美国小学英语教材2:第27课 小猪和它的花园

 　　Little Pig and His Garden 小猪和它的花园

　　Ever so long ago, there was a little pig who lived by himself in a small brick house. 很久以前，有只小猪独自住在一间小砖房里。

　　Back of the house was a fine big garden. 房子的后面是一座漂亮的大花园。

　　Little Pig was always digging in his garden. 小猪总是挖它的花园。

　　He dug out all the weeds and raked the dirt close around the little plants, so that they would grow tall and strong. 它挖出了所有的杂草，耙松小植物周围的泥土，这样它们就能长得又高又壮了。

　　Everyone heard of Little Pig's garden and came from far and near to see it. 大家都听说了小猪的花园，从四面八方过来看它。

　　But after a time Little Pig grew tired of such hard work. 但过了一段时间后，小猪厌烦了这样辛苦的工作。

　　"I want to work at something else," he said to himself. “我想做点儿其他的工作，”它自言自语道，

　　"I will go out into the world, and maybe I can find some work that is easy." “我要去外面的世界看看，也许能找到简单的工作。”

　　So Little Pig shut up his little brick house and started down the road. 于是小猪关上它的小砖房，开始上路了。

　　After a while he heard the sound of music. 不久，它听到了音乐声。

　　When he stopped to listen, he saw a small white house among the trees. 当它驻足去听时，看见树林里有座白色的小房子。

　　Little Pig went toward the house. A big yellow cat was sitting in the door playing a fiddle¹. 小猪向房子走去。一只大黄猫正坐在门口拉小提琴。

　　"It must be easy to play a fiddle," thought Little Pig, "It can't be so hard as digging in the dirt all day." “拉小提琴一定很容易，”小猪想，“它不可能像整天挖土那么辛苦。”

　　So he went up to the big yellow cat and asked, "Will you teach me to play the fiddle, Friend Cat?" 于是它走到大黄猫跟前问：“亲爱的猫，您能教我拉小提琴吗？”

　　"To be sure," answered the cat. "Try it now. Just do as I am doing." 猫回答：“当然，你现在试试，跟着我做。”

　　Little Pig took the fiddle and began to play. 小猪拿起小提琴开始演奏。

　　But no sweet music came from it. "Squeak², squeak, squeak!" went the fiddle. 但没有发出美妙的音乐，而是“吱吱、吱吱、吱吱”的声音。

　　The pig felt very sad. 小猪很伤心。

　　"Oh, I can't make sweet music as you do," he said. “哦，我不能像你一样演奏出美妙的音乐。”它说。

　　"Yes, you can," said the cat, "if you try long enough. “你可以的，”猫说，“如果你长时间练习的话。

　　It takes hours and hours of work to learn to play the fiddle." 学习拉小提琴需要日复一日地努力。”

　　"Then I won't learn to play the fiddle," said the little pig. “那么，我不会学习拉小提琴，”，小猪说，

　　"That is harder work than weeding a garden. I will look for something else. Good-by." “这比除草辛苦得多。我要寻找其他工作。再见。”

　　Little Pig went on and on until he came to a little stone house. 小猪继续走，直到来到一座小石头房子前。

　　There he saw a big dog, who was making butter. 它看到一条大狗在制作黄油。

　　"That seems easy enough," thought Little Pig. So he asked the dog to teach him to make butters. “这似乎非常简单，”小猪想。于是它叫大狗教它制作黄油。

　　The dog said, "Go to work, my friend. The churn is full of thick, sour cream." 大狗说：“我的朋友，工作吧。这个搅拌器里装满了粘稠的酸奶油。”

　　The pig churned for a few minutes. 小猪搅了几分钟。

　　But he soon became tired and stopped a while to rest and fan himself. 但不久它就累了，停了一会儿来休息，给自己扇扇风。

　　"Go on," said the dog. "You can't stop to rest until the butter is churned." 大狗说：“继续搅，直到黄油搅好你才能停下休息。”

　　"Oh, dear me," said Little Pig, "this is harder work than digging in the dirt. “哎呀，这要比我挖土辛苦多了。我不想制作黄油了。

　　I don't want to make butter. I will hunt for something easy. Good-by." 我要找点儿容易的事做。再见。”

　　So the pig went on farther. 于是小猪继续上路。

　　By and by he came to a green meadow³. 它渐渐来到一片绿色的草地上。

　　There he saw a man taking honey out of a large bee-hive. 它看见一个人从大蜂巢里取蜂蜜。

　　"That seems easy," thought the pig. "And I like to eat honey myself." “这似乎很简单，”小猪想，“而且我自己喜欢吃蜂蜜。”

　　So he ran quickly to the man and asked, "May I help you?" 于是它快速跑向那个人，问道：“我能帮你吗？”

　　The man said, "Yes, Little Pig, I have been wanting a helper for a year and a day. 那个人说：“好啊，小猪，我一直想要一个帮手。

　　I will teach you how to take honey out of a beehive." 我教你怎么从蜂巢里取蜂蜜。”

　　Little Pig started to work at once. But the bees did not like him. 小猪立刻开始工作。但蜜蜂不喜欢它。

　　They stung⁴ him on his back and legs and snout until he cried. 它们刺痛它的背、爪子和鼻子，把它弄哭了。

　　"Oh, oh," cried Little Pig. "The bees are hurting me." 小猪哭着说：“天哪天哪，蜜蜂咬我。”

　　"Well," said the man, "sometimes they hurt me, too, but I get the honey just the same. You must try again." 那人说：“它们有时也会叮我，但我照样采蜜。你必须再试试。”

　　"No," said Little Pig. "I will go home." “不，我要回家。”小猪说。

　　So Little Pig went back to his garden. 于是小猪回到了它的花园。

　　"All work is hard," he said. "There is no easy work. Making a garden is the best work for me." “所有的工作都很辛苦，”它说，“没有简单的工作，打理花园是最适合我的工作。”

1 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

2 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。

3 meadow   

n.草地，牧草地

参考例句：

• The children ran free across the meadow.孩子们在草地里自由地奔跑。
• The meadow is peopled with wild flowers.草地长满了野花。

4 stung   

螫伤，刺伤( sting的过去式和过去分词 )； 感到剧痛； 激怒； 使不安

参考例句：

• I was stung on the arm by a wasp. 我的胳膊给黄蜂蜇了一下。
• Her arm was beginning to swell up where the bee had stung her. 她胳膊给蜜蜂蜇了，肿了起来。