評論
打印
LESSON 31 Stories of tigers
第三十一課 老虎的故事
When taken young, the tiger can be tamed. The fakirs, a class of people in India who are in the habit of going about begging, often lead with them tame tigers and leopards; but they are dangerous pets.
如果從小開始，老虎是能被馴服的。在印度，那些苦行者們習(xí)慣去乞討，他們通常會(huì)帶著被馴服的老虎和豹；這些都是很危險(xiǎn)寵物。
A story is told of a gentleman in India, who nearly lost his life by a tame tiger which he had reared.
有一個(gè)故事說的是印度的一個(gè)人，差點(diǎn)喪命于他自己喂養(yǎng)馴服的老虎嘴下。
He was sitting one evening outside his tent reading, with his pet couched down beside him. One hand hung by his side, while the other held his book.
一個(gè)晚上，他正坐在帳篷外看書，他的寵物老虎臥在身邊。他一只手垂在一邊，另一只手拿著書。
The tiger began to lick his hand, and went on doing so for some time. A low growl made the gentleman turn his head and look down. He saw that his hand was covered with blood!
老虎開始舔他的手，并進(jìn)行了一段時(shí)間。聽到一聲低聲吼叫，這個(gè)人回頭往下看，發(fā)現(xiàn)手上滿是鮮血！
In a moment he knew that the wild nature of the animal had awakened, and that if he withdrew his hand, the tiger would at once spring upon him. Calling to his servant, whom he saw at a little distance, he told him to fetch a loaded gun, and shoot the tiger dead on the spot.
那一刻他知道，老虎的獸性已經(jīng)被喚醒，如果他縮回手，老虎肯定會(huì)撲向他。 他叫來了近處的一個(gè)仆人，讓他去拿一把上膛的槍，射殺老虎。
He then sat quite still, allowing him to growl and to lick the blood at his pleasure. We may feel sure that the moments seemed very long to him. Speedily, however, the servant came near with the gun, very quietly, so as not to disturb the animal; took a steady aim, and shot him through the heart!
然后他一如既往的安靜坐著，讓老虎低吼并舔他手上的血。我們能感覺到當(dāng)時(shí)的他肯定是度日如年。然而，他的仆人很快就端著槍悄無聲息地走過來了，以防驚擾老虎；他慢慢瞄準(zhǔn)，一槍打在老虎的心臟部位！
The general way of hunting the tiger is with elephants. Though the horse can be made to face a lion, he will seldom face a tiger. The elephant, on the other hand, stands steadily, while his rider takes aim just before the tiger makes his spring.
通常都是用大象去捕獵老虎。雖然馬可以在獅子面前不露懼色，但是在老虎面前卻不行。另一方面，大象步伐穩(wěn)重，獵手可以在老虎撲上來之前就瞄準(zhǔn)好。
The Hindoos rarely hunt the tiger, or even fire on him. They let him prowl about their houses, and carry away their cattle, and even their children! But wherever Europeans go, they strive to rid the country of such dangerous animals.
印度人很少獵殺老虎，甚至很少攻擊老虎。他們?nèi)斡衫匣⒃谖葑又車腔玻鹱咚麄兊呐?，甚至是他們的孩子！但是歐洲人就不同，他們一心想要把這種動(dòng)物趕盡殺絕。
Sometimes the tiger, when hunted, springs upon the elephant, and fastens his teeth and claws in his neck or shoulder. The latter tries to kneel on his enemy, so as to crush him by the weight of his great legs and heavy body.
老虎被追捕時(shí)有時(shí)會(huì)撲向大象，咬住大象脖子和肩膀處。大象則會(huì)盡力跪在地上，因?yàn)槟菢涌梢杂米陨碇亓亢痛滞葔核览匣ⅰ?/p>
Sometimes they both roll on the ground, and a fearful struggle follows; generally, however, ending in the death of the tiger, either from the strength of the elephant, or by a bullet from the hunter's rifle.
有時(shí)它們會(huì)在地上翻滾，痛苦的掙扎；然而，通常來說，老虎要么死于大象的重量，要么死于獵槍下。
