昆虫的故事：Carol蚱蜢的喜悦

Her real name was Carolina Grasshopper,but we will call her Carol for short.

Carol was sitting in the sandy path,so near the road that,when any one passed,she had to move out of the way.This did not matter at all,for one place in the sand was as good as another to Carol.

她的真名是蚱蜢卡罗琳娜，但是，为了简便，我们叫她欢欢。

欢欢正坐在一条沙土小路上。她离路边太近了，所以，只要有人经过，她就得让路。不过，欢欢一点儿也不介意，对她来说，只要是在沙地上，哪里都一样。

It was noon-time of the hottest day of the summer,and the sun shone down on her back and head,and the sand she was sitting on was almost hot enough to hurt your hand.It was the sort of day,in fact,when a person,if he does not put a damp cloth under his hat,is likely to have a sunstroke.

But Carol did not even have a hat on.

那天中午是夏天里最热的一天，太阳照着她的脊背和脑袋。身下的沙子热得几乎烫手。这样的大热天，如果不在帽子里垫一块湿布，很容易中暑。

可是，欢欢连帽子都没戴。

As for leaving that hot sand and having a nice cool wade in the little brook that sang"Bip-po bap-po"down through the shady woods to the river not far away—why Carol would never have done such a thing in the world!Had her mother not sat in the sand by the side of the road one year ago;and had not her two grand-mothers done the same thing two years ago?And had her father and her two grandfathers ever found any better place than sand in the sun on a hot summer day?What was good enough for them was good enough for her.

It was noontide of the hottest day of the summer.
那是夏天里最炎热一天的正午时分。

附近有一条潺潺的小溪，流过浓荫茂密的树林，通向不远处的一条河里。欢欢完全可以离开滚烫的沙地，去小溪里蹚水乘凉呀。可是，她死也不会做这样的事情！一年前，她的妈妈就是这样坐在路边沙地上的；两年前，她的外婆和奶奶也是这样；炎炎夏日，她的爸爸、她的外公和爷爷也没找到比烈日暴晒下的沙地更好的地方。所以，他们的好地方，也是她的好地方。

So there she sat,looking about the color of a tiny heap of sand,just as her mother and grandmother and great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother,and all the rest as far back as you can count,had sat and looked before her.You might say it was a habit of her family.

所以，她坐在那里，就像一个小沙丘。她的妈妈、妈妈的妈妈、妈妈的妈妈的妈妈、妈妈的妈妈的妈妈的妈妈，总之，再往前数多少辈，都这样。可以说这是她们的家族习惯。

Now Carol had two little fans,tucked down,one on each side of her.They were pretty when they were spread out—dull soft black,with yellow borders.

欢欢身上有两把小扇子，收拢起来，放在身体两边，一边一把。小扇子打开的时候，很漂亮。不显山不露水的黑色，柔柔的，还镶着黄边。

I once knew a girl who made one the same size out of black and yellow tissue-paper for her Doll Jane,and it was as cunning a fan as you could wish to see at a doll party.

以前，我认识一个女孩，她用黑黄两色的包装纸给她的洋娃娃做了一个扇子，大小和欢欢的一样，精巧可爱，只有在洋娃娃派对上才能看到。

But Carol was not at a party,and she was not using her fans.She had them all folded neatly under their brown covers,which kept them from getting worn and torn.She never once fanned herself with either of them!

可是，欢欢不是在参加派对，所以，她并未使用她的扇子。她把它们整整齐齐地叠起来，收在褐色的罩子底下，免得把它们弄旧、弄破了。她从来没用这两把扇子扇过风，一次也没有。

Now Carol had two little fans.
现在欢欢身上有两把小扇子。

With these thin black-and-yellow dainty things tucked out of sight beneath the tough covers that made a sort of roof over her back,there was nothing to show where Carol sat.A little sand-colored grasshopper sitting on the sand—that was all.

罩子很粗糙，像个屋顶一样扣在她背上，黑黄两色薄薄的扇子，虽然精致可爱，但是，被罩子遮起来了，根本看不到她坐在什么上面。只能看见一个土不拉叽的蚱蜢坐在沙土里，仅此而已。

Why,you could have stepped on her easily and never have known it!That is,you could,if she had not seen you coming;for Carol's eyes were very quick to see anything that moved toward her.If things stood still like trees,she did not bother about them,for nothing could catch her unless it came nearer and nearer and nearer.But if old Rover pattered down the road,or a bird flew close overhead and made a shadow,or a child ran by,then quick as a flash Carol would lift her fan-covers out of the way and spread her fans like little sails and fly off with them.For her black-andyellow fans were wings!

这么说，你很可能踩到她身上，却永远也不知道！也就是说，如果她没有看到你过来的话，这完全有可能发生。可是，欢欢的眼睛很尖，只要有东西朝她移动，她都能看见。而对于树那样站着不动的东西，她就懒得理。除非是一点儿一点儿慢慢地靠近，否则就甭想逮住她。如果流浪汉老罗佛从那边啪嗒、啪嗒地走过来，或者一只鸟飞到她的上空，弄出一点儿阴影，或者一个孩子从她身边跑过，她都会闪电般地把她的扇子罩掀起来，扬帆一般张开她的小扇子，振翅而去。原来，那黑黄两色的扇子就是她的翅膀！

And when you saw her fly away,perhaps you thought she was a butterfly.Maybe you thought she was a butterfly like Van,with dark wings and yellow borders.Maybe you were the little girl or boy who chased after her along the road,and looked right at her and didn't see her at all;for you were trying to find something with black-and-yellow wings,and Carol was just a sand-colored grasshopper sitting in the sand.

看到她飞走，可能你会以为她是只蝴蝶。也许，她那黑色的翅膀和翅膀上的黄边，会让你以为她就是帆儿那样的蝴蝶。也许，你就是那个小男孩或者小女孩，一路在她身后追逐，目光明明在她的身上，却对她视而不见。因为你找的是长着黑黄两色翅膀的蝴蝶，而欢欢却只不过是坐在沙地上的一只土不拉叽的蚱蜢而已。

Well,if it was not you,it was some other girl and boy;and Carol led them half a mile along the roadside,fooling them time after time by showing them her broad wings in flight and then quickly hiding them under their covers,when she stopped to rest.And byand-by the children grew so tired that they went off into the woods and found the brook,and waded there until they were cool.

哦，如果不是你，那就是别的小女孩和小男孩。欢欢领着他们跑了半英里，让他们上了好多次当。她一会儿张开她的宽翅膀飞呀飞，一会儿又迅速地把翅膀收起来放在罩子下面，停下来休息。没追多久，孩子们就烦了。他们走进了路边的树林里，发现了小溪，于是就开始蹚水玩，直到浑身凉爽。

On and on flew Carol,a little way at a time,now this way and now that,as dogs and children and horses and men sometimes came up the road and sometimes down.And once Carol was scared into the woods by a funny old cow with a crumpled horn,and the first thing she knew,she was sitting on some pretty leaves on the cool damp ground.But her brown sand-colored body showed very plainly on the green,and she didn't like the shady woods,and when she started for the roadside,she bumped up against some bent grass-stems and fell down.Then she tried jumping out,for—two of her legs were big and strong for hopping;but she kept blundering against stems that were in the way.At last,she crept along more slowly without trying to fly or jump,and so got back to the roadside,where,although many things passed by,none could see her in the sand;and where,although she had often to hop and fly,there were no grass-stems above her to get tangled in.(www.xing528.com)

Perhaps you thought she was a butterfly.
说不定你会把她当成一只蝴蝶。

欢欢飞呀飞，不停地往前飞。每次只飞一点点，一会儿往这边飞，一会儿又往那边飞。因为，总有狗呀、马呀、人呀的，不是从路那边过来，就是从路这边过去。有一次，一头犄角皱巴巴的老母牛走过来，那样子很古怪，把欢欢吓蒙了。等她清醒过来的时候，才发现自己躲在了树林里，周围是冰凉潮湿的地面，而她就坐在一堆漂亮的树叶上。可是，她沙土色的身体，颜色很深，在郁郁葱葱的绿色堆里很扎眼。再说，她也不喜欢浓荫茂密的树林。于是，她起身往路边飞，可是，刚一飞，就撞在了弯着腰的草茎身上，一下子摔到了地上。于是，她又试着往外跳。因为她的两条后腿粗壮有力，适合跳跃。可是，总是有树干或者草茎之类的东西挡她的路，让她跌跌撞撞，四处碰壁。最后，她打消了飞回去或者跳回去的念头，一路爬回了路边。那里虽然熙熙攘攘，但是，她在沙土里，谁也看不见；虽然在那里她也经常得蹦蹦跳跳、飞来飞去，但是，却不会被讨厌的草茎围困。

But you mustn't laugh too much at little Carol,baking herself in the sunshine.If you had spent the winter where she did,perhaps it would take you all summer to get warm,too.

不过你可千万别起劲儿地笑话欢欢在烈日下暴烤自己，要是你也在她过冬的地方过冬，也许，你也会用整个夏天来暖和身子。

For Carol's mother—just think of it!—poked every egg she had down as far as she could reach into the ground,and poured over them a sort of froth that hardened about them.Carol herself was the very last egg her mother pushed down,so that she was on top of her brother and sister eggs,which lay under her in slanting rows.But even if she was on top,she had to stay there all winter long,and the ground froze as solid as a cake of ice,and part of the time the weather was colder than zero;and though the snow lay over her like a thick blanket,it was a cold bed for all that,and it is no wonder that Carol didn't hatch for months and months.

仔细想想你就明白了。欢欢的妈妈把她所有的卵都捅到地底下放起来，能捅多深就捅多深。然后，在他们身上倒了一种泡沫，泡沫变硬把他们包了起来。欢欢是妈妈捅进地下的最后一颗卵。所以，她躺在她的兄弟姐妹上面，而她的兄弟姐妹则斜排着躺在她的下面。可是，即使她在最上面，整个冬天也得待在那里。地被冻得结结实实，就像一个大冰块，有一段时间气温甚至降到了零下。虽然积雪像一条厚厚的毯子盖在上面，可是，床还是冷冰冰的，怪不得一连好几个月欢欢都没有孵化。

When she did,poor little baby,she was buried alive under ground,and had a hard time of it pushing and pushing and pushing up;for she was the top of the brood and had to open up the way for her brothers and sisters as well as for herself.

等到她真的孵化出来，哦，可怜的小宝贝！她简直就是被活活地埋在了地底下，那段日子真是苦不堪言！她不得不使劲地往上挤呀挤，直到挤出地面。要知道，这窝卵里，她在最上面，所以，她得开路，为她的兄弟姐妹，也为她自己。

But the world she found when she crept out of that hole was worth working to get into,for it was spring-time and the sun shone and there were some warm stones near by;and so Baby Carol hopped about and ate whatever she wanted,and was,so far as anyone could see,quite happy.

不过，从那个洞里爬出来后，她来到了一个新世界。这个世界真是值得一来，以前的辛苦可没白费。因为春天已经来临，阳光灿烂普照着大地，附近还有一些热热乎乎的石头。于是，小宝宝欢欢蹦来蹦去，想吃什么吃什么，在大家看来，她十分快乐！

All that,of course,was long before she could fly;for a grasshopper never has any wings until she is grown up,though every time she moults her brown skin,the little pads,that will some day be fans and fancovers,grow bigger and bigger.

Yes,that was all many weeks ago,and Carol was now grown up and old enough to have a mate.

当然，所有这一切都是陈年往事了，那个时候她还不会飞呢。因为，尽管蚱蜢每蜕掉一层褐色的皮，小翅芽就会长大一点儿，而这些小翅芽总有一天都会变成扇子和扇子罩，但是，在长大之前，蚱蜢向来是没有翅膀的。

没错，这都是好几个星期以前的事情了。现在，欢欢已经长大，都可以找对象了。

So we must not be surprised to see Carl Grasshopper talking pleasantly with her one day when they met on a large rocky place in the sun.But you may be surprised to know where he kept his voice,for though Carl had a throat and a mouth and lips,he used them to eat with and never spoke a word through them in his life.No,when Carl talked to Carol he did it by rubbing his great hind-legs against his sides;and this seemed to her the most natural way in all the world to be spoken to,for it was the way her father had talked to her mother.It was a gentle scraping sort of sound,and you would have to be near to notice it.But Carol was sitting on the same stone,and her ears,which she kept in as queer a place as Carl did his voice,could no doubt hear him very well.

所以，如果有一天，当蚱蜢欢欢和蚱蜢土儿在一块开阔的石头地里相遇，顶着烈日起劲聊天的时候，我们一定不要大惊小怪。但是，你还是会奇怪，他的声音在哪里呢？因为，尽管土儿有嗓子，也有嘴巴和嘴唇，但是，那都是用来吃东西的，他可从来没有用它们说过一句话呀。的确没有。土儿需要和欢欢说话的时候，就用发达的后腿摩擦身体两侧。在欢欢看来，这样对她讲话是这个世界上最自然不过的事情了，因为她爸爸就是这样跟她妈妈讲话的。那是一种很轻的沙沙声，只有到跟前才能听得到。欢欢和土儿坐在一块石头上，虽然她的耳朵和土儿的一样，也不知道藏在哪个奇怪的地方，可是，毫无疑问，她能听到他的话。

Carl could sing,too,and his song was louder than his talking,and he had such a pretty way of doing it,that poets,who love pretty things,have sometimes sung about Carl's song in their verses.That makes a sort of double song,doesn't it?

土儿还会唱歌呢，而且他的歌比他的话响亮多了。他唱得很美，有时候，连诗人都在诗里赞美他的歌呢，因为一切美好的事物都是诗人的所爱。土儿和诗人都在歌唱，简直就是一种二重唱，是不是？

When Carl wanted to sing,he would spring into the air about three feet,and hover almost in one place,with his wings spread and fluttering so fast that they made a clacking sound where the edge of the fans clicked against the edge of the covers.

想唱歌的时候，土儿就跳到大约三英尺高的地方，开始盘旋，其实，他几乎就是围着一个地方打转转。他张开翅膀使劲地拍打，拍得很快，扇子的边敲在罩子的边上，发出一种毕毕剥剥的声音。

And if poets have liked his song,is it strange if Carol was pleased?

所以，如果连诗人都喜欢他的歌，那么，欢欢喜欢他的歌也就不足为奇了。

But Carol could not spend all summer listening to music.She must hurry and get her eggs all buried before cold weather came.Carl did not help his mate dig a single hole;but you must not blame him for this,for his father had never dug a hole nor his grandfather nor his great grandfather nor his great-great-grandfather,nor any father as far back as you can count.So you see it was not the fashion in Carl's family to dig holes for their mates to lay their eggs in.

可是，欢欢可不能整个夏天都沉迷在美妙的歌声里。她必须加快速度，赶在天冷之前，把她的卵都埋起来。土儿是连一个洞都不会帮他老婆挖的。可是，你千万不要责怪他，要知道，他的爸爸从来也没有挖过一个洞，他的爸爸的爸爸、他的爸爸的爸爸的爸爸、他的爸爸的爸爸的爸爸的爸爸都没有挖过洞，你再往前数多少辈，都这样。所以，你就知道了，土儿家族是不兴为老婆挖洞埋卵的。

And,after all,Carol had plenty of time to do it herself,and the tip of her body was all fitted up with the nicest little tool for boring into the ground—the four parts of it pushed down just right,and I think she really liked to use this little boring tool.And of course she really liked to put her precious eggs there in slanting rows in the soft froth that soon hardened about them,keeping them clean and safe all winter.

好在，欢欢的时间比较充裕，完全可以自己完成这项任务。她的尾部有一个世界上最棒的小钻土器。这个小钻土器的四个零件能恰到好处、准确无误地钻进地里。我觉得欢欢真的很喜欢用她的这个小钻子。当然了，她也真的很喜欢把自己的宝贝卵斜排着放到软软的泡沫里。泡沫很快变硬，把卵儿们包起来，好让他们干干净净、安安全全地过冬。

So her own queer little nest was left in the earth just as her mother's had been—that good old Earth that takes care of what is planted in her,—the same good old Earth to whom we owe,in many ways,our own life,just as surely as Carol's babies owe theirs to her:even those of us who are far from her,in a city flat way up in the air,instead of down by the country roadside,like a grasshopper in the sun.

因此，和她的妈妈一样，欢欢也把自己奇怪的小窝留给了大地，留给了慈祥的大地老妈妈，因为只要交代给她的东西，她都会悉心照料。其实，不仅欢欢宝宝们的生活多亏了慈祥的大地老妈妈，在许多方面，我们的生活也多亏了她，就连我们这些离她很远、高高在上居住在城市半空楼房里的人们，也和烈日下乡间小路边的蚱蜢一样，要感谢慈祥的大地老妈妈。