wife  妻子

　　greet  问候

　　beard  胡子

　　worms  蠕虫

　　prayers 祈祷

　　faith  信仰

　　grove  树林

　　crusts  外壳

　　church  教堂

　　furnished 有家具的

　　BIRD FRIENDS 鸟类的朋友

　　I once knew a man who was rich in his love for birds,and in their love for him.  我曾经认识一个朋友，他非常喜欢小鸟，甚至可以说是深爱着它们。

　　He lived in the midst of a grove full of all kinds of trees.  他住在一片茂密的小树林里。

　　He had no wife or children in his home. 家中无妻无子，就他一人。

　　He was an old man with gray beard, blue and kind eyes, and a voice that the birds loved; and this was the way he made them his friends. 他是一位和蔼善良的老人家，长着灰白的胡须、蓝色的眼睛和所有小鸟都喜欢的声音。正是因为这个原因，他才和小鸟成了朋友。

　　While he was at work with a rake on his nice walks in the grove, the birds came close to him to pick up the worms in the fresh earth he dug up.  当他在美丽的林中小路上用耙子工作时，小鸟都会飞来接近他，从刚挖掘出的新鲜泥土上拣拾虫子吃。

　　At first, they kept a rod or two from him, but they soon found he was a kind man, and would not hurt them, but liked to have them near him. 起先，它们会和他保持距离，足有一两根秆子那么远，但是很快地，它们发现这是一个友好和蔼的老人，不会伤害自己，而且还喜欢接近自己。

　　They knew this by his kind eyes and voice, which tell what is in the heart.  通过老人家慈祥的眼神和温柔的声音，它们了解了他的心声。

　　So, day by day their faith in his love grew in them. 于是，一天天地，小鸟越来越相信老人家是自己的朋友，越来越相信他对自己的爱与日俱增。

　　They came close to the rake. They would hop on top of it to be first at the worm.  它们慢慢地开始靠近犁耙，并且跳上耙子顶端争先恐后地靠近虫子。

　　They would turn up their eyes into his when he spoke to them, as if they said,  当他和小鸟说话时，它们也会转动着小眼睛看他，仿佛在说：

　　He is a kind man; he loves us; we need not fear him. 这是一个慈祥善良的人，他爱我们；我们没必要害怕他。

　　All the birds of the grove were soon his fast friends.  很快，小树林里所有的小鸟都成了他可靠的朋友。

　　They were on the watch for him, and would fly down from the green tree tops to greet him with their chirp. 它们站在枝头观察他，也会从枝繁叶茂的树上飞下来，用唧唧喳喳的啁啾声和他打招呼。

　　When he had no work on the walks to do with his rake or his hoe, he took crusts of bread with him, and dropped the crumbs on the ground.  当他不用犁耙和锄头在小路上工作时，就会将带来的硬面包碾成碎屑，丢在地上。

　　Down they would dart on his head and feet to catch them as they fell from his hand. 就在面包屑从他手中滑掉落的刹那，小鸟们纷纷从天而降，由头到脚地扑向他。

　　He showed me how they loved him.  他又用行动表明了小鸟是多么爱他。

　　He put a crust of bread in his mouth, with one end of it out of his lips.  他将一块面包皮放入嘴中，让另一端留在嘴唇外面。

　　Down they came like bees at a flower, and flew off with it crumb by crumb. 结果，小鸟们又再次像蜜蜂扑花一样从天而降，一块一块地叼走了露在他嘴唇外面的面包渣。

　　When they thought he slept too long in the morning, they would fly in and sit on the bedpost, and call him up with their chirp. 清晨，当小鸟们认为他在睡懒觉时，会飞进屋里坐在床柱上，用唧唧喳喳的声音叫醒他。

　　They went with him to church, and while he said his prayers and sang his hymns in it, they sat in the trees,  它们还和他一起去教堂，当他念诵祈祷词、唱诵赞美诗时，它们就坐在树上，

　　and sang their praises to the same good God who cares for the mas he does for us. 向如他一样眷顾自己的上帝唱诵赞美诗。

　　Thus the love and trust of birds were a joy to him all his life long;  因此，对他来说，这种对小鸟的爱和信任就是一种终生的喜悦；

　　and such love and trust no boy or girl can fail to win with the same kind heart, voice, and eye that he had. 而且，这种爱和信任是任何一个男孩或女孩都无法以如他那样慈善的心、声音和眼神而赢得的。

　　(Elihu Burritt) （伊莱休·伯里特）