Girl in Midstream（在线收听）

Girl in Midstream

A girl stood before him in ¹⁾midstream, alone and still, gazing out to sea. She seemed like one whom magic had changed into the likeness of a strange and beautiful seabird. Her long slender bare legs were delicate as a crane’s and pure save where an ²⁾emerald trail of ³⁾seaweed had fashioned itself as a sign upon the flash. Her thighs, fuller and soft-hued as ivory, were bared almost to the hips, where the white ⁴⁾fringes of her drawers were like feathering of soft white down. Her slate-blue skirts were ⁵⁾kilted boldly about her waist and ⁶⁾dovetailed behind her. Her bosom was as a bird’s, soft and slight, slight and soft as the breast of some dark-⁷⁾plumaged dove. But her long fair hair was girlish: and girlish, and touched with the wonder of mortal beauty, her face.

She was alone and still, gazing out to sea; and when she felt his presence and the worship of his eyes, her eyes turned to him in quiet sufferance of his gaze, without shame or ⁸⁾wantonness. Long, long she suffered his gaze and then quietly withdrew her eyes from his and bent them towards the stream, gently stirring the water with her foot ⁹⁾hither and ¹⁰⁾thither. The fist faint noise of gently moving water broke the silence, low and faint and whispering, faint as the bells of sleep; hither and thither, hither and thither; and a faint flame trembled on her cheek.

注释：

1) midstream [5mid5stri:m] n. （河流的）中流

2) emerald [5emErEld] a. 翠绿的

3) seaweed [5si:wi:d] n. 海草，海藻

4) fringe [frindV] n. 穗状物，缘饰似的东西

5) kilt [kilt] v. 卷起或撩起（裙子）

6) dovetail [5dQvteil] n. 鸠尾榫

7) plumage [5plu:midV] n. 鸟的羽毛

8) wantonness [5wCntEnis] n. 嬉戏，放荡

9) hither [5hiTE] ad. 临近，这里

10) thither [5TiTE] ad. 那里，向那里

在水一方

在他面前，有位少女站在溪流中间，一个人静静的，出神地远望着大海。她好像中了魔法，变成了一只奇异而美丽的海鸟的形象。她那双细长的玉腿就像白鹤一样纤细洁白，只有一缕翠绿的海藻在皮肤上映出的影子。她的大腿，显得圆鼓鼓的，犹如象牙一般的乳白，几乎裸露到了臀部，衬裤的白边就像柔软的白色绒毛的羽饰。她的蓝灰色的衣裙冒失地卷在腰间，塞在背后如同鸠尾。她的胸脯也像小鸟似的，柔软纤纤，纤纤柔软得就像长了一身深色羽毛的鸽子的胸部。不过她长长的金发却是小女孩的模样：像小女孩模样的，还有她那秀美无双的脸蛋。

她一个人静静的，出神地远望着大海；她感觉得到他的出现，还有他眼睛里流露出崇拜的目光，这时她的目光转向了他，无声地迎着他的凝视，不觉得害羞也没有挑逗。她久久地迎着他的凝视，后来平静地将目光从他的眼睛移开，看着溪流，一只脚轻柔地搅动着水面，左碰一下，右碰一下。水隐隐约约的响动打破了寂静，低低的、隐约的、细细的水声，隐约犹如睡梦里的钟声；左碰一下，右碰一下；一层隐约的火焰在她的面颊上跳跃。