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Chapter 4 The Cygnets
第四章 小天鵝
During the night, the swan thought she heard a pipping sound from the eggs.
那天夜里，雌天鵝覺得她聽到了小天鵝用嘴啄蛋殼的聲音。
And in the hour just before dawn, she was sure she felt a slight movement under her breast, as though a tiny body were wiggling there.
就在破曉前的那一小時(shí)，她確切地感覺到胸下有一陣輕微的動(dòng)靜，似乎有一個(gè)小身子正在那里扭動(dòng)著。
Perhaps the eggs at last were hatching. Eggs, of course, can't wiggle, so the swan decided she must have something under her that wasn't an egg.
可能這些蛋終于被孵成小天鵝了。蛋殼當(dāng)然是不能扭動(dòng)的，所以雌天鵝斷定她身子下面的已經(jīng)不再是蛋了。
She sat perfectly still, listening and waiting. The cob floated nearby, keeping watch.
她靜靜地端坐著，在那里傾聽著，期待著。雄天鵝在附近游著，時(shí)刻觀察著。
A little swan enclosed in an egg has a hard time getting out.
一只被封在蛋殼里的小天鵝得經(jīng)過好長(zhǎng)一段艱苦的時(shí)間才能鉆出來。
It never would get out if Nature had not provided it with two important things: a powerful neck-muscle and a small dagger-tooth on the tip of its bill.
它永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)出世，如果大自然沒把這兩樣重要的東西賦予它的話：一是有力的頸部肌肉，一是它的嘴尖上的小尖牙。
This tooth is sharp, and the baby swan uses it to pick a hole in the tough shell of the egg.
這牙很尖利，小天鵝用它就可以在蛋的硬殼上啄出一個(gè)洞。
Once the hole is made, the rest is easy. The cygnet can breathe now; it just keeps wiggling until it wiggles free.
一旦洞被啄出，其余的事兒就容易多了。小天鵝現(xiàn)在能呼吸了；它只需不斷地掙扎，直到掙得自由為止。
The cob was expecting to become a father any minute now.
雄天鵝現(xiàn)在隨時(shí)都渴望著當(dāng)爸爸。
The idea of fatherhood made him feel poetical and proud. He began to talk to his wife.
這個(gè)做父親的念頭讓他的心里泛起了一種詩意和自豪感。他開始對(duì)他的妻子演說了。
"Here I glide, swanlike," he said, "while earth is bathed in wonder and beauty.
“當(dāng)我在這兒像天鵝般優(yōu)雅地滑翔時(shí)，”他說，“大地正沐浴在神奇而又美妙的輝光之中。
Now, slowly, the light of day comes into our sky.
現(xiàn)在，慢慢地，黎明之光在我們的天空中出現(xiàn)了。
A mist hangs low over the pond. The mist rises slowly, like steam from a kettle,
晨霧低低地懸掛在池塘的上空。當(dāng)我像天鵝般優(yōu)雅地滑翔的時(shí)候，當(dāng)?shù)氨环醭傻臅r(shí)候，
while I glide, swanlike, while eggs hatch, while young swans come into existence.
當(dāng)小天鵝們來到這個(gè)世界上的時(shí)候，霧氣像水壺里的蒸汽一般，正在漸漸地升騰。
I glide and glide.
我在滑翔呀滑翔。
The light strengthens. The air becomes warmer.
天光漸亮。空氣轉(zhuǎn)暖。
Gradually the mist disappears. I glide, I glide, swanlike.
霧氣漸消。我在滑翔呀，我在滑翔，優(yōu)雅得如同天鵝一樣。
Birds sing their early song. Frogs that have croaked in the night stop croaking and are silent.
鳥兒唱起了他們的晨曲。呱噪了整夜的青蛙現(xiàn)在閉起嘴靜默起來。
Still I glide, ceaselessly, like a swan."
而我還在不斷地滑翔，像一只天鵝一樣。”
"Of course you glide like a swan," said his wife. "How else could you glide? You couldn't glide like a moose, could you?"
“你當(dāng)然滑翔得像一只天鵝一樣了，”他的妻子說，“此外你還能像什么？你不能滑翔得像只麋鹿一樣，對(duì)吧？”
"Well, no. That is quite true. Thank you, my dear, for correcting me."
“是的，不能。這話可真對(duì)。謝謝你糾正我，我親愛的。”
The cob felt taken aback by his mate's commonsense remark.
他的伴侶給他的常識(shí)性提醒讓他大吃一驚。
He enjoyed speaking in fancy phrases and graceful language, and he liked to think of himself as gliding swanlike.
他喜歡在講話時(shí)使用新奇的措辭和文雅的語言，也喜歡想象著自己像天鵝一般滑翔。
He decided he'd better do more gliding and less talking.
他現(xiàn)在覺得自己最好還是多滑翔少說話為妙。
All morning long, the swan heard the pipping of the shells.
整個(gè)早晨，天鵝們都在聽著啄蛋殼的聲音。
And every once in a while, she felt something wriggle beneath her in the nest.
每過一會(huì)兒，她就感到身下的窩里有些什么在扭動(dòng)。
It was an odd sensation.
這是一種很奇怪的感覺。
The eggs had been quiet for so many, many days--thirty-five days in all
這些蛋那么多天，那么多天以來都是那么安靜，共有三十五天
and now at last they were stirring with life.
可現(xiàn)在他們終于煥發(fā)了生機(jī)。
She knew that the proper thing to do was to sit still.
她知道這時(shí)候最好還是坐著別動(dòng)。
