Chapter26 Going Out 启程-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》下

Chapter 2b Going Out AFTER breakfast next morning,Pa and Ma packed the wagon. First all the bedding was made into two beds,laid on top of each other across the back of the wagon,and carefully covered with a pretty plaid blanket.Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie would ride there in the daytime.At night the top bed would be put in the front of the wagon,for Pa and Ma to sleep in.And Mary and Laura would sleep in the bottom bed,where it was. Next Pa took the small cupboard from the wall,and in it Ma packed the food and the dishes.Pa put the cupboard under the wagon- seat,and in front of it he laid a sack of corn for the horses. "It will make a good rest for our feet,Caroline,"he said to Ma. Ma packed all the clothing in two carpet-bags,and Pa hung them to the wagon bows inside the wagon.Opposite them he hung his rifle in its straps,and his bullet-pouch and powder-horn hung beneath it.His fiddle in its box he laid on one end of the bed,where it would ride softly. Ma wrapped the black iron spider,the bake-oven,and the coffee-pot in sacks,and put them in the wagon,while Pa tied the rocking-chair and ·378· 26 启程 第二天，吃过早饭以后，爸爸和妈妈把行李装 上马车。 他们先用所有的寝具做成两张床，一张摞一张 横放在车尾，然后仔仔细细地铺上一块漂亮的方格 呢毯子。白天赶路的时候，玛丽、劳拉和小卡里可 以呆在床上。晚上，把上面那张床搬下来放在马车 的前面给爸爸妈妈睡觉。玛丽和劳拉就睡在底下的 那张床上。 ①cupboard/kAbad/n. 然后，爸爸从墙上取下小橱柜，妈妈把食物和 碗橱 盘子装进去。爸爸把橱柜放在车座下面，又把一袋 喂马的玉米放在车座前。“这袋马料正好搁脚，卡 ②carpet /'ka:pIt/n.地 罗琳。”爸爸对妈妈说。 毯，毛毯 妈妈把所有的衣服装进两个毡制的旅行袋，爸 爸把旅行袋挂在车篷里的篷架上，用皮带把他的步 ③pouch /paut f'/n.小 枪挂在对面，枪下面挂着子弹盒和角制的火药筒。 袋，小包 他把小提琴盒放在床头，它可以在那儿平平安安地 度过旅程。 妈妈把三脚铁煎锅、烤炉和咖啡壶包起来装入 几个袋子，放进马车。这时，爸爸把摇椅和浴盆绑 ·379 Little House on the Prairie the tub outside,and hung the water-bucket and the horse-bucket underneath.And he put the tin lantern carefully in the front corner of the wagon-box,where the sack of corn held it still. Now the wagon was loaded.The only thing they could not take was the plow.Well,that could not be helped.There was no room for it. When they came to wherever they were going,Pa could get more furs to trade for another plow. Laura and Mary climbed into the wagon and sat on the bed in the back.Ma put Baby Carrie between them.They were all freshly washed and combed.Pa said they were clean as a hound's tooth,and Ma told them they were bright as new pins. Then Pa hitched Pet and Patty to the wagon.Ma climbed to her place on the seat and held the lines.And suddenly Laura wanted to see the house again.She asked Pa please to let her look out.So he loosened2 the rope in the back of the wagon-cover,and that made a large round hole. Laura and Mary could look out of it,but still the rope held up enough canvas to keep Carrie from tumbling into the feed-box. The snug log house looked just as it always had.It did not seem to know they were going away.Pa stood a moment in the doorway and looked all around insides he looked at the bedstead and the fireplace and the glass windows.Then he closed the door carefully,leaving the latch- string out. “Someone might need shelter,”he said. He climbed to his place beside Ma,gathered the reins into his own hands,and chirruped to Pet and Patty. Jack went under the wagon.Pet whinnied to Bunny,who came to walk beside her.And they were off. Just before the creek road went down into the bottoms,Pa stopped the mustangs,and they all looked back. ·380· 草原小屋【 ①tub /tAb/L桶，浴盆 在车外，把水桶和饮马用的桶挂在下边。他又小心 翼翼地把马口铁提灯放在车厢前面的角落里，放在 那里的玉米袋子可以使灯保持平稳。 马车装好了。只有一件东西他们不能带走，那 就是犁。唉，没办法，实在没有地方装了。不管他 们将来到哪儿，爸爸都能捕猎，搞到更多的兽皮 来，去换一个新犁。 劳拉和玛丽爬上马车坐在后面的床上。妈妈把 小卡里放在她们中间。她们都刚刚梳洗过。爸爸说 她们像猎狗的牙齿一样干净，而妈妈对她们说，她 们像崭新的胸针一样耀眼。 然后，爸爸把皮特和帕蒂套上车。妈妈攀上她 的座位抓住缰绳。这时，劳拉突然想起来要再看看 ②loosen/lu:sn/g.放 那座小屋。她求爸爸让她往外看一眼。于是爸爸松 松，松开 ③canvas /'kaenvas/.n. 开车篷后面的绳子，车篷后面露出了一个大圆洞。 帆布 ④tumble/'tambl/.翻 劳拉和玛丽可以从那儿向外看，不过，绳子还是把 倒，滚动 帐篷拉得够紧的，足以挡住卡里，以免她翻进饲料 槽。 温暖舒适的小木屋看上去依然如故，它似乎并 不知道他们将要离别。爸爸在门口站了一会儿，环 视屋里的一切；他看看床架，又看看壁炉和玻璃 窗，然后小心翼翼地关上了门，把闩门绳留在了门 外。 ⑤ein/ren/n.缰绳 “也许有人需要这住所。”他说。 chirup /'tfirap/v. 他蹬上妈妈旁边的座位，接过缰绳，吆喝皮特 吱喳地叫 和帕蒂上路。 杰克走在马车下面。皮特对着走在身旁的邦尼 嘶叫。就这样，他们出发了。 ⑦mustang /'mAstae)/t 野马 恰恰在河边路过通往河边低地以前，爸爸勒住 ·381· Little House on the Prairie As far as they could see,to the east and to the south and to the west,nothing was moving on all the vastness of the High Prairie.Only the green grass was rippling in the wind,and white clouds drifted in the high,clear sky. “It's a great country,Caroline,”Pa said.“But there will be wild Indians and wolves here for many a long day." The little log house and the little stable sat lonely in the stillness. Then Pet and Patty briskly2 started onward 3.The wagon went down from the bluffs into the wooded creek bottoms,and high in a tree-top a mockingbird began to sing. "I never heard a mockingbird sing so early,"said Ma,and Pa answered,softly,"He is telling us good-by." They rode down through the low hills to the creek.The ford was low,an easy crossing.On they went,across the bottoms where antlered deer stood up to watch them passing,and mother deer with their fawns bounded into the shadows of the woods.And up between the steep red-earth cliffs the wagon climbed to prairie again. Pet and Patty were eager to go.Their hoofs had made a muffled sound in the bottoms,but now they rang on the hard prairie.And the wind sang shrill against the foremost wagon bows. Pa and Ma were still and silent on the wagon-seat,and Mary and Laura were quiet,too.But Laura felt all excited inside.You never know what will happen next,nor where you'll be tomorrow,when you are traveling in a covered wagon. At noon Pa stopped beside a little spring to let the mustangs eat and drink and rest.The spring would soon be dry in the summer's heat,but there was plenty of water now. Ma took cold cornbread and meat from the food-box,and they all ate,sitting on the clean grass in the shade of the wagon.They drank ·382· 草原小屋 了两匹马，他们都禁不住回头望去。 他们尽情地向远跳望，茫茫的大草原，四面八 方没有任何动静。只有绿草随风起伏，白云在晴朗 的高空飘荡。 “这个地方真美啊，卡罗琳，”爸爸说，“可惜 ①many a-个又-个 它将是印第安野人和狼群长期出没的地方。” 那座小木屋和小马厩孤零零地立在寂静中。 ②briskly/"briskly/ad 活泼地，精神勃勃地 接着皮特和帕蒂轻快地向前跑起来。马车从土 ③onward/'Dnwad/ad 向前，前进 崖驶入树木繁茂的河边低地，在高高的树梢上一只 模仿鸟开始鸣唱。 “我从来没听过模仿鸟叫得这么早。”妈妈说， 爸爸温柔地回答说：“它正在向我们说再见呢！” ④ford/fo:d/n.浅滩 他们驾着马车越过一个个小丘来到河边。浅滩 ⑤antler/'entlo/n.鹿 角，茸角 水位低，容易过去。他们穿过河谷，一只只长角鹿 ⑥fawn/fo:nln.未满 站在那里望着他们走过，母鹿带着几只小鹿跳着跑 周岁的小鹿 进森林的阴影中。马车从陡峭的红土崖中穿过，又 驶向了大草原。 ⑦hoof/hu:f/n.蹄 皮特和帕蒂急切地走着。马蹄刚才踩在河边低 地上发出一种沉闷的声音，而这会儿在大草原坚硬 的土地上回响着清脆的马蹄声。风呼啸着拍击在前 面的车架上。 爸爸和妈妈默默地坐在车座上，玛丽和劳拉也 没作声。然而，劳拉内心却感到非常激动。你在篷 车中旅行，绝不知道接下去将发生什么事情，也不 知道明天将在哪里！ 中午，爸爸把马车停在一个小小的泉水旁，让 马吃料、饮水、休息。夏天炎热，泉水很快就会枯 竭，不过这会儿水还充足。 妈妈从食品箱中取出凉玉米面包和肉，他们坐 ·383· Little House on the Prairie from the spring,and Laura and Mary ran around in the grass,picking wild flowers,while Ma tidied the food-box and Pa hitched up Pet and Patty again. Then for a long time they went on,across the prairie.There was nothing to be seen but the blowing grass,the sky,and the endless wagon track.Now and then a rabbit bounded away.Sometimes a prairie hen with her brood of prairie chicks scuttled2 out of sight in the grass. Baby Carrie slept,and Mary and Laura were almost asleep when they heard Pa say,“Something's wrong there.” Laura jumped up,and far ahead on the prairie she saw a small, light-colored bump3.She couldn't see anything else unusual. “Where?”she asked Pa. “There,.”Pa said,nodding-toward that hump.“It isn't moving..” Laura didn't say any more.She kept on looking,and she saw that that bump was a covered wagon.Slowly it grew bigger.She saw that no horses were hitched to it.Nothing moved,anywhere around it.Then she saw something dark in front of it. The dark thing was two people sitting on the wagon tongue.They were a man and a woman.They sat looking down at their feet,and they moved only their heads to look up when Pet and Patty stopped in front of them. “What's wrong？Where are your horses?”Pa asked. “Tdon't know,”the man said.“I tied them to the wagon last night, and this morning they were gone.Somebody cut the ropes and took them away in the night.” “What about your dog'?”said Pa. “Haven't got a dog,”the man said. Jack stayed under the wagon.He didn't growl,but he didn't come out.He was a sensible dog,and knew what to do when he met ·384· 草原小屋【 在马车遮荫处干净的草地上吃东西，喝泉水。妈妈 收拾食品箱，爸爸重新给皮特和帕蒂套车，这时 候，劳拉和玛丽在草地上跑来跑去，采摘野花。 然后，他们继续在大草原上穿行，走了很长时 间。除了风吹波动的野草、天空，以及看不到头的 车辙以外，什么也看不到。时而有兔子跳着跑过。 D brood/bru:d/n窝 有时看到松鸡领着一群小松鸡匆匆躲进草丛。小卡 ②scuttle /'skAtl/凿 沉（奔跑】 里睡着了，玛丽和劳拉也快入睡了，这时，她们听 到爸爸说：“那边出什么事了。” 劳拉一下子跳起来，她看到前面远处的草原上有 ③bump /bAmp/n.隆 一浅色的小包。她没看到有什么别的异样的东西。 起物 “在哪儿？”她问爸爸。 “在那边，”爸爸朝那个东西扬扬头说，“它不 在动。” 劳拉没再说什么。她继续观察，看出那个小包 是一辆篷布马车。马车渐渐地变大了。车上没套 马。周围没有动静。随后，她看到车前面有个黑糊 ④tongue/n.舌头 糊的东西。 那黑糊糊的东西是坐在车辕上的两个人。一个 男人和一个女人。他们低头看着自己的脚，当皮特 和帕蒂停在他们面前时，他们只是拾头向上望着。 “出什么事了？你们的马呢？”爸爸问。 那男的说：“不知道，昨天晚上我把它们拴在 马车上，今天早上起来就都不见了，晚上有人割断 绳子，把它们偷走了。” “你们的狗怎么了？”爸爸问。 “我们没有狗。”那个男的说。 杰克在马车下面呆着，它没有叫，也没出来。 5 sensible /'sensabl/a. 明理的 它是一条懂事的狗，知道遇见陌生人该怎么办。 ·385· Little House on the Prairie strangers. “Well,your horses are gone,”Pa told the man.“You'll never see them again.Hanging's too good for horse-thieves." “Yes,”the man said. Pa looked at Ma,and Ma barely nodded.Then Pa said,"Come ride with us to Independence." “No,”said the man.“All we've got is in this wagon.We won't leave it." “Why,man!What will you do?”Pa exclaimed.“There may be nobody along here for days,weeks.You can't stay here." “Idon't know,”the man said. "We'll stay with our wagon,"the woman said.She was looking down at her hands clasped in her lap,and Laura couldn't see her face; she could see only the side of the sunbonnet. “Better come,”Pa told them.“You can come back for your wagon. “No,”the woman said. They wouldn't leave the wagon;everything they owned in the world was in it.So at last Pa drove on,leaving them sitting on the wagon tongue,all alone on the prairie. Pa muttered③to himself:“Tenderfeet!”Everything they own,and no dog to watch it.Didn't keep watch himself.And tied his horses with ropes!”Pa snorted⑤.“Tenderfeet!"he said again.“Shouldn't be allowed loose west of the Mississippi!" “But,Charles！Whatever will become of them?”Ma asked him. "There are soldiers at Independence,said Pa."I'll tell the captain, and he'll send out men to bring them in.They can hold out that long.But it's durned lucky for them that we came by.If we hadn't,there's no telling when they would have been found." ·386· 草原小屋【 “唉，你们的马完了，”爸爸对那男人说，“你 们再也见不到它们了。对这些盗马贼，绞死他们都 太便宜他们。”“是的。”那人说。爸爸看看妈妈， 妈妈只是点了点头。然后爸爸说：“坐我们的车一 ①barely/beal/ad.仅 起去独立镇吧。” 及 那人说：“不，我们的全部家当都在车上，我 们不能离开它。” “哎呀，老兄！你要怎么办？”爸爸大声说， “这里可能几天、几个星期都没人经过，你们不能 呆在这里。”“我不知道。”那人说。 “我们要和马车在一起。”那妇女说。她低头盯 着自己抓在膝上的双手，劳拉看不见她的脸，只能 ②clasp /kla:sp/v.扣 紧，紧握 看到她的太阳帽边。 爸爸劝他们说：“最好还是走，你们还可以回 来找马车呀。” “不。”那妇女说。 他们不会离开马车，他们在这个世界上所拥有 的一切都装在马车里。最后，爸爸只好驾车离开， 剩下他俩坐在车辕上，孤零零地呆在大草原上。 ③mutter/'mAta/.喃 爸爸喃喃自语：“新手！他们什么都有，却没 喃自语 有狗看守。自己也不看管，用绳子拴着马！”爸爸 ④tenderfeet(俚语)新 手 用鼻子哼一声又说：“哼，新手！在密西西比西部 ⑤snon/sno:t/.哼着 鼻子 可不能有一点点疏忽大意啊！” “可是，查尔斯！他们会怎么样呢？”妈妈问他。 爸爸说：“独立镇有军人，我去告诉队长，他 会派人去接他们。他们能熬过这段时间。算他们走 运，让我们遇上了。如果我们不经过这里，他们还 不知道什么时候才能被人发现呢！” ·387·