壹蘋派生活美語　牙仙的魔法

　　Around the world, different cultures have their own ways of observing the loss of children’s teeth. Many of these traditions are associated with a mouse instead of a fairy. In France, La Petite Souris is a tiny mouse that collects children’s lost baby teeth in exchange for small gifts. In Spain and Latin America, the mouse is called El Ratoncito Pérez. The character became famous in 1894, when a story about the mouse was written for the young King of Spain, who had just lost his first tooth.

　　在世界各地，不同的文化有自己慶祝兒童掉牙的方式。其中許多傳統都與老鼠有關，而不是仙子。在法國，La Petite Souris 是一隻小老鼠，牠會收集孩子們掉落的乳牙並以小禮物交換。在西班牙和拉丁美洲，這隻老鼠被稱為 El Ratoncito Pérez。這個角色於 1894 年成名，當時有一則關於老鼠的故事為剛掉第一顆牙的年幼西班牙國王而寫。

生活必備字詞：

observe　vt. 慶祝（節日、特殊事件等）

tiny　a. 小的

in exchange for...　　交換∕以換取……

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本文節錄自《常春藤生活英語》雜誌，完整內容請見十一月號。