way and said, “I could ask the girl in the library to pick them out for you.”
乔古怪地笑了笑说：“我可以请图书馆的女孩帮你们挑选。”
“That’s right,” agreed Henry. “She would know.”
“对呀，”亨利赞同道，“她会知道的。”
But when Joe went into the library, he did not ask for any help. He gave the girl in the library the names of so many books that she had to write very fast. Then a small boy went off to get them. When the books were tied up, the strange handy man went away, leaving the girl and small boy looking after him in surprise.
但当乔走进图书馆时，并没有寻求帮助。他一口气报出了那么多书名，图书馆女孩不得不飞快地记录。接着一个小男孩跑去取书。当书捆好后，这位奇怪的多面手便离开了，留下女孩和小男孩惊讶地望着他的背影。
Joe was really delighted to go over to the barn and see the children. He knocked at their open door with his foot, as his arms were full of books.
乔真的很高兴能去谷仓看望孩子们。因为双臂抱满了书，他用脚敲了敲敞开的门。
“Oh, come in!” cried Jessie. She put a cover on the kettle and came over to him at once. “Did you have any luck?”
“哦，快进来！”杰西叫道。她给水壶盖上盖子，立刻走到他身边。“顺利吗？”
“I don’t know. I hope so,” said Joe.
“我不知道。希望如此，”乔说。
“Oh, Henry,” cried Jessie, “I don’t know what to do first, but I suppose I must fix the clams.”
“哦，亨利，”杰西叫道，“我都不知道该先做什么了，但我想我必须先去处理蛤蜊。”
“You surely must,” said Henry. “We are so hungry we could eat the chairs, but I will not open the books until after we eat.”
“你当然得先去，”亨利说，“我们饿得连椅子都能吃下去了，但在吃完饭之前我不会打开那些书。”
“Won’t you stay to dinner, Joe?” asked Jessie. “I washed the clams six times and they are cooking now. I think they are almost done.”
“你不留下来吃午饭吗，乔？”杰西问，“我把蛤蜊洗了六遍，现在正在煮。我想差不多熟了。”
Oh, how Joe wanted to stay to dinner! “I-I—” he said.
哦，乔多想留下来吃饭啊！“我——我——”他说。
“That’s fine!” said Jessie, as if he had said ‘Yes.’”
“太好了！”杰西说，仿佛他已经说了“好”一样。
“You’re our first guest,” shouted Benny with delight. “But you’ll have to wash your own dishes.”
“你是我们的第一位客人，”本尼高兴地喊道，“但你得自己洗碗。”
“Oh no, he won’t, Benny,” cried Jessie. “You shouldn’t say such things.”
“哦不，他不用洗，本尼，”杰西叫道，“你不该这么说。”
“I would like to wash my own dishes,” said Joe, smiling. “And I really would like to see if the books are all right.”
“我愿意自己洗碗，”乔笑着说，“而且我也真的很想看看书对不对。”
Violet smiled, because the smell of the clams was good enough to make anyone hungry. While Jessie melted some butter, Violet went out and brought back five of Benny’s purple flowers and put one at each place.
维奥莱特笑了，因为蛤蜊的香味足以让任何人感到饥饿。趁杰西融化黄油的时候，维奥莱特走出去摘回五朵本尼发现的紫花，在每个座位前放了一朵。
The clams were all open when Jessie looked in the kettle. She began to take them out with a saucepan.
杰西往水壶里看时，蛤蜊全都张开了口。她开始用平底锅把它们捞出来。
“Please let me do that,” said Joe. “That kettle is so heavy.”
“请让我来吧，”乔说，“那个水壶太重了。”
“Thank you so much,” said Jessie. “I can put the melted butter into the cups.” She did this quickly, and then poured the clam water into five bowls. Violet set them all on the table.
“非常感谢，”杰西说，“我可以把融化的黄油倒进杯子里。”她迅速做完这件事，然后把蛤蜊汤倒进五个碗里。维奥莱特把它们都摆上了桌。
“Oh, dear, what shall we do for another place to sit?” asked Jessie.
“哦，天哪，我们再去哪儿找个坐的地方呢？”杰西问。
“Let me bring the block from my woodpile,” said Joe.
“让我从柴堆里搬个木墩来吧，”乔说。
When Joe came back with the block of wood, Benny asked, “How do you eat clams, anyway?”
当乔搬着木墩回来时，本尼问：“到底该怎么吃蛤蜊呢？”
“Pull the clam out,” said Joe. “See! Then put him into the clam water, then into the melted butter—”
“把蛤蜊肉拉出来，”乔说，“看！然后把它蘸一下蛤蜊汤，再蘸一下融化的黄油——”
“Then you put him into your mouth,” said Benny.
“然后放进嘴里，”本尼接话道。
They all laughed at Benny, but they did not talk much, for they were too busy eating. Joe picked out Benny’s clams for him.
大家都笑本尼，但他们没再多说话，因为都在忙着吃。乔帮本尼挑出了蛤蜊肉。
“I never had so much fun at a dinner in my life,” said Joe when the clams were gone, “but I want to help with the dishes.”
“我这辈子从没在一顿饭中这么开心过，”蛤蜊吃完后乔说，“但我想帮忙洗碗。”
“All right,” said Jessie. “I put the kettle of water on to heat before we sat down. You may wipe dishes if you really want to.”
“好吧，”杰西说，“我们在坐下之前就把一壶水烧上了。如果你真想帮忙，可以擦干碗碟。”
When the dishwater was hot, the dishes were washed and soon were all put away in the cupboard.
洗碗水热好后，碗碟被洗净并很快收进了橱柜里。
Then Jessie said, “Now show us the books, Joe!”
然后杰西说：“现在给我们看看书吧，乔！”
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