Chapter20 A Scream in the Night 半夜的尖叫声-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》下

Chapter 20 A Scream in the Night THE DAYS were short and grey now,the nights were very dark and cold.Clouds hung low above the little house and spread low and far over the bleak prairie.Rain fell,and sometimes snow was driven on the wind.Hard little bits of snow whirled in the air and scurried over the humped 5 backs of miserable grasses.And next day the snow was gone. Every day Pa went hunting and trapping.In the cozy,firelit house Mary and Laura helped Ma with the work.Then they sewed quilt-patches. They played Patty Cake with Carrie,and they played Hide the Thimble With a piece of string and their fingers,they played Cat's Cradle And they played Bean Porridge Hot.Facing each other,they clapped their hands together and against each other's hands,keeping time while they said, “Bean porridge hot,. Bean porridge cold, Bean porridge in the pot, Nine days old. ·298· 20 半夜的尖叫声 ①scream/skri:m/n.尖 叫声 ②bleak /bli:k/a.萧瑟 现在夜长昼短，白天总是阴沉沉的，晚上又黑 的 ③whirl/(h)w3:lV 又冷。云彩在小屋上空低垂，黑压压地覆盖在荒凉 使.旋转，循环而行 的大草原上。天在下雨，有时风卷雪花漫天飞舞。 ④scuy/skA/以快 跑（飞散）】 硬邦邦的雪粒在空中盘旋，刷刷地滚落在凄惨的弯 hump /hAmp/,隆 起成圆丘形，弓起 腰弓背的草丛上。到了第二天，雪停了。 Hide the Thimble藏 爸爸每天出外去打猎，诱捕野兽。玛丽和劳拉 顶针游戏 )Cat's Cradle n.翻线 在温暖舒适、炉火熊熊的屋子里帮妈妈干活儿。接 戏（二人互翻一线圈 使成各种形状的游 着她们缝缀拼接被面的布片。她们和小卡里玩拍手 戏】 游戏，她们玩“藏顶针”；她们把一个线绳套在手 ⑧porridge'porid3/n. 粥 指上玩“翻绳儿”；还玩“热豆粥”，两人面对着 面，拍一下自己的手，再拍一下对方的手，嘴里合 着拍子唱游戏歌： “热豆粥， 凉豆粥， 锅里煮着 九呀九天老豆粥。 ·299· Little House on the Prairie “Some like it hot, Some like it cold, Some like it in the pot, Nine days old. “I like it hot, I like it cold, I like it in the pot, Nine days old." That was true.No supper was so good as the thick bean porridge, flavored with a small bit of salt pork,that Ma dipped onto the tin plates when Pa had come home cold and tired from his hunting.Laura liked it hot,and she liked it cold,and it was always good as long as it lasted.But it never really lasted nine days.They ate it up before that. All the time the wind blew,shrieking,howling,wailing, screaming,and mournfully sobbing.They were used to hearing the wind.All day they heard it,and at night in their sleep they knew it was blowing.But one night they heard such a terrible scream that they all woke up. Pa jumped out of bed,and Ma said:"Charles!What was it?" "It's a woman screaming,"Pa said.He was dressing as fast as he could.“Sounded like it came from Scott's.” “Oh,what can be wrong!”Ma exclaimed. Pa was putting on his boots.He put his foot in,and he put his fingers through the strapears at the top of the long boot leg.Then he gave a mighty pull,and he stamped hard on the floor,and that boot was on. ·300· 草原小屋【 “有人喜欢热豆粥， 有人喜欢凉豆粥， 有人喜欢锅里煮的， 九呀九天老豆粥。 “我喜欢热豆粥， 我喜欢凉豆粥， 我喜欢锅里煮的， 九呀九天老豆粥。” 情况确实像她们唱的一样。没有像稠豆粥那么 好吃的晚饭了，再就上一小块腌猪肉，香极了。那 ①flavor /'flerva/k.加 味于 腌猪肉是妈妈留在马口铁盘子里，等爸爸打猎回 来，又冷又累的时候吃的。劳拉喜欢吃热豆粥，也 喜欢吃凉豆粥。豆粥煮得时间越长越好吃。但是， 从来没有真的煮上9天。到不了9天，她们就吃光 ②shriek小ri:k/.尖0叫 3 mournfully 了。 'mo:nfol/ad.悲哀 地 这些日子，风不停地吹着，有时呼啸，有时怒 号，有时悲鸣，有时尖叫，有时又像凄凄惨惨的哭 诉。他们听惯了这种风声。白天，一整天在耳边 吹，晚上在他们睡着时，他们知道风还在刮。不 过，有一天晚上，他们听到一种令人恐怖的尖叫 声，他们被这尖叫声惊醒了。 爸爸立即从床上跳起来，妈妈问：“查尔斯！ 什么声音？” ④strap/strp/n.绳， “是一个女人的叫喊声，”爸爸说。他尽快穿好 皮带 ⑤mighty'mat/a.强 衣服。“听起来像是从斯科特家传来的。” 有力的 Odap/staemp/.捺 “唉呀，别出什么事啊！”妈妈焦急地说。 印，顿足 爸爸在穿他的长筒靴。他把一只脚踏进靴子， ·301· Little House on the Prairie "Maybe Scott is sick,he said,pulling on the other boot. “You don't suppose-?”Ma asked,.low. “No,”said Pa.“I keep telling you they won't make any trouble. They're perfectly quiet and peaceable down in those camps among the bluffs.” Laura began to climb out of bed,but Ma said,"Lie down and be still,Laura."So she lay down. Pa put on his warm,bright plaid coat,and his fur cap,and his muffler②.He lighted the candle in the lantern③，took his gun,and hurried outdoors. Before he shut the door behind him,Laura saw the night outside.It was black dark.Not one star was shining.Laura had never seen such solid④darkness. “Ma?”she said. “What,Laura?” “What makes it so dark?” "It's going to storm,Ma answered.She pulled the latchstring in and put a stick of wood on the fire.Then she went back to bed."Go to sleep,Mary and Laura,"she said. But Ma did not go to sleep,and neither did Mary and Laura.They lay wide awake and listened.They could not hear anything but the wind. Mary put her head under the quilt and whispered to Laura,"I wish Pa'd come back." Laura nodded 5 her head on the pillow,but she couldn't say anything.She seemed to see Pa striding along the top of the bluff,on the path that went toward Mr.Scott's house.Tiny bright spots of candlelight darted here and there from the holes cut in the tin lanter. The little flickering lights seemed to be lost in the black dark. ·302· 草原小屋【 手指穿进长筒靴上面的带眼儿，用劲一拉，然后在 地板上跺了两下脚，那只靴子穿上了。 “可能是斯科特病了。”他说着穿上了另一只靴 子。 “该不会是…”妈妈小声说。 爸爸说：“不会，我一直跟你说，印第安人不 会惹是非。他们在土崖中间的营地里过得挺平静、 ①plaid /plaed/n.格子 花呢 挺安稳的。” ②muffler/'mAfla/n. 劳拉开始从床上爬起来，可妈妈说：“躺下， 围巾 ③lantern/laentan/n. 别动，劳拉。”她只好躺下。 灯笼 ④solid /splid/a.结实 爸爸穿上那件暖和的花格呢大衣，戴上皮帽子， 的 围上围巾。他点着提灯里的蜡烛，拿上枪，急急忙 忙地出门了。 在他出去关上身后的门之前，劳拉看到了外面 的黑夜。外面漆黑一片，没有一颗星星在闪烁发 光。劳拉从来没有见过这么黑洞洞的天。 “妈妈。”。她叫。 “怎么啦，劳拉？” “是什么把天弄得这么黑咕隆咚的？” “要下暴风雨啦。”妈妈回答。她把拴门绳拉进 来，给炉火加了一根木柴。然后又重新回到床上。 “睡吧，玛丽、劳拉。”她说。 不过，妈妈没有睡着，玛丽和劳拉也没有睡着。 她们躺在床上，眼睛睁得大大的听着外面的动静。 可是除了风声以外，什么也听不到。 ⑤nod/nnd/点头 ⑥stride/straid/迈 玛丽把头缩进被子悄悄对劳拉说：“我盼爸爸 大步走 spot/spDt/h斑点 快点回来。” 8 dart/da:t/投射 劳拉在枕头上点了点头，但没吭声。她似乎看 ⑨flicker /"flika/.闪 动，闪烁，摇动 到爸爸沿着土崖顶，在通往斯科特家的路上大步流 ·303· Little House on the Prairie After a long time Laura whispered,"It must be almost morning." And Mary nodded.All that time they had been lying and listening to the wind,and Pa had not come back. Then,high above the shrieking of the wind they heard again that terrible scream.It seemed quite close to the house. Laura screamed,too,and leaped out of bed.Mary ducked under the covers.Ma got up and began to dress in a hurry.She put another stick of wood on the fire and told Laura to go back to bed.But Laura begged so hard that Ma said she could stay up."Wrap yourself in the shawl,”Ma said. They stood by the fire and listened.They couldn't hear anything but the wind.And they could not do anything.But at least 3 they were not lying down in bed. Suddenly fists pounded on the door and Pa shouted:"Let me in! Quick,Caroline!" Ma opened the door and Pa slammed it quickly behind him.He was out of breath.He pushed back his cap and said:"Whew!I'm scared yet." “What was it,Charles?”said Ma. “A panther,”Pa said. He had hurried as fast as he could go to Mr.Scott's.When he got there,the house was dark and everything was quiet.Pa went all around the house,listening,and looking with the lantern.He could not find a sign of anything wrong.So he felt like a fool,to think he had got up and dressed in the middle of the night and walked two miles,all because he heard the wind howl. He did not want Mr.and Mrs.Scott to know about it.So he did not wake them up.He came home as fast as he could because the wind was bitter cold.And he was hurrying along the path,where it went on the ·304· 草原小屋【 星地走着。点点烛光从马口铁提灯的孔隙里散射出 来，照在四周。摇曳的灯光好像在黑暗中消失了。 过了好长时间，劳拉悄悄地说：“肯定快到早 晨了。”玛丽点点头。她们一直躺在床上听着风声， 爸爸还是没有回来。 ①leap /li:p/.跳跃 ②duck /dAk没入 随后，她们又听到那可怕的尖叫声，高过呼啸 的风声。声音好像就在房子附近。 劳拉也尖叫一声跳下床。玛丽赶紧用被子蒙住 了头。妈妈起来，急忙穿上衣服。她又往炉火中加 了一根柴，叫劳拉回床上去。可是经不住劳拉死缠 硬磨，妈妈只好同意她这么呆着。“包上围巾。” ③at least至少 妈妈说。 她们站在炉火边，侧耳倾听，除了风声什么也 ④fist /fist//n拳头 听不到。尽管她们不能干什么事，但至少不躺在床 上了。 ⑤sdam/slem/.猛然 突然，一阵拳头砸在门上，只听爸爸喊道： 关上，砰地关上 “快让我进来！快，卡罗琳！” 妈妈打开门，爸爸闪进来，“砰”地一声关上 了门。他上气不接下气，把帽子往后推了推说： panther /'paena/n. 豹 “唷，吓坏我啦。” “怎么啦，查尔斯？”妈妈问。 “一只豹子。”爸爸说。 爸爸紧赶慢赶赶到斯科特先生家。到了那儿他 发现，房子里黑乎乎，静悄悄的。他绕房子转了一 圈，仔细地听，用提灯照着察看。没有发现任何出 事的迹象。这时，他觉得自己活像个大傻瓜，你想 想，半夜三更从床上爬起来，穿上衣服，跑了两英 ⑦bitter /bita/a.苦 里地，就是因为听到风在呼叫。 的，痛苦的 他不愿让斯科特先生和斯科特太太知道这些。 ·305· Little House on the Prairie edge of the bluff,when all of a sudden he heard that scream right under his feet. “I tell you my hair stood up till it lifted my cap,”he told Laura.“T lit out for home like a scared rabbit." “Where was that panther,Pa?”she asked him. “In a tree-top,”said Pa..“In the top of that big cottonwood②that grows against the bluff there." “Pa,did it come after you?”Laura asked,and he said,“Idon't know,Laura.” “Well,you're safe now,Charles,”said Ma. "Yes,and I'm glad of it.This is too dark a night to be out with panthers,.”Pa said..“Now,Laura,where's my bootjack?” Laura brought it to him.The bootjack was a thin oak slab with a notch in one end and a cleat5 across the middle of it.Laura laid it on the floor with the cleat down,and the cleat lifted up the notched end. Then Pa stood on it with one foot;he put the other foot into the notch, and the notch held the boot by the heel while Pa pulled his foot out. Then he pulled off his other boot,the same way.The boots clung tightly,but they had to come off. Laura watched him do this,and then she asked,"Would a panther carry off a little girl,Pa?" “Yes,”said Pa.“And kill her and eat her,too.You and Mary must stay in the house till I shoot that panther.As soon as daylight comes I will take my gun and go after him." All the next day Pa hunted that panther.And he hunted the next day and the next day.He found the panther's tracks,and he found the hide and bones of an antelope that the panther had eaten,but he did not find the panther anywhere.The panther went swiftly through tree-tops,where it left no tracks. ·306· 草原小屋 因此没有叫醒他们。他顶着凛冽的寒风，尽快地往 家跑。在他顺着土崖沿上的小路急急忙忙赶路时， ①1itt/快跑 猛然间，听到那尖叫声就在他的脚下。 “告诉你，我的头发倒立，把帽子都顶起来了， 我像一只受惊的兔子撒腿往家跑。”他告诉劳拉。 2cottonwood kptan wud/n杨木 “爸爸，豹子在哪儿？”劳拉问。 “在树顶上，就在土崖旁边的三角叶杨树顶上。” 爸爸说。 ③bootjack n.脱靴器 ④notch /nptf/n.刻 痕， ⑤cleat/kli:t/n.楔子 clung /klAn/cing的 过去式（分词） “爸爸，它追您了吗？”劳拉问，爸爸说：“我 不知道，劳拉。” ①carry off v.带走 “哎呀别说了，查尔斯，你现在好好的。”妈妈 说。 “是啊，很高兴能平安无事。伸手不见五指的黑 夜，出去又碰上了豹子。”爸爸说，“哦，劳拉， 我的鞋拔子在哪儿？” 母track/traek/.h踪迹 劳拉把鞋拔子拿给他。鞋拔子是一块薄薄的橡 ⑨hide /haid/n.兽皮 antelope /'aentiloup/ 木板，一头开着一个槽口，板子下面中间装着一个 n羚羊 楔子。劳拉把它放在地板上，楔子朝下，垫起有槽 口的一头。爸爸用一只脚踩住木板的一头，把另一 ·307·