美国小学英语教材3:第108课 布莱德诺克的小棕仙(3)

 　　When they were close to him, they saw that his face was kind and that his big eyes had a merry twinkle¹ in them. 他们接近他的时候才发现他的面目和善，大眼睛里闪烁着快乐的光芒。

　　"Can you not speak?" asked an old man. "Tell us where you came from." “你不会说话吗？”一位老人问道，“告诉我们你从哪里来。”

　　"I cannot tell you where I came from," answered the wee man. “我无法告诉你们我来自何处。”这个小人儿回答说，

　　"My country has no name, and it is not at all like this land of yours. “我的家乡没有名字，也根本不像你们这个地方。

　　For there, we all learn to work; while here, many people like to be lazy. 在我们那里，所有人都要学会工作；而在这儿，许多人都喜欢偷懒。

　　All brownies love to work. 所有的小棕仙都爱工作。

　　It sometimes happens that there is not enough for us to do at home. 有时候，我们家乡没有足够工作的时候，

　　Then one of us may come to your land, to see if you need his help." 那么我们中的一个便会来到你们这个地方，看看你们有没有什么需要帮助的。”

　　"Do you really like to work?" asked lazy Tom, in surprise. “你真的喜欢工作吗？”懒惰的汤姆惊讶地问道。

　　"I love to work and to help others," answered the brownie. “我喜欢工作。喜欢帮助别人。”小棕仙回答道，

　　"He is happiest who helps others most. “帮助别人最多的人最快乐。

　　If I am needed, I will stay in this place a while. 如果有人需要我，我就会在这个地方待上一段时间。

　　I do not want clothes, or a bed, or pay. 我不要衣服、床或报酬。

　　All I ask is a corner of the barn² to sleep in, and a bowl of porridge at bedtime³. 我要的只是谷仓的一角用来睡觉，还有在睡觉前喝一碗粥。

　　"If no one troubles me, I will be ready to help anyone who needs me. 如果没有人打扰我的话，我愿意帮助任何需要我帮助的人。

　　I'll bring in the sheep from the hill. I'll work in the fields at night. 我会把羊从山上带下来，我会在夜里到田间劳作。

　　I'll bake⁴ your bread on a busy day. 我会在你忙碌的时候帮你烤面包。

　　And I'll sing the babies to sleep. The babies always love me." 我还会唱歌哄宝宝睡觉。婴儿们总是很喜欢我。

1 twinkle   

n.闪烁，闪耀，眨眼，瞬息；v.闪烁，使...闪耀，眨眼，迅速移动

参考例句：

• The twinkle of distant town lights was very beautiful.远处城镇灯火闪烁，煞是好看。
• At night,lights twinkle in distant villages across the valleys.夜间，山谷那头的遥远村落里灯光闪闪。

2 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

3 bedtime   

n.就寝时间

参考例句：

• It's your bedtime. Go upstairs and go to bed.到睡觉的时间了，上楼去睡觉。
• If you go to bed now,I've read you a bedtime story.假使你现在就上床睡觉，我就念个睡前故事给你听。

4 bake   

v.烤，烘，焙；烧硬，烘干(砖块、陶器等)

参考例句：

• I will bake a delicious cake for her.我将为她烤制美味的蛋糕。
• The bread will not bake if the fire is too small.如果火太小，面包就烤不成。