书城童书义犬阿黄
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第12章

Her name was Lisbeth and she came with hergrandpa the day he called on us. They came ridingup on a thin old horse that looked as if he hadn’thad a fill of corn for ages. Behind them was a long- haired she - dog that I always thought was one ofBell’s pups.

她的名字叫丽丝贝,那天她爷爷来串门时,她也来了。他们骑着一匹瘦骨嶙嶙的老马,看上去它已经很久没有饱饱地吃上一顿玉米饭了。跟在他们后面的是一头我一直认为是贝尔所生的长毛雌狗。

Old Yeller went out to bark at them as theyrode up. I noticed at once that his barking didn’tsound as if he meant it. It was more as if he wasbarking because he thought that was what we wantedhim to do. And as soon as I yelled at him tostop,he was quiet. That surprised me,too.

他们骑着马走过来的时候,阿黄跑出屋子对着他们大声吠叫。我立刻注意到它的叫声听起来有点是为了应付应付。它所以要叫似乎主要是因为我们要它这么做。所以我把它喝住后,它就一声不吭了。这也使我感到奇怪。

By the time Mama had come to the door andtold Searcy and Lisbeth to get down and come in,Old Yeller was having a high old time with the long- haired she - dog.

妈妈走到门口,招呼塞西和丽丝贝下马进屋,就在这当儿阿黄和那头长毛雌狗可真是亲热得不得了呢!

Lisbeth looked at me with those big eyes whileher grandpa got off the horse. Searcy wouldn”tcome in the cabin. He said it was such a hot day itwould be better sitting in the dog run. So I got fourcowhide chairs. Searcy sat in the one I always likedbest,and then he started talking.

当她爷爷跨下马的时候,丽丝贝的那对大眼睛在盯着我看。塞西不愿进屋。他说天气这么热还是坐在跑狗道那边好。因此,我去拿了四把牛皮椅子。塞西坐在我最喜欢的那只椅子上,然后就打开了话匣子。

First he asked Mama if we were all right,andMama said we were. Then he told her it was a bigjob looking after all the families while the men weregone,but that he was glad to do it. If the smallestthing went wrong he said,Mama was to let himknow straight away. And Mama said she would.

首先,他问妈妈是否合家平安,妈妈说大家都很好。然后他对妈妈说在男人们外出时照顾好每家每户可是件吃重活,不过他乐意干这差事。他叮嘱妈妈,如果有什么事,即使是最小的事,也得马上让他知道。

妈妈答应了。

Then he put his chair back against the cabinwall and began to tell us everything that was goingon in the settlement. He said how dry the weatherwas and how the corn would be no good this year.

He said the cows were going dry,and nothing wasgrowing in the gardens. He told us how Jed Simpson’sboy was sitting and waiting for a shot at awild turkey when a fox came right up and jumpedon him. Jed Simpson’s boy had to club it with hisgun till it was dead. This looked to Searcy like acase of rabies. Everybody knew that no fox in hisright mind was going to jump on a hunter.

然 后他把椅子靠在木屋的墙上,开始告诉我们村子里发生的每一件事。他说今年天气这样干旱,玉米的收成好不了,又说奶牛的奶快干了,园子里什么东西也不长。

他还告诉我们杰德·辛普森的孩子坐在那儿等待时机打野火鸡的时候,一只狐狸径直向他猛扑过去。

这孩子不得不把枪当木棍打那只狐狸,直到把它打死。塞西认为,这很象一例狂犬病。谁都知道,一只神经正常的狐狸是不会扑到猎人身上去的。

This made Searcy think of an uncle of his whogot bitten by a mad dog once. This was when Searcy

这使塞西想起了他的一个被疯狗咬过的叔叔。那时,塞西还是个

was a little boy. As soon as the dog bit him,theman knew he was going to die. So he went and got abig chain and tied one end to the bottom of a treeand the other end to one of his legs. And he stayedthere until the rabies got him and he went clean outof his mind. He was wet at the mouth and screaming,and he ran at his wife and children,trying tocatch them and bite them. But the chain round hisleg held him back,which was why he’d chainedhimself to the tree in the first place. And there,chained to that tree,he died. And they buried himunder the same tree.

孩子。他叔叔被疯狗咬后,立刻知道自己活不了。所以他去找来了一根大链条,把链条的一端结在一棵树的根部,另一端结在自己的一条腿上。他在那儿一直呆到狂犬病发作,完全丧失理智。他淌着口水,尖声喊叫着,他朝着自己的老婆和孩子们跑去,想抓住他们,咬他们,但是结在他腿上的那根链条把他拖住了。这就是为什么他一开始就把自己拴在树上的道理。他就这样用链条把自己绑在树上死在那儿的。后来,他们就把他埋在这棵树下。

Bud Searcy said he hoped we wouldn”t havean outbreak of rabies in the settlement and all diebefore the men got back from Kansas.

巴德·塞西说,他希望男人们从堪萨斯回来之前,村子里不要突然发生狂犬病从而使大家死于非命。