吹小號的天鵝 第38期:愛情(5)

When Louis's mother saw this, she went to herhusband, the cob.

路易斯的媽媽看到這一切后，就去找她的丈夫雄天鵝了。

"I have news for you," she said. "Your son Louis is inlove,

“我有個消息要告訴你，”她說，“你兒子路易斯戀愛了，

and the swan of his choice, the female of hisdesiring, pays no attention to him.

可是他選中的那只天鵝，就是他愛的那只雌天鵝，根本就不理他。

It's just as I predicted: Louis won't be able to get amate because he has no voice.

這正像我曾預(yù)言的那樣：因?yàn)椴荒馨l(fā)聲，路易斯將找不到一位愛侶。

That snippety little female he's chasing after gives me a pain in the neck, the way she acts.

他追求的那位小雌天鵝，一副無禮的樣子，難過得我脖子都痛了。

But just the same, I'm sorry for Louis.

同樣，我也為路易斯感到難過。

He thinks she's the greatest thing on the lake, and he can't say,

他覺得她是這湖上最了不起的，可他卻不能說

"Ko-hoh, I love you," and that's what she's waiting to hear."

‘吭—嗬，我愛你，’那正是她一直渴望聽到的。”

"Why, this is terrible news," said the cob, "news of the most serious import.

“這真是個悲慘的消息，”雄天鵝說，“最可怕的消息。

I know what it is like to be in love.

我知道戀愛中的鳥兒是怎么樣的。

Well do I remember how painful love can be, how exciting,

我還清楚地記得愛能使你多么痛苦，多么激動，

and, in the event of unsuccess, how disappointing and doleful the days and nights.

還有，在求愛不成的時候，又是怎樣的日夜失望和憂傷。

But I am Louis's father, and I'm not going to take this situation lying down. I shall act.

我可是路易斯的父親呀，這事兒我絕不能不理。我要采取行動了。

Louis is a Trumpeter Swan, noblest of all the waterfowl.

路易斯是一只號手天鵝，是所有水鳥中最高貴的。

He is gay, cheerful, strong, powerful, lusty, good, brave, handsome, reliable, trustworthy,

他快活，快樂，強(qiáng)壯，有力，活潑，善良，勇敢，漂亮，可信，誠信，

a great flier, a tremendous swimmer, fearless, patient, loyal, true, ambitious, desirous--"

是一個飛行天才，游泳健將，無畏，堅(jiān)韌，忠實(shí)，真誠，有雄心，還有渴望……”

"Just a minute," said his wife. "You don't need to tell me all these things.

“等等，”他的妻子說，“你不必再對我說下去了。

The point is, what are you going to do to help Louis get himself a mate?"

問題是，你打算怎么幫路易斯找到一個愛人?”

"I'm leading up to that in my own graceful way," replied the cob.

“我要用我那體面的方式辦到這一切，”雄天鵝回答，

"You say that what this young female wants is to hear Louis say, "Ko-hoh, I love you"?"

“你說那只年輕的雌天鵝想聽路易斯說什么，‘吭—嗬，我愛你’嗎?”

"That's right."

“是的。”

"Then she shall hear it!" exclaimed the cob.

“她會聽到的!”雄天鵝大叫，

"There are devices made by men--horns, trumpets, musical instruments of all sorts.

“人類發(fā)明了很多東西——喇叭，小號，還有各式各樣的別的樂器。

These devices are capable of producing sounds similar to the wild sound of our trumpeting.

這些發(fā)明能模擬出我們所發(fā)出的吹號聲。

I shall begin a search for such a device,

我要去找一種這樣的發(fā)明物，

and if I have to go to the ends of the earth to find a trumpet for our young son,

為了我們的小兒子，即使我不得不飛到地球的盡頭，

I shall find it at last and bring it home to Louis."

最終也要給他找到一把小號并把它帶回家交給路易斯的。”

"Well, if I may make a suggestion," said his wife,

“好吧，不過如果我可以提個建議的話，”他的妻子說，

"don't go to the ends of the earth, go to Billings, Montana. It's nearer."

“我要說你不必去什么地球的盡頭了，到蒙大拿的比林斯去吧。那地方更近一點(diǎn)兒。”

"Very well, I will try Billings. I shall look for a trumpet in Billings.

“很好，我就去比林斯試試。我要在比林斯找到一把小號。

And now, without further ado, I go. There is no time to lose.

現(xiàn)在，就不必再說廢話了，我走了。不能再耽擱了。

Springtime doesn't last forever. Love is fleeting. Every minute counts.

春天不會永遠(yuǎn)存在的。愛情正在飛逝，每分鐘都不該錯過。

I'm leaving this instant for Billings, Montana,

我要立刻動身去蒙大拿的比林斯，

a great city teeming with life and with objects made by man.

去一個充滿了生機(jī)和人造物的大城市了。

Good-bye, my love! I shall return!"

再見，我的愛人!我會回來的!”

"What are you going to use for money?" asked his practical wife. "Trumpets cost money."

“你打算怎么弄到錢呢?”他那講求實(shí)際的妻子說，“小號是要用錢買的。”

"Leave that to me," replied the cob.

“這你就別管了，”雄天鵝回答。

And with that, he took off into the air.

說到這里，他已經(jīng)飛上了天。

He climbed steeply, like a jet plane, then leveled off, flying high and fast toward the northeast.

他像架直升機(jī)一樣筆直地升上去，然后開始平飛，越飛越高，越飛越快，一路朝東北方向而去。

His wife watched him until he was out of sight.

他的妻子看著他，知道他消失

"What a swan!" she murmured. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."

“一只什么樣的天鵝呀!”她嘀咕道，“我真希望他知道自己在干什么。”