吹小号的天鹅 第104期:比林斯(7)

 Meantime, back on the sidewalk in front of the music store, the judge was announcing his decision.

这时候，在乐器店门前的人行道上，那个法官正在宣布他的判决。

"On the basis of the testimony," he said solemnly,

“根据证词，”他严肃地说，

"I award the money to the storekeeper, to make up for the loss of the trumpet¹ and damage to the store.

“我要把这钱判给店主，以此偿还那把遗失的小号和店铺的损失。

I am placing the swan in the custody² of the game warden³."

我另外的判决是，这只天鹅将由这位狩猎法执行官监护。”

"Your Honor," said the warden,

“阁下，”这个执法官说，

"don't forget that the storekeeper is under arrest for shooting a wild swan."

“别忘了这个店主因为枪击了一只野天鹅该被逮捕的事。”

"It was a case of false arrest," said the judge wisely.

“这种逮捕是不合法的，”这个法官明智的说。

吹小号的天鹅

"The storekeeper fired his gun at the bird because he was afraid his store would be robbed again.

“这个店主朝这只鸟开枪，是因为怕他的店再次被抢。

He did not know that the swan was bringing money to pay for the trumpet.

他不知道这只天鹅是带着钱来为小号付帐的。

The gun was fired in self-defense.

开枪属于自卫。

Everyone is innocent, the swan is honest,

每个人都是无罪的，这只天鹅是诚实的，

the debt is paid, the storekeeper is rich, and the case is dismissed."

他的债还清了，这个店主发财了，这个案子了结了。”

A cheer went up from the crowd. The warden looked sulky.

人群中发出了一阵欢呼。这个执法官显得很恼火。

The policeman looked glum⁴. But the storekeeper was beaming.

那个警察也满心的不乐意。可那个店主却乐开了花。

He was a happy man. He felt that justice had been done.

他又是快乐的人了。他觉得判决很公正。

"I have an announcement," he said.

“我有个消息要宣布，”他说，

"I am only going to keep just enough of this money to pay for the stolen trumpet and the repair bills for my store.

“我将只留下那把被偷的小号钱和我的店铺修理费。

All the rest of the money will be given to a good cause if I can think of just the right one.

剩下的钱将被交给一个我认为最适合的地方。谁能想出一个最需要这些钱的地方？”

Can anyone think of a worthy⁵ cause that needs money?"

谁能想出一个最需要这些钱的地方？”

"The Salvation⁶ Army," suggested a woman.

“救世军。”一个妇女说。

"No," said the storekeeper.

“不，”这个店主说。

"The Boy Scouts⁷?" suggested a boy.

“童子军？”一个男孩提议。

"No," said the storekeeper.

“不，”这个店主说。

"The American Civil Liberties Union?" suggested a man.

“美国公自联？”一个男人建议。

"Nope," said the storekeeper. "Nobody has thought of just the right place for me to send this money."

“不，”这个店主说。“没人能为我想出这些钱最该被送到的地方。”

"How about the Audubon Society?" asked a little fellow whose nose looked like the beak⁸ of a bird.

“奥杜邦协会怎么样？”一个鼻子长得像只鸟嘴的小家伙问。

"Great! You've got it!" cried the storekeeper.

“好极了！你说出来了！”这个店主叫起来。

"A bird has been very good to me, and now I want to do something for birds.

“鸟类一直都对我很不错，现在我也想为鸟类做些什么。

The Audubon Society is kind to birds. I want this money to be used to help birds.

奥杜邦协会对鸟类很好。我想这些钱该用在帮助鸟类上。

Some birds are in real trouble. They face extinction⁹."

有些鸟类实际上正处在困境之中。他们正面临灭绝的命运。”

"What's extinction?" asked Alfred Gore¹⁰. "Does it mean they stink¹¹?"

“灭绝是什么意思？”艾尔弗雷德·戈尔问，“就是说他们惹人讨厌吗？”

"Certainly not," said the storekeeper.

“当然不是，”这个店主说，

"Extinction is what happens when you're extinct

“灭绝就是你们被消灭的事发生了

when you don't exist anymore because there are no others like you.

那时你们都已经不存在了，因为再没有其他和你们一样的生命了。

Like the passenger pigeon and the eastern Heath Hen and the Dodo and the Dinosaur¹²."

这就像旅鸽，东部的北美松鸡，还有渡渡鸟和恐龙的遭遇一样。”

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

4 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

5 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

6 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

7 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

8 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

9 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

10 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

11 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

12 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。