Chapter12 Fresh Water to Drink 清凉的饮用水-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》上

Chapter 12 Fresh Water to Drink PA HAD made the bedstead. He had smoothed the oak slabs till there was not a splinter on them.Then he pegged them firmly together.Four slabs made a box to hold the straw -tick.Across the bottom of it Pa stretched a rope, zigzagged from side to side and pulled tight. One end of the bedstead Pa pegged solidly to the wall,in a corner of the house.Only one corner of the bed was not against a wall.At this corner,Pa set up a tall slab.He pegged it to the bedstead.As high up as he could reach,he pegged two strips of oak to the walls and to the tall slab.Then he climbed up on them,and pegged the top of the tall slab solidly to a rafter.And on the strips of oak he laid a shelf,above the bed. “There you are,Caroline!”he said. “Ican't wait to see it made up,”said Ma.“Help me bring in the straw-tick.” She had filled the straw-tick that morning.There was no straw on the High Prairie,so she had filled it with dry,clean,dead grass.It was hot from the sunshine and it had a grassy,sweet smell.Pa helped her bring ·174· 12 清凉的饮用水 爸爸做好了床架。 他把橡木板刨得光滑滑的，一点刺儿都没有， ①smooth/smu:d/k 使…光滑 然后把这些木板牢牢地钉在一起。他用4块木板做 ②splinter /'splinta/n. 刺 成一个装草褥子的箱状物。在这个箱状物的底部穿 ③straw/tro:/n稻草 上一根绳子，绳子从这边穿到那边，再从那边拉到 ④zig7ag/zigzag成 锯齿形 这边，来回成“Z”字形拉紧。 爸爸把床架的一头在屋子角落的墙上钉牢。只 ⑤set up vi建立 有一个床角不靠墙。在这个床角边，爸爸立了一块 长木板，并把它钉在床架上。他在伸手能够着的那 么高的地方，在墙和长木板之间钉了两块橡木条。 然后，他爬到高处，把长木板的顶端固定在一根椽 子上。最后，在两块橡木条上放了一块搁板，架在 床上面。 “好了，卡罗琳！”他说。 “我就等着你做好呢，”妈妈说，“帮我把草褥 子拿进来。” 那天早上，妈妈充好了草褥子。草原上没有稻 草，她填充了一些干燥而洁净的枯草。枯草被太阳 ·175· Little House on the Prairie it into the house and lay it in the bedstead.She tucked the sheets in,and spread her prettiest patchwork quilt over them.At the head of the bed she set up the goose-feather pillows,and spread the pillow-shams against them.On each white pillow-sham two little birds were outlined?with red thread. Then Pa and Ma and Laura and Mary stood and looked at the bed.It was a very nice bed.The zigzag rope was softer than the floor to sleep on.The straw-tick was plump with the sweet-smelling grass,the quilt lay smooth,and the pretty pillow-shams stood up crisply 5.The shelf was a good place to store things.The whole house had quite an air, with such a bed in it. That night when Ma went to bed,she settled into the crackling straw-tick and said to Pa,"I declare,I'm so comfortable it's almost sinful.” Mary and Laura still slept on the floor,but Pa would make a little bed for them as soon as he could.He had made the big bed, and he had made a stout cupboard and padlocked it,so the Indians could not take all the cornmeal if they came again.Now he had only to dig a well and then he would make that trip to town.He must dig the well first,so that Ma could have water while he was gone. Next morning he marked a large circle in the grass near the corner of the house.With his spade he cut the sod inside the circle,and lifted it up in large pieces.Then he began to shovel out the earth,digging himself deeper and deeper down. Mary and Laura must not go near the well while Pa was digging. Even when they couldn't see his head any more,shovelfuls of earth came flying up.At last the spade flew up and fell in the grass.Then Pa jumped.His hands caught hold of the sod,then one elbow gripped it, 176 草原小屋【 晒得暖烘烘的，散发出草香味。爸爸帮妈妈把草褥 ①patchwork 子拿进屋子，放在床架上。妈妈先铺好床单，再铺 paetJw3:k/n修 上她用各色布片缝缀起来的最漂亮的被子。她在床 补工作 ②outline"outlam/y 头上放了一对鹅毛枕头，盖上枕巾。每块白枕巾上 描画轮廓 用红线绣着两只小鸟。 ③plump /plamp/a.圆 床铺好了，爸爸、妈妈和劳拉、玛丽一起站在 胖的 ④smell/smel/v.发出 那儿看着床。那是一张非常好的床。绳子绷的床要 味道 比地板柔软得多。膨松的草褥子弥漫着草香味，被 ⑤crisply"krisplu/ad 易碎地 子铺得平展展的，漂亮的枕巾软软的。那块搁板是 store /sto:,stDa/v. 储存 储藏东西的好地方。有了这样一张床，整个屋子面 貌一新。 那天晚上睡觉的时候，妈妈躺在沙沙作响的草 褥子上，对爸爸说：“哎，说实在的，太舒服了， ⑦sinful /'sinfu/a.有 都让人有点负疚感了。” 罪的 玛丽和劳拉仍睡在地板上，不过爸爸会尽快给 她们做一张小床的。爸爸做完大床，又做了一个结 结实实的食品橱，还给它上了锁，这样，印第安人 再来时，就不能拿走所有的玉米面了。接下来，爸 爸只需要再打一口井，然后就可以到镇上去了。他 well /wel/n.井 必须先打井，这样他出门时，妈妈就有水用了。 第二天早晨，爸爸在房外角落的草地上画了一 个大圆圈。他用铁锹把圆圈里的草皮，一大块一大 块地铲起来。铲净地皮以后，就开始往外清土，一 shovel /'fAvl/.铲 层一层地挖，他的身体随着挖的深度往下降。 爸爸挖土的时候，不许玛丽和劳拉到井边去。 甚至在她们都看不到爸爸的头，只见一锹一锹的土 飞上来的时候，都不许她们走近井边。最后，铁锹 飞上来，落在草地上。接着，爸爸跳上来。他先抓 0 grip /gnp/k.抓紧 住井口的草皮，然后把两个胳膊肘一个接一个地撑 ·177· Little House on the Prairie and then the other elbow,and with a heave Pa came rolling out."I can't throw the dirt out from any deeper,he said. He had to have help,now.So he took his gun and rode away on Patty.When he came back he brought a plump rabbit,and he had traded work with Mr.Scott.Mr.Scott would help him dig this well,and then he would help dig Mr.Scott's well. Ma and Laura and Mary had not seen Mr.and Mrs.Scott.Their house was hidden somewhere in a little valley on the prairie.Laura had seen the smoke rising up from it,and that was all. At sunup next morning Mr.Scott came.He was short and stout.His hair was bleached by the sun and his skin was bright red and scaly He did not tan;he peeled. “It's this blasted⑦sun and wind,”He said.“Beg your pardon, ma'am,but it's enough to make a saint use strong language.I might as well be a snake,the way I keep on shedding my skin in this country." Laura liked him.Every morning,as soon as the dishes were washed and the beds made,she ran out to watch Mr.Scott and Pa working at the well.The sunshine was blistering,even the winds were hot,and the prairie grasses were turning yellow.Mary preferred to stay in the house and sew on her patchwork quilt.But Laura liked the fierce light and the sun and the wind,and she couldn't stay away from the well.But she was not allowed to go near its edge. Pa and Mr.Scott had made a stout windlass.It stood over the well, and two buckets hung from it on the ends of a rope.When the windlass was turned,one bucket went down into the well and the other bucket came up.In the morning Mr.Scott slid down the rope and dug.He filled the buckets with earth,almost as fast as Pa could haul them up and empty them.After dinner,Pa slid down the rope into the well,and Mr. 178 草原小屋【 ①heave /hi:vln.举 在井口上，猛地一纵，便从井里打着滚出来了。 “再往下挖，我就没法把土扔出来了。”他说。 现在，他必须有人帮忙了。于是，他拿上枪骑 着帕蒂走了。他回来的时候，带回一只肥兔子，他 已和斯科特先生谈好了跟他换工。斯科特先生先帮 爸爸打这口井，打好以后，爸爸再去帮斯科特先生 打井。妈妈、劳拉、玛丽以前没见过斯科特先生和 他的太太。他们家隐蔽在大草原的一个小谷里。劳 拉见过有炊烟从那儿升起，她就知道这么一点情况。 ②sunup'SAnAp/h日 第二天早晨，太阳出来的时候，斯科特先生来 出 ③bleach/bli:tj/变 了。他个子不高但很壮实，头发被太阳晒白了，身 白 上的皮肤鲜红，像鳞片一样，不是被太阳晒的，而 ④scaly /'skeil/a鳞 状的 是在脱皮。 ⑤tan /taen/v.晒黑 “这该死的太阳和风，”他说，“请原谅，夫人， peel /pi:l/.脱皮 ⑦blast /bla:st/爆破 圣人也难免说句粗话。我也许是一条蛇，来到这个 ⑧hed/∫ed/片脱毛 地方，一直在蜕皮。” 劳拉很喜欢他。每天早上刷完盘子，收拾好床， 她就立即跑出去看斯科特先生和爸爸在井上干活。 ⑨blister /'blista/.出 水泡 太阳晒得人起泡，连风都是灼热的，草原上的草渐 渐变黄了。玛丽喜欢呆在屋里用各色布片缝缀被 子。而劳拉则喜欢强烈的光线，喜欢太阳，喜欢 风，她不能离井边太远。但是，爸爸不许她走近井 边。 10 windlass /'windlas/ n.绞盘 爸爸和斯科特先生做了一个结寒的辘轳，架在 井口上面。辘轳上面悬挂着一条绳子，绳子的两头 各系着一只桶。当辘轳转动时，一只桶降下去， 一只桶就升上来。这天上午，斯科特先生顺着绳子 下去挖土，他装满一桶土，爸爸马上就摇上来倒 掉。午饭后，爸爸顺着绳子下井去干，斯科特先生 ·179 Little House on the Prairie Scott hauled up the buckets. Every morning,before Pa would let Mr.Scott go down the rope,he set a candle in a bucket and lighted it and lowered it to the bottom. Once Laura peeped over the edge and she saw the candle brightly burning,far down in the dark hole in the ground. Then Pa would say,"Seems to be all right,"and he would pull up the bucket and blow out the candle. “That's all foolishness2,Ingalls,”Mr.Scott said..“The well was all right yesterday.” “You can't ever tell,”Pa replied.“Better be safe than sorry.” Laura did not know what danger Pa was looking for by that candle- light.She did not ask,because Pa and Mr.Scott were busy.She meant to ask later,but she forgot. One morning Mr.Scott came while Pa was eating breakfast.They heard him shout:“Hi,Ingalls！It's sunup.Let'sgo！”Pa drank his coffee and went out. ·180· 草原小屋【 把土一桶一桶地摇上来。 每天早晨，爸爸在斯科特先生下井之前，总要 D lower /'loua/.降低 在桶里放上一支蜡烛，点着，然后把桶放到井底。 一次，劳拉在井口朝下望，看到蜡烛在地下深深的 黑洞里燃烧得很亮很亮。 接着，爸爸就说：“看来没事儿。”他把桶拉上 来，吹灭蜡烛。 ②foolishness “尽干些傻事儿，英格尔斯，”斯科特先生说， fu:lfnis/m.可笑 “这井昨天好好的。” “你都无法预料，”爸爸答道，“谨慎总比后悔 强。” 劳拉不知道爸爸用烛光找什么危险的东西。她 当时没有问，因为爸爸和斯科特先生正忙着。她打 算以后再问，可过后就忘了。 天早晨，斯科特先生来了，爸爸正在吃早饭。 他们听见他大声喊叫：“嗳，英格尔斯！太阳出来 了，咱们干吧！”爸爸喝完咖啡就出去了。 辘轳叽叽嘎嘎地响起来，爸爸吹起了口哨。劳拉 和玛丽正在刷洗盘子，妈妈在收拾大床，突然，爸爸 的口哨声停了。她们听见他说：“斯科特！”他又大声 叫：“斯科特！斯科特！”随后又喊：“卡罗琳，快 来” 妈妈跑出屋子，劳拉紧跟在后面。“斯科特晕 倒了，不知下面出了什么事，”爸爸说，“我得下 去找他。” “你往下放蜡烛了吗？”妈妈问道。 “没有。我以为他放了。我问他有事没事，他说 没事儿。”爸爸割断绳子取下系在上面的空桶，把 绳子紧紧地绑在辘轳上。 ·181· Little House on the Prairie The windlass began to creak and Pa began to whistle.Laura and Mary were washing the dishes and Ma was making the big bed,when Pa's whistling stopped.They heard him say,"Scott!"He shouted, “Scot!Scott!!”Then he called:“Caroline!Come quick!" Ma ran out of the house.Laura ran after her. “Scot's fainted②，or something,down there,”Pa said.“T've got to go down after him.” “Did you send down the candle?”Ma asked. "No.I thought he had.I asked him if it was all right,and he said it was."Pa cut the empty bucket off the rope and tied the rope firmly to the windlass. “Charles,you can't.You mustn't,”Ma said,. “Caroline,'ve got to.” "You can't.Oh,Charles,no!" "I'll make it all right.I won't breathe till I get out.We can't let him die down there..” Ma said,fiercely③，“Laura,keep back!”So Laura kept back.She stood against the house and shivered “No,no,Charles！Ican't let you,”Ma said.“Get on Patty and go for help." “There isn't time.." "Charles,if I can't pull you up-if you keel over down there and Ican't pull you up-” "Caroline,I've got to,"Pa said.He swung into the well.His head slid out of sight,down the rope. Ma crouched and shaded her eyes,staring down into the well. All over the prairie meadowlarks were rising,singing,flying straight up into the sky.The wind was blowing warmer,but Laura was cold. ·182· 草原小屋【 ①creak /kri:k/y.发出 “查尔斯，不行，你不能下去。”妈妈说。 辗轧声 “卡罗琳，我不下去不行。” “你不能去。噢，查尔斯，不行！” “我会没事儿的，我屏住气一直到上来为止。咱 们不能让他死在下面啊。” ②faint/fent/u昏倒 妈妈严厉地说；“劳拉，后边去！”劳拉于是退 了回去。她站在房子跟前，直打哆嗦。 “不行，不行，查尔斯！我不能让你下去，”妈 妈说，“快骑上帕蒂去找人帮忙。” “来不及了。” “查尔斯，要是我拉不上你来…如果你在下面 昏倒了，我又拉不上来…” “卡罗琳，我不能不下去。”爸爸说完，抓住绳 子摇摇晃晃下去了。他顺着绳子往下滑，他的头转 眼就不见了。 妈妈蹲在井口，手遮在眼睛上面，盯着井里。 fiercely /'fiasli/ad. 大草原上，到处都有野百灵飞起，歌唱着，直 猛烈地 ④shiver/fiva/v.颜 飞蓝天。风吹得更暖和了，但劳拉却感到发冷。 动 突然，妈妈跳起来，抓住辘轳把手。她使出浑 身的力气摇动辘轳。绳子绷得紧紧的，辘轳在叽叽 嘎嘎地响。劳拉以为是爸爸在漆黑的井底昏倒，而 ⑤keel over倾覆 妈妈拉不上他。只见辘轳转动了一点，然后，又转 动了一点。 爸爸抓着绳子的一只手出来了，接着，另一只 手伸到那只手上面抓住绳子。然后，爸爸的头露出 来了。他一只胳膊攀住辘轳，不知怎么地，他刚出 ⑥meadowlark 来把脚踩到地上，就坐倒在那儿了。 /medaula:k/n. (鸟)（北美产）草地 辘轳哗啦啦急速倒转，只听井底“咚”地响了 鹤 一声。爸爸挣扎着想站起来，妈妈说：“坐着别 ·183·