美国小学英语教材3:第112课 布莱德诺克的小棕仙(7)

 　　"I must make something for Aiken-Drum," said a poor woman whom he had helped. 一个小棕仙帮助过的贫困妇女说：“我一定要为艾肯·德拉姆做些事情。

　　"He never will stay to let me thank him. 他从来不留下来接受我的感谢。

　　Winter is coming on, and he will be cold in his old thin suit. I will make him a warm coat."  冬天来了，他的衣服又旧又薄，他会冷的。我要给他做一件暖和的外套。”

　　So she cut and sewed¹ a little coat for the brownie. 于是、她剪了布、开始给小棕仙缝件小外套。

　　She told no one what she was doing; but one night she put the last stitch² in the pretty little coat. 她没有跟任何人说她在做的事情；那天晚上，她缝完了这件漂亮小衣的最后一针。

　　Then she went softly³ to the barn⁴ and laid it down beside the bowl of porridge. 接着她便悄悄地来到了谷仓，这件衣服放在粥碗的旁边。

　　Never again did Aiken-Drum work for the people of Blednock. 艾肯·德拉姆再也不会为布莱德诺克小镇的人工作了。

　　The strange little man had to go away, for a true brownie cannot stay where he is paid. 这个奇怪的小人儿必须离开了，因为一个真正的小棕仙是不能待在付酬给他的地方的。

　　But sometimes the children would hear his voice down by the old mill⁵. 但是，孩子们有时在老磨坊那里还会听到他的歌声。

　　It was always soft and low and sweet. 他的声音总是那么柔和、那么低沉，那么甜美。

　　He was singing the songs of his own land, just as he used⁶ to do when the little ones were gathered⁷ around him. 他吟唱着自己家乡的歌曲、就像从前孩子一个围在他身边时样。

　　Then the good people in the town would remember the kind brownie and his wise saying: "He is happiest who helps others most." 小镇里的好人们会记住这个善良的小棕仙以及他充满智慧的话：帮助别人最多的人最快乐。”

1 sewed   

v.缝( sew的过去式和过去分词 )；线装

参考例句：

• My mother sewed a new cotton-padded jacket for me. 妈妈给我缝制一件新棉袄。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She carefully sewed it to the cap. 她仔细地把它缝在帽子上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stitch   

n.一针，疼痛，碎布条；v.缝合

参考例句：

• He had a stitch in the side.他胁部疼痛。
• Fold the fabric and stitch the two layers together.将布料对折，然后将两层缝在一起。

3 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。

4 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。

5 mill   

n.磨坊，碾磨机；制造厂，工厂；vt.磨，碾

参考例句：

• The rice mill was wrecked by the enemy bombing.碾米厂遭到了敌机的轰炸。
• The farmer took his grain to the mill.这个农民把谷子送到磨房。

6 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

7 gathered   

v.（使）聚集( gather的过去式和过去分词 )；集合；推断；了解

参考例句：

• A crowd soon gathered. 很快就聚集起了一群人。
• A great crowd had gathered. 一大群人聚集在一起。