The trouble began when Rabbit

Billy decided he wanted more of

everything.
Dad, said Billy one day at the
breakfast table, Id like another
bicycle.
Father looked up from the
newspaper he had been reading.
Oh? And
what
about the
bicycle
you
received
last year
for your
birthday?
Well,
said Billy,
that was
last years
bicycle, and its blue. This year my
favorite color is red. Getting
another bicycle felt very important
to Billy. After all, two is better than
one. Billy was sure his father had
told him that once upon a time.
Father looked thoughtfully at Billy.
A moment passed, then Billys
father replied, If you would like
El lo se arm cuando el
conejito Miguelito decidi que
quera ms de todo.
Pap dijo Miguelito un
buen da a la hora del desayuno
, quiero otra bicicleta.
Su pap lo mir por encima
del peridico que estaba
leyendo.
Aj, y qu
pas con la
bicicleta que
te regalamos
el ao pasado
para tu
cumpleaos?
Ay, pap
dijo
Miguelito,
esa es del
ao pasado, y
adems es azul. Este ao mi
color favorito es el rojo. Por lo
visto, para Miguelito era muy
importante conseguir otra
bicicleta. Al fin y al cabo, estaba
seguro de que su pap le haba
dicho alguna vez que dos son
mejor que una.
El pap de Miguelito se

another bicycle, youll need to
earn the money for it.
But how will I do that?
asked Billy. He had never
done anything like that before.
You could ask to help
collect nuts for Squirrel Sven,
or mow Banker Badgers lawn.
There are any number of
things you could do.
Alright then, I will, agreed
Billy.

*

Billy got a job mowing
Banker Badgers lawn, as well
as collecting nuts for Squirrel
Sven. He would skip playing
with his friends after school to
have enough time to fit in
these extra jobs. Soon he had
saved up enough money to
buy a second bicyclea shiny,
red 250 Triple-X Racer.
Billys two bicycles were the
talk of the school. Hedgehog
Alex, his best friend, asked
Billy if he could come over and
ride one of his bicycles.
Maybe tomorrow, replied
Billy. Billy enjoyed the attention
he received over having the
two bicycles, and in no time he
began to think about what
other things he could get next.
respondi: Pues, si quieres una
bicicleta nueva, tendrs que
ganarte el dinero para poder
comprrtela.
Pero, y qu voy a hacer para
ganar dinero? pregunt Miguelito.
Jams en su vida haba hecho algo
as.
Podras ayudar a la ardilla
Betina a recolectar nueces, o podar
el csped de Josefa la comadreja.
Hay un montn de cosas que
puedes hacer.
Muy bien, lo har coincidi
Miguelito.

*

Y as fue que Miguelito consigui
trabajo cortndole es csped a
Josefa la comadreja y juntando
frutos secos para la ardilla Betina.
Dej de salir a jugar con sus
amigos despus del colegio para
tener suficiente tiempo para
trabajar. Al poco tiempo haba
reunido suficiente dinero para
comprarse una una flamante bici
roja de carrera.
Todo el mundo en el colegio
hablaba de las dos bicicletas de
Miguelito. Crispn el puercoespn,
que era su mejor amigo, le
pregunt si poda ir a su casa a
montar bicicleta con l.
Tal vez maana le respondi
Miguelito. A Miguelito le encantaba
Billy didnt just want one of
somethinghe had discovered
that he liked having more of
everything.
He talked his grandmother
into buying extra muffs for his
ears, even though it was in the
middle of summer. At the
school cafeteria he asked Chef
Clarisse for a double serving of
fries. And when he went down
to the
general
store, he
asked
for
double
of
everything
on his
mothers
shopping
list. He
came
home that day with two sacks
of potatoes, two baskets of
carrots, two bags of sugar, and
two bags of flour. He had to
borrow Grocer Harrys
shopping cart to bring it all
home.
Dearie me! cried Billys
mother. What were you
thinking?
que todos se fijaran en l a raz de
sus dos bicicletas, y muy poco
despus empez a pensar en qu
otras cosas se poda conseguir.
A Miguelito ya no le bastaba con
tener una sola cosa de algo: haba
descubierto que le gustaba tener
ms de todo.
Convenci a su abuela para que
le comprara otro par de orejeras,
aunque estaban en pleno verano.
En la cafetera
de la escuela le
pidi a Clarisa,
la chef, que le
sirviera una
porcin doble
de papas fritas.
Y luego,
cuando fue al
mercado, pidi
el doble de
todo lo que
haba anotado
su mam en la lista de compras.
Ese da lleg a su casa con dos
sacos de papas, dos canastas de
zanahorias, dos bolsas de azcar y
dos costales de harina. Tuvo que
tomar prestado el carrito de
compras del dueo del almacn
para poder cargarlo todo hasta su
casa.
Vlgame Dios! exclam la
mam de Miguelito, en qu
estabas pensando?
Its better to have more,
quipped Billy. Billy was quite
sure that more of everything
was better than less. Besides
he liked potatoes, carrots,
and sugar, so he thought that
making sure they wouldnt run
out was a good thing.
Ill keep the extra food in
my room, Billy offered.
Quite right, agreed Billys
mother, seeing as theres not
enough space in the pantry.
As Billy entered his room
after evening supper, he
noticed that the room seemed
smaller and smaller. He felt
small inside too. The sacks of
food, and all the more that
he had begun to acquire was
taking up so much of his
room that he had to wiggle
and squeeze between piles of
stuff to reach his bed.
Perhaps its time to get a
second room, thought Billy as
he drifted off to sleep.

*

Billy was cross. He had not
slept well at all! Sharing his
bed with a sack of potatoes,
and his double sets of stuffed
toys had put him in a grumpy
mood.

Miguelito le sali al paso diciendo:
Siempre es mejor tener ms que
menos. Estaba convencido de que
era preferible tener ms de todo.
Adems, le encantaban las papas,
las zanahorias y el azcar, de modo
que pens que asegurarse de que no
se les fuera a acabar ninguna de
esas cosas era una buena idea.
Guardar la comida de ms en
mi cuarto ofreci.
No te quepa duda respondi
su mam, ya que no hay suficiente
espacio en la despensa.
Despus de la cena, al entrar a su
cuarto, Miguelito repar en que cada
vez haba menos espacio. Hasta l
mismo se senta pequeo. Los sacos
de provisiones, y todas las cosas de
ms que haba comenzado a
adquirir ocupaban tanto lugar en su
habitacin que, para abrirse paso
hasta su cama, tena que apretujarse
y hacer contorsiones. Parece que ha
llegado el momento de conseguirme
otra habitacin, pens Miguelito
mientras se quedaba dormido.

*

Miguelito se despert de mal humor:
haba dormido psimamente!
Compartir cama con un saco de
papas y sus colecciones dobles de
juguetes no le haba gustado en
absoluto.
At lunch time he went to sit
next to his best friend Alex,
because he knew Alex would
always do his best to cheer
him up whenever he was
down.
Oh hello, Billy, said Alex,
who looked up from his
sandwich with surprise.
Billy flopped down on the
only stump next to Alex. Boy,
am I ever in a mood!
Just then Pheasant Fisk
arrived. Excuse me, Billy,
Alex said I could eat lunch
with him, said Fisk looking
perplexed.
What? asked Billy,
turning to Alex. But we
always eat lunch together.
Not really, said Alex
quietly. You havent eaten
with me for a few weeks now,
and I was lonely, so I invited
Fisk to have lunch with me.
Alex continued. You never
seem to have time for me
anymore. All you can think
about are additional things
you can get. I began to think
that I was not enough for you
either.
Billy stormed away in a
huff. Alex didnt understand
anything!

A la hora del almuerzo fue a
sentarse junto a su amigo Crispn
porque saba que siempre que este
lo vea triste, se esforzaba por
levantarle el nimo.
Qu tal, Miguelito! lo salud
Crispn, sorprendido de verlo.
Miguelito, desanimado, se dej
caer sobre el tronco que haba junto
al de Crispn. Uf, estoy de peor
humor que nunca!
Justo en ese momento lleg
Fabin el faisn. Con permiso,
Miguelito. Crispn me dijo que poda
acompaarlo a almorzar dijo,
sorprendido de encontrarse a
Miguelito sentado junto a Crispn.
Pero cmo puede ser?
pregunt Miguelito, volvindose
hacia Crispn. Nosotros siempre
comemos juntos!
No es verdad suspir
Crispn, entre dientes. Hace varias
semanas que no me acompaas a
almorzar. Y como me senta solo,
invit a Fabin a comer conmigo.
Crispn continu: Pareciera
que ya nunca tienes tiempo para
estar conmigo. Solo piensas en
cuntas cosas ms te puedes
conseguir. Empec a pensar que
tampoco te bastaba conmigo
Furioso, Miguelito se march.
Crispn no entenda qu estaba
sucediendo!
Billy made his way home,
but as he neared the Rabbit
familys burrow, something
didnt seem right. Constable
Connor and Fireman Fergus
were standing at the door of
their home with Father and
Mother.
As Billy neared his home,
his father walked up to him,
and laid a hand on his
shoulder. Son, he said in a
kind but serious tone, your
room has collapsed into the
pantry underneath. The floor
was sufficient for a bedroom
floor, but it wasnt strong
enough to hold up under the
weight of all the stuff you had
stored in there. It will take a
while to repair the pantry and
fix the floor of your room, so
youll have to share a room
with your brother for now.
Ive been watching you
collect all your treasures,
Billys father said, and I was
wondering if I should say
something. But first I wanted
you to experience for yourself
that acquiring more things
wont make you happy. Just
like the floor of your bedroom
wasnt built for all that extra
stuff, your life and your heart
Miguelito se dirigi a su casa,
pero al acercarse a la madriguera de
su familia, percibi que algo andaba
mal. El comisario Belisario y el
bombero Homero se encontraban
parados en la puerta de su casa con
su pap y su mam.
Apenas se acerc a su casa, su
padre sali a encontrarlo, y le puso
la mano sobre el hombro. Hijo mo
suspir en tono amable pero
serio, tu habitacin se desplom y
destroz la despensa que estaba
justo debajo. El piso era lo bastante
fuerte como para resistir el peso de
tu habitacin, pero no para soportar
todo lo que habas almacenado ah
dentro. Tomar un tiempo reparar la
despensa y arreglar el piso de tu
habitacin, de modo que tendrs
que compartir cuarto con tu
hermano por un tiempo.
He observado cmo
coleccionabas tus tesoros agreg
el pap de Miguelito y me
preguntaba si deba decir algo. Pero
primero quera que te dieras cuenta
solo de que adquirir ms y ms
cosas no te hara feliz. As como el
piso de tu habitacin no se
construy para aguantar todas esas
cosas de ms, en tu vida y tu
corazn solo hay lugar para cierta
cantidad de cosas. Si los llenas de
de cosas que no necesitas, no te
can only fit so much. If you fill
it up with stuff that you dont
really need, then you wont
have room for the things in
life that you do need.
Billy thought of Alex. Like
best friends?
Yes, like time better
spent with friends.
Is it ever good to have
extra?
asked Billy.
Having
extra is
good if its
to share with
others, or if
its to give to
those who
need it. But
otherwise,
just enough
is best.
Billy looked at his dad.
May I go see Alex? I havent
played with him in quite
awhile, and I miss him.
Yes, Son, said his father,
after giving Billy a hug.
Billy set off at a run. He
had lost most of his things
when his floor collapsed, but
he knew that if he had Alex as
a friend, that would be just
enough.


quedar sitio para las cosas que s
necesitas en la vida.
Miguelito se acord de Crispn.
Como por ejemplo buenos
amigos?
Exactamente. Como tiempo
para pasar con tus amigos.
Entonces, nunca sirve tener
cosas de ms?
Se puede tener comida de
sobra si es
para
compartir
con otros, o
para
drsela a
quienes la
necesitan.
Pero de no
ser as, lo
mejor es
tener solo
lo necesario.
Miguelito mir a su pap.
Puedo ir a ver a Crispn? Hace
mucho que no juego con l, y lo
extrao.
Claro que s, hijo respondi
su pap, despus de darle un fuerte
abrazo.
Miguelito sali corriendo. Haba
perdido la mayora de sus
posesiones al colapsar el piso de su
habitacin, pero saba que si tena a
Crispn de amigo, con eso bastaba.
Story and art courtesy of My Wonder Studio. Featured on www.freekidstories.org