Ri! Ri!, riu-se Toninho, subindo as escadas da varanda da frente de sua casa.

. Sentado na sua cadeira de balano predileta estava o Vov Juca. Voc parece estar se divertindo, Toninho, disse o Vov. Hee, hee, Tristan giggled, as he walked up the stairs to the front porch of his home. There sat Grandpa Jake in his favorite rocking chair. You seem to be having fun, Tristan, Grandpa Jake said.

Toninho olhou para cima com uma risadinha: Acabei de ver a coisa mais engraada! Estava brincando com meu amigo nos fundos da casa, comeou ele a contar, quando vimos o Dani da casa ao lado, saindo. O senhor no vai acreditar no que aconteceu.

Tristan looked up and grinned. Oh, I just saw the funniest thing! I was playing with my friend behind the house, Tristan began, when we saw Derek from next door come out of his house. You wouldnt believe what happened!

 Ah, ? perguntou o Vov Juca curioso levantando a sobrancelha. E o que foi? Quando Dani saiu de casa, tropeou e caiu na escada. Mas o engraado foi que, quando ele se levantou, seu p ficou preso num pequeno balde. Ele no conseguia tirar o p do balde. Tentou de tudo e quando finalmente conseguiu, seu sapato ficou preso no balde. Toninho ria bea quando chegou ao fim da histria, mas o Vov no. Pelo contrrio, ele tinha um olhar tristonho.

Oh? Grandpa Jake inquired, raising a curious eyebrow. And what was that? When Derek came out of the house he tripped and fell down the stairs. But the funny thing was that when he got up, his foot was stuck in a small bucket. He couldnt get his foot out of the bucket. He was pulling and pulling, trying to get it out. When he finally did, his shoe stayed stuck in the bucket. By the end of his story, Tristan was laughing very hard, but his grandpa wasnt. Instead, a sad look came across Grandpa Jakes face.

 Ele podia ter se machucado muito! Como acha que o Dani se sentiu com as suas risadas? perguntou o Vov Juca. Toninho olhou para seu av. Ficou meio confuso ao refletir sobre aquilo. O Vov Juca continuou: Como voc se sentiria se estivesse no lugar do Dani e algum comeasse a rir quando algo desagradvel lhe acontecesse? Acho que no ia gostar muito, disse Toninho num sussurro com o olhar fixo no cho. No nos sentimos muito bem quando as pessoas riem de ns, especialmente depois de um acidente. Isso me faz lembrar de uma histria sobre o Vtor. O rosto do Toninho se iluminou. Conte-me esta histria, vov, por favor!

He could have been badly hurt! How do you think Derek felt when you and your friend were laughing at him? Grandpa Jake asked. Tristan looked at his grandpa. He was a little puzzled as he thought about that. Grandpa Jake continued, If you were in Dereks place, how would you feel if someone started laughing when something unpleasant happened to you? Not so good, I guess, Tristan said in a whisper. He stared at the ground. It usually doesnt feel very nice when people make fun of you, especially when youve had an accident. That reminds me of a story about Wallace.

Tristans face lit up. Please tell me!

Vtor andava devagarzinho, abrindo caminho na grama. Ele estava curvado e se arrastava, apoiando-se bem em uma vareta. Ele tinha um curativo na perna e uma expresso de dor no rosto. Ele tinha tropeado em uma raiz de dente-de-leo e machucado a perna no dia anterior quando procurava comida para o jantar. Dora o resgatou. Fez uma atadura e tambm lhe serviu o jantar, para que ele no tivesse que andar com a perna machucada.

Wallace walked slowly along, pushing his way around the blades of grass. He was bent and he hobbled along, leaning hard on a twig for support. There was a bandage on his leg and a pained look on his face. The day before, while collecting food for his dinner, Wallace had tripped over a dandelion root and injured his leg. Drudy had come to his rescue. She had gotten him all bandaged up and fed him some dinner too, so he wouldnt have to walk on his hurt leg.

Hoje Vtor se sentia um pouco melhor. Ele conseguia caminhar com a ajuda de uma muleta, mas ainda se sentia muito mal.

Por que fui me machucar? disse com os seus botes. Agora tenho este Why did I have to get all grande curativo na minha perna e di. banged up? he muttered to Eu me sinto pssimo! himself. Now I have this big bandage on my leg and Vtor coxeava lentamente. De repente, it hurts. I feel terrible! sua vareta se abriu em duas partes e ele mais uma vez, acabou no cho. Wallace limped slowly on. Suddenly his crutch Aiii! gritou ele. No achava que snapped in two. Once as coisas podiam piorar, disse com again, Wallace landed in a raiva, mas agora, olhem s para mim. heap on the ground. Ca de novo . OUCH! he cried. I didnt think things could get worse, he said angrily, but now look at me.Ive fallen once again.

Today Wallace was feeling a bit better. He was able to hobble along with the help of a crutch, but he still felt pretty miserable.

Coitado do Vtor!
Foi ento que ouviu uns risinhos ali perto. Virou-se e viu dois besourinhos sentados em uma folha rindo. Eles observavam o Vtor cambalear entre a grama, e quando sua vareta quebrou, acharam aquilo to engraado que caram na gargalhada. Vtor to desajeitado, disse Mindinho entre risos. O outro besouro, de nome Engraadinho, comeou o corinho: Vtor Vacilante!

Poor Wallace!
Just then he heard a snicker nearby. Wallace turned and spotted two little beetles sitting on a cloverleaf laughing. They had been watching Wallace hobble along through the grass, and when his crutch broke it looked so funny to them that they laughed and laughed. Wallace is so clumsy, said Specks, in between laughs. The other beetle, Jibber, started chanting, Wobbly Wallace!

Mindinho se juntou a ele, e os dois Specks joined in, and the two no paravam de repetir a tal frase. began singing that line over and over again.

Vtor ficou cabisbaixo. Sua perna machucada agora doa ainda mais. O pior de tudo era que se sentia ferido por dentro. Ele queria chorar. Seus olhos se encheram de lgrimas enquanto os dois besouros no paravam de repetir o coro.
Acho que sou mesmo vacilante e desajeitado, pensou Vtor com tristeza. Parece que sempre estou me acidentando. um acidente atrs do outro. Estou sempre me machucando, derramando algo, deixando cair algo. No consigo fazer nada direito! Vo embora, disse ele com tristeza para Engraadinho e Mindinho. Mas os besouros levados riam ainda mais.

Wallace stared at the ground. His sore leg hurt even more now, but what was worse was the hurt he felt inside. He wanted to cry. His eyes grew misty as the two beetles continued chanting. I guess I really am wobbly and clumsy, Wallace thought sadly. I seem to have a lot of accidents. And then after that, I have more accidents. Im always hurting myself or spilling this or dropping that. I cant do anything!

Go away, he said sadly to Jibber and Specks. But the naughty beetles only laughed harder.

 Minha nossa, o que aconteceu? Era a Dora. Ela pairava bem acima de Vtor, com um olhar preocupado.

Oh dear, what happened here? It was Drudy. She hovered just above Wallace, with a concerned look on her face. Wallace didnt look up at Drudy; he continued to stare at the ground. He now had tears in his eyes. It was then that Drudy heard Jibber and Specks, still giggling and chanting nearby. She tilted her head to listen to them. Wobble wobble Wobbly Wallace! they said, and then burst into laughter.

Vtor no olhou para Dora; continuou com os olhos fitos no cho. Seus olhos estavam cheios de lgrimas.
Dora ento ouviu Engraadinho e Mindinho, que ainda repetiam seu coro ali perto. Ela virou a cabea para ouvi-los. Vtor vacilante! Vtor vacilante! diziam, caindo na gargalhada logo depois.

Os besouros no tinham percebido a chegada de Dora e ficaram muito surpresos ao olharem para cima e verem a liblula pairando bem na sua frente. No rosto de Dora havia um olhar de desagrado. Vocs esto se divertindo? perguntou. Engraadinho e Mindinho pararam de rir e se endireitaram sentados. , uh, gaguejou Mindinho.

The beetles hadnt noticed Drudys arrival and were very surprised when they looked up to see the dragonfly hovering in front of them. There was a disappointed look on her face.

Are you beetles having fun? she asked.

Jibber and Specks stopped laughing and sat up straight. Uh uh, Specks stuttered.

Acabamos de ver algo muito engraado, s, disse Engraadinho. Quando Vtor caminhava, sua muleta se partiu. But Drudy wasnt laughing. You Foi engraado demais. E os know what? she said. It may have dois besouros riram um pouco looked pretty funny to you, but poor mais. Wallace couldve been badly hurt, Mas Dora no riu. Sabem de and instead of finding uma coisa? disse ela. Talvez out if he was okay, you tenha sido muito engraado para just laughed at him. vocs, mas o coitado do Vtor You can make poderia ter se machucado feio. E someone feel very vocs, em vez de irem ver se ele sad inside if you estava bem, ficaram a rindo. Rir make fun of him de algum quando algo d errado when things go faz a pessoa se sentir muito triste wrong. por dentro.

We just saw something very funny, thats all, Jibber said. When Wallace was walking, his crutch snapped. It was so, so funny. And the two beetles laughed some more.

Os besouros olharam pensativos para Vtor. Logo em seguida, de repente a folha de trevo onde estavam sentados sucumbiu ao peso dos dois. Os besouros caram no cho rolando. Ver os besouros rolando na grama macia foi bem engraado, mas em vez de rir, Dora foi at Engraadinho e Mindinho e lhes perguntou se estavam bem.

The beetles looked thoughtfully at Wallace. Then, all of a sudden, the cloverleaf they had been sitting on gave in under their weight. The two beetles tumbled to the ground, rolling as they did. Seeing the beetles rolling around in the soft grass was a rather funny sight, but instead of laughing, Drudy hurried over to Jibber and Specks and asked if they were all right.

 Puxa vida! Foi um tombo e tanto, disse ela. Vocs se machucaram? Eu estou bem, disse Mindinho. Eu tambm, foi s um susto, acrescentou Engraadinho. Puxa, fico contente por vocs estarem bem, disse Dora enquanto ajudava os dois a se levantarem.

Oh dear, that was quite a fall, she said. Are you hurt? Im okay, Specks said.

Me too. Just a little tumble, added Jibber.

Im so glad youre not hurt, Drudy said, as she helped the beetles to their feet.

Estou me sentindo to mal por ter zombado do Vtor, disse Mindinho, enquanto sacudia a poeira.
Eu tambm, disse Engraadinho. Acho que devemos pedir desculpas ao Vtor. E talvez possamos ajud-lo com alguma coisa, completou Mindinho. Assim ele no tem que andar com a perna machucada. muita considerao da sua parte, disse Dora com um sorriso. Tenho certeza que Vtor vai ficar agradecido com a sua gentileza e ajuda.

I feel really bad about making fun of Wallace, Specks said, as he dusted himself off.
Me too, Jibber said. We should go say were sorry. And maybe we can help him with some things, Specks added. That way he doesnt have to walk on his sore leg.

Thats so thoughtful of you, Drudy said with a smile. Im sure Wallace would appreciate your kindness and help.

 Fim, disse o Vov Juca, fechando o livro de histrias. Eu me sinto mal por ter zombado do Dani, disse Toninho pensativo. Vou tentar ser bem gentil com ele e no rir quando as coisas derem errado. tima idia! disse o Vov. Tenho certeza que ele vai gostar de ter voc como amigo. The end, Grandpa Jake read, closing his storybook. I feel badly about making fun of Derek, Tristan said thoughtfully after a moments silence. Im going to try to be nicer to him and not laugh when things go wrong for him. Thats excellent, Grandpa Jake said. Im sure hell enjoy having you as a friend.

Moral da histria: Faa aos outros o que gostaria que eles lhe fizessem. Se fizer isso, vai descobrir o quanto ganha em troca. Moral: Do to others what you would want them to do to you. As you do, youll find out how much you get in return.

Tripped - tropeou Foot - p Bucket - balde Hurt machucado Grass - grama Leg - perna Crutch - muleta Bandage - curativo Beetles - besourinhos Wobbly - vacilante Clumsy desajeitado Laughed riam Funny - engraado Walking - caminhava Sorry desculpe

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The story Wobbly Wallace was taken from the series Grandpa Jake Storybooks, produced by Aurora Productions. Used with permission.