吹小號(hào)的天鵝 第27期:求學(xué)生涯

Chapter 7 School Days

第七章 求學(xué)生涯

A few days after the swans arrived at their winterhome on the Red Rock Lakes, Louis had an idea.

天鵝們到達(dá)他們?cè)诩t石湖的冬居的幾天后，路易斯有了一個(gè)主意。

He decided that since he was unable to use his voice,he should learn to read and write.

他覺(jué)得他既然不能使用他的嗓子，就該學(xué)會(huì)讀和寫(xiě)。

"If I'm defective in one respect," he said to himself, "I should try and develop myself along other lines.

“如果我在某一個(gè)方面有缺陷，”他心想， “我就應(yīng)當(dāng)試著讓自己在別的方面有所造就。

I will learn to read and write. Then I will hang a small slate around my neck and carry a chalkpencil.

我要學(xué)會(huì)讀和寫(xiě)。然后我要在我的脖子上掛一塊小石板，再帶枝石筆。

In that way I will be able to communicate with anybody who can read."

那樣我就能和那些識(shí)字者交流了。”

Louis liked company, and he already had many friends on the lakes.

路易斯喜歡交朋友，他在湖上已經(jīng)有很多朋友了。

The place was a refuge for water birds--swans, geese, ducks, and other waterfowl.

這里是水鳥(niǎo)的天堂——有天鵝，野鵝，野鴨，還有一些其他的水禽。

They lived there because it was a safe place and because the water stayed warm even in thecoldest winter weather.

他們都住在這里，因?yàn)檫@是個(gè)安全的地方，更因?yàn)檫@里的水即使在最冷的冬天里也是溫暖的。

Louis was greatly admired for his ability as a swimmer.

由于游泳本領(lǐng)高強(qiáng)，路易斯受到了大家的高度敬仰。

He liked to compete with other cygnets to see who could swim underwater the greatestdistance and stay down the longest.

他喜歡和其他的小天鵝們比賽，看誰(shuí)能在水下游得最遠(yuǎn)，潛得最久。

When Louis had fully made up his mind about learning to read and write, he decided to visitSam Beaver and get help from him.

當(dāng)路易斯下定決心去學(xué)讀和寫(xiě)以后，他決定去拜訪薩姆·比弗并從他那里得到幫助。

"Perhaps," thought Louis, "Sam will let me go to school with him, and the teacher will show mehow to write."

“大概，”路易斯想，“薩姆會(huì)讓我和他一起上學(xué)，然后老師將教我怎么寫(xiě)字。”

The idea excited him.

這個(gè)念頭令他非常激動(dòng)。

He wondered whether a young swan would be accepted in a classroom of children.

他不知道一只小天鵝能不能被孩子們的課堂所接收。

He wondered whether it was hard to learn to read. Most of all, he wondered whether he couldfind Sam.

他不知道學(xué)習(xí)閱讀是不是件很難的事。更重要的是，他不知道他能否找到薩姆。

Montana is a big state, and he wasn't even sure Sam lived in Montana, but he hoped he did.

蒙大拿本來(lái)就是個(gè)很大的州，可他甚至說(shuō)不準(zhǔn)薩姆是否住在蒙大拿，但他希望他住在那里。

Next morning, when his parents were not looking, Louis took off into the air. He flew northeast.

第二天一早，父母一沒(méi)留神，路易斯就飛上了天。他朝東北方向飛去。

When he came to the Yellowstone River, he followed it to the Sweet Grass country.

當(dāng)他來(lái)到黃石河時(shí)，便沿河一路飛到了香草鄉(xiāng)。

When he saw a town beneath him, he landed next to the schoolhouse and waited for the boysand girls to be let out.

他看到下面有個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)，就降落到鎮(zhèn)里的學(xué)校旁，等著男女學(xué)生放學(xué)。

Louis looked at every boy, hoping to see Sam. But Sam wasn't there.

路易斯打量著每一個(gè)男孩，希望能從中看到薩姆?？伤_姆卻不在里面。

"Wrong town, wrong school," thought Louis. "I'll try again."

“錯(cuò)誤的城鎮(zhèn)，錯(cuò)誤的學(xué)校，”路易斯想，“我要再試一次。”

He flew off, found another town, and located the school, but all the boys and girls had gonehome for the day.

他起身飛到另一座城鎮(zhèn)，停到鎮(zhèn)里的學(xué)校旁，可那里的所有男孩女孩們?cè)缍挤艑W(xué)回家了。

"I'll just have a look around anyway," thought Louis.

“我就在四周轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)吧，”路易斯想。

He didn't dare walk down the main street, for fear somebody would shoot him.

他不敢沿著主要街道走，因?yàn)樗掠腥碎_(kāi)槍打他。

Instead, he took to the air and circled around, flying low and looking carefully at every boy insight.

所以，他在空中盤旋著，低低地飛起來(lái)，仔細(xì)打量著他見(jiàn)到的每一個(gè)男孩。

After about ten minutes, he saw a ranch house where a boy was splitting wood near thekitchen door.

大約十分鐘后，他看到了一個(gè)低矮的小平房，一個(gè)男孩子正在它的廚房門口劈柴火。

The boy had black hair. Louis glided down.

這個(gè)男孩有一頭黑發(fā)。路易斯滑翔下來(lái)。