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We had been in England for about six months when old farmer Crawford gave me permission to roam about his immense property. I started hiking there every weekend, up a long, sloping hill to an almost impenetrable stand of trees called Bear Wood. It was my secret fortress, almost a holy place, I thought. Slipping through a barbed-wire fence, I'd leave the bright sun and the twitter and rustle of insects and animals outside and creep into another world—a vaulted cathedral, with tree trunks for pillars and years' accumulation of long brown needles for a softly carpeted floor. My own breathing rang in my ears, and the slightest stirring of any woodland creature echoed through this private paradise.
我們在英格蘭住了大概6個月之后，老農場主克勞福德才允許我在他那廣闊的莊園里漫步。于是每個周末我都徒步走去那里，爬上一條長長的斜坡，到達小山上一片密不透風的樹林，那便是熊樹林。這里是我的秘密堡壘，我認為對我來說它幾乎是個神圣的地方。從帶刺的鐵絲網柵欄溜過去，我就離開了外面那個充滿陽光、昆蟲和動物鳴叫聲的世界，漸漸進入了另一個世界——一個拱形的大教堂，樹干是它的立柱，地面上有長年堆積起來的長長的棕色松針鋪就的柔軟地毯。我可以聽到自己的呼吸，林地里任何動物的一絲動靜都會回蕩在這個靜謐的天堂。
One spring afternoon I wandered near where I thought I'd glimpsed a pond the week before. I proceeded quietly, careful not to alarm a bird that might loudly warn other creatures to hide.
一個春天的午后，我在樹林里的某個地方閑逛，因為一周前我在那附近好像看到過一個池塘。我悄悄地走著，以免驚動鳥兒，那樣它們就會驚聲尖叫，嚇得其他動物都躲起來。
Perhaps this is why the frail old lady I nearly ran into was as startled as I was. She caught her breath, instinctively touching her throat with her hand. Then, recovering quickly, she gave a welcoming smile that instantly put me at ease. A pair of powerful-looking binoculars dangled from her neck. "Hello, young man," she said. "Are you American or Canadian?"
或許就是因為這樣，我差點和一位瘦弱的老夫人撞個滿懷，她和我一樣嚇了一跳。她屏住呼吸，本能地用手碰了一下喉嚨。然后她迅速回過神來，給了我一個表示歡迎的微笑，使我馬上鎮靜下來。一個高倍雙筒望遠鏡掛在她的脖子上。她說：“你好，小伙子。你是美國人還是加拿大人？”
