English Translation of Chinese Children’s Book

It was a sunny afternoon in the Springtime. Baby Panda, Tiger, Dog and Squirrel were walking in Central Park near the Great Lawn, looking for Pigeon so they could all have a picnic together and play frisbee. They had planned to meet at 2 o’clock.

It was very crowded. They couldn’t see Pigeon anywhere. They searched and searched all over the park, but they could not find him.

“Balloons!” Squirrel suddenly shouted from the tree. “Look how many different kinds they have! Purple, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink!”

There were heart-shaped balloons, balloons that looked like all different kinds of candy, and even a balloon in the shape of the Empire State Building! Most importantly, one was shaped like an acorn.
Squirrel: “They only cost a quarter each!”
Vendor: “That’s right! You can buy as many as you can hold!”

Squirrel: “I have 12 dollars from all of my chores this past month!”
Dog: “How many quarters is that equal to? How many can you buy?”
Squirrel: “Well what’s 12 times 4?”
Dog: “Um, 12, 24…..”
Squirrel: “48!” I can buy 48 balloons!”
Panda: “Why not just buy one?”
Squirrel: “Why not buy 48?”

Just then there was a clamor coming from the Great Lawn. A lot of (people) were shouting for Tiger’s attention. It was his older brother and his friends. They were on the grass playing football and wanted Tiger to go say hello.

“Want to come say hello?” Tiger asked Panda and Dog. Squirrel wasn’t paying attention because he was staring at the balloons.
Panda: “Uh, are you sure they would want us to come?”
Dog: “I’ll come!”
They ran off to join Tiger’s older brother and his friends.

Before he knew it, Panda was holding 15 balloons.
Squirrel: “Hold these please.”
Panda: “Hey wait!”

Squirrel: “And these”
….30 balloons!

Baby Panda began to hover above the ground!

Squirrel: “And these please.” 45 balloons!
Panda: “Wait a second!”
(panda floating a little higher)

Squirrel had three balloons left to pick
Squirrel: “Oh yeah and I’ll have the Empire State Building balloon…”

Squirrel: “And...I’ll take that one.”
Vendor: “Which one?”
Squirrel: “That big one.”
Vendor: “Oh. This is the Met Museum.”
Squirrel: “Okay that’ll be number 47.”
Vendor: “Here you go.”
Squirrel: “And last but not lease...I’ll take that one. The Statue of Liberty. Here’s my 12 dollars!”
Vendor: “Thank you for your business!”

“Here I’ll hold them now.” Squirrel said.

Panda: “I’m up here! Help!”
Squirrel climbed up the tree as fast he could and ran to the edge of the branches.
Squirrel: “Reach out your hand!”
Panda: “I can’t reach! I have to let go of the balloons or else I’ll float away!”
Squirrel: “You’ll splatter on the ground! It’s too late! You’re too high! Don’t let go!”

Panda: “Tell my family I love them! Good bye!”
Squirrel: “I’ll tell Teacher Owl you won’t be in class.”
Panda: “Bye!”

Baby Panda floated up over the Great Lawn and could see all of Central Park. He saw the Met Museum, the baseball fields, the skating rink, the rowboat pond, the sailboat bond, the castle, but could no longer see his friends.

But soon he was so high he couldn’t see anything clearly and became very worried. Central Park was just a little green rectangle. He could see the rivers they studied in Geography class - the Hudson and the East River, and realized that Manhattan was truly an island! He could see Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island too. And there in the water was the Statue of Liberty. It was very exciting but he had no way to get home!

Panda: “Maybe I’ll just have to live on the moon.”

Baby Panda was about to cry. He would miss his mother and father very much. He would miss his older brother and older sister, younger sister, and even his little brother. He would miss all his friends. He would miss going to school. He would even miss Mr. Owl.

Panda: “Maybe some astronauts can come and get me. But probably not. Goodbye earth!”

Suddenly Baby Panda was flying sideways at tremendous speed.

It was Pigeon!

Pigeon: “I’ve got you! Hold on tight!”

Pigeon had saved the day. Baby Panda hung on as tight as he could.

Pigeon: “Squirrel found me and told me what happened and I could see your balloons in the sky! Everybody was watching from the Great Lawn. And now we can go anywhere we want! We can fly together. Where do you want to go???”

Panda: “Baby Pigeon! Thank you for saving me! Flying is fun, but I think I just want to be back on the ground, and be back with everybody again.”