5 池塘(2)
Chapter 2 The Pond
第二 池塘
For the next few days, the swans rested.
接下去的几天里，天鹅们一直在休息。
When they were hungry, they ate. When they were thirsty--which was a great deal of the time--they drank.
饿了，他们就吃。渴了--他们总是很渴--他们便喝。
On the tenth day, the female began looking around to find a place to build her nest.
在第十天，雌天鹅开始四处寻觅可以造窝的地方了。
In the spring of the year, nest-building is uppermost in a bird's mind: it is the most important thing there is.
每到春天，鸟儿们的心里最先想到的就是造窝：这是所有事情中最重要的一件。
If she picks a good place, she stands a good chance of hatching her eggs and rearing her young.
如果她选了一处好地方，她就有了一个可以孵蛋，养育子女的好机会。
If she picks a poor place, she may fail to raise a family.
如果她选了一处坏地方，她可能就没有这样的机会了。
The female swan knew this; she knew the decision she was making was extremely important.
雌天鹅知道这一点;她知道她的选择是相当关键的。
The two swans first investigated the upper end of the pond, where a stream flowed slowly in.
两只天鹅先到池塘上游的尽头处调查了一番，那里有一条缓缓流入的小溪。
It was pleasant there, with reeds and bulrushes.
这是个不错的地方，长满了青草和香蒲。
Red-winged Blackbirds were busy nesting in this part of the pond, and a pair of Mallard Ducks were courting.
红翼歌鸫正在这里忙着筑巢，一对绿头鸭在相互示一爱一。
Then the swans swam to the lower end of the pond, a marsh with woods on one side and a deer meadow on the other.
两只天鹅又游到池塘下游的尽头，这里一边是沼泽和森林，一边是有鹿出没的洼地。
It was lonely here.
这是个僻静的地方。
From one shore, a point of land extended out into the pond.
在岸的这边，有一片土地一直伸展到池塘的边缘。
It was a sandy strip, like a little peninsula.
这是片沙地，就像个小半岛。在沙地的顶端，
And at the tip of it, a few feet out into the water, was a tiny island, hardly bigger than a dining table.
隔水几英尺远的地方，有一个不比一张餐桌大多少的小岛。
One small tree grew on the island, and there were rocks and ferns and grasses.
岛上有棵小树，还有岩石，蕨草和青草。
"Take a look at this!" exclaimed the female, as she swam round and around.
“看看这里!”雌天鹅叫着，围着它游了一圈又一圈。
"Ko-hoh!" replied her husband, who liked to ha一ve someone ask his advice.
“吭—嗬!”很愿意有谁来征求自己意见的丈夫回答。
The swan stepped cautiously out onto the island. The spot seemed made to order--just right for a nesting place.
雌天鹅小心地游出来，上了小岛，这里好像专门为她准备的--正是一个造窝的好地方。
While the male swan floated close by, watching, she snooped about until she found a pleasant spot on the ground.
在雄天鹅游过来看的时候，她已经找了半天并终于找到了一个满意的地点。
She sat down, to see how it felt to be sitting there.
她蹲坐下来，想知道坐在那里的感觉如何。
She decided it was the right size for her body.
她觉得那里的大小正好适合她的身一体。
It was nicely located, a couple of feet from the water's edge. Very convenient.
这是个好地点，离水边只有几英尺远。非常方便。
She turned to her husband. "What do you think?" she said.
她转向她的丈夫。“你觉得怎么样?”她说。
"An ideal location!" he replied. "A perfect place! And I will tell you why it's a perfect place," he continued, majestically.
“一个理想的地点!”他回答。“一个完美的地方!我要告诉你这里为什么是一个完美的地方，”他严肃地继续说道。
"If an enemy--a fox or a coon or a coyote or a skunk--wanted to reach this spot with murder in his heart, he'd ha一ve to enter the water and get wet.
“如果一个敌人--狐狸或者浣熊或者郊狼或者臭鼬--想带着他们的杀心到这里来的话，他将不得不走水路并把身上弄一湿一。
And before he could enter the water, he'd ha一ve to walk the whole length of that point of land.
在他能进到水里之前，他还得走完这一带沙地。
And by that time we'd see him or hear him, and I would give him a hard time."
那时我们就将看见或听到他，我会让他觉得很不好受的。”
The male stretched out his great wings, eight feet from tip to tip, and ga一ve the water a mighty clout to show his strength.
雄天鹅张开他那足有八英尺长的大翅膀，使劲儿拍向水面，显示着他的力量。
This made him feel better right away.
这让他觉得痛快多了。
When a Trumpeter Swan hits an enemy with his wing, it is like being hit by a baseball bat.
在一只号手天鹅用翅膀击打敌人的时候，敌人往往就像被一根棒球棍揍了一样。
A male swan, by the way, is called a "cob."
顺便说一句，一只雄天鹅通常被称为“Cob ”。
No one knows why, but that's what he's called.
没人知道这是为什么，但那正是他的专有名字。
A good many animals ha一ve special names: a male goose is called a gander, a male cow is called a bull, a male sheep is called a ram, a male chicken is called a rooster, and so on.
很多动物都有自己的专有名：一只公鹅被称为Gander，一头公牛被称为Bull，一只公羊被称为Ram ，一只公鸡被称为Rooster ，等等。
Anyway, the thing to remember is that a male swan is called a cob.
不过，你只需记住一只雄天鹅也可以被称作cob就够了。