美國語文第五冊 第253期：種子的傳播與種植（02）
As I walk amid hickories, even in August,
甚至8月期間，當(dāng)我走在山核桃林里，
I hear the sound of green pignuts falling from time to time, cut off by the chickaree over my head.
頭頂上端不時傳來山核桃被山雀啄落的聲音，果子還綠茵茵的。
In the fall I notice on the ground, either within or in the neighborhood of oak woods,
秋天，在小鎮(zhèn)周圍橡樹林里或樹林附近，
on all sides of the town, stout oak twigs three or four inches long, bearing half a dozen empty acorn cups,
我留意到三四英寸長的粗短橡樹枝，掛著七八個空空的橡實殼，
which twigs have been gnawed off by squirrels, on both sides of the nuts, in order to make them more portable.
松鼠咬斷堅果兩側(cè)硬枝，完全出于搬運簡單方便。
The jays scream and the red squirrels scold while you are clubbing and shaking the chestnut trees,
每當(dāng)人們敲打或搖晃栗樹，便招來松鴉、紅松鼠嘰喳不停，
for they are there on the same errand, and two of a trade never agree.
它們，抑或我們，光顧森林的目的沒什么不同，所謂同行冤家，一點不假。
I frequently see a red or a gray squirrel cast down a green chestnut burr, as I am going through the woods,
行在樹林中，我經(jīng)?？匆娂t松鼠或灰松鼠扔下帶芒刺的綠色栗果，
and I used to think, sometimes, that they were cast at me.
我總覺得，它們想必是沖我砸來的。
In fact, they are so busy about it, in the midst of the chestnut season,
栗子成熟季節(jié)，松鼠忙碌地奔跑，
that you can not stand long in the woods without hearing one fall.
只需在樹林中稍站片刻，便能清晰地聽見栗子的落地聲。
A sportsman told me that he had, the day before—that was in the middle of October—seen a green chestnut burr dropped on our great river meadow,
一位喜歡捕獵的朋友對我說，就在前一天，該是10月中旬吧，他還看見一顆綠色帶芒刺的栗果，丟在小鎮(zhèn)大河邊的濕地草原上。
fifty rods from the nearest wood, and much farther from the nearest chestnut tree,
那顆栗果離最近的林子有五十桿距離，距最近的栗樹林就更遠(yuǎn)了，
and he could not tell how it came there.
他實在想不出那粒栗子究竟從哪冒出來的。
Occasionally, when chestnutting in midwinter, I find thirty or forty nuts in a pile,
深冬季節(jié)，我有時去森林里采摘栗子，有時會發(fā)現(xiàn)三四十顆栗子聚攏成堆,
left in its gallery just under the leaves, by the common wood mouse.
裹藏在腐葉下森林里常見的林鼠洞邊。
