Edda lives in a small house. It is at the end of a quiet road. Behind the house there is a garden. In the garden there is a little wooden hen house. Three hens live in it. One is white, one is brown, and one is grey.
埃达住在一座小房子里。房子在一条安静的路的尽头。房子后面有一个花园。花园里有一个小小的木头鸡舍。里面住着三只母鸡。一只是白的，一只是棕的，一只是灰的。
Every morning Edda walks to the hen house. She carries a basket. She opens the small door and counts the eggs. Three hens, three eggs. It is easy.
每天早上，埃达都走到鸡舍去。她提着一个篮子。她打开小门，数一数鸡蛋。三只母鸡，三个蛋。很简单。
On Tuesday she opens the door. There are four eggs. She counts them again. One, two, three, four.
星期二，她打开门。里面有四个蛋。她又数了一遍。一，二，三，四。
"That is strange," she says. "I have three hens."
“真奇怪，”她说，“我只有三只母鸡。”
She looks at the hens. They look back at her. The white hen makes a small noise. It does not tell her anything.
她看着母鸡们。母鸡们也看着她。白母鸡轻轻叫了一声。可它什么也没告诉她。
On Wednesday there are four eggs again. On Thursday there are five. Edda stands in the garden with her basket. She is very surprised.
星期三，又是四个蛋。星期四，有五个。埃达提着篮子站在花园里。她非常吃惊。
"Do you have a secret?" she asks the hens. "Do you have a friend?"
“你们有什么秘密吗？”她问母鸡们，“你们有朋友吗？”
The hens only eat their corn.
母鸡们只顾着吃玉米。
Edda looks at the new eggs. Her own hens lay brown eggs. But two new eggs are small and light blue. They are very pretty.
埃达看着那些新来的蛋。她自己的母鸡下的是棕色的蛋。可是有两个新蛋又小又是浅蓝色的。它们非常漂亮。
"These are not your eggs," she says. "Who lays blue eggs?"
“这些不是你们的蛋，”她说，“是谁下的蓝蛋呢？”
At lunch she talks to her neighbor across the road. He is a tall man with a big beard.
午饭的时候，她和马路对面的邻居聊天。他是个高个子，留着大胡子。
"Do you have hens?" she asks.
“你养鸡吗？”她问。
"Yes, I have four," he says. "But I get no eggs these days. I do not know why. They look healthy."
“养，我有四只，”他说，“可是这几天一个蛋也捡不到。我不知道为什么。它们看起来很健康。”
"What color are your eggs?" asks Edda.
“你的蛋是什么颜色的？”埃达问。
"Light blue," he says. "They are always blue."
“浅蓝色，”他说，“总是蓝色的。”
Edda starts to smile. "I think I have your eggs," she says.
埃达开始微笑。“我想我这里有你的蛋，”她说。
"My eggs?" he says. "How?"
“我的蛋？”他说，“怎么会？”
"I do not know yet," says Edda. "But I will find out."
“我现在还不知道，”埃达说，“不过我会弄清楚的。”
On Friday she gets up very early. The sun is not yet up. She makes a cup of tea. She sits on a chair near the hen house. She does not move. She does not make a sound.
星期五，她起得很早。太阳还没有升起。她泡了一杯茶。她坐在鸡舍旁边的一把椅子上。她一动不动。她一点声音也不出。
The garden is cold and quiet. A bird sings in the apple tree. The grass is wet.
花园里又冷又静。一只小鸟在苹果树上唱歌。草是湿的。
After an hour, Edda sees something at the back fence. It is a small black hen. She is not one of Edda's hens. She pushes through a hole in the fence. She walks across the grass. She walks very fast, like a person late for work.
过了一个小时，埃达看见后面的栅栏边有个东西。是一只小黑母鸡。她不是埃达的鸡。她从栅栏的一个洞里挤了过来。她穿过草地。她走得非常快，像一个上班迟到的人。
The black hen goes straight to the hen house. She hops through the door. Edda waits. After ten minutes the black hen comes out. She walks back to the fence. She goes through the hole.
黑母鸡径直走向鸡舍。她跳进门里。埃达等着。十分钟后，黑母鸡出来了。她走回栅栏边。她钻过那个洞。
Edda opens the hen house. There is a new blue egg in the corner.
埃达打开鸡舍。角落里有一个新的蓝蛋。
She laughs so much that she spills her tea.
她笑得太厉害，把茶都洒了。
Later she walks across the road with her basket. The neighbor opens the door.
后来，她提着篮子走过马路。邻居开了门。
"Good news and bad news," says Edda. "The bad news is this. Your black hen visits my garden every day. The good news is that I have your eggs."
“有个好消息和一个坏消息，”埃达说，“坏消息是这样的：你的黑母鸡每天都来我的花园。好消息是，你的蛋在我这儿。”
The neighbor puts his hand on his head. "She is a thief!" he says. Then he laughs too.
邻居用手按着头。“她是个小偷！”他说。然后他也笑了。
"I will fix the hole in the fence," he says.
“我会把栅栏上的洞补好，”他说。
"Please do not fix it too fast," says Edda. "I like her. She is a hard worker."
“请别补得太快，”埃达说，“我喜欢她。她是个勤快的工人。”
They put six blue eggs on the table. They share them in half.
他们把六个蓝蛋放在桌上。他们把蛋分成两半，一人一半。
The next day the neighbor brings Edda a pie. It is warm and it smells of apples.
第二天，邻居给埃达送来一个派。它热乎乎的，闻起来有苹果的香味。
"I made it with your eggs," he says. "Or with my eggs. I do not know anymore."
“我用你的蛋做的，”他说，“或者是用我的蛋做的。我已经搞不清了。”
