吹小號(hào)的天鵝 第35期:愛(ài)情(2)

Spring followed winter; summer followed spring.

冬去春來(lái);春殘夏至。

A year went by, and it was springtime again. Still nosign of Louis.

一年過(guò)去了，又是一個(gè)春天了。還是沒(méi)有路易斯的消息。

Then one morning when Louis's grown-up brotherswere playing a game of water polo,

有一天早晨，當(dāng)路易斯的那些長(zhǎng)大了的哥哥們?cè)谕嫠蛴螒虻臅r(shí)候，

one of them looked up and saw a swan approachingin the sky.

它們中的一個(gè)偶然抬起頭，看到了一只從空中向這里飛來(lái)的天鵝。

"Ko-hoh!" cried the cygnet. He rushed to his father and mother. "Look! Look! Look!"

“吭—嗬!”這只小天鵝叫起來(lái)。他跑到了他的父母旁邊。“看!看!看!”

All the waterfowl on the lake turned and gazed up at the approaching swan. The swan circled inthe sky.

湖上的所有水禽都轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身來(lái)注視著這只正在飛近的天鵝。這只天鵝在空中盤(pán)旋著。

"It's Louis!" said the cob.

“那是路易斯!”雄天鵝說(shuō)，

"But what is that peculiar little object hanging around his neck by a string? What is that?"

“不過(guò)那個(gè)用繩子栓在他脖子上的奇怪的小東西是什么?那到底是什么呀?”

"Wait and see," said his wife. "Maybe it's a gift."

“等會(huì)兒就能明白了，”他的妻子說(shuō)，“可能那是一件禮物。”

Louis looked down from the sky and spotted what looked like his family.

路易斯在空中往下觀望著，辨認(rèn)著他的家庭成員。

When he was sure, he glided down and skidded to a stop.

當(dāng)他看準(zhǔn)了以后，便滑翔下來(lái)，剎住了腳。

His mother rushed up and embraced him.

他的媽媽沖上來(lái)?yè)肀?/p>

His father arched his neck gracefully and raised his wings in greeting.

他的父親優(yōu)雅地彎著他的脖子張開(kāi)兩只翅膀歡迎他。

Everyone shouted "Ko-hoh!" and "Welcome back, Louis!"

每個(gè)人都喊著“吭—嗬”和“歡迎回來(lái)，路易斯”!

His family was overjoyed. He had been gone for a year and a half--almost eighteen months.

他的全家都陷入了狂喜之中。他已經(jīng)離家一年半了——差不多有十八月之久。

He looked older and handsomer. His feathers were pure white now, instead of a dirty gray.

他看起來(lái)更大更漂亮了。他的羽毛現(xiàn)在是純白的，不再是暗灰色的了。

Hanging by a cord around his neck was a small slate.

用一根細(xì)繩繞到他脖子上的是一塊小石板。

Attached to the slate by a piece of string was a white chalk pencil.

用一根繩子栓在石板上的是一枝白石筆。

When the family greetings were over, Louis seized the chalk in his bill and wrote "Hi, there!" onthe slate.

當(dāng)這一家人慶祝完畢后，路易斯用嘴叼起那枝石筆在石板上寫(xiě)出了“嗨，你們好!”

He held the slate out eagerly for all to see.

這幾個(gè)字。他急切地把這小石板舉給大家看。

The cob stared at it. The mother swan stared at it. The cygnets stared at it. They just staredand stared.

雄天鵝看見(jiàn)了。雌天鵝看見(jiàn)了。小天鵝們也看見(jiàn)了。他們光是看了又看而已。

Words on a slate meant nothing to them. They couldn't read.

石板上的字對(duì)它們來(lái)說(shuō)毫無(wú)意義。他們根本不會(huì)讀。

None of the members of his family had ever seen a slate before, or a piece of chalk.

他的家人中沒(méi)有誰(shuí)曾經(jīng)見(jiàn)到過(guò)一塊石板，或是一枝粉筆。

Louis's attempt to greet his family was a failure.

路易斯對(duì)全家問(wèn)候的愿望落空了。

He felt as though he had wasted a year and a half by going to school and learning to write.

他感到自己在學(xué)校里的這一年半書(shū)寫(xiě)學(xué)習(xí)純屬浪費(fèi)時(shí)間。他非常失望。

He felt keenly disappointed. And, of course, he was unable to speak.

當(dāng)然了，這一切他都沒(méi)法說(shuō)出來(lái)。

The words on the slate were all he could offer by way of greeting.

寫(xiě)在那石板上的話是他所能表達(dá)問(wèn)候的唯一方法了。

Finally his father, the cob, spoke up.

最后，他的父親雄天鵝打破了沉默。

"Louis, my son," he began in his deep, resonant voice, "this is the day we have long awaited

“路易斯，我的兒子，”他用深沉渾厚的嗓音說(shuō)，“這一天我們已經(jīng)期盼很久了

the day of your return to our sanctuary in the Red Rock Lakes.

你回到我們的紅石湖保護(hù)區(qū)的這一天。

No one can imagine the extent of our joy or the depth of our emotion at seeing you again,

沒(méi)有誰(shuí)能想象得到再見(jiàn)你時(shí)我們的歡喜程度或者說(shuō)歡喜之情有多深，

you who have been absent from our midst for so long, in lands we know not of, in pursuits wecan only guess at.

因?yàn)樵谖覀兯恢赖牡胤阶非笾覀冎荒芟胂蟮臇|西的你實(shí)在離開(kāi)我們太久了。

How good it is to see your countenance again!

能再次目睹你的面容有多么好呀!

We hope you have enjoyed good health during your long absence, in lands we know not of, inpursuits we can only guess at..."

我們希望你離家在外時(shí)身體安康，因?yàn)樵谖覀兯恢赖牡胤阶非笾覀冎荒芟胂蟮?hellip;…”