One bright morning late in March, little Margery put on her hood and her Highland plaid shawl, and went trudging across the beach.
三月下旬一个明媚的早晨，小玛芝莉戴上兜帽，披上格子花呢披肩，步履沉重地沿着海滩走着。
It was the first time she had been trusted out alone, for Margery was a little girl;
这是玛芝莉第一次单独出门，因为她是个很小的小女孩，
nothing about her was large, except her round gray eyes,
除了圆圆的灰色大眼睛，她的五官都不大。
which had yet scarcely opened upon half a dozen springs and summers.
在过去的六个春夏秋冬，她几乎都没见过什么。
There was a pale mist on the far-off sea and sky, and up around the sun were white clouds edged with the hues of pinks and violets.
遥远的海边和天空中都飘着一层白雾，太阳四周围绕着白云，全都镶上了粉红和紫罗兰色的云边。
The sunshine and the mild air made Margery's very heart feel warm,
阳光和轻柔的空气让玛芝莉感觉心头暖暖的，
and she let the soft wind blow aside her Highland shawl, as she looked across the waters at the sun, and wondered!
当她的眼神穿过大海望向太阳时，感觉不可思议，让微风吹动着她的格子披肩。
For, somehow, the sun had never looked before as it did today;
不知怎么回事，太阳似乎从来没像今天这个样子
it seemed like a great golden flower bursting out of its pearl-lined calyx, —a flower without a stem.
它看起来像是一朵巨大的金色花朵——一支没有根茎的花，从珍珠色的花萼里开放，
Or was there a strong stem away behind it in the sky,
抑或是在天空后面有一只强大的根茎，
that reached down below the sea, to a root, nobody could guess where?
一直伸向海底扎根，没人能猜到在哪儿。
Margery did not stop to puzzle herself about the answer to her question,
玛芝莉并没有停下来为思考自己提出的问题而伤脑筋，
for now the tide was coming in, and the waves, little at first,
因为现在潮水已经涨上来了。还有波浪，最初很小，
but growing larger every moment, were crowding up along the sand and pebbles, laughing, winking, and whispering,
但随后每时每刻都在变大，沿着沙子和鹅卵石奔涌上来，欢笑地，迅速地，悄悄地，
as they tumbled over each other, like thousands of children hurrying home from somewhere,
它们一浪接一浪地跌落，像成千上万个孩子从某个地方跑回家，
each with its own precious little secret to tell.
每个人都有自己的小秘密要诉说。
Where did the waves come from?
波浪是从哪里来的？
Who was down there under the blue wall of the horizon, with the hoarse,
谁在蓝色的水平线下发出沙哑的声音，
hollow voice, urging and pushing them across the beach at her feet?
催促它们，推动它们穿过海滩来到她脚下？
And what secret was it they were lisping to each other with their pleasant voices?
它们用甜美的嗓音囫囵说着什么秘密？
