100个儿童英文故事集#89 The costume party

Mouse had cleaned her nest. She had stored all the nuts she needed for winter. She had washed her fur from the tips of her ears to the tips of her toes. Mouse wanted to do something fun. “Let’s have a party,” she said. “What kind of party?” asked Skunk. “We can play games,” said Pins. “We can have dancing,” said Rabbit. “We can have food!” said Moosling. He was always hungry. “I know!” said Hoot. “We can have a costume party!” “What is a costume party?” Moosling asked. “It’s a dress-up party,” Hoot told him. “You dress up as someone else. You can even dress up as a thing! Mouse dressed up as a carrot last time.” “It will be fun!” Mouse said. “I can choose the best costume. I’ll even give a prize!” “Can we still have dancing?” asked Skunk. “And games?” asked Rabbit. “And food?” Moosling asked. “Yes, yes, yes,” said Hoot. “And guess what! I have a trunk full of old clothes and other things. You can all come and get what you want to use for costumes.” So Hoot opened her big trunk, and all the animals came to find things to wear. They came one by one, because they all wanted their costumes to be a surprise. Mouse came to look in the trunk. Then Pins came. Rabbit, Beaver, and Frog all got costumes. Skunk got a costume, and so did all the little skunks. But when it was Moosling’s turn, he had a problem. Nothing fit him! No pants would fit on his long legs. No shoes would fit on his big feet. And not one hat would fit on his big, big head. Every wig was far too small, and so were all the funny glasses. “Oh, dear,” said Moosling. “What can I do, Hoot? Where can we find a costume big enough to fit me?” Hoot looked into the trunk. “Don’t worry, Moosling,” she said. “I have an idea.” All the animals came to the party. They danced and played games. “Is that you, Pins?” said a dentist. “Yes!” said the clown. “Is that you, Beaver?” “Yes, it’s me!” said the dentist. “All the costumes are great! It will be hard for Mouse to choose the best one.” Rabbit was dressed up as a cowboy. He hopped here and there, saying “Howdy!” to everyone. Frog was dressed as a prince, and Turtle’s shell was painted to look like a race car. Mouse looked pretty dressed up as a sunflower. Hoot looked very pretty, too. The owl was sitting in a tree, watching the fun. Beaver and Pins didn’t know who was in the dragon costume, so they peeked. “I don’t see Moosling,” said Mouse. “You’re right,” said Skunk. “Why isn’t Moosling here?” All the animals began to ask about their moose friend. “Where is Moosling?” asked Mouse. “Why didn’t Moosling come to the party?” Rabbit wanted to know. “We want Moosling!” said the little skunks. “Here I am!” cried Moosling. A grin appeared on the trunk of the tree where Hoot was sitting. Then two big eyes blinked. “Moosling!” cried Mouse. “It’s you!” “You were here all the time!” said Pins. “We didn’t even see you in that tree costume!” Rabbit said. “Wow!” said the little skunks. “Can we climb you?” “Well,” said Mouse. “It is not hard to choose the best costume after all!” And she pinned a blue ribbon right on the big brown tree.