Chapter21 Indian Jamboree 印第安人大集会-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》下

Chapter 21 Indian Jamboree WINTER ended at last.There was a softer note2 in the sound of the wind,and the bitter cold was gone.One day Pa said he had seen a flock of wild geese flying north.It was time to take his furs to Independence. Ma said,"The Indians are so near!" "They are perfectly friendly,"said Pa.He often met Indians in the woods where he was hunting.There was nothing to fear3 from Indians. "No,"Ma said.But Laura knew that Ma was afraid of Indians. “You must go,.Charles,”she said.“We must have a plow and seeds. And you will soon be back again." Before dawn next morning Pa hitched Pet and Patty to the wagon, loaded his furs into it,and drove away. Laura and Mary counted the long,empty days.One,two,three, four,and still Pa had not come home.In the morning of the fifth day they began earnestly 5 to watch for him. It was a sunny day.There was still a little chill in the wind,but it smelled of spring.The vast blue sky resounded to the quacks of wild ducks and the honk-honk-honking of wild geese.The long,black- ·310· 21 印第安人大集会 ①jamboree 冬天终于结束了。风声中多了一些柔和的音调， d3aemba'ri:/n.快 乐，喧闹的集会 严寒过去了。一天，爸爸说他看见一群大雁向北飞 ②note/nat/n.音调 去。现在是带着皮毛到独立镇去的时候了。 妈妈说：“印第安人离得太近了！” “他们挺友好的。”爸爸说。他经常在森林里打 ③fear/fia/.害怕，恐 猎时碰上印第安人，他们也没什么可怕的。 惧 “不然。”妈妈说。劳拉知道妈妈害怕印第安人。 “那你也得去，查尔斯，”她说，“咱们总得有一副 犁和种地的种子呀，而且你很快又会回来的。” ④hitch/hitf/猛拉， 第二天拂晓前，爸爸把皮特和帕蒂套上车，装 系住 好兽皮，便动身了。 劳拉和玛丽屈指算着那漫长而无聊的日子。一 5 earnestly /'3:nistlt/ 天，两天、三天、四天过去了，仍然不见爸爸回 ad.认真地（真实地） ⑥vast /va:st/a.广阔 来。第五天一大早，她们就开始翘首盼望，等待着 的，巨大的 爸爸归来。 resound /rI'zaond/v. (使)回响，鸣响 这天天气晴朗，阳光灿烂。风仍然是凉飕飕的， ⑧quack /kwak/n.(指 鸭)呷呷地叫 但带着春的气息。辽阔的蓝天上，回荡着野鸭的呷 ·311· Little House on the Prairie dotted lines of them were all flying north. Laura and Mary played outdoors in the wild,sweet weather.And poor Jack watched them and sighed.He couldn't run and play any more, because he was chained.Laura and Mary tried to comfort him,but he didn't want petting.He wanted to be free again,as he used to be. Pa didn't come that morning;he didn't come that afternoon.Ma said it must have taken him a long time to trade2 his furs. That afternoon Laura and Mary were playing hopscotch.They marked the lines with a stick in the muddy yard.Mary really didn't want to hop;she was almost eight years old and she didn't think that hop- scotch was a ladylike play.But Laura teased5 and coaxed,and said that if they stayed outdoors they would be sure to see Pa the minute he came from the creek bottoms.So Mary was hopping. Suddenly she stopped on one foot and said,"What's that?" Laura had already heard the queer sound and she was listening to it. She said,“It's the Indians.” Mary's other foot dropped and she stood frozen still.She was scared. Laura was not exactly scared,but that sound made her feel funny.It was the sound of quite a lot of Indians,chopping with their voices.It was something like the sound of an ax chopping,and something like a dog barking,and it was something like a song,but not like any song that Laura had ever heard.It was a wild,fierce sound,but it didn't seem angry. Laura tried to hear it more clearly.She couldn't hear it very well, because hills and trees and the wind were in the way,and Jack was savagely growling. Ma came outdoors and listened a minute.Then she told Mary and Laura to come into the house.Ma took Jack inside,too,and pulled in 312· 草原小屋【 呷叫声和大雁的号号呼唤。大雁排着长长的队列， 一溜儿黑地向北方飞去。 劳拉和玛丽在户外清新的空气中玩耍。可怜的 杰克望着她们，连声叹气。它被链子拴住，再不能 ①pet/pet/抚摸，轻 抚 跑出来玩了。劳拉和玛丽想安慰它，但它不需要她 2 trade /treid/,交易 们的爱抚。它希望的是和过去一样，重新获得自 3hopscotch hopskot.∫/n.小孩 由。 独脚跳踢石子的游 戏，“跳房子“游戏 爸爸那天早上没回来，下午仍然没有回来。妈 妈说，卖掉那些皮毛一定花了他很长时间。 ④hop /hpp/.单脚跳 那天下午，劳拉和玛丽在玩“跳房子”的游戏。 ⑤tease /ti:zl嘲弄 ⑥coax/k3uks/.哄 她们用木棍在院子的地上划了些线条。玛丽确实不 想这么单腿蹦蹦跳跳的，她都快8岁了，觉得“跳 房子”不是姑娘家玩的游戏。可是，劳拉缠着她不 放，又是讥笑奚落，又是好言相劝，说如果她们在 外边玩耍，爸爸从河边低地一过来，她们就肯定能 看到。这才说服了玛丽，这会儿她在单腿向前跳 着。 忽然，她停住向前蹦的一只脚说：“什么声 音？” 劳拉已经听到那怪声音，正竖起耳朵听着。她 说：“是印第安人。” 玛丽把另一只脚落在地上，愣愣地站住不动了。 ⑦fierce /fias/a.猛烈 的 她被吓呆了。劳拉倒不觉得害帕，那怪声音让她觉 得挺好玩的。那是众多的印第安人发出的有节奏的 呼喊声。有点像砍柴的声音，有点像狗叫的声音， 又有点像唱歌，但不像劳拉听过的任何一种歌声。 那是一种野蛮的、狂热的声音，然而却又不像是愤 怒的呼声。 劳拉试图听得更清楚些，可是不行。山坡、树 ·313· Little House on the Prairie the latch-string. They didn't play any more.They watched at the window,and listened to that sound.It was harder to hear,in the house.Sometimes they couldn't hear it;then they heard it again.It hadn't stopped. Ma and Laura did the chores earlier than usual.They locked Bunny and the cow and calf in the stable,and took the milk to the house.Ma strained2 it and set it away.She drew a bucket of fresh water from the well,while Laura and Mary carried in wood.All the time that sound went on;it was louder,now,and faster.It made Laura's heart beat fast. They all went into the house and Ma barred the door.The latch-string was already in.They wouldn't go out of the house till morning. The sun slowly sank.All around the edge of the prairie the edge of the sky flushed pink.Firelight flickered in the dusky5 house and Ma was getting supper,but Laura and Mary silently watched from the window. They saw the colors fade from everything.The land was shadowy and the sky was clear,pale gray.All the time that sound came from the creek bottoms,louder and louder,faster and faster.And Laura's heart beat faster and louder. How she shouted when she heard the wagon!She ran to the door and jumped up and down,but she couldn't unbar it.Ma wouldn't let her go out.Ma went out,to help Pa bring in the bundles. He came in with his arms full,and Laura and Mary clung to his sleeves and jumped on his feet.Pa laughed his jolly big laugh."Hey! hey！don't upset me!”he laughed.“What do you think I am?A tree to climb?” He dropped the bundles on the table,he hugged Laura in a big bear hug,and tossed her and hugged her again.Then he hugged Mary ·314· 草原小屋【 ①latch /laetf/i.门闩 林和风挡住了这种声音，而且杰克也在狂吠。 妈妈出来听了一会儿。立即叫玛丽和劳拉进屋 去。她把杰克也牵进屋里，又把门闩绳拉了进来。 她们没有再玩。两人在窗口向外张望着，用心 听着外面传来的声音。在屋子里很难听清楚。有时 她们听不到什么，一会儿又听见了。声音断断续 ②strain/strein/g.过 续，一直没有停息。 滤 ③beat/bi:t/g打 妈妈和劳拉比往常提前做家务活了。她们把邦 尼、母牛和小牛犊锁在牲口棚里，把牛奶提到屋子 里来。妈妈把牛奶过滤了安置好。她又从井里打了 一 ④bar/ba:/.插 桶新鲜水提回来，劳拉和玛丽抱回来了木柴。那 声音始终响着，这会儿越来越大，越来越快了，吵 得劳拉的心怦怦直跳。 她们都进了屋，妈妈门上门。门闩绳早早就拉 5 dusky /'dAskt/a.微 进来，在第二天早晨之前，她们不准备出门了。 黑的 太阳渐渐落下山去。在大草原的尽头，绚丽的 shadowy /'faedour/ 晚霞映红天空。昏暗的屋子里闪烁着壁炉的火光， a.有影的，暗黑的， 朦胧的 妈妈正在做晚饭。而劳拉和玛丽静静地望着窗外。 ⑦pale /peil/a.苍白的 她们看到外面各种景物的颜色都在消褪。大地朦朦 胧胧，天空一片淡灰色。那怪声音不断从河边低地 up and down上上下 传来，声音越来越大，节奏越来越快。劳拉的心也 下 随之跳得越快越响了。 ⑨unbar"An'ba:/拔 去横木，拔去门闩 当听到马车声时，她叫得多响呀！她跑到门口， 连蹦带跳，可就是打不开门。妈妈不让劳拉出去。 她自己出去帮爸爸把一捆捆东西拿进来。 0 upset /Ap'set/.扑 倒 爸爸抱着一大堆东西进来了，劳拉和玛丽拽着 QD climb /klaim/以.攀 登，上升，爬 他的袖子，扑到他的腿上。爸爸乐得哈哈大笑起 来，他笑着说：“嗨！嗨！不要弄倒我！你们把我 当什么？当一棵树爬吗？” ·315· Little House on the Prairie snugly in his other arm. “Listen,Pa,”Laura said.“Listen to the Indians..Why are they making that funny noise?" “Oh,they're having some kind of jamboree,”Pa said.“I heard them when I crossed the creek bottoms." Then he went out to unhitch2 the horses and bring in the rest of the bundles.He had got the plow;he left if in the stable,but he brought all the seeds into the house for safety.He had sugar,not any white sugar this time,but brown.White sugar cost too much.But he had brought a little white flour.There were cornmeal and salt and coffee and all the seeds they needed.Pa had even got seed potatoes.Laura wished they might eat the potatoes but they must be saved to plant. Then Pa's face beamed and he opened a small paper sack5.It was full of crackers.He set it on the table,and he unwrapped and set beside it a glass jar full of little green cucumber pickles “I thought we'd all have a treat,”he said. Laura's mouth watered,and Ma's eyes shone softly at Pa.He had remembered how she longed for pickles. That wasn't all.He gave Ma a package and watched her unwrap it and in it was enough pretty calico to make her a dress. "Oh,Charles,you shouldn't!It's too much!"she said.But her face and Pa's were two beams of joy. Now he hung up his cap and his plaid coat on their pegs.His eyes looked sidewise at Laura and Mary,but that was all.He sat down and stretched out his legs to the fire. Mary sat down,too,and folded her hands in her lap.But Laura climbed onto Pa's knee and beat him with her fists."Where is it?Where is it?Where's my present?"she said,beating him. 316· 草原小屋【 ①snugly'snAgli/ad 他把东西扔到桌子上，大熊般的胳膊抱住劳拉 紧紧地，紧密地 往空中一抛，再紧紧地拥抱她。然后，用另一只胳 膊紧紧地搂住玛丽。 “你听，爸爸，”劳拉说，“听印第安人。他们 为什么胡喊乱叫？” g②unhitch /'An'hitf/g “噢，他们在大聚会，”爸爸说，“我路过河边 解开绳子 低地的时候就听到了。” 爸爸出去御下马，把剩下的东西拿进来。他买 了犁，把它放在马棚里，但为了安全，种子全都拿 ③cost/kost/.花费， 值 进了屋子。他买了糖，不过这次买的不是白糖，而 是红糖；白糖太贵了。他买了一点白面，还有玉米 面、食盐、咖啡和所需的各种种子，甚至还买来了 ④beam /bis:m/g微 笑，闪亮 土豆种子。劳拉多么希望能吃土豆啊，但这些土豆 ⑤sack/sek/L袋子 必须留着播种。 6cracker /'kraeka/n. 饼干 这时爸爸眉开眼笑地打开一个小纸袋。里面装满 7 cucumber kju:kAmba/i黄 了咸饼干。他把饼干放在桌子上，打开包裹拿出一个 瓜 玻璃瓶放在饼干旁边，那是满满一瓶翠绿的泡乳瓜。 ⑧pickle /'pik/n.腌 汁，泡菜 “我想咱们该解解馋了。”他说。 劳拉馋得口水直流，妈妈向爸爸投去温柔的目 光。他还记得，她是多么想吃泡菜。 ⑨calico /'kaelikou/n. 印花布 带回来的东西还不止这些。他递给妈妈一个小 包，看着她打开，里边是一块够她做一身衣服的漂 亮的印花布。 0 hang up挂起来 sidewise /saldwalz/ “噢，查尔斯，你不该这样！这太花费了！”她 a.向一边的，横斜 说。然而她和爸爸都笑逐颜开。 的 2 stretch/stret.f/.伸 爸爸把帽子和格子花呢大衣挂在木桩上。他瞟 展，张开，延伸 了一眼劳拉和玛丽，但只是看了看，便坐下来把双 腿叉开伸在炉火旁。 玛丽也坐下了，双手交叉着放在腿上。劳拉却 ·317· Little House on the Prairie Pa laughed his big laug h,like great bells ringing,and he said, "Why,I do believe there is something in my blouse pocket." He took out an oddly shaped package,and very,very slowly he opened it. “You first,Mary,”he said,“"because you are so patient..”And he gave Mary a comb for her hair."And here,flutterbudget!This is for you,"he said to Laura. The combs were exactly alike.They were made of black rubber and curved to fit over the top of a little girl's head.And over the top of the comb lay a flat piece of black rubber,with curving slits cut in it,and in the very middle of it a little fivepointed star was cut out.A bright colored ribbon5 was drawn underneath,and the color showed through. The ribbon in Mary's comb was blue,and the ribbon in Laura's comb was red. Ma smoothed back their hair and slid the combs into it,and there in the golden hair,exactly over the middle of Mary's forehead,was a little blue star.And in Laura's brown hair,over the middle of her forehead,was a little red star. Laura looked at Mary's star,and Mary looked at Laura's,and they laughed with joy.They had never had anything so pretty. Ma said,"But,Charles,you didn't get yourself a thing!" “Oh,I got myself a plow,.”said Pa..“Warm weather'l be here soon now,and I'll be plowing." That was the happiest supper they had had for a long time.Pa was safely home again.The fried salt pork was very good,after so many months of eating ducks and geese and turkeys and venison3.And nothing had ever tasted so good as those crackers and the little green sour pickles. Pa told them about all the seeds.He had got seeds of turnips and 318· 草原小屋【 爬上爸爸的膝盖，一边用小拳头砸着爸爸，一边 问：“在哪儿，在哪儿，我的礼物在哪儿呢？” ①oddly/'nd/ad.奇 爸爸发出洪钟般的笑声，乐呵呵地说：“我想 妙地，奇怪地 我的罩衣兜里一定有好东西。” 他取出一个奇形怪状的包，慢而又慢地打开。 2)comb/kaom/.梳 “先给你，玛丽，”他说，“因为你很有耐心。” 头发 ③flutterbudget n.心急 爸爸将一个发卡递给玛丽。又对劳拉说：“给，这 的人 是你的，急毛猴！” 两个发卡一模一样，都是用黑色橡胶制成的， ④slit/slt/n.裂缝 形状弯弯的正适合戴在小姑娘的头上。发卡的顶 部有一节是扁平的，里边有弯弯曲曲的缝齿，正 ⑤ribbon/'rib3n/n.缎 中是一个小小的镂空五角星，下面衬着一条色彩 带，色带 鲜艳的丝带，丝带的颜色从缝里透出来，非常好 看。 玛丽的发卡丝带是蓝的，劳拉的是红的。 ⑥slid/shd/slide的过 妈妈把她们的头发向后梳了梳，卡上发卡。在 去分词 玛丽金色的头发上，前额正中间是一颗蓝色的小星 星。在劳拉棕色的头发上，前额正中间是一颗红色 的小星星。 劳拉看看玛丽的小星星，玛丽看看劳拉的小星星， 两人高兴地笑了。她们从来还没有这么漂亮过呢。 妈妈说：“查尔斯，你什么也没给你自己买啊！” “噢，我为自己买了一副犁，”爸爸说，“天快 暖和了，我要准备耕地了。” ⑦fried /fraid/a.炸过 这是很久以来最愉快的一顿晚餐。爸爸又一次 的 venison /'venizn/n. 平安归来。几个月来一直吃的是野鸭、野雁、火鸡 鹿肉 和鹿肉，现在吃油煎腌猪肉自然十分可口了。品尝 ⑨sour /'sava/a.酸的 0 turnip/'t3:np/n.大 咸饼干和碧绿的酸泡菜真是从来没有过的享受。 头菜 爸爸和她们聊起了各种种子。他弄来了芜菁、胡 ·319·