吹小号的天鹅 第30期:求学生涯(4)
"What kind of a bird is he?" she asked.
“他是一只年轻的号手天鹅，”萨姆说，
"He's a young Trumpeter Swan," said Sam.
“现在他的颜色是暗灰的，
"Right now he's sort of a dirty gray color,
可明年他就会变成你所见过的最美丽的鸟了——全身雪白，黑喙黑脚。
but in another year he'll be the most beautiful thing you ever saw--pure white, with black bill and black feet.
他是去年春天在加拿大被孵出来的，眼下住在红石湖，
He was hatched last spring in Canada and now lives in the Red Rock Lakes,
可他不能像其他的天鹅那样说‘吭—嗬’，这使他陷入了一个非常不利的境地。”
but he can't say ko-hoh the way the other swans can, and this puts him at a terrible disadvantage."
“为什么?”这个老师问。
"Why?" asked the teacher.
“因为就是如此，”萨姆说，
"Because it does," said Sam.
“如果你想说‘吭—嗬’却发不出一丝声音的话，你就不感到担忧吗?”
"If you wanted to say ko-hoh and couldn't make a single solitary sound, wouldn't you feel worried?"
“我可不想说‘吭—嗬’，”这个老师回答，“我甚至都不知道那是什么意思。
"I don't want to say ko-hoh," replied the teacher. "I don't even know what it means.
不管怎么说，这一切都太蠢了，萨姆。
Anyway, this is all just foolishness, Sam.
是什么使你认为一只鸟也能学会读写?这绝不可能。“
What makes you think a bird can learn to read and write? It's impossible."
“给他个机会吧!”萨姆恳求，
"Give him a chance!" pleaded Sam.
“他非常守规矩，也很聪明，只是有特别严重的发声缺陷而已。”
"He is well behaved, and he's bright, and he's got this very serious speech defect."
“他叫什么名字?”
"What's his name?"
“我不知道。”萨姆回答。
"I don't know," replied Sam.
“噢，”哈默博瑟姆太太说，“如果他进了我的班，就得有个名字。
"Well," said Mrs. Hammerbotham, "if he's coming into my class, he's got to have a name.
也许我们能问出他的名字来。”
Maybe we can find out what it is."
她看着这只鸟。“你的名字叫乔吗?”
She looked at the bird. "Is your name Joe?"
路易斯摇摇头。
Louis shook his head.
“乔纳森?” 路易斯摇摇头。“唐纳德?”
"Jonathan?" Louis shook his head. "Donald?"
路易斯又摇摇头。
Louis shook his head again.
“你叫路易斯?”哈默博瑟姆太太问。
"Is your name Louis?" asked Mrs. Hammerbotham.
路易斯使劲点点头蹦了一下，还拍了拍翅膀。
Louis nodded his head very hard and jumped up and down and flapped his wings.
“真是见了恺撒大帝的鬼了!”老师惊叫，“看那双翅膀!好，他的名字叫路易斯——这是可以肯定的了。
"Great Caesar's ghost!" cried the teacher. "Look at those wings! Well, his name is Louis--that's for sure.
好吧，路易斯，你可以到我这个班来。就站到黑板旁边吧。
All right, Louis, you may join the class. Stand right here by the blackboard.
你可不要把教室弄得乱七八糟!如果你有什么事想出去的话，要举起一只翅膀请假。”
And don't mess up the room, either! If you need to go outdoors for any reason, raise one wing."
路易斯点点头。一年级的小学生们都欢呼起来。
Louis nodded. The first-graders cheered.
他们喜欢这个新生的样子，急着想看看他能做什么。
They liked the looks of the new pupil and were eager to see what he could do.
