One bright morning late in March, little Margery put on her hood and her Highland plaid shawl, and went trudging across the beach.
三月下旬一個(gè)明媚的早晨,小瑪芝莉戴上兜帽,披上格子花呢披肩,步履沉重地沿著海灘走著。
It was the first time she had been trusted out alone, for Margery was a little girl;
這是瑪芝莉第一次單獨(dú)出門(mén),因?yàn)樗莻€(gè)很小的小女孩,
nothing about her was large, except her round gray eyes,
除了圓圓的灰色大眼睛,她的五官都不大。
which had yet scarcely opened upon half a dozen springs and summers.
在過(guò)去的六個(gè)春夏秋冬,她幾乎都沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)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.
遙遠(yuǎn)的海邊和天空中都飄著一層白霧,太陽(yáng)四周圍繞著白云,全都鑲上了粉紅和紫羅蘭色的云邊。
The sunshine and the mild air made Margery's very heart feel warm,
陽(yáng)光和輕柔的空氣讓瑪芝莉感覺(jué)心頭暖暖的,
and she let the soft wind blow aside her Highland shawl, as she looked across the waters at the sun, and wondered!
當(dāng)她的眼神穿過(guò)大海望向太陽(yáng)時(shí),感覺(jué)不可思議,讓微風(fēng)吹動(dòng)著她的格子披肩。
For, somehow, the sun had never looked before as it did today;
不知怎么回事,太陽(yáng)似乎從來(lái)沒(méi)像今天這個(gè)樣子
it seemed like a great golden flower bursting out of its pearl-lined calyx, —a flower without a stem.
它看起來(lái)像是一朵巨大的金色花朵——一支沒(méi)有根莖的花,從珍珠色的花萼里開(kāi)放,
Or was there a strong stem away behind it in the sky,
抑或是在天空后面有一只強(qiáng)大的根莖,
that reached down below the sea, to a root, nobody could guess where?
一直伸向海底扎根,沒(méi)人能猜到在哪兒。
Margery did not stop to puzzle herself about the answer to her question,
瑪芝莉并沒(méi)有停下來(lái)為思考自己提出的問(wèn)題而傷腦筋,
for now the tide was coming in, and the waves, little at first,
因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在潮水已經(jīng)漲上來(lái)了。還有波浪,最初很小,
but growing larger every moment, were crowding up along the sand and pebbles, laughing, winking, and whispering,
但隨后每時(shí)每刻都在變大,沿著沙子和鵝卵石奔涌上來(lái),歡笑地,迅速地,悄悄地,
as they tumbled over each other, like thousands of children hurrying home from somewhere,
它們一浪接一浪地跌落,像成千上萬(wàn)個(gè)孩子從某個(gè)地方跑回家,
each with its own precious little secret to tell.
每個(gè)人都有自己的小秘密要訴說(shuō)。
Where did the waves come from?
波浪是從哪里來(lái)的?
Who was down there under the blue wall of the horizon, with the hoarse,
誰(shuí)在藍(lán)色的水平線下發(fā)出沙啞的聲音,
hollow voice, urging and pushing them across the beach at her feet?
催促它們,推動(dòng)它們穿過(guò)海灘來(lái)到她腳下?
And what secret was it they were lisping to each other with their pleasant voices?
它們用甜美的嗓音囫圇說(shuō)著什么秘密?