LESSON 1
第1课
either
二者之一
trickle
滴流
fancied
空想的
murmur
私语
reflected
反射的
glossy
光滑
entered
进入
shepherd
牧羊人
chestnuts
栗子
command
命令
THE SHEPHERD BOY
牧 童
Little Roy led his sheep down to pasture,
小罗伊赶着羊群来到牧场，
And his cows, by the side of the brook;
将牛群驱赶到小溪边；
But his cows never drank any water,
牛群不需在溪边喝水，
And his sheep never needed a crook.
羊群也不需他挥舞牧鞭。
For the pasture was gay as a garden,
牧场像花园一样绚丽多彩
And it glowed with a flowery red;
散发着亮丽的红色光芒。
But the meadows had never a grass blade,
可这片土地却寸草不生，
And the brooklet—it slept in its bed:
小溪也只在自己的温床上静静流淌。
And it lay without sparkle or murmur,
它既不闪闪发光，也不喃喃低语，
Nor reflected the blue of the skies;
更不会折射出晴空的湛蓝；
But the music was made by the shepherd,
小牧童哼起欢快的歌谣，
And the sparkle was all in his eyes.
眼中闪烁着迷人的光芒。
Oh, he sang like a bird in the summer!
哇，他就像夏日的小鸟在快唱！
And, if sometimes you fancied a bleat,
假如你恍若听到咩咩的声音，
That, too, was the voice of the shepherd,
那一定是牧童在欢唱，
And not of the lambs at his feet.
而非他脚边的小羊羔。
And the glossy brown cows were so gentle
油亮闪亮的棕色母牛多么温顺，
That they moved at the touch of his hand
在牧童的轻抚下，
O'er the wonderful, rosy-red meadow,
牛群漫步在玫瑰红的欢乐草地上，
And they stood at the word of command.
主人一声令下便让它们停下。
So he led all his sheep to the pasture,
他就这样领着牛羊，
And his cows, by the side of the brook;
在小溪边游荡；
Though it rained, yet the rain never pattered
可雨滴啪嗒啪嗒洒落下来
O'er the beautiful way that they took.
并不似往日美丽的模样。
And it wasn't in Fairyland either,
这里并不是什么仙境乐园，
But a house in the midst of the town,
只不过是镇上一处屋舍，
Where Roy, as he looked from the window,
罗伊从这里还能看到
Saw the silvery drops trickle down.
窗外倾泻而下的闪光雨滴。
For his pasture was only a table,
他的牧场也不过是一张桌子，
With its cover so flowery fair,
上面铺满各色花瓣；
And his brooklet was just a green ribbon,
那潺潺小溪
That his sister had lost from her hair.
只是妹妹头上掉落的一条绿色丝带。
And his cows were but glossy horse-chestnuts,
温顺的牛群
That had grown on his grandfather's tree;
是从祖父种植的七叶树上采来的光滑叶片；
And his sheep only snowy-white pebbles,
可爱的羊群
He had brought from the shore of the sea.
也不过是用海边拣的雪白鹅卵石来充当。
And at length when the shepherd was weary,
牧童终于厌倦了这个游戏，
And had taken his milk and his bread,
喝光牛奶、吃完面包之后，
And his mother had kissed him and tucked him,
妈妈令他上床睡觉，亲吻了他，
And had bid him "good night" in his bed;
轻轻道声“晚安”。
Then there entered his big brother Walter,
就在牧童酣睡之际，
While the shepherd was soundly asleep,
大哥沃尔特走了进来，
And he cut up the cows into baskets,
他将撕碎的牛群扔进篮子，
And to jackstones turned all of the sheep.
用小石子取代了罗伊的羊群。
(Emily S. Oakey)
（爱米莉.奥凯）
