Oftentimes boys and girls can do just as important work as grown-up people, especially if they are quick-witted and brave. 男孩和女孩通常可以和成人干一样的重要工作，如果他们头脑灵敏，勇敢的话。

In this story you will read how Joseph and Priscilla Harris rendered a great service to our country in the days when we were fighting for our freedom. 在这个故事中，你会了解在为自由奋斗的时期，约瑟夫和普丽西拉·哈里斯是如何为国家效力的。

LEAFING DAY 叶子节

If there was one holiday which Joseph and Priscilla Harris liked better than the others, it was the one called leafing day, 如果有一个约瑟夫和哈里斯特别喜欢的节日，那一定是叶子节，

that delightful time in the autumn when all the colonial boys and girls went out to the woods to gather leaves to use in the ovens 它发生在秋天的欢乐时光，殖民地的男孩和女孩前往森林为烤炉收集叶子，

during the winter when their mothers baked delicious loaves of bread and flaky, golden-brown pies. 尤其是在冬天，母亲会烤鲜美的面包和松脆的金褐色派。

At that time everybody in the colonies used what they called Dutch ovens. 那时殖民地的所有人都会使用他们叫作“荷兰烤炉”的东西。

These were nothing but big boxes of stone built into the wall of the chimney, 它其实就是烟囱壁上的一个个石盒，

and could be heated only by being filled with hot coals from the fireplace. When the ovens were very hot, the coals were raked out. 只有从壁炉中吸取充分的火炭才能燃烧，当烤炉非常热时，我们将碳清理出来。

Then as the walls were apt to be smoky, the ovens were lined with green leaves to make them all neat and clean. 当烟囱壁容易产生烟时，烤炉里面会铺满绿叶使之整洁干净。

And last of all, the white loaves of bread and fragrant pies and puddings were placed on the leaves and left to bubble and bake 最后，白面包、香喷喷的派和布丁放在叶子上，之后让它们起泡和烘烤，

until they were all brown and delicious and ready to be eaten. All summer, of course, the leaves for the Dutch oven were cut fresh every baking. 直到它们变棕色，变得美味而可以食用，当然在整个夏天，为荷兰烤箱准备的叶子都是新鲜剪下的。

But when winter came and the trees were bare, then dried leaves had to be used, 但当冬天来临，树木变得光秃秃，我们不得不使用干叶子，

and every housewife had to have bundles and bundles of leaves stored away some place for the winter's baking. 每名家庭主妇都需要为冬天烧烤准备一大捆一大捆的叶子。

And that was the reason for leafing day. 这就是叶子节的由来。

Ever since Joseph and Priscilla could remember, they had gone on leafing day picnics, and they loved them dearly. 自此，约瑟夫和普丽西拉记得的，他们前往参加叶子节野餐，他们非常喜欢野餐。