Yelena worked at the city zoo. She took care of the penguins. Every morning she gave them fish from a blue bucket. Every morning she counted the fish.
叶连娜在城市动物园工作。她照顾企鹅。每天早上，她从一个蓝色的桶里拿鱼喂它们。每天早上，她都会数一数鱼。
She put forty fish in the bucket. Then she gave thirty-nine to the penguins. She kept the last fish in a box.
她往桶里放四十条鱼。然后给企鹅们吃三十九条。最后一条她留在一个箱子里。
One Monday she opened the box. It was empty.
一个星期一，她打开箱子。里面是空的。
"That is odd," Yelena said. "I put one fish here."
“真奇怪，”叶连娜说，“我明明在这里放了一条鱼。”
She counted again. The bucket held thirty-nine fish. The box had none. One fish was gone.
她又数了一遍。桶里有三十九条鱼。箱子里一条也没有。有一条鱼不见了。
On Tuesday the same thing happened. On Wednesday it happened again. Each day there was one fish less.
星期二，同样的事又发生了。星期三，又发生了。每天都少一条鱼。
Yelena looked at the penguins. There were twelve of them. They stood on the rocks in a line. They looked at her with round black eyes.
叶连娜看着企鹅们。一共有十二只。它们在岩石上排成一排站着。它们睁着圆圆的黑眼睛看着她。
"Did one of you take it?" she asked.
“是你们谁拿了吗？”她问。
The penguins said nothing. A small penguin named Pip made a loud noise. Yelena laughed.
企鹅们什么也没说。一只叫皮普的小企鹅发出一声大叫。叶连娜笑了。
"You are too small to open the box," she said.
“你太小了，打不开箱子，”她说。
She told her friend Dario about the problem. He worked with the monkeys next door.
她把这个问题告诉了朋友达里奥。他在隔壁照顾猴子。
"Maybe a bird eats it," Dario said. "Or a cat from the street."
“也许是鸟吃的，”达里奥说，“或者是街上的猫。”
"The box has a heavy lid," said Yelena. "A bird cannot lift it."
“箱子的盖子很重，”叶连娜说，“鸟抬不起来。”
"Then look at the box," said Dario. "Watch it all day."
“那就盯着箱子，”达里奥说，“看上一整天。”
On Thursday Yelena sat on a chair near the penguins. She watched the box. She ate a sandwich. She watched the penguins swim. Nothing happened for a long time.
星期四，叶连娜坐在企鹅旁边的一把椅子上。她盯着那个箱子。她吃了一个三明治。她看着企鹅游泳。很长时间什么也没有发生。
At noon, the zoo got very loud. A school group came to see the penguins. Thirty children ran to the glass wall. Yelena stood up to talk to them. For one minute she did not look at the box.
中午，动物园变得非常吵。一群学生来看企鹅。三十个孩子跑到玻璃墙前。叶连娜站起来和他们说话。有一分钟，她没有看那个箱子。
The children asked many questions. "Do penguins get cold?" "Can they fly?" Yelena answered every one.
孩子们问了很多问题。“企鹅会冷吗？”“它们会飞吗？”叶连娜一一回答。
When the children left, she looked down. The box was open.
孩子们走后，她低头一看。箱子开着。
She looked around. A small shape moved behind the rocks. It was brown and wet. It had a long tail.
她四下张望。岩石后面有个小小的身影在动。它是棕色的，湿漉漉的。有一条长尾巴。
An otter!
一只水獭！
The otter lived in the next pool. A thin fence stood between the two homes. The fence had a small hole at the bottom. The otter held a fish in its paws. It looked at Yelena. Then it ate the fish.
这只水獭住在隔壁的池子里。两个家之间隔着一道细细的围栏。围栏的底部有一个小洞。水獭用爪子捧着一条鱼。它看着叶连娜。然后它把鱼吃了。
"You!" Yelena said. "You are the thief!"
“是你！”叶连娜说，“你就是小偷！”
The otter made a happy sound. It cleaned its face with its paws.
水獭发出一声快乐的叫声。它用爪子擦了擦脸。
Yelena laughed so hard that she sat down. The children came back to see what was funny.
叶连娜笑得太厉害，坐到了地上。孩子们又跑回来看有什么好笑的。
That afternoon she told Dario. He laughed until he cried.
那天下午，她告诉了达里奥。他笑得眼泪都流出来了。
"A thief with fur," he said. "I must tell the monkeys."
“一个长毛的小偷，”他说，“我得告诉猴子们。”
Then she told the boss. A worker came with a net and a hammer. He fixed the small hole in the fence.
然后她告诉了老板。一位工人拿着网和锤子来了。他把围栏上的小洞补好了。
On Friday Yelena put forty-one fish in the bucket. She gave thirty-nine to the penguins. She put one fish in the box. She left the last fish near the otter pool.
星期五，叶连娜往桶里放了四十一条鱼。她给企鹅们三十九条。她在箱子里放了一条鱼。最后一条鱼，她放在水獭的池子旁边。
"This is for you," she said. "Please do not steal anymore."
“这是给你的，”她说，“请不要再偷了。”
The otter picked up the fish at once.
水獭立刻叼起了那条鱼。
