吹小號的天鵝 第40期:小號(2)

You can imagine the noise in the music store whenthe cob crashed through the window.

你能想像得出當(dāng)雄天鵝從櫥窗沖進(jìn)樂器店時(shí)惹出的亂子有多大。

At the moment the glass broke, one of the clerkswas showing a bass drum to a customer,

就在玻璃爆碎的瞬間，一個(gè)店員正在給一個(gè)顧客看低音鼓，

and the clerk was so startled at seeing a big whitebird come flying through the window,

可當(dāng)他一看到這只從窗口飛進(jìn)來的白色大鳥，

he hit the drum a tremendous wallop.

就不由得拼命地敲起鼓來。

"Bom!" went the drum.

“蹦!”鼓這么響。

"Crash!" went the splinters of flying glass.

“嘩啦!”飛舞的玻璃碎片喊。

When the salesgirl fainted, she fell against the keys of the piano.

剛才那個(gè)女營業(yè)員昏倒的時(shí)候，恰好仰面倒在鋼琴的鍵子上。

"Rrrongee-rrrongee-rrongee!" went the piano.

“嗡—嗡—嗡!”鋼琴呻吟。

The owner of the store grabbed his shotgun,

店主抓起他的鳥槍就打，

which went off by mistake, blasting a hole in the ceiling and sending down a shower of plaster.

可惜沒瞄準(zhǔn)，反倒把天花板打出一個(gè)大洞。屋里頓時(shí)下了一場石膏雨。

Everything was flying around and falling and making a noise.

所有的東西都到處亂飛亂落，響起了一片嘈雜聲。

"Bom!" went the drum.

“蹦!”鼓這么響。

"Plunk!" went the banjo.

“砰!”班卓琴唱。

"Rrrongee-rrrongee-rrrongee!" went the piano.

“嗡—嗡—嗡!”鋼琴呻吟。

"Ump!" went the bull fiddle.

“唉!”低音提琴感嘆。

"Help!" screamed a clerk. "We've been robbed."

“救命!”一個(gè)店員尖叫。“我們被搶了。”

"Make way!" shouted the owner.

“讓開!”店主大喊。

He ran for the door, stepped outside, and fired another shot--bang!--at the disappearing bird.

他跑向門口，站到門外又開了一槍——梆!--他射向那只正在飛遠(yuǎn)的鳥。

His shot was too late.

他打得太晚了。

The cob was safe in the sky, beyond the range of gunfire.

雄天鵝已經(jīng)到了空中，安全地飛在射程之外了。

He was headed home, toward the southwest, high above the roofs and spires of Billings.

他正在比林斯的屋頂和塔尖上空，往西南方的家那邊飛呢。

In his beak was the trumpet.

他的嘴里叼著的正是那把小號。

In his heart was the pain of having committed a crime.

他的心因剛才所犯的罪行而痛苦。

"I have robbed a store," he said to himself.

“我洗劫了一家商店，”他自語，

"I have become a thief.

“我成了一個(gè)賊了。

What a miserable fate for a bird of my excellent character and high ideals!

對一只像我這樣有著優(yōu)秀品質(zhì)和崇高理想的鳥兒來說，這是多么悲慘的命運(yùn)呀!

Why did I do this?

我為什么要這么做?

What led me to commit this awful crime?

是什么誘使我犯下了這可怕的罪行?

My past life has been blameless--a model of good behavior and correct conduct.

我過去的生活可是清清白白的——我一直是行為良好品行端正的模范呀。

I am by nature law-abiding.

我天生就是個(gè)守法良民嘛。

Why, oh, why did I do this?"

可為什么，噢，為什么我要那么做?”

Then the answer came to him, as he flew steadily on through the evening sky.

當(dāng)他穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地在夜空中飛著的時(shí)候，答案出來了。

"I did it to help my son.

“我做的這一切都是為了幫助我的兒子。

I did it for love of my son Louis."

我是出于對我兒子路易斯的愛才這么做的。”