Story text / 故事文字
The Windmill Cliffs
Glowtown was still warm from all that ticking. Mia's laptop usually lived on her desk, on the hard, flat wood. But tonight Mia had a treat: one cartoon in bed! She set her laptop on her soft, puffy quilt, and it sank in like a little boat in snow. Mia snuggled down and pulled the quilt up high, and a fat fold of it puffed up right behind the laptop. On the windowsill, Bit and Lulu watched a little cartoon fox dance across the screen. "Hee hee," giggled Mia, and she snuggled deeper still.
Bit and Lulu slid down onto the quilt and wriggled in between the keys. Inside, Glowtown was hot, hot, hot, like a summer afternoon with no shade. Bit's little sprout drooped, and the Golden Track felt warm under his tummy. The Sparklings were carrying the cartoon's pictures up the track to the Window, one little picture after another. But they were puffing and panting, and their little feet went slower, and slower, and slower. "Something is wrong," whispered Lulu.
Lulu asked, "Why is it so hot?" A tired Sparkling sat down to rest. "Every picture is work," it said. "And working makes a computer warm, just like you get warm when you run. So the Windmill Cliffs have big fans that blow the warm air out." It fanned its face. "But tonight the warm air isn't getting out. So we have to go slowly, or we'll get too hot." Up on Mia's screen, the cartoon fox went stop, start, stop. On her bed, Mia frowned.
Bit and Lulu followed the hot air, past sleepy houses and quiet streets, to the very back of Glowtown, right under the hinge. There stood the Windmill Cliffs, a tall silver wall, and in front of it two giant fans, spinning so fast they hummed and roared. Up in her bed, Mia heard her laptop humming loudly. In the cliff wall, behind the fans, was a row of thin slits. "Those are the vents," said Lulu. "The little windows where the warm air goes out."
The fans spun and spun, but the warm air just swirled round and came back. Bit's sprout didn't even wiggle. Lulu flew close to the vents and peeked through. Bit wriggled up beside her and looked too. Outside there was no dark room and no cool air. Every slit was pressed full of something soft, fluffy and yellow. "Oh!" said Lulu. "It's Mia's quilt! It puffed up behind the laptop, and now it's covering the vents. The warm air can't get out."
"I'll push it away!" cried Bit, and before Lulu could say wait, he rushed at a vent and pushed with his head. Squish! The quilt was soft, and very, very big. It squished in, then bounced back, boing! Bit tumbled over onto his back, with a little fluff of yellow on his nose. Lulu giggled. "Bit, that quilt is bigger than all of Glowtown!" Bit sat up and blew the fluff away. "It's too soft and too big to push from in here," he said.
"We need someone outside to pull it from the back," said Lulu. "My wings are too small for a quilt." Just then, Glitch fluttered down, fanning her hot face. "Phew! Why is it so hot?" Bit told her about the quilt. Glitch looked at the stuffed-up vents, and then at her own big, soft wings. She puffed up her fluffy chest. "My wings are big and strong," she said. "Leave it to me!" And off she flew, up between the keys and out into Mia's room.
Outside, Glitch flew round to the back of the laptop. There was the fat fold of quilt, pressed right against the vents. Glitch held a corner with all six feet and pulled. The quilt was heavy, but Glitch didn't give up. Her wings beat, flap, flap, flap. Heave! Mia was watching her cartoon and didn't notice a thing. Inside, Bit and Lulu held their breath. Slowly, slowly, the soft corner slid away from the back of the laptop, and the row of little vents peeked out.
Whoosh! Inside Glowtown, the warm air rushed through the vents and out into the room, and all of Glowtown gave a big, happy sigh. The big fans sang a soft, happy hum. A cool little breeze came in and blew Bit's sprout flat. "The warm air is going out!" laughed Bit. Lulu nodded. "So that's how it works. Working makes a computer warm. The fans blow the warm air out through the vents. And we must never, ever cover the vents."
The air grew cooler, and cooler. The Sparklings stopped puffing. They jumped up, smiled, and ran up the Golden Track again, quick as anything, carrying picture after picture to the Window. Up on Mia's screen, the cartoon fox danced smooth and fast again, and Mia laughed. Even the big fans slowed down and hummed softly, because now the air could flow. Glitch fluttered back in between the keys, and down in Glowtown, Bit and Lulu and Glitch danced too, in the lovely cool breeze.
When the cartoon ended, Bit and Lulu were back on the windowsill. Mia touched the bottom of her laptop. "Ooh, it's warm," she said. "Mummy says laptops need to breathe." She closed the lid and carried it back to her desk, onto the hard, flat wood, where nothing soft could cover it. She patted it gently. "Goodnight, laptop." Bit and Lulu smiled at each other. Glowtown could breathe again, and the quilt was just for sleeping.
Then Mia took out her crayons and drew a picture for Grandma: Mia and Grandma, holding hands under a big yellow sun. She coloured Grandma's cardigan purple, just like the one Grandma always wore. "Grandma lives so far away," she said softly. "How can I send it to her?" She tucked the picture by her pillow and fell asleep. On the windowsill, Bit yawned. "How do you send a picture far, far away?" he wondered, and he curled up to sleep.
风车悬崖
嘀嗒了那么久，发光城里还是暖暖的。米娅的电脑平时放在书桌上，放在硬硬的、平平的木头桌面上。可是今天晚上，米娅有一个小奖励：可以在床上看一集动画片！她把笔记本电脑放在又软又蓬的被子上，电脑一下子陷了进去，像一条小船陷在雪地里。米娅钻进被窝，把被子拉得高高的，一大团被子鼓了起来，正好堆在电脑的后面。比比和露露在窗台上，看着屏幕上的小狐狸跳来跳去。“嘻嘻，”米娅笑着，往被窝里又钻了钻。
比比和露露溜到被子上，从键盘的缝里爬了进去。发光城里好热，好热，好热，就像夏天的下午，连一块阴凉的地方都没有。比比头上的小芽都软软地垂了下来，金色轨道贴着他的肚子，也是热乎乎的。小火花们正沿着轨道，把动画片的画一张一张地送上大窗户。可是他们喘着气，呼哧呼哧的，小脚走得越来越慢，越来越慢。“不对劲，”露露小声说。
“为什么这么热呀？”露露问。一个小火花累坏了，坐下来歇一歇。“每一张画都是活儿，”它说，“电脑干活就会变热，就像你跑步会变热一样。所以风车悬崖上有大风扇，把热风吹出去。”它用小手给自己扇扇风，“可是今天晚上，热风出不去了。我们只好慢慢走，要不然会太热的。”米娅的屏幕上，小狐狸跳一下，停一下，又跳一下。床上的米娅皱起了眉头。
比比和露露顺着热风，走过安静的小房子和小街，赶到了发光城的最后面，就在合页的下面。那里立着风车悬崖，一面高高的银色石壁，石壁前面有两台大大的风扇，转得飞快，嗡嗡直响。床上的米娅也听见了，她的电脑嗡嗡地响个不停。在石壁上，风扇的后面，有一排细细的缝。“那是通风口，”露露说，“就是让热风出去的小窗户。”
风扇转呀转，可是热风只是在原地打转，又吹了回来。比比头上的小芽一动也不动。露露飞到通风口跟前，往外瞧。比比也扭到她身边，一起往外看。外面看不见黑黑的房间，也没有凉风。每一条缝里，都塞满了又软又蓬的黄东西。“哎呀！”露露说，“是米娅的被子！被子鼓起来，堆在了电脑后面，把通风口盖住了。热风出不去了。”
“我来把它推开！”比比喊着，露露还没来得及说“等一等”，他就冲到一个通风口前，用脑袋使劲一推。噗！被子软软的，可是好大好大。它被推进去一点，又弹了回来，嘣！比比一下子翻倒，仰面躺在地上，鼻子上还沾着一小团黄色的绒毛。露露嘻嘻地笑：“比比，这床被子比整个发光城还大呢！”比比坐起来，把绒毛吹掉。“它太软又太大了，在里面根本推不动，”他说。
“得有人到外面去，从后面把被子拉开，”露露说，“可是我的翅膀太小了，拉不动被子。”正在这时，小故障扑扇着翅膀飞了下来，一边给自己扇着热乎乎的脸。“呼！怎么这么热呀？”比比把被子的事告诉了她。小故障看看塞满被子的通风口，又看看自己又大又软的翅膀。她挺起毛茸茸的胸脯：“我的翅膀又大又有力气，”她说，“交给我吧！”说完，她就从键盘的缝里飞了上去，飞到了米娅的房间里。
到了外面，小故障绕到了电脑的后面。那一大团被子，正紧紧地贴着通风口。小故障用六只小脚抓住被子的一个角，使劲地拉。被子好重，可是小故障一点儿也不放弃。她的翅膀扑扇着，扑扇，扑扇，扑扇。嘿哟！米娅正在看动画片，一点儿也没发现。在电脑里面，比比和露露都屏住了呼吸。被角慢慢地，慢慢地，从电脑后面滑开了，那一排小小的通风口露了出来。
呼的一声，发光城里的热风一下子从通风口冲了出去，吹进了房间，整个发光城都舒舒服服地松了一口气。大风扇轻轻地、开心地嗡嗡唱着。一阵凉凉的小风吹进来，把比比头上的小芽都吹弯了。“热风出去啦！”比比笑着说。露露点点头：“原来是这样。电脑干活会变热，风扇把热风从通风口吹出去。所以，通风口千万千万不能盖住。”
风越来越凉，越来越凉。小火花们不再喘气了。他们跳起来，笑眯眯的，又沿着金色轨道飞快地跑上去，一张接一张地把画送上大窗户。米娅的屏幕上，小狐狸又顺顺溜溜、快快地跳起舞来，米娅哈哈地笑了。连大风扇都转慢了，轻轻地嗡嗡唱着，因为现在风能吹出去了。小故障从键盘的缝里飞了回来。在发光城里，比比、露露和小故障也一起跳起了舞，吹着凉凉的小风，舒服极了。
动画片放完的时候，比比和露露已经回到了窗台上。米娅摸了摸电脑的底下。“哇，热热的，”她说，“妈妈说过，电脑也要透透气。”她合上盖子，把电脑抱回了书桌，放在硬硬的、平平的木头桌面上，那里没有软软的东西会把它盖住。她轻轻拍拍电脑：“晚安，电脑。”比比和露露对着彼此笑了。发光城又能好好地透气了，被子呀，只用来睡觉就好。
然后，米娅拿出蜡笔，给奶奶画了一幅画：米娅和奶奶手拉着手，头顶上是一个大大的黄太阳。她把奶奶的毛衣涂成了紫色，就像奶奶常穿的那件一样。“奶奶住得好远好远，”她轻轻地说，“我怎么才能把画送给她呢？”她把画放在枕头边，睡着了。窗台上，比比打了个哈欠。“一幅画，要怎么送到很远很远的地方去呢？”他想着想着，蜷起身子睡着了。