Evander and his team are at the beach for the sandcastle contest. There are five of them. They have a plan. The castle has four towers, a gate and a long stairway.
埃文德和他的队友们来到海滩，参加沙堡比赛。他们一共五个人。他们有一个计划。城堡有四座塔、一道门和一条长长的阶梯。
They work all morning with buckets, spoons and their hands. Evander makes the towers. One of the girls makes tiny windows with a stick. By noon, the castle is as tall as Evander's chest.
他们整个上午都在忙，用水桶、勺子和双手。埃文德负责堆塔。一个女孩用一根小棍子做出了小小的窗户。到中午，城堡已经有埃文德的胸口那么高了。
The judges will come at two o'clock. The team sits down to eat their sandwiches.
评委两点钟会来。队员们坐下来吃他们的三明治。
Then Evander looks at the water. The sea is much closer than before. The tide comes in early today. A small wave touches the first tower.
这时，埃文德看了看海水。海比之前近多了。今天涨潮来得早。一个小浪碰到了第一座塔。
"We must stop the sea," he says.
“我们必须挡住大海，”他说。
Everyone jumps up. They build a high sand wall in front of the castle. Then they dig a long canal on the side. The water hits the wall and goes into the canal instead. For ten minutes, the plan works.
大家一下子跳了起来。他们在城堡前面筑起一道高高的沙墙。然后又在旁边挖了一条长长的水渠。海水撞到墙上，转而流进了水渠。十分钟里，这个计划奏效了。
Then a big wave comes. It breaks the wall, and the water runs to the castle. One tower falls, then another. Soon the whole castle is only a hill of sand.
然后一个大浪打来。它冲破了沙墙，水直奔城堡而去。一座塔倒了，接着又倒了一座。很快，整座城堡只剩下一堆沙丘。
The team sits in the wet sand and laughs.
队员们坐在湿沙里，哈哈大笑。
The judges walk over. A tall woman looks at the broken wall and the canal. "We came to see a castle," she says. "But you fought the sea. That is the best idea on the beach today."
评委们走了过来。一位高个子女士看了看坍塌的沙墙和水渠。“我们是来看城堡的，”她说，“但你们和大海搏斗了。这是今天海滩上最棒的主意。”
She gives the team a small golden shovel. Evander holds it over his head. The sea takes the last of the sand.
她把一把小小的金铲子送给了这支队伍。埃文德把它高高举过头顶。大海卷走了最后一点沙子。
