Toys for a Big Boy大男孩的玩具

Ronit Subramanian was seven years old and he was the tallest student in hisclass. It made him feel very proud. But when he remembered some of the things heused to do as a small kid， he felt a little shy. He wished his mother would not tellthose stories to her friends again and again.

Last week his mother’s old school friend had come to see her. They weremeeting after 10 years. Ronit was just back from school when he heard his mothersay， “You know what my Ronit used to do as a baby？ He used to think everythingand everyone was a part of the Subramanian family. So he would call the refrigerator‘fridge Subramanian’. And he would call the dog that curled1 up on our doormat2outside‘doggy Subramanian’.”Ronit heard his mother’s friend laughing and he ranout of the house—without any lunch. “I wish mother would not do these things，”hesaid for the thousandth time.

That evening， his mother showed him the toys and games her friend had got forhim， one stuffed3 dolphin and a game of blocks4. Ronit got unhappy.“These are kids’toys and games. I am a big boy now. My hero is Spiderman. That’s the toy I want formy birthday this year—spiderman and the spray5 that makes the spider web.”

“Are you saying you no longer want your favourite stuffed toy—Pepper theDoggy？”Ronit’s mother asked.“I don’t want kids’toys. I don’t want kids’toys andgames any more. I am a big boy，”Ronit shouted.“Okay， okay， we heard you，”saidhis parents.

罗内特·苏布兰马尼安七岁了，他是班上最高的学生。这让他感到非常自豪。但是当他想起小时候经常做的一些事情时，他感到有点害羞。他希望他的母亲不要一遍又一遍地给她的朋友们讲那些往事。

上周他母亲的老校友来看过她，（毕业）10 年后她们又见面了。罗内特刚从学校回来，这时他听到妈妈说“： 你知道我的罗内特小时候经常做什么吗？他过去认为一切事物和每个人都是苏布兰马尼安家庭的一部分。所以他称冰箱为‘苏布兰马尼安家的冰箱’。他会把蜷缩在我家门口门垫上的小狗叫做‘苏布兰马尼安家的小狗’。”罗内特听到母亲的朋友在笑，他就跑出了家———午饭都没吃。“我希望妈妈不要再做这事情了。”这话他说了上千次了。

那天晚上，妈妈给他看了她朋友给他买的玩具和游戏，是一只毛绒海豚和一个积木游戏。罗内特不高兴了，“这些都是儿童玩具和游戏。我现在是一个大男孩了。我心中的英雄是蜘蛛侠。我今年生日想要的玩具是蜘蛛侠和能喷出蜘蛛网的喷射器。”

“你是说你不想再要你最喜欢的毛绒玩具———小狗佩珀了吗？”罗内特的母亲问道。“我不想要儿童玩具，我不想再要儿童玩具和游戏了。我是一个大男孩。”罗内特喊道。“好的，好的，我们听到了。”他的父母说。

A month later， Ronit’s parents bought him a Spiderman kit6 for his eighthbirthday. They bought him a Spiderman T-shirt and trousers， a shiny7 Spiderman toyand a glove with a spray bottle attached8 to it. “Wear the glove and then press9 thespray button. It will make a web pattern10 on the wall，”Ronit’s father said. Ronit，and even his father， were so excited with the spray that they used it again and againto see who could make a bigger web！

After his friends left， Ronit opened each gift. Yes！ He was a big boy now. Hehad got so many gifts of toys and games and they were all for big boys. He liked aLego robot， a car racing video game， and， best of all， a cool skateboard11. Ronitwent to sleep holding the Spiderman. You see he had decided he no longer wantedhis favourite stuffed toy， Pepper the Doggy.

As soon as his head hitthe pillow， Ronit fell asleep.He now slept in a room of hisown， with sunny yellow walls.But until yesterday， he hadgone to sleep holding PepperDoggy’s ear. The softness12 ofthe toy always made himhappy. But Spiderman was a metal13 toy. It was cold to touch. That night， Ronit dreamtthat he was being run after by icy monsters14 who were out to freeze15 him into astatue16. In his dream he shouted for Pepper. Not finding Pepper， he woke up crying.

His mother heard him crying and ran into his room. “I want Pepper. He is myfriend. Big boys also have doggy friends，”cried Ronit. Pepper has come back intoRonit’s bed. Every night， Ronit and Pepper have a new adventure17. In his dreams，Ronit sees Pepper in a Spiderman outfit18. Isn’t that cool？

一个月后，罗内特的父母在他八岁生日时给他买了一套蜘蛛侠套装。他们给他买了一件蜘蛛侠T 恤和裤子，一个闪亮的蜘蛛侠玩具和一只连着喷射器的手套。“戴上手套，然后按下喷射器按钮，它会在墙上形成一个网状图案。”罗内特的父亲说。罗内特，甚至他的父亲，都对这种喷射器非常感兴趣，所以他们玩了一次又一次，看谁能喷出更大的网！

朋友们离开后，罗内特拆开了每个礼物。是啊！他现在是个大男孩了。他收到了很多玩具和游戏作为礼物，都是给大男孩的。他喜欢那个乐高机器人，赛车电子游戏，最喜欢的是一块酷酷的滑板。罗内特睡着时还抱着蜘蛛侠。你看，他已经决定不再要他最喜欢的毛绒玩具小狗佩珀了。

头一碰到枕头罗内特就睡着了。他现在睡在自己的房间里，一间有着阳光一样的黄色墙壁的房间。但是直到昨天，他还抓着小狗佩珀的耳朵睡觉。玩具的柔软触感总是让他开心。但是蜘蛛侠是一个金属玩具，摸起来很冷。那天晚上，罗内特梦见自己被冰冷的怪物追赶，这些怪物想把他冻成一尊雕像。他在梦里喊佩珀，但找不到它，然后哭着醒来。

妈妈听到他在哭，忙冲进他的房间。“我要佩珀。它是我的朋友。”罗内特喊道，“大男孩也有小狗朋友。”佩珀回到了罗内特的床上。每天晚上，罗内特和佩珀都经历了新的冒险。在梦里，罗内特看到了穿着蜘蛛侠制服的佩珀。是不是很酷？

（英语原文选自：pitara.com）