Often we hear someone say, "Don't parrot me." What they mean to say is "Don't copy what I'm saying." Now read the following story written by Ruskin Bond about a parrot who wouldn't talk.
我們經常聽到有人說，“不要像鸚鵡一樣學我說話。”這句話的意思其實是“不要模仿我說的話?！毕旅?，我們來閱讀一篇Ruskin Bond寫的關于一只不會說話的鸚鵡的故事。
"You are no beauty! Can't talk, can't dance!" With these words, Aunt Ruby would tease the unfortunate parakeet who stared sourly at everyone from his ornamental cage at one end of the long veranda of granny's bungalow in North India.
“你不漂亮！不會說話，不會跳舞！”露比姑媽總是用這些話戲弄那只不幸的長尾小鸚鵡。這只小鸚鵡被養在印度北部我祖母家平房長陽臺一端的觀賞籠中，喜歡隔著籠子酸溜溜地盯著人看。
In those distant days, almost everyone, Indian or European, kept a pet parrot or parakeet, or a 'lovebird', as some of the smaller ones were called. Sometimes these birds became great talkers, or rather imitators, and would learn to recite mantras (religious chants), or scoldings to the children of the house, such as "Parho beta, parho." (Study child, study.) Or for the benefit of boys like me, "Don't be greedy, don't be greedy."
那時候，幾乎所有人，不管是印度人還是歐洲人，都會在家里養一只寵物鸚鵡或者長尾小鸚鵡，亦或一只“情侶鸚鵡”（一種體型較小的鸚鵡）。有時候，這些小鳥會變得非常健談，更確切地說是非常善于模仿人說話，并且還會學習背誦一些經文，還會模仿家長對孩子們的責罵聲，比如，“就知道玩，快去學習，快去學習！”或是一些用于教育像我這樣的男孩的話，“別太貪心，別太貪心！”

These expressions were, of course, picked up by the parrot over a period of time, after many repetitions by whichever member of the household had taken on the task of teaching the bird to talk. But our parrot refused to talk.
當然，鸚鵡學會這些話需要一段時間，而且需要家庭成員翻來覆去地教鸚鵡學說這些話。但，我家的鸚鵡卻不肯開口說話。
He'd been bought by Aunt Ruby from a bird-catcher who had visited all the houses on our road, selling caged birds ranging from colourful budgerigars to happy little mynahs and even common sparrows that had been patted with paint and passed off as some rare species.
這只鸚鵡是露比姑媽從一個捕鳥人手中買來的，當時這個人走遍了我們這條街道上的每家每戶，販賣各種籠養鳥，從色彩斑斕的虎皮鸚鵡到歡快的小八哥，甚至還有身上被拍上顏料冒充稀有品種的普通麻雀。
Neither granny nor grandfather were keen on keeping caged birds as pets, but Aunt Ruby showed signs of throwing a tantrum if she did not get her way and Aunt Ruby's tantrums were dreadful to watch.
祖父和祖母都不喜歡把籠養鳥當成寵物，但是露比姑媽卻非養不可，甚至以發脾氣相要挾，要知道露比姑媽發起脾氣來是非?？膳碌?。
Anyway, she insisted on keeping the parrot and teaching it to talk. But the bird took an instant dislike to my aunt and resisted all the pleasant things she said.
總之，她堅持要養鸚鵡并教它說話。但是，這只小鳥轉眼就不喜歡我姑媽了，而且還抗拒她所說的一切令人愉快的事情。
"Kiss, kiss," Aunt Ruby would coo, putting her face close to the bars of the cage. But the parrot would back away, its shady little eyes getting even smaller with anger at the prospect of being kissed by Aunt Ruby. And on one occasion, it suddenly dived forward without warning and knocked Aunt Ruby's spectacles off her nose.
“親親，親親，”露比姑媽經常把臉貼在籠子上柔聲地說。但是，每次她這樣做時，鸚鵡都會向后退，即將被姑媽親到時，它那雙陰沉的小眼睛會變得更小，且目光中帶著憤怒。有一次，它突然毫無征兆地向前俯身，把露比姑媽的眼鏡從鼻梁上撞了下來。
After that, Aunt Ruby gave up her efforts to show her love for the parrot and became quite unfriendly towards the poor bird, making faces at it and calling out, "Can't sing, can't dance!" and other nasty comments.
之后，露比姑媽放棄了向這只鸚鵡表達喜愛之情的努力，并且對這只可憐的小鳥變得非常不友好，每次看到它都會做各種鬼臉，并喊著說：“不會唱歌，不會跳舞！”，還會用其他一些令人不愉快的話來形容它。
It fell upon me, then, ten years old, to feed the parrot, and it seemed quite happy to receive the green chillies and ripe tomatoes from my hands. These delicacies were supplemented by slices of mango, for it was then the mango season. It also gave me an opportunity to consume a couple of mangoes while feeding the parrot.
此后，喂食鸚鵡的任務就交給我這個10歲小孩了，它似乎很高興從我手中接過綠辣椒和成熟的西紅柿。我將這些美味佳肴輔以芒果片喂它，因為當時正是芒果成熟的季節。這也讓我有機會在喂食鸚鵡時吃上三兩個芒果。
One afternoon, while everyone was indoors enjoying a short nap, I gave the parrot his lunch and then purposely left the cage door open. Seconds later, the bird was winging its way into the freedom of the mango orchard.
一天下午，正當一家人都在屋里午睡時，我給鸚鵡喂了午飯，然后故意沒關好籠門。幾秒鐘后，這只小鳥展翅飛向了芒果園，獲得了自由。
At the same time, grandfather came onto the veranda and remarked, "l see your Aunt's parrot has escaped." "The door was quite loose," I said with a shrug. "Well, I don't suppose we'll see it again."
與此同時，祖父來到陽臺上說：“我看到你姑媽的鸚鵡逃脫了?！薄盎\門很松”我聳聳肩說。“嗯，我猜我們再也不會見到它了。”
Aunt Ruby was upset at first, and threatened to buy another bird. We put her off by promising to buy her a bowl of goldfish. "But goldfish don't talk!" she protested. "Well, neither did your bird," said grandfather. "So we'll get you a gramophone. You can listen to Clara Buck all day. They say she sings like a nightingale."
起初，露比姑媽很生氣，還威脅要再買一只鳥。為了敷衍她，我們答應給她買一盆金魚。 “但金魚不會說話！”她抗議道。“嗯，你的鳥也不會”祖父說?！八晕覀儠o你買一臺留聲機。你可以一天到晚聽克拉拉·巴克的歌。據說她的歌聲很像夜鶯的叫聲?！?br />I thought we'd never see the parrot again, but it probably missed its green chillies, because a few days later, I found the bird sitting on the veranda railing, looking expectantly at me with its head cocked to one side. Unselfishly, I gave the parrot half of my mango.
我以為我們再也見不到那只鸚鵡了，但它可能想念我喂它的綠辣椒了，因為幾天后，我發現它趴在我家陽臺的欄桿上，頭歪向一側用期待的眼神望著我。我無私地分了一半芒果給它。
While the bird was enjoying the mango, Aunt Ruby emerged from her room, and with a cry of surprise, called out, "Look! There's my parrot! Come back! He must have missed me!" With a loud squawk, the parrot flew out of her reach and perching on the nearest rose bush, glared at Aunt Ruby and screamed at her in my Aunt's familiar tones: "You're no beauty! Can't talk, can't sing, can't dance!"
當小鳥正在享用芒果的時候，露比姑媽從她的房間里出來了，驚訝地叫道：“看！這是我的鸚鵡！它回來啦！一定是想我了！”伴隨著一聲響亮的叫聲，鸚鵡從她身邊飛開了，落在最近的玫瑰叢上，怒視著露比姑媽，它用姑媽熟悉的語氣對她大喊大叫道：“你不漂亮！不會說話，不會唱歌，不會跳舞！”
Aunt Ruby went ruby-red and dashed indoors. But that wasn't the end of the affair. The parrot became a regular visitor to the garden and veranda, and whenever it saw Aunt Ruby, it would call out, "You're no beauty! Can't talk, can't sing, and can't dance!"
露比姑媽臉變得通紅，沖進了房間。但這并不是故事的結局。此后，這只鸚鵡成了我家花園和陽臺的?？?。每每看到露比姑媽時，它都會大聲喊叫：“你不漂亮！不會說話，不會唱歌，不會跳舞！”
The parrot had learnt to talk after all.
這只鸚鵡終究還是學會了說話。