在很远很远的地方，有一座美丽的小岛坐落在水晶之海正中，它的名字叫作奇遇岛。在岛上的梦境森林的正中间，有一块被花墙和蕨类植物包围的小地方，那就是美丽的灌丛谷。奇遇岛的小兔子们就生活在那里。
梦境森林中的四季也会随着大自然的规律而变迁，春夏秋冬四个季节循环交替。树木在春天抽出枝条，长出新叶；在夏天绽放花朵；在秋天将金灿灿的落叶打着转儿地撒向地面。
冬天则是寒冷而宁静的季节，每过一天，就有越来越多的白雪落下，用雪花为森林中的一切盖上一条又白又软的厚毯子。
所有的动物都会躲在暖和的窝里，舒舒服服地做着春天的美梦。
这就是白雪的季节。
Beyond the horizon, farther than far, in the middle of the Crystal Sea, was a beautiful island called Serendipity. On this magical island,in the middle of the Forest of Dreams, protected by a wall of flowers and ferns was a glen called the Thicket. It was in the Thicket that the Serendipity bunnies lived.
In the Forest of Dreams the seasons followed Nature’s order; winter,spring, summer, and fall. The branches of the trees sprouted new leaves in the spring, blossomed in the summer, and in the fall the leaves, yellow-gold, spiraled softly to the ground.
That left only the quiet time, the cold reflection of winter. The snow fell, bringing the quiet hush of winter to the forest. With each passing day, more and more snow fell until everything was covered in a soft and gentle blanket.
All of the creatures of the forest were warmly nestled in their winter beds, dreaming of the spring to come.
This was the Season of Snow.
不过，说“所有的动物”并不准确，因为有一只小兔子并没有睡觉。这只毛茸茸的、长着一对耷拉下来的大耳朵的小兔子不仅没有睡，而且因为灰突突的漫长冬天而感觉无聊极了。他就是垂耳小兔利奥。
当然，利奥也不是不喜欢冬天，他觉得这个季节还是非常漂亮的。可是，他的朋友们——比如小熊叮当和小松鼠吱吱——都躲起来冬眠去了，得等到冬天结束才会出来。
所以，作为唯一醒着的小动物，可怜的利奥感觉孤零零的，而且完全没有事情可以做。
All of the creatures, that is, except for a furry, flop-eared rabbit named Leo the Lop who was hideously bored with the long, gray winter days.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like winter, for he thought the season was very pretty indeed, but all of his friends, Squeakers the squirrel, Jingle Bear, and all the others had hibernated. They had gone to sleep for the winter.
Now, the only one awake, and feeling oh-so-alone, poor Leo the Lop had nothing to do!
利奥拼命地想要找点儿事干。他从兔子洞深处翻出一套桌上游戏，试着自己跟自己玩了一会儿。可是，因为知道自己下一步要怎么走，所以他感觉一点儿也不好玩。
他又对着镜子做了几个鬼脸。可是，不管鬼脸做得多怪，他都笑不出来，反而感觉更无聊了。
“真是没事儿可干呀！”利奥叹了一口气，“我好无聊！”
Leo searched in vain for something to do. In the back of the bunny burrow he found an old board game and tried to play against himself but that was no fun at all. He knew the moves he was going to make before he made them.
He tried making funny faces in the mirror but he was so bored that his “faces” didn’t make him laugh at all. If anything he became even more bored, if such a thing was possible.
“There’s nothing to do!” he sighed. “I am so bored.”
“我在家里已经待了好长时间啦，”一天早上，利奥自言自语道，“白雪的季节估计快过去了吧。我猜春天很快就要来了，朋友们应该也快要醒来了！”
他一边想，一边围上最喜欢的格子围巾，给一对小兔爪子套上手套，然后快乐地跑到了门外的雪地上。
“我真想马上见到吱吱呀！没准儿他已经在等我了！”
小兔利奥沿着被白雪覆盖的小道，蹦蹦跳跳地跑向吱吱住着的那棵老橡树。
“I’ve been inside for such a long time,” he said one morning, “the Season of Snow must be almost over. I’ll bet it’s almost spring. All my friends must be waking up!”
With that he wrapped himself up in his favorite plaid scarf, put on his woolen bunny mittens and dashed happily out into the snow.
“I can’t wait to see Squeakers. He’s probably waiting for me right now.”
Happily,Leo the Lop hopped down the snow-covered Twisty Trail to the old oak tree where Squeakers lived.
当利奥赶到树下的时候，老橡树周围静悄悄的，没有半只松鼠的身影。他小心翼翼地爬到树上，站在一根粗壮的大树枝上，吱吱一家就住在这根树枝旁边的树洞里。他向洞里看了一眼，勉强能够看见吱吱和他的爸爸妈妈缩成一团，还在睡觉呢。
他轻轻地敲了敲树洞边的树皮。“嘿，吱吱！”利奥小声说，“醒醒吧，吱吱，冬天马上就要过去了，快出来一起玩吧！”
利奥安静地等了一会儿，但是回答他的只有细细的呼噜声。
“他可能是没听见吧！”利奥一边想，一边敲着树干大喊起来：“吱吱！起床啦！”
When Leo got there it was very quiet and no one seemed to be up and around. He carefully climbed up until he came to the crook where a big old branch joined with the trunk of the tree. Here was the squirrel hole where his friend and his family lived. He peered inside and just could barely see Squeakers, his mom, and his dad curled up asleep.
He softly tapped on the bark of the tree. “Hey, Squeakers!” he whispered. “Squeakers wake up. Winter is almost over. Wake up and let’s play!”
He waited and listened very carefully but the only thing he heard was some soft snoring and somebody mumbling in their sleep.
“He probably didn’t hear me!” Leo thought. “Squeakers!”he shouted as he pounded on the tree. “Wake up!”
这一次，树洞里传来了一阵嘟嘟囔囔的抱怨声。但那并不是吱吱，而是吱吱的爸爸。他这时候的心情可不太好，实际上，他的脾气就像老棕熊一样大。利奥吓了一跳，连自己还站在树枝上都忘了。他往后退了一步，一屁股掉在了树下的雪地上。
“你有什么事？”吱吱的爸爸气呼呼地问道，“冬天才过了一半，小子。你怎么没睡觉？”
“我没事儿干呀！”利奥愉快地回答，“所以我想来看看吱吱醒了没有，醒了的话我们就能一起玩了。”
吱吱的爸爸用难以置信的眼神看了他一会儿才说：“回家睡觉吧，傻孩子。等春天到了，你就能和吱吱一起玩啦。”说完他就打了个大大的哈欠，伸着懒腰回到暖和的树洞里去了。
There was a rumbling and a grumbling from inside. But it wasn’t Squeakers. It was Squeakers’ father and he was not very happy at all. In fact he was as grumpy as an old bear. Leo was so scared that he stepped back, forgetting that he was standing on the branch of the tree. Down plopped Leo the Lop into the snow below.
“What do you want?” grumbled the old squirrel, “It’s only half past winter, child, it’s still the Season of Snow. Why aren’t you asleep?”
“There’s nothing to do!” said Leo brightly. “So, I thought I’d see if Squeakers was awake so we could play.”
The old squirrel looked at him in disbelief. “Go back to bed, silly bunny. You can play with Squeakers in the spring.” With a yawn and a stretch he shuffled back into the warm comfort of the tree,leaving Leo alone again.
利奥可不是会轻易放弃的小兔子，他一点儿也不想回去冬眠。何况他现在一点儿也不困，只想留在外面玩。他又蹦蹦跳跳地走上小路，打算找找小熊叮当冬眠的巢穴。不过，这大概不是什么好主意，因为就算是在夏天，叮当的爸爸脾气也不怎么样。
走运的是，利奥遇到了五只叽叽喳喳的小鸟。“你们好啊，小鸟！”利奥说，“我没事儿可干，实在是无聊，你们想和我一起玩吗？”
“你可别开玩笑了！”小鸟们冷冰冰地答道，“白雪的季节才过了一半，我们只要不睡觉，就必须忙着找风干的果实和坚果填肚子，哪里有时间和你这样的傻小兔玩！”
说完，小鸟们就拍拍翅膀飞走了，把百无聊赖的利奥孤零零地扔在那里。
Now Leo was not one to give up easily and simply go back to his winter’s bed. Besides he couldn’t sleep and he wanted to play. Still bored,he began hopping down the trail with every intent of finding the hidden den where Jingle Bear was sleeping, which probably was not a good idea at all. Jingle Bear’s dad was not a happy bear even in the summer.
It was quite fortunate that he found five little twitter birds instead.“Hi, birds!” he said. “I’m bored and don’t have anything to do. Do you want to play?”
The twitter birds chattered coldly, “Are you kidding? It’s the middle of the Season of Snow. All our waking hours must be spent looking for dried nuts and berries in the trees and bushes. We have no time for play with a silly rabbit!” And with that they flew away in a flutter of feathers.
Once again, Leo the Lop was left alone, with nothing to do!
利奥已经无聊透顶了，他不仅没事可做，而且就算找到了可以做的事，也没有伴儿和他一起做。
“呸呸呸！真没劲！”利奥嘟囔着。
“你这是在‘呸’谁呢？”一个声音问道。
利奥抬头一看，发现学校里的猫头鹰老师正坐在一根低低的树枝上。“老师，我不是在对谁发脾气。”他叹了一口气，“我只是没有事情可干，想要把朋友们叫起来一起玩。可是，小鸟们都太忙了。我刚才去找吱吱，但他的爸爸生气了。我原本打算去把叮当叫起来的，不过我猜他的爸爸一定会气得把我的脑袋拧下来。我好无聊啊，没事儿可干！”
Leo was very bored. There was nothing to do and no one to do it with if he could find something to do.
“Oh, pooh!” he grumbled.
“Pooh, who?” a voice called out.
Leo looked up and roosting in the branch was his teacher from Critter School, old Teacher Owl. “There’s really no ‘pooh’, sir,” said Leo with a sigh. “I was bored and wanted to wake somebody up to play with.Squeakers’ dad got mad and the birds are too busy. I was gonna wake up Jingle Bear but I know his dad would growl my head off, for sure. I’m bored and there is nothing to do!”
聪明的猫头鹰老师想了一会儿，才温和地对利奥说：“你有没有想过，其实你可以试着自己和自己玩呢？那样也是好玩的呀。而且，等春天到来后，你就能把白雪的季节多么有意思讲给朋友们听了。”
“好吧，那我试试吧。”利奥又叹了一口气。他刚转过身准备走开，又突然把脑袋转了回来，毛茸茸的脸上挂着大大的微笑。“老师，您想和我一起玩吗？”
“别这样，利奥。试着自己去玩吧，相信我，那会很有意思的！”说完，猫头鹰老师就留下坐在雪地上的利奥飞走了。
看来，利奥又没事可做了……
不过，真的是这样吗？
The old owl, being wise by nature, thought for a moment and then softly whooed, “Did you ever stop to think, that maybe you could play by yourself and have just as much fun? Later, come this spring, you can tell all your friends about your marvelous winter fun in the Season of Snow.”
“Well, I’ll try.” Sighed Leo as he started to walk away. Suddenly with a smile on his fuzzy face he turned and asked brightly, “Uh, do you want to play?”
“No, Leo.Be by yourself. Trust me, you will have fun.” And with that old Teacher Owl flew away leaving Leo sitting in the snow all alone.
There was still nothing to do...
...or was there?
“好吧，好吧！”利奥说，“那我就试试自己找点儿好玩的事情做吧！”他蹦蹦跳跳地踩着厚厚的雪爬向山顶，不过那里当然也没有什么事情可干。
“刚才我试过在雪地里跳了，”利奥自言自语道，“现在我试试从山坡上滑下去，然后就回家吧。”
他坐在自己的两只大脚上，飞快地从山坡上滑了下去。“哎呀，这可有点儿好玩。实际上，这实在是太好玩了！我要再玩一次！”
他一边想着，一边飞快地重新爬上山顶滑了起来。森林里回**着他快活的欢呼声。
“Well,” he sighed, “I guess I’ve got to try to find some fun somewhere!” And try he did. He hopped up the mountain, higher and higher through the heavy snow searching and searching for something to do, but he found nothing at all, save for the top of hill.
“I’m tired of hopping through the snow,” he said. “Maybe I’ll just slide down the hill and go home.”
He sat back on his big feet and slid quickly down the hill. “Hmmm,” he thought, “That was fun. In fact that was a lot of fun! I’m gonna do it again.”
With that he quickly hopped back up the hill and skied back down again! “Wheee!” he laughed, his voice echoing into the forest.
滑了一个小时雪以后，利奥已经找到自己跟自己玩的窍门了。“肯定还有更多好玩的事情！”他大笑着说。
利奥左右看了看，蹲下用爪子挖起一捧又一捧雪，把它们团成一个大大的雪球，又放在地上滚了起来。这个雪球变得越来越大、越来越大，最后大得利奥都推不动了。利奥就把它放在一边，开始团新的雪球。
利奥就这样一个又一个地团了四个大雪球，然后把它们一个压一个地摞在一起，开始用爪子和一根短短的棍子雕刻起来，做出了奇遇岛上有史以来最大的一只雪兔子。哎呀，这可真是太好玩了！
这天傍晚回家的时候，利奥虽然精疲力竭，但是也开心极了。
After skiing for an hour or more, Leo was becoming a master at playing by himself, “Maybe there are other things I can do alone,” he laughed.
He looked around and then knelt down, scooped up some soft snow in his paws and made a snowball. He packed more and more snow onto the ball and when it was big enough he put it on the ground and began to roll it around and around. Slowly the snowball grew bigger and bigger and bigger.When it was so big that Leo could barely roll it he started another one.
He rolled another and another and finally stacked them on the top of each other. With his hands and a short stick he carved the biggest snow bunny that had ever been built on the Island of Serendipity. Boy,was that fun!
Later that afternoon, Leo went back to the bunny burrow a tired, but very happy, rabbit.
在接下来的几天里，利奥都是这样开心地玩着，有时堆雪兔子，有时滑雪，有时只是躺在雪地上挥动胳膊，在雪堆里印出一个个奇奇怪怪的形状。
有一天，利奥正在雪地里玩，突然发现白雪下面似乎出现了一丝绿色。他仔细地看了看，才发现到处都有小小的嫩芽从雪地里钻出来。
“春天来啦！”利奥开心地喊道。
原来，利奥玩得太入迷了，甚至没有注意到春天已经悄然到来。积雪一点一点地融化，森林里的其他动物也渐渐从冬眠中醒过来了。
这下，利奥终于有伴儿啦！
He played like this for days and days. Building snow bunnies, sliding down the hills and once or twice he just laid in the snow waving his arms making funny figures.
One day as he was playing, he noticed a small green shoot peeping through the snow. He looked around and, sure enough, there were little green shoots all over the place.
“It’s the beginning of spring!” he shouted gleefully.
Sure enough, Leo had been having so much fun he didn’t even know that spring had sprung. As the snow slowly melted, the other creatures of the forest began to wake from their deep winters’ sleep.
Leo wasn’t alone anymore.
从春天到夏天，垂耳小兔利奥一直在和其他动物讲冬天多么有意思，以及他是怎么在白雪的季节里独自玩得很开心的。
虽然现在他可以和伙伴们一起玩了，不过利奥偶尔还是会抽出一点点时间，自己和自己玩一小会儿。
Leo the Lop spent most of the spring and part of the summer telling the other creatures about the wonderful time he had during the winter playing by himself.
And though he played with all the animals whenever he could, once and a while Leo would go off alone and play by himself.
如果你孤单没人陪，如果你觉得没事做，不如学学垂耳小兔，像他一样自得其乐。
SO, WHEN YOU’RE ALL ALONE,
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THERE’S NOTHING TO DO REMEMBER LEO’S LESSON...
...YOU CAN ALWAYS PLAY WITH YOU.