第一次读到这本绘本时，我就被里面的文字、图片和故事情节给吸引了！
这是一个和“狐假虎威”很相似的故事。
不知道小伙伴们在儿时听这个故事的时候，对那只狐狸有什么看法。虽然“正确答案”告诉我们，狐狸那样狗仗人势，是被鄙视的。但是，在我们那懵懂的小小的心里，会不会有那么一丢丢地佩服呢？佩服狐狸临危不惧，生死关头，机智化解危机的智慧？
而今天这本英文绘本里，有一只小老鼠，也和狐狸一样，临危不惧，生死关头，机智化解了危机，在丛林里生存了下来。
绘本里没有“中心思想”、“正确答案”，只有描述性的文字和图片，让大小朋友自己在故事中，去感受：
封底文字：
Explore the deep dark wood and discover what happens when a quick-witted mouse meets a fox, an owl, a snake and...
Oh help! Oh no! A Gruffalo!
参考译文：
去幽暗的树林里探索、发现，看看机智的老鼠在遇到狐狸、猫头鹰 、蛇和......
啊，救命！啊，不！一头咕噜牛！
讲解：
explore：在某地或某个国家旅行，目的是为了对其进行全面了解。在本文里，意思是行走在树林里，去了解树林里的一切。比如，去了解发现树林里接下来发生的故事。
gruffalo：在字典里，是没有这个单词的。稍后在故事里，你会发现，这个词是故事主人翁，小老鼠自创的。
所以，如果小朋友从小读这样的故事，见了很多次explore，他自己就会形成这种认知：explore是要去某个地方勘察、了解。
本页文字：
A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood.
A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.
"Where are you gooing to, little brown mouse?
Come and have lunch in my underground house."
"It's terribly kind of you, Fox, but no—
I'm gping to have lunch with a gruffalo."
"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?"
中文大意：
【为了方便理解，下面所有中文大意，都是按照字面意思直译的。中文版绘本文字，更押韵更美哈。】
一只老鼠在幽暗的树林里溜达。
一只狐狸看到了这只老鼠，而且这只老鼠看起来很不错。
“你要去哪里呀，小棕鼠？
来我地下的房子里吃午饭吧。”
“你真是太好了，狐狸，但是，不了—
我要去和一只咕噜牛共进午餐。”
“一只咕噜牛？咕噜牛是什么？”
“咕噜牛啊！啥，你还不知道？”
讲解：
stroll：意思是漫无目的地闲逛、溜达。
gruffalo：gru其实是肚子咕咕叫的声音，看配套动画片的时候，就会明白，这是小老鼠听到肚子咕噜叫的声音后，急中生智自己编的一个怪物的名字。所以，中文绘本把gruffalo翻译为咕噜牛，相当贴切。后面就会看到这个长得很像牛的怪兽了。
注意彩色文字，都押韵呢！
非常美！
本页文字：
"He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws,
And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws."
"Where are you meeting him?"
"Here, by these rocks,
And his favorite food is roasted fox."
"Roasted fox! I'm off!" Fox said.
"Goodbye, little mouse," and away he sped.
"Silly old Fox! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffalo?"
中文大意：
“他长着可怕的长牙，可怕的爪子，
在他那可怕的嘴里长着可怕的牙齿”
“你和他在哪里见面？”
“这儿，这些岩石旁边，
而且，他最喜欢的食物是烤狐狸。”
“烤狐狸！我走了！”狐狸说。
“再见，小老鼠，”他匆匆离开了。
“好笨的狐狸！难道他不知道，
世界上没有咕噜牛这种东西？”
讲解：
tusk：意为动物嘴里长出的长牙，比如大象、海象等动物。不用给孩子解释，因为有特写图。
jaw：本意是上下颌骨，引申一下下，上下颌骨是嘴巴的主要构成部分，就可只带嘴巴了。而且在这里，用terrible jaws会让人想像超强大的两块颌骨，会比mouth更有恐怖的气氛。
sped：speed的过去式，意思是迅速地。在这里就是狐狸离开的速度非常快。可以看图，是仓皇大逃亡。
本页原文：
On went the mouse through the deep dark wood.
An owl saw thet mouse and the mouse looked good.
"Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come and have tea in my treetop house."
"It's frightfully nice of you, Owl, but no—
I'm going to have tea with a gruffalo."
"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?"
中文大意：
这只老鼠继续穿行在这片幽暗的树林里。
一只猫头鹰看到了这只老鼠，这只老鼠看上去很不错。
“你要去哪里呀，小棕鼠？
来我树顶的房子里喝茶吧。”
“你真是太好了，猫头鹰，但是，不了—
我要去和咕噜牛一起喝茶。”
“咕噜牛？咕噜牛是什么？”
“咕噜牛啊！啥，你不知道？”
讲解：
可以看到，猫头鹰和小老鼠的对话，与之前狐狸和小老鼠的对话，句式是一模一样的，仍然非常押韵。
只是改了几个关键词：underground换成了tree top，terribly换成了frightfully。虽然terribly 和frightfully在句子中，都只是副词，形容后面的good/nice，但是，一语双关啊：两个词里，都有可怕、恐怖。
本页文字：
"He has knobbly knees, and turned-out toes,
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose."
"Where are you meeting him?"
"Here, by this stream,
And his favorite food is owl ice cream."
"Owl ice cream? Toowhit toowhoo!
Goodbye, little mouse," and away Owl flew.
"Silly old Owl! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffalo?"
中文大意：
“他长着疙疙瘩瘩的膝盖，外翻的脚趾，
他的鼻尖上长着一颗毒疣。”
“你和他在哪里见面？”
“这儿，这条小溪旁，
而且，他最喜欢的食物是猫头鹰冰淇淋。”
“猫头鹰冰淇淋？呜呼 呜呜！
再见，小老鼠，”猫头鹰飞走了。
“好笨的猫头鹰！难道他不知道，
世界上没有咕噜牛这种东西吗？”
本页文字：
On went the mouse through the deep dark wood.
A snake saw thet mouse and the mouse looked good.
"Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come for a feast in my logpile house."
"It's wonderfully good of you, Snake, but no—
I'm having a feast with a gruffalo."
"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?"
中文大意：
这只老鼠继续穿行在这片幽暗的树林里。
一条看到了这只老鼠，这只老鼠看上去很不错。
“你要去哪里呀，小棕鼠？
来我原木堆里的房子吃大餐吧。”
“你真是太好了，蛇，但是，不了—
我要去和咕噜牛一起吃大餐。”
“咕噜牛？咕噜牛是什么？”
“咕噜牛啊！啥，你不知道？”
讲解:
句式和之前一样，就换了几个词，所以越到后面，理解起来就越容易啦！
本页文字：
"His eyes are orange, his tongue is black;
He has purple prickles all over his back."
"Where are you meeting him?"
"Here, by this lake,
And his favorite food is scrambled snake."
"Scrambled snake! It's time I hid!
Goodbye, little mouse," and away Snake slid.
"Silly old Snake! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffal...
中文大意：
“他的眼睛是橙色的，他的舌头是黑色的，
他整个背上都长着紫色的尖刺。”
“你和他在哪里见面？”
“这儿，这个湖边，
而且，他最喜欢的食物是炒蛇肉。”
“炒蛇肉！我该藏起来了！
再见，小老鼠，”蛇溜走了。
“好笨的蛇！难道他不知道，
世界上没有咕噜......
讲解：
scramble: 在本文意思是把东西胡乱地搅碎，比如炒鸡蛋的时候，会把鸡蛋弄碎，所以炒鸡蛋就是scrambled eggs. 在这里scrambled snake意思就是把蛇当做一道菜，胡乱地炒碎。
注意最后一句话，老鼠的话还没说完。
本页文字：
...Oh!"
But who is this creature with terrible claws
And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws?
He has knbbly knees and turned-out toes
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose.
His eyes are orange, his tongue is black;
He has purple prickes all over his back.
"Oh help! Oh no!
It's a gruffalo!"
中文大意：
......啊！”
但是，这个长着可怕爪子的生物是谁？
他可怕的嘴里长着可怕的牙齿。
他长着疙疙瘩瘩的膝盖和外翻的脚趾，
他鼻尖上长着一个毒疣。
他的眼睛是橙色的，他的舌头是黑色的；
他整个背都长满了紫色的尖刺。
“啊，救命！啊，不！
是咕噜牛！”
本页文字：
"My favorite food!" the Gruffalo said.
"You'll tast good on a slice of bread!"
"Good?"said the mouse. "Don't call me good!
I'm the scariest creature in this wood.
Just walk behind me and soon you'll see,
Everyone is afraid of me."
"All right," said the Gruffalo, bursting with laghter.
"You go ahead and I'll follow after."
They walked and walked till the gruffalo said,
"I hear a hiss in the leaves ahead."
中文大意：
“我最喜欢的食物！”咕噜牛说。
“放在一片面包上，你尝起来会很美味！”
“美味？”老鼠说。“别叫我美味！
我可是这片树林里最恐怖的生物。
跟在我身后，很快你就会知道，
大家都怕我。”
“好吧，”咕噜牛说，爆笑着。
“我走前面，我跟在后面。”
他们走啊走啊，直到咕噜牛说，
“我听到前面树叶里有咝咝声。”
本页文字：
"It's Snake," said the mouse. "Why, Snake, hello!"
Snake took one look at the Gruffalo.
"Oh crumbs!" he said, "Goodbye, litle mouse,"
And off he slid to his logpile house.
"You see?" said the mouse. "I told you so."
"Amazing! " said the Gruffalo.
They walked some more till the Gruffalo said,
"I hear a hoot in the trees ahead."
中文大意：
“是蛇，”老鼠说。“嘿，蛇，你好！”
蛇看了一眼咕噜牛。
“噢，碎渣渣！”他说，“再见，小老鼠。”
蛇溜向了他的原木堆房子。
“看到没？”老鼠说。“我告诉过你的。”
“不可思议！”咕噜牛说。
他们又走了一会儿，直到咕噜牛说，
“我听到前面树林里有呜呜声。”
讲解：
why：这里的why不是在提问，只是一个语气词。
crumbs：食物碎屑。在这里，其实是用来感叹的。还记得前面的scrambled snake吗？感受一下这个crumb和scramble的发音。
本页文字：
"It's Owl," said the mouse. ""Why, Owl, hello!
Owl took one look at the Gruffalo.
"Oh dear!" he said, "Goodbye, little mouse,"
And off he flew to his treetop house.
"You see?" said the mouse. "I told you so."
"Astounding!" said the Gruffalo.
They walked some more till the Gruffalo said,
"I can hear feet on the path ahead."
中文大意：
“是猫头鹰，”老鼠说。“嘿，猫头鹰，你好！”
猫头鹰看了一眼咕噜牛。
“噢，天啊！”他说，“再见，小老鼠，”
然后，他飞向了他树顶的房子。
“看到没？”老鼠说。“我告诉过你的。”
“目瞪口呆！”咕噜牛说。
他们又走了一会儿，直到咕噜牛说，
“我能听到前面路上的脚步声。”
本页文字：
"It's Fox," said the mouse. "Why, Fox, hello!"
Fox took one look at the Gruffalo.
"Oh help!" he said, "Goodbye, little mouse,"
And off he ran to his underground house.
"Well, Gruffalo," said the mouse. "You see?
Everyone is afraid of me!
But now my tummy's begining to rumble.
My favorite food is— gruffalo crumble.
"Gruffalo crumble!" the Gruffalo said,
And quick as the wind he turned and fled.
中文大意：
“是狐狸，”老鼠说。“嘿，狐狸，你好！”
狐狸看了一眼咕噜牛。
“噢，救命！”他说，“再见，小老鼠，”
然后，他跑向了他地下房子。
“嗯，咕噜牛”老鼠说。“看到了吗?
大家都怕我！
不过，现在我兔子开始咕咕叫了。
我最喜欢的食物是—咕噜牛碎碎！”
“咕噜牛碎碎！”咕噜牛说，
然后，他风一样，飞快转身，逃走了。
本页文字：
All was quiet in the deep dark wood.
The mouse found a nut and the nut was good.
中文大意：
幽暗的树林里，全部静悄悄的。
老鼠找到了一个坚果，这个坚果很不错。
