吹小號的天鵝 第43期:金錢的煩惱

Chapter 10 Money Trouble

第十章 金錢的煩惱

Louis was the best-liked young male swan on UpperRed Rock Lake.

路易斯是上紅石湖最受大家喜愛的年輕雄天鵝了。

He was also the best equipped.

他也是裝備最棒的，

He not only had a slate and a chalk pencil around hisneck,

他不僅僅有掛在脖子上的石板石筆，

he had a brass trumpet on a red cord.

還有一把系著紅繩子的小銅號呢。

The young females were beginning to notice him because he looked entirely different from theother cygnets.

年輕的雌天鵝們都開始注意他了，因為他顯得和其他的小天鵝們完全不同。

He stood out in a crowd.

他簡直就是雞群中的鶴。

None of the others carried anything with them.

別的天鵝們身上可是什么都沒帶呀。

Louis was delighted with the new trumpet.

路易斯很喜歡這把新小號。

All day, the first day he had it, he tried to get it to make a noise.

從第一天拿到它起，他就整天地試著，想讓它發(fā)出聲來。

Holding the trumpet was not easy.

這把小號可真不容易擺弄呀。

He tried several different positions, bending his neck and blowing.

他試了好幾種不同的姿勢，彎著脖子，不斷地吹著。

At first, no sound came out.

起初，什么聲也沒弄出來。

He blew harder and harder, puffing out his cheeks and getting red in the face.

他吹得一次比一次用力，腮幫子越吹越鼓，臉也越憋越紅。

"This is going to be tough," he thought.

“這可太難弄了。”他想。

But then he discovered that, by holding his tongue in a certain way,

可接著他就發(fā)現(xiàn)，只要把舌頭放到一定的位置，

he could get the trumpet to emit a small gasping sound.

他就能讓這小號發(fā)出一種很小的喘息般的聲音。

It wasn't a very pretty noise, but at least it was a noise.

這聲音不是很動聽，但起碼也算是一種聲音。

It sounded a little like hot air escaping from a radiator.

它聽起來有點兒像從放熱器里往外散熱氣一樣。

"Puwoowf, puwoowf," went the trumpet.

“撲嗚嗚，撲嗚嗚。”小號叫道。

Louis kept at it.

路易斯繼續(xù)吹。

Finally, on the second day of trying, he got it to play a note--a clear note.

最后，在試吹的第二天，他成功地吹出了一個單音——一個清晰的單音。

"Ko!" went the trumpet.

“吭!”小號叫。

Louis's heart skipped a beat when he heard it.

當聽到這個聲音時，路易斯的心猛地跳了一下。

A duck, swimming nearby, stopped to listen.

游在附近的一只野鴨，停下來聽著。

"Ko! Ko ee oo oooph," went the trumpet.

“吭!吭 依 嗚 嗚浮。”這小號叫。

"It will take time," thought Louis. "I'm not going to become a trumpeter in a day, that's forsure.

“這要花點時間才行，”路易斯想，“在一天之內我是成不了一個號手的，這是可以肯定的。

But Rome wasn't built in a day, and I'm going to learn to blow this horn if it takes me allsummer."

可羅馬也不是在一天之內建成的呀，假如我用整個夏天來學的話，大概就能學會吹這個喇叭了。”

Louis had other problems besides learning the trumpet.

路易斯除了學吹號外還有別的問題要考慮，

For one thing, he knew that his trumpet wasn't paid for --it had been stolen.

一個問題是，他知道他的小號還沒有付錢——它是偷來的。

He didn't like that at all.

他根本不愿意這樣。

For another thing, Serena, the swan he was in love with, had gone away.

另一個問題是，塞蕾娜，他所愛的那只天鵝，已經(jīng)飛走了。

She had left the lakes with several other young swans and had flown north to the Snake River.

她和幾只其他的年輕天鵝離開紅石湖北飛到蛇河去了。

Louis was afraid he might never see her again.

路易斯擔心再也見不到她了。

So he found himself with a broken heart, a stolen trumpet, and no one to give him any lessons.

他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己只剩一顆破碎的心了，因為除了一把偷來的小號外，連個教他吹號的人都找不到。

Whenever Louis was in trouble, his thoughts turned to Sam Beaver.

每當路易斯遇到麻煩，他都會想起薩姆·比弗。

Sam had helped him before; perhaps he could help him again.

薩姆以前就幫過他;可能這次他還能幫忙。

Besides, springtime was making him restless:

此外，春天也攪得他心神不寧：

he felt an urge to leave the lakes and fly somewhere.

他感到有些什么在驅使他離開這些湖飛到某個地方去。

So he took off one morning and headed straight for the Bar Nothing Ranch, in the Sweet Grasscountry, where Sam lived.

因此他在一天早晨動身了，一直朝薩姆住的香草鄉(xiāng)牧場飛去。