第一章 萨姆

　　Walking back to camp through the swamp, Sam wondered whether to tell his father what he had seen.

　　萨姆一面从沼泽地往营地走，一面犹豫着，不知是否该把他刚才看见的一切告诉爸爸。

　　"I know one thing," he said to himself.

　　“我只清楚一点，”他自语道。

　　"I'm going back to that little pond again tomorrow. And I'd like to go alone.

　　“那就是明天我打算再到那个小池塘去。我还是愿意一个人去。

　　If I tell my father what I saw today, he will want to go with me.

　　如果我把今天看到的告诉爸爸，他就会想和我一起去的。

　　I'm not sure that's a very good idea."

　　我觉得那未必是个好主意。”

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　Sam was eleven. His last name was Beaver.

　　萨姆十一岁了。他姓比弗。

　　He was strong for his age and had black hair and dark eyes like an Indian.

　　就他这个年龄来说，他长得很壮实。他的头发和眼睛都是黑色的，就像一个印第安人。

　　Sam walked like an Indian, too, putting one foot straight in front of the other and making very little noise.

　　萨姆走路的姿态也像一个印第安人，步子呈一条直线，发出的响动很小。

　　The swamp through which he was traveling was a wild place

　　他刚才去的那个沼泽地是个荒凉的地方

　　there was no trail, and it was boggy underfoot, which made walking difficult.

　　那里没有人迹，沼泽很多，非常难走。

　　Every four or five minutes Sam took his compass out of his pocket and checked his course to make sure he was headed in a westerly direction.

　　每过四、五分钟萨姆就从兜里掏出他的罗盘检查一下方位，看自己是不是在一直往西走。

　　Canada is a big place. Much of it is wilderness.

　　加拿大是一个很大的地方。它的多数地方都罕有人迹。

　　To get lost in the woods and swamps of western Canada would be a serious matter.

　　如果在加拿大的西部森林和沼泽迷路可是件麻烦的事情。

　　As he trudged on, the boy's mind was full of the wonder of what he had seen.

　　在往营地跋涉的路上，这个男孩子的脑子里都是刚才见到的那些奇妙的东西。

　　Not many people in the world have seen the nest of a Trumpeter Swan.

　　在这世上并没有多少人亲眼见过一个号手天鹅的窝的。

　　Sam had found one on the lonely pond on this day in spring.

　　可萨姆却在这个春日从那个僻静的池塘边上发现了一个。

　　He had seen the two great white birds with their long white necks and black bills.

　　他看见了两只有着雪白的长脖子和黑喙的白色大鸟。

　　Nothing he had ever seen before in all his life had made him feel quite the way he felt, on that wild little pond, in the presence of those two enormous swans.

　　他这辈子所见过的任何东西给他的感觉都和那两只庞大的天鹅从那个小野塘出现时给他的感觉不同。他们比他见过的任何鸟儿都大得多。

　　They were so much bigger than any bird he had ever seen before. The nest was big, too--a mound of sticks and grasses.

　　那个窝也很大——是用一堆树枝和草棍铺成的。

　　The female was sitting on eggs; the male glided slowly back and forth, guarding her.

　　雌天鹅正坐在里面孵蛋；公鹅则在附近慢慢来回游动着，守护着她。

　　When Sam reached camp, tired and hungry, he found his father frying a couple of fish for lunch.

　　当萨姆走回营地时，已经又累又饿了，他发现父亲正在煎两条鱼当午饭呢。

　　"Where have you been?" asked Mr. Beaver.

　　“你去哪儿了？”比弗先生问。

　　"Exploring," replied Sam. "I walked over to a pond about a mile and a half from here. It's the one we see from the air as we're coming in.

　　“探险，”萨姆回答，“我到离这里一里半远的池塘那儿去了。它就是我们来时在空中见到的那个。”

　　It isn't much of a place--nowhere near as big as this lake we're on."

　　那地方很小--远不如我们身边的这个湖大。

　　"Did you see anything over there?" asked his father.

　　“你在那边看到什么了吗？”他的父亲问。

　　"Well," said Sam, "it's a swampy pond with a lot of reeds and cattails.

　　“唔，”萨姆说，“它不过是个生着许多芦苇和香蒲的沼泽地而已。

　　I don't think it would be any good for fishing. And it's hard to get to--you have to cross a swamp."

　　我不认为去那里钓鱼会有什么意思。而且路也很难走--因为你不得不穿越一个沼泽地。”

　　"See anything?" repeated Mr. Beaver.

　　“你看到什么了吗？”比弗先生又问了一遍。

　　"I saw a muskrat," said Sam, "and a few Red-winged Blackbirds."

　　“我看见了一只麝鼠，”萨姆说，“还有几只红翼歌鸫。”

　　Mr. Beaver looked up from the wood stove, where the fish were sizzling in a pan.

　　比弗先生抬起头，不再去看正在柴炉上的煎锅里咝咝做响的鱼。

　　"Sam," he said, "I know you like to go exploring. But don't forget--these woods and marshes are not like the country around home in Montana.

　　“萨姆，”他说，“我知道你喜欢探险。不过可别忘了--这些森林和沼泽与我们蒙大拿家乡附近的那些不同。

　　If you ever go over to that pond again, be careful you don't get lost.

　　如果你再去那个池塘，千万要小心，不要迷路。

　　I don't like you crossing swamps. They're treacherous. You could step into a soggy place and get bogged down, and there wouldn't be anybody to pull you out."

　　我不愿意你去穿越沼泽。它们是很可怕的。你很可能会一步走错陷到沼泽里的，那里可不会有人来把你拉出来。”

　　"I'll be careful," said Sam.

　　“我会小心的。”萨姆说。