《图书馆里的蝙蝠》Bats at the Library （附原文）

Another inky evening’s here – the air is cool and calm and clear. We’ve feasted, fluttered, swooped, and soared, and yet… we’re still a little bored. All this sameness leaves us blue and makes us ache for something new. Then word spreads quickly from afar: a window has been left ajar. Can it be true? Oh, can it be? Yes! – Bat Night at the library! The sky is lively as we race together toward our favorite place. Eager wings beat autumn air – Look, that’s it. We’re almost there! Then squeezed together, wing to wing, we rocket through the opening. We’ve waited for this night all year, but this is it! At last… …we’re here. For most old bats, this isn’t new – they’ve got lots of things to do. They’ll flutter off and lose themselves among the books lined up on shelves. Other bats, in munchy moods, will study guides to fancy foods or hang out by a lamp instead to talk about the books they’ve read. But little bats will have to learn the reason that we must return. The ones who haven’t come before have no idea what’s in store. Some of them will drift away and figure out a game to play, like shaping shadows on the wall, or wingtip-tag around the hall. This big box is loads of fun, blasting brighter than the sun. Instead of copying books from shelves, we can duplicate ourselves! Doesn’t matter where you look; there’s nothing like a pop-up book! The fountain water’s nice and cool and makes a splendid swimming pool. Please keep it down – you must behave! This library is not your cave! It’s hard to settle down and read when life flits by at dizzy speed. But storytime is just the thing to rest a play-exhausted wing. And if we listen, we will hear some distant voices drawing near – Louder, louder, louder still, they coax and pull us in, until… everyone – old bat or pup – has been completely swallowed up and lives inside a book instead of simply hearing something read. Breathless, lost within the tale, no one sees the sky grow pale. What is that light? A lamp? The moon? Our bookish feast can’t end so soon. It feels as though we’ve just begun, but now we leave our books half done. Through the window, into sky – it’s much too late – we’ve got to fly. But maybe a librarian will give us bats this chance again – and leave a window open wide to let us share the world inside! For now, we’ll dream of things we’ve read, a universe inside each head. Every evening, one and all will listen for that late-night call: Can it be true? Oh, can it be? Yes! – Bat Night at the library!