John has come down to the pond to sail his new boat.  约翰来到池塘玩帆船。

　　He calls it the "Blue Bell,"because it is painted blue, and has a little blue flag. 他称它为"蓝钟"，因为它被染成蓝色并且有一个蓝色的小旗子

　　Look! the wind is filling its sails.  看，已经杨帆了。

　　It will soon cross to the other side of the pond. 船很快就会到池塘的另一岸。

　　Then John will run round and start it again, so that it will keep sailing from side to side. 然后约翰会跑回来再次开始，这样他就可以一直从这边到那边。

　　This is nice fun for a boy when he is careful not to slip into the water and get wet. 当一个孩子能够细心地不至于滑到水里弄湿衣服，那么这真是很有趣的。

　　Once John came to grief in this pond.  又一次，约翰在池塘遭遇了不幸。

　　Let me tell you how it was, that you may learn a lesson from his mistake. 我来告诉你是怎么样的，这样你就可以从他的过失获得教训。

　　One holiday afternoon his cousin Fred came to pay him a visit.  一个假日的下午，他的堂哥福瑞德拜访他。

　　They went to play near this pond. 他们在池塘边玩。

　　John saw a pretty white lily so close to the edge of the pond that he felt sure he could get it. 约翰看到离池塘边很近的百合花，他确信可以摘到它。

　　"You must not try,"said his cousin Fred. 你不能是试，堂哥福瑞德说道。

　　"The pond is very deep, and you may fall into it." 池塘很深，你会掉进去的。

　　But John would have his own way.  但是约翰有他自己的方法。

　　Taking hold of a branch, he stretched out his hand to get the flower. 抓住一个树枝，伸出手去摘花

　　The branch broke, and John got a ducking.  树枝断了，约翰掉入水中。

　　But it did him good, for it taught him to be more careful. 但是这对他来说是好事，因为这件事让他以后更小心。