英國語文第四冊(雙語):布魯斯和蜘蛛(2)
Its head grew steady—again it went,
它的頭變得平穩(wěn)——當(dāng)它再次抬起時，
And travelled a half yard higher;
爬了半碼那么高；
'Twas a delicate thread it had to tread,
這是它必須行走的微妙路程，
And a road where its feet would tire.
在這條路上，它的雙腳會感到疲憊。
Again it fell, and swung below;
它再一次跌下來，搖擺不定；
But up it quickly mounted,
但是它迅速地攀爬起來，
Till up and down, now fast, now slow,
向上、向下、一下快、一下慢，
Nine brave attempts were counted.
已經(jīng)進行了九次這樣勇敢的嘗試。
"Sure," said the king, "that foolish thing
“當(dāng)然，”國王說，“這種愚蠢的事情
Will strive no more to climb,
不必再努力地往上爬，
When it toils so hard to reach and cling,
很難爬上它的網(wǎng)，也很難抓住，
And tumbles every time."
它每次都跌下來。”
But up the insect went once more;
但是這個昆蟲再一次爬起來；
Ah me! 'tis an anxious minute:
哎，我??！這真是讓人焦慮的時刻：
He's only a foot from his cobweb door;
它離蛛網(wǎng)之門只剩一英尺的距離了；
Oh, say, will he lose or win it?
噢，你說，它會輸，還是會贏？
Steadily, steadily, inch by inch,
一寸，一寸，平穩(wěn)地，
Higher and higher he got.
它爬得越來越高。
And a bold little run at the very last pinch
最后關(guān)頭，它大膽地小跑了一下
Put him into the wished-for spot.
把它帶到了心儀的地方。
"Bravo! bravo!" the king cried out;
“萬歲！萬歲！”國王喊道；
"All honour to those who try:
“所有的榮譽都屬于那些勇于嘗試的人：
The spider up there defied despair; —
蜘蛛不顧絕望地爬上去；——
He conquered, and why should not I?"
它征服了，為什么我不可以呢？”
And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind,
蘇格蘭的布魯斯做好準備，
And gossips tell the tale,
流言蜚語把消息傳了出去，
That he tried once more as he tried before,
然后他開始像以前一樣再次嘗試，
And that time he did not fail.
這次他沒有失敗。
Pay goodly heed, all ye who read,
對周圍你看到的事物，給予密切的關(guān)注，
And beware of saying, "I can't;"
小心地說“我不能；”
'Tis a cowardly word, and apt to lead
這是懦弱的話語，容易造成
To idleness, folly, and want.
懶惰，愚蠢，和欲望。
—Eliza Cook
——伊麗莎白·庫克
