Gerald was a tall giraffe whose neck was long and slim,but hisknees were awfully bandy and his legs were rather thin.
杰拉德是只长颈鹿，长脖子优美而纤细。可惜膝盖向外弯曲，腿瘦得骨头连着皮。
He was very good at standing still andmunching shoots off trees.But when he tried to run around, he buckled at theknees.
他静静站立十分优雅，抬头就能吃到树顶的叶片。但是如果要他转个圈，他就会膝盖扭曲四脚朝天。
Now every year in Africa they hold the Jungle Dance, where every singleanimal turns up to skip and prance.
非洲每年的丛林舞会，热闹非凡而令人流连。丛林里的每一个动物，都要出席并尽情蹁跹。
And this year when the day arrived, Poor Gerald felt so
sad,becausewhen it came to dancing, he was really very bad.
今年的舞会如期而至，大个子杰拉德眉头紧蹙。跳舞这件事对他来说，实在是心有余而力不足。
The warthogs started waltzing. And the rhinos rock ‘n’ rolled.
疣猪们表演了华尔兹，犀牛们的摇滚很疯狂。
The lions danced a tango which was elegant and bold.
狮子们成对跳起探戈，舞步优雅而热情奔放。
The chimps all did a cha-cha with a very Latin feel.
黑猩猩集体跳恰恰，拉丁旋风迎面而刮。
And eight baboons then teamed up for a splendid Scottish reel.
八只狒狒两两结成舞伴，苏格兰圆圈舞风采尽展。
Gerald swallowed bravely as he walked towards the floor.
But thelions saw him coming and they soon began to roar.
杰拉德深深吸口气，鼓足勇气走上舞台。狮子们看到他出场，顿时哄堂笑开了怀。
“Hey, look at clumsy Gerald,” The animals all laughed.
“快来看蠢笨的杰拉德！”伙伴们都嘲笑他，
“Giraffes can’t dance, you silly fool. Oh Gerald, don’t be daft!”
“长颈鹿天生不会跳舞，杰拉德你别犯傻！”
Gerald simply froze up; he was rooted to the spot.
杰拉德听了僵在原地，四脚生根一动也不动。
“They’re right,” he thought, “I’m useless. Oh, I feel like such aclot.”
So he crept off from the dance floor and he started walking home. He’dnever felt so sad before, so sad and so alone.
“他们的话确实很在理，我就像块木头没啥用。”杰拉德痛苦地缓缓走下舞台，黯然转身独自踏上回家的路。听到动物们在身后哈哈大笑，杰拉德内心充满悲伤和苦楚。
Then he found a little clearing And he looked up at the sky,"The moon can be so beautiful,"He whispered with a sigh.
这时眼前出
"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！”一只蟋蟀咳嗽两声开了腔，他已观察杰拉德很久很久。“其实如果你想要变得不一样，只需一支不一样的曲子就够。
“Listen to the swaying grass and listen to the trees, to
me thesweetest music is those branches in the breeze.”
“你听，青草在摆动！你听，树枝在摇晃！在我看来，最甜美的音乐就是枝条在微风中发出的自由声响。”
“So imagine that that lovely moon is playing just for you.Everything makes music if you really want it to.”
“想象一下，天上那可爱的月亮正在轻声为你歌唱。万物都能创作音乐，只要你真诚地渴望。”
With that, the cricket smiled and picked up his violin.
Then Geraldfelt his body do the most amazing thing.
蟋蟀说完微微一笑，缓缓拉起了小提琴。杰拉德突然有了感觉，身体随着音乐舞个不停。
His hooves had stared shuffling making circles on the
ground,hisneck was gently swaying and his tail was swishing round.
他的蹄子轻轻敲击地面，在地上画出优美的弧线。长长的脖子轻快地摇摆，短短的尾巴甩出了圈圈。
He threw his arms out sideways and he swung them
everywhere,then hedid 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.
杰拉德的感觉非常美妙，他惊讶得张大嘴巴喊道：“我在跳舞！我在跳舞！”他一边跳一边不停地叫。
Then one by one each animal who’d been there at the dance arrivedwhile Gerald boogied on and watched him quite entranced.
听到杰拉德惊喜的叫声，动物们陆陆续续赶过来，看到杰拉德的曼妙舞姿，大家都惊讶得目瞪口呆。
They shouted, “It’s a miracle! We must be in a dream.
Gerald’s thebest dancer that we’ve ever ever seen!”
围观的动物大声喊道：“眼前的一切真神奇，我们一定是在梦里，杰拉德成了最棒的舞者，拥有最了不起的舞技！”
“How is it you can dance like that? Please, Gerald, tell
us how.”
“杰拉德你怎么跳得这样好，求求你快告诉我们你的秘诀。”
But Gerald simply twizzled round and finished with a bow.
杰拉德听了轻轻地转一个圈，先给伙伴们鞠个躬表示感谢。
Then he raised his head and looked up at the moon and
stars above.
然后他再一次抬起头望向夜空，只见星星和月亮更加美丽明亮。