The Long Nap悠长午觉

Ella never liked to take naps. Whenshe was a baby， she would stay outside herbedroom all afternoon and play with toys.Her mother told her that Ella could onlysleep when it was dark outside， no matterhow dark and thick2 the curtains3 were inher room.

埃拉从不喜欢午睡。当她还是个婴儿时，她会整个下午呆在卧室外面玩玩具。她的母亲告诉她，无论她房间的窗帘有多暗多厚，埃拉都只在外面天黑的时候才会睡觉。

By the time Ella was in second grade atan elementary4 school， she couldn’t rememberthe last time she had taken a nap.Ella slept very well at night， but she thoughtthat naps were for babies and sick5 people.

在埃拉小学二年级的时候，她已经不记得上次午睡是什么时候了。埃拉晚上睡得很好，但她认为午睡是婴儿和病人才会做的事。

But even when Ella was sick， shedidn’t sleep but read a book in bed.

但即使埃拉生病了，她也不睡午觉，而是躺在床上看书。

One day， Ella came home from schoolfeeling quite odd6. Her legs were heavy， andher back ached7. Her hands felt cold， buther face felt very hot. She felt like she hadjust run a long race， even though8 all shedid was spending ten minutes walking homefrom school， just as she did every afternoon.

一天，埃拉放学回家后感到很不舒服。她的双腿沉重，后背疼痛。她感觉手很冷，但又觉得她的脸很热。她觉得自己好像刚刚跑完一场长跑，尽管她所做的只是花十分钟从学校走回家，正如她每天下午做的那样。

Ella put down her schoolbagand yawned9 loudly. Her motherlooked up from the newspaper.“Ella， are you OK？ You don’tlook well.” She put a hand onElla’s forehead10. “You might becoming down with something.”

埃拉放下书包，大声打了个哈欠。正在看报纸的母亲抬起头来。“埃拉，你没事吧？你看起来不太好。”她把手放在埃拉的额头上，“你可能生病了。”

“I don’t think I’m sick，”said Ella.

“ 我觉得我没病。”埃拉说。

“Well， I think youshould stay in bed thisafternoon. Be sure to wear ablanket11 to stay warm，”Ella’s mother said.

“嗯，我认为你今天下午应该待在床上。一定要盖上毯子保暖。”埃拉的母亲说。

Ella didn’t think sheneeded a nap. But she did asshe was told and slowlywalked upstairs12 to her bedroom.

埃拉觉得自己不需要午睡。但她还是照做了，慢慢走上楼进了她的卧室。

Ella sat on her bed and pickedup a picture book. She thought shewould read until it was time fordinner， but when she opened thebook， she couldn’t focus13 on thewords. All the colors in the picturesseemed to swirl14. She thought she didtoo much reading.

埃拉坐在床上，拿起一本绘本。她以为她会一直读到吃晚饭的时候，但当她打开书时，她无法把注意力集中在文字上。图画中所有的颜色似乎都在旋转。她觉得自己看书看太久了。

“Maybe I should rest my eyes for abit，”Ella thought. She closed her eyes.

“也许我应该让眼睛休息一下。”埃拉想，于是她闭上了眼睛。

When Ella opened her eyes again，her bedroom was dark. She opened thedoor and looked out into the hall.“Mom？” she called. But no one answered.The whole house was quiet， andall the lights were off.

当埃拉再次睁开眼睛时，她的卧室一片漆黑。她打开房门，向走廊望去。“妈妈？”她喊道。但是没有人回答。整个房子很安静，所有的灯都关了。

Ella carefully walked downstairs15and turned on the kitchen light. Shelooked at the clock on the wall. It was11：30 at night！ “I must have been tiredafter all，”thought Ella. She found thatshe had slept all afternoon. She hadmissed dinner， and now her mother mustbe in bed sleeping.

埃拉小心翼翼地走下楼，打开厨房的灯。她看了看墙上的钟。晚上11 点半了！“我一定是累了。”埃拉想。她发现自己睡了一下午。她错过了晚餐，现在妈妈一定上床睡觉了。

“I guess I needed a nap after all，”thought Ella as she made her way backupstairs to bed.

“我想我之前还是需要午睡一会儿的。”埃拉一边想一边上楼睡觉了。

（英语原文选自院readingvine.com）