By the time they were ten years old, Libby and Buck¹ both had their marks on the silo. Libby could plow² nice, straight lines and made her mark when she plowed³ an entire field. Buck was super strong and was able to lift heavy things. He made his mark when he chopped down dozens of trees, making space for a new field of crops.

 

Arlo had yet to make his mark and the gaping⁴ hole where his print was supposed to be was a constant reminder⁵. As he grew, instead of having less fear, he seemed to be weighed down by it more and more.

 

Everyone expected him to make his mark by successfully tackling his squawker-feeding chore. But he always ended up running scared. It seemed that where Libby and Buck were determined⁶ to succeed, Arlo was destined⁷ to fail. He felt terrible about it, and the knot in his stomach produced more anxiety and fear with each passing day.

 

Though hopeful and supportive, even Momma and Poppa started to grow a little concerned. "Don't worry," Poppa said one evening to Momma. "He'll get there. He's just not quite ready yet."

 

One day, Arlo decided⁸ it was finally time for things to change. He was sick and tired of being the only family member without a mark. Arlo was determined to take on the squawkers and made a secret promise to himself that he would finish the job—by any means necessary.

 

I'm bigger than them, I'm bigger than them, he thought over and over, trying to fight off his fears with positive thinking. He took a deep breath and went into the coop, armed with corn kernels⁹ and ready to do something big!

 

Once inside, Arlo tried to intimidate¹⁰ the squawkers: "I hope you guys are ready to get fed! Because I'm going to scatter¹¹ these kernels and you're going to eat them and love them and be nourished! Nothing's going to stop me!"

 

But just as Arlo started to scatter the feed, Buck jumped out and frightened Arlo! He nearly fainted and Buck howled with laughter. Once he could breathe again, Arlo's whole body burned with an intense anger. He furiously launched toward Buck, attacking him. "Why you gotta always mess me up?" Arlo screamed.

 

"Me?" Buck asked. Then he effortlessly threw Arlo to the ground. "You mess up your jobs and make more work for everyone else! And you're a coward."

 

As they wrestled¹², Libby, Momma, and Poppa ran outside.

 

"Buck!" Momma yelled, causing Buck to back off.

 

Arlo sat up. "I ain't a coward!" he yelled, holding back tears. "And I'm gonna make my mark, just like him and you and everybody!"

 

Poppa approached Arlo. "Makin' your mark means you've done somethin' big for somethin' bigger than yourself," he said.

 

"You need a little more time, Arlo," said Momma, soothingly¹³.

 

Arlo stared down at the ground, feeling low. "Forget it," he said, walking off. "I didn't even want that dumb mark anyway,"

 

Momma and Poppa shared a concerned look. "I have an idea," Poppa said.

 

That night, while everyone was sleeping, Poppa gently woke Arlo. "Come on," he whispered.

 

Arlo rubbed his eyes and groggily¹⁴ followed Poppa outside, where they stood in a field surrounded by darkness.

 

Even though he was with Poppa, he didn't like being out there at night. He heard wild animals in the distance. And the dark, jagged edges of Clawtooth Mountain looked like they could chomp¹⁵ down on the whole farm at any moment. Arlo wanted to go back inside, but Poppa insisted he stay. "Take a walk out there," he said.

 

Arlo went and stood in the middle of the big, open field. An ugly bug¹⁶ landed on his nose and he whimpered with fear. "Poppa!" he whispered urgently.

 

Suddenly Poppa was at Arlo's side. He calmly and gently blew on the bug. It pulsed with light—it was a f?iref?ly! Relieved, Arlo smiled and stared at the glowing bug on his nose with wonder. Then it spread its wings and took f?light, f?lashing¹⁷ into the night.

 

Poppa faced Arlo. "Sometimes you have to work through your fear to see the beauty on the other side," he said earnestly.

 

Then Poppa slowly brushed his tail across the grass, sweeping¹⁸ it this way and that. Like magic, hundreds of fireflies slowly rose up, out of the grass, flickering¹⁹ their beautiful yellow lights. It was incredible!

 

Arlo listened carefully, trying to set Poppa's words permanently²⁰ into his mind. He wanted to remember them, but more than that, he wanted to be able to do it. He wished that he could be less fearful; he wished he could be more like Poppa.

 

Then, wanting to try Poppa's trick, Arlo ran through the field, forcing more fireflies to float up, flickering and flashing.

 

Arlo and Poppa continued and the two painted beautiful arcs and spirals of light against the big, dark sky. Arlo looked up at his big, strong Poppa and smiled.

 

In the stillness, Poppa turned to his son: "Arlo, I've got a job for you tomorrow. That is if you still want that mark."

 

Arlo smiled with anticipation²¹.

 

莉比和巴克十岁的时候，就在筒仓上留下了自己的标记。莉比犁地犁得好，能犁出很直的线条。当她犁完了一整块田之后，就留下了自己的标记。巴克格外身强力壮，能举起重物。当他砍倒几十棵树，空出了一块地用作新的庄稼田之后，也留下了自己的标记。

 

阿乐则不然，筒仓上本应留下他脚印的那个空洞时刻提醒着他。随着他的成长，恐惧感非但没有减少，反而与日俱增，好像重重地压着他。

 

所有人都希望他能成功做好给夜鹭喂食的活儿，然后留下自己的标记，但事与愿违，他总是会被吓跑。似乎莉比和巴克决心做成功的事，对阿乐来说都注定会失败。对此，他感觉很糟糕。日子一天天地过去，他心中的郁结给他带来了越来越多的焦虑和恐惧。

 

虽然龙妈妈和龙爸爸对阿乐满怀希望，也很支持他，但他们现在也开始有些担心了。“别担心，”一天晚上，龙爸爸对龙妈妈说，“他会做到的，只是他现在还没完全准备好。”

 

一天，阿乐终于决定是时候做出改变了。自己是家里唯一一个没有留下标记的成员，他感到心烦和厌倦。阿乐下定决心去给夜鹭喂食，且暗暗发誓，无论如何他都要完成这项工作。

 

我个头比它们大，我个头比它们大，他一遍一遍地在心里想，努力用积极的想法克服心中的恐惧。他带着玉米粒，深吸一口气，走进笼子里，准备去大干一番！

 

阿乐一进去就极力吓唬这些夜鹭：“我希望你们这群家伙做好了进食的准备！因为我就要撒玉米粒了，你们得吃掉玉米粒、爱上玉米粒、吃得肥嘟嘟的！没什么能阻止我！”

 

但是，就在阿乐开始撒玉米粒的时候，巴克跳了出来，差点没把阿乐吓昏过去，巴克自己则大笑着叫起来。等阿乐缓过劲儿来的时候，整个人都要气炸了。他怒不可遏地突然向巴克发起了攻击。“为什么你总要捣乱？”阿乐大叫道。

 

“我捣乱？”巴克问。接着，他毫不费力地把阿乐推倒在地上。“是你总干不好自己的活儿，给大家都添了麻烦！你就是个胆小鬼。”

 

两兄弟打了起来，莉比、龙妈妈和龙爸爸跑到了外面。

 

“巴克！”龙妈妈吼道，喝退了巴克。

 

阿乐坐了起来，强忍着泪水喊道：“我才不是胆小鬼呢！我要留下自己的标记，和他、和你、和大家一样！”

 

龙爸爸走到阿乐身边说道：“你只有做成了超出你能力的大事，才能留下标记。”

 

“阿乐，你需要多一点时间。”龙妈妈心存安抚地说。

 

阿乐盯着地面，情绪低落地说道：“算了吧，我根本就不想留什么愚蠢的脚印。”说完他就走了。

 

龙妈妈和龙爸爸脸上露出担忧的表情，“我有个主意。”龙爸爸说。

 

当天晚上，当所有人都进入梦乡之后，龙爸爸轻轻叫醒阿乐，“跟我来。”他小声说。

 

阿乐揉了揉睡眼，晃晃悠悠地跟着龙爸爸出去了，他们站在了一块黑漆漆的田里。

 

尽管有龙爸爸在身边，他还是不喜欢大晚上的站在那儿。他能听到远处野兽的叫声。夜色中的爪牙山就像锋利的牙齿一样，感觉随时都会吞噬整个农场。阿乐想回屋里去，但龙爸爸坚持要他留下来。“去那边走走吧。”龙爸爸说。

 

阿乐走过去，站在空旷而开阔的田地中央。一只丑陋的虫子落在了他的鼻子上，他吓得发出呜咽声，“爸！”他紧张地小声喊道。

 

龙爸爸很快来到阿乐身边，他沉着地轻轻吹了一下这只小虫，虫子颤动着发出亮光——这是一只萤火虫！阿乐放下心来，笑着用好奇的眼光盯着鼻子上发光的虫子。一会儿，虫子展开翅膀，带着光亮飞进了夜色中。

 

龙爸爸看着阿乐，郑重其事地说：“有时候你只有克服了恐惧，才能看到对岸的美景。”

 

然后，龙爸爸慢慢地用尾巴掠过草丛，反复扫动。如魔术般，几百只萤火虫缓缓从草丛中飞起，闪烁着美丽的黄色光芒。真是太不可思议了！

 

阿乐认真听着，努力将龙爸爸的话永远记在心里。他想记住这些话，但除此之外，他更想自己能够做到。他希望自己能不再那么害怕，可以更像爸爸。

 

阿乐也想试试爸爸的小把戏，于是，他跑过田间，惊起了大批萤火虫，荧光点点。

 

阿乐和爸爸继续扫动草丛，在黑暗的天幕下，父子俩画出美丽的弧线，营造出螺旋状的光亮。阿乐抬头望着自己高大强壮的爸爸，露出了笑容。

 

寂静中，龙爸爸转向儿子说：“阿乐，明天我有个任务要给你。如果你还想留下标记的话。”

 

阿乐满怀期待地笑了。

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