吹小号的天鹅 第12期:小天鹅

 　　Chapter 4 The Cygnets

　　第四章 小天鹅
　　During the night, the swan thought she heard a pipping sound from the eggs.
　　那天夜里，雌天鹅觉得她听到了小天鹅用嘴啄蛋壳的声音。
　　And in the hour just before dawn, she was sure she felt a slight movement under her breast, as though a tiny body were wiggling there.
　　就在破晓前的那一小时，她确切地感觉到胸下有一阵轻微的动静，似乎有一个小身子正在那里扭动着。
　　Perhaps the eggs at last were hatching. Eggs, of course, can't wiggle, so the swan decided 1 she must have something under her that wasn't an egg.
　　可能这些蛋终于被孵成小天鹅了。蛋壳当然是不能扭动的，所以雌天鹅断定她身子下面的已经不再是蛋了。
　　She sat perfectly 2 still, listening and waiting. The cob floated nearby, keeping watch.
　　她静静地端坐着，在那里倾听着，期待着。雄天鹅在附近游着，时刻观察着。
　　A little swan enclosed in an egg has a hard time getting out.
　　一只被封在蛋壳里的小天鹅得经过好长一段艰苦的时间才能钻出来。
　　吹小号的天鹅
　　It never would get out if Nature had not provided it with two important things: a powerful neck-muscle and a small dagger-tooth on the tip of its bill.
　　它永远也不会出世，如果大自然没把这两样重要的东西赋予它的话：一是有力的颈部肌肉，一是它的嘴尖上的小尖牙。
　　This tooth is sharp, and the baby swan uses it to pick a hole in the tough shell of the egg.
　　这牙很尖利，小天鹅用它就可以在蛋的硬壳上啄出一个洞。
　　Once the hole is made, the rest is easy. The cygnet can breathe now; it just keeps wiggling until it wiggles free.
　　一旦洞被啄出，其余的事儿就容易多了。小天鹅现在能呼吸了；它只需不断地挣扎，直到挣得自由为止。
　　The cob was expecting to become a father any minute now.
　　雄天鹅现在随时都渴望着当爸爸。
　　The idea of fatherhood made him feel poetical 3 and proud. He began to talk to his wife.
　　这个做父亲的念头让他的心里泛起了一种诗意和自豪感。他开始对他的妻子演说了。
　　"Here I glide 4, swanlike," he said, "while earth is bathed in wonder and beauty.
　　“当我在这儿像天鹅般优雅地滑翔时，”他说，“大地正沐浴在神奇而又美妙的辉光之中。
　　Now, slowly, the light of day comes into our sky.
　　现在，慢慢地，黎明之光在我们的天空中出现了。
　　A mist hangs low over the pond. The mist rises slowly, like steam from a kettle,
　　晨雾低低地悬挂在池塘的上空。当我像天鹅般优雅地滑翔的时候，当蛋被孵成的时候，
　　while I glide, swanlike, while eggs hatch, while young swans come into existence.
　　当小天鹅们来到这个世界上的时候，雾气像水壶里的蒸汽一般，正在渐渐地升腾。
　　I glide and glide.
　　我在滑翔呀滑翔。
　　The light strengthens. The air becomes warmer.
　　天光渐亮。空气转暖。
　　Gradually the mist disappears. I glide, I glide, swanlike.
　　雾气渐消。我在滑翔呀，我在滑翔，优雅得如同天鹅一样。
　　Birds sing their early song. Frogs that have croaked 5 in the night stop croaking 6 and are silent.
　　鸟儿唱起了他们的晨曲。呱噪了整夜的青蛙现在闭起嘴静默起来。
　　Still I glide, ceaselessly, like a swan."
　　而我还在不断地滑翔，像一只天鹅一样。”
　　"Of course you glide like a swan," said his wife. "How else could you glide? You couldn't glide like a moose, could you?"
　　“你当然滑翔得像一只天鹅一样了，”他的妻子说，“此外你还能像什么？你不能滑翔得像只麋鹿一样，对吧？”
　　"Well, no. That is quite true. Thank you, my dear, for correcting me."
　　“是的，不能。这话可真对。谢谢你纠正我，我亲爱的。”
　　The cob felt taken aback by his mate's commonsense 7 remark.
　　他的伴侣给他的常识性提醒让他大吃一惊。
　　He enjoyed speaking in fancy phrases and graceful 8 language, and he liked to think of himself as gliding 9 swanlike.
　　他喜欢在讲话时使用新奇的措辞和文雅的语言，也喜欢想象着自己像天鹅一般滑翔。
　　He decided he'd better do more gliding and less talking.
　　他现在觉得自己最好还是多滑翔少说话为妙。
　　All morning long, the swan heard the pipping of the shells.
　　整个早晨，天鹅们都在听着啄蛋壳的声音。
　　And every once in a while, she felt something wriggle 10 beneath her in the nest.
　　每过一会儿，她就感到身下的窝里有些什么在扭动。
　　It was an odd sensation.
　　这是一种很奇怪的感觉。
　　The eggs had been quiet for so many, many days--thirty-five days in all
　　这些蛋那么多天，那么多天以来都是那么安静，共有三十五天
　　and now at last they were stirring with life.
　　可现在他们终于焕发了生机。
　　She knew that the proper thing to do was to sit still.
　　她知道这时候最好还是坐着别动。