小肥龍的誕生 The Birth of Little Fat Dragon
  文／李文煥  Written by Li Wenhuan
自從小萱完成了媽祖姊姊交付的任務，獲得聽懂鳥語與說鳥語的超能力後，她每天的生活就像翻開了一本神奇的新篇章。
Ever sinceChristine completed the mission given to her by Sister Mazu and gained the superpower to understand and speak bird language, her daily life felt like a magical new chapter unfolding.
貓頭鷹使者留給她的那顆巨大鳥蛋，就靜靜躺在她床邊的籃子裡，蓋著柔軟的棉被，像是沉睡的寶寶。而牠也不是普通的蛋——據說那是來自遠古鳥族與龍族混血後裔的神聖生命，只有以「閱讀之心」作為溫床，才能喚醒牠沉睡的靈魂。
The giant bird egg left to her by the owl messenger lay quietly in a basket beside her bed, covered with a soft blanket like a sleeping baby. But it wasn’t just any egg—it was said to be a sacred lifeform born from the ancient union of bird and dragon clans. Only with a 'heart of reading' could its slumbering soul be awakened.
「只要你在讀點字書的時候，靠近這顆鳥蛋，並用鳥語朗讀書中的內容，等你完成第八十一本，它就會孵化。」貓頭鷹當時這麼說。
"As long as you stay close to this egg while reading braille books aloud in bird language, it will hatch once you've completed the eighty-first book," the owl had once said.
於是，小萱立志要如期完成這項孵化挑戰。她把每天的時間排得密密麻麻，像一位專業的時間魔法師。每天放學後，她總是在最短時間內完成作業，把全部的晚上都留給點字書與鳥蛋。
So, was determined to complete the hatching challenge on time. She scheduled her days tightly like a professional time magician. Every day after school, she would finish her homework quickly and devote her entire evening to the braille books and the egg.
她摸讀的每一本書都用鳥語唸出聲音，不論天氣如何，從不懈怠。有時她還會觀察窗外的鳥，模仿牠們的語調與節奏，讓朗讀更自然、更貼近鳥類世界的聲波頻率。
She read every book aloud in bird language as she finger-read them, never slacking off regardless of the weather. Sometimes, she even observed the birds outside her window and mimicked their tones and rhythms to make her reading sound more natural, aligning with the frequencies of the bird world.
終於，在暑假的前夕，也就是六月二十八日的凌晨，當整個城市仍沉睡時，小萱的指尖劃過了第八十一本文字的終點。那是一本由Steven老師最新修訂、使用台語點字翻譯的台灣民間故事集。
Finally, on the eve of summer vacation, in the early morning of June 28, while the entire city was still asleep,Christine's fingers passed over the final words of the eighty-first book. It was the latest revised edition of Taiwanese folktales in braille, translated into Taiwanese Romanization by Teacher Steven.
她選用最熟悉的鳥語——來自海邊常見的夜鶯語調，輕輕吟唱般朗讀著那段故事：「…有一隻雞仔，本來是公主變的啊…」
She chose the bird language she was most familiar with—the nightingale tones common by the seaside—and began to softly chant the story: "…There was once a little chicken, who used to be a princess…"
她還沒讀完，忽然耳邊傳來一陣奇妙的顫動聲，那顆鳥蛋微微發亮，隨後金光乍現，如同晨曦中初綻的曙光。金光閃爍間，整顆蛋忽明忽暗地震動著，一道清脆的裂縫聲劃破夜色——「啪！」蛋殼從頂端彈開，一顆圓滾滾的小腦袋探出來，頭上還頂著一小塊蛋殼，像頂安全帽。
Before she could finish reading, a strange vibration suddenly came to her ears. The egg began to glow faintly, then burst into golden light like the first rays of dawn. As the egg shimmered and trembled, a crisp cracking sound pierced the night—"Pop!" The shell cracked open at the top, and a round little head poked out, still wearing a bit of eggshell like a safety helmet.
牠的眼睛又圓又大，閃著好奇的光芒，看見小萱的瞬間竟興奮地叫道：「媽咪！媽咪！」聲音稚嫩又甜美，讓小萱當場愣住。
Its eyes were large and round, sparkling with curiosity. The moment it sawChristine, it called out excitedly, "Mommy! Mommy!" in a sweet, childlike voice that left her frozen in surprise.
「你…你會說話？還叫我媽咪？」她驚訝地問。
"You… you can talk? And you called me Mommy?" she asked in astonishment.
小傢伙晃了晃頭，又親暱地撲向小萱懷裡，牠的身體胖胖的，背上長著兩隻像水餃般的小肉翅，雖然還飛不起來，但拍起來會發出柔柔的風聲。
The little creature shook its head and affectionately leapt into her arms. Its chubby body had two tiny dumpling-like wings on its back. Though it couldn't fly yet, the flapping made a soft whooshing sound.
「你是誰？你叫什麼名字呀？」小萱笑著問。
"Who are you? What's your name?"Christine asked with a laugh.
牠歪著頭想了好久，然後一臉認真說：「我…我叫……呃……我不知道！」
It tilted its head, thinking hard, then replied earnestly, "I… I’m called… um… I don’t know!"
「哈哈哈，太可愛了！」小萱笑彎了腰，「那我就叫你『小肥龍』好了，好不好？」
Hsiao-Hsuan doubled over with laughter. "You’re too cute! Then I’ll call you ‘Little Fat Dragon,’ okay?"
「小肥？龍？哇——聽起來，好有力量又，好想吃東西的名字！」牠舔了舔嘴唇，肚子咕嚕一聲，「媽咪，我肚子好餓喔～有沒有……什麼……呃……可以吃吃的？」
"Little Fat? Dragon? Wow—that sounds strong and… makes me hungry!" It licked its lips, and its stomach growled. "Mommy, I’m so hungry~ Do you have… something… uh… to eat?"
「咦？半夜了耶……」小萱慌了手腳，翻箱倒櫃不知道該餵什麼給牠吃。餅乾？不行，他太小；牛奶？可是牠不是小貓小狗啊……
"Huh? But it’s midnight…"Christine panicked, rummaging through drawers and cabinets, unsure what to feed it. Cookies? Too hard; he’s too young. Milk? But it’s not a kitten or puppy…
最後，她衝到廚房打開冰箱，在角落找到一盒剛從市場帶回來的荔枝。
Finally, she dashed to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and found a box of lychees she had just brought back from the market.
「荔枝……嗯，是水果，也許你可以試試看這個。」
"Lychees… hmm, it’s fruit. Maybe you can try this."
她剝開一顆晶瑩剔透的荔枝，放到小肥龍嘴邊。小肥龍用舌頭碰了一下，眼睛立刻亮了起來，「這個甜甜的球球，好好吃喔！」
She peeled open a translucent lychee and held it to the Little Fat Dragon’s mouth. It touched it with its tongue, and its eyes instantly lit up. "This sweet little ball is so yummy!"
一口接一口，牠吃了五顆，十顆，十五顆……最後拍著圓滾滾的小肚子，滿足地打了一個大嗝——「嗝～～～肥龍好飽飽了！」
One bite after another—it ate five, ten, fifteen… Finally, it patted its round belly and let out a loud burp—"Buurp~~~ Fat Dragon is sooo full now!"
小萱哭笑不得，「你真的很會吃耶……」
Hsiao-Hsuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You really can eat…"
正當她打算收拾時，窗外忽然傳來熟悉的「咕咕」聲音。貓頭鷹使者從窗框邊飛落，落在書桌上，目光溫柔地注視著他們。
Just as she was about to tidy up, a familiar "coo coo" sound came from the window. The owl messenger flew in through the window frame and landed gently on the desk, gazing at them warmly.
「小萱，妳的用心讓奇蹟誕生了。但你必須知道，這孩子並不是普通的生物。」
"Hsiao-Hsuan, your dedication has brought about a miracle. But you must know, this child is not an ordinary creature."
「我也發現了……他叫我媽咪，還狂吃荔枝。」
"I’ve noticed… he called me Mommy and devoured lychees like crazy."
「妳很幸運地選對了食物。」貓頭鷹說。「這是一隻純素的飛龍，不能吃肉，只能吃水果、植物。每一種食物，會在牠體內引發不同的力量種子，未來會長成不同的能力。剛剛妳餵牠吃的是荔枝——這將讓牠將來擁有『甜味共感』的能力，可以讀懂別人內心的喜怒哀樂。」
"You were fortunate to choose the right food," said the owl. "This is a vegan dragon—it can’t eat meat, only fruits and plants. Every type of food will awaken a different seed of power within its body, eventually growing into unique abilities. The lychees you fed him—those will give him the power of 'sweetness empathy,' allowing him to sense the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness in others’ hearts."
小萱瞪大了眼睛，「原來…餵什麼，真的會影響他以後的能力？」
Hsiao-Hsuan widened her eyes. "So… what I feed him really affects his future abilities?"
「正是如此。這是一段育龍之旅，也是妳生命的新挑戰。」
"Exactly. This is the journey of raising a dragon—and a brand-new challenge in your life."
說完，貓頭鷹拍了拍翅膀，化作月色中的一道身影，飛入天際。而破曉的光芒也悄然來臨，小肥龍已在小萱懷中睡著，嘴角還黏著一點荔枝汁。
With that, the owl flapped its wings and turned into a moonlit silhouette, flying into the sky. Dawn's light quietly arrived, and the Little Fat Dragon had already fallen asleep inChristine’s arms, a bit of lychee juice still at the corner of its mouth.
小萱輕輕地抱緊牠，心中悄悄下定決心：從今天起，她不只是小萱，也是「小肥龍的媽咪」。
Hsiao-Hsuan gently held him tighter, secretly making a decision in her heart: From this day on, she was not justChristine, but also ‘Mommy of the Little Fat Dragon.’
（未完待續，請見下一篇：《小肥龍的第一堂飛行課》）
(To be continued in the next episode: 'Little Fat Dragon’s First Flying Lesson')
