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Around the fire squatted negroes, driving away the flies with long branches. The savoury odour of the meat made me hungry long before the tables were set.
火堆周圍蹲坐著一圈黑人，他們不停地用長樹枝驅趕著飛蛾。不等餐桌布置好，香噴噴的味道就令我饑腸轆轆了。
When the bustle and excitement of preparation was at its height, the hunting party made its appearance, struggling in by twos and threes, the men hot and weary, the horses covered with foam, and the jaded hounds panting and dejected—and not a single kill! Every man declared that he had seen at least one deer, and that the animal had come very close; but however hotly the dogs might pursue the game, however well the guns might be aimed, at the snap of the trigger there was not a deer in sight. They had been as fortunate as the little boy who said he came very near seeing a rabbit—he saw his tracks. The party soon forgot its disappointment, however, and we sat down, not to venison, but to a tamer feast of veal and roast pig.
就在忙碌而興奮的準備工作達到高潮時，狩獵晚會也開始登場了。獵手們疲憊不堪，但熱情不減。馬兒們大汗淋漓，口吐白沫；那些老馬則氣喘吁吁，垂頭喪氣——因為一頭獵物都沒有打到！每個人都聲稱自己至少見到了一頭鹿，而且曾經距離獵物非常近，然而不管那些獵犬是多么盡忠職守，獵人的槍口瞄得是多么地準確無誤，偏偏就在扣動扳機的一剎那，鹿兒倏忽不見了。講述狩獵經過時，他們幸福得像個小男孩。小男孩不是經常說，他曾近距離地看到了一只兔子——他還看到了兔子的足跡。無論結果怎樣，失望的情緒很快就被晚會的歡笑驅散了。我們圍坐在一起，根本不提野味的事。總之，我們仍會好好地享受小牛肉和烤乳豬這類家庭美食。
One summer I had my pony at Fern Quarry. I called him Black Beauty, as I had just read the book, and he resembled his namesake in every way, from his glossy black coat to the white star on his forehead. I spent many of my happiest hours on his back. Occasionally, when it was quite safe, my teacher would let go the leading-rein, and the pony sauntered on or stopped at his sweet will to eat grass or nibble the leaves of the trees that grew beside the narrow trail.
那年夏天，我把我的小馬駒也帶到了弗恩采石場。我管它叫“黑美人”，這是我剛剛讀過的一本書的名字。我的小馬“人如其名”，從他油光閃亮的黑色“外套”，到他額頭的白色星形，無不俊朗非凡。我在他背上度過了最快樂的時光。有時候，在保證安全的前提下，我的老師也會松開韁繩，于是我的小馬駒就會悠閑地在林中漫步，興之所至，他還會停下來吃草，或者是啃食路邊小樹的葉子。
