Shhhk! Shhhk! Judy dragged her cement-covered paws across the welcome mat outside her apartment before going in. A sad song filled the air when she turned on the radio. She switched stations. It was another sad song. And that was how her day was going. After listening to a few depressing songs, she dragged her feet over to the kitchen and popped in a Carrots for One microwave dinner.

 

Beep! Beep! Once it was done, she peeled open the cover, revealing a single shriveled carrot. With her ears drooping¹, Judy sat down at her small table and ate her dinner alone.

 

Brrring! Brrring! Judy's cell phone rang. It was her parents calling for a video chat. She shook her head, sighed, and forced a smile before answering. "Oh, hey! It's my parents...," she said, trying to sound upbeat.

 

"There she is!" said Bonnie. "Hi, sweetheart!"

 

Stu's face popped onto the screen. "Hey there, Jude the Dude! How was your first day on the force?"

 

"It was real great," said Judy, knowing this was a complete lie.

 

"Yeah? Everything you ever hoped?" asked Bonnie.

 

"Absolutely, and more! Everyone's so nice. And I feel like I'm really making a difference—"

 

"Wait a second," said Stu, popping his head onto the screen again. "Holy cripes, Bonnie! Look at that!"

 

Bonnie peered² into the screen trying to see what Stu was so excited about. "Oh my sweet heaven! Judy, are you a meter maid?"

 

Judy had forgotten she was still wearing her vest and that her hat was on the chair. She tried to backpedal. "What? Oh, this? No. It's just a temporary—"

 

"It's the safest job on the force!" exclaimed Bonnie happily.

 

"She's not a real cop! Our prayers have been answered!" said Stu, overjoyed.

 

"Glorious day!"

 

"Meter maid! Meter maid! Meter maid!" chanted Stu.

 

"Dad. Dad!" said Judy, feeling uncomfortable and just wanting to end the conversation. "You know what? This has been great, guys, but it's been a long day—"

 

"That's right. You get some rest!" said Bonnie.

 

"Absolutely. Those meters aren't gonna maid themselves," added Stu.

 

They said goodnight and Judy hung up, feeling even sadder than she had before. As she took off her vest, she turned on more sad music. Through the wall, Oryx yelled³: "Hey, bunny! Turn down that depressing music!"

 

"Leave the meter maid alone!" yelled Kudu. "Didn't you hear her conversation? She feels like a failure!"

 

Judy turned down the music as Oryx and Kudu continued to yell⁴ and bicker⁵.

 

"Tomorrow's another day," she said quietly to herself.

 

"Yeah, but it might be worse!" yelled Oryx.

 

Exhausted⁶, Judy settled in for the night, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

 

哧!哧!朱迪拖着沾满水泥的爪子，经过公寓外面的门垫，进了房间。她打开收音机，一首悲伤的歌曲在房间里弥漫开来。她换了一下频道，还是一首悲伤的歌曲。她的一天就是这么度过的。在听了几首沉闷的歌曲之后，她拖着沉重的脚步走进厨房，快速地用微波加热了一份一人份胡萝卜晚餐。

 

哔!哔!晚餐刚一热好，她就剥掉外皮，露出里面一根干瘪的胡萝卜。朱迪耷拉着两只耳朵，坐在那张小小的餐桌前，独自吃着晚餐。

 

叮铃!叮铃!朱迪的手机响了。是她父母打来的视频电话。她摇摇头，长叹一口气，勉强挤出个笑容，才接听电话。“哦，嘿!原来是我的爸爸妈妈……”朱迪说着，试图听上去很欢快。

 

“她来了!”邦妮说道，“你好，亲爱的!”

 

斯图的脸突然出现在屏幕上：“你好，祖德小姑娘!第一天做警察感觉如何?”

 

“真的很棒。”朱迪说着，心里明白这绝对是假话。

 

“是吗?一切都如你所愿?”邦妮问道。

 

“绝对是，甚至超乎想象!大家都很友善，我感觉我真的不同于——”

 

“等等，”斯图说着，突然又把脑袋凑到了屏幕前，“老天哪，邦妮!快看那是什么!”

 

邦妮眯起眼睛盯着屏幕，试图弄清楚斯图为之兴奋的原因：“哦，我的天!朱迪，你是处理违章停车的女交警?”

 

朱迪完全忘记了自己身上还穿着马甲，执法帽还放在椅子上。她试图收回之前说的话。“什么?哦，这个?不，这只不过是临时——”

 

“这是警察局里最安全的工作!”邦妮欢快地惊呼道。

 

“她不是真正的警察!我们的祈祷应验了!”斯图欣喜若狂地说道。

 

“美好的一天!”

 

“处理违规停车的女交警!女交警!女交警!”斯图有节奏地欢呼道。

 

“爸爸。爸爸!”朱迪说道，她感觉很不自在，此刻只想结束这场对话，“要知道，这工作是很好，各位，不过这真是漫长的一天——”

 

“没错，你需要休息!”邦妮说道。

 

“一点也不错。那些计时器可不会照顾自己。”斯图补充道。

 

互道晚安后，朱迪挂上了电话，她感觉比之前更悲伤。她脱掉身上的马甲，打开收音机听了更多悲伤的音乐。奥赖克斯的尖叫声穿墙而入：“嘿，兔子!快关掉那让人难过的音乐!”

 

“别去打扰那位女交警!”库度尖声叫道，“你没听到她的对话吗?她感觉很失败!”

 

在欧力士和库度大叫、争吵之时，朱迪调低了音乐的音量。

 

“明天又是新的一天。”她轻声对自己说道。

 

“对，不过可能更糟!”欧力士尖叫道。

 

朱迪疲惫不堪地安顿了这个晚上，不知道明天还会有什么事。

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