帕特里克从来不做家庭作业。“做作业太无聊了”他总是这样说。别人做作业的时候，他要么在打冰球，要么在打篮球，要么在打任天堂游戏。老师曾告诫他：“帕特里克！你不做家庭作业的话，什么也学不到！”这句话的确没错。有时候，他确实感觉自己像个不学无术的人。但他又有什么办法呢？他就是讨厌家庭作业。

　　Then one day he found his cat playing with a little doll and he grabbed it away. To his surprise it wasn't a doll at all, but a man of the tiniest size. He had a little woollen shirt with old-fashioned britches and a high tall hat much like a witch's. He yelled, "Save me! Don't give me back to that cat. I'll grant you a wish. I promise you that."

　　有一天，他发现家里的小猫正在玩一个小玩偶，就过去把那个玩偶抢了过来。令他惊讶的是，这并不是一个玩偶，而是一个个头极小的男人。这个小男人，上身穿着一件短款羊毛衬衫，下身穿着一条老式马裤，头上戴着一顶很像女巫帽的高顶大礼帽。他大声叫喊着：“救救我！别再把我交给那只猫。我会帮你实现一个愿望。我向你保证。”

　　Patrick couldn't believe how lucky he was! Here was the answer to all of his problems. So he said, "Only if you do all my homework till the end of the semester, that's 35 days. If you do a good enough job, I could even get A's."

　　帕特里克不敢相信自己有这么幸运！这下自己的一切难题都可以迎刃而解了。于是，他回答说：“你只要把我这学期余下的所有家庭作业都做了就行，也就是35天的家庭作业。如果你完成得足够好，学期末我甚至可以得到A。”

　　The little man's face wrinkled like a dishcloth thrown in the hamper. He kicked his legs and doubled his fists and he grimaced and scowled and pursed his lips, "Oh, am I cursed! But I'll do it."

　　小男人的脸皱成一团，像一块丢在篮子里抹布。他踢了腿，攥了攥拳，做了个鬼脸，皱起眉头，噘着嘴说道：“哎呀，我怎么这么倒霉！不过我会照做的！”

　　And true to his word, that little elf began to do Patrick's homework. Except there was one glitch. The elf didn't always know what to do and he needed help. "Help me! Help me!" he'd say. And Patrick would have to help—in whatever way.

　　说到做到，这个小精灵开始做帕特里克的家庭作业。只是有这么一件事总是有些卡壳——小精灵在做家庭作业时偶尔会不知所措，需要人帮助。“帮帮我！帮帮我！”当他这样说时，帕特里克就不得不千方百计地来帮忙。

　　I don't know this word," the elf squeaked while reading Patrick's homework. "Get me a dictionary. No, what's even better,look up the word and sound it out by each letter."

　　“我不认识这个单词，”小精灵在阅读帕特里克的家庭作业时尖叫道，“给我一本字典。不，最好你帮我查到这个单词，并逐个字母念给我听。”

　　When it came to maths, Patrick was out of luck. "What are times tables?" the elf shrieked. "We elves never need that. And addition and subtraction and division and fractions? Here, sit down beside me,you simply must guide me." Elves know nothing of human history. To them it's a mystery. So the little elf, already a shouter, just got louder. "Go to the library, I need books. More and more books. And you can help me read them too."

　　做数学作业时，帕特里克的运气就更差了。“乘法表是什么东西？”小精灵尖叫起来，“我们精灵从来不需要这东西。还有，加法和减法，除法和分数，这些又是什么东西？快过来，坐我身旁，你必须指导我才行。”精灵对人类历史一无所知。对他们来说，这些知识简直神秘莫测。于是，小精灵变成了一个喜欢大喊大叫的家伙，而且嗓门还越来越大。“快去图书馆，我需要一些书，更多、更多的书，这样你也可以帮我阅读它们啦！”

　　As a matter of fact, every day in every way that little elf was a nag! Patrick was working harder than ever and was it a drag! He was staying up nights, had never felt so weary, was going to school with his eyes puffed and bleary.

　　实际上，每一天小精灵都是各种唠唠叨叨！帕特里克比以往任何时候都更加努力地在学习，这可真是无聊！这些日子里，他每一天都熬夜熬到很晚，从来没有觉得如此疲惫过，每天上学都是睡眼惺忪的。

　　Patrick got his A's. His classmates were amazed. His teachers smiled and were full of praise. And his parents? They wondered what had happened to Patrick. He was now the model kid. Cleaned his room, did his chores, was cheerful, never rude, like he had developed a whole new attitude.

　　帕特里克得到了他想要的A。同学们都很惊讶。老师们脸上堆满了笑容，对他取得的成绩赞不绝口。他的父母呢？他们非常想知道帕特里克身上到底发生了什么。他现在是个模范孩子了。经常打扫自己的房间，爱做家务，性格变得开朗了许多，待人还很礼貌，好像他对生活有了一个全新的态度。

　　You see, in the end, Patrick still thought he'd made that tiny man do all his homework. But I'll share a secret just between you and me. It wasn't the elf. Patrick had done it himself!

　　你瞧，故事的最后，帕特里克仍然认为是他让那个小男人做了自己的所有家庭作业。但，我必须告诉你一个小秘密。其实，这些作业并不是小精灵做的，而是帕特里克自己完成的！

　　Finally, the last day of school arrived and the elf was free to go. As for homework, there was no more, so he quietly and slyly slipped out the back door.

　　这学期的最后一天总算到来，小精灵终于获得了自由。这学期不会再有家庭作业了，于是他悄悄地从后门溜走了。