《风语河岸柳》第1章 河(6)

Toad¹'s out, for one, replied the Otter².

癞蛤蟆出来了，算他一个，水獭回答道。

In his shiny new boat. He's got new boating clothes, and everything!

坐在他那亮晃晃的新船上，穿着崭新的划船装，总之，什么都是新的！

The Rat and the Otter looked at each other and laughed.

水鼠和水獭相互对视一下，然后笑了起来。

Toad's always trying something new, the Rat explained to the Mole³.

癞蛤蟆总是在尝试新鲜的玩意儿，水鼠向鼹鼠解释。

But he always gets bored so quickly.

但他总是很快又厌倦了。

Last year it was a house-boat, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life living on the river.

去年是一种房子船，他曾打算在河上度过他的余生。

This year it's rowing-boats.

今年他又喜欢上了划艇。

He's a nice fellow, of course, said the Otter.

当然，他这哥们儿不错，水獭接着说，

But he never learns from his mistakes!

但是他从来不从他的错误里吸取教训！

From where they sat they could see a bit of the big river.

从他们坐的地方能看见大河的一点风景。

And just then they saw a rowing-boat going past, and in it a short fat animal, rowing very hard and very badly.

这时，他们恰好看到一艘划艇经过，一只短粗肥胖的动物正在非常吃力、非常笨拙地划船。

There's Toad going past now, 'said the Rat. Look at him! He'll turn that boat over in a minute.

正朝这边来的就是蛤蟆，水鼠说，看他！很快就会把船弄翻的。

'Of course he will, 'laughed the Otter.

那是当然的，水獭笑道，

Toad had now disappeared up river, and the Otter went on, Did I ever tell you that story about Toad and the…

癞蛤蟆此时已不在他们视线里了，水獭继续着，我曾告诉过你关于蛤蟆的故事和那…

There was a sudden movement in the water near the bank.

只见岸边的水突然晃动了一下，

Something silvery shone for a second, then it was gone. And so was the Otter.

什么东西银光一闪便不见了，水獭也一晃眼就离开了。

The Mole looked down.

鼹鼠低头看着河水，

The Otter's voice was still in his ears, but the Otter had disappeared.

水獭的声音仍在耳边未落，但身影已消失。

1 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

2 otter   

n.水獭

参考例句：

• The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说，竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
• She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。

3 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。