Zara wakes up early. The room is very bright and very quiet. She runs to the window. Snow! The first snow of the year covers the garden.
扎拉很早就醒了。房间里亮堂堂的，一片寂静。她跑到窗边。下雪了！今年的第一场雪盖住了整个花园。
"Umar, wake up!" she calls. "It snowed!"
“乌马尔，快起床！”她喊道，“下雪啦！”
Her brother comes to the window with sleepy eyes. Then he smiles. "Let's go out," he says.
哥哥睡眼惺忪地走到窗边，然后笑了。“我们出去吧。”他说。
They put on boots, hats and warm coats. Zara opens the back door. The air is cold and clean. The snow is deep and soft. Nobody walks on it yet.
他们穿上靴子，戴上帽子，披上暖和的外套。扎拉推开后门。空气又冷又清新，雪又深又软，还没有人踩过。
Then Zara sees something. Small marks cross the garden. They are tiny, round prints in a straight line.
这时扎拉发现了什么。一串小小的印子穿过花园，是小小的圆脚印，排成一条直线。
"Look," she says. "Someone came here in the night."
“看，”她说，“夜里有谁来过这里。”
Umar kneels down. "A small animal," he says. "It has four feet. It jumps."
乌马尔蹲下来。“是一只小动物，”他说，“它有四只脚，会跳。”
"Where does it go?" asks Zara.
“它去了哪儿？”扎拉问。
"Let's find out," says Umar.
“我们去找找看。”乌马尔说。
They follow the marks. The prints go under the garden gate. Zara and Umar go out the front door. They find the prints again in the street. The prints cross the road. They go along a wall. Zara walks slowly. She wants to keep the marks in front of her.
他们顺着脚印走。脚印钻到花园门下面去了。扎拉和乌马尔从前门走出去，在街上又找到了脚印。脚印穿过马路，沿着一堵墙延伸。扎拉走得很慢，她想让脚印一直在眼前。
At the park, the snow is even deeper. A boy pulls a red sled up a hill. Two dogs run in circles. But the prints do not stop. They go past the pond and into the trees.
到了公园，雪更深了。一个男孩拉着红色的雪橇爬上小山，两条狗在原地转圈奔跑。可脚印没有停，它们经过池塘，进了树林。
"I am cold," says Umar.
“我冷了。”乌马尔说。
"Just a little more," says Zara. "Please."
“再走一点点，”扎拉说，“求你了。”
Under the trees, the world is very quiet. Snow falls from a branch. It makes a soft sound. The prints turn left, then right. Then they stop under a big bush with white leaves.
树林里非常安静。一根树枝上的雪落下来，发出轻轻的声响。脚印先向左拐，又向右拐，然后在一丛挂满白雪的大灌木下面消失了。
Zara and Umar stand very still. They look at the bush. For a long time, nothing moves.
扎拉和乌马尔一动不动地站着，盯着那丛灌木。过了好一会儿，什么动静也没有。
Then two long ears come out. Then a small gray nose. A rabbit looks at them with big black eyes.
然后，两只长长的耳朵探了出来，接着是一个灰色的小鼻子。一只兔子睁着又大又黑的眼睛看着他们。
Zara does not breathe. The rabbit looks at her. Then it hops out and sits in the snow. It starts to eat something orange. Zara looks closer. It is a carrot.
扎拉屏住了呼吸。兔子看着她，然后蹦出来，坐在雪地上，开始吃一样橙色的东西。扎拉凑近了看，那是一根胡萝卜。
"Where did the carrot come from?" Umar whispers.
“胡萝卜是从哪儿来的？”乌马尔小声问。
Zara looks around. An old woman sits on a bench near the path. She has a bag on her knees. She sees the children. She puts one finger on her lips. Then she smiles. She takes another carrot from her bag. She holds it up.
扎拉四下张望。小路旁的长椅上坐着一位老奶奶，膝盖上放着一个袋子。她看见了孩子们，把一根手指放在嘴唇上，然后笑了。她从袋子里又拿出一根胡萝卜，举了起来。
Zara walks to her softly. "Is this your rabbit?" she asks.
扎拉轻轻地走过去。“这是您的兔子吗？”她问。
"No," the old woman says. "It is a wild rabbit. But every first snow, I bring it a carrot. Rabbits cannot find much food in the snow."
“不是，”老奶奶说，“这是一只野兔。不过每年第一场雪的时候，我都会给它带一根胡萝卜。雪地里，兔子找不到多少吃的。”
"That is a nice thing to do," Umar says.
“您真好。”乌马尔说。
"Do you want to help?" asks the old woman. She gives Zara the carrot.
“你们想帮忙吗？”老奶奶问。她把胡萝卜递给了扎拉。
Zara walks very slowly toward the bush. She puts the carrot in the snow. Then she steps back. The rabbit looks at the carrot. It looks at Zara. Then it takes the carrot in its mouth. It hops away.
扎拉慢慢地朝灌木走去，把胡萝卜放在雪地里，然后退后几步。兔子看看胡萝卜，又看看扎拉，然后叼起胡萝卜，蹦跳着跑远了。
"Come on," Umar says. "I want hot chocolate."
“走吧，”乌马尔说，“我想喝热巧克力。”
Zara looks one last time at the small prints. Then she follows her brother home.
扎拉最后看了一眼那些小小的脚印，然后跟着哥哥回家去了。
