《黑骏马》第9章 事故和新主人(6)

I don't know who eats your oats，my friend，'he went on，'but I doubt that your horse gets any of them．I advise you to watch your groom¹ more closely．

我不知是谁在吃你的燕麦，朋友。他继续道，但我怀疑你的马到底吃到没有。我建议你对你的马夫多留意一点儿。

Oh，how I wanted to speak！I wanted to tell my master where his oats went to．My groom came every morning at six o'clock，bringing his little by with him．

噢，我多想说话啊！我想告诉我的主人他的燕麦到哪里去了。每天早上6点我的马夫带着他的小儿子来马厩。

The boy carried a basket and went into the room where the oats were kept．I would see them filling a bag with oats and putting the bag into the basket．

那孩子带着一个篮子走进放燕麦的屋子。我可以看见他们装满一袋燕麦，再把袋子放进篮子里。

Five or six mornings after the visit to the farmer，the boy left the stable with his basket of oats，

访问过农场主五六天后的一天早上，那孩子带着他的燕麦篮子离开马厩，

but came back soon after，looking frightened，with two policemen holding his arms．

可很快又回来了，他神情惊恐，两个警察抓着他的胳膊。

Show me where your father keeps the food for his chickens,one policemen said to the boy．

告诉我你爸爸把他的鸡饲料藏到哪儿了，一个警察对孩子说。

The boy began to cry but there was no escape．Moments later，the policemen found another empty bag like the one in the boy's basket，and they took Filcher² away with them．

男孩哭了起来，可是逃脱不得。片刻之后，警察又发现了一个和篮子里的袋子一样的空口袋。他们把费舍尔带走了，

That was the last I ever saw of him．

我再也没看见过他。

Another groom was employed，but he was very lazy about cleaning and I became thin and unhealthy from standing³ in a wet，dirty stable．

又雇了另一个马夫，可是他非常懒于打扫马厩，我整天站在潮湿、肮脏的马厩中，变得又瘦又病。

After all this trouble with grooms，Mr Barry decided⁴ to stop keeping a horse and I was sent to a horse fair—a place where hundreds of horses were bought and sold，

被马夫惹出这些麻烦之后，白利先生决定不再养马了。我被送到一个马市上，那儿有几百匹马被买卖。

and more lies were told，I think，than in any other place in the country．

我认为那儿充满着比全国任何一个地方都要多的谎言。

That day I was lucky．I was bought for twenty－five pounds by a man called Jeremiah Barker，but everyone called him Jerry and I shall do the same．

那天我还算幸运。我以25镑被一个叫杰利米亚·巴克尔的人买走了，大家叫他杰利，我也这么叫吧。

1 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

2 filcher   

小偷

参考例句：

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。