Chapter22 Prairie Fire 草原大火-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》下

Chapter 22 Prairie Fire SPRING had come.The w arm winds smelled exciting,and all outdoors was large and bright and sweet.Big white shining clouds floated high up in clear space.Their shadows floated over the prairie. The shadows were thin and brown,and all the rest of the prairie was the pale,soft colors of dead grasses. Pa was breaking the prairie sod,with Pet and Patty hitched to the breaking-plow.The sod was a tough,thick mass of grass-roots.Pet and Patty slowly pulled with all their might and the sharp plow slowly turned over a long,unbroken strip of that sod. The dead grass was so tall and thick that it held up the sod.Where Pa had plowed,he didn't have a plowed field.The long strips of grass- roots lay on top of grass,and grass stuck out between them. But Pa and Pet and Patty kept on working.He said that sod potatoes and sod corn would grow this year,and next year the roots and the dead grasses would be rotted.In two or three years he would have nicely plowed fields.Pa liked the land because it was so rich,and there wasn't a tree or a stump or a rock in it. Now a great many Indians came riding along the Indian trail.Indians ·322· 22 草原大火 春天来了。薰风阵阵，醉人心扉，户外天地辽 阔，春光明媚。一朵朵透亮的大片白云飘浮在晴朗 ①float/fl3t/v.浮 的高空。云朵的阴影在大草原上游移。云集的阴影 动，飘 是淡淡的、棕色的，其他地方呈现的则是枯草暗淡 的柔和色彩。 爸爸把皮特和帕蒂套在犁上，正在耕地。坚硬 ②sod/sDd/n(-块】 草皮，草地 的草地长满了稠密的草根。皮特和帕蒂用尽力气慢 ③might/mat/i.力 慢地向前拉着，锋利的犁缓慢地翻起一条连带草根 量，威力 ④strip /strip/n.长条， 的狭长土埂。 条状 枯草又高又密，把土地板结了。爸爸耕过的地 hold up vt.阻挡 方还说不上是一块耕过的地。一块块带草根的长条 土块压在草上面，草从土块中间露出来。 爸爸赶着皮特和帕蒂不停地耕着。他说，今年 可以种土豆和玉米，来年草根和枯草就会腐烂掉。 ⑥rot/rot/v.腐烂，使 两三年以后，他将拥有一块很好的耕地。爸爸喜欢 …枯朽 这块土地，因为这块地非常肥沃，地里没有一棵 ⑦stump/stAmp/n.残 株 树、一个树茬或一块石块。 这时，一大帮印第安人骑着马顺着他们常走的 ·323· Little House on the Prairie were everywhere.Their guns echoed in the creek bott toms where they were hunting.No one knew how many Indians were hidden in the prairie which seemed so level but wasn't.Often Laura saw an Indian where no one had been an instant before. Indians often came to the house.Some were friendly,some were surly and cross.All of them wanted food and tobacco,and Ma gave them what they wanted.She was afraid not to.When an Indian pointed at something and grunted2,Ma gave him that thing.But most of the food was kept hidden and locked up. Jack was cross all the time,even with Laura.He was never let off the chain,and all the time he lay and hated the Indians.Laura and Mary were quite used to seeing them now.Indians didn't surprise them at all. But they always felt safer near Pa or Jack. One day they were helping Ma get dinner.Baby Carrie was playing on the floor in the sunshine,and suddenly the sunshine was gone. "I do believe it is going to storm,"Ma said,looking out of the window.Laura looked,too,and great black clouds were billowing up in the south,across the sun. Pet and Patty were coming running from the field,Pa holding to the heavy plow and bounding in long leaps behind it. “Prairie fire！”he shouted.“Get the tub full of water！Put seeks in it!Hury！” Ma ran to the well,Laura ran to tug the tub to it.Pa tied Pet to the house.He brought the cow and calf from the picket -line and shut them in the stable.He caught Bunny and tied her fast to the north corner of the house.Ma was pulling up buckets of water as fast as she could.Laura ran to get the sacks that Pa had flung out of the stable. ·324· 草原小屋【 小路走来。到处都是印第安人。枪声在他们打猎的 河边低地回响。谁也不知道，在这似乎平坦而实际 上不平坦的大草原上到底有多少印第安人。劳拉经 常在没有人影的地方转眼之间看到一个印第安人。 印第安人经常到家里来。有的人和气友善，有 的则粗野暴躁。他们都是来索取食物和烟草的。他 ①uiys3:l/a.不和 蔼的 们要什么，妈妈就给什么。妈妈生怕得罪他们。印 ②grunt /grAnt/,作呼 噜声 第安人指什么东西咕哝咕哝，妈妈就把那东西给 他。当然，大部分食物都藏起来锁上了。 杰克总在发脾气，甚至对劳拉也没有好脸色。它 ③1 et off放 一直被链子拴着，总是躺在那儿怀恨印第安人。现在 劳拉和玛丽经常见到印第安人，已经见怪不怪了，当 ①surprise/s'praiz/ 使惊奇 然还总觉得有爸爸或杰克在跟前，比较安全。 一天，她们正在帮妈妈做午饭，小卡里在灿烂 阳光照耀下的地板上玩耍，不料刹那间，阳光消失 了。 “肯定要来暴风雨了。”妈妈说着朝窗外望去。 ⑤billow/bil3u/g像 巨浪般汹涌，像巨浪 劳拉也向外张望，只见南边，大块大块的乌云像巨 般波动 浪似的滚滚而来，遮住了太阳。 皮特和帕蒂从地里跑回来，爸爸扛着沉重的犁， 大步流星地跟在后面。 “草原起火了，”他喊叫着，“拿盆舀满水！里 tub /tAb/n桶，浴盆 面放些麻袋！快点！” ①tug /tAg/用力拉 妈妈跑到井边，劳拉跑过去用力把木盆拉到井 picket'prkit/h.尖 旁。爸爸把皮特拴在房子旁边，解开母牛和牛犊的 木桩 绳索，把它们牵进马厩关起来，又抓住邦尼把它拴 在屋子北边的角落里。妈妈尽快地把水一桶一桶吊 上来。劳拉跑去拿爸爸从马厩里扔出来的一条条麻 袋。 ·325· Little House on the Prairie Pa was plowing,shouting at Pet and Patty to make them hurry.The sky was black now,the air was as dark as if the sun had set.Pa plowed a long furrow west of the house and south of the house,and back again east of the house.Rabbits came bounding past him as if he wasn't there. Pet and Patty came galloping3,the plow and Pa bounding behind them.Pa tied them to the other north corner of the house.The tub was full of water.Laura helped Ma push the sacks under the water to soak them. “I couldn't plow but one furrow;there isn't time,”Pa said.“Hury, Caroline.That fire's coming faster than a horse can run." A big rabbit bounded right over the tub while Pa and Ma were lifting it.Ma told Laura to stay at the house.Pa and Ma ran staggering to the furrow with the tub. Laura stayed close to the house.She could see the red fire coming under the billows of smoke.More rabbits went leaping by.They paid no attention to Jack and he didn't think about them;he stared at the red under sides of the rolling smoke and shivered and whined while he crowded close to Laura. The wind was rising and wildly screaming.Thousands of birds flew before the fire,thousands of rabbits were running. Pa was going along the furrow,setting fire to the grass on the other side of it.Ma followed with a wet sack,beating at the flames that tried to cross the furrow.The whole prairie was hopping with rabbits.Snakes rippled across the yard.Prairie hens ran silently,their necks outstretched and their wings spread.Birds screamed in the screaming wind. Pa's little fire was all around the house now,and he helped Ma fight it with the wet sacks.The fire blew wildly,snatching at the dry grass inside the furrow.Pa and Ma thrashed at it with the sacks,when it got 326· 草原小屋【 D furrow /'fArau/n.犁 沟 ②bound/baund/.跳 跃 ③gallop/'gelp/.飞 驰，急速进行 ①soak/3uk/.使上 下湿透，浸，吸入 ⑤stagger/staega/蹒 跚，使…摇摆，踌 爸爸在犁沟槽，他吆喝皮特和帕蒂快快跑。这 躇 时，天空黑魃魃的，就像太阳已落山一样黑。爸爸 billow /"bilau/n.巨 在房子西边和南边分别犁出一条长长的沟槽，又回 浪 头到房子的东边去犁。一只只兔子旁若无人地从他 身边窜过去。 crowd/kraod/.拥 挤 皮特和帕蒂飞跑回来，犁和爸爸一蹦一跳地跟 在它们后面。爸爸把两匹马拴在房子北边的另一个 角落里。盆里盛满了水，劳拉帮助妈妈把麻袋放在 水里浸湿。 8 flame/们em/n火 “还有一条沟来不及犁了，”爸爸说，“赶快， 焰 卡罗琳，火来得比马跑得还快！” ripple /ripl/v.使 爸爸和妈妈拾起木盆，一只大兔子嗖地一下从 起涟漪，起微波 盆上跳了过去。妈妈让劳拉在房子里呆着。爸爸和 妈妈拾着盆摇摇晃晃地向犁出的沟槽跑去。 0 snatch/snet/.夺 劳拉站在房子旁边，看见红色烈火伴着滚滚浓 取 重thrash/0raef/.打扑 烟冲过来。更多的兔子拼命地从旁边窜过去，完全 没有在意杰克在那里，杰克也没有理睬它们。它盯 ·327· Little House on the Prairie across the furrow they stamped it with their feet.They ran back and forth in the smoke,fighting that fire. The prairie fire was roaring now,roaring louder and louder in the screaming wind.Great flames came roaring,flaring and twisting high. Twists of flame broke loose and came down on the wind to blaze up in the grasses far ahead of the roaring wall of fire.A red light came from the rolling black clouds of smoke overhead 2. Mary and Laura stood against the house and held hands and trembled Baby Carrie was in the house.Laura wanted to do something, but inside her head was a roaring and whirling like the fire.Her middle shook,and tears poured out of her stinging eyes.Her eyes and her nose and her throat stung with smoke. Jack howled.Bunny and Pet and Patty were jerking at the ropes and squealing horribly.The orange,yellow,terrible flames were coming faster than horses can run,and their quivering light danced over everything. Pa's little fire had made a bumed black strip.The little fire went backing slowly away against the wind,it went slowly crawling to meet ·328· 草原小屋【 ①back and forth来回 着浓烟滚滚的红色烈火直打哆嗦，吠叫着靠在劳拉 地，反复地 的身旁。 风刮起来了，疯狂地呼啸，成千上万只鸟儿在 烈火面前拼命飞翔，成千上万只兔子在狼狈逃窜。 爸爸顺着沟槽，把火挡在沟槽对面的草地上。 妈妈跟在后面拿着湿麻袋扑打企图越过沟槽的火 ②overhead'ouvahed/ ad在头顶上，在空 焰。整个草原上，到处都有兔子在跳跃。一条条蛇 中，在高处 匍匐穿过院子。松鸡伸长脖子，展开翅膀，悄悄地 逃跑。鸟儿在呼啸的风声中凄厉地鸣叫。 此时，房子周围都是爸爸控制住的小火苗，他 帮助妈妈用湿麻袋扑打火苗。火势迅猛，烧着了沟 槽内的干草。爸爸和妈妈用湿麻袋来回扑打，用脚 踩灭越过沟槽的火苗。他们在烟雾中跑来跑去与火 搏斗。 草原上的大火在怒吼，吼声随着呼啸的风声越 来越大。熊熊烈火吼叫而来，闪闪发光，盘旋升 空。盘旋的火焰蔓延开来，随风降落，点燃了怒吼 的火墙前方的草。空中的滚滚浓烟吐出了一道红 光。 ③tremble/trembl/v 玛丽和劳拉手挽手靠墙站着，直打哆嗦。小卡 战悚 里呆在屋子里。劳拉想帮爸爸妈妈做点什么，但她 ④stinging /stini/a.刺 的脑子里就像火一样在怒吼轰鸣，在盘旋，一片混 人的 乱。她心惊胆战，眼睛被刺得泪如泉涌。眼睛、鼻 jekd33:k/北痉挛， 急拉，急推，急动 子和嗓子都被烟呛得难忍。 杰克嚎叫着。邦尼、皮特和帕蒂争扯着缰绳， 6squeal /skwi:l/v.& n长而尖的叫声 发出可怕的嘶叫声。桔红色的、黄色的可怕的火焰 席卷而来，比马跑得还快，闪动的火光在万物上空 狂颠乱舞。 爸爸控制住的小火形成一条烧焦的黑带。小火 ·329· Little House on the Prairie the racing furious big fire.And suddenly the big fire swallowed the little one. The wind rose to a high,crackling,rushing shriek,flames climbed into the crackling air.Fire was all around the house. Then it was over.The fire went roaring past and away. Pa and Ma were beating out little fires here and there in the yard. When they were all out,Ma came to the house to wash her hands and face.She was all streaked with smoke and sweat,and she was trembling. She said there was nothing to worry about."The back-fire saved us,”she said,“and all's well that ends well.” The air smelled scorched.And to the very edge of the sky,the prairie was burned naked and black.Threads of smoke rose from it.Ashes blew on the wind.Everything felt different and miserable.But Pa and Ma were cheerful because the fire was gone and it had not done any harm. Pa said that the fire had not missed them far,but a miss is as good as a mile.He asked Ma,"If it had come while I was in Independence, what would you have done?" "We would have gone to the creek with the birds and the rabbits,of course,Ma said. All the wild things on the prairie had known what to do.They ran and flew and hopped and crawled as fast as they could go,to the water that would keep them safe from fire.Only the little soft striped gophers had gone down deep into their holes,and they were the first to come up and look around at the bare,smoking prairie. Then out of the creek bottoms the birds came flying over it,and a rabbit cautiously hopped and looked.It was a long,long time before the snakes crawled out of the bottoms and the prairie hens came walking. ·330· 草原小屋【 逆着风缓慢地往前推进，逐渐与飞奔而来的烈火会 合。大火瞬间吞没了小火。 风发出了尖利、噼噼啪啪、气势汹汹的呼啸声， 火焰升向噼啪作响的空中。房子周围都是火。 一会儿，火势过去了。火呼呼地吼叫着越过房 子，向远处烧去。 爸爸和妈妈扑灭院子里各处的小火。火全部扑 灭以后，妈妈进屋洗手洗脸。她浑身是烟灰和汗 水，身子还在哆嗦。 妈妈说，没什么可担心的了。“这股回火救了 咱们，”她说，“结果好就一切都好。” ①scorched a.烧焦的 空气中弥漫着一股焦味。放眼望去，草原被烧 得光秃秃，黑糊糊的，一直延伸到遥远的天边。草 地上升起缕缕残烟。灰烬随风飞扬，让人感到草原 面目全非，万分凄凉。不过，爸爸和妈妈庆幸大火 ⑤mism1s/n漏掉， 过去了，没给他们造成任何损失。 错过 爸爸说，这场火幸亏绕过了他们家，不过也很 悬，就差一点。他问妈妈：“假如我在独立镇时， 火烧来了，你们怎么办呢？” “我们当然只好和鸟、兔子一起躲到河边去呗。” 妈妈说。 草原上的野生动物都知道怎么躲避大火。它们 常常以最快的速度飞的飞、跑的跑、跳的跳、爬的 爬，赶到能避火的水中去。只有那些毛绒绒带条纹 的小金花鼠钻到它们的洞里，过后它们第一个出来 观望四周光秃秃、余烟缭绕的大草原。 ③cautiously/ko:∫asl/ ad.慎重地 接着，鸟儿从河边低地出来飞向草原上空，一 只兔子小心翼翼地一边奔跳，一边察看。过了很长 时间，那些蛇才从河边低地爬上来，松鸡也摇摇摆 331·