吹小號的天鵝 第11期 一個拜訪者(5)
"Hello," said Sam in a low voice.
“你好。”薩姆輕聲說。
"Ko-hoh, ko-hoh!" replied the cob.
“吭—嗬，吭—嗬!”雄天鵝回答。
"Ko-hoh!" said his wife.
“吭—嗬!”他的妻子說。
The pond rang with the trumpet sounds--sounds of triumph over the fox, sounds of victory and gladness.
池塘四周響滿了吹號般的歡呼——戰(zhàn)勝了狐貍的歡呼，勝利和喜悅的歡呼。
Sam was thrilled at the noise of swans, which some people say is like the sound of a French horn.
薩姆被天鵝們的叫聲陶醉了，有人說這聲音聽起來像法國號的聲音。
He walked slowly around the shore to the little point of land near the island and sat down on his log.
他慢慢地沿著岸邊繞到靠近島子的那片小沙地尖角，在他那根木頭上坐下。
The swans now realized, beyond any doubt, that the boy was their friend.
天鵝們現(xiàn)在明白了，毫無疑問，這個男孩是他們的朋友。
He had saved the swan's life.
他救了雌天鵝的命。
He had been in the right place at the right time and with the right ammunition.
他在恰當?shù)臅r候帶著恰當?shù)耐稊S物在恰當?shù)牡胤匠霈F(xiàn)了。
The swans felt grateful.
天鵝們很感激他。
The cob swam over toward Sam, climbed out of the pond, and stood close to the boy, looking at him in a friendly way and arching his neck gracefully.
雄天鵝朝薩姆游過來，爬出池塘，站到這個男孩的身邊，優(yōu)雅地彎起他的脖子，友好地看著他。
Once, he ran his neck far out, cautiously, and almost touched the boy.
有一次，他小心地把他的脖子伸得很遠，幾乎碰到了這個男孩。
Sam never moved a muscle.
薩姆紋絲未動。
His heart thumped from excitement and joy.
他的心因激動和喜悅而砰砰猛跳。
The female paddled back to her nest and returned to the job of warming the eggs.
雌天鵝搖搖擺擺地回到她的窩，繼續(xù)做孵蛋的工作。
She felt lucky to be alive.
能大難不死，她真感到幸運。
That night before Sam crawled into his bunk at camp, he got out his notebook and found a pencil. This is what he wrote:
那天晚上，薩姆在爬進營帳里的床鋪之前，拿出他的日記本，又找來一枝鉛筆。他在日記里是這么寫的：
I don't know of anything in the entire world more wonderful to look at than a nest with eggs in it.
我不知道在這個世界里還有什么能比一個有蛋的窩看起來更奇妙。
An egg, because it contains life, is the most perfect thing there is.
一個蛋，因為它蘊含著生命，所以是最完美的東西。
It is beautiful and mysterious.
它是美麗而又神秘的。
An egg is a far finer thing than a tennis ball or a cake of soap.
一個蛋遠比一個網球或一塊肥皂要好。
A tennis ball will always be just a tennis ball.
一個網球永遠都不過是個網球。
A cake of soap will always be just a cake of soap--until it gets so small nobody wants it and they throw it away.
一塊肥皂也永遠不過是塊肥皂而已--等它變到小得沒人想要了，就會被扔掉的。
But an egg will someday be a living creature.
可是一個蛋在某一天卻會變成一個活生生的動物。
A swan's egg will open and out will come a little swan.
一個天鵝蛋最終會破殼，一只小天鵝會從里面鉆出來。
A nest is almost as wonderful and mysterious as an egg.
一個窩差不多和一個蛋同樣的奇妙與神秘。
How does a bird know how to make a nest?
鳥兒怎么知道怎樣造窩呢?
Nobody ever taught her.
從沒誰教過她。
How does a bird know how to build a nest?
鳥兒怎么知道如何造窩呢?
Sam closed his notebook, said good night to his father, blew out his lamp, and climbed into his bunk.
薩姆合上日記本，和父親道過晚安，吹熄了燈，上了他的床。
He lay there wondering how a bird knows how to build a nest.
他躺在那里想著鳥兒怎么知道如何造窩。
Pretty soon his eyes closed, and he was asleep.
不久，他的眼睛閉上了，他睡著了。
