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JONATHAN BARTLETT, A PIONEER LAD
拓荒少年喬納森·巴特利特
EDWARD W. FRENTZ
愛德華·W·芙倫茲
When our country was young, there were hundreds of miles of thick forests and wide plains without a road, a farm, or a city. Boys and girls in those times faced many dangers from Indians and wild animals. You will now read of the strange way in which a boy of those days saved himself from savage wolves.
當我們國家還年輕的時候，數百英里的茂密森林和廣闊平原上曾不見一條公路、一個農場或是一座城市。那時的男人女人們面臨著來自印第安人和野獸的許多危險。下面你將讀到當時的一個男孩用奇怪方法從兇猛的狼群里逃脫出來的故事。
Crossing The Plains
穿越平原
Long ago, when our country was young, thirty or more families started to cross the great plains of the West.
很久以前，在我們國家還年輕的時候，30多個家庭開始穿越西部大平原，
They wanted to make new homes for themselves where land was free and the farming was easier. One of these families had a five-year-old son, whose name was Jonathan Bartlett.
他們要在閑置無主且易于耕作的地方建立新的家園。其中一家有一個五歲大的兒子，他的名字叫喬納森·巴特利特。
Jonathan and his mother and father and all the rest of the people traveled in covered wagons. Each wagon was pulled by two or three pairs of oxen. All together the families made up a procession nearly half a mile long.
喬納森和他的父母以及其他人都乘坐篷車趕路，每輛篷車由兩三對公牛拉著。所有家庭組成了一個近半英里長的隊伍。
Under the wagons hung the kettles and pots and pans in which the travelers cooked their meals by the camp fires. All day long the kettles and pans went cling! clang! clang! tink! tank! as they struck against one another.
篷車下面掛著水壺、鍋碗瓢盆，旅客們用它們在篝火旁做飯。水壺和鍋碰到一起時，整天都鏗鏘鏗鏘、丁當丁當得響。
Sometimes the families slept in the big wagons; but when the weather was pleasant, they spread their blankets on the ground. Then they backed the wagons into a ring about the camp. The men took turns in keeping awake to watch for Indians, and to see that wolves did not get the cattle.
這些家庭有時睡在大篷車里，但天氣好的時候，他們會把毯子鋪在地上睡覺，然后，倒車在營地圍成一個圈。男人們輪流保持清醒，警惕印第安人，并監視狼不會襲擊牛。
Often after supper, as the travelers sat by the blazing camp fire, a sound would rise from somewhere beyond the ring of wagons. It made the children feel so creepy that they would snuggle close to their fathers.
通常晚飯后，旅行者會坐在熊熊燃燒的篝火旁，這時一種聲音會從篷車圈外的某處響起。這讓孩子們感到毛骨悚然，他們會依偎在父親身邊。
This noise was a wild howl, sometimes coming from one side, and sometimes from the other. Soon another howl just like it would begin, and then another, until there were more howls than one could count. The children would shiver and were glad when someone stirred up the fire.
這聲音是狂野的嚎叫，有時來自一邊，有時來自另一邊。不久，又有一聲像開始時的嗥叫，接著又是一聲，嚎叫聲漸漸增多，多得讓人數不過來。孩子們通常會打哆嗦，當有人把火煽旺時，他們會很高興。
Jonathan Bartlett's family were taking their dog Shep with them to the new land. It was funny to see old Shep when the howling began. The first time he heard it, he barked with all his might and rushed out into the darkness. In a few minutes back he rushed, whining, with his tail between his legs.
喬納森·巴特利特一家帶著他們的狗一起到新大陸去。當嚎叫省略開始的時候，老謝普的表現很有趣。它第一次聽到嚎叫聲時，用盡全身力氣尖叫一聲，然后沖到黑暗中去了。幾分鐘后，他沖了過來，尾巴夾在雙腿間。
