儿童故事集：麦克斯韦失去了一颗牙-Maxwell Loses A Tooth

Maxwell put up his hand and waited for his teacher, Mrs. Gilbert, to notice him.

“Do you have a question, Maxwell?” she asked.

 

“It’s more like a problem,” Maxwell said. “I lost my tooth.”

 

Maxwell stood up and held out his hand to show his class his baby tooth.

 

“Congratulations¹,” Mrs. Gilbert said. Then she asked the class if anyone had any advice for Maxwell. Keiko put up her hand first. Keiko was from Japan.

 

“Is it an upper or a lower² tooth?” Keiko asked.

 

“A lower tooth,” Maxwell said. He opened his mouth and showed the class the empty spot in the bottom of his mouth.

 

“You should throw your baby tooth over the roof of your house,” Keiko said.

 

“Why should I do that?” Maxwell said.

 

“Because then your new adult tooth will grow properly. When you lose an upper tooth you should put it under the floor.”

 

Mrs. Gilbert thought this was a good idea, but Frida disagreed. Frida was from Austria³.

 

“You shouldn’t throw your baby tooth away, Maxwell. You should keep it and give it to your mother,” Frida said.

 

“Why should I do that?” asked Maxwell.

 

“She will make it into a necklace for you to wear.”

 

Jorge shook his head and put up his hand. He had some different advice for Maxwell. Jorge was from Mexico.

 

“You should take your tooth home. Then you should put it under your pillow⁴ when you go to sleep,” Jorge said.

 

“Why should I do that?” Maxwell said.

 

“Because then the tooth mouse will come. He will keep your tooth and pay you with good luck. Sometimes the tooth mouse even brings a small toy.”

 

Maxwell liked Jorge’s advice the best. Mrs. Gilbert gave him a box to keep his tooth in. She didn’t want him to lose his tooth again.

 

“Whatever you decide, you should show your mother your tooth when you get home,” Mrs. Gilbert said.

 

When Maxwell got home he showed his mother the empty spot in his mouth. Then he opened the box and showed her his tooth.

 

“Congratulations! What are you going to do with your tooth, Maxwell?” his mother asked.

 

“I’m going to put it under my pillow,” he said. And he did.

 

When Maxwell woke up the next morning he looked under his pillow. The tooth was gone. In its place, Maxwell found a one dollar bill. He also found a letter. This is what the letter said:

 

Dear Maxwell,

Congratulations! You lost your first tooth. I will keep it forever. You should buy something nice for yourself with this money.

Love,

The Tooth Fairy

 

“I should tell my class about the tooth fairy,” Maxwell thought. “Everyone should lose a tooth!”

1 congratulations   

n.祝贺；贺词；祝词

参考例句：

• I send you my warmest congratulations on your success. 我对你的成功致以最热烈的祝贺。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Please give her my congratulations when you see her. 见到她时请转达我的祝贺。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

3 Austria   

n.奥地利(欧洲国家)

参考例句：

• Austria lies to the southeast of Germany.奥地利位于德国东南。
• I always confuse Australia with Austria.我总是把澳大利亚同奥地利弄混。

4 pillow   

n.枕头；枕垫；vt.作…的枕头；垫；枕于；vi.靠在枕上

参考例句：

• He fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.他脑袋一碰枕头就睡着了。
• She was found asleep on a pillow of leaves.有人看见她枕着树叶睡着了。