“事情办得如何？”她问。

"Very well," he said. "An extraordinary adventure.

“很好，”他说，“这是一次非常特别的冒险。

I was shot at, just as you predicted.

我在那儿被枪打了，就像你预言的那样。

The storekeeper pointed a gun at me and fired.

那个店主用一把枪对着我就开了火。

I felt an agonizing pain in my left shoulder

我感到我的左肩那里有一阵钻心的疼痛

which I've always considered the more beautiful of my two shoulders.

我总觉得左肩是我两肩中更美的一边。

Blood gushed from my wound in torrents, and I sank gracefully to the sidewalk,

血从我的伤口里滔滔不绝地喷涌出来，可我还是姿态优美地落到了人行道上，

where I handed over the money and thus regained my honor and my decency.

在那里把这钱递了过去，从而恢复了我的名誉和尊严。

吹小号的天鹅

I was at death's door. A great multitude of people gathered.

我已经到了死亡的大门口了。人们围过来老大一批。

Blood was everywhere. I became faint and passed out with dignity in front of all.

血流得到处都是。我昏迷了，高贵地在所有人的面前晕了过去。

The police arrived--dozens of them.

警察们赶来了--他们来了好几打呢。

Game wardens flocked to the scene in great numbers,

狩猎法执行官们成群结队地涌到了现场，

and there was a tremendous argument about the money."

多得根本就没法儿数，后来那些钱还引起了好一通大吵呢。”

"How did you know all this if you were unconscious?" asked his wife.

“你都失去知觉了，怎么还能知道后来的事情呢？”他的妻子问。

"My dear," said the cob,

“我亲爱的，”这只雄天鹅说，

"I wish you wouldn't interrupt me when I am telling the story of my trip.

“在我讲述我的旅行故事时，我希望你最好别打断我。

Seeing my grave condition, someone in the crowd summoned an ambulance,

看到我伤势严重，人群中有人叫来了一辆救护车，

and I was taken to the hospital, where I was put to bed.

我被送到医院，放到了病床上。

I looked very beautiful lying there, my black bill contrasting with the snowy white sheets.

我躺在那里，让雪白的床单衬托着我油黑的嘴，那样子简直美极了。

Doctors and nurses attended me and comforted me in my hour of suffering and pain.

在我承受着巨痛的煎熬时，医生和护士们全都来照顾我，安慰我。

You can judge how serious my wound was when I tell you that one of the doctors examined it and said it was superficial."

在我对你讲了这件事后，你就能断定我的伤到底有多严重了：一个医生检查了我的伤口后，竟然说这伤是‘表面上的’。”

"It doesn't look bad to me," said his wife. "I think you just got nicked.

“我觉得你看起来还不算太坏呀，”他的妻子说，“我认为你只是受了点轻伤。

If it had been bad, you couldn't have flown back so soon.

如果真的那么严重的话，你不可能这么快就飞回来。

Anyway, superficial or not, I'm glad to see you home safe.

不管怎么说，表面上的也好，不是表面上的也罢，见你能平安到家我就高兴了。

I always miss you when you're gone. I don't know why, but I do."

你不在时我总会惦记你。我不知道这是为什么，可我就是想你。”

And with that, she placed her head across his neck and gave him a slight nudge.

说着，她把她的头偎到他的脖子上，温柔地蹭了一下。

Then they had breakfast and went for a swim in an open place in the frozen lake.

然后他们吃了早饭，在一处没结冰的湖面游起泳来。

The cob pulled his Band-Aid off and threw it away.

雄天鹅扯下他的“邦迪”，把它扔到了一边。