吹小号的天鹅 第12期:小天鹅

 　　Chapter 4 The Cygnets

　　第四章 小天鹅

　　During the night, the swan thought she heard a pipping sound from the eggs.

　　那天夜里，雌天鹅觉得她听到了小天鹅用嘴啄蛋壳的声音。

　　And in the hour just before dawn, she was sure she felt a slight movement under her breast, as though a tiny body were wiggling there.

　　就在破晓前的那一小时，她确切地感觉到胸下有一阵轻微的动静，似乎有一个小身子正在那里扭动着。

　　Perhaps the eggs at last were hatching. Eggs, of course, can't wiggle, so the swan decided¹ she must have something under her that wasn't an egg.

　　可能这些蛋终于被孵成小天鹅了。蛋壳当然是不能扭动的，所以雌天鹅断定她身子下面的已经不再是蛋了。

　　She sat perfectly² still, listening and waiting. The cob floated nearby, keeping watch.

　　她静静地端坐着，在那里倾听着，期待着。雄天鹅在附近游着，时刻观察着。

　　A little swan enclosed in an egg has a hard time getting out.

　　一只被封在蛋壳里的小天鹅得经过好长一段艰苦的时间才能钻出来。

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　It never would get out if Nature had not provided it with two important things: a powerful neck-muscle and a small dagger-tooth on the tip of its bill.

　　它永远也不会出世，如果大自然没把这两样重要的东西赋予它的话：一是有力的颈部肌肉，一是它的嘴尖上的小尖牙。

　　This tooth is sharp, and the baby swan uses it to pick a hole in the tough shell of the egg.

　　这牙很尖利，小天鹅用它就可以在蛋的硬壳上啄出一个洞。

　　Once the hole is made, the rest is easy. The cygnet can breathe now; it just keeps wiggling until it wiggles free.

　　一旦洞被啄出，其余的事儿就容易多了。小天鹅现在能呼吸了；它只需不断地挣扎，直到挣得自由为止。

　　The cob was expecting to become a father any minute now.

　　雄天鹅现在随时都渴望着当爸爸。

　　The idea of fatherhood made him feel poetical³ and proud. He began to talk to his wife.

　　这个做父亲的念头让他的心里泛起了一种诗意和自豪感。他开始对他的妻子演说了。

　　"Here I glide⁴, swanlike," he said, "while earth is bathed in wonder and beauty.

　　“当我在这儿像天鹅般优雅地滑翔时，”他说，“大地正沐浴在神奇而又美妙的辉光之中。

　　Now, slowly, the light of day comes into our sky.

　　现在，慢慢地，黎明之光在我们的天空中出现了。

　　A mist hangs low over the pond. The mist rises slowly, like steam from a kettle,

　　晨雾低低地悬挂在池塘的上空。当我像天鹅般优雅地滑翔的时候，当蛋被孵成的时候，

　　while I glide, swanlike, while eggs hatch, while young swans come into existence.

　　当小天鹅们来到这个世界上的时候，雾气像水壶里的蒸汽一般，正在渐渐地升腾。

　　I glide and glide.

　　我在滑翔呀滑翔。

　　The light strengthens. The air becomes warmer.

　　天光渐亮。空气转暖。

　　Gradually the mist disappears. I glide, I glide, swanlike.

　　雾气渐消。我在滑翔呀，我在滑翔，优雅得如同天鹅一样。

　　Birds sing their early song. Frogs that have croaked⁵ in the night stop croaking⁶ and are silent.

　　鸟儿唱起了他们的晨曲。呱噪了整夜的青蛙现在闭起嘴静默起来。

　　Still I glide, ceaselessly, like a swan."

　　而我还在不断地滑翔，像一只天鹅一样。”

　　"Of course you glide like a swan," said his wife. "How else could you glide? You couldn't glide like a moose, could you?"

　　“你当然滑翔得像一只天鹅一样了，”他的妻子说，“此外你还能像什么？你不能滑翔得像只麋鹿一样，对吧？”

　　"Well, no. That is quite true. Thank you, my dear, for correcting me."

　　“是的，不能。这话可真对。谢谢你纠正我，我亲爱的。”

　　The cob felt taken aback by his mate's commonsense⁷ remark.

　　他的伴侣给他的常识性提醒让他大吃一惊。

　　He enjoyed speaking in fancy phrases and graceful⁸ language, and he liked to think of himself as gliding⁹ swanlike.

　　他喜欢在讲话时使用新奇的措辞和文雅的语言，也喜欢想象着自己像天鹅一般滑翔。

　　He decided he'd better do more gliding and less talking.

　　他现在觉得自己最好还是多滑翔少说话为妙。

　　All morning long, the swan heard the pipping of the shells.

　　整个早晨，天鹅们都在听着啄蛋壳的声音。

　　And every once in a while, she felt something wriggle¹⁰ beneath her in the nest.

　　每过一会儿，她就感到身下的窝里有些什么在扭动。

　　It was an odd sensation.

　　这是一种很奇怪的感觉。

　　The eggs had been quiet for so many, many days--thirty-five days in all

　　这些蛋那么多天，那么多天以来都是那么安静，共有三十五天

　　and now at last they were stirring with life.

　　可现在他们终于焕发了生机。

　　She knew that the proper thing to do was to sit still.

　　她知道这时候最好还是坐着别动。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 poetical   

adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的

参考例句：

• This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句

4 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

5 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 croaking   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• the croaking of frogs 蛙鸣
• I could hear croaking of the frogs. 我能听到青蛙呱呱的叫声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 commonsense   

adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的

参考例句：

• It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.这种天气带把伞是很自然的。
• These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.这些结果只不过是按常理分析得出的事实。

8 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

9 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

10 wriggle   

v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒

参考例句：

• I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
• Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。