“你的朋友路易斯怎么样了？”比弗先生问，

　　"Louis was a trumpeter. You don't suppose he's somewhere around here, do you?"“路易斯就是一只号手天鹅。你不认为他有可能就在这周围的某个地方吗？”

　　"He might be," said Sam.

　　“可能吧。”萨姆说。

　　"Have you heard from him recently?" asked Mr. Beaver.

　　“你最近有他的消息吗？”比弗先生问。

　　"No," replied Sam. "He doesn't write anymore.

　　“没有，”萨姆回答，“他不再给我写信了。

　　He ran out of postage stamps, and he has no money to buy stamps with."他的邮票用光了，又没钱去买。”

　　"Oh," said Mr. Beaver. "Well, the whole business about that bird was very queer“噢，”比弗先生说，“真的，有关那只鸟的所有事情都很奇怪I never did fully understand it."

　　我从未完全搞懂过。”

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　Sam looked across at his father and saw that his eyes had closed.

　　萨姆瞥了他父亲一眼，发现他的眼睛已经闭上了。

　　Mr. Beaver was falling asleep. There was hardly a sound to disturb the stillness of the woods.

　　比弗先生睡着了。几乎没有一丝声音来扰乱这森林中的寂静。

　　Sam was tired and sleepy too.

　　萨姆也累得想睡了。

　　He got out his notebook and sat down at the table by the light of the kerosene lamp.

　　他拿出他的日记本，在桌旁的煤油灯下坐下来。

　　This is what he wrote: Tonight I heard Louis's horn.

　　这是他所写下的话：今夜我听到了路易斯的号声。

　　My father heard it, too.

　　我爸爸也听到了。

　　The wind was right, and I could hear the notes of taps, just as darkness fell.

　　正好是顺风，所以黄昏刚一降临，我就听到了熄灯号的旋律。

　　There is nothing in all the world I like better than the trumpet of the swan.

　　这个世界上再没什么比这个天鹅的小号声更能让我喜欢的了。

　　What does "crepuscular" mean?

　　“Crepuscular ”是什么意思呢？

　　Sam put his notebook away. He undressed and slid into bed.

　　萨姆将他的日记本收好。他脱下衣服溜上了床。

　　He lay there, wondering what "crepuscular" meant.

　　他躺在那儿，想着“Crepuscular” 这个词是什么意思。

　　In less than three minutes he was fast asleep.

　　还不到三分钟，他就很快地睡着了。

　　On the pond where the swans were, Louis put his trumpet away.

　　在天鹅们所在的池塘上，路易斯放下了他的小号。

　　The cygnets crept under their mother's wings. Darkness settled on woods and fields and marsh.

　　小天鹅们都钻到他们妈妈的翅膀底下去了。黑暗笼罩了森林，野地和沼泽。

　　A loon called its wild night cry.

　　一只鸊鹈发出了他在夜里的狂野叫声。

　　As Louis relaxed and prepared for sleep,

　　当路易斯放松下来准备睡觉时，

　　all his thoughts were of how lucky he was to inhabit such a beautiful earth,他满心想的是自己有多么幸运，既能居住在一个这么美好的世界，how lucky he had been to solve his problems with music,又能用音乐解决他所有的难题；

　　and how pleasant it was to look forward to another night of sleep and another day tomorrow,接下去又是一个静夜和又一个明天，又一个清新的早晨，and the fresh morning, and the light that returns with the day.

　　光明会与新的一天同时复返。在充满企盼的时候，心里是多么快乐呀。