吹小号的天鹅 第14期 小天鹅(3)

He approached the pond cautiously, his field glassesslung over his shoulder.

肩上挂着野外望远镜的他，小心地靠近了池塘。

It was still only a little after seven o'clock; the sunwas pale, the air was chill. The morning smelleddelicious.

那时才刚过七点;太阳还不那么刺眼，空气中仍有股寒意。清晨的气息真叫人心醉呀。

When he reached his log, Sam sat down andadjusted his glasses.

他来到他那根木头旁边，坐下来，开始调野外望远镜的焦距。

Seen through the glasses, the nesting swan appeared to be only a few feet away.

从野外望远镜里看去，那个天鹅窝离这里似乎只有几步远。

She was sitting very close, not moving.

她正牢牢地坐着，身子一动没动。

The cob was nearby. Both birds were listening and waiting.

雄天鹅就在附近。这两只鸟儿都在倾听和期待着。

Both birds saw Sam, but they didn't mind his being there--in fact, they rather liked it.

两只鸟儿也看到了萨姆，但他们对他的出现并不介意--实际上，他们还相当高兴。

They were surprised at the field glasses, though.

不过，他们对那野外望远镜却感到很惊奇。

"The boy seems to have very big eyes today," whispered the cob. "His eyes are enormous."

“这个男孩儿今天似乎长了一双很大的眼睛，”雄天鹅低语，“他的眼睛太庞大了。”

"I think those big eyes are actually a pair of field glasses," replied the swan.

“我认为那双大眼睛其实是一副野外望远镜的，”雌天鹅回答，

"I'm not sure, but I think that when a person looks through field glasses, everything appearscloser and bigger."

“我说不准，不过我猜当一个人从野外望远镜里往外看的时候，看到的一切都会变得更近更大。”

"Will the boy's glasses make me appear even larger than I am?" asked the cob, hopefully.

“这个男孩子的野外望远镜能让我变得甚至比平时更高大吗?”雄天鹅渴切地问。

"I think so," said the swan.

“我想是这样的。”雌天鹅说。

"Oh, well, I like that," said the cob. "I like that very much.

“噢，妙呀，我喜欢这样，”雄天鹅说，“我太喜欢了。

Perhaps the boy's glasses will make me appear not only larger than I am but even moregraceful than I am. Do you think so?"

可能这个男孩子的野外望远镜不但会令我变得比平时高大，甚至还能让我变得比平时更优雅呢。你怎么看?”

"It's possible," said his wife, "but it's not likely.

“也许吧，”他的妻子说，“不过那不太可能。

You'd better not get too graceful --it might go to your head. You're quite a vain bird."

你还是不要变得太优雅的好--那可能会让你头脑发热的。你本来就是一只自负的鸟儿。”

"All swans are vain," said the cob.

“所有的天鹅都自负，”雄天鹅说，

"It is right for swans to feel proud, graceful--that's what swans are for."

“天鹅们有资格自傲，至于优雅嘛——那正是天鹅们该追求的。”

Sam could not make out what the swans were saying; he merely knew they were having aconversation, and just hearing them talk stirred his blood.

萨姆听不出天鹅们说的都是什么;他仅仅知道他们正在交谈而已，可光是听着他们的声音，他就热血沸腾了。

It satisfied him to be keeping company with these two great birds in the wilderness. He wasperfectly happy.

能在野外和这两只大鸟在一起，他的心里非常满足。他简直幸福到了极点。

In midmorning, when the sun had gained the sky, Sam lifted his glasses again and focusedthem on the nest.

上午十点左右，太阳升到半空里的时候，萨姆又举起他的野外望远镜，对准天鹅窝看去。

At last he saw what he had come to see: a tiny head, thrusting through the mother's feathers,the head of a baby Trumpeter.

他终于看到了他一直渴望见到的东西：一个小脑袋，一个小号手天鹅的脑袋，从它妈妈的羽毛中钻了出来。

The youngster scrambled up onto the edge of the nest.

这个小家伙爬到了窝边上。

Sam could see its gray head and neck, its body covered with soft down, its yellow legs and feetwith their webs for swimming.

萨姆能看清它的灰脑袋灰脖子，它的长着绒毛的小身体，它的黄腿和可以用来游泳的蹼足。

Soon another cygnet appeared. Then another. Then the first one worked his way down into hismother's feathers again, for warmth.

不久，另一只小天鹅也出来了。然后是另一只。这时那第一只为了取暖又跑回到妈妈的羽毛里面去了。

Then one tried to climb up his mother's back, but her feathers were slippery, and he slid offand settled himself neatly at her side.

另一只想爬到妈妈的背上，可妈妈的羽毛太光滑了，它没抓牢滑了下来，只好靠在妈妈的身边。

The swan just sat and sat, enjoying her babies, watching them gain the use of their legs.

雌天鹅仍是坐在那里，欣赏着她的小宝宝，看着他们学习使用他们的腿。