介绍:
Gerald was a tall giraffe whose neck was long and slim, but his knees were awfully bandy and his legs were rather thin.
杰拉尔德是高个子的长颈鹿，他的脖子又细又长，但他的膝盖非常弯曲，腿瘦得骨头连着皮。
He was very good at standing still and munching shoots off trees, but when he tried to run around he buckled at the knees.
他静静站立时十分优雅，抬头就能吃到树顶的叶片，但是如果要他转个圈，就会膝盖扭曲摔得四脚朝天。
Now every year in Africa they hold the jungle dance where every single animal turns up to skip and prance.
非洲每年都会举行丛林舞蹈比赛，到时候每个动物都会参加，跳来跳去，热闹非凡。
And this year when the day arrived poor Gerald felt so sad, because when it came to dancing he was really very bad.
今年，当那一天到来时，可怜的杰拉尔德非常难过，因为提到跳舞，他实在心有余而力不足。
The warthogs started waltzing and the rhinos rock ‘n’ rolled, the lions danced a tango which was elegant and bold.
疣猪们跳起华尔兹，犀牛们跳起摇滚，狮子们跳起优雅奔放的探戈。
The chimps all did a Cha-Cha with a very Latin feel, and eight baboons then teamed up for a splendid Scottish reel.
大猩猩们都跳起了有着浓郁拉丁风情的恰恰舞，而八只狒狒组合在一起，跳起了壮丽的苏格兰圆圈舞。
Gerald swallowed bravely as he walked towards the floor, but the lions saw him coming and they soon began to roar.
杰拉尔德深吸一口气，走到舞池中，但是狮子们看到他过来，顿时哄堂大笑。
“hey, look at clumsy Gerald,” the animals all laughed, “giraffes can’t dance, you silly fool, oh Gerald, don’t be daft!”
“喂，看看这个笨拙的杰拉尔德，”动物们纷纷嘲笑他，“长颈鹿天生不会跳舞，你这个傻瓜。哦，杰拉尔德，别犯傻了！”
Gerald simply froze up. He was rooted to the spot. “They’re right,” he thought, “I’m useless, oh, I feel like such a clot.”
杰拉尔德像被冻僵了，脚像长在了土里一样，一动也不会动了。“他们是对的，”他难过地想，“我一点用也没有，哦，我就像块木头桩子似的。”
So he crept off from the dance floor and he started walking home. He’d never felt so sad before, so sad and so alone.
所以他从舞池中灰溜溜地逃掉，难过地往家走，他从未感觉如此悲伤和孤独。
Then he found a little clearing and he looked up at the sky, “The moon can be so beautiful,” he whispered with a sigh.
然后他找到了一小片空地，抬头望向天空，“月亮竟然如此美丽，”他叹息一声，轻声说道。
“Excuse me!” Coughed a cricket who’d seen Gerald earlier on, “But sometimes when you’re different you just need a different song.”
“打扰一下！”一只蟋蟀咳嗽了一声，他早就看到杰拉尔德了，“但是当你偶尔与大家不同时，你仅仅需要一首特别的歌。”
“Listen to the swaying grass and listen to the trees, to me the sweetest music is those branches in the breeze.”
“听草儿随风摇摆，听树林正在摇晃，对我来说，最甜美的音乐就是微风中的这些枝干的晃动声。”
“So imagine that that lovely moon is playing just for you, everything makes music if you really want it to.”
“所以想象一下，这个可爱的月亮正是为你而歌唱，如果你真的想的话，一切都会创造音乐。”
With that, the cricket smiled and picked up his violin. Then Gerald felt his body do the most amazing thing.
说着蟋蟀微微一笑，弹奏了他的小提琴。接着杰拉尔德突然有了感觉，身体随音乐舞个不停。
His hooves had started shuffling making circles on the ground. His neck was gently swaying and his tail was swishing round.
他的脚开始在地上打起了圈，在地上画出优美的弧线，脖子轻轻地晃动，尾巴也打起了圈。
He threw his arms out sideways and he swung them everywhere, then he did a backwards somersault and leapt up in the air.
他终于完全舒展开了四肢，尽情地向着各个方向舞动。突然他翻了个漂亮的跟头，身体一跃而起飞到了半空。
Gerald felt so wonderful. His mouth was open wide, “I am dancing! Yes, I’m dancing! I am dancing!” Gerald cried.
杰拉尔德感觉如此美妙。他的嘴巴张得大大的，“我在跳舞！是的，我在跳舞！我在跳舞！”杰拉尔德激动地喊道。
Then one by one each animal who’d been there at the dance arrived while Gerald boogied on and watched him quite entranced.
接下来听到叫声，原本正在跳舞的动物们一个接一个地来了，看着正在舞动的杰拉尔德，惊讶到目瞪口呆。
They shouted, “It’s a miracle! We must be in a dream, Gerald’s the best dancer that we’ve ever ever seen!”
他们大喊道，“这简直是个奇迹！ 我们一定是在做梦，杰拉尔德成了我们从未见过的、最优秀的舞者！”
“How is it you can dance like that? Please, Gerald, tell us how.” But Gerald simply twirled round and finished with a bow.
“你怎么跳出这样美的舞蹈？杰拉尔德，请告诉我们。”杰拉尔德轻轻转了个圈，向大家鞠躬。
Then he raised his head and looked up at the moon and stars above. “We all can dance,” he said,“When we find music that we love.”
接下来他昂起头，望着头顶的月亮和星星。“我们都能舞蹈，”他说，“只要我们发现自己热爱的音乐。”
大家还在听
