吹小号的天鹅 第87期:自由

 Chapter 18 Freedom

第十八章 自由

The news of Serena's arrival on Bird Lake had finally reached the Head Man in Charge of Birds.

塞蕾娜来到鸟湖的消息最后终于被鸟类管理处的负责人知道了。

He went out to look at her and was delighted. Then he gave an order to one of his keepers.

他走过来看了看她，显得很高兴。然后他朝他的一个管理员下了命令。

"See to it that she is pinioned¹ this morning--right away, before she flies off and leaves us.

“今天早上就得给她打尖——立刻就去，不然她就会离开我们飞走了。

That swan is a valuable bird. Make sure she doesn't get away!"

那只天鹅可是一只价值连城的鸟儿。一定别让她跑了！”

Louis was just waking from his nap when he saw two keepers approaching Serena,

路易斯刚刚睡醒，就看见有两个管理员正在向岸边的塞蕾娜逼近，

who was standing² on the shore near the ornamental³ fence.

当时她就站在那个经过精心修饰的篱笆附近。

One keeper carried a large net with a long handle. The other carried surgical⁴ instruments.

一个管理员拿着一个带有长柄的大网，另一个拿着手术器械。

吹小号的天鹅

They were sneaking⁵ up on Serena from behind, very slowly and quietly.

他们正在鬼鬼祟祟地从塞蕾娜的身后溜过来，步子又慢又轻。

Louis knew right away what they were up to. He grew hot with rage.

路易斯马上就知道他们要干什么了。他的心头激起了一股怒火。

If those men succeeded in catching⁶ Serena and cutting a wing tip, all his plans would go wrong

如果这两个男人果真抓到了塞蕾娜并剪了她的一只翅膀尖，他所有的计划都会落空的

she could never fly away to a lonely lake with him;

她再不能和他飞到一个静谧的湖上去了；

she would have to remain in Philadelphia the rest of her life, a horrible fate.

她将不得不在费城度过她的余生了，这是多么可怕的命运呀。

"This is my moment," thought Louis.

“是我行动的时候了，”路易斯想，

"Nobody is going to clip my Love's wing while I'm around."

“只要我还在这里，就没人能够剪坏我爱人的翅膀。”

He hustled⁷ over to the island and stripped for action.

他猛地冲上小岛，甩下他那些东西准备战斗。

He chucked his trumpet⁸ and all his other stuff under a willow⁹ tree.

他把他的小号和其他的所有东西全都抛到了一棵柳树下。

Then he returned to the water and waited for the right time to attack.

然后他回到水里等待着恰当的出击时刻。

The keeper holding the net was crawling quietly up on Serena from the rear.

那个拿着网的管理员还在塞蕾娜的身后偷偷地往前轻挪着。

She did not notice him--she was just standing there, dreaming of Louis.

她没看到他——她正站在那儿梦想着路易斯呢。

Slowly, slowly the keeper raised his net. As he did so, Louis went into action.

慢慢地，那个管理员慢慢地举起了他的网。就在他这么做的瞬间，路易斯投入了战斗。

Lowering his long, powerful neck until it pointed¹⁰ straight out in front of him like a lance,

他将他那长长的，有力的脖子放低，直到它像一枝笔直地指在他前方的长矛，

he streaked¹¹ across the water, straight at the keeper, his wings beating the air, his feet beating the water.

然后才用双翅击打着空气，两脚踢踏着湖水，闪电般掠过水面，直奔那个管理员而去。

In a flash, he reached the scene and drove his strong bill straight into the seat of the man's pants.

眨眼之间，他就冲到了那里，把他有力的尖嘴透过裤子一直扎进这个男人的屁股上。

It was a well-aimed jab. The keeper doubled up in pain and dropped the net.

这是一次瞄得极准的皮下注射。这个管理员痛得弯着身子丢下了网。

The other keeper tried to grab Serena by her throat.

另一个管理员想掐住塞蕾娜的咽喉。

Louis beat him over the head with his wings, striking terrific blows and knocking the poor fellow off his feet.

路易斯用他的翅膀揍他的头，以可怕的力量将这个可怜的家伙打倒在地。

Surgical instruments bounced into the air. The net fell into the water.

手术器械蹦上了天。那张网也掉进了水里。

One keeper groaned¹² and held his hand on his behind, where he had been stabbed.

一个管理员呻吟着把手捂在刚才被扎坏的地方。

The other keeper lay on the ground, almost knocked out.

另一个管理员则在地上躺着，差不多被揍昏了。

1 pinioned   

v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His arms were pinioned to his sides. 他的双臂被绑在身体两侧。
• Pinioned by the press of men around them, they were unable to move. 周围的人群挤压着他们，使他们动弹不得。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 hustled   

催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
• The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。

8 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

9 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 streaked   

adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

12 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》