美国语文

美国小学课文经典读本

（英汉双语版）

（套装共2册）

［美］威廉·H·麦加菲／主编

天津社会科学院出版社

目　录

前言　让美德根植于孩子的心灵

上册

第一辑

第1课　春天来了

SPRING

第2课　夏日

A SUMMER DAY

第3课　云彩

THE CLOUDS

第4课　风和树叶

THE WIND AND THE LEAVES

第5课　树叶之语

WHAT THE LEAF SAID

第6课　暴风雪

A SNOWSTORM

第7课　小溪

THE LITTLE RILL

第8课　小鸟的晨曲

BIRDIE'S MORNING SONG

第9课　阳春三月

MARCH

第10课　约翰尼遇见的第一场暴风雪

JOHNNY'S FIRST SNOWSTORM

第11课　蜂鸟

HUMMING BIRDS

第12课　浪花

THE WAVES

第13课　暴风雨

THE THUNDERSTORM

第14课　冰山

AN ICEBERG

第15课　英格兰云雀

THE ENGLISH SKYLARK

第16课　围捕野马

CAPTURING THE WILD HORSE

第17课　享受快乐

TAKING COMFORT

第18课　种子的运输与种植

TRANSPORTATION AND PLANTING OF SEEDS

第19课　一幅钢笔画

A PEN PICTURE

第20课　黎明

DAWN

第21课　一场风暴

DESCRIPTION OF A STORM

第22课　纽约酷热的一天

A HOT DAY IN NEW YORK

第23课　约塞米特瀑布

THE FALLS OF THE YOSEMITE

第24课　一次乘坐雪犁

RIDING ON A SNOWPLOW

第25课　家乡旅行小记

A NEW CITY IN COLORADO

第26课　返航

HOMEWARD BOUND

第二辑

第1课　两只狗

TWO DOGS

第2课　王霸鹟

THE KINGBIRD

第3课　剪羊毛

SHEEP SHEARING

第4课　帕蒂和松鼠

PATTY AND THE SQUIRREL

第5课　老虎

THE TIGER

第6课　威利与邦斯

WILLIE AND BOUNCE

第7课　熊和孩子们

THE BEAR AND THE CHILDREN

第8课　鱼鹰

THE FISHHAWK

第9课　讲故事的人

THE STORY TELLER

第10课　猫头鹰

THE OWL

第11课　詹妮的呼唤

JENNY'S CALL

第12课　小白猫

THE WHITE KITTEN

第13课　水獭

THE BEAVER

第14课　鸟类的朋友

BIRD FRIENDS

第15课　给鸟儿自由

THE BIRDS SET FREE

第16课　猴子

THE MONKEY

第17课　狮子

THE LION

第18课　老鹰

THE EAGLE

第19课　马的故事

THE HORSE

第20课　长颈鹿

THE GIRAFFE

第21课　布兰地浅滩

BRANDYWINE FORD

第22课　宠物小鹿

THE PET FAWN

第23课　大象

THE ELEPHANT

第24课　鸟儿趣闻

ANECDOTES OF BIRDS

第25课　鹌鹑

ABOUT QUAIL

第26课　人与动物

MAN AND THE INFERIOR ANIMALS

第27课　旅鸽

THE PASSENGER PIGEON

第28课　雪鸟之歌

THE SNOWBIRD'S SONG

第29课　喜马拉雅山

MOUNTAINS

第三辑

第1课　好兄弟

A KIND BROTHER

第2课　破碎的窗户

THE BROKEN WINDOW

第3课　狼来了

THE WOLF

第4课　哈里和安妮

HARRY AND ANNIE

第5课　寡妇与商人

THE WIDOW AND THE MERCHANT

第6课　寻找失主

FINDING THE OWNER

第7课　知足的男孩

THE CONTENTED BOY

第8课　见风使舵

CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES

第9课　最绅士的报复

THE NOBLEST REVENGE

第10课　善意

GOOD WILL

第11课　小证人

THE YOUNG WITNESS

第12课　河口剧院

RIVERMOUTH THEATER

第13课　阿尔弗雷德大帝

ALFRED THE GREAT

第14课　偷袭纳梅亨

THE ATTACK ON NYMWEGEN

第15课　敢于伸张正义

DARE TO DO RIGHT

第16课　农场里的男孩

A BOY ON A FARM

第17课　别管闲事

DO NOT MEDDLE

第18课　一位传统的姑娘

AN OLD FASHIONED GIRL

第19课　狱中叛乱

REBELLION IN MASSACHUSETTS STATE PRISON

第20课　勒克瑙的解放

THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW

第21课　约翰·亚当斯的演讲

SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS

第22课　纽卡斯尔公爵的故事

ANECDOTE OF THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE

第23课　阿布萨洛姆之死

DEATH OF ABSALOM

第24课　本杰明·富兰克林初到费城

FRANKLIN'S ENTRY INTO PHILADELPHIA

第25课　不要给我王冠

NO CROWN FOR ME

第四辑

第1课　擦鞋童亨利

HENRY, THE BOOTBLACK

第2课　蜜蜂

THE BEE

第3课　妈妈的礼物

MAMMA'S PRESENT

第4课　弗兰克和沙漏

FRANK AND THE HOURGLASS

第5课　可怜的戴维

POOR DAVY

第6课　建筑城堡

CASTLE BUILDING

第7课　年轻的教师

THE YOUNG TEACHER

第8课　铁匠

THE BLACKSMITH

第9课　一分钟的自白

WHAT THE MINUTES SAY

第10课　三只小老鼠

THREE LITTLE MICE

第11课　回声

THE ECHO

第12课　和蔼地说话

SPEAK GENTLY

第13课　七根木棍

THE SEVEN STICKS

第14课　善良的行为

DEEDS OF KINDNESS

第15课　妈妈最喜欢谁

WHICH LOVED BEST

第16课　约翰·卡朋特

JOHN CARPENTER

第17课　玛丽的硬币

MARY'S DIME

第18课　哈瑞和他的狗

HARRY AND HIS DOG

第19课　勤奋的益处

ADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRY

第20课　鲁滨逊·克鲁索的房子

ROBINSON CRUSOE'S HOUSE

第21课　休·爱德尔和托利先生

HUGH IDLE AND MR. TOIL

第22课　最好的资产

THE BEST CAPITAL

第23课　母亲的墓地

MY MOTHER'S GRAVE

第24课　安妮的梦

ANNIE'S DREAM

第25课　优秀的朗诵者

THE GOOD READER

第26课　不满的钟摆

THE DISCONTENTED PENDULUM

第27课　遗嘱

THE WILL

第28课　机械师的归来

THE MACHINIST'S RETURN

第29课　优秀源于勤奋

NO EXCELLENCE WITHOUT LABOR

第30课　孪生兄弟

THE VIRGINIANS

第31课　手套与狮子

THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS

第32课　老师和患病学生

THE TEACHER AND SICK SCHOLAR

第33课　瑞普·凡·温克尔

RIP VAN WINKLE

第34课　劳动

LABOR

第35课　一块小面包

THE LITTLE LOAF

第36课　苏萨和罗弗

SUSIE AND ROVER

第37课　印第安玉米

INDIAN CORN

第38课　要替别人着想

HOLDING THE FORT

下册

第一辑

第1课　黑暗并不可怕

AFRAID IN THE DARK

第2课　勇敢和怯懦

COURAGE AND COWARDICE

第3课　勇敢

TRUE COURAGE

第4课　坚持

PERSEVERANCE

第5课　有志者事竟成

WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY

第6课　真正的男子汉

TRUE MANLINESS

第7课　风暴中的轮船

A SHIP IN A STORM

第8课　老鹰树

THE OLD EAGLE TREE

第9课　鲁滨逊·克鲁索的穿着

ROBINSON CRUSOE'S DRESS

第10课　有毒的虫子

THE VENOMOUS WORM

第11课　食米鸟

THE BOBOLINK

第12课　疯狂的火车司机

THE CRAZY ENGINEER

第13课　微小的胜利

LITTLE VICTORIES

第14课　华盛顿的性格

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON

第15课　威尔是如何逃出矿井的

HOW WILLIE GOT OUT OF THE SHAFT

第二辑

第1课　阳光苏茜

SUSIE SUNBEAM

第2课　争吵

THE QUARREL

第3课　山姆和哈里

SAM AND HARRY

第4课　听爷爷讲故事

GRANDFATHER'S STORY

第5课　贝茜

BESSIE

第6课　花园漫步

A WALK IN THE GARDEN

第7课　美丽的手

BEAUTIFUL HANDS

第8课　微笑

SMILES

第9课　孝顺之子

THE GOOD SON

第10课　好奇的玛格丽

HOW MARGERY WONDERED

第11课　温柔之手

THE GENTLE HAND

第12课　我同情他们

I PITY THEM

第13课　国王查尔斯二世

KING CHARLES II AND WILLIAM PENN

第14课　正直的人永远不会被抛弃

THE RIGHTEOUS NEVER FORSAKEN

第15课　露西·弗洛斯特

LUCY FORESTER

第16课　镇上的水泵

THE TOWN PUMP

第17课　香水月季

THE TEA ROSE

第18课　慷慨的俄罗斯农民

THE GENEROUS RUSSIAN PEASANT

第19课　考多夫人的演讲

MRS. CAUDLE'S LECTURE

第20课　甲鱼汤

TURTLE SOUP

第21课　最好的报复

THE BEST KIND OF REVENGE

第22课　一鸣惊人的艺术家

THE ARTIST SURPRISED

第23课　算命先生

THE FORTUNE TELLER

第24课　对逝者的哀思

SORROW FOR THE DEAD

第25课　北美印第安人

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

第三辑

第1课　扯破的洋娃娃

THE TORN DOLL

第2课　翻船事件

THE BOAT UPSET

第3课　拉尔夫·维克

RALPH WICK

第4课　善良的老人

GOOD OLD MAN

第5课　贪吃的女孩

THE GREEDY GIRL

第6课　逃学的小男孩

THE TRUANT

第7课　闹钟

THE ALARM CLOCK

第8课　竞争

EMULATION

第9课　一切晚矣

BEHIND TIME

第10课　控制你的脾气

CONTROL YOUR TEMPER

第11课　大扫除

HOUSE CLEANING

第12课　先辈的记忆

THE MEMORY OF OUR FATHERS

第四辑

第1课　壁炉旁

THE FIRESIDE

第2课　狐狸和鸭子

THE FOX AND THE DUCKS

第3课　物归原处

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

第4课　风和太阳

THE WIND AND THE SUN

第5课　蝙蝠

BATS

第6课　查理和罗布

CHARLIE AND ROB

第7课　时钟和日晷仪

THE CLOCK AND THE SUNDIAL

第8课　警惕第一次饮酒

BEWARE OF THE FIRST DRINK

第9课　埃米没有赚到的钱

THE MONEY AMY DID IVOT EARN

第10课　学会说“不”

WHEN TO SAY NO

第11课　粗鲁的男孩

THE INSOLENT BOY

第12课　海水为什么是咸的

WHY THE SEA IS SALT

第13课　一个故事，两种说法

TWO WAYS OF TELLING A STORY

第14课　不浪费，就不会缺乏

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

第15课　通往快乐的道路

THE WAY TO BE HAPPY

第16课　我没有捕到的鱼

THE FISH I DIDN'T CATCH

第17课　泼冷水的艺术

THE ART OF DISCOURAGEMENT

第18课　富兰克林的谈吐魅力

COLLOQUIAL POWERS OF FRANKLIN

第五辑

第1课　黄金准则

THE GOLDEN RULE

第2课　称象

WEIGHING AN ELEPHANT

第3课　学会思考

I WILL THINK OF IT

第4课　雷和他的风筝

RAY AND HIS KITE

第5课　苏西的作文

SUSIE'S COMPOSITION

第6课　虚度光阴的后果

CONSEQUENCES OF IDLENESS

第7课　咖啡

COFFEE

第8课　荨麻

THE NETTLE

第9课　正确的办法

THE RIGHT WAY

第10课　知识就是力量

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

第11课　燃烧的地面

BURNING THE FALLOW

第12课　疯子

THE MANIAC

第13课　考试

THE EXAMINATION

第14课　斯奎尔斯

SQUEERS'S METHOD

第15课　哈姆雷特

HAMLET

第16课　机智与才干

TACT AND TALENT

第17课　论读书

STUDIES

第18课　读书的目标

A DEFINITE AIM IN READING

第19课　教育的必要

NECESSITY OF EDUCATION

第20课　洗礼

THE BAPTISM

第21课　哥伦布的性格

CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS

第22课　用自己的脑子配色

WITH BRAINS, SIR

第23课　罗马圆形大剧场

A VIEW OF THE COLOSSEUM

第24课　科学的目标和局限性

OBJECTS AND LIMITS OF SCIENCE

第25课　人是如何推理的

HOW MEN REASON

第26课　太阳的影响

THE INFLUENCES OF THE SUN

第27课　财产的起源

ORIGIN OF PROPERTY

第六辑

第1课　一个温馨祥和的家

EVENING AT HOME

第2课　玛丽的故事

MARY'S STORY

第3课　新天平

THE NEW SCALES

第4课　乔治的晚餐

GEORGE'S FEAST

第5课　山村妹妹

THE MOUNTAIN SISTER

第6课　哈瑞的财富

HARRY'S RICHES

第7课　一幕家庭场面

A HOME SCENE

第8课　一幅人类生活的风景画

A PICTURE OF HUMAN LIFE

第9课　生活的计划

SCHEMES OF LIFE OFTEN ILLUSORY

第10课　哲学家

THE PHILOSOPHER

第11课　保持心情愉快

ON HAPPINESS OF TEMPER

第12课　新年

THE NEW YEAR

是谁造的星星

恼怒的妻子

生存还是毁灭

华盛顿致悼词

丹尼尔·韦伯斯特

南卡莱罗纳

马萨诸诸塞和南卡罗莱纳

战争

上帝是伟大和慈善的

前言　让美德根植于孩子的心灵

亚里士多德说：“幼年时形成的习惯可以改变人的一生。”因此，对所有教育者来讲，重视孩子的道德教育，为他们创造一种良好的道德环境，帮助孩子塑造做人的美德，这是我们的首要责任。没有道德的教育其效果只能是零或负面的。

至于道德的标准，在不同的文化与社会制度下会有不同的答案，但是其中有些准则应该是共性的。如正直、诚实、善良、勇敢、助人、友爱、热爱自然等，这些都是一个有德性的人应该具备的基本美德。

如何将这些德行注入孩子的身心呢？当我们对孩子实施道德教育时，除了制定各种戒律、通过自己的言行、榜样影响他们的行为以外，还有一种很重要的教育方式，那就是道德文字——将道德教育的内容倾注于儿童故事和文学作品中，让孩子在欣赏这些优美感人的作品的同时，从中感受到道德教育的力量。经验表明，这种潜移默化的作用影响孩子的一生。

《麦加菲美国学生美德读本》可谓一本通过道德文字向孩子进行美德教育的优秀范本。编者威廉·麦加菲终身从事教育工作，曾担任几所大学的校长和教授。他在弗吉尼亚大学任职达28年之久（1845～1873），深受学生们的尊敬和爱戴。在他的教育生涯中，一直焕发出一种对生活的热情，正是这一点，使他产生了为孩子们编写读物的念头，因为当时许多垦荒者和欧洲移民的孩子缺乏优良书籍可读。于是在他一生中最有创造性的人生阶段，麦加菲开始编写系列读物，这套读本共7册，从学龄前到小学1～6年级。第1、2级出版于1836年，第3、4级出版于1837年，第5级出版于1844年，第6级于1857年问世。当这一套读物面世时，其销售立即覆盖了美国所有州和地区，被当时的37个州作为教材。它在一个多世纪内影响了几代美国人的心灵，销量高达1.2亿之多，美国《出版周刊》在评选“人类出版史上最畅销的10本书”时，将其列为第三位。此后，这一系列读本不断更新改版，直到现在，这套教材仍是西方儿童喜爱的优秀课外读物，并一直畅销于世。

与其他寓言、童话等道德读本不同的是，本书均选编自西方的名家名篇，如狄更斯、华盛顿·欧文、莎士比亚、爱默生、梭罗等，作品本身就具有很强的文学欣赏性。因此，本书融文学修养与道德教育于一体，让读者在欣赏这些文学名作的同时，感受美德的力量，形成自己的美德观念。《麦加菲读本》原是一套系列教材，中文版在选编时避开了其教材的功能，而侧重于从美德培养的角度，为我国孩子和教育工作者提供一种训练孩子良好德行的读本，撷取原书的核心与精华，将其汇编成一册，并按照美德的基本标准，分为10篇，分别为亲近自然、动物亲情、正直诚实、勤奋友爱、坚毅勇敢、同情善良、自尊自律、交往处世、求知思考、快乐人生。每篇由若干美德故事组成。

本书是众多人集体努力与合作的结晶，由刘双先生策划，并最后统校，参与翻译的译者有：张丽雪、王茜、陈燕茹、赵秀芬等。我们希望本书的问世成为孩子、父母和所有教育工作者的一种福音，并伴随孩子度过他们美好的人生开端！

上册

第一辑

第1课　春天来了

河边的树摇动着它卷边的叶子，柳树也发芽了，小孩子们也都出来玩耍。

小鸟从天空飞过，听！它们叫得多么甜美呀，好像在告诉那些快乐的孩子们，春天来了，我们又回来了。

当你用脚踩上绿油油的草地时，会发现它又滑又软。青蛙也开始在水里跳来跳去，听起来像动人的音乐。

毛茛开着黄花，阳光照耀的草地上，蒲公英到处飞舞。

这里还有许多菊花，小孩子们用柔软的小手摘个不停。

一阵暖风吹过，这边有红色的小草，那边可以看到紫罗兰，哦，那边还有，几个快乐的小孩子在嬉戏！多么美妙的画卷，一定是上帝送给人们的。

（西莉亚·撒克斯特）

SPRING

The alder by the river

Shakes out her powdery curls;

The willow buds in silver

For little boys and girls.

The little birds fly over,

And oh, how sweet they sing!

To tell the happy children

That once again't is Spring.

The gay green grass comes creeping

So soft beneath their feet;

The frogs begin to ripple

A music clear and sweet.

And buttercups are coming,

And scarlet columbine,

And in the sunny meadows

The dandelions shine.

And just as many daisies

As their soft hands can hold,

The little ones may gather,

All fair in white and gold.

Here blows the warm red clover,

There peeps the violet blue;

Oh, happy little children!

God made them all for you.

（Celia Thaxter）

第2课　夏日

天刚破晓，花儿和树都被染成了红色，风把小鸟和蜜蜂叫醒，田野和草地上到处是晶莹的露珠——这是刚刚破晓时的良辰美景。

太阳升起来了，在小溪和光滑的树叶上撒下一片金黄。一根根葡萄藤上，玫瑰花上，黄色的芜莨上，还笼罩着一层薄雾——太阳升起时的景色多么迷人。

河水在流动，像一个骑士，时而在这儿打一个回旋，时而在那儿停留一会儿，然后迅速奔向大海。

雨落下来了，越过屋顶，飘过烟囱，一串串，一滴滴。大树枝弯曲着身子，天空也皱着眉头。

鸟儿唱起了歌：我亲爱的孩子们，你们是我的至爱，我愿永远为你们挡风遮雨，多么美丽的鸟儿呀！

阳光消失了，奶牛低着头，慢慢地走在小路上，萤火虫在小山和田野中闪着亮光。天空慢慢由黄色变为红色，深红色，直至漆黑一片——就这样阳光消失了。

（乔治·库帕）

A SUMMER DAY

This is the way the morning dawns:

Rosy tints on flowers and trees,

Winds that wake the birds and bees,

Dewdrops on the fields and lawns—

This is the way the morning dawns.

This is the way the sun comes up:

Gold on brook and glossy leaves,

Mist that melts above the sheaves,

Vine, and rose, and buttercup—

This is the way the sun comes up.

This is the way the river flows:

Here a whirl, and there a dance;

Slowly now, then, like a lance,

Swiftly to the sea it goes—

This is the way the river flows.

This is the way the rain comes down:

Tinkle, tinkle, drop by drop,

Over roof and chimney top;

Boughs that bend, and skies that frown—

This is the way the rain comes down.

This is the way the birdie sings:

“Baby birdies in the nest,

You I surely love the best;

Over you I fold my wings”—

This is the way the birdie sings.

This is the way the daylight dies:

Cows are lowing in the lane,

Fireflies wink on hill and plain;

Yellow, red, and purple skies—

This is the way the daylight dies.

（George Cooper）

第3课　云彩

云儿在天空中飘来飘去，时而高，时而低。它有时沉进黑沉沉的夜幕中，有时又融入温暖和煦的阳光下。啊！我非常想知道，你是否想做些有用的工作呢？

是的，我们日日夜夜都很忙碌。因为在地球之上，我们有自己的路要走。我们是雨的携带者，我们要为绿草、鲜花和庄稼带去及时雨。在赤日炎炎的夏季，我们保护你们不受强烈阳光的照射。

THE CLOUDS

“Clouds that wander through the sky,

Sometimes low and sometimes high;

In the darkness of the night,

In the sunshine warm and bright.

Ah! I wonder much if you

Have any useful work to do.”

“Yes, we're busy night and day,

As o'er the earth we take our way.

We are bearers of the rain

To the grasses, and flowers, and grain;

We guard you from the sun's bright rays,

In the sultry summer days.”

第4课　风和树叶

“过来吧，小树叶。”一天，风对树叶说，“到草地上来，和我一起玩吧。不过，要穿上你们那红色或金色的衣服，因为夏天已经过去，天气开始变凉了。”

一听到风的大声呼唤，树叶们便轻飘飘地飞了下来。一片，又一片，所有的叶子都飞下来了。在棕色的大地上，它们哼着温柔的曲子，轻舞飞扬。

“再见了，小蟋蟀，我们已经做了这么久的朋友。再见了，小溪，请你唱支送别的歌儿吧，倾诉一下我们的离别之情。啊，我知道你们一定会想念我们的。”

“亲爱的小羊羔，羊妈妈会保护你不受伤害和寒冷的侵袭的。我们也会在山谷和林中的空地上温情地注视着你。告诉我们，你会梦见我们充满爱的凉阴吗？”

树叶一边飞舞着，一边旋转着，就这样离开了。冬天在召唤它们，它们感到了一种满足，很快就在泥土的温床上睡熟了，白雪为它们盖上了一件厚厚的大衣。

（乔治·库帕）

THE WIND AND THE LEAVES

“Come, little leaves,”said the wind one day.

“Come o'er the meadows with me, and play;

Put on your dress of red and gold

Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,

Down they came fluttering, one and all;

Over the brown fields they danced and flew,

Singing the soft little songs they knew.

“Cricket, good by, we've been friends so long;

Little brook, sing us your farewell song,—

Say you are sorry to see us go;

Ah! you will miss us, right well we know. ”

“Dear little lambs, in your fleecy fold,

Mother will keep you from harm and cold;

Fondly we've watched you in vale and glade;

Say, will you dream of our loving shade?”

Dancing and whirling, the little leaves went;

Winter had called them, and they were content.

Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds,

The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.

（George Cooper）

第5课　树叶之语

有那么一次、两次，有人听到一片小树叶在尖叫、叹气，就像柔风吹过时树叶经常所说的那样。

细枝说：“小叶子，你怎么了？”

小叶子回答：“风儿刚才告诉我，有一天他会把我拽下来，扔到地上，让我等死。”

细枝把这些话儿告诉了树枝，树枝又将它们转告给了大树。大树听到这些话，吓得浑身沙沙作响，又把话儿传给了正在瑟瑟发抖的小叶子。

“不要害怕。”它说，“紧紧地抓牢，直到你准备好了后再离开吧。”

于是，小叶子停止了叹息，又继续开心地唱起歌来。整个夏天它都在成长，一直到10月份。当秋天来临时，叶子看到周围所有的树叶都长得非常漂亮，一些呈黄色，还有一些呈绿色，还有许多带着不同颜色的条纹。于是，叶子便问大树这是怎么回事儿。

大树说：“所有这些树叶都已做好了要飞的准备。它们因为高兴而穿上了五颜六色的盛装。”

听了大树的话，小叶子也想要飞走了。当它这样想时，自己也开始变得漂亮起来。但当它为自己穿上彩衣而高兴时，发现树枝并没有穿上鲜艳的衣服。于是叶子问：“哦，树枝，为什么我们都呈漂亮的金黄色，而你还是铅色的呢？”

“我们必须继续穿着自己的工作服。”大树说，“因为我们的工作还没有做完。你们之所以穿上了节日礼服，因为你们的任务现在已经完成了。”

就在这时，一阵微风吹来，还没等叶子想什么就离开了。风儿托着它，在空中飞舞起来。慢慢地，它又轻轻飘落下来，落在篱笆边的草地上，落在成百上千片的叶子当中。它再也没有醒过来，告诉我们它梦到了什么。

WHAT THE LEAF SAID

Once or twice a little leaf was heard to cry and sigh, as leaves often do, when a gentle wind is blowing. And the twig said,“What is the matter, little leaf?”

“The wind,”said the leaf,“just told me that one day it would pull me off, and throw me on the ground to die.”

The twig told it to the branch, and the branch told it to the tree. When the tree heard it, it rustled all over, and sent word back to the trembling leaf.

“Do not be afraid,”it said;“hold on tight, and you shall not go off till you are ready.”

So the leaf stopped sighing, and went on singing and rustling. It grew all the summer long till October. And when the bright days of autumn came, the leaf saw all the leaves around growing very beautiful.

Some were yellow, some were brown, and many were striped with different colors. Then the leaf asked the tree what this meant.

The tree said,“All these leaves are getting ready to fly away, and they have put on these colors because of their joy.”

Then the little leaf began to want to go, and grew very beautiful in thinking of it. When it was gay in colors, it saw that the branches of the tree had no bright colors on them.

So the leaf said,“O branch! why are you lead colored while we are all beautiful and golden?”

“We must keep on our working clothes,”said the tree,“for our work is not yet done; but your clothes are for holidays, because your task is now over.”

Just then a little puff of wind came, and the leaf let go without thinking, and the wind took it up and turned it over and over.

Then it fell gently down under the edge of the fence, among hundreds of leaves, and has never waked to tell us what it dreamed about.

第6课　暴风雪

昨晚，寒冷的北风吹着，满天都是乌云。天上见不到一颗星星，也看不到一片白云。

不久，片片雪花轻轻地飘落下来，像成群的白色小鸟。雪越下越急，一会儿便弥漫了整个天空。雪下得悄无声息，整个晚上都下个不停。

大雪给大地铺上了一层柔软的白毯，给高的绿枞树挂上了美丽的白色羽毛，给矮小的丛林披上了洁白的睡衣。

大雪把路也给封住了，以便让小男孩们可以在发掘新路的过程中找到乐趣。大雪也把旧尖桩栅栏变成了一排士兵，那门柱就像是一名军官，不过他们都成了戴着白帽子的士兵。

一位旧玉米筐被丢弃在篱笆旁，底儿朝天，孩子们用封雪堆起了一座精巧的圆顶小屋。

当他们忙碌地用小雪花堆完其杰作，太阳公公走了过来，想看看他们到底在干些什么。

他一定对所见到的十分愉悦，露出了如此开心而甜美的微笑。整个白色世界金光闪闪，好象是用小星星组成。

谁会想到那乌云又遮住了这些让世界变得如此美丽的小精灵！

A SNOWSTORM

Last night, the cold north wind blew great snow clouds over the sky. Not a star, not a bit of blue sky could be seen.

Soon the tiny flakes floated softly down, like flocks of little white birds. Faster and faster they came, till they filled the air. They made no noise, but they were busy all night long.

They covered all the ground with a soft, white carpet. They hung beautiful plumes on the tall, green firs. The little bushes, they put to sleep in warm nightgowns and caps.

They hid the paths so that the boys might have the fun of digging new ones. They turned the old picket fence into a row of soldiers, and the gate posts into captains, with tall white hats on.

The old corn basket that was left out by the barn, upside down, they made into a cunning little snow house with a round roof.

When the busy little flakes had done their work, the sun came up to see what they had been about.

He must have been pleased with what he saw, for he smiled such a bright, sweet smile, that the whole white world sparkled as if it were made of little stars.

Who would have thought that the black clouds could hide the little fairies that made the earth so beautiful!

第7课　小溪

流啊，流啊，小小的溪流

流淌着的你转动了乡村里的磨

流淌着的你注满了深而清澈的池塘

在林地的树阴下你很凉爽

每逢炎热的夏季

绵羊最喜欢在小溪边走来走去

野鸟爱在溪水中嬉戏

野花盛开在小溪的岸边

流啊，流啊，小小的溪流

绕过岩石，流下山坡

为每个像我一样的孩子歌唱

小鸟也高兴地加入你的行列

我们倾听你的歌唱

你一边歌唱一边流向远方

THE LITTLE RILL

Run, run, thou tiny rill;

Run, and turn the village mill;

Run, and fill the deep, clear pool

In the woodland's shade so cool,

Where the sheep love best to stray

In the sultry summer day;

Where the wild birds bathe and drink,

And the wild flowers fringe the brink.

Run, run, thou tiny rill,

Round the rocks, and down the hill;

Sing to every child like me;

The birds will join you, full of glee:

And we will listen to the song

You sing, your rippling course along.

第8课　小鸟的晨曲

醒一醒，小宝贝，小鸟们都出来了，

而你仍然在巢穴里，

连最懒惰的小鸟也在四处蹦蹦跳跳，

你该起来和它们一块儿玩呀。

醒一醒，小宝贝，醒一醒！

嗷，看看你睡了那么久都错过了什么。

闪亮的露珠，美丽的天空！

你失去的东西，

我在歌中连一半也唱不完。

醒一醒，小宝贝，醒一醒！

我为你唱得已经没了耐性，

当妈妈催你起来时，

别的小鸟已做完它们要做的事，

只有她的吻可以唤醒你，

醒一醒，小宝贝，醒一醒!

（乔治·库帕）

BIRDIE'S MORNING SONG

Wake up, little darling, the birdies are out,

And here you are still in your nest!

The laziest birdie is hopping about;

You ought to be up with the rest.

Wake up, little darling, wake up!

Oh, see what you miss when you

slumber so long—

The dewdrops, the beautiful sky!

I can not sing half what you lose in my song;

And yet, not a word in reply.

Wake up, little darling, wake up!

I've sung myself quite out of patience with you,

While mother bends o'er your dear head;

Now birdie has done all that birdie can do:

Her kisses will wake you instead!

Wake up, little darling, wake up!

（George Cooper）

第9课　阳春三月

在大雪和寒风里，

在严酷的雨丝里，

在我们的脚下，

小小的花儿开始成长。

春天的脚步越来越近，

她满怀喜悦地说：

“亲爱的，你们在这儿吗？”

他们回答：

“我们就要做好准备了，亲爱的。”

“飘雪的冬天又在哪儿呢？

告诉我们，春天。”他们说。

她回答说：“他要走了，

他就要上路了。”

“可怜的老冬天不爱你，

但他横行的日子已成为过去；

很快我的鸟会在你上面歌唱，

让你最终获得自由。”

（玛丽·M·道奇）

MARCH

In the snowing and the blowing,

In the cruel sleet,

Little flowers begin their growing

Far beneath our feet.

Softly taps the Spring, and cheerly,—

“Darlings, are you here?”

Till they answer,“We are nearly,

Nearly ready, dear.”

“Where is Winter, with his snowing?

Tell us, Spring,”they say.

Then she answers,“He is going,

Going on his way.”

“Poor old Winter does not love you;

But his time is past;

Soon my birds shall sing above you;—

Set you free at last.”

（Mary Mapes Dodge）

第10课　约翰尼遇见的第一场暴风雪

约翰尼·里德在6岁时才看到第一场暴风雪。在这之前，他住在一个温暖的小村庄里，太阳照着桔林，田野里也一直散发着迷人的花香。

到他这个年龄时，他得去看望他的祖母了。祖母住在一个冬天会下雪的地方。每当下雪的时候，约翰尼就会站在窗前看雪。

“噢！妈妈。”他高兴地喊着，“快来呀，快来看这些从天堂飞下来的小鸟。”

“它们不是小鸟，约翰尼。”妈妈笑着说。

“那么，是小天使们正在散落他们的羽毛吗！哦！快告诉我，它们是什么！那是糖吗？让我来尝尝吧。”约翰尼说。但是当他尝到那雪时，他不由得打了个寒栗，它实在是太凉了。

“那就是雪，约翰尼。”妈妈告诉他。

“约翰尼，这些雪花是从云彩上掉下来的小水滴。但是它们在经过非常寒冷的空气时，冷空气使它们凝结了，把它们变成雪花降落了下来。”

说着说着，妈妈从一个橱柜里取出了一顶黑帽子。“看，约翰尼！我已经捉到了一片雪花在这顶帽子上，快用放大镜看看它。你会发现它非常漂亮。”

约翰尼透过放大镜看着，发现那颗躺着的羽毛般洁白的雪花，就像一颗可爱的小星星。

“闪闪发光的小星星！”他高兴地嚷道，“噢！我要更多的雪花，妈妈。”

于是，妈妈又接了几片雪花给他，它们都显得那样美丽。

第二天，约翰尼在雪地里尽情地玩耍着。当他回到屋中，他竟情不自禁地说：“我爱雪，我认为雪球比橘子可爱多了。”

JOHNNY'S FIRST SNOWSTORM

Johnny Reed was a little boy who never had seen a snowstorm till he was six years old.

Before this, he had lived in a warm country, where the sun shines down on beautiful orange groves, and fields always sweet with flowers.

But now he had come to visit his grandmother, who lived where the snow falls in winter. Johnny was standing at the window when the snow came down.

“O mamma!”he cried, joyfully,“do come quick, and see these little white birds flying down from heaven.”

“They are not birds, Johnny,”said mamma, smiling.

“Then maybe the little angels are losing their feathers! Oh! do tell me what it is; is it sugar? Let me taste it,”said

Johnny. But when he tasted it, he gave a little jump—it was so cold.

“That is only snow, Johnny,”said his mother.

“What is snow, mother?”

“The snowflakes, Johnny, are little drops of water that fall from the clouds. But the air through which they pass is so cold it freezes them, and they come down turned into snow.”

As she said this, she brought out an old black hat from the closet.“See, Johnny! I have caught a snowflake on this hat. Look quick through this glass, and you will see how beautiful it is.”

Johnny looked through the glass. There lay the pure, feathery snowflake like a lovely little star.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star!”he cried in delight.“Oh! please show me more snow flakes, mother.”

So his mother caught several more, and they were all beautiful.

The next day Johnny had a fine play in the snow, and when he carne in, he said,“I love snow; and I think snowballs are a great deal prettier than oranges.”

第11课　蜂鸟

蜂鸟是世界上最美丽的鸟，它生活在西印度和南美大陆，细小玲珑的脑袋上长着闪闪发光的羽冠，就像戴着五颜六色的王冠。

彩色的羽毛装点着它的前胸，如此光彩夺目。它和其他鸟一样，从一个物体掠过另一个物体，那不像是有生命的东西，倒更像是阳光在闪烁。

也许你会问，为什么叫它蜂鸟呢？因为它在飞的时候，翅膀会迅速扇动，并发出柔和、嗡嗡的声音。它的翅膀扇动得非常快，以至于它在飞的时候你只能看到它们的翅膀。

一天，我在树林中散步时，发现了一个最小的蜂鸟所筑的巢。它大概有一只小鸡蛋的一半那么大，附着在一根比织针还细的嫩树枝上。

它看起来像是由棉絮组成的，上面覆盖着柔软的小树叶和树皮。巢里面有两只蜂鸟蛋，它们相当洁白，每只蛋大概只有小块方糖那么大。

当你接近蜂鸟巢的时候，千万得当心，蜂鸟妈妈可能向你猛冲过来，啄伤你的眼睛。

它那非常锋利的鸟喙可能会对你的眼睛造成严重伤害，甚至使你失明。

这可怜的小东西不知道用其他方法来保护自己的孩子，它的本能告诉自己，你们接近它的目的就是为了带走它的巢。

HUMMING BIRDS

The most beautiful humming birds are found in the West Indies and South America. The crest of the tiny head of one of these shines like a sparkling crown of colored light.

The shades of color that adorn its breast, are equally brilliant. As the bird flits from one object to another, it looks more like a bright flash of sunlight than it does like a living being.

But, you ask, why are they called humming birds? It is because they make a soft, humming noise by the rapid motion of their wings—a motion so rapid, that as they fly you can only see that they have wings.

One day when walking in the woods, I found the nest of one of the smallest humming birds. It was about half the size of a very small hen's egg, and was attached to a twig no thicker than a steel knitting needle.

It seemed to have been made of cotton fibers, and was covered with the softest bits of leaf and bark. It had two eggs in it, quite white, and each about as large as a small sugarplum.

When you approach the spot where one of these birds has built its nest, it is necessary to be careful. The mother bird will dart at you and try to peck your eyes. Its sharp beak may hurt your eyes most severely, and even destroy the sight.

The poor little thing knows no other way of defending its young, and instinct teaches it that you might carry off its nest if you could find it.

第12课　浪花

“我们要去哪里呀？”浪花问深沉的大海妈妈。

“亲爱的孩子，我们要去金黄的沙滩，你要去那里做你的事儿。”

“可我想去玩。”一朵小浪花说，“我想去比赛，看我们谁能跳得最高。”“不行，走吧，我们要出发了。”另一朵比较负责的浪花说，“妈妈说得对，我们还要工作呢。”

“哦，我可不敢去。”还有一朵浪花说，“看看沙堆边那巨大的黑石吧，它一定会把我撕成碎片的，我可不去。”

“拉着我的手吧，妹妹。”那朵比较负责的浪花说，“让我们一起出发吧，你要知道做这类工作有多么的光荣。”

“我们还回到妈妈身边吗？”

“当然了，只要我们把工作做完了就回来。”

于是大家匆忙地出发了。即使那朵最想玩的小浪花也觉得他们的工作才是最有趣的。那朵胆子比较小的浪花也不甘落后，奋勇地奔向沙滩。

第一次，他们是第一次来到这幢美丽的沙滩城堡。扑通！扑通！他们都冲了过来。“噢，太有趣了。”他们叫道。

“妈妈让我带了一些海藻来，我要给它们找一个好的安家之所。”一朵浪花在岸边跑了好远，把海藻留在了浅水的鹅卵石上。鹅卵石嚷道：“欢迎你们的到来，我正想洗澡呢。”

“妈妈让我带来一些海贝，我不知道该放在哪里？”一朵起着波纹的小浪花说。“把他们一个挨一个放到沙地上吧，不要摔坏了。”一朵年纪最大的浪花说。

小浪花做着自己的工作，把海贝轻轻地放到地上，小心极了，生怕摔坏一个。

“我做什么呢？”一朵身材高大的浪花说，“这和玩差不多嘛，小个子都能轻松地做完这些工作。妈妈还说这是我的工作呢？！”它冲上了岸边那巨大的岩石。

穿过岩石，它来到一个小池子里，听到鱼儿说：“海水来了。真的，太感激你了，亲爱的大海，你总是在暴风雨来的时候给我们送来巨大的浪花。也感谢你，可爱的浪花，我们在这里挺好的。”

这时，浪花全都回到了岸边，它们累了，慢慢地退了回来。

“我的贝壳全都完好无损。”一朵说。

“我的海藻也留到了上面。”另一朵说。

“我给所有的鹅卵石都洗了澡。”第三朵说。

“我——冲过了岸边的岩石，来到一个小池里。”那个曾经想去做点大事的浪花说，“我没有做好，妈妈，那里没有什么事情可做。”

“安静一下，孩子们。”大海说话了。这时他们听到一个在岸上走的小男孩说：“妈妈，海水都已经漫过来了！看，沙滩又干净又漂亮，连小池里的水也清澈无比。”

这时大海说：“听！”远远的，他们听见了风呜咽的声音，暴风雨要来了。

“回来吧，我亲爱的孩子们。”大海妈妈说，“你们已经完成了你们的任务。现在让暴风雨去做他该做的事吧。”

THE WAVES

“Where are we to go?”said the little waves to the great, deep sea.

“Go, my darlings, to the yellow sands: you will find work to do there.”

“I want to play,”said one little wave;“I want to see who can jump the highest.”

“No; come on, come on,”said an earnest wave;“mother must be right. I want to work.”

“Oh, I dare not go,”said another;“look at those great, black rocks close to the sands; I dare not go there, for they will tear me to pieces.”

“Take my hand, sister,”said the earnest wave;“let us go on together. How glorious it is to do some work.”

“Shall we ever go back to mother?”“Yes, when our work is done.”

So one and all hurried on. Even the little wave that wanted to play, pressed on, and thought that work might be fun after all. The timid ones did not like to be left behind, and they became earnest as they got nearer the sands.

After all, it was fun, pressing on one after another—jumping, laughing, running on to the broad, shining sands.

First, they came in their course to a great sand castle. Splash, splash! they all went over it, and down it came.“Oh, what fun!”they cried.

“Mother told me to bring these seaweeds; I will find a pretty place for them,”said one—and she ran a long way over the sands, and left them among the pebbles. The pebbles cried,“We are glad you are come. We wanted washing.”

“Mother sent these shells; I don't know where to put them,”said a little fretful wave.“Lay them one by one on the sand, and do not break them,”said the eldest wave.

And the little one went about its work, and learned to be quiet and gentle, for fear of breaking the shells.

“Where is my work?”said a great, full grown wave.“this is mere play. The little ones can do this and laugh over it. Mother said there was work for me.”And he came down upon some large rocks.

Over the rocks and into a pool he went, and he heard the fishes say,“The sea is coming. Thank you, great sea; you always send a big wave when a storm is nigh. Thank you, kind wave; we are all ready for you now.”

Then the waves all went back over the wet sands, slowly and carelessly, for they were tired.

“All my shells are safe,”said one.

And,“My seaweeds are left behind,”said another.

“I washed all of the pebbles,”said a third.

“And I—I only broke on a rock, and splashed into a pool,”said the one that was so eager to work.“I have done no good, mother—no work at all”

“Hush!”said the sea. And they heard a child that was walking on the shore, say,“O mother, the sea has been here! Look, how nice and clean the sand is, and how clear the water is in that pool.”

Then the sea, said,“Hark!”and far away they heard the deep moaning of the coming storm.

“Come, my darlings,”said she;“you have done your work, now let the storm do its work.”

第13课　暴风雨

旅程的第二天，他们来到海兰德。海兰德是纽约一个多山区域，与皮克斯基尔的哈德逊河相接。这是一个寂静、闷热的下午，他们随着海浪的起伏，在峻峭的群山间漂浮。在夏日的炙烤下，万物沉寂无声。木板的转动声，或是船桨偶尔碰在甲板上的声音，都在群山间引起回荡，回声沿着海岸一遍遍激荡着。而且每次船长喊出一道指令之后，好像无数无形的舌头就会从每处悬崖中伸出来，重复着他刚才的话。

道尔夫瞪大眼睛四处张望，默默地欣赏着大自然的奇观，品味其中的愉悦和奇妙。左边，顿德斯堡高耸着树木茂密的峭壁，一层高过一层，树林层层叠叠，直抵高远的夏日天际。右边，矗立着安东尼岬顿德堡和安东尼岬是海兰德两个山峰的名字。一只孤独的雄鹰正展翅飞过。远处，山峦叠嶂，绵延起伏。

这时，道尔夫注意到一堆明亮、雪白的云朵，在西山顶上向他窥望着。云朵一层压着一层，每一层都好像将前面的一层用力往前推着，最上面的一直垒进茫茫的蓝天里。隐约可以听到群山后面雷声滚滚。水面刚才还像镜子一样平静光滑，倒映着蓝天和高山，这时也被一阵风吹起暗色的波浪。鱼鹰盘旋鸣叫着，飞上干燥的树顶栖息。乌鸦乱作一团，飞向岩石的缝隙。自然界的万物都意识到，一场暴风雨就要来临了。

山顶的云朵这时聚做一团，虽然云尖还是明亮雪白的，但其余的地方已经是泼墨般乌黑。大颗雨点没头没脑地砸下来，风儿清新，卷起浪花。不久，厚厚的云朵好像被尖耸的山峰刺穿了一样，大雨倾泻而下。闪电在云层之间滚来滚去，岩石都跟着颤抖起来，林中的树木也东摇西摆。雷声接踵而至，在群山中回响着。它们先冲上了顿德堡，又沿着山间隘路上了海兰德，沿途在每个山头都留下了新的回声，老布尔山布尔山，也称作多拉斯山，在北方15英里。也向暴风雨吠叫着。

有一段时间，疾风、迷雾和倾盆大雨遮蔽了眼前的一切。四周是一片让人恐惧的昏暗，大雨中不时闪耀的闪电更让人心惊。道尔夫还从未见识过如此狂暴的自然界，就好像暴雨在山崖中撕开一道裂缝，并且汇集了所有天堂的武器开始作战。

（华盛顿·欧文）

华盛顿·欧文（1783～1859年），著名作家，其作品在美国文学中占有重要地位。他出生于纽约市，接受了普通学校教育，19岁时为他兄弟的报纸写文章，从此开始了文学生涯。他的第一本书《杂录》出版于1807年。两年后他出版了《纽约的早期历史》。1815年，他到了欧洲，并在那里度过了17年，其间完成了几部著作。1842年到1846年，他担任西班牙大臣。他生命的最后时光在纽约塔利顿附近的“萨尼塞德”（意为光明的地方）度过。他终生未婚，《华盛顿的生活》是他后期的作品，同年去世。欧文先生的作品幽默、朴素、优美，表达准确。本文选自《布雷斯布里奇大厅》。

THE THUNDERSTORM

In the second day of the voyage, they came to the Highlands. It was the latter part of a calm, sultry day, that they floated gently with the tide between these stern mountains. There was that perfect quiet which prevails over nature in the languor of summer heat. The turning of a plank, or the accidental falling of an oar, on deck, was echoed from the mountain side and reverberated along the shores; and, if by chance the captain gave a shout of command, there were airy tongues that mocked it from every cliff.

Dolph gazed about him, in mute delight and wonder, at these scenes of nature's magnificence. To the left, the Dunderberg reared its woody precipices, height over height, forest over forest, away into the deep summer sky. To the right, strutted forth the bold promontory of Antony's Nose, with a solitary eagle wheeling about it; while beyond, mountain succeeded to mountain, until they seemed to lock their arms together and confine this mighty rive in their embraces.

In the midst of this admiration, Dolph remarked a pile of bright, snowy clouds peering above the western heights. It was succeeded by another, and another, each seemingly pushing onward its predecessor, and towering, with dazzling brilliancy, in the deep blue atmosphere; and now muttering peals of thunder were faintly heard rolling behind the mountains. The river, hitherto still and glassy, reflecting pictures of the sky and land, now showed a dark ripple at a distance, as the wind came creeping up it. The fishhawks wheeled and screamed, and sought their nests on the high, dry trees; the crows flew clamorously to the crevices of the rocks; and all nature seemed conscious of the approaching thunder gust.

The clouds now rolled in volumes over the mountain tops; their summits still bright and snowy, but the lower parts of an inky blackness. The rain began to patter down in broad and scattered drops; the wind freshened, and curled up the waves; at length, it seemed as if the bellying clouds were torn open by the mountain tops, and complete torrents of rain came rattling down. The lightning leaped from cloud to cloud, and streamed quivering against the rocks, splitting and rending the stoutest forest trees. The thunder burst in tremendous explosions; the peals were echoed from mountain to mountain; they crashed upon Dunderberg, and then rolled up the long defile of the Highlands, each headland making a new echo, until old Bull Hill seemed to bellow back the storm.

For a time the scudding rack and mist and the sheeted rain almost hid the landscape from the sight. There was a fearful gloom, illumined still more fearfully by the streams of lightning which glittered among the raindrops. Never had Dolph beheld such an absolute warring of the elements; it seemed as if the storm was tearing and rending its way through the mountain defile, and had brought all the artillery of heaven into action.

（Washing Irving）

第14课　冰山

我们刚刚路过一群冰山中的一个，觉得非常有趣。它像一只巨大的北极熊，静卧于一个倒立的锥形上，这个倒立的锥形像一只扭曲的贝壳，随着海水慢慢转动。透过满溢的、像空气一样澄净的绿色海水，我们看到它层叠、嶙峋的底部。

这只北极熊足有10英尺高，不停地被湍急的小浪头拍打着。首先，一个浪头打在它的屁股上，扫过他的尾巴和双腿，退回海里。马上，一个更大的浪头又起来了，猛击它的后背，似乎一下就能将他击倒。但是，北极熊还是矗立着，只是缎子似的皮毛更光滑洁白了。

布鲁因掉过头，想从正面看看这个大胆的攻击者。这时这个无赖又形成了一个巨大的浪窝，准备再发出一击。一个巨大的浪头马上就要击中他了。浪头的威力巨大，形成了一团银色的水雾，洒在北极熊的鬃毛上，使它更明亮了。浪头过后，白色的泡沫喷涌而起，海浪掉转头，也急忙跑回自己的栖息之所。

小浪一点也不停歇。它们一起从四面八方冲过来，朝着共同的敌人，好像它们在水下已经商量好了似的，一起冲上前去，怒吼震天，泡沫飞溅，猛烈地振颤着北极熊，好像要让他四分五裂，变成碎片。但是我们错了！虽然浪儿在刹那间剧烈地奔涌，但是并没有伤害到布鲁因。随着银绿色的海浪退回海中，刚才的低鸣、浪尖和浪窝也都渐渐消失，这景象可以与最精美的雕塑媲美。大自然不仅向我们展示她那线条细腻、光影协调的石雕作品，还为它们涂上颜色。她可不是素描画家，她的画笔五颜六色。在描绘她的珍宝和天空时，毫不犹豫地用了鸽灰、祖母绿和天蓝色。

我们尽量向巨大的冰山靠拢。让我们非常高兴的是，我们本来希望发生的、刚刚看到的景象，在这里也发生着：猛烈的爆炸声，伴随着冰屑的溅落，然后是瀑布似的轰鸣和被高高掀起的海水，优美地滚动着，浪尖上覆盖着银光闪闪的泡沫。如果可能的话，请想象一下观者的感受：高耸的冰崖，吱吱爆裂，以可怕的气势向我们砸来。

长长的水线沉到深色的海里，白瓷一样的峭壁和玻璃般光滑的雕塑也沉了下去。另一些雕塑和峭壁浮了上来，盐水形成的一圈圈印记也浮上了水面，陌生的东西也浮了上来——峭壁、凹壁、凸块。它们浮得越来越高，沟壑处淌着泡沫组成的细流。冰峰、冰脊、冰尖什么的，隐约对望着。现在它停止翻滚，又开始吱吱作响了。冰山开始翻滚时，发出霹雷一样的怒吼，像炸药爆炸一样，飞溅出无数碎片。这个场面真是壮观极了。人们无法表达他们的感情，只是疯狂地大声欢呼着。

（露易斯·L·诺贝尔）

露易斯·L·诺贝尔（1813～1882年），出生于纽约奥瑟戈乡村。他12岁时，全家迁到密歇根的山林里。父亲去世后，他又回到纽约学习神学，1840年担任神职。约在这时，他发表了第一部作品——两首诗，描写了两个印度人之间的罗曼史。诺波先生在北加利福尼亚州生活过一段时间，又在哈德逊河的加斯基尔度过了一段时光，他在这时与艺术家科尔成了好朋友。科尔去世时，他为其写作回忆录。他的其他作品还有《时光与其他诗歌》、《与画家一起看冰山》。

AN ICEBERG

We have just passed a fragment of some one of the surrounding icebergs that had amused us. It bore the resemblance of a huge polar bear, reposing upon the base of an inverted cone, with a twist of a seashell, and whirling slowly round and round. The ever attending green water, with its aerial clearness, enabled us to see its spiral folds and horns as they hung suspended in the deep.

The bear, a ten foot mass in tolerable proportion, seemed to be regularly beset by a pack of hungry little swells. First, one would take him on the haunch, then whip back into the sea over his tail and between his legs. Presently a bolder swell would rise and pitch into his back with a ferocity that threatened instant destruction. It only washed his satin fleece the whiter.

While Bruin was turning to look the daring assailant in the face, the rogue had pitched himself back into his cave. No sooner that, than a very bulldog of a billow would attack him in the face. The serenity with which the impertinent assault was borne was complete. It was but a puff of silvery dust, powdering his mane with fresher brightness. Nothing would be left of bull but a little froth of all the foam displayed in the fierce onset. He too would turn and scud into his hiding place.

Persistent little waves! After a dash, singly, all around, upon the common enemy, as if by some silent agreement underwater, they would all rush on at once, with their loudest roar and shaggiest foam, and overwhelm poor bear so completely that nothing less might be expected than to behold him broken in four quarters, and floating helplessly asunder. Mistaken spectators! Although, by his momentary rolling and plunging, he was evidently aroused, yet neither Bruin nor his burrow was at all the worse for all the wear and washing.

The deep fluting, the wrinkled folds, and cavities, over and through which the green and silvery water rushed back into the sea, rivaled the most exquisite sculpture. And nature not only gives her marbles, with the finest lines, the most perfect lights and shades, she colors them also. She is no monochromist, but polychroic, imparting such touches of dove tints, emerald, and azure as she bestows upon her gems and skies.

We are bearing up under the big berg as closely as we dare. To our delight, what we have been wishing and watching for is actually taking place: loud explosions, with heavy falls of ice, followed by the cataract like roar, and the high, thin seas, wheeling away beautifully crested with sparkling foam. If it is possible, imagine the effect upon the beholder: this precipice of ice, with tremendous cracking, is falling toward us with a majestic and awful motion.

Down sinks the long water line into the black deep; down go the porcelain crags and galleries of glassy sculpture—a speechless and awful baptism. Now it pauses, and returns: up rise sculptures and crags streaming with the shining white brine; up comes the great encircling line, followed by things new and strange—crags, niches, balconies, and caves; up, up, it rises, higher and higher still, crossing the very breast of the grand ice, and all bathed with rivulets of gleaming foam. Over goes the summit, ridge, pinnacles, and all, standing off obliquely in the opposite air. Now it pauses in its upward roll: back it comes again, cracking, cracking, cracking,“groaning out harsh thunder”as it comes, and threatening to burst, like a mighty bomb, into millions of glittering fragments. The spectacle is terrific and magnificent. Emotion is irrepressible, and peals of wild hurrah burst forth from all.

第15课　英格兰云雀

总的来说，世界上没有一种鸟儿与英格兰云雀的声音和心灵一样美妙。正是因为如此，英格兰云雀成了所有有翅膀的东西里最甜美、最快乐、最受欢迎的歌唱家，就像上帝宠爱的天堂里的天使一样。当它冲上云霄，唱起歌来的时候，简直就是欢乐的化身。

在大地上，它胆怯、沉默、害羞，好像对周围感到非常陌生，不知道自己是不是应该待在这儿。而且它看上去又是那么普通，既没有漂亮的羽毛，也没有出众的特征可以吸引别人的注意。上帝造就它，似乎只是为了让我们倾听它一展歌喉，而不是欣赏它的外表。

它的使命就是音乐。它一天中能在天空中飞出上千英里。这个快乐的化身抖动着浑身的斑点，在清晨和夜晚的空气中嘁嘁喳喳，欢快地啼鸣着。它不像老鹰或其它觅食的鸟儿一样盘旋上升，而是像人类的热望一样直上云霄。

它拍拍翅膀，一下就在你的视线中消失，就好像是被它自己快乐的心灵感染了一样。显然，它飞翔的唯一目的就是要释放这一热烈的狂想曲。正是因为这个原因，它被这么多人所喜爱。它是与人类最相近的会歌唱的精灵，它的呼吸本身就如同音乐一样动听。它甜蜜的颤音，是它欢乐生命的韵律。它唱着歌儿，飞越村落的屋顶，好像在指导人类怎样让自己的心灵也向天堂飞去。

造物主竟然把这样响亮的嗓音，安置在这样娇小的身躯里。这真神奇——几乎是奇迹。在某一安静的时刻，你听到它在一英里之外歌唱。然后，它玲珑的身躯消失在阳光的朦胧之中，它的歌声如此清晰，就好像它是在你的窗边歌唱一样。

（艾里胡·巴黎特）

艾里胡·巴黎特（1810～1879年），这位“博学的铁匠”生于康涅狄格州的新不列颠。他的父亲是一位鞋匠。他只在当地的学校接受过非常有限的教育，1827年做了一名铁匠学徒。在学徒期间，他努力自学。他在这一行做了很多年，每天工作10～12个小时，但是竟在这段时期掌握了好几种古代和当代语言。他做过翻译，作品出版在《美国综合选集》中。1844年，他开始出版《基督教公民》。他的代表性文学作品包括《安维尔的光芒》、《锻造厂的声音》、《平和散文》和《去约翰·欧戈罗特家的路上》。本文选自最后一本书。

THE ENGLISH SKYLARK

Take it in all, no bird in either hemisphere equals the English lark in heart or voice, for both unite to make it the sweetest, the happiest, the welcomest singer that was ever winged, like the high angels of God's love. It is the living ecstasy of joy when it mounts up into its“glorious privacy of light.”

On the earth it is timid, silent, and bashful, as if not at home, and not sure of its right to be there at all. It is rather homely withal, having nothing in feather, feature, or form to attract notice. It is seemingly made to be heard, not seen, reversing the old axiom addressed to children when getting noisy.

Its mission is music, and it floods a thousand acres of the blue sky with it several times a day. Out of that palpitating speck of living joy there wells forth a sea of twittering ecstasy upon the morning and evening air. It does not ascend by gyrations, like the eagle and birds of prey. It mounts up like a human aspiration.

It seems to spread its wings and to be lifted straight upwards out of sight by the afflatus of its own happy heart. To pour out this in undulating rivulets of rhapsody is apparently the only motive of its ascension. This it is that has made it so loved of all generations.

It is the singing angel of man's nearest heaven, whose vital breath is music. Its sweet warbling is only the metrical palpitation of its life of joy. It goes up over the rooftrees of the rural hamlet on the wings of its song, as if to train the human soul to trial flights heavenward.

Never did the Creator put a voice of such volume into so small a living thing. It is a marvel—almost a miracle. In a still hour you can hear it at nearly a mile's distance. When its form is lost in the hazy lace work of the sun's rays above, it pours down upon you all the thrilling semitones of its song as distinctly as if it were warbling to you in your window.

第16课　围捕野马

我们大约早上8点离开了水牛的栖息地，经过两个小时充满艰辛的长途跋涉翻过了山脊。整个山脊都杂乱地覆盖着高高低低的橡树林，深深的峡谷把它划得支离破碎。

早上10点左右，我们脚下崎岖的山路变得平缓起来，一直向下延伸直至一个山谷，在那里静静流淌着红河的北部支流。沿着山脚向前有一片约半英里宽、两三英里长的美丽草地，在秋日黄色花朵的点缀下显得分外美丽。河对面的岸边围着高耸的白杨树，它那一簇簇明亮的叶子让我们因为长时间凝视那荒芜的棕色树林而疲惫不堪的眼睛为之一振。

各种各样的丛林和灌木分布恰到好处，使得草地显得丰富多彩，看起来像是经过艺术之手精心布置过似的。当我们的眼睛流连于这片清新美丽的山谷时，我们发现一群野马正在右边约一英里外的绿色草地上安静地吃着草。与此同时，我们的左边约一英里外有一些水牛，有些在吃草，其他的则在白杨树阴下的肥美牧草中美美地打着盹或是细细地咀嚼食物。整个看起来就像是某位高雅的农场主精心装点过的牧场，如此的广阔美丽，还有成群的牛马在草地上自在地吃着草。

眼下正在召开一场有关战争的会议。在如此有利的条件下，我们一定可以有所收获。我们决定试一试名为“围捕野马”的伟大捕猎策略。这要求一大队装备齐全的骑马人彼此相距一定的距离，向各个方向跑出去，直至逐渐形成一个周长二到三英里的包围圈，从而把猎物团团围住。做这一切都必须非常小心，因为野马是这草原上警惕性最高的动物，如果顺风，在很远以外他们就能嗅到捕猎者的气味。

包围圈正在形成，两三个人向已经开始向另一方向移动的马群骑去。只要野马靠近包围圈的边缘，一个捕猎者就会出现，并把马匹赶回去。这样野马前进的路线就会受到阻碍，它们在每个方向都会被赶回来，只能在这个神奇的圈子里不停地狂奔，直至筋疲力尽。这时对于捕猎者来说，骑上马背用缰绳套住它们的头就十分容易了。然而，拥有最快速度、最大勇气和最好体力的头等马往往可以冲出重围逃之夭夭，所以，捉到的大多是二等马。

我们现在就在为这样的捕猎做着准备，把背着包裹的马匹牵进树林里，牢牢地拴在树干上，以免一会儿它们在混乱中挣脱逃走。然后，25个人在一名中尉的指挥下，在山脚下狭长的树林地带里沿着山谷边缘偷偷地开始行动了。每50码会安排一名捕猎者，他们必须藏在树林的边上，直到野马朝这个方向冲过来他们才能出现或采取行动。另外25个人去了山谷的另一边，在对面以同样的方法沿着河岸埋伏在树林里。

相同人数的第三队人马将会形成一条一直延伸至山谷低处的防线，这样就可以把两翼连接起来。比德和我们另外一名混血儿安东尼，连同总是爱管闲事的多尼斯将会穿过树林形成一个环线到达山谷的高处，这样就可以在野马的后方把它们赶进我们布好的口袋里。同时，两翼也应该参与进来，形成一个完整的包围圈。

侧翼部队已经悄悄地部署在山谷的两边，从视野中消失了。剩下的人也跑到自己合适的位置作为包围圈中必要的连接。这时，野马好像也闻到了身旁有敌人存在，使劲地嗅着空气，喷着响鼻，四处张望。最后，它们跳跃着慢慢地向河边走去，在绿色的岸边后面消失了。

此时，按照刚才提到的围捕规则，树林中埋伏着的一名捕猎者将会不声不响地出来阻断马匹的去路，并把它们赶回来。然而不幸的是，我们的法国小子成了害群之马。他本该安静地守护在山谷的右上方，居高临下包围野马，可他一看到野马向河边移动就跳出了树林的掩护，疯狂地跑过草地追逐着野马。这下我们所有的布置都完蛋了。混血儿们和10名包围圈里的捕猎者也加入了这场追逐之中。

他们都越过了绿色的河岸。过了一会儿，野马群又出现了，轰隆隆地向山谷下奔去。那些法国小子、混血儿和骑在马上的捕猎者都跟在后面疾驰，嘴里还大声咆哮着。在山谷中横向布置的那道防线试图阻止马群前进，并把那些急着逃命的家伙赶回去，但一切都是徒劳。野马们被捕猎者们追得太紧了，惊慌失措拚命向前狂奔，冲破了防线，呼啦啦地跑下了草地。

所有的人都参与了这场惊天动地的急匆匆的追捕。一些捕猎者没有戴帽子，头发在耳际飞扬，另一些则在额头上扎着头巾。刚才还在牧草中悠闲咀嚼食物的水牛们此时费劲儿地支撑起他们庞大的身躯，盯着草原上正发生的这场骚乱看了一会儿，然后调转头去艰难地开始逃亡，整个大地似乎都在震颤。然而很快捕猎者们就追上了它们。山谷渐渐变窄，那乱哄哄的一群牛马不得不挤成一团向前奔去。一时间，野水牛、野马、狂野的捕猎者们飞奔着，疾驰着，叫嚷着，相互招呼着，哗啦啦轰隆隆的声音响彻整个树林。

最后，水牛们调转方向，向河岸上的绿色矮丛林奔去，而野马群则在捕猎者的步步紧逼之下冲上了山上的一条窄道。比德看了几匹马，目光停留在一匹上等的波尼马身上，那匹马的耳朵已经撕裂，背上还有马鞍的痕迹。比德大胆地紧紧追着它，但还是在树林里不见了它的踪迹。

在野马群中有一匹上等的黑色母马，在攀爬那窄窄的山道时失足跌落了下来。一名年轻的捕猎者从自己的马上跳过去，抓着它的鬃毛给它带上了口套。另一名捕猎者也跳下马来帮忙。那匹母马拚命挣扎，又踢又咬，疯狂地扬着前足，但它的头上已套有一个套索，所有的挣扎都无济于事了。

然而，过了好久，这匹母马才慢慢平静下来，不再前冲后踢，左右开弓。两名捕猎者这才领着它沿着山谷向前走，但他们手中都牵着结实的套索和缰绳，这样就可以在两边和它保持一定的距离以免被其蹄子踢中。一旦母马向一面发动袭击，另一面的人就可以猛拉缰绳把它控制住。这样它的坏性子渐渐平复了。

至于因自己的仓促急躁而坏了大局的多尼斯，他拿到的可比应得的多。他成功地抓到了一匹奶油色小雄驹，它大概只有7个月，还没有足够的力量跟上同伴。这活泼的法国小子可乐坏了。看到他和他的战利品在一起真是很有趣。小马驹又踢又拱，挣扎着想获得自由，而多尼斯则抓住它的脖子，和它玩起了摔跤，或是跳上马背，像猴子逗小猫一样做出各种各样的滑稽动作。

然而，最让我惊讶的是，我亲眼目睹了这些可怜的动物就这样离开了无拘无束的草原生活，屈服于人的统治。两三天后，那匹母马和小马驹就十分驯服地和领队的马匹一起前进了。

（华盛顿·欧文）

CAPTURING THE WILD HORSE

We left the buffalo camp about eight o'clock, and had a toilsome and harassing march of two hours, over ridges of hills covered with a ragged forest of scrub oaks, and broken by deep gullies.

About ten o'clock in the morning we came to where this line of rugged hills swept down into a valley, through which flowed the north fork of Red River. A beautiful meadow, about half a mile wide, enameled with yellow, autumnal flowers, stretched for two or three miles along the foot of the hills, bordered on the opposite side by the river, whose banks were fringed with cottonwood trees, the bright foliage of which refreshed and delighted the eye, after being wearied by the contemplation of monotonous wastes of brown forest.

The meadow was finely diversified by groves and clumps of trees, so happily dispersed that they seemed as if set out by the hand of art. As we cast our eyes over this fresh and delightful valley, we beheld a troop of wild horses quietly grazing on a green lawn, about a mile distant, to our right, while to our left, at nearly the same distance, were several buffaloes; some feeding, others reposing, and ruminating among the high, rich herbage, under the shade of a clump of cottonwood trees. The whole had the appearance of a broad, beautiful tract of pasture land, on the highly ornamented estate of some gentleman farmer, with his cattle grazing about the lawns and meadows.

A council of war was now held, and it was determined to profit by the present favorable opportunity, and try our hand at the grand hunting maneuver which is called“ringing the wild horse.”This requires a large party of horsemen, well mounted. They extend themselves in each direction, at a certain distance apart, and gradually form a ring of two or three miles in circumference, so as to surround the game. This must be done with extreme care, for the wild horse is the most readily alarmed inhabitant of the prairie, and can scent a hunter a great distance, if to windward.

The ring being formed, two or three ride toward the horses, which start off in an opposite direction. Whenever they approach the bounds of the ring, however, a huntsman presents himself, and turns them from their course. In this way they are checked, and driven back at every point, and kept galloping round and round this magic circle, until, being completely tired down, it is easy for hunters to ride up beside them and throw the lariat over their heads. The prime horses of the most speed, courage, and bottom, however, are apt to break through and escape, so that, in general, it is the second rate horses that are taken.

Preparations were now made for a hunt of this kind. The pack horses were now taken into the woods and firmly tied to trees, lest in a rush of the wild horses they should break away. Twenty five men were then sent under the command of a lieutenant to steal along the edge of the valley within the strip of wood that skirted the hills. They were to station themselves about fifty yards apart, within the edge of the woods, and not advance or show themselves until the horses dashed in that direction. Twenty five men were sent across the valley to steal in like manner along the river bank that bordered the opposite side, and to station themselves among the trees.

A third party of about the same number was to form a line, stretching across the lower part of the valley, so as to connect the two wings. Beatte and our other half breed, Antoine, together with the ever officious Tonish, were to make a circuit through the woods so as to get to the upper part of the valley, in the rear of the horses, and drive them forward into the kind of sack that we had formed, while the two wings should join behind them and make a complete circle.

The flanking parties were quietly extending themselves out of sight, on each side of the valley, and the residue were stretching themselves like the links of a chain across it, when the wild horses gave signs that they scented an enemy; snuffing the air, snorting, and looking about. At length they pranced off slowly toward the river, and disappeared behind a green bank.

Here, had the regulations of the chase been observed, they would have been quietly checked and turned back by the advance of a hunter from among the trees. Unluckily, however, we had our wildfire, Jack o' lantern little Frenchman to deal with. Instead of keeping quietly up the right side of the valley, to get above the horses, the moment he saw them move toward the river he broke out of the covert of woods and dashed furiously across the plain in pursuit of them. This put an end to all system. The half breeds, and half a score of rangers, joined in the chase.

A way they all went over the green bank. In a moment or two the wild horses reappeared, and came thundering down the valley, with Frenchman, half breeds, and rangers galloping and bellowing behind them. It was in vain that the line drawn across the valley attempted to check and turn back the fugitives; they were too hotly pressed by their pursuers: in their panic they dashed through the line, and clattered down the plain.

The whole troop joined in the headlong chase, some of the rangers without hats or caps, their hair flying about their ears, and others with handkerchiefs tied round their heads. The buffaloes, which had been calmly ruminating among the herbage, heaved up their huge forms, gazed for a moment at the tempest that came scouring down the meadow, then turned and took to heavy, rolling flight. They were soon overtaken; the promiscuous throng were pressed together by the contracting sides of the valley, and away they went, pellmell, hurry skurry, wild buffalo, wild horse, wild huntsman, with clang and clatter, and whoop and halloo, that made the forests ring.

At length the buffaloes turned into a green brake, on the river bank, while the horses dashed up a narrow defile of the hills, with their pursuers close to their heels. Beatte passed several of them, having fixed his eye upon a fine Pawnee horse that had his ears slit and saddle marks upon his back. He pressed him gallantly, but lost him in the woods.

Among the wild horses was a fine black mare, which in scrambling up the defile tripped and fell. A young ranger sprang from his horse and seized her by the mane and muzzle. Another ranger dismounted and came to his assistance. The mare struggled fiercely, kicking and biting, and striking with her fore feet, but a noose was slipped over her head, and her struggles were in vain.

It was some time, however, before she gave over rearing and plunging, and lashing out with her feet on every side. The two rangers then led her along the valley, by two strong lariats, which enabled them to keep at a sufficient distance on each side to be out of the reach of her hoofs, and whenever she struck out in one direction she was jerked in the other. In this way her spirit was gradually subdued.

As to Tonish, who had marred the whole scene by his precipitancy, he had been more successful than he deserved, having managed to catch a beautiful cream colored colt about seven months old, that had not strength to keep up with its companions. The mercurial little Frenchman was beside himself with exultation. It was amusing to see him with his prize. The colt would rear and kick, and struggle to get free, when Tonish would take him about the neck, wrestle with him, jump on his back, and cut as many antics as a monkey with a kitten.

Nothing surprised me more, however, than to witness how soon these poor animals, thus taken from the unbounded freedom of the prairie, yielded to the dominion of man. In the course of two or three days the mare and colt went with the led horses and became quite docile.

（Washington Irving）

第17课　享受快乐

在最后的几天里，天气十分晴好。我远离了书本，远离了住所周围逼人的空气，来到空旷的田野里，享受柔和温暖的阳光和满月撒下的更加柔和的银辉。现在正是一年中最好的季节，那充斥着暴风雨的潮湿秋分时刻刚刚过去，阴暗讨厌的严冬幕布即将拉开，现在陪伴着我们的是中间短暂而美好的过渡时期。太阳从轻柔朦胧的空气中升起，渐渐驱散了覆盖着天空的薄薄的迷雾。正午的阳光晴朗温暖地照耀着静静的树林，波澜不惊的水面和仍沾着深秋雨水的绿色草地。

一个晴朗的早晨，我漫步在马里麦克的塔克斯伯瑞岸边本文中的地名均在马萨诸塞州的黑弗里尔附近，古老的维特尔庄园就在那里。据我所知，从北威尔村开始沿着河岸向前近一英里这样的小路在罗威尔附近根本找不到。小路蜿蜒向前，满是绿色和鲜花，你能瞥见两旁榉树和枥树的枝条上还有露珠在闪烁，并不时溅落几滴。美丽而巨大的岩石延伸进溪水里，使得河流和远处城市的风景都格外美丽。

走得有些累了，我在河岸的一块岩石坡上坐了下来。大地、天空、溪水都明朗清晰地全部展现在眼前。前方远处，城市好似一幅安静模糊的图画，巨大的泥瓦工厂、纷杂的烟囱顶和教堂的塔尖都若隐若现。近处是北威尔山，那荒弃的坟地和已被人们遗忘的墓碑把它那清冷荒芜刻画得淋漓尽致，空留下光秃秃的山顶向着天空。河水在我眼前奔流向前，冲击着不平坦的河道，发出持久不散的低声抱怨。上方的赤杨枝条像流苏一般垂下来，秋天里最后的野花繁盛地给布满岩石的河岸镶上了一道花边。

右边正对面，拉克特森林从岸边一直向上延伸，笼罩薄霜的淡淡色彩。比克劳德比克劳德·洛林（1600～1682年），原名克劳德·格利，是一位著名的风景画家。出身于法国孚日香槟。和普桑尼古拉斯·普桑（1594～1665年），是其所属时代里最杰出法国画家之一，主要以历史和神话作品而扬名。在画中调和的还要丰富的深深浅浅的颜色把树林点缀得分外美丽，如同夏日暴雨后的彩虹落了下来。右边稍远一些地方，一群牛浅浅地站在水中，一群孩子躲在一块大石头后面向牛群丢着石子，他们欢笑着，眼睛清澈而明亮。一片温暖而柔和的阳光穿过宁静的秋日天空照射着这一切。

我的幻想却不幸被打断了。一阵低低的呼噜声吸引了我的注意，一半像人发出的，一半像野兽。看来我并不是独自一人。就在我的旁边的灌木丛中，半隐半现地躺着一个人，四肢舒展，脸都已经贴到了砂石地面。一个有着棕色卷发和蓝色眼睛的干净健康的五六岁小男孩正站在上方的岸边，带着孩童幼稚天真的遗憾表情盯着那个人。

“什么让你这么难受？”男孩最终开口问道，“你为什么在这里躺着？”

那卧倒在地上的人费了好大力气半坐起来，看起来像个讨厌的醉汉。他费劲地试了两三次想站起来，但还是失去了平衡，脸朝地跌了下去。

“你在这里干什么？”男孩问道。

“我在享受快乐！”他咕哝着说，嘴巴还埋在泥土里。

享受他的快乐！他就躺在那儿，肮脏可恶地躺在如此明亮的天空下，真是个卑劣的人！如此空灵和谐的大自然，奔流不息的河流，上方沙沙作响的树叶，野花和森林里覆盖着薄薄冰霜的花朵，这些对他来说意味着什么？他毫无知觉，又聋又哑地躺在那里，就像一具行尸走肉，真是应验了东方那句最普遍的诅咒，“真希望你去吃脏土！”

（惠蒂尔）

TAKING COMFORT

For the last few days, the fine weather has led me away from books and papers, and the close air of dwellings, into the open fields, and under the soft, warm sunshine, and the softer light of a full moon. The loveliest season of the whole year—that transient but delightful interval between the storms of the“wild equinox, with all their wet,”and the dark, short, dismal days which precede the rigor of winter—is now with us. The sun rises through a soft and hazy atmosphere; the light mist clouds melt gradually before him; and his noontide light rests warm and clear on still woods, tranquil waters, and grasses green with the late autumnal rains.

One fine morning, not long ago, I strolled down the Merrimac, on the Tewksbury shore. I know of no walk in the vicinity of Lowell so inviting as that along the margin of the river, for nearly a mile from the village of Belvidere. The path winds, green and flower skirted, among beeches and oaks, through whose boughs you catch glimpses of waters sparkling and dashing below. Rocks, huge and picturesque, jut out into the stream, affording beautiful views of the river and the distant city.

Half fatigued with my walk, I threw myself down upon a rocky slope of the bank, where the panorama of earth, sky, and water lay clear and distinct about me. Far above, silent and dim as a picture, was the city, with its huge mill masonry, confused chimney tops, and church spires; near it rose the height of Belvidere, with its deserted burial place and neglected gravestones sharply defined on its bleak, bare summit against the sky; before me the river went dashing down its rugged channel, sending up its everlasting murmur; above me the birch tree hung its tassels; and the last wild flowers of autumn profusely fringed the rocky rim of the water.

Right opposite, the Dracut woods stretched upwards from the shore, beautiful with the hues of frost, glowing with tints richer and deeper than those which Claude or Poussin mingled, as if the rainbows of a summer shower had fallen among them. At a little distance to the right, a group of cattle stood mid leg deep in the river; and a troop of children, bright eyed and mirthful, were casting pebbles at them from a projecting shelf of rock. Over all a warm but softened sunshine melted down from a slumberous autumnal sky.

My reverie was disagreeably broken. A low, grunting sound, half bestial, half human, attracted my attention. I was not alone. Close beside me, half hidden by a tuft of bushes, lay a human being, stretched out at full length, with his face literally rooted into the gravel. A little boy, five or six years of age, clean and healthful, with his fair brown locks and blue eyes, stood on the bank above, gazing down upon him with an expression of childhood's simple and unaffected pity.

“What ails you?”asked the boy at length.“What makes you lie there?”

The prostrate groveler struggled halfway up, exhibiting the bloated and filthy countenance of a drunkard. He made two or three efforts to get upon his feet, lost his balance, and tumbled forward upon his face.

“What are you doing there?”inquired the boy.

“I'm taking comfort,”he muttered, with his mouth in the dirt.

Taking his comfort! There he lay,—squalid and loathsome under the bright heaven,—an imbruted man. The holy harmonies of Nature, the sounds of gushing waters, the rustle of the leaves above him, the wild flowers, the frost bloom of the woods,—what were they to him?Insensible, deaf, and blind, in the stupor of a living death, he lay there, literally realizing that most bitterly significant eastern malediction,“May you eat dirt.”

（Whittier）

第18课　种子的运输与种植

每棵松树上，一层类似昆虫翅翼的薄膜在种子的表面生长，渐渐把种子包裹起来，但又不相连，种子就在这层包裹下生长发育。换句话说，一个漂亮薄薄的小袋子在种子的表面编织而成，上面还有把手以便风能把它抓住，接下来的任务就交到了风的身上。明显风会把种子带到四方，松树的生长范围也就随之扩大。这和种子在另一种口袋里由专利局寄往各地实际上的效果是一样的。

这样，认为松林是凭空而来的推测就没什么必要了。虽然人们很少注意它们这种依靠自然的传播途径，但我也明白，自己决不是唯一认为松树是由种子而来的人。在欧洲，由种子长成的松树分布十分广泛，现在也开始在这里大量繁殖。

当你砍掉一片橡树林，并不意味着一片松林就会立即平地而起，旁边需要有或近期刚刚有处于结果实期的松树，这些松树还必须在风力所及的范围内。但是临近松林的地方，如果你不让别的作物在那里生长，只要土壤合适，那么你的松林就一定会扩展开去。

我在山胡桃林里漫步的时候，就算在8月，也能不时听见青山的山核桃落地的声音，都是被头顶上的红松鼠咬下来的。秋天，在城市各面的橡树林中或靠近橡树林的地上，都有三四英寸长的结实树枝，上面连着六七个空橡碗。果实两边的树枝已被松鼠咬掉了，这样就减轻了重量便于转移。当你敲打摇晃栗子树时，鸟儿在尖叫，红松鼠在咒骂，因为它们此时在同一战线上，但也是永远达不成协议的两方。

走过树林的时候，我经常看见一只红色或灰色的松鼠扔下一个青色栗子。有时我甚至想，这些栗子是向我扔来的。实际上，在栗子收获的季节里，这些松鼠忙碌得不可开交，你在树枝里稍呆一会儿就一定能听见这样的声音。

10月中旬，一个锻炼者告诉我，一天前他曾看见一只青色的栗子掉在河边的大草坪上，那片草坪最近的树林至少有50标尺，离最近的栗树林就更远了，他不知道栗子怎么会在那里。很偶然的一次机会，仲冬时候我在栗树林中漫步，发现就在叶子底下放一堆栗子，足有三四十个，原来是树林中老鼠干的。

尤其在冬季下完雪后，我们可以更清楚地看到这种坚果的转运和移植是多么普遍。在每个树林几乎都能看见红松鼠或灰松鼠在雪上刨出的点点痕迹，有的甚至深达两英尺。它们总是能直接找到一个栗子或松果，准确得就像从底下开始向上挖一样，这一点你我都做不到。就是在下雪以前，让我们在地上找个松果也不是件易事。毫无疑问，这些果实通常都是松鼠们在秋季储存在那儿的。但它们是记住了地点，还是通过灵敏的嗅觉找到了那里，这就不得而知了。

红松鼠在冬季一般把家安在常绿灌木丛的泥土中，常常是在一片落叶林中的一小簇常绿丛下。如果在树林处很远处仍存有果实的坚果树，你就会看见松鼠们来来回回踩出的足迹。我们完全不必担心橡木在树林中的位置会影响到其种子的传播，只要它距树林20～30标尺以内就足够了。

我斗胆断言，每个还未成熟就自然掉落的白色松果都是松塔的杰作，它们都还没有长开，松子都在里面。甚至可以说几乎每个掉落的油松果都是松鼠啃落的。早在松果成熟之前，松鼠就开始动手了。所以每当松果收成不好，而且也多是如此，几乎每个松果在充分成熟之前都会被松鼠咬落。

我想松鼠之所以在松果成熟之前就把它们啃下来，部分原因可能是为了不让松果裂开掉出松子。这可是它们刨开雪层辛辛苦苦寻找的东西。在那个季节里，也只有埋在雪底下的松果里还有些松子了。我曾细细数过一堆红松鼠咬下来并剥掉外壳的松果，足有239个，这是它们前一年冬天准备下的。

这样的条件对于表层及浅表的果仁生根发芽来说十分有利。我有时还疑惑那些仅仅落在泥土表面的果实怎么如此容易就在那里安家落户，然而12月底我在地上看见了半埋在土中同年生的栗子，上面覆盖着腐烂霉变的树叶，它们具备了迅速生根发芽所需的全部湿度和营养条件。这样在丰收的年份里，很大一部分坚果都松松地埋在地下一英寸的地方，当然也就可以躲过松鼠的袭击了。

在一个收获颇丰的冬季，我用耙子在地上找到了许多松子，那时已是1月10日了。

虽然当日在市场上出售的松子多半已经霉变，但我从发霉的湿叶子下捡来的松子却没有坏的。它们已经被雪覆盖了一两次。大自然知道如何让它们保持得最好。这些松子个个粒大饱满，水分充足。很明显，它们虽然被湿叶子所覆盖，但并未受热，春天到来的时候，都破土而出了。

秋季穿过树林的时候，你偶尔可以听见像是有人折断树枝的声音，抬头一看，原来是一只鸟在啄橡木果实，或者你会看见一群槛鸟在橡树的树冠里齐心协力地对付一个果实，然后就能听见啄落橡果的声音。然后它们就飞到一个合适的树枝上，用一只爪子踩住橡果使劲碾着，发出的声音就像啄木鸟在轻叩树干。同时它们还四处观望，以防有任何敌人靠近。很快它们就可以啄开果壳，开始小口地啄食果肉，并不时仰起脖子以便把食物吞下去。虽然果实在槛鸟爪子的牢牢控制下，但是通常在它们吃完以前就会掉落到地上。

威廉·巴顿在给鸟类学家威尔森的信中说道：“在传播树种及其他同样是其食物的硬壳蔬菜种子方面，槛鸟是自然经济里最好的代理商。它们飞越田野、禽笆，飞临棚栏，落到自己的窝中把果实储藏起来，在此过程中，大量的种子遗落到地上，这样槛鸟也就完成了它们的必要职责。一个潮湿的冬季和春季之后，无数的小树从田野草地里破土而出，这真是惊人。单是这些鸟儿们，几年之间就可以使一片荒芜的土地绿树成阴。”对此，我十分赞同。

我注意到松鼠还常常在旷地上留下果实种子，这也进一步解释了为何橡树和胡桃木会在草地里大量出现。正因为如此，每一棵破土而出的新树都是由一粒种子发育而来。当我仔细察看生长在这种地方一两岁的小树苗时，总是能发现它们种子来源的空果壳。

（亨利·大卫·梭罗）

亨利·大卫·梭罗（Henry David Thoreau，1817～1862年），这位古怪的美国作家和自然学家生于马萨诸塞州的康珂，1837年毕业于哈佛大学。他对英语和古典文学艺术研究颇深，对东方文学也十分熟悉。他的父亲是位铅笔制造商，梭罗也一度从事此行业，但后来主要以教课、作讲座、土地测量和木工活为生。1845年，他在康珂附近的瓦尔登湖畔自己搭了座小木屋，并在那里住了两年。梭罗与霍桑、爱默生及其他一些文坛名人交往密切。其主要代表作有《瓦尔登湖》、《康珂和梅里马克河上的一周》、《短途旅行》、《缅因森林》、《科德角》、《美国人在加拿大》、《给不同人的信》。

TRANSPORTATION AND PLANTING OF SEEDS

In all the pines a very thin membrane, in appearance much like an insect's wing, grows over and around the seed, and independent of it, while the latter is being developed within its base. In other words, a beautiful thin sack is woven around the seed, with a handle to it such as the wind can take hold of, and it is then committed to the wind, expressly that it may transport the seed and extend the range of the species; and this it does as effectually as when seeds are sent by mail, in a different kind of sack, from the patent office.

There is, then, no necessity for supposing that the pines have sprung up from nothing, and I am aware that I am not at all peculiar in asserting that they come from seeds, though the mode of their propagation by Nature has been but little attended to. They are very extensively raised from the seed in Europe, and are beginning to be here.

When you cut down an oak wood, a pine wood will not at once spring up there unless there are, or have been quite recently, seed bearing pines near enough for the seeds to be blown from them. But, adjacent to a forest of pines, if you prevent other crops from growing there, you will surely have an extension of your pine forest, provided the soil is suitable.

As I walk amid hickories, even in August, I hear the sound of green pignuts falling from time to time, cut off by the chickaree over my head. In the fall I notice on the ground, either within or in the neighborhood of oak woods, on all sides of the town, stout oak twigs three or four inches long, bearing half a dozen empty acorn cups, which twigs have been gnawed off by squirrels, on both sides of the nuts, in order to make them more portable. The jays scream and the red squirrels scold while you are clubbing and shaking the chestnut trees, for they are there on the same errand, and two of a trade never agree.

I frequently see a red or a gray squirrel cast down a green chestnut burr, as I am going through the woods, and I used to think, sometimes, that they were cast at me. In fact, they are so busy about it, in the midst of the chestnut season, that you can not stand long in the woods without hearing one fall.

A sportsman told me that he had, the day before—that was in the middle of October—seen a green chestnut burr dropped on our great river meadow, fifty rods from the nearest wood, and much farther from the nearest chestnut tree, and he could not tell how it came there. Occasionally, when chestnutting in midwinter, I find thirty or forty nuts in a pile, left in its gallery just under the leaves, by the common wood mouse.

But especially, in the winter, the extent to which this transportation and planting of nuts is carried on, is made apparent by the snow. In almost every wood you will see where the red or gray squirrels have pawed down through the snow in a hundred places, sometimes two feet deep, and almost always directly to a nut or a pine cone, as directly as if they had started from it and bored upward,—which you and I could not have done. It would be difficult for us to find one before the snow falls. Commonly, no doubt, they had deposited them there in the fall. You wonder if they remember the localities or discover them by the scent.

The red squirrel commonly has its winter abode in the earth under a thicket of evergreens, frequently under a small clump of evergreens in the midst of a deciduous wood. If there are any nut trees, which still retain their nuts, standing at a distance without the wood, their paths often lead directly to and from them. We, therefore, need not suppose an oak standing here and there in the wood in order to seed it, but if a few stand within twenty or thirty rods of it, it is sufficient.

I think that I may venture to say that every white pine cone that falls to the earth naturally in this town, before opening and losing its seeds, and almost every pitch pine one that falls at all, is cut off by a squirrel; and they begin to pluck them long before they are ripe, so that when the crop of white pine cones is a small one, as it commonly is, they cut off thus almost everyone of these before it fairly ripens.

I think, moreover, that their design, if I may so speak, in cutting them off green, is partly to prevent their opening and losing their seeds, for these are the ones for which they dig through the snow, and the only white pine cones which contain anything then. I have counted in one heap the cores of two hundred and thirty nine pitch pine cones which had been cut off and stripped by the red squirrel the previous winter.

The nuts thus left on the surface, or buried just beneath it, are placed in the most favorable circumstances for germinating. I have sometimes wondered how those which merely fell on the surface of the earth got planted; but, by the end of December, I find the chestnut of the same year partially mixed with the mold, as it were, under the decaying and moldy leaves, where there is all the moisture and manure they want, for the nuts fall fast. In a plentiful year a large proportion of the nuts are thus covered loosely an inch deep, and are, of course, somewhat concealed from squirrels.

One winter, when the crop had been abundant, I got, with the aid of a rake, many quarts of these nuts as late as the tenth of January; and though some bought at the store the same day were more than half of them moldy, I did not find a single moldy one among those which I picked from under the wet and moldy leaves, where they had been snowed on once or twice. Nature knew how to pack them best. They were still plump and tender. Apparently they do not heat there, though wet. In the spring they are all sprouting.

Occasionally, when threading the woods in the fall, you will hear a sound as if some one had broken a twig, and, looking up, see a jay pecking at an acorn, or you will see a flock of them at once about it, in the top of an oak, and hear them break it off. They then fly to a suitable limb, and placing the acorn under one foot, hammer away at it busily, making a sound like a woodpecker's tapping, looking round from time to time to see if any foe is approaching, and soon reach the meat, and nibble at it, holding up their heads to swallow while they hold the remainder very firmly with their claws. Nevertheless, it often drops to the ground before the bird has done with it.

I can confirm what William Barton wrote to Wilson, the ornithologist, that“The jay is one of the most useful agents in the economy of nature for disseminating forest trees and other nuciferous and hard seeded vegetables on which they feed. In performing this necessary duty they drop abundance of seed in their flight over fields, hedges, and by fences, where they alight to deposit them in the post holes, etc. It is remarkable what numbers of young trees rise up in fields and pastures after a wet winter and spring. These birds alone are capable in a few years' time to replant all the cleared lands.”

I have noticed that squirrels also frequently drop nuts in open land, which will still further account for the oaks and walnuts which spring up in pastures; for, depend on it, every new tree comes from a seed. When I examine the little oaks, one or two years old, in such places, I invariably find the empty acorn from which they sprung.

（Henry David Thoreau ）

第19课　一幅钢笔画

这个节选中有以下几个人物。希拉是一个住在叫博瓦的一个小岛上的苏格兰年轻姑娘，那个岛是属于她爸爸的：它位于赫布里底群岛的刘易斯岛的正西方。英格莱姆是一个老朋友和常客，但是他的朋友莱温德是第一次访问那个小岛。

在从海滩出来，绕着屋子徘徊的半个小时散步时间中，莱温德已经把希拉转化成一位女英雄了。当他们坐下来在这个安宁、璀璨的夏夜享用晚餐的时候，他又让她觉得浪漫的气氛好像一件长袍轻轻地笼罩在自己身上。她的爸爸，苏里国苏里是古代希腊航海家，皮西亚斯，用来称呼欧洲最北部的名字。苏里的确切位置现在还有争议。国王，有着一把浓密的灰胡子和一对浓重的眉毛。他住在临海的一幢孤零零的大房子里，回忆他死去的亲爱之人。他的女儿，也就是公主，有一双仿佛能诉说一千个故事的美丽眼睛，当她走在夕阳照耀下金光闪闪的大西洋海岸边的时候，她美丽脸庞上的表情能表现出多么奇特、难以言传的想法啊！

晚饭以后他们走到外面，在花园的长凳上坐下。这是一个凉快、令人愉快的夜晚。太阳已经消失在大西洋仿佛烧着红色的火焰般的海平线下面，只有西边还有一片红艳艳的晚霞。抬头望去，在苍黄的天空上，一动不动地躺着几片淡淡的玫瑰色轻云。那边的海水和那流入罗格罗格河是一个海湾的名字，它在刘易斯岛的西部，博瓦就位于那里。河的清流是多么平静啊！黄昏的凉爽空气中散发着野蔷薇的香气。浪花拍打着海岸，在一片静寂中显得多么力量强大。

那女孩把她的手放在父亲头上，提醒他，她的大灰狗，布莱斯，已经被关了一个下午，而且她现在得到布瓦布斯特布瓦布斯特是博瓦的一个小镇的名字。布斯特意为有人居住的地方。给明早要在那儿发船的人捎个口信。

“但是你总不能这样一个人去布瓦布斯啊，希拉，”英格拉姆说道,“在你回来之前天就要全黑了。”

“现在就已经是天最黑的时候了。”女孩说道。

“但是我希望你能让我们和你一起走。”莱温德很焦虑地说，她优雅地笑了笑，表示同意，然后就去牵出那只总是和她形影不离的驯鹿犬。接着莱温德发现自己竟然沐浴在北部高纬度地区常年不衰的奇妙极光里，与公主漫步在这片仙境中。麦肯兹和英格拉姆走到前面去了。那只大驯鹿犬，把莱温德好好地嗅了一遍之后，就跑到它女主人旁边，紧紧地跟着她了。

当他们走到这一路的最高部时，向下俯视就能见到那个小岛和周围的水域，即使是希拉，这时也被这美丽的薄暮震惊。至于和她同行的伙伴，他在以后的日子里很多次地回忆起这个时刻，仿佛那是一个海上之梦。

在他们面前横亘着大西洋——一片蓝色的、安宁、寂静、遥远的水域。头上的蓝天带着一种清澈的淡淡金色，厚厚的紫色云层从南到北地延展着，越接近地平线的地方越显得厚重。在他们的脚下，接近海岸的地方，影影绰绰有一排灰蒙蒙的茅屋和住房，那些房子上面笼罩着一片凝滞不动的蓝色的泥煤的烟雾。

然后他们的视线停在了河水流入的海湾，顺着那湾黄色的闪光的河水，他们看到水流进了一片沼泽和湿地组成的平谷。再向远处往东看，就能见到那岛屿的主体——一片深绿色的起伏不平的高沼地和平原。在那片黑暗中，又一幢白色房子的高墙反射着天空清晰的光，整幢房子就好像是向西方闪耀着光芒的明星。

但所有这些都比不上那东南方渐渐显露出来的光芒，那里有一片苍白的紫色的光芒笼罩在米拉萨巴哈山峰和苏伊纳巴哈山峰这是在刘易斯岛上的山峰的名字。巴哈在盖尔语中表示山峰。上。一轮金色的月牙在美丽的苍穹中升起来了。它闪着温暖的光芒，似乎还保留着太阳的最后一缕光芒。一片闪耀的金光投射在罗格河上，照在希拉经常在早晨出游的时候驾驶的小船黑色的船壳和船桅上。

光芒下面的海湾，是白色的沙滩和巨大的岩石，有着静静的水域，并且以在黄色月光的照耀下显出一片苍白色的山峰为背景。那是那位与世隔绝的神奇公主的家。然而这里，就在他们面前，是另一种海，另一种生活——一个小渔村掩藏在苍白色的烟煤气下面，面对着笼罩在紫色阴云下的大西洋。

在回来的路上，莱温德很幸运地又和希拉穿过他们不久前才走过的高沼地。现在月亮依然高悬在空中，罗格河上闪着一条黄色的光带，在月光下颤动着，显出一种深金黄色。空气中弥漫着生长在海岸边的荷兰三目草的芬芳。浪花拍打着海岸，仿佛在低声诉说什么，在这样单调的声音中，他们还能听见杓鹬的低语和珩科鸟的叫唤。

当他们回到家的时候，大西洋深色的水域和西方紫色的云层都看不见了。摆在他们面前的只有罗格河上如平原般的水面，以及水面上黄色的光带，在另一边的远方横亘着南部那些山的山肩和山峰。在这样美丽的薄暮中，这些山体显得苍白、清晰而刺目。这就是希拉的家乡。

（威廉·布莱克）

威廉·布莱克（William Black），出生于1841年，英国最著名的现代小说家之一。他的大部分故事场景设在苏格兰，而且他擅长刻画苏格兰籍的人物，但是他最杰出的才能还在于对景色生动而诗情画意的描述。本文节选自《北部公主》。除了这部作品之外，布莱克先生最有名的作品还包括《海瑟的女儿》、《马车奇险记》、《克莫里》和《挑衅的麦克里德》。

A PEN PICTURE

Lavender had already transformed Sheila into a heroine during the half hour of their stroll from the beach and around the house; and as they sat at dinner on this still, brilliant evening in summer, he clothed her in the garments of romance.Her father, with his great, gray beard and heavy brow, became the King of Thule, living in this solitary house overlooking the sea, and having memories of a dear sweetheart. His daughter, the Princess, had the glamour of a thousand legends dwelling in her beautiful eyes; and when she walked by the shores of the Atlantic, that were now getting yellow under the sunset, what strange and unutterable thoughts must appear in the wonder of her face!

After dinner they went outside and sat down on a bench in the garden. It was a cool and pleasant evening. The sun had gone down in red fire behind the Atlantic, and there was still left a rich glow of crimson in the west, while overhead, in the pale yellow of the sky, some filmy clouds of rose color lay motionless. How calm was the sea out there, and the whiter stretch of water coming into Loch Roag! The cool air of the twilight was scented with sweetbrier. The wash of the ripples along the coast could be heard in the stillness.

The girl put her hand on her father's head, and reminded him that she had had her big greyhound, Bras, imprisoned all the afternoon, and that she had to go down to Borvabost with a message for some people who were leaving by the boat in the morning.

“But you can not go away down to Borvabost by yourself, Sheila,”said Ingram.“It will be dark before you return.”

“It will not be darker than this all the night through,”said the girl.

“But I hope you will let us go with you,”said Lavender, rather anxiously; and she assented with a gracious smile, and went to fetch the great deerhound that was her constant companion. And lo! he found himself walking with a Princess in this wonderland, through the magic twilight that prevails in northern latitudes. Mackenzie and Ingram had gone to the front. The large deerhound, after regarding him attentively, had gone to its mistress's side, and remained closely there.

Even Sheila, when they had reached the loftiest part of their route, and could see beneath them the island and the water surrounding it, was struck by the exceeding beauty of the twilight; and as for her companion, he remembered it many a time thereafter, as if it were a dream of the sea.

Before them lay the Atlantic—a pale line of blue, still, silent, and remote. Overhead the sky was of a clear, thin gold, with heavy masses of violet cloud stretched across from north to south, and thickening as they got near the horizon. Down at their feet, near the shore, a dusky line of huts and houses was scarcely visible; and over these lay a pale blue film of peat smoke that did not move in the still air.

Then they saw the bay into which the White Water runs, and they could trace the yellow glimmer of the river stretching into the island through a level valley of bog and morass. Far away towards the east lay the bulk of the island,—dark green undulations of moorland and pasture; and there, in the darkness, the gable of one white house had caught the clear light of the sky, and was gleaming westward like a star.

But all this was as nothing to the glory that began to shine in the southeast, where the sky was of a pale violet over the peaks of Mealasabhal and Suainabhal. There, into the beautiful dome, rose the golden crescent of the moon, warm in color, as though it still retained the last rays of the sunset. A line of quivering gold fell across Loch Roag, and touched the black hull and spars of the boat in which Sheila had been sailing in the morning.

That bay down there, with its white sands and massive rocks, its still expanse of water, and its background of mountain peaks palely covered by the yellow moonlight, seemed really a home for a magic princess who was shut off from all the world. But here, in front of them, was another sort of sea, and another sort of life,—a small fishing village hidden under a cloud of pale peat smoke, and fronting the great waters of the Atlantic itself, which lay under a gloom of violet clouds.

On the way home it was again Lavender's good fortune to walk with Sheila across the moorland path they had traversed some little time before. And now the moon was still higher in the heavens, and the yellow lane of light that crossed the violet waters of Loch Roag quivered in a deeper gold. The night air was scented with the Dutch clover growing down by the shore. They could hear the curlew whistling and the plover calling amid that monotonous plash of the waves that murmured all around the coast.

When they returned to the house, the darker waters of the Atlantic and the purple clouds of the west were shut out from sight; and before them there was only the liquid plain of Loch Roag, with its pathway of yellow fire, and far away on the other side the shoulders and peaks of the southern mountains, that had grown gray and clear and sharp in the beautiful twilight. And this was Sheila's home.

（William Black ）

第20课　黎明

几个星期以前，我有机会搭乘从普罗维登斯普罗维登斯，美国罗得岛州首府和最大城市，该州东北部濒临纳拉干西特湾，由罗杰·威廉斯在1636年建立，当时是宗教异议者的避难地，18世纪作为一个港口并十分繁荣，普罗维登斯在1900年以前与纽波特均为该州的联合首府，人口160728。开往波士顿的列车，正因为如此，我不得不在凌晨2点钟起来去赶火车。在去车站的路上，四周的一切都隐藏在漆黑的暗夜里，被黑夜止住了声音，只有天不怕地不怕的火车叮叮当当的声音才打破了这暗夜的沉寂。那是一个仲夏之夜——天空中没有一片云彩，微风无声地飘着，吹去人们身上稍稍退去的白天的热气。到了最后一刻，月亮升起来了。星星闪着亮光，她们的光泽并没有因为月亮的出现而变得逊色多少。

木星木星，靠近太阳的第5颗行星，也是太阳系中最大的行星，绕太阳公转的恒星期，按与太阳的平均距离777,000,000公里算，为11.86光年。其平均直径大约为138，000公里，其质量大约为地球的318倍。升起来了，她是黎明的使者。在远处的地平线上，昴星团昴星团，金牛星座中的疏散星团，由几百颗恒星组成，其中6颗星用肉眼可看到。展现出了她们优美的、自由自在身姿，出现在地球的东方；天琴星座天琴星座，北半球一星座，在天鹅座和武仙座附近，星座内包括织女星。在天顶处闪烁着奇异的光芒；仙女座仙女座，北半球的一个星座，在蝎虎座和英仙座之间，仙后座以南，包括肉眼可见的大片漩涡星云，其漩涡星云距地球为1.84×105光年。在天际的南方展现在肉眼当中，闪耀着晶晶亮的光；而远在北极的指极星指极星，大熊星座中两颗连线后指向北极星的星中的任一颗。则好像待在闺中的少女一般温顺地遥望着她们北方的区域深处，似乎在思考着什么。

这就是我进入到火车站时的情景。随着时间的推移，胆怯地、悄悄地走来的黎明之光开始变得清晰起来。暗夜里湛蓝的天空也显得柔和许多，那些小小的星星，像小孩子一样早已上床休息去了。昴星团的姐妹们也渐渐抱成了一团，她们的光束也慢慢地融合到了一起，但是，天空的西边和南边的星座群仍然保持着她们优雅的姿态，散发出闪闪的光。这种奇异的变化不断地、稳稳地进行着。人间凡夫俗子不能看到的天使柔和的小手轻轻地、悄悄地改换着天空的景色，黑夜的时日已经不再，取而代之的是阳光灿烂的黎明。

湛蓝的天空更加柔和，慢慢地呈现出灰色。值夜星们一个接一个地闭上了她们神圣的眼睛。东方开始燃起火来。紫色的光束不久占据了东方的天际，天空中布满了黎明的曙光，整个天空闪亮起来了。直到最后，当我们抵达布鲁山的时候，一道紫色的火焰从地平线上空闪耀着灼目的光，使那些花儿和叶儿的露珠一下子变得像红宝石和钻石晶莹剔透，煞是好看，不禁令人目瞪口呆了。仅仅几秒钟之内，早晨的大门一下子敞开，白昼的主宰者闪耀着令人温暖的光芒，开始了他一天的统治。

直到现在，我还对古代魔术师们的迷信感到好奇。他们往往在早上起来，攀上中亚的山峰之巅，热爱他手中的杰作。但是，当我听说在现在这知识飞速发展的时代，在上帝创造的世界里，仍然有人能够见证到如此美妙的景色时，我的心中充满了惊异，因为在他们的心中，“没有上帝存在”。

（爱德华·艾弗雷特）

爱德华·艾弗雷特（Edned Everett，1794～1865）,美国马萨诸塞州多尔切斯特人（现为波士顿的一个港口）。在他17岁的时候，艾弗雷特以最优异的成绩毕业于哈佛大学。在大学期间，艾弗雷特就是一个非常有名的作家。20岁以前，艾弗雷特是波士顿布莱特大道教堂牧师，就在这个时期，艾弗雷特就已经一度是一个非常有名、雄辩有力的传教士。1814年，艾弗雷特被他的母校哈佛大学选为希腊文学教授，为了能够胜任自己的职务，他到欧洲游学所增加的课程。返回美国以后，艾弗雷特在担任教授的同时，还负责编辑《北美评论》。

1825年，艾弗雷特当选为美国会议员，并在美国国会担任议员长达10年之久。从1835～1839年，艾弗雷特担任马萨诸塞州州长。1841年，艾弗雷特被派往英国担任美国驻英国公使（仅次于大使，代表一个国家的政府）。1846年艾弗雷特返回美国，担任美国哈佛大学校长，直至1849年。1852年，艾弗雷特被任命为美国国务卿。1856年2月22日，艾弗雷特在波士顿发表了关于素有“美国之父”之称的乔治·华盛顿的有名的演讲，后来这个演讲在美国各大城市都进行过。1860年，艾弗雷特作为美国副总统竞选人参与总统选举。艾弗雷特以其雄辩、强有说服力的作家而闻名，他还是一个演讲家。本文节选自《太空的妙用》。

DAWN

I had occasion, a few weeks since, to take the early train from Providence to Boston; and for this purpose rose at two o'clock in the morning. Everything around was wrapped in darkness and hushed in silence, broken only by what seemed at that hour the unearthly clank and rush of the train. It was a mild, serene, midsummer's night,—the sky was without a cloud, the winds were whist. The moon, then in the last quarter, had just risen, and the stars shone with a spectral luster but little affected by her presence.

Jupiter, two hours high, was the herald of the day; the Pleiades, just above the horizon, shed their sweet influence in the east; Lyra sparkled near the zenith; Andromeda veiled her newly discovered glories from the naked eye in the south; the steady Pointers, far beneath the pole, looked meekly up from the depths of the north to their sovereign.

Such was the glorious spectacle as I entered the train. As we proceeded, the timid approach of twilight became more perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften; the smaller stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the Pleiades soon melted together; but the bright constellations of the west and north remained unchanged. Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went on. Hands of angels, hidden from mortal eyes, shifted the scenery of the heavens; the glories of night dissolved into the glories of the dawn.

The blue sky now turned more softly gray; the great watch stars shut up their holy eyes; the east began to kindle. Faint streaks of purple soon blushed along the sky; the whole celestial concave was filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light, which came pouring down from above in one great ocean of radiance; till at length, as we reached the Blue Hills, a flash of purple fire blazed out from above the horizon, and turned the dewy teardrops of flower and leaf into rubies and diamonds. In a few seconds, the everlasting gates of the morning were thrown wide open, and the lord of day, arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze of man, began his state.

I do not wonder at the superstition of the ancient Magians, who, in the morning of the world, went up to the hilltops of Central Asia, and, ignorant of the true God, adored the most glorious work of his hand. But I am filled with amazement, when I am told, that, in this enlightened age and in the heart of the Christian world, there are persons who can witness this daily manifestation of the power and wisdom of the Creator, and yet say in their hearts,“There is no God.”

（Edward Everett）

第21课　一场风暴

他们朝四周张望，希望找到一条退路，离开这荒野之地。高大的树木上粗大的树枝颤动起来，小树叶都被吹了下来，然后被刮得无影无踪，地上的草被吹得伏在地上，小溪里的浅水被吹得一个漩涡又一个漩涡，鸟儿离开了它们被捣毁的家，在岩石深处寻找藏身之处，风儿吹打着它们，使它们艰难地飞行，最终被吹打在地上。受到惊吓、难于呼吸的动物忍受着痛苦，寻找着安全的地方，然而寻找到的却是暴风雨无情的打击。一些大树被连根拔起，横倒在地，然后被撕裂成碎片。山洪呼啸，咆哮着从山上倾流而下，填满了以前空荡荡的山谷和河床。天像开了口似的，大雨狂泻不止，风助雨势，雨借风威，雷电也不甘寂寞，与风儿一同发作，更加助长了人们的恐怖。

霎时，一切都又恢复了平静，死一般的静寂。雷不再咆哮，风不再呼啸，水不再奔流，动物也不再痛苦地呻吟，鸟儿也不再鸣叫。除了湖水不停地拍打着湖边黑石之外，一切声音都似乎中了魔术师的咒语一般，不再作响。

黑暗暂时又成了颤动的宇宙主宰者。不久以后，电光又成了上天的主宰，它巡视了所有山川与河流，大地有如白昼一样一片苍白。有那么一段时间，不安的马狂奔着向前冲去。动物与骑手被闪电逼目的光刺得迷失了方向，暴雨使人与动物难以呼吸视听。四处没有可以躲避风雨的地方。颤动的动物暴跳着，打着响亮的鼻息，跪下了它们的前膝，企图把它们背上的骑手掀翻在地。

他还没有来得及说话，就传来了一阵惊天动地的可怕声音，他们不知道声音是怎么发出来的，声音的冲撞也是他们所不能理解的。声音的震颤把马背上的他们摇动了几下。在这么巨大的声响面前，一切的恐怖都消失得无影无踪了，就好像整个山峰也承受不了雨水的重压似的，连它的根基也随着声音颤动起来。远处的一个水库被冲垮，就如同决堤的海洋一样，湖水狂泻下来，淹没了古城堡的遗迹，淹没了远处的村庄，淹没了前边的小桥，一切尽在一片汪洋之中！

（本杰明·迪斯累利）

本杰明·迪斯累利（1805～1881年），犹太人后裔。迪斯累利的祖先由于受到西班牙的迫害而被迫迁移到意大利的威尼斯。1748年，他的祖父来到英格兰。迪斯累利的父亲艾萨克·迪斯累利，是一个有名的文学家。迪斯累利于1805年出生于伦敦，早年在父亲的教导下接受教育。后来，迪斯累利学习法律专业，希望成为一名律师，但不久以后，他就放弃了法律而开始以文学为业。他21岁时出版了第一本小说《维维安·格雷》，此书一出受到广泛关注。在经过多年的失败之后，他终于在维多利亚女皇上任的第一年当选为英国议会议员。当他第一次试图在议会发表演讲的时候，英国议会拒绝听他的演讲。据说，当他坐下来的时候，他说终久会有一天让他发表演讲的时候。1849年，迪斯累利当选为议会保守党领袖。在英国首相格威廉姆·尤特·格莱斯顿任职期间，迪斯累利是反对党的领袖。1868年，迪斯累利当选为英国首相，不过任期不长。1874年，他再次被任命为英国首相，一直到1880年。迪斯累利夫人于1868年被授予比肯斯菲尔德子爵夫人的称号，在她去世以后，迪斯累利被授予比肯斯菲尔德伯爵称号。迪斯累利是他的那个时代最有名的政治家。除此之外，他还把毕生精力投入到了文学方面。1870年，他出版了小说《好色之徒》。

DESCRIPTION OF A STORM

They looked round on every side, and hope gave way before the scene of desolation. Immense branches were shivered from the largest trees; small ones were entirely stripped of their leaves; the long grass was bowed to the earth; the waters were whirled in eddies out of the little rivulets; birds, leaving their nests to seek shelter in the crevices of the rocks, unable to stem the driving air, flapped their wings and fell upon the earth; the frightened animals of the plain, almost suffocated by the impetuosity of the wind, sought safety and found destruction; some of the largest trees were torn up by the roots; the sluices of the mountains were filled, and innumerable torrents rushed down the before empty gullies. The heavens now open, and the lightning and thunder contend with the horrors of the wind.

In a moment, all was again hushed. Dead silence succeeded the bellow of the thunder, the roar of the wind, the rush of the waters, the moaning of the beasts, the screaming of the birds. Nothing was heard save the plash of the agitated lake, as it beat up against the black rocks which girt it in.

Again, greater darkness enveloped the trembling earth. Anon, the heavens were rent with lightning, which nothing could have quenched but the descending deluge. Cataracts poured down from the lowering firmament. For an instant, the horses dashed madly forward; beast and rider blinded and stifled by the gushing rain, and gasping for breath. Shelter was nowhere. The quivering beasts reared, and snorted, and sank upon their knees, dismounting their riders.

He had scarcely spoken, when there burst forth a terrific noise, they knew not what; a rush, they could not understand; a vibration which shook them on their horses. Every terror sank before the roar of the cataract. It seemed that the mighty mountain, unable to support its weight of waters, shook to the foundation. A lake had burst upon its summit, and the cataract became a falling ocean. The source of the great deep appeared to be discharging itself over the range of mountains; the great gray peak tottered on its foundation! —It shook! —it fell! and buried in its ruins the castle, the village, and the bridge!

（Benjamin Disraeli）

第22课　纽约酷热的一天

他们沿着纽约市最大的批发市场的一条大街向百老汇走去。在这条大街上，到处都是卡车和四轮货车，人们正忙着装车、卸车。油桶和箱子一会儿被从车上拿下，一会儿又被装上车。人行道上到处都堆放着各种各样、大小不一的包裹。人们一个个无精打采地搬运着、忙碌着。

现在是下午4时，这个时候也正是最酷热的夏天当中最热的时候。空气当中一丝凉意也没有，夹杂着一种死亡的气息。树的两旁是高大的树木，它们一动也不动。整个大街的一半笼罩在树阴下，而另外一半却在太阳的照耀下散发出一种死亡的酷热。偶尔刮来一阵风，吹得人们脸上火辣辣的疼痛，一点也感觉不到风的凉爽。

街道到处都是车辆，在这些车辆中间，夹杂着各种各样的瓶瓶罐罐，也有那些打颤的、喷着响鼻的马。在马车上，车夫坐在树阴下，打着遮阳伞，心情烦躁、不怀好意地望着周围的行人，好像正当他在为这些行人没命地劳作的时候，这些人突然喝住，让他停下来似的。大多数行人都一直在树阴下走。尽管天是那么酷热，他们大多都快速地向前走着，似乎想要尽快达到目的地似的。不过，偶尔也能够见到他们因为天气炎热而不住地喘着气。

在众多的行人当中，有一个成年男人，身穿无领马夹，马夹的扣子全部都没有扣，敞着怀。再看看他的那顶帽子，他一定是一个淘气的家伙，要不然，他的帽子怎么会戴在后半个脑袋上呢？只见他手里拿着一把扇子，在他那张煞白的脸前一个劲儿地晃动着，再看看他走路的样子吧！他走起路来，一脚轻一脚重的，就好像梦游一样似的。从他身边走过来另外一个行人，对他的同伴说：“我再也忍受不了这样的天气了！我的手都麻木了，哎呀，我这心儿啊……”尽管如此，各种各样的人还是从他们身旁走过，行人还是那么的多！人们不断地进入到商店里面去，又不断地从里面出来，走进灿烂的阳光里。

阳光更厉害了，没有敢抬起头来仰视太阳，人们只感觉到到处都闪着刺眼的光。天空中、房屋顶上、墙壁上，炙热的地面，都是白亮亮的，白色当中又透着点红。由上到下整个像一面极大的火镜，每一束光都像火镜的焦点一样，晒得东西像要着火一样。在这白光里，每一种颜色都显得那么刺眼，每一种声音听起来都那么难听。

他们继续向前走，越走越热。太阳一步一步地像火一样悬挂在天空，熊熊地烧着大街。汗从他们身上流了下来，豆大的一颗掉在地上，摔成四瓣，然后就再也不见了。地面也热的发烫，脚心踏在上面要不赶快提起来，就有些火辣辣的疼痛。

（威廉·迪安·豪威尔斯）

威廉·迪安·豪威尔斯（1837～1920年），出生于美国俄亥俄州贝尔蒙县。童年时代他曾经学习过出版业务，并在出版业从事多年的工作。1860年，他同约翰·皮也特一同出版了一部诗歌集。从1861年到1865年，他被任命为美国驻意大利领事。1865年，返回美国之后，他定居在纽约市，并成为美国《民族》杂志编辑。1871年，成为《大西洋月刊》杂志主编，一直到1881年。他退休后开始从事自己的创作活动。自此以后，还与其他自由期刊杂志有许多联系。他曾给予许多作家，包括马克·吐温和亨利·詹姆斯以鼓励。

豪威尔斯曾经写过许多小说，如《西拉斯·拉帕姆的崛起》和文学批评集。本文摘自他的小说《蜜月》。

A HOT DAY IN NEW YORK

When they alighted, they took their way up through one of the streets of the great wholesale businesses, to Broadway. On this street was a throng of trucks and wagons, lading and unlading; bales and boxes rose and sank by pulleys overhead; the footway was a labyrinth of packages of every shape and size; there was no flagging of the pitiless energy that moved all forward, no sign of how heavy a weight lay on it, save in the reeking faces of its helpless instruments.

It was four o'clock, the deadliest hour of the deadly summer day. The spiritless air seemed to have a quality of blackness in it, as if filled with the gloom of low hovering wings. One half the street lay in shadow, and one half in sun; but the sunshine itself was dim, as if a heat greater than its own had smitten it with languor. Little gusts of sick, warm wind blew across the great avenue at the corners of the intersecting streets. In the upward distance, at which the journeyers looked, the loftier roofs and steeples lifted themselves dim out of the livid atmosphere, and far up and down the length of the street swept a stream of tormented life.

All sorts of wheeled things thronged it, conspicuous among which rolled and jarred the gaudily painted stages, with quivering horses driven each by a man who sat in the shade of a branching, white umbrella, and suffered with a moody truculence of aspect, and as if he harbored the bitterness of death in his heart for the crowding passengers within, when one of them pulled the strap about his legs, and summoned him to halt.Most of the foot passengers kept to the shady side, and to the unaccustomed eyes of the strangers they were not less in number than at any other time, though there were fewer women among them. Indomitably resolute of soul, they held their course with the swift pace of custom, and only here and there they showed the effect of the heat.

One man, collarless, with waistcoat unbuttoned, and hat set far back from his forehead, waved a fan before his death white, flabby face, and set down one foot after the other with the heaviness of a somnambulist. Another, as they passed him, was saying huskily to the friend at his side,“I can't stand this much longer. My hands tingle as if they had gone to sleep; my heart—”But still the multitude hurried on, passing, repassing, encountering, evading, vanishing into shop doors, and emerging from them, dispersing down the side streets, and swarming out of them.

It was a scene that possessed the beholder with singular fascination, and in its effect of universal lunacy, it might well have seemed the last phase of a world presently to be destroyed. They who were in it, but not of it, as they fancied—though there was no reason for this—looked on it amazed, and at last their own errands being accomplished, and themselves so far cured of the madness of purpose, they cried with one voice that it was a hideous sight, and strove to take refuge from it in the nearest place where the soda fountain sparkled.

It was a vain desire. At the front door of the apothecary's hung a thermometer, and as they entered they heard the next comer cry out with a maniacal pride in the affliction laid upon mankind,“Ninety seven degrees!”Behind them, at the door, there poured in a ceaseless stream of people, each pausing at the shrine of heat, before he tossed off the hissing draught that two pale, close clipped boys served them from either side of the fountain. Then, in the order of their coming, they issued through another door upon the side street, each, as he disappeared, turning his face half round, and casting a casual glance upon a little group near another counter.

The group was of a very patient, half frightened, half puzzled looking gentleman who sat perfectly still on a stool, and of a lady who stood beside him, rubbing all over his head a handkerchief full of pounded ice, and easing one hand with the other when the first became tired. Basil drank his soda, and paused to look upon this group, which he felt would commend itself to realistic sculpture as eminently characteristic of the local life, and, as“The Sunstroke,”would sell enormously in the hot season.

“Better take a little more of that,”the apothecary said, looking up from his prescription, and, as the organized sympathy of the seemingly indifferent crowd, smiling very kindly at his patient, who thereupon tasted something in the glass he held.

“Do you still feel like fainting?”asked the humane authority.“Slightly, now and then,”answered the other,“but I'm hanging on hard to the bottom curve of that icicled S on your soda fountain, and I feel that I'm all right as long as I can see that. The people get rather hazy occasionally, and have no features to speak of. But I don't know that I look very impressive myself,”he added in the jesting mood which seems the natural condition of Americans in the face of an embarrassments.

“Oh, you'll do!”the apothecary answered, with a laugh; but he said, in an answer to an anxious question from the lady,“He mustn't be moved for an hour yet,”and gayly pestled away at a prescription, while she resumed her office of grinding the pounded ice round and round upon her husband's skull. Isabel offered her the commiseration of friendly words, and of looks kinder yet, and then, seeing that they could do nothing, she and Basil fell into the endless procession, and passed out of the side door.

“What a shocking thing,”she whispered.“Did you see how all the people looked, one after another, so indifferently at that couple, and evidently forgot them the next instant?It was dreadful. I should n't like to have you sun struck in New York.”

“That's very considerate of you; but place for place, if any accident must happen to me among strangers, I think I should prefer to have it in New York. The biggest place is always the kindest as well as the cruelest place. Amongst the thousands of spectators the good Samaritan as well as the Levite would be sure to be. As for a sunstroke, it requires peculiar gifts. But if you compel me to a choice in the matter, then I say give me the busiest part of Broadway for a sunstroke. There is such experience of calamity there that you could hardly fall the first victim to any misfortune.”

（William Dean Howells）

第23课　约塞米特瀑布

加利福尼亚州约塞米特峡谷是一条大约10英里的长廊，它的东端尽头又分成三个窄小的、延伸有几公里长的通道，这些通道朝着荒山野岭地区蔓延，直到最后与内华达州的山脉交汇在一起。约塞米特峡谷的10多公里长的地方的宽度各不相同，从最窄处的500多米，到最宽处的2500米左右。而路两旁悬崖的高度也各不相同，有的地方600多米，有的地方1500多米，这些悬崖几乎垂直，十分陡峭。从这些陡峭的山崖上，不断地有岩石碎片从300多米的高处向下掉落。每年冬天，碎片总是不断地向下落，下落的碎片多达成百上千吨重。

约塞米特峡谷的宽窄程度变化实在太大，太突然，它的形状和沿岸河谷两岸高高悬挂突出的岩石不时地冒出来，总是难免吓人一大跳。河谷的两边是生长得十分旺盛的青草，青草绿得逼人，它们装点着河谷，为它镶上了两道美丽的绿边。

麦塞德是约塞米特峡谷上的一条溪流，有3米多深，30多米宽，它沿着狭窄的峡谷跳跃奔腾，它也随着宽大的、令人叹为观止的瀑布而变得突然宽大、肿胀起来。瀑布之美丽、气势和壮观，用中国诗人的话说，那就是，疑是银河落九天了！

通过高约1000多米的陡峭的山崖下面，我们来到了麦塞德河的岸边。这里距离所住的宾馆有20公里之遥，每走到一处，就感到十分令人振奋，使人感到一种威严与庄重。当我们抵达旅馆的时候，就到了河的对岸，再看看那瀑布，声似雷声，气势如虎，从高空倾下，如同狂龙闪电飞舞一般，可真是“飞流直下三千尺！”约塞米特瀑布是世界上最高、气势最宏伟的瀑布——从2500英尺高的上游，从悬崖峭壁之上，从悬挂于山峰之外300多英尺的地方直冲下来，如刀、似箭，如生龙活虎般冲下悬崖。能够看到这样的景色，即使万里之遥前来观赏也是值得的。宽度为35英尺的约塞米特瀑布有足够的、来自内华达清新的水源，威力十分强大，远远都能够听到它震耳欲聋的吼声。

约塞米特瀑布分梯下冲。它的第一次冲刺高度约为1497英尺，从高处下落，冲到一台阶式的岩石上。然后再一次冲刺，冲刺高度为404英尺。最后一次向瀑布下面的草坪冲去，冲刺高度为508英尺。它这种梯级而下的气势使它猛冲的速度逐渐加大，势如破竹，远远望去，让人目不暇接。特别是最上层的那一次冲刺，让人感到无比的壮观，同时又给人以动听的音乐效果。峭壁是如此陡峭，整个向下冲刺过程看起来是一个连贯的整体，让人觉得它的高度足足有400米那么高。看着这些，真有些让人觉得大自然的杰作是鬼斧神工，令人叹为观止。

再看看那瀑布是多么的美丽呀！它的形体，它的姿态，它的动感，这一切犹如翩翩起舞的少女，又如刚强猛烈的大汉，它美如一部喜剧，不，比喜剧更富有喜剧色彩，它真的令人留恋忘返了！

（托马斯·斯塔尔·金）

托马斯·斯塔尔·金（1824～1863年），出生于美国纽约市。其父亲是宇宙神教惟一教派的牧师，他于1834年在马萨诸塞州查尔斯顿定居。正当托马斯准备到哈佛大学读书的时候，他父亲去世。之后，他不得不接替父亲承担起维持家庭的重任。他先后任过职员、教师，同时又不断学习，提高自己的知识水平。1846年，托马斯在父亲以前布道的教堂任职。1848年，他迁到波士顿好莉斯大街一个神教教堂任职，不久，就因其雄辩的演讲才能和频繁的社会活动而远近闻名，从而使他成为一名有名的公众演讲家。1860年，托马斯离开东部，前往旧金山负责那里的教堂事务。在以后的几年里，他对加利福尼亚州公共事务做出了巨大贡献。1863年，托马斯正当壮年时期，却突然死于白喉。

托马斯是一个大自然的爱好者。他的散文《白色的山峰》描写了新罕布什尔州的山川景色，此书是当今世界上描绘该地区最好的一本书。

THE FALLS OF THE YOSEMITE

The Yosemite valley, in California, is a pass about ten miles long. At its eastern extremity it leads into three narrower passes, each of which extends several miles, winding by the wildest paths into the heart of the Sierra Nevada chain of mountains. For seven miles of the main valley, which varies in width from three quarters of a mile to a mile and a half, the walls on either side are from two thousand to nearly five thousand feet above the road, and are nearly perpendicular. From these walls, rocky splinters a thousand feet in height start up, and every winter drop a few hundred tons of granite, to adorn the base of the rampart with picturesque ruin.

The valley is of such irregular width, and bends so much and often so abruptly, that there is a great variety and frequent surprise in the forms and combinations of the overhanging rocks as one rides along the bank of the stream. The patches of luxuriant meadow, with their dazzling green, and the grouping of the superb firs, two hundred feet high, that skirt them, and that shoot above the stout and graceful oaks and sycamores through which the horse path winds, are delightful rests of sweetness and beauty amid the threatening awfulness.

The Merced, which flows through the same pass, is a noble stream, a hundred feet wide and ten feet deep. It is formed chiefly of the streams that leap and rush through the narrower passes, and it is swollen, also, by the bounty of the marvelous waterfalls that pour down from the ramparts of the wider valley. The sublime poetry of Habakkuk is needed to describe the impression, and, perhaps, the geology, of these mighty fissures:“Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.”

At the foot of the breakneck declivity of nearly three thousand feet by which we reach the banks of the Merced, we are six miles from the hotel, and every rod of the ride awakens wonder, awe, and a solemn joy. As we approach the hotel, and turn toward the opposite bank of the river, what is that

“Which ever sounds and shines,

A pillar of white light upon the wall

Of purple cliffs aloof descried”？

That, reader, is the highest waterfall in the world—the Yosemite cataract, nearly twenty five hundred feet in its plunge, dashing from a break or depression in a cliff thirty two hundred feet sheer.

A writer who visited this valley in September, calls the cataract a mere tape line of water dropped from the sky. Perhaps it is so, toward the close of the dry season; but as we saw it, the blended majesty and beauty of it, apart from the general sublimities of Yosemite gorge, would repay a journey of a thousand miles. There was no deficiency of water. It was a powerful stream, thirty five feet broad, fresh from the Nevada, that made the plunge from the brow of the awful precipice.

At the first leap it clears fourteen hundred and ninety seven feet; then it tumbles down a series of steep stairways four hundred and two feet, and then makes a jump to the meadows five hundred and eighteen feet more. But it is the upper and highest cataract that is most wonderful to the eye, as well as most musical. The cliff is so sheer that there is no break in the body of the water during the whole of its descent of more than a quarter of a mile. It pours in a curve from the summit, fifteen hundred feet, to the basin that hoards it but a moment for the cascades that follow.

And what endless complexities and opulence of beauty in the forms and motions of the cataract! It is comparatively narrow at the top of the precipice, although, as we said, the tide that pours over is thirty five feet broad. But it widens as it descends, and curves a little on one side as it widens, so that it shapes itself, before it reaches its first bowl of granite, into the figure of a comet. More beautiful than the comet, however, we can see the substance of this watery loveliness ever renew itself and ever pour itself away.

“It mounts in spray the skies, and thence again

Returns in an unceasing shower, which round

With its unemptied cloud of gentle rain,

Is an eternal April to the ground,

Making it all one emerald;—how profound

The gulf! and how the giant element

From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound,

Crushing the cliffs.”

The cataract seems to shoot out a thousand serpentine heads or knots of water, which wriggle down deliberately through the air and expend themselves in mist before half the descent is over. Then a new set burst from the body and sides of the fall, with the same fortune on the remaining distance; and thus the most charming fretwork of watery nodules, each trailing its vapory train for a hundred feet or more, is woven all over the cascade, which swings, now and then, thirty feet each way, on the mountain side, as if it were a pendulum of watery lace. Once in a while, too, the wind manages to get back of the fall, between it and the cliff, and then it will whirl it round and round for two or three hundred feet, as if to try the experiment of twisting it to wring it dry.

Of course I visited the foot of the lowest fall of the Yosemite, and looked up through the spray, five hundred feet, to its crown. And I tried to climb to the base of the first or highest cataract, but lost my way among the steep, sharp rocks, for there is only one line by which the cliff can be scaled. But no nearer view that I found or heard described, is comparable with the picture, from the hotel, of the comet curve of the upper cataract, fifteen hundred feet high, and the two falls immediately beneath it, in which the same water leaps to the level of the quiet Merced.

（Thomas Starr King）

第24课　一次乘坐雪犁

你曾经乘坐过雪犁吗？不是那种绑在一台发动机前面的小猫、小狗之类的东西，那有点像开飞机，而是粗大横木建成的两层庞然大物，有自己的轮子。好奇的孩子常常会追在它后面，就像追在大象的后面一样。布法罗风雪较多，城市和交通常常为大雪所困。被风雪覆盖的湖岸铁路线像大海中滚动的海浪。有两辆火车在奇奥塔乌库阿被雪困住了，几乎全部被掩埋。风雪依然很大，像成群的北极熊在吼叫。但布法罗警察局长仍然决定前往营救那些旅客脱离困境，并恢复通往伊利的铁路交通。他允许你作为他的战车的乘员之一与他一同前往救难。你看，它已经在那里整装待发了，巨大的“炮楼”后面是前后排三台马力强劲的发动机。它看起来并不像你要乘坐一台蒸汽播种机的样子，于是你登上了车。驾驶室是一间宽大的木屋，有一个巨大的像牛眼一样的窗子，不过这只牛眼已经昏花了。它使整个雪犁看起来简直就像独眼巨神塞克洛浦斯。室内有绳索、绞链和辘轳。一只铃铛，操纵第一台发动机的工程师可以通过它向把犁人打信号，把犁人用一条绳子回话。两侧是两个机械驱动的大铲，或机械臂。你问它们的用途，警长就会回答你：“在猛烈振动的时候，这个大家伙有可能翻倒，不时伸出一只机械臂可以防止它翻跟头。”你似乎明白了些什么，一个一个模糊的情形浮现在你脑海里。然后你就会想起你投的3000美元的事故保险单上并没有提到战争、决斗，也没有提到雪犁，它提到的是“公共交通工具”，雪犁算不算公共交通工具？你开始认为它不是你可以托付自己的一种工具，但考虑这个问题已经为时过晚了。

在刺骨的寒风中雪犁冲出了布法罗，冲进了一望无垠的雪海。一路上还算不错，雪犁不时冲开小雪堆，飞散的雪花像云片一样掠过雪犁。三台发动机均匀地呼吸着。但渐渐地，平静的海面开始掀起波浪，大地好像只剩下一浪高过一浪耀眼的银白。太阳从云层中钻了出来，天空中也是一片银白。层层巨浪下面是星星点点的房子，你只需稍加想象，便可以看见一座座房子像大海中的小船随波起伏。一个巨浪冲了过来，巨怪带着你迎了上去，与巨浪拥抱。这块积雪堆积很厚，压得很实，像一块巨大的大理石立在那里。三声哨响，这台机器开始向后退，一直退后，象体操运动员在进行伟大一跳之前的助跑准备，也像一个举起一把巨锤的巨人，将要给地面的东西以沉重的一击。

一声哨，雪犁停了下来。三次连续的双哨，雪犁向雪堆冲去。警长锁上门，你当时还不太明白他为什么这么做，眨眼之间战斗开始了。雪犁开始剧烈摇晃，每一个关节嘎吱作响。然后是一个剧烈的振动。驾驶室内像深夜一样漆黑一团。纷飞的雪屑遮蔽天日。你身后的3台发动机呼呼喘着粗气，油烟和蒸汽像披风一样裹住了你，你好像看到午后的日全食。巨轮还在上下颠簸，绞链在哗啦作响，木板的嘎吱声好像轮船撞上了礁石，巨浪象大海要倾其所有似地冲过来淹没了轮船，你开始惊慌失措。对从未坐过船的你来说，这一切会让你感到一种奇妙的兴奋。

体会了惊涛骇浪之后，机器开始平稳前进，之后是又一次冲击，又一次振动，又一次天昏地暗。好像整个冬天的积雪都堆积到了这条铁路线上。一次又一次地纵深切入，火车被困的地方终于到了，也路过了。雪犁就这样在剧烈与平静、走走停停中不断重复着，直到通往伊利的路全部打通。

这是个星期日的下午，伊利城披着厚厚的冬衣。这是雪犁第一次在这条铁路线上行动。城里的老老少少数百人都出来看这个大家伙。雪犁发出震耳的鸣响，缓缓驶入车站。车门终于打开了，你爬下来，回头再看看你刚刚搭乘过的家伙，仍心存余悸。它看起来好像刚刚经历的一场雪崩，戴着洁白的雪帽像阿尔卑斯的山峰。你的第一感觉是谢天谢地，你终于安全地下来了。你的第二个想法就会是，你再也不会坐这个大锤子了！

（本杰明·富兰克林·泰勒）

本杰明·富兰克林·泰勒（1822～1887年），出生在纽约州罗维尔。他在其父亲担任校长的麦迪逊大学接受教育，毕业后他继续在学校住校学习5年。他长期担任《芝加哥》杂志的文学主编，为该杂志撰写了许多风行一时的诗歌和散文。他的著作比较著名的有《一月和六月》、《营地和战场景色》、《轮上世界》、《旧时的图画和诗札》、《门与门之间》和《昨日之歌》。其著作以非凡的想象著称。在晚年他成为一个著名的演说家。

RIDING ON A SNOWPLOW

Did you ever ride on a snowplow?Not the pet and pony of a thing that is attached to the front of an engine, sometimes, like a pilot; but a great two storied monster of strong timbers, that runs upon wheels of its own, and that boys run after and stare at as they would after and at an elephant. You are snow bound at Buffalo. The Lake Shore Line is piled with drifts like a surf. Two passenger trains have been half buried for twelve hours somewhere in snowy Chautauqua. The storm howls like a congregation of Arctic bears. But the superintendent at Buffalo is determined to release his castaways, and clear the road to Erie. He permits you to be a passenger on the great snowplow; and there it is, all ready to drive. Harnessed behind it, is a tandem team of three engines. It does not occur to you that you are going to ride on a steam drill, and so you get aboard.

It is a spacious and timbered room, with one large bull's eye window,—an overgrown lens. The thing is a sort of Cyclops. There are ropes, and chains, and a windlass. There is a bell by which the engineer of the first engine can signal the plowman, and a cord whereby the plowman can talk back. There are two sweeps, or arms, worked by machinery, on the sides. You ask their use, and the superintendent replies,“When, in a violent shock, there is danger of the monster's upsetting, an arm is put out, on one side or the other, to keep the thing from turning a complete somersault.”You get one idea, and an inkling of another. So you take out your Accident Policy for three thousand dollars, and examine it. It never mentions battles, nor duels, nor snowplows. It names“public conveyances.”Is a snowplow a public conveyance?You are inclined to think it is neither that nor any other kind that you should trust yourself to, but it is too late for consideration.

You roll out of Buffalo in the teeth of the wind, and the world is turned to snow. All goes merrily. The machine strikes little drifts, and they scurry away in a cloud. The three engines breathe easily; but by and by the earth seems broken into great billows of dazzling white. The sun comes out of a cloud, and touches it up till it out silvers Potosi. Houses lie in the trough of the sea everywhere, and it requires little imagination to think they are pitching and tossing before your eyes. A great breaker rises right in the way. The monster, with you in it, works its way up and feels of it. It is packed like a ledge of marble. Three whistles! The machine backs away and keeps backing, as a gymnast runs astern to get sea room and momentum for a big jump; as a giant swings aloft a heavy sledge, that it may come down with a heavy blow.

One whistle! You have come to a halt. Three pairs of whistles one after the other! and then, putting on all steam, you make for the drift. The superintendent locks the door, you do not quite understand why, and in a second the battle begins. The machine rocks and creaks in all its joints. There comes a tremendous shock. The cabin is as dark as midnight. The clouds of flying snow put out the day. The labored breathing of the locomotives behind you, the clouds of smoke and steam that wrap you up as in a mantle, the noonday eclipse of the sun, the surging of the ship, the rattling of chains, the creak of timbers as if the craft were aground and the sea getting out of its bed to whelm you altogether, the doubt as to what will come,—all combine to make a scene of strange excitement for a landlubber.

You have made some impression on the breaker, and again the machine backs for a fair start, and then another plunge, and shock, and twilight. And so, from deep cut to deep cut, as if the season had packed all his winter clothes upon the track, until the stalled trains are reached and passed; and then, with alternate storm and calm, and halt and shock, till the way is cleared to Erie.

It is Sunday afternoon, and Erie—“Mad Anthony Wayne's”old headquarters—has donned its Sunday clothes, and turned out by hundreds to see the great plow come in,—its first voyage over the line. The locomotives set up a crazy scream, and you draw slowly into the depot. The door opened at last, you clamber down, and gaze up at the uneasy house in which you have been living. It looks as if an avalanche had tumbled down upon it,—white as an Alpine shoulder. Your first thought is gratitude that you have made a landing alive. Your second, a resolution that, if again you ride a hammer, it will not be when three engines have hold of the handle!

（Benjamin Franklin Taylor）

第25课　家乡旅行小记

加兰城距加兰堡有6英里，加兰堡通往加兰城的最后3英里道路铺在一个高原上。这段道路笔直，从远处看去，就像是灰白色的平原上的一条褐色的犁沟，好像要刺穿远处的高山。直到距加兰城1/8英里的地方，尚不见一处人烟。当你得知这座城市一定就在附近时，你会不由自主地向四处张望，期望能瞥见它的踪影；而你这时会突然发现一处丘陵横在你面前，接住了你的道路。你不禁会问，城市在哪里？城市就在你的双脚底下。

当我们到达这座城市所在峡谷的边缘时，夕阳的余晖正悄悄褪去。我们有点儿像是不知不觉地站到了悬崖边上眺望，峡谷在我们的脚下突然裂开，就像地球此时突然分为两半，于是出现了这样一个峡谷。我们把握好刹车，小心翼翼地沿着陡峭的山路往前开。峡谷里的灯光向我们眨着眼睛，几乎像是白色的帐篷和马车的车篷在随风摆动。稍远一点儿，峡谷变得开阔一些了，在圣路易斯公园的入口处变得宽大起来；在峡谷的中央，距这个渐渐变宽的入口不远的地立，坐落着这座有着12年历史的城市。这时，一阵莫名其妙的喧闹从城中传来。

“发生了什么事？”我们惊问道。“城中正在盖房子。”有人回答，“12年前，这里连一栋房子也没有。而今天却已经有105栋房子了。再过一周，这里将会有200栋房子。每个人都在建造自己的家园，从早到晚忙个不停，目的是要赶在他的邻居之前把房子盖起来。城中有四家锯木厂在不停地加工木料，但是它们加工木料的速度尚不及所需速度的一半。每个人不得不每次只加工一块木板。如果不是这样的话，城中的房子早就盖成现在的两倍那么多了。”

我们顺着峡谷驱车往前走，看见右边有一条小溪，一半被柳树丛遮掩住了。只见好几百个白色帐篷从柳树丛中发出微弱的光线。帐篷的形状各种各样：有的帐篷上面插着柱子，有的帐篷是把帆布伸开以后铺在灌木丛上建造起来的，帐篷的形状有方的、有圆的，帐篷的尺寸有大、有小，每一个帐篷的前面都燃烧着营火。柳树丛中还停着几百架白色车篷的马车。为了停下来过夜，它们笨重的车辕被木棍支撑了起来，拉车的骡子和车夫围着马车躺卧在地上，看上去别有一番情趣。

这是一个多么令人难忘的情景啊！随着我们距离“市”中心越来越近，锤子敲击的丁当声越来越大，忙忙碌碌的人群越来越多，高大的牛群扭动着笨拙的身躯走来走去，正在向坡度较大的地方拖运木材，各种各样的车辆跌跌撞撞地来回行驶，有的男人肩上扛着门板，有的男人正在屋里顺着窗框走动，有的男人使用铲子干活，有的男人在用手推车搬运东西，没有一个男人站在那里不动，没有一个男人空着双手，每个男人都在搬起某种东西，一路小跑将其放到别的地方，就好像演电影似的。自始至终，“丁当！丁当！丁当！”锤子成百上千次的敲击声大过了其他所有声音，听起来就像是“铁砧大合唱”一样。

“佩里酒店在哪里？”我们问。人群中有一个人从我们身边走过，听到我们的问话，他停下来用大拇指指了指酒店的方向，然后走了过去。我们感到有些迷惑不解，于是来到一栋尚竣工的大房子前面，通过墙上许多尚未填实的洞眼往里看，我们看到了屋子里的脚手架、粗糙的木板、木匠的凳子，以及大堆大堆的刨花等。成群的人们正在通过一些缺口进出这个房子。这些缺口可能是房子的门或窗户，看不到有通往这些缺口的台阶。

“啊，可以！啊，可以！我们可以接待你们所有的人！”听到我们略带犹豫的询问，房东这样回答我们。说话时，他站在厨房的门口。我们看到的那些进进出出的人们都是这家吃饱了饭和尚未吃饭的客人。这正是好时候，我们也感觉到饥饿了。我们往厨房里看了一会儿，只见里面摆着3张桌子，周围坐满了人，地板上摞着一大堆床，上面摆满了帽子和衣服，屋子里还有单独的一堵墙，全是由门板竖起来拼接而成的，还有一个用帆布围成的三角形的空间——这就是我们所看到的一切。我们呆在屋子外头，立在脚手架和板凳中间等待着。一个黑人正在点燃一个枝状烛台里的蜡烛。烛台是用两块薄木板按照合理角度交叉在一起做成了。木板上面还挖了一些小洞，用来插放蜡烛。蜡烛燃烧时发出了劈里啪啦的响声，滚烫的油脂溅到了下面的刨花上。

“在一个满是刨花的屋子里这样点蜡烛是非常危险的。”有人说。房东看了看正在晃动的枝形烛台，笑出了声。“这样尝试过很多次了，”他说，“但是从来没有烧毁过一间房子。”

我发现加兰城人说话有一个特点。人称代词，在他们的谈话中全部被省掉了，这好像是一个规律。他们不愿在谈话中使用任何一个多余的单词。

“把这个位于溪边的房子拆散了，”他继续说道，“就是在一周前拆的。是在一天上午人们还在吃早饭的时候拆的。拆房是这帮人干的，现在盖房子还是这帮人干。”

“等着用那个圆桌吧”房东说，“（我）去把那些椅子给你们拿过来，（他们）一旦用完我就给你们拿过来，只有这样才能保证这张桌子不让别人占住。”

于是，他开始等待机会。屋子里吃饭的人刚一离开椅子，他就快步冲进屋里，把那些椅子拎出来给我们坐。我们在自己“预订的椅子”上坐了下来，耐心地等待在那张圆桌子上吃饭的人给我们腾出足够的空位来。

这是多么难以描述的一幅景象啊！我们原先看到的那一堵墙是把门板竖起来临时拼接而成的，模样看上去怪里怪气的。这堵墙把卧室与厨房分隔开了。但是卧室，那能算得上是卧室吗？是的，总共有5间这样所谓的卧室。也就是说，屋子里有5个床架排成一排，每个床架与另外一个床架之间留有足够的空间，以便床与床之间可以悬挂一张床单。空间的大小还允许在床与床之间竖起一面门板。一个中等身材的人无论面朝门板或者面朝着床铺都能够直着身子站起来。椅子呢？啊，别提了。卧室里放了一张床，你还指望着要什么椅子呢？脸盆架怎么样呢？那间尚未装修好的房间里有一个马口铁做成的脸盆。擦脸毛巾呢？不太清楚。

那个由帆布围成的三角形空地是这个屋子里的第六个卧室，人们一眼就能看出这间卧室具有很强的隐私性，不准许其他任何人进入。放在厨房地板上的那一大堆床，等所有人都吃过晚饭后将被用于在饭桌之间盖成第七间卧室。

幸运的是，我们在这里结识了一位朋友——一个最初探险来到这里并在此定居的克罗拉多人。即使在这非常荒凉的荒野，他也能生活得非常舒适。

“你们不能在这里睡觉。”他说，“我可以让你们比在这里睡得更好。”

“睡得更好！”

他给我们提供了非常豪华的生活环境。一个人的舒适标准与生存标准该是多么的不同啊！一个由松木盖成的两间小屋、木板墙、木制地板、木制天花板、高不及屋顶的木制分隔板等，这一切在我们那天晚上看来简直就像是一座宫殿那样豪华。即使是在温莎城堡娱乐玩耍，也不及呆在那间小屋里的感觉的一半让我们感到舒适。

直到深夜，这座“城市”才慢慢安静起来。又过了很长一段时间，“城市”里的大部分灯才熄灭了，大部分声音也已经消失。这时，我只听见远处有单调的锤子锤击的声音，丁当，丁当，丁当。听着这种声音，我渐渐地睡着了。

（海伦·亨特·杰克逊）

海伦·亨特·杰克逊（1830～1885年），阿姆赫斯特学院已故教授纳森·W·菲斯克的女儿。她出生在阿姆赫斯特，先后在马萨诸塞州的伊普斯威奇和纽约接受教育。杰克逊夫人一生中有过两次婚姻。晚年，她对印第安人的生活产生了非常浓厚的兴趣，并写了两部有关印第安人的书。其中一部是小说《雷蒙娜》，另一部是《耻辱百年》。在《耻辱百年》一书中，她极其生动形象地描述了印第安人所遭受的不公正待遇。此外，她曾经出版过散文集和诗集。这些散文集和诗集虽然在美国文学史上并不重要，但是却有迷人之处。

A NEW CITY IN COLORADO

Garland City is six miles from Fort Garland. The road to it from the fort lies for the last three miles on the top of a sage grown plateau. It is straight as an arrow, looks in the distance like a brown furrow on the pale gray plain, and seems to pierce the mountains beyond. Up to within an eighth of a mile of Garland City, there is no trace of human habitation. Knowing that the city must be near, you look in all directions for a glimpse of it; the hills ahead of you rise sharply across your way. Where is the city?At your very feet, but you do not suspect it.

The sunset light was fading when we reached the edge of the ravine in which the city lies. It was like looking unawares over the edge of a precipice; the gulch opened beneath us as suddenly as if the earth had that moment parted and made it. With brakes set firm, we drove cautiously down the steep road; the ravine twinkled with lights, and almost seemed to flutter with white tents and wagon tops. At the farther end it widened, opening out on an inlet of the San Luis Park; and, in its center, near this widening mouth, lay the twelve days old city. A strange din arose from it.

“What is going on?”we exclaimed.“The building of the city,”was the reply.“Twelve days ago there was not a house here. To day there are one hundred and five, and in a week more there will be two hundred; each man is building his own home, and working day and night to get it done ahead of his neighbor. There are four sawmills going constantly, but they can't turn out lumber half fast enough. Everybody has to be content with a board at a time. If it were not for that, there would have been twice as many houses done as there are.”

We drove on down the ravine. A little creek on our right was half hid in willow thickets. Hundreds of white tents gleamed among them: tents with poles; tents made by spreading sailcloth over the tops of bushes; round tents; square tents; big tents; little tents; and for every tent a camp fire; hundreds of white topped wagons, also, at rest for the night, their great poles propped up by sticks, and their mules and drivers lying and standing in picturesque groups around them.

It was a scene not to be forgotten. Louder and louder sounded the chorus of the hammers as we drew near the center of the“city;”more and more the bustle thickened; great ox teams swaying unwieldily about, drawing logs and planks, backing up steep places; all sorts of vehicles driving at reckless speed up and down; men carrying doors; men walking along inside of window sashes,—the easiest way to carry them; men shoveling; men wheeling wheelbarrows; not a man standing still; not a man with empty hands; every man picking up something, and running to put it down somewhere else, as in a play; and, all the while,“Clink! clink! clink!”ringing above the other sounds,—the strokes of hundreds of hammers, like the“Anvil Chorus.”

“Where is Perry's Hotel?”we asked. One of the least busy of the throng spared time to point to it with his thumb, as he passed us. In some bewilderment we drew up in front of a large unfinished house, through the many uncased apertures of which we could see only scaffoldings, rough boards, carpenters' benches, and heaps of shavings. Streams of men were passing in and out through these openings, which might be either doors or windows; no steps led to any of them.

“Oh, yes! oh, yes! can accommodate you all!”was the landlord's reply to our hesitating inquiries. He stood in the doorway of his dining room; the streams of men we had seen going in and out were the fed and the unfed guests of the house. It was supper time; we also were hungry. We peered into the dining room: three tables full of men; a huge pile of beds on the floor, covered with hats and coats; a singular wall, made entirely of doors propped upright; a triangular space walled off by sailcloth,—this is what we saw. We stood outside, waiting among the scaffolding and benches. A black man was lighting the candles in a candelabrum made of two narrow bars of wood nailed across each other at right angles, and perforated with holes. The candles sputtered, and the hot fat fell on the shavings below.

“Dangerous way of lighting a room full of shavings,”some one said. The landlord looked up at the swinging candelabra and laughed.“Tried it pretty often,”he said.“Never burned a house down yet.”

I observed one peculiarity in the speech at Garland City. Personal pronouns, as a rule, were omitted; there was no time for a superfluous word.

“Took down this house at Wagon Creek,”he continued,“just one week ago; took it down one morning while the people were eating breakfast; took it down over their heads; putting it up again over their heads now.”

This was literally true. The last part of it we ourselves were seeing while he spoke, and a friend at our elbow had seen the Wagon Creek crisis.

“Waiting for that round table for you,”said the landlord;“ ‘ll bring the chairs out here's fast's they quit ‘em. That's the only way to get the table.”

So, watching his chances, as fast as a seat was vacated, he sprang into the room, seized the chair and brought it out to us; and we sat there in our“reserved seats,”biding the time when there should be room enough vacant at the table for us to take our places.

What an indescribable scene it was! The strange looking wall of propped doors which we had seen, was the impromptu, wall separating the bedrooms from the dining room. Bedrooms?Yes, five of them; that is, five bedsteads in a row, with just space enough between them to hang up a sheet, and with just room enough between them and the propped doors for a moderate sized person to stand upright if he faced either the doors or the bed. Chairs?Oh, no! What do you want of a chair in a bedroom which has a bed in it?Washstands?One tin basin out in the unfinished room. Towels?Uncertain.

The little triangular space walled off by the sailcloth was a sixth bedroom, quite private and exclusive; and the big pile of beds on the dining room floor was to be made up into seven bedrooms more between the tables, after everybody had finished supper.

Luckily for us we found a friend here,—a man who has been from the beginning one of Colorado's chief pioneers; and who is never, even in the wildest wilderness, without resources of comfort.

“You can't sleep here,”he said.“I can do better for you than this.”

“Better!”

He offered us luxury. How movable a thing is one's standard of comfort! A two roomed pine shanty, board walls, board floors, board ceilings, board partitions not reaching to the roof, looked to us that night like a palace. To have been entertained at Windsor Castle would not have made us half so grateful.

It was late before the“city”grew quiet; and, long after most of the lights were out, and most of the sounds had ceased, I heard one solitary hammer in the distance, clink, clink, clink. I fell asleep listening to it.

（Helen Hunt Jackson）

第26课　返航

从太平洋绕过合恩角的航行通常要向东朝福克兰群岛福克兰群岛：大西洋南部的一群岛屿，就在合恩角以东。自1830年起由大不列颠控制。阿根廷也声称其所有权曾被阿根廷军队短暂占领。行驶，但是由于现在吹起了强劲、持续和清洌的西南风，而且看起来还将刮很长时间，我们已经厌烦了在高纬度的海面上行驶，所以船长决定立即朝北方行驶，驶入福克兰群岛。相应地，舵手8点换班的时候就接到了将船往正北方向开的命令，于是船上所有人都被叫来调整帆桁，将船往北开。

这个消息立刻就传遍了船上各个角落，大家都知道了船长要求离开这里的命令，我们把船头转往波士顿的方向，让船尾指向合恩角合恩角：智利最南端的一个海岬，位于火地群岛中。荷兰航海者威廉姆·史考滕于1616年首次绕过这一南美的最南端，并以自己的出生地“合恩”为其命名。得知这个消息以后，船上顿时欢呼起来。每个人的反应都非常迅速，甚至是那两名晕船的人也来到甲板上帮我们调整升降索。这时正在刮西南风，遇见这样的风向，迎风而开的船只只能将前桅帆收起来航行。于是，有人爬到桅杆的高处，从中桅帆里摇出了缩帆部，把前桅帆收缩起来了。当我们要将中桅帆升至桅顶时，所有人都抓紧了升降索，我们一齐用力。“使劲啊，伙计！”我们用力地同时齐声高呼，这种呼声甚至在去往斯塔腾岛的中途也能听见。

增加了船帆以后，我们的船划开水面开始吃力地向前行驶了。然而，她行驶的速度还不错。船长从后甲板上大声喊道：“再从船头的中桅帆那里取一张帆过来，把它挂上去。”有两个人爬到了桅顶上，把船帆挂在了上面。甲板上的人操纵着升降索，帆布张开了，船帆的受风面积进一步增大。所有人都站在甲板上，等待观看这种变化的结果。船帆刚好满足这艘船的需要，由于船尾海水的巨大推力，船长不得不安排两个人负责掌舵。

向前行驶时，船首激起了泡沫，水花向后飞溅，最远的地方溅到了梯门口。船行驶的速度快得惊人。一切都很正常。转帆索被捆得紧紧的，索滑轮与后支索连接在了一起。为了保证船在行驶中的舒适和安全，一切准备工作都已经做好了。船长在甲板上大步走着，抬头看了看高处的船帆，然后又看了看风向。大副站在梯门口，搓着双手，对着船大声喊：“好哇，老伙计！波士顿的姑娘已经准备好了船缆！”我们这时正站在前甲板判断船桅的承受能力和船的行驶速度，听到船长大声喊了起来：“布朗先生，把中桅的翼帆修理一下。她承载不了那样的负荷！”

大副看了一会儿，但他不愿让任何人显得比他更大胆。他冲上前去，大呼一声：“好哇，伙计们！咱们现在给中桅翼帆装配帆下桁吧！你们现在各就各位，我把东西给你们送过去！”那是一个繁星满天的晴朗夜空，刮着大风，非常寒冷，但每个人干活都非常自愿。有些人看上去的确认为“老人”发疯了，但是没有人发出一句怨言。

我们这次制成了一个新的带有缩帆部的中桅翼帆——这种制作方法我们几乎从来没有听说过——水手们都认为这非常滑稽，但是我们现在发现了它的用处。因为中桅帆里有缩帆部，所以翼帆里面也必须有缩帆部才能扬起来。可以肯定地说，翼帆配以带有缩帆部的中桅帆是一种非常新颖的创造，而这样设计是有一定道理的，因为如果我们不能控制它的话，最终我们丢掉的只不过是一张帆和一个帆下桁而已，但如果对中桅帆失去控制的话，则桅杆和所有一切都有可能丢掉。我们还在桅杆高处时，帆已经伸出来了，向帆桁倾斜着，收缩在一起，做好了往上拉的准备。有人一直在等待好机会的到来，操纵着升降索将帆桁刚好升到了恰好的位置。当大副走过去要把绳结从落帆索中晃下来时，我们开始将帆的面积扩展到最大，这样整个船体都晃动了。帆下桁弯曲了，弯的像是一根鞭杆似的。我们时刻观察着是否有什么事情发生，但由于这根帆下桁是用高地上出产的短小而结实的云杉木制成，所以它虽然弯得像鲸须那样，却无论如何也不会折断。有一位木匠说，这是他曾经见过的最好的木材了。

在所有人的努力下，帆索很快就被系到了帆下桁的末端。船帆被裁减了一部分。保险索和转帆索都绑得紧紧的，从而缓解了帆下桁的压力。绳索和帆布上的每一根线看上去都张力达到了最大程度。挂上了这样一张帆，这艘船航行得很快好像获得了魔力似的。船行驶的方向几乎是正前方，像是离开了水面，几乎是跳跃着向前行进。自从下水以来，这艘船从来没有这样快速行驶过。

直到人们觉得船可以安全行驶了，所有人才敢离开桅杆。但是，我们仍然呆在甲板上观察。驾驶舱里的两名掌舵员使尽全身解数，保证船在高速行驶中的安全，因为这艘船此时就像一匹年轻的小马那样桀骜不驯。大副在甲板上踱步，看了看船帆，然后又走到舷侧看了看飞速驶过的水沫，双手猛拍了一下大腿，冲着船喊道：“好哇！你这匹老马，你闻到草的香气了吧！你知道我们要到哪里去！”船在海面上飞速行进，几乎快要跳出水面，甚至船的龙骨都颤动了。船上的柱子和桅杆发出吱吱的声音。“她就是这个样子！她就是这个样子！真是棒极了！只要她这样一直响，就没问题。”

钟敲响第四下的时候，我们把测程器从海水中拉了出来，发现我们的船正以14节的速度向前行驶。如果不是海水不断将它抛出既定航线，测程器显示的结果可能会比现在快得多。我与来自肯纳贝克河畔的一位年轻人——一位非常不错的舵手——一起来到了驾驶舱。在那里呆了两个小时，我们的双手一刻也没有闲着。还不到几分钟，我们就必须把紧身短上衣给脱掉了。尽管天气很冷，但是我们仍然只穿着长袖衬衫站在那里，浑身冒汗。等到钟声钟声：在船上，通常是以钟声来计时的，一般每隔半小时就敲一次钟。敲8下的时候，有人来替我们的班了，我们不禁感到由衷的高兴。下班以后，我们回去睡觉。尽管海水在船首下面不断发出吼叫，就像小瀑布一样溅泼到前甲板上，但是我们那天夜里还睡得非常香甜。

（小理查德·H·达纳）

小理查德·H·达纳（1815～1882年），美国律师和作家，美国诗人老理查德·H·达纳的儿子，出生在马萨诸塞州的坎布里奇。童年时代，小达纳就有了想当一名水手的强烈愿望，后来他听从了父亲的建议，选择了学业，并考上了哈佛大学。19岁那年，一场眼病迫使他不得不中断学业。后来，他作为一名普通水手航海到了加利福尼亚，在那里呆了两年时间。回来后，他重新开始读书，并于1837年从学校毕业。他后来学习法律，并获得了成功。他一生当中尽管在文学方面取得了非常突出的成就，但是他大部分时间都在从事法律和政治方面的工作。本文选自他的《两年水手生涯》。

HOMEWARD BOUND

It is usual, in voyages round the Cape from the Pacific, to keep to the eastward of the Falkland Islands; but, as there had now set in a strong, steady, and clear southwester, with every prospect of its lasting, and we had had enough of high latitudes, the captain determined to stand immediately to the northward, running inside the Falkland Islands. Accordingly, when the wheel was relieved at eight o'clock, the order was given to keep her due north, and all hands were turned up to square away the yards and make sail.

In a moment the news ran through the ship that the captain was keeping her off, with her nose straight for Boston, and Cape Horn over her taffrail. It was a moment of enthusiasm. Everyone was on the alert, and even the two sick men turned out to lend a hand at the halyards. The wind was now due southwest, and blowing a gale to which a vessel close hauled could have shown no more than a single close reefed sail; but as we were going before it, we could carry on. Accordingly, hands were sent aloft and a reef shaken out of the topsails, and the reefed foresail set. When we came to masthead the topsail yards, with all hands at the halyards, we struck up,“Cheerly, men,”with a chorus which might have been heard halfway to Staten Island.

Under her increased sail, the ship drove on through the water. Yet she could bear it well; and the captain sang out from the quarter deck—“Another reef out of that fore topsail, and give it to her.”Two hands sprang aloft; the frozen reef points and earings were cast adrift, the halyards manned, and the sail gave out her increased canvas to the gale. All hands were kept on deck to watch the effect of the change. It was as much as she could well carry, and with a heavy sea astern, it took two men at the wheel to steer her.

She flung the foam from her bows; the spray breaking aft as far as the gangway. She was going at a prodigious rate. Still, everything held. Preventer braces were reeved and hauled taut; tackles got upon the backstays; and everything done to keep all snug and strong. The captain walked the deck at a rapid stride, looked aloft at the sails, and then to windward; the mate stood in the gangway, rubbing his hands, and talking aloud to the ship—“Hurrah, old bucket! the Boston girls have got hold of the towrope!”and the like; and we were on the forecastle looking to see how the spars stood it, and guessing the rate at which she was going,—when the captain called out—“Mr. Brown, get up the topmast studding sail! What she can't carry she may drag!”

The mate looked a moment; but he would let no one be before him in daring. He sprang forward,—“Hurrah, men! rig out the topmast studding sail boom! Lay aloft, and I'll send the rigging up to you!”We sprang aloft into the top; lowered a girtline down, by which we hauled up the rigging; rove the tacks and halyards; ran out the boom and lashed it fast, and sent down the lower halyards as a preventer. It was a clear starlight night, cold and blowing; but everybody worked with a will. Some, indeed, looked as though they thought the“old man”was mad, but no one said a word.

We had had a new topmast studding sail made with a reef in it,—a thing hardly ever heard of, and which the sailors had ridiculed a good deal, saying that when it was time to reef a studding sail it was time to take it in. But we found a use for it now; for, there being a reef in the topsail, the studding sail could not be set without one in it also. To be sure, a studding sail with reefed topsails was rather a novelty; yet there was some reason in it, for if we carried that away, we should lose only a sail and a boom; but a whole topsail might have carried away the mast and all.

While we were aloft, the sail had been got out, bent to the yard, reefed, and ready for hoisting. Waiting for a good opportunity, the halyards were manned and the yard hoisted fairly up to the block; but when the mate came to shake the cat's paw out of the downhaul, and we began to boom end the sail, it shook the ship to her center. The boom buckled up and bent like a whipstick, and we looked every moment to see something go; but, being of the short, tough upland spruce, it bent like whalebone, and nothing could break it. The carpenter said it was the best stick he had ever seen.

The strength of all hands soon brought the tack to the boom end, and the sheet was trimmed down, and the preventer and the weather brace hauled taut to take off the strain. Every rope yarn seemed stretched to the utmost, and every thread of canvas; and with this sail added to her, the ship sprang through the water like a thing possessed. The sail being nearly all forward, it lifted her out of the water, and she seemed actually to jump from sea to sea. From the time her keel was laid, she had never been so driven; and had it been life or death with everyone of us, she could not have borne another stitch of canvas.

Finding that she would bear the sail, the hands we're sent below, and our watch remained on deck. Two men at the wheel had as much as they could do to keep her within three points of her course, for she steered as wild as a young colt. The mate walked the deck, looking at the sails, and then over the side to see the foam fly by her,—slapping his hands upon his thighs and talking to the ship—“Hurrah, you jade, you've got the scent! you know where you're going!“And when she leaped over the seas, and almost out of the water, and trembled to her very keel, the spars and masts snapping and creaking, ”There she goes!—There she goes—handsomely!— As long as she cracks, she holds!“—while we stood with the rigging laid down fair for letting go, and ready to take in sail and clear away if anything went. ”

At four bells we have the log, and she was going eleven knots fairly; and had it not been for the sea from aft which sent the chip home, and threw her continually off her course, the log would have shown her to have been going somewhat faster. I went to the wheel with a young fellow from the Kennebec, who was a good helmsman; and for two hours we had our hands full. A few minutes showed us that our monkey jackets must come off; and, cold as it was, we stood in our shirt sleeves in a perspiration, and were glad enough to have it eight bells and the wheels relieved. We turned in and slept as well as we could, though the sea made a constant roar under her bows, and washed over the forecastle like a small cataract.

（Richard H. Dana, Jr）

第二辑

第1课　两只狗

詹姆士·怀特有两只狗。其中一只是纽芬兰狗，另一只是苏格兰狗。

纽芬兰狗是一只巨大的贵族狗，它全身黑杂带白色斑点，有着长长的蓬松的毛发，它的名字叫斯波兹。

斯波兹是一条很好的看门狗，也是一个友善的游伴。每天夜里，当詹姆士与他的父亲睡着时，它看守着房屋。

在白天，詹姆士常把斯波兹当马使用。他有一个小的马车，与一副很适合这条狗用的马具。

他将斯波兹套上马车，赶着它走在乡间。就这样，他能跑得与他父亲的那匹老马一样快。

苏格兰狗的名字叫逃避者。它之所以叫逃避者，主要是因为它总是欢快地跳来跳去，就像被人追一样，在椅子上、桌子下、门后面、地下室、院子里四处逃窜。

逃避者有非常明亮的眼睛，它干过许多有趣的事。它喜欢用爪子扒着婴儿床，眼盯着宝宝。前几天它叼走了宝宝的红袜子，而且玩起袜子来没个完。但是它玩的时候把它弄脏了，詹姆士不得不责备它。

每个人都喜欢见到詹姆士·怀特与他的两只狗。他们在一起时看上去很开心。

TWO DOGS

James White has two dogs. One is a Newfoundland dog, and the other is a Scotch terrier.

The Newfoundland is a large, noble fellow. He is black, with a white spot, and with long, shaggy hair. His name is Sport.

Sport is a good watchdog, and a kind playfellow. Every night he guards the house while James and his father are asleep.

In the daytime, James often uses Sport for his horse. He has a little wagon, and a set of small harness which just fits the dog.

He hitches Sport to this wagon, and drives over the country. In this way, he can go almost as fast as his father with the old family horse.

The name of James's Scotch terrier is Dodger. He is called Dodger because he jumps about so friskily. He is up on a chair, under the table, behind the door, down cellar, and out in the yard,—all in a minute.

Dodger has very bright eyes, and he does many funny things. He likes to put his paws up on the crib, and watch the baby.

The other day he took baby's red stocking, and had great fun with it; but he spoiled it in his play, and James had to scold him.

Everyone likes to see James White with his two dogs. They always seem very happy together.

第2课　王霸鹟

王霸鹟的体型并不比鸽大，它以苍蝇、蠕虫、臭虫和浆果为食。它习惯于在房屋附近的树上建造自己的巢。当小霸鹟在巢里出生的时候，大霸鸟就站在附近的树顶上看着它们。它警惕地注视着，不让别的鸟来伤害它的小鸟。如果一只猫头鹰、乌鸦，甚至一只老鹰靠近，它就会向它们猛冲过去。尽管它那么小，但是它很勇敢，也很活跃。它总是能把其它的鸟从自己的巢边赶走，从未失败过。

它在老鹰的周围绕了一圈又一圈，突然用自己尖利的嘴向老鹰发起进攻。它总是猛击老鹰的眼睛，然后在老鹰抓住它之前飞快地跑掉。或者它从后面向老鹰进攻，没等老鹰转过身来它已经飞走了。不久大老鹰就厌倦了这种猛烈地攻击，无可奈何地飞走了。王鸟很高兴赶走了自己的敌人。难道这个小家伙不是一种勇敢的小鸟吗？就因为它可以赶走其它所有的鸟，因而它被称为“王霸鹟”。

王霸鹟（kingbird），霸鹟科霸鹟属鸟类，9种，因好斗而著名。虽然体长只有约20公分（8吋），但能追逐鸦和鹰那样大的鸟类，甚至能站在它们的背上啄它们的头。上体灰色，下体白、灰或黄色。各种王霸鹟都有平时隐匿但可竖立的羽冠（红、橙或黄色）。广泛分布于加拿大到阿根廷。在北美繁殖的如落矶山的东王霸鹟，上体暗蓝灰色，下体和尾端白色，常见于乡间路边，可袭击蜂房，因此当地又俗称「蜂鸟」或「蜂马丁鸟」。美国西部大平原以西的西王霸鶲（即阿肯色王霸鶲）的上体浅灰，下体黄色，最外侧尾羽的边缘稍白。这两种王霸鶲的头冠上均有一红点斑（通常隐蔽）。

THE KINGBIRD

The kingbird is not bigger than a robin.He eats flies, and worms, and bugs, and berries.He builds his nest in a tree, near some house.When there are young ones in the nest, he sits on the top of a tree near them.He watches to see that no bird comes to hurt them or their mother. If a hawk, a crow, or even an eagle comes near, he makes a dash at it.Though he is so small, he is brave, and he is also very active.He never fails to drive off other birds from his nest.He flies around and around the eagle, and suddenly strikes him with his sharp bill. He strikes at his eye, and then darts away before the eagle can catch him.Or he strikes from behind, and is off again before the eagle can turn round.In a short time, the great eagle is tired of such hard blows, and flies away. He is very glad to get rid of his foe.Is not the little fellow a brave bird? Because he can drive off all other birds, he is called the KINGBIRD.

第3课　剪羊毛

六月里，绵羊会被洗净、剪毛。这些工作应该在六月初天还不太热的时候去做，对旁观的人来说，这看起来很有意思，但是对绵羊来说，这并不好玩。实际上，剪掉羊毛对绵羊是非常有好处的，否则在夏天它们就要遭罪。

等到该给绵羊进行清洗的时候，人们就把它们赶到水塘边或小河边。然后它们便一只接一只地被扔进水里。站在水里的人就会抓住它们，用手搓洗着羊毛，把上面的脏东西都清洗掉。

等到羊毛完全干透以后，绵羊就被牵到剪羊毛的人面前，剪羊毛的人会用一把大剪刀剪掉羊毛。

剪下来的羊毛会被染了色，再纺成线，然后织成布。

在冬天到来前不长的时间里，绵羊又会长出新的羊毛。等到春天来临的时候，绵羊长出厚厚的羊毛，于是就得再次被剪了。

SHEEP SHEARING

Sheep are washed and sheared some time in the month of June. This should be done quite early in the month, before the hot days begin.

It is fine sport for those who look on, but not much fun for the sheep.

It is best for the sheep to have the wool taken off; otherwise they would suffer in the summer time.

When the time comes for washing the sheep, they are driven to a pond or a little river.

Then they are thrown into the water, one at a time. The men who are in the water catch them, and squeeze the wet wool with their hands to get the dirt all out of it.

Then the wool is thoroughly dried, the sheep are taken to the shearer; and he cuts off the wool with a large pair of shears.

It is then dyed, spun, and woven into cloth.

In a short time, before the cold winter comes, new wool grows out on the sheep. By the corning of spring there is so much, that it must be cut off again.

第4课　帕蒂和松鼠

小帕蒂住在大森林边的一间小木屋里。她没有姐妹，大哥整天在外帮父亲干活，但是帕蒂从未感到孤独，因为尽管离她家最近的房子也有好几英里远，但她仍有许多小伙伴，其中有两个小伙伴就住在森林中。

那么她是怎样把这些小伙伴训练得如此听话的呢？原来帕蒂经常到森林里去，她总是很亲切，很温和，以至于松鼠发现它们根本不必害怕她。

她在树下掏出面包和牛奶来吃，还总是不忘给松鼠们留下一些食物碎屑。

当松鼠走近的时候，她就静静地坐在那里看着它们，就这样她渐渐地与松鼠交上了朋友，到后来它们会坐在她的肩膀上，吃她手里举着的食物。

松鼠们为自己建造了度夏的房子，房子是用树叶、树枝和苔藓建成的，使它们夏天住在这里又舒服又凉快。

但是这些房子却抵挡不住冬天的严寒与风雪，于是这些聪明的小家伙们便在一棵老树上找到了一个洞，它们用柔软的苔藓和树叶把树洞布置得既暖和又防风。松鼠们就在这里度过了漫长的冬天。

PATTY AND THE SQUIRREL

Little Patty lives in a log house near a great forest. She has no sisters, and her big brothers are away all day helping their father.

But Patty is never lonely; for, though the nearest house is miles away, she has many little friends. Here are two of them that live in the woods.

But how did Patty teach them to be so tame? Patty came to the woods often, and was always so quiet and gentle that the squirrels soon found they need not be afraid of her.

She brought her bread and milk to eat under the trees, and was sure to leave crumbs for the squirrels.

When they came near, she sat very still and watched them. So, little by little, she made them her friends, till, at last, they would sit on her shoulder, and eat from her hand.

Squirrels build for themselves summer houses. Those are made of leaves, and sticks, and moss. They are nice and cool for summer, but would never do for the winter cold and snow.

So these wise little people find a hollow in an old tree. They make it warm and snug with soft moss and leaves; and here the squirrels live all through the long winter.

第5课　老虎

老虎是一种体型很大的猫科动物，身体几乎被黑色条纹所覆盖。

老虎不像狮子，它跑起来是如此之快，以至于奔驰的骏马也赶不上它。

在夜间和在白天一样，老虎总在搜寻着它的猎物。伴着一声可怕的吼叫，它会将一个人捕获，并且把他叼走。

你知道猫科动物的须有什么用吗？狮子长着长长的须，老虎和其它猫科类动物也都长着须。无论何时，只要你发现一种动物长着猫一样的须，你就可以断定它能在树枝和浓密的灌木丛中敏捷地穿梭。借助须的触觉，老虎就可以判断自己前进的路上有什么障碍物。

几年前，几位英国官员出去打猎。当他们从白天打猎的地方回来时，发现了一只小虎仔。他们带走了小虎仔，用项圈和链子把它拴在帐篷的支柱上。令所有见到小老虎的人高兴的是，它居然在那儿玩耍了起来。

一天晚上，正当天色渐渐变暗的时候，他们听到了一种让他们感到十分害怕的声音，那是老虎的吼叫声。于是小老虎使劲地拉扯着链子，努力挣脱束缚，它还用一声尖叫回应着远处的吼叫。

突然，一只雌老虎跳进了帐篷中间，它叼着小老虎的脖子，顺势扯断了拴小老虎的链子，然后转向帐篷口，像它来时一样猛然窜了出去。

THE TIGER

The tiger is a giant cat. His body is nearly covered with black stripes.

Unlike the lion, he runs so fast that the swiftest horse can not overtake him. He goes over the ground by making bounds or springs, one after another.

By night, as well as by day, the tiger watches for his prey. With a frightful roar, he will seize a man, and carry him off.

Have you ever thought what use whiskers are to cats? Lions have great whiskers, and so have tigers and all other animals of the cat kind.

Whenever you find an animal with whiskers like the cat's, you may be sure that animal steals softly among branches and thick bushes.

By the slightest touch on the tiger's whiskers, he knows when there is anything in his road.

A few years ago, some English officers went out to hunt. When coming home from their day's sport, they found a little tiger kitten.

They took it with them and tied it, with a collar and chain, to the pole of their tent. It played about, to the delight of all who saw it.

One evening, just as it was growing dark, they heard a sound that frightened them greatly. It was the roar of a tiger.

The kitten pulled at the chain, and tried to break away. With a sharp cry, it answered the voice outside.

All at once, a large tigress bounded into the middle of the tent. She caught her kitten by the neck, and broke the chain which bound it. Then turning to the door of the tent, she dashed away as suddenly as she had come.

第6课　威利与邦斯

威利·布朗和他的狗邦斯是一对忠实的好朋友。威利出去散步从不会不带着邦斯的。他们除了在一起做游戏之外，有了蛋糕时，他们也分着吃。

威利教了邦斯许多小把戏。他还经常夸邦斯，除了不会说话以外，邦斯几乎会做世界上的任何事情。

然而有一次，邦斯还真的告知威利爸爸一些事情，尽管它不会说话，让我告诉你它是怎么做到的。

那是夏天一个阳光灿烂的下午，威利和邦斯沿着小河边散步。

小河距离他父亲的商店不超过两个街区。威利开始往水里扔石子，看着石子激起一圈又一圈的波纹。

邦斯躺在草地上，看着苍蝇在它的鼻子周围飞来飞去，它还力图去抓飞得较近的苍蝇。几根圆木漂浮在靠近岸边的河水中，威利跳上了其中一根，想试试看自己能否把石头扔到小河另一边去。他向后退了退，然后用尽全身力气把石子扔了出去。就在石头出手的那一刻，圆木打了个转，威利脚下一滑便掉进了水里。

威利吓坏了，因为他不会游泳，而且即使他喊破了喉咙呼救，这里也不会有人听到。

可怜的小邦斯悲伤地大叫了一声。假如它是一只大水狗，它就会跳进水里救出自己的主人。

它汪汪大叫着，在河岸上来来回回跑了两三趟，先看看威利又看了看四周。随后，它以最快的速度沿着街道向商店跑去。

当它跑到那里时，门却紧关着。它用爪子用力地拍着门并且汪汪直叫，直到有人过来开了门。

它叼住布朗先生的衣服向门口跑去，把他的衣服放到门口，然后又回来抓住他又叫又跳。

此时一个正在商店里的朋友对布朗先生说：“一定是出了什么事。我戴上帽子和小狗去看看。”看见布朗先生也急忙戴上了帽子，邦斯才开始朝河边跑去。

此刻布朗先生突然想到了威利。当他来到河边的时候，看到威利的帽子漂在水面上，小胳膊在水面伸着。

当威利就要沉下去的时候，布朗先生跳进水里抓住了他，迅速把他拖到了岸上。不一会儿，威利才从恐惧中恢复了过来。没有人看起来比邦斯更高兴了。

WILLIE AND BOUNCE

Two fast friends were Willie Brown and his little dog Bounce. Willie could never think of taking a walk without Bounce. Cake and play were equally shared between them.

Willie taught his dog many cunning tricks, and often said that Bounce could do almost anything in the world but talk.

There came a time, however, when Bounce really told Willie's father something, though he could not talk. Let me tell you how he did this.

It was on a bright summer afternoon. Willie had strolled with Bounce down to the river, which was not more than two blocks from his father's store.

Willie began to throw stones into the water, and to watch the ripples as they made one circle after another.

Bounce lay on the grass, watching the flies that buzzed around his nose, and catching any that came too near.

There were some logs floating in the river near the shore. Willie jumped upon one of them, to see if he could throw a stone across the river.

He drew back, and sent the stone with all his might, just as it left his hand, the log turned, and he fell into the water.

He was very much frightened, for he did not know how to swim, and there was no one to hear, though he called as loud as he could for help.

Poor little Bounce gave a great yelp of distress. If he had been a big water dog, he could have jumped in and brought his master out.

He ran up and down the bank two or three times, barking, looking first at Willie and then around. Then he started, as fast as he could run, up the street to the store.

When he got there the door was shut, but he scratched against it and barked loudly, until some one came and opened it.

He caught hold of Mr. Brown's clothes, then ran to the door, then back again, catching at him, barking, and jumping.

A friend who was in the store said to Mr. Brown,“Something must be wrong; I would put on my hat, and go with the dog.”Bounce, seeing Mr. Brown take his hat, started for the river.

Then Mr. Brown thought of Willie. As he came to the river, he saw Willie's hat floating on the water, and his small arm thrown up.

He sprang in and caught him just as he was going down for the last time, and quickly carried him to the bank. Willie soon got over his fright, and no one seemed to be more delighted than Bounce.

第7课　熊和孩子们

在一个小镇的旅馆的休息室里，坐着一位刚才还一直带着一头熊来回走动的男子，他在等着吃晚饭，而他的那头熊则被拴在了院子里。

在上面的阳台上，几个孩子正在一块儿玩耍。最大的孩子大概有6岁，最小的孩子还不到2岁。

咚！咚！咚！这声音听起来好像有人在上楼梯。

门突然被撞开了。门口立着一头高大的熊，看来它是等得不耐烦了，于是就一步步摸着路上楼来了。

孩子们这下可被吓坏了，都赶快爬到了角落里。但熊把他们都一一找了出来，还闻了闻他们的衣服，但没有伤害他们。

“这一定是一只大狼狗。”他们说着就开始轻轻地拍它。

于是，大熊便躺在地板上，最小的男孩爬到了它的背上，把自己的脑袋埋在它乱蓬蓬的皮毛里面，他们玩起了“捉迷藏”的游戏。

最大的男孩还拿出他的鼓敲了起来，大熊则将它的后腿直立跳起舞来。孩子们见此状便兴高采烈地叫了起来。

还有两个年龄稍大的男孩拿出他们的木头枪，并递给大熊一支。他们一起迈着整齐的步伐，在房间里来来回回地行进着。

孩子们的妈妈正好来到门口，一看此情景，吓得目瞪口呆。最小的那个男孩反而高兴地叫喊着：“瞧，我们现在正玩着士兵游戏呢！”

这时熊的主人赶紧跑了进来，把熊带走了。

THE BEAR AND THE CHILDREN

In the parlor of an inn in a small town, sat a man who had been going about with a bear. He was waiting for his supper, and the bear was tied up in the yard.

Up in the attic, three little children were playing together. The eldest might have been six years old; the youngest, not more than two.

Stump! stump! stump! Some one was coming up the stairs.

The door flew open suddenly, and there stood the great, shaggy bear. He had got tired of waiting, and had found his way to the stairs.

The children were badly frightened. Each one crept into a corner, but the bear found them all out, and smelt their clothes, but did not hurt them.

“This must be a great dog,”they said, and they began to pat him.

Then the bear lay down on the floor, and the youngest boy climbed on his back, hid his head in the shaggy fur, and played at“hide and seek.”

The eldest boy took his drum and began to strike it, when the bear rose on his hind legs and danced. At that the children gave a merry shout.

The two younger boys took their wooden guns, and gave the bear one. Away they all marched around the room, keeping step.

Now the frightened mother of the children came to the door. But the youngest boy shouted, joyfully.“See, we are playing soldiers！”

Then the bear's master came running up, and took the bear away.

第8课　鱼鹰

鱼鹰，不像猎鹰那么大，但它却和猎鹰一样，有带钩的喙和锋利的爪子。鱼鹰大多呈深棕色，身上带有黑白斑点，身长20～22英寸，胸部大都呈白色。鱼鹰还有长长的尾巴和翅膀。

鱼鹰经常停在池塘、湖泊或河边的树上，在海边有时候也能发现它的身影。

它注视着水中那些从自己身下游过的鱼，会突然猛扎下去，抓住其中的一条。

当它用锋利的爪子把鱼抓住时，就会将鱼儿带到别处去吃。有时，当它抓着捕到的鱼飞走时，一旦它碰上猎鹰，长着十分锐利的喙和爪子的猎鹰，便会气势汹汹地朝鱼鹰猛扑过来。鱼鹰被逼无奈，只好弃鱼而逃。当鱼儿落下还没有触地时，猎鹰便能把它抓到，然后得意地飞走。

碰到这种情况，可怜的鱼鹰也只能大叫一声，胆怯地飞走。不过，为了填饱肚子，它不得不再次下水，去捕另外一条鱼。

到此你已明白，猎鹰无疑是掠夺者。鱼鹰依靠自己在水里辛辛苦苦捕鱼来维持生存，却往往遭受猎鹰的掠夺。

THE FISHHAWK

The fishhawk, or osprey, is not so large as the eagle; but he has, like the eagle, a hooked bill and sharp claws.

His color is a dark brown, with black and white spots, and his length is from twenty to twenty two inches. His breast is mostly white. His tail and wings are long.

The fishhawk is often found sitting upon a tree over a pond, or lake,or river. He is also found by the seaside.

He watches the fish as they swim in the water beneath him; then he darts down suddenly and catches one of them.

When he catches a fish in his sharp, rough claws, he carries it off to eat, and, as he flies away with it for his dinner, an eagle sometimes meets him.

The eagle flies at him fiercely with his sharp bill and claws, and compels the hawk to drop the fish.

Then the eagle catches the fish as it falls, before it reaches the ground, and carries it off.

The poor fish hawk, with a loud cry, timidly flies away. He must go again to the water and catch another fish for his dinner.

Thus you see, that the eagle is a robber. He robs fishhawks, whose only mode of getting a living is by catching fish.

第9课　讲故事的人

彼得·品达是一个讲起故事来非常在行的人。一天，他从一所学校旁经过时，孩子们叫住了他，随后纷纷围坐在他的身边。

孩子们说：“请给我们讲一个我们没有听过的故事吧。”

内德说：“那就给我们讲一个男孩和狗的故事吧。”

“好，”彼得说，“我喜欢做一些让好孩子高兴的事情，既然你们看上去非常懂礼貌，我就给你们讲一个新故事吧，那就讲一个男孩和一群狗的故事，像内德要求的那样。”

“不过开始之前，让我们找到一个比较凉快的、有树阴的地方吧。还有，约翰，你必须让那只狗安静下来，不要让它乱叫。

“在一个很远很远的地方，有一处非常寒冷的陆地，那儿每年要下很多雪。那里的山非常之高，前去旅游的人时常会在里面迷路。

“当地人养了许多个头很大的狗，他们还教会了这些狗去搜寻雪中迷路的人们。这些狗的嗅觉非常灵敏，它们仅靠气味就能够找到迷路的人们。

“有时天非常暗，旅游者靠眼睛什么都看不到，他们在迷路后往往藏身于雪堆之中。

“一个寒冷黑暗的夜晚，雪下得大且急，狂风呼呼地吹着。外边一片漆黑，天空中看不到一颗星星。当地的好心人为帮助那些可能需要帮助的人们，就把家里的狗放了出去。一两个小时后，人们就听到狗跑回来了。

“他们向屋外一看，发现狗驮着一个男孩。这个可怜的孩子已经冻僵了，好在他仍能勉强坚持着爬在了狗的背上。

“他已在雪地里躺了很长时间，虚弱得连走路的力气都没有了。他感到有东西在拖他的外套。听到狗的吠叫声，他便伸出了手，触到是只狗，这只狗也趁势拖了他一下。

“这只狗给了男孩一线希望。他用力抓着狗，狗则把他拖出了雪堆，但他仍然站立不起来，无法走动。

“他勉强爬上狗的背，用胳膊抱着狗的脖子，坚持着。

“他完全相信狗丝毫没有伤害他的意思，于是他骑着这只狗，一直坚持到了这个好心狗的家。

“这家好心人悉心地照顾着他，直到雪停了，才把他送回家。”

他们精心照料这位男孩，直到雪停了，然后又将男孩送回了家。

THE STORY TELLER

Peter Pindar was a great storyteller. One day, as he was going by the school, the children gathered around him.

They said,“Please tell us a story we have never heard.”Ned said,“Tell us something about boys and dogs.”

“Well,”said Peter,“I love to please good children, and, as you all appear civil, I will tell you a new story; and it shall be about a boy and some dogs, as Ned asks.”But before we begin, let us sit down in a cool, shady place. And now, John, you must be as still as a little mouse. Mary, you must not let Towser bark or make a noise.

“A long way from this place, there is a land where it is very cold, and much snow falls.”The hills are very high there, and traveler's are often lost among them. There are men there who keep large dogs. These are taught to hunt for people lost in the snow.

“The dogs have so fine a scent, that they can find persons by that alone. ”

“Sometimes it is so dark, that they can not see anything. Those who are lost often lie hid in the snowdrifts. ”

“One cold, bleak night, the snow fell fast, and the wind blew loud and shrill. It was quite dark. Not a star was to be seen in the sky. ”

“These good men sent out a dog, to hunt for those who might want help. In an hour or two, the dog was heard coming back. ”

“On looking out, they saw him with a boy on his back. The poor child was stiff with cold. He could but just hold on to the dog's back. ”

“He had lain for a long time in the snow, and was too weak to walk.”

“He felt something pull him by the coat, and heard the bark of a dog. He put out his hand, and felt the dog. The dog gave him another pull. ”

“This gave the poor boy some hope, and he took hold of the dog. He drew himself out of the snow, but ho could not stand or walk.”

“He got on the dog's back, and put his arms round the dog's neck, and held on. He felt sure that the dog did not mean to do him any harm. ”

“Thus he rode all the way to the good men's house. ”

“They took care of him, till the snow was gone. Then they sent him to his home.”

第10课　猫头鹰

“你从哪里得到这只猫头鹰的，哈里？”

“我和弗瑞德在一棵树心都空了的老橡树里发现它的。”

“你怎么会知道它就在那儿的呢？”“我来告诉你吧。一天，正值黄昏时分，我和弗瑞德围着一个旧的库房在玩捉迷藏游戏。当我正要爬进一个角落时，恰好听到一声尖叫，看见一只大鸟抓着一个什么东西飞了过来。

我叫上了弗瑞德，一起看着它飞到了这片林地。

“弗瑞德认为，这只鸟是一只猫头鹰，它的窝就安在那棵老橡树上。

“第二天，我们又去瞧它，它的确就在那儿。”

“但是你是如何捕获到它的？我想，它们在用锋利的喙搏斗时，一定会像人用武器战斗一样厉害。”

“它醒着的时候当然很厉害，但它在白天却看不到东西，而且还会时不时地打盹。

“而当它睁开锐利的眼、立起羽毛时，会‘呜、呜’地叫着。不要害怕它。”弗瑞德见此情景，果断地说，然后把它塞入了袋中。

“哈里，你现在想拿它怎么办？”

“我想放飞它。它不会像喜欢自己在老橡树上的筑巢那样喜欢这个笼子的。如果是一只小猫头鹰的话，还很容易驯养，但这只太老了，无法驯养。”

“但是你不怕它会抓你的小鸭子和小鸡吗？”

“不会的，这周围有好多老鼠。猫头鹰是捕鼠能手，一只猫头鹰捕鼠的能力，要顶上五六只猫呢。”

“我很高兴能够在你放飞它之前还能看到它，瞧，它的毛是多么柔软！”

“是的，当它轻轻飞翔的时候，你几乎发现不了它的动静。正是由于这一点，它才能非常容易地捕获到猎物呢。”

“瞧，它看上去多好笑啊，慢慢地闭起大眼，把头从这边转到那边。”

“是的，它在观察你的狗呢，安静一点。”

“你发觉没有，它的进食方式非常有趣。它把老鼠骨头咬碎，然后整个吞下去。过一两个小时，它会吐出骨头和揉成小球状的毛皮。”

THE OWL

“Where did you get that owl, Harry?”

“Fred and I found him in the old, hollow oak.”

“How did you know he was there?”

“I'll tell you. Fred and I were playing ‘hide and seek’ round the old barn, one night just at dusk. ”

“I was just creeping round the corner, when I heard a loud squeak, and a big bird flew up with something in his claws. ”

“I called Fred, and we watched him as he flew to the woods. Fred thought the bird was an owl, and that he had a nest in the old oak.”

“The next day we went to look for him, and, sure enough, he was there.”

“But how did you catch him? I should think he could fight like a good fellow with that sharp bill.”

“He can when he is wide awake; but owls can't see very well in the daytime, and he was taking a nap. ”

“He opened his great eyes, and ruffled up his feathers, and said,“Whoo! Whoo! Never mind who,’ Fred said, and slipped him into a bag.”

“What are you going to do with him, Harry?”

“Let him go. He doesn't like this cage half so well as his old oak tree. A young owl can be tamed easily, but this one is too old to tame.”

“But won't he catch all your ducklings and little chickens?”

“No, not while there are any rats or mice around. Father says an owl is a good mouser, and can catch more mice than half a dozen cats.”

“I'm glad I had a look at him before you let him go. What soft feathers he has!”

“Yes, he can fly so softly that you can scarcely hear him, and for this reason he can easily surprise and capture his prey.”

“How comical he looks, winking his big eyes slowly, and turning his head from side to side!”

“Yes; he is watching your dog. Be still. Bounce!

“We have just found out a funny thing about his way of eating. He breaks the bones of a mouse, and then swallows it whole. After an hour or two, he throws up the bones and fur rolled up in a little ball.”

第11课　詹妮的呼唤

“它太倔了，泰姆波拉夫人。我曾经花了一个小时去费劲地抓那匹撒野的马，可还是没有成功。”

5月的一个早晨，当泰姆波拉计划骑马出行的时候，那位雇工告诉她这样一个消息。

“我知道它难以驯服，但我的确很想骑它。”她转身说道。

“你想得到什么，妈妈？”詹妮问。要知道，詹姆可是一个活泼可爱、长着棕色头发、有双棕色眼睛的12岁女孩。此时，她正好走到屋子里。

“詹姆，”妈妈说，“这是个多么好的早晨啊。我想骑马到乡村去，带一些杂货，拜访你的姑妈安，然后，把她接到咱们家，大家一块吃晚饭。”

“但是，父亲已离开一整天了，那个雇工用了那么长的时间还没有把马驯服，他们甚至声称那匹马根本就无法驯服。”

“那个雇工大概是无法驯服它的，”詹妮微笑着说，“但是，妈妈，你尽管做出行前的准备吧！假如你真想骑它，我会设法让它听你的话的。”

“我的孩子，他们都说它跳一条沟得要跳三四次，它发起怒来就像一头野兽。如果你花那么多时间去训它的话，不仅一无所获，而且还会耽误自己去学校上课。”

“这不会费我很长时间的，妈妈，它会自动跑到我身边来的。”詹妮一边快乐地说着，一边戴上她的大草帽，立即动身前去山下放马场了。

马儿一听到詹妮衣裙的沙沙声，便竖起耳朵，用鼻子嗅了嗅，挺直了头，像是又准备要跳起来似的。

“梵妮！噢，梵妮！”詹妮大声呼叫着她给马取的名字，这匹漂亮的马把头转了过来。马儿熟悉这柔和的声音，而且很高兴让它的朋友明白它听懂了她的呼唤。它立刻跑到篱笆边，用它的头亲热地蹭着小女孩的肩。放马场的门刚一打开，它便随着詹妮到了马棚。那位雇工曾经很粗暴地对待过它，它记着呢！但它也记着詹妮美妙动听的声音，以及她轻轻抚摸过它的双手。它用爱回报了詹妮的爱，而且也乐意为好心人服务。

JENNY'S CALL

“It's of no use, Mrs. Templar; I have been trying the greater part of an hour to catch that rogue of a horse. She won't be caught.”

Such was the report the hired man brought in to Mrs. Templar one pleasant May morning, when she had been planning a ride.

“I suppose it can not be helped, but I wanted her very much,”she said, as she turned away.

“What was it you wanted, mother?”asked Jenny Templar, a bright, brown haired, brown eyed girl of twelve, who had just come into the room.

“Fanny,”said the mother.“It is such a beautiful morning, I meant to drive down to the village, get some groceries, then call for your Aunt Ann, have a nice ride up the river road, and bring her home to dinner.

“But father is away for all day, and the men have been trying nearly an hour to catch Fanny; one of the men says she can't be caught.”

“Maybe she can't by him,”said Jenny, with a merry laugh.“But, get ready, mother; you shall go if you like. I'll catch Fanny, and harness her, too.”

“Why, my child, they say she jumped the ditch three or four times, and acted like a wild creature. You'll only be late at school, and tire yourself for nothing.”

“It won't take me long, mother. Fanny will come to me,”said Jenny, cheerily. She put on her wide straw hat, and was off in a moment, down the hill, to the field where the horse was grazing.

The moment Fanny heard the rustle of Jenny's dress, she pricked up her ears, snorted, and, with head erect, seemed ready to bound away again.

“Fanny! O Fanny!”called Jenny, and the beautiful creature turned her head. That gentle tone she well knew, and, glad to see her friend, she carne directly to the fence, and rubbed her head on the girl's shoulder. As soon as the gate was opened, she followed Jenny to the barn.

The men had treated her roughly, and she remembered it. But she knew and loved the voice that was always kind, and the hand that often fed and caressed her. She gave love for love, and willing service for kindness.

第12课　小白猫

小白猫睡在我的膝盖上。它像雪一样白，像百合一样纯洁。当我抚摸它那柔软的皮毛时，它醒了过来，并发出呼噜的声音。世界上还有像它这样的白猫吗？

小白猫现在想要出去，它不需要有人看着它，就可以尽情地玩耍。“小白猫，一个小时后回来呀。”我叮嘱它，“要找个安全的地方玩耍。”

夜幕降临了，我突然听到大声的猫叫。我打开门，是小白猫跑了进来。哦，我的小白猫，真是太好了！可它怎么弄成这样了？这真的是你吗？它这时看起来就像一只流浪的野猫。多难看啊，它浑身是土，粉红的鼻头现在变成黑的了。

哦，我知道了，它一定是不听话，去了不干净的地方。

小朋友们，如果小孩子想变得可爱，如果小白猫想让自己永远保持洁白，这全靠他们自己。他们应该听从劝告，在安全的地方玩耍才对。

THE WHITE KITTEN

My little white kitten's asleep on my knee;

As white as the snow or the lilies is she;

She wakes up with a pur

When I stroke her soft fur:

Was there ever another white kitten like her?

My little white kitten now wants to go out

And frolic, with no one to watch her about;

“Little kitten,”I say,

“Just an hour you may stay,

And be careful in choosing your places to play.”

But night has come down, when I hear a loud“mew;”

I open the door, and my kitten comes through;

My white kitten! ah me!

Can it really be she—

This ill looking, beggar like cat that I see?

What ugly, gray streaks on her side and her back!

Her nose, once as pink as a rosebud, is black!

Oh, I very well know,

Though she does not say so,

She has been where white kittens ought never to go.

If little good children intend to do right,

If little white kittens would keep themselves white,

It is needful that they

Should this counsel obey,

And be careful in choosing their places to play.

第13课　水獭

水獭主要分布在北美洲，把它那扁平的像船桨一样的尾巴算在内，它身长可达3英尺半，而这条尾巴就相当于它的一只脚。

水獭的背上长着长长的、闪闪发光的、栗色的毛，而那挨着皮肤的毛质则十分优质，且非常柔软，它呈浅褐色。

它们居住在自己建造的那个特别奇特的窝里，而且习惯聚居在同一个地方，就像城镇里的建筑一样。水獭总是把自己的窝建在河流、湖泊的岸边，这是因为它们游泳要比在陆地上行走更为容易，而且它们也喜欢在水中游来游去。

当它们在小溪边建造自己的窝时，它们会筑一个水坝，以使水深达到理想的深度。

这些水坝主要用泥土、石块和树枝建造而成，有时可达600～700英尺长，而且非常坚固，看起来就像人类建造的，而不是这些不会讲话的小动物建起来的。

它们的窝则是用与水坝相同的原材料组成的，呈圆形，墙壁很厚，屋顶由一层厚厚的泥土、树枝、树叶组成。

从夏季开始，它们就忙于建造自己的房子，但直到秋冬才能够建造完成，冰冻则使它们更加紧密牢固。

水獭能利用自己锋利的前齿砍断树枝或小树干，以作为建造房屋和水坝的木材，它们还将树皮剥下并储藏起来，以作为冬天的食物。

水獭的皮毛非常昂贵，人们称那些猎取它们的人为诱捕者。

曾经有一个人看到有五只小水獭在嬉戏。它们在那倒在水坝边的树干上跳来跳去，偶尔会把其中的一只推进水中。这个人便蹑手蹑脚地走向了水獭，并打算向这些小家伙开枪。但那些水獭嬉戏的情景就像小孩子在家中玩耍一样可爱，这使他感觉到，如果杀掉它们是很残忍的，所以他没有打扰这些小水獭，离开了它们。

THE BEAVER

The beaver is found chiefly in North America. It is about three and a half feet long, including the flat, paddle shaped tail, which is a foot in length.

The long, shining hair on the back is chestnut colored, while the fine, soft fur that lies next the skin, is grayish brown.

Beavers build themselves most curious huts to live in, and quite frequently a great number of these huts are placed close together, like the buildings in a town.

They always build their huts on the banks of rivers or lakes, for they swim much more easily than they walk, and prefer moving about in the water.

When they build on the bank of a running stream, they make a dam across the stream for the purpose of keeping the water at the height they wish.

These dams are made chiefly of mud, and stones, and the branches of trees. They are sometimes six or seven hundred feet in length, and are so constructed that they look more like the work of man than of little dumb beasts.

Their huts are made of the same material as the dams, and are round in shape. The walls are very thick, and the roofs are finished off with a thick layer of mud, sticks, and leaves.

They commence building their houses late in the summer, but do not get them finished before the early frosts. The freezing makes them tighter and stronger.

They obtain the wood for their dams and huts by gnawing through the branches of trees, and even through the trunks of small ones, with their sharp front teeth. They peel off the bark, and lay it up in store for winter food.

The fur of the beaver is highly prized. The men who hunt these animals are called trappers.

A gentleman once saw five young beavers playing. They would leap on the trunk of a tree that lay near a beaver dam, and would push one another off into the water.

He crept forward very cautiously, and was about to fire on the little creatures; but their amusing tricks reminded him so much of some little children he knew at home, that he thought it would be inhuman to kill them. So he left them without even disturbing their play.

第14课　鸟类的朋友

我曾经认识一位老人，他对鸟儿充满了爱心，同时也被鸟儿所爱。他居住在一个长着各种各样的树林中间，没有妻子和儿女。

他长着银白色的胡须，蓝色慈祥的眼睛，他的嗓音也是鸟儿所喜欢的，这使他与鸟儿成为了朋友。

当他拿着耙子在树林里劳动的时候，鸟儿就会靠近他，并啄食他从新鲜土壤里挖出的蚯蚓。起初它们还与老人保持一定距离，过了一会儿，它们就与老人靠得很近了，因为它们发现老人是一个善良的人，不会伤害它们，而且喜欢它们靠近自己。

鸟儿正是从老人那友善的目光和声音里感觉到他有一颗善良的心，随着时间的积累，它们便对老人十分信任，也接受了老人对它们的爱。

它们会靠近耙子，有时还会跳到耙子上去等着虫子的出现。每当老人善待它们时，它们就会抬头仰望着他，就像在说：“他是个好人，他爱我们，我们不用怕他。”

不久，树林中所有的鸟都成了他的忠实朋友，它们总是盼着老人的到来。一旦看到他，它们就会从枝头上飞下来，唧唧喳喳地叫着来欢迎老人。

老人不用耙子、锄头工作时，他会带来些面包屑撒落在地面，鸟儿们便会飞到他的头上、脚上，去啄那些从他手上掉下来的面包屑。

老人也知道，这些鸟儿是多么喜欢他。有时他会把一片面包皮放在嘴里，而将面包皮的另一半露在嘴唇外面，鸟儿就会像蜜蜂一样飞来，啄上一小块面包屑后飞走。

每当老人早晨睡过头了，鸟儿们便会飞到屋里，落在他的床头，用它们的歌声叫醒老人。

鸟儿还与老人一同去教堂。当老人在教堂里祈祷和唱圣歌时，它们也落在树上唱起赞歌，像神仙一样照顾着老人。

鸟儿对老人的这种爱和信任，伴随着他安度终生。怀着这种爱与信任的孩子们，也一定能得到老人的慈爱的心、温和的声音和友善的目光。

BIRD FRIENDS

I once knew a man who was rich in his love for birds, and in their love for him. He lived in the midst of a grove full of all kinds of trees. He had no wife or children in his home.

He was an old man with gray beard, blue and kind eyes, and a voice that the birds loved; and this was the way he made them his friends.

While he was at work with a rake on his nice walks in the grove, the birds came close to him to pick up the worms in the fresh earth he dug up. At first, they kept a rod or two from him, but they soon found he was a kind man, and would not hurt them, but liked to have them near him.

They knew this by his kind eyes and voice, which tell what is in the heart. So, day by day their faith in his love grew in them.

They came close to the rake. They would hop on top of it to be first at the worm. They would turn up their eyes into his when he spoke to them, as if they said,“He is a kind man; he loves us; we need not fear him.”

All the birds of the grove were soon his fast friends. They were on the watch for him, and would fly down from the green tree tops to greet him with their chirp.

When he had no work on the walks to do with his rake or his hoe, he took crusts of bread with him, and dropped the crumbs on the ground. Down they would dart on his head and feet to catch them as they fell from his hand.

8 He showed me how they loved him. He put a crust of bread in his mouth, with one end of it out of his lips. Down they came like bees at a flower, and flew off with it crumb by crumb.

When they thought he slept too long in the morning, they would fly in and sit on the bedpost, and call him up with their chirp.

They went with him to church, and while he said his prayers and sang his hymns in it, they sat in the trees, and sang their praises to the same good God who cares for them as he does for us.

Thus the love and trust of birds were a joy to him all his life long; and such love and trust no boy or girl can fail to win with the same kind heart, voice, and eye that he had.

第15课　给鸟儿自由

一天，一位先生穿过一座大城市。在街道的一角，他看到一个小男孩在出售笼子里的小鸟。

他伤感地看着这些失去了自由的小鸟。小鸟在笼子里叽叽喳喳地叫着，拍打着它们的翅膀，试图逃出来。

他站立在那里，看了一会儿，最后他对男孩说：“你的鸟儿卖多少钱？”

“50美分一只，先生。”男孩说。

“我的意思不是多少钱一只。”那先生说，“而是将它们全买下一共要多少钱？我想全部买下来。”

男孩开始数鸟的个数，算了算，一共需要5美元。

“给你钱吧！”那先生说。男孩数着钱，他对早晨的交易感到非常满意。但当他刚找完零钱时，这个人便打开笼子的门，让所有鸟儿飞走了。

男孩非常吃惊地叫喊道：“你为什么要这样做，先生？你一只鸟也没有得到啊。”

“我告诉你，我为什么要这样做吧。”那先生说，“我曾作为战俘在法国的监狱里被关押了三年，所以我不忍心看到任何生命失去自由。”

THE BIRDS SET FREE

A man was walking one day through a large city. On a street corner he saw a boy with a number of small birds for sale, in a cage.

He looked with sadness upon the little prisoners flying about the cage, peeping through the wires, beating them with their wings, and trying to get out.

He stood for some time looking at the birds. At last he said to the boy,“How much do you ask for your birds?”

“Fifty cents apiece, sir,”said the boy.“I do not mean how much apiece,”said the man,“but how much for all of them? I want to buy them all.”

The boy began to count, and found they came to five dollars.“There is your money,”said the man. The boy took it, well pleased with his morning's trade.

No sooner was the bargain settled than the man opened the cage door, and let all the birds fly away.

The boy, in great surprise, cried,“What did you do that for, sir? You have lost all your birds.”

“I will tell you why I did it,”said the man.“I was shut up three years in a French prison, as a prisoner of war, and I am resolved never to see anything in prison which I can make free.”

第16课　猴子

猴子是一种非常机灵的动物，它们生活在世界上的许多地方。

有一位女士曾经有一只猴子，是别人送给她的礼物。这只猴子和其他的猴子一样喜欢搞恶作剧，别人做什么它也要做什么。

有一天，它的女主人发现这只猴子坐在她的洗脸池边上，手里拿着一个盛满水的小茶杯，另一只手拿着她的牙刷正在刷牙，而刷牙的同时还在往镜子里面看。

女主人的小女儿玛丽亚有一个很大的娃娃，娃娃长得非常漂亮。有一天，小女儿把娃娃忘在了摇篮里，自己走出了屋子。猴子走了进去，它把娃娃抱在手里，跳上洗脸池，开始给娃娃洗脸。

它先是给她打上肥皂，然后把她放在水盆里用毛巾使劲地给她搓脸，娃娃脸上的彩漆全被洗掉了。

有许多关于猴子拿着棍子一起打架，或是共同抵抗敌人的故事，但这些故事并不是真实的，众所周知，猴子并没有武器的概念。

所谓的投掷到人们头上的树枝和其他的武器通常只是些干死的枝干，当生性好奇的猴子们从树上飞掠，窥视树下的行人时偶尔碰掉的。

但是它们能学会使用棍子，而且使得相当好。很久以前，有两个意大利人，他们有一只猴子和一架风琴，靠表演谋生。一次在表演的时候，有一只狗冲向了小猴子，这让猴子的主人非常不高兴。

他们与狗的主人为此争执起来，最后他们决定让猴子和狗自己决出胜负。因为猴子的体型比较小，所以它被允许使用一根棍子。

其中一个意大利人手和双脚着地，蜷缩起来装成一只狗，大声地叫着，另一个意大利人骑到他的背上，抓着他的头发，用棍子打他的头，他们用这种方式教猴子如何使用棍子。

猴子仔细地看着，训练完毕，它接过棍子，看起来对此十分在行。

一切准备就绪之后，狗张开大嘴冲向了猴子，猴子立刻跳上了它的背，抓住狗的耳朵，用棍子狠打狗的头，它的技术实在是太好，它的对手很快就落败了，但这只猴子却不满足于小胜，它继续揍着那只狗，直到把它打倒在地。

THE MONKEY

The monkey is a very cunning little animal, and is found in many parts of the world.

A lady once had a monkey, which had been brought to her as a present. This monkey, like all others, was very fond of mischief and of doing whatever he saw others do.

His mistress found him one day sitting on her toilet table, holding in one hand a little china mug with water in it, and in the other her toothbrush, with which he was cleaning his teeth, looking all the time in the glass.

Her little daughter, Maria, had a large doll with a very handsome head and face. She one day left this doll in the cradle, and went out of the room. The monkey came in, took the doll in his arms, and jumping upon the washstand, he began to wash its face.

He first rubbed it all over with soap. Then seizing the towel, he dipped it in the wash bowl, and rubbed it so hard that the doll's face was entirely spoiled, the paint being all washed off.

There have been many tales of monkeys who, armed with sticks, have joined together and made war or resisted their enemies with great effect. These are not true, as it is known that in their native state monkeys have no idea of weapons.

The sticks and other missiles said to be thrown at travelers as they pass under the branches of trees, are usually the dead branches, etc., accidentally broken off, as the monkeys, with the natural curiosity of their tribe, pass along the tops of trees to watch the actions of the people below.

They can, however, be taught to use a stick, and to use it well. Some time ago, two Italians together owned an organ and a monkey, by means of which they earned their living. During one of their exhibitions, a dog flew at the little monkey, which made its owners very angry.

They and the owner of the dog quarreled about it, and at last it was agreed that the dog and the monkey should fight it out; the monkey, because he was smaller, was to be allowed a stick.

The monkey was taught what he was to do in the following manner: One of the Italians crawled on his hands and knees, barking like a dog, while the other got on his back, grasped his hair, and beat him about the head with a stick.

The monkey looked on with great gravity, and, when the instruction was over, received the stick with the air of a man who knew his work and meant to do it.

Everything being settled the dog flew at the monkey with open month. The monkey immediately leaped on his back, and, grasping the dog's ear, beat away at his head with such good will that his adversary speedily gave in. The monkey, however, was not content with a mere victory, but continued pounding at the dog's head until he left him senseless on the ground.

第17课　狮子

狮子常被称为“百兽之王”。它的身体有3～4英尺高，6～9九英尺长。它的毛皮有浅黄的、棕色的，还有黄褐色的。脖子周围有一大片粗而密的鬃毛，这使它更具威严。

狮子拥有巨大的力量，它的巨爪可以很轻易地撕碎牛或马的头颅。没看过从它嘴里取出的牙齿的人很难想象它到底有多大。一颗牙齿就需用一只手来握，你很可能误认为它是大象的牙齿。

狮子的故乡在亚洲和非洲的丛林里，无论对人还是对动物都是一种威胁。白天它通常不出去活动，当黑暗降临的时候，它会在其他动物捕食饮水的地方徘徊，在最不经意的时候突然跳出来，怒吼声就像是在打雷。

有些狮子能活很久。一只叫庞培的狮子1760年在伦敦死去了，死时已经70岁了。如果在很小的时候就开始加以训练，狮子是可以驯化的，而且它还会和主人十分亲近。在布鲁塞尔的一个动物园的小房间里曾经养过一只叫做唐科的狮子。那个房间恰巧需要修补，于是那个叫威廉的驯狮人请了一个木匠来修补。木匠来了，但是他太害怕狮子了，他不肯独自一人靠近那个小屋。于是威廉进了屋子，在木匠修理底层时，他把狮子带到上面一层，与狮子玩了一会儿，一直玩到后来他和狮子累了，于是就睡着了。木匠继续着他的工作，当他做完的时候，便大声叫威廉来看一看。

他叫呀，叫呀，但威廉就是不答应。这个可怜的木匠开始害怕了，他怕狮子已把驯狮人当成了晚餐，或是已把他撕成了碎片。他悄悄地爬到上面一层，透过下层的层顶他看见狮子和威廉正肩并肩地睡在一起，惬意得就像是一对兄弟。

他太害怕了，禁不住大声叫了出来。狮子被他的叫声惊醒了，愤怒地看着木匠，把爪子放在驯兽人的胸上，样子似乎是说：“看你敢碰他！”之后这头威武的雄狮倒下继续睡了。木匠被吓坏了，他不知道怎样才能叫醒威廉，最后只好跑出了那间小屋，把他所看到的一切告诉给了其他人。

一些人闻讯来到小屋。他们打开门，想办法唤醒了驯狮人。他揉了揉眼睛，看了看四周，对这些人说他睡了一个好觉。他抓住狮子的爪子，轻轻地摇晃着，然后安然无恙地从小屋中走了出来。

THE LION

The lion is often called the“king of beasts,”His height varies from three to four feet, and he is from six to nine feet long. His coat is of it yellowish brown or tawny color, and about his neck is a great shaggy mane which gives his head a majestic appearance.

The strength of the lion is so great that he can easily crush the skulls of such animals as the horse or ox with one blow of his paw. No one who has not seen the teeth of a full grown lion taken out of their sockets can have any idea of their real size; one of them forms a good handful, and might easily be mistaken for a small elephant's tooth.

The home of the lion is in the forests of Asia and Africa, where he is a terror to man and beast. He generally lies concealed during the day, but as darkness comes on he prowls about where other animals are accustomed to go for food or drink, and springs upon them unawares, with a roar that sounds like the rumble of thunder.

The lion sometimes lives to a great age. One by the name of Pompey died at London, in the year 1760, at the age of seventy years. If taken when young the lion can be tamed, and will even show marks of kindness to his keeper.

In a menagerie at Brussels, there was a cell where a large lion, called Danco, used to be kept. The cell happened to be in need of repair, and the keeper, whose name was William, desired a carpenter to come and mend it. The carpenter came, but was so afraid of the lion, that he would not go near the cell alone.

So William entered the cell, and led the lion to the upper part of it, while the other part was refitting. He played with the lion for some time; but, at last, being wearied, both he and the lion fell asleep. The carpenter went on with his work, and when he had finished he called out for William to come and see it.

He called again and again, but no William answered. The poor carpenter began to be frightened, lest the lion had made his dinner of the keeper, or else crushed him with his great paws. He crept round to the upper part of the cell, and there, looking through the railing, he saw the lion and William sleeping side by side as contentedly as two little brothers.

He was so astonished that he uttered a loud cry. The lion, awakened by the noise, stared at the carpenter with an eye of fury, and then placing his paw on the breast of his keeper, as if to say,“Touch him if you dare,”the heroic beast lay down to sleep again. The carpenter was dreadfully alarmed, and, not knowing how he could rouse William, he ran out and related what he had seen.

Some people came, and, opening the door of the cell, Contrived to awaken the keeper, who, rubbing his eyes, quietly looked around him, and expressed himself very well satisfied with his nap. He took the lion's paw, shook it kindly, and then retired uninjured from the cell.

第18课　老鹰

老鹰似乎比空中飞翔的所有其他禽鸟都更优越。它飞翔的高度是如此之高，当它冲向云霄时，人们的肉眼根本就看不到它。它的力气也巨大无比，据说它能用鹰爪抓起小孩子。但人们赋予它的一些好品质其实只是空想出来的，并非真的。

鹰被描述成一种具有独立精神的动物，据说它是不肯吃不是自己猎到的动物的。但亚历山大·威尔逊，一位伟大的自然学家就证实，他就曾看见过一只鹰吃过一匹马的尸体。

鹰可以活很久。据说在维也纳，有一只鹰在被关起来后就活了104岁。

鹰有好几种。金鹰是其中体形最大的一种。它的嘴到尾巴有将近4英尺。这种鹰在欧洲很多地方都有，在美洲也有。高耸的岩石、废弃的塔楼是它们的栖息之所，它会在上面用木棍和灯心草搭建自己的小窝。它尾部的羽毛被美洲的印第安人当作装饰物。

最有趣的一种鹰叫秃鹰。它是美国的国鸟，是这个国家的象征。秃鹰以捕食鱼类为生，因此它们大部分都住在海边，或是靠近大江大湖的悬崖上。

根据威尔逊的描述，秃鹰主要靠掠夺其他禽类的劳动果实为生。它会密切观察鱼鹰，当鱼鹰入水捕到鱼后向上飞时，秃鹰就从上面俯冲下来，迫使鱼鹰放弃它的猎物，秃鹰会在猎物还没落水之前就把它抓住。

最著名的一种鹰是头部有脊突的大鹰。这种鹰据称最勇敢、最强壮。它会攻击其它动物，有时甚至还攻击人。它狂暴、易怒，而且阴冷，总是居住在密林的最深处，这种鹰主要生活在南美洲。

THE EAGLE

The eagle seems to enjoy a kind of supremacy over the rest of the inhabitants of the air. Such is the loftiness of his flight, that he often soars in the sky beyond the reach of the naked eye, and such is his strength that he has been known to carry away children in his talons. But many of the noble qualities imputed to him are rather fanciful than true.

He has been described as showing a lofty independence, which makes him disdain to feed on anything that is not slain by his own strength. But Alexander Wilson, the great naturalist, says that he has seen an eagle feasting on the carcass of a horse. The eagle lives to a great age. One at Vienna is stated to have died after a confinement of one hundred and four years.

There are several species of the eagle. The golden eagle, which is one of the largest, is nearly four feet from the point of the beak to the end of the tail. He is found in most parts of Europe, and is also met with in America. High rocks and ruined and lonely towers are the places which he chooses for his abode. His nest is composed of sticks and rushes. The tail feathers are highly valued as ornaments by the American Indians.

The most interesting species is the bald eagle, as this is an American bird, and the adopted emblem of our country. He lives chiefly upon fish, and is found in the neighborhood of the sea, and along the shores and cliffs of our large lakes and rivers.

According to the description given by Wilson, he depends, in procuring his food, chiefly upon the labors of others. He watches the fish hawk as he dives into the sea for his prey, and darting down upon him as he rises, forces him to relinquish his victim, and then seizes it before it again reaches the water.

One of the most notable species is the harpy eagle. This is said to be bold and strong, and to attack beasts, and even man himself. He is fierce, quarrelsome, and sullen, living alone in the deepest forests. He is found chiefly in South America.

第19课　马的故事

托马斯叔叔：孩子们，再次见到你们真高兴。上回见面以后我出去旅行了一趟，过些时候会给你们讲讲我的见闻。不过，我答应这回先告诉你们一些关于动物的事情，我打算从马开始讲起。但是我知道你们宁愿听故事，而不是听讲座。所以，我马上给你们讲几个特意为你们准备的故事。

弗兰克：托马斯叔叔，你的故事，我们永远不会听烦的，我们知道你总是有新奇的故事讲给我们。

托马斯叔叔：那好吧，弗兰克，现在我们开始讲马的故事。

世界上有好几个地方发现有数目众多的野马群。他们生活在南美洲广袤的平原上。据说有时一个马群里就有一万多匹马。这些马由一匹头马引领，指挥行动的方向。这就是它们行动时的准则，似乎最好的骑兵也很难超越它们。

游人遇到我们描述的这种马群会非常危险。人们很少见到马群，不禁会为他们的速度和势不可挡的气势所惊慌。马蹄的踩踏声如同远处传来的隆隆雷声，它们飞驰的速度和激烈的劲头似乎可以给世界带来毁灭。

然而，有时马群会突然停下来嘶叫，那声音嘹亮而让人害怕。接着会向相反的方向飞驰，霎时间无踪无影。这时，游人要特别小心勒好自己的马，以防他们挣断缰绳追随野马群而去。

在那些野马众多的地方，当地居民就不费力气去喂养家马了。他们什么时候需要，只需骑一匹习惯了这种游戏的马即可，他们骑着它飞驰过平原，去找野马群，通常走不了多远就可以找到。

骑手慢慢靠近脱离群体的马，选中一匹中意的，敏捷地抛出套索（一截绳子，一头接着可以飞抛出去的套索，一头紧紧系在马鞍上），或是套在野马的头上，或是绊住它的后腿，他就可以把捕获的野马拉倒。

接着，捕猎人迅速跳下自己的马，把斗篷蒙在套住的野马头上，将斗篷的一角塞到马嘴里，在它的背上缚一个马鞍，然后把斗篷扯去，再让野马站起来。此时猎捕的骑手一点也不能怠慢，他必须飞快地跳回自己的马上。为了不被野马踢倒，他应呆在马上，直到野马完全筋疲力尽、听从新主人的命令、完全驯服为止。

弗兰克：但是，托马斯叔叔，所有的马最开始都是野生的吗？我听说阿拉伯半岛是以驯养马而出名的。

托马斯叔叔：很长一段时间，阿拉伯半岛都以其拥有漂亮、速度快的马匹而著名。当我们了解了阿拉伯马所接受的精心照料后，你就一点也不奇怪它们会成为最优良的马匹了。我听过一个有关阿拉伯人爱马的故事，它从一个英国军官怎样想要买这个阿拉伯人的马引出。

那是一匹枣红色的牝马，体格强壮，英健漂亮。主人对自己马的样子和品质感到非常骄傲，他骑着马在英国人的帐篷前踱步，由此引起了这个英国人的注意。英国人问他愿不愿意把马卖出去，他反问道：“你能付给我多少？”“那要看它的年龄了，我想它5岁多了吧？”“再猜。”“4岁？”“看看她的牙口。”阿拉伯人微笑着说。仔细看过后发现它只有3岁。就它现在的年龄，如此健壮而匀称的体格让它更加值钱。

英国人说：“我付给你80金币（相当于250美金）。”“愿意的话再加点。”阿拉伯人开始感兴趣了。“90……100！”阿拉伯人笑着摇摇头。英国军官最后出到了300金币（将近1000美金了），阿拉伯人说：“你不用再引诱我了，你真是一个富有的绅士，据我听说，你有几袋金子和银子呢。”他又说道：“你想要我的马吗？除非用你所有的金银。”他催马跑开了，远离了诱惑。

尽管马不很喜欢水，但是必要的时候，马和其他很多动物一样可以游泳。许多年前，一艘船被冲到了好望角海岸的岩石上，大部分船员都遇难了。岸上的人看到幸存的人攀着船的碎片，漂浮在海面上。海浪太高了，船只无法近前施救。

这时候，一个种植园主正好从农场回来，目睹了这次沉船，看到那些不幸的船员，他心急如焚。知道自己的马非常勇敢，还是游泳高手，他决定冒险去搭救落水者。他给马的鼻孔里各塞了一块糖果，便冲进了浪中。起先马和骑手都给淹没了，好在他们很快就又浮到了海面上，游向沉船。他每次能救起两个人，让他们每人抓住他的一只靴子，带他们到了岸上。

这样重复了足足7趟，他救了14条生命。但是当他第8次返回的时候，已经筋疲力尽了，一个巨大的浪头拍打过来，他失去平衡，顷刻间沉入水中。他的马安全游回了岸边，但是英勇的骑手却沉入了海底，再也没有回来。

THE HORSE

Uncle Thomas. Well, boys, I am glad to see you again. Since I last saw you I have made quite a tour, and at some future time will describe to you what I have seen. I promised at this meeting, however, to tell you something about animals, and I propose to begin with the horse. But I know that you like stories better than lecturing, so I will proceed at once to tell you some which I have gathered for you.

Frank. We never feel tired of listening to you, Uncle Thomas. We know you always have something curious to tell us.

Uncle Thomas. Well then, Frank, to begin at once with the horse.

In several parts of the world there are to be found large herds of wild horses. In South America the immense plains are inhabited by them, and it is said that ten thousand are sometimes found in a single herd. These herds are always preceded by a leader, who directs their motions; and such is the regularity with which they perform their movements, that it seems as if they could hardly be surpassed by the best trained cavalry.

It is extremely dangerous for travelers to meet a herd of this description. When they are unaccustomed to the sight of such a mass of creatures, they can not help feeling greatly alarmed at their rapid and apparently irresistible approach. The trampling of the animals sounds like distant thunder; and such is the rapidity and impetuosity of their advance, that it seems to threaten instant destruction.

Sometimes, however, they suddenly stop short, utter a loud and piercing neigh, and, with a rapid wheel, take an opposite course, and altogether disappear. On such occasions it requires great care in the traveler to prevent his horses from breaking loose and escaping with the wild herd.

In those countries where wild horses are so plentiful, the inhabitants do not take the trouble to raise others, but whenever they want one they mount upon an animal accustomed to the sport, and gallop over the plain toward a herd, which is readily found at no great distance.

The rider gradually approaches some stragglers from the main body, and, having selected the one he wishes, he dexterously throws the lasso（which is a long rope with a running noose, and is firmly fixed to his saddle）either over the wild horse's head or in such a manner as to entangle his hind legs; and by the sudden checking of his own horse, he throws the captured animal over on its side.

In an instant he jumps off his horse, wraps his cloak round the head of the captive, forces a bit into his mouth, and straps a saddle on his back. He then removes the cloak, and the animal starts to his feet. With equal quickness the hunter leaps into his saddle; and, in spite of the kicking of the captive, keeps his seat, till, being wearied out with his efforts, the horse submits to the guidance of his new master, and is reduced to complete obedience.

Frank. But, Uncle Thomas, are all horses originally wild? I have heard that Arabia is famous for raising horses.

Uncle Thomas. Arabia has, for a long time, been noted for the beauty and speed of its horses. It is not strange, however, that the Arabian horse should be the most excellent, when we consider the care and kindness with which it is treated. One of the best stories which I have ever heard of the love of an Arabian for his steed, is that related of an Arab, from whom an English officer wished to purchase his horse.

The animal was a bright bay mare, of fine form and great beauty; and the owner, proud of her appearance and qualities, paraded her before the Englishman's tent until she attracted his attention. On being asked if he would sell her,“What will you give me?”was the reply.“That depends upon her age. I suppose she is past five?”“Guess again,”said he.“Four?”“Look at her mouth,”said the Arab, with a smile. On examination she was found to be about three. This, from her size and symmetry, greatly increased her value.

The gentleman said,“I will give you eighty tomans,”（nearly two hundred and fifty dollars）.“A little more, if you please,”said the fellow, somewhat entertained.“Ninety—a hundred.”He shook his head and smiled. The officer at last came to three hundred tomans,（nearly one thousand dollars）.“Well,”said the Arab,“you need not tempt me further. You are a rich nobleman, and, I am told, have loads of silver and gold. Now,”added he,“you want my mare, but you shall not have her for all you have got.”He put spurs to his horse, and was soon out of the reach of temptation.

The horse can swim, when necessary, as well as most other animals, although he is not very fond of the water. Some years ago a vessel was driven upon the rocks, on the coast of the Cape of Good Hope, and most of the crew fell an immediate sacrifice to the waves. Those who were left were seen from the shore, clinging to the different pieces of the wreck. The sea ran so high that no boat could venture off to their assistance.

Meanwhile, a planter had come from his farm to be a spectator of the shipwreck. His heart was melted at the sight of the unhappy seamen, and, knowing the bold spirit of his horse and his excellence as a swimmer, he determined to make a desperate effort for their deliverance. Having blown a little Brandy into his horse's nostrils, he pushed into the midst of the breakers. At first both horse and rider disappeared, but it was not long before they floated to the surface, and swam up to the wreck; when, taking two men with him, each of whom held on by one of his boots, the planter brought them safe to shore.

This was repeated no less than seven times, and he saved fourteen lives; but on his return the eighth time, being much fatigued, and meeting a tremendous wave, he lost his balance and sank in a moment. His horse swam safely to land, but its gallant rider sank, to rise no more.

第20课　长颈鹿

长颈鹿原产自非洲，其长相异常，个头也很特别，既有些像骆驼，又和鹿有几分相似。嘴巴小小的，水汪汪的眼睛又大又明亮，长长的舌头，表面并不光滑，末端却非常之尖。脖子也是长而细，从肩部到头顶的高度有7～8英尺，从肩部往下量通常为10～11英尺。一头成年的长颈鹿的身高为17～18英尺。

雄长颈鹿的毛色是深棕色的，雌性的毛色为浅棕或黄棕色。它们身上都点缀着白斑，煞是好看。它们头上的角不长，也不尖，蹄子长得跟牛蹄似的。野生的长颈鹿以热带特有的桉树的树叶为食。

像马及其他有蹄动物一样，长颈鹿也是靠踢来自卫的。它的后肢是那么纤细，袭击时速度又是那么迅疾，眼睛几乎难以跟得上它的动作。它有这一招就足以防范狮子了。至于头上的角，它在抵御敌人进攻时还从来没有动用过。长颈鹿的性情温和，稍有动静，就会逃回到生养它的森林里去。

勒瓦兰特（法国著名的旅行家和自然学家）是第一个向我们准确介绍长颈鹿的模样和习性的人。他在南非旅游的时候，一天碰巧发现了一幢以这种动物的皮盖的小屋，他惊奇地发现了原来他所在的地方就有这种动物。他开始昼夜难眠，非要亲眼看到活的，并捕回一只作为标本才得以安心。

他在丛林里观察了好几天，亲眼见到了一些长颈鹿。接下来的某一日，他带上了几条狗，和助手们一起骑马去追它们，可是却怎么也没有追上。一天就这样过去了，整个队伍累得筋疲力尽，却只能空手而归。勒瓦兰特开始不抱成功的希望了。

“第二天，”他写道，“太阳刚刚升起，我就开始了追捕。几小时之后，疲劳的我们在山脚转弯处发现了7只长颈鹿。我们的狗立即迎上前去，展开了追逐。其中的6只一齐逃掉了，还有一只因为被狗切断了去路，只好从另一条道逃跑。

“我全速跟着这只落单的长颈鹿，但是尽管我的马奋力追赶，它还是远远地把我甩在了后面。在山脚转弯处，我连它的影子也看不见了，这样我就放弃了追赶。可是我的狗并不是那么容易累倒的。不久狗就渐渐赶上了它，它只好停下来自卫。从狗喧闹的叫声，我推断它们已把它逼到了死角，我就又驱马前进了。

“我还没有绕到小山的另一侧，就看见了被狗团团围住的它正在使劲想把它们踢开。

“我下了马，端起卡宾枪向它开了一枪，它倒在了地上。我对我取得的胜利感到高兴，因为这使我能为丰富的自然史又添上一笔。现在，我得以能消除人们赋予这种动物的神秘感，还其存在的真实。”

THE GIRAFFE

The giraffe is a native of Africa. It is of singular shape and size, and bears some resemblance both to the camel and the deer. The mouth is small; the eyes are full and brilliant; the tongue is rough, very long, and ending in a point. The neck is long and slender, and, from the shoulder to the top of the head, it measures between seven and eight feet; from the ground to the top of the shoulder, it is commonly ten or eleven feet; so that the height of a full grown giraffe is seventeen or eighteen feet.

The hair is of a deep brown color in the male, and of a light or yellowish brown in the female. The skin is beautifully diversified with white spots. They have short, blunt horns, and hoofs like those of the ox. In their wild state, they feed on the leaves of a gum bearing tree peculiar to warm climates.

The giraffe, like the horse and other hoofed animals, defends itself by kicking; and its hinder limbs are so light, and its blows so rapid, that the eye can not follow them. They are sufficient for its defense against the lion. It never employs its horns in resisting the attack of an enemy. Its disposition is gentle, and it flees to its native forest upon the least alarm.

Le Vaillant（the celebrated French traveler and naturalist）was the first who gave us any exact account of the form and habits of the giraffe. While he was traveling in South Africa, he happened one day to discover a hut covered with the skin of one of those animals; and learned to his surprise that he was now in a part of the country where the creature was found. He could not rest contented until he had seen the animal alive, and had secured a specimen.

Having on several days obtained sight of some of them, he, with his attendants, on horseback and accompanied with dogs, gave chase; but they baffled all pursuit. After a chase of a whole day, which effected nothing but the fatigue of the party, he began to despair of success.

“The next day,”says he,“by sunrise, I was in pursuit of game, in the hope of obtaining some provisions for my men. After several hours’ fatigue, we saw, at the turn of a hill, seven giraffes, which my pack of dogs instantly pursued. Six of them went off together; but the seventh, cut off by my dogs, took another way.”I followed the single one at full speed, but, in spite of the efforts of my horse, she got so much ahead of me, that, in turning a little hill, I lost sight of her altogether, and I gave up the pursuit. My dogs, however, were not so easily exhausted. They were soon so close upon her that she was obliged to stop and defend herself. From the noise they made, I conjectured that they had got the animal into a corner, and I again pushed forward.

“I had scarcely got round the hill, when I perceived her surrounded by the dogs, and endeavoring to drive them away by heavy kicks. In a moment I was on my feet, and a shot from my carbine brought her to the earth. I was delighted with my victory, which enabled me to add to the riches of natural history. I was now able, also, to destroy the romance which attached to this animal, and to establish the truth of its existence.”

第21课　布兰地浅滩

黑沉沉的夜，似乎没有尽头。他只能靠猜测来辨认地标，因而不得不更多地依赖身下的这匹叫罗杰的马儿对路况的直觉，而不是自己感官的指引。听到远处传来的两三声雄鸡的清啼，他断定时间已是将近午夜。此时雨几乎完全停了。

凛冽的寒风刮起来了，坚实的天穹稍微升起了一点。他想象右边的山已经消失，而地平线突然压向了北面。罗杰开始在愈来愈深的水里行进，溅起了水花。不久，夜空中全是轰鸣声，而这声音分明不是风声。

原来是布兰地浅滩。溪水漫过了广阔的草地，涨势十分凶猛。周围浑浊的溪水发出昏暗的微光。很快篱笆就不见了踪影，洪水涨到了马的身上。

但他知道小树林边缘的空地便是浅滩。况且，溪水的堤岸比后面的草地要略高一些，而且至少到目前为止，他还敢于冒险。浅滩不过20码宽，他完全相信罗杰能游过去。

忠心耿耿的罗杰勇敢地前进着，但是吉尔伯特很快注意到它似乎走错了路。湍急的流水迫使它离开了大路，而它总是半途停下来，一副非常焦急不安的样子。就在前面不远，小树林依稀可见，几分钟后他们就能上岸。

那是什么？一种奇怪的嘶嘶声，像是牛群踩干草地的声音。这声音即使在疾风中也颤个不停！罗杰呼哧呼哧地喷着气，一动不动地站着，四条腿都在打颤，一阵恐惧使吉尔伯特不寒而栗。声音越来越近，很快就变成了狂野的怒吼声，回荡在整个山谷。

“水坝！水坝！”吉尔伯特惊叫道，“水坝塌了！”他扭过罗杰的头，拉紧缰绳，一面鞭策着马，一面大声鼓励着它。勇敢的罗杰迎着滚滚而来的洪水艰难地跋涉着，但是汹涌的潮水已经齐了马肚，它的身子在摇晃。一排翻腾的泡沫逼近了他们，可怖的吼声裹住了他们，人和马都被卷进了水中。

头几分钟究竟发生了什么，吉尔伯特无论如何都回想不起来了。现在他们淹没在水中，一会儿乘着猛冲向前的浪头，一会儿被折断的树枝末梢钩住，一会儿遭到大坝浮木的推挤，可却好像总是被无情地困在混乱和毁灭的中心。

终于他看见他们落在了洪水开始变得狂暴的地点的后面，然而罗杰还在洪水里挣扎，不时奋力将头伸出水面，同时把水从鼻孔里喷出。它所有想站稳的努力都失败了，它浑身的力气几乎都使尽了，除非几分钟之内就能获得援救，否则再怎么救都没用了。天是那么暗，水又是那么湍急，怎么个救法呢？

突然罗杰无路可走了。因为它挡了洪水的去路，洪水便把它推到了下面其他的一些障碍物那一边，而且冲过了马和人的头顶。吉尔伯特伸手摸到了粗糙的树皮。他斜身一把抱住了树干，从马鞍上挣脱出来，减去了负担的罗杰使劲游回到水里，顿时即消失得无影无踪。

吉尔伯特勉强看清原来是几根大树干交错盘结在了一起，也许是给插在了溪流的某处小礁岛中，顶部的那根斜着伸出了水面。他竭尽全力抵住了拼命想把他卷跑的急流，攀到了足以逃开洪水吞噬的高处，同时又尽量不拽倒树干。虽然他仍是半浸在水里，但他终于暂时相对安全了一些，可离最后的获救依旧非常遥远。

然而新的危险向他无情地袭来。天气越变越冷，刺骨的寒风已经夹杂着冰霜。一小时后，天边几乎不见一片云，他只有通过渐渐下沉的月亮才能注意到夜晚的消逝。可此刻的他几乎什么都注意不到了。

月亮西沉，黎明将至，天边开始泛起了鱼肚白。这时，吉尔伯特突然抬起了头。在嘈杂的水声和呼啸的风声之上，他听到了一个熟悉的声音，那是马在嘶叫，尖锐而且刺耳。他挣扎着挺直了身子，看见下面不远处有两个骑马的人正涉水打草地经过。他们忽然停了下来，好像在商议什么，很快又赶上前来。

吉尔伯特想喊出声，可是喉咙发直，肺部也拒绝活动。马又在嘶叫，这次绝对没错，是罗杰！他大叫了一句——叫声沙哑，异样而不自然。

骑马的人听到了他的叫声，立即沿着堤岸往上走，一直走到了他正对面的地方。得救的希望给他的身体带来了生命的震颤，他环顾四周，发现洪水真的退了。

“我们没带绳子。”他听见其中的一个人说，“我们怎么才能够得着他呢？”

“没有时间回去拿了。”另一个人回答说，“我的马比你的强壮，我到下面的小溪里去吧，那儿更宽一点，又没有那么深，我再慢慢靠近他。”

“可是一匹马又驮不起两个人。”

“相信他的马看见我后会跟过去的。”

当最后说话的那个人骑马往下走的时候，吉尔伯特看见他领着的另一匹马也一同跳进了水里。这是一项十分艰巨的任务，他们踏进了下面的主流，因是分渠的交汇处，所以水面明显变宽了，而且还没过了马的肚带，流速很快。

有时马失足跌倒在了水里，但是他们还是迎难而上，一寸一寸地挪到了离吉尔伯特有6英尺远的地方。看来是不可能再前进了。

“你会游泳吗？”那人问道。

吉尔伯特摇了摇头。接着他叫道：“把罗杰的缰绳扔给我一头！”

那人解开了缰绳，把一头扔给了他。吉尔伯特想努力抓住，但他的手太麻木了。然而他还是设法挽住了缰绳，然后松开了树干。

那人俯身拽住了他的衣领，他感到自己被一只强有力的手提了起来，放到了罗杰背部的鞍上。由于他体力不支，又四肢僵硬，所以要使身子坐直，绝非易事。返回时，尽管对马来说更轻松一些，但因为吉尔伯特没有帮助根本就无法支撑自己，所以也是同样危险。

当他们终于上岸时，那人对吉尔伯特说：“你现在安全了。你能活下来真是老天在发慈悲啊！”

另外的那个骑马人加入了他们的行列，骑马缓缓地走过了水草地。他们给吉尔伯特披了一件斗篷，两人一边一个地把他小心地扶好。吉尔伯特实在是太累了，他都没有力气问他们是怎么找到他的，或是问他们要带他去哪——麻木得失去了好奇心，甚至几乎连感激都不会了。

其中一人拍了拍罗杰的肩胛说：“它才是你的救命恩人，我们是通过它才找到你的。你想知道是怎么回事吗？3点钟的时候，大概是这个时间吧，我的妻子叫醒了我。‘你听到了吗？’她说。

“我听到门前的小路上有一匹马在嘶叫——我说不上来是什么样的叫声，好像他要把屋里的人全叫醒似的。我觉得有些奇怪，于是起身往窗外一瞧，看见它似乎背着一副马鞍。它用蹄子又踏地，又刨地，然后发出了一声嘶叫。

“我对我妻子说：‘出事了，’然后穿上衣服出门了。马一看见我，就做出了最为奇怪的举动。我心想要是有什么动物欲开口说话的话，它就是这样。我想去接近它，它却猛然加速，顺着小路跑了几步，然后再沿路返回，而且举动又是那么奇怪。

“我走进屋子，弄醒了我的弟弟。随后我们骑马一起动身了。你的马走在前头，每隔一会儿就停下来回头看我们有没有跟上。当我们看到水这么大时，我有些犹豫了，但是却没有用。你的马催着我们前进，直到找到你为止。以前我从来没有听过这样的怪事，这一辈子都没听说过。”吉尔伯特说不出话，但两颗大大的泪珠在他的眼睛里慢慢凝聚，最后顺着脸颊滚落了下来。

在曙光中，他们顶着寒风走了一英里地，终于来到了一座温暖的农舍。两兄弟把他抬下了马鞍，准备立即把他抬到屋子里去，可他还是先倚在罗杰的脖子上，一把搂住它的头，亲吻了起来。

（贝阿德·泰勒）

贝阿德·泰勒（1825～1878年），出生在宾西法尼亚洲的肯尼特广场，所受教育也很有限，但他从小就显示出了非凡的才能和精力。他四处游历，著文作诗样样精通。他文笔流畅优美。本文即选自他的作品《肯尼特的故事》。

BRANDYWINE FORD

The black, dreary night, seemed interminable. He could only guess, here and there, at a landmark, and was forced to rely more upon Roger's instinct of the road than upon the guidance of his senses. Toward midnight, as he judged, by the solitary crow of a cock, the rain almost entirely ceased.

The wind began to blow sharp and keen, and the hard vault of the sky to lift a little. He fancied that the hills on his right had fallen away, and that the horizon was suddenly depressed towards the north. Roger's feet began to splash in constantly deepening water, and presently a roar, distinct from that of the wind, filled the air.

It was the Brandywine. The stream had overflowed its broad meadow bottoms, and was running high and fierce beyond its main channel. The turbid waters made a dim, dusky gleam around him; soon the fences disappeared, and the flood reached to his horse's body.

But he knew that the ford could be distinguished by the break in the fringe of timber; moreover, that the creek bank was a little higher than the meadows behind it, and so far, at least, he might venture. The ford was not more than twenty yards across, and he could trust Roger to swim that distance.

The faithful animal pressed bravely on, but Gilbert soon noticed that he seemed at fault. The swift water had forced him out of the road, and he stopped from time to time, as if anxious and uneasy. The timber could now be discerned, only a short distance in advance, and in a few minutes they would gain the bank.

What was that? A strange, rustling, hissing sound, as of cattle trampling through dry reeds,—a sound which quivered and shook, even in the breath of the hurrying wind! Roger snorted, stood still, and trembled in every limb; and a sensation of awe and terror struck a chill through Gilbert's heart. The sound drew swiftly nearer, and became a wild, seething roar, filling the whole breadth of the valley.

“The dam! the dam!”cried Gilbert,“the dam has given way!”He turned Roger's head, gave him the rein, struck, spurred, cheered, and shouted. The brave beast struggled through the impeding flood, but the advance wave of the coming inundation already touched his side. He staggered; a line of churning foam bore down upon them, the terrible roar was all around and over them, and horse and rider were whirled away.

What happened during the first few seconds, Gilbert could never distinctly recall. Now they were whelmed in the water, now riding its careering tide, torn through the tops of brushwood, jostled by floating logs and timbers of the dam, but always, as it seemed, remorselessly held in the heart of the tumult and the ruin.

He saw at last that they had fallen behind the furious onset of the flood, but Roger was still swimming with it, desperately throwing up his head from time to time, and snorting the water from his nostrils. All his efforts to gain a foothold failed; his strength was nearly spent, and unless some help should come in a few minutes it would come in vain. And in the darkness, and the rapidity with which they were borne along, how should help come?

All at once Roger's course stopped. He became an obstacle to the flood, which pressed him against some other obstacle below, and rushed over horse and rider. Thrusting out his hand, Gilbert felt the rough bark of a tree. Leaning towards it, and clasping the log in his arms, he drew himself from the saddle, while Roger, freed from his burden, struggled into the current and instantly disappeared.

As nearly as Gilbert could ascertain, several timbers, thrown over each other, had lodged, probably upon a rocky islet in the stream, the uppermost one projecting slantingly out of the flood. It required all his strength to resist the current which sucked, and whirled, and tugged at his body, and to climb high enough to escape its force, without overbalancing his support. At last, though still half immerged, he found himself comparatively safe for a time, yet as far as ever from a final rescue.

Yet a new danger now assailed him, from the increasing cold. There was already a sting of frost, a breath of ice, in the wind. In another hour the sky was nearly swept bare of clouds, and he could note the lapse of the night by the sinking of the moon. But he was by this time hardly in a condition to note anything more.

The moon was low in the west, and there was a pale glimmer of the coming dawn in the sky, when Gilbert Potter suddenly raised his head. Above the noise of the water and the whistle of the wind, he heard a familiar sound,—the shrill, sharp neigh of a horse. Lifting himself with great exertion, to a sitting posture, he saw two men, on horseback, in the flooded meadow, a little below him. They stopped, seemed to consult, and presently drew nearer.

Gilbert tried to shout, but the muscles of his throat were stiff, and his lungs refused to act. The horse neighed again. This time there was no mistake;

it was Roger that he heard! Voice came to him, and he cried aloud,—a hoarse, strange, unnatural cry.

The horsemen heard it, and rapidly pushed up the bank, until they reached a point directly opposite to him. The prospect of escape brought a thrill of life to his frame; he looked around and saw that the flood had indeed fallen.

“We have no rope,”he heard one of the men say.“How shall we reach him?”

“There is no time to get one now,”the other answered.“My horse is stronger than yours. I'll go into the creek just below, where it's broader and not so deep, and work my way up to him,”

“But one horse can't carry both.”

“His will follow, be sure, when it sees me.”

As the last speaker moved away, Gilbert saw a led horse plunging through the water beside the other. It was a difficult and dangerous undertaking. The horseman and the loose horse entered the main stream below, where its divided channel met and broadened, but it was still above the saddle girths, and very swift.

Sometimes the animals plunged, losing their foothold; nevertheless, they gallantly breasted the current, and inch by inch worked their way to a point about six feet below Gilbert. It seemed impossible to approach nearer.

“Can you swim?”asked the man.

Gilbert shook his head.“Throw me the end of Roger's bridle!”he then cried.

The man unbuckled the bridle and threw it, keeping the end of the rein in his hand. Gilbert tried to grasp it, but his hands were too numb. He managed, however, to get one arm and his head through the opening, and relaxed his hold on the log.

A plunge, and the man had him by the collar. He felt himself lifted by a strong arm and laid across Roger's saddle. With his failing strength and stiff limbs, it was no slight task to get into place; and the return, though less laborious to the horses, was equally dangerous, because Gilbert was scarcely able to support himself without help.

“You're safe now,”said the man, when they reached the bank,“but it's a downright mercy of God that you're alive!”

The other horseman joined them, and they rode slowly across the flooded meadow. They had both thrown their cloaks around Gilbert, and carefully steadied him in the saddle, one on each side. He was too much exhausted to ask how they had found him, or whither they were taking him,—too numb for curiosity, almost for gratitude.

“Here's your savior!”said one of the men, patting Roger's shoulder.“It was through him that we found you. Do you wish to know how? Well—about three o'clock it was, maybe a little earlier, maybe a little later, my wife woke me up. ‘Do you hear that?”she said.I listened and heard a horse in the lane before the door, neighing,—I can't tell you exactly how it was,—as though he would call up the house. It was rather queer, I thought, so I got up and looked out of the window, and it seemed to me he had a saddle on. He stamped, and pawed, and then he gave another neigh, and stamped again.

“Said I to my wife, ‘There is something wrong here,’ and I dressed and went out. When he saw me, he acted in the strangest way you ever saw; thought I, if ever an animal wanted to speak, that animal does. When I tried to catch him, he shot off, ran down the lane a bit, and then came back acting as strangely as ever.”I went into the house and woke up my brother, here, and we saddled our horses and started. Away went yours ahead, stopping every minute to look around and see if we followed. When we came to the water I rather hesitated, but it was of no use; the horse would have us go on and on, till we found you. I never heard of such a thing before, in all my life.“ Gilbert did not speak, but two large tears slowly gathered in his eyes, and rolled down his cheeks. The men saw his emotion, and respected it.

In the light of the cold, keen dawn, they reached a snug farmhouse, a mile from the Brandywine. The men lifted Gilbert from the saddle, and would have carried him immediately into the house, but he first leaned upon Roger's neck, took the faithful creature's head in his arms, and kissed it.

（Bayard Taylor）

第22课　宠物小鹿

有一只美丽的小鹿，从小被一位村妇从森林中抱回家，受到了精心的照料，所以像其他小宠物们一样，变得非常的优雅，而且它时而那样的温驯，时而那样的顽皮，家人都喜欢带着它到处跑，左邻右舍也宠爱它，真是人见人爱，处处受欢迎。

一天早晨，它像往常一样到处玩耍，玩累了，就在商店台阶上，偎依在一个朋友的脚边，懒洋洋的晒着太阳。这时，走来了一个乡下人，他打猎多年了，养了好多只猎狗，现在身后就跟着一只。

这只猎狗走到小鹿躺的地方时突然停住了，小鹿看见它也站了起来。它一生的大部分时间都生活在村子里的狗中间，很明显早已不怕它们了，可是这次它好像知道敌人就在眼前。一刹那间，它的天性好像发生了变化，它忘记了以前的习惯，野性的本能复苏了。它脑袋直立，鼻孔张开，眼睛闪闪发光。

还未等人们意识到危险，还未等它的朋友们去保护它，它就一溜烟儿的穿过街道，跳跃着跑开了，猎狗全速追了上去。人们急切地想保护它，于是几个人追了上去。养育了多年的朋友们，徒然地呼唤着它熟悉的名字。

猎人吹起了口哨，想唤回猎狗，但也徒劳。不到半分钟，小鹿已转过了第一个街角，向湖边冲去，接着就跳到了湖中。受惊的小鹿以为在冰凉的湖心就安全了，但是它很快就意识到自己错了。猎狗仍旧疯狂地追逐着，而且有12只村狗也盲目地加入到追逐的行列中。

一大群人聚集到了岸边，有大人，也有孩子，为小鹿的命运担忧。一些人跳上了船，希望在猎狗还没有追上小鹿之前拦住它。人们摇桨的声音，男人和男孩子们急切地呼喊声，以及狗儿们的叫声一定把它吓坏了，因为那阵势就像一直疼爱它的人们突然变成了它的死敌。

不久人们就发现，小鹿在向最靠近森林的河边游去。猎人迅速地穿过桥，全力奔跑着，希望他的猎狗一上岸就截住它。小鹿笨拙地游着，毕竟它从来没有游过。它很少将脑袋露出水面，但它在水中游过的歪歪斜斜的痕迹却暴露了游动的方向。

小鹿即将到达岸边，敌人的追逐也随之变得激烈。猎人早已跑到了湖对岸，大声地、愤怒地冲着猎狗叫喊着，但猎狗仍无情地追逐着，好像完全没有听到主人的声音。小鹿游上了岸，一下子就跳过了窄窄的沙滩，眼看就要到达树林的隐蔽处了。

猎狗循着小鹿的气味紧追不舍，而它的主人急于拦住它，奋力奔跑着，猎狗会听从主人的命令吗？猎人会及时赶到并抓住它吗？岸上传来了欢呼声，小鹿终于消失在森林深处。这时，猎狗一上岸，就被主人抓住了脖子，最坏的事情终于没有发生。小鹿逃到了山的那一边，猎狗被制服了。其他的狗儿们没有了领头的，也就乖乖地放弃了追逐。

人们在树林里四处寻找小鹿，却没有找到，最后他们都失望地回到了村子里，一些人以为战斗都结束了，小鹿自己会回来的。它戴着美丽的项圈，项圈上刻有主人的名字，因此很容易将它与在树林里迷路的其他小鹿区分开来。

许多个小时过去了，一个猎人来到了小鹿的主人家里，将刻有村妇名字的项圈交给了她。他说早晨出去打猎时，看到远处有一只小鹿，非但没有跳跃着逃跑，而且出人意料地向他靠近。于是，他瞄准，射击，结果子弹穿过了它的心脏。

THE PET FAWN

A pretty little fawn had been brought in from the woods, when very young, and nursed and petted by a lady in the village until it had become as tame as possible. It was graceful, as those little creatures always are, and so gentle and playful that it became a great favorite, following the different members of the family about, being caressed by the neighbors, and welcome everywhere.

One morning, after playing about as usual until weary, it lay down in the sunshine, at the feet of one of its friends, upon the steps of a store. There came along a countryman, who for several years had been a hunter by pursuit, and who still kept several hounds, one of which was now with him.

The dog, as it approached the spot where the fawn lay, suddenly stopped. The little animal saw him, and started to its feet. It had lived more than half its life among the dogs of the village, and had apparently lost all fear of them; but it seemed now to know that an enemy was near. In an instant, its whole nature seemed changed; all its past habits were forgotten; every wild impulse was awake; its head erect, its nostrils dilated, its eyes flashing.

In another instant, before the spectators had thought of the danger, and before its friends could secure it, the fawn was bounding away through the street, and the hound in full chase. The bystanders were eager to save it; several persons immediately followed its track; the friends who had long fed and fondled it, calling the name it had hitherto known, in vain.

The hunter endeavored to whistle back his dog, but with no success. In half a minute the fawn had turned the first corner, dashed onward toward the lake, and thrown itself into the water. But if for a moment the startled creature believed itself safe in the cool bosom of the lake, it was soon undeceived; for the hound followed in hot and eager chase, while a dozen village dogs joined blindly in the pursuit.

A large crowd collected on the bank—men, women, and children—anxious for the fate of the little animal so well known to them all. Some threw themselves into boats, hoping to intercept the hound before he reached his prey. The plashing of the oars, the eager voices of men and boys, and the barking of the dogs, must have filled the heart of the poor fawn with terror and anguish,—as though every creature on the spot where it had once been caressed and fondled, had suddenly turned into a deadly foe.

It was soon seen that the little animal was directing its course across a bay toward the nearest borders of the forest. Immediately the owner of the hound crossed the bridge, and ran at full speed, hoping to stop his dog as he landed. On swam the fawn, as it never swam before; its delicate head scarcely seen above the water, but leaving a disturbed track, which betrayed its course alike to its friends and foes.

As it approached the land, the interest became intense. The hunter was already on the same side of the lake, calling loudly and angrily to his dog; but the hound seemed to have quite forgotten his master's voice in the pitiless pursuit. The fawn reached the shore. With a leap it had crossed the narrow strip of beach, and in another instant it would reach the cover of the woods.

The hound followed true to the scent, pointing to the same spot on the shore; his master, anxious to meet him, had run at full speed, and was now coming up at the same critical moment. Will the dog listen to his voice? or can the hunter reach him in time to seize and control him? A shout from the bank told that the fawn had passed out of sight into the forest. At the same instant, the hound, as he touched the land, felt the hunter's strong arm clutching his neck. The worst was believed to be over; the fawn was leaping up the mountain side, and its enemy was restrained. The other dogs, seeing their leader cowed, were easily managed.

A number of persons, men and boys, dispersed themselves through the woods in search of the little creature, but without success; they all returned to the village, reporting that the fawn had not been seen. Some thought that after its fright had passed it would return of its own accord. It wore a pretty collar with its owner's name engraved upon it, so that it could be easily known from any other fawn that might be straying about the woods.

Before many hours had passed, a hunter presented himself to the lady whose pet the little creature had been, and showed a collar with her name upon it. He said that he was out hunting in the morning, and saw a fawn in the distance. The little pet, instead of bounding away, as he expected, moved toward him; he took aim, fired, and shot it through the heart.

第23课　大象

大象是一种最大的四脚动物，高8～14英尺，长10～15英尺。他长得象大型机车，眼睛小小的却很灵活，垂着两个蒲扇般的大耳朵，长着两颗长长的牙齿，它还有一个长长的鼻子，可以用来取食物，还可以用来进攻或防卫，而且它皮肤呈深灰褐色。

大象经常是成群活动，当他们出去觅食时，脚下的大地好像都颤动起来了。它们不仅吃树叶、青草，而且也吃谷物、水果，但它们却不吃鱼，也不吃肉。它们天性安静、温和、勇敢。只有它们在保护自己或同类时，才会显示它们的威力。

亚非两洲都有大象，但它们属于不同种类。亚洲象有5个脚趾，而非洲象却只有3个。大象一旦被捉住，受到驯化，它们将会是四足动物中最温驯、最顺从、最有耐性、最聪明的动物。它们既可用来负重，也可用来旅行。它们非常依恋主人，生来好像就是服务于主人、听从主人似的。它们总是跪下来让人坐上去或者把货物放在它们的背上。

有关大象性格的轶事真是多得枚不胜举。例如，在伦敦参加展览的大象，人们要求用它长长的鼻子将扔在地上的钱捡起来。有一次，一个人丢过去了6个便士，但这6个便士却滚到了离墙不远的地方，这样，它就有点够不着了。为了捡起来，它不得不几次伸长鼻子，结果不幸失败了，它就几秒钟地站在那里一动不动，显然在那里思考怎样才能捡起来。

于是，它将鼻子笔直地展开，尽可能地伸长，伸到硬币上面稍稍远一点的地方，然后用力地对着墙吹气。结果，正如它所希望的，气流遇到墙的阻碍，反作用于硬币，于是人们好奇地看着硬币朝它滚过去，被它捡了起来。

有一个印度士兵，经常给大象亚力酒喝。有一天，士兵喝醉了，突然发现一个卫兵在追着他打算将他关进监狱，于是士兵躲在大象身下寻求保护。卫兵发现要将士兵从大象身边带走是不可能的，因为大象奋力地用鼻子护卫着他，只好放弃了。

当士兵从醉酒中醒过来，突然发现自己处于一个如此庞然大物的身底下，不禁吓得手脚都不敢动。而大象只是用鼻子轻轻地拍着他，好像在说，“不要怕，走吧。”果然士兵的恐惧消失了。

还有一则令人称道的故事，与勒克瑙王子的大象有关。一次，勒克瑙城瘟疫横行，民不聊生。通往宫殿的路上躺了许许多多的病倒和垂死的人，这时，王子正好从此地经过。

而王子只管走他的路，也不管他的大象会不会踩到脚底下那些可怜无助的人们。而大象却比主人善良多了，它左躲右闪，越过那些可怜的人们。它有时用鼻子将他们托起，放在路边，有时将他们的脚往旁边挪一挪，有时小心翼翼地挪动着步子，惟恐伤着一个人。

THE ELEPHANT

The elephant is the largest of quadrupeds; his height is from eight to fourteen feet, and his length, from ten to fifteen feet. His form is that of a hog; his eyes are small and lively; his ears are long, broad and pendulous. He has two large tusks, which form the ivory of commerce, and a trunk, or proboscis, at the end of the nose, which he uses to take his food with, and for attack or defense. His color is a dark ash brown.

Elephants often assemble in large troops; and, as they march in search of food, the forests seem to tremble under them. They eat the branches of trees, together with roots, herbs, leaves, grain, and fruit, but will not touch fish nor flesh. In a state of nature, they are peaceable, mild, and brave; exerting their power only for their own protection or in defense of their own species.

Elephants are found both in Asia and Africa, but they are of different species, the Asiatic elephant having five toes, and the African, three. These animals are caught by stratagem, and, when tamed, they are the most gentle, obedient, and patient, as well as the most docile and sagacious of all quadrupeds. They are used to carry burdens, and for traveling. Their attachment to their masters is remarkable; and they seem to live but to serve and obey them. They always kneel to receive their riders; or the loads they have to carry.

The anecdotes illustrating the character of the elephant are numerous. An elephant which was kept for exhibition at London, was often required, as is usual in such exhibitions, to pick up with his trunk a piece of money thrown upon the floor for this purpose. On one occasion a sixpence was thrown, which happened to roll a little out of his reach, not far from the wall. Being desired to pick it up, he stretched out his proboscis several times to reach it; failing in this, he stood motionless a few seconds, evidently considering how to act.

He then stretched his proboscis in a straight line as far as he could, a little distance above the coin, and blew with great force against the wall. The angle produced by the opposition of the wall, made the current of air act under the coin, as he evidently supposed it would, and it was curious to observe the sixpence traveling toward the animal till it came within his reach, when he picked it up.

A soldier in India, who had frequently carried an elephant some arrack, being one day intoxicated, and seeing himself pursued by the guard whose orders were to conduct him to prison, took refuge under the elephant. The guard soon finding his retreat, attempted in vain to take him from his asylum; for the elephant vigorously defended him with his trunk.

As soon as the soldier became sober, and saw himself placed under such an unwieldy animal, he was so terrified that he scarcely durst move either hand or foot; but the elephant soon caused his fears to subside by caressing him with his trunk, and thus tacitly saying, ”Depart in peace.“

A pleasing anecdote is related of an elephant which was the property of the nabob of Lucknow. There was in that city an epidemic disorder, making dreadful havoc among the inhabitants. The road to the palace gate was covered with the sick and dying, lying on the ground at the moment the nabob was about to pass.

Regardless of the suffering he must cause, the nabob held on his way, not caring whether his beast trod upon the poor helpless creatures or not. But the animal, more kind hearted than his master, carefully cleared the path of the poor, helpless wretches as he went along. Some he lifted with his trunk, entirely out of the road. Some he set upon their feet, and among the others he stepped so carefully that not an individual was injured.

第24课　鸟儿趣闻

我曾养了一只可爱的黑母鸡，人人都叫它“大美人”，我也认为它长得很漂亮，羽毛黑黝黝的，它的上部又白又圆。它像狗一样熟悉我的声音，它常常咯咯地叫着跑到我的身边，啄我手上的碎屑，我总是不忘给“娅莉卡”从早餐桌上收集这些东西，“娅莉卡”是它的名字。

娅莉卡周岁的时候，生了一群可爱的鸡娃娃。刚开始，它们还是一群畏畏缩缩的小家伙，过了一段时间，它们就变得又健壮又圆胖了。老诺拉说道：“要是我能够不让娅莉卡进入矮树丛就好了，矮树丛里满是黄鼠狼和狐狸。”

“我都把它赶回去有20多次了，但它趁着有人出大门的时候，就又偷偷地溜出去了。小母鸡们也总是这样，它们以为比看门人懂得多。除非丢一两只小鸡，否则它们是不会改掉这个毛病的。”这使我常常想到，年轻人也像小母鸡们一样为他们的经验付出了昂贵的代价。

一天早晨，吃过饭后，我到禽舍里去找娅莉卡，院里有好多好多母鸡，就是没有娅莉卡的影子。我环视了一下四周，大门敞开着，我断定它去了禁地矮树丛。于是，我立即向那儿走去，带着看院子的大猛犬乔克，一个有贵族血统的家伙，既稳重又机智，简直像一个法官。

巷子的一侧是树篱，另一侧是一片荒芜的公地。我刚到巷子的尽头，所谓的矮树丛出现了。还未走近矮树丛，就听到了巨大的咯咯的叫声，碰到两只长腿的小母鸡连蹦带跳地向家的方向逃去。乔克竖起了两只尖尖的耳朵，聆听着。当他正要飞奔到出事地点时，被我制止住了。我以最快的速度往前跑着，我跟乔克一样有充分的理由知道到底发生了什么事。

可怜的娅莉卡！一个鲁莽的小狐狸试图叼走它的孩子，娅莉米将它们护在身后的树篱里，勇敢地挡在前面，使不知天高地厚的小狐狸穷于应付。狐狸因为太专注于想抢到小鸡而没有注意到我们的逼近。一会儿，乔克就打败了劫掠者。

经过上次那件事之后，娅莉卡不仅再也不去矮树丛冒险了，而且还与保全了它一家子的乔克建立起了牢固的友谊。乔克一来到禽舍里，就跑着迎过去，咯咯地叫个不停，在它腿中间不让它走，而这丝毫不会引起乔克的反感。如果其他的狗走近了，它则狠狠地扑过去，也许以为它要伤害它的孩子，但是，很明显地，它待乔克跟别的狗儿不同，它将它视为特别的保护者。

乔克看这位有羽毛的朋友的神情实在忍俊不禁，它搞不清楚娅莉卡为何如此殷勤，也不知道该如何接受。当孩子们去上学，无需照顾时，它就成了乔克的常客，甚至会得到允许在那儿过夜。毋庸讳言，娅莉卡是一只最知感恩图报、最有趣的鸡。

鹦鹉能够热情地跟人交谈，几乎使人们以为它是有智力的。看到一只受到良好训练的鸟儿能够准确无误地运用它的知识，实在让人惊奇。我的一个朋友就见过这样一只鸟儿，人们教它说许许多多的句子。比如，“萨莉，我想吃早餐了！”“萨莉，我想喝茶了！”它从来不会将两者混淆。早餐一成不变地早晨用，茶点下午用。它只同主人打招呼：“先生，你好。”

它真是一只有趣的鸟儿。能够吹口哨将狗儿唤过来，而且乐此不疲。当它被挂在邻街的门上时，它先是将面包撒到地下，然后吹口哨将好多狗儿们唤过来。正当狗儿们要享用食物时，它发出一声尖叫“滚开！”声音威严，将狗儿轰走，这给它带来了无穷的乐趣。

候鸟凭本能每年迁徙已经是让人感到神奇了，而更为神奇的是，它们无论飞了多远，无论飞到了什么新地方，都能准确无误地重新回到上个夏天生活的那个屋檐或窗户，而这是毋庸置疑的事实。

四兄弟愤慨地看着麻雀企图将家燕的巢占为己有，而家燕四个羽毛未丰的孩子正躺在里面呢。

四兄弟决定站在燕子的一边，它跋山涉水而来，将巢筑在母亲的屋檐底下。他们拿来射豆枪，进行反击。但是，他们的好意却毁坏了他们打算保护的泥造巢。射豆枪动摇了巢的根基，倒塌了，四只小燕子跟着摔了下来。而四兄弟的母亲，一个善良的人，在一个闲置的开着的窗子里为它们建了一个窝。

受到第一次惊吓后，小燕子的父母并没有因此而受到打扰，它们跟往常一样频繁地给孩子喂食，叽叽喳喳高兴地叫着，对生活充满了信心。小燕子们已经羽翼丰满，从那扇窗户开始飞翔，开始新的生活。

第二年春天，飞来了四只燕子，它们又回来了，轻车熟路地飞到了自己的窝里，叽叽喳喳地叫着，在墙壁上来回地飞着，表达着对主人的思念。毫无疑问，它们就是去年生活在这里的鸟儿们。

ANECDOTES OF BIRDS

I had once a favorite black hen,“a great beauty,”as she was called by everyone, and so I thought her; her feathers were so jetty, and her topping so white and full! She knew my voice as well as any dog, and used to run cackling and bustling to my hand to receive the fragments that I never failed to collect from the breakfast table for“Yarico,”as she was called.

Yarico, by the time she was a year old, hatched a respectable family of chickens; little, cowering, timid things at first, but, in due time, they became fine chubby ones; and old Norah said,“If I could only keep Yarico out of the copse, it would do; but the copse is full of weasels and of foxes.”

“I have driven her back twenty times; but she watches till some one goes out of the gate, and then she's off again. It is always the case with young hens, Miss; they think they know better than their keepers; and nothing cures them but losing a brood or two of chickens.”I have often thought since that young people, as well as young hens, buy their experience equally dear.

One morning; after breakfast, I went to seek my favorite in the poultry yard; plenty of hens were there, but no Yarico. The gate was open, and, as I concluded she had sought the forbidden copse, I proceeded there, accompanied by the yard mastiff; a noble fellow, steady and sagacious as a judge.

At the end of a lane, flanked on one side by a quickset hedge, on the other by a wild common, what was called the copse commenced; but before I arrived near the spot I heard a loud and tremendous cackling, and met two young, long legged pullets, running with both wings and feet toward home. Jock pricked up his sharp ears, and would have set off at full gallop to the copse; but I restrained him, hastening onward, however, at the top of my speed, thinking I had as good a right to see what was the matter as Jock.

Poor Yarico! An impertinent fox cub had attempted to carry off one of her children; but she had managed to get them behind her in the hedge, and venturing boldly forth had placed herself in front, and positively kept the impudent animal at bay. His desire for plunder had prevented his noticing our approach, and Jock soon made him feel the superiority of an English mastiff over a cub fox.

The most interesting portion of my tale is to come. Yarico not only never afterward ventured to the copse, but formed a strong friendship for the dog which had preserved her family. Whenever he appeared in the yard, she would run to meet him, prating and clucking all the time, and impeding his progress by walking between his legs, to his no small annoyance. If any other dog entered the yard, she would fly at him most furiously, thinking, perhaps, that he would injure her chickens; but she evidently considered Jock her especial protector, and treated him accordingly.

It was very droll to see the peculiar look with which he regarded his feathered friend; not knowing exactly what to make of her civilities, and doubting how they should be received. When her family were educated, and able to do without her care, she was a frequent visitor at Jock's kennel, and would, if permitted, roost there at night, instead of returning with the rest of the poultry to the henhouse. Yarico certainly was a most grateful and interesting bird.

One could almost believe a parrot had intellect, when he keeps up a conversation so spiritedly; and it is certainly singular to observe how accurately a well trained bird will apply his knowledge. A friend of mine knew one that had been taught many sentences; thus,“Sally, Poll wants her breakfast!”“Sally, Poll wants her tea!”but she never mistook the one for the other; breakfast was invariably demanded in the morning, and tea in the afternoon; and she always hailed her master, but no one else, by“How do you do, Mr. A?”

She was a most amusing bird, and could whistle dogs, which she had great pleasure in doing. She would drop bread out of her cage as she hung at the street door, and whistle a number about her, and then, just as they were going to possess themselves of her bounty, utter a shrill scream of“Get out, dogs!”with such vehemence and authority as dispersed the assembled company without a morsel, to her infinite delight.

How wonderful is that instinct by which the bird of passage performs its annual migration! But how still more wonderful is it when the bird, after its voyage of thousands of miles has been performed, and new lands visited, returns to the precise window or eaves where, the summer before, it first enjoyed existence! And yet, such is unquestionably the fact.

Four brothers had watched with indignation the felonious attempts of a sparrow to possess himself of the nest of a house martin, in which lay its young brood of four unfledged birds.

The little fellows considered themselves as champions for the bird which had come over land and sea, and chosen its shelter under their mother's roof. They therefore marshaled themselves with blowguns, to execute summary vengeance; but their well meant endeavors brought destruction upon the mud built domicile they wished to defend. Their artillery loosened the foundations, and down it came, precipitating its four little inmates to the ground. The mother of the children, Good Samaritan like, replaced the little outcasts in their nest, and set it in the open window of an unoccupied chamber.

The parent birds, after the first terror was over, did not appear disconcerted by the change of situation, but hourly fed their young as usual, and testified, by their unwearied twitter of pleasure, the satisfaction and confidence they felt. There the young birds were duly fledged, and from that window they began their flight, and entered upon life.

The next spring, with the reappearance of the martins, came four, which familiarly flew into the chamber, visited all the walls, and expressed their recognition by the most clamorous twitterings of joy. They were, without question, the very birds that had been bred there the preceding year.

第25课　鹌鹑

鹌鹑应属于家禽，它不会远离它的出生地和它祖先的故乡。水栖家族的不同成员在北方凉爽的夏日里抚育它们的后代，在哈德逊湾6月的冰凉湖水中欢快地游泳。但是当博力阿斯博力阿斯是古希腊人为北风起的名字。呼啸着掠过它们的卧室时，它们就抛弃了故土，飞到南方那洒满阳光的湖水里去嬉戏了。秋天来临的时候，虫子和浆果渐渐绝迹了，树林中的歌唱家没有了惯常的食物，聚集起来跑到气候更温和的地方恋爱、结婚、繁衍。很快，曾经充满歌声的树林和曾经遍布鸟儿身影的天空，就会寂寞荒凉下来。“忧伤的日子”马上就要来临，只有你，亲爱的鲍勃·怀特，会留下来。

鹌鹑是我最钟爱的鸟儿，它不是流浪者，不是居无定所的候鸟。它留在家中，因为土壤而著名。有农夫工作的地方，就有它们的身影。它在农夫身边谈着恋爱，吹着口哨。不论是在万物复苏的春季，炽日炎炎的夏季，还是在富裕充足的秋季，或荒凉冰冷的冬季，你都会听到它在同一块野草丛生的篱栅下，或经常栖息的雪松上唱歌。如果它发现有人对它贪婪残忍，它会跑到林子里寻找个更安静的地方栖息。但是，请对它仁慈温柔一些，那样就会帮助你清扫你的牲畜棚，并在路旁的苹果树枝上为你唱歌。

温暖的5月，刚刚催发稚嫩的花朵正在吐露芬芳时，婚后的鹌鹑就开始了养儿育女的工作。幸福的小两口寻找更茂密的草丛，躲开老鹰的视线和狐狸的鼻子，这样就可以不受打扰地抚育它们的后代。

燕麦成熟了，田野里金色的麦浪层叠起伏。要小心摇篮里的宝宝哦，千万别踩到白色的小鹌鹑蛋，它们马上就会孵出生命！很快你就会听到有人窥视的声音，然后，骄傲的母亲在它的孩子们中间摇头摆尾、洋洋得意地踱步，刨着地，啄着食，教它的孩子们怎样下咽。如果它不必在另一个巢穴里重新开始抚育工作，而把这些孩子养大，该有多幸福呀！母亲的勤勉是那样美好、圣洁，所有自然界中的动物——不论是人类还是动物，都应该尊重敬佩。我那时还没有听说，鲑鱼会把自己的小宝宝吃掉，还有不孝的蜘蛛，会把自己满头银发的父亲吃掉，篡夺它的蛛网。

但是你会看到最纯净、虔诚、最感人的父母之爱。你可以惊扰一群小鹌鹑，然后观察母亲的反应。它不会离开你，真的，肯定不会。它会在你脚下跌倒，发出只有痛苦的母亲才会发出的叫声，它蹦跳着，扇动双翅，好像要被抓到的样子，欺骗你，要你伸手抓它，装作翅膀折断受伤，只能跌撞着走，直到精疲力竭，把你引开，使它的孩子——它心灵里的小小的希望——免受威胁。然后它爬起来，呼呼地扇着翅膀，像脱膛的子弹一样消失在你没有注意到的树丛中，飞向它隐蔽的宝宝中。

现在，听听。你有没有听到那些有些忧郁的啼叫？那是这位母亲发出的，它在呼唤它的儿女。它现在唱的不是“鲍勃·怀特”，也不是“啊！鲍勃·怀特”，那是它丈夫的情歌。但是它甜蜜温柔地呼唤着它走失的孩子。听，它们“毕噗！毕噗！毕噗”地回答着妈妈的爱的呼唤！它们聚到一起，全家团圆了。

要打扰它们，真是太不应该了。你应该重重地踏步，让它听到你接近的脚步声，好躲到荆棘丛中。它会非常安静，一声不出。现在，如果你真的忍心的话，蹲下来，别动，模仿鹌鹑妈妈受到惊吓时发出的声音。哦，妈妈！妈妈！如果你目睹到这样的欺骗，你的心会碎掉的！小东西扬起它们颤抖的头，这样的声音让它们感到舒服安心。“毕噗！毕噗！”它们会跑到你身边，瞪着小眼睛，聚在一起叫着，似乎在说：“你在哪里？妈妈！妈妈！我们在这儿呢！”

（威廉姆·波斯特·豪尔斯）

威廉姆·堡斯特·豪尔斯（1803～1842年），生于纽约市，毕业于哥伦比亚学院。他是一名律师，其主要作品是散文，发表在不同的报纸和杂志上，描写功力非常深厚。他经常以“小柏树”为笔名，为《时代精神》撰写体育文章。在他去世后，他的作品集结出版，两部书的书名分别为《运动场面》和《各式小品》。

ABOUT QUAIL

The quail is peculiarly a domestic bird, and is attached to his birthplace and the home of his forefathers. The various members of the aquatic families educate their children in the cool summer of the far north, and bathe their warm bosoms in July in the iced waters of Hudson Bay; but when Boreas scatters the rushes where they had builded their bedchambers, they desert their fatherland, and fly to disport in the sunny waters of the south.

The songsters of the woodland, when their customary crops of insects and berries are cut off in the fall, gather themselves to renew their loves and get married in more genial climes. Presently, the groves so vocal, and the sky so full, shall be silent and barren. The“melancholy days”will soon be here; only thou, dear Bob White, wilt remain.

The quail is the bird for me. He is no rover, no emigrant. He stays at home, and is identified with the soil. Where the farmer works, he lives, and loves, and whistles. In budding springtime, and in scorching summer—in bounteous autumn, and in barren winter, his voice is heard from the same bushy hedge fence, and from his customary cedars. Cupidity and cruelty may drive him to the woods, and to seek more quiet seats; but be merciful and kind to him, and he will visit your barnyard, and sing for you upon the boughs of the apple tree by your gateway.

When warm May first wooes the young flowers to open and receive her breath, then begin the cares and responsibilities of wedded life. Away fly the happy pair to seek some grassy tussock, where, safe from the eye of the hawk and the nose of the fox, they may rear their expectant brood in peace.

Oats harvest arrives, and the fields are waving with yellow grain. Now be wary, O kind hearted cradler, and tread not into those pure white eggs ready to burst with life! Soon there is a peeping sound heard, and lo! a proud mother walketh magnificently in the midst of her children, scratching and picking, and teaching them how to swallow. Happy she, if she may be permitted to bring them up to maturity, and uncompelled to renew her joys in another nest.

The assiduities of a mother have a beauty and a sacredness about them that command respect and reverence in all animal nature, human or inhuman—what a lie does that word carry—except, perhaps, in monsters, insects, and fish. I never yet heard of the parental tenderness of a trout, eating up his little baby, nor of the filial gratitude of a spider, nipping the life out of his gray headed father, and usurping his web.

But if you would see the purest, the sincerest, the most affecting piety of a parent's love, startle a young family of quails, and watch the conduct of the mother. She will not leave you. No, not she. But she will fall at your feet, uttering a noise which none but a distressed mother can make, and she will run, and flutter, and seem to try to be caught, and cheat your outstretched hand, and affect to be wing broken and wounded, and yet have just strength to tumble along, until she has drawn you, fatigued, a safe distance from her threatened children and the young hopes of her heart; and then will she mount, whirring with glad strength, and away through the maze of trees you have not seen before, like a close shot bullet, fly to her skulking infants,

Listen now. Do you hear those three half plaintive notes, quickly and clearly poured out? She is calling the boys and girls together. She sings not now“Bob White!”nor“Ah! Bob White!”That is her husband's love call, or his trumpet blast of defiance. But she calls sweetly and softly for her lost children. Hear them“Peep! peep! peep!”at the welcome voice of their mother's love! They are coming together. Soon the whole family will meet again.

It is a foul sin to disturb them; but retread your devious way, and let her hear your coming footsteps, breaking down the briers, as you renew the danger. She is quiet. Not a word is passed between the fearful fugitives. Now, if you have the heart to do it, lie low, keep still, and imitate the call of the hen quail. O mother! mother! how your heart would die if you could witness the deception! The little ones raise up their trembling heads, and catch comfort and imagined safety from the sound.“Peep! peep!”They come to you, straining their little eyes, and, clustering together and answering, seem to say,“Where is she? Mother! mother! we are here!”

（William Post Hawes）

第26课　人与动物

人与动物的区别主要在于前者有理性，而后者只有本能，但为了更好地理解这里所说的“理性”和“本能”，我们有必要说一说突出体现这两者区别的几个方面。

首先，让我们把两者放到一个最相似的程度上来看，想象人类还处于原始的野蛮状态，像田野里的野兽一样整日为了满足自己动物本性的需要而奔忙。这里就出现了两者间第一个区别：工具的使用。当野人搭起一处茅舍或小屋作为自己的栖身之地或开始储备物资时，他所做的与兔子、海獭、蜜蜂和各种各样的鸟儿没有什么不同。

但是在做这项工作时，如果没有工具人类不可能有任何进展。在吹倒一棵树以利用其木材之前，他必须为自己配备一把斧子。而那动物在构筑自己的洞穴、蜂巢或鸟窝时，所用的仅仅是大自然提供的一些工具而已。同样，如果没有铲子或犁头，人类将不能在土地上耕作；如果没有收割庄稼的工具，人类将不能收获自己播下的种子。但低等动物却没有为自己或后代准备任何类似的东西。

现在来看看第二个区别。人类在所有的活动中都会犯错误，而动物从不。你听说过类似一只鸟站在枝头为自己完成了一半的小窝悲叹，并费尽心思地思考如何继续完成这种事吗？你看过奇形怪状丑陋不堪的蜂窝吗？或是曾经留意在这些小群体中有任何类似人类讨论举动，好似这些建筑师们有什么不同的意见？

和我们相比较，低等动物是更高明的医生。如果生病了，许多动物都能找来特殊的草药。它们并不把这些草药作为食物，但找来的草药却的确可以治愈这些病症。然而，整个人类医学界却可能花上整整一个世纪去争论某种特定药物的效能。

人类在做任何事情时，都多多少少带有不肯定性，必须经过无数次实验才可能将其做得近乎完美。如果没有一定的经验，就算最简单的家庭生活，人也处理不好。当人类停止犯错误，开始从教训中受益时，他们的生命也已消耗大半。

第三个区别在于，动物永远不会有进步，而人类的知识、技能和成功却与日俱增。做任何事时，动物遵循的是它们首要的原始冲动或上帝赋予的本能天性，所以它们所做的工作总是要比人类的更完善，更有规律性。

但是上帝赋予了人类思考和推理自己所作所为的能力，这使得人类能够通过耐心和勤勉改正自己原先的错误，不断进步。鸟窝的结构的确堪称完美，但19世纪燕子筑的巢和诺亚方舟椽上的巢比较起来，几乎完全一样。但如果比较原始人的挑战屋和古希腊罗马的寺院宫殿，我们就能发现人类的错误，经过纠正和改进，是如何指引我们前进的。

当太阳掩盖了金色的光辉，

深深地沉入永恒的黑夜；

当狂野毁灭的火焰在天空中升腾，

当灭亡在放肆的狂笑，自然濒临灭绝，

人类将会独自存活于世界的遗骸中，

在这坠落的星球上，人类永存。

（简·泰勒）

MAN AND THE INFERIOR ANIMALS

The chief difference between man and the other animals consists in this, that the former has reason, whereas the latter have only instinct; but, in order to understand what we mean by the terms reason and instinct, it will be necessary to mention three things in which the difference very distinctly appears.

Let us first, to bring the parties as nearly on a level as possible, consider man in a savage state, wholly occupied, like the beasts of the field, in providing for the wants of his animal nature; and here the first distinction that appears between them is the use of implements. When the savage provides himself with a hut or a wigwam for shelter, or that he may store up his provisions, he does no more than is done by the rabbit, the beaver, the bee, and birds of every species.

But the man can not make any progress in this work without tools; he must provide himself with an ax even before he can cut down a tree for its timber; whereas these animals form their burrows, their cells, or their nests, with no other tools than those with which nature has provided them. In cultivating the ground, also, man can do nothing without a spade or a plow; nor can he reap what he has sown till he has shaped an implement with which to cut clown his harvest. But the inferior animals provide for themselves and their young without any of these things.

Now for the second distinction. Man, in all his operations, makes mistakes; animals make none. Did you ever hear of such a thing as a bird sitting on a twig lamenting over her half finished nest and puzzling her little head to know how to complete it? Or did you ever see the cells of a beehive in clumsy, irregular shapes, or observe anything like a discussion in the little community, as if there were a difference of opinion among the architects?

The lower animals are even better physicians than we are; for when they are ill, they will, many of them, seek out some particular herb, which they do not, use as food, and which possesses a medicinal quality exactly suited to the complaint; whereas, the whole college of physicians will dispute for a century about the virtues of a single drug.

Man undertakes nothing in which he is not more or less puzzled; and must try numberless experiments before he can bring his undertakings to anything like perfection; even the simplest operations of domestic life are not well performed without some experience; and the term of man's life is half wasted before he has done with his mistakes and begins to profit by his lessons.

The third distinction is that animals make no improvements; while the knowledge, and skill, and the success of man are perpetually on the increase. Animals, in all their operations, follow the first impulse of nature or that instinct which God has implanted in them. In all they do undertake, therefore, their works are more perfect and regular than those of man.

But man, having been endowed with the faculty of thinking or reasoning about what he does, is enabled by patience and industry to correct the mistakes into which he at first falls, and to go on constantly improving. A bird's nest is, indeed, a perfect structure; yet the nest of a swallow of the nineteenth century is not at all more commodious or elegant than those that were built amid the rafters of Noah's ark. But if we compare the wigwam of the savage with the temples and palaces of ancient Greece and Rome, we then shall see to what man's mistakes, rectified and improved upon, conduct him.

“When the vast sun shall veil his golden light

Deep in the gloom of everlasting night;

When wild, destructive flames shall wrap the skies,

When ruin triumphs, and when nature dies;

Man shall alone the wreck of worlds survive;

Mid falling spheres, immortal man shall live.”

（Jane Taylor）

第27课　旅鸽

和几乎所有的种群一样，野鸽群每年都在变得更加稀少，奥杜邦的陈述，要不是因为他的地位，毫无疑问会随着时间的流逝显得滑稽可笑。

在森林中居住的野生鸽子数量惊人。确实，在不同情况下频繁观察它们之后，现在我甚至很容易就会停下来，自我确认一下我将提及的东西都是事实。但是这些都是我亲眼所见的，并且和我同行的人像我一样对看到的东西感到非常惊讶。

1813年的秋天，我离开了俄亥俄河畔的海德森家，动身前往路易斯维尔。在经过巴朗斯，即离哈定斯波几英里的地方，我看到成群的鸽子从东北方向西南方飞去，数量之大甚于我以前见过的任何一次。我感到有必要数一数在一小时内飞过我的视线的鸽子的群数。我下了马，在一处高地坐下，并且开始用我的铅笔做记号，用一个小点代表一群飞过的鸽子。

一小段时间之后，我发现我做的工作不切实际，因为那些鸟以数不胜数的数量蜂拥而至。我站起来，数了数已经记下来的黑点，发现在21分钟内已经有163群鸽子飞过。我继续向前走，走得越远，遇到的鸽子群越多。毫不夸张地说，整个天空都布满了鸽子，而且那翅膀持续震动的嗡嗡声有一种让我有想打瞌睡的冲动。

当我在阳阁的饭店等着吃饭的时候，我在空余时间观察到在索特河和俄亥俄河的交汇处，仍然有大批鸽子不断飞过。在我的西部是一直沿展到俄亥俄州边界之外的鸽子群的前沿，在我的东部是山毛榉树林。没有一只鸽子降落下来，因为那年在临近地区找不到一个坚果或橡实。因此那些鸟飞得很高，以至于那想要用来福枪打中它们的做法完全徒劳，并且枪声丝毫没有给那些鸟带来惊扰。

当一只老鹰碰巧掠过一群鸽子尾部的时候，它们的飞行队伍马上起了变化。我简直无法向你形容那队形变换时的极度优美。一瞬间，像一股洪流，并且带着雷声，那些鸟迅速紧缩成一团，互相拥挤着向中间靠拢。这样缩成坚实的一团之后，它们又以波浪形和角形向前猛冲，以难以置信的速度下降并且拂过地面。那一团鸟群好像一个巨大的柱子一般悬垂着，并且那柱子的高处还在不停地旋转和扭曲，就像是一条卷起来的巨蛇。

一旦那些鸽子发现一处能够吸引它们降落的充足的食物源，它们就在空中盘旋飞翔，观察临近的田野。在队形变换的过程中，它们组成的稠密的紧缩体在方向变换时显示出非常美丽的外形，而当这些鸟同时背部向下的时候，整个队伍就显示出一片闪闪发光的蓝色，很快，这蓝色又变成了鲜艳的深紫色。

然后它们飞得更低了，它们掠过树林，有一会儿消失在树叶之间，但马上又重新出现，并且一直向上飞翔。它们停下来了，但是一瞬间仿佛突然受到了惊吓，它们又振翅高飞，拍打翅膀的声音好像是远方的雷声。它们掠过树丛观察是否有危险来临。然而，饥饿很快又把它们拉回地面。

当它们降落的时候，它们总是勤奋地抛起枯叶，寻找落下来的果实。鸽子群的后部总是在不停地向上飞升，越过队伍的主体，降落在前部。这种替换是如此迅速，以至于整个鸟群看起来都一直在飞翔。鸽子群飞掠过的地表面积惊人之大，而且地面被清理得那么干净，以至于跟在后部捡拾残羹剩饭的鸟一无所获。

在这种情况下，当树林布满了这些鸽子的时候，树木被大批杀死，尽管没有明显的数量上的减少。大概在中午的时候，鸽子用餐完毕。它们栖息在树枝上，消化食物，享受闲暇时光。当太阳降落在地平线以下，它们又一次起飞，前往它们栖息的地方。那些栖息的地方通常都在几百英里之外，这是已经被记录它们到来和离开的人们所证实的了。

现在来让我们看看它们夜间集会的地方。我去反复拜访过在肯塔基绿河河畔的一个这种奇特的栖息地。正像大多数时候那样，它是一片极大树林的一部分，并且在那片树林里很少有灌木丛。我骑马在树林间穿行了40英里，而且经过了它不同的部分。我发现它平均的宽度要大于3英里。我第一次看见那个栖息地的时候是它被选中之后两个星期。我大约在日落前两个小时到达那里。

我观察到很多直径有2英尺的树木在离地面不远的高度处被折断了，而且很多最大、最高树木的树枝也断了，好像树林被飓风袭击过一样。所有的一切都证实栖息在这片树林的鸟群是不可想象地巨大。

它们到来的时间临近了，它们的敌人焦虑地布置着，想要捕获它们。有一些人准备了装着硫磺的铁弹，另一些人举着用松香做燃料的火把，有些人带着棒子，其余人都带着枪。太阳已经落山了，但是没有一只鸽子到达。一切都准备好了，所有的眼睛都注视着清澈的天空。在高高的树木之间天空隐约可见。突然人群中爆发出一阵大喊，“它们来了！”

尽管鸟群发出的噪音非常远，但是我还是不由地想起了那刮过船帆紧束的船只的海上暴风雨。当那些鸟飞过我头顶的时候，我感到一阵令我惊讶的气流在涌动。数千只鸽子立刻被长杆打下来，更多的鸟还在不停地涌入。火把点起来了，一个壮观、奇妙的，但也几乎让人恐惧的景象出现了。

数千只鸽子到达了，它们一个叠着一个，每一个地方都停满了鸽子，最后一个个像五六十加仑的大桶那么大的实体团状物散布在周围所有枝头上。到处都有树枝不堪重负，猛然折断，下落的途中又打乱了下面栖息的鸽子，那些歇满了密密麻麻的鸟堆的枝头被迫压落了下来，那是一片多么混乱和骚动的景象。我发现即使对离我最近的人说话甚至吼叫也是徒劳的。甚至枪声都很少能够听到，我只是在枪手们装子弹的时候才意识到有人在射击。

这种混乱持续了整个晚上，因为我很想知道这种声音能在多远的地方听到，我特意派了善于穿越树林的人去查看。两个小时后他回来了，告诉我说即使是在发生地点3英里远的地方，那声音也清晰可见。第二天天快亮的时候，那声音不知怎的渐渐平息下来了，周围还是伸手不见五指的时候，那些鸽子已经开始离去了，它们飞行的方向与它们前一天来时的方向完全不同。太阳升起来的时候，所有还能飞的鸽子都不见了。

（约翰·詹姆士·奥杜邦）

约翰·詹姆士·奥杜邦（1780～1851年），美国著名鸟类学家，出生于路易斯安娜州，从很小热爱鸟类，并且热衷于研究它们的生活习惯。1797年，他的父亲——一位法国海军上将，把他送到巴黎接受教育。在他回美国的时候，他先定居于宾夕法尼亚东部的一个农场上，后来移居到了肯尼亚的海德森，他在那里住了几年，靠做生意维持生活，但是他把大部分时间都花在了他喜爱的研究上。1830年奥杜邦回到美国，并且很快开始在美国和加拿大各个地区旅行。大约在1840年，他移居到纽约附近，直至去世。

THE PASSENGER PIGEON

The multitudes of wild pigeons in our woods are astonishing. Indeed, after having viewed them so often, and under so many circumstances, I even now feel inclined to pause and assure myself that what I am going to relate is a fact. Yet I have seen it all, and that, too, in the company of persons who, like myself, were struck with amazement.

In the autumn of 1813 I left my house at Henderson, on the banks of the Ohio, on my way to Louisville. In passing over the Barrens, a few miles beyond Hardinsburgh, I observed the pigeons flying, from northeast to southwest, in greater numbers than I thought I had ever seen them before, and feeling an inclination to count the flocks that might pass within the reach of my eye in one hour, I dismounted, seated myself on an eminence, and began to mark with my pencil, making a dot for every flock that passed.

In a short time, finding the task which I had undertaken impracticable, as the birds poured in in countless multitudes, I rose, and, counting the dots then put down, found that one hundred and sixty three had been made in twenty one minutes. I traveled on, and still met more the farther I proceeded. The air was literally filled with pigeons; the light of noonday was obscured as by an eclipse; and the continued buzz of wings had a tendency to lull my senses to repose.

Whilst waiting for dinner at Young's inn, at the confluence of Salt River with the Ohio, I saw, at my leisure, immense legions still going by, with a front reaching far beyond the Ohio on the west, and the beech wood forests directly on the east of me. Not a single bird alighted, for not a nut or acorn was that year to be seen in the neighborhood. They consequently flew so high that different trials to reach them with a capital rifle proved ineffectual; nor did the reports disturb them in the least.

I can not describe to you the extreme beauty of their aerial evolutions when a hawk chanced to press upon the rear of a flock. At once, like a torrent, and with a noise like thunder, they rushed into a compact mass, pressing upon each other towards the center. In these almost solid masses, they darted forward in undulating and angular lines, descended and swept close over the earth with inconceivable velocity, mounted perpendicularly so as to resemble a vast column, and, when high, were seen wheeling and twisting within their continued lines, which then resembled the coils of a gigantic serpent.

As soon as the pigeons discover a sufficiency of food to entice them to alight, they fly round in circles, reviewing the country below. During their evolutions, on such occasions, the dense mass which they form exhibits a beautiful appearance, as it changes its direction, now displaying a glistening sheet of azure, when the backs of the birds come simultaneously into view, and anon suddenly presenting a mass of rich, deep purple.

They then pass lower, over the woods, and for a moment are lost among the foliage, but again emerge, and are seen gliding aloft. They now alight; but the next moment, as if suddenly alarmed, they take to wing, producing by the flappings of their wings a noise like the roar of distant thunder, and sweep through the forests to see if danger is near. Hunger, however, soon brings them to the ground.

When alighted, they are seen industriously throwing up the withered leaves in quest of the fallen mast. The rear ranks are continually rising, passing over the main body, and alighting in front, in such rapid succession, that the whole flock seems still on wing. The quantity of ground thus swept is astonishing; and so completely has it been cleared that the gleaner who might follow in their rear would find his labor completely lost.

On such occasions, when the woods are filled with these pigeons, they are killed in immense numbers, although no apparent diminution ensues. About the middle of the day, after their repast is finished, they settle on the trees to enjoy rest and digest their food. As the sun begins to sink beneath the horizon; they depart en masse for the roosting place, which not unfrequently is hundreds of miles distant, as has been ascertained by persons who have kept an account of their arrivals and departures.

Let us now inspect their place of nightly rendezvous. One of these curious roosting places, on the banks of the Green River, in Kentucky, I repeatedly visited. It was, as is always the case, in a portion of the forest where the trees were of great magnitude, and where there was little underwood. I rode through it upwards of forty miles, and, crossing it in different parts, found its average breadth to be rather more than three miles. My first view of it was about a fortnight subsequent to the period when they had made choice of it, and I arrived there nearly two hours before sunset.

Many trees, two feet in diameter, I observed, were broken off at no great distance from the ground; and the branches of many of the largest and tallest had given way, as if the forest had been swept by a tornado. Everything proved to me that the number of birds resorting to this part of the forest must be immense beyond conception.

As the period of their arrival approached, their foes anxiously prepared to receive them. Some were furnished with iron pots containing sulphur, others with torches of pine knots, many with poles, and the rest with guns. The sun was lost to our view, yet not a pigeon had arrived. Everything was ready, and all eyes were gazing on the clear sky, which appeared in glimpses amidst the tall trees. Suddenly there burst forth the general cry of,“Here they come!”

The noise which they made, though yet distant, reminded me of a hard gale at sea passing through the rigging of a close reefed vessel. As the birds arrived and passed over me, I felt a current of air that surprised me. Thousands were soon knocked down by the pole men. The birds continued to pour in. The fires were lighted, and a magnificent as well as wonderful and almost terrifying sight presented itself.

The pigeons, arriving by thousands, alighted everywhere, one above another, until solid masses, as large as hogsheads, were formed on the branches all round. Here and there the perches gave way under the weight with a crash, and falling to the ground destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups with which every stick was loaded. It was a scene of uproar and confusion. I found it quite useless to speak or even to shout to those persons who were nearest to me. Even the reports of the guns were seldom heard, and I was made aware of the firing only by seeing the shooters reloading.

The uproar continued the whole night; and as I was anxious to know to what distance the sound reached, I sent off a man, accustomed to perambulate the forest, who, returning two hours afterwards, informed me he had heard it distinctly when three miles distant from the spot. Towards the approach of day, the noise in some measure subsided; long before objects were distinguishable, the pigeons began to move off in a direction quite different from that in which they had arrived the evening before, and at sunrise all that were able to fly had disappeared.

（John James Audubon）

第28课　雪鸟之歌

一天，大地完全被大雪覆盖了，两个小姐妹在一起玩，这时一只雪鸟在附近的一棵树上，欢快的唱着歌——得，得。

它已经很久没有唱过艾靡丽曾经听到过的那种曲子，现在它又大声地唱了起来。艾靡丽说：“哦，姐姐看窗外，这儿有一只漂亮的小鸟在唱——得，得。”

“如果我是一只光着脚的雪鸟，我知道我不会呆在外面这么冷的大雪中，因此我觉得它很可怜。哦，它肯定很冷！但他却一直在唱着——得，得。

“哦，妈妈给它一双袜子和一双鞋吧，如果需要的话，还可以给它一件漂亮的裙子和一顶帽子。我希望它会进到房里来，看一下我们会使它有多么温暖，可怜的——得，得。

这只鸟儿飞下来吃了一些碎面包屑，听到了小艾靡丽讲的每一句话。它想穿上那件衣服我会是什么样子呢？随后又——得，得——得笑了起来。

“我很感谢你的好意，”它说，“我没穿那件衣服的必要，我宁可让我的腿更自由一些，也不愿意一瘸一拐地走着唱——得，得。

“这里有一个亲爱的孩子，尽管我不能说出他是谁，他已经把我打扮起来，也确实挺暖和的。哦，谁会和我们一样高兴呢？它飞走了，唱着它的——得，得。

（F·C·伍德沃斯）

THE SNOWBIRD'S SONG

The ground was all covered with snow one day, And two little sisters were busy at play, When a snowbird was sitting close by on a tree, And merrily singing his chick a de dee.

He had not been singing that tune very long Ere Emily heard him, so loud was his song;

“O sister, look out of the window!”said she;

“Here's a dear little bird singing chick a de dee.”Poor fellow! he walks in the snow and the sleet,

And has neither stockings nor shoes on his feet:

I wonder what makes him so full of his glee;

He's all the time singing his chick a de dee.

“If I were a barefooted snowbird, I know,

I would not stay out in the cold and the snow;

I pity him so! oh, how cold he must be!

And yet he keeps singing his chick a de dee. ”

“O mother; do get him some stockings, and shoes,

And a nice little frock, and a hat if he choose:

I wish he'd come into the parlor, and see

How warm we would make him, poor chick a de dee!”

The bird had flown down for some sweet crumbs of bread,

And heard every word little Emily said:

“What a figure I'd make in that dress”thought he,

And laughed as he warbled his chick a de dee

“I am grateful,”said he,“for the wish you express,

But have no occasion for such a fine dress;

I rather remain with my little limbs free,

Than to hobble about, singing chick a de dee.”There is One, my dear child, though I can not tell who,

Has clothed me already, and warm enough, too.

Good morning! Oh, who are so happy as we?“

And away he flew, singing his chick a de dee.

（F. C. Woodworth）

第29课　喜马拉雅山

喜玛拉雅山脉是世界上最大的山脉，它们在亚洲，中国西藏和印度的交界处，连绵几千公里。如果你从平原开始攀登它们中任何一座高峰，你将必须穿过一个二十几英里宽的难走的地区。其实这是由河流溢出的水而产生的沼泽地。沼泽地的地面上生长的茂密的树林，那里生活着老虎、大象还有其他的一些动物。过了这片沼泽地，就会是一些山谷和原始森林。

你越往前走，便会到达满是岩石景象的地区，山坡非常陡峭，但有的地方也树木茂盛，只是它们长得不大结实。

过河时，你一定对那三索吊桥很满意。你会发现城镇的街道就是在岩石上凿出的台阶，还会看到一排排逐渐升高的房屋，群山中进藏的道路只不过是沿着川流不息的河流的岸边。在你前进的过程中，你会经常看到路上泥石流冲过的痕迹。

有时你会看见，冲到山下的上面布满泥土和树枝的电线杆，这样的路游人踩上去直发颤。在南美的安第斯山脉，那里用脚缠好的骡子来驮运游人。他们经常要经过一些几英尺而几百英尺深的峡谷，骡子必须跳过峡谷，但是不能确保这是安全的。

“有一天，”一个人说，“我从西面翻过安第斯山脉，一端岩石擦着我的肩膀，而另一端我的脚却一半悬在峭壁外。”导游告诉人们，当他安全的经过后，他才知道已经有四百多头骡子掉进了山涧，游人在那危险的地方失去性命，是非常平常的事情。

MOUNTAINS

The Himalayas are the highest mountains on our globe, They are in Asia, and separate India from Thibet. They extend in a continuous line for more than a thousand miles.

If you ever ascend one of these mountains from the plain below, you will have to cross an unhealthy border, twenty miles in width. It is, in fact, a swamp caused by the waters overflowing the river banks.

The soil of this swampy border is covered with trees and shrubs, where the tiger, the elephant, and other animals find secure retreat. Beyond this border, you will reach smiling valleys and noble forests.

As you advance onward and upward, you will get among bolder and more rugged scenes. The sides of the mountains are very steep, sometimes well wooded to quite a height, but sometimes quite barren.

In crossing a river you must be content with three ropes for a bridge. You will find the streets of the towns to be simply stairs cut out of the rock, and see the houses rising in tiers.

The pathways into Thibet, among these mountains, are mere tracks by the side of foaming torrents. Often, as you advance, you will find every trace of the path swept away by the failing of rocks and earth from above.

Sometimes you will find posts driven into the mountain side, upon which branches of trees and earth are spread. This forms a trembling foothold for the traveler.

In the Andes, in South America, the sure footed mule is used to carry travelers. Quite often a chasm must be crossed that is many feet wide and hundreds of feet deep. The mule will leap across this chasm, but not until it is sure it can make a safe jump.

“One day,”says a traveler,“I went by the worst pass over the Andes Mountains. The path for seventy yards was very narrow, and at one point it was washed entirely away. On one side the rock brushed my shoulder, and on the other side my foot overhung the precipice.”

The guide told this man, after he was safely over the pass, that, to his knowledge, four hundred mules had fallen over that precipice, and in many instances travelers had lost their lives at that terrible spot.

第三辑

第1课　好兄弟

一次，一个男孩被家人派去给他的奶奶送一篮子东西。

篮子装得很满，所以非常重。小弟弟决定和他一起去，帮他提篮子。

他们用一根棍子从篮子提手下面穿过，然后一人抬着棍子的一端。这样他们就能很轻松地抬起篮子了。

在路上，年龄稍大的哥哥心里在想，我弟弟汤姆可能并不知道这根棍子是起什么作用的。

如果篮子处于棍子中间，我这边就会和他那边一样重。如果我把篮子向他那边移近一点，他那边就会变重一些，而我这边就会轻一些了。

如果我把篮子往他那边移的话，他肯定不知道。但是我不能那样做，因为这样是不对的，我不会做明知是错误的事情。

然后他把篮子移到了自己这边，几乎到了这边的尽头。现在他承担的分量比他弟弟承担的要重许多。

尽管如此，他仍然很高兴，因为他觉得自己做的是正确的。假如他欺骗了自己的弟弟，他是不会这样高兴的。

A KIND BROTHER

A boy was once sent from home to take a basket of things to his grandmother.

The basket was so full that it was very heavy. So his little brother went with him, to help carry the load.

They put a pole under the handle of the basket, and each then took hold of an end of the pole. In this way they could carry the basket very nicely.

Now the older boy thought,“My brother Tom does not know about this pole.”If I slip the basket near him, his side will be heavy, and mine light; but if the basket is in the middle of the pole, it will be as heavy for me as it is for him.

“Tom does not know this as I do. But I will not do it. It would be wrong, and I will not do what is wrong.”

Then he slipped the basket quite near his own end of the pole. His load was now heavier than that of his little brother.

Yet he was happy; for he felt that he had done right. Had he deceived his brother, he would not have felt at all happy.

第2课　破碎的窗户

乔治·爱伦的新年礼物是一枚闪亮的银币。

他想用它买许多自己想买的好东西。

地面上覆盖着白雪。在阳光的照耀下，所有东西都显得非常美丽。于是乔治戴上帽子，跑到了大街上。

当他在雪地里滑行时，看到一群男孩在打雪仗。于是，乔治便马上加入到了这个活动中。

他向詹姆士·梅森掷了一个雪球，但没有击中他，却打中了街道另一边上的一扇窗户。

乔治害怕有人会从房子里跑出来找他，于是便以最快的速度跑开了。但当他跑到另一个角落时，就停下了，因为他为自己刚才所做的坏事深感内疚。

他自言自语道：“现在我可没有权利去花自己的银币了。我应该回去，用它来赔偿我刚才拿雪球打破的那块玻璃。”

他在街上来来回回地走着，内心感到非常难过。他一方面非常想买一些自己想要的好东西，但他又想到他得去赔偿那块打破的玻璃。

最后他说：“我打碎玻璃是不对的，尽管我纯属无意。即使用光我所有的钱，我也要去赔偿。只有这样做了，我才不会再感到不安。假如我为自己的过失做出了赔偿的话，我想那个房子的主人是不会伤害我的。”

乔治着手做正确的事情了。他也为自己下定决心去做正确的事情而感到由衷的快乐。

他按动了门铃。当那家的人出来时，乔治说：“先生，我掷雪球打碎了您家的玻璃窗。但我不是故意的，我非常抱歉，并想赔偿您。这枚银币是我父亲给我的新年礼物，我想拿它来赔偿您。”

这位先生接过那枚银币，并问乔治身上是否还有钱。乔治说他没有了。“好，”那位先生说，“你会有更多钱的。”

那位先生在问了乔治的姓名和住址后，还夸他是一个诚实的孩子，然后关上了门。

乔治在吃饭时回到了家。他的脸像红苹果一样，他的眼睛十分明亮，给人的感觉是一切都挺好的。在吃饭时，爱伦先生问他用那个银币买了什么。

乔治非常诚实地告诉了他自己打碎玻璃的事，并且向他表白，虽然自己现在没什么钱花了，但却感到非常开心。

饭后，爱伦先生示意乔治去看看他的帽子。他去一看，发现帽子里放着两枚银币。那位玻璃窗被打碎的先生已来过这儿了并告诉了爱伦先生所发生的一切。临走前，他不仅退回了乔治那枚银币，同时又送了一枚银币给他。

事过不久，那位先生又来找爱伦先生，告诉他自己想找个好孩子去他商店里帮忙。

从那以后，每天乔治一放学，便前去那位先生的商店去帮忙。那位先生原来是一名非常富有的商人。几年后，乔治便非常幸运地成了他的合伙人。

THE BROKEN WINDOW

George Ellet had a bright silver dollar for a New year gift.

He thought of all the fine things he might buy with it. The ground was all covered with snow; but the sun shone out bright, and everything looked beautiful.

So George put on his hat, and ran into the street. As he went skipping along, he met some boys throwing snowballs. George soon engaged in the sport.

He sent a ball at James Mason, but it missed him, and broke a window on the other side of the street.

George feared some one would come out of the house and find him. So he ran off as fast as he could.

As soon as he got round the next corner, George stopped, because he was very sorry for what he had done.

He said to himself,“I have no right to spend my silver dollar, now. I ought to go back, and pay for the glass I broke with my snowball.”

He went up and down the street, and felt very sad. He wished very much to buy something nice. He also wished to pay for the broken glass.

At last he said,“It was wrong to break the window, though I did not mean to do it. I will go and pay for it, if it takes all my money, I will try not to be sorry. I do not think the man will hurt me if I pay for the mischief I have done.”

George started off, and felt much happier for having made up his mind to do what was right.

He rang the doorbell. When the man came out, George said,“Sir, I threw a snowball through your window. But I did not intend to do it. I am very sorry, and wish to pay you. Here is the dollar my father gave me as a New year gift.”

The gentleman took the dollar, and asked George if he had no more money. George said he had not.“Well,”said he,“this will do.”

So, after asking George his name, and where he lived, he called him an honest boy, and shut the door.

George went home at dinner time, with a face as rosy, and eyes as bright, as if nothing had gone wrong. At dinner, Mr. Ellet asked him what he had bought with his money.

George very honestly told him all about the broken window, and said he felt very well without any money to spend.

When dinner was over, Mr. Ellet told George to go and look in his cap. He did so, and found two silver dollars there.

The man, whose window had been broken, had been there, and told Mr. Ellet about it. He gave back George's dollar and another besides.

A short time after this, the man came and told Mr. Ellet that he wanted a good boy to stay in his store.

As soon as George left school, he went to live with this man, who was a rich merchant. In a few years he became the merchant's partner.

第3课　狼来了

一个男孩在一个离森林不太远的地方放羊。附近有一个村庄。村民们告诉他，如果有危险情况发生，他只要大声呼喊救命，他们就会来帮他。

有一天，这个男孩想找点乐子，于是他就拼命地大喊：“狼来了，狼来了。”

村民们听到喊声，便拿着棍棒和斧头赶过来打狼。可是他们并没有发现狼，于是就回去了，只剩下约翰在那里大笑。

他觉得这样挺有趣。第二天约翰又喊：“狼来了，狼来了。”人们又来了，不过没有第一次来的人多。他们还是没有看到狼的影子，只得摇了一下头又回去了。

第三天，狼真的来了，约翰惊恐万分，大叫：“救命！救命！狼来了！狼来了！”但这次没有人来帮他。

狼冲进羊群，咬死了许多绵羊，其中就有约翰的那只可爱的母羊。

事后，他感到非常后悔。他欺骗了朋友和邻居，由此也失去了自己最心爱的羊。

如果一个人经常骗人的话，一旦他有时说的是真话，别人也不会相信他的了。

THE WOLF

A boy was once taking care of some sheep, not far from a forest. Near by was a village, and he was told to call for help if there was any danger.

One day, in order to have some fun, he cried out, with all his might,“The wolf is coming! the wolf is coming!”

The men came running with clubs and axes to destroy the wolf. As they saw nothing they went home again, and left John laughing in his sleeve.

As he had had so much fun this time, John cried out again, the next day,“The wolf! the wolf!”

The men came again, but not so many as the first time. Again they saw no trace of the wolf; so they shook their heads, and went back.

On the third day, the wolf came in earnest. John cried in dismay,“Help! help! the wolf! the wolf!”But not a single man came to help him.

The wolf broke into the flock, and killed a great many sheep. Among them was a beautiful lamb, which belonged to John.

Then he felt very sorry that he had deceived his friends and neighbors, and grieved over the loss of his pet lamb.

The truth itself is not believed,

From one who often has deceived.

第4课　哈里和安妮

哈里和安妮住在离城镇一英里远的地方，他们每天都要去那里上学。每天，他们总是沿着乡间小路，穿过池塘边的牧场。那是一段令人愉快的旅程。

也说不清他们是喜欢夏天，还是更喜欢冬天，他们过去总是把自己当成一个探索新大陆的旅行者，他们还把树叶撒在地上，以便找到回家的路。

当冰又厚又坚的时候，他们就可以径直穿过池塘了。不过，除非有人和他们一起去，否则他们的妈妈是不愿意让他们那样做的。

“今天不要从池塘上过了，孩子们。”妈妈说，她吻了他们一下，对他们说了声再见，又叮嘱道：“今天的冰开始化了。”

“好吧。”哈里不情愿地说，他可是最喜欢在冰上滑的了。他们来到了池塘边，冰看起来好像挺坚固也很安全。

“这里！”哈里对妹妹说，“我就知道冰还没开始化。妈妈其实是担心我们被淹才那样说的。让我们痛痛快快地滑一阵子吧，现在离上课至少还有一个小时呢！”

“可是你都答应妈妈你不滑了的。”安妮说。

“没有，我才没有呢，我只是说好吧，又没指什么！”

“好吧，只当我什么都没说，现在我可以做我喜欢的事情了。”安妮说。

他们走上了冰面，开始往里面行进。可是没走多远，冰就裂开了，他们都掉到了水里。

一个在附近工作的人刚好听到了他们的尖叫声。他急忙冲到水里，把他们俩拉了上来。当时，哈里正在费尽全力地往岸上爬，安妮却在那人赶到之前差一点就没命了。

哈里回家后几乎冻僵了。他告诉了他妈妈他不听话而做的错事。他会永远记得这次教训的。

HARRY AND ANNIE

Harry and Annie lived a mile from town, but they went there to school every day. It was a pleasant walk down the lane, and through the meadow by the pond.

I hardly know whether they liked it better in summer or in winter. They used to pretend that they were travelers exploring a new country, and would scatter leaves on the road that they might find their way back again.

When the ice was thick and firm, they went across the pond. But their mother did not like to have them do this unless some one was with them.

“Don't go across the pond to day, children,”she said, as she kissed them and bade them good by one morning;“it is beginning to thaw.”

“All right, mother,”said Harry, not very good naturedly, for he was very fond of running and sliding on the ice. When they came to the pond, the ice looked hard and safe.

“There,”said he to his sister,“I knew it hadn't thawed any. Mother is always afraid we shall be drowned. Come along, we will have a good time sliding. The school bell will not ring for an hour at least.”

“But you promised mother,”said Annie.

“No, I did n't. I only said ‘All right,’ and it is all right.”

“I did n't say anything; so I can do as I like,”said Annie.

So they stepped on the ice, and started to go across the pond. They had not gone far before the ice gave way, and they fell into the water.

A man who was at work near the shore, heard the screams of the children, and plunged into the water to save them. Harry managed to get to the shore without any help, but poor Annie was nearly drowned before the man could reachher.

Harry went home almost frozen, and told his mother how disobedient he had been. He remembered the lesson learned that day as long as he lived.

第5课　寡妇与商人

一个寡妇向一位非常喜爱音乐的商人求助。她的丈夫是个音乐家，但已经去世了，抛下了她，她只得过着穷困的生活。

商人看了看这个寡妇，又看了看跟着她的那个充满忧伤的女儿。他怜悯地看着她们那苍白的面孔。从她们的举止，他相信她们讲的事情是真的。

“你想要多少钱，我尊敬的女士？”商人说。

“5美元就足以拯救我们了。”穷寡妇忧郁地说。

商人在他的桌子旁边坐下，取出一张纸，在上面写下了几行字，然后交给了寡妇，并告诉她：“拿着它去路对面的银行吧。”

寡妇和她的女儿高兴得都没顾得上看看字条上写的是什么，就匆匆忙忙地去了银行。银行职员取出50美元而不是5美元，交给了寡妇。

看到这么多钱时，她惊呆了。“先生，是不是弄错了？”她说，“你给了我50美元，而我只要了5美元啊！”

银行职员看了看支票，然后说：“支票上写的就是50美元啊。”

“这的确是搞错了。”寡妇说。

银行职员要寡妇在这儿等几分钟，然后去见了给她支票的商人。

“是的，”商人听了银行职员的话后说，“我的确是犯了个错误，我写的是50美元，而不是5美元，请给这个寡妇500美元吧。如此诚实的人得到这些钱的奖励难道算多吗？”

THE WIDOW AND THE MERCHANT

A merchant, who was very fond of music, was asked by a poor widow to give her some assistance. Her husband, who was a musician, had died, and left her very poor indeed.

The merchant saw that the widow and her daughter, who was with her, were in great distress. He looked with pity into their pale faces, and was convinced by their conduct that their sad story was true.

“How much do you want, my good woman?”said the merchant.

“Five dollars will save us5,”said the poor widow, with some hesitation.

The merchant sat down at his desk, took a piece of paper, wrote a few lines on it, and gave it to the widow with the words,“Take it to the bank you see on the other side of the street.”

The grateful widow and her daughter, without stopping to read the note, hastened to the bank. The banker at once counted out fifty dollars instead of five, and passed them to the widow.

She was amazed when she saw so much money.“Sir, there is a mistake here,”she said.“You have given me fifty dollars, and I asked for only five.”

The banker looked at the note once more, and said,“The check calls for fifty dollars.”

“It is a mistake—indeed it is,”said the widow.

The banker then asked her to wait a few minutes, while he went to see the merchant who gave her the note.

“Yes.”said the merchant, when he had heard the banker's story,“I did make a mistake. I wrote fifty instead of five hundred. Give the poor widow five hundred dollars, for such honesty is poorly rewarded with even that sum.”

第6课　寻找失主

“那是我的，”弗雷德拿着一把手柄呈白色且刀刃都很精致的小折刀说，“它和我一直想要的那把一模一样。”他自豪而满足地摆弄着那把精致的小刀。

“我知道他是谁的。”汤姆用一种批评的眼光看着弗雷德说。

“你别瞎猜，”弗雷德马上反驳，瞪大眼睛说，“它不是雷蒙德先生的。”

“我知道，雷蒙德先生那把大约是这把的两倍大。”说着汤姆继续做他的绘画作业。

你认为弗雷德会因为那把刀而感到舒服吗？说实话一点也不舒服，他总是为那的确不属于自己的东西而感到忧心忡忡，并且汤姆的猜疑也使他无法高兴起来。

那种行为对他简直就是一种痛苦的折磨。他曾多次产生把它烧掉、埋掉或扔掉的念头，但最终他想出了一个好办法。

暑假里的一天他对汤姆说：“汤姆，你不是说过你知道我捡到的那把刀的主人是谁吗？”

“是啊，我说过，它好像是佩里医生的。”汤姆没有说别的就跑去玩了。

佩里医生！弗雷德应该有足够的时间在暑假结束前去佩里医生家的，于是他便匆匆跑去找佩里医生了。当弗雷德遇见佩里医生时，他正要去看望一位病人。“这是您的吗？”弗雷德上气不接下气地问，并把手中拿着的那把小刀递给佩里医生看。

“是的，”佩里医生回答，“但我已经把它弄丢好多天了。”

“它被我捡到了，”弗雷德说，“从那时起我就好像有一种做贼的感觉。还给你吧，我要去玩了。”

“等等！”医生叫住他，“我已经有一把新的了，这把就送给你好了。”

“我？我可以吗？哦，谢谢你，谢谢！”

弗雷德现在的感觉和一周前完全不同了。

FINDING THE OWNER

“It's mine,”said Fred, showing a white handled pocketknife, with every blade perfect and shining.“Just what I've always wanted.”And he turned the prize over and over with evident satisfaction.

“I guess I know who owns it,”said Tom, looking at it with a critical eye.

“I guess you Don't,”was the quick response.“It is n't Mr. Raymond's,”said Fred, shooting wide of the mark.

“I know that; Mr. Raymond's is twice as large,”observed Tom, going on with his drawing lesson.

Do you suppose Fred took any comfort in that knife? Not a bit of comfort did he take. He was conscious all the time of having something in his possession that did not belong to him; and Tom's suspicion interfered sadly with his enjoyment.

Finally, it became such a torment to him, that he had serious thoughts of burning it, or burying it, or giving it away; but a better plan suggested itself.

“Tom,”said he, one day at recess,“did n't you say you thought you knew who owned that knife I found?”

“Yes, I did; it looked like Doctor Perry's.”And Tom ran off to his play, without giving the knife another thought.

Dr. Perry's! Why, Fred would have time to go to the doctor's office before recess closed: so he started in haste, and found the old gentleman getting ready to visit a patient.“Is this yours?”cried Fred, in breathless haste, holding up the cause of a week's anxiety.

“It was,”said the doctor;“but I lost it the other day.”

“I found it,”said Fred,“and have felt like a thief ever since. Here, take it; I've got to run.”

“Hold on!”said the doctor.“I've got a new one, and you are quite welcome to this.”

“Am I? May I? Oh! thank you!”And with what a different feeling he kept it from that which he had experienced for a week!

第7课　知足的男孩

一天早上，伦诺克斯先生骑着马，独自在路上走着。当他下马去看路边的东西时，马的缰绳从他手中挣脱，跑掉了，伦诺克斯先生便在后面追，但他怎么也追不上。

在路边田地里干活的一个小孩，听见了马跑的声音。当他一发现那匹马是从主人手中挣脱开来的时，便迅速跑到路中央，捉住了马的缰绳将它给拦住了，这时伦诺克斯先生也赶来了。

伦诺克斯先生：“谢谢你，我可爱的孩子，你干得非常漂亮，我能给你点什么呢？”

男孩：“我什么都不要，先生。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你什么都不想要？你真是个好孩子，很少有人能像你这样，但是你在地里做什么呢？”

男孩：“我正在除草，同时看着羊不让它吃庄稼。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你喜欢干活吗？”

男孩：“是的，先生，非常喜欢，尤其是在这样的好天气。”

伦诺克斯先生：“难道你就不想去玩吗？”

男孩：“这活不累，几乎和玩儿一样。”

伦诺克斯先生：“谁让你来干活的？”

男孩：“我爸爸，先生。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你叫什么名字？”

男孩：“彼得·赫德，先生。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你几岁了？”

男孩：“到明年7月我就8岁了。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你在这儿呆多久了？”

男孩：“从早上6点一直到现在。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你一点都不饿吗？”

男孩：“是的，先生，不饿，不过我马上就要回家吃晚饭了。”

伦诺克斯先生：“如果你现在有钱了，你想拿来干什么？”

男孩：“我不知道，先生，我从来就没有钱。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你有玩具吗？”

男孩：“玩具？玩具是什么东西？”

伦诺克斯先生：“像玻璃球、陀螺，还有像木马那样的东西。”

男孩：“没有，先生。汤姆和我在冬天踢足球，我自己有一根跳绳、还有一只铁环，但是它们已经坏了。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你想要其他东西吗？”

男孩：“哦，我几乎没有时间去玩，我必须得放牛，送货，骑马到田地里去，这些和玩耍一样有趣。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你知道如果你有了钱，你可以用它来买蛋糕或者苹果的。”

男孩：“我家里有苹果，蛋糕我也不想要。我妈妈有时给我做饼，那味道好极了。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你不喜欢削木头用的刀吗？”

男孩：“我有一把，在这儿，是汤姆大哥送给我的。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你的鞋子上面全是洞，你不想要一双新的吗？”

男孩：“我有一双好的，只在星期天穿它。”

伦诺克斯先生：“可是这双鞋是会进水的呀！”

男孩：“我不在乎，先生。”

伦诺克斯先生：“你的帽子也破了。”

男孩：“我家有顶新的。”

伦诺克斯先生：“如果下雨你怎么办？”

男孩：“如果雨很大的话，我会到树下去避雨。”

伦诺克斯先生：“如果你在回家之前就饿了，那该怎么办呀？”

男孩：“我有时吃些野菜。”

伦诺克斯先生：“如果没有怎么办？”

男孩：“那我就继续干活，不去想那些东西。”

伦诺克斯先生：“为什么？小家伙。我非常高兴你如此满足，你上学了吗？”

男孩：“还没有，先生。但是爸爸打算明年冬天送我去上学。”

伦诺克斯先生：“那你一定想要课本。”

男孩：“是的，先生。每个上学的小孩都有拼写手册、读物和练习册。”

伦诺克斯先生：“那么告诉你爸爸我会给的，因为你是一个听话、知足的好孩子。”

男孩：“我会的，先生，谢谢您。”

伦诺克斯先生：“再见，彼德。”

男孩：“再见，先生。”

THE CONTENTED BOY

Mr. Lenox was one morning riding by himself. He got off from his horse to look at something on the roadside. The horse broke away from him, and ran off. Mr. Lenox ran after him, but soon found that he could not catch him.

A little boy at work in a field near the road, heard the horse. As soon as he saw him running from his master, the boy ran very quickly to the middle of the road, and, catching the horse by thc bridle, stopped him till Mr. Lenox came up.

Mr. Lenox. Thank you, my good boy, you have caught my horse very nicely. What shall I give you for your trouble?

Boy. I want nothing, sir.

Mr. L. You want nothing? So much the better for you. Few men can say as much. But what were you doing in the field?

B. I was rooting up weeds, and tending the sheep that were feeding on turnips.

Mr. L. Do you like to work?

B. Yes, sir, very well, this fine weather.

Mr. L. But would you not rather play?

B. This is not hard work. It is almost as good as play.

Mr. L. Who set you to work?

B. My father, sir.

Mr. L. What is your name?

B. Peter Hurdle, sir.

Mr. L. How old are you?

B. Eight years old, next June.

Mr. L. How long have you been here?

B. Ever since six o'clock this morning.

Mr. L. Are you not hungry?

B. Yes, sir, but I shall go to dinner soon.

Mr. L. If you had a dime now, what would you do with it?

B. I Don't know, sir. I never had so much.

Mr. L. Have you no playthings?

B. Playthings? What are they?

Mr. L. Such things as ninepins, marbles, tops, and wooden horses.

B. No, sir. Tom and I play at football in winter, and I have a jumping rope. I had a hoop, but it is broken.

Mr. L. Do you want nothing else?

B. I have hardly time to play with what I have. I have to drive the cows, and to run on errands, and to ride the horses to the fields, and that is as good as play.

Mr. L. You could get apples and cakes, if you had money, you know.

B. I can have apples at home. As for cake, I do not want that. My mother makes me a pie now and then, which is as good.

Mr. L. Would you not like a knife to cut sticks?

B. I have one. Here it is. Brother Tom gave it to me.

Mr. L. Your shoes are full of holes. Don't you want a new pair?

B. I have a better pair for Sundays.

Mr. L. But these let in water.

B. I do not mind that, sir.

Mr. L. Your hat is all torn, too.

B. I have a better one at home.

Mr. L. What do yon do when it rains?

B. If it rains very hard when I am in the field, I get under a tree for shelter.

Mr. L. What do you do, if you are hungry before it is time to go home?

B. I sometimes eat a raw turnip.

Mr. L. But if there is none?

B. Then I do as well as I can without. I work on, and never think of it.

Mr. L. Why, my little fellow, I am glad to see that you are so contented. Were you ever at school?

B. No, sir. But father means to send me next winter.

Mr. L. You will want books then.

B. Yes, sir; each boy has a Spelling Book, a Reader, and a Testament.

Mr. L. Then I will give them to you. Tell your father so, and that it is because you are an obliging, contented little boy.

B. I will, sir. Thank you.

Mr. L. Good-by, Peter.

B. Good by , sir.

第8课　见风使舵

德比（以下简称“德”）：早上好，老邻居。今天我得赶几英里的路，要是你能把灰马借给我，就太感激你了。

史瑞威尔（以下简称“史”）：德比，亲爱的朋友，非常高兴为你效劳，但是今天上午我必须驮一袋玉米去磨房，我妻子今天要磨上好的面。你知道，让她失望是怎样的一个光景。

德：那她今天将无法如愿。我敢肯定磨房今天不开，磨房主和威尔·戴维思说过，今天水太浅了，带不动机器，给我听到了。

史：怎么这样啊，真是糟糕。那我得骑马到镇上去磨面了。要不我老婆非梳理我不可。

德：我可以让你省得跑这趟路，我家有现成的面，你妻子想借多少都行。

史：哎，德比，我肯定你家的面不合我妻子的心，你都想不到她有多怪。

德：就算她古怪10倍，我也保证她会满意的，因为这些面是你亲自卖给我的呢，你还打保票说是最好的。

史：是啊，是啊，没错的，我的东西总是最好的。你知道，德比，没有比我更愿意为朋友效劳的人了，但是我得告诉你我的马今天早上不愿意吃草，说实在的，我还怕它不愿意驮你。

德：哦，别担心！路上我会喂它燕麦吃的。

史：燕麦？老邻居，那可是好贵的。

德：别在意这个，眼看我就有一份好差事了，才不会在乎这些零碎呢。

史：可是路很滑，我担心马摔倒会弄折了你的脖子。

德：不要为这个担心。马步子稳当得很，还有，你刚刚还说要骑它飞奔到镇上呢。

史：呃，那么，告诉你真相好了，尽管我从心底想帮你，可我的马鞍已坏得不能用了，马笼头我也送去修补了。

德：巧了，我家正好有不用的马鞍和马笼头。

史：啊！是吧。可是我想你的鞍子一定不配我的马。我的马可是很有自己的主意的。

德：是吗，那我去借邻居克劳德坡尔的马具。

史：克劳德坡尔的？他的还不如你的呢。

德：都不行的话我就去找我最好的朋友，史奎·琼思，他足有半打，我肯定能找到一副可以配上你的马。

史：德比，你知道的，老朋友，再没有人比我更愿意帮邻居的忙了，我向你保证这马可以给你用，可是我想它都足有3周没有刷洗了，刘海儿和鬃毛也得梳理修剪了。要是给别人看到它现在这副德行，以后肯定就卖不上好价钱了。

德：哦，刷洗很快的，我儿子山姆立刻就可以干。

史：是啊，可是我忽然想起来我的马没有钉掌呢。

德：附近不就有个铁匠吗？

史：什么？那个补锅匠杜比森？让这种拙劣的人给山羊钉掌我可信不过。不，不行。除了汤姆·萨普大叔，谁也不能给我的马钉掌。

德：凑巧的是，我正好会经过他家呢。

史：（唤他的儿子）提姆，提姆！邻居德比来借我们的灰马到镇上去。你知道上周马背蹭破了，有巴掌大一块呢（对提姆眨了眨眼睛）。不过，我想它现在已经恢复了。你知道的，提姆，我是多么愿为邻居帮忙，事实上我们应该尽可能做好事。要是我们的马能帮得上我们的邻居，那一定要借他使唤。是这样的，德比，仅从提姆的脸色，我就看得出他愿意帮忙。我本打算不管马怎么样都不拒绝你的。即使我拒绝了，我也期望你仍能坚持借它用。没有哪个邻居会指责我说，有什么需要帮忙的时候我后撤。来，提姆，你说呢？

提姆：父亲，我说什么呢？我和您一样热心帮邻里的忙。但是我们的马实在没有办法走这一趟。您刚才说巴掌大一块？先生，这可怜东西的皮都从背上蹭掉了，足有你的宽边帽子大小！还有，我还应承了耐德·桑德，马一旦可以走远路，就借给他驮苹果到市场上去的。

史：你听到了吧。我非常抱歉事情会是这样的。我本来非常愿意为你效劳的，就算这匹马比这值2倍的钱。相信我，老邻居。我非常抱歉事情会变成这样。

德：我同样为你感到遗憾，邻居。事实上，今早我收到格瑞菲先生的信，要我今天赶到镇上，他就把将要砍伐的山上的木材优先买卖权给我。我本来想着要分你一半的，至少有50美金可以进到你的口袋。但是，既然你的马……

史：50美金？你是说50吗？

德：是啊，我是这么说的。但是既然你的马病了，我去看能不能借老罗恩那个铁匠的马。

史：老罗恩！我的马可以供你使唤的啊，老邻居。来，提姆，告诉耐德他不能用我们的马了，因为德比要用。我怎么能拒绝这个好朋友提出的任何要求呢。

德：可是你的面怎么办呢？

史：就算你要借我的马用一周，我妻子都用不着去磨面的。

德：可是你的马鞍也破得不能用了。

史：我指的是那副旧的。我当时就买了新的，你当然应该最先使用。

德：要不要我先到萨普大叔那儿给马钉掌啊？

史：不，不用。我忘了告诉你上周我已请杜比森将它钉好了，当时是抱着试试的态度去找他的，不过说句公道话，他钉得好极了。

德：可是要是这个可怜的家伙背上破了那么大的皮……

史：呸，那些都是提姆编造的。我向你保证，它最开始还没有我拇指指甲盖大呢，并且早就长好了。

德：还有，既然它不吃草，至少得让它吃点喜欢的东西啊。

史：今天早上它确实不吃草，可是惟一的原因是它给燕麦喂饱了。你什么都不用担心，老邻居。我的马准备就绪。它会带着你像鸟儿一样飞过田野的。祝你旅途愉快，赚大钱！

CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES

Derby. Good morning, neighbor Scrapewell. I have half a dozen miles to ride to day, and shall be extremely obliged if you will lend me your gray mare.

Scrapewell. It would give me great pleasure to oblige you, friend Derby; but I am under the necessity of going to the mill this very morning, with a bag of corn. My wife wants the meal to day, and you know what a time there'll be if I disappoint her.

D. Then she must want it still, for I can assure you the mill does not go to day. I heard the miller tell Will Davis that the water was too low.

S. You don't say so! That is bad, indeed; for in that case I shall be obliged to gallop off to town for the meal. My wife would comb my head for me if I should neglect it.

D. I can save you this journey, for I have plenty of meal at home, and will lend your wife as much as she wants.

S. Ah! neighbor Derby, I am sure your meal would never suit my wife. You can't conceive how whimsical she is.

D. If she were ten times more whimsical than she is, I am certain she would like it; for you sold it to me yourself, and you assured me it was the best you ever had.

S. Yes, yes! that's true, indeed; I always have the best of everything. You know, neighbor Derby, that no one is more ready to oblige a friend than I am; but I must tell you the mare this morning refused to eat hay; and, truly, I am afraid she will not carry you.

D. Oh, never fear! I will feed her well with oats on the road.

S. Oats! neighbor; oats are very dear.

D. Never mind that. When I have a good job in view, I never stand for trifles.

S. But it is very slippery; and I am really afraid she will fall and break your neck.

D. Give yourself no uneasiness about that. The mare is certainly sure footed; and, besides, you were just now talking of galloping her to town.

S. Well, then, to tell you the plain truth, though I wish to oblige you with all my heart, my saddle is torn quite in pieces, and I have just sent my bridle to be mended.

D. Luckily, I have both a bridle and a saddle hanging up at home.

S. Ah! that may be; but I am sure your saddle will never fit my mare. She's very notional.

D. Why, then I'll borrow neighbor Clodpole's.

S. Clodpole's! his will no more fit than yours.

D. At the worst, then, I will go to my good friend, Squire Jones. He has half a score of them; and I am sure he will lend me one that will fit her.

S. You know, friend Derby, that no one is more willing to oblige his neighbors than I am. I do assure you the beast should be at your service, with all my heart; but she has not been curried, I believe, for three weeks past. Her foretop and mane want combing and cutting very much. If anyone should see her in her present plight, it would ruin the sale of her.

D. Oh, a horse is soon curried, and my son Sam shall attend to it at once.

S. Yes, very likely; but I this moment recollect the creature has no shoes on.

D. Well, is there not a blacksmith hard by?

S. What, that tinker, Dobson? I would not trust such a bungler to shoe a goat. No, no; none but uncle Tom Thumper shall shoe my mare.

D. As good luck will have it, then, I shall pass right by his door.

S. ［Calling to his son.］ Tim, Tim! here's neighbor Derby, who wants the loan of the gray mare, to ride to town to day. You know the skin was rubbed off her back, last week, a hand's breadth or more. ［Gives Tim a wink.］ However, I believe she is well enough by this time. You know, Tim, how ready I am to oblige my neighbors; indeed, we ought to do all the good we can in this world. We must certainly let neighbor Derby have her if she will possibly answer his purpose. Yes, yes; I see plainly by Tim's countenance, neighbor Derby, that he's disposed to oblige you. I would not have refused you the mare for the worth of her. If I had, I should have expected you to refuse me in turn. None of my neighbors can accuse me of being backward in doing them a kindness whenever it is possible. Come, Tim, what do you say?

Tim. What do I say, father? Why, sir, I say that I am no less ready than you are to do a neighborly kindness. But the mare is by no means capable of performing the journey. About a hand's breadth, did you say? Why, sir, the skin is torn from the poor creature's back the bigness of your broadbrimmed hat! And, besides, I have promised her, so soon as she is able to travel, to Ned Saunders, to carry a load of apples to market.

S. Do you hear that, neighbor? I am very sorry matters are thus. I would not have disobliged you for the price of two such mares. Believe me, neighbor Derby, I am really sorry, for your sake, that matters turn out thus.

D. And I as much for yours, neighbor Scrapewell; for to tell you the truth I received a letter this morning from Mr. Griffin, who tells me if I will be in town to day he will give me the refusal of all that lot of timber, which he is about cutting down, on the side of the hill; and I had intended you should have shared half of it, which would have been not less than fitly dollars in your pocket. But, as your—

S. Fifty dollars, did you say?

D. Ay, truly, did I; but as your mare is out of order, I'll go and see if I can get old Roan, the blacksmith's horse.

S. Old Roan! My mare is at your service, neighbor, Here, Tim, tell Ned Saunders he can't have the mare: neighbor Derby wants her; and I won't refuse so good a friend anything he asks for.

D. But what are you to do for meal?

S. My wife can do without it for a week if you want the mare so long.

D. But, then, your saddle is all in pieces.

S. I meant the old one. I have bought a new one since, and you shall have the first use of it.

D. And shall I call at Thumper's and get the mare shod?

S. No, no; I had forgotten to tell you that I let neighbor Dobson shoe her, last week, by way of trial; and, to do him justice, he shoes extremely well.

D. But, if the poor creature has lost so much skin from off her back—

S. Poh, poh! That is just one of Tim's large stories. I do assure you it was not, at first, bigger than my thumb nail, and I am certain it has not grown any since.

D. At least, however, let her have something she will eat, since she refuses hay.

S. She did, indeed, refuse hay this morning; but the only reason was that she was crammed full of oats. You have nothing to fear, neighbor; the mare is in perfect trim; and she will skim you over the ground like a bird. I wish you a good journey and a profitable job.

第9课　最绅士的报复

“我会报复他的，我会让他打心底里感到后悔的。”菲力普嘟囔着，气鼓鼓的，涨红着脸。他想得太专心了，以至于都没有注意到正要去找他的史蒂芬。

史蒂芬问道：“谁呀，你要报复谁呢？”菲力普这才如梦初醒，猛地停住，看到是自己的朋友，脸上露出了笑容。他说：“哦，你记得我的竹条吗？父亲送给我的非常漂亮的一截竹子，记得吧？看看，现在折成这样了，这正是农夫罗宾逊的儿子干的好事。”

史蒂芬十分冷静地问他是什么原因使得小罗宾逊弄折竹条的。菲力普回答说：“我刚才正走得好好的，还一边把我的竹条绕在身上玩呢。不小心，它的一头滑出了手，当时我正对着大门，在木桥边，那个坏家伙在那儿放了一大罐子水，是要挑回家的。碰巧我的竹条弹回来掀翻了罐子，可并没打碎它。就在我向他解释说不小心、很抱歉的时候，他一跳过来就开始骂人，一点也不理会我的话，他突然抓住了我的竹条，你看看，都扭成这样了。我会让他后悔的。”

史蒂芬说道：“他确实是个坏孩子，也已经为此受到了足够的惩罚，因为没有人喜欢亲近他。他几乎找不到一个玩伴，也没有什么娱乐，不过，这也是他活该的。我觉得这些就足够当作你对他的报复了。”

菲力普回答说：“虽然事情是这样的，可是他弄折了我的竹条。那是我父亲送我的礼物，那么漂亮的竹条。你要知道我是无意间撞了他的罐子，我还主动提出再帮他打满的。我一定要报复。”

“那好吧，菲力普，”史蒂芬说，“我认为你要是不在意他会更好，因为蔑视是你对他的最大的伤害。要知道，他对你要做的恶作剧，总比你想来对付他的要多。哦，我想起来了，就在前不久发生在他身上的一件事。

他那次碰巧看到一只蜜蜂在花丛中飞舞，就想逮着揪掉人家的翅膀，可他非常不走运，蜜蜂蜇了他，还安全飞回了蜂巢。疼痛激怒了他。像你现在这样，他发誓要报复，于是他找来一根棍子捅了蜜蜂窝。

霎时间整个蜂群飞了出来，向他身上扑去。他浑身给蜇了上百下。他凄声哭喊着，痛得在地上打滚。他父亲赶紧跑过去，但是也没能赶跑蜂群，他给蜇得在床上休息了好几天。

所以，你看到了，他的报复行动也不怎么成功，因此我劝你别计较他的无礼。他是个坏小子，比你厉害多了。所以真要报复，我怀疑你的能耐还没他大呢。”

菲力普回答说：“我承认你的建议不错，那么跟我来吧，我去告诉父亲事情的原委，我想他不会生我的气的。”于是两人去把事情的经过对菲力普的父亲讲了。他父亲感谢史蒂芬给了他儿子这么好的忠告，还答应菲力普，他将再送他一根一模一样的竹条。

几天后，菲力普看到那个秉性恶劣的男孩往家背一担重重的木头，摔在地上爬不起来了。菲力普跑过去帮他把柴禾搁在肩膀上。小罗宾逊对他的帮助感到受之有愧，并且为此而十分羞愧，打心里为自己以前的行为而后悔。菲力普则心满意足地回家了。他想道：“这才是最绅士的报复呢，这叫做以德报怨，对这样的报复我怎么会感到后悔呢。”

◇ 什么是报复？

◇ 对伤害我们的人实施报复，这是否正确？

◇ 我们应如何对待这类人？

THE NOBLEST REVENGE

“I will have revenge on him, that I will, and make him heartily repent it,”said Philip to himself, with a countenance quite red with anger. His mind was so engaged that he did not see Stephen, who happened at that instant to meet him.

“Who is that,”said Stephen,“on whom you intend to be revenged?”Philip, as if awakened from a dream, stopped short, and looking at his friend, soon resumed a smile that was natural to his countenance.“Ah,”said he,“you remember my bamboo, a very pretty cane which was given me by my father, do you not? Look! there it is in pieces. It was farmer Robinson's son who reduced it to this worthless state.”

Stephen very coolly asked him what had induced young Robinson to break it.“I was walking peaceably along,”replied he,“and was playing with my cane by twisting it round my body. By accident, one of the ends slipped out of my hand, when I was opposite the gate, just by the wooden bridge, where the ill natured fellow had put down a pitcher of water, which he was taking home from the well.”

“It so happened that my cane, in springing back, upset the pitcher, but did not break it. He came up close to me, and began to call me names, when I assured him that what I had done had happened by accident, and that I was sorry for it. Without regarding what I said, he instantly seized my cane, and twisted it, as you see; but I will make him repent of it.”

“To be sure,”said Stephen,“he is a very wicked boy, and is already very properly punished for being such, since nobody likes him or will have anything to do with him. He can scarcely find a companion to play with him; and is often at a loss for amusement, as he deserves to be. This, properly considered, I think will appear sufficient revenge for you.”

“All this is true,”replied Philip,“but he has broken my cane. It was a present from my father, and a very pretty cane it was. I offered to fill his

pitcher for him again, as I knocked it down by accident. I will be revenged.“

“Now, Philip;”said Stephen,“I think you will act better in not minding him, as your contempt will be the best punishment you can inflict upon him. Be assured, he will always be able to do more mischief to you than you choose to do to him. And, now I think of it, I will tell you what happened to him not long since.”

“Very unluckily for him, he chanced to see a bee hovering about a flower which he caught, and was going to pull off its wings out of sport, when the animal stung him, and flew away in safety to the hive. The pain put him into a furious passion, and, like you, he vowed revenge. He accordingly procured a stick, and thrust it into the beehive.”

“In an instant the whole swarm flew out, and alighting upon him stung him in a hundred different places. He uttered the most piercing cries, and rolled upon the ground in the excess of his agony. His father immediately ran to him, but could not put the bees to flight until they had stung him so severely that he was confined several days to his bed.”

“Thus, you see, he was not very successful in his pursuit of revenge. I would advise you, therefore, to pass over his insult. He is a wicked boy, and much stronger than you; so that your ability to obtain this revenge may be doubtful.”

“I must own,”replied Philip,“that your advice seems very good. So come along with me, and I will tell my father the whole matter, and I think he will not be angry with me.”They went, and Philip told his father what had happened. He thanked Stephen for the good advice he had given his son, and promised Philip to give him another cane exactly like the first.

A few days afterward, Philip saw this ill natured boy fall as he was carrying home a heavy log of wood, which he could not lift up again. Philip ran to him, and helped him to replace it on his shoulder. Young Robinson was quite ashamed at the thought of this unmerited kindness, and heartily repented of his behavior. Philip went home quite satisfied.“This,”said he,“is the noblest vengeance I could take, in returning good for evil. It is impossible I should repent of it.”

第10课　善意

孩子们，我想你们大家都在追求人生中的某种成功吧。你们应该有这样的追求，可是你们心目中的成功是一个什么概念呢？是不是尽早发财，哪怕不择手段？

真正的成功绝不是靠这样得来的，即使你挣了好几百万，你也许比一无所有时还要贫穷。而且正是这种鲁莽的野心使得许多聪明能干的孩子最终的结局不是功成名就，而是落得个身败名裂，他们住进的不是宫殿，而是监狱。

取之有道、用之有道的财富，合理的享受、权力和名誉——这些都是值得追求的东西但是它们不是最有价值的东西。你可以得到所有的一切，却无法取得真正的成功。然而，无论你的追求是什么，如果你的每一举动都含着善意，最终你定能享受成功时最甜美的果实，因为不管你有何得失，你都在培养高尚完美的品格，而这才是世间一笔最好的财富。

我说的是每一举动都要含着善意。也就是说，你不仅要对人友善，乐于助人，而且不管你做什么，都要抱着诚实认真的态度。有个叫托马斯的男孩被父母送去学一门手艺，但是托马斯却不喜欢吃苦。“这有什么用呢？”他说，“我得到的钱又不多，我才不打算多干活呢。混得过去就行了，我要尽量多找乐子。”

于是他老是逃避任务，满脑子记挂的不是老板的利益和如何提高自己，相反尽是些小事情，而且往往还是坏事。他没意识到，正是这些毁了他一生的小事才是根本的大事。他每天一从工作中解脱出来，就和同伴一道溜走，去寻他们所谓的开心了。甚至他人还在作坊时，心就飞到了他们那里。

他样样都不行——这根本不是因为他没有天分，纯粹是因为缺乏善意。他并不在乎如何把自己培养成一名能干的职员或工人。他不明白的是，只有那些能干的职员或工人才是抢手的，才能得到最高的薪水。

各行各业都有这样的害虫存在，比如不会干活的工人，不遵守商业道德的商人。永远别指望这种人能干出什么好事。他们总是犯一些错误，让别人跟着受罪，自己也自食其果。所以他们总是面临着失业、破产。

为了弥补自己的无能和粗心，他们常常弄虚作假，开始变得不仅可鄙、甚至还走上了犯罪的道路。托马斯就是在使自己成为这类人中的一员。孩子们，坏种子是指望不了能长出好庄稼的。

在托马斯旁边干活的还有一个男孩，我们就叫他詹姆斯吧。他极有可能智力平平。如果托马斯和其他所有男孩都全力以赴，詹姆斯就根本没有出人头地的机会。但是他身上有比天分更好的东西：他把善意带进了他的工作中。不管他学什么，他都学得非常好，以至于所学的东西都成了他体内的一部分。

老板们发现他值得信赖，顾客们很快就会喜欢上他，对他放心。凭着勤勉、自我修养、良好的习惯以及诚心友善的表现，他正在为拥有高洁的灵魂和真正的成功打下坚实的基础。

总之，如果你逃避工作，受害的不是老板，而是你自己。反之，如果你提供诚实的服务，受益的不是老板，而是你自己。如果你在世俗方面追求发展，我想对你说，善意仍然是你在事业上的投资。

欺骗顾客，你获得的只是暂时的利益，而且是不真实的利益。善意地为他服务，设身处地地为他人着想，你赢得的就不仅是他的信任，还有他给你回报的善意。然而与自然而然地与人为善所得到的内心满足和灵魂升华相比，上述考虑还是出于自私的动机。倘若要我用一个满含爱与智慧的词来总结我刚才所说的话，这个词就是——善意。

GOOD WILL

I suppose you all, my boys, are looking for some sort of success in life; it is right that you should; but what are your notions of success? To get rich as soon as possible, without regard to the means by which your wealth is acquired?

There is no true success in that: when you have gained millions, you may yet be poorer than when you had nothing; and it is that same reckless ambition which has brought many a bright and capable boy, not to great estate at last, but to miserable failure and disgrace; not to a palace, but to a prison.

Wealth rightly got and rightly used, rational enjoyment, power, fame,—these are all worthy objects of ambition; but they are not the highest objects, and you may acquire them all without achieving true success. But if, whatever you seek, you put good will into all your actions, you are sure of the best success at last; for whatever else you gain or miss, you are building up a noble and beautiful character, which is not only the best of possessions in this world, but also is about all you can expect to take with you into the next.

I say, good will in all your actions. You are not simply to be kind and helpful to others; but, whatever you do, give honest, earnest purpose to it. Thomas is put by his parents to learn a business. But Thomas does not like to apply himself very closely.“What's the use?”he says.“I'm not paid much, and I'm not going to work much. I'll get along just as easily as I can, and have as good times as I can.”

So he shirks his tasks; and instead of thinking about his employer's interests, or his own self improvement, gives his mind to trifles,—often to evil things, which in their ruinous effects upon his life are not trifles. As soon as he is free from his daily duties, he is off with his companions, having what they call a good time; his heart is with them even while his hands are employed in the shop or store.

He does nothing thoroughly well,—not at all for want of talent, but solely for lack of good will. He is not preparing himself to be one of those efficient clerks or workmen who are always in demand, and who receive the highest wages.

There is a class of people who are the pest of every community, workmen who do not know their trade, men of business ignorant of the first principles of business. They can never be relied upon to do well anything they undertake. They are always making blunders which other people have to suffer for, and which react upon themselves. They are always getting out of employment, and failing in business.

To make up for what they lack in knowledge and thoroughness, they often resort to trick and fraud, and become not merely contemptible but criminal. Thomas is preparing himself to be one of this class. You can not, boys, expect to raise a good crop from evil seed.

By Thomas's side works another boy, whom we will call James,—a lad of only ordinary capacity, very likely. If Thomas and all the other boys did their best, there would be but small chance for James ever to become eminent. But he has something better than talent: he brings good will to his work. Whatever he learns, he learns so well that it becomes a part of himself.

His employers find that they can depend upon Jim. Customers soon learn to like and trust him. By diligence, self culture, good habits, cheerful and kindly conduct, he is laying the foundation of a generous manhood and a genuine success.

In short, boys, by slighting your tasks you hurt yourself more than you wrong your employer. By honest service you benefit yourself more than you help him. If you were aiming at mere worldly advancement only, I should still say that good will was the very best investment you could make in business.

By cheating a customer, you gain only a temporary and unreal advantage. By serving him with right good will,—doing by him as you would be done by,—you not only secure his confidence but also his good will in return. But this is a sordid consideration compared with the inward satisfaction, the glow and expansion of soul which attend a good action done for itself alone. If I were to sum up all I have to say to you in one last word of love and counsel, that one word should be—Good will.

第11课　小证人

有一位9岁的小姑娘被带上法庭，作为一名证人，证明一名受审被告在她父亲的房子里做了违法的事。

“现在，艾米莉，”被告的辩护律师说，“我希望知道你是否理解誓词的性质？”

“我不明白你的意思。”小女孩简单回答道。

“法官大人，”律师对法官说，“很明显，这位证人无效。她连誓词的性质都不明白。”

“让我们看一下，”法官说，“到这边来，我的孩子。”

小女孩被法官和蔼的声音和亲切的态度所鼓舞，慢慢地向他走去，平静、清澈的眼睛充满信任地看着法官，目光是那么毫无戒备，真诚坦率，直入心灵。

“你曾经宣过誓吗？”法官问道。

小女孩惊恐地往后走，血直往上涌，脸和脖子涨得通红，回答道：“没有，先生。”她认为法官是想问她诅咒过别人。

“我不是那个意思，”法官看出小女孩误会了，解释道，“我的意思是你曾经做过证吗？”

“没有，先生，我以前从来没有来过法庭。”小女孩回答道。

法官将一本翻开的《圣经》递给小女孩：“你知道这本书吗？我的孩子。”

小女孩看了看，回答道：“是的，先生，这是一本《圣经》。”

“你曾经读过它吗？”法官问道。

“是的，先生，每天晚上。”

“你能告诉我《圣经》是什么吗？”法官问道。

“它是全能的上帝的话。”小女孩回答道。

“很好，”法官说道，“请把你的手放在《圣经》上，仔细听我说的。”然后他慢慢地严肃地说出以下誓词：“你能保证你在法庭上所说的一切都是事实吗？你能保证请求上帝来帮助你吗？”

“是的，我能。”小女孩回答道。

“现在，”法官说道，“你已经作为一名证人发过誓了。你能告诉我如果你不说真话，你会受到什么惩罚吗？”

“我将会被关进监狱。”小女孩回答道。

“还有呢？”法官问道。

“我永远也不能进入天堂。”小女孩回答道。

“你怎么知道这个？”法官又问道。

小女孩拿起《圣经》，迅速翻到“十诫”那一章，用手指着读道：“你不应该用伪证来指证你的邻人。”然后小女孩说道：“在我能读《圣经》之前我就知道这个了。”

“是否有人和你谈过你要在法庭上作为一名证人来指证这个人吗？”法官又问道。

“是的，先生，”小女孩回答道，“我的母亲听说他们想让我作证，昨天晚上她把我叫到她的房间，要我告诉她十诫，然后我们跪在一起，她祈祷，希望我能够理解用伪证指证邻人是多么的邪恶。她祈祷，希望上帝能够帮助我——一个孩子说实话，就如同在他面前一样。”

“而且当我和父亲来这里的时候，母亲亲吻了我，告诉我别忘了十诫，别忘了上帝能听见我说的每一个字。”

“你相信这个吗？”法官问道，泪光在眼睛里闪动，激动得嘴唇有点颤动。

“是的，先生。”小姑娘说道，她的声音和神态都让人觉得她对她的信仰是十分坚定的。

“上帝保佑你，我的孩子，”法官说道，“你有一个好母亲。这位证人是完全合格的。”他继续说道：“假如在以后的生命中我受到审判，无辜受到控告，我将企求上帝给我这样一位证人。可以开始盘问证人了。”

小女孩用她那孩子般的语言简单地陈诉了证词，但她的声音和神态透露出的对真实的信仰打动了每个人的心。

律师们问了她很多有关的问题，但她从头至尾都没有改变她的陈诉。

事实是令人惊叹的，就如同这个孩子所说的一样。在她的证词之前都是虚假和伪证，但在她的证词前，所有的虚假都被击得粉碎。

这个孩子，她的母亲为她祈求如同在上帝面前一样说真话的力量，将处心积虑的邪恶和狡猾的计谋击得粉碎。她母亲为她祈求的力量已经给予了她；那令人惊叹和恐怖的简单证词——对被告和他的律师来说是恐怖的——就像上帝亲自的揭露。

（S.H.哈穆德）

◇ 这篇故事主要讲的是什么？

◇ 律师为何希望艾米莉拒绝证？

◇ 她是否是一位合适的证人？

◇ 艾米莉作证的最后结果如何？

THE YOUNG WITNESS

A little girl nine years of age was brought into court, and offered as a witness against a prisoner who was on trial for a crime committed in her father's house.

“Now, Emily,”said the counsel for the prisoner,“I wish to know if you understand the nature of an oath?”

“I don't know what you mean,”was the simple answer.

“Your Honor,”said the counsel, addressing the judge,“it is evident that this witness should be rejected. She does not understand the nature of an oath.”

“Let us see,”said the judge.“Come here, my daughter.”

Assured by the kind tone and manner of the judge, the child stepped toward him, and looked confidingly in his face, with a calm, clear eye, and in a manner so artless and frank that it went straight to the heart.

“Did you ever take an oath?”inquired the judge.

The little girl stepped back with a look of horror; and the red blood rose and spread in a blush all over her face and neck, as she answered,“No, sir.”She thought he intended to ask if she had ever used profane language.

“I do not mean that,”said the judge, who saw her mistake;“I mean were you ever a witness?”

“No, sir; I never was in court before,”was the answer.

He handed her the Bible open.“Do you know that book, my daughter?”

She looked at it and answered,“Yes, sir; it is the Bible.”

“Do you ever read in it?”he asked.

“Yes, sir; every evening.”

“Can you tell me what the Bible is?”inquired the judge.

“It is the word of the great God,”she answered.

“Well,”said the judge,“place your hand upon this Bible, and listen to what I say;”and he repeated slowly and solemnly the following oath:“Do you swear that in the evidence which you shall give in this case, you will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth; and that you will ask God to help you?”

“I do,”she replied.

“Now,”said the judge,“you have been sworn as a witness; will you tell me what will befall you if you do not tell the truth?”

“I shall be shut up in the state prison,”answered the child.

“Anything else?”asked the judge.

“I shall never go to heaven,”she replied.

“How do you know this?”asked the judge again.

The child took the Bible, turned rapidly to the chapter containing the commandments, and, pointing to the one which reads,“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,”said,“I learned that before I could read.”

“Has anyone talked with you about being a witness in court here against this man?”inquired the judge.

“Yes, sir,”she replied, ”my mother heard they wanted me to be a witness; and last night she called me to her room, and asked me to tell her the Ten Commandments; and then we kneeled down together, and she prayed that I might understand how wicked it was to bear false witness against my neighbor, and that God would help me, a little child, to tell the truth as it was before him.

“And when I came up here with father, she kissed me, and told me to remember the Ninth Commandment, and that God would hear every word that I said.”

“Do you believe this?”asked the judge, while a tear glistened in his eye, and his lip quivered with emotion.

“Yes, sir,”said the child, with a voice and manner which showed that her conviction of the truth was perfect.

“God bless you, my child,”said the judge,“you have a good mother. The witness is competent,”he continued.“Were I on trial for my life, and innocent of the charge against me, I would pray God for such a witness as this. Let her be examined.”

She told her story with the simplicity of a child, as she was; but her voice and manner carried conviction of her truthfulness to every heart.

The lawyers asked her many perplexing questions, but she did not vary in the least from her first statement.

The truth, as spoken by a little child, was sublime. Falsehood and perjury had preceded her testimony; but before her testimony, falsehood was scattered like chaff.

The little child, for whom a mother had prayed for strength to be given her to speak the truth as it was before God, broke the cunning device of matured villainy to pieces, like a potter's vessel. The strength that her mother prayed for was given her; and the sublime and terrible simplicity,—terrible to the prisoner and his associates,—was like a revelation from God himself.

（S. H. Hammond）

第12课　河口剧院

“伙伴们，现在我们该干什么？”在一个阴沉得快要下雨的下午，我向聚集在我们的谷仓中开秘密会议的7个伙伴问道。“让我们建一个剧院吧！”比利·华莱士建议道。

太好了！但是建在哪里呢？马厩的草料棚将要堆满提供给吉普赛人的干草，但是马车房那边的长房间还是空的，就这个地方！以我的专业眼光一眼便看出它是适合做剧院的。

我在新奥尔良的时候参加过很多次的演出，十分精通戏剧方面的东西。在这儿，我在适当时候会布置一些自己画的独特布景。而帷幕尽管在我记忆中有时候它拉起来十分顺利，但在演出时总是钩着的。

到目前为止，剧院还是成功的。当我走下舞台时，我至少得到了1500个大头针，这还不包括那些没针帽、没针尖和弯曲的大头针，这些大头针经常让我们的守门人不知所措。从头到尾，我们一直都是拿大量的大头针当作钱。“河口剧院”的门票是20个大头针。我自己扮演所有的主要角色——不是因为我比其他伙伴演得好，而是因为我是创建人。

在第10次演出时，我的演出生涯因不幸环境而被迫结束。当时我们正在演出戏剧《威廉·特尔》剧中主角是瑞士的英雄。当然是我演威廉·特尔，尽管弗莱得·朗顿也想扮演这个角色，但我不会让他的，因此他宣布退出，带走了我们拥有的唯一的弓和箭。

我用鲸鱼骨做了一个弓，没有他我也做得很好。我们已经到达了最高潮的一幕，哥士勒，奥地利的暴君，要求特尔向他儿子头上的苹果射箭。一向包揽少年和妇女角色的佩皮斯·惠特克姆，在其中扮演我的儿子。

为了防止出错，惠特克姆的上半部脸用手帕绑了一块木板，要用的箭则缝了一块绒布。我是一名神箭手，离那只有两码远的苹果的赤褐色简直是面对面。

现在我可以看见可怜的小佩皮斯正毫无畏惧地站在那里，等着我表演我的高超技艺。我举起了我的箭，所有的观众都屏住了呼吸，一共有7名男孩和3名女孩，其中包括凯蒂·科林斯，她坚持用缝衣针付门票。我再次举起了我的弓。咣！弓绳弹了一下。但，哎呀！箭没有射中苹果，而是正好射进了佩皮斯·惠特克姆的嘴里，他的嘴恰好在那时张开，扰乱了我的目标。

我将永远不会忘记这个可怕的时刻，佩皮斯那惊恐、愤怒和痛苦的嚎叫声仍然回响在我耳边。我以为他会死去，想象自己不要多久就会在同样是聚集了这些人的观众面前被处死。

幸运的是，可怜的佩皮斯伤的并不严重，但纳特爷爷对此情状却显得很慌乱，他是被小特尔的嚎叫声引过来的。他禁止今后玩所有有关戏剧的东西，这个地方要被关闭了。不过，我还可以作个告别演说。我说道，如果没有射中佩皮斯·惠特克姆的嘴巴，这一刻将是我生命中最骄傲的时刻。所有的观众（我很高兴地指出，他们是在佩皮斯的支持下）都在大喊：“听！听！”

然后我将事故的责任推到了佩皮斯自己的身上，他的嘴巴在我射箭的那一刻刚好张开，像漩涡那样运动，把那支不幸的箭吸了过去。我正要解释一个相当小的漩涡是如何粘住巨大的轮船的时候，幕布在观众的叫喊声中自己掉了下来。

这是我最后一次出现在舞台上，尽管一段时间之后威廉·特尔这件事才告平息。曾经不允许买票进我的剧院的小男孩经常在我后面恶意地大叫：“谁杀死了威廉·特尔？”

（托马斯·贝利·奥尔得里奇）

选自托马斯·贝利·奥尔得里奇的《坏男孩的故事》。作者于1836年生于新罕布什尔州的朴茨茅斯，在他很小的时候全家迁往路易斯安那州，但他被送回新英格兰接受教育，后来定居纽约。他是一位著名的散文家和诗人。

RIVERMOUTH THEATER

“Now, boys, what shall we do?”I asked, addressing a thoughtful conclave of seven, assembled in our barn one dismal, rainy afternoon.“Let's have a theater,”suggested Binny Wallace.

The very thing! But where? The loft of the stable was ready to burst with hay provided for Gypsy, but the long room over the carriage house was unoccupied. The place of all places! My managerial eye saw at a glance its capabilities for a theater.

I had been to the play a great many times in New Orleans, and was wise in matters pertaining to the drama. So here, in due time, was set up some extraordinary scenery of my own painting. The curtain, I recollect, though it worked smoothly enough on other occasions, invariably hitched during the performances.

The theater, however, was a success, as far as it went. I retired from the business with no fewer than fifteen hundred pins, after deducting the headless, the pointless, and the crooked pins with which our doorkeeper frequently got“stuck.”From first to last we took in a great deal of this counterfeit money. The price of admission to the“Rivermouth Theater”was twenty pins. I played all the principal characters myself—not that I was a finer actor than the other boys, but because I owned the establishment.

At the tenth representation, my dramatic career was brought to a close by an unfortunate circumstance. We were playing the drama of“William Tell, the Hero of Switzerland.”Of course I was William Tell, in spite of Fred Langdon, who wanted to act that character himself. I wouldn't let him, so he withdrew from the company, taking the only bow and arrow we had.

I made a crossbow out of a piece of whalebone, and did very well without him. We had reached that exciting scene where Gesler, the Austrian tyrant, commands Tell to shoot the apple from his son's head. Pepper Whitcomb, who played all the juvenile and women parts, was my son.

To guard against mischance, a piece of pasteboard was fastened by a handkerchief over the upper portion of Whitcomb's face, while the arrow to be used was sewed up in a strip of flannel. I was a capital marksman, and the big apple, only two yards distant, turned its russet cheek fairly towards me.

I can see poor little Pepper now, as he stood without flinching, waiting for me to perform my great feat. I raised the crossbow amid the breathless silence of the crowded audience—consisting of seven boys and three girls, exclusive of Kitty Collins, who insisted on paying her way in with a clothespin. I raised the crossbow, I repeat. Twang! went the whipcord; but, alas! instead of hitting the apple, the arrow flew right into Pepper Whitcomb's mouth, which happened to be open at the time, and destroyed my aim.

I shall never be able to banish that awful moment from my memory. Pepper's roar, expressive of astonishment, indignation, and pain, is still ringing in my ears. I looked upon him as a corpse, and, glancing not far into the dreary future, pictured myself led forth to execution in the presence of the very same spectators then assembled.

Luckily, poor Pepper was not seriously hurt; but Grandfather Nutter, appearing in the midst of the confusion（attracted by the howls of young Tell）, issued an injunction against all theatricals thereafter, and the place was closed; not, however, without a farewell speech from me, in which I said that this

would have been the proudest moment of my life if I hadn't hit Pepper Whitcomb in the mouth. Whereupon the audience（assisted, I am glad to state, by Pepper）cried,“Hear! hear!”

I then attributed the accident to Pepper himself, whose mouth, being open at the instant I fired, acted upon the arrow much after the fashion of a whirlpool, and drew in the fatal shaft. I was about to explain how a comparatively small maelstrom could suck in the largest ship, when the curtain fell of its own accord, amid the shouts of the audience.

This was my last appearance on any stage. It was some time, though, before I heard the end of the William Tell business. Malicious little boys who hadn't been allowed to buy tickets to my theater used to cry out after me in the street,“‘Who killed Cock Robin?’”

（Thomas Bailey Aldrich）

第13课　阿尔弗雷德大帝

公元849年，在英格兰诞生了一位王子，他后来成为世界上最著名最受爱戴的国王之一。他的名字叫阿尔弗雷德——后来被叫做阿尔弗雷德大帝，他是国王和王后最喜欢的儿子。

那个时候，普通百姓都非常无知，他们之中只有很少的人才会读书写字。那时候没有学校，唯一可以学习的寺院几乎全被连绵不断的战争毁坏了。只有上层阶级的人才有机会学习，但他们的注意力更多的是放在战争上，而不是学习上。

但阿尔弗雷德却与众不同，在他还很小的时候，就喜欢听诗歌和竖琴歌手常常唱的民歌，他用心学了很多这样的诗歌。在12岁的时候，他的母亲王后决定把一卷诗歌奖给她四个儿子中最先读懂的那个。阿尔弗雷德是最小的一个，但他却轻松地获得了这个奖赏，而他的哥哥们几乎读不懂。

但是，如同他所说，这是一个兵荒马乱的年代，不久，阿尔弗雷德就显示出作为一名士兵的能力。丹麦人，这个好战的民族，总是乘着战船去突袭英格兰的海岸线，他们经常袭击全国，掠夺和烧毁城市，杀害人民。

在这些侵略中，阿尔弗雷德继承了王位，那时他只有22岁。事实上，他是一名优秀的勇士，和他作为一名学生一样优秀。他认为，只要是值得做的都得做好。在与丹麦人的作战中，他常常获胜。但是有一次，丹麦人几乎占领了他们整个国家，而阿尔弗雷德为了活命被迫逃匿。

有一段时间，他装扮成农民，住在牧牛人的小屋里。牧牛人十分注意国王的安全，甚至没有告诉他的妻子他是谁。所以牧牛人的妻子像对待普通农民那样对待阿尔弗雷德，有一天严厉地责骂了他。因为她让阿尔弗雷德照看正在烤着的蛋糕，他竟然让蛋糕在铁板上烧着了。她责骂他说，虽然他烤蛋糕是如此差劲，但吃起来却够聪明的。

当追捕他的风声小了点后，阿尔弗雷德渐渐将他的追随者召集起来，和他们一起驻扎在一个沼泽地中央一小块坚硬的地面上。它被几乎不可穿越的森林包围着，阿尔弗雷德把这个地方修得非常牢固，敌人不能轻易攻下，然后他对敌人发起突袭，并取得成功，直到他的军队和人民的士气被鼓舞起来。

在一次特殊的战斗中，他们缴获了一面丹麦人认为有魔法的旗帜，这促使阿尔弗雷德采取更大胆的举动。他希望知道敌人确切的情况，为了这个，他把自己装扮成一个竖琴手摸进了敌营。他的装扮非常成功，使得他在那逗留了好些天，甚至被允许进入丹麦军司令官戈兹鲁姆的帐篷。

他发现整个军队毫无防范，所以他决定对他们发起一个突然的大胆的袭击，试着再一次将这些残暴的侵略者赶出他的国家。他广泛召集他的人民，他们中的大多数人一直以为他们爱戴的国王已经死了，现在他们热切地听从他的召唤。

他立刻带领他们袭击了他了解到的防卫最差的驻扎地。战斗的结果完全出乎意料，尽管丹麦军在数量上比他们多，但他们却被这次成功的突袭打得一败涂地。一些士兵和他们的长官躲进了筑防地，但没坚持多久就被迫投降。

阿尔弗雷德保证不杀他们，让他们定居在国人已被杀光的地方。他希望这样做能够使顽固的敌人变成友善的朋友，靠他们来保护英格兰，使它不再受到他们自己同胞的袭击。但是，一些年后，当丹麦人发起另一场侵略时，这些人却加入了丹麦军来反对阿尔弗雷德，但阿尔弗雷德不久便成功地将他们驱逐出国土。

在战争年代，阿尔弗雷德为他的人民做了很多。在和平年代，他做得更多。除了以上这些，他还十分关注人民的教育。他重新修建了寺院，资助了年轻的牛津大学。他还建立了很多学校，要求每一个拥有一定土地的人都要送他的孩子上学。

而且他还以自身的行动做榜样，在这方面他也做得很好。他的时间分为三部分，一部分给了工作，一部分是吃饭、睡觉等休息，第三部分是学习和奉献。那时候还没有时钟和手表，甚至连日晷也没有，因此这三部分是靠燃烧同样长的蜡烛来界定的。

另外，阿尔弗雷德不仅仅为个人娱乐而学习，他还为他的人民翻译和写了很多书。他使用的语言很简单，让他们很容易理解，并从中得到乐趣。他本人长得英俊高贵，举止优雅，充满活力，而还有更高贵的品质在里面，在他开明的头脑和善良的心灵里面。阿尔弗雷德，在英国有记载的古代国王中不可忽视的名字，人们经常将他和“真理的诉说者”这个高贵的头衔联系起来。

阿尔弗雷德（849～899），英格兰韦塞克斯王国国王（871～899）。年轻时受过军事训练。868年从军，随兄艾特尔雷德国王率军支援麦西亚王国抗击丹麦人入侵。871年丹麦人入侵韦塞克斯时即位。在危难之际，他退守山林，重整军队,于876年在埃丁顿之战中击败丹麦军队,迫其议和,撤至伦敦到切斯特以北地区（史称“丹麦法区”）。此后，为巩固国防,派兵镇守边关,修建城堡,并积极扩充海军。885年率军击退入侵肯特王国的丹麦军队,并于次年占领伦敦。892～896年再次率军击溃从欧洲大陆进犯的丹麦军队。在位期间，重视文化教育，翻译大批古典名著，并编纂《盎格鲁撒克逊编年史》。

阿尔弗雷德少年时代起就立下大志，决心要把维京人赶出英格兰领土。从19岁起，他便参军入伍，随其兄艾特尔雷德一世前去援助麦西亚的伯格雷德作战，参加了抗击在东英格兰登陆的丹麦大军的战斗。871年丹麦人入侵韦塞克斯，他和他的兄长并肩作战，以最大的勇气与丹麦海盗生死格斗。后来艾特尔雷德去世，阿尔弗雷德继承了王位。

ALFRED THE GREAT

More than a thousand years ago,（in the year 849）, a prince was born in England, who afterwards became one of the most celebrated and best loved kings in the world. His name was Alfred—afterwards called Alfred the Great—and he was the favorite son both of the king and queen.

In those days the common people were very ignorant; few of them could even read and write. There were no schools, and the monasteries, where almost the only teaching had been done, were nearly all destroyed in the wars which were continually going on. Only the higher classes had any chance to study, and even they paid much more attention to fighting than to studying.

But Alfred was different from most persons of his time. Even when a little boy, he delighted in listening to poems and to the ballads which harpers used to sing, and he learned many of them by heart. When he was twelve years old, his mother, the queen, offered to give a volume of poems to that one of her four sons who would first learn to read it. Alfred was the youngest of them all, yet he easily won the prize of which his brothers thought so little.

But, as has been said, these were stirring times, and Alfred was soon called on to show his great abilities as a soldier. The Danes, a warlike people, were continually swooping down in their vessels upon the coast of England. Often they spread over the entire country, plundering and burning the towns, and killing the people.

In the midst of these invasions Alfred became king, when he was only twenty two years old. He proved as good a warrior as he was a student. He thought that whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. He was generally successful against the Danes, but at one time they seemed to have the country entirely in their power, and Alfred was compelled to hide for his life.

For some time he dressed as a peasant, and lived in the cottage of a cowherd, who was so careful of his king's safety that he did not even tell his wife who he was. So she treated the king as a common peasant, and one day gave him a sharp scolding because he allowed some cakes to burn on the griddle, after she had left him to watch them. She told him he was clever enough at eating cakes though he managed so badly at baking them.

When the search for him grew less active, Alfred gradually collected some of his followers, with whom he encamped on a small spot of firm ground in the center of a bog. It was surrounded by almost impassable forests, and Alfred fortified the place so that it could not well be taken. Then he made frequent sudden and successful attacks on the enemy until his troops and the people became encouraged.

One victory in particular, when they captured a banner which the Danes thought enchanted, led Alfred to take bolder steps. He wished to find out the exact condition of the enemy, and, for this purpose, disguised himself as a harper and entered their camp. He was so successful in his disguise that he remained there some days, even being admitted to the tent of the Danish leader Guthrum.

He found their entire army living in careless security, and so he determined to make a sudden and bold attack on them, to try and rid his country once more of these cruel invaders. He summoned his people about him from far and wide. Many of them had long thought their beloved king dead, but now all eagerly obeyed his call.

He at once led them against that part of the camp which he had seen to be most unguarded. The attack was entirely unexpected; and, although the Danes were greater in numbers, they were defeated with great slaughter. Some of them, with their leader, fled to a fortified place, but were soon obliged to surrender.

Alfred granted them their lives, and settled them in a part of his kingdom where nearly all his own people had been destroyed. He hoped by this to change obstinate enemies into useful friends who would protect England from further attacks of their own countrymen. However, some years later, when the Danes made another invasion, these people joined them in fighting against Alfred, but he soon succeeded in driving them all out of the country.

Much as Alfred did for his people in war, he did more in time of peace. Above all else he gave careful attention to their education. He rebuilt the monasteries and aided the young University of Oxford. He also founded many schools, to which every owner of a certain portion of land was compelled to send his children.

But he did as much good by the example that he set as by these acts. His time was divided into three parts. One was given to business, one to refreshment by sleep and food, and the third to study and devotion. Clocks and watches, and probably even sundials, were then unknown, so these divisions were marked by burning candles of equal lengths.

Alfred did not study for his own pleasure merely, but translated and wrote many works for the good of his people, using the simple language which they could easily understand and enjoy. His person was handsome and dignified, full of grace and activity. But the more noble beauty was within, in the enlightened mind and virtuous heart of the king. After his name, which has its place on an ancient record of English kings, is written the noble title of“Truth Teller.”

第14课　偷袭纳梅亨

1589年8月10日晚上，在这座宏伟的城市的一幢富丽堂皇的宅邸正举行着婚宴。婚宴一直持续到了深夜，竖琴和六弦提琴还在给跳舞者的脚步带来灵感。突然，在这纵情享乐的人群中，出现了一张冷酷的脸。那是从未笑过的马丁·希恩克的脸。

这个雄霸一方的海盗身上穿的不是来参加婚礼的礼服，而是坚硬的盔甲。他头上扣着一顶高顶头盔，手里提着一柄长剑，迈着重重的脚步穿过了舞厅。身后跟着一帮装备滑膛枪的手下，个个面目狰狞，从不知仁慈二字。在他们面前，欢庆的人们吓得如惊弓之鸟般四散而逃。

趁着黑漆漆的夜色，希恩克出了他的城堡，带着25条海船顺流而下。坐在最前面的海船上的是他和他最忠心的帮凶。他们先上了岸，砸掉了圣安东尼教堂的大门。措手不及的守卫被他们无情地杀害了。

还没待他余下的船全部来齐，他便和他的死党偷偷地穿过了寂静的街道，拔掉了他们现在闯入的宅邸后面的栅栏和其它脆弱的防御工事，因为他们打算通过这幢宅邸来占领集市。

希恩克早就挑中了这幢宅邸作为他此次偷袭行动的阵地。但是由于他未被邀请参加婚礼，当他出现在这被他无情地打断了的欢乐场景中时，就多少显得有些格格不入。

有些狂欢者从那儿逃离后，连忙向全城的居民发出了警报。希恩克则匆匆加固他的阵地，并且占据了广场。然而，市民和守备部队很快各就各位，又把他赶回屋里去了。

接连三次他凭借自己非凡的臂力和他带来的一小撮人的帮助夺回了广场，但每次他都被如潮水般涌入宅邸的民众击退了。

他另外一大部分的追随者却莫名其妙地迟迟未到。本来要是多了这些人再助他一臂之力，他可能早就偷袭得手。他无法解释他们还不露面的原因，只得靠与他同一条船一道来的那些人了。

实际情况（他一无所知）是其余的船只正好赶上瓦耳河汹涌急流，等他们要靠岸时，又被洪水猛地冲了回去。他们就这样一直在与狂风巨浪做着斗争，企图返回选好的上岸点，但是这一切努力均告失败。

与此同时，希恩克和他的追随者，在他所抢占的宅邸里拼命作战。但是全体守备士兵都出动了，全城的市民都拿起了刀枪，他根本就不是对手。人们把他困在宅邸里，最后把他逼到了街头。

这时，天要亮了，城里的男男女女，老老少少，当兵的也好，市民也好，团团围住了这一小撮劫掠者，并用能找到的各种武器和炮弹攻击他们。希恩克像往常一样凶猛地抵抗着，可是他的手下最后却不顾他气急败坏的指挥，开始急急地向码头方向撤退。

希恩克在那儿徒然地大发雷霆，咒骂不止，盛怒之下还亲手打死了好几个弟兄。惊恐万分的手下拥着他往回撤退。待到咬牙切齿、大叫大嚷的希恩克终于抵达码头时，他一眼就看明白了此次大行动失败的原因。

他自己这帮人坐的船还停在码头，其余的海船还在一里开外的地方与湍急暴涨的瓦耳河无望地搏斗着。心如刀绞的希恩克几乎被单独留在了码头。他的那帮溃败的追随者们纷纷往船上跳，仓促间有好几只船因为超载立刻就沉没了，落水的人不是被淹死，就是在与巨浪作着搏斗。

偷袭没有得逞。劫掠者们唯有撤退的份了。希恩克心有不甘地离开愈逼愈近的敌人，跳上了余下的最后一艘刚离岸的船。本已负担过重的船，加上希恩克的重量就更吃不住了，结果沉入了河里，而披着一身重重的盔甲的马丁·希恩克，因动弹不得，当即就沉到了瓦耳河的河底。

落水的人中有些顺水漂到了下游，被开到下游的船上的同伴给救起，才得以逃生。其余的人则与他们的头领一道葬身河底。数天后，来苇根的居民打捞到了那个臭名昭著的海盗的尸体。只要一眼就可以辨出是他，只要看那副盔甲和那张好斗的脸就行了。他的脸上还挂着最后训斥手下时的怒容。

（约翰·洛斯罗普·莫特利）

约翰·洛斯罗普·莫特利（1814～1877年），美国外交家和历史学家，1831年毕业于哈佛大学，之后长期旅居欧洲，因写历史书而闻名。本文选自他的《荷兰共和国的兴起》。

THE ATTACK ON NYMWEGEN

On the evening of the 10th of August, 1589, there was a wedding feast in one of the splendid mansions of the stately city. The festivities were prolonged until deep in the midsummer's night, and harp and viol were still inspiring the feet of the dancers, when on a sudden, in the midst of the holiday groups, appeared the grim visage of Martin Schenk, the man who never smiled.

Clad in no wedding garment, but in armor of proof, with morion on head, and sword in hand, the great freebooter strode heavily through the ballroom, followed by a party of those terrible musketeers who never gave or asked for quarter, while the affrighted revelers fluttered away before them.

Taking advantage of a dark night, he had just dropped down the river from his castle, with five and twenty barges, had landed with his most trusted soldiers in the foremost vessels, had battered down the gate of St. Anthony, and surprised and slain the guard.

Without waiting for the rest of his boats, he had then stolen with his comrades through the silent streets, and torn away the latticework, and other slight defenses on the rear of the house which they had now entered, and through which they intended to possess themselves of the market place.

Martin had long since selected this mansion as a proper position for his enterprise, but he had not been bidden to the wedding, and was somewhat disconcerted when he found himself on the festive scene which he had so grimly interrupted.

Some of the merry makers escaped from the house, and proceeded to alarm the town; while Schenk hastily fortified his position, and took possession of the square. But the burghers and garrison were soon on foot, and he was driven back into the house.

Three times he recovered the square by main strength of his own arm, seconded by the handful of men whom he had brought with him, and three times he was beaten back by overwhelming numbers into the wedding mansion.

The arrival of the greater part of his followers, with whose assistance he could easily have mastered the city in the first moments of surprise, was mysteriously delayed. He could not account for their prolonged absence, and was meanwhile supported only by those who had arrived with him in the foremost barges.

The truth—of which he was ignorant—was, that the remainder of the flotilla, borne along by the strong and deep current of the Waal, then in a state of freshet, had shot past the landing place, and had ever since been vainly struggling against wind and tide to force their way back to the necessary point.

Meantime Schenk and his followers fought desperately in the market place, and desperately in the house which he had seized. But a whole garrison, and a town full of citizens in arms proved too much for him, and he was now hotly besieged in the mansion, and at last driven forth into the streets.

By this time day was dawning, the whole population, soldiers and burghers, men, women, and children, were thronging about the little band of marauders, and assailing them with every weapon and every missile to be found. Schenk fought with his usual ferocity, but at last the musketeers, in spite of his indignant commands, began rapidly to retreat toward the quay.

In vain Martin stormed and cursed, in vain with his own hand he struck more than one of his soldiers dead. He was swept along with the panic stricken band, and when, shouting and gnashing his teeth with frenzy, he reached the quay at last, he saw at a glance why his great enterprise had failed.

The few empty barges of his own party were moored at the steps; the rest were half a mile off, contending hopelessly against the swollen and rapid Waal. Schenk, desperately wounded, was left almost alone upon the wharf, for his routed followers had plunged helter skelter into the boats, several of which, overladen in the panic, sank at once, leaving the soldiers to drown or struggle with the waves.

The game was lost. Nothing was left the freebooter but retreat. Reluctantly turning his back on his enemies, now in full cry close behind him, Schenk sprang into the last remaining boat just pushing from the quay. Already overladen, it foundered with his additional weight, and Martin Schenk, encumbered with his heavy armor, sank at once to the bottom of the Waal.

Some of the fugitives succeeded in swimming down the stream, and were picked up by their comrades in the barges below the town, and so made their escape. Many were drowned with their captain. A few days afterward, the inhabitants of Nymwegen fished up the body of the famous partisan. He was easily recognized by his armor, and by his truculent face, still wearing the scowl with which he had last rebuked his followers.

（John Lothrop Motley）

第15课　敢于伸张正义

低年级的学生静静地走向自己的床铺，一边脱衣服，一边相互小声地交谈着；而高年级的学生脱下了夹克衫和马甲，坐在彼此的床上聊天，汤姆也在其中。

可怜的小阿瑟，刚来到一个新地方，脑袋里充满了新奇。与陌生的孩子们睡在同一个房间，他从前可是连想都没想过，感觉真别扭。得脱下夹克衫来，这使他几乎不能忍受，但一横心，最终还是脱了下来。然后，他踌躇地看了汤姆一眼，后者正坐在床的一角，谈笑风生。

“布朗，”他嗫嚅着，“我可以洗脸洗手吗？”

“当然可以了，你愿意洗就洗吧，”汤姆看着他说，“那是你的洗手架，在窗户下面，从你的床数第二个，如果你晚上把水都用完了，早晨还得下去打。”

说完，汤姆接着聊天去了，阿瑟胆怯地从床铺间溜到洗手架，开始洗漱，这吸引了房间里人的注意，但也只是一会儿而已。

说笑仍在继续着。阿瑟洗漱完毕，换上了长睡衣。他更为不安地环视了一下房间，两、三个低年纪孩子已上床了，下巴支在双膝上。灯光仍然很亮，房间里仍然很吵。

可怜、孤独的小阿瑟在试探着，但这次，他没有问汤姆可以做什么，不可以做什么，而是双膝跪倒在床边的地上，开始祈祷，他从小每天都这样做，因为他相信上帝能够听到哭喊，能够忍受悲伤，无论是脆弱小孩的，还是强壮却痛苦的成人的。

当时汤姆背对着阿瑟，正坐在床的一头解鞋带，没有看到正在发生的事情，这时，房间突然安静了下来，他惊奇地转过了头。接着，两三个孩子发出了嘲笑声，站在房中央的一个高个头的粗鲁的家伙捡起一只拖鞋，朝阿瑟扔过去，嘴里还骂骂咧咧地。

汤姆明白了一切。于是，他把刚刚脱掉的靴子向那个野蛮人的头上直直地砸过去，小阿瑟也及时抬起手臂抓住了汤姆的胳臂肘。

“去你的布朗！你什么意思？”他愤怒地吼着，脚都跺疼了。“我什么意思？不用你管，”汤姆跺着地板喊着，热血沸腾：“如果谁还想挨另一只靴子，那就来吧。”

正在这时，一个六年级的男孩进来了，屋里立即鸦雀无声，如果不是这样，事情还不知会变成什么样子呢？汤姆跟其他孩子冲到床上，脱下衣服。一会儿，看门老人熄灭了蜡烛，跟往常一样道了声“晚安”，带上门，蹒跚着向另一个房间走去了。

许多孩子在入睡之前已将刚才那一幕深深印在了脑海里。很长一段时间，往事潮水般地涌入脑海，汤姆无法思想，也无法入睡。他头痛得厉害，心突突地跳着，几乎控制不住自己想跳起来在房间里奔跑的冲动。

他想起了妈妈，想起了几年以前在她膝下许过的誓言，发誓在睡觉之前，决不会忘记跪在床边向上帝忏悔。他轻轻地躺下，哭了起来，心好像要碎了。他毕竟只是一个14岁的孩子。

一个孩子要当众祈祷，并不仅仅需要勇气，即使在开明的拉格比学校也不例外。几年之后，托马斯·阿诺德博士任校长，他男子气概的虔诚感化了整个学校，因此情况得以改观。在他去世之前，至少在教室里，已是另一番情形。我想，在学校的其他场所也是这样的。

可惜，汤姆上学时并没有赶上那段时期。他来到学校的前几天晚上，因为吵闹他没有跪下来祈祷，而是坐在床上直到熄灯，然后，偷偷地溜出去做祈祷，胆战心惊，惟恐别人发现他在外面。其他可怜的小家伙们也有这么做的。

后来他想为什么不在床上祈祷呢，跪着祈祷，坐着祈祷还是躺在床上祈祷并没有什么区别。这样想这样做的人不只汤姆一个，凡是不愿当众祈祷的人都采取了这种做法。去年，汤姆深情地做祈祷恐怕不会有12次。

可怜的汤姆！最痛苦的莫过于感到自己的懦弱了，这种感觉刺伤了他的心。人们的堕落是他所憎恨的，如今也降临到他的身上，这灼烧着他幼小的心灵。他不仅欺骗了母亲，欺骗了良心，也欺骗了上帝。他怎么能承受得了这种折磨呢？如今，这个他既同情又瞧不起的小男孩，那么可怜，那么软弱，竟然做了他不敢做的事情，而他只是吹吹牛而已。

他发誓将不顾一切地继续支持他，鼓励他，帮助他，与那天晚上的义举相呼应，这样想着，心里就舒服多了。对，第二天给家里写封信，告诉母亲一切，告诉她，儿子曾经是个懦夫。他决心明天早晨就行动起来，这样想着，他渐渐平静了下来。

真是想起来容易做起来难，但他觉得再也不能让机会白白溜走了。他几次要打退堂鼓，因为一想到他的老朋友可能因此给他冠以“假正经”、“古板”等等许多难听的名字，一想到他的动机会被误解，他与那个刚来的男孩会被孤立起来，他便不寒而栗。但转念一想，他这样做可能对大多数的人有好处。

后来，他又想到一个折中的办法，“我这样做是不是在炫耀比别人勇敢呢？我有权利这样做吗？我是不是可以只在书房当着其他男孩的面做祈祷，然后引导他们也这样做，而在公开场合下，我仍然按照原来的做法呢？”最终，正义的一面占了绝对上风，他侧着身睡着了，他决心不管后果如何，要把这种强烈的冲动变成行动，而且这冲动使他感到安宁。

第二天起来，他洗漱完毕，夹克衫和马甲还没有穿上，这时还差10分钟上课的铃声响了起来，于是众目睽睽之下，他跪下来祈祷。他5个词还未说完，铃声又响了，好像在嘲笑他。他留神听着屋里的动静，别人会怎么想他呢？

他羞于再继续跪下去，也羞于站起来。最后，从内心深处，一个沉静、细小的声音说道：“愿上帝怜悯我这个罪人！”他一遍又一遍地重复着，最后，他惬意地、谦恭地站了起来，已做好面对整个世界的准备。

其实，他多虑了，因为他发现除了阿瑟之外另外两个男孩也在效仿他的做法。通过这件事，他学到了一个做人的道理：只有战胜自己内心懦弱的人才能征服整个外部世界。这使他想到了希伯来的预言者以利亚，他在和勒布山的山洞里学了同样一课。当时，他捂着脸，那个沉静、细小的声音问道，“你在这儿干什么呀，以利亚？”这使他懂得了一个道理：无论我们站在真理的一边是多么孤独，但上帝无处不在地看着你，因为在每一个社会，无论它看上去是多么腐败，多么邪恶，都有敢于不向恶势力屈服的人。

他还发现，当初将自己行为的后果想象得太严重了。当他跪下来祈祷时，尽管仍能听到嗤笑声，但只是持续了几个晚上。很快地，除了三四个男孩外，其余的都一个接一个地效仿他的做法了。

（托马斯·休斯）

托马斯·休斯（Thomas Hughes，1823～1896年），本文摘自其《在拉格比学校的日子》。他因此书及其续篇《汤姆·布朗在牛津》而闻名。

◇ 请叙述一下汤姆在拉格比学校开始的经历？

◇ 他停止祷告，这是否是一种富有勇气之举？

◇ 他对此是一种什么样的心情？

◇ 他决意要做什么？

◇ 他从中获得了哪两个教训？

DARE TO DO RIGHT

The little schoolboys went quietly to their own beds, and began undressing and talking to one another in whispers: while the elder, amongst whom was Tom, sat chatting about on one another's beds, with their jackets and waistcoats off.

Poor little Arthur was overwhelmed with the novelty of his position. The idea of sleeping in the room with strange boys had clearly never crossed his mind before, and was as painful as it was strange to him. He could hardly bear to take his jacket off; however, presently, with an effort, off it came, and then he paused and looked at Tom, who was sitting at the bottom of his bed, talking and laughing.

“Please, Brown,”he whispered,“may I wash my face and hands?”“Of course, if you like,”said Tom, staring:“that's your wash hand stand under the window, second from your bed. You'll have to go down for more water in the morning if you use it all.”

And on he went with his talk, while Arthur stole timidly from between the beds out to his wash hand stand, and began his ablutions, thereby drawing for a moment on himself the attention of the room.

On went the talk and laughter. Arthur finished his washing and undressing, and put on his nightgown. He then looked round more nervously than ever. Two or three of the little boys were already in bed, sitting up with their chins on their knees. The light burned clear, the noise went on.

It was a trying moment for the poor, little, lonely boy; however, this time he did not ask Tom what he might or might not do, but dropped all his knees by his bedside, as he had done every day from his childhood, to open his heart to Him who heareth the cry and beareth the sorrows of the tender child, and the strong man in agony.

Tom was sitting at the bottom of his bed unlacing his boots, so that his back was towards Arthur, and he did not see what had happened, and looked up in wonder at the sudden silence. Then two or three boys laughed and sneered, and a big, brutal fellow, who was standing in the middle of the room, picked up a slipper and shied it at the kneeling boy, calling him a sniveling young shaver.

Then Tom saw the whole, and the next moment the boot he had just pulled off flew straight at the head of the bully, who had just time to throw up his arm and catch it on his elbow.“Confound you, Brown; what's that for?”roared he, stamping with pain.“Never mind what I mean,”said Tom, stepping on to the floor, every drop of blood in his body tingling:“if any fellow wants the other boot, he knows how to get it.”

What would have been the result is doubtful, for at this moment the sixth form boy came in, and not another word could be said. Tom and the rest rushed into bed and finished their unrobing there, and the old janitor had put out the candle in another minute, and toddled on to the next room, shutting the door with his usual,“Good night, gen’l‘m’n.”

There were many boys in the room by whom that little scene was taken to heart before they slept. But sleep seemed to have deserted the pillow of poor Tom. For some time his excitement and the flood of memories which chased one another though his brain, kept him from thinking or resolving. His head throbbed, his heart leapt, and he could hardly keep himself from springing out of bed and rushing about the room.

Then the thought of his own mother came across him, and the promise he had made at her knee, years ago, never to forget to kneel by his bedside and give himself up to his Father before he laid his head on the pillow, from which it might never rise; and he lay down gently, and cried as if his heart would break. He was only fourteen years old.

It was no light act of courage in those days for a little fellow to say his prayers publicly, even at Rugby. A few years later, when Arnold's manly piety had begun to leaven the school, the tables turned: before he died, in the Schoolhouse at least, and I believe in the other houses, the rule was the other way.

But poor Tom had come to school in other times. The first few nights after he came he did not kneel down because of the noise, but sat up in bed till the candle was out, and then stole out and said his prayers, in fear lest some one should find him out. So did many another poor little fellow.

Then he began to think that he might just as well say his prayers in bed, and then that it did not matter whether he was kneeling, or sitting, or lying down. And so it had come to pass with Tom, as with all who will not confess their Lord before men; and for the last year he had probably not said his prayers in earnest a dozen times.

Poor Tom! the first and bitterest feeling, which was like to break his heart, was the sense of his own cowardice. The vice of all others which he loathed was brought in and burned in on his own soul. He had lied to his mother, to his conscience, to his God. How could he bear it? And then the poor, little, weak boy, whom he had pitied and almost scorned for his weakness, had done that which he, braggart as he was, dared not do.

The first dawn of comfort came to him in vowing to himself that he would stand by that boy through thick and thin, and cheer him, and help him, and bear his burdens, for the good deed done that night. Then he resolved to write home next day and tell his mother all, and what a coward her son had been. And then peace came to him as he resolved, lastly, to bear his testimony next morning.

The morning would be harder than the night to begin with, but he felt that he could not afford to let one chance slip. Several times he faltered, for the Devil showed him, first, all his old friends calling him“Saint,”and“Squaretoes”and a dozen hard names, and whispered to him that his motives would be misunderstood, and he would be left alone with the new boy; whereas, it was his duty to keep all means of influence, that he might do good to the largest number.

And then came the more subtle temptation,“shall I not be showing myself braver than others by doing this? Have I any right to begin it now? Ought I not rather to pray in my own study, letting other boys know that I do so, and trying to lead them to it, while in public, at least, I should go on as I have done?”However, his good angel was too strong that night, and he turned on his side and slept, tired of trying to reason, but resolved to follow the impulse which had been so strong, and in which he had found peace.

Next morning he was up and washed and dressed, all but his jacket and waistcoat, just as the ten minutes’ bell began to ring, and then in the face of the whole room he knelt down to pray. Not five words could he say,—the bell mocked him; he was listening for every whisper in the room,—what were they all thinking of him?

He was ashamed to go on kneeling, ashamed to rise from his knees. At last, as it were from his inmost heart, a still, small voice seemed to breathe forth the words of the publican,“God be merciful to me a sinner!”He repeated them over and over, clinging to them as for his life, and rose from his knees comforted and humbled, and ready to face the whole world.

It was not needed: two other boys besides Arthur had already followed his example, and he went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in his heart,—the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has conquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet learned in the cave at Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still, small voice asked,“What doest thou here, Elijah?”—that however we may fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is nowhere without his witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly corrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

He found, too, how greatly he had exaggerated the effect to be produced by his act. For a few nights there was a sneer or a laugh when he knelt down, but this passed off soon, and one by one all the other boys but three or four followed the lead.

第16课　农场里的男孩

我不知道你对男孩的一般作用有什么看法，反正我认为，没有男孩的农场很快就会荒芜。男孩子在农场上都干什么？他是勤杂工，大家都需要他，人们需要他做很多无人能替代的事。他得干所有杂七杂八的事情、最难做的事情。

每个人都要收工的时候，他还在收尾。他的工作就像妇女一样——永远等着别人。大家都知道，吃一顿美餐，要比饭后刷碗容易得多。想象一下男孩在农场上要干的活儿——这些事总得有人干，要不生活就根本没法继续。

首先，大家都明白，他得去跑腿，去商店，去邮局，传递所有的消息。即使他的腿和蜈蚣一样多，也跑不完这些差事，还没到睡觉的时候，他就已经累坏了。要完成这些差事，他的两条细腿还真是不够用。他的腿应该和车轮的辐条一样多，而且转得同样快。

有些时候他的确努力这么做。人们看到他在道路旁边“转车轮”，会以为他在玩耍，游手好闲。其实，他是在研究一种新的运转力，这样他就可以更有效地利用他的双腿，帮人们跑更多的差事。

他练习倒立，为了使自己习惯于每种姿势。他练习背跃，以更快地跳离地面。如果你让他和其他几个男孩一起边练习背跃边去跑腿，他会很乐意的。

他有一种自然天赋，可以将娱乐与做事联系起来。所以如果你派他去泉眼旁打一桶水，他会过好久才回来。他会在路上戳石头上的青蛙，或者如果有水阀的话，他会把手压在水管口上玩一会水。

他分发别人修剪下来的草叶，他把草叶搬到畜舍里，他沿着炽热单调的田垄骑着马匹耕种玉米，他捡拾挖出来的土豆，他每天早上和夜晚都要放牛，他拾木头、打水、劈柴，他刷洗马匹，安抚马匹睡觉；不论是在屋里还是屋外，总有事等着他做。

开学前的冬天，他铲平道路；夏天，他转动磨石。他知道哪里有冬青草和菖蒲，但是他没有去采摘它们，而是待在家里削苹果，晒葡萄干，在研钵里研磨东西。而且虽然他的头脑里满是这样那样的计划，他的手上全是这样那样的活计，人们还是认为他是个闲散的孩子，除了学校和零碎工作，什么也不知道！

他想，如果别人能帮他做这些零碎工作，他愿意做其他的所有工作。但是，我怀疑，如果男孩不能从零碎工作中接受到普通的教育，到头来他可能什么事也不会做，永远不能成为一个能干的男人。

（查尔斯·达德利·华纳）

查尔斯·达德利·华纳，1829年生于马萨诸塞州的普雷恩非尔德。他于1851年毕业于汉密尔顿学院，1856年在费城进入律师行业，后来到芝加哥继续发展他的事业。他在那里待到1860年，这时他与康涅狄格州哈特福德出版社也有了联系，从此投身文学。《花园中的夏天》、《闲庭信步》和《储备研究》是他最著名的作品。本文选自《作为一个男孩》。

A BOY ON A FARM

Say what you will about the general usefulness of boys, it is my impression that a farm without a boy would very soon come to grief. What the boy does is the life of the farm. He is the factotum, always in demand, always expected to do the thousand indispensable things that nobody else will do. Upon him fall all the odds and ends, the most difficult things.

After everybody else is through, he has to finish up. His work is like a woman's,—perpetually waiting on others. Everybody knows how much easier it is to eat a good dinner than it is to wash the dishes afterwards. Consider what a boy on a farm is required to do,—things that must be done, or life would actually stop.

It is understood, in the first place, that he is to do all the errands, to go to the store, to the post office, and to carry all sorts of messages. If he had as many legs as a centiped, they would tire before night. His two short limbs seem to him entirely inadequate to the task. He would like to have as many legs as a wheel has spokes, and rotate about in the same way.

This he sometimes tries to do; and the people who have seen him“turning cart wheels”along the side of the road, have supposed that he was amusing himself and idling his time; he was only trying to invent a new mode of locomotion, so that he could economize his legs, and do his errands with greater dispatch.

He practices standing on his head, in order to accustom himself to any position. Leapfrog is one of his methods of getting over the ground quickly. He would willingly go an errand any distance if he could leapfrog it with a few other boys.

He has a natural genius for combining pleasure with business. This is the reason why, when he is sent to the spring for a pitcher of water, he is absent so long; for he stops to poke the frog that sits on the stone, or, if there is a penstock, to put his hand over the spout, and squirt the water a little while.

He is the one who spreads the grass when the men have cut it; he mows it away in the barn; he rides the horse, to cultivate the corn, up and down the hot, weary rows; he picks up the potatoes when they are dug; he drives the cows night and morning; he brings wood and water, and splits kindling; he gets up the horse, and puts out the horse; whether he is in the house or out of it, there is always something for him to do.

Just before the school in winter he shovels paths; in summer he turns the grindstone. He knows where there are lots of wintergreens and sweet flags, but instead of going for them, he is to stay indoors and pare apples, and stone raisins, and pound something in a mortar. And yet, with his mind full of schemes of what he would like to do, and his hands full of occupations, he is an idle boy, who has nothing to busy himself with but school and chores!

He would gladly do all the work if somebody else would do the chores, he thinks; and yet I doubt if any boy ever amounted to anything in the world, or was of much use as a man, who did not enjoy the advantages of a liberal education in the way of chores.

（Charles Dudley Warner）

第17课　别管闲事

大约20年前，一位脾气古怪的老绅士住在有很多榆树环绕的老礼堂里。他差不多60多岁，非常富有，而且有些怪怪的习惯，但是他的慷慨和仁爱无人能及。

对于需要安慰的穷苦佃农，对于需要他帮助的病人，甚至对乞丐（除非是冒名顶替的人）他总是慷慨解囊，没有人空着手离开他的大厅。就像村里的牧师在一首名为《被遗弃的村庄》里描述的：

所有旅途中的列车都知道他的住处；

他斥责他们的流浪，却排解他们的痛苦；

他总是记得他招待过的那位乞丐，

乞丐的胡须飘扬在他苍老的胸前。

现在，这位老绅士想要找一个男孩服侍他的饮食起居，帮助他做些事情，因为他非常喜欢年轻人。虽然他对年轻人的世界很感兴趣，可是他非常厌恶很多年轻人的好奇心。他经常说：“向抽屉里偷看的孩子会试图从里面取出点东西，而在年轻时就偷窃过一分钱的人，长大后总有一天会偷窃一元钱。”

人们得知老绅士要找男孩的消息后，都想得到这个职位，很快老绅士就收到二十多封求职信。但是老绅士决心一定要找到一位没有好奇心、不爱管闲事儿的人。

星期一早晨，七个身着盛装、打扮光亮的小伙子出现在大厅，每个人都暗暗决心得到这份工作。因为老绅士的脾气古怪，他准备了一个房间，这样就可以轻易发现哪个年轻人喜欢管闲事，或喜欢往壁橱或抽屉里偷看。他做了安排，要榆树大厅里的这些小伙子逐个进入这个房间。

首先，查尔斯·布朗被叫到房间里，老绅士请他在这里等一等。于是查尔斯在门旁的一个椅子上坐下。开始的一段时间他非常安静，坐在椅子上向四周看着。但是他发现房间里有很多非常稀罕的东西，他终于站了起来，偷偷窥探。

桌子上摆放着一个罩子，查尔斯非常想知道下面是什么，但是他又不敢掀起罩子。坏习惯对人的影响是非常大的，而查尔斯的性格又是非常好奇的，他怎么也忍不住想看个究竟，于是他掀起了罩子。

结果真是令人沮丧，罩子下面是一堆非常轻的羽毛。有些羽毛被流动的空气带起来，飞到房间里。查尔斯非常害怕，匆匆把罩子放下，可这下桌子上其余的羽毛也被吹到了地上。

这可怎么办？查尔斯一根一根地把羽毛捡起来。老绅士一直待在隔壁的房间，他听到这里的动静，猜到发生了什么事情，就走进房间，正好看到查尔斯·布朗慌乱的样子。他很快就把查尔斯打发走了，因为他确定查尔斯连最小的诱惑都抵制不了。

老绅士又重新布置了房间，然后叫进亨利·威尔金斯。老绅士刚刚离开房间，他的目光就被一盘诱人的、熟透的樱桃吸引了。其实，亨利特别爱吃樱桃，而且他想，这里有这么多樱桃，就是吃掉一个，老绅士也不会发觉。他看看想想，想想看看，就在他从椅子上站起来想拿一个的时候，他似乎听到门口有脚步声。不过还好，是他听错了。

亨利又重新鼓足勇气，他小心翼翼地站起来，拿起一个特别好的樱桃——他决心就拿一个——放进嘴里。太好吃了！他想，再吃一个也没关系。他真的又拿了一个，匆匆塞进嘴里。其实，老绅士在樱桃中间放了几个假樱桃，假樱桃里全是辣椒。不幸的是，亨利凑巧拿了一个假樱桃，他的嘴立刻刺痛起来，想着了火一样。老绅士听到他在咳嗽，明白了怎么回事。这个孩子不仅会拿樱桃，还会拿别的不属于他的东西，这个孩子老绅士不喜欢。亨利·威尔金斯也被打发走了，他的嘴热辣辣的，就好像他刚刚向里面投进一颗煤炭。

接下来，鲁弗斯·威尔森被叫了进来，自己待在房间里。但是他在里面待了不到10分钟，就开始摸摸这、碰碰那。他的脾气鲁莽、倔强，不受原则的制约，如果他能够打开房间里的每个壁橱、储藏室和抽屉，而不被人发现的话，他会毫不犹豫地这么去做。

他看了看四周，发现桌子上的一个抽屉，决心往里面窥探一下。但是他刚刚把手放在抽屉把手上，一阵响亮的铃声就响起。原来桌子下面藏着一个电铃。老绅士听到铃声，赶忙走进房间。

鲁弗斯被突然的铃声吓了一跳，虽然他的脸皮很厚，可是这时也开始觉得羞愧。他看上去脆弱不堪。老绅士问他，他打铃是不是因为他想要什么东西。鲁弗斯非常困惑，结结巴巴地试图道歉，但是这一点用也没有，他被从候选名单上剔除了出去。

然后，乔治·琼斯被一名老管家领到房间里。他的性格比较谨慎，什么也没有碰，只是向四下里看着。最后，他发现一扇壁橱的门有些虚掩着。他想，如果他再把门打开一些，肯定不会有人发现。于是他看着门的下方，以免碰到什么东西引起响动，小心地把门打开了一英寸。如果他看上面，而不是看下面，那就好了。因为门上系着一个小塞子，塞子堵住了一个小桶，小桶里盛满小铅球。他冒险又将门打开了一英寸，又一英寸，直到塞子被拽了出来，小铅球蹦了出来。壁橱的底部放着一个锡盘，小铅球落在锡盘上，发出很大的响声，乔治吓得魂飞魄散。

老绅士很快出现，看看是怎么回事。他看到乔治的脸像纸一样苍白，就把他打发走了。

现在轮到阿尔伯特·杨金斯了。其他的男孩被各自送回家，没人知道这些人在房间中的经历。

桌子上有一个小圆盒子，盒子有个旋盖。阿尔伯特断定里面的东西很奇怪，他坐立不安，非常想拧开盒盖。但是他刚刚打开，盒子里就跳出一条假蛇，它足有一码长，缠绕在他的胳膊上。他往后退去，尖叫了一声。叫声引来了老绅士，他看到阿尔伯特一手拿着盒子，一手拿着盖子，蛇掉在地板上。

“起来，起来，”老绅士说，“屋里有一条蛇就够了，你还是快出去吧。”他就这样打发了这个男孩，连任何解释都没有听。

接下来，威廉·史密斯走进了房间，老绅士离开房间以后，他就开始好奇地左看右看。威廉不仅好奇、爱管闲事，还不诚实。他发现书柜的抽屉上还挂着钥匙，就欠着脚尖走过去。钥匙上系着一段电线，电线与一台电机相连，威廉被狠狠地击中，这下可够他呛的。他刚刚恢复神志可以行走，老绅士就告诉他，以后最好还是让抽屉的主人亲自开锁或上锁，并让他离开了房间。

另一个男孩叫哈里·戈登。他独自在房间里待了足足有20分钟，但都没有在椅子上动一动。哈里的头上也有眼睛，但是他的心灵正直。罩子、樱桃、抽屉把手、壁橱门、圆盒子或钥匙都没能引诱他离开座位。结果，半个小时后，他被许可在榆树大厅为老绅士服务。他一直服侍老绅士，直到他离开人世，并因为他正直的服务从老绅士那里得到一大笔遗产。

DO NOT MEDDLE

About twenty years ago there lived a singular gentleman in the Old Hall among the elm trees. He was about three score years of age, very rich, and somewhat odd in many of his habits, but for generosity and benevolence he had no equal.

No poor cottager stood in need of comforts, which he was not ready to supply; no sick man or woman languished for want of his assistance; and not even a beggar, unless a known impostor, went empty handed from the Hall. Like the village pastor described in Goldsmith's poem of“The Deserted Village,”

“His house was known to all the vagrant train;

He chid their wand'rings, but relieved their pain;

The long remembered beggar was his guest,

Whose beard descending swept his aged breast.”

Now it happened that the old gentleman wanted a boy to wait upon him at table, and to attend him in different ways, for he was very fond of young people. But much as he liked the society of the young, he had a great aversion to that curiosity in which many young people are apt to indulge. He used to say,“The boy who will peep into a drawer will be tempted to take something out of it; and he who will steal a penny in his youth will steal a pound in his manhood.”

No sooner was it known that the old gentleman was in want of a boy than twenty applications were made for the situation; but he determined not to engage anyone until he had in some way ascertained that he did not possess a curious, prying disposition.

On Monday morning seven lads, dressed in their Sunday clothes, with bright and happy faces, made their appearance at the Hall, each of them desiring to obtain the situation. Now the old gentleman, being of a singular disposition,had prepared a room in such a way that he might easily know if any of the young people who applied were given to meddle unnecessarily with things around them, or to peep into cupboards and drawers. He took care that the lads who were then at Elm Tree Hall should be shown into this room one after another.

And first, Charles Brown was sent into the room, and told that he would have to wait a little. So Charles sat down on a chair near the door. For some time he was very quiet, and looked about him; but there seemed to be so many curious things in the room that at last he got up to peep at them.

On the table was placed a dish cover, and Charles wanted sadly to know what was under it, but he felt afraid of lifting it up. Bad habits are strong things; and, as Charles was of a curious disposition, he could not withstand the temptation of taking one peep. So he lifted up the cover.

This turned out to be a sad affair; for under the dish cover was a heap of very light feathers; part of the feathers, drawn up by a current of air, flew about the room, and Charles, in his fright, putting the cover down hastily, puffed the rest of them off the table.

What was to be done? Charles began to pick up the feathers one by one; but the old gentleman, who was in an adjoining room, hearing a scuffle, and guessing the cause of it, entered the room, to the consternation of Charles Brown, who was very soon dismissed as a boy who had not principle enough to resist even a slight temptation.

When the room was once more arranged, Henry Wilkins was placed there until such time as he should be sent for. No sooner was he left to himself than his attention was attracted by a plate of fine, ripe cherries. Now Henry was uncommonly fond of cherries, and he thought it would be impossible to miss one cherry among so many. He looked and longed, and longed and looked, for some time, and just as he had got off his seat to take one, he heard, as he thought, a foot coming to the door; but no, it was a false alarm.

Taking fresh courage, he went cautiously and took a very fine cherry, for he was determined to take but one, and put it into his mouth. It was excellent; and then he persuaded himself that he ran no risk in taking another; this he did, and hastily popped it into his mouth.

Now, the old gentleman had placed a few artificial cherries at the top of the others, filled with Cayenne pepper; one of these Henry had unfortunately taken, and it made his month smart and burn most intolerably. The old gentleman heard him coughing, and knew very well what was the matter. The boy that would take what did not belong to him, if no more than a cherry, was not the boy for him. Henry Wilkins was sent about his business without delay, with his mouth almost as hot as if he had put a burning coal in to it.

Rufus Wilson was next introduced into the room and left to himself; but he had not been there ten minutes before he began to move from one place to another. He was of a bold, resolute temper, but not overburdened with principle; for if he could have opened every cupboard, closet, and drawer in the house, without being found out, he would have done it directly.

Having looked around the room, he noticed a drawer to the table, and made up his mind to peep therein. But no sooner did he lay hold of the drawer knob than he set a large bell ringing, which was concealed under the table. The old gentleman immediately answered the summons, and entered the room.

Rufus was so startled by the sudden ringing of the bell, that all his impudence could not support him. He looked as though anyone might knock him down with a feather. The old gentleman asked him if he had rung the bell because he wanted anything. Rufus was much confused,and stammered, and tried to excuse himself, but all to no purpose, for it did not prevent him from being ordered off the premises.

George Jones was then shown into the room by an old steward; and being of a cautious disposition, he touched nothing, but only looked at the things about him. At last he saw that a closet door was a little open, and, thinking it would be impossible for anyone to know that he had opened it a little more, he very cautiously opened it an inch farther, looking down at the bottom of the door, that it might not catch against anything and make a noise.

Now had he looked at the top, instead of the bottom, it might have been better for him; for to the top of the door was fastened a plug, which filled up the hole of a small barrel of shot. He ventured to open the door another inch, and then another, till, the plug being pulled out of the barrel, the leaden shot began to pour out at a strange rate. At the bottom of the closet was placed a tin pan, and the shot falling upon this pan made such a clatter that George was frightened half out of his senses.

The old gentleman soon came into the room to inquire what was the matter, and there he found George nearly as pale as a sheet. George was soon dismissed.

It now came the turn of Albert Jenkins to be put into the room. The other boys had been sent to their homes by different ways, and no one knew what the experience of the other had been in the room of trial.

On the table stood a small round box, with a screw top to it, and Albert, thinking it contained something curious, could not be easy without unscrewing the top; but no sooner did he do this than out bounced an artificial snake, full a yard long, and fell upon his arm. He started back, and uttered a scream which brought the old gentleman to his elbow. There stood Albert, with the bottom of the box in one hand, the top in the other, and the snake on the floor.

“Come, come,”said the old gentleman,“one snake is quite enough to have in the house at a time; therefore, the sooner you are gone the better.”With that he dismissed him, without waiting a moment for his reply.

William Smith next entered the room, and being left alone soon began to amuse himself in looking at the curiosities around him. William was not only curious and prying, but dishonest, too, and observing that the key was left in the drawer of a bookcase, he stepped on tiptoe in that direction. The key had a wire fastened to it, which communicated with an electrical machine, and William received such a shock as he was not likely to forget. No sooner did he sufficiently recover himself to walk, than he was told to leave the house, and let other people lock and unlock their own drawers.

The other boy was Harry Gordon, and though he was left in the room full twenty minutes, he never during that time stirred from his chair. Harry had eyes in his head as well as the others, but he had more integrity in his heart; neither the dish cover, the cherries, the drawer knob, the closet door, the round box, nor the key tempted him to rise from his feet; and the consequence was that, in half an hour after, he was engaged in the service of the old gentleman at Elm Tree Hall. He followed his good old master to his grave, and received a large legacy for his upright conduct in his service.

第18课　一位传统的姑娘

波莉希望那位“可怕的男孩”（汤姆）不在，但是他在，而且吃饭时一直用一种令人讨厌的眼光看着她。

肖先生看上去总是忙忙碌碌，他说：“亲爱的，你好吗？希望你过得愉快。”然后他好像就完全忘记了她的存在。肖夫人苍白而忧虑，她温和地问候了这位小客人，无微不至地招待她。肖夫人是一位安静的老太太，戴着一顶滑稽的帽子。看见波莉时，她叫道：“天啊！她跟她母亲一模一样——她的母亲真温柔——她现在怎么样了，亲爱的？”吃饭时，肖夫人一直注视着波莉。波莉被汤姆和老太太搞得一点胃口都没有了。

她的表姐妹范妮像喜鹊一样不停地叽叽喳喳，而莫德则坐立不安。汤姆则把她按到了桌子底下，搞得她哇哇大哭，后来汤姆被保姆带走了。

总之，这顿饭吃得真是难受，波莉好不容易才挨到晚餐结束。大家都各忙各的去了。尽了主人之谊后，范妮被叫到裁缝那里，只留下波莉一个人在休息室。

波莉很高兴能独自呆一会儿。她看看这，摸摸那。阳光暗下去了，壁炉里红红的火光照亮了屋子。波莉在柔软的花地毯上来回踱着步，哼起歌来。

这时，老太太慢慢走了进来，坐在扶手椅中，说：“这是个老调子，很好听。亲爱的，为我唱唱，我有很久没有听到过这支曲子了。”

波莉不喜欢在陌生人面前唱歌，除了她整天忙碌的母亲，没有人教过她唱歌。但人们总是教育她要尊敬老人，所以她没有拒绝，并直接走到钢琴前。

“这样的曲子让人心情愉快。再唱几首，亲爱的。”波莉唱完后，老太太温柔地说。

波莉受到称赞很高兴，她的声音清脆，打动了听者的内心。波莉会唱很多甜蜜的老歌，越唱越好听。当她唱起《祝查理国王健康长寿》这首歌时，屋子里充满了大钢琴的音乐声和小姑娘的歌声。

“这个调子很轻快！再唱一遍，好吗？”这是汤姆的声音。原来汤姆一直藏在屋子里，他红色的头发从高高的椅背后面露了出来。

波莉吃惊不小，因为她以为除了壁炉旁昏昏欲睡的老太太，再没有人听到她的歌声。“我唱不了了，我累了。”她说完，跟着老太太走到另一个房间里。波莉的口气非常冷淡，红头发脑袋像流星一样消失了。

老太太伸出手，让波莉俯在她的膝盖上，非常和气地看着她的眼睛。波莉忘记了老太太滑稽的帽子，无邪地向她微笑着。她非常高兴自己的歌声为别人带来了愉快。

“我盯着你看来着，你千万别介意，亲爱的。”老太太一边说，一边轻轻捏了捏她红扑扑的脸蛋，“我已经有好长时间没有见到过一位小姑娘了。看着你让我的眼睛很舒服。”波莉觉得很奇怪，忍不住说：“范妮和莫德不是小姑娘吗？”

“哎，亲爱的，不是！不是我说的那种小姑娘。范妮最近这两年已经变成一位年轻的女士了，而莫德是一个被宠坏了的孩子。我的孩子，你的母亲真是一个明智的女人。”

“真是个神神道道的老太太！”波莉暗想，但是她恭恭敬敬地说，“是啊，夫人。”然后掉头看着壁炉里的火焰。“你不明白我的意思，是不是？”老太太问，一只手还在抚摸着波莉的面颊。“不，夫人，不太明白。”

“那么，亲爱的，让我来告诉你。在我小的时候，十四五岁的孩子不赶时髦。现在的孩子们还没长大成人就参加晚会，过着闲散、无聊、不健康的生活，20岁时就对花天酒地的生活感到厌烦了。我们那时长到18岁还算是孩子，像孩子一样学习和工作，像孩子一样打扮、游戏，尊敬父母。我总是觉得，那时我们在田野里的时光，比现在的日子长。”

老太太说到后来，好像忘记了波莉。她用一只手拍打着另一只手，看着墙上一幅褪了色的肖像，这是一位老年绅士的肖像，他胸前的衬衫有很多褶皱，还梳着一个发辫。“夫人，他是您的父亲吗？”

“是的，亲爱的，我受人尊敬的父亲。一直到他去世，他的饰物都是我替他整理的。他曾经要他的6个女儿比试比试，看看谁在他的真丝袜子上织绣的图案最好。我赢了，而且挣到的第一笔钱有5美元。”

“您一定特别自豪吧！”波莉叫道，兴趣盎然地靠在老太太的膝盖上。

“是啊，我们都学习烤面包、烹饪，穿着印花棉布连衣裙，像小猫一样快乐天真。后来我们都是子孙满堂，我是最后一个——再过生日我就满70岁了，亲爱的，可我还没有活够呢。但是我的女儿肖从40岁就一病不起了。”

“我就是这么被抚养大的，我猜，范妮就是因为这个原因才说我传统。再给我讲讲您爸爸的事儿，好吗？我可爱听了。”波莉说。

“你得说‘父亲’，我们从不叫他爸爸。而且如果我的哪个哥哥胆敢像现在的有些孩子那样叫他‘长官’的话，他会罚他一个先令的。”

（露伊莎·梅·阿尔科特）

露伊莎·梅·阿尔科特（1833～1888年），出生于宾夕法尼亚州的吉尔曼顿，父母来自新英格兰。她后来随父母回到新英格兰，一生中大部分时光在马萨诸塞州的康佳德度过。内战期间，她到华盛顿照料伤兵和病人，直到她的健康状况无法支撑下去。童年时她经常写一些故事与同伴分享。1857年，她出版了第一本书《花儿寓言》。1865年，她的第一部小说《心绪》完成。1868年出版的《小妇人》描写了她个人的家庭生活。本篇选自《一位传统的姑娘》，这本书出版于1870年，是她最畅销的书之一。

AN OLD FASHIONED GIRL

Polly hoped the“dreadful boy”（Tom）would not be present; but he was, and stared at her all dinner time in a most trying manner.

Mr. Shaw, a busy looking gentleman, said,“How do you do, my dear? Hope you'll enjoy yourself;”and then appeared to forget her entirely. Mrs. Shaw, a pale, nervous woman, greeted her little guest kindly, and took care that she wanted for nothing.

Madam Shaw, a quiet old lady, with an imposing cap, exclaimed, on seeing Polly,“Bless my heart! the image of her mother—a sweet woman—how is she, dear?”and kept peering at the newcomer over her glasses till, between Madam and Tom, poor Polly lost her appetite.

Her cousin Fanny chatted like a magpie, and little Maud fidgeted, till Tom proposed to put her under the big dish cover, which produced such an explosion that the young lady was borne screaming away by the much enduring nurse.

It was, altogether, an uncomfortable dinner, and Polly was very glad when it was over. They all went about their own affairs; and, after doing the honors of the house, Fan was called to the dressmaker, leaving Polly to amuse herself in the great drawing room.

Polly was glad to be alone for a few minutes; and, having examined all the pretty things about her, began to walk up and down over the soft, flowery carpet, humming to herself, as the daylight faded, and only the ruddy glow of the fire filled the room.

Presently Madam came slowly in, and sat down in her armchair, saying,“That's a fine old tune; sing it to me, my dear. I haven't heard it this many a day.”

Polly didn't like to sing before strangers, for she had no teaching but such as her busy mother could give her; but she had been taught the utmost respect for old people, and, having no reason for refusing, she directly went to the piano and did as she was bid.

“That's the sort of music it's a pleasure to hear. Sing some more, dear,”said Madam, in her gentle way, when she had done.

Pleased with this praise, Polly sang away in a fresh little voice that went straight to the listener's heart and nestled there. The sweet old tunes that one is never tired of were all Polly's store. The more she sung, the better she did it; and when she wound up with“A Health to King Charlie,”the room quite rung with the stirring music made by the big piano and the little maid.

“That's a jolly tune! Sing it again, please,”cried Tom's voice; and there was Tom's red head bobbing up over the high back of the chair where he had hidden himself.

It gave Polly quite a turn, for she thought no one was hearing her but the old lady dozing by the fire.“I can't sing any more; I'm tired,”she said, and walked away to Madam in the other room. The red head vanished like a meteor, for Polly's tone had been decidedly cool.

The old lady put out her hand, and, drawing Polly to her knee, looked into her face with such kind eyes that Polly forgot the impressive cap, and smiled at her confidently; for she saw that her simple music had pleased her listener, and she felt glad to know it.

“You mustn't mind my staring, dear,”said Madam, softly pinching her rosy cheek,“I haven't seen a little girl for so long, it does my old eyes good to look at you.”Polly thought that a very odd speech, and couldn't help saying,“Are n't Fan and Maud little girls, too?”

“Oh, dear, no! not what I call little girls. Fan has been a young lady this two years, and Maud is a spoiled baby. Your mother's a very sensible woman, my child.”

“What a queer old lady!”thought Polly; but she said“Yes'm,”respectfully, and looked at the fire.“You don't understand what I mean, do you?”asked Madam, still holding her by the chin.“No'm; not quite.”

“Well, dear, I'll tell you. In my day, children of fourteen and fifteen did n't dress in the height of the fashion; go to parties as nearly like those of grown people as it's possible to make them; lead idle, giddy, unhealthy lives, and get blase' at twenty. We were little folks till eighteen or so; worked and studied, dressed and played, like children; honored our parents; and our days were much longer in the land than now, it seems to me.”

The old lady appeared to forget Polly, at the end of her speech; for she sat patting the plump little hand that lay in her own, and looking up at a faded picture of an old gentleman with a ruffled shirt and a queue.“Was he your father, Madam?”

“Yes, my dear; my honored father. I did up his frills to the day of his death; and the first money I ever earned, was five dollars which he offered as a prize to whichever of his six girls would lay the handsomest darn in his silk stockings.”

“How proud you must have been!”cried Polly, leaning on the old lady's knee with an interested face.

“Yes; and we all learned to make bread, and cook, and wore little chintz gowns, and were as gay and hearty as kittens. All lived to be grandmothers; and I'm the last—seventy next birthday, my dear, and not worn out yet; though daughter Shaw is an invalid at forty.”

“That's the way I was brought up, and that's why Fan calls me old fashioned, I suppose. Tell more about your papa, please; I like it,”said Polly.

“Say, ‘father.’ We never called him papa; and if one of my brothers had addressed him as ‘governor,’ as boys now do, I really think he'd have him cut off with a shilling.”

（Louisa May Alcott）

第19课　狱中叛乱

几年前马萨诸塞州监狱长官遇到了一次叛乱。那次在最恶劣的环境中，在最残忍的暴行前，勇气和道德得到了弘扬和申张，给人的印象尤为深刻。

三名罪犯被判决。按照监狱的规定，他们将在院子里接受鞭刑。有个犯人在中午的时候打开了一扇门，这扇门通往大餐厅，而大餐厅与街面只隔着监狱长的门房。

餐厅狭长、黑暗，而且地面很潮湿。所有犯人在这里集合，带着棍棒之类随手在车间里抄起的工具。

残暴的人们拿着匕首、锤子、凿子，以及所有这类武器。他们因为曾经对社会犯下的罪行而被带到这里，现在却聚集在一起，他们的力量、邪恶和天赋无人企及，即使意大利的黑手党也要逊色一筹。

这些男人年龄悬殊，犯下的罪行各种各样。他们穿着监狱的杂色衣服，显示着被囚禁的人特有的野性和凶狠。现在他们聚集起来，唯一的目的是要阻止明天要在他们的同伙身上施加的惩罚。

监狱长、警长和监狱的其他官员这时都来了，他们惶恐不安，不知该怎样恢复秩序。他们挤作一团，惊慌失措，最强壮的人也被吓得快失去知觉了。这个消息很快传到了镇上，一位平时最温文尔雅的低级官员火速赶到现场，镇定地加入到监狱官员当中。这个在所有政府官员中最性格平淡温和的人，在这场灾难中是最坚定的一个。

他立即向韦恩莱特少校发去指令，韦恩莱特少校是军港里停驻的海军司令，他要求他进入餐厅，以他坚定的演说劝服暴怒的人群。

官员们都坚决反对这个决定，因为这样做太冒险了，但他们的反对是徒劳的。他们给了他一些武器、一把剑和一支手枪，但是他拒绝了，说他无所畏惧，而且在危险的时候，这些武器是没法帮助他的。他只拿了一枝藤杖，独自走了进去，这枝藤杖是他的手杖。他走进餐厅，与这群恶棍进行谈判。

他询问，他们拿着武器聚众破坏监狱法规的目的是什么。他们回答，他们决心免除将要施加在他们三个兄弟身上的惩罚。他说，那是不可能的，监狱的规定一定要严格遵守，他们必须服从。

在他说到服从时，他们聚集得更紧了一些，握紧武器准备随时出击。有人从餐厅敞开的门栅向里望，只能隐隐看到囚犯们在餐厅的另一边聚集着，他一个人站在他们中间，随时可能被他们抓住。这些人情绪激动，一个词语或一个眼神就可能将他们激怒，把这个人撕个四分五裂。这种场面真让人胆颤，同时又是一个道义的奇迹。

这种激动也是非常危险的一类，人群中没有嘈杂的咒骂，只有阴沉的脸孔、绷紧的肌肉，显示着深沉的决心。官员不停地劝戒着。他提醒他们逃跑的后果是什么。他说，镇上的人都被惊动了，除非他们无条件屈服，监狱机构是不会给他们其他选择的。他说，所有安静走开的人都会被饶恕，但如果争斗中有犯人被杀死的话，他是罪有应得，监狱的秩序也自然会恢复。

他们回答说，他们早就预料到了会有人被杀死，但是被杀死也比被囚禁在监狱里好很多。而且，他们表情严厉、口气坚决地说，除非鞭刑被取消，否则一个人也不许活着离开餐厅。在他与他们进行讨论的这段时间里，他们的凶恶情绪又有所高涨，有一两个人甚至自告奋勇要杀掉官员。而官员则愈显平静，他的朋友们从窗口向里望着，但是没法把他从危险中解救出来。

从骚乱开始到现在已经过去了15分钟。正在这时，官员看到了海军的影子，而他正是在等待他们的支援。他故作镇静，不时朝他们行进的方向看着。他知道，在世界上最黑暗最恐怖的斗争开始之前，这是他唯一逃走的机会。

他慢慢向后退去，一边还在劝说他们在官员迫不得已使用武器之前赶紧散去。当他离大门还有三四英尺的时候，他急速打开门，跳了出去，又急速地关上门，出人意料地回到了他的朋友们中间。

韦恩莱特少校接到指令，命令他的士兵从窗口向囚犯扫射，先使用火药，然后用子弹，直到他们愿意撤退为止。这个决策是明智的，但是他随后采取的行动太莽撞了：他想用坚决的行动击溃他们的决心。他命令士兵把门打开，让二三十名士兵开进去，他们行进在通道上，在餐厅的另一边停下，正对着另一边的囚犯们。

他说，他受命镇压这场叛乱。他希望避免流血，但是如果囚犯们硬拼的话，他只能采取极端手段，直到每个囚犯都回到他们应该去的地方。他们犹豫着，好像在权衡着双方的力量对比，然后回答，他们中的一些人准备好了牺牲，迫不及待地要较量一番。他们发誓说他们会奋力反抗直到最后一刻，一定要看到惩罚被取消，因为他们不会对任何监狱中的惩罚让步。韦恩莱特少校命令他的海军士兵将枪支装满子弹，而且为了避免有哑弹，每个人都必须在装子弹之前检查一下。

但是囚犯们只是发出一阵低吼，即使是站在最前排的人，也没有退缩或逃跑。他们知道，他们人数众多，可以在这小群海军士兵第一次射击之后，还没有来得及再装好子弹之前，就将他们击败。韦恩莱特少校又命令他们投降，但是他们的回答还是一样。少校命令士兵瞄准，好尽量杀得多一些。他们举起枪，但是囚犯中没有一个人动一动，他们只是把手中的武器更紧紧握住。

只要枪声一响，一场大屠杀就会开始。韦恩莱特少校仍然想避免这样的局面。他向前迈出一两步，更加坚定地劝说他们散去。而囚犯们面对着他们刚才亲眼看到被装满了子弹的机枪，宣称他们决心“战斗到底”。这时，这位无畏的官员拿出手表，告诉他的士兵将枪口保持对准囚犯，但是没有他的命令先不要开枪。然后他转向囚犯，说道：“你们必须离开餐厅。我给你们三分钟的时间决定。三分钟过后，如果谁仍然留在这里，他就死定了。”

这真是一个非常有趣的场面。餐厅的一头是一伙强壮的亡命徒，等待着发动袭击。另一头，一小群纪律严明的人，全神贯注地端着武器，一旦看到任何代表命令的动作或信号，就会开始一场残杀。而他们高大、强硬的指挥官，举着手表计算着三分钟时间的流逝。这三分钟，恰似是对这几百个人的缓刑。任何诗人或画家都无法想象如此黑暗骇人的场面，任何人的心灵都无法想象如此紧张震惊的悬疑。

两分钟之内，没有一个人动一动。囚犯们不同寻常地沉默着，没有人发出一点声音，只听得见这群不幸的人沉重的喘息声，他们在恐惧和复仇的选择之间徘徊着。两分钟过去了，在这两分钟之内，他们等着眼睛和死神相对。站在最后面的、最靠近门口的人中，有两三个人悄悄溜走了。又有几个人这么做，安静地、从容不迫地走了出去。最后一分钟过了还没有一半，每个人都被恐惧征服了，慌张地寻找着出口。餐厅里顿时空无一人。

坚定不移的力量和强大的决心，制伏了最野蛮的人，在千钧一发之际避免了一场残杀。

（J·T·白金汉姆）

REBELLION IN MASSACHUSETTS STATE PRISON

A more impressive exhibition of moral courage, opposed to the wildest ferocity under the most appalling circumstances, was never seen than that which was witnessed by the officers of our state prison; in the rebellion which occurred some years since.

Three convicts had been sentenced, under the rules of the prison, to be whipped in the yard, and, by some effort of one of the other prisoners, a door had been opened at midday communicating with the great dining hall and, through the warden's lodge, with the street.

The dining hall was long, dark, and damp, from its situation near the surface of the ground; and in this all the prisoners assembled, with clubs and such other tools as they could seize in passing through the workshops.

Knives, hammers, and chisels, with every variety of such weapons, were in the hands of the ferocious spirits, who are drawn away from their encroachments on society, forming a congregation of strength, vileness, and talent that can hardly be equaled on earth, even among the famed brigands of Italy.

Men of all ages and characters, guilty of every variety of infamous crime, dressed in the motley and peculiar garb of the institution, and displaying the wild and demoniac appearance that always pertains to imprisoned wretches, were gathered together for the single purpose of preventing the punishment which was to be inflicted on the morrow upon their comrades.

The warden, the surgeon, and some other officers of the prison were there at the time, and were alarmed at the consequences likely to ensue from the conflict necessary to restore order. They huddled together, and could scarcely be said to consult, as the stoutest among them lost all presence of mind in overwhelming fear. The news rapidly spread through the town, and a subordinate officer, of the most mild and kind disposition, hurried to the scene, and came calm and collected into the midst of the officers. The most equable tempered and the mildest man in the government was in this hour of peril the firmest.

He instantly dispatched a request to Major Wainright, commander of the marines stationed at the Navy Yard, for assistance, and declared his purpose to enter into the hall and try the force of firm demeanor and persuasion upon the enraged multitude.

All his brethren exclaimed against an attempt so full of hazard, but in vain. They offered him arms, a sword and pistols, but he refused them, and said that he had no fear, and, in case of danger, arms would do him no service; and alone, with only a little rattan, which was his usual walking stick, he advanced into the hall to hold parley with the selected, congregated, and enraged villains of the whole commonwealth.

He demanded their purpose in thus coming together with arms, in violation of the prison laws. They replied that they were determined to obtain the remission of the punishment of their three comrades. He said it was impossible; the rules of the prison must be obeyed, and they must submit.

At the hint of submission they drew a little nearer together, prepared their weapons for service, and, as they were dimly seen in the further end of the hall by those who observed from the gratings that opened up to the day, a more appalling sight can not be conceived, nor one of more moral grandeur, than that of the single man standing within their grasp, and exposed to be torn limb from limb instantly if a word or look should add to the already intense excitement.

That excitement, too, was of a most dangerous kind. It broke not forth in noise and imprecations, but was seen only in the dark looks and the strained nerves that showed a deep determination. The officer expostulated. He reminded them of the hopelessness of escape; that the town was alarmed, and that the government of the prison would submit to nothing but unconditional surrender. He said that all those who would go quietly away should be forgiven for this offense; but that if every prisoner were killed in the contest, power enough would be obtained to enforce the regulations of the prison.

They replied that they expected that some would be killed,—that death would be better than such imprisonment; and, with that look and tone which bespeak an indomitable purpose, they declared that not a man should leave the hall alive till the flogging was remitted. At this period of the discussion their evil passions seemed to be more inflamed, and one or two offered to destroy the officer, who still stood firmer and with a more temperate pulse than did his friends, who saw from above, but could not avert, the danger that threatened him.

Just at this moment, and in about fifteen minutes from the commencement of the tumult, the officer saw the feet of the marines, on whose presence alone he relied for succor, filing by the small upper lights. Without any apparent anxiety, he had repeatedly turned his attention to their approach; and now he knew that it was his only time to escape, before the conflict became, as was expected, one of the most dark and dreadful in the world.

He stepped slowly backward, still urging them to depart before the officers were driven to use the last resort of firearms. When within three or four feet of the door, it was opened, and closed instantly again as he sprang through, and was thus unexpectedly restored to his friends.

Major Wainright was requested to order his men to fire down upon the convicts through the little windows, first with powder and then with ball, till they were willing to retreat; but he took a wiser as well as a bolder course, relying upon the effect which firm determination would have upon men so critically situated. He ordered the door to be again opened, and marched in at the head of twenty or thirty men, who filed through the passage, and formed at the end of the hall opposite to the crowd of criminals huddled together at the other.

He stated that he was empowered to quell the rebellion, that he wished to avoid shedding blood, but that he would not quit that hall alive till every convict had returned to his duty. They seemed balancing the strength of the two parties, and replied that some of them were ready to die, and only waited for an attack to see which was the more powerful; swearing that they would fight to the last, unless the punishment was remitted, for they would not submit to any such punishment in the prison. Major Wainright ordered his marines to load their pieces, and, that they might not be suspected of trifling, each man was made to hold up to view the bullet which he afterward put in his gun.

This only caused a growl of determination, and no one blenched or seemed disposed to shrink from the foremost exposure. They knew that their number would enable them to bear down and destroy the handful of marines after the first discharge, and before their pieces could be reloaded. Again they were ordered to retire; but they answered with more ferocity than ever. The marines were ordered to take their aim so as to be sure and kill as many as possible. Their guns were presented, but not a prisoner stirred, except to grasp more firmly his weapon.

Still desirous to avoid such a tremendous slaughter as must have followed the discharge of a single gun, Major Wainright advanced a step or two, and spoke even more firmly than before, urging them to depart. Again, and while looking directly into the muzzles of the guns which they had seen loaded with ball, they declared their intention“to fight it out.”This intrepid officer then took out his watch, and told his men to hold their pieces aimed at the convicts, but not to fire till they had orders; then, turning to the prisoners, he said:“You must leave this hall; I give you three minutes to decide; if at the end of that time a man remains, he shall be shot dead.”

No situation of greater interest than this can be conceived. At one end of the hall, a fearful multitude of the most desperate and powerful men in existence, waiting for the assault; at the other, a little band of disciplined men, waiting with arms presented, and ready, upon the least motion or sign, to begin the carnage; and their tall and imposing commander, holding up his watch to count the lapse of three minutes, given as the reprieve to the lives of hundreds. No poet or painter can conceive a spectacle of more dark and terrible sublimity; no human heart can conceive a situation of more appalling suspense.

For two minutes not a person nor a muscle moved; not a sound was heard in the unwonted stillness of the prison, except the labored breathings of the infuriated wretches, as they began to pant between fear and revenge: at the expiration of two minutes, during which they had faced the ministers of death with unblenching eyes, two or three of those in the rear, and nearest the further entrance, went slowly out; a few more followed the example, dropping out quietly and deliberately: and before half of the last minute was gone, every man was struck by the panic, and crowded for an exit, and the hall was cleared, as if by magic.

Thus the steady firmness of moral force and the strong effect of determination, acting deliberately, awed the most savage men, and suppressed a scene of carnage, which would have instantly followed the least precipitancy or exertion of physical force.

第20课　勒克瑙的解放

死神从各个方向注视着我们。人类还不能摆脱它。当我们和大地告别时，我们感到了这一时刻的临近，但是我们并未体会到科恩堡的牺牲者所感到的巨大恐惧。我们宁死不屈，确信24小时之后，一切都会结束。我们的工程师曾这样说过，所有人都清楚最坏的结局。我们妇女努力互相鼓励着，完成力所能及的微不足道的小事，比如向营部传达命令，给男人提供食物和一杯杯咖啡。

我曾经和杰希·布朗一起出门寻找工作，她是我丈夫部队的一位下士的夫人。可怜的杰希在围城过程中一直兴奋不安，而且在最后几天明显消瘦下去。她持续高烧，神志有时迷糊，尤其是她特别想家的那天。最后，她精疲力竭，裹着毯子躺在地上。我坐在她身边，答应她“父亲耕地回来时”叫醒她。

然后她就沉睡过去，头枕在我的臂弯里，静静地一动不动。虽然大炮不停轰击，我还是困倦得睡了过去。突然，我被耳畔一声尖叫惊醒。我的伙伴站在我旁边，挥着手臂，头向前伸着，似乎在倾听什么。

她的眼睛忽然一亮，她抓住我的手，把我拉过去说：“你没听到么？你没听到么？哎。我不是在做梦吧：苏格兰高地的人在喊口号！我们得救了！我们得救了！”她扑倒在地，热烈地感谢着上帝。我迷惑不解。我的英格兰人的耳朵只听得到轰轰炮声，我想可怜的杰希仍然发着烧。但是她向营部疾跑过去，嘴里不停地向男人们喊着：“勇气！勇气！听听这些口号——向最伟大的麦戈雷戈尔致敬！终于得救了！”

我无法描述这些士兵听到这些话的感受。他们停止射击，每个人都焦虑地听着。但是，他们逐渐醒悟过来，失望地喃喃议论着。聚集在这里痛哭的妇女，看到少校摇了摇头，又痛哭起来。我们迟钝的低地耳朵只能听到滑膛枪射击的声音。死一般的沉寂和痛苦的希望又持续了一会儿，已经又滑到地上的杰希，跳了起来，用清楚尖利的、战线上所有人都听得见的声音说：“你们不相信吗？喊口号的声音停了，但是坎贝尔人来了！听见了吗？听见了吗？”

这时，所有人似乎都听到了远处上帝的声音，我们听到高地人的风笛声，所有人都为之一振。现在没有疑问了。那尖锐、持续的声音，盖过其他一切声音，它不会是敌人或是地道兵发出的。不，那确实是苏格兰人的风笛，尖利刺耳，对敌人是充满威胁的复仇，而对同伴是温柔的曲调，似乎是在告诉我们，支援就要到了。

此后的场面，我从未见识过。勒克瑙的所有居民都拜倒在上帝面前。所有人都不约而同地跪下，一片唏嘘呜咽祈祷之声。然后所有人都站了起来，一起欢呼起来。欢呼声向四处传去，加入风笛的高亢曲调中。

我们欢呼“上帝拯救了女王”，他们用一段著名的歌曲作了回答：“怎能忘怀昔日故人。”每位苏格兰人都被感动的眼含热泪。这之后，我什么也不记得了。我不记得后来发生了什么。将军来到要塞时，接见了杰希。在为军官举行的宴会上，所有人都向她敬酒，祝福她身体健康。而桌边，风笛在一遍一遍演奏着熟悉的旋律：《友谊地久天长》。

本文摘自勒克瑙一位官员的妻子发表在《伦敦时报》上的一封信。勒克瑙是英属印度的一个城市。1857年，当地军队中发生叛变，英国卫戍部队的1700名士兵被10000叛军包围。围城12个星期后，补充来的英国军队突破包围，3周后被克林·坎贝尔将军解放。科恩堡，印度一城市，临近勒克瑙，在叛变期间也被包围。投降后所有英国人，其中三分之二是妇女和儿童，皆被残忍杀害。

THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW

On every side death stared us in the face; no human skill could avert it any longer. We saw the moment approach when we must bid farewell to earth, yet without feeling that unutterable horror which must have been experienced by the unhappy victims at Cawnpore. We were resolved rather to die than to yield, and were fully persuaded that in twenty four hours all would be over. The engineer had said so, and all knew the worst. We women strove to encourage each other, and to perform the light duties which had been assigned to us, such as conveying orders to the batteries, and supplying the men with provisions, especially cups of coffee, which we prepared day and night.

I had gone out to try to make myself useful, in company with Jessie Brown, the wife of a corporal in my husband's regiment. Poor Jessie had been in a state of restless excitement all through the siege, and had fallen away visibly within the last few days. A constant fever consumed her, and her mind wandered occasionally, especially that day, when the recollections of home seemed powerfully present to her. At last, overcome with fatigue, she lay down on the ground, wrapped up in her plaid. I sat beside her, promising to awaken her when, as she said, her“father should return from the plowing.”

She fell at length into a profound slumber, motionless and apparently breathless, her head resting in my lap. I myself could no longer resist the inclination to sleep, in spite of the continual roar of the cannon. Suddenly I was aroused by a wild, unearthly scream close to my ear; my companion stood upright beside me, her arms raised, and her head bent forward in the attitude of listening.

A look of intense delight broke over her countenance; she grasped my hand, drew me toward her, and exclaimed:“Dinna ye hear it? dinna ye hear it? Ay. I'm no dreaming: it's the slogan o' the Highlanders! We're saved! we're saved!”Then flinging herself on her knees, she thanked God with passionate fervor. I felt utterly bewildered; my English ears heard only the roar of artillery, and I thought my poor Jessie was still raving; but she darted to the batteries, and I heard her cry incessantly to the men,“Courage! courage! Hark to the slogan—to the Macgregor, the grandest of them a’! Here's help at last!”

To describe the effect of these words upon the soldiers would be impossible. For a moment they ceased firing, and every soul listened with intense anxiety. Gradually, however, there arose a murmur of bitter disappointment, and the wailing of the women, who had flocked to the spot, burst out anew as the colonel shook his head. Our dull Lowland ears heard only the battle of the musketry. A few moments more of this deathlike suspense, of this agonizing hope, and Jessie, who had again sunk on the ground, sprang to her feet, and cried in a voice so clear and piercing that it was heard along the whole line,“Will ye no believe it noo? The slogan has ceased, indeed, but the Campbells are comin’! D’ ye hear? d’ ye hear?”

At that moment all seemed indeed to hear the voice of God in the distance, when the pibroch of the Highlanders brought us tidings of deliverance; for now there was no longer any doubt of the fact. That shrill, penetrating, ceaseless sound, which rose above all other sounds, could come neither from the advance of the enemy nor from the work of the sappers. No, it was indeed the blast of the Scottish bagpipes, now shrill and harsh, as threatening vengeance on the foe, then in softer tones, seeming to promise succor to their friends in need.

Never, surely, was there such a scene as that which followed. Not a heart in the residency of Lucknow but bowed itself before God. All, by one simultaneous impulse, fell upon their knees, and nothing was heard but bursting sobs and the murmured voice of prayer. Then all arose, and there rang out from a thousand lips a great shout of joy, which resounded far and wide, and lent new vigor to that blessed pibroch.

To our cheer of“God save the Queen,”they replied by the well known strain that moves every Scot to tears,“Should auld acquaintance be forgot.”After that, nothing else made any impression on me. I scarcely remember what followed. Jessie was presented to the general on his entrance into the fort, and at the officers' banquet her health was drunk by all present, while the pipers marched around the table playing once more the familiar air of“Auld Lang Syne.”

第21课　约翰·亚当斯的演讲

韦伯斯特先生在一篇关于约翰·亚当斯一生和个性的演讲中，假设对独立宣言持反对意见的人，在国会裁决此事时，申明了他的恐惧和反对。于是他假设亚当斯先生做了如下回答。

沉沦或挣扎，生活或死亡，生存或毁灭，我对我的投票完全虔诚。的确，开始时我们的目的不是独立，但是，“神明决定我们的命运。”引文选自《哈姆雷特》第二幕，第五场。

是英格兰的侵犯迫使我们举起武器，而且她被自己的利益蒙蔽了双眼，她负隅顽抗，直到我们赢得独立。现在，我们只需倾身向前，它就是我们的了。那么，我们为什么要推迟宣言？哪个男人如此孱弱，仍在希望与英格兰和解？这样做，既不会为国家和它的解放者带来安全，也不会为他自己的生命和荣誉带来任何保障！是不是你，先生，坐在那把椅子里的那位先生指约翰·汉考克，大陆国会主席。是不是他，坐在你旁边的、我们受人爱戴的同志指塞缪尔·亚当斯。在康科德和莱克星顿战役之后，盖奇总督宣布只要起义的人放下武器，就原谅他们，除了约翰·汉考克和塞缪尔·亚当斯之外。你们两个是不是已经注定是惩罚和报复的目标？不要再对皇家的仁爱抱有任何幻想，即使英格兰人仍然当政，他们也是非法的，那时你们是什么？你们能成为什么？

如果我们推迟独立，我们是要继续战争，还是放弃？我们是不是要投降，承认我们应该被碾为粉末，我们的国家和国家的权利被踏进泥土？我知道，我们不是要投降，我们决不应该投降！难道我们要违背人类最庄严的、我们在上帝面前对华盛顿的诺言？我们曾经许诺说，不论是在危险的战争中，还是在政治灾难中，我们都要将自己的命运和生命交付于他。我知道，这里的每一个人，都宁愿一场大火或地震把我们埋葬，也不愿看到诺言的任何一部分被违背。正是我自己，12个月前，在这里，说服你们为了美国的解放选举乔治·华盛顿为军队总司令。如果我对给予他的支持稍有犹豫，就让我的手断掉、舌碎掉！

战争必须继续。我们必须坚持战斗。如果战争必须继续，为什么要推迟独立宣言的发表？这样做，会使我们更加团结有力。它会让我们的名声传遍世界。然后，国家会与我们交往，而如果我们承认自己只是拿着武器反对自己君主的臣民，其他国家永远不会这样做。不，如果我们独立，我相信英格兰自己也很快会与我们谋求和平，而不是通过废止她的行为，承认她曾经压迫并虐待过我们。这样，与向她的反叛的臣民屈服相比，她的骄傲也会受到较小伤害。如果能与我们谋求和平解决，她会认为这是命运，而如果她是在与自己叛变的臣民对话，她会感到深深的屈辱。那么，为什么我们不把这场内战变为一场国家战争？而且，既然我们必须坚持战斗，我们为什么不使自己能够享受到所有这些胜利的好处呢？

如果我们失败的话，也不会更糟。但是，我们不应该失败。这一事业会带来陆战队，这一事业会带来海军。而人民——如果我们对人民真心相待的话，人民会帮助我们，帮助他们自己完成这场光辉的战斗。我不在乎其他民族是多么无情。我了解这些殖民地上的人民，我了解，对不列颠侵犯的仇视，深植于他们的心中，无法抹去。先生，独立宣言会鼓舞这些人民，使他们的气势更加高涨。持续、血腥的战争，使他们重新获得平等的权利，使正义得到伸张，使豁免权得到承认，但是除此之外，赋予他们完全的自由。这样他们会得到新的生命。在陆军军队面前宣读这份宣言，士兵们会高擎着剑，庄严发誓誓死维护。在教堂的讲台前宣读，宗教是支持它的，人们对宗教自由的热爱会使他们拥护它，决心保卫它。将它张贴在公共礼堂，在那里宣读，他们的儿子和兄弟死于庞克山的田野里，或莱克星顿和康科德的街道上，让他们的亲人看看我们的宣言，他们会给我们支持。

先生，通过这些天发生的事，我发现事情是多么变幻无常，但是，你和我有朝一日真的可能会对此后悔不已。我们可能等不到独立宣言发表的那一天。我们会死亡，作为殖民地居民死亡，作为奴隶死亡，或者也可能不光彩地死于绞刑架。那么就这样吧，就这样吧。不论何时，如果上天希望我为我的国家献上我卑微的生命，我绝不会犹豫。但在我还活着的时候，让我拥有一个国家吧，或至少让我能盼望一个国家吧，一个自由的国家。

不论我们的命运怎样，请确保宣言矗立不倒。那需要财富，那需要鲜血，但是只要它矗立不倒，不论是财富还是鲜血，都是值得的。透过现实的迷雾，我看到未来的希望，它的光芒像天堂中的太阳。我们能够让它成为辉煌、不朽的一天。当我们已长眠于坟墓，我们的后代会记得。他们会充满感激地用欢宴、篝火和灯彩庆祝。每年的这一天，他们会流下热泪——籁籁而出的热泪，不是因为他们的臣民或奴隶身份，不是因为痛苦或穷困，而是因为喜悦，因为感激，因为欢乐。

先生，在上帝面前，我确信，这一时刻正在到来。我的判断证实了这点，我将所有精力投入其中。我将我所拥有的一切，将我的人格、我的希望都作为赌注。在我开始的那一刻，已经将生死置之度外，现在，我的一切努力都是为了独立宣言。它是我活着的信念，愿上帝保佑，在我离开尘世时，它仍是我的信念。现在独立，永远独立！

（丹尼尔·韦伯斯特）

丹尼尔·韦伯斯特（1782～1852年），生于新罕布什尔州的萨里斯伯里。其童年中有几个月是在埃克塞特的飞利浦斯学院度过的，后来到了新罕布什尔州博斯卡文的塞缪尔·伍德街。1801年，他从达特毛斯学院毕业，在上学期间及毕业以后教过几个学期的书。1805年，他获得了波士顿律师资格，并在此后11年间在新罕布什尔从事法律工作。1812年，他当选为美国众议院议员，1816年，他搬家到波士顿，1827年当选为美国参议院议员，并一直作了12年。1841年，他被任命为美国国务卿。1845年，他返回议会。1850年，他再次当选为美国国务卿，并在去世之前一直担任此职。他在马萨诸塞州马施菲尔德的住所中去世。韦伯斯特先生的国务论文和演讲非常著名，他是一位有威望的、严肃的演讲家，他的英语纯正、清晰，一生对农业非常感兴趣，并喜欢户外运动。

SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS

Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that, in the beginning, we aimed not at independence. But“There's a divinity that shapes our ends.”

The injustice of England has driven us to arms; and blinded to her own interest, she has obstinately persisted, till independence is now within our grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and it is ours. Why then should we defer the declaration? Is any man so weak as now to hope for a reconciliation with England, which shall leave either safety to the country and its liberties, or security to his own life and his own honor! Are not you, sir, who sit in that chair, is not he, our venerable colleague, near you, are you not both already the proscribed and predestined objects of punishment and of vengeance? Cut off from all hope of royal clemency, what are you, what can you be, while the power of England remains, but outlaws?

If we postpone independence, do we mean to carry on, or to give up, the war? Do we mean to submit, and consent that we shall be ground to powder, and our country and its rights trodden down in the dust? I know we do not mean to submit. We NEVER shall submit! Do we intend to violate that most solemn obligation ever entered into by men, that plighting, before God, of our sacred honor to Washington, when, putting him forth to incur the dangers of war, as well as the political hazards of the times, we promised to adhere to him in every extremity with our fortunes and our lives? I know there is not a man here, who would not rather see a general conflagration sweep over the land, or an earthquake sink it, than one jot or tittle of that plighted faith fall to the ground. For myself, having twelve months ago, in this place, moved you that George Washington be appointed commander of the forces raised, or to be raised, for the defense of American liberty; may my right hand forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I hesitate or waver in the support I give him.

The war, then, must go on. We must fight it through. And if the war must go on, why put off the Declaration of Independence? That measure will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad. Nations will then treat with us, which they never can do while we acknowledge ourselves subjects in arms against our sovereign. Nay, I maintain that England herself will sooner treat for peace with us on the footing of independence, than consent, by repealing her acts, to acknowledge that her whole conduct toward us has been a course of injustice and oppression. Her pride will be less wounded by submitting to that course of things, which now predestinates our independence, than by yielding the points in controversy to her rebellious subjects. The former, she would regard as the result of fortune; the latter, she would feel as her own deep disgrace. Why, then, do we not change this from a civil to a national war? And since we must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to enjoy all the benefits of victory, if we gain the victory.

If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The cause will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The people—the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will carry themselves, gloriously through this struggle. I care not how fickle other people have been found. I know the people of these colonies; and I know that resistance to British aggression is deep and settled in their hearts, and can not be eradicated. Sir, the Declaration of Independence will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead of a long and bloody war for the restoration of privileges, for redress of grievances, for chartered immunities, held under a British king, set before them the glorious object of entire independence, and it will breathe into them anew the spirit of life.

Read this declaration at the head of the army; every sword will be drawn, and the solemn vow uttered to maintain it, or perish on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit; religion will approve it, and the love of religious liberty will cling around it, resolved to stand with it or fall with it. Send it to the public halls; proclaim it there; let them see it who saw their brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill and in the streets of Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in its support.

Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see—I see clearly through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. We may not live to see the time this declaration shall be made good. We may die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be, ignominiously and on the scaffold. Be it so: be it so. If it be the pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering of my life, the victim shall be ready at the appointed hour of sacrifice, come when that hour may. But while I do live, let me have a country, or at least the hope of a country, and that a FREE country.

But whatever may be our fate, be assured—be assured that this Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Through the thick gloom of the present I see the brightness of the future as the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and illuminations. On its annual return they will shed tears,—copious, gushing tears; not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy.

Sir, before God I believe the hour is come. My judgment approves the measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall by my dying sentiment; independence now, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER.

（Daniel Webster）

第22课　纽卡斯尔公爵的故事

纽卡斯尔公爵，托马斯·赫尔斯·帕勒姆（1693～1768年），在英国国王乔治二世统治时期是主要的执政官之一。

关于纽卡斯尔郡公爵，有一个十分有趣的故事，这个有趣的故事又广为人们传诵。不过，人们传诵的方式、形式却又各不相同。这个贵族有许多优点，却喜欢在不适当的场合轻许诺言，而且他还有一个自以为得意的优点：那就是当他接见各种各样拜见他的人的时候，当对方刚张口还没有说出话的时候，他就自作聪明地知道对方想要说什么，或者想从他那里得到什么。在许多场合，这会使他陷入尴尬境地，因为他这样做不是让自己难堪，就是让对方难堪。尽管如此，他还是乐此不疲，真是江山易改，本性难易。也就是他过于轻许诺言，才发生了下面这个多少带有喜剧色彩的故事：

在英格兰康沃尔康沃尔，英格兰西南端的一个地区，位于一座由大西洋和英吉利海峡环绕的半岛上，此地的锡和铜在古希腊商人中很有名。郡某一个市镇的选举中，竞选双方旗鼓相当，相互之间互不相让，只要有一张选票就能够决定出竞选双方谁输谁赢。因此，这张选票就显得十分重要了。在经过一阵激烈的辩论之后，公爵推荐的候选人最终当选。在向民众表示感谢之际，公爵不断地向公众许诺。特别对那个投了举足轻重一票的康沃尔选民，公爵更是热情拥抱，大加赞许，称他是他在这一世界上最好的、最亲密的朋友，并宣称他将永远感激这个选民，随时都愿意为他服务。

我们这个幸运的康沃尔选民是一个诚实的人，他从来没有想到自己会受到公爵如此崇高的赞许，因此受宠若惊。在公爵再三要求下，他再一次感谢公爵对他的厚爱。然后他告诉公爵说，监管税收的官员年老体弱，不知公爵是否愿意向委员会推荐他的女婿，这样一旦这位税收官员去世了，他的女婿就可以充任这个职务。

“我最亲爱的朋友，就这么一个小小的要求还值得你说出来吗？”公爵先生很慷慨地说，“这不过是一件小小的事情而已，一旦这个职务空缺，你的那个亲戚就可以填补。只要你到时候告诉我一声，我就会帮你这个小忙的。”

“可是，我怎样才能见到您呢，我尊贵的殿下？要知道，在伦敦要拜见像您这样尊贵的人是不容易的。尽管您对我是如此的仁慈与关爱，但是，要见到您却还是一件不容易的事情。”

“一旦税务官去世，”公爵回答道，“你就快马加鞭地赶赴伦敦，直达我的官邸，无论是白天还是黑夜，不管是刮风还是下雨，我会给我的门卫留下话，让他直接把你引来见我，而那个空缺的职务将根据你的愿望属于你的亲戚。”

选举结束以后，众人都散去了，公爵驾着车来到附近一个朋友那里去了，你一杯，我一杯，几杯酒下肚之后，他就把自己的诺言忘却了。7年过去了，公爵早已经忘记了自己许下的诺言，把这个插曲抛到九霄云外去了，从来没想到过再见他这个一面之交的朋友。但是，我们的康沃尔选民却是一直没有忘记这件事情，也没有忘记公爵的承诺。那个体弱多病的税务官去世了，公爵这位地位低下的朋友想到了公爵。他十分相信公爵一诺千金的话语，便快马加鞭地赶到了伦敦，直接来到公爵的官邸门前。

这里需要交代一下：就在这个时候，西班牙国王西班牙国王，这里指费尔南多六世，当时是西班牙国王，于1759年去世。已经病重，每时每刻都有可能离开人世，而这时我们的公爵——英国首相十分关注这件事情。就在康沃尔选民赶到公爵官邸门前的那天夜里，纽卡斯尔郡公爵非常焦急地等待着来自马德里的消息。由于白天公务劳累，再加上西班牙国王的事情使他情绪不定，因此公爵早早就回房休息去了。临休息之前，公爵特别嘱咐门房不要休息，等候着报信的人。报信人一旦来到，门房要一刻也不耽搁地把报信人带去见他。

在嘱咐完了之后，公爵就躺倒在床上呼呼大睡了。而门房呢？那天夜里，他坐在一把椅子上也睡着了。当我们的康沃尔选民来到的时候，门卫早已睡得一塌糊涂了。这位康沃尔选民在经过了好一阵努力之后，终于把这个门卫叫醒。醒过来之后，康沃尔选民的第一问题是：“公爵大人在家吗？”门房回答说，“在家，正在床上睡觉呢。不过，他老人家特别吩咐说，只要你来到这里，你可以马上去见他。”

“愿上帝保佑他！他是多么诚实，多么令人尊敬呀！”我们这位前来寻求填补空缺职务的康沃尔选民微笑着、点着头对首相大人的仁慈与厚爱表示由衷地感谢，“他老人家是多么守信用呀！我知道他不会欺骗我的。以前，人们总是说贵族统治者、公爵是不守信用的。现在我再也不相信这些鬼话了，我真正相信他们是守信用、信守诺言、诚实的人。”我们这位康沃尔选民一边走上公爵家的台阶，一边赞叹说，门房直接把他引到公爵的卧室里去拜见公爵。

“他死了吗？”公爵大人揉了揉眼迷迷糊糊地问道。他刚才做梦梦见了西班牙国王，“他真的死去了吗？”

“是的，我尊敬的公爵大人，”我们的康沃尔选民惊喜地发现公爵对他在选举时许下的诺言还记得这么清楚——公爵一点儿也没有忘记当年的诺言，现在这一切就如同发生在昨天一样。

“他什么时候死去的？”

“前天，凌晨一点半。他在床上整整躺了3个星期，然后就死去了。我希望公爵大人的诺言就像公爵大人的仁慈一样，能够允许我的女婿填补他的空缺。”

纽卡斯尔公爵大人直到这个时候才完全清醒过来。在一开始的时候，他就对在这么短的时间里收到来自马德里的消息感到吃惊，这下更加疑惑了，因为这个送信人希望他的女婿继承西班牙国王王位，这简直是不可思议的事情：这个送信的人难道是喝酒喝多了，还是发疯了？“你带的信件呢？”公爵大声地问道。然后急急地拉开了床帐，定睛一看，站在床边的不是什么国王的信使，而是他的那个胖胖的、欢天喜地的老朋友康沃尔选民，只见他弯着腰、肥胖的手里拿着帽子说道：“我真诚地希望公爵大人不会忘记曾经慷慨地许过的诺言，您答应过我，说让我的女婿接替这个税务官员，填补他的空缺。”

由于遭到我们的康沃尔选民的一番打扰，公爵大人心情十分不悦，再加上对西班牙消息的失望，公爵大人心情着实不好，就这样过了片刻之后，他的许多优点使他忘记了这些不快。他仔细地对事情发生的经过做了一个回顾，对这么巧合的事情感到十分好笑，不由躺倒在床上哈哈大笑起来，这也使得门房和我们的康沃尔选民跟着大笑起来。

后来，故事的讲述者告诉了故事的结局：“尽管纽卡斯尔郡公爵没有能力使他的老朋友的亲戚登上西班牙国王的宝座，但他还是有那么一点小小的权力，让他的朋友的亲戚当上了税务官，填补了他朋友向往已久的空缺。”

ANECDOTE OF THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE

A laughable story was circulated during the administration of the old Duke of Newcastle, and retailed to the public in various forms. This nobleman, with many good points, was remarkable for being profuse of his promises on all occasions, and valued himself particularly on being able to anticipate the words or the wants of the various persons who attended his levees, before they uttered a word. This sometimes led him into ridiculous embarrassment; and it was this proneness to lavish promises, which gave occasion for the following anecdote:

At the election of a certain borough in Cornwall, where the opposite interests were almost equally poised, a single vote was of the highest importance. This object the Duke, by well applied argument and personal application, at length attained; and the gentleman he recommended, gained the election. In the warmth of gratitude, his grace poured forth acknowledgments and promises without ceasing, on the fortunate possessor of the casting vote; called him his best and dearest friend; protested, that he should consider himself as forever indebted to him; and that he would serve him by night or by day.

The Cornish voter, who was an honest fellow, and would not have thought himself entitled to any reward, but for such a torrent of acknowledgments, thanked the Duke for his kindness, and told him the supervisor of excise was old and infirm, and, if he would have the goodness to recommend his son in law to the commissioners, in case of the old man's death, he should think himself and his family bound to render his grace every assistance in their power, on any future occasion.

“My dear friend, why do you ask for such a trifling employment?”exclaimed his grace;“your relative shall have it the moment the place is vacant, if you will but call my attention to it.”

“But how shall I get admitted to you, my lord? For in London, I understand, it is a very difficult business to get a sight of you great folks, though you are so kind and complaisant to us in the country.”

“The instant the man dies,”replied the Duke,“set out posthaste for London; drive directly to my house, and, be it by night or by day, thunder at the door; I will leave word with my porter to show you upstairs directly; and the employment shall be disposed of according to your wishes.”

The parties separated; the Duke drove to a friend's house in the neighborhood, without a wish or desire to see his new acquaintance till that day seven years; but the memory of the Cornish elector, not being burdened with such a variety of objects, was more retentive. The supervisor died a few months after, and the Duke's humble friend, relying on the word of a peer, was conveyed to London posthaste, and ascended with alacrity the steps of that nobleman's palace.

The reader should be informed, that just at this time, no less a person than the King of Spain was expected hourly to depart this life, an event in which the minister of Great Britain was particularly concerned; and the Duke of Newcastle, on the very night that the proprietor of the decisive vote arrived at his door, had sat up anxiously expecting dispatches from Madrid. Wearied by official business and agitated spirits, he retired to rest, having previously given particular instructions to his porter not to go to bed, as he expected every minute a messenger with advices of the greatest importance, and desired that he might be shown upstairs, the moment of his arrival.

His grace was sound asleep; and the porter, settled for the night in his armchair, had already commenced a sonorous nap, when the vigorous arm of the Cornish voter roused him from his slumbers. To his first question,“Is the Duke at home?”the porter replied,“Yes, and in bed; but has left particular orders that, come when you will, you are to go up to him directly.”

“Bless him, for a worthy and honest gentleman,”cried our applicant for the vacant post, smiling and nodding with approbation at the prime minister's kindness,“how punctual his grace is; I knew he would not deceive me; let me hear no more of lords and dukes not keeping their words; I verily believe they are as honest, and mean as well as any other folks.”Having ascended the stairs as he was speaking, he was ushered into the Duke's bedchamber.

“Is he dead?”exclaimed his grace, rubbing his eyes, and scarcely awakened from dreaming of the King of Spain,“Is he dead?”

“Yes, my lord,”replied the eager expectant, delighted to find the election promise, with all its circumstances, so fresh in the nobleman's memory.

“When did he die?”

“The day before yesterday, exactly at half past one o'clock, after being confined three weeks to his bed, and taking a power of doctor's stuff; and I hope your grace will be as good as your word, and let my son in law succeed him.”

The Duke, by this time perfectly awake, was staggered at the impossibility of receiving intelligence from Madrid in so short a space of time; and perplexed at the absurdity of a king's messenger applying for his son in law to succeed the King of Spain:“Is the man drunk, or mad? Where are your dispatches?”exclaimed his grace, hastily drawing back his curtain; where, instead of a royal courier, he recognized at the bedside, the fat, good humored countenance of his friend from Cornwall, making low bows, with hat in hand, and“hoping my lord would not forget the gracious promise he was so good as to make, in favor of his son in law, at the last election.”

Vexed at so untimely a disturbance, and disappointed of news from Spain, the Duke frowned for a moment; but chagrin soon gave way to mirth, at so singular and ridiculous a combination of circumstances, and, yielding to the impulse, he sunk upon the bed in a violent fit of laughter, which was communicated in a moment to the attendants.

The relater of this little narrative, concludes, with observing,“Although the Duke of Newcastle could not place the relative of his old acquaintance on the throne of His Catholic Majesty, he advanced him to a post not less honorable—he made him an exciseman.”

第23课　阿布萨洛姆之死

本文节选自《圣经》。阿布萨洛姆是大卫王的第三个儿子，因背叛大卫王而被杀。本文讲的就是阿布萨洛姆被杀的故事。

大卫数了数跟随他的人，并在他们当中挑选了他们的头儿。然后，大卫将这部分人分作三份，其中的一份由约亚带领，另外的三分之一由约亚的兄弟泽鲁亚带领，最后的三分之一由意泰带领。

然后，大卫王对所的将士们说：“我一定要随同大家一起上战场，追杀那些以色列人。”但是，人们都大声地叫喊说：“您不应当跟随大家上战场，因为如果我们逃走的话，以色列人是不在意我们的，如果我们当中有一半人死了，他们也不会在乎我们的，但是现在，对于我们来说，您抵得上成千上万个我们，所以你应该让我们出城去。”大卫王说：“好吧，你们觉得怎么办好，就怎么办。”

因此，大卫王站在门口，所有人都出来了，成千上万的人都朝城外走去。率领着约亚、阿布什、意泰的大卫王说：“看在我的面子上，不要太难为那些年轻人，即使对阿布萨洛姆也是如此。”当大卫王这样吩咐的时候，所有的人都听见了他们说的话。

然后，所有人都走了出来，来到战场上攻打以色列，而战争就在以色列的树林里展开。在这场战斗中，以色列人被杀死在大卫王的仆人面前，而就在那天，一共杀死了两万多人。那次战争在整个以色列国家境内展开。然后，阿布萨洛姆遇到了大卫王的仆人。阿布萨洛姆骑在一头骡子身上，当骡子从一个粗大的树枝下面走过时，他的头被挂在树枝上，就这样，他被悬挂在天与地之间，而那个骡子就跑走了。

有一个人发现了阿布萨洛姆，就把这件事报告给了约亚说：“哎呀，我见到阿布萨洛姆挂在一棵橡树上了。”然后，约亚就对向他报告的那个人说：“既然你看到了他挂在树上，那么，你为什么不把他击倒在地上呢？那样的话，我会奖赏你10个希伯来银币和一个腰带。”然后，那人对约亚说：“即使我能够因此而收到1000枚银币，我也不会动一动大卫王的儿子，因为我们听到了大卫王对你、阿布什和意泰说，谁也不能动那个年轻的阿布萨洛姆，否则的话，我就违背了自己生命的旨意，因为没有什么事情可以隐瞒过大卫王的，而你也不能因此这件事情而责怪我。”

接下来，约亚说：“我没有必要与你停留在这里，与你理论。”说着，他拿着3个飞镖，然后直朝阿布萨洛姆的心脏刺去，因为那个时候他还活着。然后，约亚的10个年轻人围了上来，把阿布萨洛姆击倒在地，并杀死了他。然后，约亚吹响了号角，那些追赶以色列的人就都赶回来了。

现在，他们抬阿布萨洛姆的死尸，把他扔到一个树木坑里面，再在他身上堆满了石头。所有的以色列人都逃走了，大家都又回到了自己的帐篷里。阿布萨洛姆在生前的时候，为自己建造了一个石柱，这个石柱就在大卫王的峡谷里。大卫王说：“我已经没有自己的儿子作为留念了！”因此，他把这个石柱命名为阿布萨洛姆石柱。

然后，扎道克的儿子阿意马兹说：“让我去向国王报告这个消息吧！让我告诉他，主是怎样惩罚他的敌人的。”约亚对他说：“今天不行，你今天不能去向大卫王报告这个消息，你应当在另外一天向他报告这个消息，但是今天是不行的，今天，你什么消息也不能向大卫王报告，因为大卫王自己的儿子死了。”然后，约亚对库什说：“走吧，你去向大卫王报告你所看到的。”库什向约亚敬了个礼，转身就走了。

然后，扎道克的儿子阿意马兹再次对约亚说：“尽管大卫王的儿子死了，无论如何，我还是请求你，让我跟从在库什的后面，向他报告这个消息吧！”然后，约亚说：“我的孩子，无论如何你都要去报告这个消息吗？即使现在什么消息也没有了？是这样的吗？”“无论如何，我也要去的。”阿意马兹回答说，“让我赶快报告吧！”约亚没办法，只好对扎道克说，“走吧！”于是，阿意马兹就穿过平原，很快地走过了库什。

大卫王这时候就坐在两个门之间，看守走到城墙上面观望，他张望着，然后，他发现有一个人匆匆向这里跑过来了。于是，这个看守就大声地把这个消息报告给了大卫。大卫说：“如果他是一个人，他肯定是前来报告消息的。”说着，那个人就走近了许多，马上就到了大卫的跟前。接着，看守又发现另外一个人在跑，于是他就告诉守门人说：“哎呀，又有一个人跑过来了。”大卫说：“他肯定是前来报告消息的。”不过，看守说：“我认为，关键就在于这一次跑过来的是扎道克的儿子阿意马兹，而且他跑在最前面。”大卫说：“他是一个善良的人，因此，他前来报告的消息肯定是好消息。”

阿意马兹叫喊着，告诉大卫王说：“所有的一切都很好。”然后，他脸朝下倒在大卫王的面前，说：“上帝保佑，上帝惩罚了我王，便派人前来与我王作对。”于是，大卫就问：“那个年轻的阿布萨洛姆现在安全吗？”阿意马兹回答说：“当约亚派我王的仆人的时候，而我也是我王的仆人，我看到了人们在喧闹，但是，我不知道那是为什么。”于是，大卫就对他说：“到一边去吧，站在那里。”于是，阿意马兹就掉转头，静静地站到了一边。

哎呀，库什到了，然后，他就告诉大卫说：“主啊，我向您报告一个消息。上帝惩罚了那些与您作对的人。”于是，大卫向库什问道：“那个年轻人现在安全吗？”库什回答道：“我们的王的敌人，所有的那些起来造反的人，那些给您造成伤害的人，都会像那个年轻人一样的下场的。”

大卫王明白了，也很感动，于是离开座，哭泣着向内室走去。他走的时候，这样说道：“哦，天哪！我的儿子阿布萨洛姆！我的儿子！我的儿子阿布萨洛姆！上帝啊，我情愿为他而死！我的儿子！我的儿子啊！阿布萨洛姆。”

DEATH OF ABSALOM

David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai, the Gittite.

And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, thou shalt not go forth; for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us; but now thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou succor us out of the city. And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best, I will do.

And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.

So the people went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver and a girdle. And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son; for, in our hearing, the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. Otherwise, I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life; for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldst have set thyself against me.

Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men that bare Joab's armor, compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people.

And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him; and all Israel fled, everyone to his tent. Now Absalom, in his lifetime, had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance; and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called unto this day, Absalom's Place.

Then said Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies. And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead. Then said Joab to Cushi, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.

Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.

And David sat between the two gates; and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, a man running alone. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.

And the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold, another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. And the watchman said, Methinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.

And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. And the king said unto him, Turn aside and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.

And behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings my lord the king; for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

第24课　本杰明·富兰克林初到费城

那天晚上，我沿着河边走着。就在这时，一条前往费城的小船从我旁边经过，船上还有几个人。他们让我上了船，于是，我就开始了前往费城的路途。一路上，由于没有刮风，所以，我们一行几人不得不摇着船朝费城游去。到了夜半时分，我们还没有看到费城的踪影，不过，我的几个同伴信心十足地说，我们肯定是错过了费城，我们说什么也不能再向前走了；而另外的那部分人也不知道我们在什么地方。因此，我们就来到一个小溪边上，靠了河岸，就着一个破旧的栅栏泊了船，上了岸。由于当时是10月份，天气已是渐渐转凉了。夜半时分的天气格外冷，于是我们生了火，就在火堆旁，我们一直呆到天亮。

天亮的时候，我们的一个同伴告诉说，我们所在的小溪是库珀河，在费城的上游不远处。于是我们上了船，朝费城的方向摇去。不久，我们就看到了费城，大约早上八、九点钟的时候，我们到了费城，当时是一个星期天。于是我们就在市场街的码头上了岸。

我在描述我的这次经历的时候特别注意细节，在我叙述第一次来到费城的时候也会这样的，这样你就可以比较一下，刚刚到费城的时候的我与现在的我该有多么大的差别。

我身穿工作装，那是我在海上的时候所能够弄到的最好衣服了。经过长途跋涉之后，我身上肮脏不堪，口袋里装着袜子和衬衫，由于口袋太小，它们大概由于呆在口袋里十分憋气，于是都从口袋里探出头来。在费城，我一个人也不认识，也不知道自己该到哪里去住宿。由于一路跋涉、划船，我特别劳累，我急切需要休息。我感到特别饥饿，特别想饱餐一顿。可是，这时候，我所有的财产除了一枚荷兰盾之外，还有一个先令的铜板。那一先令，我给了让我搭乘船的主人，算作我的旅费。船主开始的时候不愿意要我的钱，因为我帮他划船了，但是，我坚持要他收下——当一个人有很少的钱而不是很多钱的时候，他有时就显得特别慷慨，也许就是因为害怕别人认为他十分贫穷的缘故吧！不管怎么说，穷人是最大方的，要不然，怎么会有“穷大方”这一说呢？

然后，我就沿着大街走着，观察着周围的一切。后来，我来到了市场货栈附近，我看到了一个手里拿着面包的男孩。多少天来，我仅靠面包维持生命。于是，我走上前去，问那个男孩他从哪里弄来的面包，待那个男孩给我指了路之后，我立即朝第二条大街的面包店里走去。我向面包师傅要了小点心，我想这就跟在波士顿一样。但是，在费城，好像面包师傅不做小点心。于是，我就要了一条三便士的面包，而面包师傅告诉我他现在没有这种面包了。于是，我也就不再考虑或者知道价钱的多少，也不管他做的是什么样的面包，我要他给我三便士的面包，不管什么样的，只要能吃都行。于是，面包师傅根据我说的三便士，给了我3个特别大的面包卷。虽然我对他给我那么多的面包感到吃惊，我还是收下了那3个大面包卷。由于我的口袋里塞满了衬衫和袜子，于是，我只好在每个胳臂下面夹着一个面包卷，然后吃着另外一个，朝大街上走去。

就这样，我边吃边走，直到我来到市场街的第四条大街。就在我经过里德先生——我未来的岳父大人的家门口时，站在门口的她看到了我。她认为我的样子十分好笑——我想我当时的样子的确十分好笑，也非常笨拙。看着她看我的那种面部表情，我就掉转头，沿着樱桃大街向前走，一路上吃着我买来的大面包卷，四处游荡，后来，又来到了市场大街的码头。我走近那条船，喝了几口河水。由于一个大面包卷已经填满了我的肚子，于是我就把另外的两个面包卷给了同我一起坐船的带着一个孩子的妇女，她正在等船继续往前走。

就这样，我吃了面包，也喝了水，一切都渐渐恢复过来，也感觉好了许多。于是，我再次沿着大街走去，这一次，大街上有许多衣着整洁的人们，他们都朝着一个方向走去，走的是同一条道。我也就加入到他们的行列，跟随着他们，我来到一个很大的教友派信徒聚集的地方，这个聚会场所就在市场附近。我在他们中间找了一个位子坐了下来。我向四周打量了好一会儿，也没有听到有人说话。由于长途跋涉和劳累，我感到十分困倦，不知不觉中我就入睡了。我一直睡到他们会议结束，直到一个善良的人把我叫醒。这个地方，就是我到费城之后停留或者说睡觉的第一个地方。

再次沿着大街朝河边走去，一路上，我打量着过往的行人。就在这时，我遇到了一个年轻的教友派信徒。他给我留下的印象不错，于是我上前与他搭话，向他打听什么地方可以住宿。当时，我们就在3个水手旅店附近。“这里就可以，”他说，“游客在这里就可以得到很好的休息，但是这家旅店名声不是很好。你要是同我再向前多走一段路程，我会帮你找一家更好的旅店。”于是，他就带我来到了沃特街的拐子旅店。在拐子旅店，我吃了午饭。正当我吃饭的时候，店主问了我几个问题。店主可能因为我很年轻，从表面看，我又显得十分狼狈，他怀疑我是逃跑出来的。午饭过后，我又感到十分困倦，于是我找了一张床，衣服也没脱，躺倒在床上就睡着了，就这样，一直睡了6个小时，直到夜晚来临。店主把我叫了起来，说是该吃晚饭了。吃过晚饭之后，我又接着睡，直到第二天早上。

（本杰明·富兰克林）

本杰明·富兰克林（1706～1790年），生于波士顿，小时候接受的学校教育不多，但是得益于他从事印刷工作的哥哥，他接触到了许多书籍，从而培养了热爱读书与学习的习惯。1723年，他来到费城，后来成为《宾夕法尼亚公报》的出版人，他还出版了非常著名的《穷理查德历书》。

富兰克林证明了闪电也是电，从而为世人所知。他对公共事务非常感兴趣，为民众做了不少好事。他12岁的时候就开始文学创作，当时，他写了两首叙事诗民歌。不过，富兰克林后来称这两首叙事诗是最“糟糕的东西”。富兰克林关于电的论文和书信后来被译成拉丁语、法语、德语和意大利语。他的著作当中最为有名的著作就是《富兰克林自传》。

FRANKLIN'S ENTRY INTO PHILADELPHIA

Walking in the evening by the side of the river, a boat came by, which I found was going towards Philadelphia, with several people in her. They took me in, and, as there was no wind, we rowed all the way; and about midnight, not having yet seen the city, some of the company were confident we must have passed it, and would row no farther; the others knew not where we were; so we put toward the shore, got into a creek, landed near an old fence, with the rails of which we made a fire, the night being cold, in October, and there we remained till daylight.

Then one of the company knew the place to be Cooper's Creek, a little above Philadelphia, which we saw as soon as we got out of the creek, and arrived there about eight or nine o'clock on the Sunday morning, and landed at the Market Street wharf.

I have been the more particular in this description of my journey, and shall be so of my first entry into that city, that you may in your mind compare such unlikely beginnings with the figure I have since made there.

I was in my working dress, my best clothes being to come round by sea. I was dirty from my journey; my pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings, and I knew no soul nor where to look for lodging. I was fatigued with traveling, rowing, and want of rest; I was very hungry; and my whole stock of cash consisted of a Dutch dollar, and about a shilling in copper. The latter I gave the people of the boat for my passage, who at first refused it on account of my rowing; but I insisted on their taking it,—a man being sometimes more generous when he has but a little money than when he has plenty, perhaps through fear of being thought to have but little.

Then I walked up the street gazing about, till, near the market house, I met a boy with bread. I had made many a meal on bread, and, inquiring where he got it, I went immediately to the baker's he directed me to, in Second Street, and asked for biscuit, intending such as we had in Boston: but they, it seems, were not made in Philadelphia. Then I asked for a threepenny loaf, and was told they had none such. So not considering or knowing the difference of money, and the greater cheapness nor the names of his bread, I bade him give threepenny worth of any sort. He gave me, accordingly, three great puffy rolls. I was surprised at the quantity, but took it, and, having no room in my pockets, walked off with a roll under each arm, and eating the other.

Thus I went up Market Street as far as Fourth Street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father: when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance.

Then I turned and went down Chestnut Street and part of Walnut Street, eating my roll all the way, and, coming round, found myself again at Market Street wharf, near the boat I came in, to which I went for a draught of the river water; and, being filled with one of my rolls, gave the other two to a woman and her child that came down the river in the boat with us, and were waiting to go farther.

Thus refreshed, I walked again up the street, which by this time had many clean dressed people in it, who were all walking the same way. I joined them, and thereby was led into the great meetinghouse of the Quakers, near the market. I sat down among them, and, after looking round awhile and hearing nothing said, being very drowsy through labor and want of rest the preceding night, I fell fast asleep, and continued so till the meeting broke up, when one was kind enough to rouse me. This was, therefore, the first house I was in, or slept in, in Philadelphia.

Walking down again toward the river, and looking in the faces of people, I met a young Quaker man, whose countenance I liked, and, accosting him, requested he would tell me where a stranger could get lodging. We were then near the sign of the Three Mariners.“Here,”says he,“is one place that entertains strangers, but it is not a reputable house; if thee wilt walk with me, I'll show thee a better.”He brought me to the Crooked Billet, in Water Street. Here I got a dinner; and, while I was eating it, several sly questions were asked me, as it seemed to be suspected from my youth and appearance that I might be some runaway. After dinner my sleepiness returned, and, being shown to a bed, I lay down without undressing, and slept till six in the evening; was called to supper, went to bed again very early, and slept soundly till next morning.

（Benjamin Franklin）

第25课　不要给我王冠

“你要和我们一起去吗？苏珊？”几个小女孩问她们的同学，“苏珊，我们去树林玩，你也一起去吧！”

“我本来很想去的，”苏珊回答，叹了口气又说，“可是我还没有做完奶奶布置给我的任务。”

“假期还要在家干活，”一个女孩摇摇头说，“苏珊的奶奶真是管得太严了。”

苏珊听了这句话，想想自己还要辛苦地干活，擦了擦伤心的泪水，不由地想起了伙伴们要去树林采美丽的花，那将是一个多么美好的下午呀！

不一会儿，一个想法在她头脑中闪现：“改变奶奶在长袜上指定的纹路，应该不会有事吧！今天树林子一定很美，我本应该和她们一起去的。”

“奶奶，”几分钟过后，她说，“我做完了。”“这么快啊！苏珊。”她奶奶拿起长袜，把眼睛靠近袜子看来一下。

“好的，苏珊。”她用一种特别的强调的语气说，“好吧，我数出纹路有二十个转折处，你不会骗奶奶的，剩下的时间，你可以出去玩了。”

苏珊的脸直觉得发烧，她连“谢谢”都没说，就离开了小屋，她慢腾腾地走着不像往常一样边走边唱。

“喂，苏珊！”女孩子们叫到，她加入了他们的队伍，“你不干活了吗？你怎么舍得离开你那可爱的奶奶呀！”她们和她开玩笑说。

“没什么事了。”苏珊回答，她觉得自己尽力在欺骗自己，她撒谎了。同时她耳边又响起奶奶的话：“你不会骗奶奶的。”

“可是我已经骗了她，”她心里想，“如果奶奶知道，她以后肯定不会再信任我了。”

她们在树林中一块空地停下，玩了起来，苏珊的伙伴们都尽情地嬉戏，只有苏珊坐在草地上，想着怎样回家向奶奶坦白。

过了一会，罗斯忽然说：“我们用紫罗兰编一个王冠吧，把它送给我们这里最好的女孩子。”

“编王冠很容易，可是谁戴它呢？”朱莉娅说。

“噢当然是给苏珊了，”罗斯说，“她不仅成绩优秀，在家也最听话了。”

“是，是，王冠应该给苏珊。”其他女孩子都说。她们开始编王冠，不一会儿就完成了

“现在，苏珊”罗斯说，“请你庄重地戴上它吧，你将是我们的女王。”

罗斯说着话，把王冠戴到苏珊的头上，苏珊却立刻把王冠摘了下来扔到地上说：“不要给我戴王冠，我不配的。”

女孩子惊讶地望着她，“我已经骗了我奶奶。”苏珊说着，两行眼泪顺着脸颊流下来，“我为了来这里玩，改变了奶奶定在长袜上的纹路。”

“那有什么呀，”一个女孩说，

“我觉得挺不好的，我在这里一直都很难过。”

苏珊跑回家里，一回到家，顾不上自己心还在咚咚直跳，就去对奶奶说：“奶奶，我改变了你指定的纹路，我该受罚，很对不起奶奶，原谅我好吗？不然我会很难过的。”

苏珊奶奶说：“我知道的。我让你出去，只是要你自己知道错了，现在看到你承认了错误，知道悔过，我很高兴。”

“什么时候我还可以像以前一样，是你最可爱的小女孩呢？”“现在就可以。”伴随着迅速的回答，奶奶亲吻了一下苏珊的前额。

NO CROWN FOR ME

“Will you come with us, Susan?”cried several little girls to a schoolmate.“We are going to the woods; do come, too.”

“I should like to go with you very much,”replied Susan, with a sigh;“but I can not finish the task grandmother set me to do.”

“How tiresome it must be to stay at home to work on a holiday!”said one of the girls, with a toss of her head.“Susan's grandmother is too strict.”

Susan heard this remark, and, as she bent her head over her task, she wiped away a tear, and thought of the pleasant afternoon the girls would spend gathering wild flowers in the woods.

Soon she said to herself,“What harm can there be in moving the mark grandmother put in the stocking? The woods must be very beautiful to day, and how I should like to be in them!”

“Grandmother,”said she, a few minutes afterwards,“I am ready, now.”“What, so soon, Susan?”Her grandmother took the work, and looked at it very closely.

“True, Susan,”said she, laying great stress on each word;“true, I count twenty turns from the mark; and, as you have never deceived me, you may go and amuse yourself as you like the rest of the day.”

Susan's cheeks were scarlet, and she did not say,“Thank you.”As she left the cottage, she walked slowly away, not singing as usual.

“Why, here is Susan!”the girls cried, when she joined their company;“but what is the matter? Why have you left your dear, old grandmother?”they tauntingly added.

“There is nothing the matter.”As Susan repeated these words, she felt that she was trying to deceive herself. She had acted a lie. At the same time she remembered her grandmother's words,“You have never deceived me.”

“Yes, I have deceived her,”said she to herself.“If she knew all, she would never trust me again.”

When the little party had reached an open space in the woods, her companions ran about enjoying themselves; but Susan sat on the grass, wishing she were at home confessing her fault.

After a while Rose cried out,“Let us make a crown of violets, and put it on the head of the best girl here.”

“It will be easy enough to make the crown, but not so easy to decide who is to wear it,”said Julia.

“Why, Susan is to wear it, of course,”said Rose:“is she not said to be the best girl in school and the most obedient at home?”

“Yes, yes; the crown shall be for Susan,“ cried the other girls, and they began to make the crown. It was soon finished.

“Now, Susan,”said Rose,“put it on in a very dignified way, for you are to be our queen.”

As these words were spoken, the crown was placed on her head. In a moment she snatched it off, and threw it on the ground, saying,“No crown for me; I do not deserve it.”

The girls looked at her with surprise.“I have deceived my grandmother,”said she, while tears flowed down her cheeks.“I altered the mark she put in the stocking, that I might join you in the woods.”

“Do you call that wicked?”asked one of the girls.

“I am quite sure it is; and I have been miserable all the time I have been here.”

Susan now ran home, and as soon as she got there she said, with a beating heart,“O grandmother! I deserve to be punished, for I altered the mark you put in the stocking. Do forgive me; I am very sorry and unhappy.”

“Susan,”said her grandmother,“I knew it all the time; but I let you go out, hoping that your own conscience would tell you of your sin. I am so glad that you have confessed your fault and your sorrow.”

“When shall I be your own little girl again?”“Now,”was the quick reply, and Susan's grandmother kissed her forehead.

第四辑

第1课　擦鞋童亨利

亨利是一个善良的小男孩，他的父亲已经过世了，母亲非常贫穷，他还有一个两岁大的妹妹。

他想帮帮他母亲，因为他母亲赚的钱总是不足以养家糊口。

一天，有位先生给了他1美元，因为他帮这位先生找到了他丢失的笔记本。

亨利将钱存了起来，放在了一个其他人找不到的地方。他母亲教育他要做一个诚实的人，绝不要拿那些并不属于自己的东西。

他用这1美元买了1个盒子、3把鞋刷和1盒鞋油。于是他来到街角，对每位鞋并不太干净的人说：“请让我给您的鞋擦擦油吧，先生？”

他是那样的有礼貌，以至于那些先生很快便都注意到了他，而且十分乐意让他给鞋擦油。第一天他便带回家50美分，把它们给了母亲去买食品。

当他把钱给母亲的时候，母亲流下了高兴的泪水，“你真是一个可爱的好孩子，亨利。我不知道如何赚更多的钱来买面包，但是我现在相信我们将来可以过得更好。”

亨利白天工作，晚上去学校上课。他赚的钱足够维持母亲和小妹妹的生活了。

HENRY, THE BOOTBLACK

Henry was a kind, good boy. His father was dead, and his mother was very poor. He had a little sister about two years old.

He wanted to help his mother, for she could not always earn enough to buy food for her little family.

One day, a man gave him a dollar for finding a pocketbook which he had lost.

Henry might have kept all the money, for no one saw him when he found it. But his mother had taught him to be honest, and never to keep what did not belong, to him.

With the dollar he bought a box, three brushes, and some blacking. He then went to the corner of the street, and said to every one whose boots did not look nice,“Black your boots, sir, please?”

He was so polite that gentlemen soon began to notice him, and to let him black their boots. The first day he brought home fifty cents, which he gave to his mother to buy food with.

When he gave her the money, she said, as she dropped a tear of joy,“You are a dear, good boy, Henry. I did not know how I could earn enough to buy bread with, but now I think we can manage to get along quite well,”

Henry worked all the day, and went to school in the evening. He earned almost enough to support his mother and his little sister.

第2课　蜜蜂

蜜蜂住在一个叫做蜂房的房子里。它们可以分为三种：工蜂、雄蜂和蜂王。

每个蜂房里只能有一只蜂王。如果蜂王失踪或死掉了，其他蜜蜂就会停止自己的工作。

它们是非常聪明而又勤劳的小生灵。所有的蜜蜂都会加入到为酿蜜而建造蜂房的工作中去。

每只蜜蜂都有适合自己的位置，都会努力完成自己分内的工作。一些蜜蜂出去采蜜，另一些则留在蜂房中工作。

它们建造的一个个小巢室的形状和尺寸都一模一样，巢室与巢室之间没有一丝空隙。

巢室并不是圆的，它有6个面。

你看见过玻璃蜂房吗？通过玻璃蜂房可以看到蜜蜂工作时的情景。看到它们总是如此忙碌，这可是件很有趣的事情。

但是雄蜂并不工作。在冬天到来之前，所有的雄蜂都被赶出蜂房或者被杀死，因为它们不能吃那些并非由它们采来的花蜜。

对孩子们来说，用手抓蜜蜂是不安全的。蜜蜂有令人生畏的螫，它们很清楚应如何在防御中使用它的螫。

THE BEE

Bees live in a house that is called a hive. They are of three kinds,—workers, drones, and queens.

Only one queen can live in each hive. If she is lost or dead, the other bees will stop their work.

They are very wise and busy little creatures. They all join together to build cells of wax for their honey.

Each bee takes its proper place, and does its own work. Some go out and gather honey from the flowers; others stay at home and work inside the hive.

The cells which they build, are all of one shape and size, and no room is left between them.

The cells are not round, but have six sides.

Did you ever look into a glass hive to see the bees while at work? It is pleasant to see how busy they always are.

But the drones do not work. Before winter comes, all the drones are driven from the hive or killed, that they may not eat the honey which they did not gather.

It is not quite safe for children to handle bees. They have sharp stings that they know well how to use in their defense.

第3课　妈妈的礼物

杰西和妈妈开了一个很棒的玩笑，让我讲述给你们听。

杰西、杰米和乔一起到树林里去采集圣诞节装饰房间用的绿色树枝。

杰西戴着小帽子，身穿白色皮大衣和红色的套裤。杰西原本是一个快乐的小女孩，但是那天早晨她感到很难过，因为妈妈说：“所有的孩子都会得到圣诞礼物，但我作为当妈妈的就无法拥有了，因为今年我们太穷了。”

杰西把妈妈的话告诉了自己的兄弟们。他们在一起为此展开了很长时间的讨论。

杰米说：“如此慈爱的妈妈竟然没有圣诞礼物，这简直太糟糕了！”

“我不喜欢这样。”小杰西含着眼泪说。

“噢！她有你呀！”乔说。

“但我并不是什么新鲜的东西呀！”杰西说。

“嗯，等你再回到家的时候，你就会是新的了。”乔说，“因为她已经有一个小时没有看到你了。”

杰西边跳边笑，“那就把我放进篮子里带给妈妈吧，就当我是她的圣诞礼物吧。”

于是他们把杰西放进篮子里，在她的周围放满绿色的树枝。这真是一次快乐的旅行。他们把篮子放在门口的台阶上，然后进门对妈妈说：“妈妈，外面有一份给您的圣诞礼物。”

妈妈跑出去一看，她的小女儿正坐在一篮绿树枝中冲她笑呢！

“这正是我最想要的。”妈妈说。

“亲爱的妈妈，”杰西从树叶巢中跳出来说，“我觉得，对妈妈们来说，每天都应该是圣诞节，因为她们每天都可以看到自己的小女儿呀！”

MAMMA'S PRESENT

Jessie played a good joke on her mamma. This is the way she did it.

Jessie had gone to the woods with Jamie and Joe to get green branches to trim up the house for Christmas. She wore her little cap, her white furs, and her red leggings.

She was a merry little girl, indeed; but she felt sad this morning because her mother had said,“The children will all have Christmas presents, but I don't expect any for myself. We are too poor this year.”

When Jessie told her brothers this, they all talked about it a great deal.“Such a good, kind mamma, and no Christmas present! It's too bad.”

“I don't like it,”said little Jessie, with a tear in her eye.

“Oh, she has you,”said Joe.

“But I am not something new,”said Jessie.

“Well, you will be new, Jessie,”said Joe,“when you get back. She has not seen you for an hour.”

Jessie jumped and laughed.“Then put me in the basket, and carry me to mamma, and say, ‘I am her Christmas present.’ ”

So they set her in the basket, and put green branches all around her. It was a jolly ride. They set her down on the doorstep, and went in and said,“There's a Christmas present out there for you, mamma.”

Mamma went and looked, and there, in a basket of green branches, sat her own little laughing girl.

“Just the very thing I wanted most,”said mamma.

“Then, dear mamma,”said Jessie, bounding out of her leafy nest,“I should think it would be Christmas for mammas all the time, for they see their little girls every day.”

第4课　弗兰克和沙漏

弗兰克是一个非常健谈的小男孩，每当他看到一件新东西，总要围绕它提出一大堆的问题。他母亲对他总是非常耐心、和蔼，只要能够比较妥当地回答他提出的问题，她都会那样做的。

有时她会说：“孩子，你现在年龄还小，你提出的问题我给你说了你也不理解。等你10岁的时候，你可以再问我这些问题，我会告诉你的。”

当他母亲这样说时，他就不再强求什么了。他明白当他提出的问题比较合适时，她总会认真地予以回答的。

他第一次看到沙漏（古代的一种计时器）时，就觉得它非常有意思，但他并不知道沙漏是干什么用的。

他母亲说：“沙漏按8字外形制成。人们把沙从一端倒入，让它流过中间的小孔。一个小时能有多少沙子从小孔漏过，人们就往里面装多少沙子。”

弗兰克看着这细细的沙流，感到很不耐烦，因为里面的沙流得实在是太慢了。“让我摇一摇它，妈妈。”他说，“沙流得太慢了，照这样永远也流不完的。”

“哦，对，就是这样的，我的儿子，”他妈妈说：“这沙子尽管流动得不快，但它却一直在流动。”

“当你观察钟表上的指针时，你会发觉它们走得非常慢。它们的确如此。但你别忘了，它们一直都没停下来过。”

“当你去玩耍时，这些沙子仍在一粒粒地流动，就如钟表指针也在走动，一秒接一秒地走动一样。”

“整整一个晚上，沙漏里的沙子要流经小孔12次。时钟上的时针会绕整个一圈。”

“这是因为它们每时每刻都在工作着，它们不会停下来想一想它们必须做多少，做那些工作又将花费多少时间。”

现在弗兰克的妈妈想让他学一首赞美诗，但他说：“妈妈，我可学不会。”

他母亲说：“你要一直坚持学习，决不要停下来问学会它需要多长时间。你过不了多久便能学会的。”

弗兰克听从了母亲的教诲，他一行一行地学习着，学得非常刻苦。一个半小时后，他便能很好地理解赞美诗的含义了。

FRANK AND THE HOURGLASS

Frank was a very talkative little boy. He never saw a new thing without asking a great many questions about it.

His mother was very patient and kind. When it was proper to answer his questions, she would do so.

Sometimes she would say,“You are not old enough to understand that, my son. When you are ten years old, you may ask me about it, and I will tell you.”

When his mother said this, he never teased any more. He knew she always liked to answer him when he asked proper questions.

The first time Frank saw an hourglass, he was very much amused; but he did not know what it was.

His mother said,“An hourglass is made in the shape of the figure 8. The sand is put in at one end, and runs through a small hole in the middle. As much sand is put into the glass as will run through in an hour.”

Frank watched the little stream of sand. He was impatient, because it would not run faster.“Let me shake it, mother,”said he;“it is lazy, and will never get through.”

“Oh yes, it will, my son,”said his mother,“The sand moves by little and little, but it moves all the time. ”

When you look at the hands of the clock, you think they go very slowly, and so they do; but they never stop.

“While you are at play the sand is running, grain by grain, The hands of the clock are moving, second by second. ”

At night, the sand in the hourglass has run through twelve times. The hour hand of the clock has moved all around its great face.

“This because they keep work every minute. They do not stop to think how much they have to do, and how long it will take them to do it.”

Now, Frank's mother wanted him to learn a little hymn; but he said“Mother, I can never learn it.”

His mother said,“Study all the time. Never stop to ask how long it will take to learn it. You will be able to say it very soon.”

Frank followed his mother's advice. He studied line after line, very busily; and in one hour and a half he knew the hymn perfectly.

第5课　可怜的戴维

现在是乡村中学的休息时间，铃声刚响过，孩子们便跑到阳光下，兴高采烈地玩起了游戏。

只有可怜的戴维除外。他最后一个慢慢地走出教室，脸上没有一丝笑容。他遇到了麻烦，金灿灿的阳光也不能让他高兴起来。

他穿过院子，坐在老枫树后的石头上。为让他笑起来，枝头的一只小鸟唱着歌。

但是戴维没有注意到它，他在想着别人对他穿破旧衣服说出的刻薄话，眼泪不知不觉地从他眼里流了出来，顺着他的脸颊往下流。可怜的戴维没了父亲，他的母亲为了能让他上得起学，不得不没日没夜地干活。

直到晚上，他才穿过森林的路回家。此时此刻，他仍旧感到十分悲伤。

戴维不希望让他母亲烦恼，于是在林中逗留了很长时间，最后他在树下面的青苔上躺了一会儿。

恰好他的老师走过来，看到他在那儿，老师停下脚步，温和地说：“有什么麻烦吗，戴维？”

他没有吭声，可他的眼泪已情不自禁地落了下来。

“难道你不想把遇到的麻烦告诉我吗？或许我能帮助你吧。”

于是他把自己遇到的麻烦全都告诉给了老师。当他讲完时，她对他说：“我想我有一个可以帮助你的计划。”

“哦，什么计划呢？”他说着，然后坐直身子，一滴泪水掉在了紫罗兰上。

“好，你愿意当一个小花商吗？”

“去赚钱？”戴维说，“那太好了，不过我到哪儿去弄花呢？”

“就在这片林地，就在这片田野。”他的老师说，“这儿就有许多可爱的蓝色紫罗兰，沿着小溪而下，在我房前的那些岩石上，还有许多漂亮的白色野花。”

从此戴维日复一日地在树林里采集着那些最美丽的野花。在老师的帮助下，他把它们捆成束，然后带到最近的城市去卖。

不久，他挣的钱就足够买新衣服用了。明媚的阳光和小鸟的歌唱让他备感快乐。

POOR DAVY

It was recess time at the village school. The bell had rung, and the children had run out into the bright sunshine, wild with laughter and fun.

All but poor Davy. He came out last and very slowly, but he did not laugh. He was in trouble, and the bright, golden sunlight did not make him glad.

He walked across the yard, and sat down on a stone behind the old maple. A little bird on the highest branch sang just to make him laugh.

But Davy did not notice it. He was thinking of the cruel words that had been said about his ragged clothes. The tears stole out of his eyes, and ran down his cheeks.

Poor Davy had no father, and his mother had to work hard to keep him at school.

That night, he went home by the path that led across the fields and through the woods. He still felt sad.

Davy did not wish to trouble his mother; so he lingered a while among the trees, and at last threw himself on the green moss under them.

Just then his teacher came along. She saw who it was, and stopped, saying kindly,“What is the matter, Davy?”

He did not speak, but the tears began again to start.

“Won't you tell me? Perhaps I can help you.”

Then he told her all his trouble. When he ended, she said, cheerily,“I have a plan, Davy, that I think will help you.”

“Oh, what is it?”he said, sitting up with a look of hope, while a tear fell upon a blue violet.

“Well, how would you like to be a little flower merchant?”

“And earn money?”said Davy.“That would be jolly. But where shall I get my flowers?”

“Right in these woods, and in the fields,”said his teacher.“ Here are lovely blue violets, down by the brook are white ones, and among the rocks are ferns and mosses. Bring them all to my house, and I will help you arrange them.”

So, day after day, Davy hunted the woods for the prettiest flowers, and the most dainty ferns and mosses. After his teacher had helped to arrange them, he took them to the city that was near, and sold them.

He soon earned money enough to buy new clothes. Now the sunshine and the bird's songs make him glad.

第6课　建筑城堡

“猫咪！”赫伯特以生气又泄气的声音嚷道，他堆的积木城堡突然塌了。顽皮的小猫碰到了他的城堡模型，铁塔和城墙呼啦一声全倒在了地上。

赫伯特拾起一块木块，狠狠地朝小猫砸过去。幸运的是，木块只是从小猫的头顶飞过，没有伤害到它。赫伯特又去拿另一块木块。这时他的妹妹赫蒂跳过来一把将小猫抱在了自己怀里。

“不，不要打它。”她说，“你不该打它的，它不是有意的。”

赫伯特一下子没有了愤怒，却变得伤心起来。他一屁股坐在地上，伤心地哭了起来。

“真是个可怜的孩子！”正在沙发上看书的哥哥乔说，“哭是没有用的，再建一个吧。”

“不，我不建了。”赫伯特哭着说。

“这里发生了什么事？”爸爸开门进来问。

“小猫刚刚碰到了赫伯特的城堡，城堡一下子塌了。”赫蒂说，“可是小猫也不是故意的呀，它也不想让它塌掉的，是吗，爸爸？”

“赫伯特，你就为这个哭吗？”

“赫伯特！”爸爸握住赫伯特的手，说道：“站起来！”小男孩从地板上站了起来，站在爸爸旁边，而眼睛里还含着泪水。

“我有一个方法，可以比刚才建的更好。”爸爸说，“如果你用那种方法再建一个，你就不会难过了。我会看到你对着你的新城堡歌唱，而不是一直在这里哭泣。要我教你吗？”

赫伯特点了点头。爸爸蹲下身，在一堆积木块边，开始建新的城堡，赫伯特则在一边静静地看着。

很快，赫伯特对建新的城堡变的比以前更感兴趣了。他开始边唱边工作，所有的烦恼一下子全没了。

“这不是比哭好多了吗？”爸爸说。

“我哭了？”赫伯特问，看来他已经忘掉了几分钟前的伤心事了。

“因为小猫把你的城堡碰塌了呀！”

“哦！”赫伯特的脸上掠过一点点的不高兴，不过很快便消失了。他已经像先前一样高兴地建他的城堡去了。

“我告诉过他不要哭的。”在沙发上看书的乔说。

“如果你的风筝破了，你难道也不哭吗？”赫伯特反驳说。

“风筝和你的城堡是不一样的。”

乔略显伤感地说：“风筝失去了就永远不会回来了，可你的积木则还是和从前一样好，你只要再建一个就可以了呀。”

“不能这么看的。”爸爸说道，“哭泣对你来说，比赫伯特更不应该。细棍和纸都可以很容易找到的，你只需去干点活儿就可以得到新的风筝的呀。”乔低下头看着手上的书本，继续阅读下去。这时，赫伯特的新城堡也建成了。

“比刚才小猫弄坏的那个更漂亮！”赫蒂说。赫伯特显然也觉得它很漂亮，他十分自豪地欣赏着城堡的每一个部分。

“小猫再把它弄坏，我非……”

“再建一个。”爸爸替他补充了下半句话。

“可是，爸爸，不能再让小猫弄坏了，我可真受不了了。”

“那你就得看着它点哟。孩子，你要学着和成年人一样，时刻保持警惕。如果你要上马路，你就必须当心车辆。如果你不想和别人撞在一起，就必须留意别人行进的方向。”

“在房间里，如果你毫不在意地到处走动，就很容易和别人撞在一起。我就看到过一个冒失的小女孩冲进房间时，和一个手里端着满碟的托盘刚要出门的仆人撞在一起了，盘子自然打得满地都是。”

“你是在说我吗？”赫蒂说。

“是的，就是你呀，不过希望你以后不要再发生这样的事情了。”

爸爸接着说：“就像乔说的一样，哭是没有用的。如果你的城堡又塌了的话，再建一个就是了！”说着，爸爸离开了房间。

CASTLE BUILDING

“O pussy!”cried Herbert, in a voice of anger and dismay, as the blockhouse he was building fell in sudden ruin. The playful cat had rubbed against his mimic castle, and tower and wall went rattling down upon the floor.

Herbert took up one of the blocks and threw it fiercely at pussy. Happily, it passed over her and did no harm. His hand was reaching for another block, when his little sister Hetty sprang toward the cat, and caught her up.

“No, no, no!”said she,“you sha’n't hurt pussy!

She did n't mean to do it!”

Herbert's passion was over quickly, and, sitting down upon the floor, he covered his face with his hands, and began to cry.

“What a baby!”said Joe, his elder brother, who was reading on the sofa.“Crying over spilled milk does no good. Build it up again.”

“No, I won't,”said Herbert, and he went on crying.

“What's all the trouble here?”exclaimed papa, as he opened the door and came in.

“Pussy just rubbed against Herbert's castle, and it fell down,”answered Hetty.“But she did n't mean to do it; she did n't know it would fall, did she, papa?”

“Why, no! And is that all the trouble?”

“Herbert!”his papa called, and held out his hands.“Come.”The little boy got up from the floor, and came slowly, his eyes full of tears, and stood by his father.

“There is a better way than this, my boy,”said papa.“If you had taken that way, your heart would have been light already. I should have heard you singing over your blocks instead of crying. Shall I show you that way?”

Herbert nodded his head, and papa sat down on the floor by the pile of blocks, with his little son by his side, and began to lay the foundation for a new castle.

Soon, Herbert was as much interested in castle building as he had been a little while before. He began to sing over his work. All his trouble was gone.

“This is a great deal better than crying, is n't it?”said papa.

“Crying for what?”asked Herbert, forgetting his grief of a few minutes before.

“Because pussy knocked your castle over.”

“Oh!”A shadow flitted across his face, but was gone in a moment, and he went on building as eagerly as ever.

“I told him not to cry over spilled milk,”said Joe, looking down from his place on the sofa.

“I wonder if you did n't cry when your kite string broke,”retorted Herbert.

“Losing a kite is quite another thing,”answered Joe, a little dashed.“The kite was gone forever; but your blocks were as good as before, and you had only to build again.”

“I Don't see,”said papa,“that crying was of any more use in your case then in Herbert's. Sticks and paper are easily found, and you had only to go to work and make another kite.”Joe looked down at his book, and went on reading. By this time the castle was finished.

“It is ever so much nicer than the one pussy knocked down,”said Hetty. And so thought Herbert, as he looked at it proudly from all sides.

“If pussy knocks that down, I'll ”

“Build it up again,”said papa, finishing the sentence for his little boy.

“But, papa, pussy must not knock my castles down. I can't have it,”spoke out Herbert, knitting his forehead.

“You must watch her, then. Little boys, as well as grown up people, have to be often on their guard. If you go into the street, you have to look out for the carriages, so as not to be run over, and you have to keep out of people's way.

“In the house, if you go about heedlessly, you will be very apt to run against some one. I have seen a careless child dash suddenly into a room just as a servant was leaving it with a tray of dishes in her hands. A crash followed.”

“It was I, wasn't it?”said Hetty.

“Yes, I believe it was, and I hope it will never happen again.”

Papa now left the room, saying, ”I Don't want any more of this crying over spilled milk, as Joe says. If your castles get knocked down, build them up again.“

第7课　年轻的教师

查尔斯·罗斯和父亲一起住在乡村，在那里父亲教他读书认字。

罗斯先生告诉儿子，只要他把上午的课程学完，他就可以自己出去玩一个小时。

附近有一条河流，岸上住着贫穷的渔夫一家子，他们靠打鱼过日子。

渔夫的妻子一天到晚都在忙着纺线，他们两个人什么事儿都不想，每天都是这样努力地工作着。

他们担心的是他们那唯一的儿子。他们自己不识字，便不能教儿子识字。由于穷，他们又没有钱送他去学校。

一天，查尔斯去找他丢失的那条狗时，顺道拜访了渔夫的家。

他发现一个叫乔的小男孩，他坐在桌子旁，正用一只粉笔在桌上画着什么，查尔斯问他是不是在作画。

“不是的，我在学写字。”小男孩说，“可是我只认识两个字，那还是我从一个牌子上看来的，我正在把它写下来。”

“如果我能读书和认字，”他说，“那我一定会是世界上最快乐的人。”

“如果是这样的话，我就可以让你快乐了。”查尔斯说，“我虽然是个小孩，可是我可以教你读和写。”

“我父亲答应每天给我一个小时玩的时间。现在，如果你愿意学的话，我可以教你如何读和写。”

乔和他的妈妈对查尔斯真是万分感激，他们告诉查尔斯那可是他们梦寐以求的事情了。

于是，查尔斯在他那自己掌握的一个小时来到的时候，他便把书放进袋子里，赶往乔的家，开始教他写字了，乔学得很快。

过了一段时间，一位绅士来拜访罗斯先生，问他查尔斯到哪里去了，罗斯先生说他可能去散步了。

“恐怕不是的。”绅士说，“他可没有一直在岸边散步，我常常看到他去一个渔夫家，我担心他是坐渔夫的船到水里玩去了。”

罗斯先生很担心，尽管他曾经告诉过查尔斯不要到水里玩，那里太危险，他想他应该听话的。

绅士走了以后，罗斯先生决定调查一下儿子到底在做什么。他来到河边，希望能看到有船只。

可是，他怎么也看不到船只，他为此变得忧虑不安起来。他想，查尔斯一定是去了更远的地方。他还不想就此罢休，便来到那个小木屋旁边。

他把头探进开着的窗子里。这时，罗斯先生看到了令人感动的一幕。查尔斯坐在桌子旁边，手里拿着一本书，而乔则正在读给他的老师听呢！在房子的一个角落里，乔的母亲则在那里安静地纺线。

查尔斯看到父亲时，还显得有些不安，他害怕父亲会不高兴。可事实上，他的担心是多余的，他父亲为他的举动真是太高兴了。

回家后的第二天，父亲带上查尔斯去了城镇，给他和乔买了好几本书，还有纸张、钢笔和墨水。

回家的路上，查尔斯高兴得又唱又跳，他感觉自己是世界上最幸福的人了，他怀着激动的心情，双手提着包裹，他要把这个好消息告诉乔。

THE YOUNG TEACHER

Charles Rose lived in the country with his father, who taught him to read and to write.

Mr. Rose told his son that, when his morning lessons were over, he might amuse himself for one hour as he pleased.

There was a river near by. On its bank stood the hut of a poor fisherman, who lived by selling fish.

His careful wife kept her wheel going early and late. They both worked very hard to keep themselves above want.

But they were greatly troubled lest their only son should never learn to read and to write. They could not teach him themselves, and they were too poor to send him to school.

Charles called at the hut of this fisherman one day, to inquire about his dog, which was missing.

He found the little boy, whose name was Joe, sitting by the table, on which he was making marks with a piece of chalk. Charles asked him whether he was drawing pictures.

“No, I am trying to write,”said little Joe,“but I know only two words. Those I saw upon a sign, and I am trying to write them.”

“If I could only learn to read and write,”said he,“I should be the happiest boy in the world.”

“Then I will make you happy,”said Charles.“I am only a little boy, but I can teach you that. ”

“My father gives me an hour every day for myself. Now, if you will try to learn, you shall soon know how to read and to write.”

Both Joe and his mother were ready to fall on their knees to thank Charles. They told him it was what they wished above all things.

So, on the next day when the hour came, Charles put his book in his pocket, and went to teach Joe. Joe learned very fast, and Charles soon began to teach him how to write.

Some time after, a gentleman called on Mr. Rose, and asked him if he knew where Charles was. Mr. Rose said that he was taking a walk, he supposed.

“I am afraid,”said the gentleman,“that he does not always amuse himself thus. I often see him go to the house of the fisherman. I fear he goes out in their boat.“

Mr. Rose was much troubled. He had told Charles that he must never venture on the river, and he thought he could trust him.

The moment the gentleman left, Mr. Rose went in search of his son. He went to the river, and walked up and down, in hope of seeing the boat.

Not seeing it, he grew uneasy. He thought Charles must have gone a long way off. Unwilling to leave without learning something of him, he went to the hut.

He put his head in at the window, which was open. There a pleasant sight met his eyes.

Charles was at the table, ruling a copybook Joe was reading to him, while his mother was spinning in the corner.

Charles was a little confused. He feared his father might not be pleased; but he had no need to be uneasy, for his father was delighted.

The next day, his father took him to town, and gave him books for himself and Joe, with writing paper, pens, and ink.

Charles was the happiest boy in the world when he came home. He ran to Joe, his hands filled with parcels, and his heart beating with joy.

第8课　铁匠

叮当！叮当！叮当！天刚刚亮，我们就开始打铁，整整一天埋头苦干，没有多少休息的时间。

叮当！叮当！叮当！如果仅仅需要专心地劳动，我们决不会退缩，只是我们要把火吹旺，要把炉子烧红。在强光的刺激下，我们的眼睛也要不停地眨动。

叮当！叮当！叮当！我们要锻造一个多环的链条，我们每人站在一边，只要铸铁一烧热，我们就要马上不停地锻打。

叮当！叮当！叮当！也许我们的脸像油墨一样黑，但我们的心底却赤诚一片。正如人们所说，我们可是最和蔼可亲的人。

THE BLACKSMITH

Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

We begin to hammer at morning's blink,

And hammer away

Till the busy day,

Like us, aweary, to rest shall sink.

Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

From labor and care we never will shrink;

But our fires we'll blow

Till our forges glow

With light intense, while our eyelids wink.

Clink, clink, clinkerty clink;

The chain we'll forge with many a link.

We'll work each form

While the iron is warm,

With strokes as fast as we can think.

Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

Our faces may be as black as ink,

But our hearts are true

As man ever knew,

And kindly of all we shall ever think.

第9课　一分钟的自白

我们是微不足道的一分钟，

每个人都有60只翅膀，

我们用它们在看不见的轨迹上飞翔，

而且一去不返。

我们是一分钟，

请你好好珍惜我们，

我必须告诉你每天应该如何使用我们，

谁利用了我们，

谁就将拥有一小时，

谁浪费了我们，

谁就会失去一生。

WHAT THE MINUTES SAY

We are but minutes—little things!

Each one furnished with sixty wings,

With which we fly on our unseen track,

And not a minute ever comes back.

We are but minutes; use us well,

For how we are used we must one day tell.

Who uses minutes, has hours to use;

Who loses minutes, whole years must lose.

第10课　三只小老鼠

静静地听我说，让我给你讲三只小老鼠的故事。

有三只小老鼠被关在了一个既舒适又漂亮的笼子里，它们看起来可爱无比。

它们有珍珠般滑溜溜的眼睛，活灵活现。它们雪白的身子竖着站成一排，我们怎么也不会想到它们的不幸。

它们很滑稽地站成一排，有一只把两支前爪抱在胸前，好像在说：“请上饭。”另一只用爪子抓出嘎嘎作响声，好像在抗议：“没有更多的面包和奶酪吗？没有的话我们是不会呆在这里的。”

你仔细观察一下就会发现，它们一点都不害羞。当你用手指敲打它们那古怪的小脑袋时，它们就会不停地跑，虽然很不情愿，但又无可奈何。

有一天，我来到笼子前，透过格子的缝隙，看到一条有趣的环形尾巴。我一时高兴，便轻轻打了一下那只尾巴，顿时就听到里面的小老鼠痛苦地直叫，那只小老鼠看起来很淘气。它原以为有利可图才来这里的，现在却落入如此境地。是谁把它们关在这里的呢？什么时候才能见到它们的兄弟姐妹们呀？

它们在笼子里冲来冲去，环顾四周既感到困惑，又感到失望。不一会儿它们只得开始相互追逐着咬尾巴。见此情景，主人便决定把它们给放了。你觉得它们会高兴地离开吗？当然，它们离开笼子后，便迅速从梯子上爬到了洞口，一溜烟地跑掉了。

（茱莉娅·C·R·道尔）

THREE LITTLE MICE

I will tell you the story of three little mice,

If you will keep still and listen to me,

Who live in a cage that is cozy and nice,

And are just as cunning as cunning can be.

They look very wise, with their pretty red eyes,

That seem just exactly like little round beads;

They are white as the snow, and stand up in a row

Whenever we do not attend to their needs;—

Stand up in a row in a comical way,—

Now folding their forepaws as if saying,“please;”

Now rattling the lattice, as much as to say,

“We shall not stay here without more bread and cheese,”

They are not at all shy, as you'll find, if you try

To make them run up in their chamber to bed;

If they Don't want to go, why, they won't go—ah! no,

Though you tap with your finger each queer little head.

One day as I stood by the side of the cage,

Through the bars there protruded a funny, round tail;

Just for mischief I caught it, and soon; in a rage,

Its owner set up a most pitiful wail.

He looked in dismay,—there was something to pay,—

But what was the matter he could not make out;

What was holding him so, when he wanted to go

To see what his brothers upstairs were about?

But soon from the chamber the others rushed down,

Impatient to learn what the trouble might be;

I have not a doubt that each brow wore a frown,

Only frowns on their brows are not easy to see.

For a moment they gazed, perplexed and amazed;

Then began both together to—gnaw off the tail!

So, quick I released him,—do you think that it pleased him?

And up the small staircase they fled like a gale.

（Julia C. R. Dorr）

第11课　回声

一天，罗伯特在乡间漫步，他突然大声喊道：“啊！啊！”刚喊出去，他便立刻听到山另一面传来了“啊！啊”的声音。

他很惊讶，又大声地说：“你是谁？”同样的声音又一次传来：“你是谁？”

罗伯特大声说：“你一定是个傻子。”同样的声音也以一种生气的语调从那边传来。

他跳进灌木丛，看看是谁在愚弄他，可是谁也没找到。

他回到家，告诉妈妈，有一个男孩故意躲在树林里愚弄他。

“罗伯特，”他妈妈说，“你是在生自己的气呀。你听到的不是别人的捉弄，而是你自己的声音呀！”

“不会吧！妈妈，那怎么可能呢？”罗伯特说。

“难道你没有听说过回音吗？”他妈妈问。

“回音？妈妈，我没有听说过，那是什么东西呀？”

“我来告诉你，”他妈妈说，“你知道当你打球时，把球砸到墙壁上它会弹回来吗？”

“是的，妈妈，”他说，“等它弹回来时，我便把它抓住了。”

“对，”妈妈说，“如果我在一个空旷的地方，旁边有一座山或一座高大的建筑物，这时我大声呼喊，我的声音就会被反弹回来。就这样，我又听到了我喊出的话。”

“那就是回声，儿子。当你觉得仿佛有人在捉弄你时，那就是你前面的山了。它把你的声音反弹了回来，于是就产生了回声。”

“你所谓的那个坏男孩不会比你更加生气的。如果你说话温和一点，你也会听到温和的回声。”

“如果你用甜美的声音说话，你也会听到同样动听的回音。”

“《圣经》上说‘温和能驱走愤怒’，当你和你的同学玩的时候，你也要记住这句话。”

“如果有人对你不礼貌地大声说话，你要记着回声的故事，让你的话语尽量和气一点。”

“当你放学回家，发现你弟弟在生气时，如果你温和地和他说话，他的嘴角会慢慢露出笑容，说话也会变得和气起来。”

“不管你在田野里，还是树林里，在学校、在家，或是在外边，不论在什么地方，都要记住：和蔼可亲本身就是美好和善良的，它能产生纯洁和爱。”

THE ECHO

As Robert was one day rambling about, he happened to cry out,“Ho, ho!”He instantly heard coming back from a hill near by, the same words,“Ho, ho!”

In great surprise, he said with a loud voice,“Who are you?”Upon this, the same words came back,“Who are you?”

Robert now cried out harshly,“You must be a very foolish fellow.”“Foolish fellow!”came back from the hill.

Robert became angry, and with loud and fierce words went toward the spot whence the sounds came. The words all came back to him in the same angry tone.

He then went into the thicket, and looked for the boy who, as he thought, was mocking him; but he could find nobody anywhere.

When he went home, he told his mother that some boy had hid himself in the wood, for the purpose of mocking him.

“Robert,”said his mother,“you are angry with yourself alone. You heard nothing but your own words.”

“Why, mother, how can that be?”said Robert.“Did you never hear an echo?”asked his mother.“An echo, dear mother? No, ma’am. What is it?”

“I will tell you,”said his mother.“You know, when you play with your ball, and throw it against the side of a house, it bounds back to you.”“Yes, mother,”said he,“and I catch it again.”

“Well,”said his mother, ”if I were in the open air, by the side of a hill or a large barn, and should speak very loud, my voice would be sent back, so that I could hear again the very words which I spoke.

“That, my son, is an echo. When you thought some one was mocking you, it was only the hill before you, echoing, or sending back, your own voice. ”

“The bad boy, as you thought it was, spoke no more angrily than yourself. If you had spoken kindly, you would have heard a kind reply. ”

“Had you spoken in a low, sweet, gentle tone, the voice that came back would have been as low, sweet, and gentle as your own. ”

“The Bible says, ‘A soft answer turneth away wrath.’ Remember this when you are at play with your school mates. ”

“If any of them should be offended, and speak in a loud, angry tone, remember the echo, and let your words be soft and kind.”

“When you come home from school, and find your little brother cross and peevish, speak mildly to him. You will soon see a smile on his lips, and find that his tones will become mild and sweet. ”

“Whether you are in the fields or in the woods, at school or at play, at home or abroad, remember,

The good and the kind,

By kindness their love ever proving,

Will dwell with the pure and the loving.”

第12课　和蔼地说话

和蔼地说话，让人感到爱比让人感到恐惧好多了。和蔼地说话，不要让尖利的话语淹没我们原来的好意。

对小孩要轻声地说话，给他播种爱的种子。大声地叱责，不会有长久的效果。

对老人要轻声地说话，不要让这颗饱经风霜的心再感到悲伤，而使他丧失生活的勇气。我们不能再让这悲惨的事情，发生在我们这和平的年代里。

对穷人要友善地讲话，不要用粗鲁的话语。他们已经承受了太多的不幸，请不要再对他们粗鲁地讲话。

对犯了错的人要和蔼地说话，我们知道他们曾在背后讲别人的坏话，但也许那正是我们不友善的态度使他们这样做的。哦，让我们帮助他们吧，让他们重返我们的身边。

和蔼地讲话，它是我们心灵深处的一件小事，但它会给我们带来欢乐，这是一条永恒不变的真理。

（乔治·W·朗福特）

SPEAK GENTLY

Speak gently; it is better far

To rule by love than fear:

Speak gently; let no harsh words mar

The good we might do here.

Speak gently to the little child;

Its love be sure to gain;

Teach it in accents soft and mild;

It may not long remain.

Speak gently to the aged one;

Grieve not the careworn heart:

The sands of life are nearly run;

Let such in peace depart.

Speak gently, kindly, to the poor;

Let no harsh tone be heard;

They have enough they must endure,

Without an unkind word.

Speak gently to the erring; know

They must have toiled in vain;

Perhaps unkindness made them so;

Oh, win them back again.

Speak gently: ‘tis a little thing

Dropped in the heart's deep well;

The good, the joy, which it may bring,

Eternity shall tell.

（George Washington Langford）

第13课　七根木棍

一个人有7个儿子，但他们经常吵架，他们因为彼此争吵而耽误了学业和工作。一些坏人希望他们的父亲早点死去，然后通过挑拨七兄弟的关系，来骗取他们的财产。

一天，善良的老人把他们叫到一起，他在儿子们面前放了那捆在一起的7根木棍，然后说：“谁要能把这捆木棍折断，我就给他们100美元。”

每个人都使出了全身的力气去折那捆木棍，但最终都是徒劳，他们谁也无法将木棍折断。

“其实这很简单，我的孩子们。”父亲说。然后他将木棍捆儿打开，很轻松地将它们一根一根地折断了。

“啊哈，这样做太容易了，任何人都能做到的。”儿子们说。

他们的父亲这样回应道：“我的孩子们，其实你们就像这些木棍，只要你们团结在一起，互相帮助，你们就会很强大，任何人都不能够伤害你们。”

“但如果团结的关系遭到破坏，那么等待你们的下场就像地上这些折断的木棍一样。”

同此道理，只要我们团结起来，不管家庭、城市还是国家都会强大起来。

THE SEVEN STICKS

A man had seven sons, who were always quarreling. They left their studies and work, to quarrel among themselves. Some bad men were looking forward to the death of their father, to cheat them out of their property by making them quarrel about it.

The good old man, one day, called his sons around him. He laid before them seven sticks, which were bound together. He said,“I will pay a hundred dollars to the one who can break this bundle.”

Each one strained every nerve to break the bundle. After a long but vain trial, they all said that it could not be done.

“And yet, my boys,”said the father,“nothing is easier to do.”He then untied the bundle, and broke the sticks, one by one, with perfect ease.

“Ah!”said his sons,“it is easy enough to do it so; anybody could do it in that way.”

Their father replied,“As it is with these sticks, so is it with you, my sons. So long as you hold fast together and aid each other, you will prosper, and none can injure you. ”

“But if the bond of union be broken, it will happen to you just as it has to these sticks, which lie here broken on the ground.”

Home, city, country, all are prosperous found,

When by the powerful link of union bound.

第14课　善良的行为

一天，当两个小男孩正沿着公路行走时，他们突然发现一个女人正在吃力地提着一篮子的苹果。

两个男孩看到那个女人脸色苍白很疲惫的样子，就走上前去说：“你是去城里吗？是的话，我们可以帮你提篮子。”

“谢谢你，”那个妇女回答，“你们真是太好了。我病了，浑身没劲。”她还告诉他们，她是一个寡妇，家里还有一个残疾的儿子。

她住在三里外的一个小村庄，她只得拿她们家的苹果去卖，那可是她们家惟一的一棵苹果树上结的。她要卖了它们去交房租。

“我们刚好顺路，”两个男孩说，“让我们替你提篮子吧。”他们两人接过篮子，一人抬一边，费劲地向前走着，心情却很好。

那个贫穷的寡妇高兴极了，问他们的妈妈会不会责怪他们。

“哦，不会的。”他们回答，“我们的妈妈常教我们要乐于助人，只要我们能做得到的事，我们一定帮忙。”

为了表示感谢，老妇人拿出几个大苹果给两个男孩。“不用了，谢谢。”他们说，“我们做这样的事是不要报酬的。”

当寡妇回家后，她告诉了她的那个残疾儿子发生在公路上的事。他们因为得到了两个小男孩的帮助而变得快乐起来。

记得有一天，我曾看到一个小女孩，从地上拾起一块橘子皮扔到路边的水沟里。“但愿不会有人再把橘子皮扔到人行道上了。”她说，“有人踩到后会摔跤的。”

“是的，孩子，”我说，“你做的这件事虽说看起来是小事，但它却体现出你是一个热心肠和善良的人。”

或许有人会说这都是些小事情，有些人确实是这么认为的。但是我们不能一直为等待做大事的机会而什么都不去做。我们要从身边做起。记着：点滴有爱。

DEEDS OF KINDNESS

One day, as two little boys were walking along the road, they overtook a woman carrying a large basket of apples.

The boys thought the woman looked very pale and tired; so they said,“Are you going to town? If you are, we will carry your basket.”

“Thank you,”replied the woman,“you are very kind: you see I am weak and ill.”Then she told them that she was a widow, and had a lame son to support.

She lived in a cottage three miles away, and was now going to market to sell the apples which grew on the only tree in her little garden. She wanted the money to pay her rent.

“We are going the same way you are,”said the boys.“Let us have the basket;”and they took hold of it, one on each side, and trudged along with merry hearts.

The poor widow looked glad, and said that she hoped their mother would not be angry with them.“Oh, no,”they replied;

“our mother has taught us to be kind to everybody, and to be useful in any way that we can.”

She then offered to give them a few of the ripest apples for their trouble.“No,thank you,”said they;“we do not want any pay for what we have done.”

When the widow got home, she told her lame son what had happened on the road, and they were both made happier that day by the kindness of the two boys.

The other day, I saw a little girl stop and pick up a piece of orange peel, which she threw into the gutter.“I wish the boys would not throw orange peel on the sidewalk,”said she.“Some one may tread upon it, and fall.”

“That is right, my dear,”I said.“It is a little thing for you to do what you have done, but it shows that you have a thoughtful mind and a feeling heart.”

Perhaps some may say that these are little things. So they are; but we must not wait for occasions to do great things. We must begin with little labors of love.

第15课　妈妈最喜欢谁

“我爱你，妈妈，”小约翰说，可是他却忘记了干活，帽子还扔在那里，自己却晃悠悠地去花园玩了，留下妈妈一个人在那里扛柴。

“我爱你，妈妈，”漂亮的内尔说，“我爱你，爱得无法用言语表达。”她噘着小嘴讨了妈妈半天欢心，终于让妈妈高兴后，自己出去玩了。

“我爱你，妈妈，”小凡说，“真高兴今天不上课了，我可以在家帮你干活了，妈妈。”她摇着小宝宝一直让他睡去。

然后，她轻轻地走进房间，拿起一把扫帚，把地扫了一遍，又把整个房间清扫了一下，整个一天她都快乐地在给妈妈帮忙。

“我爱你，妈妈。”睡觉前，三个孩子又都对妈妈说。

你觉得他们中谁更爱妈妈呢？

（乔伊·艾莉森）

WHICH LOVED BEST

“I love you, mother,”said little John;

Then, forgetting work, his cap went on,

And he was off to the garden swing,

Leaving his mother the wood to bring.

“I love you, mother,”said rosy Nell;

“I love you better than tongue can tell;”

Then she teased and pouted full half the day,

Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.

“I love you, mother,”said little Fan;

“To day I'll help you all I can;

How glad I am that school does n't keep！”

So she rocked the baby till it fell asleep.

Then, stepping softly, she took the broom,

And swept the floor, and dusted the room;

Busy and happy all day was she,

Helpful and cheerful as child could be.

“I love you, mother,”again they said—

Three little children going to bed;

How do you think that mother guessed

Which of them really loved her best?

（Joy Allison）

第16课　约翰·卡朋特

约翰·卡朋特不喜欢买别人做的玩具，他喜欢自己动手做，这是因为他对自己的工作很感兴趣。

汤姆·奥斯汀是他的一个玩伴，他认为，那样的玩具一文不值，除非是用很多钱买来的。他也从来不尝试做任何玩具。

“快来看看我的木马，”一天汤姆说，“它花了我一美元，多漂亮啊，快来看啊。”

约翰非常羡慕自己的好朋友汤姆能买这样漂亮的木马。他仔细观察着这匹木马，想看看它是如何做成的，当天晚上他就开始为自己做一匹木马。

他来到他的木棚里，取出两块木料，一块用来做马头，另一块用来做马身，他花了两三天时间，便把它们变成了自己满意的形状。

他父亲送给他一块红色的皮革来做马的缰绳，还有一些铜片来做马蹄。妈妈给他找出一些旧毛线用来做马鬃和马尾。

但是拿什么来做轮子呢，这可把他难住了。最终他想，应该到木工厂去一下，看看那里是否有一些可以用来做轮子的圆形木头。

他在地板上找到了许多他想要的木头。木匠问他拿去做什么，他把自己的想法告诉了木匠。

“哦，”那人说，“如果是这样，我乐意为你做几个轮子，但是等你做好后，一定记得要让我看看。”约翰答应了他，然后将轮子装入口袋里，便跑回家了。第二天晚上，他便带着他做好的木马去了木匠那里，木匠夸他是一个天才的小家伙。

这样的赞扬使他感到很骄傲，他跑到朋友汤姆那里喊着说：“现在你看，这是我的木马。”“哦，这匹马真漂亮，你在哪儿买的？”汤姆问。“我不是买的，是我自己做的！”约翰答道。“你自己做的？的确是一匹漂亮的马，不过还是没有我的好，我的那匹值一美元，而你的却一文不值。”

“但我在做这匹木马的过程中很开心呀。”说完，约翰带着自己的木马走了。

你想知道约翰后来的情况吗？好吧，我告诉你。他在学校学习非常刻苦，并拿到了班里的最高奖学金。他离开学校后，到了一家机械厂工作。尽管他现在只是一名雇工，不久的将来他一定会有自己的工厂。

JOHN CARPENTER

John Carpenter did not like to buy toys that somebody else had made. He liked the fun of making them himself. The thought that they were his own work delighted him.

Tom Austin, one of his playmates, thought a toy was worth nothing unless it cost a great deal of money. He never tried to make anything, but bought all his toys.

“Come and look at my horse,”said he, one day.“It cost a dollar, and it is such a beauty! Come and see it.”

John was soon admiring his friend's horse; and he was examining it carefully, to see how it was made. The same evening he began to make one for himself.

He went into the wood shed, and picked out two pieces of wood—one for the head of his horse, the other for the body. It took him two or three days to shape them to his satisfaction.

His father gave him a bit of red leather for a bridle, and a few brass nails, and his mother found a bit of old fur with which he made a mane and tail for his horse.

But what about the wheels? This puzzled him. At last he thought he would go to a turner's shop, and see if he could not get some round pieces of wood which might suit his purpose.

He found a large number of such pieces among the shavings on the floor, and asked permission to take a few of them. The turner asked him what he wanted them for, and he told him about his horse.

“Oh,”said the man, laughing,“if you wish it, I will make some wheels for your horse. But mind, when it is finished, you must let me see it.”

John promised to do so, and he soon ran home with the wheels in his pocket. The next evening, he went to the turner's shop with his horse all complete, and was told that he was an ingenious little fellow.

Proud of this compliment, he ran to his friend Tom, crying,“Now then, Tom, here is my horse,—look！”

“Well, that is a funny horse,”said Tom;“where did you buy it?”“I did n't buy it,”replied John; I made it.”

“You made it yourself! Oh, well, it's a good horse for you to make. But it is not so good as mine. Mine cost a dollar, and yours did n't cost anything.”

“It was real fun to make it, though,”said John, and away he ran with his horse rolling after him.

Do you want to know what became of John? Well, I will tell you. He studied hard in school, and was called the best scholar in his class. When he left school, he went to work in a machine shop. He is now a master workman, and will soon have a shop of his own.

第17课　玛丽的硬币

好了！我已经把椅子放到墙角，并把房间打扫好。爸爸妈妈从外边回来一定很冷。现在又不是烤面包的时间，我还不想看书。

我做点什么呢？忽然，我情不自禁地想起了那个一直在乞讨的小女孩的苍白的脸。当我把那枚10分的硬币放到她那脏兮兮的小手上时，我看到她眼睛里闪着幸福的光。

我是多么珍爱我的那枚硬币呀，爷爷一个月前给的我。我一直把它放在我楼上的红盒子里。可那些糖果看起来真的是太诱人了，也不是很贵——每个才10分币——所以我决定买一个。

我能看到她——那个乞讨的小女孩——她就站在食品店前面，穿着一身旧的褪了色的衣服，眼巴巴地看着前面那一行行陈列着的糖果。我情不自禁地说：“小姑娘，你在想什么呢？”

她当时是怎么样地盯着我呀，好像以前没有人这样和蔼地和她说过话一样。我猜她知道我是同情她的吧。她诚挚且略带难过地说：“我想吃那些姜粉面包卷，我已经一天没有吃东西了。”我对自己说：“玛丽呀，你早饭和午饭都吃得饱饱的，而这个可怜的小姑娘，还没有吃一口饭呢。把硬币给她吧，她比你更需要它。”

我不忍看她饥饿难过的面容——因此我把硬币放到她的手里，不等她说话，我就径直走开了。我感觉自己真的很幸福，好像我已经把那个挂在窗子边的诱人的糖果吃到自己嘴里一样。

MARY'S DIME

There! I have drawn the chairs into the right corners, and dusted the room nicely. How cold papa and mamma will be when they return from their long ride! It is not time to toast the bread yet, and I am tired of reading.

What shall I do? Somehow, I can't help thinking about the pale face of that little beggar girl all the time. I can see the glad light filling her eyes, just as plain as I did when I laid the dime in her little dirty hand.

How much I had thought of that dime, too! Grandpa gave it to me a whole month ago, and I had kept it ever since in my red box upstairs; but those sugar apples looked so beautiful, and were so cheap—only a dime apiece—that I made up my mind to have one.

I can see her—the beggar girl, I mean—as she stood there in front of the store, in her old hood and faded dress, looking at the candies laid all in a row. I wonder what made me say,“Little girl, what do you want?”

How she stared at me, just as if nobody had spoken kindly to her before. I guess she thought I was sorry for her, for she said, so earnestly and sorrowfully,“I was thinking how good one of those gingerbread rolls would taste. I have n't had anything to eat to day.”

Now, I thought to myself,“Mary Williams, you have had a good breakfast and a good dinner this day, and this poor girl has not had a mouthful. You can give her your dime; she needs it a great deal more than you do.”

I could not resist that little girl's sorrowful, hungry look—so I dropped the dime right into her hand, and, without waiting for her to speak, walked straight away. I'm so glad I gave her the dime, if I did have to go without the apple lying there in the window, and looking just like a real one.

第18课　哈瑞和他的狗

“来呀，弗里斯克，上来咬。”小哈瑞喊着。他正坐在祖母家门前一个凹进去的竹筐上，吃着麦片面包，喝着牛奶，他看起来满足极了。他的小妹妹，安妮早已经吃完了早餐，她坐在她哥哥的对面，把手中的花编成了一个花环，然后又把它扔开了。

“来呀，弗里斯克，上来咬！”哈瑞继续喊着，把面包举到弗里斯克够不到的地方。顺从的弗里斯克蹲坐在后腿上，伸起前爪去够它的小主人手中的那一小块面包。

哈瑞和他的狗是极好的朋友。弗里斯克非常爱它的主人，远超过它爱其他的人，这或许是因为哈瑞是它在困难时期遇到的最早、最忠诚的朋友。

可怜的弗里斯克是一只流浪到密尔顿的狗，哈瑞就住在密尔顿。如果弗里斯克能讲话的话，它所讲述的一定是一个悲惨的故事，构成这故事的氛围是棍棒、饥饿和恶劣的天气。

它第一次出现在哈瑞面前的时候，哈瑞就坐在现在他坐的地方，弗里斯克又湿又脏，还饿着肚子，它就是在如此困苦的情况下遇见了哈瑞。哈瑞很喜欢它，但哈瑞的祖母却用笤帚把它赶了出去。

哈瑞最后终于为小狗争取到了留在屋外等候救济的权利，他喂给他剩下的骨头和马铃薯，以及其他一些他能搞到的东西。他还给弗里斯克找来一个篮子，让它在里面睡觉，就是这只篮子后来成了他的板凳。

过了一阵，弗里斯克证明了自己的能力，它咬走了好多觊觎家中那棵大桃树的小偷。为此它被让进了大门，成了家中最机警的成员。它会跑过陆地或是游过水面取来东西，还会捡起安妮掉在地上的顶针或棉球，或是为哈瑞送去午餐，还绝不偷吃。

“来呀，弗里斯克，上来咬！”哈瑞说着，并最终让它吃着了一直等着的面包片。弗里斯克感到很满意，但哈瑞却不是。这个小家伙虽然大体上是一个性情温和的孩子，但也有非常淘气的时候，而他淘起气来会淘上一天。这一天看来是他最淘气的一天。因为是假日，中午的时候，他的表姐和表弟、珍妮和威廉会来看望他和安妮。到时他们会采桃子，孩子们会有一顿大餐。

哈瑞实在等得不耐烦了，他抱怨早晨好像永远也过不完似的。他开始恶作剧——折磨完了弗里斯克，他又剪掉了安妮的布娃娃的头发，最后又打碎了祖母的眼镜。因为这样，晚饭刚过，珍妮和威廉还没有来的时候，他就被遣送回了卧室，不准出来。

可怜的哈瑞！他躺在那儿不停地翻身、踢着被子，而此时威廉、安妮和珍正忙着采桃子。威廉爬到了树上，摇晃着树干，珍和安妮在下面忙着往围裙里装着桃子，竹篮很快就装满了，他们就坐在树下品尝着最好、最甘美的桃子。弗里斯克就在他们中间高兴地叫着，好像它也在摘桃子似的！

可怜的哈瑞！他躺在床上，听得见从开着的窗户外面传来的阵阵笑声。听着这笑声，哈瑞躺在床上伤心地哭了，从被子里不停地传出一两声他的抽泣。他想如果不是自己太过淘气的话，他也可以和他们一起欢笑，他一定会非常非常开心的。

他开始想，安妮会不会想到给他带一个桃子来。这时突然他听到楼梯上有轻轻的脚步声，卜卜地，他想一定是安妮来了。脚步声越来越近，最后有一颗小脑袋从半开的门里伸了进来，好像还有点害怕。

但那不是安妮，是弗里斯克——可怜的弗里斯克。一早上哈瑞都在逗它、折磨它，现在它跑到了哈瑞的卧室，口中叼来了一个大桃子，它摇着尾巴，跳上了床，把桃子放进了哈瑞的手里。

你看，弗里斯克是一个多好的伙伴呀。他理应得到哈瑞的一部分早餐，不管它是不是追着抢到的。从这一天起，小哈瑞也明白了友善将会得到回报，即使是对于一只狗也是如此，恶意和坏脾气除了痛苦和失望什么也带不来。

HARRY AND HIS DOG

“Beg, Frisk, beg,”said little Harry, as he sat on an inverted basket, at his grandmother's door, eating, with great satisfaction, a porringer of bread and milk. His little sister Annie, who had already dispatched her breakfast, sat on the ground opposite to him, now twisting her flowers into garlands, and now throwing them away.

“Beg, Frisk, beg!”repeated Harry, holding a bit of bread just out of the dog's reach; and the obedient Frisk squatted himself on his hind legs, and held up his fore paws, waiting for master Harry to give him the tempting morsel.

The little boy and the little dog were great friends. Frisk loved him dearly, much better than he did anyone else; perhaps, because he recollected that Harry was his earliest and firmest friend during a time of great trouble.

Poor Frisk had come as a stray dog to Milton, the place where Harry lived. If he could have told his own story, it would probably have been a very pitiful one, of kicks and cuffs, of hunger and foul weather.

Certain it is, he made his appearance at the very door where Harry was now sitting, in miserable plight, wet, dirty, and half starved; and that there he met Harry, who took a fancy to him, and Harry's grandmother, who drove him off with a broom.

Harry, at length, obtained permission for the little dog to remain as a sort of outdoor pensioner, and fed him with stray bones and cold potatoes, and such things as he could get for him. He also provided him with a little basket to sleep in, the very same which, turned up, afterward served Harry for a seat.

After a while, having proved his good qualities by barking away a set of pilferers, who were making an attack on the great pear tree, he was admitted into the house, and became one of its most vigilant and valued inmates. He could fetch or carry either by land or water; would pick up a thimble or a ball of cotton, if little Annie should happen to drop them; or take Harry's dinner to school for him with perfect honesty.

“Beg, Frisk, beg!”said Harry, and gave him, after long waiting, the expected morsel. Frisk was satisfied, but Harry was not. The little boy, though a good humored fellow in the main, had turns of naughtiness, which were apt to last him all day, and this promised to prove one of his worst. It was a holiday, and in the afternoon his cousins, Jane and William, were to come and see him and Annie; and the pears were to be gathered, and the children were to have a treat.

Harry, in his impatience, thought the morning would never be over. He played such pranks—buffeting Frisk, cutting the curls off of Annie's doll, and finally breaking his grandmother's spectacles—that before his visitors arrived, indeed, almost immediately after dinner, he contrived to be sent to bed in disgrace.

Poor Harry! there he lay, rolling and kicking, while Jane, and William, and Annie were busy about the fine, mellow Windsor pears. William was up in the tree, gathering and shaking; Annie and Jane catching them in their aprons, and picking them up from the ground; now piling them in baskets, and now eating the nicest and ripest; while Frisk was barking gayly among them, as if he were catching Windsor pears, too!

Poor Harry! He could hear all this glee and merriment through the open window as he lay in bed. The storm of passion having subsided, there he lay weeping and disconsolate, a grievous sob bursting forth every now and then, as he heard the loud peals of childish laughter, and as he thought how he should have laughed, and how happy he should have been, had he not forfeited all this pleasure by his own bad conduct.

He wondered if Annie would not be so good natured as to bring him a pear. All on a sudden, he heard a little foot on the stair, pitapat, and he thought she was coming. Pitapat came the foot, nearer and nearer, and at last a small head peeped, half afraid, through the half open door.

But it was not Annie's head; it was Frisk's—poor Frisk, whom Harry had been teasing and tormenting all the morning, and who came into the room wagging his tail, with a great pear in his mouth; and, jumping upon the bed, He laid it in the little boy's hand.

Is not Frisk a fine, grateful fellow? and does he not deserve a share of Harry's breakfast, whether he begs for it or not? And little Harry will remember from the events of this day that kindness, even though shown to a dog, will always be rewarded; and that ill nature and bad temper are connected with nothing but pain and disgrace.

第19课　勤奋的益处

查理和乔治一般大小，也不算绝顶聪明的孩子。事实上，我想他们俩在先天智力方面是差不多的。但是查理是一个努力的学生。还很小的时候，他学习就很细心，勤奋。有时，遇到很难的课文，课间休息他都不出去玩，而是留在教室里学习。他下决心把好好学习当作自己的首要目标，之后才能心安理得地去玩。他和其他孩子一样爱玩，也是最好的玩伴。玩游戏的时候，每个人都喜欢和查理一伙。

尽管查理有时休息时呆在教室里。但是，这样的时候很少，只是在功课真的非常难的时候才会这样。通常，他总是最先冲到操场上，也是最先回到课堂上。刻苦的学习使他更有兴头玩耍，而玩耍也给了他努力学习的兴致。所以课上课下他都很开心。老师怎么能不喜欢他呢，他总是很好地完成功课，从来不惹麻烦。

在查理进入大学的时候，老师强力推荐了他。考试的时候，查理答上了所有的问题。他在中学的成绩非常好，也为大学做了充分的准备，所以他觉得在大学赶上同学们是件非常容易的事情，而且还有很多时间读自己喜欢的书。

不过，做其他事情之前，他总是先把功课学好，在该背课文前总会事先复习。被点到名背诵的时候，他总是从容快乐地站起来，很少出错。学校领导对他的评价很高，他也深受全体同学的尊敬。

学校里有一个由全体好学生组成的社团。查理入选了这个社团。依照习惯，每年都要从这个社团选一名代表做演讲，这个荣誉也授予了查理。他学习如此勤奋，读的书又多，他的演讲让每一个听众都觉得非常有趣。

最后，查理毕业了，他结束了大学课程，取得了学位。众所周知，他是一个好学生，也深受大家的尊敬。他的父母、兄弟姐妹在毕业典礼那天都来听他演讲。他们都非常高兴而满意，也比从前更爱查理了。

许多有利的机会都敞开在查理面前，因为他有才智，广受尊敬，他同时也是一个有用而幸福的人，拥有一个快乐的家庭，受到所有认识的人的爱戴。

这些就是勤奋的回报。多么奇怪的事情啊，整天无所事事混日子是不能带给人快乐的，却还有人愿意这么过。懒惰的孩子几乎没有什么区别，他们总是显得很可怜悲惨、勤奋的孩子则是快乐活跃的。

可是也许读到这篇故事的孩子会问：“上帝会留意上学的小孩子吗？”他当然会的。人到这个世界上来是要善用时间的。年轻的时候你必须为将来成为有用的人而努力。如果你不善用自己的优势，那么就是对创造你的造物主的违背。

◇ 乔治·晾斯和查理·布拉德的性格分别是什么择的？

◇ 乔治是如何出现在学校的班上的？课间体息他是如何表现的？

◇ 当乔治上大学时，发生了什么事？查理大学期间十分成功吗？

◇ 我们生存于世间为的是什么？我是否应该勤勉学习？

ADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRY

I gave you, in the last lesson, the history of George Jones, an idle boy, and showed you the consequences of his idleness. I shall now give you the history of Charles Bullard, a classmate of George. Charles was about the same age as George, and did not possess superior talents. Indeed, I doubt whether he was equal to him in natural powers of mind.

But Charles was a hard student. When quite young, he was always careful and diligent in school. Sometimes, when there was a very hard lesson, instead of going out to play during recess, he would stay in to study. He had resolved that his first object should be to get his lessons well, and then he could play with a good conscience. He loved play as well as anybody, and was one of the best players on the ground. I hardly ever saw any boy catch a ball better than he could. When playing any game, everyone was glad to get Charles on his side.

I have said that Charles would sometimes stay in at recess. This, however, was very seldom; it was only when the lessons were very hard indeed. Generally, he was among the first on the playground, and he was also among the first to go into school when called. Hard study gave him a relish for play, and play again gave him a relish for hard study; so he was happy both in school and out. The preceptor could not help liking him, for he always had his lessons well committed, and never gave him any trouble.

When he went to enter college, the preceptor gave him a good recommendation. He was able to answer all the questions which were put to him when he was examined. He had studied so well when he was in the academy, and was so thoroughly prepared for college, that he found it very easy to keep up with his class, and had much time for reading interesting books.

But he would always get his lesson well before he did anything else, and would review it just before recitation. When called upon to recite, he rose tranquil and happy, and very seldom made mistakes. The officers of the college had a high opinion of him, and he was respected by all the students.

There was, in the college, a society made up of all the best scholars. Charles was chosen a member of that society. It was the custom to choose some one of the society to deliver a public address every year. This honor was conferred on Charles; and he had studied so diligently, and read so much, that he delivered an address which was very interesting to all who heard it.

At last he graduated, as it is called; that is, he finished his collegiate course, and received his degree. It was known by all that he was a good scholar, and by all that he was respected. His father and mother, brothers and sisters, came on the commencement day to hear him speak.

They all felt gratified, and loved Charles more than ever. Many situations of usefulness and profit were opened to him; for Charles was now an intelligent man, and universally respected. He is still a useful and a happy man. He has a cheerful home, and is esteemed by all who know him.

Such are the rewards of industry. How strange it is that any person should be willing to live in idleness, when it will certainly make him unhappy! The idle boy is almost invariably poor and miserable; the industrious boy is happy and prosperous.

But perhaps some child who reads this, asks,“Does God notice little children in school?”He certainly does. And if you are not diligent in the improvement of your time, it is one of the surest evidences that your heart is not right with God. You are placed in this world to improve your time. In youth you must be preparing for future usefulness. And if you do not improve the advantages you enjoy, you sin against your Maker.

第20课　鲁滨逊·克鲁索的房子

我的住所不过是搭在岩石一侧底下的帐篷，外面是由柱子和绳索牢牢围成的栅栏。可是我现在宁愿称之为围墙，因为我在上面又用草皮修了一道类似于墙的屏障，表面大概有2英尺厚。过了一段时间（我想是一年半的光景），我又靠着岩石搭了几根椽子，还在椽子上面铺了树干和其他我能找到的可以挡雨的东西，因为我发现一年中有些时候会降暴雨。

你们已经知道了我是如何把所有的东西都搬进栅栏的。我把它们搬到了我在身后开凿的山洞，起初这些东西堆得乱七八糟，把地方给全占了，我连转身的空间都没有，于是我就开始着手把洞加宽、加深一些。

当我发现自己在那儿受不到野兽的袭击时，便开始往岩石两侧发展，然后再转向右边，往外面开凿，并且在我的栅栏或围墙外侧做了一扇门。这样我就不但有了一个出入口，作为我帐篷和贮藏室的后门，而且有了更多的空间来存放东西。

现在，我开始专心制造一些我最需要的必需品，尤其是一张椅子和桌子，因为没有了这些东西，我就无法享受我在这个世上本来就不多的乐趣。没有桌子，我就根本无法写字、吃饭、或是做别的能给我带来无穷乐趣的事情。

于是，我开始干活。我一生从未使用过任何工具，但是我慢慢发现，凭着劳动、努力和自己在发明设计上的天分，凡是我需要的东西都能造出来，尤其是有了工具的话。现在尽管我没有工具，也造出了许多东西，其中有些就是仅用一把锛子和一把短柄小斧制成的。也许从没有人这样制过东西，也不会有人这样无止期地劳作吧。

譬如，我若是要一块木板，我唯一的办法只能是先砍倒一棵树，把树横放在面前，再用斧头把两面削平，削成木板一样薄，然后再用锛子将它的表面刮光。

尽量用这种方法，整棵树只能做成一块木板，这需要我付出极大的耐心，好在我的时间和劳力不值什么钱，怎么用都无所谓。

因此，即便费时又费力，我还是先给自己做了一张桌子和一把椅子，其原料是我船上运过来的几块短木板。在我费尽力气用上述方法做成一些木板后，我便用它们沿着洞壁的一侧搭了几层一英尺半宽的大木架，用于摆放工具、钉子和铁器等物品。这样我便可以把东西件件分类放好，我拿它们时就很方便了。

接着，我又在墙上钉了许多小木钉，用来挂枪和其他能挂的东西。倘若有人看到我的山洞，一定会以为它是一个仓库，必要的东西一应俱全，所有物品都伸手可及，全部东西都摆放得井然有序。每当环顾这一切，我的心情就会变得快乐无比。

（丹尼尔·笛福）

丹尼尔·笛福（1661～1731年），他出生于英国伦敦，写过好几本书，不过《鲁滨逊漂流记》是一部让他享有盛名的作品，本文改编自此书。

◇ 鲁滨逊·克鲁索是怎样建造的？

◇ 他是怎样做成木板？

◇ 这篇文章给你什么启示？

ROBINSON CRUSOE'S HOUSE

I have already described my habitation, which was a tent under the side of a rock, surrounded with a strong pale of posts and cables, but I might now rather call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall up against it of turf, about two feet thick on the outside; and, after some time（I think it was a year and a half）I raised rafters from it, leaning to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees and such things as I could get to keep out the rain, which I found at some times of the year very violent.

I have already observed how I brought all my goods into this pale, and into the cave which I had made behind me; but I must observe, too, that at first this was a confused heap of goods, which, as they lay in no order, took up all my place, so that I had no room to turn myself. So I set to work to enlarge my cave and work farther into the earth; for it was a loose, sandy rock, which yielded easily to the labor I bestowed upon it.

And so when I found that I was pretty safe as to beasts of prey, I worked sideways into the rock; and then, turning to the right again, worked quite out, and made me a door to come out on the outside of my pale or fortification. This gave me not only egress and regress, as it was a back way to my tent and to my storehouse, but gave me room to stow my goods.

And now I began to apply myself to make such necessary things as I found I most wanted, particularly a chair and a table; for without these I was not able to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world. I could not write or eat, or do several things with so much pleasure without a table.

So I went to work. I had never handled a tool in my life; and yet in time by labor, application, and contrivance, I found that I wanted nothing but I could have made it, especially if I had had tools; however, I made abundance of things, even without tools, and some with no more tools than an adz and a hatchet, which perhaps were never made that way before, and that with infinite labor.

For example, if I wanted a board, I had no other way but to cut down a tree, set it before me, and hew it flat on either side with my ax till I had brought it to be as thin as a plank, and then dub it smooth with my adz.

It is true, by this method I could make but one board out of a whole tree; but this I had no remedy for but patience, any more than I had for the prodigious deal of time and labor which it took me to make a plank or board; but my time or labor was little worth, and so it was as well employed one way as another.

However, I made me a table and a chair, as I observed above; and this I did out of the short pieces of boards which I brought on my raft from the ship; but when I had wrought out some boards, as above, I made large shelves, of the breadth of a foot and a half, one over another, all along one side of my cave, to lay all my tools, nails, and ironwork on, and, in a word, to separate everything at large in their places, that I might come easily at them.

I knocked pieces into the wall of the rock to hang my guns and all things that would hang up. So that, had my cave been seen, it would have looked like a general magazine of all necessary things; and I had everything so ready at my hand that it was a great pleasure to me to see all my goods in such order, and especially to find my stock of all necessaries so great.

（Daniel Defoe）

第21课　休·爱德尔和托利先生

休·爱德尔只喜欢做那些舒服的事，只要是花力气的事都不喜欢。但在休还是个小男孩的时候，就被家里人送去给一位很严厉的校长照看，校长的名字叫托利先生。

凡是十分了解他的人都认为托利先生是一个十分高尚的人，他对无论是孩子还是成人比世界上其他人都要好。但是，他的面部表情十分严厉和丑陋，他的声音十分刺耳。总之，他所有的方式和习惯对于我们年轻的朋友休·爱德尔来说都非常不舒服。

这位可怕的老校长整天手里拿着一根粗木棍，在他的学生中间神出鬼没。除非所有孩子都坚持上课并安静看书，否则他绝不会让自己休息一下。“这绝不会发生在我头上，”休心里想，“我要逃跑，我要找到回家的路。”

就在第二天早上，休开始逃跑，仅仅带了一些面包和奶酪作为早餐和一点点零花钱作为花费。还没走多远，他就看见一个严肃稳重的男人沿着马路不紧不慢地走着。

“早上好，小伙子！”陌生人说道，他的声音虽然生硬而且严厉，但还是有几分关怀在里面。“你怎么这么早就出来了？你要去哪里？”

那时休还是一个孩子，十分诚实，在他的生命里还不知道要撒谎。因此他没有撒谎，老老实实承认自己是从学校逃出来的，只因为他非常不喜欢托利先生。“哦，很好，我的小朋友！”陌生人回答道，“那么我们可以一起走，我和托利先生同样打过很多交道，我将很高兴找到一个他从来没有听说过的地方。”于是他俩肩并肩亲密地继续接着走。

不久他们便经过一片农田，农田上有几个人正在翻晒干草。休忍不住想，在蔚蓝的天空下灿烂的阳光里翻晒干草，肯定要比关在阴沉的教室里整天被托利先生看着读书要快乐得多。

他想着这些，忍不住停下来，从石墙外向里偷看。突然，他往后跳，抓住他同伴的手，“快，快！”他喊道，“我们快逃吧，否则他会抓住我们的！”

“谁会抓住我们？”陌生人问道。

“托利先生，那位老校长，”休回答道，“你没看到他就在翻晒干草的几个人当中吗？”休指着当中一位年长者，他好像是这片农田的主人。

那个人只穿着一件衬衣，正在忙碌地工作。额头上全是汗，不停地向和他一块干活的人嚷，趁太阳大的时候赶快翻晒干草。奇怪的是，这位老农民的神态和托利先生的神态一模一样，在关键的时候他一定能出现在教室。

“别害怕，”陌生人说道，“这不是托利先生，不是那个校长，这是他的兄弟，他是一位农场主，他不会为难你的，只要你不要成为他农场的一名劳工。”

休虽然相信他同伴的话，但一旦没看到这位和托利先生很像的老农时，他还是很高兴。他们又来到了一块空地，那儿正有几个木匠在建房子。休请求他的同伴停留一会儿，因为木匠们用锯子、刨子和锤子干活是那么灵巧，非常吸引人。休又开始想他是多么希望能够使用这些锯子、刨子和锤子，希望他自己成为一名木匠。但是他突然看到了什么，不由得恐惧地抓住了他朋友的手。

“快点！快，快！”他喊道，“这里又有老托利先生。”陌生人沿着休手指的方向看去，看见一个年纪稍大点的男的，他好像是监督木匠干活的。他在没建好的房子附近走来走去，检查已经做好的活，催促工人使劲干活。只要他那严厉的满是皱纹的面孔一出现，人们便拼命地锯呀锤的。

“哦，不！这不是托利先生，不是那个校长，”陌生人说道，“这是他另外一位兄弟，他是位木匠。”

“我很高兴是这样，”休说，“但是，先生，如果你愿意，我想尽快离开这里，离开他。”

休和陌生人一起没走多远，又遇上了一群士兵。他们穿得十分鲜艳，帽子上插着羽毛，肩上的步枪闪闪发亮。行进在队伍前面的是击鼓手和横笛手，他们演奏出非常欢快的音乐，使得休愿意尾随他们到世界尽头。他对自己说，只要他是名士兵，老托利先生就再也不敢藐视他。

“起步！向前——走！”一个生硬的声音叫道。

小休吓了一大跳，觉得很恐怖，因为这声音听上去非常像他每天在托利先生的教室里听到的声音。休目光投向军队的长官，他看到的肯定是托利先生本人的身影，虽然穿着长官的制服，但看上去还是和以前那样丑陋，那样令人不舒服。

“这肯定就是老托利先生，”休用颤抖的声音说道，“我们走吧，以免他让我们加入他的军队。”

“你又犯错误了，我的小朋友，”陌生人非常平静地回答道，“这只是托利先生的一个兄弟，他一生都在军队服役。你和我都没必要害怕他。”

“好的，好的，”休说，“如果你愿意，先生，我再也不想见到这些士兵了。”于是这个孩子和陌生人又继续他们的旅程，过了一会儿，他们来到了一幢马路边的房子里，房子里一些小伙子和有着玫瑰色脸颊的姑娘，脸上都挂着笑容，伴随着小提琴声正在跳舞。

“哦，我们就在这里停下吧，”休喊道，“托利先生从来不敢在有小提琴和有人跳舞作乐的地方出现。”

但休的话还没说完，他的目光碰巧落在了小提琴手身上。他再次看了看他，整个一个托利先生的翻版！只不过这次他手里拿着琴弓，正在十分轻松、熟练地演奏着，好像他一生一直都是位小提琴手。

“哦，天呀！”休喃喃说道，脸色变得苍白，“好像世界上没有别的人，只有托利先生似的。”

“这不是你那位老校长，”陌生人解释道，“这是他另外一位兄弟，他是一名小提琴手。他为他的家族觉得羞耻，他一般称自己为快乐大师，但他的真实名字叫托利，但是那些真正了解他的人认为他比他的兄弟们更令人不舒服。”

“求你了，让我们继续走吧！”休说道。

于是两个人继续游荡，沿着大路，穿过阴暗的小巷，越过舒适的村庄。但不论他们走到哪里，都能看到托利先生的身影。假如他们走进一幢房子，他会坐在起居室里；假如他们溜进一间厨房，他也会在那儿。他非常自在地出现在每一个农舍中，而且还以这样或那样的面具溜进豪华的大厦里。无论在什么地方，他们都能遇见老校长无数兄弟中的几个。

最后，休觉得自己为逃脱托利先生已经弄得疲惫不堪了。“把我送回去！把我送回去！”可怜的家伙哭喊道，眼泪哗啦啦掉下来。“假如世界上除了托利没有别的，我不妨还是回到学校。”

“那边就是，那边就是学校的房子！”陌生人说道，因为尽管他和小休走了很多路，但他们走的是环线而不是直线。“来吧，我们一块回学校吧。”

休的同伴的声音使休想起了什么，奇怪的是他没有早点发现。休抬起头看着同伴的脸，看！又是一个老托利先生的翻版。这个可怜的孩子每天都和托利在一起，尽管他一直在尽最大的努力逃脱他。

但是得到了一个很好的教训，从那以后，他对学习变得勤奋。因为他现在知道了勤奋一点也不比寻乐或偷懒辛苦。他更加熟悉托利先生了，开始认为他的方式没有那么讨厌了，而且老校长脸上满意的微笑使得他脸上有时候也出现和他母亲一样快乐的微笑。

（纳撒尼尔·霍桑）

纳撒尼尔·霍桑（1804～1864年），出生于马萨诸塞州的赛勒姆，美国著名小说家，本文选自其小说《小纳夫道迪里》。

霍桑是叛美国19世纪影响最大的浪漫主义小立家，美国文学史上第一位短篇小说作家，也是美国文学浪漫主义文学中的心理分析小说的开创者。其主要作品有：《红字》、《石面人像》、《玉石雕像》等。

◇ 休·爱德尔被送往谁的学校？

◇ 他为何跑掉了？

◇ 讲述一下休和陌生人的故事？

◇ 这个故事给我们什么教训？

HUGH IDLE AND MR. TOIL

Hugh Idle loved to do only what was agreeable, and took no delight in labor of any kind. But while Hugh was yet a little boy, he was sent away from home, and put under the care of a very strict schoolmaster, who went by the name of Mr. Toil.

Those who knew him best, affirmed that Mr. Toil was a very worthy character, and that he had done more good, both to children and grown people, than anybody else in the world. He had, however, a severe and ugly countenance; his voice was harsh; and all his ways and customs were disagreeable to our young friend, Hugh Idle.

The whole day long this terrible old schoolmaster sulked about among his scholars, with a big cane in his hand; and unless a lad chose to attend constantly and quietly to his book, he had no chance of enjoying a single quiet moment.“This will never do for me,”thought Hugh;“I'll run off, and try to find my way home.”

So the very next morning off he started, with only some bread and cheese for his breakfast, and very little pocket money to pay his expenses. He had gone but a short distance, when he overtook a man of grave and sedate appearance trudging at a moderate pace along the road.

“Good morning, my fine lad!”said the stranger; and his voice seemed hard and severe, yet had a sort of kindness in it;“whence do you come so early, and whither are you going?”

Now Hugh was a boy of very frank disposition, and had never been known to tell a lie in all his life. Nor did he tell one now, but confessed that he had run away from school on account of his great dislike to Mr. Toil.“Oh, very well, my little friend!”answered the stranger;“then we will go together; for I likewise have had a good deal to do with Mr. Toil, and should be glad to find some place where he was never heard of.”So they walked on very sociably side by side.

By and by their road led them past a field, where some haymakers were at work. Hugh could not help thinking how much pleasanter it must be to make hay in the sunshine, under the blue sky, than to learn lessons all day long, shut up in a dismal schoolroom, continually watched by Mr. Toil.

But in the midst of these thoughts, while he was stopping to peep over the stone wall, he started back and caught hold of his companion's hand.“Quick, quick!”cried he;“let us run away, or he will catch us!”

“Who will catch us?”asked the stranger.

“Mr. Toil, the old schoolmaster,”answered Hugh;“don't you see him among the haymakers?”and Hugh pointed to an elderly man, who seemed to be the owner of the field.

He was busily at work in his shirt sleeves. The drops of sweat stood upon his brow; and he kept constantly crying out to his work people to make hay while the sun shone. Strange to say, the features of the old farmer were precisely the same as those of Mr. Toil, who at that very moment must have been just entering the schoolroom.

“Don't be afraid,”said the stranger;“this is not Mr. Toil, the schoolmaster, but a brother of his, who was bred a farmer. He won't trouble you, unless you become a laborer on his farm.”

Hugh believed what his companion said, but was glad when they were out of sight of the old farmer who bore such a singular resemblance to Mr. Toil. The two travelers came to a spot where some carpenters were building a house. Hugh begged his companion to stop awhile, for it was a pretty sight to see how neatly the carpenters did their work with their saws, planes, and hammers; and he was beginning to think he too should like to use the saw, and the plane, and the hammer, and be a carpenter himself. But suddenly he caught sight of something that made him seize his friend's hand, in a great fright.

“Make haste! quick, quick!”cried he;“there's old Mr. Toil again.”The stranger cast his eyes where Hugh pointed his finger, and saw an elderly man, who seemed to be overseeing the carpenters, as he went to and fro about the unfinished house, marking out the work to be done, and urging the men to be diligent; and wherever he turned his hard and wrinkled visage, they sawed and hammered as if for dear life.

“Oh, no! this is not Mr. Toil, the schoolmaster,”said the stranger;“it is another brother of his who follows the trade of carpenter.”

“I am very glad to hear it,”quoth Hugh;“but if you please, sir, I should like to get out of his way as soon as possible.”

Now Hugh and the stranger had not gone much further, when they met a company of soldiers, gayly dressed, with feathers in their caps, and glittering muskets on their shoulders. In front marched the drummers and fifers, making such merry music that Hugh would gladly have followed them to the end of the world. If he were only a soldier, he said to himself, old Mr. Toil would never venture to look him in the face.

“Quickstep! forward! march!”shouted a gruff voice.

Little Hugh started in great dismay; for this voice sounded precisely like that which he had heard every day in Mr. Toil's schoolroom. And turning his eyes to the captain of the company, what should he see but the very image of old Mr. Toil himself, in an officer's dress, to be sure, but looking as ugly and disagreeable as ever.

“This is certainly old Mr. Toil,”said Hugh, in a trembling voice.“Let us away, for fear he should make us enlist in his company.”

“You are mistaken again, my little friend,”replied the stranger very composedly.“This is only a brother of Mr. Toil's, who has served in the army all his life. You and I need not be afraid of him.”

“Well, well,”said Hugh,“if you please, sir, I don't want to see the soldiers any more.”So the child and the stranger resumed their journey; and, after awhile, they came to a house by the roadside, where a number of young men and rosy cheeked girls, with smiles on their faces, were dancing to the sound of a fiddle.

“Oh, let us stop here,”cried Hugh;“Mr. Toil will never dare to show his face where there is a fiddler, and where people are dancing and making merry.”

But the words had scarcely died away on the little boy's tongue, when, happening to cast his eyes on the fiddler, whom should he behold again but the likeness of Mr. Toil, armed with a fiddle bow this time, and flourishing it with as much ease and dexterity as if he had been a fiddler all his life.

“Oh, dear me!”whispered he, turning pale;“it seems as if there were nobody but Mr. Toil in the world.”

“This is not your old schoolmaster,”observed the stranger,“but another brother of his, who has learned to be a fiddler. He is ashamed of his family, and generally calls himself Master Pleasure; but his real name is Toil, and those who know him best think him still more disagreeable than his brothers.”

“Pray, let us go on,”said Hugh.

Well, thus the two went wandering along the highway and in shady lanes and through pleasant villages, and wherever they went, behold! there was the image of old Mr. Toil. If they entered a house, he sat in the parlor; if they peeped into the kitchen, he was there! He made himself at home in every cottage, and stole, under one disguise or another, into the most splendid mansions. Everywhere they stumbled on some of the old schoolmaster's innumerable brothers.

At length, little Hugh found himself completely worn out with running away from Mr. Toil.“Take me back! take me back!”cried the poor fellow, bursting into tears.“If there is nothing but Toil all the world over, I may just as well go back to the schoolhouse.”

“Yonder it is; there is the schoolhouse!”said the stranger; for though he and little Hugh had taken a great many steps, they had traveled in a circle instead of a straight line.“Come, we will go back to the school together.”

There was something in his companion's voice that little Hugh now remembered; and it is strange that he had not remembered it sooner. Looking up into his face, behold! there again was the likeness of old Mr. Toil, so that the poor child had been in company with Toil all day, even while he had been doing his best to run away from him.

Little Hugh Idle, however, had learned a good lesson, and from that time forward was diligent at his task, because he now knew that diligence is not a whit more toilsome than sport or idleness. And when he became better acquainted with Mr. Toil, he began to think his ways were not so disagreeable, and that the old schoolmaster's smile of approbation made his face sometimes appear almost as pleasant as even that of Hugh's mother.

（Nathaniel Hawthorne）

第22课　最好的资产

你也许会说谦逊的约翰·布鲁克在他忙碌、平静、谦卑的一生中，根本没有去交朋友的时间，然而现在他们却突然从四面八方冒了出来——有老有少，有富有穷，有高有矮，因为无意中他影响了许多人，他的美德留在了人们的记忆里，他默默的善举如今被广为称道。

聚在他棺木的人群便是一篇最好的颂文。其中有他忠实服务了多年的富人，他为纪念母亲而精心关照的穷老妇人，他挚爱的妻子，连死神都破坏不了他给她带来的幸福，永远会把他留在心里的他的兄弟姐妹，已经感到失去他那有力的手臂和温柔的声音的痛苦的一双小儿女，一帮为他们最和蔼的玩伴而哭泣的小孩子，和那些带着柔和的表情注视着他们永远不会忘记的场面的大个小伙。

那天晚上，普拉姆费尔德的男孩们像往常一样坐在台阶上聊天。时值11月，月色正是温柔时。孩子们自然谈起了白天的事情。

一向冲动的埃米尔首先发言：“弗里茨伯伯最聪明，劳里伯伯最亲切，但约翰伯伯最好，我见过的人中我最想像他一样。”

“我也是。你听到了那些绅士今天对爷爷说的话吗？我想别人在我去世时对我也这样评价。”弗朗茨后悔自己从前没有好好地理解约翰伯伯。

“他们怎么说的？”杰克问道。白天的场面给他留下了深刻的印象。

“约翰伯伯以前的一个老板说他工作过分勤勉，任何事都无可指责。另一位绅士说再多的钱也抵不上约翰伯伯对他的忠诚的服务，然后爷爷说他是最好的。”

“约翰伯伯一度曾在一个弄虚作假的人那里做事，当那人想用高薪请伯伯帮忙时，伯伯不肯。那人生气地说，‘你原则这样强，永远别想事业有什么发展。’伯伯回敬了他一句，‘我永远不想抛开原则来求什么发展。’然后去了一个更穷、更辛苦的地方。”

“好样的！”几个男孩发出了由衷的赞叹。他们从没有像今天一样地领会这则小故事的含义。

“他不富裕，是吗？”杰克问。

“是的。”

“他没有做过任何惊天动地的事情，是吗？”

“没有。”

“他光是个好人？”

“仅此而已。”弗朗茨真希望约翰伯伯确实做过什么值得夸耀的事情，因为杰克明显对他的回答失望了。

“光好就是全部了。”弗里茨伯伯说。他听到了最后的这几句话，并猜出了孩子们的心思。

“让我来告诉你一点关于约翰·布鲁克的事情吧，你们就会明白为什么人们会这样敬重他，为什么他满足于做个好人，而不是富人或名人的原因了。他在任何事上都尽了自己的责任，而且又是那么乐观和忠实，即使面对贫穷、孤独和多年的辛劳，他还能保持耐心、勇敢和快乐的心态。

“他是一个好儿子。只要他母亲需要他的时候，他就会抛开他自己的计划与母亲呆在一起。他是一个好朋友。他教给劳里伯伯的远不止希腊语和拉丁语，无意中他给劳里伯伯树立了一个正直的榜样。”

“他是一个忠诚的雇员。凡是雇他的老板都发现他的价值不可取代。他是一个好丈夫，好父亲。他是那样的温柔，开明，体贴，我和劳里和他这么熟，还只有在我们发现了他独自默默地为他家人所做的一切，我们才明白他对家人有多么热爱。”

弗里茨伯伯沉默了一会，月光中孩子们都像雕塑似的一动不动地等着下文。弗里茨伯伯接着说道：“他快去世的时候，我对他说，‘不用担心你的妻子和小儿女，我会保证他们衣食无忧。’他笑着握了握我的手，用他一贯欢快的语气回答道，‘不用了，我已经为他们安排好了。’”

“果然如此，我们翻阅了他的文件——一切都井然有序——没有一笔债务，妥善留下的积蓄足够他妻子过舒适自足的生活。到那时我们才明白他为什么生活这样简朴，放弃这样多的乐趣，仅以助人为乐趣，而且工作这么努力的原因。我想正是这样辛苦的工作缩短了他的寿命。”

“虽然他常常帮助别人，他自己却从不开口求人，而是一个人默默勇敢地担起重负。没有人可以埋怨他，因为他是那样的正直和慷慨。如今当他离开我们的时候，所有的人都能找到那么多爱他、赞美他、敬重他的理由，我非常自豪自己是他的朋友。在我去世的时候，我宁愿留给我的子女和他一样的遗产，而不是大笔的金钱。”

“是的！真正纯朴的善才是人生的资产。名利会如云烟般散尽，而善却能永存，而且是我们惟一能从这个世界带走的东西。记住这一点，我的孩子们，而且如果你们想赢得别人的尊重、信任和爱戴，就按约翰·布鲁克的方式去生活吧。”

（露易萨·梅·阿尔科特）

露易萨·梅·阿尔科特（1833～1888年），出生于宾夕法尼亚州的德国城。除了其他类型的作品外，她还创作了许多儿童作品。在美国内战时期，她在华盛顿市兼做医院护士的工作。本文改编自《小男人》。

THE BEST CAPITAL

One would have said that modest John Brooke, in his busy, quiet, humble life, had had little time to make friends; but now they seemed to start up everywhere,—old and young, rich and poor, high and low; for all unconsciously his influence had made itself widely felt, his virtues were remembered, and his hidden charities rose up to bless him.

The group about his coffin was a far more eloquent eulogy than any that man could utter. There were the rich men whom he had served faithfully for years; the poor old women whom he cherished with his little store, in memory of his mother; the wife to whom he had given such happiness that death could not mar it utterly; the brothers and sisters in whose hearts he had made a place forever; the little son and daughter who already felt the loss of his strong arm and tender voice; the young children, sobbing for their kindest playmate, and the tall lads, watching with softened faces a scene which they never could forget.

That evening, as the Plumfield boys sat on the steps, as usual, in the mild September moonlight, they naturally fell to talking of the event of the day.

Emil began by breaking out in his impetuous way,“Uncle Fritz is the wisest, and Uncle Laurie the jolliest, but Uncle John was the best; and I'd rather be like him than any man I ever saw.”

“So would I. Did you hear what those gentlemen said to Grandpa to day? I would like to have that said of me when I was dead;”and Franz felt with regret that he had not appreciated Uncle John enough.

“What did they say?”asked Jack, who had been much impressed by the scenes of the day.

“Why, one of the partners of Mr. Laurence, where Uncle John has been ever so long, was saying that he was conscientious almost to a fault as a business

man, and above reproach in all things. Another gentleman said no money could repay the fidelity and honesty with which Uncle John had served him, and then Grandpa told them the best of all. ”

“Uncle John once had a place in the office of a man who cheated, and when this man wanted uncle to help him do it, uncle wouldn't, though he was offered a big salary. The man was angry, and said, ‘You will never get on in business with such strict principles;’ and uncle answered back, ‘I never will try to get on without them,’ and left the place for a much harder and poorer one.”

“Good!”cried several of the boys warmly, for they were in the mood to understand and value the little story as never before.

“He wasn't rich, was he?”asked Jack.

“No.”

“He never did anything to make a stir in the world, did he?”

“No.”

“He was only good?”

“That's all;”and Franz found himself wishing that Uncle John had done something to boast of, for it was evident that Jack was disappointed by his replies.

“Only good. That is all and everything,”said Uncle Fritz, who had overheard the last few words, and guessed what was going on in the minds of the lads.

“Let me tell you a little about John Brooke, and you will see why men honor him, and why he was satisfied to be good rather than rich or famous. He simply did his duty in all things, and did it so cheerfully, so faithfully, that it kept him patient, brave, and happy, through poverty and loneliness and years of hard work.

”He was a good son, and gave up his own plans to stay and live with his mother while she needed him. He was a good friend, and taught your Uncle Laurie much beside his Greek and Latin, did it unconsciously, perhaps, by showing him an example of an upright man.

“He was a faithful servant, and made himself so valuable to those who employed him that they will find it hard to fill his place. He was a good husband and father, so tender, wise, and thoughtful, that Laurie and I learned much of him, and only knew how well he loved his family when we discovered all he had done for them, unsuspected and unassisted.”

Uncle Fritz stopped a minute, and the boys sat like statues in the moonlight until he went on again, in a subdued and earnest voice:“As he lay dying, I said to him, ‘Have no care for your wife and the little ones; I will see that they never want.’ Then he smiled and pressed my hand, and answered, in his cheerful way, ‘No need of that; I have cared for them.’

“And so he had, for when we looked among his papers, all was in order,—not a debt remained; and safely put away was enough to keep his wife comfortable and independent. Then we knew why he had lived so plainly, denied himself so many pleasures, except that of charity, and worked so hard that I fear he shortened his good life.

“He never asked help for himself, though often for others, but bore his own burden and worked out his own task bravely and quietly. No one can say a word of complaint against him, so just and generous and kind was he; and now, when he is gone, all find so much to love and praise and honor, that I am proud to have been his friend, and would rather leave my children the legacy he leaves his than the largest fortune ever made.

“Yes! simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us. Remember that, my boys; and, if you want to earn respect and confidence and love, follow in the footsteps of John Brooke.”

（Louisa May Alcott）

第23课　母亲的墓地

母亲去世离今已有13个年头了。我回到久违的家乡，站在了母亲的墓前。从那悲哀的时期以后，我已经发生了巨大的变化。童稚的岁月早已消逝，随之而去的是我那活泼的性格。

世界也已改变，当我站在母亲墓前时，我几乎想不起从前我曾是一个无忧无虑的小女孩，而那时母亲常常无限温柔地亲吻我的脸颊。

但是这13年的沧桑变幻依然没有从我的记忆里抹去母亲的笑容。仿佛我是在昨天见到了她，仿佛她那熟悉的声音还萦绕在我的耳畔。儿时那些欢乐的旧梦又一次回到了我的脑海里，是那样的清晰。若不是我还想起了一件痛苦的往事，我留下的眼泪就一定是幸福的眼泪，而不是现在这般苦涩了。

那件往事也许看起来是件小事，但是它却让我的心隐隐作痛。我之所以要说出来，是想让所有有父母疼爱的孩子学会珍视自己的父母。我的母亲去世前病了很久，我都习惯了她那苍白的脸色和微弱的嗓音，不会像一般的孩子会被吓着。起初，确实我哭得十分伤心，但当我每天放学回家，看到母亲依然如旧，我便开始相信上天会把母亲留给我，可是他们却告诉我母亲活不长了。

有一天，我在学校受了点委屈，带着沮丧而烦躁的心情，我回到了家，走进了母亲的卧室，她比平常更加苍白，但还是以她那充满深情的笑容迎接我的回家。唉！当我回顾这逝去的13个年头时，我想我的心若是还没有被溶化的话就定然是石头了。母亲要我上楼端一杯水给她。我怒气冲冲地问她为什么不叫佣人端呢。母亲脸上露出了微含责备的神情，对我说：“难道我的女儿就不能为她可怜的、生病的母亲端杯水吗？”她说话时的这种神情我即使活到一百岁也不会忘记。

我去给她端了一杯水，然而却很不乐意。我没有像往常一样冲着她笑，并且吻她，而是绷着脸，把杯子很快放下，然后离开了她的卧室。玩了一会儿后，我就回我自己的房间里睡觉了，也没有跟母亲道晚安；但当我独自一人呆在黑暗和寂静中时，我想起了母亲的脸是多么的惨白，她对我说那句“难道我的女儿就不能为她可怜的、生病的母亲端杯水吗？”时声音是多么的颤抖。我怎么也睡不着，我溜进了她的卧室，想求得她的原谅。母亲已经沉沉睡去，而他们叫我不能吵醒她。

我没有告诉任何人我的心事，而是溜回了床上。我决心明天一大早就起床告诉妈妈我多么懊悔。当我睁开眼时，外面已是阳光灿烂。我赶紧披上衣服，急急跑到母亲房里。她死了！她再也不能说话，再也不能对我微笑。当我摸她那常亲抚我的头的手时，手冰得我都吓了一跳。

我跪在她身边，哭得悲恸欲绝。那时我真希望我也死去，和母亲同葬在一起。如今已长大的我情愿用世间的一切来交换母亲亲口说出的原谅，如果我可以交换的话。但我却永远唤不回我的母亲了。当我站在她的墓前，一想到她对我的无限疼爱，她那微含责备的表情就像毒蛇一样咬噬着我的心。

MY MOTHER'S GRAVE

It was thirteen years since my mother's death, when, after a long absence from my native village, I stood beside the sacred mound beneath which I had seen her buried. Since that mournful period, a great change had come over me. My childish years had passed away, and with them my youthful character. The world was altered, too; and as I stood at my mother's grave, I could hardly realize that I was the same thoughtless, happy creature, whose checks she so often kissed in an excess of tenderness.

But the varied events of thirteen years had not effaced the remembrance of that mother's smile. It seemed as if I had seen her but yesterday—as if the blessed sound of her well remembered voice was in my ear. The gay dreams of my infancy and childhood were brought back so distinctly to my mind that, had it not been for one bitter recollection, the tears I shed would have been gentle and refreshing.

The circumstance may seem a trifling one, but the thought of it now pains my heart; and I relate it, that those children who have parents to love them may learn to value them as they ought. My mother had been ill a long time, and I had become so accustomed to her pale face and weak voice, that I was not frightened at them, as children usually are. At first, it is true, I sobbed violently; but when, day after day, I returned from school, and found her the same, I began to believe she would always be spared to me; but they told me she would die.

One day when I had lost my place in the class, I came home discouraged and fretful. I went to my mother's chamber. She was paler than usual, but she met me with the same affectionate smile that always welcomed my return. Alas! when I look back through the lapse of thirteen years, I think my heart must have been stone not to have been melted by it. She requested me to go downstairs and bring her a glass of water. I pettishly asked her why she did not call a domestic to do it. With a look of mild reproach, which I shall never forget if I live to be a hundred years old, she said, ”Will not my daughter bring a glass of water for her poor, sick mother?“

I went and brought her the water, but I did not do it kindly. Instead of smiling, and kissing her as I had been wont to do, I set the glass down very quickly, and left the room. After playing a short time, I went to bed without bidding my mother good night; but when alone in my room, in darkness and silence, I remembered how pale she looked, and how her voice trembled when she said, ”Will not my daughter bring a glass of water for her poor, sick mother?“ I could not sleep. I stole into her chamber to ask forgiveness. She had sunk into an easy slumber, and they told me I must not waken her.

I did not tell anyone what troubled me, but stole back to my bed, resolved to rise early in the morning and tell her how sorry I was for my conduct. The sun was shining brightly when I awoke, and, hurrying on my clothes, I hastened to my mother's chamber. She was dead! She never spoke more—never smiled upon me again; and when I touched the hand that used to rest upon my head in blessing, it was so cold that it made me start.

I bowed down by her side, and sobbed in the bitterness of my heart. I then wished that I might die, and be buried with her; and, old as I now am, I would give worlds, were they mine to give, could my mother but have lived to tell me she forgave my childish ingratitude. But I can not call her back; and when I stand by her grave, and whenever I think of her manifold kindness, the memory of that reproachful look she gave me will bite like a serpent and sting like an adder.

第24课　安妮的梦

在一个寒冷冬天的晚上，辛克莱一家除了安妮都到邻居家串门去了，她决定在家学习自然哲学，那一课又长又难。

一个人在家，时间过得飞快，但安妮学习完后，家人还有足足半个小时才能回来。

合上书本，安妮顺势往软软的扶手椅上一靠，一会儿就进入了梦乡。她梦见在一个非常寒冷的早晨，自己站在饭厅的火炉旁，观察玻璃盆，里面盛满了水。

“哎呀，”她叹了一口气，“快到上学时间了。今天早晨这么冷，我真不想去上学了，而且这一课太长了，不知道我能不能背诵下来。让我想想，呃……我想，水在100℃时才能蒸发……”

“胡说什么呀！”“真滑稽啊！”旁边一些奇怪的声音异口同声地叫着。“看哪！难道这是水沸腾吗？多么荒谬呀！100℃，我们能飞起来吗？哈！哈！哈！”

“你们是谁？”安妮惊奇地问道。“我该看哪里？”“当然是看盆里。”

安妮照着做了，于是看到了许许多多的小东西在快速地到处跑动。她发现随着火的温度上升，它们的数量也随之增加。“哎呀，可爱的小东西们！”她问道，“你们在做什么呀？”

“我们是水精灵，”其中一个脆生生地答道，“正如你所看到的，当惬意的温暖扑面而来时，我们就会飞起来。”

一会儿，它展开翅膀飞了起来，加入了同伴的行列，它们就像卷曲的白色的云彩，在安妮的头顶上飞舞着。是那么轻盈，那么小巧，一会儿就不见了。

安妮看不到它们飞到哪儿去了，于是又向盆里看去。“这么热，烫疼你了吧？”安妮问其中一个道。“还没有达到100℃呢，”小精灵不无讽刺地说。

“不，不，”安妮气呼呼地回答道，“我记得100℃是水的沸点。我的意思是说，你们受热之后，才在这么寒冷的天气飞走？”

“不，不，”小精灵哈哈大笑，“我们喜欢这样。这是英明的上帝制定的规则，所以那样不会伤害到我们。我们无时无刻不在工作，也就是说，变成不同的形式就是我们的工作。如果愿意的话，请你走到窗户旁，你会看到我的一些兄弟姐妹们都附在玻璃上。”

安妮走到窗户旁，刚开始只看到了一些美丽的窗花。然而，很快，她就发现玻璃上聚集了许许多多的小精灵，他们舒展着雪白的翅膀，熠熠发光。

“天哪，”安妮快乐地叫道，“这是我所看到的最美丽的景致。亲爱的，你叫什么名字呀？”她向一个头戴玫瑰花冠的精灵问道。小精灵回答的声音又尖又细，把安妮给逗乐了。

“Fine Frost是我们的姓，”小精灵说，“我自己有名字，但我不想告诉你，因为你取笑我，太不礼貌了。”

“亲爱的，对不起，”安妮抱歉地说，“我是忍俊不禁。如果你告诉我你是怎么过来的，我就不嘲笑你了，我刚才与那边盆子里你的一个兄弟交谈过。”

于是，小精灵高贵地叠起翅膀，说，“既然你发誓不再无礼，我就把我所知道的都告诉你吧！尽管故事非常简短。”

“昨天晚上，我们就从玻璃盆里逃了出来，就像你今天早晨看到我们的伙伴所做的那样。哎呀，逃出来是多么轻松，多么自由啊！因为我们长得小巧玲珑，我们在房间里飞来飞去，没有人看得见我们。”

“不一会儿，我就跟伙伴飞到了这扇窗户上并降落到玻璃上，因为天冷，就由水精灵变成了现在的Fine Frost精灵。”“太奇妙了，”安妮说，“做一个精灵好吗？”

“哦，当然了，做一个精灵非常快乐。一整个晚上在月光下熠熠发光，可把我们高兴坏了。当时，我戴了一个长长的花环，镶嵌着冰珍珠和冰钻石。你看，这里就有一颗，太阳快照过来了。待会儿，我们又要变成水精灵了。”

“你害怕被融化吗？”安妮问道。“不，不怕。”精灵肯定地回答道，“我喜欢经常地变来变去。”

突然，一个想法在安妮的脑子里一闪，如果赶在太阳融化它之前对着它吹气，会怎么样呢？她想到就做到。这时，许许多多的霜精灵成山成堆地降落到窗台上，变成了一颗水滴。

“哎呀，我是不是伤到它们了？”她惊呼了起来。“没有，没有。”许多个声音异口同声地答道，“我们只是又变成了水精灵而已。我们哪儿也没有伤到，只是形状发生了变化。”“你们永远是美丽、可爱的小精灵，”安妮说，“我希望——”

这时，门铃响了，吵醒了安妮。她从椅子上跳了起来，原来家里人回来了。他们都说拜访进行得很愉快，可是安妮不相信他们的拜访能好过她做的梦。

ANNIE'S DREAM

It was a clear, cold, winter evening, and all the Sinclairs but Annie had gone out for a neighborly visit. She had resolved to stay at home and study a long, difficult lesson in Natural Philosophy.

Left to herself, the evening passed quickly, but the lesson was learned a full half hour before the time set for the family to come home.

Closing her book, she leaned back in the soft armchair in which she was sitting, soon fell asleep, and began to dream. She dreamed that it was a very cold morning, and that she was standing by the dining room stove, looking into the glass basin which was every day filled with water for evaporation.

“Oh, dear,”she sighed,“it is nearly school time. I don't want to go out in the cold this morning. Then there is that long lesson. I wonder if I can say it. Let me see—it takes two hundred and twelve degrees of heat, I believe, for water to evaporate—”

“Nonsense!”“Ridiculous!”shouted a chorus of strange little voices near by;“Look here! is this water boiling? What an idea; two hundred and twelve degrees before we can fly, ha, ha!”

“Who are you?”asked Annie, in amazement.“Where must I look?”“In the basin, of course.”

Annie looked, and saw a multitude of tiny forms moving swiftly around, their numbers increasing as the heat of the fire increased.“Why you dear little things!”said she,“what are you doing down there?”

“We are water sprites,”answered one, in the clearest voice that can be imagined,“and when this delightful warmth comes all about us, we become so light that we fly off, as you see.”

In another moment he had joined a crowd of his companions that were spreading their wings and flying off in curling, white clouds over Annie's head. But they were so light and thin that they soon disappeared in the air.

She could not see where they went, so she again turned to the basin.“Does n't it hurt you,”she asked one,“to be heated—?”“Not always to two hundred and twelve,”said the sprite, mischievously.

“No, no,”replied Annie, half vexed;“I remember, that is boiling point—but I mean, to be heated as you all are, and then to fly off in the cold?”

“Oh, no,”laughed the little sprite;“we like it. We are made to change by God's wise laws, and so it can't hurt us. We are all the time at work, in our way, taking different shapes. It is good for us. If you will go to the window, you will find some of my brothers and sisters on the glass.”

Annie went to the window, and at first could see nothing but some beautiful frostwork on it. Soon, however, the panes seemed to swarm with little folks. Their wings were as white as snow, and sparkled with ice jewels.

“Oh,”cried Annie,“this is the prettiest sight I ever saw. What is your name, darling?”she asked one that wore a crown of snow roses. The little voice that replied was so sharp and fine that Annie thought it seemed like a needle point of sound, and she began to laugh.

“Fine Frost is our family name,”it said.“I have a first name of my own, but I shall not tell you what it is, for you are so impolite as to laugh at me.”

“I beg your pardon, dear,”said Annie;“I could not help it. I will not laugh at you any more if you will tell me how you came here. I have been talking with one of your brothers over there in the basin.”

The little sprite then folded her wings in a dignified manner, and said,“I will tell you all I know about it, since you promise to be polite. It is a very short story, however.

”Last evening we all escaped from the glass basin, as you have seen our companions do this morning. Oh, how light and free we felt! But we were so very delicate and thin that no one saw us as we flew about in the air of the room.

“After a while I flew with these others to this window, and, as we alighted on the glass, the cold changed us from water sprites into sprites of the Fine Frost family.”“It is very wonderful,”said Annie.“Is it nice to be a sprite?”

“Oh, yes, we are very gay. All last night we had a fine time sparkling in the moonlight. I wore a long wreath full of ice pearls and diamonds. Here is a piece of it. Before long we shall be water sprites again. I see the sun is coming this way.”

“Shall you dread to be melted?”inquired Annie.“No, indeed,”answered the sprite.“I like to change my form now and then.”

A thought flashed across Annie's brain. What if she should breathe on the frost and not wait for the sun to melt it. In a moment more she had done so. Down fell a great number of the tiny mountains and castles, carrying with them a multitude of frost sprites, and all that could be seen was a drop of water on the window sill.

“Oh, dear! have I hurt them?”she exclaimed.“No, no,”replied a chorus of many small voices from the drop of water,“we are only water sprites again. Nothing hurts us; we merely change.”“But you are always pretty little things,”said Annie.“I wish—”

Here a ring at the doorbell woke Annie. She started up to find the family had returned from their visit, which all declared was a delightful one. But Annie said she did not believe they had enjoyed their visit better than she had her half hour's dream.

第25课　优秀的朗诵者

传说有一天，普鲁士国王弗雷德里克普鲁士国王弗雷德里克二世（1712～1788年），即弗雷德里克大普，德国最伟大统治者之一。他的军事成绩突出，智慧而公正地治国，文学修养很高。他还用法语撰写过数篇美文。这位国王的很多趣闻轶事一直在世间流传，本文所讲的这个故事便是其中之一。正坐在他的私人房间里。这时，士兵呈上一份诉状，等候国王御批。国王刚刚打猎回来，也许是强烈的阳光或是其他什么东西弄花了他的眼睛，他一个字也看不清。

他的贴身侍卫正好不在，呈递诉状的士兵也不识字。宫殿里有一位侍从，他是国王最喜爱的男仆，于是国王传他过来。这位侍从是朝廷中一位贵族的儿子，但他的朗读能力非常差劲儿。

首先，他发音不清，当他朗读的时候，总喜欢把好几个词挤在一起，就好像它们是一个长单词的几个音节，必须尽快把它们读完了。他发音也不准确，而且他从来不变化声调，别人根本听不懂他朗读的东西是什么意思。他的声音低沉而单调，一点儿没有起伏变化。“停下！”国王不耐烦地说道，“你在读拍卖物品清单吗？把你的同伴叫过来。”站在门旁边的另一位侍从走过来，国王把诉状交给他。这第二位侍从非常做作地嗽了嗽嗓子，国王开玩笑地问他，他昨晚是不是在公共花园里敞着门睡的觉。

但是，这位侍从非常自负，没有理睬国王的嘲笑，他决心不犯他的同伴所犯的错误。于是他开始慢慢地、故弄玄虚地朗读诉状，拖着长音，着重强调每个词。他的样子太令人生厌了，国王嚷道：“停下！你在读幼儿识字课本吗？滚出去！不，等等，留下来！把坐在喷泉旁边的那个小女孩叫到我这儿来。”

国王指点的这个小女孩是皇家花园园丁雇佣的一位工人的女儿，她是来帮助父亲播撒花种的。就像普鲁士的很多穷人一样，她受过良好的教育。她被带到国王面前，显得有些惊慌。国王告诉她，他的眼睛不好，希望她能帮他朗读诉状，小女孩这才明白，并开始平静下来。

欧内斯婷（小女孩的名字）喜欢大声朗读，很多邻居经常围在她父亲的房子周围，听她朗读。那些自己无法阅读的人，在收到远方亲戚或孩子的来信时，也经常来找她帮忙，所以她逐渐形成了很好的习惯，能熟练而清楚地朗读各种笔迹的内容。

国王将诉状递给她，她先快速浏览了一下开头，了解一下诉状的大概内容。她读着读着，眼睛开始闪闪发亮，胸脯上下起伏。“怎么了？”国王问道，“你到底知不知道怎样朗读？”“哦，知道，陛下，”她回答道，还没忘了用人们习惯的头衔称呼他，“如果可以的话，我现在就读。”

两位侍从想离开房间。“留下！”国王命令道。小女孩开始朗读诉状。诉状是一位可怜的寡妇写的，她唯一的儿子应征入伍，但他的身体不好，难以适应军营生活，他的志向也不在于此。他的父亲在一场战役中牺牲了，儿子非常想做一位肖像画家。

这位寡妇以简单、朴素的语言讲述了她的故事，感人至深。欧内斯婷朗读的时候也倾注了很多感情，吐字不紧不慢，音调纯正清楚，等她读完的时候，国王眼里已满是泪水。他说：“啊！现在我明白了，但是，如果我让那两位年轻的绅士给我读的话，我就永远不会明白这篇诉状的意思。现在，我将解除一年他们为我的服务，命令他们用这段时间去学习。”

“至于你，年轻的女士，”国王接着说，“我知道，对你来说最好的奖赏就是派你去向这位可怜的寡妇传达我的旨意，立即免除她儿子的军役。让我看看，你的书写能力是不是与你的朗读能力一样优秀。给你这支笔，照我说的写。”然后他口授了一个命令，欧内斯婷写完，他签了字。然后他叫来一位士兵，命令士兵护送女孩完成命令。

欧内斯婷用自己的朗读能力帮助了别人，而且受到了国王的赏识，她多么高兴呀！首先，对于那些穷苦的邻居，她可以指导他们，让他们开心。而且那个写诉状的寡妇，现在不仅她的儿子回到了她身边，而且他还奉命为国王画像。后来，这个男孩很快就出名了，很多人请他为自己画像，他都忙不过来了。他和他的母亲对小女孩的感激之情是无法用语言表达的。

欧内斯婷还帮助了她的父亲，他成了国王的首席园丁。国王当然也没有忘记她，他亲自支付她所有的学费，让她接受良好的教育。至于那两位侍从，她也间接帮助了他们。他们对自己差劲的朗读水平感到非常害臊，因此开始如饥似渴地学习，最后终于克服了最初的缺点。后来，他们两个人一个成了一名律师，另一个成了一位政治家，两个人都很有名气，而他们的成就，主要归功于他们优秀的演说能力。

THE GOOD READER

It is told of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, that, as he was seated one day in his private room, a written petition was brought to him with the request that it should be immediately read. The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other cause, had so dazzled his eyes that he found it difficult to make out a single word of the writing.

His private secretary happened to be absent; and the soldier who brought the petition could not read. There was a page, or favorite boy servant, waiting in the hall, and upon him the King called. The page was a son of one of the noblemen of the court, but proved to be a very poor reader.

In the first place, he did not articulate distinctly. He huddled his words together in the utterance, as if they were syllables of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible. His pronunciation was bad, and he did not modulate his voice so as to bring out the meaning of what he read. Every sentence was uttered with a dismal monotony of voice, as if it did not differ in any respect from that which preceded it.

“Stop!”said the King, impatiently.“Is it an auctioneer's list of goods to be sold that you are hurrying over? Send your companion to me.”Another page who stood at the door now entered, and to him the King gave the petition. The second page began by hemming and clearing his throat in such an affected manner that the King jokingly asked him whether he had not slept in the public garden, with the gate open, the night before.

The second page had a good share of self conceit, however, and so was not greatly confused by the King's jest. He determined that he would avoid the mistake which his comrade had made. So he commenced reading the petition slowly and with great formality, emphasizing every word, and prolonging the articulation of every syllable. But his manner was so tedious that the King cried out,“Stop! are you reciting a lesson in the elementary sounds? Out of the room! But no: stay! Send me that little girl who is sitting there by the fountain.”

The girl thus pointed out by the King was a daughter of one of the laborers employed by the royal gardener; and she had come to help her father weed the flower beds. It chanced that, like many of the poor people in Prussia, she had received a good education. She was somewhat alarmed when she found herself in the King's presence, but took courage when the King told her that he only wanted her to read for him, as his eyes were weak.

Now, Ernestine（for this was the name of the little girl）was fond of reading aloud, and often many of the neighbors would assemble at her father's house to hear her; those who could not read themselves would come to her, also, with their letters from distant friends or children, and she thus formed the habit of reading various sorts of handwriting promptly and well.

The King gave her the petition, and she rapidly glanced through the opening lines to get some idea of what it was about. As she read, her eyes began to glisten, and her breast to heave.“What is the matter?”asked the King;“don't you know how to read?”“Oh, yes! sire,”she replied, addressing him with the title usually applied to him:“I will now read it, if you please.”

The two pages wore about to leave the room.“Remain,”said the King. The little girl began to read the petition. It was from a poor widow, whose only son had been drafted to serve in the army, although his health was delicate and his pursuits had been such as to unfit him for military life. His father had been killed in battle, and the son had a strong desire to become a portrait painter.

The writer told her story in a simple, concise manner, that carried to the heart a belief of its truth; and Ernestine read it with so much feeling, and with an articulation so just, in tones so pure and distinct, that when she had finished, the King, into whose eyes the tears had started, exclaimed,“Oh! now I understand what it is all about; but I might never have known, certainly I never should have felt, its meaning had I trusted to these young gentlemen, whom I now dismiss from my service for one year, advising them to occupy their time in learning to read.”

“As for you, my young lady,”continued the King,“I know you will ask no better reward for your trouble than the pleasure of carrying to this poor widow my order for her son's immediate discharge. Let me see whether you can write as well as you can read. Take this pen, and write as I dictate.”He then dictated an order, which Ernestine wrote, and he signed. Calling one of his guards, he bade him go with the girl and see that the order was obeyed.

How much happiness was Ernestine the means of bestowing through her good elocution, united to the happy circumstance that brought it to the knowledge of the King! First, there were her poor neighbors, to whom she could give instruction and entertainment. Then, there was the poor widow who sent the petition, and who not only regained her son, but received through Ernestine an order for him to paint the King's likeness; so that the poor boy soon rose to great distinction, and had more orders than he could attend to. Words could not express his gratitude, and that of his mother, to the little girl.

And Ernestine had, moreover, the satisfaction of aiding her father to rise in the world, so that he became the King's chief gardener. The King did not forget her, but had her well educated at his own expense. As for the two pages, she was indirectly the means of doing them good, also; for, ashamed of their bad reading, they commenced studying in earnest, till they overcame the faults that had offended the King. Both finally rose to distinction, one as a lawyer, and the other as a statesman; and they owed their advancement in life chiefly to their good elocution.

第26课　不满的钟摆

在一个农夫的厨房里有座古老的钟，它已经走了50年了。在一个夏天的清晨，当家人还在梦中的时候，老钟忽然停下了。这时，表盘（如果我们相信这个童话的话）换上一副惊讶的表情，指针徒劳地想继续跳动，轮轴惊讶地一动不动，砝码沉默地吊着，每个成员都觉得自己必须把责任推卸到其他人身上。不久，表盘开展了正式调查，看看到底是谁导致了老钟的停滞。指针、轮轴、砝码都异口同声地申明自己是无辜的。

这时，下面传来钟摆轻轻地滴答一声，它说：“我坦白，是我导致了现在的停滞。为了让大家满意，我想申诉一下我的理由。实际上，我对每天都要滴答摇摆已经厌倦了。”听到这，老钟表愤怒了，恨不得狠狠地揍它一下。“懒鬼！”表盘扬着手说。

“是呀！”钟摆回答，“表盘女士，你多轻松呀，大家都知道，你总是高高在上——你多轻松呀，我说，还指责别人懒惰！你不用干什么，天天盯着别人，看着厨房里发生的事儿自娱自乐。请你想想，如果你一辈子被关在一个小黑匣子里，日复一日地摆来摆去，你会乐意吗？”

“这个嘛，”表盘说，“你的房间里不是有个窗户，让你向外看吗？”“虽然如此，”钟摆继续说，“里面太暗了，虽然有个窗户，可是我从来不敢停下哪怕短短一下，探头看一眼。而且，我真的对我的生活方式感到厌倦了。我可以告诉你我对自己的职责有多厌恶。这个早上，我碰巧计算了一下下一个24小时中我要摇摆的次数，没准你们谁能告诉我准确的数字。”

分针计算的速度很快，它很快回答道：“86400次。”“完全正确。”钟摆回答。“那么，请你们大家都想象一下，这个数字会不会让人精疲力竭，而且，我还要把这个数字乘以数月、数年。现在你们明白了吧，我为什么会感到绝望。所以，在我推想、犹豫、思考了很久之后，我就停下来了。”

在钟摆进行这套长篇大论的时候，表盘几乎忍俊不禁。不过，她还是努力恢复严肃，回答道：“亲爱的钟摆先生，像您这么有用、勤奋的人，竟然会被这种突如其来的疲惫制伏，真让我吃惊。的确，您已经做出了伟大的成就，但是我们也没闲着，而且也非常乐意这么做。您做的工作，想来非常让人疲惫，但问题是，如果真正做起来，它是不是真的一样让人疲惫。现在，您能不能帮我做件事，摇摆五六下，以证明我的观点？”

钟摆依言，按照通常的速度摇摆了6次。“现在，”表盘接着说，“我能不能问问，这么做让您觉得很疲惫，或很厌恶吗？”“一点也不，”钟摆回答，“我抱怨的不是6次，也不是60次，而是千万次。”

“很好，”表盘回答，“但是回忆一下，虽然你在某一时刻可能想起一千万次摇摆，但你只需要在这一时刻里摇摆一次，而且，不论这之后你还需要摇摆多少下，那总是下一个时刻的问题。”“我承认，这种考虑让我有点犹豫。”钟摆说。“那么我希望，”表盘接着说，“我们立即回到各自的岗位上去，因为如果我们继续这么闲待着的话，女仆就会起晚了。”

听到这话，从没有被别人指责为渎职的砝码，竭力劝说它继续工作。这时，好像心有灵犀一样，轮轴开始运转，指针开始跳动，钟摆也开始摇摆，而且它为了得到表扬，发出的滴答声比以前都要响亮。红彤彤的太阳照射出的光线，从墙上的一个小洞洒进了厨房，照在表盘上，表盘亮闪闪的，好像什么都没有发生过一样。

早晨，农夫下楼来吃早饭时，看了看钟表，发现他的手表在夜里走快了半个小时。

（简·泰勒）

简·泰勒（1783～1824年），生于伦敦。她的母亲是一位颇有名气的作家。简·泰勒和姐姐安妮一起写了几本非常优秀的青少年读物，如《婴儿的赞美诗》、《新颖的诗歌》。除此之外，她还创作了《演出，寓言》、《韵文》和《QQ的贡献》。她的作品非常优美，而且富有寓意。

THE DISCONTENTED PENDULUM

An old dock that had stood for fifty years in a farmer's kitchen, without giving its owner any cause of complaint, early one summer's morning, before the family was stirring, suddenly stopped. Upon this, the dial plate（if we may credit the fable）changed countenance with alarm; the hands made a vain effort to continue their course; the wheels remained motionless with surprise; the weights hung speechless; and each member felt disposed to lay the blame on the others. At length the dial instituted a formal inquiry as to the cause of the stagnation, when hands, wheels, weights, with one voice, protested their innocence.

But now a faint tick was heard below from the pendulum, who spoke thus:“I confess myself to be the sole cause of the present stoppage; and I am willing, for the general satisfaction, to assign my reasons. The truth is, that I am tired of ticking.”Upon hearing this, the old clock became so enraged that it was upon the very point of striking.“Lazy wire!”exclaimed the dial plate, holding up its bands.

“Very good!”replied the pendulum;“it is vastly easy for you, Mistress Dial, who have always, as everybody knows, set yourself up above me,—it is vastly easy for you, I say, to accuse other people of laziness! you who have had nothing to do all your life but to stare people in the face, and to amuse yourself with watching all that goes on in the kitchen. Think, I beseech you, how you would like to be shut up for life in this dark closet, and to wag backward and forward year after year, as I do.”

“As to that,”said the dial,“is there not a window in your house on purpose for you to look through?”“For all that,”resumed the pendulum,“it is very dark here; and, although there is a window, I dare not stop even for an instant to look out at it. Besides, I am really tired of my way of life; and, if you wish, I'll tell you how I took this disgust at my employment. I happened, this morning, to be calculating how many times I should have to tick in the course of only the next twenty four hours; perhaps some one of you above there can give me the exact sum.”

The minute hand, being quick at figures, presently replied,“Eighty six thousand four hundred times.”“Exactly so,”replied the pendulum.“Well, I appeal to you all, if the very thought of this was not enough to fatigue anyone; and when I began to multiply the strokes of one day by those of months and years, really it was no wonder if I felt discouraged at the prospect. So, after a great deal of reasoning and hesitation, thinks I to myself, I'll stop.”

The dial could scarcely keep its countenance during this harangue; but, resuming its gravity, thus replied:“Dear Mr. Pendulum, I am really astonished that such a useful, industrious person as yourself should have been seized by this sudden weariness. It is true, you have done a great deal of work in your time; so have we all, and are likely to do; which, although it may fatigue us to think of, the question is, whether it will fatigue us to do. Would you now do me the favor to give about half a dozen strokes to illustrate my argument?”

The pendulum complied, and ticked six times at its usual pace.“Now,”resumed the dial,“may I be allowed to inquire if that exertion is at all fatiguing or disagreeable to you?”“Not in the least,”replied the pendulum;“it is not of six strokes that I complain, nor of sixty, but of millions.”

“Very good,”replied the dial;“but recollect that, although you may think of a million of strokes in an instant, you are required to execute but one; and that, however often you may hereafter have to swing, a moment will always be given you to swing in.”“That consideration staggers me, I confess,”said the pendulum.“Then I hope,”resumed the dial plate,“that we shall all return to our duty immediately; for the maids will be in bed if we stand idling thus.”

Upon this, the weights, who had never been accused of light conduct, used all their influence in urging him to proceed; when, as if with one consent, the wheels began to turn, the hands began to move, the pendulum began to swing, and, to its credit, ticked as loud as ever; while a red beam of the rising sun, that streamed through a hole in the kitchen, shining full upon the dial plate, it brightened up as if nothing had been the matter.

When the farmer came down to breakfast that morning, upon looking at the clock, he declared that his watch had gained half an hour in the night.

（Jane Taylor）

第27课　遗嘱

人物——思维普斯（酿酒人）、秋里（马具师）、弗兰克·米灵顿、斯奎尔·特劳尔。

思维普斯：这真是一个肃穆的场面，秋里兄弟。谁能想到这个老太太这么快就会死掉呢？

秋里：啊！人终有一死，思维普斯兄弟，很少有人能活百年。

思维普斯：是呀是呀。但是，既然我们都有一死，放弃世间俗物，那么有法律替我们照料后事，还是很不错的。老太太离开的时候神志清醒吗？

秋里：很清醒，非常清醒！斯奎尔·特劳尔告诉我她大声读出了遗嘱中每个字，而且签名也非常端正。

思维普斯：斯奎尔有没有给你什么暗示，说明她将怎么处置她的财产？

秋里：一点儿也没有。斯奎尔的嘴像地底下的棺材一样紧，但是一个旁观者告诉我，她和她无耻的侄子弗兰克断绝了关系，一个先令也没给他留下。

思维普斯：我的上帝，真的吗？你知道，那就轮到我了，我妻子和她有法律上的关系。

秋里：还有我，我自己和她有法律上的关系。肯定就是因为这个原因叫我们两个来听取遗嘱的。斯奎尔·特劳尔的嘴虽然和你的啤酒桶封得一样严，但他还是知道怎么做事的。但是这个小恶棍，你知道，他肯定也会出席（弗兰克·米灵顿入场）。你好，年轻的绅士。这么说，你的女恩人最后还是抛弃了你。

思维普斯：米灵顿先生，与老朋友告别真是件痛苦的事。

弗兰克：是这样，先生。如果不是因为我曾经那么多次对她的善行忘恩负义的话，我现在会好受很多。她是我唯一的朋友，而我曾经忽视了她的价值。

秋里：米灵顿少爷，现在后悔太晚了，现在你只能自给自足了。

思维普斯：哎，哎，你应该自食其力，像好人们做的那样。可惜你年纪太大了，不然你真是块酿酒工的好料子。

秋里：哎，或者如果给你多吃几鞭，你也能成为马具师的好侍从。

弗兰克：先生们，你们的话意味着我的姑母那样对我，是我活该。你们的辱骂不值得我理睬，我只希望你们能像我一样，谦虚地接受属于你们的那一份财产。我该走了（离开：他遇见斯奎尔·特劳尔）。

斯奎尔：等等，等等，年轻人。我们需要你在场。早晨好，先生，你们来得真早。

秋里：斯奎尔先生今天好吗？

斯奎尔：我的身体一向不好，不过今天还好。

思维普斯：我相信潮湿的空气这次没有影响到您的肺。

斯奎尔：没有，没事儿。但是，既然法律继承者都到齐了，按照法律，我现在就应该打开你们已故的亲属的最后这份遗嘱。

思维普斯：（在斯奎尔打开封条时）斯奎尔，以这种方式留下自己的所有财产，真是令人难受。

秋里：我也很悲痛。我看着周围的某件东西，都会想起它们那令人尊敬的主人。其实就像牧师说的一样：“所有一切均是虚空。”

斯奎尔：先生们，请坐下（他戴上眼镜，开始慢慢朗读）。“首先，我的侄子，弗兰克·米灵顿，由于他不孝顺、忘恩负义的行为，不值得我对他施予任何财产。他也没有能力管理我的地产。在此，我将我所有的房屋、农场、股票、债券、货币和财产，所有的个人财产个人财产通常包括临时的、可以移动的东西，而不动产包括不能搬动的、固定的东西，如土地和房屋。和不动产，交给我亲爱的表兄弟，马尔特街的酿酒工塞缪尔·思维普斯，和福来跑马场的马具师克里斯托夫·秋里。”（斯奎尔摘下眼镜，从容地擦拭着）

思维普斯：她多么慷慨呀！仁慈的灵魂！我一直非常爱她！

秋里：她真是太好了，真是太好了。而且，思维普斯兄弟，我们分割财产时，我想我要那个大房子。

思维普斯：请你别这么急好不好，秋里先生。我妻子早就看好了，她一定要得到它。

秋里：思维普斯先生，那怎么行呢？你不觉得你这个要求太过分了吗？而且，我应该首先选择。每次她想骑马时，我都把最好的轻马车借给她，难道你忘了吗？

思维普斯：她在遗嘱中先提到了我，难道不是吗？我6个月以来一直给她供应最好的小啤酒。而且谁知道——

弗兰克：先生们，我必须离开你们了。（离开）

斯奎尔：（非常沉着地戴上眼镜）先生们，祈祷吧，请坐下，我还没有读完。让我看看，我读到哪儿了？哦，“我所有的个人财产和不动产，交给我亲爱的表兄弟，马尔特街的酿酒工塞缪尔·思维普斯。”

思维普斯：是啊！

斯奎尔：“和福来跑马场的马具师克里斯托夫·秋里。”

秋里：是啊！

斯奎尔：“代表我的侄子弗兰克·米灵顿惟一的排他利益，持有并享有，直到他年满21岁，到那时我希望他已经改掉了他的坏习惯，能够妥善对待我现在遗留给他的财富。”

思维普斯：这是怎么回事儿呀？你不是说我们被戏弄了吧？代表！怎么会这样？这个词在哪儿呢？

斯奎尔：在这里，我画着圈呢。

秋里：真是不错呀，斯奎尔先生，原来我们只是做了一回笑柄。但是，我告诉你，她用我的轻马车骑过那么多次马，现在她必须付钱给我。

思维普斯：还有我的每一滴啤酒。真是好笑，两位严肃、勤奋的居民，被叫到这里让一个无耻的花花公子消遣了一回。但是秋里先生，我们还要为他管理财产。我们得让他明白，托管人也不是好惹的。

秋里：我们就得这么干。

斯奎尔：先别忙，先生们。这个文件是三年前写的，现在那位年轻的绅士肯定已经到了年龄了，可以照料他自己了。是不是这样，弗朗西斯？

弗兰克：是呀，阁下。

斯奎尔：那么，先生们，现在按照法律，你们已经出席了公布遗嘱的仪式，我们再也没什么要麻烦你们了。

THE WILL

Characters.—SWIPES, a brewer; CURRIE, a saddler; FRANK MILLINGTON; and SQUIRE DRAWL.

Swipes. A sober occasion, this, brother Currie. Who would have thought the old lady was so near her end?

Currie. Ah! we must all die, brother Swipes; and those who live the longest outlive the most.

Swipes. True, true; but, since we must die and leave our earthly possessions, it is well that the law takes such good care of us. Had the old lady her senses when she departed?

Cur. Perfectly, perfectly. Squire Drawl told me she read every word of the will aloud, and never signed her name better.

Swipes. Had you any hint from the Squire what disposition she made of her property?

Cur. Not a whisper; the Squire is as close as an underground tomb; but one of the witnesses hinted to me that she had cut off her graceless nephew, Frank, without a shilling.

Swipes. Has she, good soul, has she? You know I come in, then, in right of my wife.

Cur. And I in my own right; and this is no doubt the reason why we have been called to hear the reading of the will. Squire Drawl knows how things should be done, though he is as air tight as one of your beer barrels. But here comes the young reprobate. He must be present, as a matter of course, you know. ［Enter FRANK MILLINGTON.］ Your servant, young gentleman. So your benefactress has left you at last.

Swipes. It is a painful thing to part with old and good friends, Mr. Millington.

Frank. It is so, sir; but I could bear her loss better had I not so often been ungrateful for her kindness. She was my only friend, and I knew not her value.

Cur. It is too late to repent, Master Millington. You will now have a chance to earn your own bread.

Swipes. Ay, ay, or the sweat of your brow, as better people are obliged to. You would make a fine brewer's boy, if you were not too old.

Cur. Ay, or a saddler's lackey, if held with a tight rein.

Frank. Gentlemen, your remarks imply that my aunt has treated me as I deserved. I am above your insults, and only hope you will bear your fortune as modestly as I shall mine submissively. I shall retire. ［Going: He meets SQUIRE DRAWL.］

Squire. Stop, stop, young man. We must have your presence. Good morning, gentlemen; you are early on the ground.

Cur. I hope the Squire is well to day.

Squire. Pretty comfortable, for an invalid.

Swipes. I trust the damp air has not affected your lungs again.

Squire. No, I believe not. But, since the heirs at law are all convened, I shall now proceed to open the last will and testament of your deceased relative, according to law.

Swipes. ［While the SQUIRE is breaking the seal,］ It is a trying thing to leave all one's possessions, Squire; in this manner.

Cur. It really makes me feel melancholy when I look around and see everything but the venerable owner of these goods. Well did the Preacher say,“All is vanity.”

Squire. Please to be seated, gentlemen. ［He puts on his spectacles and begins to read slowly.］“Imprirmis; whereas, my nephew, Francis Millington, by his disobedience and ungrateful conduct, has shown himself unworthy of my bounty, and incapable of managing my large estate, I do hereby give and bequeath all my houses, farms, stocks, bonds, moneys, and property, both personal and real, to my dear cousins, Samuel Swipes, of Malt Street, brewer, and Christopher Currie, of Fly Court, saddler.”［The SQUIRE here takes off his spectacles, and begins to wipe them very leisurely.］

Swipes. Generous creature! kind soul! I always loved her!

Cur. She was good, she was kind;—and, brother Swipes, when we divide, I think I'll take the mansion house.

Swipes. Not so fast, if you please, Mr. Currie. My wife has long had her eye upon that, and must have it.

Cur. There will be two words to that bargain, Mr. Swipes. And, besides, I ought to have the first choice. Did I not lend her a new chaise every time she wished to ride? And who knows what influence—

Swipes. Am I not named first in her will? and did I not furnish her with my best small beer for more than six months? And who knows—

Frank. Gentlemen, I must leave you. ［Going.］

Squire. ［Putting on his spectacles very deliberately.］ Pray, gentlemen, keep your seats, I have not done yet. Let me see; where was I? Ay,“All my property, both personal and real, to my dear cousins, Samuel Swipes, of Malt Street, brewer,”—

Swipes. Yes!

Squire.“And Christopher Currie, of Fly Court, saddler,”

Cur. Yes!

Squire.“To have and to hold, IN TRUST, for the sole and exclusive benefit of my nephew, Francis Millington, until he shall have attained the age of twenty one years, by which time I hope he will have so far reformed his evil habits, as that he may safely be intrusted with the large fortune which I hereby bequeath to him.”

Swipes. What is all this? You don't mean that we are humbugged? In trust! How does that appear? Where is it?

Squire. There; in two words of as good old English as I ever penned.

Cur. Pretty well, too, Mr. Squire, if we must be sent for to be made a laughingstock of. She shall pay for every ride she has had out of my chaise, I promise you.

Swipes. And for every drop of my beer. Fine times, if two sober, hard working citizens are to be brought here to be made the sport of a graceless profligate. But we will manage his property for him, Mr. Currie; we will make him feel that trustees are not to be trifled with.

Cur. That we will.

Squire. Not so fast, gentlemen; for the instrument is dated three years ago; and the young gentleman must be already of age, and able to take care of himself. Is it not so, Francis?

Frank. It is, your worship.

Squire. Then, gentlemen, having attended to the breaking of the seal, according to law, you are released from any further trouble about the business.

第28课　机械师的归来

选自华盛顿《首都》报一位记者的信。

在我们从斯普林菲尔德返回波士顿途中的特等车厢中，有一个粗壮、蓄着黑胡子的人紧挨着我坐着，他的行为非常有趣。每隔差不多5分钟，他就会站起来，沿着狭窄的通道走到车厢门口，然后开始捧腹大笑，直到他注意到别人都在看他，才回到座位上。

波士顿离我们越来越近了，这位陌生人也越来越频繁地这样做，而且笑得更加不可抑制了，但他还是会回到座位上，而且不再自己一个人傻笑。他把他的两个行李箱取下来，放在座位上，好像他马上就要下车一样。但是这时我们离波士顿还有25英里，这么早作准备，的确是有点儿可笑。最后，他变得非常激动，怎么也无法继续保守他的秘密了。他必须把他的秘密告诉什么人，因为我恰好坐得离他最近，他自然选择了我。

他突然转过头，前后摇晃着他的座椅，说：“我离开家三年了，一直呆在欧洲。我的亲戚朋友们以为我还要过三个月才能回来，但是我提前办完了事，就跳上了回家的火车。我在最后换车的地方给他们发了电报——现在他们应该已经收到了。”他一边说，一边搓着手，把左边的行李箱放到右边，又把右边的行李箱放到左边。

“我猜你有个好老婆？”我说。“当然，还有三个孩子。”他回答道。然后他站了起来，重新叠了一遍外衣，把它挂在座椅靠背上。我说：“你好像有点紧张，是不是？”

“嗯，我想可能有点儿吧，”他回答道，“这个星期我都没睡好觉。你知道吗？”他放低了声音，继续说道：“我差不多相信，我还没到波士顿，这辆列车就会出轨，把我的脖子摔断。最近我的运气可真是不错，但是好运气总有用完的时候。有时候，雨下得太大了，你都会想可能它再也不会停下来了。但这时，雨过天晴，你可能又会以为老是这么阳光普照。不管什么时候，反正你刚刚对这样那事觉得有把握的时候，就会有什么变化发生，告诉你，其实你什么都不懂。”

“那么，按照你的逻辑，”我说，“恰恰因为你现在正在等待一场暴风雨，所以你会继续拥有阳光。”“没准是这么回事儿。”他回答，“让我觉得我能安全到家的惟一的一个原因，恰恰是我担心我不能安全到家，这真让人纳闷。”

“我是个机械师，”他接着说，“我做了个发明，但是别人都不相信。我把所有的钱都花在了这上面。我把我的房子作了抵押——我什么都没有了。每个人都嘲笑我——每个人，除了我老婆。她说，只要她还能工作，我就决不能放弃。我去了英格兰。刚开始时，情况也是非常令人沮丧，我甚至想过从伦敦桥上跳下去。我进了一家工厂，挣钱回家。在那里我遇到了我一直在寻找的人。长话短说，我带了5万英镑回家。”

“好啊！”我惊叹道。“是啊，”他说，“而且更妙的是，她还不知道这些。我让她失望了那么多次，所以我决定，不在信中提到这笔意外之财。反正我一拿到这笔钱，就踏上了回家的路。”

“现在，你应该能使她幸福了？”“幸福！”他回答道，“哎呀，你一点儿都不了解！我去了英格兰之后，她没日没夜地工作，让她和孩子们维持体面的生活。她每做一件衬衫，只能得到13美分，她的半辈子就是这样过来的。她到站台上接我的时候会穿着有100年历史的格子裙和披肩，而且她以为这样就算是盛装了！你说她会不会在一个星期里不买什么好衣服，嗯？”

说完，陌生人又沿着通道踱着步，躲到一个角落里，以为没人看得见他。他打着奇怪的手势，做着滑稽的表情，在这块狭小的空间里前后摇摆着。

列车缓缓驶进站台，我站到列车台阶上，站在陌生人对面。他两手各提一只行李箱，站在最下面的台阶上，时刻准备跳下车。我注意看他的脸，以及我们面前的来车站迎接的人的脸，他们都还没有看到自己的亲人。突然，他叫道：“他们在那儿！”

然后，他一边看着面前的人群，一边歇斯底里地大声笑着。随着他的目光，我看到，在人群的后面，一位瘦小的女人独自屹立着，好像是受不住那些衣着光鲜的人群的拥挤，她穿着褪了色的裙子，戴着一顶旧帽子，脸上的表情由于热切的盼望而几乎显得痛苦，急切地看着列车的一扇扇窗口。

她一开始时没有看到陌生人，但是很快就看到了。一眨眼的工夫，他已经拎着两只行李箱跳上了站台，在人群中挤出一条路，冲到她面前。在她丈夫向她挤过去时，她的表情瞬息万变。她长得不美——恰恰相反，她的容貌非常普通。但是不知为什么，在我看着她时，喉咙里异常哽咽。她努力笑着，上帝保佑她，她完全没有笑出来！她的嘴做出笑的样子，但是然后就不动了，除了嘴角向下撇着、颤抖着，眼睛飞快地眨着，我怀疑她都没有看清她敦实的丈夫是怎么朝她挤过去的。

他走近了，放下行李箱，这时她转到一边，双手抚着脸。而他用双臂紧紧搂着她，好像她是个孩子一样，任她在他的胸膛里嘤嘤哭泣。

很多人都在看着他们，所以我把目光移开了一会儿，然后我看到两个男孩子穿着破旧的衣服站在他们旁边，用袖子抹着眼睛，他们的母亲没有些什么表示，他们就又哭一次。我又看了看陌生人，他用帽子遮住眼睛。但是他妻子仰头看着他，似乎那些无助岁月里被压抑的泪水现在都从她的眼中倾泻而下。

THE MACHINIST'S RETURN

On our way from Springfield to Boston, a stout, black whiskered man sat immediately in front of me, in the drawing room car, whose maneuvers were a source of constant amusement. He would get up every five minutes, hurry away to the narrow passage leading to the door of the car, and commence laughing in the most violent manner, continuing that healthful exercise until he observed that some one was watching him, when he would return to his seat.

As we neared Boston these demonstrations increased in frequency and violence, but the stranger kept his seat and chuckled to himself. He shifted the position of his two portmanteaus, or placed them on the seat as if he was getting ready to leave. As we were at least twenty five miles from Boston, such early preparations seemed extremely ridiculous. He became so excited at last that he could not keep his secret. Some one must be made a confidant; and as I happened to be the nearest to him, he selected me.

Turning around suddenly, and rocking himself to and fro in his chair, he said,“I have been away from home three years. Have been in Europe. My folks don't expect me for three months yet, but I got through and started. I telegraphed them at the last station —they've got the dispatch by this time.”As he said this he rubbed his hands, and changed the portmanteau on his left to the right, and then the one on the right to the left.

“Have you a wife?”said I.“Yes, and three children,”was the answer. He then got up and folded his overcoat anew, and hung it over the back of the seat.“You are somewhat nervous just now, are you not?”said I.

“Well, I should think so,”he replied.“I have n't slept soundly for a week. Do you know,”he went on, speaking in a low tone,“I am almost certain this train will run off the track and break my neck before I get to Boston. I have had too much good luck lately for one man. It can't last. It rains so hard, sometimes, that you think it's never going to stop; then it shines so bright you think it's always going to shine; and just as you are settled in either belief, you are knocked over by a change, to show you that you know nothing about it.”

“Well, according to your philosophy,”I said,“you will continue to have sunshine because you are expecting a storm.”“Perhaps so,”he replied;“but it is curious that the only thing which makes me think I shall get through safe is, I fear that I shall not.”

“I am a machinist,”he continued;“I made a discovery; nobody believed in it; I spent all my money in trying to bring it out; I mortgaged my home—everything went. Everybody laughed at me—everybody but my wife. She said she would work her fingers off before I should give it up. I went to England. At first I met with no encouragement whatever, and came very near jumping off London Bridge. I went into a workshop to earn money enough to come home with: there I met the man I wanted. To make a long story short, I've brought home? 50,000 with me, and here I am.”

“Good!”I exclaimed.“Yes,”said he,“and the best of it is, she knows nothing about it. She has been disappointed so often that I concluded I would not write to her about my unexpected good luck. When I got my money, though, I started for home at once.”

“And now, I suppose, you will make her happy?”“Happy!”he replied;“why, you don't know anything about it! She's worked night and day since I have been in England, trying to support herself and the children decently. They paid her thirteen cents apiece for making shirts, and that's the way she has lived half the time. She'll come down to the depot to meet me in a gingham dress and a shawl a hundred years old, and she'll think she's dressed up! Perhaps she won't have any fine dresses in a week or so, eh?’”

The stranger then strode down the passageway again, and getting in a corner where he seemed to suppose that he was out of sight, went through the strangest pantomime,—laughing, putting his mouth into the drollest shapes, and swinging himself back and forth in the limited space.

As the train was going into the depot, I placed myself on the platform of the car in front of the one in which I had been riding, and opposite the stranger, who, with a portmanteau in each hand, was standing on the lowest step, ready to jump to the ground. I looked from his face to the faces of the people before us, but saw no sign of recognition. Suddenly he cried,“There they are!”

Then he laughed outright, but in a hysterical way, as he looked over the crowd in front of him. I followed his eye and saw, some distance back, as if crowded out by the well dressed and elbowing throng, a little woman in a faded dress and a well worn hat, with a face almost painful in its intense but hopeful expression, glancing rapidly from window to window as the coaches passed by.

She had not seen the stranger, but a moment after she caught his eye. In another instant he had jumped to the platform with his two portmanteaus, and, pushing his way through the crowd, he rushed towards the place where she was standing. I think I never saw a face assume so many different expressions in so short a time as did that of the little woman while her husband was on his way to meet her.

She was not pretty,—on the contrary, she was very plain looking; but somehow I felt a big lump rise in my throat as I watched her. She was trying to laugh, but, God bless her, how completely she failed in the attempt! Her mouth got into the position to laugh, but it never moved after that, save to draw down at the corners and quiver, while her eyes blinked so fast that I suspect she only caught occasional glimpses of the broad shouldered fellow who elbowed his way so rapidly toward her.

As he drew close, and dropped the portmanteaus, she turned to one side, and covered her face with her hands; and thus she was when the strong man gathered her up in his arms as if she were a child, and held her sobbing to his breast.

There were enough staring at them, heaven knows; so I turned my eyes away a moment, and then I saw two boys in threadbare roundabouts standing near, wiping their eyes on their sleeves, and bursting into tears anew at every fresh demonstration on the part of their mother. When I looked at the stranger again he had his hat drawn over his eyes; but his wife was looking up at him, and it seemed as if the pent up tears of those weary months of waiting were streaming through her eyelids.

第29课　优秀源于勤奋

对每个人来说，无论是道德方面还是智力方面的教育，主要取决于个人自身的努力。依赖于此的古人们是正确的，我们在道德和智力方面塑造自己良好的性格品质，从而一定可以成为自己财富的建筑师。如果不是如此，那么为何现在的年轻人拥有完全一样的机会，却一直向我们呈现出如此截然不同的结果，并冒冒失失地陷入了恰恰相反的命运中去呢？

天分的差异并不能解决这个问题，因为这样的差异往往对失望的候选者有利。你会看到同出于一所学校，不，甚至有时同出于一个家庭的两个年轻人，一位天分极高，另一位仅仅略优于中等。天资聪慧的那个在贫困、卑微、鄙劣中沉沦，天资渐渐耗尽，而你却发现，中等的那个凭借自己的埋头苦干，缓慢而不停息地攀登人生的高峰，一步一步脚踏实地、不断向上，最后终于取得显赫的地位和荣誉，为家族争光，为国家造福。

那么，这是谁的功劳呢？显然是他自己的。他们是自己财富的建筑师。能向你敞开大门的最好的学校最多只能为你提供接受教育的机会，但能吸收多少或在多大程度上遵照教导去做，最终还是取决于你自己。

确信了这一点，我从具体观察就得出了一个真理：没有辛勤的努力就不可能有优异的成绩。这是命运的法则，没什么天资能让你逃脱它。

如果不加以利用，天才只不过如同那围着蜡烛不停扑翅而最终被烤焦的可怜飞蛾。如果天才还有什么值得人渴求的，那只是伟大且高尚的那种。就像南美的兀鹰，栖身于高耸入云的钦博拉索山钦博拉索山，是厄瓜多尔一座死火山，海拔20517英尺。之巅。在高空中自在地维持自己的生活，它的活力并未因努力而有所减弱，反而得到了增强。

就是这种高尚不懈的努力，这种深刻仔细调查研究的强大力量，这种迅速广泛的理解力和这种宽广的思考，才能“从已苍白的月亮中汲取明亮的荣耀，或跳入深深的水底，凭借头发之力挽救起已沉没的光荣这句话摘自莎士比亚《亨利四世》第一部第一幕第三场。”这才是卓越杰出的才能，这些才是能让你名垂史册的伟大功绩。

（威廉·怀特）

威廉·怀特（1772～1834年），生于马里兰州的布莱登堡。1799年进入律师界，开始从事法律事业，并在弗吉尼亚洲的里士满和诺福克获得极大成功。作为控方律师之一，他曾参与亚伦·伯尔叛国罪一案。从1817年到1829年，担任美国首席检察官。1803年，他发表了《一名英国间谍的来信》引起了广泛关注。1817年，他发表了《帕特里克·亨利的一生》。

NO EXCELLENCE WITHOUT LABOR

The education, moral and intellectual, of every individual, must be chiefly his own work. Rely upon it that the ancients were right; both in morals and intellect we give the final shape to our characters, and thus become, emphatically, the architects of our own fortune. How else could it happen that young men, who have had precisely the same opportunities, should be continually presenting us with such different results, and rushing to such opposite destinies?

Difference of talent will not solve it, because that difference is very often in favor of the disappointed candidate. You will see issuing from the walls of the same college, nay, sometimes from the bosom of the same family, two young men, of whom one will be admitted to be a genius of high order, the other scarcely above the point of mediocrity; yet you will see the genius sinking and perishing in poverty, obscurity, and wretchedness; while, on the other hand, you will observe the mediocre plodding his slow but sure way up the hill of life, gaining steadfast footing at every step, and mounting, at length, to eminence and distinction, an ornament to his family, a blessing to his country.

Now, whose work is this? Manifestly their own. They are the architects of their respective fortunes. The best seminary of learning that can open its portals to you can do no more than to afford you the opportunity of instruction; but it must depend, at last, on yourselves, whether you will be instructed or not, or to what point you will push your instruction.

And of this be assured, I speak from observation a certain truth: THERE IS NO EXCELLENCE WITHOUT GREAT LABOR. It is the fiat of fate, from which no power of genius can absolve you.

Genius, unexerted, is like the poor moth that flutters around a candle till it scorches itself to death. If genius be desirable at all, it is only of that great and magnanimous kind, which, like the condor of South America, pitches from the summit of Chimborazo, above the clouds, and sustains itself at pleasure in that empyreal region with an energy rather invigorated than weakened by the effort.

It is this capacity for high and long continued exertion, this vigorous power of profound and searching investigation, this careering and wide spreading comprehension of mind, and these long reaches of thought, that

“Pluck bright honor from the pale faced moon,

Or dive into the bottom of the deep,

And pluck up drowned honor by the locks;”

this is the prowess, and these the hardy achievements, which are to enroll your names among the great men of the earth.

（William Wirt）

第30课　孪生兄弟

埃斯芒德先生把他在美国的房子叫做Castlewood，意即“城堡森林”，名从在英国乡下的祖传老宅。实际上，维吉尼亚所有的用语，都是对英国旧习俗充满感情的模仿。这是一个忠君的地方。维吉尼亚人会夸耀英王查理二世在成为英国国王以前是维吉尼亚的国王。英国国王和英国教堂在这里得到同样忠诚的尊敬。

在这儿的那些古老的贵族与英国上等社会有着千丝万缕的关系。他们自认为比在纽约的荷兰商贩高出一筹，当然也不能与宾夕法尼亚和新英格兰的圆颅党圆颅党是查理一世时代骑士们送给清教徒的侮辱性的称呼。这个称呼源自于当时清教徒中流行的奇怪的发型。同日而语。这里的人们从来热爱共和制，一点也不比那些将在即将到来的反对英国皇室的斗争中冲锋陷阵的人逊色。

在维吉尼亚的上等社会几乎是以一种家族式的方式生活在他们广袤的土地上。这里民风粗野，每个宅子里都住着很多人——包括买来的和继承的奴隶——这些奴隶都在主人的统治之下。这片大地生产着粮食，哺育了家畜和禽类。

江河里游满了鱼，任人捕获。从河岸上看，河床清澈见底。载着烟草的船只从波托马可河或者詹姆士河的私人码头启航，把货物运到伦敦或波士顿——然后换回来英国的商品和家庭手工制品。烟草是维吉尼亚人培植的唯一一种农产品。

他们的好客是不分对象、没有止境的。没有一个陌生人会被他们拒之门外。在这个几乎是封建制所谓的“封建制度”存在的时候，古时候犹太人的族长，和中世纪欧洲贵族的家庭首脑掌握着几乎专制的统治权。前者掌握着他人数众多的子嗣和亲戚的命运，后者统领着一群臣民和奴仆。族长和封建地主比现代的国王受到的约束要少，尤其是封建地主是有很大的权利的。的地方，贵族之间更具有互相接待、相互拜访的传统。奴隶制的问题在我们写这篇文章时还没有被提出来。拥有黑奴对任何一个维吉尼亚绅士来讲都不是什么新鲜事。事实上，对黑奴的专制统治也丝毫不被认为有任何残暴可言。食物是充足的：可怜的黑奴很懒，但并非生活凄惨。你要是想向卡娑舞德的埃斯芒德太太宣扬废奴主义，那么你无异于在劝说她把马匹随意放出马厩。她坚持不论是对马匹，还是对奴隶，激励的鞭子和沉甸甸的玉米袋都是有益无害的。

身处一个对很多事物摇摆不定的时代，她的父亲可能有不一样的想法。但是他仅仅是怀疑，并没有主动地去否定什么。就是说，他有叛意，却还够不上反叛。曾经有一段时期，这位先生在家中发挥了积极的作用，而且可能很希望分享家庭的快乐，但后来他似乎又不再介意这些东西了。有一些事发生了，使他的生活罩上了一层黑色的忧郁色彩。

他也并非不快乐——他对周围的人非常和善——可以说是充满挚爱的，甚至对他家里的妇女也很谄媚，他几乎从来不反对她们的意见，但是他的心曾经破碎过，以至于他的精神再也难以恢复。他屈服于生活，而不是享受生活，而且在他将要撒手而去的最后时候，他的心情最为愉悦。

当男孩们的祖父去世的时候，他们那身体健康的母亲宣布他的长子乔治为她的继承人和祖业的继承者，而哈里，这个比乔治晚出生半个小时的弟弟总是被教导要尊敬他的哥哥。家庭的所有成员都受令必须尊敬乔治，这其中也包括那些有着欢乐大家庭的黑奴们和在卡娑舞德的女主人统治下苟延残喘的从欧洲带过来的奴仆们。

在整个家庭里几乎没有一个反叛者，除了埃斯芒德太太忠实的朋友和伴侣、马丁夫人和哈里的奶妈。哈里的奶妈是一个忠心的黑人妇女，她从来不理解为什么她的孩子不能排在第一位，因为他明明比他的哥哥更英俊，更强壮，更聪明，她发誓是这样的，但实际上，无论是从容貌、力量和仪表上，那两个双胞胎都没有什么区别。

在性情上，他们两个人在很多方面都极不相同，但是从外表看，他们是那么相似，要不是他们头发的颜色不同，要想区别他们是非常困难的。当他们躺在床上，头上戴着大大小小的先辈们都曾经戴过的、宽大的有蝴蝶结装饰的睡帽时，除了护士或母亲，几乎谁也不能把那两个孩子区别开来。

然而，尽管外表相似，我们已经知道他们的性情非常不同。长子是一个安静、好学、平和的人，但是弟弟就很喧闹好动。当他学习一件东西，他入门以后就能学得很快，但是他入门很慢。戒尺的威胁不能激励哈里学习，如果他实在懒惰的话，也不能阻止乔治帮助哈里完成他的功课。哈里对军事有很浓厚的兴趣，他在家里训练小黑奴，把他们培养得像一群下士，他和他们进行拳击比赛，即使被打败了也从不记恨——然而，乔治从来不参加任何打斗，他对他周围的人都很温和。

就像所有家庭习俗一样，每位公子都配有一个特殊的小奴仆服侍他，而众所周知的是，乔治曾经发现他那个卑贱的小黑奴在他主人的床上睡着了。乔治当时所做的是在床边坐下来，用一把羽毛扇替那个孩子赶走苍蝇。当孩子的父亲——一个老黑奴发现他的主人居然在做这种事，他感到惊恐万分，而埃斯芒德太太则勃然大怒，她命令把那个小黑奴交给管家鞭打一顿。乔治徒劳地哀求着，恳求宽恕——他流出了同情的眼泪，请求赦免这一惩罚，他的妈妈对这个小叛奴的惩罚毫不让步，最后那个小黑奴走的时候还恳求他年轻的主人不要再哭了。

因为一种少年特有的滑稽和幽默以及对一些老年人活动的特殊爱好，这对双胞胎中的长子是他祖父最爱和最好的伴侣。乔治会又说又笑地向那位老人倾诉他年少幼稚的心声，而他的弟弟在祖父前几乎找不到一句话来说。

乔治是一个严肃好学的男孩，当他呆在图书馆里的时候，他就精神焕发，而他的弟弟则变得垂头丧气。他知道书名比他能扛动那些书要早，而在他懂得这些书的内容之前就已经开始阅读它们了。恰恰相反，哈里只要在马厩里或树林中就活跃万分，他对一切宴会、狩猎和捕鱼都很感兴趣，而且他很早就立志要做一名运动家。

最后埃斯芒德先生一了尘缘的时候到了，他撒手而去的时候，好像很高兴终于卸下了一副重担，所有读到和听到葬礼上的布道的人都很奇怪，詹姆士镇的布赖本特牧师怎么突然掌握了雄辩的口才和华丽的拉丁文。或许丹姆斯特，孩子们的苏格兰家庭教师知道怎么回事，因为他修正过那篇演讲稿的一些错误当文章要发表的时候，一个印刷品的草样会被送到编者或者其他权威那里作修改。应他的主人和其他许多尊贵人士的要求，这篇文章由在费城的富兰克林先生出版社出版。

在这个地区，只怕是再也没有像埃斯芒德·沃林特夫人为她的父亲安排的葬礼更加奢华了，而她的父亲应该是第一个会对这样铺张的悲痛微笑的人，如果他还健在的话。

卡娑舞德的小主人们，浑身裹着几乎令人窒息的黑色拖裙和头带，走在送葬队伍的前部，后面跟着来自格林维街区的费厄菲克斯阁下，跟着维吉尼亚的执政长官阁下（带着他的私人教师），跟着鲁道夫一家、卡瑞一家、哈里森一家、华盛顿一家，以及很多其他人。因为整个地区的人都很尊敬这位去世的先生。他的和善，他的天赋，他的善心和谦虚的优雅态度，为他赢得了邻居们应有的尊重。

得知这一事件之后，埃斯芒德上将的继子，英国汉普郡的卡娑舞德阁下，要求负责建造铭刻着先生的父母亲的大名和美德的大理石墓碑。预定的日子到了之后，墓碑被树立起来，上面雕饰着埃斯芒德家族的冠冕，下面由一群胖乎乎的哭泣的小天使簇拥着，碑面上雕刻着不带任何谎言的墓志铭。

（威廉·M·萨克雷）

威廉·M·萨克雷（1811～1868年），英国著名幽默大师、随笔作家和小说家，出生于加尔各答。他在伦敦的查特豪斯和剑桥上学，但他没有完成大学的学业。他以假名麦克·安格罗·提特马士在《弗雷泽尔杂志》上投稿，并由此开始了他的文学生涯。他后来也在《笨拙先生》投过稿。他的第一部以萨克雷的名字出版的小说是《名利场》。很多人认为那是他最好的一部作品。他后来又写了很多小说、故事和诗歌，其中很大一部分配有他自己画的素描。1851年他在伦敦开设了“有关英国幽默家的演说”的课程。后一年他又在美国的几个城市作了相同主题的演说。1856年他重游美国，并作了“四个乔治”的系列演讲，在他回到英国后不久他又重复了这些演说。1860年他成为《康恩希尔杂志》的编辑，使之成为英国最成功的期刊。

THE VIRGINIANS

Mr. Esmond called his American house Castlewood, from the patrimonial home in the old country. The whole usages of Virginia, indeed, were fondly modeled after the English customs. It was a loyal colony. The Virginians boasted that King Charles the Second had been king in Virginia before he had been king in England. English king and English church were alike faithfully honored there.

The resident gentry were allied to good English families. They held their heads above the Dutch traders of New York, and the money getting Roundheads of Pennsylvania and New England. Never were people less republican than those of the great province which was soon to be foremost in the memorable revolt against the British Crown.

The gentry of Virginia dwelt on their great lands after a fashion almost patriarchal. For its rough cultivation, each estate had a multitude of hands—of purchased and assigned servants— who were subject to the command of the master. The land yielded their food, live stock, and game.

The great rivers swarmed with fish for the taking. From their banks the passage home was clear. Their ships took the tobacco off their private wharves on the banks of the Potomac or the James River, and carried it to London or Bristol,—bringing back English goods and articles of home manufacture in return for the only produce which the Virginian gentry chose to cultivate.

Their hospitality was boundless. No stranger was ever sent away from their gates. The gentry received one another, and traveled to each other's houses, in a state almost feudal. The question of slavery was not born at the time of which we write. To be the proprietor of black servants shocked the feelings of no Virginia gentleman; nor, in truth, was the despotism exercised over the negro race generally a savage one. The food was plenty: the poor black people lazy and not unhappy. You might have preached negro emancipation to Madam Esmond of Castlewood as you might have told her to let the horses run loose out of the stables; she had no doubt but that the whip and the corn bag were good for both.

Her father may have thought otherwise, being of a skeptical turn on very many points, but his doubts did not break forth in active denial, and he was rather disaffected than rebellious, At one period, this gentleman had taken a part in active life at home, and possibly might have been eager to share its rewards; but in latter days he did not seem to care for them. A something had occurred in his life, which had cast a tinge of melancholy over all his existence.

He was not unhappy,—to those about him most kind,—most affectionate, obsequious even to the women of his family, whom he scarce ever contradicted; but there had been some bankruptcy of his heart, which his spirit never recovered. He submitted to life, rather than enjoyed it, and never was in better spirits than in his last hours when he was going to lay it down.

When the boys’ grandfather died, their mother, in great state, proclaimed her eldest son George her successor and heir of the estate; and Harry, George's younger brother by half an hour, was always enjoined to respect his senior. All the household was equally instructed to pay him honor; the negroes, of whom there was a large and happy family, and the assigned servants from Europe, whose lot was made as bearable as it might be under the government of the lady of Castlewood.

In the whole family there scarcely was a rebel save Mrs. Esmond's faithful friend and companion, Madam Mountain, and Harry's foster mother, a faithful negro woman, who never could be made to understand why her child should not be first, who was handsomer, and stronger, and cleverer than his brother, as she vowed; though, in truth, there was scarcely any difference in the beauty, strength, or stature of the twins.

In disposition, they were in many points exceedingly unlike; but in feature they resembled each other so closely, that, but for the color of their hair, it had been difficult to distinguish them. In their beds, and when their heads were covered with those vast, ribboned nightcaps, which our great and little ancestors wore, it was scarcely possible for any but a nurse or a mother to tell the one from the other child.

Howbeit, alike in form, we have said that they differed in temper. The elder was peaceful, studious, and silent; the younger was warlike and noisy. He was quick at learning when he began, but very slow at beginning. No threats of the ferule would provoke Harry to learn in an idle fit, or would prevent George from helping his brother in his lesson. Harry was of a strong military turn, drilled the little negroes on the estate, and caned them like a corporal, having many good boxing matches with them, and never bearing malice if he was worsted;—whereas George was sparing of blows, and gentle with all about him.

As the custom in all families was, each of the boys had a special little servant assigned him: and it was a known fact that George, finding his little wretch of a blackamoor asleep on his master's bed, sat down beside it, and brushed the flies off the child with a feather fan, to the horror of old Gumbo, the child's father, who found his young master so engaged, and to the indignation of Madam Esmond, who ordered the young negro off to the proper officer for a whipping. In vain George implored and entreated— burst into passionate tears, and besought a remission of the sentence. His mother was inflexible regarding the young rebel's punishment, and the little negro went off beseeching his young master not to cry.

On account of a certain apish drollery and humor which exhibited itself in the lad, and a liking for some of the old man's pursuits, the first of the twins was the grandfather's favorite and companion, and would laugh and talk out all his infantine heart to the old gentleman, to whom the younger had seldom a word to say.

George was a demure, studious boy, and his senses seemed to brighten up in the library, where his brother was so gloomy. He knew the books before he could well nigh carry them, and read in them long before he could understand them. Harry, on the other hand, was all alive in the stables or in the wood, eager for all parties of hunting and fishing, and promised to be a good sportsman from a very early age.

At length the time came when Mr. Esmond was to have done with the affairs of this life, and he laid them down as if glad to be rid of their burden. All who read and heard that discourse, wondered where Parson Broadbent of James Town found the eloquence and the Latin which adorned it. Perhaps Mr. Dempster knew, the boys’ Scotch tutor, who corrected the proofs of the oration, which was printed, by the desire of his Excellency and many persons of honor, at Mr. Franklin's press in Philadelphia.

No such sumptuous funeral had ever bean seen in the country as that which Madam Esmond Warrington ordained for her father, who would have been the first to smile at that pompous grief.

The little lads of Castlewood, almost smothered in black trains and hatbands, headed the procession and were followed by my Lord Fairfax, from Greenway Court, by his Excellency the Governor of Virginia（with his coach）, by the Randolphs, the Careys, the Harrisons, the Washingtons, and many others; for the whole country esteemed the departed gentleman, whose goodness, whose high talents, whose benevolence and unobtrusive urbanity, had earned for him the just respect of his neighbors.

When informed of the event, the family of Colonel Esmond's stepson, the Lord Castlewood of Hampshire in England, asked to be at the charges of the marble slab which recorded the names and virtues of his lordship's mother and her husband; and after due time of preparation, the monument was set up, exhibiting the arms and coronet of the Esmonds, supported by a little, chubby group of weeping cherubs, and reciting an epitaph which for once did not tell any falsehoods.

（William Makepeace Thackeray）

第31课　手套与狮子

法国国王：这里提到的法国国王可能是弗兰西斯一世，1494年～1537年在位，他喜欢这样的体育活动。是一个性情活泼的国王，特别喜爱皇室运动。

一天，他心血来潮，召集群臣在宫廷里观看狮子打斗。

贵族们围坐在观看台上，在他们身旁是娇宠的妻妾，

而在他们的中间，端坐着洛戈公爵，他不无感慨地说：

能观看这种宏伟壮观的景象，的确是一件荣耀的事情，

勇敢和爱情，国王陛下在上高高坐，皇家野兽下边斗。

狮子到处猛窜乱撞，张开大口咆哮着，恐怖地吼叫着，

它们撕咬着，怒视着，迅捷犹如闪电，爪利如风驰电掣。

它们打斗着，猛力地滚动着，戏嘻打闹如叠罗汉一般，

直到它们打斗出一个大坑，身上、鬃毛上粘满了沙子。

霹雳一声吼，令人窒息。喷溅血沫，弥漫了整个庭院：

国王陛下害怕了：先生们，远一点比近一点要好。

洛戈伯爵的情人——美丽可爱女人听到了国王的话语，

她微笑的红唇，尖利明亮的眼睛，无论何时都一样妖艳。

美人细思忖：我的情人洛戈伯爵是一个勇敢无敌之人，

他尊贵的心愿意为我做任何表示对我之爱的不能之事。

国王、女士、情人，所有这些人都在看，机不可失，

我将抛下我的手套来证明他对我的爱，我将多么荣耀！

美人啊，抛下了手套来证明他的爱，微笑着，看着他，

深深地鞠一躬，转眼之间，他便出现在狂怒的兽群中。

一跳在一瞬间，回归在一瞬间，一瞬间他回坐到位上，

接着把手套抛了出去，不是满腔的爱，而直对美人脸；

国王：上天啊，这么就办到了，多么神圣啊，人间爱！

洛戈伯爵：没有爱，有的是名利，用这种方式考验爱。

（詹姆斯·亨利·亨特）

詹姆斯·亨利·亨特（1784～1859年），英国作家、《观察家》编辑。亨特曾经在50多年里被公众称为最著名的“散文作家、诗人、戏剧家、小说家和批评家”。他出生于英国中萨克斯，母亲是美国人。他少年时候就开始为公众撰写文章。1808年，与他的哥哥一起创办了《观察家》报纸，宣扬政治自由。由于他撰写的几篇文章冒犯了英国政府，亨利兄弟每人被处以500英镑的罚金，并被判刑入狱2年。在监狱里，他把监牢装备成一个小小的会客室，他经常在这里会见朋友，并完成了几部著作。亨特曾与当时的拜伦、雪莱、济慈、莫尔交好，与拜伦和雪莱在政治上是志同道合的朋友，曾一同出版《政治和自由》周刊。在他去世的前几年，亨特献身于文学事业，1847年，从政府那里获得了一笔养老金。

THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS

King Francis was a hearty king, and loved a royal sport,

And one day, as his lions fought, sat looking on the court;

The nobles filled the benches round, the ladies by their side,

And ‘mongst them sat the Count de Lorge, with one for whom he sighed:

And truly ‘t was a gallant thing to see that crowning show,

Valor and love, and a king above, and the royal beasts below.

Ramped and roared the lions, with horrid laughing jaws;

They bit, they glared, gave blows like beams, a wind went with their paws;

With wallowing might and stifled roar, they rolled on one another:

Till all the pit, with sand and mane, was in a thunderous smother;

The bloody foam above the bars came whizzing through the air:

Said Francis, then,“Faith, gentlemen, we're better here than there.”

De Lorge's love o'erheard the king,—a beauteous, lively dame,

With smiling lips, and sharp, bright eyes, which always seemed the same;

She thought,“The Count, my lover, is brave as brave call be,

He surely would do wondrous things to show his love for me;

King, ladies, lovers, all look on; the occasion is divine;

I'll drop my glove to prove his love; great glory will be mine.”

She dropped her glove to prove his love, then looked at him and smiled;

He bowed, and in a moment leaped among the lions wild;

The leap was quick, return was quick, he soon regained his place,

Then threw the glove, but not with love, right in the lady's face.

“In faith,”cried Francis,“rightly done!”and he rose from where he sat;

“No love,”quoth he,“but vanity, sets love a task like that.”

（James Henry Leigh Hunt）

第32课　老师和患病学生

本文节选自查尔斯·狄更斯的《老古玩店》。文中用极其细腻的笔触描绘了小学生孩提时代的贪玩、淘气，也表现出了他们天真烂漫、纯洁、质朴的一面。文中的后半部分则描绘了贫穷、可怜的老师与他的优秀学生之间的深情厚谊，文中的两个主要角色话语不多，都是通过动作与细节描绘表达他们之间真挚友谊的。

老师安置好了两排长凳之后，自己便坐在讲桌后面，准备上课。此后不久，便有一个白头发的小男孩出现在门口，他停了下来，鞠了一个乡下人的躬，然后走了进来，坐在他的位子上。然后他打开了已经折得很厉害的书本，摊放在膝盖上，再把手插进了衣袋，数着装在衣袋里面的小石子。在做着这些事情的时候，他却显出一副悠然自得的样子，很为自己的才能感到骄傲——眼睛看着书，而心里却在想着别的事情，手里还能数着石子。

此后不久，另外一个白头发的小男孩逡巡着走了进来，他后面还跟着一个红头发的男孩，后面还有两个白头发的男孩。接下来，一个黄头发的学生也走了进来，就这样，一个接一个，直到长凳子上坐了十二三个小学生之后，学生这才没有再进来的。这些学生的头发除了灰色之外，各种颜色都有，他们的年龄也从4岁到14岁不等，有的甚至年龄更大一些。最大的一个呆头傻脑的，但是他脾气却出奇的好，个子比老师还要高出半头来。最小的坐在凳子上，脚还够不着地板。

在第一排长凳的第一个座位，是那个病学生的座位，这是专门提供的荣誉座位，不过，现在它还空着。那排挂帽子的长钉子的第一个钉子也是空的。已经在座的小男孩们谁也没有想到要破坏座位和钉子的尊严。不过，他们都看看空座位，再看看空钉子，然后再看看老师。手捂着嘴和自己的邻座同学说些什么。

然后，课就开始了。大家蜜蜂般地嗡嗡开了，有的念书，有的背诵，有的小声开着玩笑，有的偷偷摸摸地做着些小动作，还有各种各样的声音和没精打采的言语。在这片混杂声中，只有可怜的老师坐在那里，脸上表情是和蔼的、淳朴的，他想把注意力集中在一天的工作当中，想忘掉那个病学生。但是，由于工作的单调无聊，就更加使他对那个好学生放心不下，他的心思早已不在这些学生身上了，从他的表情上可以看出来。

对于这一点，那些懒惰的学生是最了解的了，他们明白，大胆放肆一点也不会受到什么处罚，于是，他们就吵闹得更加厉害了。在老师面前猜单双数的，公然吃苹果的，开玩笑的，或者相互打闹的，他们一点儿也不客气，而且就在老师的讲课桌腿上雕刻着自己的名字。那个站在老师旁边背诵课文的蠢货，也用不着思索遗忘了的字句，公然凑到老师的桌子旁边，大胆地看老师的课本。那个小滑稽的家伙斜着眼睛做出各种各样的动作（自然是对着最小的男孩），他的面前没有书本遮着，而他的表演也有了回报——那个小学生被他逗得乐不可支，哈哈大笑。假如老师突然惊醒，抬起头来，察看他们的所作所为，这些杂乱的声音马上就沉了下去。那些与他的目光相遇的目光全部都表现出一种很用功和十分谦逊的神情。不过，只要他又回到他的深思中去时，声音又爆发出来，其响声之大，有甚于从前。

哦，你不知道这些懒惰的家伙多么想跑到外边去啊！你看他们怎样看着敞开的门窗，好像在准备如何冲出去，跑到树林里，从此就会变成野蛮的人和野孩子似的。一想到那清凉的河水和那浸到水面的垂柳嫩枝所遮盖的浴池，他们真是心痒难捺，这对那个强健的男孩更是一种诱惑和刺激，他的衬衫领扣敞开着，好像要脱下去的样子。他坐在那里，不停地用书扇着那张涨红的脸，恨不得马上就变成一条鲸鱼，或者一条小鱼、一只苍蝇也好，不管变成什么都可以，只要是不在这酷热难耐的教室里做一个受罪的学生就好！热不热？这可以问问坐在门口的那个学生，他的座位很方便，有机会他就能够溜到花园里去，等他把脸浸到井水桶里，又在草地上打了个滚回来之后，他可就把他教室里面的伙伴气个半死——多半也是太嫉妒的缘故。且不忙问这些学生们这样的天热不热，这时候，就连蜜蜂都要飞到花朵深处藏起来，好像它们就要休假，过了这个假期之后再做酿蜜的工作似的。这样的天气注定要让人懒惰。一个人懒洋洋地躺倒在草地上，仰着头凝望着天空，直到灿烂的阳光让他闭上眼睛，慢慢沉入梦乡，那该有多好！难道现在是避着阳光在黑屋子里苦读酸腐的书本的时候吗？天底下还能有比这种事情更荒谬绝伦的吗？

功课上完了，写字课开始了。教室里只有一张书桌，就是先生坐在旁边的那张桌子。每一个学生都要轮流着到那辛苦地、歪歪斜斜地写字。老师在教室里走来走去的。这个时候是比较安静的时候，因为他要经常到写字的学生旁边看，和蔼地告诉学生，要看看挂在墙上的那张字母表是怎样写的，时而又表扬某个学生的一撇撇得好，一勾勾得妙，还要求大家向他学习，以他为榜样。接着，他又告诉他们，昨天晚上那个生病的学生说的话，他是多么想和他们在一起。可怜的老师那温柔又可亲的态度使他的学生们感动了，为此他们好像有些懊悔，不该让他那样苦恼一样。所以，大家在接下来的一段时间内又都安静了一阵子，大家不再吃苹果了，也不再用小刀刻名字了，不再打闹了，也不再挤眉弄眼做鬼脸了，不再朝窗外看了，也不再到外边把头浸到井水桶里了——这样足足维持了两分钟的时间。

“同学们，我想，”当时钟鸣了12下的时候，老师说，“今天下午我要给大家放半天假。”听到这个消息，以高个子为首的男孩们大声喊叫起来，老师好像在说些什么，但是，大家谁也没有去听。老师举起手做手势要大家肃静的时候，大家这才静下来。“你们大家要答应我，”老师说道，“不要吵闹，或者要吵闹就到别的地方去吵闹，到远远的地方去，不要在这里——我的意思是，你们可以到村子外面去吵闹。我相信你们不会打扰那个每天都与你们在一起的那个同学去读书。”大家答应说不再吵闹了（也许是很真诚的，因为毕竟他们还是孩子），同时，那个高个子学生或者和别学生一样诚恳，让他身边的孩子们替他作证，他刚才只是低声叫喊着。

“那么，请大家不要忘记，这样做才是个好学生。”他们的老师说，“我向你们要求的，希望你们能够做到，那就算对得起我了。你们快乐去吧，但不要忘记，身体健康才是幸福的。再会了，同学们。”

“谢谢您，先生。”“再会，先生。”学生们用各种方式同他们的老师说再见，然后，这些孩子们就慢慢散去了。此时，阳光仍然照耀着，小鸟继续在歌唱，好像只有在假日里阳光才照耀、小鸟才歌唱似的；树林在向无拘无束的孩子们招手，要他们攀登上去，钻到它们浓密的枝头里面去。干草堆在向他们恳求，要他们走上前去，把它摊到在充满阳光的天气里晒晒太阳；绿色的庄稼温柔地向树林和溪水打着手势；大地被光与影笼罩着，显得格外平滑，正在邀请他们到上面跑跳、或走动，随便怎样都行。在这种情况下，哪个男孩子能够把持得住？只听一声呐喊，这些孩子早已撒腿四面八方地散开了，他们跑着，跳着，笑着，打闹着，多么欢快呀！

“这是很自然的事情，感谢上苍！”可怜的老师目送着这些孩子们离去，说，“我很高兴他们不在意我放他们的假。”天快黑的时候，可怜的老师来到他的那个好学生——病学生住的小屋门口，然后，他用手敲了敲门，门很快就开了。他走进了一间屋子，里面一些妇女围着一个比她们年龄稍长的女人。那个女人面容凄惨，坐在椅子上绞着手，不住地抽泣着。“哎呀，夫人！”老师一边说，一边走近她，“事情难道会严重到这种地步吗？”什么也没有回答，她指向另外一个屋子。老师立即朝着她指着的方向走去，看到了，在那里，躺着他的小朋友，半裸着身子。

他是一个非常小的孩子，太小的孩子——简直就像一个婴儿。他的头发卷曲着，垂在他的脸上。眼睛很明亮，但是，它们的光亮不是人间所有的，而是来自天国的。老师坐在他身旁，把头低到枕边，低声地呼唤着他的小名。那个男孩一下子跃了起来，用手抚摸着他的脸，又伸出瘦弱的胳臂抱住他的脖子，喊叫着说，老师是他亲爱的、慈爱的朋友。“我希望我永远是，我要做你永远的朋友，苍天有灵，他也会知道的。”可怜的老师说。

“你记得那花园吧，哈里？”老师低声说，因为他感觉好像有一种沉闷的东西把他包围着。所以，他急于打破这种气氛，“在黄昏的时候，有多么快乐呀！你一定要赶快再去那看看，我觉得鲜花因为见不到你而难过，也没有以前那么美丽了。你不久就会去的，亲爱的，不久就会去的，是不是？”

男孩有气无力地微笑着——简直柔弱极了，然后，把手放在他朋友那斑白的头发上。他的嘴唇动了动，但是声音却极小，不，连声音也没有了。一切都在沉默当中，远处人们的声音随着晚风飘进了敞开着的窗户。“那是什么？”男孩张开眼睛问。“是那些孩子们在草地上打球。”男孩听着，从枕头下面取出一块手巾，想举到头顶上挥舞一下，但是，他柔弱的胳臂没有力气，只好又放了下来。“让我来，好不好？”老师说。

“请你在窗口挥一挥，”男孩无力地答道，“把它系在窗户上，他们会看到它的，看到它，他们也许会想起我的，因此，他们会向这里看。”

男孩抬起头来，从那飘展的信号，到他的那些球棒、写字石板、书本和其他玩具，然后，他又轻轻地把头放下来，然后，再一次用胳臂搂住他的朋友，伙伴。他们既是老人和小小孩，又是忘年交。就这样，他们拥抱了很长一段时间，很长。然后，小男孩转过脸来面对着墙，睡着了。

可怜的老师仍坐在原来的位子，握着那只又小又冷的手，抚摸着。那是一只死孩子的手，他感觉到了，但是他还在不停地抚摸着，不肯把他放下来，似乎要把他的主人抚摸活过来一样。

（查尔斯·狄更斯）

THE TEACHER AND SICK SCHOLAR

Shortly after the schoolmaster had arranged the forms and taken his seat behind his desk, a small white headed boy with a sunburnt face appeared at the door, and, stopping there to make a rustic bow, came in and took his seat upon one of the forms. He then put an open book, astonishingly dog's eared, upon his knees, and, thrusting his hands into his pockets, began counting the marbles with which they were filled; displaying, in the expression of his face, a remarkable capacity of totally abstracting his mind from the spelling on which his eyes were fixed.

Soon afterward, another white headed little boy came straggling in, and after him, a red headed lad, and then one with a flaxen poll, until the forms were occupied by a dozen boys, or thereabouts, with heads of every color but gray, and ranging in their ages from four years old to fourteen years or more; for the legs of the youngest were a long way from the floor, when he sat upon the form; and the eldest was a heavy, good tempered fellow, about half a head taller than the schoolmaster.

At the top of the first form—the post of honor in the school—was the vacant place of the little sick scholar; and, at the head of the row of pegs, on which those who wore hats or caps were wont to hang them, one was empty. No boy attempted to violate the sanctity of seat or peg, but many a one looked from the empty spaces to the schoolmaster, and whispered to his idle neighbor, behind his hand.

Then began the hum of conning over lessons and getting them by heart, the whispered jest and stealthy game, and all the noise and drawl of school; and in the midst of the din, sat the poor schoolmaster, vainly attempting to fix his mind upon the duties of the day, and to forget his little sick friend. But the tedium of his office reminded him more strongly of the willing scholar, and his thoughts were rambling from his pupils—it was plain.

None knew this better than the idlest boys, who, growing bolder with impunity, waxed louder and more daring; playing“odd or even”under the master's eye; eating apples openly and without rebuke; pinching each other in sport or malice, without the least reserve; and cutting their initials in the very legs of his desk. The puzzled dunce, who stood beside it to say his lesson“off the book,”looked no longer at the ceiling for forgotten words, but drew closer to the master's elbow, and boldly cast his eye upon the page; the wag of the little troop squinted and made grimaces（at the smallest boy, of course）, holding no book before his face, and his approving companions knew no constraint in their delight. If the master did chance to rouse himself, and seem alive to what was going on, the noise subsided for a moment, and no eye met his but wore a studious and deeply humble look; but the instant he relapsed again, it broke out afresh, and ten times louder than before.

Oh! how some of those idle fellows longed to be outside, and how they looked at the open door and window, as if they half meditated rushing violently out, plunging into the woods, and being wild boys and savages from that time forth. What rebellious thoughts of the cool river, and some shady bathing place, beneath willow trees with branches dipping in the water, kept tempting and urging that sturdy boy, who, with his shirt collar unbuttoned, and flung back as far as it could go, sat fanning his flushed face with a spelling book, wishing himself a whale, or a minnow, or a fly, or anything but a boy at school, on that hot, broiling day.

Heat! ask that other boy, whose seat being nearest to the door, gave him opportunities of gliding out into the garden, and driving his companions to madness, by dipping his face into the bucket of the well, and then rolling on the grass,—ask him if there was ever such a day as that, when even the bees were diving deep down into the cups of the flowers, and stopping there, as if they had made up their minds to retire from business, and be manufacturers of honey no more. The day was made for laziness, and lying on one's back in green places, and staring at the sky, till its brightness forced the gazer to shut his eyes and go to sleep. And was this a time to be poring over musty books in a dark room, slighted by the very sun itself? Monstrous!

The lessons over, writing time began. This was a more quiet time; for the master would come and look over the writer's shoulder, and mildly tell him to observe how such a letter was turned up, in such a copy on the wall, which had been written by their sick companion, and bid him take it as a model. Then he would stop and tell them what the sick child had said last night, and how he had longed to be among them once again; and such was the poor schoolmaster's gentle and affectionate manner, that the boys seemed quite remorseful that they had worried him so much, and were absolutely quiet; eating no apples, cutting no names, and making no grimaces for full two minutes afterward.

“I think, boys,”said the schoolmaster, when the clock struck twelve,“that I shall give you an extra half holiday this afternoon.”At this intelligence, the boys, led on and headed by the tall boy, raised a great shout, in the midst of which the master was seen to speak, but could not be heard. As he held up his hand, however, in token of his wish that they should be silent, they were considerate enough to leave off, as soon as the longest winded among them were quite out of breath.“You must promise me, first,”said the schoolmaster,“that you'll not be noisy, or at least, if you are, that you'll go away first, out of the village, I mean. I'm sure you would n't disturb your old playmate and companion.”

There was a general murmur（and perhaps a very sincere one, for they were but boys）in the negative; and the tall boy, perhaps as sincerely as any of them, called those about him to witness, that he had only shouted in a whisper.“Then pray don't forget, there's my dear scholars,”said the schoolmaster,“what I have asked you, and do it as a favor to me. Be as happy as you can, and don't be unmindful that you are blessed with health. Good by, all.”

“Thank ‘ee, sir,”and“Good by, sir,”were said a great many times in a great variety of voices, and the boys went out very slowly and softly. But there was the sun shining and there were birds singing, as the sun only shines and the birds only sing on holidays and half holidays; there were the trees waving to all free boys to climb, and nestle among their leafy branches; the hay, entreating them to come and scatter it to the pure air; the green corn, gently beckoning toward wood and stream; the smooth ground, rendered smoother still by blending lights and shadows, inviting to runs and leaps, and long walks, nobody knows whither. It was more than boy could bear, and with a joyous whoop, the whole cluster took to their heels, and spread themselves about, shouting and laughing as they went.“ ‘T is natural, thank Heaven!”said the poor schoolmaster, looking after them,“I am very glad they did n't mind me.”

Toward night, the schoolmaster walked over to the cottage where his little friend lay sick. Knocking gently at the cottage door, it was opened without loss of time. He entered a room where a group of women were gathered about one who was wringing her hands and crying bitterly.“O dame!”said the schoolmaster, drawing near her chair,“is it so bad as this?”Without replying, she pointed to another room, which the schoolmaster immediately entered; and there lay his little friend, half dressed, stretched upon a bed.

He was a very young boy; quite a little child. His hair still hung in curls about his face, and his eyes were very bright; but their light was of heaven, not of earth. The schoolmaster took a seat beside him, and, stooping over the pillow whispered his name. The boy sprung up, stroked his face with his hand, and threw his wasted arms around his neck, crying, that he was his dear, kind friend.“I hope I always was. I meant to be, God knows,”said the poor schoolmaster.“You remember my garden, Henry?”whispered the old man, anxious to rouse him, for dullness seemed gathering upon the child,“and how pleasant it used to be in the evening time?You must make haste to visit it again, for I think the very flowers have missed you, and are less gay than they used to be. You will come soon, very soon now, won't you?”

The boy smiled faintly—so very, very faintly—and put his hand upon his friend's gray head. He moved his lips too, but no voice came from them,—no, not a sound. In the silence that ensued, the hum of distant voices, borne upon the evening air, came floating through the open window.“What's that?”said the sick child, opening his eyes.“The boys at play, upon the green.”He took a handkerchief from his pillow, and tried to wave it above his head. But the feeble arm dropped powerless down.“Shall I do it?”said the schoolmaster.“Please wave it at the window,”was the faint reply.“Tie it to the lattice. Some of them may see it there. Perhaps they'll think of me, and look this way.”

He raised his head and glanced from the fluttering signal to his idle bat, that lay, with slate, and book, and other boyish property, upon the table in the room. And then he laid him softly down once more, and again clasped his little arms around the old man's neck. The two old friends and companions—for such they were, though they were man and child—held each other in a long embrace, and then the little scholar turned his face to the wall and fell asleep.

The poor schoolmaster sat in the same place, holding the small, cold hand in his, and chafing it. It was but the hand of a dead child. He felt that; and yet he chafed it still, and could not lay it down.

（Charles Dickens）

第33课　瑞普·凡·温克尔

瑞普·凡·温克尔。华盛顿欧文的《见闻札记》一书中的故事人物，一个酒鬼。一天夜晚被他的老婆赶出家门，进了卡特斯基尔山。在山中碰到了汉德里克哈得逊一伙的鬼魂，与他们玩起了九柱戏，喝了他们给的酒后一觉睡了20年。本文描写了他返回村庄时所发生的事情。

瑞普的出现，一下子就吸引了酒馆里政治家们的注意。他拖着长长的灰白胡子，肩上扛着生锈的鸟枪，衣衫褴褛。一大群妇女和小孩跟在他后面。政客纷纷过来围住了他，好奇地从头到脚仔细打量他。演讲人急忙挤上前去，把他拉到一边问他投哪一边的票。瑞普傻傻地站在那里，不知他在说什么。另外一个矮个子的家伙，拉住他的胳膊，翘起脚尖凑到瑞普的耳边问他：“是民主党的还是联邦党的？”

这个问题同样搞得瑞普一头雾水，这时一个头戴三角帽、高傲而自以为是的老先生拨开人群在瑞普面前站定，他一只手叉在腰上，另一只手拄着手杖。他目光冷峻严厉，似乎洞穿了瑞普的灵魂世界，他以一种严厉的口吻质问瑞普，扛着一条枪，带着一大帮人到选举会场来想干什么，是不是想在村子里发动一场暴乱。

“啊呀！先生们！”瑞普沮丧地说，“我是一个穷人、老实人、本地的乡民、国王的忠实子民，愿上帝保佑国王！”人群发出一阵惊呼。“保皇党！保皇党！他是个间谍！他是难民！赶走他！滚蛋吧！”戴尖帽的自以为是的先生费了很大劲才让大家安静下来。接着他以十分严厉的声音质问这个不速之客到这儿干什么，要找谁。可怜的瑞普毕恭毕敬地向他表示，他没有任何恶意，他到这里来只是为了找他过去的一些老邻居，他们也经常到这个酒馆来。“那么，他们是谁？说出他们的名字。”

瑞普沉思了一会，问：“尼古拉斯·费德尔在这儿吗？”人们一下安静了下来，一个老妇人尖细的声音说，“尼古拉斯·费德尔！他死了18年了！教堂墓地过去有他的一个木碑，上面讲关于他的事，但这块木头也早烂掉了，没有了！”瑞普又问：“布鲁姆·杜切尔在哪儿？”“他呀，他在战争开始的时候参加了陆军。有人说他在石点的战斗中牺牲了，也有人说他在安东尼奴斯山下的暴雨中淹死了，反正他再也没有回来。”“那么，凡·布默尔去哪儿了？”“他也去参战了，成了一个伟大的将军。他现在在国会里。”听到家乡发生的这些变化，他的朋友都不在了，瑞普感到十分凄凉。他发现在这个世界上他已经是一个孤独的人了。每一个回答都使瑞普十分迷惑，20年岁月的流逝发生了很多事情——战争、国会、石点都是瑞普不知道的。他已经没有勇气再问其他朋友还在不在，他绝望地喊道：“有没有人认识瑞普·凡·温克尔？”

“哦，瑞普·凡·温克尔！”人群中有两三个回答，“当然认识，瑞普·凡·温克尔，就在那边，靠着树的那个。”瑞普朝那边看去，吃惊地看见了上山前的自己，显然同样的懒惰，当然也同样的破衣烂衫。可怜的瑞普彻底糊涂了，他怀疑自己还是不是自己，还是别的谁。正在茫然无措的时候，那个戴尖帽的老人问他到底是谁，要求他说出自己的名字。

“天知道我是谁！”瑞普无奈地大声说。“我不是我，我成了别人；那边那人是我？不，那是叫了我的名字的人。我昨晚还是我自己。但我在山上睡着了，他们弄破了我的枪，改变了所有的东西，也改变了我自己，我说不清楚我叫什么，我是谁！”

围观的人们开始面面相觑，有人不住点头，有人不住眨眼，有人不住拿手指敲自己的脑袋。人群中有人低声说，先夺下这把枪以防老头肇事。戴尖角帽的老先生听到这话急忙挤出了人群。正当村民要动手的时刻，一位年轻漂亮的村妇挤过来要看一眼这个灰胡子怪人。她怀里抱着一个胖胖的小孩，小孩看到瑞普吓得哭了起来。这位妇女对婴儿吼道，“闭嘴，瑞普！闭嘴，你这个小傻瓜，这老头不打你。”

小孩的名字，这个母亲的样子，她的语气一下子激起了瑞普的回忆。他问她：“你叫什么，好心的女士？”“朱迪·卡德尼尔。”“你父亲叫什么？”“他，可怜的人。他的名字叫瑞普·凡·温克尔；他离家已经20年了，带着一条枪进山了，此后再没有听到他的信。他的狗自己回来了，他是自杀了还是被印第安人掳走了，没有人知道。我那时只是个小女孩。”

瑞普还想知道的只有最后一个问题了，他战战兢兢地问：“你的母亲还在吗？”“她，从那以后不久也死了，她着迷于一个新英格兰的小贩，有一次一动情血管破裂，死了。”听到这个消息，瑞普一颗心落了地。这个老人再也控制不住自己，他一把把女儿和外孙抱到怀里，说道：“我就是你的父亲，过去年轻的瑞普·凡·温克尔，如今老迈的瑞普·凡·温克尔！这里真的没有人认识可怜的瑞普·凡·温克尔吗？”

所有的人都惊呆了，直到一个老妇人步履蹒跚地走出人群，手搭眉前盯着瑞普的脸看了片刻，她喊道：“真的，真是瑞普·凡·温克尔！真是他！欢迎回家，老邻居！这一二十年你到底跑哪去了？”瑞普很快向他们讲述了自己的故事，20年对他来说不过是一晚。

长话短说，人群很快散去了，人们又回到更重要的选举事情上来。瑞普的女儿把他带回家跟她一起住。她有一个温暖舒适的家，有一个快乐矮小结实的农夫作丈夫，瑞普记起他小时候是一个常爬到他背上去的调皮蛋。瑞普又恢复了他过去的老习惯，他很快便找到了许多他过去的好朋友，但他们由于生活的压力大多状况不如从前。瑞普于是喜欢在新生代中交朋友，并且很快成为受他们喜爱的人。

（华盛顿·欧文）

RIP VAN WINKLE

The appearance of Rip, with his long, grizzled beard, his rusty fowling piece, his uncouth dress, and an army of women and children at his heels, soon attracted the attention of the tavern politicians. They crowded around him, eying him from head to foot with great curiosity. The orator bustled up to him, and, drawing him partly aside, inquired on which side he voted. Rip stared in vacant stupidity. Another short but busy little fellow pulled him by the arm, and, rising on tiptoe, inquired in his ear“whether he was Federal or Democrat.”

Rip was equally at a loss to comprehend the question; when a knowing, self important old gentleman, in a sharp cocked hat, made his way through the crowd, putting them to the right and left with his elbows as he passed, and planting himself before Van Winkle, with one arm akimbo, the other resting on his cane, his keen eyes and sharp hat, penetrating, as it were, into his very soul, demanded, in an austere tone, what brought him to the election with a gun on his shoulder, and a mob at his heels, and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village.

“Alas! gentlemen,”cried Rip, somewhat dismayed,“I am a poor, quiet man, a native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!”Here a general shout burst from the bystanders.—“A tory! a tory! a spy! a refugee! hustle him! away with him!”It was with great difficulty that the self important man in the cocked hat restored order; and, having a tenfold austerity of brow, demanded again of the unknown culprit, what he came there for, and whom he was seeking. The poor man humbly assured him that he meant no harm, but merely came there in search of some of his neighbors, who used to keep about the tavern.“Well, who are they? name them.”

Rip bethought himself a moment, and inquired,“Where's Nicholas Vedder?”There was a silence for a little while, when an old man replied, in a thin, piping voice,“Nicholas Vedder! why he is dead and gone these eighteen years! There was a wooden tombstone in the churchyard that used to tell all about him, but that's rotten and gone too.”“Where's Brom Dutcher?”“Oh, he went off to the army in the beginning of the war. Some say he was killed at the storming of Stony Point; others say he was drowned in a squall at the foot of Anthony's Nose. I don't know; he never came back again.”

“Where's Van Bummel, the schoolmaster?”“He went off to the wars, too; was a great militia general, and is now in Congress.”Rip's heart died away at hearing of these sad changes in his home and friends, and finding himself thus alone in the world. Every answer puzzled him, too, by treating of such enormous lapses of time, and of matters which he could not understand—war, Congress, Stony Point. He had no courage to ask after any more friends, but cried out in despair,“Does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle?”

“Oh, Rip Van Winkle!”exclaimed two or three.“Oh, to be sure! That's Rip Van Winkle yonder, leaning against the tree.”Rip looked, and beheld a precise counterpart of himself as he went up the mountain; apparently as lazy, and certainly as ragged. The poor fellow was now completely confounded; he doubted his own identity, and whether he was himself or another man. In the midst of his bewilderment, the man in the cocked hat demanded who he was, and what was his name.

“God knows!”exclaimed he, at his wit's end.“I'm not myself; I'm somebody else; that's me yonder; no, that's somebody else got into my shoes. I was myself last night; but I fell asleep on the mountain, and they've changed my gun, and everything's changed, and I'm changed, and I can't tell what's my name or who I am!”

The bystanders began now to look at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their foreheads. There was a whisper, also, about securing the gun, and keeping the old fellow from doing mischief, at the very suggestion of which the self important man in the cocked hat retired with some precipitation. At this critical moment, a fresh, comely woman pressed through the throng to get a peep at the gray bearded man. She had a chubby child in her arms, which, frightened at his looks, began to cry.“Hush, Rip!”cried she,“hush, you little fool! the old man won't hurt you.”

The name of the child, the air of the mother, the tone of her voice, all awakened a train of recollections in his mind.“What is your name, my good woman?”asked he.“Judith Gardenier.”“And your father's name?”“Ah, poor man! Rip Van Winkle was his name; but it's twenty years since he went away from home with his gun, and never has been heard of since; his dog came home without him; but whether he shot himself, or was carried away by the Indians, nobody can tell. I was then but a little girl.”

Rip had but one question more to ask; but he put it with a faltering voice:“Where's your mother?”“Oh, she, too, died but a short time since; she broke a blood vessel in a fit of passion at a New England peddler.”There was a drop of comfort, at least, in this intelligence. The honest man could contain himself no longer. He caught his daughter and her child in his arms.“I am your father!”cried he.“Young Rip Van Winkle once, old Rip Van Winkle now! Does nobody know poor Rip Van Winkle?”

All stood amazed, until an old woman, tottering out from among the crowd, put her hand to her brow, and, peering under it in his face for a moment, exclaimed,“Sure enough! it is Rip Van Winkle! it is himself! Welcome home again, old neighbor! Why, where have you been these twenty long years?”Rip's story was soon told, for the whole twenty years had been to him but as one night.

To make a long story short, the company broke up and returned to the more important concerns of the election. Rip's daughter took him home to live with her. She had a snug, well furnished house, and a stout, cheery farmer for a husband, whom Rip recollected for one of the urchins that used to climb upon his back. Rip now resumed his old walks and habits. He soon found many of his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time, and preferred making friends among the rising generation, with whom he soon grew into great favor.

（Washington Irving）

第34课　劳动

每个孩子都应该熟练掌握一些生产行业的技能，这并不是一定要他追求一份那个行业的工作，而是为了他在更为钟爱的智力行业或者造假行业万一失败的时候无论如何都能用得着这种技能。如果他愿意的话，你可以让他成为一名医生、律师、牧师或诗人，但是在他追求其中一种职业的时候，千万别让他把所有的赌注都押在成功上，以便他在选择第一种职业失败的情况下还有第二种选择可以依靠。对孩子进行培养的时候，只要他愿意，你可以让他选择智力行业，只不过要他始终意识到无需贬低自己，也无需为了达到目标在那方面获得成功而虐待自己。因为如果他第一次选择的职业道路走不通的话，他还可以另外选择一种职业作为谋生的途径，从而茁壮成长。生产劳动部门为提高效率而进行的全面训练，能够保证孩子们不伤害自己并且懂得自尊。

这个世界到处都存在着误导和垃圾，但是与人们主要因为缺乏行业培训而导致的经常虚度光阴和效率低下相比，人类所忍受的霜冻、干旱、枯萎病、冰雹、大火、地震、洪涝等所有灾害和损失实在是算不了什么。我们估计平均有1/10的人因为（正如他们所说）找不到工作而经常性地虚度光阴，这项估计应该是相当接近事实的。他们到那些根本不存在工作机会的地方去找工作。他们好像是，或者真正是，没有能力去面对和恳求做那些工作。假设从平均上说只有100万这样体格健壮的人，并且他们每人每天的工作只值1美元，那么我们每年由于不情愿地虚度光阴而造成的损失就绝对不低于3亿美元。我的估计是每年至少要损失5亿美元。如果适当地接受工作培训的话，那些束手而立等待被雇佣的人每天就可以挣取2～5美元。有人问一位刚刚开始从事律师工作的年轻人将会有什么样的前途时，丹尼尔·韦伯斯特回答说：“还有大量的空间可供攀登。”一个明显有能力或掌握了工作技能的男人或女人永远都不会缺乏工作的机会。在我们这座城市里，有10000个女人一直在从事每天挣不到50美分的针线活儿，过着自给自足的生活。然则，还有2倍于她们的女裁缝师能够在富裕的家庭里找到稳定的工作和良好的居住条件，她们每天除了吃和住之外至少还能再挣1美元。一个男人，无论是手艺精湛的铁匠、技术娴熟的装配工人、吃苦耐劳的马车制造工人，还是能够砍伐木材、搭建篱笆和按照需要管理小型农场的人，总是能够找到工作并且得到优厚的报偿。那些只会管理图书或者胜任音乐教育而对其余任何职业都一窍不通的男人和女人，将会时刻面临丢掉工作的危险。丢掉工作之后，他们将不得不非自愿地虚度光阴并因此沦为乞丐。没有哪一个男孩在成年之前就习惯于每天在田野或店铺里系统地从事生产劳动。不习惯如此劳动的男孩子后天将不会成为一个有用的人，无论什么时候想找工作，他都不会如愿以偿。这是一个非常普遍不过的事实。

然而，对于所有希望经常获得大量雇佣机会的人来说，都有一个不可或缺的先决条件，他们必须为此接受多种工作培训。一个获取利润的途径单一的民族一律比较贫穷，并不是因为选择某一种职业是种错误的决定，而是因为没有哪种职业可以雇佣那些掌握有多种技能的人并给予他们报酬。无论他们是男人还是女人，是老人还是年轻人，也无论他们身强体壮还是瘦弱无力，他们找到工作的先决条件就是社会上必须存在需要多种劳动技能的职业。因此，在一个只有木材业或者渔业的地区，贫穷人口的比例往往比较大，这个道理同样也适用于单独依靠棉花种植或者金矿开采的地区。接受多种多样的工作培训对于综合性的工作和实现持久的繁荣来说是必不可少的。

六七十年前，曾经还只是一个区的地方如今已经发展成了一个州，它就是缅因州。这是流传在新英格兰的一句谚语，用以说明新英格兰居民的贫穷，因为那里的人们大部分都是从事伐木业。在俄罗斯帝国那些大面积种植谷类作物、一味注重提高麦子产量的地区，人们的生活非常贫穷落后，这也是同样的道理。因此，马萨诸塞州的人均产业收入远远超过了北卡罗莱纳州，甚至超过了印第安纳州。在马萨诸塞州，有一半女人和几乎一半小孩参加日常劳动，从而增加了他们所在州的现实财富的总量；然而，在北卡罗莱纳和印第安纳两个州，除了男人和15岁以上的男孩子参加劳动创造财富之外，其余的人很少参加劳动。只有消除了这种差距，由它造成的后果才有可能最终消失。

（霍勒斯·格里利）

霍勒斯·格里利（1811～1872年），在美国也许可以称得上是最有名的编辑，出生在新罕布什尔州阿尔赫斯特的一个穷苦家庭。他的童年是在边干农活边到普通学校读书度过的，凡是能够拿到手中的书，他一本也不错过。他的书大部分都是在点着松节照明的情况下读完的。15岁那年，他进入佛蒙特州的一家印刷所工作，成了该印刷所一名最好的工人。在印刷所工作期间，他仍然不放过每一个学习机会。20岁那年，他一身褴褛来到了纽约这个大都市，几乎身无分文。他找了一份老本行工作，干了一两年后自己开办了一家印刷厂。一连数年，他都未能获得成功，但是他仍然坚持不懈，从事了大量的编辑工作。1841年，创办了《纽约论坛》，很快就成了全美最为成功和最有影响的杂志。1848年，他当选为美国国会议员，但是任职非常短。1872年，他竞选美国总统，但在竞选过程中失败了，此后没过多久即与世长辞了。格里利是并不多见的仅依靠诚实和锲而不舍的努力最终获得成功的例子之一。除了为报纸大量撰写文章之外，他还出版了几本书，其中最为著名的就是《美国的冲突》。

LABOR

Every child should be trained to dexterity in some useful branch of productive industry, not in order that he shall certainly follow that pursuit, but that he may at all events be able to do so in case he shall fail in the more intellectual or artificial calling which he may prefer to it. Let him seek to be a doctor, lawyer, preacher, poet, if he will; but let him not stake his all on success in that pursuit, but have a second line to fall back upon if driven from his first. Let him be so reared and trained that he may enter, if he will, upon some intellectual calling in the sustaining consciousness that he need not debase himself, nor do violence to his convictions, in order to achieve success therein, since he can live and thrive in another（if you choose, humbler）vocation, if driven from that of his choice. This buttress to integrity, this assurance of self respect, is to be found in a universal training to efficiency in Productive Labor.

The world is full of misdirection and waste; but all the calamities and losses endured by mankind through frost, drought, blight, hail, fires, earthquakes, inundations, are as nothing to those habitually suffered by them through human idleness and inefficiency, mainly caused（or excused）by lack of industrial training. It is quite within the truth to estimate that one tenth of our people, in the average, are habitually idle because（as they say）they can find no employment. They look for work where it can not be had. They seem to be, or they are, unable to do such as abundantly confronts and solicits them. Suppose these to average but one million able bodied persons, and that their work is worth but one dollar each per day; our loss by involuntary idleness can not be less than $300,000,000 per annum. I judge that it is actually $500,000,000. Many who stand waiting to be hired could earn from two to five dollars per day had they been properly trained to work.“There is plenty of room higher up,”said Daniel Webster, in response to an inquiry as to the prospects of a young man just entering upon the practice of law; and there is never a dearth of employment for men or women of signal capacity or skill. In this city, ten thousand women are always doing needlework for less than fifty cents per day, finding themselves; yet twice their number of capable, skillful seamstresses could find steady employment and good living in wealthy families at not less than one dollar per day over and above board and lodging. He who is a good blacksmith, a fair millwright, a tolerable wagon maker, and can chop timber, make fence, and manage a small farm if required, is always sure of work and fair recompense; while he or she who can keep books or teach music fairly, but knows how to do nothing else, is in constant danger of falling into involuntary idleness and consequent beggary. It is a broad, general truth, that no boy was ever yet inured to daily, systematic, productive labor in field or shop throughout the latter half of his minority, who did not prove a useful man, and was notable to find work whenever he wished it.

Yet to the ample and constant employment of a whole community one prerequisite is indispensable,—that a variety of pursuits shall have been created or naturalized therein. A people who have but a single source of profit are uniformly poor, not because that vocation is necessarily ill chosen, but because no single calling can employ and reward the varied capacities of male and female, old and young, robust and feeble. Thus a lumbering or fishing region with us is apt to have a large proportion of needy inhabitants; and the same is true of a region exclusively devoted to cotton growing or gold mining. A diversity of pursuits is indispensable to general activity and enduring prosperity.

Sixty or seventy years ago, what was then the District, and is now the State, of Maine, was a proverb in New England for the poverty of its people, mainly because they were so largely engaged in timber cutting. The great grain growing, wheat exporting districts of the Russian empire have a poor and rude people for a like reason. Thus the industry of Massachusetts is immensely more productive per head than that of North Carolina, or even that of Indiana, as it will cease to be whenever manufactures shall have been diffused over our whole country, as they must and will be. In Massachusetts half the women and nearly half the children add by their daily labor to the aggregate of realized wealth; in North Carolina and in Indiana little wealth is produced save by the labor of men, including boys of fifteen or upward. When this disparity shall have ceased, its consequence will also disappear.

第35课　一块小面包

有一次闹饥荒，一个富有的面包师把本城镇最穷的20个孩子叫来，对他们说：“篮子里每人有一块面包。你们拿上它，以后每天这个时候来这里，直到我们平安地度过饥荒。”

那些饥饿的孩子争着去抢篮子里的面包，还吵了起来，因为他们都想要最大的那一块。最后，他们连感谢都没感谢这位好心人就走了。

可是格雷奇，一个衣服破旧的小姑娘，不和别人挣抢，只是远远地站在一旁。当那些表现糟糕的女孩子们离去之后她才拿起最小的那一块面包，亲吻了一下面包师的手，转身离去。第二天，那些孩子和昨天一样很差劲，可怜的小格雷奇只拿到有昨天一半大的面包。回到家后，她的妈妈把面包切开，却意外地发现里面有许多闪闪发光的银币。

她的妈妈惊呆了，对她说：“赶快把这些钱送回去吧。肯定是面包师不小心掉进来的。”

可是当小姑娘把她妈妈的话告诉面包师时，他却回答：“不是的，孩子，不是的。我故意把银币放进来的，是奖赏你的。希望你能像现在这样，永远都知足地生活，文雅地生活，还怀着一颗感恩的心。回去吧，孩子，告诉你妈妈，这是属于你的钱。”

THE LITTLE LOAF

Once when there was a famine, a rich baker sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town, and said to them,“In this basket there is a loaf for each of you. Take it, and come back to me every day at this hour till God sends us better times.”

The hungry children gathered eagerly about the basket, and quarreled for the bread, because each wished to have the largest loaf. At last they went away without even thanking the good gentleman.

But Gretchen, a poorly dressed little girl, did not quarrel or struggle with the rest, but remained standing modestly in the distance. When the ill behaved girls had left, she took the smallest loaf, which alone was left in the basket, kissed the gentleman's hand, and went home.

The next day the children were as ill behaved as before, and poor, timid Gretchen received a loaf scarcely half the size of the one she got the first day. When she came home, and her mother cut the loaf open, many new, shining pieces of silver fell out of it.

Her mother was very much alarmed, and said,“Take the money back to the good gentleman at once, for it must have got into the dough by accident. Be quick, Gretchen! be quick!”

But when the little girl gave the rich man her mother's message, he said,“No, no, my child, it was no mistake. I had the silver pieces put into the smallest loaf to reward you. Always be as contented, peaceable, and grateful as you now are. Go home now, and tell your mother that the money is your own.”

第36课　苏萨和罗弗

“妈妈，”一个夏天的早晨，苏萨·迪安问他的妈妈，“我可以去森林采莓子吗？”

“可以，”迪安夫人说，“不过你带罗弗一起去。”

苏萨草草地吃过早饭，妈妈为她准备了可口的午饭，装在一个铁质的罐子里，封好递给她。

苏萨叫上罗弗——一条大狗——让它叼着一个铁桶。“如果我把这个铁桶装满的话，妈妈，你是不是要给我做莓子蛋糕呀？！”

沿着小路，穿过牧场，苏萨边走边唱。不一会儿来到树林，她把她的午饭放在一棵树旁边，开始采莓子。

罗弗不时地乱跑，一会儿追松鼠，一会儿又是追兔子，可是却始终不会离开小主人太远。

那个铁桶可不是一个小号的，当采了三分之二时，苏萨开始感觉饿了，想去吃午饭。

看着主人要吃饭，罗弗马上跑到主人旁边。她会给它一点吃吗？不会的，她很自私的，她决不会做那样的事的。

“嗨，罗弗，走开。”她说。可是罗弗却还是趴在那里一动不动，一双明亮的眼睛盯着她。她吃得太快了，不一会儿就吃光了，只有一小片姜粉面包从饭里挑出来，扔到地上。

吃过饭后，苏萨来到小河边玩。她把几根小木棍儿扔到水里，罗弗则听话地跳进水里又把木棍儿叨了回来。不一会儿，苏萨又开始采莓子了。

苏萨下午过得不是很好。虽然太阳还是金灿灿的，莓子还是又好又多，她也不累不饿。

可是她的狗罗弗饿了，她几乎没有给它什么东西吃。她想极力地忘掉自己的自私，可是她做不到，很早，她就准备回家了。

当她快要出林子时，忽然听到一阵瑟瑟的声音。“一定是小鸟或是松鼠。”她想，“如果我能抓住它，那就太好了。”

她静静地来到灌木丛里，可是让她害怕的是，她看到的是一条卷着身子的大蛇，正要向她扑来。

她吓得一动也不敢动，这时，勇敢的罗弗看到了蛇，跳了过来，按住蛇的颈，把它杀死了。

之后，忠实的罗弗又回到主人身边，用手蹭着主人的手。苏萨把手放在罗弗的脖子上，禁不住热泪盈眶。“罗弗！”她已泣不成声，“我亲爱的狗狗，我以前太自私了，对不起。”

罗弗好像装作没听懂似的，欣喜地跳来跳去，还一个劲地叫个不停。毫无疑问，罗弗今晚会有一顿丰盛的晚餐。

苏萨决不会忘记今天的事了，她很快开始戒除自己的自私，比以前更加快乐，也更惹人爱了。

SUSIE AND ROVER

“Mamma,”said Susie Dean, one summer's morning,“may I go to the woods, and pick berries?”

“Yes,”replied Mrs. Dean,“but you must take Rover with you.”

Susie brought her little basket, and her mother put up a nice lunch for her. She tied down the cover, and fastened a tin cup to it.

The little girl called Rover—a great Newfoundland dog—and gave him a tin pail to carry.“If I bring it home full, mamma,”she said,“won't you make some berry cakes for tea?”

Away she tripped, singing as she went down the lane and across the pasture. When she got to the woods, she put her dinner basket down beside a tree, and began to pick berries.

Rover ran about, chasing a squirrel or a rabbit now and then, but never straying far from Susie.

The tin pail was not a very small one. By the time it was two thirds full, Susie began to feel hungry, and thought she would eat her lunch.

Rover came and took his place at her side as soon as she began to eat. Did she not give him some of the lunch? No, she was in a selfish mood, and did no such thing.

“There, Rover, run away! there's a good dog,”she said; but Rover staid near her, watching her steadily with his clear brown eves.

The meat he wanted so much, was soon eaten up; and all he got of the nice dinner, was a small crust of gingerbread that Susie threw away.

After dinner, Susie played a while by the brook. She threw sticks into the water, and Rover swam in and brought them back. Then she began to pick berries again.

She did not enjoy the afternoon as she did the morning. The sunshine was as bright, the berries were as sweet and plentiful, and she was neither tired nor hungry.

But good, faithful Rover was hungry, and she had not given him even one piece of meat. She tried to forget how selfish she had been; but she could not do so, and quite early she started for home.

When she was nearly out of the woods, a rustling in the underbrush attracted her attention.“I wonder if that is a bird or a squirrel,”said she to herself.“If I can catch it, how glad I shall be!”

She tried to make her way quietly through the underbrush; but what was her terror when she saw it large snake coiled up before her, prepared for a spring!

She was so much frightened that she could not move; but brave Rover saw the snake, and, springing forward, seized it by the neck and killed it.

When the faithful dog came and rubbed his head against her hand, Susie put her arms ‘round his neck, and burst into tears.“O Rover,”she cried,“you dear, good dog! How sorry I am that I was so selfish!”

Rover understood the tone of her voice, if he did not understand her words, and capered about in great glee, barking all the time. You may be sure that he had a plentiful supper that evening.

Susie never forgot the lesson of that day. She soon learned to be on her guard against a selfish spirit, and became a happier and more lovable little girl.

第37课　印第安玉米

没有什么庄稼比玉米对人类更有用了，在没有谷物，尤其是水稻的时候，玉米曾经一度是一种主要的食物。在有些国家，玉米几乎是人们唯一的食物。

你知道为什么叫它们印第安玉米吗？这是因为美洲的印第安人是它们的最早种植者。当哥伦布发现新大陆时，他发现玉米已经在那里被广泛种植了。他们将玉米在石钵中轧碎，制成粗糙的面粉，用它们烤制面包。玉米现在是美国首要的种植作物，无论我们住在什么地方，我们都会看到玉米在合适的季节里生长，但是几乎没有人能够告诉你，种植这种玉米的方法。

玉米能够良好地生长，就必须有肥沃的土壤和温暖的气候。它是很脆弱的植物，很容易被冷空气所伤害。如果泥土寒冷而且潮湿，玉米种子是不会发芽的，而且会很快腐烂掉。

准备用于种植玉米的土地，必须是精心犁过，垄距要达到4英尺左右，在每个坑里大约放4到至7颗种子，然后盖上大约2英寸的土，这样玉米就种完了。在理想的气温下，十几天内，嫩叶就会从泥土中钻出来；然后它的茎杆就会迅速生长。它那长长的流线型的叶子也开始一天天尽情地生长。当玉米苗还很小的时候，必须精心地耕作，等它能够覆盖土地后，它们就不需要太多的锄整了。

水分和养料通过根被吸收，变成汁液，通过茎杆进入到叶子里，从此发生了很大的变化，也导致了玉米孕穗，小玉米也就开始生长。

玉米开两种花：雄花和雌花。两种花相距很远，雄花张在株尖上，雌花就是玉米穗外面散布着的丝一样的东西。玉米棒子上的每一粒果实都连着一根丝，除非那丝上落上了雄花的花粉，否则果实是不会生长的。

印第安玉米的用途十分广泛，它的绿茎和叶子是牛的很好的饲料，它成熟的果实可以被用作马、猪和家禽的饲料，没有比它更好的育肥饲料了。

烤玉米，玉米粥，英格兰素食布丁是很受人们喜欢的美食，且烧玉米和爆米花还是漫长冬天的零食。

淀粉具有很重要的商业价值，我们利用茎榨出的汁来做糖，用成熟的果实榨油酿酒。玉米叶子被用来填充床垫，编制成席子、篮子及其他有用的东西。

这样你知道印第安玉米的用处了吧。除了以上这些用途，它们生长在田里的样子也非常漂亮。夏天，田地里长着大片的玉米，那绿色的旗帜，飞舞的红缨让人永远难忘。

INDIAN CORN

Few plants are more useful to man than Indian corn, or maize. No grain, except rice, is used to so great an extent as an article of food. In some countries corn is almost the only food eaten by the people.

Do you know why it is called Indian corn? It is because the American Indians were the first corn growers. Columbus found this grain widely cultivated by them when he discovered the New World. They pounded it in rude, stone bowls, and thus made a coarse flour, which they mixed with water and baked.

Indian corn is now the leading crop in the United States. In whatever part of this land we live, we see corn growing every year in its proper season. Yet how few can tell the most simple and important facts about its planting and its growth!

Corn, to do well, must have a rich soil and a warm climate. It is a tender plant, and is easily injured by cold weather. The seed corn does not sprout, but rots, if the ground is cold and wet.

To prepare land properly for planting corn, the soil is made fine by plowing, and furrows are run across the field four feet apart each way. At every point where these furrows cross, the farmer drops from four to seven grains of seed corn. These are then covered with about two inches of earth, and thus form ”hills“ of corn.

In favorable weather, the tender blades push through the ground in ten days or two weeks; then the stalks mount up rapidly, and the long, streamer like leaves unfold gracefully from day to day. Corn must be carefully cultivated while the plants are small. After they begin to shade the ground, they need but little hoeing or plowing.

The moisture and earthy matter, drawn through the roots, become sap. This passes through the stalk, and enters the leaves. There a great change takes place which results in the starting of the ears and the growth of the grain.

The maize plant bears two kinds of flowers,—male and female. The two are widely separated. The male flowers are on the tassel; the fine silk threads which surround the ear, and peep out from the end of the husks, are the female flowers.

Each grain on the cob is the starting point for a thread of silk; and, unless the thread receives some particle of the dust which falls from the tassel flowers, the kernel with which it is connected will not grow.

The many uses of Indian corn and its products are worthy of note. The green stalks and leaves make excellent fodder for cattle. The ripe grain is used all over the earth as food for horses, pigs, and poultry. Nothing is better for fattening stock.

Green corn, or ”roasting ears,“ hulled corn and hominy, New England hasty pudding, and succotash are favorite dishes with many persons. Then there are parched corn and pop corn—the delight of long winter evenings.

Cornstarch is an important article of commerce. Sirup and sugar are made from the juice of the stalk, and oil and alcohol from the ripened grain. Corn husks are largely used for filling mattresses, and are braided into mats, baskets, and other useful articles.

Thus it will be seen how varied are the uses of Indian corn. And besides being so useful, the plant is very beautiful. The sight of a large cornfield in the latter part of summer, with all its green banners waving and its tasseled plumes nodding, is one to admire, and not to be forgotten.

第38课　要替别人着想

当吉妮在街道上散步的时候，她听到了背后有奇怪的敲击地板的声音。回头一看，她看到那竟是拄着拐杖一瘸一拐的罗布·格雷。

“你怎么了？”吉妮叫道：“我一个星期没有见到你，你怎么就变成这样了？”

“我已经这个样子有一个多星期了，由于我停下得太急，所以扭伤了踝骨，不，不是太急而是有东西阻止了我。”

“是什么？”吉妮问。

“一条原则，”罗布回答道，“你记得那次演讲是如何告诉我们替别人着想的么？我想那样做，但是这太难了，需要用我的一生，没有间隔，我想应该这样。”

“如果没有战争，那么就不需要我们成为战士。”吉妮说。

“是的，我想我应该试试，但是第一天我走出学校时，杰克·李夺过我手中的书，并把它们扔进了泥潭里，我以最快的速度在后面追他，想把他也扔进泥潭。突然，我想起了替别人着想的那条原则。就在我停下的那一刻，我的脚扭伤了，所以你看，就是这条原则。”

“如果有人触犯它们，谁就会倒霉。”吉妮会意地点点头说。

“这件事情把我搞糊涂了，它使我想放弃这些原则。”罗布说，“在我追杰克时，老天已经惩罚了，但那时我的确是不想做坏事。”

“你也那样做了，罗布。”吉妮说，“你替别人着想了，难道你没有认为自己就像一个受伤的士兵，没有为此而感到骄傲吗？”

“我从来没有想过。”罗布说，“如果我那样想……”话还没有说完，罗布便吹着口哨一瘸一拐地离开了学校，但是吉妮知道，从那天的事开始，罗布已下定决心，永远替别人着想。

HOLDING THE FORT

While Genie was walking slowly down street one day, she heard an odd rapping on the pavement behind her. Looking round, she saw Rob Grey hobbling on crutches.

“Why, what is the matter?”cried Genie.“I have n't seen you for a week, and now you are walking in that way.”

“I shall have to walk in this way as much as a week longer, Genie. I sprained my ankle by stopping too quick—no, not too quick, either, for there was something in my way.”

“What was it?”asked Genie.

“One of the Commandments,”replied Rob.“You remember how that lecturer talked to us about ‘holding the fort’? Well, I thought I should like to do it; but it's a pretty long war, you know—all a lifetime, and no vacations—furloughs, I think they call them.”

“If there was nothing to fight, we should not need to be soldiers,”said Genie.

“Well, I thought I would try; but the first day, when we came out of the schoolhouse, Jack Lee snatched my books out of my hand, and threw them into the mud.

”I started after him as fast as I could run. I meant to throw him where he had thrown the books, when, all of a sudden, I thought of the Commandment about returning good for evil.

“I stopped short—so short, that, somehow, my foot twisted under me. So, you see, it was one of the commandments.”

“If one must stumble at them, it is a good thing to fall on the right side,”said Genie, with a wise nod of her head.

“The whole thing puzzles me, and makes me feel—well, like giving it up,”said Rob.“It might have served me right when I was chasing Jack; but when I thought of the Commandment, I really tried to do the right thing.”

“You did do it, Rob,”said Genie.“You ‘held the fort’ that time. Why, Don't you see—you are only a wounded soldier.”

“I never thought of that,”said Rob.“If I believe that way—”He began to whistle, and limped off to school without finishing the sentence. But Genie knew, by the way he behaved that day, that he had made up his mind to hold the fort.

下册

第一辑

第1课　黑暗并不可怕

“威利，你能到楼上，从壁橱里把我的插针垫拿来吗？”

威利没有动。

“威利！”妈妈又喊了一声，她想他可能没有听见。

“我怕！”威利说。

“怕什么？”

“那儿黑。”

“黑是什么呀？”妈妈问。“看！它只是一个影子而已。”她把手伸向灯与桌子上的针线篮之间。

“现在篮子里是黑的，但只要我把手移开，它就亮了。”

“来，威利，站在灯与墙之间。看！你的影子在墙上了。你的影子会伤害你吗？”

“哦，是的，妈妈！我相信它不会伤害我的。”

“对呀，黑暗只是笼罩万事万物的大影子。”

“是什么制造的大阴影，妈妈？”

“当你再长大一点后，我会告诉你的，威利，不过不是现在。我希望你成为一个不再害怕影子的勇敢男孩。你敢到楼上把我的插针垫拿来了吧。”

“我敢，妈妈。我这就去拿给你。”

“谢谢，我勇敢的小男子汉。你看黑暗并没有伤害你。”

AFRAID IN THE DARK

“Willie, will you run upstairs, and get my needle book from the bureau?”

But Willie did not stir.“Willie!”said mamma. She thought he had not heard.

“I'm afraid,”said Willie.

“Afraid of what?”

“It's dark up there.”

“What is the dark?”asked mamma.“See! It is nothing but a shadow.”

And she held her hand between the lamp and the workbasket on the table.

“Now it is dark in the basket; but as soon as I take my hand away, it is light.”

“Come and stand between the lamp and the wall, Willie. See! There is your shadow on the wall. Can your shadow hurt you?”

“Oh no, mamma! I am sure it can not hurt me.”

“Well, the dark is only a big shadow over everything.”

“What makes the big shadow, mamma?”

“I will tell you all about that, Willie, when you are a little older. But now, I wish you would find me a brave boy who is not afraid of shadows, to run upstairs and get my needlebook.”

“I am bravo, mamma. I will go. —Here it is.”

“Thank you, my brave little man. You see the dark didn't hurt you.”

第2课　勇敢和怯懦

罗伯特和亨利一起放学回家，在路口的转弯处，他们看到有人在打架，罗伯特说：“走，我们也过去瞧瞧。”

“不。”亨利说，“我们还是回家吧，不要去参与那些事，我们又不知道怎么调解，相反我们也可能会被卷进去。”

“真是个胆小鬼，不敢去了吧。”罗伯特说着自己去了，亨利则回了家。下午，他们跟往常一样去上学。

可是罗伯特一见到他的同伴们就说亨利是一个胆小鬼，他们一起嘲笑他。而亨利心里很明白，用真正的勇气去做让别人责备的事是不值得的，他其实只是不想做错事而已。

过了几天，罗伯特和他的伙伴们一起去洗澡，他掉进了深水里。他拼命地喊救命，可都是白费。曾经叫亨利胆小鬼的那些男孩们都很快上了岸，没有一个人去帮罗伯特。

罗伯特很快开始往下沉。这时，亨利脱下衣服，跳进了水里，在罗伯特沉入水里的最后一刻，亨利抓住了他的手。冒着生命的危险，亨利费劲全力把罗伯特拖到了岸上。罗伯特得救了。

事后，罗伯特和那些曾经叫亨利是胆小鬼的孩子们都显得十分羞愧，因为他们没有一个人比亨利更为勇敢。

要勇敢地做好事，不要去做坏事。

COURAGE AND COWARDICE

Robert and Henry were going home from school, when, on turning a corner, Robert cried out,“A fight! let us go and see!”

“No,”said Henry;“let us go quietly home and not meddle with this quarrel. We have nothing to do with it, and may get into mischief.”

“You are a coward, and afraid to go,”said Robert, and off he ran. Henry went straight home, and in the afternoon went to school, as usual.

But Robert had told all the boys that Henry was a coward, and they laughed at him a great deal.

Henry had learned, however, that true courage is shown most in bearing reproach when not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong.

A few days after, Robert was bathing with some schoolmates, and got out of his depth. He struggled, and screamed for help, but all in vain.

The boys who had called Henry a coward, got out of the water as fast as they could, but they did not even try to help him.

Robert was fast sinking, when Henry threw off his clothes, and sprang into the water. He reached Robert just as he was sinking the last time.

By great effort, and with much danger to himself, he brought Robert to thc shore, and thus saved his life.

Robert and his schoolmates were ashamed at having called Henry a coward. They owned that he had more courage than any of them.

Never be afraid to do good, but always fear to do evil.

第3课　勇敢

一个寒冷的冬天，三个小男孩经过一所学校。最大的那个是一个品行不端的孩子，不仅自己经常麻烦不断，还想让别的孩子去做坏事。最小的男孩叫乔治，他是个安分守己的孩子。

乔治不想做错事，但他想让自己更大胆一些。另外两个孩子一个叫亨利，一个叫詹姆斯。他们一边走路，一边说着话。

亨利：要是用一个雪球砸一下教室的门，一定会把老师和学生吓一跳，我想一定很好玩。

詹姆斯：如果你真砸的话，你才会被吓一跳呢。即使老师抓不到你，他也会告诉你的父亲是你干的，你一定会挨训的，我想你会比那些学生更惨。

亨利：不会的，在老师打开门之前，我们就跑远了，他根本不知道是谁干的。这儿有一个冰硬的雪球，乔治就可以干这事，当他砸门后也不会被捉住。

詹姆斯：你让他试试，他不敢的。

亨利：你觉得乔治是胆小鬼吗？你太小看乔治了。来，乔治，拿着这个雪球，让詹姆斯瞧瞧你不是胆小鬼。

乔治：我不是不敢，只是我不想，我觉得这不是什么好事，更没有什么快乐可言。

詹姆斯：瞧，我就说他不敢。

亨利：不会吧，乔治，你怎么变胆小了，我觉得你什么都不会怕的。来，别让人看扁了，就扔一下，我知道你不会害怕的。

乔治：好吧，我不害怕的，给我雪球，我可以砸一下门而不被捉住的。

砰！雪球重重地砸在了门上，几个小男孩拔腿就跑。亨利大笑乔治，说他是个傻子，被人给耍了。

乔治做错了事，又被人嘲笑，真的是自作自受。他才是个胆小鬼呢，因为他害怕别人说他胆小，他不敢拒绝亨利让他做坏事，他怕被人嘲笑。

如果他是一个真正勇敢的人，他会说：“亨利，你以为我会上你的当吗？我会这么傻吗？如果你想扔你可以自己扔呀！”

亨利也许还会说他是个胆小鬼，但是乔治可以对他说：“你想我会在乎你的话吗？我觉得用雪球砸门是不对的，我不做我觉得不对的事，即使全城的人都来笑我也不会。”

这才是真正的勇气。如果亨利看到的是这样的情形，他就不会笑他了，因为乔治有一颗坚强的心。这个故事的寓意是，即使你身陷困境，或是遭到所有人的反对，你都要有一种无畏的勇气，你坚持自己的观点，坚持自己觉得应该坚持的东西。

TRUE COURAGE

One cold winter's day, three boys were passing by a schoolhouse. The oldest was a bad boy. always in trouble himself, and trying to get others into trouble. The youngest, whose name was George, was a very good boy.

George wished to do right, but was very much wanting in courage. The other boys were named Henry and James. As they walked along, they talked as follows:

Henry. What fun it would be to throw a snowball against the schoolroom door, and make the teacher and scholars all jump!

James. You would jump, if you should. If the teacher did not catch you and whip you, he would tell your father, and you would get a whipping then; and that would make you jump higher than the scholars, I think.

Henry. Why, we would get so far off, before the teacher could come to the door, that he could not tell who we are. Here is a snowball just as hard as ice, and George would as soon throw it against the door as not.

James. Give it to him, and see. He would not dare to throw it.

Henry. Do you think George is a coward? You do not know him as well as I do.

Here, George, take this snowball, and show James that you are not such a coward as he thinks you are.

George. I am not afraid to throw it; but I do not want to. I do not see that it will do any good, or that there will be any fun in it.

James. There! I told you he would not dare to throw it.

Henry. Why, George, are you turning coward? I thought you did not fear anything. Come, save your credit, and throw it. I know you are not afraid.

George. Well, I am not afraid to throw. Give me the snowball. I would as soon throw it as not.

Whack! went the snowball against the door; and the boys took to their heels. Henry was laughing as heartily as he could, to think what a fool he had made of George.

George had a whipping for his folly, as he ought to have had. He was such a coward, that he was afraid of being called a coward. He did not dare refuse to do as Henry told him, for fear that he would be laughed at.

If he had been really a brave boy, he would have said,“Henry, do you suppose that I am so foolish as to throw that snowball, just because you want to have me? You may throw your own snowballs, if you please!”

Henry would, perhaps, have laughed at him, and called him a coward.

But George would have said,“Do you think that 1 care for your laughing? I do not think it right to throw the snowball. I will not do that which 1 think to be wrong, if the whole town should join with you in laughing.”

This would have been real courage. Henry would have seen, at once, that it would do no good to laugh at a boy who had so bold a heart. You must have this fearless spirit, or you will get into trouble, and will be, and ought to be, disliked by all.

第4课　坚持

“你能帮我放一下风筝吗？”我的小侄子问他的姐姐，他拽着风筝拖地跑了好久，但仍没能把风筝放起来。他的姐姐露西捡起风筝，把它抛向空中，但她的小弟弟却忘了奔跑，风筝又掉了下来。

“噢，你太笨了！”小家伙说道。

“这全是你的错。”姐姐说道。

“再试一次，孩子们。”我鼓励他们。

露西再一次拿起了风筝，但这一次约翰跑得太快了，他突然一跑，风筝又从露西的手中掉了下来，再一次掉在了地上。“这次该怪谁？”露西问道。“再试一次。”我说。

他们又试了一次，这一次他们更小心了，但是当露西放开风筝的一刹那，一股突来的风把风筝刮向了灌木丛，风筝的尾巴被缠住了，可怜的风筝大头朝下地挂着。

“你看，你看，”约翰嚷道，“这全是因为你放偏了。”“好像我可以让风直着刮似的。”露西也很不高兴。这时我走过去帮忙。我把风筝从灌木丛中取出来，并把它卷了起来，对他们说：“来，孩子们，这儿有很多树，我们去找一处更开阔点的地方再试一次。”

我们很快找到了一处很好的开阔地，上面覆盖着绿草，周围没有树木。一切准备停当之后，我在约翰起步跑的同时将风筝抛起。风筝像气球一样稳稳升起，看来它能飞得很高。但这时约翰太高兴了，只顾着向上看，忘记了拉紧线，风筝线松了下来，风筝开始摇摆，而当时的风并不是很大，风筝最后还是落在了草地上。“噢，约翰，你不该停下的，不管怎么说，我们再试一次。”

“我再也不试了，”他闷闷不乐地说，“没用的，你看到了，风筝是飞不起来的，我再也不想为这事发愁了。”“噢，约翰，我们已经花了那么多工夫做这个风筝，又花了那么大力气放飞它，你难道愿意就这样放弃吗？这一点挫折不应该挫败我们。来，我已经卷好了绳子，我们再试一次。”

我们真的试了，我们也真的成功了。风筝随风向上飞去，轻得像羽毛一样。风筝线全放完的时候，约翰高兴极了，他紧紧地抓着线，一动不动地盯着蓝天上的风筝，这时风筝看来就像一个小小的斑点。“看呀！姑姑，看呀！它飞得多高。我希望我还有一公里长的线，我肯定风筝还能往上飞。”

尽情地享受了好久，小约翰才开始慢慢地收线。当风筝落下的时候，他高高兴兴地把它捡起来，说风筝完好无损，并说风筝表现很好，“我们明天再来放风筝好吗？姑姑，我们再试一次？”

“可以，亲爱的，只要天气好就行。现在告诉我，你从今天早晨的活动中学到了什么。”“我学会了怎样放风筝。”“你应该为此感谢姑姑，”露西说，“如果不是姑姑说服你再试一次的话，你早就放弃了。”

孩子们，我希望你们能懂得坚持的价值，即使是在放风筝这样的小事上也是一样。不管任何时候，当你没能做到你想要做的事的时候（正当的事情），你一定要记住，再试一次。

◇ 本课的中心是什么？

◇ 为什么约翰失去了放风筝的勇气？

◇ 他的姑姑对他说了些什么？

◇ 我们从中可以学到什么？

◇ 要想获得成功，我们可以作为座右铭的一句话是什么？

PERSEVERANCE

“Will you give my kite a lift?”said my little nephew to his sister, after trying in vain to make it fly by dragging it along the ground. Lucy very kindly took it up and threw it into the air, but, her brother neglecting to run off at the same moment, the kite fell down again.

“Ah! now, how awkward you are!”said the little fellow.“It was your fault entirely,”answered his sister.“Try again, children,”said I.

Lucy once more took up the kite. But now John was in too great a hurry; he ran off so suddenly that he twitched the kite out of her hand, and it fell flat as before.“Well, who is to blame now?”asked Lucy.“Try again,”said I.

They did, and with more care; but a side wind coming suddenly, as Lucy let go the kite, it was blown against some shrubs, and the tail became entangled in a moment, leaving the poor kite hanging with its head downward.

“There, there!”exclaimed John,“that comes of your throwing it all to one side.”“As if I could make the wind blow straight,”said Lucy. In the meantime, I went to the kite's assistance; and having disengaged the long tail, I rolled it up, saying,“Come, children, there are too many trees here; let us find a more open space, and then try again.”

We presently found a nice grassplot, at one side of which I took my stand; and all things being prepared, I tossed the kite up just as little John ran off. It rose with all the dignity of a balloon, and promised a lofty flight; but John, delighted to find it pulling so hard at the string, stopped short to look upward and admire. The string slackened, the kite wavered, and, the wind not being very favorable, down came the kite to the grass.“O John, you should not have stopped,”said I.“However, try again.”

“I won't try any more,”replied he, rather sullenly.“It is of no use, you see. The kite won't fly, and I don't want to be plagued with it any longer.”“Oh, fie, my little man! would you give up the sport, after all the pains we have taken both to make and to fly the kite? A few disappointments ought not to discourage us. Come, I have wound up your string, and now try again.”

And he did try, and succeeded, for the kite was carried upward on the breeze as lightly as a feather; and when the string was all out, John stood in great delight, holding fast the stick and gazing on the kite, which now seemed like a little white speck in the blue sky.“Look, look, aunt, how high it flies! and it pulls like a team of horses, so that I can hardly hold it. I wish I had a mile of string: I am sure it would go to the end of it.”

After enjoying the sight as long as he pleased, little John proceeded to roll up the string slowly; and when the kite fell, he took it up with great glee, saying that it was not at all hurt, and that it had behaved very well.“Shall we come out to morrow, aunt, after lessons, and try again?”

“I have no objection, my dear, if the weather is fine. And now, as we walk home, tell me what you have learned from your morning's sport.”“I have learned to fly my kite properly.”“You may thank aunt for it, brother,”said Lucy,“for you would have given it up long ago, if she had not persuaded you to try again.”

“Yes, dear children, I wish to teach you the value of perseverance, even when nothing more depends upon it than the flying of a kite. Whenever you fail in your attempts to do any good thing, let your motto be,—try again.”

第5课　有志者事竟成

父亲去世时，亨利·邦德大概只有10岁，支撑一个大家庭的重担全部落在了妈妈身上。这对她来说是一件非常困难的事，但她却做到了，她还把最大的孩子亨利送去了学校，尽可能给他提供他所需要的书。

但是有一次亨利需要一本语法书，以便辅助那门课的学习，但妈妈却没有钱给他买。为此他十分苦恼，带着一颗沉重的心上床睡觉了，在床上一直想着怎么办。

第二天醒来的时候，他发现昨夜下了一场大雪，寒风还在猛烈地吹着。“啊，”他说，“这大风可不会给任何人带来好处。”

他起了床，跑到邻居家，提出帮他们家在房子周围清出一条小路来。他们接受了。完成这项工作之后，他得到了应有的报酬，于是他又跑到另外一家做同样的工作，然后是另一家，最后他终于挣到了足够的钱去买那本他急需的语法书。

当学校开始上课的时候，亨利很开心地坐在座位上，他肯定是所有孩子里最开心的一个，因为他可以开始上这门课了。

从那时开始，亨利一直都是所有功课学得最好的学生。他不知道有“失败”这个词，他总是能成功。只要有坚定的意志，就一定能找到通向成功的路。

WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY

Henry Bond was about ten years old when his father died. His mother found it difficult to provide for the support of a large family, thus left entirely in her care. By good management, however, she contrived to do so, and also to send Henry, the oldest, to school, and to supply him, for the most part, with such books as he needed.

At one time, however, Henry wanted a grammar, in order to join a class in that study, and his mother could not furnish him with the money to buy it. He was very much troubled about it, and went to bed with a heavy heart, thinking what could be done.

On waking in the morning, he found that a deep snow had fallen, and the cold wind was blowing furiously.“Ah,”said he,“it is an ill wind that blows nobody good.”

He rose, ran to the house of a neighbor, and offered his service to clear a path around his premises. The offer was accepted. Having completed this work, and received his pay, he went to another place for the same purpose, and then to another, until he had earned enough to buy a grammar.

When school commenced, Henry was in his seat, the happiest boy there, ready to begin the lesson in his new book.

From that time, Henry, was always the first in all his classes. He knew no such word as fail, but always succeeded in all he attempted. Having the will, he always found the way.

第6课　真正的男子汉

“妈妈，别动，快坐下，让我来。”弗雷德·里斯克姆，一个聪明活泼的12岁男孩这样说着。里斯克姆夫人看起来很苍白、疲惫，她正试着慢慢把她都没怎么动过的早餐拿开。

她笑了一下，说道：“你来洗碗吗，弗雷德？”

“是的，妈妈，”弗雷德说，“如果我不会的话，我就是一个太差的学生了，我已经看您洗过太多次了。”

里斯克姆夫人欣慰地笑了一下，坐在了她的矮手扶椅上。弗雷德洗干净了盘子，并把盘子放进了碗橱。他打扫了厨房，又从地窖里取出了晚饭要用的马铃薯，把它们洗干净，之后才去上学。

尽管弗雷德的父亲不在家，好在食品室里有一些冻肉，里斯克姆夫人准备晚餐还不很困难。放学后弗雷德很快就回了家，他放好餐桌，当然饭后又洗了碗。在以后的几天他一直都在帮他妈妈做这些事，直到她的妈妈康复。

一天医生不经意地说道：“是这样，夫人，在我看来，如果您不是保持静养的话，你可能会病得很重。”弗雷德觉得自己得到了最大的奖励。医生并不知道静养后面的故事，他也无法知道听到他讲此话时男孩的心曾怎样地跳动。

弗雷德为了帮助他母亲，放弃了许多男孩子的乐趣。这个时候正是滑雪、滑冰的最好季节。另外他的自制力和耐心也经受了很大的考验。原先他总是很早就去学校，放学后也总要再多玩一会儿的。

男孩子们都很想念他，他不肯说出为什么不能早到学校或是放学后再多玩一会儿的原因，他只是说他想待在家里。

孩子们的好奇心被勾了起来。

“我会告诉你们的，”汤姆·巴顿说，“我会查出来的，你们等着吧！”

一天早晨，在上学的路上，汤姆去找弗雷德。他悄悄绕到弗雷德家的边门，从靠近厨房的窗户向里看。他看见弗雷德正站在桌子旁边，手里拿着一块洗碗布。

他一五一十地把这一切报告给了学校的其他男孩。于是在课间休息的时候，迎接弗雷德的是各种各样的“问候”。

“嗨，你可真行啊，在家洗盘子！”

“你是当丫头养的吧！”

“你的围裙呢？”

弗雷德既不缺乏勇气也不缺乏斗志，他极想回击这些侮辱他的人，并与他们打一架，但是，他自己建立的一套是非观念和他对母亲的爱阻止了他。

正当他努力控制自己的时候，他的老师出现在了门口。他看着弗雷德，好像是在说，“不要泄气！要做到真正的勇敢！”他知道老师已经听到了他那些没好心的同学的嘲笑与奚落。

当天那些男孩子收到警告，不许他们用任何方式嘲笑、耍弄弗雷德。他们知道老师言出必行，就再也没找弗雷德的麻烦。

“着火了！着火了！”惊惶的声音打破了夜的寂静，火警也立刻响了起来。弗雷德被火警声惊醒，红色的警灯照进了他的屋子。他迅速地穿上衣服，走到母亲卧室前轻轻敲门。

“是巴顿先生家的房子着火了，妈妈，让我去看一看吧，”他急切地说。里斯克姆夫人犹豫了一会儿，她想，弗雷德还太年轻，但是她信任他会照顾好自己，而且她知道他是多么迫切地想去帮助他们。

“好吧，你可以去，”母亲回答说，“但是要当心，我的孩子，如果你能帮得上忙的话，尽量帮忙，但不要莽撞。”

巴顿先生和太太都不在家，仆人在照管房子。火蔓延的速度非常快，因为风非常大，想救房子是不可能的了。仆人们四处乱跑、哭叫，但却什么事也没做。

弗雷德在外面发现了汤姆，“凯特在哪儿？”他问汤姆。汤姆吓得浑身发抖，他除了逃跑什么也想不到了。

“她还在房间里。”

“哪个房间？”弗雷德问。

“在那个。”汤姆说着，用手指着二层的一个窗户。

没时间说别的了，重要的是行动，有效、迅速的行动。楼梯已经着火了。只有一个办法可以接近凯特，但那也太危险了。第二层楼梯随时可能倒掉，弗雷德清楚这一点，但是他相信上帝一定会帮助他的。

人们很快架起了一架梯子，弗雷德爬上了梯子，一个消防员也跟了上去，他猛撞窗户上的窗格，终于挤进了屋子。屋里可怜的孩子已快被烟熏得窒息了。

弗雷德费了好大的劲才把凯特叫醒，他把她架到窗口，放到阳台上，她很快就被一双强有力的手接起，送下了梯子。弗雷德也飞速跟下。他们刚刚到达地面就听见一声轰响，他们知道他们差一点就被砸到里面了。

汤姆·巴顿永远也忘不了那个晚上，他意识到真正的勇敢是和爱心、自我牺牲联在一起的。从那之后，他一直以此作为自己行动的准则。

◇ 弗雷德为何要去洗碗？

◇ 洗碗是一件不体面的事吗？

◇ 他得到了什么报偿？

◇ 他的同学们对弗雷德有何举动？

◇ 请口述一下起火的故事？

◇ 弗雷德是一个胆小懦弱的孩子吗？

TRUE MANLINESS

“Please, mother, do sit down and let me try my hand,”said Fred Liscom, a bright, active boy twelve years old. Mrs. Liscom, looking pale and worn, was moving languidly about, trying to clear away the breakfast she had scarcely tasted.

She smiled, and said,“You, Fred, you wash dishes?”“Yes, indeed, mother,”replied Fred;“I should be a poor scholar if I couldn't, when I've seen you do it so many times. Just try me.”

A look of relief came over his mother's face as she seated herself in her low rocking chair. Fred washed the dishes, and put them in the closet. He then swept the kitchen, brought up the potatoes from the cellar for the dinner and washed them, and then set out for school.

Fred's father was away from home, and as there was some cold meat in the pantry, Mrs. Liscom found it an easy task to prepare dinner. Fred hurried home from school, set the table, and again washed the dishes.

He kept on in this way for two or three days, till his mother was able to resume her usual work, and he felt amply rewarded when the doctor, who happened in one day, said,“Well, madam, it's my opinion that you would have been very sick if you had not kept quiet.”

The doctor did not know how the“quiet”had been secured, nor how the boy's heart bounded at his words. Fred had given up a great deal of what boys hold dear, for the purpose of helping his mother, coasting and skating being just at this time in perfection.

Besides this, his temper and his patience had been severely tried. He had been in the habit of going early to school, and staying to play after it was dismissed.

The boys missed him, and their curiosity was excited when he would give no other reason for not coming to school earlier, or staying after school, than that he was a“wanted at home.”“I'll tell you,”said Tom Barton,“I'll find him out, boys—see if I don't!”

So he called for Fred to go to school, and on his way to the side door walked lightly and somewhat nearer the kitchen window than was absolutely needful. Looking in, he saw Fred standing at the table with a dishcloth in his hand.

Of course he reported this at school, and various were the greetings poor Fred received at recess.“Well, you're a brave one to stay at home washing dishes.”“Girl boy!”“Pretty Bessie!”“Lost your apron, have n't you, Polly!”

Fred was not wanting either in spirit or courage, and he was strongly tempted to resent these insults and to fight some of his tormentors. But his consciousness of right and his love for his mother helped him.

While he was struggling for self mastery, his teacher appeared at the door of the schoolhouse. Fred caught his eye, and it seemed to look, if it did not say,“Don't give up! Be really brave!”He knew the teacher had heard the insulting taunts of his thoughtless schoolmates.

The boys received notice during the day that Fred must not be taunted or teased in any manner. They knew that the teacher meant what he said; and so the brave little boy had no farther trouble.

“Fire! fire!”The cry crept out on the still night air, and the fire bells began to ring. Fred was wakened by the alarm and the red light streaming into his room. He dressed himself in a moment, almost, and tapped at the door of his mother's bedroom.

“It is Mr. Barton's house, mother. Do let me go,”he said in eager, excited tones. Mrs. Liscom thought a moment. He was young, but she could trust him, and she knew how much his heart was in the request.

“Yes, you may go,”she answered;“but be careful, my boy. If you can help, do so; but do nothing rashly.”Fred promised to follow her advice, and hurried to the fire.

Mr. and Mrs. Barton were not at home. The house had been left in charge of the servants. The fire spread with fearful speed, for there was a high wind, and it was found impossible to save the house. The servants ran about, screaming and lamenting, but doing nothing to any purpose.

Fred found Tom outside, in safety.“Where is Katy?”he asked. Tom, trembling with terror, seemed to have had no thought but of his own escape. He said,“Katy is in the house!”“In what room?”asked Fred.“In that one,”pointing to a window in the upper story.

It was no time for words, but for instant, vigorous action. The staircase was already on fire; there was but one way to reach Katy, and that full of danger. The second floor might fall at any moment, and Fred knew it. But he trusted in an arm stronger than his own, and silently sought help and guidance.

A ladder was quickly brought, and placed against the house. Fred mounted it, followed by the hired man, dashed in the sash of the window, and pushed his way into the room where the poor child lay nearly suffocated with smoke.

He roused her with some difficulty, carried her to the window, and placed her upon the sill. She was instantly grasped by strong arms, and carried down the ladder, Fred following as fast as possible. They had scarcely reached the ground before a crash of falling timbers told them that they had barely escaped with their lives.

Tom Barton never forgot the lesson of that night; and he came to believe, and to act upon the belief, in after years, that true manliness is in harmony with gentleness, kindness, and self denial.

第7课　风暴中的轮船

你出过海吗？航行在海上是多么惬意的事啊！当然那得是在风平浪静的时候。

如果风暴来临，那么景致就会截然不同。先是会在天边远处浮现大片阴沉、厚重的乌云，给整个水域笼罩上一层恐怖的阴影。船长和船员们很快就能在乌云中看到风暴的前兆。所有的人都得赶去降下船帆。

船长嘶哑的哨声在帆缆中传送着。如果能赶在大风来临之前把一切安顿好的话就万事无忧了。

最后大风终于来了，它刮起的水浪像一座小山，无情地击打着船身。在这样的重压之下，轮船颠簸、呜咽着，试图逃开那咆哮的海浪。

如果船是在远海的话，它还能安全地驶出风暴中心。但如果大风把船推向海岸的话，那么它就很有可能撞上暗礁，水手们就难逃噩运了。

曾经就有一条这样的船，它的桅杆已经断了，帆也被刮没了。狂风大作的时候，巨浪挤压着船身，这时有人在喊，“有人掉下去了！”

很快救生艇被放了下去，大浪迅速将它抛起，有一刻小船似乎被抛上了天空，接下来它又沉了下去，被压在了水下！

最后船员们终于找到了那个落水的人，他几乎就要沉下去了，幸运的是他最终还是被救上了小船。当他们准备回到大船上去时，大船仍然起伏不定，靠近它是很危险的。该怎么办呢？

船长让其中的一个人爬到桅杆上，然后甩下一根绳子。绳子的另一端紧紧系在了小船上。当海面稍稍平静了一些的时候，他们绞紧绳子，小船上的人才被重重摔到了船上。这实在是一种最危险的登船方式，幸运的是没有人伤亡。

沿海岸线一些危险的地方，树立着灯塔。这些灯塔在离海岸很远的地方就能看见，是船只的导航标。有时雾太大，灯塔也无法看到。不过大多数的灯塔都有雾笛，后来雾笛又被汽笛所取代。笛声从很远的地方就能听得到，只要有雾，笛声就会一直响着。

在海岸线上有很多救生驿站，受过专业训练的救生员在那儿随时待命。当船被刮到岸边的时候，他们就立刻赶去营救，这样能救下许多宝贵的生命。

总而言之，水手的生活是非常艰苦的。我们要感谢那些把家安在了海上的人，正是有了他们，我们才能运送和消费世界上其他国家的好东西。

◇ 这课主要讲的是什么？

◇ 海上航行什么时候最危险？那时水手们该怎么做？

◇ 什么情况下他们最可能得救？

◇ 你对水手的生活还知道些什么？

A SHIP IN A STORM

Did you ever go far out upon the great ocean? How beautiful it is to be out at sea, when the sea is smooth and still!

Let a storm approach, and the scene is changed. The heavy, black clouds appear in the distance, and throw a deep, deathlike shade over the world of waters.

The captain and sailors soon see in the clouds the signs of evil. All hands are then set to work to take in sail.

The hoarse notes of the captain, speaking through his trumpet, are echoed from lip to lip among the rigging. Happy will it be, if all is made snug before the gale strikes the vessel.

At last, the gale comes like a vast moving mountain of air. It strikes the ship. The vessel heaves and groans under the dreadful weight, and struggles to escape through the foaming waters.

If she is far out at sea, she will be likely to ride out the storm in safety. But if the wind is driving her upon the shore, the poor sailors will hardly escape being dashed upon the rocks, and drowned.

Once there was a ship in a storm. Some of her masts were already broken, and her sails lost. While the wind was raging, and the billows were dashing against her, the cry was heard,“A man has fallen overboard!”

Quickly was the boat lowered, and she was soon seen bounding on her way over the mountain waves. At one moment, the boat seemed lifted to the skies, and the next, it sank down, and appeared to be lost beneath the waves!

At length, the man was found. He was well nigh drowned; but he was taken on board, and now they made for the ship. But the ship rolled so dreadfully, that it seemed certain death to go near her. And now, what should they do?

The captain told one of the men to go aloft and throw down a rope. This was made fast to the boat, and when the sea was somewhat calm it was hoisted, and all fell down into the ship with a dreadful crash. It was a desperate way of getting on board; but fortunately no lives were lost.

On the dangerous points along our seacoast are lighthouses, which can be seen far out at sea, and serve as guides to ships. Sometimes the fog is so dense that these lights can not be seen, but most lighthouses have great fog bells or fog horns; some of the latter are made to sound by steam, and can be heard for a long distance. These bells and horns are kept sounding as long as the fog lasts.

There are also many life saving stations along the coast where trained men are ready with lifeboats.“When a ship is driven ashore they at once go to the rescue of those on board, and thus many valuable lives are saved.

Take it all in all, a sailor's life is a very hard one. Our young friends owe a debt of gratitude to those whose home is upon the great waters, and who bring them the luxuries of other countries.

第8课　老鹰树

在远处的旷野有一棵巨大的郁金香树，看起来足有100岁了。它是最大的树种之一，它看起来就像是远处森林的祖父。一棵巨树独自挺立在那里，这本身就是一幅壮观的景象。

在树的顶上住着一只老鹰，它每年都会重新筑巢。这样过了许多年，它开始养育后代。它所选择的这个筑巢的地方很好，离海岸只有10英里，它从海上捕食回来，在10英里外就能看见这棵树。因此这棵树一直被叫做“老鹰树”。

有一天天气非常晴朗，也很暖和，一些人在毗邻的地里锄草。老鹰会在每天固定的时间里出发到海边为它的孩子捕食。有一天，当它回来的时候，鹰爪里抓着一条大鱼。干活的人们于是围到了这棵树下面，他们呼叫着，扔着石头，威吓它，可怜的老鹰只好扔掉了爪中的鱼。那些人便兴高采烈地拿着鱼走了。

人很快散光了，但约瑟夫留了下来，他坐在附近的灌木丛里，无限同情地看着老鹰。老鹰很快就飞回了巢里，但却没有了食物。小鹰们立刻向它索要食物，它们那饥饿的叫声是那么清晰、强烈，约瑟夫被深深地感动了。

老鹰也想安抚它们，但它们实在太饿了，老鹰的安慰全无用处。于是老鹰只好歇在附近的一根树枝上，无奈地看着它的孩子，似乎在说，“我实在不知道该怎么办了。”

不过它的无奈只是暂时的，很快它又重新振作起来，发出了一两声尖锐的叫声，它似乎是想以此要它的孩子们“安静下来”。它自己则展开双翼，又一次飞向了海边。

约瑟夫决定一定要看个究竟。他的眼睛一直跟随着它，直到它变得越来越小，成为天空中的一个斑点，直至消失。哪一个男孩子不曾这样望过自己国家的国鸟如此腾飞呢！

老鹰走了将近两个小时，这是它一般捕食时间的2倍。当它再一次飞回来的时候，它飞得很低、很慢，翅膀显得十分沉重，它的鹰爪里抓着另外一条鱼。

快要接近那片田地的时候，它盘旋了一个来回，旨在观察是否又有敌人。之后它又一次落在了树上，拖着翅膀，明显已经精疲力竭了。小鹰们又一次叫了起来，但很快叫声被分享食物的声音所掩盖。这样的晚餐恐怕是连国王也要羡慕的。“勇敢的鹰！”男孩大声喊道，“你的意志是多么顽强啊！其他的鸟可能飞得更灵巧，唱得可能更动听，叫得可能更响亮，但当它们被劫掠、捕食时，当它们受到打击、疲惫无力的时候，它们怎么能做得像你一样！”

勇敢的鹰！今天我从你这里学到了一课。从此以后我永远也不会忘记，只要有坚定的意志，就可以做成一切事情。别的鸟可能会垂下头，痛斥人类的残忍，对着饥饿的幼儿叹息，但是你，在很快地弥补了损失之后，你就抛开了所有的一切。

◇ 为什么这棵树叫“老鹰树”？

◇ 看到老鹰的行为后，男孩有什么启发？

◇ 请重述这一故事。

THE OLD EAGLE TREE

In a distant field, stood a large tulip tree, apparently of a century's growth, and one of the most gigantic. It looked like the father of the surrounding forest. A single tree of huge dimensions, standing all alone, is a sublime object.

On the top of this tree, an old eagle, commonly called the“Fishing Eagle,”had built her nest every year, for many years, and, undisturbed, had raised her young. A remarkable place to choose, as she procured her food from the ocean, and this tree stood full ten miles from the seashore. It had long been known as the“Old Eagle Tree.”

On a warm, sunny day, the workmen were hoeing corn in an adjoining field. At a certain hour of the day, the old eagle was known to set off for the seaside, to gather food for her young. As she this day returned with a large fish in her claws, the workmen surrounded the tree, and, by yelling and hooting, and throwing stones, so scared the poor bird that she dropped her fish, and they carried it off in triumph.

The men soon dispersed, but Joseph sat down under a hush near by, to watch, and to bestow unavailing pity. The bird soon returned to her nest, without food. The eaglets at once set up a cry for food, so shrill, so clear, and so clamorous that the boy was greatly moved.

The parent bird seemed to try to soothe them; but their appetites were too keen, and it was all in vain. She then perched herself on a limb near them, and looked down into the nest in a manner that seemed to say,“I know not what to do next.”

Her indecision was but momentary; again she poised herself, uttered one or two sharp notes, as if telling them to a“lie still,”balanced her body, spread her wings, and was away again for the sea.

Joseph was determined to see the result. His eye followed her till she grew small, smaller, a mere speck in the sky, and then disappeared. What boy has not thus watched the flight of the bird of his country!

She was gone nearly two hours, about double her usual time for a voyage, when she again returned, on a slow, weary wing, flying uncommonly low, in order to have a heavier atmosphere to sustain her, with another fish in her talons.

On nearing the field, she made a circuit round it, to see if her enemies were again there. Finding the coast clear, she once more reached the tree, drooping, faint, and weary, and evidently nearly exhausted. Again the eaglets set up their cry, which was soon hushed by the distribution of a dinner, such as, save the cooking, a king might admire.

“Glorious bird!”cried the boy,“what a spirit!”Other birds can fly more swiftly, others can sing more sweetly, others scream more loudly; but what other bird, when persecuted and robbed, when weary, when discouraged, when so far from the sea, would do this?

“Glorious bird! I will learn a lesson from thee to day. I will never forget, hereafter, that when the spirit is determined it can do almost anything. Others would have drooped, and hung the head, and mourned over the cruelty of man, and sighed over the wants of the nestlings; but thou, by at once recovering the loss, hast forgotten all.”

“I will learn of thee, noble bird! I will remember this. I will set my mark high. I will try to do something, and to be something in the world; I will never yield to discouragements.”

第9课　鲁滨逊·克鲁索的穿着

要是哪个英国人遇到像我这样一个人，他不是会被吓坏，就是会大笑不已。每当我站着不动，打量起自己全身上下的穿戴，想着以这样的打扮在约克郡旅行时，我惟一能做的就是微笑了。

我头上戴的是一顶山羊皮做的帽子，又高又大，不成样子，后面垂着一条长长的帽檐，可兼用于遮挡太阳，也可避免雨水流进脖子里，因为在气候变冷后，没有比雨淋湿身体更为有害的了。

我上身穿的是一件山羊皮做的短外套，衣摆能遮住一半大腿，下身着一条齐膝的短裤，它是用一只老公羊的皮做的，两侧的羊毛一直垂到小腿上，像长裤一样。

鞋子和袜子我都没有，但我做了一双类似高筒靴似的东西，连我自己也不知道该怎么称呼。靴子盖住了小腿，两边再用带子一穿，和绑腿差不多了。但这双靴子形状粗野，而我身上的其他装束也跟它差不多。

我腰间束着一条用晒干的小羊皮做的宽皮带。我没有上搭扣，只用两根同样窄长的山羊皮条系着。带子两边有两个搭环，在上面挂的不是刀剑，而是一把小锯和一把斧头，一边挂了一把。另一条较窄的皮带则斜挂在我的肩膀上，也用皮条系着。在我的左胳膊下挂着两个山羊皮袋，一个装火药，一个装子弹。

我背上背着筐子，肩上扛着枪，头上撑着一把羊皮做的大伞，既拙劣又丑陋。尽管如此，除了枪之外，这把伞便是我最不可少的东西了。

至于我的脸，还没有住在赤道9度、10度之内那些不大修饰的人的脸那么黑。我的胡子一度长到了1/4码长，好在我的剪刀和剃刀完全够用，于是就把它剪短了，但我上嘴唇的胡子还留着，并将它修剪成了伊斯兰教徒式的八字大胡，正如我所见过的土耳其人留的胡子那样。

就我的这副胡子或髭须，我不敢说它长得能把我的帽子挂上去，可其形状和长度着实吓人，要是在英国肯定会被视为骇人之物。但是没有人会被吓到，因为在这荒无人烟的岛上有谁会注意我呢！我怎么穿都无关紧要。对此我就不再多说了。

ROBINSON CRUSOE'S DRESS

But had any man in England met such a man as I was, it must either have frightened him or raised a great deal of laughter; and, as I frequently stood still to look at myself, I could not but smile at the notion of my traveling through Yorkshire in such a dress.

I had a great, high, shapeless cap, made of a goat's skin, with a flap hanging down behind, as well to keep the sun from me as to shoot the rain off from running into my neck; nothing being so hurtful in these climates as the rain upon the flesh under the clothes.

I had a short jacket of goatskin, the skirts coming down to about the middle of the thighs, and a pair of open kneed breeches of the same; the breeches were made of the skin of an old goat, and the hair hung down such a length on either side that it reached to the middle of my legs like pantaloons.

Stockings and shoes I had none; but I made a pair of something, I scarce know what to call them, like buskins, to flap over my legs, and lace on either side like spatterdashes; but they were of a most barbarous shape, as indeed were all the rest of my clothes.

I had on a broad belt of goatskin dried, which I drew together with two thongs of the same, instead of buckles; and, in a kind of frog on each side of this, instead of a sword and dagger, hung a little saw and hatchet; one on one side, and one on the other. I had another belt not so broad, and fastened in the same manner, which hung over my shoulder; and at the end of it, under my left arm, hung two pouches, both made of goatskin, too; in one of which hung my powder, in the other my shot.

At my back I carried my basket, on my shoulder my gun, and over my head a great, clumsy, ugly, goatskin umbrella, but which, after all, was the most necessary thing I had about me, next to my gun.

As for my face, the color of it was really not so dark as one might expect from a man not at all careful of it, and living within nine or ten degrees of the equator. My beard I had once suffered to grow till it was about a quarter of a yard long; but, as I had both scissors and razors sufficient, I had cut it pretty short, except what grew on my upper lip, which I had trimmed into a large pair of Mahometan whiskers, such as I had seen worn by some Turks.

Of these mustaches or whiskers, I will not say that they were long enough to hang my hat upon them, but they were of a length and shape monstrous enough, and such as in England would have passed for frightful. But all this is by the bye; for, as to my figure, I had so few to observe me that it was of no manner of consequence; so I say no more on that part.

第10课　有毒的虫子

谁没听说过响尾蛇或铜斑蛇？即使是造物主出其不意地见到这两种蛇中的一种，也会吓得后退的。但是有一种虫子，这种虫子遍布全国，它身体里的毒性非常致命，响尾蛇的毒液都无法与它相提并论。这个故事的主旨，就是要告诉我们的读者，要小心这个人类的敌人。

这种虫子的大小不一，它的直径通常有一英寸，但因为人们看到它时它总是蜷曲着的，人们很难估计它的长度。它的颜色呈暗淡铅色，通常生活在泉水或小溪边，对经常来这里喝水的人狠咬一口。这种残忍的生物总是不慌不忙，从不慌乱。他们具有像印度动物一样的本能，避免遭到眼镜蛇的袭击。

这几种爬行动物在人类的聚居地大量繁衍，给人们带来很多痛苦和不幸。因此，我看到过很多次，这种虫子注射的毒汁带来了怎样的后果。

被它咬过之后，症状真是可怕。病人的眼睛变得通红炽热，舌头肿大没法发声，然后他会变得极度疯狂，有时甚至会对最亲密的朋友下毒手。

如果受害人有家庭，他往往将一腔暴怒发泄在他哭泣的妻子和无助的婴儿身上。总之，他展示一切野蛮人心底的狂暴愤怒，也就是说，毒性使他丧失了理智。当狂躁的病人从虫咬导致的疯狂的发作中恢复以后，他很快就会找到罪魁祸首，但却又会被咬到。

我曾见过一位好父亲，他的拳头攥得雪白，步履缓慢沉重，徒劳地恳求他的独生子破坏虫子的潜伏地。他掉头离开的时候，我的心在淌血，因为我知道他的“我的儿子是我残年中的帮手”的希望支撑他克服了很多悲伤。

年轻人，你们知道这种爬虫的名字吗？它就叫寂静之虫。

（约翰·罗素）

约翰·罗素（1793～1863年），1818年毕业于佛蒙特州米德勒伯利学院。他曾经是伊里诺斯州格拉夫顿出版的杂志《山居人》的编辑，后来担任《路易斯维尔倡导者》的编辑。他写过很多西部探险故事和散文，写过很多小品。他的文章语言清晰、朴素典雅，文风紧凑、有力，有时华丽。

THE VENOMOUS WORM

Who has not heard of the rattlesnake or copperhead? An unexpected sight of either of these reptiles will make even the lords of creation recoil; but there is a species of worm, found in various parts of this country, which conveys a poison of a nature so deadly that, compared with it, even the venom of the rattlesnake is harmless. To guard our readers against this foe of human kind is the object of this lesson.

This worm varies much in size. It is frequently an inch in diameter, but, as it is rarely seen except when coiled, its length can hardly be conjectured. It is of a dull lead color, and generally lives near a spring or small stream of water, and bites the unfortunate people who are in the habit of going there to drink. The brute creation it never molests. They avoid it with the same instinct that teaches the animals of India to shun the deadly cobra.

Several of these reptiles have long infested our settlements, to the misery and destruction of many of our fellow citizens. I have, therefore, had frequent opportunities of being the melancholy spectator of the effects produced by the subtile poison which this worm infuses.

The symptoms of its bite are terrible. The eyes of the patient become red and fiery, his tongue swells to an immoderate size, and obstructs his utterance; and delirium of the most horrid character quickly follows. Sometimes, in his madness, he attempts the destruction of his nearest friends.

If the sufferer has a family, his weeping wife and helpless infants are not unfrequently the objects of his frantic fury. In a word, he exhibits, to the life, all the detestable passions that rankle in the bosom of a savage; and such is the spell in which his senses are locked, that no sooner has the unhappy patient recovered from the paroxysm of insanity occasioned by the bite, than he seeks out the destroyer for the sole purpose of being bitten again.

I have seen a good old father, his locks as white as snow, his step slow and trembling, beg in vain of his only son to quit the lurking place of the worm. My heart bled when he turned away; for I knew the fond hope that his son would be the“staff of his declining years,”had supported him through many a sorrow.

Youths of America, would you know the name of this reptile? It is called the worm of the still.

第11课　食米鸟

摘自欧文的《春天的鸟儿》。

春天里最快乐的鸟儿，我认为和欧洲的百灵鸟不相上下的，应属食米鸟了，人们通常称它为歌鸟。在这个地区，它总是在一年中最好的时节出现，成为诗人们争相描写的5月中的主角。它在5月中旬来到我们中间，直到6月中旬才离开。在这之前，冬天还有可能折回头，把大地上刚刚萌发的嫩芽摧毁。在这之后，酷热、憋闷的夏天就要来临了。但在这个温和的间歇中间，大自然是新鲜、馥郁的：“雨停了，花开了，鸟儿歌唱了，乌龟苏醒了。”

树木长满新鲜嫩绿的叶子，鲜花开遍枝头，空气中充满野蔷薇和野玫瑰的香气。草地上开满了苜蓿花。幼嫩的苹果、桃子和李子越长越大，绿叶中的樱桃也要成熟了。

这是歌鸟狂欢的季节。在一年中最好的时节到来时，它也到来了。它的生命似乎只是为了体验美好、尽情享受，在阳光下日日笙歌。你会在最清新、最甜美的草地中最柔软的花苞上发现它。它栖息在最高的一棵树枝上，或长长的、飘扬的草尖上，一边随着微风摇摆，一边发出一连串饱满的、清脆的鸣叫，一声高过一声，像云雀的歌声一样，欢天喜地。

有时它突然从树顶跌落，抖开翅膀的同时歌声响起，疾速扑向地面，仿佛被自己的歌声感动得忘乎所以。有时它追逐着同伴，一刻不停地唱着，似乎要用歌喉将她征服。它总是显得那么陶醉，那么兴奋。儿时，在树林和草坪上所有的鸟儿中，我最羡慕的要属歌鸟。它总是在一年最好的时节中，在最美好的天气里，和其他许多生灵一起出现在田野里，这时，处处朝气蓬勃，充满田园风味。而我这个可怜的捣蛋鬼，在整整一天中，却被关在教室里！我总是觉得，这个小无赖从窗口飞过，不停地唱着歌嘲笑我，和它快乐的同伴一起奚落我。哎，我真是羡慕它！不用上课，不用写作业，不用来学校，只有假日、嬉戏、绿色的田野、美好的天气。如果那时我会念更多诗歌，我没准会用罗根约翰·罗根（1784～1788年），著名的苏格兰作家，作品包括戏剧、诗歌、史记和散文。形容布谷鸟的诗句来形容它：

可爱的鸟儿，

你的凉亭永远绿影映照，

你的天空永远清澈如洗；

你的歌声中没有悲伤，

你的季节中没有冬日。

啊，如果我也能飞翔，

我会与你一同展翅！

用我们欢乐的翅膀，

周游世界，

追随春天的脚步。

但是，通过我对这个乐于享受的家伙的进一步观察了解，我发现了它的另一面，我想斗胆为小读者讲一讲，免得你们也和我以前一样，对它充满无谓的羡慕或钦佩。我刚刚描述了以前对它的看法，这是它理想化的一面。这时，它追求美和享受，是一只属于音乐、歌曲、品位的鸟，是一只高雅的、阳春白雪的鸟儿。只要这些还存在，它就不会受到伤害。最调皮的男孩子也不会朝它掷石子，最纯朴的农夫也会停下脚步听它歌唱。

但是，除此之外，还有很多其他东西。随着时光流逝，苜蓿花凋谢了，它渐渐放弃了高雅的品位和习惯，丢下诗人的黑色礼服，换上一身灰不溜秋的、积满灰尘的打扮，和其他普通庸俗的鸟儿一起，从粗俗的事物中寻找快乐。它的歌喉不再悦耳，它忙着吃长长的野草的草籽，而不久前它还在这些野草上摇荡着唱歌。现在它变成了一个饕餮之徒，最大的乐趣就是吃。它很快就厌倦了平淡、家常的风味，飞到别处寻找异地的美食去了。

再见到它时，它和成群的同伴在一起，在特拉华的芦苇丛间大吃特吃，身体肥硕臃肿。在旅途中，它换了个名字，不再叫歌鸟了，而是叫食米鸟。宾夕法尼亚州知名的美食家，和秧鸡秧鸡，一种小鸟，大量繁殖于南欧、塞浦路斯和日本，是餐桌上的美味。一样臭名远扬！无论它走到哪里，砰！砰！砰！乡间的火枪向它开了火。它看见周围的同伴成百上千的跌落下来。它会不会吸取教训，从此改邪归正？哎呀，它才不会呢。它又拍拍翅膀，南方的稻谷地在召唤它呢！它狼吞虎咽，撑得胃都要炸了，它肥胖得飞都飞不动了。它又换了名字，这次是有名的加利福尼亚州禾雀。想象一下它最后的角色：它流着口水，和数十只肥胖的同伴一起，在南方某家人的餐桌上饱餐了一顿之后，满意地飞走了。

这就是歌鸟的故事。曾经是神圣的、悦耳的，受人钦佩的草地上的欢乐之源，春日里最让人喜爱的鸟儿，最后变成了一个粗俗的享乐主义者，在食橱里寻找着感官上的刺激。我们的小鸟和小孩子，都应该从这个故事中吸取教训。警告它们要坚持不懈地追求高尚、智慧，远离所有那些葬送了这只犯了错的小鸟的粗鄙、闲散的放纵。

THE BOBOLINK

The happiest bird of our spring, however, and one that rivals the European lark in my estimation, is the boblincoln, or bobolink as he is commonly called. He arrives at that choice portion of our year which, in this latitude, answers to the description of the month of May so often given by the poets. With us it begins about the middle of May, and lasts until nearly the middle of June. Earlier than this, winter is apt to return on its traces, and to blight the opening beauties of the year; and later than this, begin the parching, and panting, and dissolving heats of summer. But in this genial interval, Nature is in all her freshness and fragrance:“the rains are over and gone, the flowers appear upon the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land.”

The trees are now in their fullest foliage and brightest verdure; the woods are gay with the clustered flowers of the laurel; the air is perfumed with the sweetbrier and the wild rose; the meadows are enameled with clover blossoms; while the young apple, peach, and the plum begin to swell, and the cherry to glow among the green leaves.

This is the chosen season of revelry of the bobolink. He comes amid the pomp and fragrance of the season; his life seems all sensibility and enjoyment, all song and sunshine. He is to be found in the soft bosoms of the freshest and sweetest meadows, and is most in song when the clover is in blossom. He perches on the topmost twig of a tree, or on some long, flaunting weed, and, as he rises and sinks with the breeze, pours forth a succession of rich, tinkling notes, crowding one upon another, like the outpouring melody of the skylark, and possessing the same rapturous character.

Sometimes he pitches from the summit of a tree, begins his song as soon as he gets upon the wing, and flutters tremulously down to the earth, as if overcome with ecstasy at his own music. Sometimes he is in pursuit of his mate; always in full song, as if he would win her by his melody; and always with the same appearance of intoxication and delight. Of all the birds of our groves and meadows, the bobolink was the envy of my boyhood. He crossed my path in the sweetest weather, and the sweetest season of the year, when all nature called to the fields, and the rural feeling throbbed in every bosom; but when I, luckless urchin! was doomed to be mewed up, during the live long day, in a schoolroom.

It seemed as if the little varlet mocked at me as he flew by in full song, and sought to taunt me with his happier lot. Oh, how I envied him! No lessons, no task, no school; nothing but holiday, frolic, green fields, and fine weather. Had I been then more versed in poetry, I might have addressed him in the words of Logan to the cuckoo:

“Sweet bird, thy bower is ever green,

Thy sky is ever clear;

Thou hast no sorrow in thy song,

No winter in thy year. ”

“Oh. could I fly, I'd fly with thee!

We'd make, with joyful wing,

Our annual visit o'er the globe,

Companions of the spring.”

Further observation and experience have given me a different idea of this feathered voluptuary, which I will venture to impart for the benefit of my young readers, who may regard him with the same unqualified envy and admiration which I once indulged. I have shown him only as I saw him at first, in what I may call the poetical part of his career, when he, in a manner, devoted himself to elegant pursuits and enjoyments, and was a bird of music, and song, and taste, and sensibility, and refinement. While this lasted he was sacred from injury; the very schoolboy would not fling a stone at him, and the merest rustic would pause to listen to his strain.

But mark the difference. As the year advances, as the clover blossoms disappear, and the spring fades into summer, he gradually gives up his elegant tastes and habits, doffs his poetical suit of black, assumes a russet, dusty garb, and sinks to the gross enjoyment of common vulgar birds. His notes no longer vibrate on the ear; he is stuffing himself with the seeds of the tall weeds on which he lately swung and chanted so melodiously. He has become a bon vivant, a gourmand: with him now there is nothing like the“joys of the table.”In a little while he grows tired of plain, homely fare, and is off on a gastronomic tour in quest of foreign luxuries.

We next hear of him, with myriads of his kind, banqueting among the reeds of the Delaware, and grown corpulent with good feeding. He has changed his name in traveling. Boblincoln no more, he is the reedbird now, the much sought for tidbit of Pennsylvanian epicures, the rival in unlucky fame of the ortolan! Wherever he goes, pop! pop! pop! every rusty firelock in the country is blazing away. He sees his companions falling by thousands around him. Does he take warning and reform? Alas! not he. Again he wings his flight. The rice swamps of the south invite him. He gorges himself among them almost to bursting; he can scarcely fly for corpulency. He has once more changed his name, and is now the famous ricebird of the Carolinas. Last stage of his career: behold him spitted with dozens of his corpulent companions, and served up, a vaunted dish, on some southern table.

Such is the story of the bobolink; once spiritual, musical, admired, the joy of the meadows, and the favorite bird of spring; finally, a gross little sensualist, who expiates his sensuality in the larder. His story contains a moral worthy the attention of all little birds and little boys; warning them to keep to those refined and intellectual pursuits which raised him to so high a pitch of popularity during the early part of his career, but to eschew all tendency to that gross and dissipated indulgence which brought this mistaken little bird to an untimely end.

（From Irving's“Birds of Spring”）

第12课　疯狂的火车司机

我的火车大约早上8点离开丹里克据说这件事发生在普鲁士维斯杜拉河谷从丹里克到布洛姆伯格的沿线火车上。除了瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩，文中提及的城市均在普鲁士。但每周有一次我们要等从斯德哥尔摩开来的轮船到了以后才走。就在那样的一个早上，我从饭店里走下来，发现我的火车司机受伤十分严重，不能再工作了。我想，机车房时里应该还有三四名预备司机，于是就立即去那里试图再找一个，却失望而归。

我已经听见了轮船的汽笛声，15分钟后，旅客们就要来了。我跑去找列车员，问他们是否知道哪里可以找到一名司机，但他们都不清楚。然后我又去找机车司炉，问他们中间有没有人能把车顺利开到布洛姆伯格，这里与布洛姆伯格相距大约100英里，没有人敢尝试。该怎么办呢？

轮船已经停靠在码头了，那些将要乘火车的人们纷纷向火车站涌来。他们已经在船上吃了早饭，都做好了再一次出发的准备。火车在长长的停车站里整装待发，车头也在远处的机车房里不耐烦地鸣着汽笛，冒着蒸汽。

已经9点多了。“快点儿吧，我们为什么还不出发？”一个又胖又老的瑞典人咆哮道，他已经盯着我看了15分钟了。大家都异口同声地焦急询问这个问题，不一会就彻底变成了叽叽咕咕的小声抱怨。正在这紧要关头，有人碰了碰我的胳膊肘，我转过身去，看见一个陌生人站在身边。我以为他是来抗议我的拖拉迟疑的，实际上，我开始强烈希望脱掉身上的制服，因为每双焦急的眼睛都盯着我身上那枚闪闪发光的徽章，它标志着我是这次火车的列车长。

然而，这个陌生人是位中年男子，又高又壮，脸上显出无穷的力量和智慧。他的眼睛乌黑明亮，以致我竟不能正视，虽然我试图这样做。他的嘴唇很薄，看起来更像是由光洁的大理石雕刻而成而非人类的血肉。他穿着一身黑衣，不仅装束十分优雅，而且干净整洁。

“我想你需要一名司机。”他的声音很低，语调谨慎，说话的同时悄悄四处打量，似乎不希望任何人听见他在说什么。

“的确如此，”我回答道，“我的火车一切准备就绪，但这里方圆20英里没有司机。”

“先生，我将要去布洛姆伯格，我必须去那里，而且我可以为你开车。”

“啊！你是司机吗？”我脱口问道。

“先生，我大概是这个国家里最老的几位司机之一了，我已做出了蒸汽机应用于机车方面新的伟大发明进步，现在正为此做一些安排准备工作。我叫马丁·克罗尔。如果你愿意，我可以一直把车开到布洛姆伯格，我会向你展示火车是如何‘飞驰’的。”

我果真如此不幸吗？我立刻决定接受此人的建议并告诉了他。他点了点头，微笑着接受了我的回答。我和他一起来到机车房，找到了司炉掌管着的机车，一切准备就绪。克罗尔踏上了车门台阶，我也紧随其后上了车。我从来没有见过一个像他一样在机械方面显示出如此杰出才能的人。几乎在一瞬间他就启动了蒸汽机，但他也十分小心，准确判断。接着他把车倒到行李车厢处，一切做得都好极了。

所见的一切足够让我相信他完全熟悉这一工作，我又镇静了一些。我把火车交给了这个陌生人，然后匆匆回到办公室。广播已经通知所有旅客各就各位，不久，我向司机挥手示意开车。汽笛响起，沉重的轮轴吱呀呻吟着，房屋似乎在颤抖，火车渐渐移动了。我跳上列车员车厢的踏板，不一会儿车站就被远远地抛到身后了。

不到一个小时我们就到了达川，让克里斯伯格的旅客们上了车。此时，我走到前面并问克罗尔感觉这机车如何，他回答说十分喜欢。

“但是，”他补充道，眼里闪着奇异的火花，“等着我的改进吧，那时你就会看到什么是‘旅行’了，我能在24小时开着我造的机车去月球！”

我认为这只是他热情的玩笑话，微微笑了笑就回到我的位置去了。等到克里斯伯格的乘客们都上了车，行李车厢也连接好了，我们又启程了。开车不久，我走进了列车员车厢，坐了下来。从克里斯伯格开来的早一班列车在两个小时前通过这里，并在小奥斯丘等着我们去转运西部的邮件。

火车从达到地点开出约15分钟后，一位列车员说：“我们走得好快！”

“新司机在试车速呢！”我一点也不担心地回答道。但不久之后，我开始意识到他的确开得快了一点。车厢开始左右摇摆，乘客们害怕的惊叫声也不时传入耳中。

“天哪！”一位列车员这时跑进来！“那家伙在干什么呢？先生你看看我们在怎么行驶呢！”

我向窗外望去，发现我们正以这条铁路上前所未有的速度向前疾驰。标牌、护栏、石头、树木都混成一片从窗外掠过，车厢此时也摇晃得十分厉害。我站起身来，在踏板处遇见了一位乘客。他是我们铁路的主要所有人之一，正在去柏林的路上。他面色苍白，神情激动。

“先生，”他喘了口声，“是不是马丁·克罗尔在开车？”

“是的。”我告诉他。

“什么？你难道不知道他吗？”

“知道？”我重复道，带着一丝迷惑，“你是什么意思？他告诉我他叫马丁·克罗尔，是名火车司机。我们当时没有人能开车，所以——”

“你带上了他！”那人打断我。“天哪，先生，他可是疯狂至极！他满脑子都是什么应用蒸汽动力的新计划。我在车站看到他了，但因为太匆忙，没完全认出来。刚才有个乘客告诉我今天早上你所有的司机都没来，所以你找了个陌生人。然后我就意识到早上看见的那个人是马丁·克罗尔。他刚从斯特丁的医院里跑出来。你一定要想个办法让他下车！”

整个恐怖的事实现在明明白白地摆在面前了。每时每刻火车都在加速，而且我明白如果时速再快几英里我们都要完蛋。我向列车员喊了一声，尽一切可能迅速向前走去。我走到了煤水车的后车门处，看见马丁·克罗尔站在机车板上，他已经脱掉帽子和外衣，黑色的长发在风中狂乱地飞舞，衬衫在胸前敞开，袖子高高捋起，嘴里咬着支手枪，正盯着躺在燃炉边一动不动的司炉。炉子填得满满的，连炉门栓都已烧得通红，整个机车都在颤抖着，摇摆着，似乎马上就要碎成几片。

“克罗尔！克罗尔！”我用尽全身力气大声叫道。

这个疯狂的司机开始行动了，他把枪抓在了手里。哦！那双乌黑的眼睛闪着怎样的光芒啊！那张脸看起来多么的恐怖可怕啊！

“哈！哈！哈！”他着了魔似的狂叫着，像一只刚醒来的狮子一样逼视着我。

“他们说我不可能做到！看看吧！看吧！看我的新动力！看我的新机车！我做到了，他们都妒忌我！我做到了，他们都在我完成的时候把它从我身边偷走！但我又找到它了！几年来我都在四处寻找我的新机车，但他们却告诉我还没造出来呢！但我找到它啦，今早在丹里克看到它时我就知道了！我决心一定要得到它！现在我得到了！嗬！嗬！嗬！我们正在向月球飞奔而去呢！24小时之后就能到啦！快趴下，趴下！恶棍！如果你敢动，我就开枪！”

这是对那可怜的司炉说的，他正试图在那时站起身来，但受了惊吓又跌下去了。

“小奥斯丘，就在我们前方了。”一位列车员大声叫喊起来。正如他所说，房屋建筑已越来越近了。我的心猛地沉了下去，我觉得我们都完蛋了。窗外的房屋闪电般的掠过。我知道如果工作人员像往常一样操控转辙器，我们将会在一次可怕的撞击中全部完蛋。我看见一道闪光，那是另一辆机车！我绝望地闭上了眼睛，但我们却仍然呼啸着前进！原来操作工看见了我们的车速。知道在那短短的距离里，我们不可能停下来，于是就改变了列车轨，我们才得以继续向前行驶。

但如果不停下来，死亡一定还在前方等着我们！15英里之外就是维斯瓦的舒沃茨镇，以现在的速度，用不了几分钟我们就能到那儿，因为我们正以每分钟一英里的高速在行驶。乘客们的尖叫声已盖过了火车的轰隆声，比一切都可怕的是那疯狂的司机又发出了狂暴的叫喊。

“上帝，可怜可怜我们吧！”列车员气喘吁吁地说，“不能再浪费时间了！舒沃茨就要到了，制止他！”他继续说，“向他开枪吧！”

正在那时，一位又高又壮的德国学生从我们站的踏板处走过来，看见那个疯子正用手枪对准我们。他抓过一根大木棍，沉着用力而且准确地掷出去。把那个疯子手里的枪打掉了！目睹这一切，在恰被打掉的一刹那，我跳上前去，那个德国人也紧跟了上来。我抓住了那人的胳膊。但如果只有我一个人，我根本敌不过那个疯子。如果不是那个学生及时用从煤水车里拿来的木棍猛击了他的头部，我早被那个疯子推出踏板了。

克罗尔像个死人一样倒了下去，我一刻都没有延误，立即关掉了蒸汽机，打开了调节阀。蒸汽溢散时发出刺耳的尖叫和咆哮声，与此同时，车速也开始减缓。又过了几分钟，危险过去了。我松了口气，刚刚充斥着我的情绪已完全消失了，我们开始处理蒸汽留下的水流。在我完全恢复之前，司炉已经把火车停在了舒沃茨车站。

我们把仍然毫无知觉的马丁·克罗尔从踏板台阶上抬下来，在把他抬往列车员房间的时候，一个列车员认出了他，告诉我们大约两周前这个人曾在这里出现过。

“他曾来过，”这位列车员说，“并发誓说附近有辆机车是他的。他说那是他制造的用于登月的机车，但被偷走了，我们请求支援去逮捕他，但让他逃走了。”

“哎，”我战栗着回答，“我宁愿他以同样的方式告诉我，但在丹里克，他可小心多了。”

在舒沃茨，我们找到了另一位司机把车开到了布洛姆伯格，并且让下一班送北部邮件的车捎上西部的邮件。看到克罗尔被严加看管起来，我们就继续启程了。

剩下的路程一路平安，虽然能看得出旅客们并没有完全放心，实际上直到完全离开铁路，他们才可能真正轻松安然起来。挨了一棍子后，马丁·克罗尔昏迷了两个星期。当他康复的时候，他又变得神智清醒，没有一点以往的精神错乱。大约三周之后我又见到了他，但他却一点也不认识我。关于去年的事，他一点也记不起来了，包括在我的机车上疯狂的异想天开。但我仍然记得并将永远记得，人们也不用担心我会再上一次这样的疯狂司机的当了。

THE CRAZY ENGINEER

My train left Dantzic in the morning generally about eight o'clock; but once a week we had to wait for the arrival of the steamer from Stockholm. It was the morning of the steamer's arrival that I came down from the hotel, and found that my engineer had been so seriously injured that he could not perform his work. I went immediately to the engine house to procure another engineer, for I supposed there were three or four in reserve there, but I was disappointed.

I heard the puffing of the steamer, and the passengers would be on hand in fifteen minutes. I ran to the guards and asked them if they knew where there was an engineer, but they did not. I then went to the firemen and asked them if anyone of them felt competent to run the engine to Bromberg. No one dared to attempt it. The distance was nearly one hundred miles. What was to be done?

The steamer stopped at the wharf, and those who were going on by rail came flocking to the station. They had eaten breakfast on board the boat, and were all ready for a fresh start. The train was in readiness in the long station house, and the engine was steaming and puffing away impatiently in the distant firing house.

It was past nine o'clock.“Come, why don't we start?”growled an old, fat Swede, who had been watching me narrowly for the last fifteen minutes. And upon this there was a general chorus of anxious inquiry, which soon settled to downright murmuring. At this juncture some one touched me on the elbow. I turned, and saw a stranger by my side. I thought that he was going to remonstrate with me for my backwardness. In fact, I began to have strong temptations to pull off my uniform, for every anxious eye was fixed upon the glaring badges which marked me as the chief officer of the train.

However, this stranger was a middle aged man, tall and stout, with a face of great energy and intelligence. His eye was black and brilliant,—so brilliant that I could not gaze steadily into it, though I tried; and his lips, which were very thin, seemed more like polished marble than human flesh. His dress was black throughout, and not only set with exact nicety, but was scrupulously clean and neat.

“You want an engineer, I understand,”he said in a low, cautious tone, at the same time gazing quietly about him, as though he wanted no one to hear what he said.

“I do,”I replied.“My train is all ready, and we have no engineer within twenty miles of this place.”

“Well, sir, I am going to Bromberg; I must go, and I will run the engine for you.”

“Ha!”I uttered,“are you an engineer?”

“I am, sir—one of the oldest in the country—and am now on my way to make arrangements for a great improvement I have invented for the application of steam to a locomotive. My name is Martin Kroller. If you wish, I will run as far as Bromberg; and I will show you running that is running.”

Was I not fortunate? I determined to accept the man's offer at once, and so I told him. He received my answer with a nod and a smile. I went with him to the house, where we found the engine in charge of the fireman, and all ready for a start. Kroller got upon the platform, and I followed him. I had never seen a man betray such a peculiar aptness amid machinery as he did. He let on the steam in an instant, but yet with care and judgment, and he backed up to the baggage carriage with the most exact nicety.

I had seen enough to assure me that he was thoroughly acquainted with the business, and I felt composed once more. I gave my engine up to the new man, and then hastened away to the office. Word was passed for all the passengers to take their seats, and soon afterward I waved my hand to the engineer. There was a puff, a groaning of the heavy axletrees, a trembling of the building, and the train was in motion. I leaped upon the platform of the guard carriage, and in a few minutes more the station house was far behind us.

In less than an hour we reached Dirschau, where we took up the passengers, that had come on the Konigsberg railway. Here I went forward and asked Kroller how he liked the engine. He replied that he liked it very much.

“But,”he added, with a strange sparkling of the eye,“wait until I get my improvement, and then you will see traveling. Why, I could run an engine of my construction to the moon in four and twenty hours?”

I smiled at what I thought his enthusiasm, and then went back to my station. As soon as the Konigsberg passengers were all on board, and their baggage carriage attached, we started on again. Soon after, I went into the guard carriage and sat down. An early train from Konigsberg had been through two hours before, and was awaiting us at Little Oscue, where we took on board the Western mail.

“How we go,”uttered one of the guards, some fifteen minutes after we had left Dirschau.

“The new engineer is trying the speed,”I replied, not yet having any fear. But ere long I began to apprehend he was running a little too fast. The carriages began to sway to and fro, and I could hear exclamations of fright from the passengers.

“Good heavens!”cried one of the guards, coming in at that moment,“what is that fellow doing? Look, sir, and see how we are going.”

I looked at the window, and found that we were dashing along at a speed never before traveled on that road. Posts, fences, rocks, and trees flew by in one undistinguished mass, and the carriages now swayed fearfully. I started to my feet, and met a passenger on the platform. He was one of the chief owners of our road, and was just on his way to Berlin. He was pale and excited.

“Sir,”he gasped,“is Martin Kroller on the engine?”

“Yes,”I told him.

“What! didn't you know him?”

“Know?”I repeated, somewhat puzzled;“what do you mean? He told me his name was Kroller, and that he was an engineer. We had no one to run the engine, and—”

“You took him!”interrupted the man.“Good heavens, sir, he is as crazy as a man can be! He turned his brain over a new plan for applying steam power. I saw him at the station, but did not fully recognize him, as I was in a hurry. Just now one of your passengers told me that your engineers were all gone this morning, and that you found one that was a stranger to you. Then I knew the man whom I had seen was Martin Kroller. He had escaped from the hospital at Stettin. You must get him off somehow.”

The whole fearful truth was now open to me. The speed of the train was increasing every moment, and I knew that a few more miles per hour would launch us all into destruction. I called to the guard and then made my way forward as quickly as possible. I reached the back platform of the tender, and there stood Kroller upon the engine board, his hat and coat off, his long black hair floating wildly in the wind, his shirt unbuttoned at the front, his sleeves rolled up, with a pistol in his teeth, and thus glaring upon the fireman, who lay motionless upon the fuel. The furnace was stuffed till the very latch of the door was red hot, and the whole engine was quivering and swaying as though it would shiver to pieces.

“Kroller! Kroller’!”I cried, at the top of my voice. The crazy engineer started, and caught the pistol in his hand. Oh, how those great black eyes glared, and how ghastly and frightful the face looked!

“Ha! ha! ha!”he yelled demoniacally, glaring upon me like a roused lion.

“They said that I could not make it! But see! see! See my new power! See my new engine! I made it, and they are jealous of me! I made it, and when it was done, they stole it from me. But I have found it! For years I have been wandering in search of my great engine, and they said it was not made. But I have found it! I knew it this morning when I saw it at Dantzic, and I was determined to have it. And I've got it! Ho! ho! ho! we're on the way to the moon, I say! We'll be in the moon in four and twenty hours. Down, down, villain! If you move, I'll shoot you.”

This was spoken to the poor fireman, who at that moment attempted to rise, and the frightened man sank back again.

“Here's Little Oscue just before us,”cried out one of the guard. But even as he spoke, the buildings were at hand. A sickening sensation settled upon my heart, for I supposed that we were now gone. The houses flew by like lightning. I knew if the officers here had turned the switch as usual, we should be hurled into eternity in one fearful crash. I saw a flash,—it was another engine,—I closed my eyes; but still we thundered on! The officers had seen our speed, and knowing that we would not be able to stop, in that distance, they had changed the switch, so that we went forward.

But there was sure death ahead, if we did not stop. Only fifteen miles from us was the town of Schwetz, on the Vistula; and at the rate we were going we should be there in a few minutes, for each minute carried us over a mile. The shrieks of the passengers now rose above the crash of the rails, and more terrific than all else arose the demoniac yells of the mad engineer.

“Merciful heavens!”gasped the guardsman,“there's not a moment to lose; Schwetz is close. But hold,”he added;“let's shoot him.”

At that moment a tall, stout German student came over the platform where we stood, and saw that the mad man had his heavy pistol aimed at us. He grasped a huge stick of wood, and, with a steadiness of nerve which I could not have commanded, he hurled it with such force and precision that he knocked the pistol from the maniac's hand. I saw the movement, and on the instant that the pistol fell, I sprang forward, and the German followed me. I grasped the man by the arm; but I should have been nothing in his mad power, had I been alone. He would have hurled me from the platform, had not the student at that moment struck him upon the head with a stick of wood, which he caught as he came over the tender.

Kroller settled down like a dead man, and on the next instant I shut off the steam and opened the valve. As the free steam shrieked and howled in its escape, the speed began to decrease, and in a few minutes more the danger was passed. As I settled back, entirely overcome by the wild emotions that had raged within me, we began to turn the river; and before I was fairly recovered, the fireman had stopped the train in the station house at Schwetz.

Martin Kroller, still insensible, was taken from the platform; and, as we carried him to the guard room, one of the guard recognized him, and told us that he had been there about two weeks before.

“He came,”said the guard,“and swore that an engine which stood near by was his. He said it was one he had made to go to the moon in, and that it had been stolen from him. We sent for more help to arrest him, and he fled.”

“Well,”I replied, with a shudder,“I wish he had approached me in the same way; but he was more cautious at Dantzic.”

At Schwartz we found an engineer to run the engine to Bromberg; and having taken out the western mail for the next northern mail to carry along, we saw that Kroller would be properly attended to, and then started on.

The rest of the trip we ran in safety, though I could see the passengers were not wholly at ease, and would not be until they were entirely clear of the railway. Martin Kroller remained insensible from the effects of the blow nearly two weeks; and when he recovered from that, he was sound again; his insanity was all gone. I saw him about three weeks afterward, but he had no recollection of me. He remembered nothing of the past year, not even his mad freak on my engine. But I remembered it, and I remember it still; and the people need never fear that I shall be imposed upon again by a crazy engineer.

第13课　微小的胜利

“噢,妈妈，我没有腿了，我再也不能成为一名士兵或水手，我再也不能环游世界了！”休眼泪飞迸，前所未有的痛苦。他的妈妈坐在他的床沿，拂去他迸涌而出的眼泪，一边听他泣不成声地诉说：他曾经是那么持久那么强烈地期望能环游世界，他对未来是那么别无所求，然而现在他永远无法做到那些事了！

从他能记事起，他就开始练习攀爬了，现在那是毫无用处了。他也练习过行军，现在再也不能那么做了。当他的埋怨告一段落，出现了片刻的停顿，这时他妈妈说道：

“休，你听说过胡伯弗兰西斯·胡伯（1750～1831年），瑞士自然主义者。他在15岁时成了瞎子，但在他妻子和助手的帮助下依然坚持研究。吗？”

“是那个对蜜蜂颇有研究的人吗？”休问。

“蜜蜂和蚂蚁。当胡伯发现他对有关这些小动物的知识比以前任何时候都要多的时候，当他肯定自己能够更有建树的时候，当他越来越迫切地想要窥视它们小小的家园和奇特的生活方式的时候，他瞎了。”

休叹了一口气，他妈妈继续说下去。

“你听说过贝多芬？他是世界上最好的作曲家之一。他的伟大之处，他的全部的快乐都在音乐上。音乐是他生活激情的源泉。当他把所有的时间和心思都投入到音乐中去的时候，他突然聋了，完全聋了。因此，他再也没有听到哪怕是最响的管弦乐的一个音符。当听众为他的乐曲感到感动和欢喜的时候，他所有的只是一片寂静。”休什么也没说。

“现在难道你觉得，”他妈妈说道，“你觉得这些人都是没有天父的吗？”休看见一抹浅浅柔柔的微笑在她的脸上漾开来。

“哦，不！但是他们是病人对不对？”休问道。

“是的，在不同的方面，有不同的轻重程度。你是不是认为他们几乎没有被治愈过？或者难道你不觉得他们的天父给了他们比他们自己原来安排的更好的事去做？”

“天父当然是最明智的，但恰恰是那件事发生在他们头上，确实让人很难接受。胡伯可能不会对自己变聋十分在意，那个搞音乐的人，可能不会太在意自己变成瞎子吧。”

“毫无疑问，他们的心经常充满了失望，但是我完全相信他们很快发现上帝的安排比他们自己的愿望更明智。他们发现，如果他们成功地通过了考验，他们用心灵能完成的工作远远比任何健全的人用眼睛或耳朵能做的都要高贵和卓越。而且他们很快感受到一种新的、只有凄苦的失望才能带来的甜美的乐趣。”

“那是什么？”

“那是激励自己的心灵来承担痛苦的快乐，那是当天意难测时，默默顺从上帝的快乐。锻炼自己的心灵以承担痛苦，让自己的心在取悦上帝的希望中熠熠生辉，没有什么快乐能与之相比了。”

“我能得到那种快乐吗？”

“我一直都不对此抱有任何怀疑，每次当你自愿放弃做一名士兵或水手的梦想，或者其他你已经打定主意要做的事，你就会感受到那种幸福。但是我现在还不期望你能那样做。我敢说即使是贝多芬，当他看到数百个观众为了他的音乐而狂喜，可是他自己却听不见一个音符时，他肯定也痛苦了很长的时间。”

“但是他从那以后还会微笑吗？”休问。

“如果他微笑，他肯定感受到了比世上所有优美音乐能带来的更大的乐趣。”他妈妈回答道。

“我想知道，哦，我真想知道，是不是我也能有这种快乐！”

“我们会向上帝祈祷让你有那种快乐的。我们现在就跟他说好吗？”休把双手交叉起来。他妈妈跪在床边，用非常简短的话做了祈祷，祈求上帝能让休顺利地承担不幸，而且他的朋友能给他上帝能够允许的帮助和安慰。

休有时候发现自己被非常痛苦的感觉所支配，比如没人理解他，又比如他害怕没人能对他的痛苦给予适当的同情。有一次，他着实高兴了一会儿，那时他妈妈和妹妹艾格尼丝正在闲聊，他们听见从沙发那边传来一阵啜泣。他们喊着休的名字，结果发现他确实是在痛苦地哭泣。

“怎么回事，我的宝贝？”他妈妈问道，“艾格尼丝，我们说了什么令他伤心的话吗？”

“不，不，”休哭着，“我告诉你们是怎么回事，就现在。”

他告诉他们，他那么专注地听她们讲话，以至于忘了其他所有事。他觉得好像有什么东西夹在他的脚趾头之间，似乎他还有脚一样，他下意识地伸出手去。没有什么比他的脚趾头的感觉更平常的了。然后，当他伸出手去时，那儿却是空空如也，那是多么可怕的事，这让他惊恐万分！让他妈妈知道这一切对他来说是一种安慰。她走过来，跪在他的沙发前，然后告诉他对很多失去了一条腿的人来说，这都是有时候必须忍受的最痛苦的事。然而，尽管以后这种感觉时不时会出现，却不会再那么痛苦了。

休感到非常沮丧，当他想到那走到生命尽头前的漫长岁月，当他想到他再也不能跑步玩耍，再也不能像其他人那样生活，他差不多想一死了之。

艾格里丝猜想他一定很悲痛，不然他不会这样冒险把这些向他妈妈和盘托出。她瞟了一眼她妈妈的脸，但是没有发现不愉快的迹象。相反，妈妈说这种感觉是非常自然的。她自己遇到一些比休的不幸要小一些的困难时，也有过类似的感觉。然而她同时也发现，尽管好像前途充满了艰险，但困难是一个一个来的，所以最终也不是那么难以克服。

她告诉休，当她是一个小姑娘的时候，她非常懒，爱赖床，一点也不喜欢装束或洗漱。

“什么，妈妈！你？”休惊讶地大喊。

“是的，那时我就是那种小女孩。呃，有一天，当我想到终我一生，我每天早上都得洗漱、刷牙、梳头，穿上一件件衣服，我觉得绝望极了。”

“你把这种感觉告诉别人了吗？”休问。

“没有，我羞愧难当，不敢那么做，但是我记得我哭了。你知道最后这事怎么样了。当我们习惯什么事之后，我们做那些事就不觉得有什么麻烦的了，就像老故事说的那样，钟表嘀嘀嗒嗒，数百万次的敲击是要恰好在那么多的几百万秒中完成的。所以你会发现你能在每一个场合行动自如,随心所欲,而且练习能让你做这件事时毫无困难，无须思虑。”

“但是这不是全部,甚至不是一半我想的东西。”休说。

“是的，我的宝贝，这也还不到你必须忍受的事的一半。我记得你下过决心，要耐心克服这一切困难，但是你最害怕的是什么呢？”

“哎，所有的事。我再也不能像其他人那样生活了。”

“是有一些事你不能做了，”他妈妈回答道，“你再也不能玩每个克罗夫屯的男孩都喜欢的板球了，你再也不能在你妹妹的圣诞舞会上跳舞。”

“哎，妈妈！”艾格尼丝大叫起来，眼眶里含着泪水，她觉得这么讲实在是太残酷了。“接着说！接着说！”休叫着，很高兴的样子，“你了解我的感受，妈妈，而且你不像其他人那样，甚至有时妹妹艾格尼丝也不例外，不停地跟我讲这一切都不算什么，我不用太在意，等等。好像这根本不算什么不幸，当我身受其苦时，他们却一无所知。现在，接着说吧，妈妈！还有别的吗？”

“不停地会有小小的挫折和羞辱，你会看到其他小男孩跳啊，爬啊，玩这玩那，可是你只能站在一边，只能旁观。一些人会用一种你不喜欢的方式同情你，还有一些人甚至会嘲笑你。”

“哎，妈妈！”艾格尼丝大叫道。

“那么，还有什么别的吗？”休问道。

“迟早你会必须按照一种由这个意外决定的方式生活，而不是你更喜欢的自主决定的方式。”

“那么，还有什么别的吗？”

“我得问问你了，现在。我想不到别的什么了，而且我希望也确实没有什么别的了。因为我想这些对一个小男孩，或者对任何别的人来讲都已经够多的了。”

“但是我会克服这些的，你看着吧。”

“你将会找到别的强援。这些不幸本身是能强化人的头脑的。它们也是有好处的。我毫不怀疑你的瘸腿的缺陷能让你成为一个更好的学者。你会读更多的书，有一个更丰富的头脑。我们大家都会更加爱你，而你自己会更爱上帝，因为他赐予你使命让你为他而坚忍奋斗。上帝他自己也会帮助你通过这些考验。你会一个接一个地克服困难，而通过一系列的微小的胜利你最终能取得完全的胜利。”

（哈里埃特·马蒂诺）

LITTLE VICTORIES

“O Mother, now that I have lost my limb, I can never be a soldier or a sailor; I can never go round the world!”And Hugh burst into tears, now more really afflicted than he had ever been yet. His mother sat on the bed beside him, and wiped away his tears as they flowed, while he told her, as well as his sobs would let him, how long and how much he had reckoned on going round the world, and how little he cared for anything else in future; and now this was the very thing he should never be able to do!

He had practiced climbing ever since he could remember, and now this was of no use; he had practiced marching, and now he should never march again. When he had finished his complaint, there was a pause, and his mother said,

“Hugh, you have heard of Huber?”

“The man who found out so lunch about bees?”said Hugh.

“Bees and ants. When Huber had discovered more than had ever been known about these, and when he was sure that he could learn still more, and was more and more anxious to peep into their tiny homes and curious ways, he became blind.”

Hugh sighed, and his mother went on.

“Did you ever hear of Beethoven? He was one of the greatest musical composers that ever lived. His great, his sole delight was in music. It was the passion of his life. When all his time and all his mind were given to music, he suddenly became deaf, perfectly deaf; so that he never more heard one single note from the loudest orchestra. While crowds were moved and delighted with his compositions, it was all silence to him.”Hugh said nothing.

“Now do you think,”asked his mother—and Hugh saw that a mild and gentle smile beamed from her countenance—“do you think that these people were without a Heavenly Parent?”

“O no! but were they patient?”asked Hugh.

“Yes, in their different ways and degrees. Would you suppose that they were hardly treated? Or would you not rather suppose that their Father gave them something better to do than they had planned for themselves?”

“He must know best, of course; but it does seem very hard that that very thing should happen to them. Huber would not have so much minded being deaf, perhaps; or that musical man, being blind.

“No doubt their hearts often swelled within them at their disappointments; but I fully believe that they very soon found God's will to be wiser than their wishes. They found, if they bore their trial well, that there was work for their hearts to do far nobler than any the head could do through the eye or the ear. And they soon felt a new and delicious pleasure which none but the bitterly disappointed can feel.”

“What is that?”

“The pleasure of rousing the soul to bear pain, and of agreeing with God silently, when nobody knows what is in the breast. There is no pleasure like that of exercising one's soul in bearing pain, and of finding one's heart glow with the hope that one is pleasing God.”

“Shall I feel that pleasure?”

“Often and often, I have no doubt; every time you can willingly give up your wish to be a soldier or a sailor, or anything else you have set your mind upon, you will feel that pleasure. But I do not expect it of you yet. I dare say it was long a bitter thing to Beethoven to see hundreds of people in raptures with his music, when he could not hear a note of it.”

“But did he ever smile again?”asked Hugh.

“If he did, he was happier than all the fine music in the world could have made him,”replied his mother.

“I wonder, oh, I wonder, if I shall ever feel so!”

“We will pray to God that you may. Shall we ask him now?”Hugh clasped his hands. His mother kneeled beside the bed, and, in a very few words, prayed that Hugh might be able to bear his misfortune well, and that his friends might give him such help and comfort as God should approve.

Hugh found himself subject to very painful feelings sometimes, such as no one quite understood, and such as he feared no one was able to pity as they deserved. On one occasion, when he had been quite merry for a while, and his mother and his sister Agnes were chatting, they thought they heard a sob from the sofa. They spoke to Hugh, and found that he was indeed crying bitterly.

“What is it, my dear?”said his mother.“Agnes, have we said anything that could hurt his feelings?”

“No, no,”sobbed Hugh.“I will tell you, presently.”

And, presently, he told them that he was so busy listening to what they said that he forgot everything else, when he felt as if something had gotten between two of his toes; unconsciously he put down his hand as if his foot were there! Nothing could be plainer than the feeling in his toes; and then, when he put out his hand, and found nothing, it was so terrible, it startled him so! It was a comfort to find that his mother knew about this. She came, and kneeled by his sofa, and told him that many persons who had lost a limb considered this the most painful thing they had to bear for some time; but that, though the feeling would return occasionally through life, it would cease to be painful.

Hugh was very much dejected, and when he thought of the months and years to the end of his life, and that he should never run and play, and never be like other people, he almost wished that he were dead.

Agnes thought that he must be miserable indeed if he could venture to say this to his mother. She glanced at her mother's face, but there was no displeasure there. On the contrary, she said this feeling was very natural. She had felt it herself under smaller misfortunes than Hugh's; but she had found, though the prospect appeared all strewn with troubles, that they came singly, and were not so hard to bear, after all.

She told Hugh that when she was a little girl she was very lazy, fond of her bed, and not at all fond of dressing or washing.

“‘Why, mother! you?”exclaimed Hugh.

“Yes; that was the sort of little girl I was. Well, I was in despair, one day, at the thought that I should have to wash, and clean my teeth, and brush my hair, and put on every article of dress, every morning, as long as I lived.”

“Did you tell anybody?”asked Hugh.

“No, I was ashamed to do that; but I remember I cried. You see how it turns out. When we have become accustomed to anything, we do it without ever thinking of the trouble, and, as the old fable tells us, the clock that has to tick so many millions of times, has exactly the same number of seconds to do it in. So will you find that you can move about on each separate occasion, as you wish, and practice will enable you to do it without any trouble or thought.”

“But this is not all, nor half what I mean,”said Hugh.

“No, my dear, nor half what you will have to bear. You resolved to bear it all patiently, I remember. But what is it you dread the most?”

“Oh! all manner of things. I can never do like other people.”

“Some things,”replied his mother.“You can never play cricket, as every Crofton boy would like to do. You can never dance at your sister's Christmas parties.”

“O mamma!”cried Agnes, with tears in her eyes, and with the thought in her mind that it was cruel to talk so.

“Go on! Go on!”cried Hugh, brightening.“You know what I feel, mother; and you don't keep telling me, as others do, and even sister Agnes, sometimes, that it will not signify much, and that I shall not care, and all that; making out that it is no misfortune, hardly, when I know what it is, and they don't. Now, then, go on, mother! What else?”

“There will be little checks and mortifications continually, when you see little boys leaping over this, and climbing that, and playing at the other, while you must stand out, and can only look on. And some people will pity you in a way you will not like: and some may even laugh at you.”

“O mamma!”exclaimed Agnes.

“Well, and what else?”said Hugh.

“Sooner or later you will have to follow some way of life determined by this accident instead of one that you would have liked better.”

“Well, what else?”

“I must ask you, now. I can think of nothing more; and I hope there is not much else; for, indeed, I think here is quite enough for a boy, or anyone else, to bear.”

“I will bear it though; you will see.”

“You will find great helps. These misfortunes of themselves strengthen one's mind. They have some advantages too. You will be a better scholar for your lameness, I have no doubt. You will read more books, and have a mind richer in thoughts. You will be more beloved by us all, and you yourself will love God more for having given you something to bear for his sake. God himself will help you to bear your trials. You will conquer your troubles one by one, and by a succession of LITTLE VICTORIES will at last completely triumph over all.”

（Harriet Martineau）

第14课　华盛顿的性格

华盛顿是一个指挥若定、姿态优雅、身材匀称的人。他身高6英尺，胸脯宽阔，四肢长大，身材偏瘦，却形态端庄，肌肉发达。他的面部五官匀称，双目为淡蓝色，炯炯有神，整个面容给人以一种沉着冷静、严肃高雅的感觉。当一个人静处的时候，或者不与他人交谈的时候，他表现得非常安静，如同在思考什么事情一样。但是，当他的注意力得到集中的时候，或者对某件事情感兴趣的时候，他的眼睛立即变得沉着而机警，面部发出容光，一切都闪烁着智慧的光芒。

华盛顿不是一个说话流利的人，但是他所说的话都非常适宜，恰如其分，让人听起来他所讲的一切都发自肺腑。他很少迸发出智慧的光芒，或者讲述一些幽默的笑话，但是，他却能够给予他的听众很多快乐和智慧。尽管他喜欢静处，但是，他却将能够为社会做出贡献视为人生之最大快事，也能够怀着极大兴趣与快乐和大家共同分享快乐。他既不是那种严厉之人，也不是那种谦逊之人，而是和蔼可亲、温文尔雅、令人愉快的人。尽管如此，他总是给人一种尊严、一种姿态，让人无法归类他到底属于哪一类人，而他的这种姿态与性格给每个见到他的人留下了深刻的印象，并对他充满了尊敬与敬畏。这一点也许是因为一种为人们深信不疑的那种优越，以及他的外部形态和举止的结果。

华盛顿的思想性格在他的一生得以充分展现，而他的伟大之处不仅能够在公共场合得到证明，而且也能够在他的私人活动中得到体现。他的伟大使得他拥有掌握一个国家命运的权力，作为美利坚合众国武装部队的总司令和司法长官，他的言行深受众人的爱戴。睿智、明断、审慎、坚毅是他的显著特点。在向他提交的所有的问题和主题当中，没有谁能够像他那样分辨出相对重要的事情和行动，也没有谁能够比他更好地克服自己对个人爱好的成见、偏袒、偏见，没有谁能够像他那样分辨什么是真理、什么是谬误、什么是正确的、什么是错误的。他的思考过程虽然显得缓慢，但所作出的决定却是肯定的，而且他的决定一旦形成，就很少改变，他也从来没有放松过，直到某一措施完全得到实施与贯彻。勇气，无论是身体上的，还是精神上的，都是他本质的一部分。无论是在战场上，还是在群情激昂的时刻，面对危险，他都毫不畏惧，也不考虑对自己有什么影响。

华盛顿志向远大而崇高，他的目标就是无论付出什么样的代价，都要通过使人们欢乐幸福而赢得人们的心，赢得人们的爱。由于对人们的嘉许的敏感，并殷切地希望能够得到人们的嘉许，无论是通过使人们的虚荣心得到满足，还是通过对他们的任性做出让步，他都毫不退让地争取人们的嘉许。他谨慎而不胆怯，大胆却不鲁莽；他思考冷静沉着，做事态度坚定；他近能明察秋毫，远能展望未来；他步伐沉稳而坚定，心急气躁能保持自制。在前进的道路上，他遇到并克服了重重困难与障碍，从而使他获得了荣耀、名声与成功。相对于智谋，他更相信自己的正直，通过他人，他获得了更多的知识与经验。他挑选那些聪敏而又无过失的人担任他的顾问，而他那敏锐的观察一个建议正确性的能力，和强有力的说服能力，使他的助手们能够发挥他们的聪明才智，并充分利用他们集体智慧的结晶。

华盛顿品德完美，这与他的智力和谐一致。职责是他行动的指导原则，他那杰出的理解天才守护着他良心的圣洁，而不是用来图谋影响某一事物的最好方法。谁也不可能找出一个例子来证明他为一个不良的动机所驱使或试图利用不光明手段达到他希望达到的目标。正直、诚实、坚守真理和正义深深植根于他的心灵。而且，一旦他发现并相信某一个人，没有什么能够很快激起他的愤慨，或者完全使他失去对这个人的信任。软弱、虚假和轻率对他来说，是不可原谅的错误。而对托辞、不诚实，他是永远也不会原谅的。

华盛顿对朋友公正无私，毫无偏见，真诚而又诚恳，并且永远忠实于他们。他从来没有对朋友虚伪过、掩饰过。他的感情是强烈的，有时会因为感情过于强烈而爆发。但是，他能够在转瞬之间控制、遏制住它们。也许自制是他性格当中最为显著的特点。从某种程度上讲，自制是他自律的结果。然而看起来，自制似乎是他的专利，这种优秀的品质不为他人所掌握。

华盛顿作为一个基督徒，他忠实而又虔诚。他对宗教的敬重可以说是人间典范，通过他的公共演讲和他的私人信件中表现出来。他总是把他所获得的一切全部归功于万能的上帝。仁慈而又人道，对于贫穷的人们，他慷慨大方，对于绝望的人们，他和善宽厚。作为一个丈夫、儿子、兄长，他温柔而充满关爱。在公开场合，在公共要求之下，或在万不得已、在谈到他自己及其行为时，他从不虚夸，从不炫耀，也从不傲慢、趾高气扬。

由于他从不嫉妒，所以他能够有幸免受嫉妒的折磨，也不会因为他人的晋升而气恼，从而使他自己达到一定的境界，使常人无法达到。如果说他有一种感情胜过另外一种感情的话，那么这种感情就是他对于他祖国的爱。对于祖国纯洁与炽热的爱是他的爱国主义，这与他远大的目标相和谐。对祖国之爱是他一生之中最神圣的职责，自从赋予给了他这一神圣的职责之后，他就从来没有一刻动摇，无论是在思想上，还是在行动上，他的整个一生都是如此。

这些都是华盛顿的性格特征，这些特征使他获得了人们对他的爱戴与尊敬。就是这些少有的聪明才智与优秀品质的完美结合、智力与道德力量的和谐统一，而不是这些令人羡慕的任何特点之一，促成了华盛顿伟大的性格。如果我们把“伟大领袖”这个头衔授给他，他是问心无愧的，他曾经耗费了一生的精力建立了这个独立的国家，他所从事的每项事业都获得了成功，而他的成功从来没有以荣誉、正义、诚实或者任何一条原则为代价。这个头衔对于他——华盛顿来说是当之无愧的。

（贾雷德·斯帕克斯）

贾雷德·斯帕克斯（Jared Sparks，1789～1866年），生于美国康涅狄格州威灵顿，1815年毕业于哈佛大学。毕业后，他在哈佛大学担任两年的指导老师。1819年，他被任命为巴尔的摩一教堂牧师。斯帕克斯于1823年返回波士顿，创办了《北美评论》，并担任评论社会的惟一编辑，直到1829年。从1839年开始，一直到1849年，他在哈佛大学担任教授一职，并于1849年至1853年担任哈佛大学校长一职。斯帕克斯写了许多关于美国历史和哲学方面的论著，包括《华盛顿的一生》和《富兰克林的一生》。他在作自传的时候非常注意材料的搜集，而把这些材料加以整理还需要更多的技巧。

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON

The person of Washington was commanding, graceful, and fitly proportioned; his stature six feet, his chest broad and full, his limbs long and somewhat slender, but well shaped and muscular. His features were regular and symmetrical, his eyes of a light blue color, and his whole countenance, in its quiet state, was grave, placid, and benignant. When alone, or not engaged in conversation, he appeared sedate and thoughtful; but when his attention was excited, his eye kindled quickly, and his face beamed with animation and intelligence.

He was not fluent in speech, but what he said was apposite, and listened to with the more interest as being known to come from the heart. He seldom attempted sallies of wit or humor, but no man received more pleasure from an exhibition of them by others; and, although contented in seclusion, he sought his chief happiness in society, and participated with delight in all its rational and innocent amusements. Without austerity on the one hand, or an appearance of condescending familiarity on the other, he was affable, courteous, and cheerful; but it has often been remarked that there was a dignity in his person and manner not easy to be defined, which impressed everyone that saw him for the first time with an instinctive deference and awe. This may have arisen, in part, from a conviction of his superiority, as well as from the effect produced by his external form and deportment.

The character of his mind was unfolded in the public and private acts of his life; and the proofs of his greatness are seen almost as much in the one as the other. The same qualities which raised him to the ascendency he possessed over the will of a nation, as the commander of armies and chief magistrate, caused him to be loved and respected as an individual. Wisdom, judgment, prudence, and firmness were his predominant traits. No man ever saw more clearly the relative importance of things and actions, or divested himself more entirely of the bias of personal interest, partiality, and prejudice, in discriminating between the true and the false, the right and the wrong, in all questions and subjects that were presented to him. He deliberated slowly, but decided surely; and when his decision was once formed he seldom reversed it, and never relaxed from the execution of a measure till it was completed. Courage, physical and moral, was a part of his nature; and, whether in battle, or in the midst of popular excitement, he was fearless of danger, and regardless of consequences to himself.

His ambition was of that noble kind which aims to excel in whatever it undertakes, and to acquire a power over the hearts of men by promoting their happiness and winning their affections. Sensitive to the approbation of others, and solicitous to deserve it, he made no concessions to gain their applause, either by flattering their vanity or yielding to their caprices. Cautious without timidity, bold without rashness, cool in counsel, deliberate but firm in action, clear in foresight, patient under reverses, steady, persevering, and self possessed, he met and conquered every obstacle that obstructed his path to honor, renown and success. More confident in the uprightness of his intention than in his resources, he sought knowledge and advice from other men. He chose his counselors with unerring sagacity; and his quick perception of the soundness of an opinion, and of the strong points in an argument, enabled him to draw to his aid the best fruits of their talents, and the light of their collected wisdom.

His moral qualities were in perfect harmony with those of his intellect. Duty was the ruling principle of his conduct; and the rare endowments of his understanding were not more constantly tasked to devise the best methods of effecting an object, than they were to guard the sanctity of conscience. No instance can be adduced in which he was actuated by a sinister motive or endeavored to attain an end by unworthy means. Truth, integrity, and justice were deeply rooted in his mind; and nothing could rouse his indignation so soon, or so utterly destroy his confidence, as the discovery of the want of these virtues in anyone whom he had trusted. Weaknesses, follies, indiscretions be could forgive; but subterfuge and dishonesty he never forgot, rarely pardoned.

He was candid and sincere, true to his friends, and faithful to all; neither practicing dissimulation, descending to artifice, nor holding out expectations which he did not intend should be realized. His passions were strong, and sometimes they broke out with vehemence: but he had the power of checking them in an instant. Perhaps self control was the most remarkable trait of his character. It was, in part, the effect of discipline; yet he seems by nature to have possessed this power in a degree which has been denied to other men.

A Christian in faith and practice, he was habitually devout. His reverence for religion is seen in his example, his public communications, and his private writings. He uniformly ascribed his successes to the beneficent agency of the Supreme Being. Charitable and humane, he was liberal to the poor, and kind to those in distress. As a husband, son, and brother, he was tender and affectionate. Without vanity, ostentation, or pride, he never spoke of himself or his actions unless required by circumstances which concerned the public interests.

As he was free from envy, so he had the good fortune to escape the envy of others by standing on an elevation which none could hope to attain. If he had one passion more strong than another it was love of his country. The purity and ardor of his patriotism were commensurate with the greatness of its object. Love of country in him was invested with the sacred obligation of a duty; and from the faithful discharge of this duty he never swerved for a moment, either in thought or deed, through the whole period of his eventful career.

Such are some of the traits in the character of Washington, which have acquired for him the love and veneration of mankind. If they are not marked with the brilliancy, extravagance, and eccentricity, which, in other men, have excited the astonishment of the world, so neither are they tarnished by the follies, nor disgraced by the crimes of those men. It is the happy combination of rare talents and qualities, the harmonious union of the intellectual and moral powers, rather than the dazzling splendor of any one trait, which constitute the grandeur of his character. If the title of great man ought to be reserved for him who can not be charged with an indiscretion or a vice; who spent his life in establishing the independence, the glory, and durable prosperity of his country; who succeeded in all that he undertook; and whose successes were never won at the expense of honor, justice, integrity, or by the sacrifice of a single principle,—this title will not be denied to Washington.

（Jared Sparks）

第15课　威尔是如何逃出矿井的

威尔的姨妈给他一个小本子作为生日礼物，在本子中间有一支铅笔，威尔非常喜欢这个小本子，所以他总是把它带在身上，放到口袋里。

一天，他妈妈非常忙，于是威尔叫上他的狗：“来吧，卡珀，我们出去玩。”

当妈妈发现威尔不见了时，她便到屋里去找，但是怎么也找不到。但她知道卡珀跟他在一起，所以她想威尔可能一会儿就回来。

她等了一个多小时，但是威尔他们仍然没有回来。当她来到大门口，她遇见了李先生，于是便问李先生见到过威尔没有。李先生说威尔一定是在树下睡着了。他们立刻到威尔经常玩耍的树下去找，但是仍然没有找到。

这时太阳已经下山了，邻居们都知道威尔失踪了，所有的大人都在找他，他们整整找了一夜。

第二天早上，邻居们聚集在门口，商量接下来该做什么，这个时候卡珀跑了回来，它的脖子上系了张纸。

威尔的爸爸取下那张纸，发现那是威尔写的一封信，他大声地读，信上说：哦，爸爸，快来救我，我在牧场的矿井里。

所有的人都立刻跑向牧场，威尔就在牧场边上的矿井里，仍然活着。当爸爸用胳膊把他拉上来时，威尔高兴极了。

现在我来告诉你威尔是如何掉进井里的。他和卡珀去了牧场，来到矿井边，为了看清这个矿井有多深，他失去了平衡，掉了下去，那可爱的小狗看到自己的主人掉进井里后，它并没有离开，而是在井边转来转去，想拉他上来。但是卡珀拉威尔的衣袖时，它也掉了进去。

威尔尽可能地大声呼喊他的父母，但这里离家太远了，父母根本听不见。

他叫着叫着，天黑了，他躺在地上，卡珀紧趴在他身边，没过多久，威尔便哭着睡着了。当他醒来时，天已经亮了，他开始想办法如何出去，他姨妈给他的小本子就在他的口袋里，他拿出本子，想了许久，终于给爸爸写了封信。然后他把那张纸撕下来，又从口袋中取出一段绳，把这封信系在狗的项圈上。他把狗高高地举起，帮它逃了出去，并对它说：“回家去，卡珀，回家去！”这小狗飞快地跑了。

HOW WILLIE GOT OUT OF THE SHAFT

Willie's aunt sent him for a birthday present a little writing book. There was a place in the book for a pencil. Willie thought a great deal of this little book, and always kept it in his pocket.

One day, his mother was very busy, and he called his dog, and said,“Come, Caper, let us have a play.”

When Willie's mother missed him, she went to the door and looked out, and could not see him anywhere; but she knew that Caper was with him, and thought they would come back before long.

She waited an, hour, and still they did not come. When she came to the gate by the road, she met Mr. Lee, and told him how long Willie had been gone. Mr. Lee thought he must have gone to sleep under the trees. So they went to all the trees under which Willie was in the habit of playing, but he was nowhere to be found.

By this time the sun had gone down. The news that Willie was lost soon spread over the neighborhood, and all the men and women turned out to hunt. They hunted all night.

The next morning the neighbors were gathered round, and all were trying to think what to do next, when Caper came bounding into the room. There was a string tied round his neck, and a bit of paper tied to it.

Willie's father, Mr. Lee, took the paper, and saw that it was a letter from Willie. He read it aloud. It said,“O father! come to me. I am in the big hole in the pasture.”

Everybody ran at once to the far corner of the pasture; and there was Willie, alive and well, in the shaft. Oh, how glad he was when his father caught him in his arms, and lifted him out!

Now I will tell you how Willie came to be in the shaft. He and Caper went to the pasture field, and came to the edge of the shaft and sat down. In bending over to see how deep it was, he lost his balance, and fell in. He tried very hard to get out, but could not.

When the good little dog saw that his master was in the shaft, he would not leave him, but ran round and round, reaching down and trying to pull him out. But while Caper was pulling Willie by the coat sleeves, a piece of sod gave way under his feet, and he fell in too.

Willie called for his father and mother as loud as he could call; but he was so far away from the house that no one could hear him.

He cried and called till it was dark, and then he lay down on the ground, and Caper lay down close beside him. It was not long before Willie cried himself to sleep.

When he awoke it was morning, and he began to think of a way to get out. The little writing book that his aunt had given him, was in his pocket. He took it out, and, after a good deal of trouble, wrote the letter to his father.

Then he tore the leaf out, and took a string out of his pocket, and tied it round Caper's neck, and tied the letter to the string. Then he lifted the dog up, and helped him out, and said to him,“Go home, Caper, go home!”The little dog scampered away, and was soon at home.

第二辑

第1课　阳光苏茜

阳光苏茜并不是她的真名，布朗·苏茜才是。但每个人都这样叫她，因为她脸上总挂着阳光般的灿烂笑容，而且每当她到来时，总给大家带来光明。

阳光苏茜这个名字最先是由她的爷爷叫起来的，它用在这个小姑娘身上似乎非常贴切。

当苏茜还是一个宝宝时，她就从早到晚笑个不停。除非她生病了或受伤了，否则谁也不会听到她哭。

当她学会走路时，她便爱围着房子转，并且时常帮妈妈拿东西。

她能坐在妈妈旁边一个小时，问妈妈许多问题，或是把自己的书拿出来看。

苏茜总是很快乐地与其他小朋友一起玩耍。她从不说一句不文明的语言。她总是想方设法地去做那些能够取悦她同伴的事情。

一天，一个穷人家的小姑娘从旁边走过，那个小姑娘穿着一身破旧的衣服。苏茜听到有小孩在嘲笑她、戏弄她，她便马上跑到大门外，将那个可怜的小姑娘领了进来。

“你哭什么？”苏茜问。

“因为他们全都取笑我！”她说。

苏茜随后便把那个小姑娘带到了屋里。她用友好的语言鼓舞她，并送给她一套漂亮的衣服和一双鞋。

这给那个贫穷的小姑娘带来了真正的快乐与喜悦。这个小姑娘也认为，叫苏茜“阳光苏茜”是再合适不过的了。

SUSIE SUNBEAM

Susie Sunbeam was not her real name; that was Susan Brown. But every one called her Susie Sunbeam, because she had such a sweet, smiling face, and always brought brightness with her when she came.

Her grandfather first gave her this name, and it seemed to fit the little girl so nicely that soon it took the place of her own.

Even when a baby, Susie laughed and crowed from morning till night. No one ever heard her cry unless she was sick or hurt.

When she had learned to walk, she loved to go about the house and get things for her mother, and in this way save her as many steps as she could.

She would sit by her mother's side for an hour at a time, and ask her ever so many questions, or she would take her new book and read.

Susie was always pleasant in her play with other children. She never used an unkind word, but tried to do whatever would please her playmates best.

One day, a poor little girl with a very ragged dress was going by and Susie heard some children teasing her and making fun of her.

She at once ran out to the gate, and asked the poor little girl to come in.“What are you crying for?”Susie asked.

“Because they all laugh at me,”she said.

Then Susie took the little girl into the house. She cheered her up with kind words, and gave her a nice dress and a pair of shoes.

This brought real joy and gladness to the poor child, and she, too, thought that Susie was rightly called Sunbeam.

第2课　争吵

在森林中的一棵大树下，两个男孩看到了一个又大又好的坚果，于是他们俩都跑过去要摘这个果子。

詹姆斯最先跑过去把它摘了下来。

“这是我的，”约翰说，“因为是我先看到它的。”

“不，这是我的，”詹姆斯说，“因为是我最先摘到了它。”

于是他们为了这个坚果争吵了起来。

过了好长时间，他们还无法为这个坚果的归属达成一致，为此他们找来了一个年龄稍大一些的男孩，想听听他的意见。

稍大的男孩说：“我来解决你们的争吵。”

他拿过坚果，打破硬壳，取出果仁，然后把果壳尽可能地分成几乎相等的两部分。

他说：“果壳的这半部分，属于最先看到这个坚果的人。”

“果壳的另外一半分给摘到这个坚果的人。”

“坚果的果仁呢，我就把它留给自己作为我解决这次争吵的报酬。”

随后，他大笑着说：“这就是争吵最容易出现的结局。”

THE QUARREL

Under a great tree in the woods, two boys saw a fine, large nut, and both ran to get it.

James got to it first, and picked it up.

“It is mine,”said John, ”for I was the first to see it.”

“No, it is mine”said James,“for I was the first to pick it up.”

Thus, they at once began to quarrel about the nut.

As they could not agree whose it should be, they called an older boy, and asked him.

The older boy said,“I will settle this quarrel.”

He took the nut, and broke the shell. He then took out the kernel, and divided the shell into two parts, as nearly equal as he could.

“This half of the shell,“ said he, ”belongs to the boy who first saw the nut.

“And this half belongs to the boy who picked it up.”

“The kernel of the nut, I shall keep as my pay for settling the quarrel. ”

“This is the way,”said he, laughing,“in which quarrels are very apt to end.”

第3课　山姆和哈里

夏日一个晴朗的下午，山姆正走在从学校回家的路上。他慢慢地向前走着，一边走一边看书。

山姆把他所有的积蓄都花在了买这本书上。他是个过得很快乐的男孩。

走了好一会儿，他来到公路上。公路上有一扇大门，一位盲人站在门边，让大门敞开着。这个可怜的人说：“请给我几分钱让我买点面包吧！”但是山姆什么也没有给他。

怎么？山姆没有给那个可怜人一丁点东西？是的，因为我告诉过你，他把所有的钱都花光了。

于是山姆继续向前走，心里却很难过。不一会儿，他碰到一辆漂亮的四轮马车，哈里和他的妈妈坐在车上。

盲人站在那里，手中举着他的帽子。“我们给这个穷人一点东西吧！”哈里对妈妈说。

他妈妈给了他几分钱。哈里拿过来，但是并没有将钱放进盲人的帽子里。

他使出自己最大的力气把钱扔进了远处的树篱中。那个穷人是无法找到这几分钱的。因为你知道，他是个盲人。

山姆转过身来看着这辆漂亮的马车，眼见哈里把钱扔进了树篱中。但山姆没有袖手旁观，见此情景，他立刻跑回来为那个盲人寻找那些钱，直到给盲人将这些钱全部找到。

这费了他很长时间，以至于他差点没赶上吃晚饭。

你认为哪个男孩对那个穷人是真正的仁慈？

我知道那个穷人心里最感激的是什么。

SAM AND HARRY

One fine summer afternoon, Sam was walking home from school. He went along slowly, reading a book.

Sam had spent all his money for the book, but he was a happy boy.

At length he came into the highroad, where there was a gate. A blind man stood, holding it open.

The poor man said,“Please give me a few cents to buy some bread!”But Sam gave him nothing .

What! did Sam give the poor blind man nothing? Yes; for, as I told you, he had spent all his money.

So Sam walked on, very sad. Soon after, a fine carriage came up, and in it were Harry and his mother.

The blind man stood, and held out his hat.“Let us give the poor man something,”said Harry to his mother.

His mother gave him some cents. Harry took them, but did not put them into the man's hat.

He threw them into the hedge as far as he could. The poor man could not find them, for, you know, ho was blind.

Sam had turned back to look at the fine carriage. He saw Harry throw the cents into the hedge; so he came back at once, and looked for the money until he found it all for the blind man.

This took so long a time, that he almost lost his supper.

Which of the boys do you think was truly kind to the poor man?

I know which he thanked most in his heart.

第4课　听爷爷讲故事

“来，坐在我腿上，简，让爷爷给你讲一个神奇的故事。”

“在夏季晴朗的一天，我和一个朋友呆在一座城市的花园里。我们坐在一棵无花果树下休息，它那宽阔的树叶非常鲜嫩碧绿。”

“当我们抬头望着那已成熟的紫色无花果实时，你猜，什么东西从那棵无花果树枝缝里掉了下来？”

“哦，鸟，爷爷，一定是一只鸟！”小小的简拍着双手说。

“不，不是鸟。它是一条鱼，一个鲑鲑鱼，我的小姑娘。”

“不会的，爷爷！鲑鲑鱼怎么会从树枝里掉下来呢？我相信你一定是在开玩笑。”

“不，简，我告诉你这是真的。当我和朋友看到鱼从无花果树下掉下来时也感到非常惊奇。”

“当我们从树下跑出来的时候，发现有一只鱼鹰飞过，在它后面还有一只老鹰在追。”

“当这只鱼鹰抓到这条鱼，正把它带到自己巢中时，那头老鹰发现了，就想得到它。”

“它们为了鱼儿争斗了起来。其结果呢，鱼儿丢下了，它们俩都没有得到它。斗来斗去，还不是一场空！”

GRANDFATHER'S STORY

“Come and sit by my knee, Jane, and grandfather will tell you a strange story. ”

“One bright Summer day, I was in a garden in a city, with a friend. ”We rested underneath a fig tree. The broad leaves were green and fresh.

“We looked up at the ripe, purple figs. And what do you think came down through the branches of the fig tree over our heads?”

“Oh, a bird, grandfather, a bird!”said little Jane, clapping her hands.

“No, not a bird. It was a fish; a trout, my little girl.”

“Not a fish, grandfather! A trout come through the branches of a tree in the city’! I am sure you must be in fun.”“No, Jane, I tell you the truth. My friend and I were very much surprised to see a fish falling from a fig tree. ”

“But we ran from under the tree, and saw a fishhawk flying, and an eagle after him. ”

“The hawk had caught the fish, and was carrying it home to his nest, when the eagle saw it and wanted it. ”

“They fought for it. The fish was dropped, and they both lost it. So much for fighting!”

第5课　贝茜

有一天，贝茜想，如果能拥有一处只种野花的花园该有多好。于是，她跑进屋里找安妮阿姨，问她是否可以穿过淙淙的溪水，到山坡的密林中去，因为那里开满了繁茂的野花。

“当然，你可以去的，”安妮阿姨说，“但是，你去花园后，想把花儿和土装在哪儿呢？”

“哦，”贝茜说，“我可以用我的围裙。”

阿姨笑了，说，“我想用一个篮子应该更好一些吧。”于是，她们找遍了储藏室与阁楼的每一个角落。一些篮子装满了东西，一些篮子破旧不堪，没有找到一个可以用的。

后来，安妮阿姨从一个漂亮的大工具袋里翻出卷筒和袋子，把它们交给了贝茜。“你把它拿去，”她说，“去装土啊，花啊，喜欢装什么就装什么吧。”

“哦！谢谢，”贝茜说，她蹦蹦跳跳地穿过花园。她跃过大门，走进满是蒲公英的田野里，走过山谷的小溪边，然后来到半山坡，消失在了树阴当中。

她忙了一个下午！她堆起又黑又肥沃的土壤，用手把它们变平整，然后她跑前跑后地边唱边挖起紫罗兰、迎春花和一些其他的花。

松鼠在洞外看着贝茜。小鸟在枝头鸣唱。砰，突然有一个不明物体砸在了土堆上。贝茜跳了起来，篮子被弄翻，并滚落到了山下。

贝茜笑了，当她看到一个褐色的大癞蛤蟆瞪着它那明亮的眼睛看着她的时候，好像在说：“希望你不要打我！”

这时贝茜听到一声洪亮的钟声敲响，她知道那是在叫她回家。但是她怎么能丢下她的篮子呢？她必须马上找到它。

“留下吧，留下吧，留下吧，”树枝中的鸟儿又唱起了歌：“留下吧，贝茜。”

“对呀，”贝茜说，“或许亲爱的母亲或是阿姨也让我留下呢；她们都对我很好的。好好照顾它，小鸟；不要跳到我的花上，癞蛤蟆先生。”

她一回到家就喊道：“妈妈，妈妈！阿姨！谁找我？”

“是我，亲爱的，”她母亲说，“我打算出去一段时间，如果你不马上回来，我就不能和我的小姑娘说再见了。”

然后贝茜的母亲吻了她，告诉她要听她善良阿姨的话，然后就走了。

第二天早上，贝茜醒来时发现，天下起了大雨。她一脸沮丧地跑到阿姨的房间。“哦，阿姨！这么大的雨！”

“多么好的一场雨啊！贝茜！它可以使我们的花儿生长，我们还能一起在房间度过一段快乐的时光！”

“我知道的，阿姨，但是我想我太粗心了！”

“粗心得让天下了雨吗？”

“不，不要笑，我把你的漂亮的篮子留在外面过了整整一夜。现在它肯定被浸泡坏了，被这，这，这场喜雨。”贝茜看起来并没有因这场喜雨而高兴起来。

“你必须在以后更加细心，亲爱的，”她的阿姨缓缓地说，“但是你能告诉我关于它的事吗？”

贝茜轻手轻脚地走近阿姨身边，告诉她她度过的快乐时光；还有那只松鼠和那只癞蛤蟆，还有篮子是如何滚下山的。然后怎么听到钟声，而且她为找篮子根本就没有停下来过。

“你做得很对，”阿姨说，“如果你停下来的话，你的母亲就会一整天等你，或是看不到你就走了。当我写信时，我会告诉她你是如何如何听话，我想没有比这样的话更令她高兴了。”

BESSIE

One day, Bessie thought how nice it would be to have a garden with only wild flowers in it. So into the house she ran to find her Aunt Annie, and ask her leave to go over on the shady hillside, across the brook, where the wild flowers grew thickest.

“ Yes, indeed, you may go,”said Aunt Annie;“but what will you put the roots and earth in while you are making the garden?”

“Oh,”said Bessie,“I can take my apron.”

Her aunt laughed, and said,“A basket will be better, I think.”So they looked in the closets and the attic, everywhere; but some of the baskets were full, and some broken; not one could they find that would do.

Then Aunt Annie turned out the spools and the bags from a nice large workbasket, and gave that to Bessie.“You may have this for your own,”she said,“to fill with earth, or flowers, or anything you like.”

“Oh I thank you,”said Bessie, and she danced away through the garden. She slipped through the gate, out into the field all starred with dandelions, down in the hollow by the brook, then up on the hillside out of sight among the shady trees.

How she worked that afternoon! She heaped up the dark, rich earth, and smoothed it over with her hands. Then she dug up violets, and spring beauties, and other flowers,—running back and forth, singing all the while.

The squirrels peeped out of their holes at Bessie. The birds sang in the branches overhead. Thump, came something all at once into the middle of the bed. Bessie jumped and upset the basket, and away it rolled down the hill.

How Bessie laughed when she saw a big, brown toad winking his bright eyes at her, as if he would say,“No offense, I hope.”

Just then Bessie heard a bell ringing loudly. She knew it was calling her home; but how could she leave her basket? She must look for that first.

“Waiting, waiting, waiting,”all at once sang a bird out of sight among the branches;“waiting, Bessie.”

“Sure enough,”said Bessie;“perhaps I'm making dear mother or auntie wait; and they are so good to me. I'd better let the basket wait. Take care of it, birdie; and don't jump on my flowers, Mr. Toad.”

She was back at the house in a few minutes, calling,“Mother! mother! auntie! Who wants me?”

“I, dear,”said her mother.“I am going away for a long visit, and if you had not come at once, I could not have said good by to my little girl.”

Then Bessie's mother kissed her, and told her to obey her kind aunt while she was gone.

The next morning, Bessie waked to find it raining hard. She went into her aunt's room with a very sad face.“O auntie! this old rain!”

“This new, fresh, beautiful rain, Bessie! How it will make our flowers grow, and what a good time we can have together in the house!”

“I know it, auntie; but you will think me so careless!”

“To let it rain?”

“No; don't laugh, Aunt Annie; to leave your nice basket out of doors all night; and now it will be soaked and ruined in this—this—beautiful rain.”Bessie did not look as if the beautiful rain made her very happy.

“You must be more careful, dear, another time,”said her aunt, gently.“But come, tell me all about it.”

So Bessie crept very close to her auntie's side, and told her of her happy time the day before; of the squirrel, and the toad, and how the basket rolled away down the hill; and then how the bell rang, and she could not stop to find the basket.

“And you did quite right,”said her aunt.“If you had stopped, your mother must have waited a whole day, or else gone without seeing you. When I write, I will tell her how obedient you were, and that will please her more than anything else I can say.”

第6课　花园漫步

一天，弗兰克和他的妈妈一起出去散步，他们来到了一个美丽的花园旁边。弗兰克朝里面看了一下，发现里面有一条干净的砾石路，还有一簇簇盛开的鲜花。

他对妈妈说：“妈妈，你过来看一下这处美丽的园子，我好想进去玩儿。”

附近的园丁听到了弗兰克的话，便和蔼地请他和他妈妈进到花园里去。

弗兰克的妈妈连忙向园丁道谢，接着又转身对弗兰克说：“弗兰克，我乐意带你去花园散步，不过你得答应我，一定不要碰园子里的任何东西。”

弗兰克沿着整洁的砾石小路，欣赏着各种美丽的花草，同时他也没有碰到一颗小草。

他是如此的小心谨慎，甚至不让自己的衣服碰到花朵，惟恐这样会弄坏他们。

园丁看到弗兰克是如此小心，一点都不捣乱，感到十分高兴。他还给弗兰克看各类种子，并告诉了他许多花和植物的名字。

正当弗兰克陶醉于美丽的花丛中时，有个男孩来到了花园门口。他发现门是锁着的，便拼命地在那儿摇门。但他还是打不开，于是拼命叫喊：“让我进去，让我进去。你难道不让我进来吗？”

“是的,的确是。”园丁回答，“我可以明确地告诉你，我是不会再让你进来的，因为昨天你进来后，不但弄乱了我的花坛，还摘了我珍贵的果实。我决不会再让一个不爱惜花草的人进入我的园子里捣乱了。”

那个男孩看起来挺羞愧的，发觉园丁不会让自己进来后，他低着头慢慢地离开了。

弗兰克感觉自己好幸福，他是一个乖巧的孩子，因为他不会随便乱动别人的东西。

他和他妈妈继续在园子里游玩，度过了快乐的时光。在离开之前，园丁还给他们一些美丽的花。

A WALK IN THE GARDEN

Frank was one day walking with his mother, when they came to a pretty garden. Frank looked in, and saw that it had clean gravel walks, and beds of beautiful flowers all in bloom.

He called to his mother, and said,“Mother, come and look at this pretty garden. I wish I might open the gate, and walk in.”

The gardener, being near, heard what Frank said, and kindly invited him and his mother to come into the garden.

Frank's mother thanked the man. Turning to her son, she said,“Frank, if I take you to walk in this garden, you must take care not to meddle with anything in it.”

Frank walked along the neat gravel paths, and looked at everything, but touched nothing that he saw.

He did not tread on any of the borders, and was careful that his clothes should not brush the tops of the flowers, lest he might break them.

The gardener was much pleased with Frank, because he was so careful not to do mischief. He showed him the seeds, and told him the name of many of the flowers and plants.

While Frank was admiring the beauty of a flower, a boy came to the gate, and finding it locked, he shook it hard. But it would not open. Then he said,“Let me in; let me in; will you not let me in this garden?”

“No, indeed,”said the gardener,“I will not let you in, I assure you; for when I let you in yesterday, you meddled with my flowers, and pulled some of my rare fruit. I do not choose to let a boy into my garden who meddles with the plants.”

The boy looked ashamed, and when he found that the gardener would not let him in, he went slowly away.

Frank saw and felt how much happier a boy may be by not meddling with what does not belong to him.

He and his mother then continued their walk in the garden, and enjoyed the day very much. Before they left, the gardener gave each of them some pretty flowers.

第7课　美丽的手

“哦，罗伯特小姐，玛丽·查瑟普的手看起来好粗糙啊！”戴西·马文与老师在回家的路上这样说。

“戴西，在我看来玛丽的手是我们班上最漂亮的了。”

“为什么这么说？罗伯特小姐，她那双手又红又硬，如果她用它来弹钢琴，不知那会弹成什么样子！”戴西喊到。

罗伯特小姐握着戴西的双手说：“你的手非常柔软洁白，但是它只是在弹钢琴的时候好看，它们仍缺少玛丽的手具有的那种美。能让我告诉你这是为什么吗？”

“好的，请说吧，罗伯特小姐。”

“是这样的，戴西，玛丽的双手总是很忙碌，她要洗盘子，生火做饭，洗晒衣物，还有许多繁重的家务，她总是用这双手去努力帮助自己穷困的母亲。”

“还有，她还用这双手为小孩洗衣穿衣，修理自己的玩具，给洋娃娃做衣服，有时候还为隔壁生病的小女孩洗头。”

“她对待一切有生命的东西都有爱心。我曾看到她用那双手在街上轻轻抚摩疲劳的马匹和瘸腿的狗。她时刻准备着去帮助需要帮助的人。”

“我从来没有认为玛丽的手很难看，罗伯特小姐。”

“我很高兴听到你这样说，戴西。我必须告诉你，她的手之所以美丽，是因为这双手总是欣然地接受并且高兴地做她的工作。”

“哦，罗伯特小姐！我对我开始说的话感到非常惊讶，也非常抱歉。”戴西眼含泪水看着老师说。

“那么，亲爱的，那就通过你真诚的行动来表达你的懊悔吧。记住，心灵美才是真正的美。”

BEAUTIFUL HANDS

“O Miss Roberts! what coarse looking hands Mary Jessup has!”said Daisy Marvin, as she walked home from school with her teacher.

“In my opinion, Daisy, Mary's hands are the prettiest in he class.”

“Why, Miss Roberts, they are as red and hard as they can be. How they would look if she were to try to play on a piano!”exclaimed Daisy.

Miss Roberts took Daisy's hands in hers, and said,“Your hands are very soft and white, Daisy—just the hands to look beautiful on a piano; yet they lack one beauty that Mary's hands have. Shall I tell you what the difference is?”

“Yes, please, Miss Roberts.”

“Well, Daisy, Mary's hands are always busy. They wash dishes; they make fires; they hang out clothes, and help to wash them, too; they sweep, and dust, and sew; they are always trying to help her poor, hard working mother.

“Besides, they wash and dress the children; they mend their toys and dress their dolls; yet, they find time to bathe the head of the little girl who is so sick in the next house to theirs.

“They are full of good deeds to every living thing. I have seen them patting the tired horse and the lame dog in the street. They are always ready to help those who need help.”

“I shall never think Mary's hands are ugly any more, Miss Roberts.”

“I am glad to hear you say that, Daisy; and I must tell you that they are beautiful because they do their work gladly and cheerfully.”

“O Miss Roberts! I feel so ashamed of myself, and so sorry,”said Daisy, looking into her teacher's face with tearful eyes.

“Then, my dear, show your sorrow by deeds of kindness. The good alone are really beautiful.”

第8课　微笑

天气阴沉极了，珍妮坐在窗前，望着外面狭窄的街道，脸上写满了痛苦和厌倦。“天呀，”她叹息着说，“这又是一个多么漫长的白天啊。”她满怀希望地向街道的一端望去。

忽然她把身体向前倾，把她苍白的脸压在玻璃上，这时一个小男孩从街道的另一端走来，不时地把他的书包摆来摆去。走到窗下的时候，他抬起头，脱下帽子，轻轻鞠了一躬，脸上露出愉快、灿烂的笑容。

“多可爱的一个男孩啊！”当男孩走远后，珍妮暗想，“他每天上学要经过这里，实在是太好了。他的微笑像阳光一样灿烂。我希望每一个路人都像他一样上进，并且微笑。”

“妈妈，”乔治·威斯特回家后追着母亲，“我总是在想我跟你说过的那个可怜的小姑娘。她看起来非常疲倦。今天我摘下帽子对她致意了。我希望能为她做点什么。”

“或许你可以在上学的时候给她带一束花。”威斯特夫人说。“明天早晨我就给她带去，”乔治说，“如果我能找到进入那所旧房子的入口的话。”

第二天早晨，当珍妮百无聊赖地将头斜倚在窗户上，看雨滴一滴滴沿玻璃滑下的时候，她看见乔治手里握着一束花，正小心地沿街道走来。他在她的窗下停住，愉快地微笑着，说道：“我怎样才能找得到你的房间？”

珍妮指了指附近的一个小过道，乔治费了点劲才找到通往暗黑楼梯的路。在珍妮的门前他听到珍妮温柔地说：“请进。”进了门，他说：“我给你带来了一些花，在这下雨天你可以看看它们。”

“是送给我的吗？”珍妮问道，高兴地拍着手。“你真是太好了，”当乔治把花放到她腿上的时候，她接着说，“自从我们搬到城里，我还从没有过花呢。”

“你过去一直住在郊外吗？”乔治问道。“是的，”珍妮说，“我们过去住在乡间的一所漂亮的房子里，那儿有许多树木、花草，那儿的空气也好极了。”

“那你们为什么要搬到这里来呢？”“噢，”珍妮轻轻地说，“爸爸去世了，妈妈又病了好久，我们的钱花光了。妈妈不得不卖掉乡间别墅，搬到这里来找工作。”“你每天都得坐在这儿吗？”乔治边问边环顾了一下空空的屋子，望向窗外阴郁的街道。“是的。”珍妮说，“因为我的脚跛了，但如果我能帮妈妈做事的话，我并不在乎。”

“这太糟糕了！”乔治叫道。他再也不能待在这里了。“噢，没那么糟。”珍妮平静地说。

“嗯，我必须赶去学校了。”乔治说道，他并不知道接下来该说什么。他很快就走出了珍妮的视线，但他心里觉得非常开心，因为他已经试着在帮助别人了。他并不知道他已经把一个可怜的小女孩的一个沉闷的一天变成了一个开心的日子。

那天晚上，乔治告诉了妈妈珍妮的故事，并说道：“妈妈，爸爸必须给她们一些钱，这样她们就可以回家去了。”

“不，我们不能这么做。”妈妈说道，“爸爸不能那样做，而且她们也不想他那样做，但是或许他可以想到一些办法来帮助她们，这样她们能生活得更好一点。”

“明天我要给珍妮带一些葡萄。”乔治边说边翻着手中的地理书。“我会在篮子里再放一些桃子，然后和你一起去。”妈妈这样说着，“但是有一件东西是我们应该一直带给她们，有时候这比好吃的东西，甚至比钱更重要。”

那是什么，妈妈？——微笑吗？乔治抬起头问道。“是的，”妈妈说，“如果能在微笑的同时再说些鼓励的话，那就更好了。”

◇ 本课的主题是什么？

◇ 乔治·威斯特是怎样让詹妮高兴的？

◇ 他的妈妈有何建议？

◇ 第二天发生了什么事？

◇ 那天晚上乔治家发生什么事？

◇ 本课有哪些启示？

SMILES

Poor lame Jennie sat at her window, looking out upon the dismal, narrow street, with a look of pain and weariness on her face.“Oh, dear,”she said with a sigh,“what a long day this is going to be,”and she looked wishfully up the street.

Suddenly she leaned forward and pressed her pale face against the glass, as a rosy checked boy came racing down the street, swinging his schoolbooks by the strap. Looking up to the window, he took off his hat and bowed with a bright, pleasant smile.

“What a nice boy he is,”said Jennie to herself, as he ran out of sight.“I am so glad he goes by here on his way to school. When he smiles, it seems like having the sun shine. I wish everybody who goes by would look up and smile.”

“Mamma,”said George West, as he came from school,“I can't help thinking about that poor little girl I told you of the other day. She looks so tired. I took off my hat and bowed to her to day. I wish I could do something for her,”

“Suppose you should carry her a handful of pretty flowers some time when you go to school,”said Mrs. West.“I'll do that to morrow morning,”said George,“if I can find my way into that rickety old house.”

The next morning, as Jennie sat leaning her head wearily against the window, watching the raindrops chasing one another down the glass, she spied George with a handful of beautiful flowers carefully picking his way across the street. He stopped in front of her window, and, smiling very pleasantly, said,“How shall I find the way to your room?”

Jennie pointed to an alley near by, where he turned in, and with some difficulty found his way to the dingy staircase. Opening the door to Jennie's gentle“Come in,”he said,“I have brought you a handful of flowers to look at this rainy day.”

“Are they for me?”exclaimed Jennie, clapping her hands in delight.“How kind you are,”she continued, as George laid them in her lap.“I have not had a flower since we live in the city.”

“Did you use to live in the country?”asked George.“Oh, yes,”answered Jennie,“we used to live in a beautiful cottage, and there were trees and flowers and green grass, and the air was so sweet.”

“Well, what made you move here?”“Oh,”said Jennie, softly,“papa died, and mamma was sick so long that the money was all gone. Then mamma had to sell the cottage, and she moved here to try to get work to do.”

“Do you have to sit here all day?”asked George, glancing around the bare room and out into the dismal street.“Yes,”said Jennie,“because I am lame; but I would not care for that, if I could only help mamma.”

“I declare, it's too had!”said George, who dreaded nothing so much as being obliged to stay in the house.“Oh, no, it isn't,”said Jennie, pleasantly;“mamma says maybe we should forget the Lord if we had everything we wanted, and He never forgets us, you know.”

“Well, I must rush for school,”said George, not knowing exactly what to say next; and he was soon out of Jennie's sight, but had a happy little corner in his heart, because he had tried to do a kind act. He did not know how much good he had done in making a pleasant day out of a dreary one for a little sick girl.

“Mamma,”said George, that evening, after he had told her what Jennie said,“papa must give them some money, so they can go back to their home.”

“No,”said his mother;“he can not do that, and they would not wish him to do so; but perhaps he can help us contrive some way to assist them, so that they can live more comfortably.”

“I am going to carry Jennie some of the grapes grandpa sent me, to morrow,”said George, turning over the leaves of his geography.“I will put some of my pears into your basket, and go with you,“ said his mother; ”but there is one thing we can always give, and sometimes it does more good than nice things to eat, or even money.”

“What is that, mamma,—smiles?”asked George, looking up.“Yes,”answered his mother;“and it is a good plan to throw in a kind word or two with them when you can.”

第9课　孝顺之子

曾经有一个珠宝商，他以具有许多优秀的品质而著称。有一天几个犹太老人来找他，他们想买一些宝石，准备镶在他们职位最高的教士的袍子上。

他们说出了自己想要的宝石，并给出了一个合理的价格，但是这位珠宝商回答说不能给他们看那些宝石，并让他们过些时候再来。

但是这些老人不想再耽搁时间，他们认为这个珠宝商的目的是为了提高价格，于是老人们给出了双倍的价钱，之后又给出了3倍的价钱，但这个珠宝商还是拒绝了，于是这些老人们怒气冲冲地离开了。

几小时后，珠宝商找到他们，把宝石摆在他们面前，他们于是给出了他们刚刚给出的最高价，但是珠宝商说：“我只要你今天早晨给出的那个合理的价格。”

老人们觉得很奇怪：“为什么你那时候不和我们做这一笔生意呢？”

“你们来的时候，”珠宝商说，“我的父亲正拿着保存宝石的柜子的钥匙，当时他正在睡觉，我要给你们看宝石的话就不得不叫醒他。”

“在他这样的年龄，睡上一小时对他很有好处。所以即使给我全世界的金钱，我也要先考虑我的父亲，我不能打扰他休息。”

这些老人被他的话感动了，他们轻拍着珠宝商的头说道：“爱你的父亲和母亲，有一天你的孩子也会像你爱你的父亲一样爱你、尊敬你。主会保佑你的。”

◇ 请讲述一下珠宝和钻石的故事？

◇ 当老人听说他不想卖掉珠宝时，他的说了些什么？

◇ 这一课给你什么启发？

THE GOOD SON

There was once a jeweler, noted for many virtues. One day, the Jewish elders came to him to buy some diamonds, to put upon that part of the dress of their high priest, which the Bible calls an ephod.

They told him what they wanted, and offered him a fair price for the diamonds. He replied that he could not let them see the jewels at that moment, and requested them to call again.

As they wanted them without delay, and thought that the object of the jeweler was only to increase the price of the diamonds, the elders offered him twice, then three times, as much as they were worth. But he still refused, and they went away in very bad humor.

Some hours after, he went to them, and placed before them the diamonds, for which they again offered him the last price they had named; but he said,“I will only accept the first one you offered to me this morning.”

“Why, then, did you not close with us at once?”asked they in surprise.“When you came,”replied he,“my father had the key of the chest, in which the diamonds were kept, and as he was asleep, I should have been obliged to wake him to obtain them.

“At his age, a short hour of sleep does him a great deal of good; and for all the gold in the world, I would not be wanting in respect to my father, or take from him a single comfort.”

The elders, affected by these feeling words, spread their hands upon the jeweler's head, and said,“Thou shalt be blessed of Him who has said, ‘Honor thy father and thy mother;’ and thy children shall one day pay thee the same respect and love thou hast shown to thy father.”

第10课　好奇的玛格丽

三月末一个明媚的早晨，小玛格丽戴好帽子，围上格子披肩，朝海滩走去。这可是她第一次一个人溜达出来呀，玛格丽还是一个小姑娘，除了那圆溜溜的、打量过仅仅几个春夏的灰色眼睛，她什么都是小小的。

远处的海和天空蒙着一层薄雾，太阳周围的白色云朵镶着粉色、紫色的花边。阳光和湿润的空气让玛格丽心里觉得暖洋洋的，轻柔的风吹拂着她的披肩，她望着阳光下粼粼的水面。这一切使她惊奇，因为太阳似乎从来没有像今天这样，如同一朵巨大的金色的花，盛开在圆圆的花萼中，它就像一朵没有柄的花，所有一根结实的花柄藏在天空，直伸到海底，没有人知道它的根扎在哪里。

玛格丽没有继续为这个问题而困惑，因为现在涨潮了，浪花由开始的很小到越来越大，它们涌上沙滩，冲着卵石，欢笑着，眨着眼，低声轻语着，扭成一团，像成千上万的小孩子急着回家，告诉家人自己的小秘密。

浪花是从哪里来的呢？在蔚蓝色的地平线下面，是谁用低沉、空旷的声音，催促着他们涌上自己脚下的沙滩的呢？他们那悦耳的声音又在互相嘀咕着什么秘密呢？噢，海面下是什么，上面又是什么？它是如此深邃，如此宽广，又如此朦胧。那些看起来比海鸟都小的轮船是从哪里来的，又要去哪里呢？

当玛格丽静静地坐在一块岩石上，想着这些问题的答案的时候，从崖上一棵香柏树上传来一声低沉的鸟鸣。漫长的冬天过后，玛格丽几乎忘了还有小鸟，那会唱歌的小鸟，她甚至开始奇怪这样的音乐是怎么发出来的。

当她看到一只鸟落在黄褐色的枝干上时，她更加好奇了。这是一只蓝色的鸟，而且是玛格丽见到的第一只这种颜色的鸟。它在那多刺的枝头上跳来跳去，仿佛成了树的一部分，因为香柏的果实是暗蓝色的，和鸟的羽毛一样颜色。但是这种音乐是怎么进到它的嗓子里去的呢？进到它的嗓子后，又是怎么自如地抒发出来的呢？这只蓝鸟是从哪里来的？它是怎样飞过雪白的云堆来到蔚蓝大海的沙滩上的？

浪花对小鸟唱着欢迎的歌，小鸟也欢唱着以对浪花表示回应，它们就好像是老朋友一样。浪花的节拍和小鸟的啾啾是如此和谐，就像从一个老师那儿学来的乐曲。在小鸟的歌声和大海涛声的相伴下，玛格丽边想边走，爬上了一个在春日阳光映照下显出淡淡绿色的陡坡。

小草真的开始生长了！新鲜的嫩芽从枯草叶子中挺出，似乎也重新获得了生命。她弯下腰来，看到新生的草尖从叶梢中挺出。到处散落着小小的由暗绿色叶子包裹的花蕾。它们包得紧紧的，只有那些观察过好几个春秋的人大概才能知道那其中会绽放出什么样的花朵。没有人会责怪玛格丽不知道这些显得很普通的东西，也不可能去责怪她这么俯身去观看小小的花骨朵，还对此发出惊叹声。

是什么使得黑色土地上长出这么碧绿的小草？花骨朵又是怎么知道该是脱掉那小小绿色帽子的时候了？它们是怎么长成花蕾的？在来到这个世界之前，它们是不是就在另一个世界盛开呢？它们知不知道自己会开什么样的花？

玛格丽想坐在岸边，等着花骨朵张开。如果花儿第一眼看到的就是玛格丽凝望着它们的眼睛，也许会把自己的小秘密告诉她的。当一个花蕾要绽放时它点缀着黄色条纹。她想象着这些条纹将随着时间一点点变大，但是她不愿意去碰花骨朵，因为它看上去和自己一样有生命。她只是在边上想着为什么，惊叹着。

玛格丽听到妈妈的呼唤，踏着贝壳、卵石朝家走去，甜美地笑着，脸上露出了甜甜的酒窝。她觉得生活在这个大大的、奇妙的世界里真是自在，尽管她还不能给出它们为什么会是这样的答案，但她仍觉得活着真是幸福。当母亲给她摘下披肩，脱掉帽子时，小姑娘说：“妈妈，就让我呆在门口好吗？我不喜欢在屋里呆着。是什么让所有的东西都这么美丽快乐的呢？你不想知道吗？”

玛格丽的妈妈是一个很善良的人。但是她因为有那么多的家务在等着她去做，即使自己有嗜好，也不会经常任由这些想法溜出厨房的门的。刚才她正在烤姜汁面包，怕是要烤糊了，所以她又把披肩围在小姑娘的脖子上，让她留在了门口。回去干活的时候，她自言自语地说：“古怪的孩子，长大后会变成什么样呢？”

玛格丽坐在门槛上遐想，海浪阵阵，阳光越来越暖和。这一切都是如此奇妙、伟大而美丽！她的心随着音乐高兴地舞动起来。这音乐回响在天地间，回响在滋长的小草与金色的太阳间。

那天夜里，当这双圆溜溜的灰色眼睛合上的时候，星星眨着眼睛，天使从空中望着玛格丽，惊叹着。因为在地球上没有什么比小孩子那花蕾般的灵魂更奇妙的东西了。

（露西·拉考）

◇ 玛格丽好奇的是哪些东西？

◇ 她对每个感到好奇的是什么？

◇ 比玛格丽好奇的更奇妙的有什么？

HOW MARGERY WONDERED

One bright morning late in March, little Margery put on her hood and her Highland plaid shawl, and went trudging across the beach. It was the first time she had been trusted out alone, for Margery was a little girl; nothing about her was large, except her round gray eyes, which had yet scarcely opened upon half a dozen springs and summers.

There was a pale mist on the far off sea and sky, and up around the sun were white clouds edged with the hues of pinks and violets. The sunshine and the mild air made Margery's very heart feel warm, and she let the soft wind blow aside her Highland shawl, as she looked across the waters at the sun, and wondered! For, somehow, the sun had never looked before as it did to day;—it seemed like a great golden flower bursting out of its pearl lined calyx,—a flower without a stem. Or was there a strong stem away behind it in the sky, that reached down below the sea, to a root, nobody could guess where?

Margery did not stop to puzzle herself about the answer to her question, for now the tide, was coming in, and the waves, little at first, but growing larger every moment, were crowding up along the sand and pebbles, laughing, winking, and whispering, as they tumbled over each other, like thousands of children hurrying home from somewhere, each with its own precious little secret to tell.

Where did the waves come from? Who was down there under the blue wall of the horizon, with the hoarse, hollow voice, urging and pushing them across the beach at her feet? And what secret was it they were lisping to each other with their pleasant voices? Oh, what was there beneath the sea, and beyond the sea, so deep, so broad, and so dim, too, away off where the white ships, that looked smaller than sea birds, were gliding out and in?

But while Margery stood still for a moment on a dry rock, and wondered, there came a low, rippling warble to her ear from a cedar tree on the cliff above her. It had been a long winter, and Margery had forgotten that there were birds, and that birds could sing. So she wondered again what the music was.

And when she saw the bird perched on a yellow brown bough, she wondered yet more. It was only a bluebird, but then it was the first bluebird Margery had ever seen. He fluttered among the prickly twigs, and looked as if he had grown out of them, as the cedar berries had, which were dusty blue, the color of his coat. But how did the music get in his throat? And after it was in his throat, how could it untangle itself, and wind itself off so evenly? And where had the bluebird flown from, across the snow banks down to the shore of the blue sea?

The waves sang a welcome to him, and he sang a welcome to the waves; they seemed to know each other well; and the ripple and the warble sounded so much alike, the bird and the wave must have both learned their music of the same teacher. And Margery kept on wondering as she stepped between the song of the bluebird and the echo of the sea, and climbed a sloping bank, just turning faintly green in the spring sunshine.

The grass was surely beginning to grow! There were fresh, juicy shoots running up among the withered blades of last year, as if in hopes of bringing them back to life; and closer down she saw the sharp points of new spears peeping from their sheaths. And scattered here and there were small, dark green leaves folded around buds shut up so tightly that only those who had watched them many seasons could tell what flowers were to be let out of their safe prisons by and by. So no one could blame Margery for not knowing that they were only common things, nor for stooping over the tiny buds, and wondering.

What made the grass come up so green out of the black earth? And how did the buds know when it was time to take off their little green hoods, and see what there was in the world around them? And how came they to be buds at all? Did they bloom in another world before they sprung up here? —and did they know, themselves, what kind of flowers they should blossom into? Had flowers souls, like little girls, that would live in another world when their forms had faded away in this?

Margery thought she would like to sit down on the bank, and wait beside the buds until they opened; perhaps they would tell her their secret if the very first thing they saw was her eyes watching them. One bud was beginning to unfold; it was streaked with yellow in little stripes that she could imagine became wider every minute. But she would not touch it, for it seemed almost as much alive as herself. She only wondered, and wondered!

Margery heard her mother calling her, and she trudged home across the shells and pebbles with a pleasant smile dimpling her cheeks; for she felt very much at home in this large, wonderful world, and was happy to be alive, although she neither could have told, nor cared to know, the reason why. But when her mother unpinned the little girl's Highland shawl, and took off her hood, she said, ”O mother, do let me live on the doorstep! I don't like houses to stay in. What makes everything so pretty and so glad? Don't you like to wonder?”

Margery's mother was a good woman. But then there was all the housework to do, and, if she had thoughts, she did not often let them wander outside of the kitchen door. And just now she was baking some gingerbread, which was in danger of getting burned in the oven. So she pinned the shawl around the child's neck again, and left her on the doorstep, saying to herself, as she returned to her work, ”Queer child! I wonder what kind of a woman she will be!”

But Margery sat on the doorstep, and wondered, as the sea sounded louder, and the sunshine grew warmer around her. It was all so strange, and grand, and beautiful! Her heart danced with joy to the music that went echoing through the wide world from the roots of the sprouting grass to the great golden blossom of the sun.

And when the round, gray eyes closed that night, at the first peep of the stars, the angels looked down and wondered over Margery. For the wisdom of the wisest being God has made, ends in wonder; and there is nothing on earth so wonderful as the budding soul of a little child.

（Lucy Larcom）

第11课　温柔之手

这件事发生在哪儿、什么时候发生的，也许并不重要。反正有一天，我路过一个人烟稀少的地方，夜幕不知不觉地降临了。由于是步行，我估计还要一个小时才能到达要去的小村庄，因此，我计划在第一个出现的房屋中歇脚过夜。

暗夜逐渐笼罩了朦胧的晚霞，这时我发现自己走到了一个小屋子旁边，窗户上没有窗帘，灯光射出来，让人感到愉快而舒适。小屋子坐落在一个院子里，与我脚下的道路距离不远。我拐到旁边，穿过歪斜的大门，向小屋走去。大门轻轻地晃动，门闩在我背后锁上了，发出“咔哒”声，不过我没有注意这些，而是向门廊走去。那里站着一个瘦弱的女孩，她听到了动静，站在那里看着我。

关门的声音刚落，一串深沉、急促的狗吠声就像回声一样响起，一只大狗突然出现在门口，就像幽灵一样。就在它要跃起的时候，一只手轻轻抚在它那毛发蓬松的脖颈上，同时一个声音轻轻说道：

“进去，老虎。”女孩说道，不是用命令的口气，但是她的声音非常坚定，似乎清楚它一定会服从命令。她一边说，一边用手轻轻压了压这只狗。它转过头，消失在房间里。

“你是谁？”一个沙哑的声音问道。一个结实的男子出现在门口。

“这里离G城有多远？”我问道。我想，我是要找个地方过夜，开始时还是不要说太多。

“去G城！”男子抱怨地说，但是不像开始时那么严厉，“离这儿还有整整6英里。”

“那么远！我从来没来过这里，而且我是步行来的。”我说道，“如果您能为我腾个地方让我呆到早晨，我会不胜感激。”

我看到那个女孩的手快速地移向他的手臂，扶在他的肩膀上。女孩紧紧地靠在他的身上。

“进来吧，我们会尽力帮你。”男子的声音变了，这让我很奇怪。我走进一个大房间，房间里燃着一团火。火堆前坐着两个粗壮的小伙，他们睡眼惺忪地看看我，没什么欢迎的表示。桌子旁站着一位中年妇人，两个孩子在与地板上的小猫玩耍。

“一个陌生人，母亲！”刚才在门口非常无礼地迎接我的那个男子说，“他希望在这里留宿。”

妇人怀疑地看了我好一会儿，然后冷冷地回答：“我们这里又不是旅店。”

“我知道，女士。”我说道，“但是我不能在外面过夜，而且这里离G城还很远。”

“他很疲惫，而且是步行，那太远了，”一家之主温和地说道，“所以让我们别再争论这件事了，母亲，我们必须给他一张床。”

女孩已经悄悄走到了她母亲身旁，我都没有注意到。她低声而快速地向她母亲说了些什么，我没有听到，只是注意到在她说话的时候，她把一只小小的、白皙的手放在她母亲的手上。这一触摸是否有什么魔力？妇人的态度从排斥变为欢迎，她说：“是呀，这里离G城真的是很远，我想我们可以为他安排个地方。”

那晚有很多次，我观察到了这只手和这个声音的魔力——虽然轻微，但对对方却非常有效。第二天早上，吃过早饭后，我打算离开，这时我的主人告诉我，如果我再等上半个小时，就可以搭他的马车去G城，因为他恰好有事要去那里。我非常高兴地接受了这个邀请。

半个小时后，农夫驾着马车来到屋前的路上，并请我上去。我注意到拉车的马是一匹暴烈的加拿大矮种马，看上去非常耐用。农夫坐到我身边，家里人都出来和我们告别。

“迪克！”农夫专横地嚷道，同时用缰绳飞速一抽。但是迪克一动未动。“迪克！你这个无赖！走啊！”农夫的鞭子清脆地抽在马儿的耳朵上。

但还是没有动。迪克很不驯服地站着。农夫又不耐烦地给了它一鞭，但马儿只是跳了跳。农夫又着急地抽打了六七下，他的力气都用尽了，但马儿就是无动于衷。一个粗壮的小伙走到路上，抓住了迪克的缰绳，把他往前拽，同时用粗暴的声音叫嚷着，但迪克这时更倔强了，他的蹄子贴住地面，一动不动。

小伙子用拳头不耐烦地击打着马儿的头，粗暴地拽着它的缰绳。这样还是没有用处，这样的对抗对迪克没用。

“别这样，约翰！”听到小女孩甜美的声音，我转过头。她穿过大门，来到马路上，抓住小伙子，把他拖到一旁。但是她并没有用力，只是握住他的胳膊，而他自然地服从了，似乎他除了使她满意之外没有其他念头。

现在，她一边用她这只温柔的手轻轻抚摸着马的脖颈，一边对马儿轻声地说着什么。马儿绷紧的肌肉立即放松了——紧张的气氛立即消散了。

“可怜的迪克！”女孩说，轻轻地抚摸着它的脖颈，就像孩子一样温柔地摩挲着它。“出发吧，你这个让人恼火的家伙！”她抓起缰绳，用一种半责备、半爱抚的声音说。

马儿向她转过头，用头在她的胳膊上轻轻蹭了一会儿，然后竖起耳朵，轻快地小跑起来，就好像它从来没有起过叛逆的念头一样。

“这只手的力量真神奇！”在路上，我对我的同伴说。

他看了我一会儿，好像我的话让他很吃惊。然后他的眼睛一亮，简短地说：“她是个好孩子。我们都很爱她。”

这真的就是她那神奇力量的秘密吗？她那纤弱的小手的动作所表现出来的精神力量，甚至能感化粗野的心灵！她父亲的解释当然是真的。但我还是曾经被女孩的神奇触摸所感动，并且直到今天仍然感动。我曾经见到过有同样力量的、充满爱意的美好的东西，但是它们都不如女孩的手那样具有魔力。我找不到什么更好的名字，只好称它为“温柔之手”。

（提莫迪·S·亚瑟）

提莫迪·S·亚瑟（1809～1885年），出生于纽约的纽堡附近，但他一生中大多数时光在巴尔蒂摩和费城度过。他没有受过很多良好的教育，应该说他是靠自学成才。他创作了100多部作品，其中很多都是描写家庭和道德的小说，也有很多是发表在杂志上的短小的寓言等等。《酒吧里的十个夜晚》和《陷阱中的三年》是他最知名的作品。

THE GENTLE HAND

When and where it matters not now to relate—but once upon a time, as I was passing through a thinly peopled district of country, night came down upon me almost unawares. Being on foot, I could not hope to gain the village toward which my steps were directed, until a late hour; and I therefore preferred seeking shelter and a night's lodging at the first humble dwelling that presented itself.

Dusky twilight was giving place to deeper shadows, when I found myself in the vicinity of a dwelling, from the small uncurtained windows of which the light shone with a pleasant promise of good cheer and comfort. The house stood within an inclosure, and a short distance from the road along which I was moving with wearied feet.

Turning aside, and passing through the ill hung gate, I approached the dwelling. Slowly the gate swung on its wooden hinges, and the rattle of its latch, in closing, did not disturb the air until I had nearly reached the porch in front of the house, in which a slender girl, who had noticed my entrance, stood awaiting my arrival.

A deep, quick bark answered, almost like an echo, the sound of the shutting gate, and, sudden as an apparition, the form of an immense dog loomed in the doorway. At the instant when he was about to spring, a light hand was laid upon his shaggy neck, and a low word spoken.

“Go in, Tiger,“ said the girl, not in a voice of authority, yet in her gentle tones was the consciousness that she would be obeyed; and, as she spoke, she lightly bore upon the animal with her hand, and he turned away and disappeared within the dwelling.

“Who's that?”A rough voice asked the question; and now a heavy looking man took the dog's place in the door.

“How far is it to G—?”I asked, not deeming it best to say, in the beginning, that I sought a resting place for the night.

“To G—!”growled the man, but not so harshly as at first.“It's good six miles from here.”

“A long distance; and I'm a stranger and on foot,”said I.“If you can make room for me until morning, I will be very thankful.”

I saw the girl's hand move quickly up his arm, until it rested on his shoulder, and now she leaned to him still closer.

“Come in. We'll try what can be done for you.”There was a change in the man's voice that made me wonder. I entered a large room, in which blazed a brisk fire. Before the fire sat two stout lads, who turned upon me their heavy eyes, with no very welcome greeting. A middle aged woman was standing at a table, and two children were amusing themselves with a kitten on the floor.

“A stranger, mother,”said the man who had given me so rude a greeting at the door;“and he wants us to let him stay all night.”

The woman looked at me doubtingly for a few moments, and then replied coldly,“We don't keep a public house.”

“I'm aware of that, ma'am,”said I;“but night has overtaken me, and it's a long way yet to G—.”

“Too far for a tired man to go on foot,”said the master of the house, kindly,“so it's no use talking about it, mother; we must give him a bed.”

So unobtrusively that I scarce noticed the movement, the girl had drawn to her mother's side. What she said to her I did not hear, for the brief words were uttered in a low voice; but I noticed, as she spoke, one small, fair hand rested on the woman's hand.

Was there magic in that touch? The woman's repulsive aspect changed into one of kindly welcome, and she said,“Yes, it's a long way to G—. I guess we can find a place for him.”

Many times more during that evening, did I observe the magic power of that hand and voice—the one gentle yet potent as the other. On the next morning, breakfast being over, I was preparing to take my departure when my host informed me that if I would wait for half an hour he would give me a ride in his wagon to G—, as business required him to go there. I was very well pleased to accept of the invitation.

In due time, the farmer's wagon was driven into the road before the house, and I was invited to get in. I noticed the horse as a rough looking Canadian pony, with a certain air of stubborn endurance. As the farmer took his seat by my side, the family came to the door to see us off.

“Dick!”said the farmer in a peremptory voice, giving the rein a quick jerk as he spoke. But Dick moved not a step.“Dick! you vagabond! get up.”And the farmer's whip cracked sharply by the pony's ear.

It availed not, however, this second appeal. Dick stood firmly disobedient. Next the whip was brought down upon him with an impatient hand; but the pony only reared up a little. Fast and sharp the strokes were next dealt to the number of half a dozen. The man might as well have beaten the wagon, for all his end was gained.

A stout lad now came out into the road, and, catching Dick by the bridle, jerked him forward, using, at the same time, the customary language on such occasions, but Dick met this new ally with increased stubbornness, planting his fore feet more firmly and at a sharper angle with the ground.

The impatient boy now struck the pony on the side of the head with his clinched hand, and jerked cruelly at his bridle. It availed nothing, however; Dick was not to be wrought upon by any such arguments.

“Don't do so, John!”I turned my head as the maiden's sweet voice reached my ear. She was passing through the gate into the road, and in the next moment had taken hold of the lad and drawn him away from the animal. No strength was exerted in this; she took hold of his arm, and he obeyed her wish as readily as if he had no thought beyond her gratification.

And now that soft hand was laid gently on the pony's neck, and a single low word spoken. How instantly were the tense muscles relaxed—how quickly the stubborn air vanished!

“Poor Dick!”said the maiden, as she stroked his neck lightly, or softly patted it with a childlike hand.“Now, go along, you provoking fellow!”she added, in a half chiding, yet affectionate voice, as she drew up the bridle.

The pony turned toward her, and rubbed his head against her arm for an instant or two; then, pricking up his ears, he started off at a light, cheerful trot, and went on his way as freely as if no silly crotchet had ever entered his stubborn brain.

“What a wonderful power that hand possesses!”said I, speaking to my companion, as we rode away.

He looked at me for a moment, as if my remark had occasioned surprise. Then a light came into his countenance, and he said briefly,“She's good! Everybody and everything loves her.”

Was that, indeed, the secret of her power? Was the quality of her soul perceived in the impression of her hand, even by brute beasts! The father's explanation was doubtless the true one. Yet have I ever since wondered, and still do wonder, at the potency which lay in that maiden's magic touch. I have seen something of the same power, showing itself in the loving and the good, but never to the extent as instanced in her, whom, for want of a better name, I must still call“Gentle Hand.”

（Timothy S. Arthur）

第12课　我同情他们

曾经有位穷苦人，他从缅因州的加斯丁迁移到伊利诺伊州。当他试图穿过纽约的一条河时，胯下的马踩穿了桥上腐烂的木头而被淹死了。他只有这一头牲口，扛着所有的行李把他的家人送到新家。

幸运的是，他的老婆和孩子被救了起来，避免落得和马儿一样的下场。但是失去了马匹已经够让他们烦恼的了。它活着的时候一直在帮助这家人运东运西，现在它死了，留下这家人无助地站在陌生的土地上，既没法前进，也不能后退，没有钱，也没有朋友可以依靠。这可真难办。

有很多人从这里经过，有些人甚至取笑他的窘境，但路边渐渐聚集了一堆人，他们非常同情他。但也有些人不太同情他。他们说，他本来就不该企图穿越这条不安全的桥，而应该让他的马游过去。但是，同情他的人还是占了大多数，有些人同情这个人，有些人同情他的马，所有人都同情他那可怜、生病的老婆和他的六个无助的孩子。

这些人中，有一位西部人的孩子，他长得非常强壮，知道跋涉千山万水、在草原上建立一个穷困的家庭有多么不容易。他了解这个人绝望的处境之后，看了看周围的围观者，说：“你们似乎都对这些可怜的人非常同情，请允许我问问你们每个人的同情有多少。”

“陌生人，这里，”他继续说道，举起一张10美元的钞票，“这是我的同情的数额。如果别人都像我这么做，你很快就可以再买一匹马。上帝保佑你。”无需多言，他这一施舍举动很快产生了效果。不久，这位快乐的移民就到达了目的地，现在他的农场经营得蒸蒸日上，而他的邻居正是他的“患难之交”。

I PITY THEM

A poor man once undertook to emigrate from Castine, Me., to Illinois. When he was attempting to cross a river in New York, his horse broke through the rotten timbers of the bridge, and was drowned. He had but this one animal to convey all his property and his family to his new home.

His wife and children were almost miraculously saved from sharing the fate of the horse; but the loss of this poor animal was enough. By its aid the family, it may be said, had lived and moved; now they were left helpless in a land of strangers, without the ability to go on or return, without money or a single friend to whom to appeal. The case was a hard one.

There were a great many who“passed by on the other side.”Some even laughed at the predicament in which the man was placed; but by degrees a group of people began to collect, all of whom pitied him.

Some pitied him a great deal, and some did not pity him very much, because, they said, he might have known better than to try to cross an unsafe bridge, and should have made his horse swim the river. Pity, however, seemed rather to predominate. Some pitied the man, and some the horse; all pitied the poor, sick mother and her six helpless children.

Among this pitying party was a rough son of the West, who knew what it was to migrate some hundreds of miles over new roads to locate a destitute family on a prairie. Seeing the man's forlorn situation, and looking around on the bystanders, he said,“All of you seem to pity these poor people very much, but I would beg leave to ask each of you how much.”

“There, stranger,”continued he, holding up a ten dollar bill,“there is the amount of my pity; and if others will do as I do, you may soon get another pony. God bless you.”It is needless to state the effect that this active charity produced. In a short time the happy emigrant arrived at his destination, and he is now a thriving farmer, and a neighbor to him who was his“friend in need, and a friend indeed.”

第13课　国王查尔斯二世

查尔斯二世，公元1660～1685年期间英格兰统治者。和威廉·佩恩威廉·佩恩（1644～1718年），一位著名的教友会成员，他于1682年来到美国，建立了现在的宾夕法尼亚州。他从印第安人手中购买此州，印第安人对佩恩和他的同伴的公正和善良非常感动，在其他移民者骚扰佩恩等时，常常给他们保护。

查尔斯国王（以下简称为“查”）：嗨，威廉，我的朋友！我把美利坚北部一个富裕的省份卖给了你，但是我看好像你并不打算自己去那里。

佩恩（以下简称“佩”）：不，我打算去的，我向您保证，我的朋友查尔斯。我正是来向您告别的。

查：什么？去美利坚北部的荒蛮之地探险！怎么啦，伙计，你是不是有防御兵，可以保护你上岸2个小时以内不会卷入野蛮人的战争中去？

佩：是呀，世界上最好的防御兵。

查：这我可不好说，威廉。除非你的身边有一大群佩戴刺刀步枪的勇士保护，要不你怎能抵抗那些吃人族。而且别忘了，我可事先告诉你，我给你和你的家人最好的祝愿，我受过你们的恩惠，但是我一个士兵也不会派给你。

佩：我不想要您的士兵，查尔斯，我依赖于比士兵还好的东西。

查：啊！那是什么？

佩：我依赖那些野蛮人本身，依赖他们的心灵，依赖他们的公正，依赖他们的道德观念。

查：不错，道德观念，没错。但是我恐怕美利坚北部的印第安人跟你的想法可不一样。

佩：为什么他们会和别人不一样？

查：因为如果他们有哪怕一点道德观念，就不会那么野蛮地对待我的臣民了。

佩：查尔斯，我的朋友，这并不能说明什么。你的臣民才是侵略者。你的臣民初到北美时，发现那里的人是世界上最友好、最和善的生灵。每天他们都注视他们上岸，匆忙地跑去迎接他们，拿出所有最好的鱼、鹿肉和粮食招待他们。作为对这群好客的所谓“野蛮人”的报答，你所谓的“基督教徒”抢走了他们的家园和富饶的猎场，作为自己的农场。现在这些备受伤害的人当然会对这样的不公正感到绝望，为了报复做出一些极端的事来。

查：好吧，他们那样对待你的话，你可别抱怨。

佩：我不怕。

查：啊！你逃不过的，我猜你也想得到他们的猎场，对吗？

佩：是的，但是我不会把这些可怜的人赶走。

查：真的不会吗？那你怎么得到他们的土地？

佩：我想购买他们的土地。

查：从他们的手里购买土地？可是，伙计，你不是已经从我这里买走了吗？

佩：是的，我知道，而且你的价格不菲呀。但是我这么做只是想接受您的好意，我并不认为他们的土地归您所有。

查：那怎么可能，伙计？他们的土地不归我所有？

佩：是的，查尔斯，我的朋友。不归您所有，根本不归您所有。他们的土地怎么可能归您所有呢？

查：怎么，发现权，当然啦。教皇和所有基督教国王都承认相互给予这种权利。

佩：发现权？这种权利真是奇怪。查尔斯，那么假设这些印第安人乘着木筏漂洋过海，发现了大不列颠岛屿，他们是不是也可以宣布这个岛屿是属于他们的，并卖掉它呢？

查：怎么……怎么……怎么……我只能说，他们真是厚颜无耻。

佩：那么，您作为一名基督徒，一名基督徒王子，怎么能做你谴责野蛮人做的事情呢？那么再假设一下，您拒绝放弃大不列颠岛屿，这些印第安人就对您发动战争，而且他们的武器比您的更有威力，杀死了您的很多臣民，其余人也都逃跑了——您是否认为这太残忍了？

查：我不得不说，威廉，我确实认为这太残忍了。我怎么可能不这么想呢？

佩：那么就是了，我，作为一名基督徒，怎么能做我讨厌蛮夷人做的事呢？不，我不会这么做的。但是我会从真正的所有者那里购买，即使他们是印第安人也好。这样做，我遵照了上帝的公正和仁慈的旨意，这样他才会保佑我的领地——如果我能活到在北美建立自己领地的那一天的话。

（梅森·L·维姆斯）

KING CHARLES II AND WILLIAM PENN

King Charles. Well, friend William! I have sold you a noble province in North America; but still, I suppose you have no thoughts of going thither yourself?

Penn. Yes, I have, I assure thee, friend Charles; and I am just come to bid thee farewell.

K.C. What! venture yourself among the savages of North America! Why, man, what security have you that you will not be in their war kettle in two hours after setting foot on their shores?

P. The best security in the world.

K.C. I doubt that, friend William; I have no idea of any security against those cannibals but in a regiment of good soldiers, with their muskets and bayonets. And mind, I tell you beforehand, that, with all my good will for you and your family, to whom I am under obligations, I will not send a single soldier with you.

P. I want none of thy soldiers, Charles: I depend on something better than thy soldiers.

K.C. Ah! what may that be?

P. Why, I depend upon themselves; on the working of their own hearts; on their notions of justice; on their moral sense.

K.C. A fine thing, this same moral sense, no doubt; but I fear you will not find much of it among the Indians of North America.

P. And why not among them as well as others?

K.C. Because if they had possessed any, they would not have treated my subjects so barbarously as they have done.

P. That is no proof of the contrary, friend Charles. Thy subjects were the aggressors. When thy subjects first went to North America, they found these poor people the fondest and kindest creatures in the world. Every day they would watch for them to come ashore, and hasten to meet them, and feast them on the best fish, and venison, and corn, which were all they had. In return for this hospitality of the savages, as we call them, thy subjects, termed Christians, seized on their country and rich hunting grounds for farms for themselves. Now, is it to be wondered at, that these much injured people should have been driven to desperation by such injustice; and that, burning with revenge, they should have committed some excesses?

K C. Well, then, I hope you will not complain when they come to treat you in the same manner.

P. I am not afraid of it.

K.C. Ah! how will you avoid it? You mean to get their hunting grounds, too, I suppose?

P. Yes, but not by driving these poor people away from them.

K.C. No, indeed? How then will you get their lands?

P. I mean to buy their lands of them.

K.C. Buy their lands of them? Why, man, you have already bought them of me!

P. Yes, I know I have, and at a dear rate, too; but I did it only to get thy good will, not that I thought thou hadst any right to their lands.

K.C. How, man? no right to their lands?

P. No, friend Charles, no right; no right at all: what right hast thou to their lands?

K.C. Why, the right of discovery, to be sure; the right which the Pope and all Christian kings have agreed to give one another.

P. The right of discovery? A strange kind of right, indeed. Now suppose, friend Charles, that some canoe load of these Indians, crossing the sea, and discovering this island of Great Britain, were to claim it as their own, and set it up for sale over thy head, what wouldst thou think of it?

K.C. Why—why—why—I must confess, I should think it a piece of great impudence in them.

P. Well, then, how canst thou, a Christian, and a Christian prince, too, do that which thou so utterly condemnest in these people whom thou callest savages? And suppose, again, that these Indians, on thy refusal to give up thy island of Great Britain, were to make war on thee, and, having weapons more destructive than thine, were to destroy many of thy subjects, and drive the rest away—wouldst thou not think it horribly cruel?

K. C. I must say, friend William, that I should; how can I say otherwise?

P. Well, then, how can I, who call myself a Christian, do what I should abhor even in the heathen? No. I will not do it. But I will buy the right of the proper owners, even of the Indians themselves. By doing this, I shall imitate God himself in his justice and mercy, and thereby insure his blessing on my colony, if I should ever live to plant one in North America.

（Mason L. Weems）

第14课　正直的人永远不会被抛弃

一个星期六晚上，松树堡的寡妇和她的5个呀呀学语的孩子围坐在火堆旁，她倾听着孩子们说笑，试图驱散自己心头的愁云。一年以来，她一直用自己无力的双手努力支撑她的家庭，她没有旁人可以依靠：在这个广阔、冰冷的世界里，她一个朋友都没有。

但神奇的上帝眷顾着她，上帝已经了解了她的病痛和困苦。现在正是隆冬，周围的森林全被皑皑白雪覆盖，疾风从松树间呼啸而过，震撼着她的屋子。她用煤炭烤着最后一只青鱼。这是她仅有的最后一点食物，当她看到孩子们的时候，她凄苦、无助的内心充满了焦虑。不错，虽然她知道上帝曾许诺帮助孤儿寡母，虽然她知道上帝不会忘记他说过的话，她还是感到非常凄苦。

好几年前上帝已经从她身边带走了她的长子。他离开森林中的家，去遥远的海边寻找财富，一去不归，杳无音讯。后来，上帝借死神之手，带走了她的伴侣和她的福祉——她的丈夫。但直到这时她都没有失去支柱。她不仅供应自己孩子的吃穿，还总是帮助穷困无助的人。

懒惰的人只要能生存，就能忍受贫穷。只考虑自己的人，在严冬会受到考验。他的感情不会受伤，他的心灵不会受折磨。热闹的城市中最无助的人也应该抱有希望，因为仁爱还没有完全收回她施舍的双手，关闭她的心灵，面对痛苦闭上她的双眼。

但是这群无助孩子的勤劳母亲，离人类的仁爱还很远，这些都不能安慰她。松树堡的这位寡妇就是这样一个人。当她向火焰弯下身，将最后的一点食物分给她的孩子的时候，她的精神好像突然被一种神秘的冲动所鼓舞，变得愉快起来，她的头脑中突然出现考珀美丽的诗句：

上帝不是通过脆弱的感觉判断，

我们应该相信他的仁慈；

在紧锁的眉头后面，

他有一张微笑的脸。

她刚刚把青鱼放在桌上，门口就响起了轻轻的敲门声和嘈杂的狗吠声，一家人的注意全被吸引过去。孩子们跑过去打开门，门口出现了一位疲惫的旅人，他衣冠不整，但身体健康。他走进来，想借宿一晚，并要一口吃的。他说：“我已经有24个小时没吃过东西了。”寡妇的心很难过，她关心的不仅仅是自己那些家务事。即使现在，她也没有犹豫，她把自己剩余的食物分了一些给这位陌生人。她说：“我们不会因为一个善行而被抛弃，或承受更深重的苦难。”

陌生人走近盘子，但是当他看到只有这么一点点食物时，他抬起头吃惊地看着上天：“这就是你们所有的东西？”他问道，“而且还把它分给你不认识的人？我以前从未见过这样的善行。但是，女士，”他继续说道，“你把最后的一口食物分给一位陌生人，这样不是太委屈你的孩子了吗？”

“啊！”这位可怜的寡妇说，泪水顺着她的脸庞滑下，“我有个儿子，我亲爱的儿子，如果上帝没有把他带走，他一定在世界的某个角落。我这样对待你，希望别人也这样对待他。上帝从天堂散布甘露，就像他供养以色列人一样，他也会供养我们。今晚，我的儿子也许在流浪，像你一样穷困，要是他能被一个家庭收留，哪怕这个家庭和我的家一样破旧，我怎么能违背上帝，不救济你而让你离开呢？”

寡妇话音刚落，陌生人就从椅子上跳起，双手抱住了她。“上帝真的让一个家庭收留了你的儿子，而且给了他财富，让他报答收留他的人：我的母亲！哦，我的母亲！”他就是那杳无音讯的儿子，从印度回到了她的怀抱。他掩饰了他的身份，想给家人一个惊喜。的确，这是最完美、最甜蜜快乐的惊喜。

THE RIGHTEOUS NEVER FORSAKEN

It was Saturday night, and the widow of the Pine Cottage sat by her blazing fagots, with her five tattered children at her side, endeavoring by listening to the artlessness of their prattle to dissipate the heavy gloom that pressed upon her mind. For a year, her own feeble hand had provided for her helpless family, for she had no supporter: she thought of no friend in all the wide, unfriendly world around.

But that mysterious Providence, the wisdom of whose ways is above human comprehension, had visited her with wasting sickness, and her little means had become exhausted. It was now, too, midwinter, and the snow lay heavy and deep through all the surrounding forests, while storms still seemed gathering in the heavens, and the driving wind roared amid the neighboring pines, and rocked her puny mansion.

The last herring smoked upon the coals before her; it was the only article of food she possessed, and no wonder her forlorn, desolate state brought up in her lone bosom all the anxieties of a mother when she looked upon her children: and no wonder, forlorn as she was, if she suffered the heart swellings of despair to rise, even though she knew that He, whose promise is to the widow and to the orphan, can not forget his word.

Providence had many years before taken from her her eldest son, who went from his forest home to try his fortune on the high seas, since which she had heard no tidings of him; and in her latter time had, by the hand of death, deprived her of the companion and staff of her earthly pilgrimage, in the person of her husband. Yet to this hour she had upborne; she had not only been able to provide for her little flock, but had never lost an opportunity of ministering to the wants of the miserable and destitute.

The indolent may well bear with poverty while the ability to gain sustenance remains. The individual who has but his own wants to supply may suffer with fortitude the winter of want; his affections are not wounded, his heart is not wrung. The most desolate in populous cities may hope, for charity has not quite closed her hand and heart, and shut her eyes on misery.

But the industrious mother of helpless and depending children, far from the reach of human charity, has none of these to console her. And such a one was the widow of the Pine Cottage; but as she bent over the fire, and took up the last scanty remnant of food to spread before her children, her spirits seemed to brighten up, as by some sudden and mysterious impulse, and Cowper's beautiful lines came uncalled across her mind:

“Judge not the Lord by feeble sense.

But trust him for his grace;

Behind a frowning Providence

He hides a smiling face.”

The smoked herring was scarcely laid upon the table, when a gentle rap at the door, and the loud barking of a dog, attracted the attention of the family. The children flew to open it, and a weary traveler, in tattered garments and in apparently indifferent health; entered, and begged a lodging and a mouthful of food. Said he:“It is now twenty four hour's since I tasted bread.”The widow's heart bled anew, as under a fresh complication of distresses; for her sympathies lingered not around her fireside. She hesitated not even now; rest, and a share of all she had, she proffered to the stranger.“‘We shall not be forsaken,”said she,“or suffer deeper for an act of charity.”

The traveler drew near the board, but when he saw the scanty fare, he raised his eyes toward heaven with astonishment:“And is this all your store?”said he;“and a share of this do you offer to one you know not? then never saw I charity before! But, madam,”said he, continuing,“do you not wrong your children by giving a part of your last mouthful to a stranger?”

“Ah,”said the poor widow—and the tear drops gushed into her eyes as she said it—“I have a boy, a darling son, somewhere on the face of the wide world, unless Heaven has taken him away, and I only act toward you as I would that others should act toward him. God, who sent manna from heaven, can provide for us as he did for Israel; and how should I this night offend him, if my son should be a wanderer, destitute as you, and he should have provided for him a home, even poor as this, were I to turn you unrelieved away!”

The widow ended, and the stranger, springing from his seat, clasped her in his arms.“God indeed has provided your son a home, and has given him wealth to reward the goodness of his benefactress: my mother! oh, my mother!”It was her long lost son, returned to her bosom from the Indies. He had chosen that disguise that he might the more completely surprise his family; and never was surprise more perfect, or followed by a sweeter cup of joy.

第15课　露西·弗洛斯特

露西只有6岁，但是像小仙女一样天不怕地不怕。她经常一个人去山坡，到离家两三英里远的地方买杂货。她的父母有什么可担心的？小路很坚固，没有危险，小孩子在玩耍时也不用太小心。露西哼着小曲跑进矮树林，又哼着小曲从山那边出来。她的小手扶着围栏，沿着木桥滑行，或在小溪中的石头上蹦过来蹦过去。

这个小家伙一去就是几个小时，家中不会有人为她担心。她挎着小篮子，可能是去向邻居借家庭用品，或者是自己去玩，跑到山坡上、花丛间，回来的时候满身花环。

有一天，梅恩斯邀请快乐的露西到雷蒂赛德（两英里外的一个农场）过了一整天，从早晨到晚上。太阳升起来之后一个小时，她就离开了家。

她不在家时，家里很安静，但是很快乐。夜晚还没到来，露西随时都可能回家。麦克、阿格妮斯和伊沙贝尔，她的爸爸、妈妈、姨妈去路上迎接她。他们走呀走呀，一路上没有碰到露西，觉得有些奇怪，但是一点儿也不着急。到达雷蒂赛德时，他们听见屋子里孩子们欢快的叫声，在假期快结束时，他们还在折腾呢！雅各布·梅恩斯来开门，但是当他们礼貌地询问为什么他没有让露西在太阳落山前回家时，他看上去非常痛苦惊奇，并说她根本没有到雷蒂赛德来。

不到两个小时，100多个人已经在各个方向寻找露西，他们甚至跑到可怜的露西不太可能去的地方。一整夜，牧羊人和牧羊犬找遍了每个角落，每个崎岖多岩的地方，翻遍了石南花丛，甚至察看了可以藏匿活人或死尸的岩石缝，但还是没有找到露西。

有一段时间，她的妈妈似乎受到超自然力量的鼓舞，也加入到寻找的队伍中，她的心怦怦跳着，察看每块石头背后，或是倾听着山谷中每声喊叫的回音，想辨认女儿的声音，或是发现什么。但是月亮沉下去了，然后星星也沉下去了，本来它们照亮着道路，现在都消失了。然后，灰色的黎明出现了，天渐渐亮了——麦克和阿格妮斯还是没有找到他们的孩子。

“她陷进沼泽地里了吧，”麦克对他旁边的一个人说，没有看他的脸，“这对她多么残忍呀！泥土在我孩子的头顶上弥合，把她埋在里面了，我们再也见不到她了！”

最后，离开了这群人、跑到大道上的一个人，朝麦克和其他人跑过来，胳膊里还夹着什么东西。阿格妮斯躺在麦克身边的草地上，显然是过于疲惫了。那个人犹犹豫豫地走过来，麦克看到他拿着露西的帽子、衣服和格子披肩。

大家都看到了露西围在脖子上的褶边上的斑斑血迹。“谋杀！谋杀！”人们惊呼着。但是阿格妮斯没有听到这些话，她经历了整整一夜希望与失望的折磨，已经劳累不堪地睡着了，大概在梦中继续寻找着她的露西宝贝呢。

伊沙贝尔接过衣服，仔细地察看、抚摸着，然后她激动地叫嚷起来。麦克虽然已经非常绝望，也听到了她的话：“不，露西还活着。衣服上没有挣扎的痕迹，谋杀者也没有在衣服上留下痕迹。这些血迹是有人故意弄上去掩人耳目的。而且为什么谋杀者不把这些东西带走呢？为什么他要谋杀她？但是，哦，干吗要这么绝望，这样太愚蠢了！我在说什么呢？虽然这个世界很残酷——唉，非常残酷——但是怎么会有人要谋杀我们的孩子？我看事情显而易见，露西是被卑鄙的吉卜赛乞丐偷走了。”

人群静静地疏散开，人们骑着马四处搜索。有些到公路上搜索，有些到小路上搜索，还有很多人到没有路径的山上搜索。现在，他们多少都松了口气，因为既然孩子没有死，其他的不幸就算不了什么，他们心中充满希望，认为她会回到他们的怀抱。

阿格妮斯支撑着从布拉肯山走回了家，麦克和伊沙贝尔坐在她身边。她精疲力竭，听着树叶沙沙作响，看着窗外的树影。时间慢慢流逝，黄昏降临了。“我听到山坡上有脚步声，”阿格妮斯本来在睡觉，忽然冒出这么一句。她的话音刚落，雅各布·梅恩斯的声音就在门外响起。

雅各布表情严肃，看上去不可能带来什么好消息。麦克站起身来，直视着他。他的表情似乎并不是十分悲伤。麦克想：“如果他没有听说我孩子的事，他也不会关心他的家人。”“哦，快说，快说，”阿格妮斯说，“不过你也不用说什么了。没有希望了，露西一定是在天堂了。”“有人发现了她的踪迹。昨天晚上，有人在克拉文福特看到一位妇女，她带着的孩子不像是她自己的孩子，她们今天早上离开的。”“你听见了吗，我亲爱的阿格妮斯？”伊沙贝尔说道，“她可能会带着露西到埃迪克或雅卢去。但是她会被人们看到的。这些山谷虽然幽静，但人烟可不少。她还到不了哈维克，就会被人们捉住的。我小时候就知道这个地方。你说是不是，梅恩斯先生？看得出你也满怀希望。”“毫无疑问，女士，那就是露西。每个人都十分肯定。如果那是我自己的孩子瑞切尔，我会非常希望今晚就能见到她。”

雅各布·梅恩斯拉过一把椅子坐下，脸上还笑嘻嘻的。“现在我可以告诉你，瓦迪·奥利佛知道那是你们的孩子，他在嘉拉·布里格看到她跟在一位吉普赛人后面一瘸一拐地走。但是那时他没有怀疑什么，所以没有特别注意——但是他看的这一眼已经足够了，他发誓那就是你们的漂亮的露西·弗洛斯特。”

这时，伊沙贝尔姨妈已经在桌子上摆上面包、奶酪和她自己酿造的陈年桂花酒。“不知道你去哪儿了，梅恩斯先生，但是看得出你跑了不少路。吃几块点心吧。”麦克做了祷告。

雅各布觉得现在他可以公布所有真相了。“不，不，埃尔文斯太太，我太高兴了，根本吃不下东西。你们准备好了，我有个好消息要告诉你们。你们的孩子就在附近，是我找到她的，现在，我就要拉着她的手，把她送回她的父母身边。”

阿格妮斯听到这话，从床上支撑着坐起来，但是又轻轻落在枕头上。伊沙贝尔姨妈一动不动地坐在椅子上。麦克站了起来，感觉好像大地在他脚下塌陷。有一段时间屋子里静得出奇，然后响起很多声音，声音逐渐平息了。大家都急切地、而又有些犹豫地向门口望去。

雅各布·梅恩斯没有完全遵守他的诺言，因为他没有拉着露西的手把她带回父母身旁。他们的孩子穿着自己的连衣裙，戴着帽子，披着披肩，满脸高兴的眼泪，跑了进来。她的爸爸把她抱进了妈妈的怀里。

（约翰·维尔森）

约翰·维尔森（1785～1854年），被称为“北方的克里斯托夫”，著名论家。他生于苏格兰的派斯里，在牛津的格拉斯哥大学接受过教育。1808年，他移居英格兰的维斯莫尔兰德，在那里组织了一个诗人的“湖畔学校”。在牛津时，他一首关于“绘画、诗歌和建筑”的诗歌获了奖。1820年，他成为爱丁堡大学道德哲学教授，直到1851年。1822～1825年间，作为在《黑森林》杂志上发表的《诺克塔斯·安伯罗斯安纳》组文的主要作者，他获得了一生中最高的荣誉。在他的诗歌中，《棕榈树岛》和《瘟疫之城》都很有名。本文选自描写苏格兰生活的寓言《弗洛斯特家的人》。

LUCY FORESTER

Lucy was only six years old, but bold as a fairy; she had gone by herself a thousand times about the braes, and often upon errands to houses two or three miles distant. What had her parents to fear? The footpaths were all firm, and led to no places of danger, nor are infants themselves incautious when alone in then pastimes. Lucy went singing into the low woods, and singing she reappeared on the open hillside. With her small white hand on the rail, she glided along the wooden bridge, or tripped from stone to stone across the shallow streamlet.

The creature would be away for hours, and no fear be felt on her account by anyone at home; whether she had gone, with her basket on her arm, to borrow some articles of household use from a neighbor, or, merely for her own solitary delight, had wandered off to the braes to play among the flowers, coming back laden with wreaths and garlands.

The happy child had been invited to pass a whole day, from morning to night, at Ladyside（a farmhouse about two miles off）with her playmates the Maynes; and she left home about an hour after sunrise.

During her absence, the house was silent but happy, and, the evening being now far advanced, Lucy was expected home every minute, and Michael, Agnes, and Isabel, her father, mother, and aunt, went to meet her on the way. They walked on and on, wondering a little, but in no degree alarmed till they reached Ladyside, and heard the cheerful din of the children within, still rioting at the close of the holiday. Jacob Mayne came to the door, but, on their kindly asking why Lucy had not been sent home before daylight was over, he looked painfully surprised, and said that she had not been at Ladyside.

Within two hours, a hundred persons were traversing the hills in all directions, even at a distance which it seemed most unlikely that poor Lucy could have reached. The shepherds and their dogs, all the night through, searched every nook, every stony and rocky place, every piece of taller heather, every crevice that could conceal anything alive or dead: but no Lucy was there.

Her mother, who for a while seemed inspired with supernatural strength, had joined in the search, and with a quaking heart looked into every brake, or stopped and listened to every shout and halloo reverberating among the hills, intent to seize upon some tone of recognition or discovery. But the moon sank; and then the stars, whose increased brightness had for a short time supplied her place, all faded away; and then came the gray dawn of the morning, and then the clear brightness of the day,—and still Michael and Agnes were childless.

“She has sunk into some mossy or miry place,”said Michael, to a man near him, into whose face he could not look,“a cruel, cruel death to one like her! The earth on which my child walked has closed over her, and we shall never see her more!”

At last, a man who had left the search, and gone in a direction toward the highroad, came running with something in his arms toward the place where Michael and others were standing beside Agnes, who lay, apparently exhausted almost to dying, on the sward. He approached hesitatingly; and Michael saw that he carried Lucy's bonnet, clothes, and plaid.

It was impossible not to see some spots of blood upon the frill that the child had worn around her neck.“Murdered! murdered!”was the one word whispered or ejaculated all around; but Agnes heard it not; for, worn out by that long night of hope and despair, she had fallen asleep, and was, perhaps, seeking her lost Lucy in her dreams.

Isabel took the clothes, and, narrowly inspecting them with eye and hand, said, with a fervent voice that was heard even in Michael's despair,“No, Lucy is yet among the living. There are no marks of violence on the garments of the innocent; no murderer's hand has been here. These blood spots have been put here to deceive. Besides, would not the murderer have carried off these things? For what else would he have murdered her? But, oh! foolish despair! What speak I of? For, wicked as the world is—ay! desperately wicked—there is not, on all the surface of the wide earth, a hand that would murder our child! Is it not plain as the sun in the heaven, that Lucy has been stolen by some wretched gypsy beggar?”

The crowd quietly dispersed, and horse and foot began to scour the country. Some took the highroads, others all the bypaths, and many the trackless hills. Now that they were in some measure relieved from the horrible belief that the child was dead, the worst other calamity seemed nothing, for hope brought her back to their arms.

Agnes had been able to walk home to Bracken Braes, and Michael and Isabel sat by her bedside. All her strength was gone, and she lay at the mercy of the rustle of a leaf, or a shadow across the window. Thus hour after hour passed, till it was again twilight.“I hear footsteps coming up the brae,”said Agnes, who had for some time appeared to be slumbering; and in a few moments the voice of Jacob Mayne was heard at the outer door.

Jacob wore a solemn expression of countenance, and he seemed, from his looks, to bring no comfort. Michael stood up between him and his wife, and looked into his heart. Something there seemed to be in his face that was not miserable.“If he has heard nothing of my child,”thought Michael,“this man must care little for his own fireside.”“Oh, speak, speak,”said Agnes;“yet why need you speak? All this has been but a vain belief, and Lucy is in heaven.”

“Something like a trace of her has been discovered; a woman, with a child that did not look like a child of hers, was last night at Clovenford, and left it at the dawning.”“Do you hear that, my beloved Agnes?”said Isabel;“she will have tramped away with Lucy up into Ettrick or Yarrow; but hundreds of eyes will have been upon her; for these are quiet but not solitary glens; and the hunt will be over long before she has crossed down upon Hawick. I knew that country in my young days, What say you, Mr. Mayne? There is the light of hope in your face.”“There is no reason to doubt, ma’am, that it was Lucy. Everybody is sure of it. If it was my own Rachel, I should have no fear as to seeing her this blessed night.”

Jacob Mayne now took a chair, and sat down, with even a smile upon his countenance.“I may tell you now, that Watty Oliver knows it was your child, for he saw her limping along after the gypsy at Galla Brigg; but, having no suspicion, he did not take a second look at her,—but one look is sufficient, and he swears it was bonny Lucy Forester.”

Aunt Isabel, by this time, had bread and cheese and a bottle of her own elder flower wine on the table.“You have been a long and hard journey, wherever you have been, Mr. Mayne; take some refreshment;”and Michael asked a blessing.

Jacob saw that he might now venture to reveal the whole truth.“No, no, Mrs. Irving, I am over happy to eat or to drink. You are all prepared for the blessing that awaits you. Your child is not far off; and I myself, for it is I myself that found her, will bring her by the hand, and restore her to her parents.”

Agnes had raised herself up in her bed at these words, but she sank gently back on her pillow; aunt Isabel was rooted to her chair; and Michael, as he rose up, felt as if the ground were sinking under his feet. There was a dead silence all around the house for a short space, and then the sound of many voices, which again by degrees subsided. The eyes of all then looked, and yet feared to look, toward the door.

Jacob Mayne was not so good as his word, for he did not bring Lucy by the hand to restore her to her parents; but dressed again in her own bonnet and gown, and her own plaid, in rushed their own child, by herself, with tears and sobs of joy, and her father laid her within her mother's bosom.

（John Wilson）

第16课　镇上的水泵

（场景——两条大街的角落。镇上的水泵用鼻子说着话）

北面的钟敲响了12响！东边的钟敲响了12响！正午了，阳光差不多垂直地照在我的脑袋上，我鼻子下面的水槽里的水都冒烟了，快被太阳晒得滚开冒泡了。真是，我们这些公众人物的日子真不好过！镇上所有每年被选中参加年度镇委会的官员中，有哪一个像我——这位镇上的水泵一样，肩负这么多职责，哪怕只有一年？

“镇财库保管员”的称号于我当之无愧，我保管这镇上最宝贵的财富。监督穷人的人应该选举我做他们的主席，因为我为穷苦人供应物品，而且不用上税。我是消防部的头儿，还是卫生董事会的一名外科医生。我维护治安，所有在我这里饮水的人都说我都能当治安官了。我还是半个镇书记员。我的胸前总是贴满告示，向大家传播消息。

保守地说，我是镇上的主要人物，我的冷静、稳重、正直、坦率、公正和坚定不移，为镇上的官员们树立了好榜样。不论是夏天还是冬天，我都不会拒绝人们的请求。白天，我站在市场上最繁华的角落，伸出我的胳膊，对穷人和富人一视同仁。夜晚，我举着一只电灯，告诉人们我在哪儿，让人们别跌进水沟里。

在这个燥热的正午，我为干渴的人们斟满一杯杯甘露，我的胸前拴着一只铁酒杯，就像一个卖酒贩一样，我用我朴实的口音大声向来往的人叫卖：“喂，先生们！这里有好酒！过来，过来，先生，过来，过来！这里有上等好酒！天父亚当没掺杂物的纯啤酒！比白兰地、杜松子、牙买加甜酒还好，比任何价钱的酒都要好。这里有一大桶，一分都不收！来呀，先生们，来享受吧！”

要是这种吆喝都没吸引来一个顾客，那就太遗憾了。他们来了。今天真是个大热天，先生，干了再走，出一身爽快的汗。你呀，我的朋友，你应该再来一杯，冲洗你灰尘仆仆的喉咙，我看它比你的鞋还脏。我看你今天一定已经走了六七里地了，你真聪明，没到客栈里，却来到路边的水槽旁。不然，天这么热，你早就被烤成煤渣了，或者像水母一样化掉了。

喝吧，给别人也留点地儿，他需要我的帮助，帮他平息昨晚的酒精在他肚子里点起的火。欢迎，先生，您的脸色红扑扑的！你和我曾经是陌生人，但是，你慢慢喝，直到你的呼吸平静一些。

慢点，朋友！你的喉咙呼呼做响，简直像地狱一样，你真是委屈你的胃了。再喝一口，然后就像一个诚实的嗜酒之徒那样告诉我，你是否曾经在酒窖里、客栈里、或别的什么卖酒的地方，用本来要给你的孩子买食物的钱，换了一大口美酒喝？现在，10年来第一次，你知道了冷水有多甘美。再见，不论什么时候，只要你感到口渴，别忘了，我一直在老地方等你。

下一个是谁？哎，我的小朋友，你刚刚放学，到镇上的水泵这里来搓搓你粉红的脸蛋，想想学校的教鞭和其他男孩的烦恼。喝吧，它像你年轻的生命一样纯净！喝吧，希望你的心灵和舌头再也不要被这样的干渴折磨了。

那，我亲爱的孩子，放下杯子，给这位老先生让让地儿。他走过石阶的时候那么小心，我猜他是怕把它们打破。什么？他那么轻蔑地从我身边经过，就好像我热情的邀请只对没有酒窖的人有意义一样。

好吧，好吧，先生，没关系，我希望！走吧，拔起塞子，举起酒瓶。但要是你的大脚趾让你疼得叫唤的话，你可别赖我。如果先生们喜欢温柔的水珠为您搔痒，这对镇上的水泵都是一样。这只口渴的狗卷着舌头，它不蔑视我的好客，却站在它的后腿上，焦急地泼溅着水槽里的水。看，他轻快地跳着走了！

善良的人们，请你们原谅！我必须打断我的畅流，为这位赶车人和他的两头牛喷个水柱。他们一路从斯道恩顿或别的什么地方赶来。我最喜欢做的事就是饮牛了。看呀！水槽里的水很快就被他们喝光了，直到他们的胃里装了有一两加仑的水吧，他们才腾出功夫喘口气，高兴地叹息着！现在，他们的眼睛安静地沿着巨大的饮水槽四处逡巡着。牛的酒量可真大。我认为自己是这个时代伟大的改革家。我的龙头里——我的龙头多么美好——流出的水，能清洗我们的星球上很多的罪恶和苦闷。在这方面，奶牛是我的同盟者。牛奶和水！

哎呀！做了这么长的演说，真是口渴得厉害，尤其我还是个不熟练的演说家。在这之前，我从来没有体会过，要是演讲之中不能喝水有多痛苦。有哪位好心的基督徒，帮我把泵压上一两下，我只要润润喉咙。谢谢你，先生，但是别停下呀。

镇上的水泵和奶牛！这是个光荣的联盟，能驱走人们所有的干渴。神圣的成就！那样穷困将从大地上消失，它将再也找不到一个穷困破落的茅屋落脚。那样疾病也将再也找不到牺牲品，而只有折磨自己的心灵，直到被死神带走。那样，罪恶，即使她不死的话，也会失去一半力量。

那样家庭再也不会有战争。丈夫和妻子美美地享受着宁静的欢乐，平静温和地爱恋着对方，手牵手地度过一生，然后心满意足地躺下，继续享受两人的亲密。对他们来说，过去不是混乱的噩梦，未来不是醉鬼酒醉疯狂过后的时刻。他们死去的脸颊上逗留着一丝微笑，那微笑充满着回忆和希望，它告诉我们他们的灵魂过去在哪儿，今后要到哪里去。

那么，尽情地饮用吧，振作起来吧！水是那么纯净冰冷，恰似它刚刚滋润过红色猎人的喉咙，从苍老的树枝下淌过，但是现在，这种原始的野性只能在滚烫的石头下体会了，这里只有石头建筑投下的影子。但是，这水仍然是健康、和平、幸福的源泉，而且我非常乐观地肯定，虽然从我们的父辈开始水就被忽视了，但是冰冷的水的价值将会被所有人赞叹、珍惜。

（纳撒尼尔·霍桑）

纳撒尼尔·霍桑（1804～1864年），出生于马萨诸塞州的萨勒姆。他于1825年毕业于堡多因学院。他最早期的文学作品是为期刊写的，出版了两册，第一册在1837年出版，第二册在1842年出版，题目是《陈腐的寓言》。他的另一部寓言和小品集《牧师家的苔藓》出版于1845年。1846年到1850年间他担任萨勒姆港口检查员。1852年他被任命为利物浦美国领事。在这一职位任职5年后，他周游了美洲。他最著名的作品有：《红字》，这一作品显示了对人性的深刻理解，还有《有七面山墙的房子》、《布里瑟戴尔传奇》和《大理石牧羊人》——很多人认为这是他最好的一部作品。霍桑先生为人谦逊，不善交际，不爱抛头露面。他的多数作品都非常有想象力，作为一个散文作家，他的成就在美国作家中享有盛誉。他在访问白山时，逝世于新罕布什尔州的普雷毛斯。

THE TOWN PUMP

［SCENE.—The corner of two principal streets. The Town Pump talking through its nose.］

Noon, by the north clock! Noon, by the east! High noon, too, by those hot sunbeams which fall, scarcely aslope, upon my head, and almost make the water bubble and smoke in the trough under my nose. Truly, we public characters have a tough time of it! And among all the town officers, chosen at the yearly meeting, where is he that sustains, for a single year, the burden of such manifold duties as are imposed, in perpetuity, upon the Town Pump?

The title of town treasurer is rightfully mine, as guardian of the best treasure the town has. The overseers of the poor ought to make me their chairman, since I provide bountifully for the pauper, without expense to him that pays taxes. I am at the head of the fire department, and one of the physicians of the board of health. As a keeper or the peace, all water drinkers confess me equal to the constable. I perform some of the duties of the town clerk, by promulgating public notices, when they are pasted on my front.

To speak within bounds, I am chief person of the municipality, and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother officers by the cool, steady, upright, downright, and impartial discharge of my business, and the constancy with which I stand to my post. Summer or winter, nobody seeks me in vain; for all day long I am seen at the busiest corner, just above the market, stretching out my arms to rich and poor alike; and at night I hold a lantern over my head, to show where I am, and to keep people out of the gutters.

At this sultry noontide, I am cupbearer to the parched populace, for whose benefit an iron goblet is chained to my waist Like a dramseller on the public square, on a muster day, I cry aloud to all and sundry, in my plainest accents, and at the very tiptop of my voice.“Here it is, gentlemen! Here is the good liquor! Walk up, walk up, gentlemen, walk up, walk up! Here is the superior stuff! Here is the unadulterated ale of father Adam! better than Cognac, Hollands, Jamaica, strong beer, or wine of any price; here it is, by the hogshead or the single glass, and not a cent to pay. Walk up, gentlemen, walk up and help yourselves!”

It were a pity if all this outcry should draw no customers. Here they come. A hot day, gentlemen. Quaff and away again, so as to keep yourselves in a nice, cool sweat. You, my friend, will need another cupful to wash the dust out of your throat, if it be as thick there as it is on your cowhide shoes. I see that you have trudged half a score of miles to day, and, like a wise man, have passed by the taverns, and stopped at the running brooks and well curbs. Otherwise, betwixt heat without and fire within, you would have been burnt to a cinder, or melted down to nothing at all—in the fashion of a jellyfish.

Drink, and make room for that other fellow, who seeks my aid to quench the fiery fever of last night's potations, which he drained from no cup of mine. Welcome, most rubicund sir! You and I have been strangers hitherto; nor, to confess the truth, will my nose be anxious for a closer intimacy, till the fumes of your breath be a little less potent.

Mercy on you, man! The water absolutely hisses down your red hot gullet, and is converted quite into steam in the miniature Tophet, which you mistake for a stomach. Fill again, and tell me, on the word of an honest toper, did you ever, in cellar, tavern, or any other kind of dramshop, spend the price of your children's food for a swig half so delicious? Now, for the first time these ten years, you know the flavor of cold water. Good by; and whenever you are thirsty, recollect that I keep a constant supply at the old stand.

Who next? Oh, my little friend, you are just let loose from school, and come hither to scrub your blooming face, and drown the memory of certain taps of the ferule, and other schoolboy troubles, in a draught from the Town Pump. Take it, pure as the current of your young life; take it, and may your heart and tongue never be scorched with a fiercer thirst than now.

There, my dear child, put down the cup, and yield your place to this elderly gentleman, who treads so tenderly over the paving stones that I suspect he is afraid of breaking them. What! he limps by without so much as thanking me, as if my hospitable offers were meant only for people who have no wine cellars.

Well, well, sir, no harm done, I hope! Go, draw the cork, tip the decanter; but when your great toe shall set you a roaring, it will be no affair of mine. If gentlemen love the pleasant titillation of the gout, it is all one to the Town Pump. This thirsty dog, with his red tongue lolling out, does not scorn my hospitality, but stands on his hind legs, and laps eagerly out of the trough. See how lightly he capers away again! Jowler, did your worship ever have the gout?

Your pardon, good people! I must interrupt my stream of eloquence, and spout forth a stream of water to replenish the trough for this teamster and his two yoke of oxen, who have come all the way from Staunton, or somewhere along that way. No part of my business gives me more pleasure than the watering of cattle. Look! how rapidly they lower the watermark on the sides of the trough, till their capacious stomachs are moistened with a gallon or two apiece, and they can afford time to breathe, with sighs of calm enjoyment! Now they roll their quiet eyes around the brim of their monstrous drinking vessel. An ox is your true toper.

I hold myself the grand reformer of the age. From my spout, and such spouts as mine, must flow the stream that shall cleanse our earth of a vast portion of its crime and anguish, which have gushed from the fiery fountains of the still. In this mighty enterprise, the cow shall be my great confederate. Milk and water!

Ahem! Dry work this speechifying, especially to all unpracticed orators. I never conceived till now what toil the temperance lecturers undergo for my sake. Do, some kind Christian, pump a stroke or two, just to wet my whistle. Thank you, sir. But to proceed.

The Town Pump and the Cow! Such is the glorious partnership that shall finally monopolize the whole business of quenching thirst. Blessed consummation! Then Poverty shall pass away from the land, finding no hovel so wretched where her squalid form may shelter itself. Then Disease, for lack of other victims, shall gnaw his own heart and die. Then Sin, if she do not die, shall lose half her strength.

Then there will be no war of households. The husband and the wife, drinking deep of peaceful joy, a calm bliss of temperate affections, shall pass hand in hand through life, and lie down, not reluctantly, at its protracted close. To them the past will be no turmoil of mad dreams, nor the future an eternity of such moments as follow the delirium of a drunkard. Their dead faces shall express what their spirits were, and are to be, by a lingering smile of memory and hope.

Drink, then, and be refreshed! The water is as pure and cold as when it slaked the thirst of the red hunter, and flowed beneath the aged bough, though now this gem of the wilderness is treasured under these hot stones, where no shadow falls, but from the brick buildings. But, still is this fountain the source of health, peace, and happiness, and I behold, with certainty and joy, the approach of the period when the virtues of cold water, too little valued since our father's days, will be fully appreciated and recognized by all.

（Nathaniel Hawthorne）

第17课　香水月季

在会客间的窗台上，一个精巧的乌檀木架子上摆放着一只玲珑的绿色花瓶，花瓶里插着香水月季。厚厚的、垂着华贵流苏缎子的窗帘从窗户两边悬挂下来，周围是一件挨一件稀有的、珍贵的小摆设。但是，这支朴素的月季是它们中间最美丽的一个。它看上去那么纯净，白色的花瓣娇嫩欲滴、甘如凝脂。圆润的花头曲线完美，微微低垂，似乎是由于太过饱满而开始融化——唉！人类所制造的任何物件哪能与这鲜活的、完美的花朵相媲美！

阳光穿透窗帘，照在了一个比月季更美丽的生物身上——一位年轻的女郎靠在一张长椅上，她活泼的表妹在对她讲话：“我说，表姐，我在想，你去了纽约以后，你的月季怎么办。你坚持这么做，真让我们吃惊。你决定把它留给我这个马大哈，这可不明智。我喜欢花，没错，我喜欢整齐的花束，修剪打理好了，可以带到舞会上。至于要照顾它们，让它们生长，我可没这个天分。”

“凯特，放松点。”弗洛伦斯笑着说，“我不用你发挥天分，我会对自己喜爱的东西悉心保护。”

“哎，那你知道我想说什么吗？我敢肯定，马绍尔夫人跟你谈过了。她昨天来过，我很同情她，谁让我们不得不告诉她我们不能把你最心爱的那盆花给她。她说，如果她能得到它，把它养在自己的温室里，将是件多么开心的事呀。它现在的情况真好，有好多花骨朵。我告诉她你本来非常愿意给她，是不是，你很喜欢马绍尔夫人。”

“可是非常对不起，凯特，它已另有所属。”

“会是谁呢？你在这的好朋友不多呀。”

“啊，我只不过是心血来潮。”

“告诉我吧，弗洛伦斯。”

“哎，表妹，你认识我们为她缝补衣服的那个苍白的小女孩吧？”

“什么！小玛丽·史蒂芬斯？太好笑了，弗洛伦斯！你总是那么充满母性，像老处女一样！给穷苦孩子的布娃娃做衣服，做帽子，为邻居家脏兮兮的小孩子织袜子。我敢肯定，你去拜访我们屋后面那两条陋巷的次数，比你去切斯纳街的次数还多，虽然切斯纳街的人都非常盼望你去。现在，更糟糕的是，你最亲密的朋友、与你同属一个阶级的人这么喜欢的一块宝石，你竟然送给了一个女裁缝的女儿。这样处境的人要花究竟有什么用？”

“他们需要花儿的原因与我一样，”弗洛伦斯不动声色地回答，“你没有注意到吗，每次小女孩来的时候，都会满含期待地望着待放的花苞。而且你不记得吗，有一天早晨，她轻轻地问我，是不是可以让她妈妈来看看它，她可喜欢花呢。”

“但是，弗洛伦斯，想象一下，这样稀有的一盆花，和一桌子火腿、鸡蛋、奶酪、面粉一起，憋屈在一间小屋子里，史蒂芬斯太太和她的女儿在旁边洗呀、熨呀、做饭呀。”

“凯特，如果我只能住在一间简陋的屋子里，就像你说的一样，在屋子里洗呀、熨呀、做饭呀，如果我必须一刻不停地辛苦工作，从窗口看出去没有别的，只有砖墙和陋巷，那么这样一朵小花对我而言会是无法言说的享受。”

“哗，你可真是多愁善感，弗洛伦斯！穷人可没有时间多愁善感。而且你信不信，花在她们那儿肯定长不好。它是温室花朵，习惯了挑剔的环境。”

“啊，这个嘛，花儿从不问它的主人是贫是富。而且，也许史蒂芬斯太太缺少很多东西，但是她有阳光，她家的阳光和这里的阳光一样好。上帝制作的美丽之物，是给所有人的礼物。你看着吧，我美丽的月季，在史蒂芬斯太太家会和在这里一样快乐、健康。”

“是吗，不管怎么说，这么做太奇怪了！如果你向穷人施舍，应该给他们一些有用的东西，比如土豆啦、火腿啦什么的。”

“是呀，当然，土豆和火腿当然少不了。但是，满足了头等的紧要的需求之后，为什么不再做些我们力所能及的事，为人们带来小小的愉悦和满足呢？我认识很多虽然穷困，但一样对美丽非常敏锐、渴望的人。但是他们的这些感觉被生活的重压所埋没。可怜的史蒂芬斯太太就是一个例子，我知道，她本来可以像我一样欣赏小鸟、花朵和音乐。在我们的会客室里，我亲眼看到她看见这些东西时，眼睛里闪闪发亮。但是，这样美丽的东西，她一件也没有。因为生活所迫，她的房间、她的衣物——她所有的东西，都必须简单、朴素。你真的应该看看，我把月季送给她和玛丽时，她们有多高兴。”

“我的天呀！这些都应该是真的，但我从没想过。我从没认为这些工作繁重的人也有品味！”

“那么为什么穷苦人家里破旧的茶壶里种着被悉心呵护的天竺葵或玫瑰，或者牵牛花种在盒子里，或缠绕在窗户上？难道这些不意味着人类的心灵不分等级，都渴望美丽吗？凯特，你记不记得了，我们的洗衣工在一整天繁重的工作之后，一夜没睡，赶制了一件漂亮的衣裳，让她的第一个宝宝穿着接受洗礼。”

“是啊，我记得我还取笑你，为了这件事特地做了一顶可爱的小帽子。”

“没错，凯特，但是我觉得这样做很值得，因为这个可怜的夫人觉得她宝宝的新衣服和新帽子完美极了，她非常高兴。我敢肯定，即使我送给她一桶面粉，她也不会这么感激我。”“嗯，我以前从没想过除了给穷人他们需要的东西之外，还给什么东西。

如果不是太费劲儿的话，我还是非常乐意助人为乐的。”

“啊！表妹，如果天父也这么对待我们的话，我们就不会有这遍地的树木、果实、鲜花，而只有最简陋的物品了。”

“行啦，行啦，表姐，我想你是对的，但可怜可怜我的笨脑袋吧。它那么小，一下子装不下这么多新思想，所以你还是照你的想法做吧。”说完，这位小女郎就在镜子前面，满意地练习起华尔兹舞步来。

THE TEA ROSE

There it stood, in its little green vase, on a light ebony stand in the window of the drawing room. The rich satin curtains, with their costly fringes, swept down on either side of it, and around it glittered every rare and fanciful trifle which wealth can offer to luxury, and yet that simple rose was the fairest of them all. So pure it looked, its white leaves just touched with that delicious, creamy tint peculiar to its kind: its cup so full, so perfect, its head bending, as if it were sinking and melting away in its own richness.—Oh! when did ever man make anything to equal the living, perfect flower!

But the sunlight that streamed through the window revealed something fairer than the rose—a young lady reclining on an ottoman, who was thus addressed by her livelier cousin:“I say, cousin, I have been thinking what you are to do with your pet rose when you go to New York; as, to our consternation, you are determined to do. You know it would be a sad pity to leave it with such a scatter brain as I am. I love flowers, indeed,—that is, I like a regular bouquet, cut off and tied up, to carry to a party; but as to all this tending and fussing which is needful to keep them growing, I have no gifts in that line.”

“Make yourself easy as to that, Kate,”said Florence, with a smile;“I have no intention of calling upon your talent; I have an asylum in view for my favorite.”

“Oh, then you know just what I was going to say. Mrs. Marshall, I presume, has been speaking to you; she was here yesterday, and I was quite pathetic upon the subject; telling her the loss your favorite would sustain, and so forth; and she said how delighted she would be to have it in her greenhouse; it is in such a fine state now, so full of buds. I told her I knew you would like to give it to her; you are so fond of Mrs. Marshall, you know.”

“Now, Kate, I am sorry, but I have otherwise engaged.”

“Whom can it be to? you have so few intimates here.”

“Oh, it is only one of my odd fancies.”

“But do tell me, Florence.”

“Well, cousin, you know the little pale girl to whom we give sewing?”

“What! little Mary Stephens? How absurd, Florence! This is just another of your motherly, old maidish ways; dressing dolls for poor children, making bonnets, and knitting socks for all the little dirty babies in the neighborhood. I do believe you have made more calls in those two vile, ill smelling alleys behind our house than ever you have in Chestnut Street, though you know everybody is half dying to see you; and now, to crown all, you must give this choice little bijou to a seamstress girl, when one of your most intimate friends, in your own class, would value it so highly. What in the world can people in their circumstances want with flowers?”

“Just the same as I do,”replied Florence, calmly.“Have you not noticed that the little girl never comes without looking wistfully at the opening buds? And don't you remember, the other morning she asked me so prettily if I would let her mother come and see it, she was so fond of flowers?”

“But, Florence, only think of this rare flower standing on a table with ham, eggs, cheese, and flour, and stifled in that close little room, where Mrs. Stephens and her daughter manage to wash, iron, and cook.”

“Well, Kate, and if I were obliged to live in one coarse room, and wash, and iron, and cook, as you say; if I had to spend every moment of my time in toil, with no prospect from my window but a brick wall and a dirty lane, such a flower as this would be untold enjoyment to me.”

“Pshaw, Florence; all sentiment! Poor people have no time to be sentimental. Besides, I don't believe it will grow with them; it is a greenhouse flower, and used to delicate living.”

“Oh, as to that, a flower never inquires whether its owner is rich or poor; and poor Mrs. Stephens, whatever else she has not, has sunshine of as good quality as this that streams through our window. The beautiful things that God makes are his gifts to all alike. You will see that my fair rose will be as well and cheerful in Mrs. Stephens's room as in ours.”

“Well, after all, how odd! When one gives to poor people, one wants to give them something useful—a bushel of potatoes, a ham, and such things.”

“Why, certainly, potatoes and ham must be supplied; but, having ministered to the first and most craving wants, why not add any other little pleasures or gratifications we may have it in our power to bestow? I know there are many of the poor who have fine feeling and a keen sense of the beautiful, which rusts out and dies because they are too hard pressed to procure it any gratification. Poor Mrs. Stephens, for example; I know she would enjoy birds, and flowers, and music as much as I do. I have seen her eye light up as she looked upon these things in our drawing. room, and yet not one beautiful thing can she command. From necessity, her room, her clothing,—all she has, must be coarse and plain. You should have seen the almost rapture she and Mary felt when I offered them my rose.”

“Dear me! all this may be true, but I never thought of it before. I never thought that these hard working people had any ideas of taste!”

“Then why do you see the geranium or rose so carefully nursed in the old cracked teapot in the poorest room, or the morning glory planted in a box and twined about the window? Do not these show that the human heart yearns for the beautiful in all ranks of life? You remember, Kate, how our washerwoman sat up a whole night, after a hard day's work, to make her first baby a pretty dress to be baptized in.”“Yes, and I remember how I laughed at you for making such a tasteful little cap for it.”

“True, Kate, but I think the look of perfect delight with which the poor woman regarded her baby in its new dress and cap was something quite worth creating; I do believe she could not have felt more grateful if 1 had sent her a barrel of flour.”

“Well, I never thought before of giving anything to the poor but what they really needed, and I have always been willing to do that when I could without going far out of my way.”

“Ah! cousin, if our heavenly Father gave to us after this mode, we should have only coarse, shapeless piles of provisions lying about the world, instead of all this beautiful variety of trees, and fruits, and flowers,”

“Well, well, cousin, I suppose you are right, but have mercy on my poor head; it is too small to hold so many new ideas all at once, so go on your own way;”and the little lady began practicing a waltzing step before the glass with great satisfaction.

第18课　慷慨的俄罗斯农民

让维吉尔为奥古斯都维吉尔是罗马最著名的诗人，出生于公元前70年，逝世于公元后19年。奥古斯都·恺撒是维吉尔后半生时罗马帝国的皇帝，他受到众多诗人赞美。这个伟大的天才唱起赞美诗吧。我手中的笔，注的是“穷苦人的短小简单的记录”。在我记录弗洛尔·锡林的历史时，我写的虽然是一个穷苦的农民，描述的却是一个高尚的人。我不需要用多么出众的文采描写他，因为谦虚的品质本来就不需要任何修饰。

很多年过去了，人们回忆起发生在伏尔加河下游伏尔加河下游位于俄罗斯东部，与加勒比海相连。的“饥年”时，仍然心有余悸。我记得那个夏天，严酷的炽热烤干了田地，除了绝望的农夫的泪水，大地得不到任何滋润。

我记得那个寒冷、令人不安的秋天。绝望的村民拥挤在干瘪的谷仓旁边，双臂抱在胸前，愁眉苦脸。这本该是一个金色的收获季节，应该正是农民们欢天喜地的时候。我记得随后的那个冬天，即使是现在，每当我回忆起它给人带来的苦难时，仍然深感悲痛。那时很多人举家离开了他们的居所，沿着公路乞讨。

夜晚，他们只能露宿，他们得不到任何庇护，为他们遮蔽呼啸的寒风和刺骨的霜冻。我描写这些场面恐怕会伤害读者，他们就不读我的故事了。那时我住在离辛比尔斯克辛比尔斯克是俄罗斯东部的一个小镇，位于伏尔加河畔。不远的地方，年纪还很小，但是这场大灾难还是深深地印在我的脑海中。

弗洛尔·锡林住在旁边的一个小村子里。他是一位穷困的、辛劳的农民。由于他的勤勉、高超的技艺和准确的判断，他的田地耕种得不错，很多人都知道他。他每年的收获都很多，而他的生活又很简朴，所以即使在那时，他的谷仓仍然储满谷物。干旱使村庄里所有的人都成了乞丐，唯独除他之外，这是他发财的好时机，但是你知道弗洛尔·锡林是怎么做的吗？他把最贫苦的邻居叫到他家，对他们说：

“我的朋友们，我知道你们为了活命，需要粮食。上帝保佑我，我有很多粮食。我将我的粮食分给你们，你们的家人需要多少，就拿多少。”农民们对这样的慷慨闻所未闻，面面相觑。乡村的人们如同人口众多的城市里的人们一样，也有肮脏自私的一面。

弗洛尔·锡林的善行很快传到了其他村子里。饥饿的村民来到他面前，向他乞食。这位好心人把他们视为兄弟，将自己的储备全部贡献出来，解决大家的困难。他的妻子看到他的慷慨行为没完没了，提醒他不要忘记他家自己的需要，趁现在还来得及，不要再这样大方下去了。“《圣经》上写着，”他说，“施予，你就会得到回报。”

第二年，上帝听到了穷人的祷告，给了人们一个大丰收。因为受了弗洛尔·锡林的救助而免遭饥饿的农民，聚集在他身边。

“你看，”他们说道，“你把你的粮食借给我们，救了我们的妻子和孩子。如果不是因为你，我们可能已经饿死了。如果上帝能够的话，他会奖励你的。而我们所能做的，是归还你的粮食，并且对你表达我们的谢意。”“我亲爱的邻居们，我现在不需要粮食，”他说道，“我收获了很多谷物，我都没有料到。至于别的，谢谢上帝，我只是他谦卑的奴仆。”

他们试图说服他，但这是徒劳的。“不，”他说，“我不应该接受你们的粮食。如果你们的粮食吃不完，就与你们的邻居分享吧。他们去年秋天没有播种，现在仍然处于饥饿之中。让我们帮助他们吧，我亲爱的朋友们，如果你们这么做，上帝会保佑你们的。”“是啊，”感激的农民说，“我们穷困的邻居应该得到这些粮食。他们应该知道，他们能得到及时救助，全是你的功劳。他们应该告诉他们的孩子，他们应该感激你仁慈的心灵。”锡林眼含热泪，向苍天望去。天使也会羡慕他此时此刻的感慨。

（尼古拉·贾拉姆金）

THE GENEROUS RUSSIAN PEASANT

Let Vergil sing the praises of Augustus, genius celebrate merit, and flattery extol the talents of the great.“The short and simple annals of the poor”engross my pen; and while I record the history of Flor Silin's virtues, though I speak of a poor peasant, I shall describe a noble man. I ask no eloquence to assist me in the task; modest worth rejects the aid of ornament to set it off.

It is impossible, even at this distant period, to reflect without horror on the miseries of that year known in Lower Volga by the name of the“Famine Year.”I remember the summer, whose scorching heats had dried up all the fields, and the drought had no relief but from the tears of the ruined farmer.

I remember the cold, comfortless autumn, and the despairing rustics, crowding round their empty barns, with folded arms and sorrowful countenances, pondering on their misery, instead of rejoicing, as usual, at the golden harvest. I remember the winter which succeeded, and I reflect with agony on the miseries it brought with it. Whole families left their homes to become beggars on the highway.

At night the canopy of heaven served them as their only shelter from the piercing winds and bitter frost. To describe these scenes would be to harm the feelings of my readers; therefore, to my tale. In those days I lived on an estate not far from Simbirsk; and, though but a child, I have not forgotten the impression made on my mind by the general calamity.

In a village adjoining lived Flor Silin, a poor, laboring peasant,—a man remarkable for his assiduity and the skill and judgment with which he cultivated his lands. He was blessed with abundant crops; and his means being larger than his wants, his granaries, even at this time, were full of corn. The dry year coming on had beggared all the village except himself. Here was an opportunity to grow rich. Mark how Flor Silin acted. Having called the poorest of his neighbors about him, he addressed them in the following manner:

“My friends, you want corn for your subsistence. God has blessed me with abundance. Assist in thrashing out a quantity, and each of you take what he wants for his family.”The peasants were amazed at this unexampled generosity; for sordid propensities exist in the village as well as in the populous city.

The fame of Flor Silin's benevolence having reached other villages, the famished inhabitants presented themselves before him, and begged for corn. This good creature received them as brothers; and, while his store remained, afforded all relief. At length, his wife, seeing no end to the generosity of his noble spirit, reminded him how necessary it would be to think of their own wants, and hold his lavish hand before it was too late.“It is written in the Scripture,”said he,“Give, and it shall be given unto you.’”

The following year Providence listened to the prayers of the poor, and the harvest was abundant. The peasants who had been saved from starving by Flor Silin now gathered around him.

“Behold,”said they,“the corn you lent us. You saved our wives and children. We should have been famished but for you; may God reward you; he only can; all we have to give is our corn and grateful thanks.”“I want no corn at present, my good neighbors,”said he;“my harvest has exceeded all my expectations; for the rest, thank heaven: I have been but an humble instrument.”

They urged him in vain.“No,”said he,“I shall not accept your corn. If you have superfluities, share them among your poor neighbors, who, being unable to sow their fields last autumn, are still in want; let us assist them, my dear friends; the Almighty will bless us for it.”“Yes,”replied the grateful peasants,“our poor neighbors shall have this corn. They shall know it is to you that they owe this timely succor, and join to teach their children the debt of gratitude due to your benevolent heart.”Silin raised his tearful eyes to heaven. An angel might have envied him his feelings.

（Nikolai Karamzin）

第19课　考多夫人的演讲

考多先生，我希望你现在的脾气比早上小些了。你不用吹口哨，大家上床时不用吹口哨。而你就是这样，我只能说你这是在羞辱我。我过去常说没有比你再好的人了。但现在，你成了一个魔鬼。让你休息？不，我不会让你休息。只有趁现在我才能跟你说话，而且你应该听我说。我被你骗了一整天，整晚都不说话会被憋坏的，而且上帝知道，我也不经常说这么多的。

因为有一次你衬衫上的扣子掉了，结果你不停地叫骂，差不多把屋顶都骂塌了。你没有叫骂？哈，考多先生！你激动的时候都做了什么，连你自己都不知道。你那时不激动，是不是？好吧，我不知道什么才叫激动。我觉得现在我应该激动。我跟你过了这么多年，考多先生，我可知道这点。

真是遗憾，除了一颗小纽扣，你没有别的东西可抱怨。如果你有好几个老婆，你会有其他事情可抱怨的，我肯定。我总是针线不离手，我是你和孩子们称职的奴隶。我应该感谢谁呢？真是，如果你的纽扣从衬衫上掉下来，你对谁喊“哦”呢？考多先生，我说一遍，或者两遍，最多三遍。考多，我相信，世界上没有其他人的纽扣像你的纽扣这样受到这么好的照料。我真是希望还留着你刚刚结婚时穿的衬衫！我想知道，你那时的纽扣哪儿去了？

是呀，我们真应该好好说说！你总是这样打断我。你大怒起来，如果我想说话，你不会听我的。你们这些男人就是这样，只许你们自己说，女人是不能插嘴的。老婆只是她丈夫的纽扣，这可真是妙哇。这就是你对婚姻的理解，真是妙哇。哈！可怜的女人，她们不知道等待她们的是什么！纽扣呀，还有其他一件件的事儿。他们永远不会自己照顾自己——不，世界上最好的男人也不会，我敢保证。考多先生，他们该怎么办？——哎，可是他们还比你强很多。不管怎么说，我相信纽扣没掉下来。我相信，是你把它拽下来的，这样你就有话说了。哎，你有时候真是烦人！我只知道，纽扣会掉下来是很奇怪的，因为这个世界上没有哪个女人比我更像一个奴隶，天天伺候着丈夫的纽扣。我只能说，这可真奇怪。

但是，还有一件事让我感到很安慰：用不了多久啦。我快被你的坏脾气折磨死啦，我不会麻烦你很久啦。哈！你会笑！我敢说你会笑的！毫无疑问！你就喜欢这样，你就是这样想的！我知道，我每天都在走向我的坟墓，只不过我没说罢了。我走了以后，我们可以看看你的第二任老婆会怎样照看你的纽扣！你会发现区别。是呀，考多，那时你就会想起我了。我希望那时你的后背上再也没有什么破纽扣了。

不，我不是一个爱报复的女人，考多先生。没人这么说过我，只有你。你是怎么说的？别人不像你这么了解我？根本不是这么回事儿。哈！我的脾气可不像你那么差，考多。幸亏我不像你那么折磨人，不然我们早就过不下去了。我只不过希望你以后的老婆能好好管管你！这样你就知道区别了。你之所以这样欺负我，是因为我像个可怜的傻子一样，什么都不说。考多，我真为自己害臊。

而且，你是怎么做爸爸的？你把儿子们教育得和你一样坏！吃早饭时一直在谈论你的纽扣！而且这还是星期日的早上！你还说自己是基督徒？我真想知道，孩子们长大后，会怎样看你！只不过是因为你的袖口上掉了一个微不足道的纽扣！一个有分寸的人提都不会提！为什么我不闭上嘴？因为我不想闭上嘴。为了一个小纽扣，我都快疯了，我都快烦死了，而且我还得闭上嘴！哦！你们男人就是这样！

但是我知道今后该怎么做了。你的每个纽扣都可能掉下来，而我理都不会理。我想看看那时你怎么办！哦，你一定会让别的人给你缝好的，是不是？一位丈夫就这样对待他的老婆！就这样对待我这样一个老婆，真是，你这纽扣的奴隶。别人给你缝好？不，考多，不，只要我活着就不行！我死了以后——我已经忍受了这么久，不知道还要忍受多久——我说，我死了以后——嘿！你这么打呼噜，真是过分！

你不是在打呼噜！哈！你总是这么说。但是让我们接着刚才的话头说。你一定会找别人给你缝的，是不是？哈！这没有什么好奇怪的。哎，不！我不应该对什么事感到奇怪！我不应该对任何事感到奇怪！人们总是告诉我会有这一天的，纽扣让我明白了这个道理！但是，考多先生，大家都应该知道你有多残忍。考多，你的心像石头一样硬！没错！

（道格拉斯·杰罗德）

道格拉斯·杰罗德（1803～1857年），出生于伦敦。他曾考取海军军校，但几年后他就结束了海军生涯。他当过印刷工学徒。在闲暇时间里，自学并掌握了几种语言，养成了用文字表达思想的习惯。在他不满21岁时，就写了一部广受欢迎的现代戏剧《黑眼苏珊》。此后他还写过几部剧作。他定期为伦敦《拳击》杂志撰稿，并在不同时期编辑过几种报刊和杂志。他是最出色的幽默作家。他最有名的作品是他的戏剧，以及《考多夫人的演讲》、《圣伊莱斯和圣詹姆士》、《白天的气泡》和《克拉文努克编年史》等作品。

MRS. CAUDLE'S LECTURE

Well, Mr. Caudle, I hope you're in a little better temper than you were this morning. There, you need n't begin to whistle: people don't come to bed to whistle. But it's like you; I can't speak that you don't try to insult me. Once, I used to say you were the best creature living: now, you get quite a fiend. Do let you rest? No, I won't let you rest. It's the only time I have to talk to you, and you shall hear me. I'm put upon all day long: it's very hard if I can't speak a word at night; besides, it is n't often I open my mouth, goodness knows!

Because once in your lifetime your shirt wanted a button, you must almost swear the roof off the house. You did n't swear? Ha, Mr. Caudle! you don't know what you do when you're in a passion. You were not in a passion, wer'n't you? Well, then, I don't know what a passion is; and I think I ought by this time. I've lived long enough with you, Mr. Caudle, to know that.

It's a pity you hav'n't something worse to complain of than a button off your shirt. If you'd some wives, you would, I know. I'm sure I'm never without a needle and thread in my hand; what with you and the children, I'm made a perfect slave of. And what's my thanks? Why, if once in your life a button's off your shirt—what do you cry“oh”at? I say once, Mr. Caudle; or twice, or three times, at most. I'm sure, Caudle, no man's buttons in the world are better looked after than yours. I only wish I'd kept the shirts you had when you were first married! I should like to know where were your buttons then?

Yes, it is worth talking of! But that's how you always try to put me down. You fly into a rage, and then if I only try to speak, you won't hear me. That's how you men always will have all the talk to yourselves: a poor woman is n't allowed to get a word in. A nice notion you have of a wife, to suppose she's nothing to think of but her husband's buttons. A pretty notion, indeed, you have of marriage. Ha! if poor women only knew what they had to go through!—what with buttons, and one thing and another,—they'd never tie themselves up,—no, not to the best man in the world, I'm sure. What would they do, Mr. Caudle? —Why, do much better without you, I'm certain.

And it's my belief, after all, that the button was n't off the shirt; it's my belief that you pulled it off that you might have something to talk about. Oh, you're aggravating enough, when you like, for anything! All I know is, it's very odd that the button should be off the shirt; for I'm sure no woman's a greater slave to her husband's buttons than I am. I only say it's very odd.

However, there's one comfort; it can't last long. I'm worn to death with your temper, and sha’n't trouble you a great while. Ha! you may laugh! And I dare say you would laugh! I've no doubt of it! That's your love; that's your feeling! I know that I'm sinking every day, though I say nothing about it. And when I'm gone we shall see how your second wife will look after your buttons! You'll find out the difference then. Yes, Caudle, you'll think of me then; for then, I hope, you'll never have a blessed button to your back.

No, I'm not a vindictive woman, Mr. Caudle: nobody ever called me that but you. What do you say? Nobody ever knew so much of me? That's nothing at all to do with it. Ha! I would n't have your aggravating temper, Caudle, for mines of gold. It's a good thing I'm not as worrying as you are, or a nice house there'd be between us. I only wish you'd had a wife that would have talked to you! Then you'd have known the difference. But you impose upon me because, like a poor fool, I say nothing. I should be ashamed of myself, Caudle.

And a pretty example you set as a father! You'll make your boys as bad as yourself. Talking as you did all breakfast time about your buttons! and of a Sunday morning, too! And you call yourself a Christian! I should like to know what your boys will say of you when they grow up! And all about a paltry button off one of your wristbands! A decent man would n't have mentioned it. Why don't I hold my tongue? Because I won't hold my tongue. I'm to have my peace of mind destroyed—I ‘m to be worried into my grave for a miserable shirt button, and I'm to hold my tongue! Oh! but that's just like you men!

But I know what I'll do for the future. Every button you have may drop off, and I won't so much as put a thread to ‘em. And I should like to know what you'll do then! Oh, you must get somebody else to sew ‘em, must you? That's a pretty threat for a husband to hold out to his wife! And to such a wife as I've been, too: such a slave to your buttons, as I may say. Somebody else to sew ‘em’! No, Caudle, no; not while I'm alive! When I'm dead—and, with what I have to bear, there's no knowing how soon that may be—when I ‘m dead, I say—oh! what a brute you must be to snore so!

You're not snoring? Ha! that's what you always say; but that's nothing to do with it. You must get somebody else to sew ‘em, must you? Ha! I should n't wonder. Oh, no! I should be surprised at nothing now! Nothing at all! It's what people have always told me it would come to; and now the buttons have opened my eyes! But the whole world shall know of your cruelty, Mr. Caudle. After the wife I've been to you. Caudle, you've a heart like a hearthstone, you have!

（Douglas Jerrold）

第20课　甲鱼汤

在船长为自己和乘客预备的美味中，有一只上好的绿色甲鱼。它似乎并不觉得在咸水中生活是一种痛苦，所以直到所有的猪、羊、家禽都吃光了才轮到它。到岸的前几天，我们决定把甲鱼杀了，在第二天享用一顿盛宴。

船舱里的那些“绅士们”很久都没有口福吃到新鲜肉了，所以他们都用贪婪的渴望眼神盯着这位硬壳朋友。在杀甲鱼的前一天甚至能听到一片咂嘴声。由于不时在船尾走动，我听见他们庆贺自己明天就能享用预期的甲鱼汤和碎肉丸了。其中有个人为了使得这顿美餐更加令人向往，在这之前的24小时里竟然只吃了一小块干面包，他大概已经准备好了把自己那份油腻腻的混合物贪婪的一饮而尽。

对于他们来说这可真是盛大的节日，虽然周六才是香槟日，而今天才周五，但他们一致同意提前一天喝香槟，享用这顿盛宴可不能少了什么。煮甲鱼的那天恰巧天气不太好，船有些颠簸，但船上的人们早已对此习以为常。

开饭前的那个小时正好轮到我掌控舵轮，当我饥肠辘辘仅仅想用咸肉和干面包填饱肚子的时候，听见人们欢笑着淡论甲鱼真是难熬的莫大痛苦。在整个航行过程中，我都成功地排除了一切来自船舱的干扰，但这次无论怎样约束自己，我脑子里想的全是盛甲鱼的那只汤碗。他们真是该死！如果听不见那狂喜的咂嘴声，我大概也不会羡慕他们的甲鱼汤。但他们饥饿的欢笑声使我的想像力高度兴奋起来，以至于透过罗盘针箱的玻璃，我看到的就只是一只白色的盘子，边上放着一小片柠檬、一条精致的面包、一个银勺一条餐巾和两到三个不同形状颜色的酒瓶，旁边还围着个高脚酒杯。然后我就看见黑色香浓的甲鱼汤被倒进了盘子里。

不久就到了2点，他们将在3点开饭。以船长为首的绅士先生们全部冲进了下面的船舱。看到那些汤碟，他们就更高兴了。“斯德伍德，快把汤端出来！”船长几乎在吼叫。“来啦，先生。”斯德伍德回答道。一会儿，这位厨师打开了厨房的门，端出了美味的热腾腾的甲鱼汤。

然后，斯德伍德端着这只巨大的带盖汤碗朝船舱通道走去。一时间，我只顾盯着这宝贵的东西看，舵轮竟不知不觉从手中滑落，船猛的横向一倾。斯德伍德一只脚刚刚踩上楼梯，这意想不到的一倾让他失去了平衡，连人带锅滚了下去。锅里的汤洒了出来，流进了背风面的排水孔里。斯德伍德找回了平衡站起了起来。

我立刻大笑起来。这比亲自喝完全部甲鱼汤还要让我高兴。但我必须克制一下自己的快乐，因为下一分钟斯德伍德就冲上了甲板，船长在他身后追着怒发冲冠，威胁如果抓到他就把他扔进海里去。锅里没剩下一滴汤，因为斯德伍德为了不让汤冷却而一次把汤全部端了出来。大约半个小时后，乘客们都走上了甲板，自从离开利物浦后，我从未见过他们如此严肃，原来他们刚刚吃了一顿冷火腿“盛宴”。

（查尔斯·弗雷德里克·布里格斯）

查尔斯·弗雷德里克·布里格斯（1804～1877年），生于南塔克特岛。年纪很小的时候移居纽约。1845年开始和埃德加·爱伦·坡合办《百老汇日报》，与《纽约时报》、《镜晚报》也有联系。1853～1856年间，他还担任《普特南杂志》的编辑。布里格斯的作品包括一些小说、诗歌以及小计其数的幽默小故事和短篇文章。本文选自他最佳作品之一《艰苦的航行》。

TURTLE SOUP

Among the luxuries which the captain had provided for himself and passengers was a fine green turtle, which was not likely to suffer from exposure to salt water, so it was reserved until all the pigs, and sheep, and poultry had been eaten. A few days before we arrived, it was determined to kill the turtle and have a feast the next day.

Our cabin gentlemen had been long enough deprived of fresh meats to make them cast lickerish glances towards their hard skinned friend, and there was a great smacking of lips the day before he was killed. As I walked aft occasionally, I heard them congratulating themselves on their prospective turtle soup and forcemeat balls; and one of them, to heighten the luxury of the feast, ate nothing but a dry biscuit for the twenty four hours preceding, that he might be prepared to devour his full share of the unctuous compound.

It was to be a gala day with them; and though it was not champagne day, that falling on Saturday and this on Friday, they agreed to have champagne a day in advance, that nothing should be wanting to give a finish to their turtle. It happened to be a rougher day than usual when the turtle was cooked, but they had become too well used to the motion of the ship to mind that.

It happened to be my turn at the wheel the hour before dinner, and I had the tantalizing misery of hearing them laughing and talking about their turtle, while I was hungry from want of dry bread and salt meat. I had resolutely kept my thoughts from the cabin during all the passage but once, and now I found my ideas clustering round a tureen of turtle in spite of all my philosophy.

Confound them, if they had gone out of my hearing with their exulting smacks, I should not have envied their soup, but their hungry glee so excited my imagination that I could see nothing through the glazing of the binnacle but a white plate with a slice of lemon on the rim, a loaf of delicate bread, a silver spoon, a napkin, two or three wine glasses of different hues and shapes, and a water goblet clustering round it, and a stream of black, thick, and fragrant turtle pouring into the plate.

By and by it was four bells: they dined at three. And all the gentlemen, with the captain at their head, darted below into the cabin, where their mirth increased when they caught sight of the soup plates.“Hurry with the soup, steward,”roared the captain.“Coming, sir,”replied the steward. In a few moments the cook opened the door of his galley, and out came the delicious steam of the turtle.

Then came the steward with a large covered tureen in his hand, towards the cabin gangway. I forgot the ship for a moment in looking at this precious cargo, the wheel slipped from my hands, the ship broached to with a sudden jerk; the steward had got only one foot upon the stairs, when this unexpected motion threw him off his balance, and down he went by the run, the tureen slipped from his hands, and part of its contents flew into the lee scuppers, and the balance followed him in his fall.

I laughed outright. I enjoyed the turtle a thousand times more than I should have done if I had eaten the whole of it. But I was forced to restrain my mirth, for the next moment the steward ran upon deck, followed by the captain, in a furious rage, threatening if he caught him to throw him overboard. Not a spoonful of the soup had been left in the coppers, for the steward had taken it all away at once to keep it warm. In about an hour afterwards the passengers came upon deck, looking more sober than I had seen them since we left Liverpool. They had dined upon cold ham.

（Charles Frederick Briggs）

第21课　最好的报复

几年前，英国曼彻斯特的一名批发商出版了一本言辞粗野下流的小册子，在其中不遗余力地丑化“格兰特兄弟”公司，以使其成为公众嘲笑的目标。威廉姆·格兰特就此事说过此人将会为自己的所作所为后悔。一些搬弄是非的人把这句话传给了诽谤者，可他却说：“哦，我想他是指以后什么时候我会欠他债吧。但我自己一定会小心的。”然而，事有凑巧，一个生意人不可能总能选择自己的债主。出版这本小册子的人破产了，而格兰特兄弟手中却持有他的一张承兑汇票承兑汇票：汇票发出人在汇票正面签上名后，这张汇票就变成了“承兑汇票”。写这张汇票的人被称为“发票人”，钱款发给的对象在汇票背面签名，被称为“转让人”。这样的汇票常常要经多次转手，所以会有几位转让人。上面有同样也破产了的发票人的转让认可签名。

受到大肆诽谤的人就这样成为造谣者的债主！现在他们完全有能力让造谣者为其无耻放肆的言行后悔。得不到他们的签名，造谣者拿不到证明，如果没有证明，执照他就不能再经商了。他已经获得了破产法要求的全部签名，除了最后一个。寄希望于“兄弟”公司能补上这一个缺空简直是痴人说梦。怎么可能？那些无辜成为公众笑柄的人会把造谣者的恶行抛诸脑后？他绝望了。但妻子和孩子逼着他至少提出申请试试,于是他愧疚不安地来到了当初受害者的会计室。

威廉先生独自在那里，他对这位过失者所说的第一句话就是：“先生，关门！”语气坚决而严肃。门关上了，诽谤者浑身颤抖地站在受害者的面前。他讲述了自己的情况并递上了证明。曾受害的商人一把抓过执照，“你写过一本诽谤我的小册子！”格兰特先生说道。申请者以为自己的证明会被付之一炬，但事实却并非如此。格兰特先生取出笔在文件上写了几句，然后把证明交还给那个破产的人。这位可怜又可鄙的造谣者以为会看到上面写道“恶棍、造谣”这样的话，可实际看见的是清晰的大大的公司签名。

“我们有条规定”，格兰特先生说，“永远不会拒绝在一个诚实商人的证明上签字。至少现在我们还没有听说你在这方面有什么不好。”泪水涌上了这位可怜人的眼眶，“啊”，格兰特先生继续道，“我的话还是兑现了！我说过你会为自己写那本小册子而后悔，但这句话并不是句威胁。我的意思只是以后你会更多地了解我们，从而为自己曾试图伤害我们而难过。我看你现在就已经后悔了。”“是的！的确如此！”他感激极了。“我实在太后悔了！”这可怜的人说一旦拿到证明执照，他有朋友可以帮助自己。“但现在你有多少钱呢？”可怜的人回答说他已把每样稍微值钱的东西都给了债主，现在甚至要被迫削减家里必需品的开支了，这样他才可能支付得起证明执照的花销。“亲爱的伙伴，这可不行。你的家人不应遭受痛苦，请把10英镑带给你妻子吧。别哭，不要这样，一切都会好的。打起精神来，像个男人一样放手去干吧，不久你就又会在我们中间高昂起头了。”这人十分感动，努力想表达谢意，却声音哽咽。他拿出手帕捂住脸，像个孩子似的哭着走出了门。

THE BEST KIND OF REVENGE

Some years ago a warehouseman in Manchester, England, published a scurrilous pamphlet, in which he endeavored to hold up the house of Grant Brothers to ridicule. William Grant remarked upon the occurrence that the man would live to repent of what he had done; and this was conveyed by some talebearer to the libeler, who said,“Oh, I suppose he thinks I shall some time or other be in his debt; but I will take good care of that.”It happens, however, that a man in business can not always choose who shall be his creditors. The pamphleteer became a bankrupt, and the brothers held an acceptance of his which had been indorsed to them by the drawer, who had also become a bankrupt.

The wantonly libeled men had thus become creditors of the libeler! They now had it in their power to make him repent of his audacity. He could not obtain his certificate without their signature, and without it he could not enter into business again. He had obtained the number of signatures required by the bankrupt law except one. It seemed folly to hope that the firm of“the brothers”would supply the deficiency. What! they who had cruelly been made the laughingstock of the public, forget the wrong and favor the wrongdoer? He despaired. But the claims of a wife and children forced him at last to make the application. Humbled by misery, he presented himself at the countinghouse of the wronged.

Mr. William Grant was there alone, and his first words to the delinquent were,“Shut the door, sir!”sternly uttered. The door was shut, and the libeler stood trembling before the libeled. He told his tale and produced his certificate, which was instantly clutched by the injured merchant.“You wrote a pamphlet against us once!”exclaimed Mr. Grant. The suppliant expected to see his parchment thrown into the fire. But this was not its destination. Mr. Grant took a pen, and writing something upon the document, handed it back to the bankrupt. He, poor wretch, expected to see“rogue, scoundrel, libeler,”inscribed; but there was, in fair round characters, the signature of the firm.

“We make it a rule,”said Mr. Grant,“never to refuse signing the certificate of an honest tradesman, and we have never heard that you were anything else.”The tears started into the poor man's eyes.“Ah,”said Mr. Grant,“my saying was true! I said you would live to repent writing that pamphlet. I did not mean it as a threat. I only meant that some day you would know us better, and be sorry you had tried to injure us. I see you repent of it now.”“I do, I do!”said the grateful man;“I bitterly repent it.”“Well, well, my dear fellow, you know us now. How do you get on? What are you going to do?”The poor man stated he had friends who could assist him when his certificate was obtained.“But how are you off in the meantime?”

And the answer was, that, having given up every farthing to his creditors, he had been compelled to stint his family of even common necessaries, that he might be enabled to pay the cost of his certificate.“My dear fellow, this will not do; your family must not suffer. Be kind enough to take this ten pound note to your wife from me. There, there, my dear fellow! Nay, do not cry; it will all be well with you yet. Keep up your spirits, set to work like a man, and you will raise your head among us yet.”The overpowered man endeavored in vain to express his thanks; the swelling in his throat forbade words. He put his handkerchief to his face and went out of the door, crying like a child.

第22课　一鸣惊人的艺术家

也许并不是许多人都知道有名的天才雕刻家阿尔伯特·杜拉阿尔伯特·杜拉（1471～1528年），在德国的纽堡市生活，德国有名的画家、雕刻家。她的作品对现代画家的影响仍然很大。也许是天才的通病的缘故吧。杜拉除了是位天才之外，还有一些令人难以忍受的“好脾气”，她不但折磨自己，连同她的学生和家属也都跟着“享受”她的折磨。在她的学生当中，有的学生十分狡猾，他们知道如何与他们“残暴”的统治者和谐共处，从而换得他们学习生活中的和平，而那些不愿意或不知道如何“残暴”的统治者调和的学生可就惨了，他们几乎成了老师摧残的对象。杜拉的这些学生无不是她发泄的对象，但那些聪明的学生也只有把老师的怒气转嫁给一个替罪羊才能幸免于难。

这个不幸的替罪羊不是别人，他就是塞缪尔·杜霍布莱特。杜霍布莱特是一个穷人家的孩子，杜拉出于同情才收下了他这个弟子。杜霍布莱特经常画一些标志、粗糙的挂毯似的图案之类来维持生计。杜霍布莱特已经是40岁左右的人了，他个子矮小、面目丑陋、驼背弯腰，总之，他是一个形象不好的弟子。因此，杜霍布莱特经常是他的同事们嘲笑的对象，也特别不受杜拉女士的青睐，经常对他指手画脚，不是骂，就是嘲弄。但是，杜霍布莱特默默地承受着一切不公正的待遇，他有极强的耐性，吃着每天供给他的仅仅能够果腹的面包皮，一点也不抱怨；而他的那些同事们则大肆挥霍，奢侈浪费，一点也不珍惜那些来之不易的粮食。

可怜的杜霍布莱特心里对他的同事或老师一点也不嫉妒，也不心怀恶意、怨恨。无论何时，他都会一直忙碌到半夜，帮助那些经常嘲笑他的同事们或大声称他是个愚蠢的家伙的那些同事们。对于这些，他毫无怨言，默默地为他们做着这一切。不错，杜霍布莱特是没有那么多的社会经验或幽默、聪明才智，但他却是一个不知疲倦的人，他从来不知道什么是劳累。黎明时分，杜霍布莱特就来到学校学习，一直工作到太阳落山。然后，他就会回到他单人住的宿舍里，干他自己喜欢做的事情，他也能够自得其乐。

杜霍布莱特就这样在学校不知疲倦地干了三年，没有时间从事锻炼或者享乐、度假。他从来没向任何人说起过，在他的单身地窖里、在煤油灯下画画的事情，但是他的身体渐渐受到了他没完没了的折磨的影响，因为他要干很多事情。尽管他的身体日益消瘦，尽管他的身体渐渐多病起来，但是没有人去关心他，对他那深深的皱纹，或是他那日渐不成体形的身体有一丝一毫的顾惜。

杜霍布莱特一直都正常出现，从来都是那样，从来都没有间断过，对他的那些嘲笑他的同事们从来都是非常温顺，或者对奚落他的杜拉女士也很顺从，从来不反驳或怒目相向，也从来不知疲倦地为他人干活，尽管有时他的手在颤动，他的眼睛充满了泪水，这一切都说明他都过于使它们操劳了。

一天上午，杜霍布莱特消失了，没有出现在众人面前，干他“应该”干的事情。他的消失引起了同事们和杜拉女士许多的话题，但更多的都是一些关于他的笑话。关于他消失的原因，一个人会这样讲，另外一个人会那样讲，还有一个人可能另有说法。总之，各人充分发挥自己的想象，想象着他消失的理由。最后大家一致认为，这个可怜的人也许过于劳累，终于把自己累成一个骷髅了，或者是擦窗玻璃的时候从窗户上摔了下来，或是太瘦，被一阵狂风卷走了。大家就这么议论着，但没有谁会想到去他居住的地窖里去看看他，或寻找他的遗体。

就在杜霍布莱特的同事和老师谈论他的时候，他由于疾病正在床上翻滚着。疾病一直在腐蚀着他强健的肌体，燃烧着他的血液。他的眼睛红红的，糊满了眼屎。他的嘴唇，平时那么平静，那么安详，现在却不断粗野地高声叫喊着，说话前言不搭后语。在身体健康的时候，可怜的杜霍布莱特如同许许多多贫穷或富有的艺术家一样做着他的梦。他曾经想，他多年的心血也许能够卖个好价钱，然后他就能够买一些东西来维持生计，如果节省的话，也许能够维持他一生的生活费用。他的梦也不是很美满，从来没想到过要出名，或发一笔大财。他最大的愿望或抱负就是能够拥有一间小小的屋棚，能够让他遮风避雨，躲过险恶、风暴的天气，每天能够舒舒服服地吃上一顿饱饭。

可是你看他，现在这个样子！一切都完了，即使那一点点希望也像肥皂泡那样破灭了。杜霍布莱特想，他现在是一个垂危的人了。后来又想，自己死了，却没有一个人来看望他，这就使他更难死去了：没有人对他仁慈过，没有人安慰过他，没有人为他即将到另外那个世界而祝福他。躺倒在病床上，杜霍布莱特想着自己被恶魔般的面孔包围着，这些面孔对面对他的痛苦发出“嗤、嗤”的讥笑声，嘲弄着他没有能力驱走他们。最后这些幻影消失了，杜霍布莱特一点力气也没有了，他躺倒在床上睡着了。

杜霍布莱特醒来了，但还是一点劲儿也没有。他已经躺在床上五天了，没有人来照顾他，或看望他。他嘴唇干裂，划出一道道血丝。他翻了个身，无力地伸出手去够水罐。从他第一天生病，他就拿那个水罐里面的水来解渴。哎呀，完了！水罐是空的！杜霍布莱特在床上躺了一会儿想，他到底该怎么办。他知道，如果就这样躺着，他肯定不是渴死就是饿死，可他又能向谁求救呢？

最后，杜霍布莱特有了一个主意。他慢慢从床上爬起来，艰难地从床的一边走到房间的另一边，拿起他最近完成的一幅画。他决定把这幅画拿到一个商人的商店去，希望用这幅画换来一些能够维持他一个星期生计的东西。绝望使他鼓足最后一点力气和勇气，他拿着那幅画朝商人的商店走去。在他去商店的路途中，杜霍布莱特经过一个房屋。在这个房屋的周围到处都是人，他拖着无力的身体朝那个房屋走去，询问发生了什么事情。人们告诉他说，在这里将有各种各样的艺术品出售，这些艺术品是一位业余爱好者花了30年的时间收藏的作品。在那个时代，很多业主花费了很大心血和痛苦收集艺术品，而常常在业主死后被他人一点也不珍惜地抛售掉。

在杜霍布莱特的耳边似乎有人在对他说，这个地方就是出售他的画的地方。从这里到图画商店还有很远的路程。因此，他打定了主意，决定在这个房屋里把他的那幅画卖掉。他费力地穿过人群，拖着他那无力的身体艰难地走上房屋的台阶，然后在经过了许多询问之后，他终于找到了拍卖人。拍卖人是一个十分忙碌的人，手里拿着许多画不住地叫喊着。拍卖人低下头来，这才看到打断自己手中活计的是一个瘦弱、弯腰驼背之人正向他招手，似乎想同他说话，要拍卖他的画。

“你的画叫什么名字？”最后，在弄明白事情的来龙去脉之后，拍卖人小心地问道。

“《纽堡修道院景色图》，图上画有村庄和修道院四周的景色。”这位充满渴望、发抖的艺术家说。

拍卖人再一次轻蔑地看了看图画，再看看图画的作者，然后问杜霍布莱特这幅画的价钱。“你随便要多少就行；它值多少，你就要多少。”杜霍布莱特回答说。

“哼！这幅画没有新意，我想没有人会愿意买它的。我告诉你，这幅画最多值三个泰勒泰勒，德国15～19世纪的银币。”

可怜的杜霍布莱特深深地叹了一口气。他花了几个月的时间才完成了这幅画。不过，他现在什么办法也没有，因为他已经五天没有吃什么东西了。而拍卖人给的价钱也实在太低了，只能供他吃几天面包。他点了点头，向拍卖人表示同意，然后就退了出来，在一个角落找个地方坐了下来。

拍卖开始了。在一些油画和雕刻作品被处理之后，杜霍布莱特的作品被展示在公众的面前。“谁出价3泰勒买这幅油画？谁出价？”拍卖人叫喊着。杜霍布莱特仔细地听着，害怕漏掉了一点什么似的，但没有人回应拍卖人的叫喊声。“我的这幅油画能够找到一个买主吗？”杜霍布莱特没有把握、有点失望地想。仍然没有人回答，整个拍卖场一片静寂，死一般地静寂。杜霍布莱特不敢抬起头来，因为对他来说，好像全场的人都看着他，嘲笑他这个冒充的艺术家。谁还能那么傻出钱买这么一件没有价值的作品呢？如果谁出钱买，他肯定是个疯子！

“我会成为一个什么样的人呢？”杜霍布莱特自己在心里想，“这幅油画当然是我最好的作品了。”接着，他偷偷朝公众瞟了一眼，然后低下头来想自己的心事，“难道这幅油画里面的风不是吹动了树枝和树叶吗？你们再看看吧，河水是那么清澈，清澈见底，可以看得见里面的小鱼！你们再看看那些小动物们吧，难道它们不是在急促地喘息吗？难道它们不是在喝着泉水解渴吗？再看看那尖塔，难道尖塔不是在闪烁着光芒吗？那丛树林是多么美呀？多么美的一幅图画呀！难道真的没有人会出钱买这幅画吗？”杜霍布莱特心里想着，人们应该欣赏这样的作品，即使到了这个时候，他的心里仍然希望有人能够出钱买这幅油画。不祥的沉默、静寂继续着，杜霍布莱特心里有些承受不住了，把脸埋在双手里面，不敢看人一眼，时间过得非常慢，就好像时间的破车也在艰难地向前行驶一样。

“21泰勒！”正当拍卖人最后决定这幅画没有出价卖、准备取消这幅画的时候，一个微弱的声音说。麻木的艺术家这时精神了一些，心里也不由得欢快起来。他抬起头来，想看看是哪张嘴说出了那些使他精神振作的话。看清楚了，是那个图画经销商。他原本就是要把这幅油画拿到他的商店里去的。

“50泰勒！”一个响亮的声音说道。这次叫喊的是一个穿黑衣的、个子高大的人。人们从来没有想到会有这么样的一个结果，大家都屏住了呼吸。“100泰勒！”图画商叫喊道。

“300泰勒！”“500泰勒！”“1000泰勒！”接下来又是一片沉寂，众人都为这两个竞争对手喝彩、助威。而这两个竞争对手则相互不服气地对望着，一脸愤怒的样子。

“2000泰勒！”图画商叫喊道，然后，他朝四周看看，一幅信心百倍的样子，因为他发现他的竞争对手有些犹豫。“10000泰勒！”黑衣高个子大声地叫喊着，他的脸由于愤怒而涨得通红，他的双手紧紧地攥着，不住地抖动着。图画商的脸色变得苍白，他的整个身体由于恼怒而颤动起来。他试了两次，再努了一把力，然后咬了咬牙，大声地叫喊道：“20000泰勒！”

图画商的对手高个子却并不是那么容易平息的，他一点都没有放弃这场竞争的意思。然后，他叫喊着出价40000泰勒买这幅油画。图画商停了下来。他的对手胜利地笑了，他得意洋洋地朝着四周环顾着，好像他能够征服一切似的，而人们则朝着他投来羡慕的目光，不住地赞赏着这个高大的人。这一切都是图画商所不能忍受的，如果不买下这幅画，如果不争这一口气，他感到自己就无法安静地过好后半辈子生活，他的生活遇到了挑战。“50000泰勒！”图画商绝望地叫喊着。现在该是那个高大的人犹豫的时候了，公众屏住呼吸，看着这两个竞争对手，若大的一个热闹场所现在就是掉一颗针都能听得见，公众害怕呼吸会破坏了这种气氛。最后，举起他的胳膊，高个子大声地挑战似的叫喊着“100000泰勒！”垂头丧气的图画商最终只好承认自己的失败，败退下阵来，而那个高个子则带走了象征胜利的那幅图画。

与此同时，杜霍布莱特，这个艺术家在目睹了这个刺激、动人场面的过程中又是如何表现的呢？他几乎不能相信自己的感觉，他无法控制自己激动的心情。他揉了揉眼睛，不住地低声说着话：“这是一场梦，怎么现实这么残忍，梦醒之后，不是让人感到更加痛苦吗？！”竞标结束以后，他迷惑地站了起来，四处向人们打听刚才的那幅画的价格——他从来没有想到过他的这幅画能够卖这么好的一个价钱，从来没有想过，也不敢奢望。

油画的新主人得意洋洋地打道回府了，就在这个时候，一个衰老、瘸腿、驼背的人步履蹒跚，依着拐杖出现在他的面前。他朝着这个人扔了一张钞票，挥了挥手，要他不必感谢。“我尊敬的先生大人，”这位被视作乞丐的人说话了，“我就是这幅油画的作者！”说着，杜霍布莱特再一次揉了揉眼睛。

这个高个子黑衣人不是别人，他就是德国最富有的贵族之一：敦克斯贝克伯爵。只见他停了下来，从口袋里拿出一个笔记本，从上面撕下一页纸来，在上面写下几行字。“把这个拿去吧，亲爱的朋友，”他说道，“这是一张支票，是用来支付你的这幅油画的价钱的。再见。”说着，他就走了。

杜霍布莱特最后才使自己相信这一切都是真的，这一切不是梦。他一下子成了富翁，买了一座城堡，成了城堡的主人，过着奢侈的生活。平时，他就把作油画视为日常的消遣。然而，他生来就是一个贫穷的人，一个受劳累的人。对他来说，富有的生活不属于他，因为不久以后发生的一件事情就证明了这一点：他由于消化不良而与世长辞了。而杜霍布莱特的画却一直挂承敦克斯贝克伯爵的中堂上，后来流传到了巴伐利亚国王的王宫里。

THE ARTIST SURPRISED

It may not be known to all the admirers of the genius of Albert Durer, that that famous engraver was endowed with a“better half,”so peevish in temper, that she was the torment not only of his own life, but also of his pupils and domestics. Some of the former were cunning enough to purchase peace for themselves by conciliating the common tyrant, but woe to those unwilling or unable to offer aught in propitiation. Even the wiser ones were spared only by having their offenses visited upon a scapegoat.

This unfortunate individual was Samuel Duhobret, a disciple whom Durer had admitted into his school out of charity. He was employed in painting signs and the coarser tapestry then used in Germany. He was about forty years of age, little, ugly, and humpbacked; he was the butt of every ill joke among his fellow disciples, and was picked out as an object of especial dislike by Madame Durer. But he bore all with patience, and ate, without complaint, the scanty crusts given him every day for dinner, while his companions often fared sumptuously.

Poor Samuel had not a spice of envy or malice in his heart. He would, at any time, have toiled half the night to assist or serve those who were wont oftenest to laugh at him, or abuse him loudest for his stupidity. True, he had not the qualities of social humor or wit, but he was an example of indefatigable industry. He came to his studies every morning at daybreak, and remained at work until sunset. Then he retired into his lonely chamber, and wrought for his own amusement.

Duhobret labored three years in this way, giving himself no time for exercise or recreation. He said nothing to a single human being of the paintings he had produced in the solitude of his cell, by the light of his lamp. But his bodily energies wasted and declined under incessant toil. There was none sufficiently interested in the poor artist, to mark the feverish hue of his wrinkled cheek, or the increasing attenuation of his misshapen frame.

None observed that the uninviting pittance set aside for his midday repast, remained for several days untouched. Samuel made his appearance regularly as ever, and bore with the same meekness the gibes of his fellow pupils, or the taunts of Madame Durer, and worked with the same untiring assiduity, though his hands would sometimes tremble, and his eyes become suffused, a weakness probably owing to the excessive use he had made of them.

One morning Duhobret was missing at the scene of his daily labors. His absence created much remark, and many were the jokes passed upon the occasion. One surmised this, and another that, as the cause of the phenomenon; and it was finally agreed that the poor fellow must have worked himself into an absolute skeleton, and taken his final stand in the glass frame of some apothecary, or been blown away by a puff of wind, while his door happened to stand open. No on thought of going to his lodgings to look after him or his remains.

Meanwhile, the object of their mirth was tossing on a bed of sickness. Disease, which had been slowly sapping the foundations of his strength, burned in every vein; his eyes rolled and flashed in delirium; his lips, usually so silent, muttered wild and incoherent words. In his days of health, poor Duhobret had his dreams, as all artists, rich or poor, will sometimes have. He had thought that the fruit of many years’ labor, disposed of to advantage, might procure him enough to live, in an economical way, for the rest of his life. He never anticipated fame or fortune; the height of his ambition or hope was, to possess a tenement large enough to shelter him from the inclemencies of the weather, with means enough to purchase one comfortable meal per day.

Now, alas! however, even that one hope had deserted him. He thought himself dying, and thought it hard to die without one to look kindly upon him, without the words of comfort that might soothe his passage to another world. He fancied his bed surrounded by fiendish faces, grinning at his sufferings, and taunting his inability to summon power to disperse them. At length the apparition faded away, and the patient sunk into an exhausted slumber.

He awoke unrefreshed; it was the fifth day he had lain there neglected. His mouth was parched; he turned over, and feebly stretched out his hand toward the earthen pitcher, from which, since the first day of his illness he had quenched his thirst. Alas! it was empty! Samuel lay for a few moments thinking what he should do. He knew he must die of want if he remained there alone; but to whom could he apply for aid?

An idea seemed, at last, to strike him. He arose slowly, and with difficulty, from the bed, went to the other side of the room, and took up the picture he had painted last. He resolved to carry it to the shop of a salesman, and hoped to obtain for it sufficient to furnish him with the necessaries of life for a week longer. Despair lent him strength to walk, and to carry his burden. On his way, he passed a house, about which there was a crowd. He drew nigh, asked what was going on, and received for an answer, that there was to be a sale of many specimens of art, collected by an amateur in the course of thirty years. It has often happened that collections made with infinite pains by the proprietor, have been sold without mercy or discrimination after his death.

Something whispered to the weary Duhobret, that here would be the market for his picture. It was a long way yet to the house of the picture dealer, and he made up his mind at once. He worked his way through the crowd, dragged himself up the steps, and, after many inquiries, found the auctioneer. That personage was a busy man, with a handful of papers; he was inclined to notice somewhat roughly the interruption of the lean, sallow hunchback, imploring as were his gesture and language.

“What do you call your picture?”at length, said he, carefully looking at it.

“It is a view of the Abbey of Newburg, with its village and the surrounding landscape,”replied the eager and trembling artist.

The auctioneer again scanned it contemptuously, and asked what it was worth.“Oh, that is what you please; whatever it will bring,”answered Duhobret.

“Hem! it is too odd to please, I should think; I can promise you no more than three thalers.”

Poor Samuel sighed deeply. He had spent on that piece the nights of many months. But he was starving now; and the pitiful sum offered would give bread for a few days. He nodded his head to the auctioneer, and retiring took his seat in a corner.

The sale began. After some paintings and engravings had been disposed of, Samuel's was exhibited.“Who bids at three thalers? Who bids?”was the cry. Duhobret listened eagerly, but none answered.“Will it find a purchaser?”said he despondingly, to himself. Still there was a dead silence. He dared not look up; for it seemed to him that all the people were laughing at the folly of the artist, who could be insane enough to offer so worthless a piece at a public sale.

“What will become of me?”was his mental inquiry.“That work is certainly my best;”and he ventured to steal another glance.“Does it not seem that the wind actually stirs those boughs and moves those leaves! How transparent is the water! What life breathes in the animals that quench their thirst at that spring! How that steeple shines! How beautiful are those clustering trees!”This was the last expiring throb of an artist's vanity. The ominous silence continued, and Samuel, sick at heart, buried his face in his hands.

“Twenty one thalers!”murmured a faint voice, just as the auctioneer was about to knock down the picture. The stupefied painter gave a start of joy. He raised his head and looked to see from whose lips those blessed words had come. It was the picture dealer, to whom he had first thought of applying.

“Fifty thalers,”cried a sonorous voice. This time a tall man in black was the speaker. There was a silence of hushed expectation.“One hundred thalers,”at length thundered the picture dealer.

“Three hundred!”“Five hundred!”“One thousand!”

Another profound silence, and the crowd pressed around the two opponents, who stood opposite each other with eager and angry looks.

“Two thousand thalers!”cried the picture dealer, and glanced around him triumphantly, when he saw his adversary hesitate.“Ten thousand!”vociferated the tall man, his face crimson with rage, and his hands clinched convulsively. The dealer grew paler; his frame shook with agitation; he made two or three efforts, and at last cried out“Twenty thousand!”

His tall opponent was not to be vanquished. He bid forty thousand. The dealer stopped; the other laughed a low laugh of insolent triumph, and a murmur of admiration was heard in the crowd. It was too much for the dealer; he felt his peace was at stake.“Fifty thousand!”exclaimed he in desperation. It was the tall man's turn to hesitate. Again the whole crowd were breathless. At length, tossing his arms in defiance, he shouted“One hundred thousand!”The crestfallen picture dealer withdrew; the tall man victoriously bore away the prize.

How was it, meanwhile, with Duhobret, while this exciting scene was going on? He was hardly master of his senses. He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, and murmured to himself,“After such a dream, my misery will seem more cruel!”When the contest ceased, he rose up bewildered, and went about asking first one, then another, the price of the picture just sold. It seemed that his apprehension could not at once be enlarged to so vast a conception.

The possessor was proceeding homeward, when a decrepit, lame, and humpbacked invalid, tottering along by the aid of a stick, presented himself before him. He threw him a piece of money, and waved his hand as dispensing with his thanks.“May it please your honor,”said the supposed beggar,“I am the painter of that picture!”and again he rubbed his eyes.

The tall mall was Count Dunkelsback, one of the richest noblemen in Germany. He stopped, took out his pocketbook, took out a leaf, and wrote on it a few lines.“Take it, friend,”said he;“it is a check for your money. Adieu.”

Duhobret finally persuaded himself that it was not a dream. He became the master of a castle, sold it, and resolved to live luxuriously for the rest of his life, and to cultivate painting as a pastime. But, alas, for the vanity of human expectation! He had borne privation and toil; prosperity was too much for him, as was proved soon after, when an indigestion carried him off. His picture remained long in the cabinet of Count Dunkelsback, and afterward passed into the possession of the King of Bavaria.

第23课　算命先生

哈利在一块石头上坐下来，脱下鞋子，一个小石子钻进了他的鞋子。这时他看见一个老乞丐朝他走过来。他穿着一件破烂的棉袄，上面布满了各色补丁，其中以蓝色和褐色最多。他拄着一个弯曲多节的短杖，短杖的顶头套着一个山羊角。他没有鞋子，长筒袜的脚踝以下全磨破。他看起来并不悲哀，微笑的面容中透露着风趣和幽默。他迈着方步，一只瘸腿的小狗跟在他后面。

哈利心里想：“人的不可思议的灵敏性原来本质上并非如此。这个乞丐光着脚走在这些坚硬的石头上，而一个小石子却让我如此不堪忍受。”这时，乞丐走到跟前，脱下自己的破草帽，乞求哈利给点施舍。那只小狗也立了起来，喔喔地叫着，可怜巴巴地望着哈利。

两个都拒绝是不可能的，而实际上老乞丐光着的双脚已经足够了，哈利注定要为此付出6便士。

对于哈利的慷慨，老乞丐显得十分感谢，说了一大堆祝福的话。然后他堆着笑脸问哈利要不要算一卦。哈利瞥了老乞丐一眼，这是不屑的一瞥，老乞丐一下默不作声了。哈利说：“我还真的想知道，以你的法力，你能告诉我什么。你这一行是个有趣的行当。来，坐在这块石头上，跟我说说你的行当。我一直想自己也当它一两个星期的算命先生。”

“老爷，”乞丐说，“我喜欢你的直率，我在年轻的时候做事也很直率。但在这个世界上那样做是行不通的，我们必须做能做的事。说谎，正如您所认为的那样，是我的职业。但我这也是被逼出来的，我曾经也讲真话。我过去是个劳工，所得也足以维持生计，我没有储蓄。人们把我看作一个小丑，有几个小丑是有钱人呢？哈利先生？”“这么说，你好像认识我？”哈利说。“是的。我对这里的每一个人都有所了解，要不拿什么给他们算命呢？”“不错，继续讲你的故事。你是一个劳工，你说，一个小丑；我猜你的勤奋留给了以前的活计，只保留了你的幽默并用于新的事业里。”

“什么东西最能说明忧伤，先生？是一个男人一天一天变得憔悴。我是一步步被逼成今天这个四处游荡的样子的。疾病首先打倒了我，我只要一工作就胃痛。真的，很长一段时间我的身体十分虚弱，我每次想尝试工作的时候就会吐血。我没有亲人活在世上，在我常开玩笑的时候，我拥有的朋友维持往来不超过一星期。这样我不得不靠乞讨生活，但乞讨是悲哀和不得已，哈利先生。我对所有人讲的都是真实的遭遇，但很少有人相信。而少数路过时扔给我半个便士的人都摇着头表示不想让我的故事烦他们。一句话，我发现人们大都不愿意给予施舍，除非他们的钱有安全保障——比如一个装着木腿的人或胳膊萎缩的人。我于是改变了方法，我不再讲述自己的不幸，而是为别人预言幸福。”

“我发现这个办法好多了。人们总是注意听自己的事，就连那些说自己不相信算命的人在听我讲他们的故事的时候也会神情专注。我记下与他们交往的人的名字，一些风流韵事和两口子吵架等鸡毛蒜皮的事情很容易从仆人邻居口中获得。而在我们算命这一行当里，人们自己才是我们最好的情报员。因为每个人都想听到自己愿意相信的话，为他们自己的利益他们也不敢让我们感到迷惑。而当你重复了这些话之后人们严肃的表情真的让人难以想像。因此凭着还算不错的记忆力和还算聪明的脑袋瓜，我成功地做了一名算命先生，再加上这只小狗的帮忙，我重新又找到了一个谋生之道。”

“我这行当不是什么诚实的营生，但人们也没有怎么被欺骗。花上半个便士，憧憬一下幸福的生活。先生，我得跟你告别了，我还有3英里的路程要赶，我要在中午之前赶到寄宿学校，去告诉那里的小姐们她们未来的夫君是王室成员还是军队的军官，我答应过她们到那时告诉她们答案。”

哈利已经从口袋里拿出了一先令，但“美德”在他头脑里要求他考虑一下他要把这一先令给谁。“美德”把哈利的胳膊拉了回去，但“美德”的较温和的妹妹，没有“美德”强烈又没有“同情”那么严肃，开始向哈利微笑，他松开了手指，“美德”也没有阻止硬币的落下。它刚一着地，那个小杂种就张嘴咬住，与一般的管家做法不同的是，它立即把硬币交到了主人的手里。

（亨利·迈肯尼）

亨利·迈肯尼（1745～1831年），一生居住于爱丁堡，是一名律师，他结识了许多当时居住于爱丁堡的著名文学家。作为作家，他的作品主要有《敏感的人》和《天地之人》两部小说。

THE FORTUNE TELLER

Harley sat down on a large stone by the wayside, to take a pebble from his shoe, when he saw, at some distance, a beggar approaching him. He had on a loose sort of coat, mended with different colored rags, among which the blue and russet were predominant. He had a short, knotty stick in his hand, and on the top of it was stuck a ram's horn; he wore no shoes, and his stockings had entirely lost that part of them which would have covered his feet and ankles; in his face, however, was the plump appearance of good humor; he walked a good, round pace, and a crook legged dog trotted at his heels.

“Our delicacies,”said Harley to himself,“are fantastic; they are not in nature! That beggar walks over the sharpest of these stones barefooted, whilst I have lost the most delightful dream in the world from the smallest of them happening to get into my shoe.”The beggar had by this time come up, and, pulling off a piece of a hat, asked charity of Harley. The dog began to beg, too. It was impossible to resist both; and, in truth, the want of shoes and stockings had made both unnecessary, for Harley had destined sixpence for him before.

The beggar, on receiving it, poured forth blessings without number; and, with a sort of smile on his countenance, said to Harley that if he wanted to have his fortune told—Harley turned his eye briskly upon the beggar; it was an unpromising look for the subject of a prediction, and silenced the prophet immediately.“I would much rather learn”said Harley,“what it is in your power to tell me. Your trade must be an entertaining one; sit down on this stone, and let me know something of your profession; I have often thought of turning fortune teller for a week or two, myself.”

“Master,”replied the beggar,“I like your frankness much, for I had the humor of plain dealing in me from a child; but there is no doing with it in this world,—we must do as we can; and lying is, as you call it, my profession. But I was in some sort forced to the trade, for I once dealt in telling the truth. I was a laborer, sir, and gained as much as to make me live. I never laid by, indeed, for I was reckoned a piece of a wag, and your wags, I take it, are seldom rich, Mr. Harley.”“So,”said Harley,“you seem to know me.”“Ay, there are few folks in the country that I Don't know something of. How should I tell fortunes else?”“True,—but go on with your story; you were a laborer, you say, and a wag; your industry, I suppose, you left with your old trade; but your humor you preserved to be of use to you in your new.”

“What signifies sadness, sir? A man grows lean on ‘t. But I was brought to my idleness by degrees; sickness first disabled me, and it went against my stomach to work, ever after. But, in truth, I was for a long time so weak that I spit blood whenever I attempted to work. I had no relation living, and I never kept a friend above a week when I was able to joke. Thus I was forced to beg my bread, and a sorry trade I have found it, Mr. Harley. I told all my misfortunes truly, but they were seldom believed; and the few who gave me a half penny as they passed, did it with a shake of the head, and an injunction not to trouble them with a long story. In short, I found that people Don't care to give alms without some security for their money,—such as a wooden leg, or a withered arm, for example. So I changed my plan, and instead of telling my own misfortunes, began to prophesy happiness to others.

“This I found by much the better way. Folks will always listen when the tale is their own, and of many who say they do not believe in fortune telling, I have known few on whom it had not a very sensible effect. I pick up the names of their acquaintance; amours and little squabbles are easily gleaned from among servants and neighbors; and, indeed, people themselves are the best intelligencers in the world for our purpose. They dare not puzzle us for their own sakes, for everyone is anxious to hear what he wishes to believe; and they who repeat it, to laugh at it when they have done, are generally more serious than their hearers are apt to imagine. With a tolerably good memory, and some share of cunning, I succeed reasonably well as a fortune teller. With this, and showing the tricks of that dog, I make shift to pick up a livelihood.

“My trade is none of the most honest, yet people are not much cheated after all, who give a few half pence for a prospect of happiness, which I have heard some persons say, is all a man can arrive at in this world. But I must bid you good day, sir; for I have three miles to walk before noon, to inform some boarding school young ladies whether their husbands are to be peers of the realm or captains in the army; a question which I promised to answer them by that time.”

Harley had drawn a shilling from his pocket; but Virtue bade him to consider on whom he was going to bestow it. Virtue held back his arm; but a milder form, a younger sister of Virtue's, not so severe as Virtue, nor so serious as Pity, smiled upon him; his fingers lost their compression; nor did Virtue appear to catch the money as it fell. It had no sooner reached the ground than the watchful cur（a trick he had been taught）snapped it up; and, contrary to the most approved method of stewardship, delivered it immediately into the hands of his master.

（Henry Mackenzie）

第24课　对逝者的哀思

对逝者的伤痛是唯一让我们难以忘记的，其他每一种伤痛我们都会想办法使其愈合。其他任何痛苦我们都会慢慢忘记，唯有这种痛苦我们认为有责任永久记住。我们珍惜它，在孤独的时候不时想起它。有哪一位母亲能够忘怀在自己怀抱中像花朵一样逝去的婴儿，虽然越回忆越痛苦？有哪个孩子愿意忘记慈爱的父母，虽然记忆总是带来无尽的哀思？有谁能忘记自己永久怀念的朋友，即使在最痛苦的日子里？

对逝者的爱是人类灵魂中最高贵的品质之一。它包含着哀伤，也包含着快乐。当无限的伤痛渐渐变成平静的回忆的泪滴，当失去至爱的突然打击和巨大悲痛缓和下来，变成对以往所有美好日子的沉思和回忆时，有谁会愿意把这种悲伤从心底抹去？虽然它有时可能给快乐的时光带来一丝阴霾，或在痛苦的时候使你更加痛苦，没有人会用一首快乐的歌，或一时的狂欢来代替它。不，天国里传来比歌声更动听的声音。我们有时甚至会抛开生者的美好，而陷入对逝者的无限哀思。

坟墓，它埋藏了所有错误，掩盖了所有缺点，熄灭了所有怨恨！它带给人的只有多情的懊悔和温柔的回忆。即使面对着一个已经变成一堆黄土的敌人的坟墓，又有谁能不肃然起敬，并感受到良心的懊悔。在那些我们所爱的人墓前，我们又怎能忍住不陷入无限哀思。我们在那里泛起长长的记忆，记忆我们亲人一生的故事，那么可亲、可爱、可敬。他们给予我们无限的爱，在亲昵的日子里我们甚至未能留意。我们在这里一遍又一遍记起他们离去时的肃穆的情形，他们慈爱的模样；他们的床前充满了凝重的悲伤、无声的注视、殷切的关怀！这是爱的最后见证！握住他们虚弱、颤抖的手，指尖传来阵阵激动！他浑浊的眼睛久久注视着我们，他虚弱的声音在即将离去的那一刻挣扎着最后一次表达他的爱！

啊，到亲人安息的地方哀思吧！对那些你受过恩而未来得及报答的，用你的良心去偿还吧！对那些曾给你过深爱而你未加珍惜的人，献上你的哀伤，安慰他们的灵魂吧！因为你再也不能抚平他们的创伤了。如果你是子女，你曾给慈爱的父母带来过忧伤，给他们增加了一丝白发；如果你是一个丈夫，你曾让把全部幸福投入你的怀抱的可爱的人对你的善良和忠诚有过片刻的怀疑；如果你是一个朋友，你曾在心里、言语中、行动中误解一个无私信赖你的灵魂；如果你曾错误地伤害过躺在你脚下寒冷的泥土里的寒冷的心灵；请记住，每一个恶意的目光，每一句恶毒的语言，每一个不善的行动都会重回到你的记忆里，不断撞击你痛苦的灵魂。那么请一定到墓前献上你的哀悼和忏悔！献上你迟到的痛哭，抛洒你迟到的眼泪，请更大声地痛哭，更尽情地流泪吧，因为他们再也听不到、看不到了。

献上你的鲜花，如果可以通过这些温柔但无益的忏悔来安慰你破碎的灵魂；从对逝者的痛悼中得到警示吧，更真诚更慈爱地承担起你对生者的责任。

（华盛顿·欧文）

SORROW FOR THE DEAD

The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal; every other affliction, to forget; but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open. This affliction we cherish, and brood over in solitude. Where is the mother who would willingly forget the infant that has perished like a blossom from her arms, though every recollection is a pang? Where is the child that would willingly forget a tender parent, though to remember be but to lament? Who, even in the hour of agony, would forget the friend over whom he mourns?

No, the love which survives the tomb is one of the noblest attributes of the soul. If it has its woes, it has likewise its delights: and when the overwhelming burst of grief is calmed into the gentle tear of recollection; when the sudden anguish and the convulsive agony over the present ruins of all that we most loved, is softened away into pensive meditation on all that it was in the days of its loveliness, who would root out such a sorrow from the heart? Though it may, sometimes, throw a passing cloud over the bright hour of gayety, or spread a deeper sadness over the hour of gloom; yet, who would exchange it even for the song of pleasure, or the burst of revelry? No, there is a voice from the tomb sweeter than song. There is a remembrance of the dead, to which we turn even from the charms of the living.

Oh, the grave! the grave! It buries every error, covers every defect, extinguishes every resentment! From its peaceful bosom spring none but fond regrets and tender recollections. Who can look down upon the grave even of an enemy, and not feel a compunctious throb, that he should have warred with the poor handful of earth that lies moldering before him? But the grave of those we loved—what a place for meditation! There it is that we call up, in long review, the whole history of virtue and gentleness, and the thousand endearments lavished upon us, almost unheeded in the daily intercourse of intimacy; there it is that we dwell upon the tenderness, the solemn, awful tenderness of the parting scene; the bed of death, with all its stifled griefs, its noiseless attendance, its mute, watchful assiduities! the last testimonies of expiring love! the feeble, fluttering, thrilling,—oh! how thrilling!—pressure of the hand! the last fond look of the glazing eye turning upon us, even from the threshold of existence! the faint, faltering accents, struggling in death to give one more assurance of affection!

Ay, go to the grave of buried love, and meditate! There settle the account with thy conscience for every past benefit unrequited; every past endearment unregarded, of that departed being, who can never—never—never return to be soothed by thy contrition! If thou art a child, and hast ever added a sorrow to the soul, or a furrow to the silvered brow of an affectionate parent; if thou art a husband, and hast ever caused the fond bosom that ventured its whole happiness in thy arms to doubt one moment of thy kindness or thy truth; if thou art a friend, and hast ever wronged, in thought, or word, or deed, the spirit that generously confided in thee; if thou hast given one unmerited pang to that true heart, which now lies cold and still beneath thy feet; then be sure that every unkind look, every ungracious word, every ungentle action, will come thronging back upon thy memory, and knocking dolefully at thy soul; then be sure that thou wilt lie down sorrowing and repentant on the grave, and utter the unheard groan, and pour the unavailing tear; more deep, more bitter, because unheard and unavailing.

Then weave thy chaplet of flowers, and strew the beauties of nature about the grave; console thy broken spirit, if thou canst, with these tender, yet futile, tributes of regret: but take warning by the bitterness of this, thy contrite affliction over the dead, and henceforth be more faithful and affectionate in the discharge of thy duties to the living.

第25课　北美印第安人

没多少年前，就在你们现在坐着的这个地方，人们正愉快地过着文明的生活。当时，这里到处是一派繁荣景象，繁茂的蓟属植物在风中向人们愉快地点着头，野狐狸在大白天也能旁若无人地挖洞。当时，在这里生活和相亲相爱的是另外一个种族。同样是现在这明媚的阳光下，印第安猎人正在这里追猎肥壮的鹿群。同样明亮的月光下，恋爱中的印第安小伙子正向他的情人求爱。在这里，弱者和强者，庸者和智者都能各得其所，尽展所长。后来，他们被赶进了深山老林，无家可归。他们曾经在这里浴血奋战；他们在战争中发出的呐喊和不畏屈辱而死的歌声在这里久久回荡。无情的战火熄灭以后，这里才又升起和平的袅袅炊烟。

也是在这里，他们曾经向神灵顶礼膜拜，他们成千上万次地向自己挚爱的神祈祷。神虽然没有在石板上为他们写下法律条文，但是他们却深知并牢记着大神的旨意。这些可怜的上苍之子，虽然他们不知道上帝的启示录，却认为周围的一切都是宇宙赐予他们的。他们每天看见美丽的北极星落往孤寂的归宿，正午的太阳每天都照在自己的身上，美丽的花朵在轻微的晨风中摇摆，气节高贵的青松不畏旋风千万次地吹打，胆小的鸣禽从不离开它栖息的小树林，勇敢的苍鹰双翼被雨水打湿，却仍不知疲倦地在苍穹翱翔。蠕虫在自己的脚下爬行，人类的身体无与伦比，他为此崇拜一种神奇的力量，而同时却更加谦逊。

然而，这一切都已经成为过去。清教徒从大洋对岸咆哮着闯入这片原本非常平静的土地。他们带来了生与死的种子。前者播种以后，产生了在座的诸位，而后者播种以后，导致了纯朴的土著人大批灭绝。200年的时间已经大大改变了美洲大陆的居民构成情况，已经使一个在这个大洲上生活的特殊种族完全灭绝。人类的艺术篡夺了大自然的权利。相对那些缺乏教育的土著人来说，我们上帝的孩子们真是太强大了。及至最后，这里或那里还幸存几位受了伤的印第安人，但是无论如何，他们再也不像自己的祖先那样大胆而难以驯服了。印第安人时代，美洲的空中还盘旋着许多苍鹰，山林中生长着成群结队的狮子，人们茶余饭后愉快地哼唱着动人的歌谣，互相传说着令人可亲可敬的英雄。当年的印第安人在美洲大陆上行走时昂首阔步。而如今，他们受辱的子孙后代却只能爬行前进了。这让我们意识到，当一个人被征服，当脖子被人踩在脚下时，他该是多么痛苦。

作为一个种族，他们已经从陆地消亡了。他们的弓箭已经折断，泉水已经枯竭，小屋里已全是尘土。他们夜间为召集会议而在岸上燃起的篝火早已熄灭，他们战败后迅速撤往人迹罕至的西部地带。他们恋恋不舍，满腔悲愤地爬上了远处的荒山。在夕阳下为自己的命运发呆。他们在汹涌的波涛将自己冲走之前开始撤退，他们很快就能听到最后一次波涛扑过来的咆哮声。这最后的一次波涛将永远把他们淹没。从此以后，好奇的白人来到一个发展中的城市，就不禁面对印第安人的尸体感到好奇，思索他们这种人的行为方式如何。印第安人最终只能被根除他们的人载入历史，供他们满足研究的兴趣了。让这些人切实承认自己的暴行，为印第安人的不幸命运而哀悼吧。

（查尔斯·斯普雷格）

查尔斯·斯普雷格（1791～1875年），生于波士顿，曾就读于波士顿公学。他一生中有16年时间从事商业，但仅仅是作为店员和合伙人而已。1820年，他到一家银行从事出纳工作，从1825年开始的以后大约40年间，一直担任全球银行的司库职务。1829年，他在坎布里奇的大学优秀学生荣誉学会上发表了自己最有名的诗作——《好奇》。查尔斯·斯普雷格一生忙于工作，因此仅写有少量的散文或诗歌并传于后世。

1825年7月4日，查尔斯·斯普雷格为波士顿的市民们做了一篇演讲，以下内容就节选自这篇演讲。

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

Not many generations ago, where you now sit, encircled with all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, the rank thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race of beings. Beneath the same sun that rolls over your head, the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer; gazing on the same moon that smiles for you, the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate. Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and helpless, and the council fire glared on the wise and daring. Now they dipped their noble limbs in your sedgy lakes, and now they paddled the light canoe along your rocky shores. Here they warred; the echoing whoop, the bloody grapple, the defying death song, all were here; and when the tiger strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace.

Here, too, they worshiped; and from many a dark bosom went up a fervent prayer to the Great Spirit. He had not written his laws for them on tables of stone, but he had traced them on the tables of their hearts. The poor child of nature knew not the God of Revelation, but the God of the universe he acknowledged in everything around. He beheld him in the star that sank in beauty behind his lonely dwelling; in the sacred orb that flamed on him from his midday throne; in the flower that snapped in the morning breeze; in the lofty pine that defied a thousand whirlwinds; in the timid warbler that never left its native grove; in the fearless eagle, whose untired pinion was wet in clouds; in the worm that crawled at his feet; and in his own matchless form, glowing with a spark of that light, to whose mysterious source he bent in humble though blind adoration.

And all this has passed away. Across the ocean came a pilgrim bark, bearing the seeds of life and death. The former were sown for you; the latter sprang up in the path of the simple native. Two hundred years have changed the character of a great continent, and blotted forever from its face a whole, peculiar people. Art has usurped the bowers of nature, and the anointed children of education have been too powerful for the tribes of the ignorant. Here and there a stricken few remain; but how unlike their bold, untamable progenitors. The Indian of falcon glance and lion bearing, the theme of the touching ballad, the hero of the pathetic tale is gone, and his degraded offspring crawls upon the soil where he walked in majesty, to remind us how miserable is man when the foot of the conqueror is on his neck.

As a race they have withered from the land. Their arrows are broken, their springs are dried up, their cabins are in the dust. Their council fire has long since gone out on the shore, and their war cry is fast fading to the untrodden west. Slowly and sadly they climb the distant mountains, and read their doom in the setting sun. They are shrinking before the mighty tide which is pressing them away; they must soon hear the roar of the last wave which will settle over them forever. Ages hence, the inquisitive white man, as he stands by some growing city, will ponder on the structure of their disturbed remains, and wonder to what manner of persons they belonged. They will live only in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators. Let these be faithful to their rude virtues as men, and pay due tribute to their unhappy fate as a people.

（Charles Sprague）

第三辑

第1课　扯破的洋娃娃

玛丽·阿姆斯特朗是一个漂亮的小姑娘，但是她在一些事情上总是丢三落四。

她总是把她的书和玩具丢在上次用过的地方，这给她的妈妈带来很大麻烦。妈妈不得不去把它们拾起来放到合适的位置。

妈妈经常告诉玛丽如此粗心的不良后果，但玛丽总是听不进妈妈的忠告，结果她的书被扯破，玩具也被弄坏了。

比这更糟的是，她变得越来越粗心大意了。这会给她的生活带来很大的危害。此外，这种坏习惯也让她过得很不开心，还会使她的朋友们感到很扫兴。

一天，玛丽和妈妈从屋里走到院子里，在露天的地方呆了一个小时。妈妈在出了屋以后，仍不忘带着自己手头正忙着的活。玛丽则跑来跑去，兴高采烈地和她的宠物狗德西在一块儿玩。

此时，玛丽在院子的一个角落里发现，自己最心爱的一个洋娃娃已被扯破，洋娃娃的衣服上也沾满了泥土。

玛丽马上意识到这是德西干的好事，便严厉地斥责了德西。

玛丽把扯破的洋娃娃拿给妈妈看，还禁不住流下了眼泪。

阿姆斯特朗夫人便问玛丽，她是否把洋娃娃放在了德西容易够到的走廊里。玛丽只好作答：

“是的，妈妈。”

“那你就不能责备小狗了，玛丽。因为它并不知道玩你的洋娃娃是不对的。我希望从今以后，你能够吸取这个教训，把你的东西都放在合适的地方。”

“我会努力做到的。”玛丽说。

在得到了玛丽的答复后，妈妈也答应她会尽量把这个娃娃补好。

THE TORN DOLL

Mary Armstrong was a pretty little girl, but she was heedless about some things.

Her way of leaving her books and playthings just where she had used them last, gave her mother much trouble in picking them up and putting them in their proper places.

She had often told Mary the evil effects of being so careless. Her books became spoiled, and her toys broken.

But worse than this was the growing habit of carelessness, which would be of great harm to her all her life. It would make her unhappy, and would annoy her friends.

One day Mary and her mother went out into their pleasant yard, to spend an hour in the open air. Mrs. Armstrong took her work with her.

Mary ran about and played with Dash, her pet dog, and was having a happy time.

But in a corner of the yard she found her nicest doll all torn and broken, and its dress covered with mud.

She knew, at once, that Dash had done this, and she scolded him harshly.

Carrying the broken doll to her mamma. she showed it to her, and could hardly keep from crying.

Mrs. Armstrong asked Mary if she had not left the doll on the porch where Dash could easily get it; and Mary had to answer,“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then you must not blame the dog, Mary, for he does not know it is wrong for him to play with your doll. I hope this will be a lesson to you hereafter, to put your things away when you are through playing.”

“I will try,”said Mary. And her mother promised to mend the doll as well as she could.

第2课　翻船事件

“孩子们，安静地坐着。不要在船里动来动去。”罗斯先生划船带孩子们游玩时对他们说道。

这是一艘大船，不会轻易翻的。船上坐着罗斯先生和罗斯太太、船夫和几个小男孩，还有小女孩。

当埃德加·罗斯和托马斯·瑞德开始从船的一头向另一头走去时，船夫说：“请不要乱动，孩子们。”

他们只安静了一小会儿，不久，埃德加想要托马斯手中的棍子。但当他设法去拿棍子时，身体失去平衡掉进了水中。

罗斯先生和罗斯夫人都惊呼着站了起来，伸出胳膊来救他。但是他们这样做却弄翻了那艘船。

船上的人都掉进了水里，人人都处在被淹死的极度危险之中。

附近还有一艘船，上面只有一个人。船上的人看此情景，便以最快的速度急忙划过来把他们从水中救了出来。

当孩子们在水上乘船的时候，应该总是保持小心、安静，不能乱动，并且应当按大人所说的去做。

THE BOAT UPSET

“Sit still, children. Do not move about in the boat,”said Mr. Rose to the young folks he was taking for a trip on the water.

The boat was a large one, and could not easily be upset. There were in it Mr. and Mrs. Rose, the boatman, and several little boys and girls.

“Keep still, please, young gentlemen,”said the boatman, when Edgar Rose and Thomas Read began to move from one side to the other.

They kept quiet for a short time only. Edgar soon wanted a stick which Thomas held in his hand. He lost his balance in trying to get the stick, and fell into the water.

Mr. and Mrs. Rose both started up, and stretched out their arms to save him; but in so doing, they upset the boat.

Every one fell into the water, and all were in the greatest danger of being drowned.

Another boat was near, with but one man in it. He hastened to them as quickly as possible, and saved them from drowning.

Children should always be careful and quiet when they are in a boat on the water, and should obey what older people tell them.

第3课　拉尔夫·维克

拉尔夫·维克有七岁了。在大多数事情上他是一个很好的孩子，但他特别爱哭。

他若得不到他想要的东西，就会哭着说：“我要得到它。”

假如有人告诉他这样的话，他会因为得不到自己想要的东西而苦恼，进而哭泣得更厉害。

一天，他和他的母亲去田野里。阳光照耀，草已被剪修，花儿开得非常艳丽。

这一次，拉尔夫决心做一个好孩子。在他脸上绽满了微笑。他希望像自己的许诺那样去做。

他说：“妈妈，我现在很好，我愿意按你的吩咐。那就让我扔干草吧。”

“那好吧。”他妈妈回答。于是他们开始扔干草，正像拉尔夫所期望的，他为此感到非常快乐。

“你现在肯定累了吧，”他妈妈说，“在这儿坐一会儿，我会送给你一支漂亮的红玫瑰。”

“我想要一支。”拉尔夫说。于是他母亲拿来一支红玫瑰给了他。

“谢谢你，妈妈，”他说，“但你手上还有一支白色的，请把它给我行吗？”

“不，亲爱的，”他母亲说，“看见它枝上有很多刺了吗？你不要摸它。假如你不小心，你的手一定会被弄伤的。”

当拉尔夫意识到自己无法得到那支白玫瑰时，便大喊大叫起来，而且还伸手去抓它。但是他马上就后悔了，因为这支玫瑰刺伤了他的手，使他的手感到十分酸痛，这下恐怕他真的有一段时间不能用手了。

这件事在拉尔夫脑海里留下了深深的印迹。自那以后当他想要他不该要的东西时，他母亲就会指着他受伤的手。他也最终学会了做他该做的事情。

RALPH WICK

Ralph Wick was seven years old. In most things he was a fine boy, but he was too apt to cry.

When he could not have what. he wanted, he would cry for it and say,“I will have it.”

If he was told that it would hurt him, and he could not have it, he would begin to tease and cry.

One day, he went with his mother into the fields. The sun shone. The grass was cut. The flowers were in bloom.

Ralph thought he was, for once, a good boy. A smile was on his face. He wished to do as he was told.

He said,“Mother, I will be good now. I will do as you bid me. Please let me toss this hay.”

“That I will,”said his mother. So they threw the hay, as Ralph wished, and he was very happy.

“Now you must be tired,”said his mother.“Sit down here, and I will get a nice red rose for you.”

“I would like to have one,”said Ralph. So his mother brought the red rose to him.

“Thank you, mother,”he said.“But you have a white one, also. Please give me that.”

“No, my dear,”said his mother.“See how many thorns it has on its stem. You must not touch it. If you should try to pluck a rose like this, you would be sure to hurt your hand.”

When Ralph found that he could not have the white rose, he began to scream, and snatched it. But he was soon very sorry. The thorns tore his hand. It was so sore he could not use it for some time.

Ralph did not soon forget this. When he wanted what he should not have, his mother would point to his sore hand. He at last learned to do as he was told.

第4课　善良的老人

从前，有位老人住在一幢小屋子里。它有两个房间，只有两个窗户，后面还有一个小花园。

他很老了，但他仍跟从前一样到田里劳动。他经常扛着锄头和铁铲，回到家里已是疲惫不堪。

你想，当他回到家时，谁会在门口等他？哦，是玛丽和简，他的两个小孙女。她们年龄太小，还不能干农活，只能帮他在花园里拔些草，或从山泉里取些水。

到了冬天，他们没钱买足够的木头和煤，因而家里很少生火。他们只能围坐在一起取暖。玛丽坐在老人的一条腿上，简则坐在他的另一条腿上。

有时，祖父会讲一些令他们开怀大笑的故事，有时他会教他们唱颂歌。

他经常谈起她们那仁慈善良的母亲，如今她已告别人世。每天晚上，他还会祈祷上帝保佑她们，并保佑她们的父亲安全归来。

老人的身体已一年不如一年了。好在小姑娘们倒挺喜欢为他做些事，因为他对她们太好了。

一个寒冷的夜晚，狂风怒吼。突然，她们听到有敲门声，小姑娘便跑去开门。噢，这令他们大为惊喜，门口站着的是她们的父亲。

他出海已好长一段时间了。他还存了一笔钱，现在已回到家里。

这下好了，老人不用再下地劳作了。农活他的儿子都给做了，他的孙女们也悉心照顾着他。他们一起度过了许多快乐的时光。

GOOD OLD MAN

There once lived an old man in a snug, little cottage. It had two rooms and only two windows. A small garden lay just behind it.

Old as the poor man was, he used to work in the fields. Often he would come home very tired and weak, with his hoe or spade on his shoulder.

And who do you think met him at the door! Mary and Jane, his two little grandchildren.

They were too young to work, except to weed in the garden, or bring water from the spring.

In winter, as they were too poor to buy much wood or coal, they had little fire; so they used to sit close together to keep warm. Mary would sit on one of the old man's knees, and Jane on the other.

Sometimes their grandfather would tell them a droll story. Sometimes he would teach them a hymn.

He would often talk to them of their father, who had gone to sea, or of their good, kind mother, who was in her grave. Every night he prayed God to bless them, and to bring back their father in safety.

The old man grew weaker every year; but the little girls were glad to work for him, who had been so good to them.

One cold, windy night, they heard a knock at the door. The little girls ran and opened it. Oh, joy to them! There stood their father.

He had been at sea a long time. He had saved some money, and had now come home to stay.

After this the old man did not have to work. His son worked for him, and his grandchildren took care of him. Many happy days they spent together.

第5课　贪吃的女孩

劳拉是一个贪吃的小女孩。她确实是一个暴饮暴食者。你了解什么是暴饮暴食者吗？就是那种在饮食方面毫无节制、一吃起自己爱吃的东西就吃得特别多的人。

劳拉的母亲总是看护着她，让她吃得很好。但有时，当她母亲没有注意到她的时候，她就会因为吃得太多而感觉很不舒服。

我不知她为什么会如此无知。就连她的小猫也决不会吃得过多的，在它吃饱后，它会把那些尚好的骨头留在盘子里，然后躺着去睡觉。

蜜蜂也比劳拉聪明。它们整天在花丛中飞行着采集蜂蜜。如果想吃的话，它们本可以一直吃个不停的。但它们只要吃够就行了，会把剩余的蜂蜜带回蜂巢。

松鼠也只吃少量的坚果或橡子，然后便高兴地蹦来跳去，仿佛刚刚在国王的餐桌上美餐过一顿似的。

你是否曾见过一只松鼠用爪子抓着一个坚果蹦来跳去的？当它吃东西时，它看上去真是可爱极了。

当它住在一个用橡树果制成的房子里时，也决不会需要医生的，因为它不会吃得太多的。

我不喜欢吃得太多的小女孩。你呢，我的小读者？

与吃得较少的人相比，我觉得，那些吃起来毫无节制的人，没有红红的脸庞，明亮的眼睛，温和的脾性。

THE GREEDY GIRL

Laura English is a greedy little girl. Indeed, she is quite a glutton. Do you know what a glutton is? A glutton is one who eats too much, because the food tastes well.

Laura's mother is always willing she should have as much to eat as is good for her; but sometimes, when her mother is not watching, she eats so much that it makes her sick.

I do not know why she is so silly. Her kitten never eats more than it needs. It leaves the nice bones on the plate, and lies down to sleep when it has eaten enough.

The bee is wiser than Laura. It flies all day among the flowers to gather honey, and might eat the whole time if it pleased. But it eats just enough, and carries all the rest to its hive.

The squirrel eats a few nuts or acorns, and frisks about as gayly as if he had dined at the king's table.

Did you ever see a squirrel with a nut in his paws? How bright and lively he looks as he eats it!

If he lived in a house made of acorns, he would never need a doctor. He would not eat an acorn too much.

I do not love little girls who eat too much. Do you, my little readers?

I do not think they have such rosy cheeks, or such bright eyes, or such sweet, happy tempers as those who eat less.

第6课　逃学的小男孩

当爸爸妈妈送詹姆斯·布朗去上学的时候，他已经10岁了。因为学校离家很近，所以爸爸妈妈便让他自己去上学。

但是，詹姆斯却不好好上学，还养成了逃学的坏习惯。他有时跑到田野里去，或者与一些无所事事的孩子们在一起玩耍。

还不止这些呢。当他回家时，他会欺骗他妈妈说他去上学了，而且还说他的成绩挺不错。

一个阳光明媚的早晨，妈妈告诉詹姆斯放学后要早点回来，然后带他去姑姑家。

到了姑姑那儿他在没有告知妈妈的情况下去了海边。海边有木船，他在那儿还遇见了许多无所事事的孩子。

他们中的几个孩子发现了姑姑给詹姆斯的钱。于是他们便拉他去租了条小船，并且与他们一同划到水面上去了。

詹姆斯开始并不知道这样做会有多危险。不一会儿，开始起风了，但他们中间没有一个人能控制住这条船。

突然，一个巨浪掀翻了小船，他们全都掉进了水里。

想想这时的詹姆斯·布朗——一个逃学的学生的境遇吧。他离家很远，又没有人认识他，他的父母也不知道他现在正有危险。他只能孤身一人在水中挣扎着，眼看快要被淹着了，就在这时，大人们看见了这些孩子。他们赶紧跑上船，划向詹姆斯那里。他们及时救起了这些孩子们，并把他们带到了一个房子将衣服烘干。过了一阵子后，他们被送回了家。

詹姆斯对自己的行为感到非常抱歉。从那以后，他再也没有犯过同样的错误了。在学校里，他遵守纪律，认真学习，但这一切首先要求他完全听父母的话。

THE TRUANT

James Brown was ten years old when his parents sent him to school. It was not far from his home, and therefore they sent him by himself.

But, instead of going to school, he was in the habit of playing truant. He would go into the fields, or spend his time with idle boys.

But this was not all. When he went home, he would falsely tell his mother that he had been to school, and had said his lessons very well.

One fine morning, his mother told James to make haste home from school, for she wished, after he had come back, to take him to his aunt's.

But, instead of minding her, he went off to the water, where there were some boats. There he met plenty of idle boys.

Some of these boys found that James had money, which his aunt had given him; and he was led by them to hire a boat, and to go with them upon the water.

Little did James think of the danger into which he was running. Soon the wind began to blow, and none of them knew how to manage the boat.

For some time, they struggled against the wind and the tide. At last, they became so tired that they could row no longer.

A large wave upset the boat, and they were all thrown into the water. Think of James Brown, the truant, at this time!

He was far from home, known by no one. His parents were ignorant of his danger. He was struggling in the water, on the point of being drowned.

Some men, however, saw the boys, and went out to them in a boat. They reached them just in time to save them from a watery grave.

They were taken into a house, where their clothes were dried. After a while, they were sent home to their parents.

James was very sorry for his conduct, and he was never known to be guilty of the same thing again.

He became regular at school, learned to attend to his books, and, above all, to obey his parents perfectly.

第7课　闹钟

有位女士，因为她早上很难按时起床，于是就买了一个闹钟。在主人设置的任何时间，闹钟都会无休止地响个不停。

这位女士把它放在床头。第二天，在预定的时间，她被一连串长长的铃声叫醒了。她立即起了床。由于能早起了，她一整天的感觉都好极了。就这样过了几个星期。闹钟按时地打铃，她也总能一听到便立刻起床。

可是，过了一段时间，她就厌倦了早起。当她被铃声吵醒时，只是翻了一下身子，又睡过去了。

后来，闹钟再也不能将她从睡梦中叫醒了。虽然闹钟的声音和以前一样大，可她就是听不见，因为她已经习惯了。

其实即使没有闹钟，她也知道什么时间铃声一响起，就该起床了。

对于个人的道德也是这样。假如我们严格遵守道德规范，即使再小的事情，我们也能清晰地感觉到道德的存在。但是我们如果允许自己去做一些不太正确的事，时间久了，我们就会模糊起来，直到良心的谴责对我们失去作用。

THE ALARM CLOCK

A lady, who found it not easy to wake in the morning as early as she wished, bought an alarm clock. These clocks are so made as to strike with a loud whirring noise at any hour the owner pleases to set them.

The lady placed her clock at the head of the bed, and at the right time she found herself roused by the long, rattling sound.

She arose at once, and felt better all day for her early rising. This lasted for some weeks. The alarm clock faithfully did its duty, and was plainly heard so long as it was obeyed.

But, after a time, the lady grew tired of early rising. When she was waked by the noise, she merely turned over in bed, and slept again.

In a few days, the clock ceased to rouse her from her sleep. It spoke just as loudly as ever; but she did not hear it, because she had been in the habit of not obeying it.

Finding that she might as well be without it, she resolved that when she heard the sound she would jump up.

Just so it is with conscience. If we will obey its voice, even in the most trifling things, we can always hear it, clear and strong.

But if we allow ourselves to do what we have some fears may not be quite right, we shall grow more and more sleepy, until the voice of conscience has no longer power to wake as.

第8课　竞争

一天，富兰克的父亲正和一个朋友在谈论学校时的竞争。他说，可以确信嫉妒和竞争没有什么联系。

曾经有很多人做的比他好，但是他想不起来自己曾经嫉妒过那些成功的对手。“就是我胜出我的朋友，拿了好多奖项，也丝毫没有影响他对我的友谊。”

为了证明这种说法的真实性，一个在场的朋友提到一则发生在临近学校里的逸事。

在这所学校里上学的学生中，有富裕农场主的孩子，也有穷人家的孩子。当这位先生讲述两个竞争对手的故事时，富兰克听得非常仔细。

碰巧一个富有的农场主的儿子和一个贫穷的寡妇的儿子竞选班长。他们俩难分伯仲，老师很难选择。只好让一个人当一段时间，另一个再当一段时间，最后由一周内谁当班长的时间久来决定。

寡妇的儿子在最后一天赢得了胜利，赢得了第二周的班长位置，一直到了学期结束放假的时候。

下一学期刚开学的时候，寡妇的儿子却没有来，坐在他旁边的农场主的儿子现在可以得到班长的位子了。但是，他没有乘机占这个现成的空位子，而是去了寡妇家，询问她儿子没有上学的原因。

原来是因为没有钱。可怜的母亲发现自己实在没有能力继续给儿子付学费和书本费了，所以可怜的家伙不得不辍学，帮妈妈干活。

于是，农场主的儿子用爸爸定期给他的零用钱，替他的竞争对手买了需要的书本，为他付了学费，还让他再回到自己当了一段时间的班长的位子上。他为自己的大方付出了代价，但他的行为受到了老师和同学们的称赞，这两个孩子也成了更加亲密的朋友。

◇ 这课的主题是什么？

◇ 什么是嫉妒？

◇ 讲述一下这两个对手的故事？

◇ 对他人嫉妒是否可取？

EMULATION

Frank's father was speaking to a friend, one day, on the subject of competition at school. He said that he could answer for it that envy is not always connected with it.

He had been excelled by many, but did not recollect ever having felt envious of his successful rivals;“nor did my winning many a prize from my friend Birch,”said he,“ever lessen his friendship for me.”

In support of the truth of this, a friend who was present related an anecdote which had fallen under his own notice in a school in his neighborhood.

At this school the sons of several wealthy farmers, and others, who were poorer, received instruction. Frank listened with great attention while the gentleman gave the following account of the two rivals:

It happened that the son of a rich farmer and the son of a poor widow came in competition for the head of their class. They were so nearly equal that the teacher could scarcely decide between them; some days one, and some days the other, gained the head of the class. It was determined by seeing who should be at the head of the class for the greater number of days in the week.

The widow's son, by the last day's trial, gained the victory, and kept his place the following week, till the school was dismissed for the holidays.

When they met again the widow's son did not appear, and the farmer's son, being next to him, might now have been at the head of his class. Instead of seizing the vacant place, however, he went to the widow's house to inquire what could be the cause of her son's absence.

Poverty was the cause; the poor woman found that she was not able, with her utmost efforts, to continue to pay for the tuition and books of her son, and so he, poor fellow! had been compelled to give up his schooling, and to return to labor for her support.

The farmer's son, out of the allowance of pocket money which his father gave him, bought all the necessary books and paid for the tuition of his rival. He also permitted him to be brought back again to the head of his class, where he continued for some time, at the expense of his generous rival.

第9课　一切晚矣

一辆铁路列车以闪电般的速度飞驰着。前面是一段弯路，弯路前是一个车站，两列火车通常在这里汇合。列车长迟到了，前面的火车早已应该出发了，但是他还是希望过弯道时减速。后面的火车头冲了过来，火车相撞了。刺耳的尖声过后，是一片混乱，50个人死了。这一切，仅仅是因为列车长误时了。

一场激烈的战役正在进行。一队又一队士兵冲向敌人占领的山岗。夏天的太阳在向西沉。不远处，顽固的守卫者的援军已经快到了。必须进行最后一次冲锋，否则一切都是徒劳。

一支强壮的军队接到派遣，如果它及时赶到，一切都会非常顺利。这位伟大的统治者自信地将剩余部队编成进攻纵队，命令他们向敌人发起进攻。全世界都知道这场战役的结果。葛罗奇伊曼纽尔·葛罗奇是滑铁卢战役中拿破仑的一位将军。这场战役发生于1815年，交战双方分别是拿破仑率领的法国军队和威灵顿率领的英国、荷兰和德国军队。没有出现，皇家军队被击溃，滑铁卢失陷了。拿破仑拿破仑·波拿巴（1769～1821年），出生于科西嘉岛上，曾经是一个“勤学、遵守纪律、在数学方面很有天分”的学生。1785年，他被任命为陆军少尉。他从这个普通的职位一直升迁至军队总司令，并于1804年成为法国皇帝，被人们认为是世界上一位伟大的军事家之一。作为一个囚犯，死于圣海伦娜，因为他的一位将军误时了。

有一家工厂，很长时间以来一直挣扎着避免破产。这家工厂在加利福尼亚有一笔巨额钱款，它希望在某一天能收到汇款，这样，当这笔钱汇到时，工厂的名声、荣誉就可以得到挽救，它在未来就能得到很好的发展。但是，一个星期又一个星期过去了，钱一直没有到。最后，工厂的账单终于达到了一个巨大的数字。汽船在拂晓时到达，但是工厂的人询问之下，才发现他没有带来资金。工厂破产了。下一班船为这群破产的人带来了差不多50万元，但是这太晚了。他们破产了，因为他们的代理商在汇款时误了时。

一个被宣布有罪的人被押赴刑场。他杀了人，但他是在受到极端挑衅下才这么做的，因此公众非常同情他。上千人签署了一个请愿书，请求对他的缓刑。头一个晚上，人们本来以为会得到一个肯定的答复。虽然答复没有到达，但是连法官都坚信这样的答复马上就会到达。上午慢慢过去了，人们还没有看到报信人的影子。

最后的时刻到来了。囚犯站到了应该站的位置上，有人把帽子遮在他的眼睛上，铡拴落下了，已经没有了生命的身体在风中旋转着。正在这时，一个人骑着马出现在远处，他飞奔过山岗，胯下的马儿口吐白沫。他的右手擎着个包裹，冲着人群疯狂地挥舞。他带来了缓刑的答复，但是他来得太晚了。一个本来清白的人死于非命，仅仅因为钟表走慢了5分钟，送信人误时了。

有很多事都是如此。本来完美的计划，最重要的事情，个人的命运，国家的福祉、荣誉、幸福，甚至生命本身，每天都被这样牺牲，因为有人“误时”了。有些人不论干什么总是失败，仅仅因为他们“误时”了。另一些人年复一年地推迟着不愿改变，直至死亡，万劫不复地遭到毁灭，因为他们永远“误时”。

BEHIND TIME

A railroad train was rushing along at almost lightning speed. A curve was just ahead, beyond which was a station where two trains usually met. The conductor was late,—so late that the period during which the up train was to wait had nearly elapsed; but he hoped yet to pass the curve safely. Suddenly a locomotive dashed into sight right ahead. In an instant there was a collision. A shriek, a shock, and fifty souls were in eternity; and all because an engineer had been behind time.

A great battle was going on. Column after column had been precipitated for eight hours on the enemy posted along the ridge of a hill. The summer sun was sinking in the west; reenforcements for the obstinate defenders were already in sight; it was necessary to carry the position with one final charge, or everything would be lost.

A powerful corps had been summoned from across the country, and if it came up in season all would yet be well. The great conqueror, confident in its arrival, formed his reserve into an attacking column, and ordered them to charge the enemy. The whole world knows the result. Grouchy failed to appear; the imperial guard was beaten back; and Waterloo was lost. Napoleon died a prisoner at St. Helena because one of his marshals was behind time.

A leading firm in commercial circles had long struggled against bankruptcy. As it had large sums of money in California, it expected remittances by a certain day, and if they arrived, its credit, its honor, and its future prosperity would be preserved. But week after week elapsed without bringing the gold. At last came the fatal day on which the firm had bills maturing to large amounts. The steamer was telegraphed at daybreak; but it was found, on inquiry, that she brought no funds, and the house failed. The next arrival brought nearly half a million to the insolvents, but it was too late; they were ruined because their agent, in remitting, had been behind time.

A condemned man was led, out for execution. He had taken human life, but under circumstances of the greatest provocation, and public sympathy was active in his behalf. Thousands had signed petitions for a reprieve; a favorable answer had been expected the night before, and though it had not come, even the sheriff felt confident that it would yet arrive. Thus the morning passed without the appearance of the messenger.

The last moment was up. The prisoner took his place, the cap was drawn over his eyes, the bolt was drawn, and a lifeless body swung revolving in the wind. Just at that moment a horseman came into sight, galloping down hill, his steed covered with foam. He carried a packet in his right hand, which he waved frantically to the crowd. He was the express rider with the reprieve; but he came too late. A comparatively innocent man had died an ignominious death because a watch had been five minutes too late, making its bearer arrive behind time.

It is continually so in life. The best laid plans, the most important affairs, the fortunes of individuals, the weal of nations, honor, happiness, life itself, are daily sacrificed, because somebody is“behind time.”There are men who always fail in whatever they undertake, simply because they are“behind time.”There are others who put off reformation year after year, till death seizes them, and they perish unrepentant, because forever“behind time.”

第10课　控制你的脾气

没有人天生脾气很好，可以不需要注意和修饰，没有人天生脾气很坏，以至于后天的修养都无济于事。脾气是可以受到约束的，我可以告诉你一个非常典型的例子。有位先生，天生脾气暴躁、易怒、鲁莽，但后来他照料了一些病人，尤其是精神错乱的人，从此以后，他完全改变了，再也没有人见到他发脾气。

对自己的脾气注意收敛的人，和对自己脾气放任不管的人，他们得到的幸福是有很大区别的。如果你被自己的坏脾气所控制，总是因之而烦恼，那你肯定不受人欢迎。生命中总是不时有这样那样的麻烦，让我们想转身逃跑，或者让我们变得不耐烦。

看看罗格·谢尔曼罗格·谢尔曼（1721～1793年），出生于马萨诸塞州的纽顿，直到22岁时还是一个鞋匠。他后来搬家到康涅狄格州的新密尔弗德，很快被任命为村勘测员。1754年，他通过资格考试，从事律师业。他多次当选法官，曾被派往立法部、殖民立法部和美国国会。他曾当选总督安全理事会成员。1776年，他被委员会任命为代表，起草并签署了独立宣言。他本来地位低贱，后来却成为美国首届国会议员，而且他的观点得到这些著名人士的广泛尊重。他使自己成了脾气的主人，一生注重自己的修养。下面是关于他个性的一二件轶事。

一天——那时他已经是国会议员了——他坐在会客室里在阅读书刊。旁边房间里一个顽皮的学生拿着一把镜子，使阳光恰好反射到谢尔曼先生的脸上。他把椅子挪了挪，而那学生仍不知趣地继续着。他第三次挪了挪椅子，但是男孩仍旧把阳光聚到他脸上。他放下书，走到窗户前，很多目睹这事的人以为这个不知趣的学生准得挨骂不可。他轻轻把窗户打开，然后——放下了百叶窗！

我忍不住想再告诉你另一个例子。本来，他的情感非常强烈，但是他十分善于控制自己的情感。平静、稳重、自我约束已经成为习惯。谢尔曼先生在家中坚持进行宗教仪式。一天清晨，他像平时一样把家人召集到一起祈祷。陈旧的《圣经》摆在桌子上。

谢尔曼先生坐了下来，让他的一个孩子站在身边。其余的人围坐在屋中，有几个孩子已经长大了。除了家人们，学院里的一些老师也在这里寄宿，他们也都在场。他的老妈妈坐在房间的一个角落里，正对着这位著名法官。

他打开《圣经》，开始诵读。坐在他旁边的孩子做了些小动作，谢尔曼先生停止诵读，告诉他要安静些。他又接着读，但不一会儿又被迫停下来训斥小捣蛋鬼，他正是好动的年纪，一刻也不停歇。这次，他轻轻拍了拍他的面颊。这一拳——如果这也能被称作一拳的话——恰好被他的老母亲看到了。她费力地站起来，蹒跚着穿过房间，走到谢尔曼先生面前，出人意料地用尽气力给了他一个耳光。“好呀，”她说，“你打你的孩子，我也打我的孩子。”

顿时血涌上谢尔曼先生的脸颊。但是很快，他就恢复了惯常的平静和温和。他顿了顿，捡起眼镜，看了看他母亲，然后又接着诵读起来。他没有读错一个字，而是镇静地诵读着，并且通过这一行动给他的家人做了榜样。这样的胜利，比战场上赢得的胜利更让人自豪。

（约翰·托德）

约翰·托德（1800～1873年），生于佛蒙特州的拉特兰德。1842年，他担任马萨诸塞州皮兹菲尔德公理教会的牧师。他出版了一些很有价值的著作，在当时颇受欢迎，被译为多种欧洲语言。1836年，他出版了《赛波斯的学校教师》。1841年，出版了《维尔明失踪的姐妹》。他也是何里约克山女子神学院的创始人之一。

CONTROL YOUR TEMPER

No one has a temper naturally so good, that it does not need attention and cultivation, and no one has a temper so bad, but that, by proper culture, it may become pleasant. One of the best disciplined tempers ever seen, was that of a gentleman who was naturally quick, irritable, rash, and violent; but, by having the care of the sick, and especially of deranged people, he so completely mastered himself that he was never known to be thrown off his guard.

The difference in the happiness which is received or bestowed by the man who governs his temper, and that by the man who does not, is immense. There is no misery so constant, so distressing, and so intolerable to others, as that of having a disposition which is your master, and which is continually fretting itself. There are corners enough, at every turn in life, against which we may run, and at which we may break out in impatience, if we choose.

Look at Roger Sherman, who rose from a humble occupation to a seat in the first Congress of the United States, and whose judgment was received with great deference by that body of distinguished men. He made himself master of his temper, and cultivated it as a great business in life. There are one or two instances which show this part of his character in a light that is beautiful.

One day, after having received his highest honors, he was sitting and reading in his parlor. A roguish student, in a room close by, held a looking glass in such a position as to pour the reflected rays of the sun directly in Mr. Sherman's face. He moved his chair, and the thing was repeated. A third time the chair was moved, but the looking glass still reflected the sun in his eyes. He laid aside his book, went to the window, and many witnesses of the impudence expected to hear the ungentlemanly student severely reprimanded. He raised the window gently, and then—shut the window blind!

I can not forbear adducing another instance of the power he had acquired over himself. He was naturally possessed of strong passions; but over these he at length obtained an extraordinary control. He became habitually calm, sedate, and self possessed. Mr. Sherman was one of those men who are not ashamed to maintain the forms of religion in their families. One morning he called them all together, as usual, to lead them in prayer to God; the“old family Bible”was brought out, and laid on the table.

Mr. Sherman took his seat, and placed beside him one of his children, a child of his old age; the rest of the family were seated around the room; several of these were now grown up. Besides these, some of the tutors of the college were boarders in the family, and were present at the time alluded to. His aged and superannuated mother occupied a corner of the room, opposite the place where the distinguished judge sat.

At length, he opened the Bible, and began to read. The child who was seated beside him made some little disturbance, upon which Mr. Sherman paused and told it to be still. Again he proceeded; but again he paused to reprimand the little offender, whose playful disposition would scarcely permit it to be still. And this time he gently tapped its ear. The blow, if blow it might be called, caught the attention of his aged mother, who now, with some effort, rose from the seat, and tottered across the room. At length she reached the chair of Mr. Sherman, and, in a moment, most unexpectedly to him, she gave him a blow on the ear with all the force she could summon.“There,”said she,“you strike your child, and I will strike mine.”

For a moment, the blood was seen mounting to the face of Mr. Sherman; but it was only for a moment, when all was calm and mild as usual. He paused; he raised his spectacles; he cast his eye upon his mother; again it fell upon the book from which he had been reading. Not a word escaped him; but again he calmly pursued the service, and soon after sought in prayer an ability to set an example before his household which would be worthy of their imitation. Such a victory was worth more than the proudest one ever achieved on the field of battle.

NOTE.—Roger Sherman（b. 1721, d. 1793）was born at Newton Massachusetts, and until twenty two years of age was a shoemaker. He then removed to New Milford, Connecticut, and was soon afterward appointed surveyor of lands for the county. In 1754, he was admitted to the bar. At various times he was elected a judge; sent to the Legislature, to the Colonial Assembly, and to the United States Congress; made a member of the governor's council of safety; and, in 1776, a member of the committee appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence, of which he was one of the signers.

（John Todd, D.D.）

第11课　大扫除

如果她高兴，这位女士可以享有她应有的特权，不过，5月的最后一段时间就是因为这一点而安排的。细心的丈夫可以根据某些特定的预兆，知道她可能在什么时候暴发一场暴风雨。如果这位女士变得烦躁不安，试图在每一个佣人的身上找麻烦，对孩子们所做的一切感到不满，觉得她周围的一切东西都不清洁，这一切都是不可忽视的征兆，不过有时候，她暴发的风暴可能没有更深层的影响。

但如果丈夫在早上起床之后，注意到院子里的那辆手推车堆满了酸橙，或者注意到一些木桶里装满了水，水里面又有许多酸橙的时候，那他就不用再犹豫、一刻也不能耽搁——他知道一场暴风雨就要来了。他马上锁好寓所的大门，或者锁好他用来收藏论文和私人财产的壁橱，把钥匙放在自己的衣袋里，马上逃走，越快越好。一个令人怜爱的丈夫在女人狂怒的季节里变成了一个十足的惹人讨厌的东西。他的权力暂时被向后推迟，他的职责暂时被终止，而那些在厨房里清洁铜器的人现在变得比他要重要得多。在这段时间里，他除了逃避、退位之外，没有什么可选的余地。在这个时候，一切的一切他都无能为力，因为他不能阻止这一切，也不能改变这一切。

丈夫逃走了，而风暴却才刚刚开始。墙板上的装饰被撕裂，被剥落：油画、照片、穿衣镜都被堆集在地板上，乱成了一团；窗帘被从窗子上撕扯了下来，床上堆满了椅子、板凳、桌子、床架、摇篮；院子里堆放了许多东西，而花园的篱笆上压满了地毯、毛毯、床单、被褥、衣罩、旧棉被、破棉袄、小内衣以及破旧的马褂。在这个地方，你可能看到厨房的一块破木板，组成一幅完美图画的一个背景：一个烤架和几个炒锅，生锈了的铁锹和一个破旧的铜锣，榫接凳和破旧的没有底的椅子。在那个地方，一个橱柜给翻倒在地，里面的“五脏六腑”全给翻倒了出来：破裂了的碟子、盘子，破成了两半的瓷碗，裂了口子的玻璃杯，破碎了的酒杯，被遗忘的小玻璃瓶，纸包了几层的药粉，一些干草药和菜种子，茶壶的盖子、玻璃瓶塞——所有这些从顶楼的破洞里，到地窖里的老鼠洞，没有幸免于难的地方，几乎所有的地方都堆满了这些东西，这一切看起来好像末日就要来临一样，而那些日常用具就像犯人一样被拖出来接受审判。

……

风暴终于过去了，整个房屋被撤退干净。下一场战争马上开始，也就是用刷子粘上石灰水，以抹去墙上和房顶上的污垢，要把这一切都刷白，用一桶一桶的水冲洗每一层楼的地板，用尖硬的刷子，再加上香皂和磨砂石猛烈地抹去每一个角落、每个壁板、装饰墙壁的材料（如瓷砖等）上面的灰尘。

窗子无论如何也是躲不过这场猛烈的暴风雨。一个佣人，攀登上楼房旁边的小棚屋，冒着她的脖子被刮伤的危险，手里拿着一个杯子和水桶，用一加仑一加仑的水朝着玻璃窗格猛烈地泼去，使得大街上的过往行人不住地回过头来张望，他们也许在想，这里肯定正发生一场不可挽救的火灾。

据说，一个从路边大街上经过的人被这些“美丽的仙女们”泼出的水弄湿了身子，却不好意思向她们表示感谢，于是决定采取行动，企图通过一项法律阻止她们的这种“好意”。不过经过一段很长时间的辩论之后，由于这些“仙女们”的“好意”也没有造成什么更严重的影响，这些“被告们”也算是在行使她们的职权，因此也没有必要对她们做出的事情的后果负责。这位“荣幸”的先生的诉状被驳了回来。在这场与“仙女们”的斗争中，他既搞丢了衣服，也打败了官司，真可谓什么也没得到。

这些抹来抹去、擦来擦去、洗来洗去、泼来泼去的活动每隔一段时间就要进行一次。在这些活动举行之后，接下来的行动就是擦洗、重新摆放这些有鼻子没眼睛的家具。我们经常见到过房屋建造，或者舰船起航，在这个时候，我们会看到急匆匆的、慌乱的人来人往的景象，那么你就可以知道现有这个家庭所出现的景象。然而不幸的是，我们清扫房屋的目的就是清扫，这与在这样的行动当中，所有的这些器具遭受到的苦难一点也没有关系，在所有这样的行动当中，一切目标就是使整个房屋干净，但是在达到这一目的的同时，难道不能够使这些器具保存下来吗？

例如，一个非常精美的、巨大的雕版平平地放倒在地板上，然后有几张稍小的图画堆放在它的上面，直到后来，堆放的东西多了，添加的物品的重量压碎了雕版上的玻璃——然而这并是什么大不了的事情。一个非常有价值的图画靠在一个桌子尖尖的角上，其他东西再靠在这张图画上面，然后再堆放，直到所有东西给了这张图画以重大压力之后，这张图画终于承受不了给予它的压力，图画的帆布最后被桌子的尖角戳破了。精美图画的框架和玻璃都要清洗，然而图画的灵魂和油墨都遭受到了劫难。如果玻璃和框架都擦洗得闪亮发光，这就足够了，而其他一切都是不值得考虑的。一个算术家根据多年的经验做了一次计算，结果证明两次粉刷的损失和破坏就等于一次清除，而三次清除就等于一场大火。

（弗朗西斯·霍普金斯）

弗朗西斯·霍普金斯（1737～1791年），他是一个英国人的后裔，出生于美国费城，并在费城的一所大学接受教育，即现在的宾夕法尼亚大学。1776年，他任新泽西州议员，是独立战争领导人之一，也是美国大陆会议的成员和《独立宣言》的签署人（1776年），同时又是一位思想高雅而有判断力的文学作家之一，因其反对英国政治的讽刺幽默文章而闻名。他的文章清晰而又有哲理。他写了大量关于美国独立运动的著作。

HOUSE CLEANING

There is no season of the year in which the lady may not, if she pleases, claim her privilege; but the latter end of May is generally fixed upon for the purpose. The attentive husband may judge, by certain prognostics, when the storm is at hand. If the lady grows uncommonly fretful, finds fault with the servants, is discontented with the children, and complains much of the nastiness of everything about her, these are symptoms which ought not to be neglected, yet they sometimes go off without any further effect.

But if, when the husband rises in the morning, he should observe in the yard a wheelbarrow with a quantity of lime in it, or should see certain buckets filled with a solution of lime in water, there is no time for hesitation. He immediately locks up the apartment or closet where his papers and private property are kept, and, putting the key into his pocket, betakes himself to flight. A husband, however beloved, becomes a perfect nuisance during this season of female rage. His authority is superseded, his commission suspended, and the very scullion who cleans the brasses in the kitchen becomes of more importance than he. He has nothing for it but to abdicate for a time, and run from an evil which he can neither prevent nor mollify.

The husband gone, the ceremony begins. The walls are stripped of their furniture—paintings, prints, and looking glasses lie huddled in heaps about the floors; the curtains are torn from their testers, the beds crammed into windows, chairs and tables, bedsteads and cradles, crowd the yard, and the garden fence bends beneath the weight of carpets, blankets, cloth cloaks, old coats, under petticoats, and ragged breeches. Here may be seen the lumber of the kitchen, forming a dark and confused mass for the foreground of the picture; gridirons and frying pans, rusty shovels and broken tongs, joint stools, and the fractured remains of rush bottomed chairs. There a closet has disgorged its bowels—riveted plates and dishes, halves of china bowls, cracked tumblers, broken wineglasses, phials of forgotten physic, papers of unknown powders, seeds and dried herbs, tops of teapots, and stoppers of departed decanters—from the rag hole in the garret, to the rat hole in the cellar, no place escapes unrummaged. It would seem as if the day of general doom had come, and the utensils of the house were dragged forth to judgment.

This ceremony completed, and the house thoroughly evacuated, the next operation is to smear the walls and ceilings with brushes dipped into a solution of lime, called whitewash; to pour buckets of water over every floor; and scratch all the partitions and wainscots with hard brushes, charged with soft soap and stonecutters’ sand.

The windows by no means escape the general deluge. A servant scrambles out upon the penthouse, at the risk of her neck, and, with a mug in her hand and a bucket within reach, dashes innumerable gallons of water against the glass panes, to the great annoyance of passengers in the street.

I have been told that an action at law was once brought against one of these water nymphs, by a person who had a new suit of clothes spoiled by this operation: but after long argument, it was determined that no damages could be awarded; inasmuch as the defendant was in the exercise of a legal right, and not answerable for the consequences. And so the poor gentleman was doubly non suited; for he lost both his suit of clothes and his suit at law.

These smearings and scratchings, these washings and dashings, being duly performed, the next ceremonial is to cleanse and replace the distracted furniture. You may have seen a house raising, or a ship launch—recollect, if you can, the hurry, bustle, confusion, and noise of such a scene, and you will have some idea of this cleansing match. The misfortune is, that the sole object is to make things clean. It matters not how many useful, ornamental, or valuable articles suffer mutilation or death under the operation. A mahogany chair and a carved frame undergo the same discipline; they are to be made clean at all events; but their preservation is not worthy of attention.

For instance: a fine large engraving is laid flat upon the floor; a number of smaller prints are piled upon it, until the superincumbent weight cracks the lower glass—but this is of no importance. A valuable picture is placed leaning against the sharp corner of a table; others are made to lean against that, till the pressure of the whole forces the corner of the table through the canvas of the first. The frame and glass of a fine print are to be cleaned; the spirit and oil used on this occasion are suffered to leak through and deface the engraving—no matter. If the glass is clean and the frame shines, it is sufficient—the rest is not worthy of consideration. An able arithmetician hath made a calculation, founded on long experience, and proved that the losses and destruction incident to two white washings are equal to one removal, and three removals equal to one fire.

第12课　先辈的记忆

人们要求我们尊敬我们的先辈，并对他们表示感谢，珍惜他们教育我们的时日。自然的亲情关系和伦理都要求我们这样去做。自然没有一个国家因为先辈而感到耻辱，或者不对先辈充满敬仰、愉悦之情，因为许多国家都在寻根究源，探祖访宗。我们国家的基石是由那些文明之人、基督教徒奠定并创建起来的。他们中大多数都出身于非常有名望的家族，他们都是非常有才干之人、博学之士、饱学之士，有决策者的风范，非常灵活而机智。尽管如此，他们却承受着不公正的待遇，他们被视为没有一点美德之人，而他们的缺点和罪责却永无休止地被讽刺嘲弄，成为人们茶余饭后的笑料。

对于我们先辈的这种不公正待遇的影响却是太显而易见了。这就使他们的创新和机构、体制遭到破坏，被废弃掉。那么在此之后，有谁还会欣赏他们的智慧和才学呢？在这个国家，“回忆我们的先辈”应当作为束缚我们自由行动的警言。因为尽管他们不是尽善尽美，但是能够像他们那样，毕竟是前无古人，恐怕在将来也不会有来者。

我们先辈们的学说被看作是黑暗、严厉、毫无理性，具有放肆倾向的代表。不过，只有当其他的学说或体制派生出献身的虔诚、纯洁的道德、无私的爱国主义、幸福社会的国家、如同他们的学说那样盛行和受人欢迎的时候，也许到了这个时候，我们先辈们的学说或者体制该是遭到抛弃的时候了。

我们的先辈所从事的迫害向来为人们所谩骂，成为人们攻击的目标，这些迫害玷污了他们一生的声誉。是的，他们所犯的错误不是一般的错误，而是影响极大的错误，而他们有时可能也犯过迫害这样的错误。但也只有那些祖先没有比他们10倍有罪的人首先发起攻击，如果这样的话，我们的先辈在九泉之下也会安宁的。那些谩骂我们先辈的人，他们自己的先辈所犯下的罪责是整个时代的代表，而且，我们还可以轻易证明，任何阶级的人在那个时代都非常恐惧、害怕宗教自由。对于我们来说，我们之所以有了今天更为广泛的宗教自由，就是因为他们的努力的结果，从某种程度上是可以这样说的。

相对于我们的先辈来说，他们的先辈比他们更加迷信，更加固执。但是，当我们从广泛的范围去看一件事情，看看当时的世界形势，同新英格兰的形势相比，我们会发出这样的惊叹，“我们的先辈同世界上其他国家和民族的先辈一样，或者一样，他们都是迷信的，更加固执的。”

（莱曼·比彻尔）

莱曼·比彻尔（1775～1863年），美国有名的卫理教牧师、热情的传道士、不激进的加尔文派神学家和坚定的废奴主义者。他出生于纽黑文。纽黑文是美国康涅狄格州南部的一个城市，位于布里奇波特东北的长岛海峡之畔。1637～1638年清教徒住于此地，它是1664年加入康涅狄格州的神权殖民地中心的。1701～1875年，它和哈特福特共为首都。纽黑文是创建于1701年并在1716年后永久迁入的耶鲁大学所在地。后来，比彻尔进入耶鲁大学，并于1797年从该学校毕业，此后他跟随提摩太·德怀特学习神学。提摩太·德怀特，美国神职人员、作家和教育家，联邦制度的主要支持者，曾担任耶鲁大学校长。比彻尔是非常有名望的人，对他所处的那个时代有着几乎半个世纪的影响。

THE MEMORY OF OUR FATHERS

We are called upon to cherish with high veneration and grateful recollections, the memory of our fathers. Both the ties of nature and the dictates of policy demand this. And surely no nation had ever less occasion to be ashamed of its ancestry, or more occasion for gratulation in that respect; for while most nations trace their origin to barbarians, the foundations of our nation were laid by civilized men, by Christians. Many of them were men of distinguished families, of powerful talents, of great learning and of preeminent wisdom, of decision of character, and of most inflexible integrity. And yet not unfrequently they have been treated as if they had no virtues; while their sins and follies have been sedulously immortalized in satirical anecdote.

The influence of such treatment of our fathers is too manifest. It creates and lets loose upon their institutions, the vandal spirit of innovation and overthrow; for after the memory of our father shall have been rendered contemptible, who will appreciate and sustain their institutions?“The memory of our fathers”should be the watchword of liberty throughout the land; for, imperfect as they were, the world before had not seen their like, nor will it soon, we fear, behold their like again. Such models of moral excellence, such apostles of civil and religious liberty, such shades of the illustrious dead looking down upon their descendants with approbation or reproof, according as they follow or depart from the good way, constitute a censorship inferior only to the eye of God; and to ridicule them is national suicide.

The doctrines of our fathers have been represented as gloomy, superstitious, severe, irrational, and of a licentious tendency. But when other systems shall have produced a piety as devoted, a morality as pure, a patriotism as disinterested, and a state of society as happy, as have prevailed where their doctrines have been most prevalent, it may be in season to seek an answer to this objection.

The persecutions instituted by our fathers have been the occasion of ceaseless obloquy upon their fair fame. And truly, it was a fault of no ordinary magnitude, that sometimes they did persecute. But let him whose ancestors were not ten times more guilty, cast the first stone, and the ashes of our fathers will no more be disturbed. Theirs was the fault of the age, and it will be easy to show that no class of men had, at that time, approximated so nearly to just apprehensions of religious liberty; and that it is to them that the world is now indebted for the more just and definite views which now prevail.

The superstition and bigotry of our fathers are themes on which some of their descendants, themselves far enough from superstition, if not from bigotry, have delighted to dwell. But when we look abroad, and behold the condition of the world, compared with the condition of New England, we may justly exclaim,“Would to God that the ancestors of all the nations had been not only almost, but altogether such bigots as our fathers were.”

（Lyman Beecher）

第四辑

第1课　壁炉旁

冬天的一个晚上，劳德夫人和她的两个小女儿坐在自己温馨的家的炉旁。两个女孩在缝东西，妈妈则在忙着织毛衣。

凯蒂完成了自己手上的活儿。她抬头看了看说：“妈妈，我觉得今天的火比平时的大。我真爱听火在燃烧时发出的噼噼啪啪的声音。”

“我也正准备这么说呢，”玛丽也叫起来，“今晚的灯确实比昨晚的亮。”

“亲爱的孩子们，”妈妈说，“那一定是因为你们今天晚上感觉比平时快乐的缘故。也许这就是你们认为火比平时更大，灯比往日更亮的原因吧！”

“但是妈妈，”玛丽说，“我不明白我们现在为什么会比往日感到快乐。昨晚简表姐还在这里与我们玩‘推人进墙角’和‘盲人’游戏的，一直玩到我们都累了才结束呢。”

“我知道，我知道为什么！”凯蒂说，“这是因为今天晚上我们在干一些有意义的活。我们之所以感到幸福，是因为我们成了有用之人。”

“说得很对，亲爱的，”妈妈说，“我很高兴你们两个都认识到，做些事情要比单纯玩耍更令人愉快，更让人受益。”

THE FIRESIDE

One winter night, Mrs. Lord and her two little girls sat by a bright fire in their pleasant home. The girls were sewing, and their mother was busy at her knitting.

At last, Katie finished her work, and, looking up, said,“Mother, I think the fire is brighter than usual. How I love to hear it crackle!”

“And I was about to say,”cried Mary,“that this is a better light than we had last night.”

“My dears,”said their mother,“it must be that you feel happier than usual to night. Perhaps that is the reason why you think the fire better, and the light brighter.”

“But, mother,”said Mary,“I do not see why we are happier now than we were then; for last night cousin Jane was here, and we played ‘Puss in the corner’ and ‘Blind man’ until we all were tired.”

“I know! I know why!”said Katie.

“It is because we have all been doing something useful to night. We feel happy because we have been busy.”

“You are right, my dear,”said their mother.“I am glad you have both learned that there may be something more pleasant than play, and, at the same time, more instructive.”

第2课　狐狸和鸭子

夏季里的一天，有个人坐在河岸边的树阴下，看着河里的一大群鸭子。

过了一会儿一根带叶的树枝漂到这群鸭子中间，吓得它们都展翅飞了起来。它们在空中盘旋了一会儿，然后便落在了觅食的地方。

过了一会儿另外一根树枝也漂到它们中间。它们也再一次从河面上飞了起来。但当它们发觉漂过来的树枝不会对它们造成伤害时，便又像以前那样落在了水面上。

而当有三四根树枝以同样的方式漂到它们身边后，鸭子们就不太留意它们了。最后，即使那些树枝几乎撞着它们了，它们也懒得再飞起来了。

那个一直在关注这一切的人现在开始怀疑，是否有人故意在把树枝扔在河里。他为此朝水流过来的方向看去，果然发现一只狐狸在狡猾地盯着鸭子。“它下一步要做什么呢？”这个人想。

当狐狸发现这些鸭子已不再害怕漂过来的树枝时，它就找到一根更大的树枝，让自己的身子伸展在树枝上面，以便让自己隐藏起来，然后便随着这根大树枝一起漂了下去。

狡猾的老狐狸等到自己漂到鸭群中间时，便立刻对着鸭群左咬右咬。它先是咬住两只肥美的小鸭子，叼着它们逃走了。见此情状，其余的鸭子只好惊恐地飞走了，而且很长时间没有再飞回到这儿。

这只狐狸不仅狡猾，而且很有耐心。它得到的回报就是一顿美餐。

THE FOX AND THE DUCKS

On a summer day, a man sitting on the bank of a river, in the shade of some bushes, watched a flock of ducks on the stream.

Soon a branch with leaves came drifting among them, and they all took wing. After circling in the air for a little time, they settled down again on their feeding ground.

Soon another branch came drifting down among them, and again they took flight from the river; but when they found the branch had drifted by and done them no harm, they flew down to the water as before.

After four or five branches had drifted by in this way, the ducks gave little heed to them. At length, they hardly tried to fly out of their way,

even when the branches nearly touched them.

The man who had been watching all this, now began to wonder who had set these branches adrift. He looked up the stream, and spied a fox slyly watching the ducks.“What will he do next?”thought the man.

When the fox saw that the ducks were no longer afraid of the branches, he took a much larger branch than any he had yet used, and stretched himself upon it so as to be almost hidden. Then he set it afloat as he had the others.

Right among the flock drifted the sly old fox, and, making quick snaps to right and left, he seized two fine young ducks, and floated off with them.

The rest of the flock flew away in fright, and did not come back for a long time.

The fox must have had a fine dinner to pay him for his cunning, patient work.

第3课　物归原处

玛丽：能把你的顶针借我用一用吗？莎拉。我自己的找不到了。

莎拉：怎么了，玛丽，你真的无法再找到它了吗？

玛丽：怎么说呢？如果你不能把你的借给我，我会从别处借一个的。

莎拉：我会借给你的，玛丽。但我很想知道你为什么经常找我借东西。

玛丽：因为你从来没有真正丢过一样东西，并且总知道从哪里去取它们。

莎拉：那我为什么总知道我的东西在哪儿呢？

玛丽：我不知道为什么，真的。假如我知道的话，我会找到我自己的东西的。

莎拉：让我告诉你这个秘密吧。我有放每件物品的地方，我会把每件东西都放在它应放的位置，这样在我使用它时就会找到了。

玛丽：哎，莎拉！有谁会在用完一件物品后就费事地把它归位呢，好像我们的生活全靠它了！

莎拉：我们的生活并非全靠它，但它可以给我们的生活带来许多便利。说真的，与你想用一件物品时不得不到处去找或到处去借相比，把每件东西放在它应放的位置恐怕花费不了多少时间吧？

玛丽：好的，莎拉，我不会再向你借东西了，你就相信我好了。

莎拉：我希望你不会为此而生气。

玛丽：不会的，其实我感到很惭愧。傍晚之前，我会找一个放东西的地方，并且把每件东西都放在它应放的位置。我会把每件东西放好，放到它自己的位置。你给我上了生动的一课，我将永远牢记。

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

Mary. I wish you would lend me your thimble, Sarah. I can never find my own.

Sarah. Why is it, Mary, you can never find it?

Mary. How can I tell? But if you will not lend me yours, I can borrow one elsewhere.

Sarah. I am willing to lend mine to you, Mary. But I would very much like to know why you come to me to borrow so often.

Mary. Because you never lose any of your things, and always know where to find them.

Sarah. And why do I always know where to find my things?

Mary. I do not know why, I am sure. If I did know, I might sometimes find my own.

Sarah. I will tell you the secret. I have a place for everything, and I put everything in its place when I have done using it.

Mary. O Sarah! who wants to run and put away a thing as soon as she has used it, as if her life depended upon it?

Sarah. Our life does not depend upon it, but our comfort does, surely. How much more time will it take to put a thing in its place, than to hunt for it or to borrow whenever you want to use it?

Mary. Well, Sarah, I will never borrow of you again, you may depend upon it.

Sarah. You are not offended with me, I hope.

Mary. No, but I am ashamed. Before night, I will have a place for everything, and then I will keep everything in its place. You have taught me a lesson that I shall remember.

第4课　风和太阳

风和太阳曾经发生过争吵，其内容是关于它们谁更有力量。

为了证明这一点，它们决定在一个路人身上试试它们的力量。谁先将路人的斗篷脱下来，谁就是胜利者。

风先开始了。它刮起了狂风，狂风使山上的树木连根拔起，使整个森林变成了废墟。见此情形，那路人顾不上抓紧斗篷，而是跑到山角下先躲避一下这阵狂风，然后才将斗篷更结实地系在了身上。风使出了它所有的力量，但这一切都是徒劳。

现在轮到太阳了。透过一片乌云，它将那炽热的光线汇聚到路人身上。那可怜的人几乎快被融化了。

“热死了！”他说，“真是让人无法忍受，这实在太热了，就像是在火炉里一样。”

于是他只得迅速脱下了斗篷，跑到树阴下去乘凉。

这个寓言告诉我们一个道理：温和的手段往往比强暴的手段更有效。

THE WIND AND THE SUN

A dispute once arose between the Wind and the Sun, as to which was the stronger.

To decide the matter, they agreed to try their power on a traveler. That party which should first strip him of his cloak, was to win the day.

The Wind began. He blew a cutting blast, which tore up the mountain oaks by their roots, and made the whole forest look like a wreck.

But the traveler, though at first he could scarcely keep his cloak on his back, ran under a hill for shelter, and buckled his mantle about him more closely.

The Wind having thus tried his utmost power in vain, the Sun began.

Bursting through a thick cloud, he darted his sultry beams so forcibly upon the traveler's head, that the poor fellow was almost melted.

“This,”said he,“is past all bearing. It is so hot, that one might as well be in an oven.”

So he quickly threw off his cloak, and went into the shade of a tree to cool himself.

This fable teaches us, that gentle means will often succeed where forcible ones will fail.

第5课　蝙蝠

蝙蝠是一种很奇怪的小动物，它长着像老鼠一样的毛，又有像鸟一样的翅膀。白天它躲在岩石的裂缝里、山洞里或其他阴暗的地方。

到了晚上它们会出来寻找食物。你以前可能见过它们夜里飞来飞去捕捉晚上出来活动的昆虫。

蝙蝠的翅膀上没有羽毛，只有支撑在骨架上的一层皮。人们可能把它看作是一种四足动物，但实际上，它们还能像鸟一样在空中飞来飞去。

这里有一则关于蝙蝠的有趣的寓言故事，它是基于蝙蝠具有鸟类和哺乳动物的双重特征。

一次，一只猫头鹰在寻找猎物时，遇见了一只蝙蝠。于是它用爪子抓住了蝙蝠，打算把它吞食掉。就在这时，蝙蝠开始悲惨地尖叫，并对猫头鹰嚷道：“上帝，你把我当成什么了，你竟敢这样对我？”

“什么，你不就是一只鸟吗？”猫头鹰说，“而且我最喜欢鸟了，我非常喜欢将它们撕碎。”

“这样吧，”蝙蝠说，“我想这里一定有些误会，我不是鸟，你没有看见吗？猫头鹰先生，我没有羽毛，而且我有与老鼠一样的毛。”

“真的？”猫头鹰惊讶地说，“我现在看见了，确实，我把你当成鸟了，但是如此看来你只是一只小老鼠，我昨晚吃了一只老鼠，它使我做了一个噩梦，我不能再吃老鼠了！哼，我现在想起老鼠就感到恶心。”为此猫头鹰放走了蝙蝠。

就在第二天晚上，这只蝙蝠又遇到了危险。它被一只猫当成老鼠捉住了，而且打算把它吃掉。

“我乞求你稍等片刻好吗？”蝙蝠说，“上帝呀，猫先生，你猜我是什么？”

“一定是只老鼠。”猫回答。

“绝对不是。”蝙蝠展开它的长翅膀说。

“真的啊？”猫说，“你看起来倒像只鸟，虽然你的羽毛看起来不是很丰满。我有时候吃鸟，但是在我前不久吞下一只小鸟后，我开始对它们感到厌烦了。你可以走了，但是记住无论是鸟还是老鼠，下次我一定不放过你。”

这则寓言告诉我们，一个人具有双重身份，这可能帮助他脱离危险，但像这样的人会像蝙蝠那样让人讨厌。

（S·G·古德里奇）

BATS

Bats are very strange little animals, having hair like mice, and wings like birds. During the day, they live in crevices of rocks, in caves, and in other dark places.

At night, they go forth in search of food; and, no doubt, you have seen them flying about, catching such insects as happen to be out rather late at night.

The wings of a bat have no quills. They are only thin pieces of skin stretched upon a framework of bones. Besides this, it may be said that while he is a quadruped, he can rise into the air and fly from place to place like a bird.

There is a funny fable about the bat, founded upon this double character of beast and bird, which I will tell you.

An owl was once prowling about, when he came across a bat. So he caught him in his claws, and was about to devour him. Upon this, the bat began to squeal terribly; and he said to the owl,“Pray, what do you take me for, that you use me thus?”

“Why, you are a bird, to be sure,”said the owl,“and I am fond of birds. I love dearly to break their little bones.”

“Well,”said the bat,“I thought there was some mistake. I am no bird. Don't you see, Mr. Owl, that I have no feathers, and that I am covered with hair like a mouse?”

“Sure enough,”said the owl, in great surprise;“I see it now. Really, I took you for a bird, but it appears you are only a kind of mouse. I ate a mouse last night, and it gave me the nightmare. I can't bear mice! Bah! it makes me sick to think of it.”So the owl let the bat go.

The very next night, the bat encountered another danger. He was snapped up by puss, who took him for a mouse, and immediately prepared to eat him.

“I beg you to stop one moment,”said the bat.“Pray, Miss Puss, what do you suppose I am?”“A mouse, to be sure!”said the cat.“Not at all,”said the bat, spreading his long wings.

“Sure enough,”said the cat:“you seem to be a bird, though your feathers are not very fine. I eat birds sometimes, but I am tired of them just now, having lately devoured four young robins; so you may go. But, bird or mouse, it will be your best policy to keep out of my way hereafter.”

The meaning of this fable is, that a person playing a double part may sometimes escape danger; but he is always, like the bat, a creature that is disgusting to everybody, and shunned by all.

（S. G. Goodrich）

第6课　查理和罗布

“你不讨厌劈柴吗？”罗布坐在一根原木上问。

“是的，我不讨厌它。当我碰到一个坚硬的老家伙时，我会说：‘你以为你很强壮，但我要打败你，看着，现在我要把你劈成碎块。’”

噗嗤！查理笑道：“它只不过是一节硬木头。是的，但是当我把它当作是一门课程而不是繁重的工作时，那就容易多了。”

“可我不想做这样的事情，我不关心它们会变成什么样子，我只想马上成为大人，而且非常富有。”

“好吧，查理，不过我告诉你，如果你不想做这类事，那么等长大以后富有的人就一定是我。”

“你！你怎么挣钱？是靠伐木吗？”

“有可能。只要它永远在那儿，那就是一个很好的机会。我不在乎怎么变得富有，你应该知道我指的是诚实有效的方法。”

“我真想一觉睡上10年，等一觉醒来时，我已经是个受过良好教育而且非常有钱的人了。”

“哼！我不想睡觉。一天睡一觉对我来说已经足够了。我打算下一个10年用来工作。你看有这么多的事情等着你去做，你不能睡觉啊。”

“我讨厌工作，”查理说，“尤其是伐木劈柴这样的工作，还有那些杂活，我想干大事，像银行职员或其他类似的工作。”

“木柴需要锯断、劈碎之后才可以烧，”罗布说，“我不知道自己什么时候会变成一个银行职员，但是我正为此而努力，我现在正为父亲管账呢。”

查理嘲笑道：“我想那距成为银行职员太遥远了，你父亲只不过是在卖几把椅子、几张桌子，不是吗？”

“也许比这还要多，”罗布幽默地说，“我并没有说我现在已经是银行职员了，我说我正在为此而努力，如果我不读书，那就会离这个目标更遥远。”

“那太遥远了！”说着查理就走开了。

现在你猜猜，哪个孩子会在30岁以前成为富有而有用的人，而谁又会成为无家无业的流浪汉呢？

CHARLIE AND ROB

“Don't you hate splitting wood?”asked Charlie, as he sat down on a log to hinder Rob for a while.

“No, I rather like it. When I get hold of a tough old fellow, I say, ‘See here, now, you think you're the stronger, and are going to beat me; so I'll split you up into kindling wood.”

“Pshaw!”said Charlie, laughing;“and it's only a stick of wood.”

“Yes; but you see I pretend it's a lesson, or a tough job of any kind, and it's nice to conquer it.”

“I Don't want to conquer such things; I Don't care what becomes of them. I wish I were a man, and a rich one.”

“Well, Charlie, if you live long enough you'll be a man, without wishing for it; and as for the rich part, I mean to be that myself.”

“You do. How do you expect to get your money? By sawing wood?”

“May be—some of it; that's as good a way as any, so long as it lasts. I Don't care how I get rich, you know, so that it's in an honest and useful way.”

“I'd like to sleep over the next ten years, and wake up to find myself a young man with a splendid education and plenty of money.”

“Humph! I am not sleepy—a night at a time is enough for me. I mean to work the next ten years. You see there are things that you've got to work out—you can't sleep them out.”

“I hate work,”said Charlie,“that is, such work as sawing and splitting wood, and doing chores. I'd like to do some big work, like being a clerk in a bank or something of that sort.”

“Wood has to be sawed and split before it can be burned,”said Rob.“I Don't know but I'll be a clerk in a bank some time; I'm working towards it. I'm keeping father's accounts for him.”

How Charlie laughed!“I should think that was a long way from being a bank clerk. I suppose your father sells two tables and six chairs, some days, does n't he?”

“Sometimes more than that, and sometimes not so much,”said Rob, in perfect good humor.

“I did n't say I was a bank clerk now. I said I was working towards it. Am I not nearer it by keeping a little bit of a book than I should be if I did n't keep any book at all?”

“Not a whit—such things happen,”said Charlie, as he started to go.

Now, which of these boys, do you think, grew up to be a rich and useful man, and which of them joined a party of tramps before he was thirty years old?

第7课　时钟和日晷仪

那是昏暗的一天，位于教堂尖塔上的时钟轻蔑地对地下的日晷仪说：“你站在那儿的时候，就像一块没用的石头。”

“只有当天空有明亮的太阳时，你才能辨别时间；而我只用绕着轨道自在地行走就能办到。不管白天黑夜，不论春秋冬夏，我都不用看太阳。”

“我可以告诉人们什么时间起床，什么时间进餐，什么时间去教堂祈祷。”

“听，我现在罢工了，一、二、三、四，你真的是太慢了，看起来还有点傻，什么话都不会说。”

这时，太阳穿出云层，日晷仪上显示出了当时的时间，时钟确实慢了半个小时。

自夸的时钟此时哑口无言了，位于它下面的日晷仪则在嘲笑它的愚蠢。

寓意：谦虚常常比骄傲的自夸要好多了。

THE CLOCK AND THE SUNDIAL

One gloomy day, the clock on a church steeple, looking down on a sundial, said,“How stupid it is in you to stand there all the while like a stock!

“You never tell the hour till a bright sun looks forth from the sky, and gives you leave. I go merrily round, day and night, in summer and winter the same, without asking his leave.

“I tell the people the time to rise, to go to dinner, and to come to church.

“Hark! I am going to strike now; one, two, three, four. There it is for you. How silly you look! You can say nothing.”

The sun, at that moment, broke forth from behind a cloud, and showed, by the sundial, that the clock was half an hour behind the right time.

The boasting clock now held his tongue, and the dial only smiled at his folly.

MORAL.—Humble modesty is more often right than a proud and boasting spirit.

第8课　警惕第一次饮酒

“菲利普叔叔，今天早上天气很好，我们去散步吧？”

“好的，孩子，等我拿帽子和手杖，我们就走。我有一个故事讲给你听，你认识可怜的老汤姆·史密斯吗？”

“认识，菲利普叔叔，这里的人都认识他，他是一个衣衫褴褛的酒鬼。”

“是的，当我还是孩子的时候，我就已经认识他了。就在几十年前，他还是我们当中的好孩子呢。他离开学校后不久，父亲便去世了，于是他到城里的一家杂货店打工，在那里他变了。”

“他夜里不读书，而是去剧院或者舞厅，很快就学会了打牌，当然也学会了赌博，而且总是输得多，赢得少。他还写信给他穷困的母亲，告诉她把钱输光了，于是他妈妈寄钱帮他还了赌债，并要求他回乡下来。他真的回家了，朋友们也都原谅了他。他又过起了像以前那样快乐的生活。过了一段时间，一切都变好了。他改掉了坏习惯，努力工作，而且还娶到了一位漂亮的妻子。”

“但是，孩子，有一样东西把他给毁了。在城里他学会了喝酒，曾经他对我说过，如果一个人开始喝酒，那他就永远也戒不掉了，因此他说：‘警惕第一次饮酒’。”

“他已经好久没犯这个老毛病了。他知道饮酒很危险，但是他又无法抗拒来自酒精的诱惑。不久他母亲悲伤而羞愧地死去了，尔后他那可爱的妻子也去世了。”

“他失去了所有的尊严，变得越来越糟糕，成了一个地地道道的醉鬼。昨夜，城里人来信说，汤姆·史密斯因为偷窃而被送进监狱，判了10年。我想他快要死了，因为他已经老了。想到他的结局真的很悲惨，我无法忘记几年前他信中的话：‘警惕第一次饮酒’。”

“哈，我可爱的孩子，当你菲利普叔叔死去后，千万要记得我讲的这个故事。告诉你，警惕第一次饮酒。能这样做的人一定不会成为酒鬼。”

BEWARE OF THE FIRST DRINK

“Uncle Philip, as the day is fine, will you take a walk with us this morning?”

“Yes, boys. Let me get my hat and cane, and we will take a ramble. I will tell you a story as we go. Do you know poor old Tom Smith?”

“Know him! Why, Uncle Philip, everybody knows him. He is such a shocking drunkard, and swears so horribly.”

“Well, I have known him ever since we were boys together. There was not a more decent, well behaved boy among us. After he left school, his father died, and he was put into a store in the city. There, he fell into bad company.

“Instead of spending his evenings in reading, he would go to the theater and to balls. He soon learned to play cards, and of course to play for money. He lost more than he could pay.

“He wrote to his poor mother, and told her his losses. She sent him money to pay his debts, and told him to come home.

“He did come home. After all, he might still have been useful and happy, for his friends were willing to forgive the past. For a time, things went on well. He married a lovely woman, gave up his bad habits, and was doing well.

“But one thing, boys, ruined him forever. In the city, he had learned to take strong drink, and he said to me once, that when a man begins to drink, he never knows where it will end. ‘Therefore,’ said Tom, ‘beware of the first drink!’

“It was not long before he began to follow his old habit. He knew the danger, but it seemed as if he could not resist his desire to drink. His poor mother soon died of grief and shame. His lovely wife followed her to the grave.

“He lost the respect of all, went on from bad to worse, and has long been a perfect sot. Last night, I had a letter from the city, stating that Tom Smith had been found guilty of stealing, and sent to the state prison for ten years.

“There I suppose he will die, for he is now old. It is dreadful to think to what an end he has come. I could not but think, as I read the letter, of what he said to me years ago, ‘Beware of the first drink!’

“Ah, my dear boys, when old Uncle Philip is gone, remember that he told you the story of Tom Smith, and said to you, ‘Beware of the first drink!’ The man who does this will never be a drunkard.”

第9课　埃米没有赚到的钱

埃米是一个可爱的姑娘，却有一个坏习惯，在做一件事时，不是立刻行动，而是把时间浪费在了准备工作上。

在她住的村子里，索顿先生开了一个水果店，里面卖一些有本地产的莓子等各种水果。一天，索顿先生对家境贫苦的埃米说：“你想挣点钱吗？”

“是的，”她回答，“我想买双新鞋，可是家里没有钱。”

“好的，埃米。”索顿先生说，“我今天在格林家的牧场里看到有许多漂亮的黑莓子，他们让任何人去采摘。你把你摘的全卖给我，一夸脱付你13美分。”

埃米想到能挣到钱，高兴极了。于是飞快地跑回家，拿了一个篮子，打算立刻去摘莓子。

这时，她下意识地想到最好先算一下采五夸脱莓子能挣多少钱。于是她拿出笔和一块小板，算出来是65美分。

“如果能采12夸脱呢？”她盘算着，“我可以赚多少钱呢？”“天哪，”她算了一下，“我可以挣1美元56美分呢。”

埃米又算了下去，如果她采摘50、100、200夸脱时，索顿先生会付给她多少钱。就为算这些就花了她不少时间，很快就到了中午吃饭的时间。她不得不下午再去了。

吃过饭，她就匆忙地拿起篮子赶往牧场。许多男孩子在午饭前就已经在那里了，好的莓子几乎被摘光了。可怜的小埃米最后只摘到了一夸脱。

在回家的路上，埃米想起了老师常给她讲的话：“做事情要趁早着手，做完了再去想。因为一个实干者顶得上一百个幻想家”。

THE MONEY AMY DID IVOT EARN

Amy was a dear little girl, but she was too apt to waste time in getting ready to do her tasks, instead of doing them at once as she ought.

In the village in which she lived, Mr. Thornton kept a store where he sold fruit of all kinds, including berries in their season. One day he said to Amy, whose parents were quite poor,“Would you like to earn some money?”

“Oh, yes,”replied she,“for I want some new shoes, and papa has no money to buy them with.”

“Well, Amy,”said Mr. Thorhton,“I noticed some fine, ripe blackberries in Mr. Green's pasture to day, and he said that anybody was welcome to them. I will pay you thirteen cents a quart for all you will pick for me.”

Amy was delighted at the thought of earning some money; so she ran home to get a basket, intending to go immediately to pick the berries.

Then she thought she would like to know how much money she would get if she picked five quarts. With the help of her slate and pencil, she found out that she would get sixty five cents.

“But supposing I should pick a dozen quarts,”thought she,“how much should I earn then?”“Dear me,”she said, after figuring a while,“I should earn a dollar and fifty six cents.”

Amy then found out what Mr. Thornton would pay her for fifty, a hundred, and two hundred quarts. It took her some time to do this, and then it was so near dinner time that she had to stay at home until afternoon.

As soon as dinner was over, she took her basket and hurried to the pasture. Some boys had been there before dinner, and all the ripe berries were picked. She could not find enough to fill a quart measure.

As Amy went home, she thought of what her teacher had often told her—“Do your task at once; then think about it,”for“one doer is worth a hundred dreamers.”

第10课　学会说“不”

虽然“不”是一个微不足道的字，但它总是不容易被说出口，但是不去说“不”，却经常会给自己带来麻烦。

当有人让我们离开学校，在应该学习的时间里去闲逛或者胡闹时，我们应该马上说“不”。

当有人劝说我们在上学的路上玩耍，以致上学迟到，或是打扰老师时，我们应该说“不”。

当有些同学希望我们在教室里玩耍或吹口哨时，我们应该说“不”。

当我们试图使用不礼貌或恶毒的语言时，我们应当时刻牢记上帝一直在注视着我们，我们应当说“不”。

当我们犯了错误之后，想试图用撒谎来隐瞒时，我们应当说“不”，我们不能说谎，那样做不道德，而且懦弱。

如果有人让我们做一些我本来就知道是错误的事情，我们不要怕说“不”。

如果我们学会说“不”，我们就会避免不少的麻烦，而且永保安全。

WHEN TO SAY NO

Though“No”is a very little word, it is not always easy to say it; and the not doing so, often causes trouble.

When we are asked to stay away from school, and spend in idleness or mischief the time which ought to be spent in study, we should at once say“No.”

When we are urged to loiter on our way to school, and thus be late, and interrupt our teacher and the school, we should say“No.”When some schoolmate wishes us to whisper or play in the schoolroom, we should say“No.”

When we are tempted to use angry or wicked words, we should remember that the eye of God is always upon us, and should say“No.”

When we have done anything wrong, and are tempted to conceal it by falsehood, we should say“No, we can not tell a lie; it is wicked and cowardly.”

If we are asked to do anything which we know to be wrong, we should not fear to say“No.”

If we thus learn to say“No,”we shall avoid much trouble, and be always safe.

第11课　粗鲁的男孩

詹姆斯·塞尔顿是村上最没有教养的孩子。由于说话很粗鲁，他在路上很少不被人指责的。

如果碰到衣着讲究的人，他就会说：“花花公子”；如果碰到穿着破烂的人，他就会用石块砸他，或其他方法骚扰他。

一天下午，他和他的同伴放学回家。刚好碰到一个陌生人从村子里经过。那人衣着朴素，略显旧但却不失干净和整洁。他手里拿着一根细木棍，棍的另一端还有一些行李，头上戴着一顶大遮阳的帽子。

很快，詹姆斯打上了这个陌生人的主意。他给同伴挤了一下眼睛，说：“看我怎么戏弄他。”他偷偷地走到那人背后，打掉他的大帽子，就跑掉了。

那人转过身看了一下，还不等他开口说什么，詹姆斯就已经跑远了。那人戴上帽子，继续走他的路。詹姆斯用和上次一样的方法想耍那个人，可是这次他被抓住了胳膊，很快被那人逮住了。

陌生人怔怔地看着詹姆斯的脸时，詹姆斯却趁机挣脱了。一会儿他发现自己又安全了，就开始用脏兮兮的石块砸那陌生人。

可是，当他用石块把那个他称作好斗士的人的头砸破后，他真的害怕了。别的孩子都跑了，他也偷偷摸摸地绕过田野，跑回了家。

当他快到家时，妹妹卡罗琳刚好出来碰到他。卡罗琳的手里拿着一条漂亮的金项链，还给他拿来了一些新书。

卡罗琳语无伦次地告诉詹姆斯，几年前离开他们的叔叔回来了，现在就住在他们的房子里。他还给家里买了许多漂亮的礼物。为了给哥哥和父亲一个惊喜，他把他的车停在了一里外的一家客栈。

卡罗琳还说，叔叔经过村庄时被几个坏孩子用石块砸伤了眼睛，不过母亲已经给他包扎上了。“可你的脸看起来怎么这么苍白？”卡罗琳改变语气问詹姆斯。

詹姆斯告诉她没有什么事的，就跑回家了，爬到自己楼上的房间。不一会儿，他的父亲就叫他下来见他的叔叔。詹姆斯站在客厅门口，不敢进来。

他母亲问：“詹姆斯，你怎么不进来呢？你平常可没有这么害羞的呀！看看这块表多漂亮，是你叔叔给你买的。”

詹姆斯现在羞愧极了。卡罗琳抓住他的手，把他拉到客厅。詹姆斯低着头，还用双手捂着脸。

他叔叔来到他的身旁，亲切地把他的手拿开，说：“詹姆斯，你不欢迎叔叔吗？”可是他很快退了回来，说：“哥哥，他是你的儿子吗？！他就是在街上砸我的那个坏小孩。”

善良的父亲和母亲知道了事情的原委，既惊讶又难过。他叔叔慢慢地忘记了疼痛，可是他父亲却怎么也不让詹姆斯要那块金表，也不给他那些好看的书，虽然那些都是他叔叔买给他的。

其余的孩子们分了那些礼物，詹姆斯只得看着他们快乐。他永远也不会忘记这次教训，终于改掉了粗鲁无礼的陋习。

THE INSOLENT BOY

James Selton was one of the most insolent boys in the village where he lived. He would rarely pass people in the street without being guilty of some sort of abuse.

If a person were well dressed he would cry out,“Dandy!”If a person's clothes were dirty or torn, he would throw stones at him, and annoy him in every way.

One afternoon, just as the school was dismissed, a stranger passed through the village. His dress was plain and somewhat old, but neat and clean. He carried a cane in his hand, on the end of which was a bundle, and he wore a broad brimmed hat.

No sooner did James see the stranger, than he winked to his playmates, and said,“Now for some fun!”He then silently went toward the stranger from behind, and, knocking off his hat, ran away.

The man turned and saw him, but James was out of hearing before he could speak. The stranger put on his hat, and went on his way. Again did James approach; but this time, the man caught him by the arm, and held him fast.

However, he contented himself with looking James a moment in the face, and then pushed him from him. No sooner did the naughty boy find himself free again, than he began to pelt the stranger with dirt and stones.

But he was much frightened when the“rowdy,”as he foolishly called the man, was struck on the head by a brick, and badly hurt. All the boys now ran away, and James skulked across the fields to his home.

As he drew near the house, his sister Caroline came out to meet him, holding up a beautiful gold chain and some new books for him to see.

She told James, as fast as she could talk, that their uncle, who had been away several years, had come home, and was now in the house; that he had brought beautiful presents for the whole family; that he had left his carriage at the tavern, a mile or two off, and walked on foot, so as to surprise his brother, their father.

She said, that while he was coming through the village, some wicked boys threw stones at him, and hit him just over the eye, and that mother had bound up the wound.“But what makes you look so pale?”asked Caroline, changing her tone.

The guilty boy told her that nothing was the matter with him; and running into the house, he went upstairs into his chamber. Soon after, he heard his father calling him to come down. Trembling from head to foot, he obeyed. When he reached the parlor door, he stood, fearing to enter.

His mother said,“James, why do you not come in? You are not usually so bashful. See this beautiful watch, which your uncle has brought for you.”

What a sense of shame did James now feel! Little Caroline seized his arm, and pulled him into the room. But he hung down his head, and covered his face with his hands.

His uncle went up to him, and kindly taking away his hands, said,“James, will you not bid me welcome?”But quickly starting back, he cried,“Brother, this is not your son. It is the boy who so shamefully insulted me in the street!”

With surprise and grief did the good father and mother learn this. His uncle was ready to forgive him, and forget the injury. But his father would never permit James to have the gold watch, nor the beautiful books, which his uncle had brought for him.

The rest of the children were loaded with presents. James was obliged to content himself with seeing them happy. He never forgot this lesson so long as he lived. It cured him entirely of his low and insolent manners.

第12课　海水为什么是咸的

古时候有两个兄弟，一个非常贫穷，另一个则非常富有。圣诞节就要到了，但贫穷的弟弟家中什么都没有，无法准备圣诞晚餐，于是他便去找他的哥哥，想得到一份简单的礼物。

而富有的哥哥却是一个心肠很坏的人，当他的兄弟说明来意以后，他看起来十分阴沉。但是在圣诞节，不管什么样的人都是要送礼物的，于是他拿了一块挂在烟囱上准备熏烤的火腿，把它扔给他的弟弟，叫他离开，并说再也不要让他看见他。

可怜的弟弟拿起火腿，谢了他的哥哥，就离开了。在回家的路上，他必须穿过一片森林，当他走到林中最深处的时候，他看到一个留着长长银白胡须的老人在伐树。“晚上好。”年轻人问候说。

“晚上好。”老人回答，停下手中的活，并抬起头来看他。“你拿的这块火腿很好啊。”听到这些，年轻人不禁把自己的故事讲给了老人。

“你很幸运，”老人说，“你碰到了我。如果你带着这块火腿到小矮人们那里去，你一定会卖个好价钱，他们最喜欢吃火腿了。通往那儿的路口就在这棵树底下。但是记住：你千万不要把火腿卖钱，而要拿它去换门后的那架旧的手摇磨石。等你回来的时候我会教给你怎样用它。”

老人指给他树根下石头的入口，年轻人谢过他的新朋友之后，就走了进去。门后就是小矮人们居住的地方。他刚刚走进去，小矮人们就一下围了上来，他们都闻到了火腿的香味。他们拿出他们奇特、古老的货币以及好多好多金银矿石来和年轻人交换，但年轻人拒绝了他们诱人的建议，他说他只会拿门后那架手摇磨石来交换。

听到这里，小矮人们看来都非常为难。“看来我们这桩生意做不成了，那么再见吧。”年轻人说道。

这时连小矮人们居住的最偏僻的地方都飘满了火腿的香味。小矮人们都不挖矿石了，全都聚集到了一起，准备分享火腿。

“给他那个旧磨石吧，”好些新来的人说，“他又不知道怎么用，给他磨石，让我们享用火腿吧。”

于是他们达成了交易，年轻人得到了磨石。那块磨石甚至还没有火腿的一半大。年轻人拿着磨石回到了树林里，老人教给他如何使用磨石。前后经过了很长时间，当年轻人回到家里的时候，已经是半夜了。

“你到哪里去了？”他的妻子说，“我一直在等你，我们没有柴生火，圣诞节的晚上我们也没有任何吃的。”

屋子里又黑又冷，年轻人请他的妻子再耐心一点，看一看将会发生什么。他把手摇磨石放到桌子上，开始转动磨石的曲柄。先是出来了一些漂亮的、点燃的蜡烛。然后壁炉的火也点燃了，锅里面煮着食物。因为在年轻人的心里默想着让这些东西出现。之后他磨出了一块桌布、一些盘子、勺子以及刀叉。

你可以想象，他自己也惊呆了，他的妻子又是高兴又是震惊。当然了，他们有了一顿丰盛的晚餐。吃过饭之后，他们又磨出了他们需要的所有东西，现在他们的房子又温暖又舒服了。他们度过了一个快乐的圣诞节。第二天，当人们经过他们的房子去教堂的时候，他们几乎不敢相信自己的眼睛。窗户上不再是破旧的木板而是崭新的玻璃，人们看见年轻人和他的妻子穿着漂亮的衣服跪在教堂里虔诚地祈祷。

“这太奇怪了。”每个人都这么说。三天后，年轻人那富有的哥哥受到邀请来参加一次盛大的晚宴的时候也这么说，“实在是很奇怪。”那是一次多么盛大的晚宴啊！桌子上铺着雪白的桌布，餐具全是金的、银的。哪个富人用尽他所有的财富也置办不出这样一桌晚宴。

“你从哪里得到这些的？”那位富有的哥哥问他的兄弟。弟弟讲述了他与小矮人交易的经过，并把磨石放到了桌上，磨出了靴子、鞋、大衣、披风、袜子、袍子和毯子，他还让他的妻子把这些东西送给那些聚集在房子周围目睹这次盛宴的穷人。

这个富人非常嫉妒他弟弟的好运，他想向他的弟弟借用一下磨石，想着就不再还了，因为他并不是一个诚实的人。但他的弟弟不肯借给他，因为白胡子老人告诉过他，不能把磨石借给或卖给任何人。

许多年过去了，磨石的主人在海边建造了一座雄伟的城堡，城堡面向西边。城堡的窗子能折射出落日，在离海岸很远的地方就能看到。城堡已经成了水手们的一个显著坐标。经常有人从远方赶来参观这座城堡以及那个有着无数神奇故事的磨石。

后来来了一个外国商人，他看到磨石以后问磨石能不能磨出食盐，当他得知能够磨出食盐后，便想买下磨石，因为他是贩卖食盐的，要是有了这块磨石，他就可以随时供给他的顾客食盐，而不必再做漫长危险的旅行了。

但磨石的主人当然不愿意卖掉它，他现在已经非常富有了，所以他并不想为自己而使用磨石，只是每年圣诞节的时候他会为穷人磨出衣服、食物和取暖用的煤，为小孩子们磨出漂亮的礼物。因此他拒绝了富商提出的所有条件。但那个富商千方百计要得到磨石，他买通了磨石主人的一个仆人，仆人在晚上溜进了城堡，偷走了磨石，带着磨石坐船跑掉了。

他刚刚到了海上，就迫不及待地开始用磨石了。“现在，为我磨出食盐吧，磨石！”他喊道，“用你的魔力磨出许许多多的盐！”磨石开始往外磨食盐，水手们开始装袋子，但很快袋子就用完了，但磨石还在往外磨盐。

这时这位不诚实的商人开始害怕了。怎么办呢？磨石还在不停地往外磨盐，最后船因负载太重沉入海底，在它下沉的地方形成了一个巨大的旋涡。船在海底裂开了，但沉到海底的磨石还在往外磨食盐。据丹麦和挪威的农民们讲，这就是海水为什么很咸的原因。

（玛丽·郝威特）

◇ 什么是童话故事？

◇ 这篇故事讲述了哪些童话人物？

◇ 穷人是如何找到小矮人之地的？

◇ 缺乏诚实的商人是如何贪婪的？

◇ 丹麦和挪威在地球的什么位置？

WHY THE SEA IS SALT

There were, in very ancient times, two brothers, one of whom was rich, and the other poor. Christmas was approaching, but the poor man had nothing in the house for a Christmas dinner; so he went to his brother and asked him for a trifling gift.

The rich man was ill natured, and when he heard his brother's request he looked very surly. But as Christmas is a time when even the worst people give gifts, he took a fine ham down from the chimney, where it was hanging to smoke, threw it at his brother, and bade him begone and never to let him see his face again.

The poor man thanked his brother for the ham, put it under his arm, and went his way. He had to pass through a great forest on his way home. When he had reached the thickest part of it, he saw an old man, with a long, white beard, hewing timber.“Good evening,”said he to him.

“Good evening,”returned the old man, raising himself up from his work, and looking at him.“That is a fine ham you are carrying.”On this, the poor man told him all about it.

“It is lucky for you,”said the old man,“that you have met with me. If you will take that ham into the land of the dwarfs, the entrance to which lies just under the roots of this tree, you can make a capital bargain with it; for the dwarfs are very fond of ham, and rarely get any. But mind what I say: you must not sell it for money, but demand for it the ‘old hand mill which stands behind the door.’ When you come back, I'll show you how to use it.”

The poor man thanked his new friend, who showed him the door under a stone below the roots of the tree, and by this door he entered into the land of the dwarfs. No sooner had he set his foot in it, than the dwarfs swarmed about him, attracted by the smell of the ham. They offered him queer, old fashioned money and gold and silver ore for it; but he refused all their tempting offers, and said that he would sell it only for the old hand mill behind the door.

At this, the dwarfs held up their little old hands, and looked quite perplexed.“We can not make a bargain, it seems,”said the poor man,“so I'll bid you all a good day.”

The fragrance of the ham had by this time reached the remote parts of dwarf land. The dwarfs came flocking around in little troops, leaving their work of digging out precious ores, eager for the ham.

“Let him have the old mill,”said some of the newcomers;“it is quite out of order, and he don't know how to use it. Let him have it, and we will have the ham.”

So the bargain was made. The poor man took the old hand mill, which was a little thing not half so large as the ham, and went back to the woods. Here the old man showed him how to use it. All this had taken up a great deal of time, and it was midnight before he reached home.

“Where in the world have you been?”said his wife.“Here I have been waiting and waiting, and we have no wood to make a fire, nor anything to put into the porridge pot for our Christmas supper.”

The house was dark and cold; but the poor man bade his wife wait and see what would happen. He placed the little hand mill on the table, and began to turn the crank. First, out there came some grand, lighted wax candles, and a fire on the hearth, and a porridge pot boiling over it, because in his mind he said they should come first. Then he ground out a tablecloth, and dishes, and spoons, and knives and forks.

He was himself astonished at his good luck, as you may believe; and his wife was almost beside herself with joy and astonishment. Well, they had a capital supper; and after it was eaten, they ground out of the mill every possible thing to make their house and themselves warm and comfortable. So they had a merry Christmas eve and morning.

When the people went by the house to church, the next day, they could hardly believe their eyes. There was glass in the windows instead of a wooden shutter, and the poor man and his wife, dressed in nice new clothes, were seen devoutly kneeling in the church.

“There is something very strange in all this,”said everyone.“Something very strange indeed,”said the rich man, when three days afterwards he received an invitation from his once poor brother to a grand feast. And what a feast it was! The table was covered with a cloth as white as snow, and the dishes were all of silver or gold. The rich man could not, in his great house, and with all his wealth, set out such a table.

“Where did you get all these things?”exclaimed he. His brother told him all about the bargain he had made with the dwarfs, and putting the mill on the table, ground out boots and shoes, coats and cloaks, stockings, gowns, and blankets, and bade his wife give them to the poor people that had gathered about the house to get a sight of the grand feast the poor brother had made for the rich one.

The rich man, was very envious of his brother's good fortune, and wanted to borrow the mill, intending—for he was not an honest man—never to return it again. His brother would not lend it, for the old man with the white beard had told him never to sell or lend it to anyone.

Some years went on, and, at last, the possessor of the mill built himself a grand castle on a rock by the sea, facing the west. Its windows, reflecting the golden sunset, could be seen far out from the shore. It became a noted landmark for sailors. Strangers from foreign parts often came to see this castle and the wonderful mill of which the most extraordinary tales were told.

At length, a great foreign merchant came, and when he had seen the mill, inquired whether it would grind salt. Being told that it would, he wanted to buy it; for he traded in salt, and thought that if he owned it he could supply all his customers without taking long and dangerous voyages.

The man would not sell it, of course. He was so rich now that he did not want to use it for himself; but every Christmas he ground out food and clothes and coal for the poor, and nice presents for the little children. So he rejected all the offers of the rich merchant. The merchant, however, determined to have it; he bribed one of the man's servants to let him go into the castle at night, and he stole the mill and sailed away with it in triumph.

He had scarcely got out to sea, before he determined to set the mill to work.“Now, mill, grind salt,”said he;“grind salt with all your might!—salt, salt, and nothing but salt!”The mill began to grind and the sailors to fill the sacks; but these were soon full, and in spite of all that could be done, it began to fill the ship.

The dishonest merchant was now very much frightened. What was to be done? The mill would not stop grinding; and at last the ship was overloaded, and down it went, making a great whirlpool where it sank. The ship soon went to pieces; but the mill stands on the bottom of the sea, and keeps grinding out“salt, salt, nothing but salt!”That is the reason, say the peasants of Denmark and Norway, why the sea is salt.

（Mary Howitt）

第13课　一个故事，两种说法

几年以前，在新英格兰人口最稠密的一个城市，几个来自于同一个学校的年轻人跳上了一辆豪华的马车。马车非常大，有六匹马拉着。

第二天，当老师走进教室的时候，他发现学生们都非常高兴，他们正在谈论坐马车游玩的乐趣。其中一个向老师讲述了他们的旅行，以及当中所发生的趣事。

在他快说完的时候，他又大声说道：“噢，对了，先生，有一件事我差点忘了。我们回家的时候，我们看见路上有一个样子很古怪的东西。那是一辆破旧的马车，拖着一个敞篷，走得非常慢，把整条街都给占了”。

“我们发现马车的主人并没打算给我们让路，于是我们就向马车扔出了无数的雪球，并大声打着口哨。这起到了极好的效果，那马车跑到了深雪里，那瘦得可怜的老马开始拼命地跑起来。”

“当我们经过那架马车的时候，有人狠磕了马一下，那匹马跑得更快了。我打赌，它从没跑过那么快。”

“这时车里的一个老家伙，他戴着一顶旧帽子，冲着我们大声喊：‘你们干吗要吓惊我的马？’我们的马夫回答：‘那你干吗不给我们让路？’我们又对着他大声吹了三声口哨。他的马又受惊了，差一点撞上一架装满了货的马车，还差一点掀翻了那老家伙，之后我们才放过他。”

“孩子们，”老师说，“现在坐到你们的座位上去，我也要给你们讲一个故事，也是关于马车的。昨天下午，一个已经非常虚弱的老教士正从波士顿赶往萨勒姆，到他儿子家去过冬天。因为他可能在春天还要做一次旅行，于是带上了他的敞篷车，把它系在了马车的后面。”

“他的视力和听力因为年岁过大而有些迟钝了，为此他只得慢慢地行走，他的老马和它的主人一样，也是又老又弱了。突然后面传来了响亮的口哨声，接着而来的是大团大团的雪球，砸在了马车的篷顶上。”“他使劲抓着缰绳，但他的马却开始狂奔。正在老人手忙脚乱的时候，几个年轻人坐着一辆六匹马拉着的马车从他身边呼啸而过，大声地喊叫着，‘让开，让开，老家伙！’，‘给我们让路！’”“请不要吓着我的马！”老人费力地喊。

“那么就让开，快让开！”这是他得到的唯一回答，之后是从那架堂皇的马车上飞过来的鞭子、雪球和大笑。

“老人和马都吓坏了，马儿受惊飞奔着，这已经威胁到了主人的生命。最后老人在马车撞上一辆货车的最后一刻止住了狂奔的马，此时只差很短的一段路他就到他儿子的家了。孩子们，你们可曾想到他的儿子，就是你们的老师，而那个‘老家伙’就是你们老师的父亲。”

当这些孩子意识到自己的行为从另一角度来看是多么粗鲁、无礼的时候，他们都为自己的无情感到羞愧。好在他们中的大多数人还有勇气为他们的所作所为向老师道歉。

◇ 讲述男孩滑雪橇的故事和老师的故事？

◇ 这位男孩是教养不够还是缺乏思考？

◇ 缺乏思考可以作为粗鲁无礼的理由吗？

TWO WAYS OF TELLING A STORY

In one of the most populous cities of New England, a few years ago, a party of lads, all members of the same school, got up a grand sleigh ride. The sleigh was a very large one, drawn by six gray horses.

On the following day, as the teacher entered the schoolroom, he found his pupils in high glee, as they chattered about the fun and frolic of their excursion. In answer to some inquiries, one of the lads gave him an account of their trip and its various incidents.

As he drew near the end of his story, he exclaimed:“Oh, sir! there was one thing I had almost forgotten. As we were coming home, we saw ahead of us a queer looking affair in the road. It proved to be a rusty old sleigh, fastened behind a covered wagon, proceeding at a very slow rate, and taking up the whole road. ”

“Finding that the owner was not disposed to turn out, we determined upon a volley of snowballs and a good hurrah. They produced the right effect, for the crazy machine turned out into the deep snow, and the skinny old pony started on a full trot. ”

“As we passed, some one gave the horse a good crack, which made him run faster than he ever did before, I'll warrant. ”

“With that, an old fellow in the wagon, who was buried up under an old hat, bawled out, ‘Why do you frighten my horse?’ ‘Why don't you turn out, then?’ says the driver. So we gave him three rousing cheers more. His horse was frightened again, and ran up against a loaded wagon, and, I believe, almost capsized the old creature—and so we left him.”

“Well, boys,”replied the teacher,“take your seat”, and I will tell you a story, and all about a sleigh ride, too. Yesterday afternoon a very venerable old clergyman was on his way from Boston to Salem, to pass the rest of the winter at the house of his son. That he might be prepared for journeying in the following spring he took with him his wagon, and for the winter his sleigh, which he fastened behind the wagon.

“His sight and hearing were somewhat blunted by age, and he was proceeding very slowly; for his horse was old and feeble, like his owner. He was suddenly disturbed by loud hurrahs from behind, and by a furious pelting of balls of snow and ice upon the top of his wagon. ”

“In his alarm he dropped his reins, and his horse began to run away. In the midst of the old man's trouble, there rushed by him, with loud shouts, a large party of boys, in a sleigh drawn by six horses. ‘Turn out! turn out, old fellow!’ ‘Give us the road!’ ‘What will you take for your pony?’ ‘What's the price of oats, old man?’ were the various cries that met his cars. ”

“‘Pray, do not frighten my horse!’ exclaimed the infirm driver. ‘Turn out, then! turn out!’ was the answer, which was followed by repeated cracks and blows from the long whip of the ‘grand sleigh,’ with showers of snowballs, and three tremendous hurrahs from the boys. ”

“The terror of the old man and his horse was increased, and the latter ran away with him, to the great danger of his life. He contrived, however, to stop his horse just in season to prevent his being dashed against a loaded wagon. A short distance brought him to the house of his son. That son, boys, is your instructor, and that ‘old fellow,’ was your teacher's father!”

When the boys perceived how rude and unkind their conduct appeared from another point of view, they were very much ashamed of their thoughtlessness, and most of them had the manliness to apologize to their teacher for what they had done.

第14课　不浪费，就不会缺乏

琼斯先生问：“孩子们，如果你们没什么事情做的话，请帮我把这个包裹打开好吗？”

两个包裹看起来完全一样，都用鞭绳绑着。本把包裹拿到桌子上来，看了看鞭绳打的结，准备解开它。

约翰拿起了另一个包裹，想拽掉鞭绳，但鞭绳打的结很紧，他只能是把鞭绳越拉越紧。

约翰：人们干吗要把结打得这么紧，根本就无法打开。本，你是怎么解开鞭绳的？你的包裹里面是什么？我想知道我这里面有什么。把绳子弄掉就好了，我要把它割断。

本：噢，不要，不要割断它，约翰！你的也是一样，割断它太可惜了。

约翰：得了吧！一根包装用的绳子能有什么用处？

本：这是一根鞭绳。

约翰：鞭绳又怎么样？只要三便士就能买两倍这么长的绳子。谁还在乎三便士？我反正不会。

于是他拿出刀子把绳子割成了几段。

琼斯先生：孩子们，你们已经把包裹打开了吗？

约翰：是的，先生，包裹在这儿。

本：这是我的包裹，父亲，还有这根鞭绳在上面。

琼斯先生：你留着它吧，本。

本：谢谢，先生。这根鞭绳多漂亮啊！

琼斯先生：约翰，你可以保留你的那根绳子，如果它对你有什么用处的话。

约翰：谢谢，先生，但是我想它对我不会有任何用处。

琼斯先生：噢，我可不这么认为。

几星期后，琼斯先生给了每个孩子一个陀螺。

约翰：本，这是怎么回事？陀螺没有鞭绳，这该怎么办？

本：我有一根鞭绳。说着他从口袋里掏出了一根绳子。

约翰：天哪！这不是那根绑包裹的绳子吗？我要是也把它保留了下来该有多好。

几天之后，在男孩子们中间有一场射击比赛。最佳射手将获得一副非常好的弓箭。“来吧，孩子们，”马斯特·夏普（神射手）说，“我就站在箭靶这儿，我要看看谁能射的比我还接近靶心。”

约翰拉开弓，射出了一支箭。箭落在了离夏普1/4英寸的地方。“你射偏了，”夏普说，“你必须明白比赛的规则。在你们来之前我们就已经定下了。你必须用你自己的箭射三次，不可以互相借用弓箭。你已射偏一次了。”

约翰拿起了第二支箭，“如果我有运气的话，”他说。他刚刚说完运气这个词，他的弓突然断了，箭从他的手中掉了下来。

本：这是我的弓，给你用吧。

夏普：不，不行。这不公平。你没听到规则吗？不可以互相借用的。

轮到本来射了。他的第一支箭射偏了。第二支和约翰射的第一支差不多。在射第三支之前，本仔细检查了弓上的弦，就在他拉弓的时候，弓突然断了。

约翰拍着手，高兴得跳起了舞，但他的舞蹈突然停住了，本从自己的口袋里拿出了一根鞭绳，把它绑在了弓上。

“还是那根绳子！”约翰大声喊道。“是的，我今天放在了口袋里，因为我想我可能会需要它。”本说。

本正是靠着最后的一箭赢得了奖品。当本拿到那副弓箭的时候，约翰说，“那根绳子对你是多么有用啊。我一定要注意以后再不浪费任何东西。”

◇ 本课能给读者什么教训？

◇ 哪位男孩保留了他的鞭绳？它对男孩有什么用处？

◇ 其他男孩用它干什么了？

◇ 最后的结局如何？

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Mr. Jones. Boys, if you have nothing to do, will you unpack these parcels for me?

The two parcels were exactly alike, both of them well tied up with good whipcord. Ben took his parcel to the table, and began to examine the knot, and then to untie it.

John took the other parcel, and tried first at one corner, and then at the other, to pull off the string. But the cord had been too well secured, and he only drew the knots tighter.

John. I wish these people would not tie up their parcels so tightly, as if they were never to be undone. Why, Ben, how did you get yours undone? What is in your parcel? I wonder what is in mine! I wish I could get the string off. I will cut it.

Ben. Oh, no, do not cut it, John! Look, what a nice cord this is, and yours is the same. It is a pity to cut it.

John. Pooh! what signifies a bit of pack thread?

Ben. It is whipcord.

John. Well, whipcord then! what signifies a bit of whipcord? You can get a piece of whipcord twice as long as that for three cents; and who cares for three cents? Not I, for one. So, here it goes.

So he took out his knife, and cut it in several places.

Mr. Jones. Well, my boys, have you undone the parcels for me?

John. Yes, sir; here is the parcel.

Ben. And here is my parcel, father, and here is also the string.

Mr. Jones. You may keep the string, Ben.

Ben. Thank you, sir. What excellent whipcord it is!

Mr. Jones. And you, John, may keep your string, too, if it will be of any use to you.

John. It will be of no use to me, thank you, sir.

Mr. Jones. No, I am afraid not, if this is it.

A few weeks after this, Mr. Jones gave each of his sons a new top.

John. How is this, Ben? These tops have no strings. What shall we do for strings?

Ben. I have a string that will do very well for mine. And he pulled it out of his pocket.

John. Why, if that is not the whipcord! I wish I had saved mine.

A few days afterward, there was a shooting match, with bows and arrows, among the lads. The prize was a fine bow and arrows, to be given to the best marksman.“Come, come,”said Master Sharp,“I am within one inch of the mark. I should like to see who will go nearer.”

John drew his bow, and shot. The arrow struck within a quarter of an inch of Master Sharp's.“Shoot away,”said Sharp;“but you must understand the rules. We settled them before you came. You are to have three shots with your own arrows. Nobody is to borrow or lend. So shoot away.”

John seized his second arrow;“If I have any luck,”said he;—but just as he pronounced the word“luck,”the string broke, and the arrow fell from his hands.

Master Sharp. There! It is all over with you.

Ben. Here is my bow for him, and welcome.

Master Sharp. No, no, sir; that is not fair. Did you not hear the rules? There is to be no lending.

It was now Ben's turn to make his trial. His first arrow missed the mark; the second was exactly as near as John's first. Before venturing the last arrow, Ben very prudently examined the string of his bow; and, as he pulled it to try its strength, it snapped.

Master Sharp clapped his hands and danced for joy. But his dancing suddenly ceased, when careful Ben drew out of his pocket an excellent piece of cord, and began to tie it to the bow.

“The everlasting whipcord, I declare!”cried John.“Yes,”said Ben,“I put it in my pocket today, because I thought I might want it.”

Ben's last arrow won the prize; and when the bow and arrows were handed to him, John said,“How valuable that whipcord has been to you, Ben. I'll take care how I waste anything hereafter.”

第15课　通往快乐的道路

每个孩子都一定注意到了，有些孩子要比别的孩子快乐和可爱得多。有些孩子人人都爱和他做伴。他们不仅自得其乐，还能使你开心。

而有的孩子你则想离他远远的。他们似乎一个朋友都没有。没有朋友的人是不会快乐的。心灵是为爱而长的，没有爱，就没有快乐的心灵。

但是除非你爱别人，否则别人就不会爱你。爱只能通过给予才能获得。因此培养好的性格是非常重要的。缺少了它，你就不会快乐。

我曾经听过一个女孩说，“我知道我在学校非常不受欢迎。”这明显表明是她自己不友好。

如果你的同伴不喜欢你，这是你自己的过错。假如你友善待人，他们就会不由自主地喜欢你。如果你得不到别人的爱，那是因为你不值得被爱。确实，有时责任感要求你不得不做一些使你的同伴不高兴的事情。

但是如果你心灵高尚，大公无私，并且愿意为别人的幸福而作出牺牲，你就永远不会缺少朋友。

不要把无人喜欢你当作自己的不幸，而应该认识到这是你自己的过错。美貌和财富并不能带来朋友。如果你想赢得周围人的尊敬和喜爱，你的心灵就必须洋溢着仁慈。

你还没有意识到，你一生的幸福其实就取决于你有无良好的性格。如果你决心尽力帮助别人，你的周围就一定会有许多热心的朋友。倘若你从小就以此为原则，并一生遵守，那么你就能获得幸福，并使所有在你影响范围之内的人更加幸福。

寒冬的清晨，你去上学。炉子里的火生得很旺，大家都围着火炉，使劲地挤上前去烤火。在你身上稍微暖和时，一名冻得发抖的同学走了进来。“这儿，詹姆斯”，你朝他热情地打着招呼，说，“我烤得差不多了，你来我这吧。”

在你起身让他过来烤火时，难道他感觉不到你的好意吗？世上最坏的孩子也会情不自禁地佩服起你的这种慷慨的。即便他不领情，你也可以确信只要他想交朋友时，他一定会成为你的朋友。倘若你总是按照这个原则去做，你的身边就会永远有朋友。

假设某天你和同伴去打球。你打了一段时间后，另一个男孩来了。他无法加入任何一方，因为这样都会多出一个人。“亨利，”你说，“你顶我一下，我想歇会儿。”

你躺倒在草地上，而新上场的亨利拿起了你的球拍，精神抖擞地投入了比赛。他心里自然会明白，你放弃是为了让他参加，他怎么不会因此而喜欢你呢？事实上，没有一个像这样慷慨善良的人不会赢得旁人的尊敬和喜爱的。

看看你的那些拥有最多朋友的同伴就会发现，他们都是这种思想高尚的人。为了使别人快乐，他们愿意牺牲自己的享受。友善待人，这才是交朋友的唯一途径。

也许有的小读者觉察到了自己不受欢迎，却很渴望得到同伴的友谊。你问我该怎么做。我告诉你一条屡试不爽的规则：尽自己最大的力量使别人快乐。为了别人的快乐，要甘于牺牲自己的利益。

这是交朋友的办法，惟一的办法。在家里要尽量让着你的兄弟姐妹，体贴他们，你就能得到他们的爱。在外面与人打交道时，如果你按这条规则行事，你就一定能得到丰厚的回报。

◇ 本课的主题是什么？

◇ 没有朋友我们能得到快乐吗？

◇ 如果我们不被人喜欢，这是谁的错？

◇ 如果我们要得到他的爱与友谊，应该遵循什么规则？

THE WAY TO BE HAPPY

Every child must observe how much more happy and beloved some children are than others. There are some children you always love to be with. They are happy themselves, and they make you happy.

There are others whom you always avoid. They seem to have no friends. No person can be happy without friends. The heart is formed for love, and can not be happy without it.

But you can not receive affection unless you will also give it. You can not find others to love you unless you will also love them. Love is only to be obtained by giving love in return. Hence the importance of cultivating a good disposition. You can not be happy without it.

I have sometimes heard a girl say,“I know that I am very unpopular at school.”Now, this plainly shows that she is not amiable.

If your companions do not love you, it is your own fault. They can not help loving you if you will be kind and friendly. If you are not loved, it is a good proof that you do not deserve to be loved. It is true that a sense of duty may, at times, render it necessary for you to do that which will displease your companions.

But if it is seen that you have a noble spirit, that you are above selfishness, that you are willing to make sacrifices to promote the happiness of others, you will never be in want of friends.

You must not regard it as your misfortune that others do not love you, but your fault. It is not beauty, it is not wealth, that will give you friends. Your heart must glow with kindness, if you would attract to yourself the esteem and affection of those around you.

You are little aware how much the happiness of your whole life depends upon the cultivation of a good disposition. If you will adopt the resolution that you will confer favors whenever you can, you will certainly be surrounded by ardent friends. Begin upon this principle in childhood, and act upon it through life, and you will make yourself happy, and promote the happiness of all within your influence.

You go to school on a cold winter morning. A bright fire is blazing in the stove, surrounded with boys struggling to get near it to warm themselves. After you are slightly warmed, a schoolmate comes in suffering with cold.“Here, James,”you pleasantly call out to him,“I am almost warm; you may have my place.”

As you slip aside to allow him to take your place at the fire, will he not feel that you are kind? The worst boy in the world can not help admiring such generosity; and, even though he be so ungrateful as not to return the favor, you may depend upon it that he will be your friend as far as he is capable of friendship. If you will always act upon this principle, you will never want for friends.

Suppose, some day, you are out with your companions playing ball. After you have been playing for some time, another boy comes along. He can not be chosen upon either side, for there is no one to match him.“Henry,”you say,“you may take my place a little while, and I will rest.”

You throw yourself down upon the grass, while Henry, fresh and vigorous, takes your bat and engages in the game. He knows that you give up to oblige him, and how can he help liking you for it? The fact is, that neither man nor child can cultivate such a spirit of generosity and kindness without attracting affection and esteem.

Look and see which of your companions have the most friends, and you will find that they are those who have this noble spirit; who are willing to deny themselves, that they may make others happy. There is but one way to make friends; and that is, by being friendly to others.

Perhaps some child who reads this feels conscious of being disliked, and yet desires to have the affection of his companions. You ask me what you shall do. I will tell you. I will give you an infallible rule: Do all in your power to make others happy. Be willing to make sacrifices, that you may promote the happiness of others.

This is the way to make friends, and the only way. When you are playing with your brothers and sisters at home, be always ready to give them more than their share of privileges. Manifest an obliging disposition, and they can not but regard you with affection. In all your intercourse with others, at home or abroad, let these feelings influence you, and you will receive a rich reward.

第16课　我没有捕到的鱼

我的叔叔和我们住在一起，他现在独身一人，他是个安静、和蔼的人，非常喜欢打猎和钓鱼。我们小时候最喜欢的就是和他一起去格利特山、布兰蒂·布劳树林、池塘，当然最好是去布鲁克乡村。我们非常愿意在玉米地里或干草堆中努力工作，尽早完成白天必要的工作，这样就可以在下午沿着树林或溪边漫步。

我现在还记得第一次去钓鱼的经历，就好像那是昨天发生的一样。我一生中曾有很多快乐时光，但哪一次也比不上这次钓鱼。我从叔叔手中第一次接过钓鱼竿，和他一起穿过树林和草地。那是初夏的一天，四周安静而甜蜜，树木长长的影子投射在我们经过的小路上。叶子看上去更绿，花朵更明艳，鸟儿更欢快。

我的叔叔经验丰富，他知道哪里是梭鱼出没最多的地方，体贴地帮我选最合适的位置。我学着以前看到过别人钓鱼的样子，扔出鱼线，焦急地等待着鱼儿咬钩，将鱼饵在水面上点来点去，模仿青蛙的跳姿。半天过去了，可是什么东西也没有。“再试试。”叔叔说。突然，鱼饵沉入水面，不见了。现在来了，我想，终于有鱼上钩了。

我用力地拉，拉上来一团水草。我一遍遍用酸痛的手臂抛出鱼线，每次总是什么也没钓到。我恳求地望着叔叔，他说：“再试一次，渔夫一定要有耐心。”

突然，有什么东西拽住我的鱼线，将它拖入水中。我用力将线向上斜拉，看到阳光下一条细小的梭鱼奋力扭动着。“叔叔！”我回过身，激动不已地嚷道，“我钓到一条鱼！”“还没有哪！”叔叔说。他话音未落，就听水中啪啦一声，我看到笔直的银光一闪，鱼掉回水中，鱼线上的鱼钩空了。我失去了我的奖品。

我们总是爱拿儿时的悲伤与成人的悲伤比较，以显示那时的忧伤是多么微不足道。但是年轻人可不这么想。我们的悲伤受到理智、经验和自尊的克制，保持着适当的礼节，而且如果可能的话，避免难堪的场面。而童年时的忧伤没有理智，占据孩子的整个心灵，释放所有情绪。玩偶的鼻子破了，整个世界也随之破裂；弹球滚丢了，似乎整个地球也随之丢失。所以，我内心充满失望，坐在旁边的草丛上。叔叔告诉我河里还有很多鱼，但是我对叔叔的安慰置之不理。他重新放上一个鱼饵，把鱼竿递回我手里，告诉我再试试。

“但是记住，小伙子，”他微笑着说，“在你把鱼放在干燥的土地上之前，千万别吹嘘你钓到鱼了。我也看到过很多老家伙们这么干，搞得他们自己像傻子似的。事情没做成之前，吹嘘是没有用的。而当你做成这件事之后，它本身就说明了一切。”

后来经历的很多事，会让我想起这条我没有钓到的鱼。当我听见人们吹嘘还没有完成的事情，并炫耀实际上还没有完成的成就时，我的脑海里就会浮现小河旁的情景，我的叔叔对这件事的机智警言反应了生活中一条普遍真理：“在钓到鱼之前，千万别夸耀。”

（约翰·格林利夫·惠蒂尔）

约翰·格林利夫·惠蒂尔（1807～1892年），生于马萨诸塞州哈瓦希尔。他的童年在一个农场度过，从未受过正规教育。1829年，他在波士顿创办了一份报纸，后来他到了康涅狄格州的哈特福德从事类似工作。1836年他在费城出版了一份反对奴隶制的报纸。1840年，他来到马萨诸塞州的阿麦斯伯利。惠蒂尔先生的父母是《互助协会》的成员，他也有此信念。他写过大量诗歌和散文。作为一名诗人，他是同时代中成就最高、最享盛誉的。《大雪封山》是他最长、最著名的一首诗。

THE FISH I DIDN'T CATCH

Our bachelor uncle who lived with us was a quiet, genial man, much given to hunting and fishing; and it was one of the pleasures of our young life to accompany him on his expeditions to Great Hill, Brandy brow Woods, the Pond, and, best of all, to the Country Brook. We were quite willing to work hard in the cornfield or the haying lot to finish the necessary day's labor in season for an afternoon stroll through the woods and along the brookside.

I remember my first fishing excursion as if it were but yesterday. I have been happy many times in my life, but never more intensely so than when I received that first fishing pole from my uncle's hand, and trudged off with him through the woods and meadows. It was a still, sweet day of early summer; the long afternoon shadows of the trees lay cool across our path; the leaves seemed greener, the flowers brighter, the birds merrier, than ever before.

My uncle, who knew by long experience where were the best haunts of pickerel, considerately placed me at the most favorable point. I threw out my line as I had so often seen others, and waited anxiously for a bite, moving the bait in rapid jerks on the surface of the water in imitation of the leap of a frog. Nothing came of it.“Try again,”said my uncle. Suddenly the bait sank out of sight.“Now for it,”thought I;“here is a fish at last.”

I made a strong pull, and brought up a tangle of weeds. Again and again I cast out my line with aching arms, and drew it back empty. I looked at my uncle appealingly.“Try once more,”he said;“we fishermen must have patience.”

Suddenly something tugged at my line, and swept off with it into deep water. Jerking it up, I saw a fine pickerel wriggling in the sun.“Uncle!”I cried, looking back in uncontrollable excitement,“I've got a fish!”“Not yet,”said my uncle. As he spoke there was a plash in the water; I caught the arrowy gleam of a scared fish shooting into the middle of the stream, my hook hung empty from the line. I had lost my prize.

We are apt to speak of the sorrows of childhood as trifles in comparison with those of grown up people; but we may depend upon it the young folks don't agree with us. Our griefs, modified and restrained by reason, experience, and self respect, keep the proprieties, and, if possible, avoid a scene; but the sorrow of childhood, unreasoning and all absorbing, is a complete abandonment to the passion. The doll's nose is broken, and the world breaks up with it; the marble rolls out of sight, and the solid globe rolls off with the marble.

So, overcome with my great and bitter disappointment, I sat down on the nearest hassock, and for a time refused to be comforted, even by my uncle's assurance that there were more fish in the brook. He refitted my bait, and, putting the pole again in my hands, told me to try my luck once more.

“But remember, boy,”he said, with his shrewd smile,“never brag of catching a fish until he is on dry ground. I've seen older folks doing that in more ways than one, and so making fools of themselves. It's no use to boast of anything until it's done, nor then, either, for it speaks for itself.”

How often since I have been reminded of the fish that I did not catch. When I hear people boasting of a work as yet undone, and trying to anticipate the credit which belongs only to actual achievement, I call to mind that scene by the brookside, and the wise caution of my uncle in that particular instance takes the form of a proverb of universal application:“NEVER BRAG OF YOUR FISH BEFORE YOU CATCH HIM.”

（John Greenleaf Whittier）

第17课　泼冷水的艺术

有一天，与一个幽默的朋友做伴，眼见一艘有着新奇的造型的高档船只慢慢驶出港口，他评价道：“多么大的一盆冷水会浇到有些人的背上啊。”我当时天真地以为他在暗指那些建造这艘轮船的工匠们的湿漉漉的工作，但是当我更了解他之后，我才知道这是他想到任何新潮的伟大的工作时必然会发出的一种感慨，而他所说的“有些人”是指这艘轮船的设计者。

我的朋友仔细研究过泼冷水的艺术，有一类人他简单地归之为“泼冷水者”。听他讲第一个轮胎设计者的漫长的痛苦历程是很有趣的一件事，类似的谈话还有关于第一个船只建造者的，关于第一批大胆建议用纽扣而不是鱼骨头来系住野蛮人褴褛衣物的富有冒险精神的人们的。

这个话题讲得起劲的时候，他会用雄辩的口才描述那些冒失的人们怎样进行那泼人冷水的漫长事业。而且据他讲，这种事业是要让人短寿的。他编造出假想的那个不幸的发明家，比如说是轮子的发明家吧，和他那个特别的朋友，某个卓越的泼冷水者之间的对话。因为据他说，每个人都有一个这样的朋友，他能用恐吓吸引人，致使那个发明家因为想听到关于他事业的最坏的预言而向他的朋友吐露心声。

那个浇冷水的朋友的话，根据他的看法，是这么说的：“我想我们没有那种会滚的东西也过了几千年的好日子了。你的父亲肩扛重物。国王对于乘坐人工扛抬的坐骑也非常满意。高僧们也不会骄傲到要别出心裁。说实在的，我怀疑从人们的肩上卸下他们天然的重担是一种渎神的尝试。”

“然后，至于说它是否能成功，就我个人的意见，我不觉得那有什么可能性。它能爬上山坡？你也不想想你在类似的荒唐的新玩意上失败了多少次了！还有，你在浪费你的时间；你屋子旁的山药才种了一半。你将成为一个乞丐，这是我出于一个朋友的责任才把这些都那么直接地告诉你。”

“还有一个例子，人类用火已经历史久远了，以合适的方式，在合适的时间，靠用两根棒子摩擦起火。而有一个人非要用燧石和铁棒擦出火来。他的这一奇想寿终正寝了吗？我们惊恐的主人在这个进程中看到了亵神的倾向，所以他们就把妄图模仿天力的人就地正法，把他以刺刑处死。而且即使你能够成功地制造出这种新潮而荒唐的滚动东西，我们的国家会因此而被毁灭。那些用肩膀来挑重物的人会怎么样呢？抛弃那些无用的孩子气的幻想吧，先把你的山药种好了再说吧。”

看到即使是在现代社会泼冷水的艺术也如此盛行，这实在是一件让人很奇怪的事情。有一些人他们全部的智慧就表现在怎么样使别人泄气。而他们自己从来不会损失什么。他们带着相当的诚意，对任何被提议的活动可能遭遇到的不幸和失败都同样津津乐道。

我曾经见到过在他人泼冷水的情况下一件艺术品仍然诞生的过程。那个泼冷水者并不否认那件艺术品的美丽，但是他立刻就紧抓住一个无人能够注意到的小小裂缝不放；而且只要一在他面前评论那件作品，他就会把那个裂缝拿出来大说特说，好像他并没有真正见到过那件艺术品，而见到的只是那条裂缝而已。那个瑕疵——那个小小的瑕疵——对他来说就是全部了。

泼冷水者并不都持同样的想法。有些人因为真正胆小怕事而沉醉于这种娱乐。他们确实害怕所有新的尝试都会失败。另一些人仅仅出于嫉妒和恶意。并且预言灾难确实会给人一种力量和智慧的感觉。更重要的是，那是最安全的预言，因为几乎没有新生事物能像最初设想的那样获得成功。

其次，想象力的缺乏也是这么多泄气话出现的原因。对一个普通人来说，要理解蒸汽、电报和止痛的氯仿的创造者的想法是一个巨大的智力挑战。那个创造者在他同伴的眼中总是有点疯狂，而且他的同伴经常会尽力让他显得疯狂。

再次，还有同情心的缺乏，或许是那些专注于给别人泼冷水的人的主要出发点。他们不够温柔，不够有同情心，不能够意识到他们给别人带来的痛苦，他们所做的就是不厌其烦地摆出一条又一条理由，告诉那可怜的发明家他的事业是不会成功的，尽管他倾注了全部的心血，甚至可能是所有财富。

但是发明家们所遭受的痛苦，只是我们人类因为这些没有思想、缺乏善意的泄气话而遭受的痛苦的一部分。那些心智超群的人是天生属于受苦受难的一类人，而且他们必然得受苦受难，而泄气话的副作用在日常生活中表现得最为明显。试试向一个熟练的泼冷水者建议一次小型的欢乐聚会，然后看看他会作出什么反应。那个聚会很快就会变得令人困惑和沮丧。最后，那个提议者的惟一希望就是，当他的建议被付诸实践的时候，那不至于是一个令人羞愧的失败。至少对那个建议者来说，他别想再从中得到什么快乐了。

（阿瑟·海普斯）

阿瑟·海普斯（1831～1875年），1835年毕业于英国剑桥。他最好的作品是《议会里的朋友》、《我的孤独的伴侣》和《真男人大学》，一个南方欧洲的“湖区居住者”的故事。他还写了《西班牙在美洲的征服史》、两个历史戏剧和一些其他作品。海普司先生是一个真正的思考者，他的作品在有思想的读者群中受到了名至实归的欢迎。1859年他被任命为枢密院秘书。

THE ART OF DISCOURAGEMENT

Regarding, one day, in company with a humorous friend, a noble vessel of a somewhat novel construction sailing slowly out of port, he observed,“What a quantity of cold water somebody must have had down his back.”In my innocence, I supposed that he alluded to the wet work of the artisans who had been building the vessel; but when I came to know him better, I found that this was the form of comment he always indulged in when contemplating any new and great work, and that his“somebody”was the designer of the vessel.

My friend had carefully studied the art of discouragement, and there was a class of men whom he designated simply as“cold water pourers.”It was most amusing to hear him describe the lengthened sufferings of the man who first designed a wheel; of him who first built a boat; of the adventurous personage who first proposed the daring enterprise of using buttons, instead of fish bones, to fasten the scanty raiment of some savage tribe.

Warming with his theme, he would become quite eloquent in describing the long career of discouragement which these rash men had brought upon themselves, and which he said, to his knowledge, must have shortened their lives. He invented imaginary dialogues between the unfortunate inventor, say of the wheel, and his particular friend, some eminent cold water pourer. For, as he said, every man has some such friend, who fascinates him by fear, and to whom he confides his enterprises in order to hear the worst that can be said of them.

The sayings of the chilling friend, probably, as he observed, ran thus:—“We seem to have gone on very well for thousands of years without this rolling thing. Your father carried burdens on his back. The king is content to be borne on men's shoulders. The high priest is not too proud to do the same. Indeed, I question whether it is not irreligious to attempt to shift from men's shoulders their natural burdens.

“Then, as to its succeeding,—for my part, I see no chance of that. How can it go up hill? How often you have failed before in other fanciful things of the same nature! Besides, you are losing your time; and the yams about your hut are only half planted. You will be a beggar; and it is my duty, as a friend, to tell you so plainly.

“There was Nang chung: what became of him? We had found fire for ages, in a proper way, taking a proper time about it, by rubbing two sticks together. He must needs strike out fire at once, with iron and flint; and did he die in his bed? Our sacred lords saw the impiety of that proceeding, and very justly impaled the man who imitated heavenly powers. And, even if you could succeed with this new and absurd rolling thing, the state would be ruined. What would become of those who carry burdens on their backs? Put aside the vain fancies of a childish mind, and finish the planting of your yams.”

It is really very curious to observe how, even in modern times, the arts of discouragement prevail. There are men whose sole pretense to wisdom consists in administering discouragement. They are never at a loss. They are equally ready to prophesy, with wonderful ingenuity, all possible varieties of misfortune to any enterprise that may be proposed; and when the thing is produced, and has met with some success, to find a flaw in it.

I once saw a work of art produced in the presence of an eminent cold water pourer. He did not deny that it was beautiful; but he instantly fastened upon a small crack in it that nobody had observed; and upon that crack he would dilate whenever the work was discussed in his presence. Indeed, he did not see the work, but only the crack in it. That flaw,—that little flaw,—was all in all to him.

The cold water pourers are not all of one form of mind. Some are led to indulge in this recreation from genuine timidity. They really do fear that all new attempts will fail. Others are simply envious and ill natured. Then, again, there is a sense of power and wisdom in prophesying evil. Moreover, it is the safest thing to prophesy, for hardly anything at first succeeds exactly in the way that it was intended to succeed.

Again, there is the lack of imagination which gives rise to the utterance of so much discouragement. For an ordinary man, it must have been a great mental strain to grasp the ideas of the first projectors of steam and gas, electric telegraphs, and pain deadening chloroform. The inventor is always, in the eyes of his fellow men, somewhat of a madman; and often they do their best to make him so.

Again, there is the want of sympathy; and that is, perhaps, the ruling cause in most men's minds who have given themselves up to discourage. They are not tender enough, or sympathetic enough, to appreciate all the pain they are giving, when, in a dull plodding way, they lay out argument after argument to show that the project which the poor inventor has set his heart upon, and upon which, perhaps, he has staked his fortune, will not succeed.

But what inventors suffer, is only a small part of what mankind in general endure from thoughtless and unkind discouragement. Those high souled men belong to the suffering class, and must suffer; but it is in daily life that the wear and tear of discouragement tells so much. Propose a small party of pleasure to an apt discourager, and see what he will make of it. It soon becomes sicklied over with doubt and despondency; and, at last, the only hope of the proposer is, that his proposal, when realized, will not be an ignominious failure. All hope of pleasure, at least for the proposer, has long been out of the question.

（Arthur Helps）

第18课　富兰克林的谈吐魅力

我从来没有结识过如此亲密的一位朋友。无论是作为政治家还是作为哲学家，他都可以称得上是一位伟人。与大家一起促膝交谈时，最能显示出他的个人魅力。我曾经有幸在宾夕法尼亚州的一位好友家中与他一起度过了两三周的时光。期间，大雪纷飞，下个不停。我们被地面上厚厚的大雪困在了家中。由于有富兰克林这个亲密的朋友和我们做伴，我们压根儿也没有被困的感觉。他说起话来兴高采烈，他的谈吐魅力始终让我们如沐春风。

然而，我描写他的谈吐魅力，并不是要和波斯维尔描写约翰逊相比。后者的谈话方式始终让人觉得在进行“一场大规模的光荣的战争”。事实上，约翰逊在谈话过程中时刻都是在争夺胜利，坚决要赢得对方对自己才华的尊重。他语气强硬，头脑敏锐，反应迅速，用词华丽，并且声音响亮。他的谈话犹如气势非凡的强大风暴，席卷了赫布里底群岛，摇动了古老的城堡。

但是，人们很容易对暴风骤雨般的谈话方式感到厌倦，无论其多么卓然不俗，他们总是希望听到对方的谈话更加平静自然、井然有序。从来没有人对富兰克林产生过厌倦。无论谈论什么样的话题，人们很少发现他刻意追求雄辩，力争妙语连珠。他的谈话没有一丝一毫要你佩服和羡慕他的意思。他的谈吐方式犹如儿童一般不加雕饰，朴实自然。他就像一位老族长那样与人谈话。他的真诚与直率会立即让你有一种放松的感觉，做到自我控制并充分利用自己的谈话技巧。他的观点与众不同，但全是凭着自身的光彩夺人而不需要其他任何因素的帮助。

他智慧的源泉永远不会枯竭。自从幼年时代起，他就在生活中时时处处保持警惕，任何事物都不曾从他的视野中逃脱。他的判断能力如此准确，他把生活中的每一次事件转变成了对自己有利的机会。他没有虚度自己青年时代的光阴，也从来没有甘心沉沦，放纵自己。他一生当中都是一个痴迷的读者，同时还是一位思想家。凭着自己的努力，他把从书中学会的知识融会贯通，他的学习方法如此巧妙，以至于他把书本知识化为己有，并使它们大大增值。

（威廉·沃特）

威廉·沃特（1722～1834年），美国律师和作家，出生于马里兰州的布莱登斯伯格。年幼时沦为孤儿，由其叔叔抚养长大。他充分利用了自己后天的学习机会，15岁那年做了一名私人教师。1792年，他获得了律师资格，并开始在弗吉尼亚州从事律师职业。1799年，他移居里士满。从1817年至1829年间，他担任美国司法部长的职务。他的晚年是在巴尔的摩度过的。沃特一生写有几部作品。他1803年发表的《一名英国间谍的书信》和1817年发表的《帕特里克·亨利传》等是他最杰出的作品。

COLLOQUIAL POWERS OF FRANKLIN

Never have I known such a fireside companion. Great as he was both as a statesman and philosopher, he never shone in a light more winning than when he was seen in a domestic circle. It was once my good fortune to pass two or three weeks with him, at the house of a private gentleman, in the back part of Pennsylvania, and we were confined to the house during the whole of that time by the unintermitting constancy and depth of the snows. But confinement never could be felt where Franklin was an inmate; His cheerfulness and his colloquial powers spread around him a perpetual spring.

When I speak, however, of his colloquial powers, I do not mean to awaken any notion analogous to that which Boswell has given us of Johnson. The conversation of the latter continually reminds one of the“pomp and circumstance of glorious war.”It was, indeed, a perpetual contest for victory, or an arbitrary or despotic exaction of homage to his superior talents. It was strong, acute, prompt, splendid, and vociferous; as loud, stormy, and sublime as those winds which he represents as shaking the Hebrides, and rocking the old castle which frowned on the dark rolling sea beneath.

But one gets tired of storms, however sublime they may be, and longs for the more orderly current of nature. Of Franklin, no one ever became tired. There was no ambition of eloquence, no effort to shine in anything which came from him. There was nothing which made any demand upon either your allegiance or your admiration. His manner was as unaffected as infancy. It was nature's self. He talked like an old patriarch; and his plainness and simplicity put you at once at your ease, and gave you the full and free possession and use of your faculties. His thoughts were of a character to shine by their own light, without any adventitious aid. They only required a medium of vision like his pure and simple style, to exhibit to the highest advantage their native radiance and beauty.

His cheerfulness was unremitting. It seemed to be as much the effect of a systematic and salutary exercise of the mind, as of its superior organization. His wit was of the first order. It did not show itself merely in occasional coruscations［1］; but, without any effort or force on his part, it shed a constant stream of the purest light over the whole of his discourse. Whether in the company of commons or nobles, he was always the same plain man; always most perfectly at his ease, with his faculties in full play, and the full orbit of his genius forever clear and unclouded.

And then, the stores of his mind were inexhaustible. He had commenced life with an attention so vigilant that nothing had escaped his observation; and a judgment so solid that every incident was turned to advantage. His youth had not been wasted in idleness, nor overcast by intemperance. He had been, all his life, a close and deep reader, as well as thinker; and by the force of his own powers, had wrought up the raw materials which he had gathered from books, with such exquisite skill and felicity, that he has added a hundred fold to their original value, and justly made them his own.

（William Wirt）

第五辑

第1课　黄金准则

为人诚实正直向来是苏珊的习惯。她以前从来没有好好思考过黄金准则——“你想人家怎样待你，就以什么样的方式对待他人”。她越思索，就越觉得自己没有时刻遵守这条准则。最后，她只得向妈妈询问这一准则的含义。

妈妈说：“它意味着首先要彻底消除任何私心。一个爱邻居胜过爱自己的人是绝不会做不希望别人对自己做的事情的。我们不仅不要这样做，而且我们对别人的态度也应该和我们希望别人怎么对我们的态度一样。记着，指责别人的过错比抵住折磨我们的诱惑要容易得多。”

“有的人也许非常诚实，却十分自私。但这条准则的含义不只是诚实而已。除了正直之外，它还要求我们要有善心。那个好撒尔利人的故事就很好地解释了它的含义。故事里讲的那个人从受伤的人身边走过时，却没有提供丝毫的帮助，他或许非常诚实，却不会为可怜的陌生人做一点他希望别人会为他做的事情。”

苏珊认真仔细地思索着妈妈所说的话。当她反思自己过去的行为时，她的脸颊羞红了，眼睛里露出了悔恨的神色，自己从前许许多多自私和不友好的小举动一下子涌现在她的记忆里。她决心以后无论遇上什么事情，都要记得按黄金准则去行事。

此后不久，就出现了一个考验苏珊的机会。苏珊的妈妈每周都给在农场主汤普森的小旅店寄宿的人代洗衣物，报酬仅5美元。一个周六的晚上，当苏珊像往常一样替妈妈去那儿领钱时，她在马厩里找到这位农场主。

他显然正在气头上，是那些一直和他讨价还价的马贩子惹得他这样火冒三丈的。他手里拿着一个打开的钱包，里头装满了钞票。当苏珊向他要钱时，他没有像往常一样因为苏珊打搅了正在忙碌的他而训斥她，而是立即递给了她一张钞票。

苏珊庆幸自己如此轻易地逃过了这一关。她急忙从他那儿走出来，到了路上她停下来用针把钱小心地别在围巾的褶缝里。这时她发现汤普森给她的钞票不是一张而是两张。她往四周看了看，发现附近没有人看到她。她的第一反应是为得到这笔意外之财而感到十分高兴。

“这是我的，全是我的。”她心里想，“我要给妈妈买一件新的斗篷，妈妈可以把她那件旧的给玛丽姐姐，这样玛丽明年冬天就可以和我一起去主日校了。也许还能给弟弟汤姆买双鞋子呢。”

过了一会儿，她想到这笔钱定是汤普森给错了，她没有使用它的权利。但是当她这样想时，一个诱惑的声音在低语：“是他给你的，你凭什么知道他不是打算要当礼物送给你的呢？拿着吧，他绝不会知道的。即使是他弄错了，他那大钱包里装着那么多的5元钞票，他才不会注意呢。”

她一边往家赶，心里一边进行着激烈的思想斗争。路上，她一直在权衡着是用这笔钱买到的享受更重要还是诚实更重要。

当她走过家门前那座小桥时，她的目光落在了她与妈妈说话时坐的那把锈迹斑斑的椅子上，黄金准则在她的耳边立即轰然响起：“你想人家怎样待你，你也要怎样待人。”

这个小女孩突然转身往回跑，速度快得使她喘不过气来，像是在逃离什么无形的危险似的。她就这样一路跑到了农场主汤普森的店门口。那个粗暴的老人看见她又一次站到他的面前，不禁惊奇地问：“这回又有什么事？”

“先生，你付了我两张钞票，而不是一张。”苏珊颤抖着答道。“两张？是吗？我看看，确实是两张。可是你是刚刚才发现的吗？为什么不早点送回来？”苏珊红着脸，低下了头，没有回答。

“你是想留着自己用吧，我猜，”汤普森说，“唉，真高兴你妈妈比你诚实，否则的话我就要白扔5美元。”

“妈妈一点都不知道这件事。”苏珊说，“我还没有到家就把钱送回来了。”

老人凝视着眼前的小女孩，但当他看到顺着孩子的脸颊滚落下来的泪珠时，似乎也被她的痛苦给触动了。老人把手伸进了口袋里，从中取出一先令，递给了苏珊。

“不，先生，谢谢您。”苏珊抽噎着说：“我不想因为做对了事情就得到报酬。我只希望您不要把我当作一个不诚实的人，因为那实在是一个巨大的诱惑。噢！先生，如果您曾见过你最爱的人连普通的生活用品都没有的话，您就会明白，对我们来说，要时刻做到对别人就像希望别人怎么对自己一样是多么困难啊。”

一向自私的老人此时的心也被打动了。他向小女孩道了晚安，然后回到了屋子里。他喃喃地说：“这世上有些人年纪虽小，却极其明白事理。”老人也为自己感到惭愧，但是他一定会变得更好。苏珊心情轻松地回到了她那简陋的家。她后来成为了一个对社会有用的人。在她那漫长的一生中，她从未忘记过如何抵制对人的这第一个诱惑。

◇ 文中的“黄金准则”是什么？

◇ 一个人不遵循这一准则，也能变得完全诚实吗？

◇ 苏珊是如何被教养的？

◇ 她最初想到做什么？后来什么改变了她的想法？

◇ 当她返还钱时，发生了什么事？

THE GOLDEN RULE

To act with integrity and good faith was such a habit with Susan that she had never before thought of examining the Golden Rule:“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”But the longer she reflected upon it, the stronger was her conviction that she did not always obey the precept; at length, she appealed to her mother for its meaning.

“It implies,”said her mother,“in the first place, a total destruction of all selfishness: for a man who loves himself better than his neighbors, can never do to others as he would have others do to him. We are bound not only to do, but to feel, toward others as we would have others feel toward us. Remember, it is much easier to reprove the sin of others than to overcome temptation when it assails ourselves.”

“A man may be perfectly honest and yet very selfish; but the command implies something more than mere honesty; it requires charity as well as integrity. The meaning of the command is fully explained in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Levite, who passed by the wounded man without offering him assistance, may have been a man of great honesty; but he did not do unto the poor stranger as he would have wished others to do unto him.”

Susan pondered carefully and seriously on what her mother had said. When she thought over her past conduct, a blush of shame crept to her cheeks, and a look of sorrow into her eyes, as many little acts of selfishness and unkindness came back to her memory. She resolved that for the future, both in great things and small, she would remember and follow the Golden Rule.

It was not long after this that an opportunity occurred of trying Susan's principles. One Saturday evening when she went, as usual, to farmer Thompson's inn, to receive the price of her mother's washing for the boarders, which amounted to five dollars, she found the farmer in the stable yard.

He was apparently in a terrible rage with some horse dealers with whom he had been bargaining. He held in his hand an open pocketbook, full of bills; and scarcely noticing the child as she made her request, except to swear at her, as usual, for troubling him when he was busy, he handed her a bank note.

Glad to escape so easily, Susan hurried out of the gate, and then, pausing to pin the money safely in the folds of her shawl, she discovered that he had given her two bills instead of one. She looked around; nobody was near to share her discovery; and her first impulse was joy at the unexpected prize.

“It is mine, all mine,”said she to herself;“I will buy mother a new cloak with it, and she can give her old one to sister Mary, and then Mary can go to the Sunday school with me next winter. I wonder if it will not buy a pair of shoes for brother Tom, too.”

At that moment she remembered that he must have given it to her by mistake; and therefore she had no right to it. But again the voice of the tempter whispered,“He gave it, and how do you know that he did not intend to make you a present of it? Keep it; he will never know it, even if it should be a mistake; for he had too many such bills in that great pocketbook to miss one.”

While this conflict was going on in her mind between good and evil, she was hurrying homeward as fast as possible. Yet, before she came in sight of her home, she had repeatedly balanced the comforts which the money would buy against the sin of wronging her neighbor.

As she crossed the little bridge over the narrow creek before her mother's door, her eye fell upon a rustic seat which they had occupied during the conversation I have before narrated. Instantly the words of Scripture,“Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,”sounded in her ears like a trumpet.

Turning suddenly round, as if flying from some unseen peril, the child hastened along the road with breathless speed until she found herself once more at farmer Thompson's gate.“What do you want now?”asked the gruff old fellow, as he saw her again at his side.

“Sir, you paid me two bills, instead of one,”said she, trembling in every limb.“Two bills? did I? let me see; well, so I did; but did you just find it out? Why did you not bring it back sooner?”Susan blushed and hung her head.

“You wanted to keep it, I suppose,”said he.“Well, I am glad your mother was more honest than you, or I should have been five dollars poorer and none the wiser.”“My mother knows nothing about it, sir,”said Susan;“I brought it back before I went home.”

The old man looked at the child, and, as he saw the tears rolling down her checks, he seemed touched by her distress. Putting his band in his pocket, he drew out a shilling and offered it to her.

“No, sir, I thank you,”sobbed she;“I do not want to be paid for doing right; I only wish you would not think me dishonest, for, indeed, it was a sore temptation. Oh! sir, if you had ever seen those you love best wanting the common comforts of life, you would know how hard it is for us always to do unto others as we would have others do unto us,”

The heart of the selfish man was touched.

“There be things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise,”murmured he, as he bade the little girl good night, and entered his house a sadder, and, it is to be hoped, a better man. Susan returned to her humble home with a lightened heart, and through the course of a long and useful life she never forgot her first temptation.

第2课　称象

“东方有位国王，”特迪的妈妈说，“有一次在处于巨大的危险时被人救出。为了表达他重获新生的感激，他立下誓言：要送给穷人们与他最喜欢的大象一样重的银币。”

“啊！那可是够多的了！”特迪的妹妹莉莉吃惊地睁大眼睛说道。

“可是如何才能称量大象的重量呢？”

特迪问道，他是一个性格文静同时又喜欢思考的孩子。

“这有困难，”妈妈说，“宫廷里那些聪明又有学识的学者激烈争论着如何解决这个难题，可是没有一个人能真正想出一个好办法来。”

“最后，还是一名衣衫褴褛的老海员想出了一个既安全又简单的好办法，得以顺利地称出这个庞然大物的重量。为此，成千上万的银币发给了穷人们，这些穷人也从老海员的妙计里获得了好处。”

“哦，妈妈，”莉莉说，“快告诉我们他是怎么称的呀！”

“等一等，”特迪说，“我想由自己来想这个问题，想出如何简单安全地称出大象重量的办法来。”

“我很高兴，孩子。”他妈妈说，“你要把这种独立思考的好习惯应用到你以后的学习中去。如果你在天黑前能想出来，我将奖励你一个橘子。”

小特迪冥思苦想着。莉莉看着哥哥那严肃的表情和双手抱头的样子，也忍不住地笑了。她便不时问这样的问题：“你想出来了吗，特迪？”

在快要吃饭的时候，特迪终于突然大叫一声：“我想出来了。”

“你是怎么想的呢？”妈妈问他。

“是呀，你是怎么想的呢？”莉莉也问他。

“首先，我把一艘大船靠在岸边，把一大块厚木板搭在船上，然后将大象赶到船上。”

“啊，那么大一头象，一定会把船压沉的。”

“当然了，”特迪说，“这时我会在水到达船身的地方做一个标记，再把大象赶到船下。”

“但我不明白这样做会有什么用？”莉莉说。

“这你还不明白吗？”特迪说。“就是这样啦，我再把许多银币放到船上，直到船下沉到跟上一次同样的深度，这些银币的重量不就是大象的重量了吗？”

“太妙了，”莉莉喊道，“你是把船当作秤了，是吗？”

“正是这样。”特迪说。

“这正是老海员所用的方法。”妈妈说，“你赢得了这个橘子，我亲爱的孩子。”说着，妈妈把橘子递给了特迪。

WEIGHING AN ELEPHANT

“An eastern king,”said Teddy's mother,“had been saved from some great danger. To show his gratitude for deliverance, he vowed he would give to the poor the weight of his favorite elephant in silver.”

“Oh! what a great quantity that would be,”cried Lily, opening her eyes very wide.

“But how could you weigh an elephant?”asked Teddy, who was a quiet, thoughtful boy

“There was the difficulty,”said his mother.“The wise and learned men of the court stroked their long beards, and talked the matter over, but no one found out how to weigh the elephant. ”

“At last, a poor old sailor found safe and simple means by which to weigh the enormous beast. The thousands and thousands of pieces of silver were counted out to the people; and crowds of the poor were relieved by the clever thought of the sailor.”

“O mamma,”said Lily,“do tell us what it was!”

“Stop, stop!”said Teddy.“I want to think for myself—think hard—and find out how an elephant's weight could be known, with little trouble and expense.”

“I am well pleased,”said his mother,“that my little boy should set his mind to work on the subject. If he can find out the sailor's secret before night, he shall have that orange for his pains.”

The boy thought hard and long. Lily laughed at her brother's grave looks, as he sat leaning his head on his hands. Often she teased him with the question,“Can you weigh an elephant, Teddy?”

At last, while eating his supper, Teddy suddenly cried out,“I have it now!”

“Do you think so?”asked his mother.

“How would you do it,”asked Lily.

“First, I would have a big boat brought very close to the shore, and would have planks laid across, so that the elephant could walk right into it.”

“Oh, such a great, heavy beast would make it sink low in the water,”said Lily.

“Of course it would,”said her brother. Then I would mark on the outside of the boat the exact height to which the water had risen all around it while the elephant was inside. Then he should march on shore, leaving the boat quite empty.”

“But I Don't see the use of all this,”said Lily.

“Don't you?”cried Teddy, in surprise.“Why, I should then bring the heaps of silver, and throw them into the boat till their weight would sink it to the mark made by the elephant. That would show that the weight of each was the same.”

“How funny!”cried Lily;“you would make a weighing machine of the boat?”

“That is my plan,”said Teddy.

“That was the sailor's plan,”said his mother.“You have earned the orange, my boy;”and she gave it to him with a smile.

第3课　学会思考

“学会思考”，这说起来很容易，但你知道那些源于思考的重要发现吗？

我们的思维看不到，听不见，任何人都无法感觉到它，但它们却有着意想不到的力量。

艾萨克·牛顿先生坐在苹果园的椅子上，突然他看见一只苹果从树上掉了下来。他开始思索，想知道苹果为什么会掉下来。终于他发现了地球、太阳、月亮和星星是如何保持相对位置的规律。

一个名叫詹姆斯·瓦特的小男孩静静地坐在火炉边，观察着上下跳动的茶壶盖，他开始思考。他想知道为什么水壶可以使沉重的壶盖移动，他从那时起就一直思考着这个问题。长大之后，他改进了蒸汽式发动机，使它能干骡马所干的活，这在很大程度上减轻了牲畜的负担。

当你看到一艘汽船、一间蒸汽磨房、一辆蒸汽火车时，记住，如果没有人冥思苦想，它们是绝对不会出现的。

曾经有一个叫伽利略的人在比萨的大教堂内，对往复摆动的吊灯产生了浓厚的兴趣。他从中得到启发，终于发明了摆钟。

詹姆斯·弗格森是苏格兰一名穷困的牧羊人。一次，他看过手表的内部构造后，对此产生了浓厚的兴趣。“我为什么不能做手表呢？”他想。但是上哪儿去弄那些制造齿轮和发条的材料呢？不久，他发现了如何得到它们的方法。他用一片鲸骨做了一根发条，最终他制成了一块走得很准的木制手表。

与此同时，他还用钢笔为人拓画，用画油给人画像。几年后，还是个孩子的他就已经能够养活自己的父亲了。

长大后，他去了伦敦。英国一些博学人士包括国王本人都曾听过他的讲学。他的座右铭就是：“学会思考”。他为自己和这个世界充分利用了自己的思维。

朋友，当你学习一门很难懂的课程时，千万别灰心。在请教别人之前，先应自己帮助自己，思考再思考，这样你将学会如何去思考。

I WILL THINK OF IT

“I will think of it.”It is easy to say this; but do you know what great things have come from thinking?

We can not see our thoughts, or hear, or taste, or feel them; and yet what mighty power they have!

Sir Isaac Newton was seated in his garden on a summer's evening, when he saw an apple fall from a tree. He began to think, and, in trying to find out why the apple fell, discovered how the earth, sun, moon, and stars are kept in their places.

A boy named James Watt sat quietly by the fireside, watching the lid of the tea kettle as it moved up and down. He began to think; he wanted to find out why the steam in the kettle moved the heavy lid.

From that time he went on thinking and thinking; and when he became a man, he improved the steam engine so much that it could, with the greatest ease, do the work of many horses.

When you see a steamboat, a steam mill, or a locomotive, remember that it would never have been built if it had not been for the hard thinking of some one.

A man named Galileo was once standing in the cathedral of Pisa, when he saw a chandelier swaying to and fro.

This set him thinking, and it led to the invention of the pendulum.

James Ferguson was a poor Scotch shepherd boy. Once, seeing the inside of a watch, he was filled with wonder.“Why should I not make a watch?”thought he.

But how was he to get the materials out of which to make the wheels and the mainspring? He soon found how to get them: he made the mainspring out of a piece of whalebone. He then made a wooden clock which kept good time.

He began, also, to copy pictures with a pen, and portraits with oil colors. In a few years, while still a small boy, he earned money enough to support his father.

When he became a man, he went to London to live. Some of the wisest men in England, and the king himself, used to attend his lectures. His motto was,“I will think of it;”and he made his thoughts useful to himself and the world.

Boys, when you have a difficult lesson to learn, Don't feel discouraged, and ask some one to help you before helping yourselves. Think, and by thinking you will learn how to think to some purpose.

第4课　雷和他的风筝

在人们心目中，雷是个很古怪的孩子。等你读过这则故事，也会这样认为的。

雷也喜欢与同学们在学校里玩耍，但他更喜欢独自一人呆在树阴下读小说或是做白日梦。他与他的小伙伴一样，喜欢一样运动，那就是放风筝。

有一天，他在放风筝时自言自语道：“如果有人在夜里放风筝，那一定棒极了，但是那样的话，如果天太黑就看不到风筝了。我可以在上面绑盏灯吗？那样的话人们就一定能够看得见。今晚我一定要试一下。”

天一黑，他没有告诉任何人，便带着自己的风筝和灯笼出去了。他来到一处离家有1/4英里远的宽阔场地。真奇怪，周围如此寂静，好像一个人也没有。但不管怎样，他要放他的风筝了。

于是他将用打满了孔的罐头盒做成的灯笼绑在了风筝的尾巴上，然后开始放飞风筝。经过几次尝试后，风筝放飞成功。雷松着手中的线，风筝便越飞越高。

风筝线放完后，他将风筝系在了栅栏上，然后站在那里凝视着漂浮的风筝。

就在雷享受着他的创举时，村里和街上的行人发现了天空那奇怪的亮光，观看的人越来越多。就在几秒钟里，那光看起来在上下跳动，或者在天空中前后平稳地移动。

“那能是什么呢？”一个人说。

“太奇怪了。”又一个人说。

“那不像是彗星，因为彗星应该有尾巴。”第三个人说。

“也许是一只大萤火虫。”又有人说。

好奇的人们决定去看看那奇怪的光到底是什么。是否是在空中跳舞的神仙，或是从天上掉下来的什么东西？于是他们开始尽可能地接近那道怪光。

到这时，雷已经站累了，他坐在了栅栏边上的一棵树后，他能看见走近的人群，但人们却看不到他。

当人们来到光的正下方时，终于看清那是什么了。他们互相对视着，笑了起来，说道：“这是孩子们的恶作剧，把我们大家都给捉弄了，让我们保守这个秘密，共同分享这份快乐吧！”

然后他们又笑着回村子去了。还有一些人仍然没有发现那奇怪的光到底是什么。

当看稀奇的人们走完之后，雷想该是回家的时候了。于是他缠下线，取下风筝和灯笼回到了家，而此时他妈妈正在担心，以为他出了什么事呢。

当妈妈知道一切后，被他的举动弄得哭笑不得。不用说，她一定开心地笑了。最后，她让雷上床睡觉去了。

RAY AND HIS KITE

Ray was thought to be an odd boy. You will think him so, too, when you have read this story.

Ray liked well enough to play with the boys at school; yet he liked better to be alone under the shade of some tree, reading a fairy tale or dreaming daydreams. But there was one sport that he liked as well as his companions; that was kiteflying.

One day when he was flying his kite, he said to himself,“I wonder if anybody ever tried to fly a kite at night. It seems to me it would be nice. But then, if it were very dark, the kite could not be seen. What if I should fasten a light to it, though? That would make it show. I'll try it this very night.”

As soon as it was dark, without saying a word to anybody, he took his kite and lantern, and went to a large, open lot, about a quarter of a mile from his home.“Well,”thought he,“this is queer. How lonely and still it seems without any other boys around! But I am going to fly my kite, anyway.”

So he tied the lantern, which was made of tin punched full of small holes, to the tail of his kite. Then he pitched the kite, and, after several attempts, succeeded in making it rise. Up it went, higher and higher, as Ray let out the string. When the string was all unwound, he tied it to a fence; and then he stood and gazed at his kite as it floated high up in the air.

While Ray was enjoying his sport, some people who were out on the street in the village, saw a strange light in the sky. They gathered in groups to watch it. Now it was still for a few seconds, then it seemed to be jumping up and down; then it made long sweeps back and forth through the air.

“What can it be?”said one person.“How strange!”said another.“It can not be a comet; for comets have tails,”said a third.“Perhaps it's a big firefly,”said another.

At last some of the men determined to find out what this strange light was—whether it was a hobgoblin dancing in the air, or something dropped from the sky. So off they started to get as near it as they could.

While this was taking place, Ray, who had got tired of standing, was seated in a fence corner, behind a tree. He could see the men as they approached; but they did not see him.

When they were directly under the light, and saw what it was, they looked at each other, laughing, and said,“This is some boy's trick; and it has fooled us nicely. Let us keep the secret, and have our share of the joke.”

Then they laughed again, and went back to the village; and some of the simple people there have not yet found out what that strange light was.

When thc men had gone, Ray thought it was time for him to go; so he wound up his string, picked up his kite and lantern, and went home. His mother had been wondering what had become of him.

When she heard what he had been doing, she hardly knew whether to laugh or scold; but I think she laughed, and told him that it was time for him to go to bed.

第5课　苏西的作文

一天苏西·史密斯放学回家，一进门就哭了起来。妈妈一边把女儿搂到身边，一边笑着问道：“怎么了，孩子？”

“噢，妈妈，麻烦大了。”苏西呜咽着，“所有同学明天早上都要交作文，我从没写出来一篇。我们至少要写12行，憋了整个下午我才写了几个字。看看我才写了点什么啊。”

史密斯太太拿起苏西手里皱巴巴、浸着泪渍的纸，看看上面都写了什么。

苏西仔细写了三个题目：时间、自制和勤奋。

“时间是短暂的，我们大家都应当充分利用时间。”“自制是非常有用的。”“在这个世界上我们想做任何事情都要很勤奋。”这就是她写下的所有的句子。

“现在”，苏西说，“对这些题目我再也想不出一个词了，我知道，明天上学一定交不上写好的作文了，我可不好意思从书上抄一篇或是让爸爸和你帮我写。”

“亲爱的，这就对了，”妈妈说，“自己写的作文，再糟糕，也比别人代写的漂亮文章更让你感到幸福。不过，开心起来吧。你没有开好头，你是在尝试着写自己根本不了解的题目。去花园里玩吧，半小时后我叫你。”

“可是我的作文……”苏西对妈妈说，“玩的时候别想作文的事，尽量开心地去玩。”史密斯太太宽慰道。

好像只不过玩了几分钟，苏西就听到妈妈喊她。她立刻跑回屋里，手里捧着花，小脸红扑扑的。

“苏西，现在我要你坐在窗前，取一沓整洁的纸和一支铅笔，写下你看到的东西。”妈妈吩咐说。

“可是我的作文呢，妈妈，我什么时候开始写我的作文啊？”苏西问道。妈妈说：“别想你的作文了，亲爱的，先做我告诉你的，我们慢慢再谈作文的事。”

苏西虽然觉得妈妈的要求有点奇怪，但是她知道妈妈不论做什么事情总是有道理的。所以她拿起纸笔，坐到窗前。

“不要和我讲话，看看窗外，写下你对看到的东西的想法。”

苏西禁不住笑起来，这真是一件好玩的事情。她向外望去，首先看到的是西边的天空和绚烂的晚霞。“噢，妈妈，多壮观的落日啊！”苏西忍不住惊叹道。

“不要说，而是写下来。”妈妈回答。

“那我就写写落日好了。”铅笔开始在纸上飞快地书写。几分钟后她说：“妈妈，我念给你听我写的东西好吗？”

“不，现在不可以，我要去餐厅了，你坐下来继续写，等我回来。”妈妈嘱咐说。

苏西继续写，开始对自己做的事情感兴趣了。有那么一会儿她完全忘了可怕的作文。她描写了晚霞，描写了远处的山丘、树木、河流，写下了开满鲜艳花朵的花园，那飞过窗口的小鸟。

就在她都快写满一张纸的时候，妈妈进来了，笑着问：“苏西，你的作文怎样了？”苏西惊道：“作文？你可是告诉我别去理会作文的啊，我还没有想呢。我刚才只是非常开心地写下了看到的窗外的景物。”

史密斯太太拿过苏西的稿纸，大声朗读起苏西写的文字：“我坐在窗户前的一张小矮凳上，窗户半开着，从这里可以嗅到花园里漂来的缕缕花香。天空给落日染得绚烂极了，有紫色的、粉色的和金色的。我相信没有谁的颜料盒里会有这么漂亮的颜色。”

“我看到一朵云彩，高高在上，像一艘大轮船航行在蔚蓝的海面上。若是它不会让我眩晕的话，我真想坐在云彩上。现在，就在我写字的时候，云彩变幻着不同的颜色和形状，而且都非常漂亮。”

“绿色山丘的山尖上镶着金边，看上去像披着金色的外衣。我可以看到远处的河流，看上去非常宁静，尽管我知道它正飞快地奔向大海。”

“鸟儿飞过窗口，急着赶回家照顾小宝宝。我真高兴小鸟一点都不害怕住在我家花园里，它还在我家树上做巢呢。”

“我们的花园里种满了各种花：石竹、百合和玫瑰。我的生日再有一周就到了。到那时我们就有足够的花来编花环装饰野餐会了。”

史密斯太太说：“苏西，你看，这其实是一篇很好的作文。”“一篇作文！”苏西激动地问：“可以称得上作文吗？”“是的，亲爱的，还是一篇好作文呢。”妈妈回答说。“可是还没有一个题目。”

“我们来给它安一个题目吧。我确信你的老师会和我一样非常喜欢这篇作文的。亲爱的，你看，”妈妈接着说：“如果你描写自己感兴趣的事物，写作文是很容易的事情。”其实第二天早上，苏西整整齐齐誊抄了作文，高高兴兴准备去上学了，当她亲妈妈的时候，对妈妈说：“亲爱的妈妈，想想多有意思啊，我写了那么长的一篇作文，自己竟然都没有意识到。”

◇ 什么是作文？苏西为何被困扰？

◇ 她不能写哪方面的事？

◇ 她母亲让她做什么？

◇ 苏西最后写的是什么？那是篇作文吗？

◇ 你能给她的作文选一个合适的主题吗？

SUSIE'S COMPOSITION

Susie Smith came home from school one day, and had no sooner entered the sitting room than she burst into tears.“What is the matter, my dear child?”said her mother, drawing her daughter to her side and smiling.

“O mother, matter enough,”sobbed Susie.“All our class must bring in compositions to morrow morning, and I never, never can write one. We must write twelve lines at least, and I have written only a few words after trying nearly all the afternoon. See what work I have made of it!”

Mrs. Smith took the rumpled, tear stained paper which Susie held in her hand, and glanced at what she had written. In a careful hand she had tried to

write upon three themes:“Time,”“Temperance,”and“Industry.”

“Time is short. We should all improve our time.”“Temperance is a very useful thing.”“We should all be industrious if we wish to do anything in the world.”These sentences were all she had written.

“Now,”said Susie,“I can't think of another word to say upon any of these subjects, and I know I shall have to go to school without a composition, for I won't be so mean as to copy one from a book, or to ask you or papa to write one for me.”

“That is right, my dear,”said her mother.“You will be far happier with a poor composition, if it is all your own, than with a fine one written by somebody else. But cheer up. You have not begun right—you have been trying to write upon subjects that you know nothing about. Run into the garden and play. I will call you in half an hour.”

“But my composition,”began Susie.“Don't think about your composition while you are gone,”said Mrs. Smith,“but have as pleasant a time as you can.”

It seemed but a few minutes to Susie before she heard her mother's voice calling her. She went into the house at once—her hands full of sweet flowers, and her cheeks rosy with exercise.

“Now, Susie,”said her mother,“I want you to sit by the window with this nice sheet of paper and a pencil, and write something about what you can see.”“But my composition, mother,”said Susie;“when shall I begin that?”“Never mind your composition, my dear; do this to please me, and we will talk about that by and by.”

Susie thought her mother's request was a strange one; but she knew that she always had a good reason for everything she did: so she took the paper and pencil, and sat by the window.

“Do not talk to me at all,”said her mother.“Look out of the window, and then write down your thoughts about everything you see.”

Susie could not help laughing, it seemed such a funny thing to be doing. As she looked out, she first saw the western sky and some bright, sunset clouds.“O mother!”she exclaimed,“what a splendid sunset!”“Don't talk,”said her mother,“but write.”

“I'll write about the sunset, then,”said she, and the pencil began to move rapidly across the paper. In a few moments she said,“Mother, shall I read you what I have written?”“No, not now,”answered her mother;“I am going into the dining room. You may sit and write until I return.”

As Susie went on writing, she became very much interested in her occupation, and for a time forgot all about the dreaded composition. She wrote about the sunset clouds, the appearance of the distant hills, the trees, the river, the garden with its gay flowers, and the birds flying past the window.

Just as she had reached the bottom of the page, her mother came in.“Well, Susie,”said she, with a smile,“how does that composition come on?”“Composition!”exclaimed Susie;“you told me not to think about my composition, and I have not thought of it once; I have had such a nice time writing about what I could see from the window.”

Mrs. Smith took the paper and read aloud what Susie had written:“I am sitting on a low seat at the bay window, one half of which is open, so that I can smell the sweet flowers in the garden. The sky is all bright with sunset; I can see purple, and pink, and golden. I do not believe that anyone on earth has a paint box with such lovely colors in it.”

“I can see one cloud, far above the rest, that looks like a ship sailing in the blue sea. I should like to sail on a cloud, if it would not make me dizzy. Now, while I have been writing, the clouds have changed in color and form, but they are just as beautiful as they were before.”

“The green hills are tipped with light, and look as if they were wearing golden crowns. I can see a river a great way off, and it looks quite still, although I know it is running as fast as it can to get to the ocean.”

“The birds are flying past the window to go home and take care of their little ones. I am glad the birds are not afraid to live in our garden, and to build nests in our trees.”

“Our garden is full of flowers—pinks, lilies, and roses. Mother calls this the month of roses. My birthday will come in a week, and we can have all the flowers we wish for wreaths and bouquets.”

“There, Susie,”said Mrs. Smith,“that is a very nice composition, indeed.”“A composition!”exclaimed Susie,“is that a composition?”“Yes, my dear, and a very good one, too,”replied her mother.“When it hasn't even a subject?”

“We can find one for it, and I do not doubt it will please your teacher, as it does me. You see, my dear,”continued her mother,“that it is easy enough to write if you have anything interesting to write about.”

The next morning Susie copied her composition very neatly, and started to school with a happy heart, saying, as she gave her mother a kiss,“Just think how funny it is, dear mother, that I should have written so long a composition without knowing it.”

第6课　虚度光阴的后果

许多青年人觉得，年轻的时候不好好利用时间没什么大不了的，他们总是幻想着长大后可以通过勤奋做些弥补。他们也觉得成年人无所事事是件很不光彩的事情，可是年轻人按照自己喜欢的方式过也无可厚非。

乔治·琼思就这么想。他12岁那年，上了一所私立中学，正为升入大学做准备。他父亲花了好多钱给他买书本、衣服，付学费。但是乔治却整天在那儿混日子。学校老师经常告诫他：小时候不努力学习，以后什么也做不成的。

但是乔治除了享受眼前的快活什么也不在意。他还是那样一点儿也不预习课文就来上课，在被点名背课文的时候，他就变得结结巴巴，还弄出大笑话来，逗得全班哄堂大笑。他是学校成绩最差的几个学生之一，因为他是最懒惰的一个。

当休息时间来到时，所有男孩子都跑到操场上了，乔治才拖着步子走过来。他上课时不好好学习，总是懒懒的快睡着的样子，而真正到了可以玩的时候了，他又没有兴趣了。我记得非常清楚，每次打球前在“掷硬币”的时候，我们都是最后才选到乔治。如果有足够的队员，我们经常把他撂在一边。因此他课上课下都不开心。

没有什么事情比努力学习更能使一个人充分体会玩耍的乐趣了。当课间休息结束的时候，其他男孩子都回到了课堂，精神焕发，精力充沛地投入学习的时候，这才看到乔治慢腾腾挪回座位。有时他会在课堂上睡觉，有时他会逮着苍蝇，然后把它们塞进自己在凳子上抠的小洞洞中，来消磨时间。有时当老师转过身去的时候，他会把纸团扔过教室。当学生被点名起来背课文时，乔治则是一副昏昏欲睡的样子，惭愧不安得就好像要给鞭打似的。其他同学站起来流畅地背诵课文，快活又自信。当轮到乔治的时候，他会拖拖拉拉好半天，还不时出笑话，所有人都打心眼希望乔治离开他们的班级。

最后，乔治和其他同学一起进了大学。尽管考得非常糟糕，还是勉强给录取了。因为考官觉得他没有答好题的原因可能是因为害怕。现在该是乔治真正感到痛苦的时候了。大学里对差学生可没有什么同情心。乔治不好好学习太久了，尽管现在已经少有地努力了，却还是跟不上其他同学。

在中学里他还可以不怎么费力地对付过去，也只是班里的同学会嘲笑他。可是现在他得进一间很大的教室，里面坐满了来自全国各地的学生。他得当着所有这些同学的面，对着一个教授背诵。可怜的家伙，他为自己的懒惰付出了代价。

你要是见到他在座位上瑟瑟发抖，害怕给叫到背诵的样子，可能会同情他的。当他给点到的时候，他站起来就像哑巴一样，一个字也复述不出来。有时他会出很大的笑话惹得整个班级哄堂大笑。这种嘲笑声就是在给懒人喝彩。他当然很可怜。他天天混日子，过了那么久，都不知道怎么用脑子学习了。所有好学生都躲着他，他们觉得和他在一起很丢人。乔治非常泄气，开始慢慢变得放荡了。

学校负责人不得不让他暂时回家。几个月后他回到了学校，可是没有一点起色。学校劝他父亲把他带回家。几个月后，我遇到了乔治。可怜的浪荡汉，没有钱也没有朋友。这就是懒惰的代价。我希望每一个读者都可以从他的经历中得到警示：在时光的翅膀上要打下进步的印记。

CONSEQUENCES OF IDLENESS

Many young persons seem to think it of not much consequence if they do not improve their time well in youth, vainly expecting that they can make it up by diligence when they are older. They also think it is disgraceful for men and women to be idle, but that there can be no harm for persons who are young to spend their time in any manner they please.

George Jones thought so. When he was twelve years old, he went to an academy to prepare to enter college. His father was at great expense in obtaining books for him, clothing him, and paying his tuition. But George was idle. The preceptor of the academy would often tell him that if he did not study diligently when young he would never succeed well.

But George thought of nothing but present pleasure. He would often go to school without having made any preparation for his morning lesson; and, when called to recite with his class, he would stammer and make such blunders that the rest of the class could not help laughing at him. He was one of the poorest scholars in the school, because he was one of the most idle.

When recess came, and all the boys ran out of the academy upon the playground, idle George would come moping along. Instead of studying diligently while in school, he was indolent and half asleep. When the proper time for play came, he had no relish for it. I recollect very well, that, when“tossing up”for a game of ball, we used to choose everybody on the playground before we chose George; and if there were enough without him we used to leave him out. Thus he was unhappy in school and out of school.

There is nothing which makes a person enjoy play so well as to study hard. When recess was over, and the rest of the boys returned, fresh and vigorous, to their studies, George might be seen lagging and moping along to his seat. Sometimes he would be asleep in school; sometimes he would pass his time in catching flies, and penning them up in little holes, which he cut in his seat; and sometimes, when the preceptor's back was turned, he would throw a paper ball across the room.

When the class was called up to recite, George would come drowsily along, looking as mean and ashamed as though he were going to be whipped. The rest of the class stepped up to the recitation with alacrity, and appeared happy and contented. When it came George's turn to recite, he would be so long in doing it, and make such blunders, that all most heartily wished him out of the class.

At last, George went with his class to enter college. Though he passed a very poor examination, he was admitted with the rest; for those who examined him thought it was possible that the reason why he did not answer questions better was because he was frightened. Now came hard times for poor George. In college there is not much mercy shown to bad scholars; and George had neglected his studies so long that he could not now keep up with his class, let him try ever so hard.

He could, without much difficulty, get along in the academy, where there were only two or three boys of his own class to laugh at him. But now he had to go into a large recitation room, filled with students from all parts of the country. In the presence of all these, he must rise and recite to a professor. Poor fellow! He paid dearly for his idleness.

You would have pitied him if you could have seen him trembling in his scat, every moment expecting to be called upon to recite. And when he was called upon, he would stand up and take what the class called a“dead set;”that is, he could not recite at all. Sometimes he would make such ludicrous blunders that the whole class would burst into a laugh. Such are the applauses an idler gets. He was wretched, of course. He had been idle so long that he hardly knew how to apply his mind to study. All the good scholars avoided him; they were ashamed to be seen in his company. He became discouraged, and gradually grew dissipated.

The officers of the college were soon compelled to suspend him. He returned in a few months, but did no better; and his father was then advised to take him from college. He left college, despised by everyone. A few months ago, I met him, a poor wanderer, without money and without friends. Such are the wages of idleness. I hope every reader will, from this history, take warning, and“stamp improvement on the wings of time.”

第7课　咖啡

咖啡树原产于东非，但是欧洲人认识咖啡却是在阿拉伯半岛上，并且直到公元1700年，这一地区才全面供应咖啡。

之后，咖啡豆由商旅团队带到了爪哇，岛上第一棵长出来的咖啡苗被当作礼物送给了居住在荷兰的荷兰东印度公司的总督。

这棵咖啡树被栽种在阿姆斯特丹的植物园里，几年后，树种被带往南美洲，在那里，咖啡种植得到了稳固发展，还一直延伸到西印度群岛。到现在，这棵树繁衍的后代所产的咖啡比全世界其他所有地方的咖啡树的产量都高。

咖啡树是长绿植物，有6～12英尺高，树干直径有10～15英寸。随着树龄增长，它下面的枝干渐渐弯曲，形成圆圆的伞状。它的木质非常柔韧，最长的枝干的一端可以弯曲到离地面只有2～3英尺的地方。

咖啡树的树皮颜色发白，有点粗糙。它从不落叶，叶片距离很近，在树干上对称生长。花朵、青果和成熟的果实可以在一棵树上同时看到。当花谢了之后，在原来的地方会长出小小的绿色果实，熟了以后就变成了深红色。

这种果实看上去就像樱桃，味道也不错。在果肉里面，是我们称为咖啡豆的浆果，包在一层结实的、薄薄的果皮里面。咖啡豆开始很软，味道也不好，但是当樱桃般的果实熟了以后，咖啡豆也变硬了，干了的果实成了深棕色的一个豆荚。

到了这一阶段，咖啡豆就很坚硬了，它呈一种透明的绿色。每个豆荚包着两粒，一头圆一头扁。豆子在扁的那头靠在一起并排躺着。其中有一种品种受到很高的评价，它的两粒豆子是长在一起的，名叫豌豆咖啡豆。当果实熟透，可以从树上摇下来的时候，它外面的壳就同咖啡豆剥落了。在阿拉伯半岛，咖啡豆卖出以后，当地居民还会利用它外面的壳呢。

咖啡树苗栽种在12～18英寸的坑里，相隔有6～8英尺距离。如果任由它们自由生长，可以达到18～20英尺高。但是人们一般都会将它们修剪得矮一点，使得采摘果实容易些。

咖啡树修剪后，其枝条可以延伸到将周围的空间覆盖。它第三年开始结果实，到第六、第七年就完全长成了，在今后的20年或更久的时间里能一直结果。

咖啡豆在使用之前，要先经过烤制。烤制中产生的香油多少同咖啡的市场价值高低有很大关系。人们发现原咖啡豆贮藏得越久，香油越丰富，也就越值钱。但是在烤制后，特别是磨碎后，香气很快就散了。

阿拉伯半岛出产盛名的摩卡咖啡，是世界上最好的一种，但是这种好咖啡几乎没有或只有很小一部分输出自这个国家。从质量来看，东印度群岛的爪哇咖啡排名第二，但是这种品质的好咖啡很难获得，因此，许多人更喜欢喝来自南美的高品质的里约热内卢咖啡，而不是摩卡或者爪哇咖啡。

◇ 最早产咖啡的是哪一国家？

◇ 它后来又如何找到其他国家种植？

◇ 咖啡是如何种植的？

◇ 三种常用咖啡是什么？有什么作用？

COFFEE

The coffee tree is a native of eastern Africa, but it was in Arabia that it first became known to the people of Europe, and until about the year 1700 A. D. that country afforded the entire supply.

Then the coffee seeds found their way to Java, by means of some traders, and one of the first plants grown on that island was sent as a present to the governor of the Dutch East India Company, who lived in Holland.

It was planted in the Botanical Gardens at Amsterdam, and in a few years seeds taken from it were sent to South America, where the cultivation of coffee has steadily increased, extending to the West Indies, until now the offspring of this one plant produce more coffee than is obtained from all the other plants in the world.

The plant is an evergreen, and is from six to twelve feet high, the stem being from ten to fifteen inches in diameter. The lower branches bend down when the tree begins to grow old, and extend themselves into a round form somewhat like an umbrella; and the wood is so pliable that the ends of the largest branches may be bent down to within two or three feet of the earth.

The bark is whitish and somewhat rough. A tree is never without leaves, which are at small distances from one another, and on almost opposite sides of a bough. Blossoms and green and ripe fruit may be seen on the same tree at the same time. When the blossom falls off, there grows in its place a small green fruit, which becomes dark red as it ripens.

This fruit is not unlike a cherry, and is very good to eat. Under the pulp of this cherry is found the bean or berry we call coffee, wrapped in a fine, thin skin. The berry is at first very soft, and has a bad taste; but as the cherry ripens the berry grows harder, and the dried up fruit becomes a shell or pod of a deep brown color.

The berry is now solid, and its color is a translucent green. Each shell contains two seeds, rounded on one side and flat on the other. The seeds lie with the flat sides together, and, in one highly prized variety, the two seeds grow together, forming one: this is known as the pea berry. When the fruit is so ripe that it can be shaken from the tree, the husks are separated from the berries, and are used, in Arabia, by the natives, while the berries are sold.

The young plants are inserted in holes from twelve to eighteen inches deep, and six or eight feet apart. If left to themselves, they would grow to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; but they are usually dwarfed by pruning, so that the fruit may be easily got at by the gatherer.

Thus dwarfed, they extend their branches until they cover the whole space about them. They begin to yield fruit the third year. By the sixth or seventh year they are at full bearing, and continue to bear for twenty years or more.

Before the berry can be used, it undergoes a process of roasting. The amount of aromatic oil brought out in roasting has much to do with the market value of coffee, and it has been found that the longer the raw coffee is kept, the richer it becomes in this peculiar oil, and so the more valuable. But after the coffee is roasted, and especially after it is ground, it loses its aroma rapidly.

Arabia produces the celebrated Mocha, or“Mokha,”coffee, which is the finest in the world; but little or none of the best product is ever taken out of that country. The Java coffee from the East Indies is next prized, but the best quality of this kind is also quite difficult to obtain, and many, therefore, prefer the finest grades of Rio coffee from South America to such Mocha and Java as can be had in our country.

第8课　荨麻

安娜：噢，爸爸！那棵荨麻扎了我的手。

父亲：亲爱的，我很难过。不过，把荨麻边上那片大草叶子揪起来，挤出叶子里面的汁擦在扎伤的地方，是不是会好一点？

安娜：确实好多了，几乎都不疼了。但是我希望世界上没有荨麻就好了。我不知道它们能有什么用。

父亲：安娜，你要是知道一点植物学的知识就不会这么说了。

安娜：爸爸，植物学是什么？

父亲：亲爱的，植物学是关于植物的知识。

安娜：有一些植物长得非常漂亮。要是百合长在我们的花园里，我才不会抱怨呢。可是这种荨麻多丑呀！我真不知道荨麻有什么好看的，它又有什么用。

父亲：可是，宝贝，荨麻远比百合美丽、有用，它值得学习的东西也更多。

安娜：哦，爸爸，你怎么这么说呢？

父亲：戴上手套，拔起那棵荨麻，我们来仔细看看。先观察它的花。

安娜：爸爸，花吗？我可看不到什么花，除非这些小小的疙疙瘩瘩的小团可以称为花。它们既没有颜色又没有香味，比别针头大不了多少。

父亲：来，用放大镜看。

安娜：噢，我现在看到了，每个小团都包在叶子里面，像玫瑰花骨朵一样。也许里面包着花儿呢。

父亲：试试用别针触这个小团，你看到了什么？

安娜：真是奇妙啊！

父亲：什么很奇妙？

安娜：我碰它的时候，它张开了。好像变魔术一样，腾起一朵小小的云雾，四片美丽的小小的花瓣张开来，如同是有生命的。现在通过镜片再仔细看，我看到一朵雅致的小花，和百合一样漂亮完美。

父亲：好，现在看叶子。

安娜：我看到叶子都布满了刺。我用放大镜观察每根刺的底部，它都有一个小小的盛满水一样液体的小包包。哈！这就是刚才扎了我的东西。

父亲：现在用针尖碰这个小包。

安娜：我挤压底部小包的时候，液体从刺顶端的小口渗了出来，所以我想这些小刺是中空的，可是它们比我的缝衣针的尖要硬多了。

父亲：所有的叶子都有刺吗？

安娜：不是的，爸爸，一些嫩叶是绿绿的，软软的，像天鹅绒一样，我握着它们时一点事也没有。

父亲：现在来看茎，折断它。

安娜：很容易就折断了，可是却很难分离开，因为外面的皮很结实地把它们连在了一起。

父亲：好了，现在你知道了荨麻有远比你想象的要更多更有趣的东西。

安娜：真是这样的。但是你经常告诉我每一种东西都有它的用处，可是有很多东西我看不出来有什么用。

父亲：那我们现在来想一想。你刚才看到一朵小花绽开，有一团雾升了起来，你说就像变魔术一样。所有这些对这种植物都是必须的。世界上有成千上万种植物，它们都以自己的特色而与其他的种类分开。现在看看长在路对面的其他荨麻吧，你看到它们和你刚才研究过的那种并不完全相同了吧。

安娜：是的，爸爸，不一样。这颗有小小的扁扁的籽，而不是花朵。

父亲：亲爱的，非常正确。现在，为了使这些种子能够生长，需要将这株荨麻的花和那株荨麻的种子结合在一起，这和许多其他植物一样。由于植物不能像动物一样走路，因此，当这朵小花绽开的时候，她会抛出一种细细的粉，就是你看到的雾一样的东西。花粉由空气带到其他植株上，落在种子上，给它力量生长，使它完整。而当种子落在土里时，就会长出一棵新的植物来。要是没有这种花粉，种子永远也无法变得完整。

安娜：太奇妙了。我知道那团小雾和花的作用了，可是刺伤我的叶子有什么用呢？爸爸，让你回答这个问题，我是不是太为难你了？

父亲：就是这些刺对人们才有用呢。一些国家的穷人在生病的时候就用它们治水泡。有些人用那些没有刺的叶子用来当食物。荨麻茎可以制造一种纤维皮，它和亚麻的用途一样，所以你所看到的看似不起眼的荨麻也不是毫无用途的。

THE NETTLE

Anna. O papa! I have stung my hand with that nettle.

Father. Well, my dear, I am sorry for it; but pull up that large dock leaf you see near it; now bruise the juice out of it on the part which is stung. Well, is the pain lessened?

A. Oh, very much indeed, I hardly feel it now. But I wish there was not a nettle in the world. I am sure I do not know what use there can be in them.

F. If you knew anything of botany, Nanny, you would not say so.

A. What is botany, papa?

F. Botany, my dear, is the knowledge of plants.

A. Some plants are very beautiful. If the lily were growing in our fields, I should not complain. But this ugly nettle! I do not know what beauty or use there can be in that.

F. And yet, Nanny, there is more beauty, use, and instruction in a nettle, than even in a lily.

A. O papa, how can you make that out?

F. Put on your gloves, pluck up that nettle, and let us examine it. First, look at the flower.

A. The flower, papa? I see no flower, unless those little ragged knobs are flowers, which have neither color nor smell, and are not much larger than the heads of pins.

F. Here, take this magnifying glass and examine them.

A. Oh, I see now; every little knob is folded up in leaves, like a rosebud. Perhaps there is a flower inside.

F. Try; take this pin and touch the knob. Well, what do you see?

A. Oh, how curious!

F. What is curious?

A. The moment I touched it, it flew open. A little cloud rose out like enchantment, and four beautiful little stems sprung up as if they were alive; and, now that I look again with the glass, I see an elegant little flower as nice and perfect as a lily itself.

F. Well, now examine the leaves.

A. Oh, I see they are all covered over with little bristles; and when I examine them with the glass, I see a little bag, filled with a juice like water, at the bottom of each. Ha! these are the things which stung me.

F. Now touch the little bag with the point of the pin.

A. When I press the bag, the juice runs up and comes out at the small point at the top; so I suppose the little thorn must be hollow inside, though it is finer than the point of my cambric needle.

F. Have all the leaves those stings?

A. No, papa; some of the young ones are quite green and soft, like velvet, and I may handle them without any danger.

F. Now look at the stem, and break it.

A. I can easily crack it, but I can not break it asunder, for the bark is so strong that it holds it together.

F. Well, now you see there are more curious things in the nettle than you expected.

A. Yes, indeed, I see that. But you have often told me that God makes nothing without its use; and I am sure I can not see any use in all these things.

F. That we will now consider. You saw the little flower burst open, and a cloud rose, you say, like enchantment. Now all this is necessary for the nature of the plant. There are many thousand plants in the world, and it has pleased God, in his wisdom, to make them all different. Now look at this other nettle, which grew on the opposite side of the road; you see that it is not exactly like the one you have just examined.

A. No, papa; this has little flat seeds instead of flowers.

F. Very right, my dear. Now, in order to make those seeds grow, it is necessary that the little flower of this plant and the seed of that should be together, as they are in most others. But plants can not walk, like animals. The wisdom of God, therefore, has provided a remedy for this. When the little flower bursts open it throws out a fine powder, which you saw rise like a cloud; this is conveyed by the air to the other plant, and when it falls upon the seed of that plant it gives it power to grow, and makes it a perfect seed, which, in its turn, when it falls to the ground, will produce a new plant. Were it not for this fine powder, that seed would never be perfect or complete.

A. That is very curious, indeed; and I see the use of the little cloud and the flower; but the leaf that stung me, of what use can that be? There, dear papa, I am afraid I puzzle you to tell me that.

P. Even these stings are made useful to man. The poor people in some countries use them instead of blisters, when they are sick. Those leaves which do not sting are used by some for food, and from the stalk others get a stringy bark, which answers the purpose of flax. Thus you see that even the despised nettle is not made in vain; and this lesson may serve to teach you that we only need to understand the works of God to see that“in goodness and wisdom he has made them all.”

第9课　正确的办法

“哦，安迪！”小詹妮·默多克说，“真高兴你走这里。我过不去了。”

“过不去？”安德鲁说，“出什么事了？”

“桥没了，”詹妮回答道，“我吃完早饭来这儿时，桥还在这头呢，现在却到了那一头。我怎么回家呀？”

“原来是这样，”安德鲁说，“我刚过桥的时候，还好好的。可是老唐纳德每天早上把牛赶过桥之后，就会把桥拽到另一头。我觉得他没有权利这样做。我想他可能认为桥是专为他和他的牛搭的。”

“现在我必须到下面的大桥那儿去了，安迪，我要你和我一块儿去。我可害怕一个人穿过那片黑黑的树林。”詹妮说。

“但是我不能去，詹妮，”安德鲁说，“我快要上课了。”

安德鲁是名优秀的苏格兰少年。校长很喜欢他，因为他不仅书念得好，而且别的方面都很棒。

詹妮·默多克是他最要好的朋友。他们两家住得很近。詹妮家就她一个孩子，安德鲁总是像哥哥一样待她，因此那天早晨当她站在水边急得差点要哭时，正好看见走来的安德鲁，她便自然而然地想到自己所有的麻烦都结束了。

以前他总会帮她解决烦恼，现在她也找不到任何他不能帮她的理由。她是一大早便过桥来采野花的，等到要回去时，偏偏像安德鲁所说的那样，桥被正在小溪对面放牛的老唐纳德给挪走了。

尽管小溪不算很宽，边上也没有很深，但是中间的水深达四五英尺，而且春天的水又湍急，要想趟水过去，对于人和牛来说，都不是件容易的事情。而对小詹妮来说，没有桥就更是过不了了。

“你能和我一块儿去学校吗，安迪？”詹妮说。

“哪怕会迟到，是吗？”他说，“我可从未迟到过，你知道的，詹妮。”

“也许多米尼·布莱克会以为你生病或是看牛去了呢。”詹妮说。

“除非我对他说，他才会这么想。”安德鲁说，“但你知道我是不会这样做的。”

“要是我们一路跑的话，你还会迟到吗？”詹妮问道。

“即使我们一路跑到桥那儿，我再一路跑回来，我还是只能在抄写时间之后才赶到学校。上课铃随时都会响的。”安德鲁回答说。

“但是我怎么办呢？”可怜的小女孩说道，“我不能在这里等到放学吧，我不想去学校了，别的男孩会笑话我的。”

“那好吧！”安德鲁说，“我一定要想办法送你回家。不能把你留在这里。不管你在哪儿，你妈妈都会非常着急的。”安德鲁一边说着，一边认真地思考着。

“是的，”詹妮说，“她会以为我掉到水里去了。”

时间紧迫，詹妮的表情越来越沮丧，可安德鲁实在想不出什么妙计既能带她回家又不会迟到，不会失掉自己在学校的尊严。

但是他要到小溪对面去，却找不到有比“大桥”更近的地方。他此时真是左右为难，他既不愿因送她回家而为迟到编造一个虚假的故事，又不能撇下她不管，或是带她去学校。

到底该怎么办呢？安德鲁的脑子里冒出了好几个荒谬得行不通的念头。正在这时，传来了学校的敲铃声。他必须拔腿就跑才能及时赶到校舍。

此时他内心的焦急达到了极点。詹妮注视着他那为难的表情，不禁哭了起来。

上学从不迟到的安德鲁开始绝望了。难道就真的没有办法了吗？

对了！一个好主意闪过脑海。奇怪刚才居然就没有想到，他完全可以请求多米尼·布莱克让他送詹妮回家的。难道还有比这更直接和明智的计划吗！

当然，好心的老校长同意了安德鲁的请求。一切都有了美满的结局。不过，最好的结局是这个苏格兰小少年从中明白了一个道理。这个道理就是：当我们绞尽脑汁也想不出什么办法来摆脱困境的时候，让我们不妨停下片刻，努力想想有无任何简单可行的办法。如果我们这样做的话，也许能找到一条比我们设计的任何方案都更容易、更令人满意的道路。

（弗兰克·R·斯托克顿）

◇ 詹妮为什么无法过小溪？

◇ 她找谁帮忙了？

◇ 她让安德做些什么？

◇ 安德鲁为了帮詹妮而没讲真话，这是否正确？

◇ 这一课教我的什么教训？

弗兰克·R·斯托克顿，1834年4月5日出生于费城，从小就喜欢写故事。他一度搞过木雕，做过编辑，后来一心投入到了写作当中。以写儿童故事和冒险小说著称。本文即改编自他写的一篇儿童故事。

THE RIGHT WAY

Adapted from a story by Frank H. Stockton. He was born at Philadelphia, April 5, 1834, and when quite a young boy used to write stories for his own pleasure. He was once a designer and engraver on wood, and afterwards an editor; but he now devotes himself entirely to writing, not only for young but also for grown people.

“O Andy!”said little Jenny Murdock,“I'm so glad you came along this way. I can't get over.”

“Can't get over?”said Andrew.“Why what's the matter?”

“The bridge is gone,”said Jenny.“When I came across after breakfast it was there, and now it's over on the other side, and how can I get back home?”

“Why, so it is,”said Andrew.“It was all right when I came over a little while ago, but old Donald pulls it on the other side every morning after he has driven his cows across, and I don't think he has any right to do it. I suppose he thinks the bridge was made for him and his cows.”

“Now I must go down to the big bridge, Andy, and I want you to go with me. I'm afraid to go through all those dark woods by myself,”said Jenny.

“But I can't go, Jenny,”said Andrew,“it's nearly school time now.”

Andrew was a Scotch boy, and a fine fellow. He was next to the head of his school, and he was as good at play as he was at his book.

Jenny Murdock, his most particular friend, was a little girl who lived very near Andrew's home. She had no brothers or sisters, but Andrew had always been as good as a brother to her; and, therefore, when she stood by the water's edge that morning, just ready to burst into tears, she thought all her troubles over when she saw Andrew coming along the road.

He had always helped her out of her troubles before, and she saw no reason why he should not do it now. She had crossed the creek in search of wild flowers, and when she wished to return had found the bridge removed, as Andrew supposed, by old Donald McKensie, who pastured his cows on this side of the creek.

This stream was not very wide, nor very deep at its edges, but the center it was four or five feet deep; and in the spring the water ran very swiftly, so that wading across it, either by cattle or men, was quite a difficult undertaking. As for Jenny, she could not get across at all without a bridge, and there was none nearer than the wagon bridge, a mile and a half below.

“You will go with me, Andy, won't you?”said the little girl.

“And be late to school?”said he.“I have not been late yet, you know, Jenny.”

“Perhaps Dominie Black will think you have been sick or had to mind the cows,”said Jenny.

“He won't think so unless I tell him,”said Andrew,“and you know I won't do that.”

“If we were to run all the way, would you be too late?”said Jenny.

“If we were to run all the way to the bridge, and I were to run all the way back, I should not get to school till after copy time. I expect every minute to hear the school bell ring,”said Andrew.

“But what can I do, then?”said poor little Jenny.“I can't wait here till school's out, and I don't want to go up to the schoolhouse, for all the boys to laugh at me.”

“No,”said Andrew, reflecting very seriously,“I must take you home some way or other. It won't do to leave you here, and, no matter where you might stay, your mother would be very much troubled about you.”

“Yes,”said Jenny,“she would think I was drowned.”

Time pressed, and Jenny's countenance became more and more overcast, but Andrew could think of no way in which he could take the little girl home without being late and losing his standing in the school.

It was impossible to get her across the stream at any place nearer than the“big bridge;”he would not take her that way, and make up a false story to account for his lateness at school, and he could not leave her alone or take her with him.

What was to be done? While several absurd and impracticable plans were passing through his brain, the school bell began to ring, and he must start immediately to reach the schoolhouse in time.

And now his anxiety and perplexity became more intense than ever; and Jenny, looking up into his troubled countenance, began to cry.

Andrew, who had never before failed to be at the school door before the first tap of the bell, began to despair. Was there nothing to be done?

Yes! a happy thought passed through his mind. How strange that he should not have thought of it before! He would ask Dominie Black to let him take Jenny home. What could be more sensible and straightforward than such a plan?

Of course, the good old schoolmaster gave Andrew the desired permission, and everything ended happily. But the best thing about the whole affair was the lesson that the young Scotch boy learned that day.

The lesson was this: when we are puzzling our brains with plans to help ourselves out of trouble, let us always stop a moment in our planning, and try to think if there is not some simple way out of the difficulty, which shall be in every respect perfectly right. If we do this, we shall probably find a way more easy and satisfactory than any which we can devise.

第10课　知识就是力量

“知识是多么美妙的事情啊！”说此话的是一个脸部轮廓分明、性情活泼的小个子男人。而他的听众是一个比他年纪大得多的人。“知识非常美妙，”他又重复了一遍。“我家的孩子们才五六岁就比我12岁时懂的还多。他们读各种各样的书，讨论各种各样的问题。整个世界比从前要聪明得多了。先生您难道不认为知识是美妙的吗？”

“嗨，先生，”老人一脸严肃地回答道，“这完全取决于将它用在什么方面。它既可以成为幸事，亦可以变成祸害。知识只能带来力量的增长，而力量则有好有坏。”

那个性情活泼的小个子男人不解地问：“这我可就不明白了。力量怎么可能有坏的呢？”

“我来告诉你，”老人不急不慢地回答道，然后他接着说，“当马的力量受到控制时，马这种动物就可用于拉车、驮人、驮东西；但是当其力量失控时，马便会挣断缰绳，把骑马的人从背上甩下，车儿也会被撞得粉碎。”

“当池塘的水有水渠的正确导引时，它便能用于灌溉农田。但如果决堤的话，它便会把一切东西都冲走，把地里的庄稼全给毁掉。”

“我懂了！”小个子说，“我懂了。”

“当船在航行中受到正确的指引时，船上扬起的风帆会使它提早到岸。但是如果领航的方向错了，船上的帆愈多，偏离航程就会愈远。”

“我懂了！”小个子说，“我清楚了！”

“那么，”老人接着说，“如果你真的非常明白的话，我希望你也能明白知识必须正确地应用，才是件好事情。只有善良的心灵才能使学识渊博的头脑造福于人，否则就可能成为祸害。”

“我懂了！我懂了！”小个子说，“我懂了！”

◇ 本课的主题是什么？

◇ 知识总是充满力量吗？

◇ 请重述知识误用的几个例子！

◇ 当我们拿上帝赋予我们的知识以不良动机时

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

“What an excellent thing is knowledge,”said a sharp looking, hustling little man, to one who was much older than himself.“Knowledge is an excellent thing,”repeated he.“My boys know more at six and seven years old than I did at twelve. They can read all sorts of books, and talk on all sorts of subjects. The world is a great deal wiser than it used to he. Everybody knows something of everything now. Do you not think, sir, that knowledge is all excellent thing?”

“Why, sir,”replied the old man, looking grave,“that depends entirely upon the use to which it is applied. It may be a blessing or a curse. Knowledge is only an increase of power, and power may be a bad, as well as a good thing.”“That is what I can not understand,”said the bustling little man.“How can power he a bad thing?”

“I will tell you,”meekly replied the old man; and thus he went on:“When the power of a horse is under restraint, the animal is useful in bearing burdens, drawing loads, and carrying his master; but when that power is unrestrained, the horse breaks his bridle, dashes to pieces the carriage that he draws, or throws his rider.”“I see!”said the little man.

“When the water of a large pond is properly conducted by trenches, it renders the fields around fertile; but when it bursts through its banks, it sweeps everything before it and destroys the produce of the fields.”“I see!”said the little man,“I see!”

“When the ship is steered aright, the sail that she hoists enables her sooner to get into port; but if steered wrong, the more sail she carries the further will she go out of her course.”“I see!”said the little man,“I see clearly!”

“Well, then,”continued the old man,“if you see these things so clearly, I hope you can see, too, that knowledge, to be a good thing, must be rightly applied. God's grace in the heart will render the knowledge of the head a blessing; but without this, it may prove to us no better than a curse.”“I see! I see!”said the little man,“I see!”

第11课　燃烧的地面

选自苏珊娜·穆底里夫人（1803～1885年）的小说《丛林中的艰苦岁月》。

那天天气酷热，临近中午的时候刮起了大风，大风在松树顶上吼着，把松树刮得像远处的柳树，而温度一点也没有降低。孩子们安静地躺在地板上，我和玛丽在做太阳帽，突然她叫道：“上帝保佑！夫人，好大的烟！”

我立刻冲出门去，但就连前面10码远的地方都看不清了。我们下面的沼泽地着火了，大风将浓厚的黑烟径直地吹向我们。

“这是怎么一回事？”我喊道，“谁使地面着火了？”当约翰·汤姆斯脸色苍白浑身发抖地站在我面前时，我停止了叫喊，问道：“约翰，这火是怎么一回事？”

“哦，妈妈，我希望你能原谅我，是我在地面放的火，如果能让我反悔没那么做的话，我愿意放弃我的一切。”

“知道后果了吗？”

“哦，恐怕我们都会被烧死的。”约翰说着，开始哭泣，“我们该怎么办？”

“怎么办？我们必须尽快离开这里，让房子听天由命。”

“我们已经出不去了，”这个男子汉用低沉的空洞的声调说道，声音里充满了恐惧，“如果能出去，我早就出去了，但仅仅能走到后门。妈妈，看！”

前面、后面到处都是火，我们被火墙四面八方包围了，火在我们周围100码处熊熊燃烧着，将所有的退路都切断了。即使我们能找到穿过火堆的出口，在浓重的烟罩下，我们也看不清路。我们得不到任何帮助，没人会发现我们的处境，看样子我们要被埋葬在这森林深处。

我关上门，回到起居室，心中充满了恐惧，我们所说的无助的话，毁灭了我们准备努力逃出去的希望。女孩坐在地板上，旁边的孩子不知道笼罩在他们身上的危险，还在熟睡着。女孩无声地哭泣着，而男孩，这个肇事者则大声地哭着。

惊慌过后，我奇怪地平静下来。我坐在门槛上，沉默地看着这恐怖的景象。火势已经蔓延到房子所在的山岭下一片雪松沼泽里，那个场面十分骇人。

从几层厚厚的黑浓烟——我所看过最黑的——蹦出的带着明火的树杈跳到树顶，点燃了那群被留下来当木材用的松树的树枝。我们看到天空已被浓烟遮住，空气中充满了火分子，甚至漂浮到了门口，而火焰的噼啪声和吼叫声可能很远都能听到。

要到达湖边，我们必须穿过燃烧的沼泽，然而即使鸟的翅膀没被烤焦也难于穿越。猛烈的风把火吹向房子两边。我们左边和右边到马路或森林的出口已经完全被火海堵住了。只要房子还没有被火燃烧，就是我们唯一安全的方舟。

我转向小汤姆斯问他，大火烧过来还需要多久。“烧光了前面这个小山岭就会烧过来，那时，除非上帝怜悯我们，否则我们都得完蛋。”

我让自己和孩子们并列躺在地板上，把他们紧紧抱在胸口，心里暗暗感谢上帝让他们睡着了，不知道危险，不会用哭声分散我们的注意力，使得我们不能集中精力采取任何可能逃出去的计划。

不久温度热得令人窒息，我们被烤得很渴，房子里没有一滴水，但没有比湖更近的水源了。我再一次转向房门，希望能烧出一个出口通向水边。但我只看见浓厚的火和烟，只听见火焰的噼啪声和吼叫声，它们的速度是这样的快，我都能感觉到它们灼热的气息烤在我的脸上。

“啊，”我想——这是最痛苦的想法，“我亲爱的丈夫要是回来发现他可怜的妻子和亲爱的女儿这样悲惨地死去了，会说些什么呢？也许上帝还能拯救我们。”

风上升为飓风，将火焰吹向各个方向，燃烧的柳枝像暴风雪一样乱飞，我内心的这种想法更加强烈了。我把头埋进围裙里，我想这下全完了。就在这时，一声非常骇人的雷声在我们头上炸开，接着就像水管裂了似的，好多星期以来迟迟不下的暴雨便急剧倾洒了下来。

几分钟后，院子里就浸满了水，火很快扑灭了。我们没有注意到这个暴风雨整天都在酝酿着，这是那年夏天我们唯一记住的东西。暴风雨整晚都在狂暴地下着，还没到早上，那使我们恐惧的残暴敌人已经被完全消灭了。

BURNING THE FALLOW

The day was sultry, and towards noon a strong wind sprang up that roared in the pine tops like the dashing of distant billows, but without in the least degree abating the heat. The children were lying listlessly upon the floor, and the girl and I were finishing sunbonnets, when Mary suddenly exclaimed,“Bless us, mistress, what a smoke!”

I ran immediately to the door, but was not able to distinguish ten yards before me. The swamp immediately below us was on fire, and the heavy wind was driving a dense black cloud of smoke directly towards us.

“What can this mean?”I cried.“Who can have set fire to the fallow?”As I ceased speaking, John Thomas stood pale and trembling before me.“John, what is the meaning of this fire?”

“Oh, ma’am, I hope you will forgive me; it was I set fire to it, and I would give all I have in the world if I had not done it.”

“What is the danger?”

“Oh, I'm afraid that we shall all be burnt up,”said John, beginning to whimper.“What shall we do?”

“Why, we must get out of it as fast as we can, and leave the house to its fate.”

“We can't get out,”said the man, in a low, hollow tone, which seemed the concentration of fear;“I would have got out of it if I could; but just step to the back door, ma’am, and see.”

Behind, before, on every side, we were surrounded by a wall of fire, burning furiously within a hundred yards of us, and cutting off all possibility of retreat; for, could we have found an opening through the burning heaps, we could not have seen our way through the dense canopy of smoke; and, buried as we were in the heart of the forest, no one could discover our situation till we were beyond the reach of help.

I closed the door, and went back to the parlor. Fear was knocking loudly at my heart, for our utter helplessness destroyed all hope of our being able to effect our escape. The girl sat upon the floor by the children, who, unconscious of the peril that hung over them, had both fallen asleep. She was silently weeping; while the boy who had caused the mischief was crying aloud.

A strange calm succeeded my first alarm. I sat down upon the step of the door, and watched the awful scene in silence. The fire was raging in the cedar swamp immediately below the ridge on which the house stood, and it presented a spectacle truly appalling.

From out of the dense folds of a canopy of black smoke—the blackest I ever saw—leaped up red forks of lurid flame as high as the tree tops, igniting the branches of a group of tall pines that had been left for saw logs. A deep gloom blotted out the heavens from our sight. The air was filled with fiery particles, which floated even to the doorstep—while the crackling and roaring of the flames might have been heard at a great distance.

To reach the shore of the lake, we must pass through the burning swamp, and not a bird could pass over it with unscorched wings. The fierce wind drove the flames at the sides and back of the house up the clearing; and our passage to the road or to the forest, on the right and left, was entirely obstructed by a sea of flames. Our only ark of safety was the house, so long as it remained untouched by the fire.

I turned to young Thomas, and asked him how long he thought that would he.“When the fire clears this little ridge in front, ma’am. The Lord have mercy on us then, or we must all go.”

I threw myself down on the floor beside my children, and pressed them to my heart, while inwardly I thanked God that they were asleep, unconscious of danger, and unable by their cries to distract our attention from adopting any plan which might offer to effect their escape.

The heat soon became suffocating. We were parched with thirst, and there was not a drop of water in the house, and none to be procured nearer than the lake. I turned once more to the door, hoping that a passage might have been burnt through to the water. I saw nothing but a dense cloud of fire and smoke—could hear nothing but the crackling and roaring of flames, which was gaining so fast upon us that I felt their scorching breath in my face.

“Ah,”thought I—and it was a most bitter thought—“what will my beloved husband say when he returns and finds that his poor wife and his dear girls have perished in this miserable manner? But God can save us yet.”

The thought had scarcely found a voice in my heart before the wind rose to a hurricane, scattering the flames on all sides into a tempest of burning billows. I buried my head in my apron, for I thought that all was lost, when a most terrific crash of thunder burst over our heads, and, like the breaking of a waterspout, down came the rushing torrent of rain which had been pent up for so many weeks.

In a few minutes the chip yard was all afloat, and the fire effectually checked. The storm which, unnoticed by us, had been gathering all day, and which was the only one of any note we had that summer, continued to rage all night, and before morning had quite subdued the cruel enemy whose approach we had viewed with such dread.

（Mrs. Susanna Moodie）

第12课　疯子

一位去过欧洲旅行的绅士，有次说起他曾拜访柏林的医院，遇到一位外表非常引人注意的人。他身材高大威严，本来硬朗的脊背因年龄和痛苦的压迫而显得微驼，额头上残留的几缕白发像碾过的雪，脸上的表情忧郁不堪。

这位绅士问他是谁，为什么被带到这里，他吓了一跳，好像从梦中惊醒，然后他朝四周看看，小心地在大厅中踱着步，用很小但是可以听见的声音说：“一乘以一等于二，一乘以一等于二。”

他不时停下几分钟，双手抱在胸前，似乎在思考。然后他继续踱步，又开始嘟囔：“一乘以一等于二，一乘以一等于二。”我们的这位旅行者听说，他的故事是这样的：

康拉德·兰格是柏林市的一名税务征收员，他是个非常正直的人，对每笔交易都非常谨慎、精确，勤勉地完成他所有的工作。所有认识他的人都认为他是位优秀的、值得尊敬的人，他还赢得了财政部长的信任，财政部长负责审查所有与税收有关的官员的账目。

一年年底，康拉德计算账目时，发现少了一万达卡特。他非常吃惊，找到部长，向他出示了他的账目，告诉部长说他不知道怎么会发生这样的事情，肯定是有人偷走了这笔钱，想搞臭他。

部长接过他的账目，认为自己必须抓住盗用公款的嫌疑犯，所以他派人将康拉德抓了起来，并把他的账目交给自己的一位秘书审查。秘书第二天将账目交回，告诉部长亏额是由错误计算引起的。在做乘法时，兰格先生说一乘以一等于二，而不是一乘以一等于一。

这位可怜的人被立即释放，部长归还了他的账目，并指出了他的错误。在被拘留的一两天中，他不吃不喝也不休息。当他走出来时，脸色比死神还苍白。收到账目的时候，他沉默了好一会儿，然后他好像从恍惚中忽然惊醒似的，重复道：“一乘以一等于二。”

他看上去对他的处境完全没有知觉。他不吃不喝，除非别人恳求他。他对周围的事也漠不关心。他只是重复着他常说的句子，如果有人纠正他说：“一乘以一等于一。”他的注意力会被吸引过去一会儿，说：“是的，一乘以一是等于一。”然后他会接着踱步，继续嘟囔：“一乘以一等于二。”这位旅行者离开柏林后不久，他就去世了。

不论这个令人动容的故事是真是假，对人们都有很大的启迪。哎！人类的头脑多么容易失去平衡，稍不小心就会酿成大错，并出现一些无可预测的后果。

THE MANIAC

A gentleman who had traveled in Europe, relates that he one day visited the hospital of Berlin, where he saw a man whose exterior was very striking. His figure, tall and commanding, was bending with age, but more with sorrow; the few scattered hairs which remained on his temples were white almost as the driven snow, and the deepest melancholy was depicted in his countenance.

On inquiring who he was and what brought him there, he started, as, if from sleep, and, after looking around him, began with slow and measured steps to stride the hall, repeating in a low but audible voice,“Once one is two; once one is two.”

Now and then he would stop, and remain with his arms folded on his breast as if in contemplation, for some minutes; then again resuming his walk, he continued to repeat,“Once one is two; once one is two.”His story, as our traveler understood it, is as follows:

Conrad Lange, collector of the revenues of the city of Berlin, had long been known as a man whom nothing could divert from the paths of honesty. Scrupulously exact in an his dealings, and assiduous in the discharge of all his duties, he had acquired the good will and esteem of all who knew him, and the confidence of the minister of finance, whose duty it is to inspect the accounts of all officers connected with the revenue.

On casting up his accounts at the close of a particular year, he found a deficit of ten thousand ducats. Alarmed at this discovery, he went to the minister, presented his accounts, and informed him that he did not know how it had arisen, and that he had been robbed by some person bent on his ruin.

The minister received his accounts, but thinking it a duty to secure a person who might probably be a defaulter, he caused him to be arrested, and put his accounts into the hands of one of his secretaries for inspection, who returned them the day after with the information that the deficiency arose from a miscalculation; that in multiplying, Mr. Lange had said, once one is two, instead of once one is one.

The poor man was immediately released from confinement, his accounts returned, and the mistake pointed out. During his imprisonment, which lasted two days, he had neither eaten, drunk, nor taken any repose; and when he appeared, his countenance was as pale as death. On receiving his accounts, he was a long time silent; then suddenly awaking, as if from a trance, he repeated,“Once one is two.”

He appeared to be entirely insensible of his situation; would neither eat nor drink, unless solicited; and took notice of nothing that passed around him. While repeating his accustomed phrase, if anyone corrected him by saying,“Once one is one,”his attention was arrested for a moment, and he said,“Ah, right, once one is one;”and then resuming his walk, he continued to repeat,“Once one is two.”He died shortly after the traveler left Berlin.

This affecting story, whether true or untrue, obviously abounds with lessons of instruction. Alas! how easily is the human mind thrown off its balance; especially when it is stayed on this world only, and has no experimental knowledge of the meaning of the injunction of Scripture, to cast all our cares upon Him who careth for us, and who heareth even the young ravens when they cry.

第13课　考试

“您还有别的什么要问我的吗？先生？”洛克问道。

“没什么啦。”邦克洛克·阿姆斯顿在本文中作为一个聪明的年轻人，希望获得佛蒙特一所乡村学校的教师职位，作为“考试委员会”的邦克先生是个精明古怪的老农民，他虽然不会读写，但通过仔细观察，他积累了大量的宝贵知识。文章从考试中间开始。回答，“我可不懂那些阅读、写作、语法什么的，那些方面我就猜测你不错好了，当然如果我发现你在别的方面都思维敏锐，这猜测很大程度上也就有根据了。你懂哲学吗？”

“先生，你是指哪方面的哲学？”

“就是那唯一的一方面啊。”

“但是你知道哲学可以分为很多种，比如说自然方面、道德方面或智力方面。”

“胡说！哲学就是哲学，就是研究我们所看见事物的前因后果，无论是应用于一个疯狂的梦境或是土豆的腐烂过程。你对此有了解吗？”

“是的，先生，相当程度上。”

“那么如果你愿意，我会提一两个问题。有一种现象，如果人同时向两把刀上吹气，锻造得好的那把刀锋上的湿气消散得较快，这是什么原因呢？”

“大概是由于两个刀锋磨光程度的不同吧。”洛克这样回答。

“啊！这是个仅仅停留在表面的回答。”邦克幽默地反驳道。“你显然是个不错的思考者，但我想你一定没有思考这个问题。我总共花了一个星期努力思考这个问题，并在铁匠铺里做实验以找到它的原因，这与磨光的程度无关。就算拿两片磨光程度相同的刀锋，湿气一样会较快的从那个较好的刀锋消散，这是因为两片刀锋在材质上有紧密和疏松的差别。”

“首先，我查明通过锤打和锻造可以使钢变得致密，而且锤打得越多，钢就变得越致密，那么相比当然其中的孔隙就小得多。直到这里我就立即明白了我想找的答案。因为我知道一块湿海绵的干燥时间比一块刚砍下来的湿木头的干燥时间要久得多，因为前者的孔隙更大。一块老木头或陈木比刚砍下来的木头容易干燥，道理也是一样的。”

“或者你可以在一块木头上用手钻钻出大孔，而另一块钻出小孔，在孔中注满水，把它们搁在那儿直至水分全部蒸发，它们所需时间的不同会更明显的证明这一点。所以就刀锋而言，水汽会在那片锻造得最为粗糙的刀锋上停留最久，因为它的空隙较大，吸收了更多的水汽微粒，所以需要更长的时间来干燥。”

“这起码是个十分精巧的理论，”洛克评论道，“这让我想起了另一个自然现象，对此我还没有找出让自己满意的解释。是这样的：为什么被踩过的土壤会比旁边没有被踩过的土壤冻得更硬更深呢？我询问过许多人，他们都说是因为被踩过的土壤更为致密，您觉得这是个充分的理由吗？”

“不是，”邦克说，“但我会告诉你是怎么回事，很久前我就想出这个问题的答案了。你知道在寒冷的季节里，我们所获得的温暖多数是由地面散发出来的。就算不是一直如此，但至少在一定程度上，温暖的水汽会从地面土壤里散发出来与空气混合，从而缓解地面上寒冷的空气。”

“现在，这些上升的温暖气流基本会被踩实的致密土壤所阻隔，那自然，气流会在地面下分道从两旁较为疏松的土壤里散发出来。这样被踩实的道路下面相当深的地方就是一片冰冷和死寂。这就为霜冻的侵袭和蔓延提供了条件，不时出现的暖气流对此也不会有任何影响。而同时，道路两旁的土壤下面，暖气流会不时地上升散发出来，从而阻碍霜冻的形成和蔓延。”

“先生，这就是这个现象的合理解释了，你应该相信它。但我们将不再讨论这些问题了，因为我已完全相信你不仅有丰富的知识，更懂得如何自己思考问题。现在，我想进一步了解的是，你是否能够教导别人去思考，这是当好一个老师的关键。但由于我在注意观察其他方面的时候已经留意到了这一点，也许我要求你做的只是在这里的一个孩子身上做个小小的实验就可以了。”

“请说，先生。”洛克说道。

“啊，先生，”邦克转过身面对火炉，木材燃烧引起的烟雾正呈柱状上升，邦克继续说，“你看见那儿烟雾在上升吧？你我都明白为何烟雾会向上扩散，我想我最小的孩子还不懂这个道理。现在去吧，看看你能不能让他明白。”

洛克沉思了一会儿，环顾了一下屋子四周，看看有什么东西可以作为有用的工具。他从架子上意外发现了一些可用的教具，现在他从那个架子上拿下那套铸铁马车驭者座里最小的一个，就是人们常形容的空心圆管，马车的轮轴可以在里面运转。然后他选了一个刚好能容纳那铁管的锡杯，将杯子里注上适量的水，他预计把铁管放进去后杯里的水刚好满溢。洛克把这些分别拿给那个孩子看并问道：

“你瞧，小家伙，告诉我这两件东西哪个更重些？”

“嗯，一定是这个马车圆管了。”孩子一手拿着半满的杯子，一手拿着空心铁管回答道。

“那么你觉得这铁管比等体积的水要重，是吗？”洛克继续问。

“嗯，是的，还是要重的，我知道这一点。”孩子立刻就给出了回答。

“那现在看清楚我做了什么！”洛克接着把铁管放入了杯子中，水立即上涨到了杯子的边缘。

“看到了吗？水上升到杯子的顶部了！”

“是的，我看到了。”

“很好，这是什么引起的呢？”

“嗯，这么简单，我再清楚不过啦！因为铁管更重一些，而且它的四周都是水，水不能向别处流散，就只能上升了。”

“十分正确！那现在能不能告诉我是什么引起了烟雾沿着烟囱向上升呢？”

“嗯，我想，”孩子迟疑着。回答说，“我想——我想我不知道。”

“那么你以前有没有在冬天为了看清高架子上有什么东西而踩上椅子，结果头快要接近充满暖气的屋子顶部的事呢？你发现屋子上方的空气和下方的空气有什么不同吗？”

“有啊，我记得有过。我发现上方的空气十分温暖，而我下来以后低头捡东西的时候，我觉得那里的空气寒冷极了。”

“事实就是这样的。但我希望你能告诉我为什么冷空气总是在停留在屋子下方，而同时暖空气却在上方呢？”

“因为，因为，重的东西会下沉，嗯，冷空气——有了！我有答案了！我肯定——冷空气比较重，所以下沉，暖空气就上升了！”

“很好。你已经明白冷空气比热空气重的道理了，就像铁要比水重一样。现在让我们回来看看这个主要的问题——什么导致了烟雾上升呢？”

“噢！我现在十分明白了！冷空气沉在四周，就像那个铁管，推动被火加热的空气上升，就像水。烟雾被热空气带了上去，就像旋风中的羽毛和物品。哎呀！我已找出了烟雾上升的原因了，真是太奇妙了！”

“干得真像个哲学家！”邦克叫道，“问题都解决了！我相信你会是千里挑一的好老师！你不仅能够自己思考，还可以启发别人思考，所以你可以尽早来上任了。”

（丹尼尔·皮尔斯·汤普森）

丹尼尔·皮尔斯·汤普森（1793～1868年），生于马萨诸塞州的查尔斯镇，后随父搬到佛蒙特，20岁之前一直住在那里的一个农场里。他并没有什么机会接受教育，但汤普森志向远大，并善于把握每个机会，通过自身努力，他挣到了足够的钱支持自己进入米德伯瑞学院学习，并于1820年从那里毕业。随后，他作为私人教师去了弗吉尼亚，并在那里开始从事律师业。不久以后汤普森回到了佛蒙特，在蒙皮利开了一家律师事务所。随后被选举为法官，后来成为美国国务卿。从大学开始，汤普森就开始为多家杂志写稿，其小说代表作有《洛克·阿姆斯顿校长》、《掘金者梅·马丁》、《绿山男孩》和《女子军或托利的女儿》。

THE EXAMINATION

Daniel Pierce Thompson（b. 1193, d. 1868）was born at Charlestown, Mass., but soon removed with his father to Vermont, where he lived until twenty years of age, on a farm. His means of schooling were most limited, but he was very ambitious and seized every opportunity. By his own efforts he earned enough money to carry him through Middlebury College, where he graduated in 1820.He then went to Virginia as private tutor, and while there was entered at the bar. He shortly returned to Vermont, and opened a law office in Montpelier. In time he was elected a judge, and later secretary of state. From his college days Mr. Thompson was a writer for the various magazines. Among his novels may be mentioned“Locke Amsden, the Schoolmaster,”“May Martin, or the Money Diggers,”“The Green Mountain Boys,”and“The Rangers, or the Tory's Daughter.”

“Have you any questions to ask me in the other branches, sir?”asked Locke.

“Not many,”replied Bunker.“There is reading, writing, grammar, etc., which I know nothing about; and as to them, I must, of course, take you by guess, which will not be much of a guess, after all, if I find you have thought well on all other matters. Do you understand philosophy?”

“To what branch of philosophy do you allude, sir?”

“To the only branch there is.”

“But you are aware that philosophy is divided into different kinds; as, natural, moral, and intellectual.”

“Nonsense! philosophy is philosophy, and means the study of the reasons and causes of the things which we see, whether it be applied to a crazy man's dreams, or the roasting of potatoes. Have you attended to it?”

“Yes, to a considerable extent, sir.”

“I will put a question or two, then, if you please. What is the reason of the fact, for it is a fact, that the damp breath of a person blown on a good knife and on a bad one, will soonest disappear from the well tempered blade?”

“It may be owing to the difference in the polish of the two blades, perhaps.”replied Locke.

“Ah! that is an answer that don't go deeper than the surface,“ rejoined Bunker, humorously. ”As good a thinker as you evidently are, you have not thought on this subject, I suspect. It took me a week, in all, I presume, of hard thinking, and making experiments at a blacksmith's shop, to discover the reason of this. It is not the polish; for take two blades of equal polish, and the breath will disappear from one as much quicker than it does from the other, as the blade is better. It is because the material of the blade is more compact or less porous in one case than in the other.

“In the first place, I ascertained that the steel was, made more compact by being hammered and tempered, and that the better it was tempered the more compact it would become; the size of the pores being made, of course, less in the same proportion. Well, then, I saw the reason I was in search of, at once. For we know a wet sponge is longer in drying than a wet piece of green wood, because the pores of the first are bigger. A seasoned or shrunk piece of wood dries quicker than a green one, for the same reason.

“Or you might bore a piece of wood with large gimlet holes, and another with small ones, fill them both with water, and let them stand till the water evaporated, and the difference of time it would take to do this would make the case still more plain. So with the blades: the vapor lingers longest on the worst wrought and tempered one, because the pores, being larger, take in more of the wet particles, and require more time in drying.”

“Your theory is at least a very ingenious one,”observed Locke,“and I am reminded by it of another of the natural phenomena, of the true explanation of which I have not been able to satisfy myself. It is this: what makes the earth freeze harder and deeper under a trodden path than the untrodden earth around it? All that I have asked, say it is because the trodden earth is more compact. But is that reason a sufficient one?”

“No,”said Bunker,“but I will tell you what the reason is, for I thought that out long ago. You know that, in the freezing months, much of the warmth we get is given out by the earth, from which, at intervals, if not constantly, to some extent, ascend the warm vapors to mingle with and moderate the cold atmosphere above.”

“Now these ascending streams of warm air would be almost wholly obstructed by the compactness of a trodden path, and they would naturally divide at some distance below it, and pass up through the loose earth on each side, leaving the ground along the line of the path, to a great depth beneath it, a cold, dead mass, through which the frost would continue to penetrate, unchecked by the internal heat, which, in its unobstructed ascent on each side, would be continually checking or overcoming the frost in its action on the earth around. ”

“That, sir, is the true philosophy of the case, you may depend upon it. But we will now drop the discussion of these matters; for I am abundantly satisfied that you have not only knowledge enough, but that you can think for yourself. And now, sir, all I wish to know further about you is, whether you can teach others to think, which is half the battle with a teacher. But as I have had an eye on this point, while attending to the others, probably one experiment, which I will ask you to make on one of the boys here, will be all I shall want.”

“Proceed, sir,”said the other.

“Ay, sir,”rejoined Bunker, turning to the open fireplace, in which the burning wood was sending up a column of smoke,“there, you see that smoke rising, don't you? Well, you and I know the, reason why smoke goes upward, but my youngest boy does not, I think. Now take your own way, and see if you can make him understand it.”

Locke, after a moment's reflection, and a glance round the room for something to serve for apparatus, took from a shelf, where he had espied a number of articles, the smallest of a set of cast iron cart boxes, as are usually termed the round hollow tubes in which the axletree of a carriage turns. Then selecting a tin cup that would just take in the box, and turning into the cup as much water as he judged, with the box, would fill it, he presented them separately to the boy, and said,

“There, my lad, tell me which of these is the heavier.”

“Why, the cart box, to be sure,”replied the boy, taking the cup, half filled with water, in one hand, and the hollow iron in the other.

“Then you think this iron is heavier than as much water as would fill the place of it, do you?”resumed Locke.

“Why, yes, as heavy again, and more too—I know it is,”promptly said the boy.

“Well, sir, now mark what I do,”proceeded the former, dropping into the cup the iron box, through the hollow of which the water instantly rose to the brim of the vessel.

“There, you saw that water rise to the top of the cup, did you?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Very well, what caused it to do so?”

“Why, I know well enough, if I could only think: why, it is because the iron is the heavier, and as it comes all around the water so it can't get away sideways, it is forced up.”

“That is right; and now I want you to tell what makes that smoke rise up the chimney.”

“Why,—I guess,”replied the boy, hesitating,“I guess,—I guess I don't know.”

“Did you ever get up in a chair to look on some high shelf, so that your head was brought near the ceiling of a heated room, in winter? and did you notice any difference between the air up there and the air near the floor?”

“Yes, I remember I have, and found the air up there as warm as mustard; and when I got down, and bent my head near the floor to pick up something, I found it as cold as could be.”

“That is ever the case; but I wish you to tell me how the cold air always happens to settle down to the lower part of the room, while the warm air, somehow, at the same time, gets above.”

“Why, why, heavy things settle down, and the cold air—yes, yes, that's it, I am sure—the cold air is heavier, and so settles down, and crowds up the warm air.”

“Very good. You then understand that cold air is heavier than the heated air, as that iron is heavier than the water; so now we will go back to the main question—what makes the smoke go upwards?”

“Oh! I see now as plain as day; the cold air settles down all round, like the iron box, and drives up the hot air as fast as the fire heats it, in the middle, like the water; and so the hot air carries the smoke along up with it, just as feathers and things in a whirlwind. Well! I have found out what makes smoke go up—is n't it curious?”

“Done like a philosopher!”cried Bunker.“The thing is settled. I will grant that you are a teacher among a thousand. You can not only think yourself, but can teach others to think; so you may call the position yours as quick as you please.”

第14课　斯奎尔斯

本文节选自小说《尼古拉斯·尼克尔贝》。这部小说极大的推动了约克郡学校必要的改革进程。斯奎尔斯这个人物如此逼真以至于不计其数的认为自己被讽刺的人都对狄更斯提起了诉讼的方法

“快点，”斯奎尔斯斯奎尔斯先生在文中是当时英国约克郡许许多多无知野蛮老师的代表。说，“我们去上学吧。来帮我穿上校服外套，好不好？”

尼古拉斯尼古拉斯·尼克尔贝是一位高尚的接受过良好教育的年轻人，他刚刚得到这个助教的职位，所以并不知道斯奎尔斯的底细。从过道的挂钩上取下那件破旧的不值钱的狩猎夹克，帮助主人穿上。斯奎尔斯拿着他的手杖，穿过院子走到了房子后面的门口。

“就在那儿，”他们一起进来的时候，老师开口说道，“这就是我们的教室，尼克尔贝。”

这真是一副拥挤的场景，很多东西都引人注目，以至于刚开始的时候，尼古拉斯四处观望，其实什么都没看进去。渐渐的，尼古拉斯发现这个地方只是一个简陋肮脏的小房子，有一些窗户，但窗户上可能只有1/10的部分有玻璃，剩下的只不过用旧印刷品和纸张塞住了。

屋子里有几张破旧不堪摇摇晃晃的长桌子，桌面上布满划痕、刻痕和墨水印，已经损坏得不成样子。还有2～3条没有靠背的长凳子。斯奎尔斯和他的助手分别分得了一张独立的课桌。房顶由横梁和长椽支撑着，看起来就像个谷仓。墙壁污染脱色十分严重，以至于根本看不出来它们是否曾经被油漆或石灰刷过。

同时映入眼帘的还有苍白憔悴的面孔、骨瘦如柴的身子、带着饱经风霜表情的孩子，手足带着铁具的残疾人以及发育不良的男孩儿，还有一些孩子们，他们那又细又长的腿几乎都不能支撑自己佝偻着的身子。有些面孔原本应该是俊朗的，现在却布满愁容和极大的痛苦。他们眼中应有的童年光芒已经熄灭，美丽已经褪去，现在只留下了深深的无助。

但就算如此心酸的一幕也有其可笑之处。比尼古拉斯还要迟钝的观察者也会对此忍俊不禁。斯奎尔斯太太站在一张课桌前，掌管着一个盛着硫磺和糖浆的大盆，用一支可能是为巨人制造的普通木勺把盆中的“美味”混合物轮流喂给孩子们。每个孩子都不得不把嘴大大的张开，被逼像受刑一样充满痛苦地一口气把整勺都吞下去。

“好了，”斯奎可斯先生用手杖使劲敲了下桌子，一半的孩子几乎都吓得跳起来，“药分完了吗？”

“刚刚分完。”斯奎尔斯太太答道。匆忙中，最后一个孩子噎住了。她又用木勺敲了敲他的头顶让他恢复正常。“嗨，斯迈克斯迈克是一名被父母遗弃的可怜学生。所遭受的严厉残酷的待遇几乎将他变成了傻子。现在把这个拿走！小心点儿啊！”

斯迈克拿着盆拖沓着步子走了出去，斯奎尔斯太太急匆匆地跟在后面，走进一个类似洗衣房的屋子。那里有一小堆火，一个水壶，一些小木碗摆放在木板上。在那个饥肠辘辘的仆人的帮助下，斯奎尔斯太太把一种棕黄色混合物倒进了小木碗里。虽然这混合物美名曰“粥”，但看起来就像是稀释过的没有盖子的针垫。每个碗里还放着一小块棕色的面包。当孩子们就着面包喝完他们的“粥”，早餐也就完啦，而斯奎尔斯先生就去别处吃自己的早餐。

耽搁了约半小时，斯奎尔斯先生又出现在教室里了。孩子们已经坐在自己的位置上拿起了书本，虽然平均下来可能8个孩子共用一本书。又过去了几分钟。斯奎尔斯先生一副学识渊博的样子，好像他已经透彻理解了所有书本中的全部知识。如果愿意，他甚至能把内容中的每字每句都背诵出来似的。这位绅士宣布开始上第一节课。

六个衣衫褴褛的孩子围坐在老师的课桌前，顺从地开始上课。他们膝盖和肘部的衣服都磨出了大洞，其中一个孩子求知的眼前放着一本又破又脏的书。

“这是第一节教授英语拼写和含义的课，尼克尔贝。”斯奎尔斯先生说，并示意尼古拉斯站到他的身边来。“我们会开设一门拉丁文，将由你来教。好了，现在来看，第一个孩子在哪里？”

“先生，他在清洁客厅的后窗。”英语班的临时班长答道。

“的确如此。”斯奎尔斯先生继续说，“尼古尔贝，我们采取的是实用的教学模式，常规的教育方法。C-l-e-a-n，就是清洁（clean），动词，意思是使……变明亮，擦净……。w-i-n,win,d-e-r，der，连在一起就是窗户（winder，拼错了），意思是对开的窗。当孩子们从书本里学到这个的时候，他们就会去做。这和地球仪的作用是一个道理，那么第二个男孩在哪里呢？”

“先生，他在花园里除草。”一个怯生生的声音回答道。

“确切地说，”斯奎尔大言不惭地说道，“是这样的。B-o-t,bot；t-i-n,tin；n-e-y,ney，连起来就是植物学这个词（bottinney,但实际应为botany），名词，意思是一种有关植物的知识。当孩子懂得bottinney意味着一种有关植物的知识时，他们就会去学植物。这就是我们的教学方法，尼克尔贝，你觉得怎么样？”

“无论如何，这是种有用的方法。”尼克尔贝意味深长地回答。

“我相信你！”斯奎尔斯没有对他助手的回答重点作任何评价，又继续问道：“第三个孩子，马是什么？”

“一种牲畜，先生。”孩子回答说。

“的确是这样！”斯奎尔斯同意道，“难道不是吗？尼克尔贝？”

“我对此没有丝毫怀疑，先生。”尼古拉斯答道。

“当然不会有，”斯奎尔斯说，“马是一种四足动物，‘四足动物’这个词在拉丁文中就是牲畜的意思，每个学过语法的人都知道这一点，不然还要语法有什么用呢？”

“的确如此。”尼古拉斯心不在焉的回答。

“因为你答得非常好。”斯奎尔斯继续对孩子说，“去好好料理一下我的马吧。仔细把它擦亮了，不然我可对你不客气。班上剩下的人去打水，直到有人让你们结束再停止，因为明天要大扫除，他们希望大锅是满的。”

（查尔斯·狄更斯）

查尔斯·狄更斯（1812～1870年），杰出的小说家，生于英格兰的普次茅斯。他的一生主要开始于在伦敦的一家律师事务所当誊写员，不久就成为报社的采访记者，并在1831到1836年间一直担任这一职务。他的第一本书名为《伦敦社会概略》。1837年，他出版了《匹克威克外传》，借此奠定了他职业作家的道路。他很快就出版了许多其他作品，当他去世的时候，最后一部作品《爱德华·德鲁德》还没有完成。狄更斯分别在1842年和1847年访问了美国。去世之后安葬在威斯敏斯特大教堂。狄更斯以其幽默感和感染力见长，特别擅长刻画孩子童年的悲喜。他的作品倾向于提倡善良和仁爱的行为。以下的文章节选自他最著名的小说之一《尼古拉斯·尼克尔贝》。

SQUEERS'S METHOD

“Come,”said Squeers,“let's go to the schoolroom; and lend me a hand with my school coat, will you?”

Nicholas assisted his master to put on an old fustian shooting jacket, which he took down from a peg in the passage; and Squeers, arming himself with his cane, led the way across a yard to a door in the rear of the house.

“There,”said the schoolmaster, as they stepped in together;“this is our shop, Nickleby.”It was such a crowded scene, and there were so many objects to attract attention, that at first Nicholas stared about him, really without seeing anything at all. By degrees, however, the place resolved itself into a bare and dirty room with a couple of windows, whereof a tenth part might be of glass, the remainder being stopped up with old copy books and paper. There were a couple of long, old, rickety desks, cut and notched, and inked and damaged in every possible way; two or three forms, a detached desk for Squeers, and another for his assistant. The ceiling was supported like that of a barn, by crossbeams and rafters, and the walls were so stained and discolored that it was impossible to tell whether they had ever been touched by paint or whitewash.

Pale and haggard faces, lank and bony figures, children with the countenances of old men, deformities with irons upon their limbs, boys of stunted growth, and others whose long, meager legs would hardly bear their stooping bodies, all crowded on the view together. There were little faces which should have been handsome, darkened with the scowl of sullen, dogged suffering; there was childhood with the light of its eye quenched, its beauty gone, and its helplessness alone remaining.

And yet this scene, painful as it was, had its grotesque features, which, in a less interested observer than Nicholas, might have provoked a smile. Mrs. Squeers stood at one of the desks, presiding over an immense basin of brimstone and treacle, of which delicious compound she administered a large installment to each boy in succession, using for the purpose a common wooden spoon, which might have been originally manufactured for some gigantic top, and which widened every young gentleman's mouth considerably, they being all obliged, under heavy corporeal penalties, to take in the whole bowl at a gasp.

“Now,”said Squeers, giving the desk a great rap with his cane, which made half the little boys nearly jump out of their boots,“is that physicking over?”

“Just over,”said Mrs. Squeers, choking the last boy in her hurry, and tapping the crown of his head with the wooden spoon to restore him.“Here, you Smike: take away now. Look sharp!”

Smike shuffled out with the basin, and Mrs. Squeers hurried out after him into a species of washhouse, where there was a small fire, and a large kettle, together with a number of little wooden bowls which were arranged upon a board. Into these bowls Mrs. Squeers, assisted by the hungry servant, poured a brown composition which looked like diluted pincushions without the covers, and was called porridge. A minute wedge of brown bread was inserted in each bowl, and when they had eaten their porridge by means of the bread, the boys ate the bread itself, and had finished their breakfast, whereupon Mr. Squeers went away to his own.

After some half hour's delay Mr. Squeers reappeared, and the boys took their places and their books, of which latter commodity the average might be about one to eight learners. A few minutes having elapsed, during which Mr. Squeers looked very profound, as if he had a perfect apprehension of what was inside all the books, and could say every word of their contents by heart, if he only chose to take the trouble, that gentleman called up the first class.

Obedient to this summons there ranged themselves in front of the schoolmaster's desk, half a dozen scarecrows, out at knees and elbows, one of whom placed a torn and filthy book beneath his learned eye.

“This is the first class in English spelling and philosophy, Nickleby,”said Squeers, beckoning Nicholas to stand beside him.“We'll get up a Latin one, and hand that over to you. Now, then, where's the first boy?”

“Please, sir, he's cleaning the back parlor window,”said the temporary head of the philosophical class.

“So he is, to be sure,”rejoined Squeers.“We go upon the practical mode of teaching, Nickleby; the regular education system. C l e a n, clean, verb active, to make bright, to scour. W i n, win, d e r, der, winder, a casement. When the boy knows this out of book, he goes and does it. It's just the same principle as the use of the globes. Where's the second boy?”

“Please, sir, he is weeding the garden,”replied a small voice.

“To be sure,”said Squeers, by no means disconcerted,“so he is. B o t, bot, t i n, tin, n e y, ney, bottinney, noun substantive, a knowledge of plants. When he has learned that bottinney means a knowledge of plants, he goes and knows ‘em. That's our system, Nickleby: what do you think of it?”

“It's a very useful one, at any rate,”answered Nicholas, significantly.

“I believe you,”rejoined Squeers, not remarking the emphasis of his usher.“Third boy, what's a horse?”

“A beast, sir,”replied the boy.

“So it is,”said Squeers.“Ain't it, Nickleby?”

“I believe there is no doubt of that, sir,”answered Nicholas.

“Of course there is n't,”said Squeers.“A horse is a quadruped, and quadruped's Latin for beast, as everybody that's gone through the grammar knows, or else where's the use of having grammars at all?”

“Where, indeed!”said Nicholas, abstractedly.“As you're perfect in that,”resumed Squeers, turning to the boy,“go and look after my horse, and rub him down well, or I'll rub you down. The rest of the class go and draw water up till somebody tells you to leave off, for it's washing day to morrow, and they want the coppers filled.”

（Charles Dickens）

第15课　哈姆雷特

（第一幕，第三场，哈姆雷特一个人呆在城堡的一间屋子里。赫瑞修、马赛洛及柏纳多入）

赫:殿下请安。

哈:我很高兴见到你无恙,赫瑞修,我差点儿把你给忘了。

赫:是的,我仍是殿下的忠仆。

哈:先生,朋友,我情愿与你交换这个头衔。有何事使你从卫登堡来此,赫瑞修？

（见到赫之同伴们）——马赛洛？

马:（敬礼）殿下。

哈:我也很高兴见到你。

（对柏纳多）晚安,先生。

（对赫瑞修）是何事使你从卫登堡来此？

赫:是我逃学之性痞,殿下。

哈:我可不许你的敌人这般说你,所以我也不希望听到你说出如此刺耳之言。

我知道你不是个逃学者。不过,你在艾辛诺尔有何贵干？我们可要在你离去之前痛饮一番。

赫:殿下,我是来参加令尊丧礼的。

哈:别开玩笑了,同学呀,我想你是来参加我母亲婚礼的。

赫:真的,它来得也真快。

哈:快,快，赫瑞修,葬礼的冷肉剩馐也被搬上喜宴桌了。我宁可在天堂碰到我的至敌,也不愿意见到那一天,赫瑞修。

我的父亲,我觉得我见到了我的父亲……

赫:（慌张地）在那里,殿下？

哈:在我神智的眼中,赫瑞修。

赫:我也见过他一次,他是个善良的国王。

哈:他是个完美的人,我从此再也不能见到他的面容了。

赫:殿下,我认为,我昨夜见到了他。

哈:见到？谁？

赫:殿下,先王,您的父亲。

哈:先王？我的父亲？

赫:请别慌,有两位先生在此做证,且让我慢慢向您细述这一奇事。

哈:老天！让我听！

赫:连接两夜,这些先生们——马赛洛与柏纳多——在他们守望之夜深人静时,见到一个从头至脚酷似您父亲之武装形象出现,庄严地漫步于他们之前,就近在咫尺。他三番五次地如此出现时,都令他们吓成一团糊,目瞪口呆的，不知如何是好。当他们秘密地告诉了我此事后,我就决定在第三夜和他们一起守望。在那里,就在他们所说的时辰,也正如他们所描述的先王形象,那幽灵就出现了,证实了他们所说的每一句话。我认得您父亲,就像我认得我这双手掌。（展开双手）

哈:这是在哪里？

马:殿下,就在城墙的了望台上。

哈:你有无与他说话？

赫:有的,殿下,但是他不肯回答我。有一次我以为他举首欲言,但是当时公鸡正啼,而他马上就消失无踪。

哈:这可真怪了。

赫:我对天发誓,殿下,这些全是真话,而我们有责任把它告诉给您。

哈:当然的,先生们。不过,此事令我困扰。你们今夜是否还值班？

全人:是的,殿下。

哈:你们说他有披挂着武装？

全人:有武装,殿下。

哈:由头至脚？

全人:殿下,由头至脚。

哈:那么,你见到他的面孔了？

赫:是的,殿下,他头盔的护面罩是敞开着的。

哈:那他的脸色怎样,是怒目吗？

赫:他的神情是哀伤甚于怒目。

哈:苍白还是血红？

赫:嗯,很苍白。

哈:他不停地注视着你吗？

赫:不停的。

哈:只希望当时我也在场。

赫:您会惊讶的。

哈:一定会。他有无久待？

赫:差不多百数之久。

马、柏:更久,更久。

赫:我见到他时没那么久。

哈:他的胡须是否斑白？

赫:就像他生前时我所见到一般,黑中参灰。

哈:今夜我也要去守望,也许他会再度出现。

赫:我相信他会的。

哈:假如他以先父之遗容显现,即使地狱将崩裂而命我住口,我也一定要与他说话。我祈求你们继续的保密此事及今夜所将发生之事,咱们可心照不宣。此恩我定将回报。好罢,咱们今晚11点到12点之间在城墙上再会！

（威廉·莎士比亚）

威廉·莎士比亚（1564～1616年），被公认为是世界上最伟大的诗人之一。他出生于英国艾汶河畔斯特拉夫镇。他很年轻的时候就娶了一个比他大8岁的女人为妻。后来他去了伦敦，并且在1589年成为布莱科夫莱尔剧院的业主。他创作诗歌和戏剧，又是一个演员，他积累了一些财富之后，就在他死前三四年退休回到了斯特拉夫镇。他被葬在斯特拉夫教堂，现在怀念他的一座纪念碑已经在那里建立起来了。

莎士比亚的作品主要是戏剧和十四行诗。它们显示了莎士比亚对人性的深刻认识，其语言以其思想性和优美而著称。

HAMLET

（ACT I, SCENE II. HAMLET alone in a room, of the castle.

Enter HORATIO, MARCELLUS, and BERNARDO.）

Hor. Hail, to your lordship!

Ham. I am glad to see you well:

Horatio,—or I do forgot myself.

Hor. The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.

Ham. Sir, my good friend; I'll change that name with you:

And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio? —Macellus?

Mar. My good lord—

Ham. I am very glad to see you. ［To Ber.］ Good even, sir.

But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?

Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord.

Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so,

Nor shall you do mine ear that violence,

To make it truster of your own report

Against yourself: I knew you are no truant.

But what is your affair in Elsinore?

We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.

Hor. My lord, I came to see your father's funeral.

Ham. I pray thee, do not mock me, follow student;

I think it was to see my mother's wedding.

Hor. Indeed, my lord, it followed hard upon.

Ham. Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral baked meats

Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven

Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio!

My father!—methinks I see my father.

Hor. Where, my lord?

Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio.

Hor. I saw him once; he was a goodly king.

Ham. He was a man, take him for all in all,

I shall not look upon his like again.

Hor. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight.

Ham. Saw? who?

Hor. My lord, the king your father.

Ham. The king my father!

Hor. Season your admiration for a while

With an attent ear, till I may deliver,

Upon the witness of these gentlemen,

This marvel to you.

Ham. For God's love, let me hear.

Hor. Two nights together had these gentlemen,

Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch,

In the dead vast and middle of the night,

Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father,

Armed at point exactly, cap a pie.

Appears before them, and with solemn march

Goes slow and stately by them: thrice he walk'd

By their oppress'd and fear surprised eyes,

Within his trucheon's length; whilst they, distill'd

Almost to jelly with the act of fear,

Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me

In dreadful secrecy impart they did;

And I with them the third night kept the watch:

Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time,

Form of the thing, each word made true and good,

The apparition comes: I knew your father;

These hands are not more like.

Ham. But where was this?

Mar. My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd.

Ham. Did you speak to it?

Hor. My lord, I did;

But answer made it none: yet once methought

It lifted up its head and did address

Itself to motion, like as it would speak;

But even then the morning cock crew loud,

And at the sound it shrunk in haste away,

And vanish'd from our sight.

Ham. ‘T is very strange.

Hor. As I do live, my honor'd lord, ‘t is true;

And we did think it writ down in our duty

To let you know of it.

Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me,

Hold you the watch to night?

Mar. Ber.We do, my lord.

Ham. Arm'd, say you?

Mar. Ber. Arm'd, my lord.

Ham. From top to toe?

Mar. Ber. My lord, from head to foot.

Ham. Then saw you not his face?

Hor. Oh, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up.

Ham. What, look'd he frowningly?

Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.

Ham. Pale or red?

Hor. Nay, very pale.

Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you?

Hor. Most constantly.

Ham. I would I had been there.

Hor. It would have much amazed you.

Ham. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long?

Hor. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred.

Mar. Ber. Longer, longer.

Hor. Not when I saw't.

Ham. His beard was grizzled,—no?

Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his life,

A sable silver'd.

Ham. I will watch to night;

Perchance ‘t will walk again.

Hor. I warrant it will.

Ham. If it assume my noble father's person,

I'll speak to it, though hell itself should gape

And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all,

If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight,

Let it be tenable in your silence still;

And whatsoever else shall hap to night,

Give it an understanding, but no tongue:

I will requite your loves. So, fare you well:

Upon the platform, ‘twixt eleven and twelve,

I'll visit you.

（William Shakespeare）

第16课　机智与才干

一个人拥有才干非常有用，而拥有机智则更有用。有才干之人一般认真、冷静、严肃、令人敬仰，而机智则包括这一切，除此之外还有更多。它不是第六感觉，但它是所有五种感觉的生命之源。它是洞察之双眸，是闻听之耳，是品味之味觉，是敏锐之嗅觉，是敏感之触觉。它能解释一切不解之谜，它能克服一切，消除一切障碍。它在任何场合都有用武之地，并大显神通。在静处的时候，它是有用的，因为它向一个人展示了整个世界，对于社会，它是有用的，因为它向人展示了他走向世界的道路。

才干是一种力量，机智是一种技巧；才干是重量，机智是动力；才干知道做什么，机智知道如何去做；拥有才干的人受人称赞，拥有机智的人得到尊敬；对于所有实际生活来讲，机智要强于才干10倍。

在剧院和舞台上，才干可能制作一部悲剧，在上演这部悲剧还不到足够长的时间就会遭到批评，而机智能够因为它的滑稽剧而使整个剧院无论白天黑夜地受到人们的欢呼。没有一种需求需要变化剧烈的才干，也没有一种需求需要变化剧烈的机智，但是这两者很少能够并驾齐驱。

在酒馆里，才干能够看清楚它的道路，而机智往往最先到达它旅途的终点。才干往往受到人们的赞扬，但机智却掌管着收来的费用。才干能够创造世界奇迹，却不能使世界走得更快，机智使人们感到惊讶，因为它使世界走得很快，而机智这样做的秘密是，世界从来没有携带什么重量，它没有走虚假的步子；它用适当的方法找到了成功的秘钥。它不浪费一秒时间，它接受所有的暗示，并把它的眼睛放在风向标上，在任何时候都利用任何一阵可利用的风。

在教堂里，才干总是有一些值得的东西，机智肯定有许多的听众。才干可能用来谋生，机智将找到一条谋生之路；才干有一个好的名声，机智是一个伟大的人物；才干说服，机智则转变；才干，一种职业的荣耀，机智从职业中获得荣耀。

在法庭上，才干感到了它的重量，机智找到了它的前路；才干之人都爱发号施令，机智之人善于服从；才干由于得到认可而感到荣耀，机智由于受到偏爱而得到祝福。

在参议院里，才干拥有参议院的耳朵，但机智则获得参议院的心，能够获得选票；才干适合部署，但是，机智因为部署而适合。

机智似乎知道任何事情，却没有学习任何事情。它有一个非常不平凡的学徒朝代，它不需要训练，它从来没有处于一种尴尬的境地，它没有左手，没有失聪之耳，没有失明之眼。它没有显得更加聪明的面孔，它没有故作深沉的腔调，却比什么都聪明，比什么都充满智慧。它囊括一切平凡的智慧、所有的力量和聪明才智。

TACT AND TALENT

Talent is something, but tact is everything. Talent is serious, sober, grave, and respectable: tact is all that, and more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five. It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively touch; it is the interpreter of all riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles. It is useful in all places, and at all times; it is useful in solitude, for it shows a man into the world; it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through the world.

Talent is power, tact is skill; talent is weight, tact is momentum; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it; talent makes a man respectable, tact will make him respected; talent is wealth, tact is ready money. For all the practical purposes, tact carries it against talent ten to one.

Take them to the theater, and put them against each other on the stage, and talent shall produce you a tragedy that shall scarcely live long enough to be condemned, while tact keeps the house in a roar, night after night, with its successful farces. There is no want of dramatic talent, there is no want of dramatic tact; but they are seldom together: so we have successful pieces which are not respectable, and respectable pieces which are not successful.

Take them to the bar, and let them shake their learned curls at each other in legal rivalry; talent sees its way clearly, but tact is first at its journey's end. Talent has many a compliment from the bench, but tact touches fees. Talent makes the world wonder that it gets on no faster, tact arouses astonishment that it gets on so fast. And the secret is, that it has no weight to carry; it makes no false steps; it hits the right nail on the head; it loses no time; it takes all hints; and, by keeping its eye on the weathercock, is ready to take advantage of every wind that blows.

Take them into the church: talent has always something worth hearing, tact is sure of abundance of hearers; talent may obtain a living, tact will make one; talent gets a good name, tact a great one; talent convinces, tact converts; talent is an honor to the profession, tact gains honor from the profession.

Take them to court: talent feels its weight, tact finds its way; talent commands, tact is obeyed; talent is honored with approbation, and tact is blessed by preferment. Place them in the senate: talent has the ear of the house, but tact wins its heart, and has its votes; talent is fit for employment, but tact is fitted for it. It has a knack of slipping into place with a sweet silence and glibness of movement, as a billiard ball insinuates itself into the pocket.

It seems to know everything, without learning anything. It has served an extemporary apprenticeship; it wants no drilling; it never ranks in the awkward squad; it has no left hand, no deaf ear, no blind side. It puts on no look of wondrous wisdom, it has no air of profundity, but plays with the details of place as dexterously as a well taught hand flourishes over the keys of the pianoforte. It has all the air of commonplace, and all the force and power of genius.

第17课　论读书

读书足以怡情，足以博采，足以长才。其怡情也，最见于独处幽居之时；其博采也，最见于高谈阔论之中；其长才也，最见于处世判事之际。练达之士虽能分别处理琐细之事，或者一一判别枝节，然纵观统筹、全局策划，则舍好学深思者莫属。读书费时过多易惰，文采藻饰太盛则矫，全凭条文断事乃学究故态。读书补天然之不足，经验又补读书之不足，盖天下生才犹如自然花草，读书然后知如何修剪移接；而书中所示，如不以经验范之，则又大而无当。有一技之长者鄙读书，无知者羡读书，唯明智之士用读书上，然书并不以用处告人，用书之智不在书中，而在书外，全凭观察得之。读书时不可存心诘难作者，不可尽信书上所言，亦不可只为寻章摘句，而应推敲细思。书有可浅尝者，有可吞食者，少数则须咀嚼消化。换句话说，有只须读其部分者，有只须大体涉猎者，少数则须全读，读时须全神贯注，孜孜不倦。书亦可请人代读，取其所作摘要，但只限题材较次或价值不高者，否则书经提炼犹如水经蒸馏，淡而无味矣。读书使人充实，讨论使人机智，笔记使人准确。因此，不常作笔记者须记忆特强，不常讨论者须天生聪颖，不常读书者须欺世有术，如能无知而显有知。读史使人明智，读诗使人灵秀，数学使人周密，科学使人深刻，伦理学使人庄重，逻辑修辞之学使人善辩：凡有所学，比成性格。人之才智但有滞碍，无不可读适当之书使之顺畅，一如身体百病，皆可用相宜运动除之。滚球利睾肾，射箭利胸肺，慢步利肠胃，骑术利头脑，诸如此类。如智力不集中者，可令读数学，盖演算须全神贯注，稍有分散即须重演；如不能辨异，可使读经院哲学，盖此辈皆吹毛求疵之人；如不善求同，不善以一物阐证另外一物，可使读律师之案卷。如此，头脑中凡有缺陷，皆有特药可医。

（弗兰西斯·培根）

弗兰西斯·培根文艺复兴时期英国著名哲学家和散文家。他出生于伦敦贵族家族，在剑桥大学接受教育，24岁时进入英国议会，同时开始撰写有关宗教和政治问题的文章。曾历任掌玺大臣、大法官等要职，因受贿被罢官入狱，后来他在晚年时候专事文学和哲学著述。培根的主要文学著作有《学术的进展》、《新工具》、《新大西岛》、《随笔集》等。

STUDIES

Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness, and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business; for expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of the particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned.

To spend too much time in studies, is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar; they perfect nature and are perfected by experience— for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them, for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation.

Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may he read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things.

Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man; and, therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral philosophy, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.

（Sir Francis Bacon）

第18课　读书的目标

在读书的时候，向我们自己提出一个确定的目标和意图是非常好的一种做法。在读书时，我们越是明白我们自己想要知道的和期望知道的，我们获得的知识就越持久和确定。所以说，在读书的时候，我们要形成一个良好的习惯，我们要不断地问自己：“我为什么要读这本书、论文，或诗歌？或者我为什么要现在读这本书，而不是在任何其他时候？”也许我们能获得一个比较满意的回答，因为这时候读比较方便；身边刚好有这本书，或者读这本书仅仅是为了打发时间。这些理由通常来说都是比较好的，但这些理由不应该总是让我们感到满意。但就是这么一个提出这些问题的习惯，无论这些问题是否能够给我们一个满意的回答，会使我们说出我们读书的原因，从而使我们更有责任感，使我们变得更加有才智。

我们的这种某种目标或目的的清楚意识能够激起对任何书本内容的极大兴趣。这种意识赋予读者一定的力量、一种吸引力，就是由于这吸引力的存在，才使得读者专心致志、一心一意地读书，使读者不知不觉地朝着他所预定的目标努力。任何一个人，只要他读一个故事的目的是向另外一个朋友讲述，或者读一篇论文或者报告的目的是为了在辩论中能够引经据典，或者读一首诗的目的是为了获得一种意境，吟诵它最好的诗句，这样的人都能够意识到这一点。事实上，一般来说，只有带有一定目的的读书方式才是最有效的。

历史上每一个自学成功的人，从富兰克林到以前的人，证明他们不仅仅学习认真刻苦，而且还对他们的读物有一定的“选择”，他们选择那些能够用得上的书，他们每个人在选择书本的时候都有一个明确的目的。事实上，大多数自学成功的人之所以在读书方面能够比接受他人训练的人更加有效或者更成功，就是因为他们知道自己读书和学习的目的，有确定的目标。那些随便什么、不管三七二十一，什么都拿来读的读者，同时又是一个毫无目的、被动的读者主要是为他的好奇心所驱使，因此他永远也不会成为一个非常有效的读者。

另外一个良好的习惯就是坚持不懈地读下去。身边总是放着一本厚厚的书，一有空就可以拿出来读，直到读完为止。尽管许多成功的读者并没有这样做，但这也是一个非常有效的读书方法。一天大清早，本人曾经去拜访一个兴趣广泛、不屈不挠的现代旅行家，同他一起散步，到一个遥远的村子里去。吃过了早饭之后，尽管这个旅行家仅仅有几分钟可以利用的时间，他还是坐下来读一本书——一本非常厚的历史书，这本书他几乎每天都要读。他说，“在我多年的旅途当中，我一直这样读书，这已经成了我的读书习惯。这种习惯使我的知识更加丰富，并使我的生活更加丰富多彩。只有通过这种方法，我才能克服挥霍时光、注意力不集中的倾向。

读书有一个确定的目标是有必要的，不过为了能够使这个确定的目标最终得以实现，读者还必须始终如一地按照这个目标指定的方向去读书。当然，这一要求对于放松、娱乐、或仅仅为了玩的目的来说是个例外。

前边说的就是暗示读者在读书的时候一定要有一个明确的主题，在读书的时候还要讲究一定的方法。如果目前我们只有一个目标，那这个目标就有必要指定我们选择什么样的书本来读，并根据这一单一目标来安排我们的读书计划。

对我们来说，如果有多个主题看起来都很重要，也都能引起我们的兴趣的话，那么我们就应当一个接一个地去完成。这种道理是不言而喻的。“一次一个主题”，对所有的活动都是一种最为有效的方法，无论是对于做事，还是思考问题，还是读书。

大多数单一的主题要求阅读相当数量的书本，而每一本书都与其他书本不同，每一本书又都是其他书本的补充。在这种情况下，阅读每一个能够帮助我们理解这个主题的作者的作品将是最好的方法之一。例如说，如果我们现在正在阅读《英国叛乱史》，如果可能的话，我们就不应当只读一个作者的作品，如克拉伦登的作品，我们还应当阅读另外七八或者十多个作者的作品，他们当中的每一个都会站在自己的角度去写这些历史，他们当中的一个会补充另一个作者省略掉的，或者其中的一个纠正另外一个作者的说法。当然，除了比较正式的历史著作外，还有各种小说，即以那个时代的人物为背景的小说，如斯科特的《伍德斯托克》；还有日记，如那些由伊夫林、佩皮斯和伯顿写的日记；还有随笔集，如由哈钦森写的随笔；另外，还有诗，如安德鲁·马韦尔、弥尔顿和德莱顿写的诗；除了以上提到的外，还有多如牛毛的传单、小册子、招贴和讽刺漫画等。

我们提到这些各种不同的作品和各种类别的读物，不是因为所有这些对于那些远离公共图书馆的读者来说都是唾手可得的，或者因为我们建议那些可以借阅到这些书的读者都把这些书拿来读，而是因为我们要说明众多的读物与阅读材料是如何围绕一个主题、在一个时期去分类的，只是说明一个道理而已。

每一个人必须判断他解决一个单一主题需要多长时间，或者关于这个主题的书有多少需要去读才是最明智的一种做法。但对于这一点，每个人都可以确保：越容易做越好，越合适越好，越节省时间与精力越好，只有这样，才能集中注意力在一定的时间内对某一主题进行研究。阅读一些与主题相关的、为数不多的书本要比阅读众多的、与主题不大相关的书本有趣、有效得多。

以上提到的这些好的习惯不只是对学者适用。那些阅读量相当少的人，那些阅读时间相当少的人就应当注意自己阅读的目的和阅读的方法，他们应当集中精力去阅读那些感兴趣的书籍，只有这样，才能达到事半功倍的效果。

（诺亚·波特）

诺亚·波特（1811～1892年），出生于康涅狄格州法明顿。波特于1831年毕业于耶鲁大学，并在耶鲁大学担任指导老师，他还在神学系读书，一直到1836年他担任牧师为止。1846年，波特被耶鲁大学召回，并担任精神哲学和形而上学教授。他于1858年担任神学系教授，一直担任此职7年。1871年，耶鲁大学校长伍尔西退休，波特当选为该大学校长，直到1886年，他担任了该大学校长职务长达11年之久。

A DEFINITE AIM IN READING

President Porter's greatest literary work is entitled,“The Human Intellect: With an Introduction upon Psychology and the Human Soul.”It is remarkable for the clear thought and sound judgment it displays, as well as for its broad scholarship; and it has been pronounced“the most complete and exhaustive exhibition of the cognitive faculties of the human soul to be found in our language.”His other important works are:“The Sciences of Nature versus the Science of Man,”which is a review of the doctrines of Herbert Spencer;“American Colleges and the American Public;”and the book from which the following selection is taken, namely,“Books and Reading.”Besides these he wrote numerous essays, contributions to periodicals, etc. During his professorship he was called upon to act as chief editor in the important work of revising“Webster's Dictionary.”The edition of 1864 was the result of his careful oversight, and the subsequent revisions were also under his superintendence.

In reading, we do well to propose to ourselves definite ends and purposes. The more distinctly we are aware of our own wants and desires in reading, the more definite and permanent will be our acquisitions. Hence it is a good rule to ask ourselves frequently,“Why am I reading this book, essay, or poem? or why am I reading it at the present time rather than any other?”It may often be a satisfying answer, that it is convenient; that the book happens to be at hand: or that we read to pass away the time. Such reasons are often very good, but they ought not always to satisfy us. Yet the very habit of proposing these questions, however they may be answered, will involve the calling of ourselves to account for our reading, and the consideration of it in the light of wisdom and duty.

The distinct consciousness of some object at present before us, imparts a manifoldly greater interest to the contents of any volume. It imparts to the reader an appropriate power, a force of affinity, by which he insensibly and unconsciously attracts to himself all that has a near or even a remote relation to the end for which he reads. Anyone is conscious of this who reads a story with the purpose of repeating it to an absent friend; or an essay or a report with the design of using its facts or arguments in a debate; or a poem with the design of reviving its imagery, and reciting its finest passages. Indeed, one never learns to read effectively until he learns to read in such a spirit—not always, indeed, for a definite end, yet always with a mind attent to appropriate and retain and turn to the uses of culture, if not to a more direct application.

The private history of every self educated man, from Franklin onwards, attests that they all were uniformly not only earnest but select in their reading, and that they selected their books with distinct reference to the purposes for which they used them. Indeed, the reason why self trained men so often surpass men who are trained by others in the effectiveness and success of their reading, is that they know for what they read and study, and have definite aims and wishes in all their dealings with books. The omnivorous and indiscriminate reader, who is at the same time a listless and passive reader, however ardent is his curiosity, can never be a reader of the most effective sort.

Another good rule is suggested by the foregoing. Always have some solid reading in hand; i. e., some work or author which we carry forward from one day to another, or one hour of leisure to the next, with persistence, till we have finished whatever we have undertaken. There are many great and successful readers who do not observe this rule, but it is a good rule notwithstanding.

The writer once called upon one of the most extensive and persevering of modern travelers, at an early hour of the day, to attend him upon a walk to a distant village. It was after breakfast, and though he had but few minutes at command, he was sitting with book in hand—a book of solid history he was perusing day after day. He remarked:“This has been my habit for years in all my wanderings. It is the one habit which gives solidity to my intellectual activities and imparts tone to my life. It is only in this way that I can overcome and counteract the tendency to the dissipation of my powers and the distraction of my attention, as strange persons and strange scenes present themselves from day to day.”

To the rule already given—read with a definite aim—we could add the rule—make your aims to be definite by continuously holding them rigidly to a single book at all times, except when relaxation requires you to cease to work, and to live for amusement and play. Always have at least one iron in the fire, and kindle the fire at least once every day.

It is implied in the preceding that we should read upon definite subjects, and with a certain method and proportion in the choice of our books. If we have a single object to accomplish in our reading for the present, that object will of necessity direct the choice of what we read, and we shall arrange our reading with reference to this single end. This will be a nucleus around which our reading will for the moment naturally gather and arrange itself.

If several subjects seem to us equally important and interesting, we should dispose of them in order, and give to each for the time our chief and perhaps our exclusive attention. That this is wise is so obvious as not to require illustration.“One thing at a time,”is an accepted condition for all efficient activity, whether it is employed upon things or thoughts, upon men or books. If five or ten separate topics have equal claim upon our interest and attention, we shall do to each the amplest justice, if we make each in its turn the central subject of our reading. There is little danger of weariness or monotony from the workings of such a rule.

Most single topics admit or require a considerable variety of books, each different from the other, and each supplementing the other. Hence it is one of the best of practices in prosecuting a course of reading, to read every author who can cast any light upon the subject which we have in hand. For example, if we are reading the history of the Great Rebellion in England, we should read, if we can, not a single author only, as Clarendon, but a half dozen or a half score, each of whom writes from his own point of view, supplies what another omits, or corrects what he under or overstates.

But, besides the formal histories of the period, there are the various novels, the scenes and characters of which are placed in those times, such as Scott's Woodstock; there are also diaries, such as those by Evelyn, Pepys, and Burton; and there are memoirs, such as those of Col. Hutchinson; while the last two have been imitated in scores of fictions. There are poems, such as those of Andrew Marvell, Milton, and Dryden. There are also shoals of political tracts and pamphlets, of handbills and caricatures.

We name these various descriptions of works and classes of reading, not because we suppose all of them are accessible to those readers who live at a distance from large public libraries, or because we would advise everyone who may have access to such libraries, to read all these books and classes of books as a matter of course, but because we would illustrate how great is the variety of books and reading matter that are grouped around a single topic, and are embraced within a single period.

Every person must judge for himself how long a time he can bestow upon any single subject, or how many and various are the books in respect to it which it is wise to read; but of this everyone may be assured, that it is far easier, far more agreeable, and far more economical of time and energy, to concentrate the attention upon a single subject at a time than to extend it to half a score, and that six books read in succession or together upon a single topic, are far more interesting and profitable than twice as many which treat of topics remotely related. A lady well known to the writer, of the least possible scholarly pretensions or literary notoriety, spent fifteen months of leisure, snatched by fragments from onerous family cares and brilliant social engagements, in reading the history of Greece as written by a great variety of authors and as illustrated by many accessories of literature and art.

Nor should it be argued that such rules as these, or the habits which they enjoin, are suitable for scholars only, or for people who have much leisure for reading. It should rather be urged that those who can read the fewest books and who have at command the scantiest time, should aim to read with the greatest concentration and method; should occupy all of their divided energy with single centers of interest, and husband the few hours which they can command, in reading whatever converges to a definite, because to a single, impression.

（Noah Porter）

第19课　教育的必要

我们必须接受教育！我们必须重视教育！否则我们将在繁荣中毁灭。如果不这样，我们的种族从摇篮到坟墓的距离会很短。如果在我们追求财富和力量的道路上脱离了文学和宗教制度，他们就可能找不回来了。除非自由的战争失败了，它们可能作为战利品和无情的专制制度下人类永久的枷锁再次出现。

当繁荣达到鼎盛而那些形成我们的思想、道德和世界的灵魂的伟大制度却在原地踏步的时候，西方会是什么样子？我们绝对不能允许这种局面出现。我们应该尽快采取行动，因为人口的发展不会停止，商业不会关门，工业机器不会停止运转，养活着数百万剩余劳动力的农业的富足也不会持续很久的时间。

让每个东方人一刻也不得安闲吧！想一想西方的自由，或其他任何东西会变成什么样子。我们的血脉结成的联盟，我们的政治体制，我们的共同利益，我们能够眼睁睁地看着它的末日到来吗？她的命运就是我们的命运。在它这艘巨轮沉没时，我们这些小船将淹没在它的漩涡里。

普选权与我们的共和制的共存能否长期保持下去？在西方，这种伟大的实验正在进行，从最底层迅速开展起来。不对国民的灵魂进行教育，它们就不会长期保存下去。但是需要确定的一个问题是，在智慧和道德中浸润的国家或它的巨大权力的平衡体需要在它的法律和政治体制上体现出永久自我保存了力量。我们都知道这是个艰巨的工作，有着意想不到的困难，但我们坚信这是可以做到的。

我知道许多志士仁人正在注视着暗藏的风暴、伟大预言和心灵弱点的深层，担心可能发生的不幸。我感觉到一种正在增长的急躁情绪和对我们的共和体制长存的威胁；我非常清楚这些担心都是有根据的，我很高兴他们的存在。它是我们在黑夜里的希望之光。我们需要这种恐惧，就像在大海上经过风暴的船需要风才能避免沉没一样。当我们面对危险时我们担心并采取行动，危险也就过去了。

所以威胁我们的不是不可能自我保存，也不是国家不愿付出自我保存的代价，为了我们的自由，她付出了很大的代价，而是直到危机过去一直弥漫着的冷漠和漠不关心，和我们看不到那些带给我们和平的东西。吾主保佑，民族苏醒和上帝仁慈的预兆正在不断地增长。

上帝在黑暗的时代指引我们的父辈们来到这块富饶的土地，让他们打下宗教自由的根基，在生存的过程中创造了无数的奇迹，让民主和宗教自由在他们的后代身上达到一个新的高度。我们不相信上帝创造了这一切就是为了放弃这一切，毁掉这一切。

虽然乌云将至，大海咆哮，人心不古，我们仍相信乌云的后面即是光明，即将到来的危险或许是冥冥之中的天意，它呼唤东西方之间的兄弟情谊，那将是我们得以自我保存，我们国家的繁荣天长地久，如大海永不枯竭的根本。

作为立即行动的动力，我还想要说的是，如果我们在自我保存的伟大实验中失败了，那就意味着我们放弃了天赋人权，亵渎了仁慈，向仁慈的上天发出挑衅，我们的毁灭将是咎由自取，何等惨烈。以往有多么繁荣，那时就有多么衰败。

在上天给我们的惩罚中，再没有比亵渎怜悯所受到惩罚更严厉的了。上天使人们遭受苦难的手段中再没有比人类的愤怒更可怕的了。世界的痛苦中再没有什么比自由的死亡更让人痛苦，更值得痛哭一场的了。

罗马的死亡历时300年，我们的毁灭要比它更壮观，因为我们的智慧、思想、制度给了我们更庞大的骨架，更强壮的肌肉，更持久的生命活力。愿上帝在我的国家开始灭亡的那天离我而去吧！哦，可爱的土地！愿兄弟情谊，共同利益和共同危险把我们紧紧连结在一起，永不分开！愿我们的国家永远充满活力！

NECESSITY OF EDUCATION

We must educate! We must educate! or we must perish by our own prosperity. If we do not, short will be our race from the cradle to the grave. If, in our haste to be rich and mighty, we outrun our literary and religious institutions, they will never overtake us; or only come up after the battle of liberty is fought and lost, as spoils to grace the victory, and as resources of inexorable despotism for the perpetuity of our bondage.

But what will become of the West if her prosperity rushes up to such a majesty of power, while those great institutions linger which are necessary to form the mind, and the conscience, and the heart of the vast world? It must not be permitted. And yet what is done must be done quickly; for population will not wait, and commerce will not cast anchor, and manufactures will not shut off the steam, nor shut down the gate, and agriculture, pushed by millions of freemen on their fertile soil, will not withhold her corrupting abundance.

And let no man at the East quiet himself, and dream of liberty, whatever may become of the West. Our alliance of blood, and political institutions, and common interests, is such, that we can not stand aloof in the hour of her calamity, should it ever come. Her destiny is our destiny; and the day that her gallant ship goes down, our little boat sinks in the vortex!

The great experiment is now making, and from its extent and rapid filling up, is making in the West, whether the perpetuity of our republican institutions can be reconciled with universal suffrage. Without the education of the head and heart of the nation, they can not be; and the question to be decided is, can the nation, or the vast balance power of it, be so imbued with intelligence and virtue as to bring out, in laws and their administration, a perpetual self preserving energy. We know that the work is a vast one, and of great difficulty; and yet we believe it can be done.

I am aware that our ablest patriots are looking out on the deep, vexed with storms, with great forebodings and failings of heart, for fear of the things that are coming upon us; and I perceive a spirit of impatience rising, and distrust in respect to the perpetuity of our republic; and I am sure that these fears are well founded, and am glad that they exist. It is the star of hope in our dark horizon. Fear is what we need, as the ship needs wind on a rocking sea, after a storm, to prevent foundering. But when our fear and our efforts shall correspond with our danger, the danger is past.

For it is not the impossibility of self preservation which threatens us; nor is it the unwillingness of the nation to pay the price of the preservation, as she has paid the price of the purchase of our liberties. It is inattention and inconsideration, protracted till the crisis is past, and the things which belong to our peace are hid from our eyes. And blessed be God, that the tokens of a national waking up, the harbinger of God's mercy, are multiplying upon us!

We did not, in the darkest hour, believe that God had brought our fathers to this goodly land to lay the foundation of religious liberty, and wrought such wonders in their preservation, and raised their descendants to such heights of civil and religious liberty, only to reverse the analogy of his providence, and abandon his work.

And though there now be clouds, and the sea roaring, and men's hearts failing, we believe there is light behind the cloud, and that the imminence of our danger is intended, under the guidance of Heaven, to call forth and apply a holy, fraternal fellowship between the East and the West, which shall secure our preservation, and make the prosperity of our nation durable as time, and as abundant as the waves of the sea.

I would add, as a motive to immediate action, that if we do fail in our great experiment of self government, our destruction will be as signal as the birthright abandoned, the mercies abused, and the provocation offered to beneficent Heaven. The descent of desolation will correspond with the past elevation.

No punishments of Heaven are so severe as those for mercies abused; and no instrumentality employed in their infliction is so dreadful as the wrath of man. No spasms are like the spasms of expiring liberty, and no wailing such as her convulsions extort.

It took Rome three hundred years to die; and our death, if we perish, will be as much more terrific as our intelligence and free institutions have given us more bone, sinew, and vitality. May God hide from me the day when the dying agonies of my country shall begin! O thou beloved land, bound together by the ties of brotherhood, and common interest, and perils! live forever—one and undivided!

第20课　洗礼

拉纳克教会已经有几个月没有举行洗礼仪式了。这一段时间，教徒们屡屡遭到迫害。那个教区的居民都到别的地方去做礼拜和举行宗教仪式去了。今天是安息日，大约有100名教徒聚集在一座教堂里做礼拜。那座教堂比人类为参拜神灵而修建的任何寺庙都要雄伟。这帮教徒并不是因为听到了钟声而聚集到了一起，但是他们每个人都有非常的时间观念并严格按照时间举行仪式。因为山间、林间、沼泽地以及田野里到处都有日晷，牧羊人和农民通过阳光和房屋的阴影就可以准确地判断时间。

那座教堂简直是上帝亲自动手用一块神奇的石头精雕细刻而成。一条小河蜿蜒流经教堂附近。河道中铺满了巨大的岩石碎块，有些已经被水流冲刷得非常光滑，而另一些岩石的裂缝却渗入泥沙或长出了翠绿的水草。此外，还不时能见到灌木丛和树丛伸展到了河面上。你顺着河道放眼望去，一道狭长的风景马上就映入了你的眼帘，好像是快要接合在一起的两处悬崖突然接合在了一起。从这一处美丽的河段中分化而出的有无数的池塘、小溪，还有瀑布。当河面降低时——就像现在这样，正是干旱季节——你可以在一个天高云淡的天气里独自一人沿河而上，尽享大自然给人类带来的无穷乐趣。

再往远处望去，你不禁面对高不可攀而又奇美无比的悬崖赞叹不已。在河道与悬崖的最高处之间，经常能看到乌鸦和斑鸠在那里飞翔。有时候，苍鹰也会光顾这一幽深的地方，阴凉僻静的河谷上空不时传来它们尖锐的鸣叫声。还有一些时候，苍鹭会稳稳地站立在水中的石头上歇息一阵。幽深的河谷就像是一堵黑墙，而苍鹭飞起时简直就像是一朵洁白的云彩，与前者一道构成了对比鲜明的风景。带翼的动物可以单独在这里栖息，而狐狸和野猫则选择把洞穴建在较易到达的地方。然而，受迫害的教徒和被人爱戴的上帝也来到了这里。上帝把那些雄伟的石柱和拱门搭建在他们的上方，利用顽石做成了美丽的长廊，将平静的河水注在了他们的脚下。河水清澈见底，倒映出他们坐在岸上的姿态。他们手捧《圣经》，向上帝深深地忏悔。

这里，大约有100个人坐在一块半圆形的岩石上，正在虔诚地听他们牧师讲经布道。牧师把他们面前的一小块岩石上用作一个天然的布道坛，他就站在上面向他们布道。不远处是一段不长的石阶，一棵高大美丽的白桦树的树冠将石阶罩住。布道坛位于水道的中央，正面对着这大约100名专心听讲的教徒。一方清澈见底、波光粼粼的池塘把布道坛和他们分隔开来。无声的流水冲击到黑色的岩石上，又注入池塘。水从池塘流出，分流成为两条小溪，分别从祭坛的两侧流过，从而使祭坛成为一个小岛。祭坛的石头上长满了厚厚的苔藓，上面却开放着黄色的金雀花。

礼拜快要做完的时候，一排身着白色服装的少女从这群人当中悄悄地走出来，踩着踏脚石，她们越过了潺潺的小溪，和那些需要接受洗礼的教徒一起来到了布道坛下。虔诚的父亲们像当年自己接受洗礼一样，做礼拜的过程中一直静坐在那里。现在，他们站到了牧师面前。牧师从清澈见底的池塘中舀出水来，无比郑重地将其盛放在一个精致的器皿里。于是神圣的洗礼仪式开始往下进行了。

教徒当中，有一些比较年轻的。他们围成一个半圆，凝视着池塘。岸上一切几乎都倒映在池塘的水中。尽管比他们年纪大一些的人神情严肃，口中不停地默默念着经文，他们还是会不时地往水中投一块鹅卵石。根据水面上激起的气泡消失的速度，他们就能判断出池塘的水到底有多深。洗礼仪式举行完毕以后，教徒们齐唱圣歌，标志着一天的宗教活动到此结束。嘹亮的歌声震得岩石都晃动并且发出了声音，这使他们的歌声更加整齐有力、清悦动听。圣歌唱完了，歌声的回音听起来像是渐渐远离了他们，消失在高峻陡峭的悬崖间。

就在这时候，一块巨大的石头从悬崖顶上掉入池塘中，人们听到了一声巨响。一名牧羊人把一块羊毛呢披风搭在他的牧羊鞭的鞭杆上。放哨人警惕地意识到危险马上就要发生了，这就是警告。于是，人们毫不犹豫地站了起来。他们迈起不听使唤的双脚，沿着危险的崎岖小道，一路躲闪着挡路的岩石，跌跌撞撞地向几个洞穴和隐藏的地点奔跑过去。行动较为敏捷的人和年轻人一路上不忘照顾年纪稍大的人，尤其是没有忘记照顾年老的牧师以及怀抱婴儿的妇女们。没用几分钟的工夫，溪谷里的人就消失得无影无踪了。他们所有的人都藏在岩缝里或者藏在洞穴里。

牧羊人给他们发出警报以后，迅速地在悬崖顶上把他的羊皮呢披风铺在草地上，若无其事地躺在那里休息。一群士兵很快就来到了他的身边，质问他刚才发出了什么信号，并且是向谁发出的。这时候，一名士兵向悬崖的边缘望了一眼，接着大声呼喊起来：“汉弗莱，快看，快看！我们终于将这帮教徒一网打尽了。他们就在那里，他们就在矛斯河边的石头丛里赞美他们的上帝。他们的教堂可真是太漂亮了！”“把这个撒谎的家伙推下悬崖，看他还敢不敢再撒谎！这就是你作为神圣盟约派成员的代价！你竟敢在安息日这天欺骗我们这些诚实的战士！把他推下去，把他推到悬崖下面去。”但是，牧羊人已经消失得无影无踪了。原来，他穿过灌木丛，悄无声息地隐藏到了树林里。“撒旦拯救了自己的仆人。但是，别管他了，弟兄们，跟我来吧！我知道怎样才到达河床，怎样才能进入华莱士的洞穴！我们就是死也要抓住他们。走吧，弟兄们，走！”

士兵们挑选河岸上坡度较小的地方冲了下去，顺着河床往前搜寻。但是，等他们到达刚才人们举行洗礼仪式的地方，他们只看见默默不语的祭坛和岩石孤零零的立在那里。他们刚才还看见牧师站在祭坛上布道，教徒们坐在岩石上听讲，可霎那间都不见了踪影。“这是他们的《圣经》，有人把它丢到了这儿了。”一名士兵大声喊叫起来，一转身把他捡起来的那本《圣经》扔进了池塘。“这里有一顶女帽，这里有一顶女帽。”另外一名士兵大呼小叫地说，“现在，我们一定要找到戴这顶帽子的女人。她一定有一张漂亮的脸和一双多情的大眼睛！”但是，说过几句俏皮话，发过几句誓言以后，这群士兵惊恐地盯着周围死寂的岩石便不再做声了，潺潺的溪水使本已孤寂空旷的河谷显得更加幽静凄清了。士兵们当中有人问：“这些教徒虽然胆小如鼠，但是，如果他们从隐身处搬起石块往我们的头上砸，我们该怎么办！咱们往前走，还是往后退？”

没有人回答，因为他们每个人都稍稍感到有些害怕了。那些教徒被迫爬上了高高的山崖，沿着羊肠小道早已消失得无影无踪了。此时，步枪和刺刀对于他们来说已是毫无用处。他们很清楚，如今武装起来的人们深深地崇拜上帝，意志坚强得如钢铁一般。大兵们手中的刺刀和枪管武器闪闪地发着寒光，但是面对这些，他们丝毫也不畏惧。这些人走起路来大步流星，步履坚实。长得虎背熊腰，力大无比。在开阔地带，这些人甚至敢于和凶猛的狮子展开生死搏斗。如果他们居住的城市即将遭到台风的袭击，这些人一定能够首先远远地逃开台风的伤害。

正当这群士兵立在那里拿不定主意之际，一声巨响突然传来。这一声巨响犹如雷霆万钧，但是比雷声更让人猝不及防；好像是受这种声音的驱动，一股风轻轻刮来，山间野生的蔷薇花、灌木丛、白桦林等随摇摆起来。这种声音继续传来，并且震耳欲聋，一声响似一声。教徒们感觉到他们脚下都晃动起来，好像是发生了地震。“愿主怜悯我们吧！这到底是发生了什么事？”他们仰面朝天，祈祷上帝保佑他们。有许多人跌倒了，双膝痛苦地跪在地上；还有许多人摔倒在地，面颊贴在了尖利的石棱上。现在，好像是有数千万辆铁甲战车顺着河道隆隆驶了过来。年高体迈、头发花白的牧师站在“华莱士洞穴”的出口处大声宣布“上帝开始发怒了！”

一阵猛烈的海上龙卷风刮过沼泽，刮过江河，终于登陆了。龙卷风刮过来了，一头钻进狭长的山谷，不一会儿就在河面卷起了巨大的波浪。翻腾的河面上激起了血红的水沫。那一定是有一支部队被卷进了洪流，因为那群士兵顷刻之间就没有了踪影。但是，在这遭到突然破坏的场面上空，那些教徒们正站立在悬崖上，有男人，有女人，也有孩子。

（约翰·威尔逊）

约翰·威尔逊（1785～1854年），苏格兰杰出作家，生于佩斯利自治区。15岁那年，威尔逊考入了英国的格拉斯哥大学。但是三年后，他转入了牛津大学的马格达兰学院学习。在那里，他作为一名学生不但学习成绩出众，而且还在体育方面培养了自己的专长。毕业后，他很快就在温德米尔湖附近购置了一处庄园，在那里与华兹华斯和绍迪等著名文人聚会游玩。但是没过多久，他就离开了庄园，搬往爱丁堡居住。1817年，为了抨击《爱丁堡评论》，苏格兰出版人和编辑布莱克伍德创办了《布莱克伍德》杂志。威尔逊成了该杂志的主要撰稿人。通过为这本杂志撰稿，他逐渐成了一位知名作家。1820年，他接任托马斯·布朗担任了爱丁堡大学的伦理学教授之职。他在这个职位上一直工作了30年。1822年，他发表了《苏格兰人生活的希望与阴影》。这本集子收录了有关苏格兰人家庭生活的美丽而动人的传说。

THE BAPTISM

The rite of baptism had not been performed for several months in the kirk of Lanark. It was now the hottest time of persecution; and the inhabitants of that parish found other places in which to worship God, and celebrate the ordinances of religion. It was now the Sabbath day, and a small congregation of about a hundred souls had met for divine service, in a place more magnificent than any temple that human hands had ever built to Deity. The congregation had not assembled to the toll of the bell, but each heart knew the hour and observed it; for there are a hundred sundials among the hills, woods, moors, and fields; and the shepherd and the peasant see the hours passing by them in sunshine and shadow.

The church in which they were assembled, was hewn by God's hand out of the eternal rock. A river rolled its way through a mighty chasm of cliffs, several hundred feet high, of which the one side presented enormous masses, and the other corresponding recesses, as if the great stone girdle had been rent by a convulsion. The channel was overspread with prodigious fragments of rocks or large loose stones, some of them smooth and bare, others containing soil and verdure in their rents and fissures, and here and there crowned with shrubs and trees. The eye could at once command a long stretching vista, seemingly closed and shut up at both extremities by the coalescing cliffs. This majestic reach of river contained pools, streams, and waterfalls innumerable; and when the water was low—which was now the case, in the common drought—it was easy to walk up this scene with the calm, blue sky overhead, an utter and sublime solitude.

On looking up, the soul was bowed down by the feeling of that prodigious height of unscalable, and often overhanging, cliff. Between the channel and the summit of the far extended precipices, were perpetually flying rooks and wood pigeons, and now and then a hawk, filling the profound abyss with their wild cawing, deep murmur, or shrilly shriek. Sometimes a heron would stand erect and still, on some little stone island, or rise up like a white cloud along the black walls of the chasm, and disappear. Winged creatures alone could inhabit this region. The fox and wild cat chose more accessible haunts. Yet, here came the persecuted Christians and worshiped God, whose hand hung over their head those magnificent pillars and arches, scooped out those galleries from the solid rock, and laid at their feet the calm water, in its transparent beauty, in which they could see themselves sitting, in reflected groups, with their Bibles in their hands.

Here, upon a semicircular ledge of rocks, over a narrow chasm, of which the tiny stream played in a murmuring waterfall, and divided the congregation into two equal parts, sat about a hundred persons, all devoutly listening to their minister, who stood before them on what might he called a small, natural pulpit of living stone. Up to it there led a short flight of steps, and over it waved the canopy of a tall, graceful birch tree. The pulpit stood in the middle of the channel, directly facing the congregation, and separated from them by the clear, deep, sparkling pool, into which the scarce heard water poured over the blackened rock. The water, as it left the pool, separated into two streams, and flowed on each side of that altar, thus placing it in an island, whose large, mossy stones were richly embowered under the golden blossoms and green tresses of the broom.

At the close of divine service, a row of maidens, all clothed in purest white, came gliding off from the congregation, and, crossing the murmuring stream on stepping stones, arranged themselves at the foot of the pulpit with those who were about to be baptized. Their devout fathers, just as though they had been in their own kirk, had been sitting there during worship, and now stood up before the minister. The baptismal water, taken from that pellucid pool, was lying, consecrated, in an appropriate receptacle, formed by the upright stones that composed one side of the pulpit, and the holy rite proceeded.

Some of the younger ones in that semicircle kept gazing down into the pool, in which the whole scene was reflected; and now and then, in spite of the grave looks and admonishing whispers of their elders, letting fall a pebble into the water, that they might judge of its depth, from the length of time that elapsed before the clear air bells lay sparkling on the agitated surface. The rite was over, and the religious service of the day closed by a psalm. The mighty rocks hemmed in the holy sound, and sent it in a more compact volume, clear, sweet, and strong, up to heaven. When the psalm ceased, an echo, like a spirit's voice, was heard dying away, high up among the magnificent architecture of the cliffs; and once more might be noticed in the silence, the reviving voice of the waterfall.

Just then, a large stone fell from the top of the cliff into the pool, a loud voice was heard, and a plaid was hung over on the point of a shepherd's staff. Their wakeful sentinel had descried danger, and this was his warning. Forthwith, the congregation rose. There were paths, dangerous to unpracticed feet, along the ledges of the rocks, leading up to several caves and places of concealment. The more active and young assisted the elder, more especially the old pastor, and the women with the infants; and many minutes had not elapsed, till not a living creature was visible in the channel of the stream, but all of them were hidden, or nearly so, in the clefts and caverns.

The shepherd who had given the alarm, had lain down again instantly in his plaid on the greensward, upon the summit of these precipices. A party of soldiers was immediately upon him, and demanded what signals he had been making, and to whom; when one of them, looking over the edge of the cliff, exclaimed,“See, see! Humphrey, We have caught the whole tabernacle of the Lord in a net at last. There they are, praising God among the stones of the river Mouse. These are the Cartland Craigs. A noble cathedral!”“Fling the lying sentinel over the cliffs. Here is a canting Covenanter for you, deceiving honest soldiers on the very Sabbath day. Over with him, over with him; out of the gallery into the pit.”But the shepherd had vanished like a shadow, and, mixing with the tall, green broom and bushes, was making his unseen way toward a wood.“Satan has saved his servant; but come, my lads, follow me. I know the way down into the bed of the stream, and the steps up to Wallace's Cave. They are called, ‘kittle nine stanes;’ The hunt's up. We'll all be in at the death. Halloo! my boys, halloo!”

The soldiers dashed down a less precipitous part of the wooded banks, a little below the“craigs,”and hurried up the channel. But when they reached the altar where the old, gray haired minister had been seen standing, and the rocks that had been covered with people, all was silent and solitary; not a creature to be seen.“Here is a Bible, dropped by some of them,”cried a soldier, and, with his foot, he spun it away into the pool.“A bonnet, a bonnet,”cried another;“now for the pretty, sanctified face, that rolled its demure eyes below it.”But after a few jests and oaths, the soldiers stood still, eying with a kind of mysterious dread the black and silent walls of the rocks that hemmed them in, and hearing only the small voice of the stream that sent a profounder stillness through the heart of that majestic solitude.“What if these cowardly Covenanters should tumble down upon our heads pieces of rock, from their hiding places! Advance, or retreat?”

There was no reply; for a slight fear was upon every man. Musket or bayonet could be of little use to men obliged to clamber up rocks, along slender paths, leading they know not where. And they were aware that armed men nowadays worshiped God; men of iron hearts, who feared not the glitter of the soldier's arms, neither barrel nor bayonet; men of long stride, firm step, and broad breast, who, on the open field, would have overthrown the marshaled line, and gone first and foremost, if a city had to be taken by storm.

As the soldiers were standing together irresolute, a noise came upon their ears like distant thunder, but even more appalling; and a slight current of air, as if propelled by it, passed whispering along the sweetbriers, and the broom, and the tresses of the birch trees. It came deepening, and rolling, and roaring on; and the very Cartland Craigs shook to their foundation, as if in an earthquake.“The Lord have mercy upon us! What is this?”And down fell many of the miserable wretches on their knees, and some on their faces, upon the sharp pointed rocks. Now, it was like the sound of many myriads of chariots rolling on their iron axles down the strong channel of the torrent. The old, gray haired minister issued from the mouth of Wallace's Cave, and said, in a loud voice,“The Lord God terrible reigneth!”

A waterspout had burst up among the moorlands, and the river, in its power, was at hand. There it came, tumbling along into that long reach of cliffs, and, in a moment, filled it with one mass of waves. Huge, agitated clouds of foam rode on the surface of a blood red torrent. An army must have been swept off by that flood. The soldiers perished in a moment; but high up in the cliffs, above the sweep of destruction, were the Covenanters, men, women, and children, uttering prayers to God, unheard by themselves, in the raging thunder.

（John Wilson）

第21课　哥伦布的性格

克里斯托夫·哥伦布：1451年～1506年，出生于热那亚的一个纺织工人家庭，父亲是纺织厂的一位梳毛工人。他本人是意大利航海家，新大陆的发现者，据传于1492年发现北美洲。15岁那年，他成为一名水手，并在航行途中访问过英格兰、冰岛、几内亚沿岸以及希腊诸岛等国家和地区。他年轻时就对航海学、宇宙学以及游记等具有浓厚的兴趣。因此，他很早就为后来发现美洲大陆的光辉事业打下了良好的基础。他曾多次劝说当权者准许他率领船队去探险，历经10余年均未成功。后来，他说服了西班牙国王资助他去探险。他移居西班牙，几次探险，横渡大西洋到南、北美洲，并最终获得成功。有“哥伦布发现新大陆”之称。

哥伦布是一个富于发明创造的伟大天才。他的思维非常活跃，但经常是飘忽不定。有时候充满了智慧的力量，喷涌而出，势不可挡。他的志向崇高远大，经常激发他产生奇思妙想，激励他取得伟大的成绩，从而使自己与众不同。他立志要用追求名噪天下的精神去追求高贵和富有。这一切都来自于他要发现的奇迹，并且对他来说具有同等的重要性。

哥伦布的行为特点在于他的高瞻远瞩和宽宏大量。他并不像与自己同时代的发现者那样，总是只顾眼前小利和快速的回报。他并没有去掠夺那些新发现的国家，相反，他是以立法者的眼光去看待它们。他追求的目标是要在这些国家建立殖民地并开发它们，使这些国家的人们变得开化，在这些国家建立城市，将有用的艺术引进这些国家，将一切都置于法律、规则和宗教的控制之下，从而建立一个正规有序和繁荣昌盛的帝国。他在这方面失败的原因在于他不幸地领导了一群乌合之众。这帮人放荡成性，对于他们来说，法律只意味着独裁和对所有秩序的践踏。

他是一个性情比较暴躁、性格容易冲动的人，对于别人伤害自己或不公正地对待自己非常敏感。然而，他在性格方面的这种外在急躁被他内心深处的慷慨大方和仁慈和蔼抵消了。他宽宏大量的品质照亮了他那充满暴风雨的事业大道。尽管他的人格尊严不止一次地遭受侮辱，他的权威不止一次地受到挑战，他的计划不止一次地受到挫折，他本人不止一次地面临危险，有时候他心急如焚，肉体上遭受巨大痛苦，就连最有忍耐力的人也会被激怒，但是他还是强抑自己愤怒的感情，强迫自己忍受下去，极力思考，甚至向别人恳求。读过哥伦布的故事并了解了他壮烈一生的人都不难发现，他从没有报复心理，时刻准备原谅别人和忘记别人的过错，从不指望别人对自己表示忏悔或做出弥补。他因为具备控制他人的能力而被人称颂，但是人们更因为他具备极强的自我控制能力而对他更加赞扬。

他对上帝的虔诚真切而又强烈。宗教思想贯穿了他所有的言行，并在他最为隐私和真实的文章中都有非常明显的体现。无论什么时候他有重大发现，他都会虔诚地回头向上帝表示感谢。发现美洲新大陆时，他的船队立即开始向上帝祈祷，齐声高唱赞美诗。登上陆地以后，他做的第一件事情就是跪倒在土地上，向上帝表示感谢。他所有重要的活动都是以上帝的名义进行的，并且在活动开始之前总是把圣餐吃光。即使是在最艰苦的条件下，他仍然坚持到教堂去参加基督教的各种节日活动。安息日对于他来说是一个神圣的休息日。这一天，除非万不得已，他是绝不会从任何一个港口出海的。基督教深深地植根于他的灵魂之中，因此他的言行举止都显得沉着冷静、和蔼可亲。他与人说话时，语言纯朴、字斟句酌，从来不说粗鲁或与谈话主题不相关的话。

他那讨人喜欢和与人随和的性格当中，有一点仍需我们注意。也就是说，他的想象力非常活跃，这给他全部的思维活动更增加了无穷的魅力。阅读他所写的任何文章或观察他采取的所有行动，我们从中都不难发现有一种诗一般的美。他对自己发现的荒野之美进行了淋漓尽致的描写。他热情赞美那里的天气温和宜人，清新的空气中充满了芳香，清翠的树林里“缀满了甘甜的露水”，高山雄伟壮丽，水晶一般透明的溪水一路欢歌奔下山去。这一切在他周围简直就是铺开了一幅美丽辉煌的金色画卷，一草一木都充分展示着自己独特的美丽色彩。

虽然他具有很强的想象能力，然而他最终还是没有实现自己最美丽的梦想。还没有真正来得及知道自己的发现具有多么重大的意义，他就与人世作别了。直到生命的最后一刻，他仍然坚持认为，自己只不过是找到了另外一条通往商业发达的文明古国的道路，发现了东方一些尚未开垦的地区。实际上，他已经发现了一个在面积上绝不亚于欧洲的新大洲。人们如今都知道，它们只不过是被两个浩瀚的大洋从整个地球上隔开而已。如果他当时能够认识到这一点，他的内心应该感到多么自豪啊。发现新大陆之前，他曾长期遭受贫困的折磨，薄情的人们对他不予理睬，忘恩负义的国王对他极不公正。然而，如果他能够预见到在自己发现的新大陆上即将兴起一个又一个辉煌的帝国。生活在这些国家的人们将永远牢记他的英名，并且子孙万代都对他万分感激和敬仰，那么他的痛苦心情将会受到多大的安慰啊。

（华盛顿·欧文）

华盛顿·欧文是第一位获得国际声誉的美国作家。他的随笔、短篇小说、历史传奇和人物传记使他成为当时美国最负盛名的作家。他亦被视为美国文学的奠基人之一。

欧文独立战争期间出生于纽约一个殷实的商人家庭，颇具爱国心的父母以民族大英雄华盛顿的名字为他命名。欧文是个用心不专的学生，对学习法律极不情愿，但还是通过了律师资格考试。他博览家中丰富的藏书，受兄长们的影响，积极投身于文化知识界的社交娱乐活动。他最初的作品是为哥哥彼得主办的《纪事晨报》撰写的文稿。这些署名“老朽乔纳森”的作品幽默地讽刺了当时的纽约社会，尤其是当时的戏剧演出。1807年欧文与哥哥威廉和纽约同乡鲍尔丁合作，创办了不定期刊物《大杂烩》。这个刊物共出了20期，上面的小品文五花八门，最有趣的是假托一位外国船长之名，以书信体形式写成的政治和社会讽刺短文。欧文十分喜欢化名，如威尔·威泽德、安东尼·埃弗格林等都是他用过的名字。

CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS

Columbus was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular; bursting forth, at times, with that irresistible force which characterizes intellect of such an order. His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements. He aimed at dignity and wealth in the same elevated spirit with which he sought renown; they were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be commensurate in importance.

His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views and the magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly found countries, like many of his cotemporary discoverers, who were intent only on immediate gain, he regarded them with the eyes of a legislator; he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives, to build cities, introduce the useful arts, subject everything to the control of law, order, and religion, and thus to found regular and prosperous empires. That he failed in this was the fault of the dissolute rabble which it was his misfortune to command, with whom all law was tyranny and all order oppression.

He was naturally irascible and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury and injustice; yet the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the generosity and benevolence of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged in his dignity, braved in his authority, foiled in his plans, and endangered in his person by the seditions of turbulent and worthless men, and that, too, at times when suffering under anguish of body and anxiety of mind enough to exasperate the most patient, yet he restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate. Nor can the reader of the story of his eventful life fail to notice how free he was from all feeling of revenge, how ready to forgive and forget on the least sign of repentance and atonement. He has been exalted for his skill in controlling others, but far greater praise is due to him for the firmness he displayed in governing himself.

His piety was genuine and fervent. Religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery he devoutly returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise rose from his ships on discovering the new world, and his first action on landing was to prostrate himself upon the earth and offer up thanksgiving. All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the holy sacrament previous to embarkation. He observed the festivals of the church in the wildest situations. The Sabbath was to him a day of sacred rest, on which he would never sail from a port unless in case of extreme necessity. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure over his whole deportment; his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or irreverent expressions.

A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character remains to be noticed; namely, that ardent and enthusiastic imagination which threw a magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical temperament is discernible throughout all his writings and in all his actions. We see it in all his descriptions of the beauties of the wild land he was discovering, in the enthusiasm with which he extolled the blandness of the temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, the fragrance of the air,“full of dew and sweetness,”the verdure of the forests, the grandeur of the mountains, and the crystal purity of the running streams. It spread a glorious and golden world around him, and tinged everything with its own gorgeous colors.

With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery. Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent equal to the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitherto known by civilized man! How would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled amid the afflictions of age and the cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered, and the nations, and tongues, and languages which were to fill its land with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity!

（Washington Irving）

第22课　用自己的脑子配色

“奥佩约翰·奥佩（1761～1807年）,出生于威尔士，被认为是“康沃尔郡的奇才”。他作为一名肖像派画家而出名，但是他后来致力于历史体裁的创作。先生，请问你是用什么来调配颜色的？”一位活泼的业余艺术爱好者问我们这位伟大的画家。“用自己的脑子，先生。”奥佩先生的回答生硬但很准确。他的回答并没有表达出太多的信息，也没有就艺术的原理和规律进行详细阐述。但如果那位询问者具有画家所指的那种东西，那么它将会把他唤醒；它将会促使他前进、促使他思考、促使他创作，最终取得辉煌的成就。但如果他缺乏画家所指的那种东西，这是非常有可能的，那么他最好不要再学习作画。他与颜色或调色打交道越少越好。

如果其他许多画家被问及这个问题，他们很可能要么为询问者详细讲述如何巧妙地混合某某颜色，遵照这样那样的比例，这样那样地进行研磨，要么他们会让询问者看自己是怎样涂抹颜色的。即使这样做，仍会给他留下批评的空间，难以达到他的目的。而奥佩则倾向于迅速切中问题的实质。他对询问者的回答是：“用自己的脑子，先生。”

约书亚·雷诺约书亚·雷诺（1723～1792年），英国肖像画家及批评家，被认为是英国绘画史上最重要的人物之一。先生被一位朋友领着去看一幅画。他欣赏那幅画的心情非常迫切，他用锐利而赞许的目光把画细细地观看了一遍。“颜色搭配是一流的，绘图方式也很正确，色彩、色调和明暗搭配都非常优秀，但是……但是……它还有不足的地方……把画挂起来吧，它还缺乏……那种东西！”他边说边打了一记响指。缺少“那种东西”，尽管这幅画具备了其他所有优点，却分文不值。

类似的例子还可以再举一个。埃蒂威廉·埃蒂（1787～1849年），被认为是近代英国画派的主要画家，其作品主要集中在历史体裁方面。曾被任命为皇家艺术学院位于伦敦，成立于1768年。该艺术学院由40名在各自的领域内具有一流水平的艺术大师任教。这40名艺术大师均被授予“皇家艺术学院院士”的头衔。凡是具备入院资格的学生均可入该学院进行深造。的教授，其前任是一位温和而健谈的美学讲解人员，喜欢给年轻人具体讲解如何做好每一件事，如何照搬他的每一种做法，如何表达那种做法等。一个学生走上前来问这位新上任的老师：“我应该如何做这个呢，老师？”埃蒂的回答是：“你自己试试看。”另外一个学生走上前来问：“这是什么意思，埃蒂先生？”“你自己观察一下。”埃蒂回答。“但是我已经观察过了。”学生说。

“那么，你再观察一下。”

学生们的确试着做了，他们的确观察了，并且又观察了一遍。他们有了重大的发现，取得了惊人的成绩。如果还是像以前那样被人告知如何做和做什么或者别人代他们去做，那么他们将什么也发现不了，什么成绩也取得不了。如果学生们自己观察或亲自动手，他们获得的知识将是直接的、准确的、印象深刻而可靠的。另一方面，如果他们事事离不开向别人请教，或者要别人代自己去做，那么他们获得的知识很快就会变得间接和模糊起来，用不了多久就可能忘得一干二净。

（约翰·布朗）

约翰·布朗（1810～1882年），出生于苏格兰拉纳克郡，毕业于爱丁堡大学。其父亲老约翰·布朗是一位非常有名的牧师并曾经写过几部作品。布朗博士在文学方面的名声主要来自他给《北大不列颠评论》和《拉布和他的朋友们》等杂志所撰写的一系列文章。

WITH BRAINS, SIR

“Pray, Mr. Opie, may I ask you what you mix your colors with?”said a brisk dilettante student to the great painter.“With brains, sir,”was the gruff reply—and the right one. It did not give much of information; it did not expound the principles and rules of the art; but, if the inquirer had the commodity referred to, it would awaken him; it would set him agoing, athinking, and a painting to good purpose. If he had not the wherewithal, as was likely enough, the less he had to do with colors and their mixture the better.

Many other artists, when asked such a question, would have either set about detailing the mechanical composition of such and such colors, in such and such proportions, rubbed up so and so; or perhaps they would（and so much the better, but not the best）have shown him how they laid them on; but even this would leave him at the critical point. Opie preferred going to the quick and the heart of the matter:“With brains, sir.”

Sir Joshua Reynolds was taken by a friend to see a picture. He was anxious to admire it, and he looked it over with a keen and careful but favorable eye.“Capital composition; correct drawing; the color, tone, chiaroscuro excellent; but—but—it wants—hang it, it wants—that!”snapping his fingers; and, wanting“that,”though it had everything else, it was worth nothing.

Again, Etty was appointed teacher of the students of the Royal Academy, having been preceded by a clever, talkative, scientific expounder of aesthetics, who delighted to tell the young men how everything was done, how to copy this, and how to express that. A student came up to the new master,“How should I do this, sir?”“Suppose you try.”Another,“What does this mean, Mr. Etty?”Suppose you look.”“But I have looked.”“Suppose you look again.”

And they did try, and they did look, and looked again; and they saw and achieved what they never could have done had the how or the what（supposing this possible, which it is not, in full and highest meaning）been told them, or done for them; in the one case, sight and action were immediate, exact, intense, and secure; in the other, mediate, feeble, and lost as soon as gained.

（John Brown）

第23课　罗马圆形大剧场

古罗马皇帝韦斯帕西恩（公元69～79年）在位时开始兴建，他的儿子提图斯在位时（公元80年）建成。尽管整个圆形大剧场规模庞大，但是全部工程的完成仅仅耗费了3年时间。圆形大剧场的围墙至今大部分尚存。

11月8日那天，我站在18英里外的一处高地上第一次看到了罗马。尽管你期望罗马能够给你留下或应该给你留下极其美好的印象，而事实上它给你的印象非常糟糕，但罗马这个伟大的名字却不会因为这或者因为其他原因而受到任何影响。无论你的心情如何，只要你登上那座高山，眼前的景象就会像巨人的手那样把你牢牢地抓住。我几乎不知道应该怎样去描写我对罗马的印象。但我感觉空气中好像有一种坚强而庄严的东西，就像是一阵强劲的旋风缓缓向前推进，围着这些不朽的高塔来回盘旋。时间的风暴曾经摧倒了当时世界上最令人骄傲的纪念碑，现在好像已把它的全部能量施放到了静止而庄严的空气中了。历史上的一幕又一幕在我眼前闪现。国家、国王、执政官、皇帝、帝国以及一代又一代的老百姓列成庞大的行进队伍从那个庄严的剧场走过。大火、风暴、地震已经成为历史，但我似乎隐约听见了那种平静的轻声细语。当年，听到了这种声音，先知“把脸掩到了自己的披风下面”。

我借着月光去看罗马圆形大剧场。它是这里的君主，所有废墟当中的王者，没有任何建筑能跟它相比。所有与这个地方有关的传说更加深了人们对它的印象。圆形大剧场的围墙和拱门已经坍塌，壮观的露台一个高过一个。走进这个雄伟的圆形建筑，你就站在了古代的角斗士表演和基督徒殉教的现场。你抬起眼来审视这个圆形剧场，你在想象中看到了10万古罗马人睁大了双眼，围在一起来见证那些血淋淋的奇观。这是人类多么热闹壮观的一次聚会啊！我们当代人对于古人大集会的了解又是多么贫乏啊！一次、两次、三次，等到康斯坦丁康斯坦丁大帝（272～337年）。第一位信奉基督教的罗马皇帝。他是一位英勇善战的将军和非常有才智的法律制定者。公元328年，他将罗马都城迁往拜占庭，并将其更名为君士坦丁堡。将其扩建到最大时，这个圆形竞技场竟能同时容纳30万人。

让我们还是回到圆形大剧场去吧。我们在向导的带领下顺着围墙、露台或筑堤往上走。修建那些筑堤是为了支撑那些成排的座位。那些座位很早以前就已经消失了，荒草长满了当年建有座位的空地。罗马的权贵和漂亮女人们当年就是坐在这个地方享受那种野蛮的娱乐方式。当时这里该有多么拥挤啊！有多少人在这里说话，有多少人互相问候，通往这80个入场拱门的楼梯上该有多少匆忙的脚步声啊！现在，当我们小心翼翼地穿过这已经腐朽的通道，或者谨慎地爬上一些快要断裂的楼梯，或者站在这些孤独的墙边时——我们自己沉默了，说来奇怪，导游也沉默了——这里除了蝙蝠的叫声之外，再没有别的声音。外面的声响，除了能听到远处马车滚动的声音或者附近的埃斯奎利诺山古罗马传说的七座山之一，古罗马据说就建在这座山上。尼禄的金房子和图雷真的家就在该处，山上有古罗马的公共浴池，可以洗热水浴。上的女修道院的钟声之外，再也听不到别的声音了。

要想把月光照在这片废墟上的效果描写出来几乎是不可能的。月光倾泻在100个寂寞的拱门和那些黑色的通道上，显得多么纯洁、明亮、柔和，有一种跳动的感觉，然而所有这一切在月光下看起来非常清晰，好像是月光突然光临这里，要揭开这一大堆废墟，为之欢呼，为之感到同情。但如果说这个圆形大剧场是一处废弃和令人悲伤的景观——从里看从外看，尤其是看保存得最为完好的那一侧，都能给人这种感觉——那么它同样也是一处非常光荣的景观。我们围着圆形大剧场漫步，往上看时，只见月光从对面通过拱门照了进来。这时的月亮好像是天空的一顶王冠，看上去如此又圆又大。

我感觉我不能描写也没有能力去描写这片废弃的巨大建筑。我只能说我无能为力地走开了，被动得像个孩子。通过门岗的时候，一名士兵伸出他的手来向我们索要礼物。当同伴埋怨我不应该给他时，我说如果那个人提出来的话，我会把自己的斗篷送给他。如果你想发泄世间的任何感情或者自私的悲哀笼罩你的心头的时候，那么我建议你乘着月光去看罗马圆形大剧场吧。

（奥维尔·德威）

奥维尔·德威（1794～1882年），著名牧师和作家。他出生在马萨诸塞州的舍费尔德，1814年以优异的成绩毕业于威廉学院。后来，他到安杜佛学习神学。曾经有一段时间，他在波士顿给威廉·埃勒瑞·查宁博士担任助手。后来，他分别在新贝德福德、纽约市和波士顿做过牧师。他曾经三次航海到欧洲，回来后他出版了自己的旅行日记。

A VIEW OF THE COLOSSEUM

On the eighth of November, from the high land, about fourteen miles distant, I first saw Rome; and although there is something very unfavorable to impression in the expectation that you are to be greatly impressed, or that you ought to be, or that such is the fashion; yet Rome is too mighty a name to be withstood by such or any other influences. Let you come upon that hill in what mood you may, the scene will lay hold upon you as with the hand of a giant. I scarcely know how to describe the impression, but it seemed to me as if something strong and stately, like the slow and majestic march of a mighty whirlwind, swept around those eternal towers; the storms of time, that had prostrated the proudest monuments of the world, seemed to have left their vibrations in the still and solemn air; ages of history passed before me; the mighty procession of nations, kings, consuls, emperors, empires, and generations had passed over that sublime theater. The fire, the storm, the earthquake, had gone by; but there was yet left the still, small voice like that at which the prophet“wrapped his face in his mantle.”

I went to see the Colosseum by moonlight. It is the monarch, the majesty of all ruins; there is nothing like it. All the associations of the place, too, give it the most impressive character. When you enter within this stupendous circle of ruinous walls and arches, and grand terraces of masonry, rising one above another, you stand upon the arena of the old gladiatorial combats and Christian martyrdom; and as you lift your eyes to the vast amphitheater, you meet, in imagination, the eyes of a hundred thousand Romans, assembled to witness these bloody spectacles. What a multitude and mighty array of human beings; and how little do we know in modern times of great assemblies! One, two, and three, and, at its last enlargement by Constantine, more than three hundred thousand persons could be seated in the Circus Maximus!

But to return to the Colosseum; we went up under the conduct of a guide upon the walls and terraces, or embankments, which supported the ranges of seats. The seats have long since disappeared; and grass overgrows the spots where the pride, and power, and wealth, and beauty of Rome sat down to its barbarous entertainments. What thronging life was here then! What voices, what greetings, what hurrying footsteps upon the staircases of the eighty arches of entrance! And now, as we picked our way carefully through the decayed passages, or cautiously ascended some moldering flight of steps, or stood by the lonely walls—ourselves silent, and, for a wonder, the guide silent, too—there was no sound here but of the bat, and none came from without but the roll of a distant carriage, or the convent bell from the summit of the neighboring Esquiline.

It is scarcely possible to describe the effect of moonlight upon this ruin. Through a hundred lonely arches and blackened passageways it streamed in, pure, bright, soft, lambent, and yet distinct and clear, as if it came there at once to reveal, and cheer, and pity the mighty desolation. But if the Colosseum is a mournful and desolate spectacle as seen from within—without, and especially on the side which is in best preservation, it is glorious. We passed around it; and, as we looked upward, the moon shining through its arches, from the opposite side, it appeared as if it were the coronet of the heavens, so vast was it—or like a glorious crown upon the brow of night.

I feel that I do not and can not describe this mighty ruin. I can only say that I came away paralyzed, and as passive as a child. A soldier stretched out his hand for“un dona,”as we passed the guard; and when my companion said I did wrong to give, I told him that I should have given my cloak, if the man had asked it. Would you break any spell that worldly feeling or selfish sorrow may have spread over your mind, go and see the Colosseum by moonlight.

（Orville Dewey）

第24课　科学的目标和局限性

无需跨越人类与天国之间的鸿沟，即使是在自己的生活空间里，人类就可以充分施展才能，最大限度地从事各项研究。事实上，我经常认为，人类在文化教育、发明创造和自由等方面不断取得进步，并空前地激起了人们对于科学研究的热情和热心。当代科学已经及时地为人类提供了一种合理的途径，使他们能够满足求知的欲望，并实现伟大的目标。天文学、化学，更为重要的还有地质学，已经打开了一个永无止境的领域，供人们进行研究和探索。

在这里，借助于现代仪器和现代分析模式，即使是那些最热心和最具奉献精神的人也都找到用武之地，大量从事研究活动，并争取实现自己宏伟的事业，这样做不但不会对他人造成危害，而且还一定能够加快实现科学的伟大目标。

让他们在太空使用反射器或折射器吧，去探测新的行星。让他们中途拦住那一闪即逝的彗星吧，让这些彗星一定把自己围绕轨道运行的精确周期告诉人类，并说出它们准时归来的时间。让他们把那些不大情愿的卫星从“它们经常的藏身之处”拖出来吧。让他们去破解那神秘的仙女座星云或猎户座星云之谜吧。他们无需害怕。天空不会坍塌下来，哪一颗星也不会从它的位置上掉下来。

让他们预报旋风的路线，精确计算出暴风的活动范围。让他们伸出自己的巨型钟摆吧，让地球描述和测量她自己的运动情况，让他们消除人类的痛苦。上帝会留心他们的辛苦并保佑他们，人类会为他们的成功而感激他们。

让他们往地壳的深处钻探。让他们劈开巨大的岩石，根据地层的演变在岩石上遗留下来的痕迹来揭开地球形成的历史。让他们把已消亡的动物群的化石碎片搜集在一起，重新恢复这些海底动物和陆地动物的古老形状，把它们的骨头逐块地拼接在一起，直至我们能够真实地看到利维桑和比希摩斯如同传说中一般大小，因为害怕它们会重新复活我们几乎浑身颤抖。让他们把自然界押到拷问台上，拷打她的各个部位，要她说出内心深处的秘密。他们无需害怕，这个圆形世界的根基打得是如此牢固，因此不可能移动。

罗伯特·查尔斯·温思罗普（1809～1894年），马萨诸塞湾殖民地的第一位总督约翰·温思罗普的后裔。他出生在波士顿，最初在公共拉丁语学校接受教育，1828年毕业于哈佛大学，并师从丹尼尔·韦伯斯特学习法律。由于拥有充足的财产，所以他很少去尝试实践自己的专业。1834年，他当选马萨诸塞州的州议会议员，随后又5次当选。曾经有3年时间，他在州众议院担任议长。1840年，他进入美国国会，任职10年。1847年，他当选为美国众议院议长。他还在美国参议院任职，但为期不长。他发表的作品主要是致辞和演说辞等。他的作品简洁优美，具有很高的文学性。作为众议院议长，温思洛普才思敏捷，嗓音洪亮，沉着冷静。

OBJECTS AND LIMITS OF SCIENCE

There are fields enough for the wildest and most extravagant theorizings, within man's own appropriate domain, without overleaping the barriers which separate things human and divine. Indeed, I have often thought that modern science had afforded a most opportune and providential safety valve for the intellectual curiosity and ambition of man, at a moment when the progress of education, invention, and liberty had roused and stimulated him to a pitch of such unprecedented eagerness and ardor. Astronomy, Chemistry, and, more than all, Geology, with their incidental branches of study, have opened an inexhaustible field for investigation and speculation. Here, by the aid of modern instruments and modern modes of analysis, the most ardent and earnest spirits may find ample room and verge enough for their insatiate activity and audacious enterprise, and may pursue their course not only without the slightest danger of doing mischief to others, but with the certainty of promoting the great end of scientific truth.

Let them lift their vast reflectors or refractors to the skies, and detect new planets in their hiding places. Let them waylay the fugitive comets in their flight, and compel them to disclose the precise period of their orbits, and to give bonds for their punctual return. Let them drag out reluctant satellites from“their habitual concealments.”Let them resolve the unresolvable nebulae of Orion or Andromeda. They need not fear. The sky will not fall, nor a single star be shaken from its sphere.

Let them perfect and elaborate their marvelous processes of making the light and the lightning their ministers, for putting“a pencil of rays”into the hand of art, and providing tongues of fire for the communication of intelligence. Let them foretell the path of the whirlwind, and calculate the orbit of the storm. Let them hang out their gigantic pendulums, and make the earth do the work of describing and measuring her own motions. Let them annihilate human pain, and literally“charm ache with air, and agony with ether.”The blessing of God will attend all their toils, and the gratitude of man will await all their triumphs.

Let them dig down into the bowels of the earth. Let them rive asunder the massive rocks, and unfold the history of creation as it lies written on the pages of their piled up strata. Let them gather up the fossil fragments of a lost Fauna, reproducing the ancient forms which inhabited the land or the seas, bringing them together, bone to his bone, till Leviathan and Behemoth stand before us in bodily presence and in their full proportions, and we almost tremble lest these dry bones should live again! Let them put nature to the rack, and torture her, in all her forms, to the betrayal of her inmost secrets and confidences. They need not forbear. The foundations of the round world have been laid so strong that they can not be moved.

But let them not think by searching to find out God. Let them not dream of understanding the Almighty to perfection. Let them not dare to apply their tests and solvents, their modes of analysis or their terms of definition, to the secrets of the spiritual kingdom. Let them spare the foundations of faith. Let them be satisfied with what is revealed of the mysteries of the Divine Nature. Let them not break through the bounds to gaze after the Invisible.

（Robert Charles Winthrop）

第25课　人是如何推理的

我的朋友——也就是那位教授，我曾经向你提起过他一两次——昨天对我说有人辱骂他。我对他说，我相信他应该挨骂；希望他偶尔挨一两句骂，每隔几年就挨上一次；如果不去骂人的话，没人能够让自己的邻居更聪明；尤其是人们讨厌别人拿自己的小错误开玩笑，也许他现在就是这样。教授笑了。

我说，现在你听讲。用不了多久你就会发现人们——至少是大多数写人和谈论人的人们——就只会表扬人了。人，就像梨和桃子那样，在烂掉之前总会变得甜一点儿。我弄不懂这是为什么——是因为人的生理和心理发生了自然变化，还是因为自己的极端诚实没有得到回报——但是事实却是，大多数作家，那些性情怪僻或不成功的作家除外，在他们行将暮年之时已不屑于再去吹毛求疵了。

通常，我不会花费力气去要一位批评家发表公正的评判，如果他本人是一位50多岁的作家。30岁时，我们都试图把自己的名字以大写字母刻在这座生命的房子上。再过20年，我们要么已经刻写过了，要么就把我们的折叠刀收藏了起来。然后，我们准备去帮助别人，不再关心去阻碍任何人，因为没有人继续挡我们的路了。因此，我很高兴你的生命还在延续，在未来几年内，你将会非常讨人喜欢。

我从各个途径听说或看到了年纪老化的软效应，感到实在是不可思议。我刚才谈到了作家们所经历的变化过程。你是否知道，在从成熟逐渐衰老的过程中，即使那些最为坚强的人物有时也会变得像年轻孩子一样温和友善？我曾经听人说过，但我并没有亲自证实是真是假。据说，著名的部落首领洛希尔在他暮年的时候被人放到一个摇篮里晃来晃去。有一位老人，曾经撰写文风最为严厉的学术性著作，到了暮年却喜欢听人反复地给他读儿童故事。一个见证过威灵顿公爵暮年生活的人称其各个方面和行为方式都非常温和友善。我记得有一个人曾经非常严厉苛刻，举止庄重高雅，然而到了晚年却出奇地仁慈宽厚，为人随和。

所以，这经常让我联想起梨在成熟过程中的变化。有些人在20岁时即已成熟，就像早熟的梨子，所以应当充分利用，因为它们的时日已经不多了。有些人完全成熟的时间要晚一些，就像秋天的梨一样，它们比夏天成熟的梨要好一些；有些人就像冬天成熟的梨子，外表冷酷，不惹人爱，其他品种的梨全都成熟以后它才姗姗来迟，直至无情的霜雪覆盖果园之时才发出光泽，散发出香气。因此，不要轻易发表批评，你谴责的那些水果也许就是秋天和冬天里成熟的梨子，而8月份你在同一个树枝下面捡到的那些也许仅仅是被虫子咬过以后又被风吹落坠地的梨子。弥尔顿是圣杰曼梨树嫁接了玫瑰色的厄尔利凯瑟琳长出的梨，而老乔叟则是多汁多产、生命力旺盛、香甜金黄的伊斯特波梨。

（霍姆斯·奥利弗·温德尔）

霍姆斯·奥利弗·温德尔（1809～1894年），美国医生和作家，曾在1847年至1882年在哈佛大学担任解剖学及生理学教授，他写过一些幽默的会谈式文章，其中有《早餐桌上的独裁者》（1858年）等。

HOW MEN REASON

My friend, the Professor, whom I have mentioned to you once or twice, told me yesterday that somebody had been abusing him in some of the journals of his calling. I told him that I did n't doubt he deserved it; that I hoped he did deserve a little abuse occasionally, and would for a number of years to come; that nobody could do anything to make his neighbors wiser or better without being liable to abuse for it; especially that people hated to have their little mistakes made fun of, and perhaps he had been doing something of the kind. The Professor smiled.

Now, said I, hear what I am going to say. It will not take many years to bring you to the period of life when men, at least the majority of writing and talking men, do nothing but praise. Men, like peaches and pears, grow sweet a little while before they begin to decay. I don't know what it is,—whether a spontaneous change, mental or bodily, or whether it is through experience of the thanklessness of critical honesty,—but it is a fact, that most writers, except sour and unsuccessful ones, get tired of finding fault at about the time when they are beginning to grow old.

As a general thing, I would not give a great deal for the fair words of a critic, if he is himself an author, over fifty years of age. At thirty, we are all trying to cut our names in big letters upon the walls of this tenement of life; twenty years later, we have carved it, or shut up our jackknives. Then we are ready to help others, and care less to hinder any, because nobody's elbows are in our way. So I am glad you have a little life left; you will be saccharine enough in a few years.

Some of the softening effects of advancing age have struck me very much in what I have heard or seen here and elsewhere. I just now spoke of the sweetening process that authors undergo. Do you know that in the gradual passage from maturity to helplessness the harshest characters sometimes have a period in which they are gentle and placid as young children? I have heard it said, but I can not be sponsor for its truth, that the famous chieftain, Lochiel, was rocked in a cradle like a baby, in his old age. An old man, whose studies had been of the severest scholastic kind, used to love to hear little nursery stories read over and over to him. One who saw the Duke of Wellington in his last years describes him as very gentle in his aspect and demeanor. I remember a person of singularly stern and lofty bearing who became remarkably gracious and easy in all his ways in the later period of his life.

And that leads me to say that men often remind me of pears in their way of coming to maturity. Some are ripe at twenty, like human Jargonelles, and must be made the most of, for their day is soon over. Some come into their perfect condition late, like the autumn kinds, and they last better than the summer fruit. And some, that, like the Winter Nelis, have been hard and uninviting until all the rest have had their season, get their glow and perfume long after the frost and snow have done their worst with the orchards. Beware of rash criticisms; the rough and stringent fruit you condemn may be an autumn or a winter pear, and that which you picked up beneath the same bough in August may have been only its worm——eaten windfalls. Milton was a Saint Germain with a graft of the roseate Early Catherine. Rich, juicy, lively, fragrant, russet skinned old Chaucer was an Easter Beurre’; the buds of a new summer were swelling when he ripened.

（Holmes）

第26课　太阳的影响

就像转动钟表指针的力量确信无疑地来自于上发条的臂状物一样，陆地上所有力量都来自于太阳。不考虑火山爆发以及潮汐的退落和流动等，地球表面所有的机械作用，所有力量的展示，无论是有机物的还是无机物的，无论是有生命的还是物质的，都是由太阳产生的。它的高温使海水保持液体状态，使大气层保持气体状态，驱使海水和大气运动的力量都来自于太阳的机械作用。它使河水和冰川运动到高山上，于是便产生了瀑布和雪崩的现象，它们的巨大能量都直接来自于太阳。

雷电也是它传导的力量，每一场燃起的大火和每一束发光的火焰都会发出光和热，这些光和热最初都来自太阳。如今这个时代，我们不幸地经常听说战争的消息，但每次射击所使用的弹药都是对太阳的机械能的利用或误用。它吹响了号角，它推动了子弹，它引爆了炸弹。别忘了，这不是诗歌，而是太阳机械能铁的事实。

就像我所说的，太阳养活了所有的植物，并通过它们养活了所有的动物。田野里的百合花、葱绿的草地、山坡上成千上万的牛群等都是太阳杰出的工艺品。太阳形成了动物的肌肉，它推动了动物的血液循环，它发展了动物的大脑。太阳的迅猛体现在狮子的双腿上，豹子在林间跳跃、苍鹰在空中翱翔、蛇在草丛间滑行等都是它的能量的表现形式。它抚育了森林并把它吹倒，栽种树木和挥动斧头的力量都是同一种能量。苜蓿发芽并且开花，割草人挥动镰刀等，使用的其实也是同一种能量。

太阳从我们的矿井中挖出了矿石，它使铁器变形，使水沸腾，它驱动了火车，不但种植了棉花还纺出了纤维并织成了网。凡是举起来的锤子、转动的车轮或抛出的梭子等，没有不是太阳举起、转动或抛出的。太阳的能量自由地释放到了太空，但是我们这个世界成了一个落足点，能量在这里以各种形式被利用了。普罗特斯希腊神话传说中的海神。他最大的特点就是能够任意改变自己的外形。就是在这里施展了它的魔力。这一完全相同的本质竟然能够变出上百万种形状和颜色，并最终还原到了它的原始、几乎不存在的形状。太阳以热的形式来到我们身边，它以热的形式离我们而去；在它的到来与离去之间，我们地球产生了多种形式的能量。它们都是太阳能的特殊形式，只不过是被临时保存起来而已。

（约翰·廷德尔）

约翰·廷德尔（1820～1893年），爱尔兰裔英国物理学家，现代最著名的科学家之一，法拉第的优秀学生，因其关于气体的透明度和大气吸收辐射热量的著作而著名。1853年，他接受英国科学研究所的聘请，担任自然哲学教授。他还著有一两本有关阿尔卑斯山脉及其冰川的趣味读物。他曾到美国访问，在此期间做了几场科学方面的报告，并做了几次出色的物理实验，博得了美国科学界人士的喝彩。廷德尔一生为人类的科学事业做出了几项重要的发现。

THE INFLUENCES OF THE SUN

, 1820 1893, one of the most celebrated modern scientists, was an Irishman by birth. He was a pupil of the distinguished Faraday. In 1853 he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Royal Institution of London. He is known chiefly for his brilliant experiments and clear writing respecting heat, light, and sound. He also wrote one or two interesting books concerning the Alps and their glaciers. He visited America, and delighted the most intelligent audiences by his scientific lectures and his brilliant experiments. The scientific world is indebted to him for several remarkable discoveries.

As surely as the force which moves a clock's hands is derived from the arm which winds up the clock, so surely is all terrestrial power drawn from the sun. Leaving out of account the eruptions of volcanoes, and the ebb and flow of the tides, every mechanical action on the earth's surface, every manifestation of power, organic and inorganic, vital and physical, is produced by the sun. His warmth keeps the sea liquid, and the atmosphere a gas, and all the storms which agitate both are blown by the mechanical force of the sun. He lifts the rivers and the glaciers up to the mountains; and thus the cataract and the avalanche shoot with an energy derived immediately from him.

Thunder and lightning are also his transmitted strength. Every fire that burns and every flame that glows, dispenses light and heat which originally belonged to the sun. In these days, unhappily, the news of battle is familiar to us, but every shock and every charge is an application or misapplication of the mechanical force of the sun. He blows the trumpet, he urges the projectile, he bursts the bomb. And, remember, this is not poetry, but rigid mechanical truth.

He rears, as I have said, the whole vegetable world, and through it the animal; the lilies of the field are his workmanship, the verdure of the meadows, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. He forms the muscles, he urges the blood, he builds the brain. His fleetness is in the lion's foot; he springs in the panther, he soars in the eagle, he slides in the snake. He builds the forest and hews it down, the power which raised the tree, and which wields the ax, being one and the same. The clover sprouts and blossoms, and the scythe of the mower swings, by the operation of the same force.

The sun digs the ore from our mines, he rolls the iron; he rivets the plates, he boils the water; he draws the train. He not only grows the cotton, but he spins the fiber and weaves the web. There is not a hammer raised, a wheel turned, or a shuttle thrown, that is not raised, and turned, and thrown by the sun. His energy is poured freely into space, but our world is a halting place where this energy is conditioned. Here the Proteus works his spells; the selfsame essence takes a million shapes and hues, and finally dissolves into its primitive and almost formless form. The sun comes to us as heat; he quits us as heat; and between his entrance and departure the multiform powers of our globe appear. They are all special forms of solar power—the molds into which his strength is temporarily poured in passing from its source through infinitude.

（John Tyndall）

第27课　财产的起源

大地是人类的共同财产，哪一部分也不具体地永久属于某一个人，然而无论哪个人占有一个确定的地方用来休息、乘凉，或者用作相似的用途，他都暂时对那个地方具有某种拥有权。如果强行将他从那个地方赶走，那么这在自然法则上是不公平的，与自然法则是相悖的。但是，他一旦放弃了对那个地方的使用或占有，另外一个人就可以抢占那个地方，这样做并没任何不公正可言。因此，一棵葡萄树或者一棵其他的树也可以说是共用的财产，理由是所有人都有资格去吃它结出来的果实。然而，任何个人都可以通过采集水果用于举办宴会而单独得到这些果实。西塞罗马库斯·西塞罗（公元前106年～公元前43年）古罗马最杰出的雄辩家。此外，他还是古罗马著名的政治家和著作家。他在世时曾担任古罗马共和国的最高职务。通过举例非常形象地阐明了这种学说。他将整个世界比作一个大剧场，剧场虽然是供大家共用的，然而无论任何人占据的位置暂时都是归他自己所有。

但是，随着地球上人口数量不断增加，人类就有必要制定一些新的概念，从而允许私人更为长久地占有人类的共用财产，不但将共用财产划归个人直接使用，而且还允许其将来使用这种共用财产。否则，地球上将会发生难以想象的混战。世界的良好秩序将不断遭到破坏和干扰，形形色色的人都会因为谁先占有同一种财产而争斗不休或因为他们当中哪些人实际上已经得到了财产而闹个不停。随着人类的生活质量越来越高，人类设计出了方便舒适、宽敞明亮、赏心悦目的生活用品，比如作为栖身和躲避危险的住所，追求温暖和体面的衣服等。然而，一个人只要能够使用这些生活用品，没有人愿意花费力气和心思去制造它们。一旦他走出帐篷或脱掉衣服，另外一个路过的陌生人就有权住进他的帐篷，穿上他的衣服。

就拿住所的情况具体地说吧，我们很自然地发现即使是缺乏人性的动物——对于它们来说，其他一切东西都是共用的——也有自己长久的住处，尤其是出于保护它们的幼崽，鸟类在空中筑有鸟巢，兽类在田野里挖有洞穴，它们认为其他动物对自己住处的侵犯为极大的不公正，甚至会不惜牺牲生命去保护自己的住处。因此，每个人都很快在自己的家中或者园地里盖起了自己的住所。最初看上去好像只是小棚屋或可以移动的小茅屋而已，但这适合他们的主人漂泊不定的生活，人们后来才开始建造更大规模的房子。

食物是人类更需要解决的问题，因此人类对食物的考虑也更早。人们不满足于地面上自然而生的食物，于是就猎食野兽之肉来更好地恢复体力。但是，依靠这种获取肉食的办法经常让他们失望，这促使他们将一些较为驯良的动物聚集起来，将它们成群地饲养在一起，用母兽的奶喂养幼兽，或者用幼兽的肉饲养成年的兽类。

直至这个时候，土壤和草原仍然像从前那样属于人类的公共财产，每个人都可以占有，也许除了邻近城镇的地区之外。那里的人们（出于家业的需要）较早地意识到了拥有土地的必要性。

随着世界的人口逐渐增加，寻找一个新地方并且不侵犯原先住在那里的人显得越来越困难了。由于一直占据同一个地方，人们开始消费地面上的果实。地球直接生产出来的果实遭到了破坏，于是人们想在将来继续吃水果面临着困难。因此，寻找一些不断让果树结果的办法就成了必要。这种需求产生了，至少推动鼓励了家业的发展。

很明显，不对田地进行耕耘，土地生产不出足够的粮食。但是，如果有人伺机攫取他人辛勤耕耘的成果，那么谁会愿意耕耘呢？如果不是将一些田地划分给个人的话，这个世界如今肯定还是被茂密的森林覆盖，人类只不过依然是被猎食的动物而已。然而，这样做的结果却使人类有机会锻炼了大脑，发挥了本能，进而使人类成为了一种高级的动物。

（威廉·布莱克斯通）

威廉·布莱克斯通爵士（1723～1780年），英国法官和教育家，出生于伦敦的一个绸商家庭。他在牛津大学攻读法律并以优异的成绩毕业。1745年，他获得了律师资格，开始从事法律工作。起初，他因为接不到案子而无法维持生计。曾经有一段时间，他放弃了律师工作，到牛津大学当了教师。又过了一段时间，他返回伦敦并继续从事律师工作。这一次，他获得了巨大的成功，并仍然在牛津大学讲课。1761年，他被选为议会议员。1770年，他当选为法官并在去世前一直担任这个职务。他因著有《英国法律评论》一书（1765～1769年）而闻名于世。这本法律评论是对英国总体法律最为全面的独家论述，目前正被英国和美国的学生作为教材广泛使用。他曾经因一次执法不当而辞去法官职务，但是后来却赢得了法律界最高的荣誉。总的来说，布莱克斯通是一个富有才干、治学严谨，事业上不屈不挠，品行上襟怀磊落的人。

ORIGIN OF PROPERTY

In the beginning of the world, we are informed by Holy Writ, the all bountiful Creator gave to man dominion over all the earth, and“over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”This is the only true and solid foundation of man's dominion over external things, whatever airy, metaphysical notions may have been started by fanciful writers upon this subject. The earth, therefore, and all things therein, are the general property of all mankind, exclusive of other beings, from the immediate gift of the Creator. And while the earth continued bare of inhabitants, it is reasonable to suppose that all was in common among them, and that everyone took from the public stock, to his own use, such things as his immediate necessities required.

These general notions of property were then sufficient to answer all the purposes of human life; and might, perhaps, still have answered them, had it been possible for mankind to have remained in a state of primeval simplicity, in which“all things were common to him.”Not that this communion of goods seems ever to have been applicable, even in the earliest ages, to aught but the substance of the thing; nor could it be extended to the use of it. For, by the law of nature and reason, he who first began to use it, acquired therein a kind of transient property, that lasted so long as he was using it, and no longer. Or, to speak with greater precision, the right of possession continued for the same time, only, that the act of possession lasted.

Thus, the ground was in common, and no part of it was the permanent property of any man in particular; yet, whoever was in the occupation of any determined spot of it, for rest, for shade, or the like, acquired for the time a sort of ownership, from which it would have been unjust and contrary to the law of nature to have driven him by force; but, the instant that he quitted the use or occupation of it, another might seize it without injustice. Thus, also, a vine or other tree might be said to be in common, as all men were equally entitled to its produce; and yet, any private individual might gain the sole property of the fruit which he had gathered for his own repast: a doctrine well illustrated by Cicero, who compares the world to a great theater, which is common to the public, and yet the place which any man has taken is, for the time, his own.

But when mankind increased in number, craft, and ambition, it became necessary to entertain conceptions of a more permanent dominion; and to appropriate to individuals not the immediate use only, but the very substance of the thing to be used. Otherwise, innumerable tumults must have arisen, and the good order of the world been continually broken and disturbed, while a variety of persons were striving who should get the first occupation of the same thing, or disputing which of them had actually gained it. As human life also grew more and more refined, abundance of conveniences were devised to render it more easy, commodious, and agreeable; as habitations for shelter and safety, and raiment for warmth and decency. But no man would be at the trouble to provide either, so long as he had only a usufructuary property in them, which was to cease the instant that he quitted possession; if, as soon as he walked out of his tent or pulled off his garment, the next stranger who came by would have a right to inhabit the one and to wear the other.

In the case of habitations, in particular, it was natural to observe that even the brute creation, to whom everything else was in common, maintained a kind of permanent property in their dwellings, especially for the protection of their young; that the birds of the air had nests, and the beasts of the fields had caverns, the invasion of which they esteemed a very flagrant injustice, and would sacrifice their lives to preserve them. Hence a property was soon established in every man's house and homestead; which seem to have been originally mere temporary huts or movable cabins, suited to the design of Providence for more speedily peopling the earth, and suited to the wandering life of their owners, before any extensive property in the soil or ground was established.

There can be no doubt but that movables of every kind became sooner appropriated than the permanent, substantial soil; partly because they were more susceptible of a long occupancy, which might be continue for months together without any sensible interruption, and at length, by usage, ripen into an established right; but, principally, because few of them could be fit for use till improved and meliorated by the bodily labor of the occupant; which bodily labor, bestowed upon any subject which before lay in common to all men, is universally allowed to give the fairest and most reasonable title to an exclusive property therein.

The article of food was a more immediate call, and therefore a more early consideration. Such as were not contented with the spontaneous product of the earth, sought for a more solid refreshment in the flesh of beasts, which they obtained by hunting. But the frequent disappointments incident to that method of provision, induced them to gather together such animals as were of a more tame and sequacious nature and to establish a permanent property in their flocks and herds, in order to sustain themselves in a less precarious manner, partly by the milk of the dams, and partly by the flesh of the young.

The support of these their cattle made the article of water also a very important point. And, therefore, the book of Genesis,（the most venerable monument of antiquity, considered merely with a view to history,）will furnish us with frequent instances of violent contentions concerning wells; the exclusive property of which appears to have been established in the first digger or occupant, even in places where the ground and herbage remained yet in common. Thus, we find Abraham, who was but a sojourner, asserting his right to a well in the country of Abimelech, and exacting an oath for his security“because he had digged that well.”And Isaac, about ninety years afterwards, reclaimed this his father's property; and, after much contention with the Philistines, was suffered to enjoy it in peace.

All this while, the soil and pasture of the earth remained still in common as before, and open to every occupant; except, perhaps, in the neighborhood of towns, where the necessity of a sale and exclusive property in lands,（for the sake of agriculture,）was earlier felt, and therefore more readily complied with. Otherwise, when the multitude of men and cattle had consumed every convenience on one spot of ground, it was deemed a natural right to seize upon and occupy such other lands as would more easily supply their necessities.

We have a striking example of this in the history of Abraham and his nephew Lot. When their joint substance became so great that pasture and other conveniences grew scarce, the natural consequence was that a strife arose between their servants; so that it was no longer practicable to dwell together. This contention, Abraham thus endeavored to compose:“Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”This plainly implies an acknowledged right in either to occupy whatever ground he pleased that was not preoccupied by other tribes.“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan, and journeyed east; and Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan.”

As the world by degrees grew more populous, it daily became more difficult to find out new spots to inhabit, without encroaching upon former occupants; and, by constantly occupying the same individual spot, the fruits of the earth were consumed, and its spontaneous products destroyed without any provision for future supply or succession. It, therefore, became necessary to pursue some regular method of providing a constant subsistence; and this necessity produced, or at least promoted and encouraged the art of agriculture. And the art of agriculture, by a regular connection and consequence, introduced and established the idea of a more permanent property in the soil than had hitherto been received and adopted.

It was clear that the earth would not produce her fruits in sufficient quantities without the assistance of tillage; but who would be at the pains of tilling it, if another might watch an opportunity to seize upon and enjoy the product of his industry, art and labor? Had not, therefore, a separate property in lands, as well as movables, been vested in some individuals, the world must have continued a forest, and men have been mere animals of prey. Whereas, now,（so graciously has Providence interwoven our duty and our happiness together,）the result of this very necessity has been the ennobling of the human species, by giving it opportunities of improving its rational, as well as of exerting its natural faculties.

（Sir William Blackstone）

第六辑

第1课　一个温馨祥和的家

一个冬天的夜晚，寒风从树叶间呼啸而过。

布朗先生忙完了一天的工作，他的孩子哈里和凯特也已经从学校回到了家。

他们今天的课上得非常好，两个人都挺愉快的！

喝完茶，布朗太太将小小的客厅收拾得井然有序。炉火更旺了。一盏灯照亮整个房间。

在凳子上摆放着一篮可口的苹果，它们像是在说：“你怎么不来一个？”

哈里与凯特看着一本新的故事书，父亲则在翻阅报纸，母亲在补哈里的袜子。过了一会儿，他们互相讲一讲各自所看的内容，并聊起了一天所发生的事情。

到了睡觉的时间，哈里与凯特吻了自己亲爱的父亲与母亲，并向他们道声晚安，然后步入各自卧室。

你难道不祝愿每个男孩与女孩都有一个这样的家吗？

EVENING AT HOME

It is winter. The cold wind whistles through the branches of the trees.

Mr. Brown has done his day's work, and his children, Harry and Kate, have come home from school. They learned their lessons well to day, and both feel happy

Tea is over. Mrs. Brown has put the little sitting room in order. The fire burns brightly. One lamp gives light enough for all. On the stool is a basket of fine apples. They seem to say,“Won't you have one?”

Harry and Kate read a story in a new book. The father reads his newspaper, and the mother mends Harry's stockings.

By and by, they will tell one another what they have been reading about, and will have a chat over the events of the day.

Harry and Kate's bedtime will come first. I think I see them kiss their dear father and mother a sweet good night.

Do you not wish that every boy and girl could have a home like this?

第2课　玛丽的故事

我同父亲、查尔斯、露西昨天去了海滩。我们还在那里聚餐，待了整整一天。

我和露西去采集海藻时，父亲和查尔斯则坐船到了离海滨不远的地方去钓鱼。

我们脱下鞋和长袜，趟过浅浅的海水，把采集到的海藻放在了桶里。

我们采集到的海藻是如此美丽。它们有紫色的，有粉红色的，还有棕色的。当它们在水里舒展开来的时候，紫色的看起来就像羽毛一样，棕色的则看起来像小树一样。

在露西身上发生了一件有趣的事。她在一块石头上滑了一下，掉进了水里。我们都大笑起来。好在风和阳光很快将露西的衣服烤干了。然后父亲便带我们一起去划船，在这之后我们还到森林里去野炊呢。

当我们这些做孩子的在沙滩上玩耍时，父亲便趁机在草地上展开他的外套小睡了一会儿。

MARY'S STORY

Father, and Charles, and Lucy, and I went to the beach yesterday. We took our dinner, and stayed all day.

Father and Charles went out a little way from the shore in a boat, and fished, while Lucy and I gathered sea mosses.

We took off our shoes and stockings, and waded into the shallow water. We had a pail to put our seaweeds in.

We found such beautiful ones. Some wore purple, some pink, and some brown. When they were spread out in the water, the purple ones looked like plumes, and the brown ones like little trees.

Such a funny thing happened to Lucy. She slipped on a stone, and down she went into the water. How we both laughed! But the wind and sun soon dried Lucy's dress.

Then father came and took us in the boat for a row. After that we had a picnic dinner in the woods.

Then father spread his coat on the grass, and took a nap while we children played on the beach.

第3课　新天平

“赫伯特，请你帮我剥一下桔子皮，好吗？”露西说。赫伯特此时正在读一本新书，他还是立刻放下了手中的书，从自己的小妹妹手中接过了橘子皮。

“露西，我给你做一台天平，让你在做玩卖东西的游戏时用，好不好？”

“哦，好的。但是你怎么做呢？”

“我会做给你看的。首先，我们得把剥下来的橘子皮做成两个完全一样大的小杯子。在我做的时候，你去看看能否给我找两根大约10英寸长的木棍。”

露西跑到火房找到了两根木棍，“这些可以吗？”

“不行，它们太硬了。如果可以的话，最好找一些松树枝来。”

“给你。”

“嗯，很合适。现在我需要做一个横杆和一个支柱。露西，你能不能给我找一个小木块来做支柱？”

“缠有缎带的木板可以吗，赫伯特？”

“可以，如果它不太厚的话。”

“有一块一英寸厚的木板。”

“正好，再给我拿一个螺丝钻来。”

赫伯特一直工作着，直至做好了横杆和支柱。然后，他在木板中间穿了一个洞，把支柱插了进去。接着，他把横杆插进支柱顶端的一个小沟槽里，这样它就能很好地保持平衡了。

“露西，现在我们需要一根针和一些线。我们必须把每个小杯子用4条线穿起来，再把线系在横杆的尾部。”

“做好了，露西，你觉得它怎么样？”

“天啊，赫伯特，它就像爸爸商店里卖的真天平一样棒。你可以用我所有的橘子做它们了。”

THE NEW SCALES

“Herbert, will you please peel my orange?”said Lucy. Herbert was reading his new book, but he put it down at once, and took the orange from his little sister.

“Shall I make a pair of scales, Lucy, for you to use when you play store?”

“Oh yes! but how can you do that’!”

“I'll show you. First, we must take the peel off in two little cups, one just as large as the other. While I do this, see if you can find me two nice sticks about ten inches long.”

Lucy ran out to the woodhouse to find the sticks.—“ Will these do?”

“No, they are too hard. Find some pine sticks if you can.”

“Here are some.”

“These will do nicely. Now I must make a scale beam and a post. Can you find me a little block for a post, Lucy’!”

“Will a ribbon block do, Herbert?”

“Yes, if it is not too thick.”

“Here is one an inch thick.”

“That will be just right. Now get the little gimlet.”

Herbert worked away until he had made the beam and the post. Then he made a hole in the middle of the block, and put the post in. Next, he put the beam into a little groove at the top of the post, so that it would balance nicely.

“Now, Lucy, we must have a needle and some thread. We must put four threads to each cup; then we will tie the threads to the ends of the beam. ”

“There, Lucy, what do you think of that?”

“Why, Herbert, that is just as nice as the real scales in father's store; and you may have all my orange for making them.”

第4课　乔治的晚餐

乔治家非常穷，他们没有好的干柴用来生火，只好用乔治从树下捡来的干树枝。

7月晴朗的一天，母亲让乔治去拾柴。他要去离他们居住的村子两英里以外的树林里才能拾到柴。乔治要在那里呆上一整天，这样才能拾到更多的柴。

那天天气真好，乔治干活也很卖力。随着太阳越升越高，乔治感到越来越热。于是他想找个地方休息一下，然后去吃晚餐。

当他来到小溪边的时候，一下子在苔藓中间发现了许多熟得通红的野草莓。

“它们加上我的面包和奶油味道一定好极了！”乔治想着。于是他用树叶将自己那顶小帽子垫好，小心翼翼采摘着熟了的野草莓，然后坐在了小溪边。

那是一个很美的地方，乔治感到非常愉快和满足。他想，如果妈妈在这里而不是在村子那阴暗的屋子里，那该有多好啊！就在乔治要将一颗草莓送到嘴里的那一刻，他想到了这些。他自言自语地说：“如果妈妈在这里该有多好啊！”他突然停住，将那颗草莓吐了出来。

“我还是把它们留给妈妈吧！”他说，“这会使妈妈非常开心。”不过他还是目不转睛地盯着那些草莓。

“我可以吃一半，把另一半留给妈妈。”他最后决定。于是他把草莓分成两堆。但是，每一堆看起来都很小，他便又将它们放到了一起。

“我只尝一个。”他想。就在他把那颗草莓送进嘴里时，他发现那是最好的一颗，于是便又吐了出来。

“我要把它们全都留给妈妈。”说着他将它们精心地包好，一颗也没有吃。

太阳要落山时，乔治得往家赶了。他把草莓留给了他病重的母亲，他为自己的举动感到非常高兴。因此，离家越近他也越不想吃那些草莓了。

就在他放下干柴时，他听见屋里传来了妈妈那微弱的唤他的声音。“是你吗，乔治？你回来我很高兴，我有点渴了，给我倒杯茶。”

乔治拿着他的野草莓高兴地走到妈妈跟前。“那是你给妈妈留的吗？”妈妈用手抚摸着他的头说。此时他眼中已充满了泪水。妈妈继续鼓励他：“上帝会因此而保佑你的，我的孩子。”

想想看，如果乔治吃了这些草莓，那么他肯定就感受不到此刻的幸福了。

GEORGE'S FEAST

George's mother was very poor. Instead of having bright, blazing fires in winter, she had nothing to burn but dry sticks, which George picked up from under the trees and hedges.

One fine day in July, she sent George to the woods, which were about two miles from the village in which she lived. He was to stay there all day, to get as much wood as he could collect.

It was a bright, sunny day, and George worked very hard; so that by the time the sun was high, he was hot, and wished for a cool place where he might rest and eat his dinner.

While he hunted about the bank he saw among the moss some fine, wild strawberries, which were a bright scarlet with ripeness.

“How good these will be with my bread and butter!”thought George; and lining his little cap with leaves, he set to work eagerly to gather all he could find, and then seated himself by the brook.

It was a pleasant place, and George felt happy and contented. He thought how much his mother would like to see him there, and to be there herself, instead of in her dark, close room in the village.

George thought of all this, and just as he was lifting the first strawberry to his mouth, he said to himself,“How much mother would like these;”and he stopped, and put the strawberry back again.

“Shall I save them for her?”said he, thinking how much they would refresh her, yet still looking at them with a longing eye.

“I will eat half, and take the other half to her,”said he at last; and he divided them into two heaps. But each heap looked so small, that he put them together again.

“I will only taste one,”thought he; but, as he again lifted it to his mouth, he saw that he had taken the finest, and he put it back.“I will keep them all for her,”said he, and he covered them up nicely, till he should go home.

When the sun was beginning to sink, George set out for home. How happy he felt, then, that he had all his strawberries for his sick mother. The nearer he came to his home, the less he wished to taste them.

Just as he had thrown down his wood, he heard his mother's faint voice calling him from the next room.“Is that you, George? I am glad you have come, for I am thirsty, and am longing for some tea.”

George ran in to her, and joyfully offered his wild strawberries.“And you saved them for your sick mother, did you?”said she, laying her hand fondly on his head, while the tears stood in her eyes.“God will bless you for all this, my child.”

Could the eating of the strawberries have given George half the happiness he felt at this moment?

第5课　山村妹妹

小珍妮特的家坐落在遥远的大山之中，我们且叫她山村妹妹吧！

也许你想听听关于山村妹妹的许多故事，不过现在我只能告诉你，为了度过漫长的冬天，她是如何在秋天配合她的父亲和哥哥采摘栗子的。

在崎岖的山路旁边，有一片栗子林。你见过栗子林吗？春天来临的时候，它的枝头上会开满像油状的花，一穗穗像缨子一样。夏天过后，绿色带刺的小球里面就结出了甜美的果实。

当秋天到来的时候，这些带刺的小球就会变成棕色，并会裂开。这时，你就可以看到里面有一个、两个、三个、有时是四个棕色的栗子。

一天吃晚饭时，父亲说：“今天晚上可能会有霜降。”

珍妮特当然知道接下来该做什么了。她早早地蹦到了她的小床上。他的小床可爱极了，靠着墙壁，像一个小盒子。

不一会儿，珍妮特睡着了。她做了一个梦，梦到了栗子林，还有从高高的、黑乎乎的树林深处流出来的小溪。天一亮，她就醒了，并马上起了床。刚刚起床他就听到父亲在外边高声喊道：“起床了，孩子们，我们要出发了。”

他们把午饭准备好了，并把它放在一个大篮子里。小毛驴则驮着两个要装栗子的袋子，在门前等待。他们一路踏着白霜，直奔栗子林。霜降已经把栗子的外表皮剥开了，你知道，这可帮了他们不少忙呢。

他们不一会儿，就把自己的篮子装满了。在忙碌的林子里，少不了他们的欢声笑语。阳光穿过黄色的叶子照射下来，地上还有长满青苔的石块供他们休息，不时还会有小鸟和松鼠出现。这些小东西很惊讶地看着这几个奇怪的人，纳闷他们在忙什么呢？

珍妮特虽然年纪很小，却是个好帮手。昨天晚上父亲还夸她是个可爱的孩子呢。珍妮特高兴极了，睡觉时还想着父亲的话，自己在那里偷偷地许愿。睡着后，她又来到了秋日美好快乐的时光。

这就是我们山村妹妹的生活。这里有一张他们所在的遥远山村的照片。我们可以看到他们在大山的生活原来是如此清新，如此幸福。

THE MOUNTAIN SISTER

The home of little Jeannette is far away, high up among the mountains. Let us call her our mountain sister.

There are many things you would like to hear about her, but I can only tell you now how she goes with her father and brother, in the autumn, to help gather nuts for the long winter.

A little way down the mountain side is a chestnut wood. Did you ever see a chestnut tree? In the spring its branches are covered with bunches of creamy flowers, like long tassels. All the hot summer these are turning into sweet nuts, wrapped safely in large, prickly, green balls.

But when the frost of autumn comes, these prickly balls turn brown, and crack open. Then you may see inside one, two, three, and even four, sweet, brown nuts.

When her father says, one night at supper time,“I think there will be a frost tonight,”Jeannette knows very well what to do. She dances away early in the evening to her little bed, made in a box built up against the wall.

Soon she falls asleep to dream about the chestnut wood, and the little brook that springs from rock to rock down under the tall, dark trees. She wakes with the first daylight, and is out of bed in a minute, when she hears her father's cheerful call,“Come, children; it is time to be off.”

Their dinner is ready in a large basket. The donkey stands before the door with great bags for the nuts hanging at each side. They go merrily over the crisp, white frost to the chestnut trees. How the frost has opened the burs! It has done half their work for them already.

How they laugh and sing, and shout to each other as they fill their baskets! The sun looks down through the yellow leaves; the rocks give them mossy seats; the birds and squirrels wonder what these strange people are doing in their woods.

Jeannette really helps, though she is only a little girl; and her father says at night, that his Jane is a dear, good child. This makes her very happy. She thinks about it at night, when she says her prayers. Then she goes to sleep to dream of the merry autumn days.

Such is our little mountain sister,and here is a picture of her far away home. The mountain life is ever a fresh and happy one.

第6课　哈瑞的财富

一天，小哈瑞与他的小玩伴强尼·克莱恩一起玩了一个早上。强尼住在一幢漂亮的大房子里，在星期天的时候他会坐着气派的马车去教堂，全镇上的人都能看见。

哈瑞回到家后说：“妈妈，强尼的两个口袋里都是钱。”

“是吗？亲爱的。”

“是的，妈妈。他还说，只要他想要的话他还可以有更多的钱。”

“噢，是吗，那很好。”妈妈随便地回答说，“非常好，你说呢？”

“是的，妈妈，可是——”

“可是什么，哈瑞？”

“嗯，他有一条很大的玩具枪，一块手表，一个摇动木马，还有好多好多东西。”哈瑞抬起头郁郁不乐地看着妈妈。

“怎么回事，我的孩子？”

“没什么，妈妈，”此时泄露秘密的泪水涌出了眼睛，“只是我想我们很穷，是吗？”

“不，不是的，哈瑞，我们并不穷，但我们也并不象克莱恩家那样富有，如果这就是你所说的穷的话。”

“不，妈妈，”小家伙还在难过，“我们就是非常穷，我们是的！”

“哈瑞！”妈妈带着责备的口气叫他。

“是的，妈妈，我就是太穷，”他抽泣着，“我几乎什么都没有——我指那些值钱的东西——除了吃的和穿的，那些必须拥有的东西我都没有。”

“必须拥有的东西？”妈妈重复着他的话，把手中的编织物放到了桌上，这样她可以和他好好就这个问题谈谈，“你不知道吗，我的孩子——”

就在这时，正在读报纸的本叔叔抬起了头，“哈瑞，”他说，“我想研究一下人的眼睛，因此如果你愿意给我你的眼睛，我会给你2美元。”

“要我的眼睛？”哈瑞大声喊道，他对此大吃一惊。

“是的，”本叔叔平静地说，“要你的眼睛。我可以给你麻醉，这样你就不会感到疼了，你可以戴一副玻璃眼球。快点，一美元一只，否则要降价了。你看怎么样？我很快就可以把它们取出来。”

“把我的眼睛给你？”哈瑞像是无法相信自己的耳朵，“我想不行。”受惊的小家伙坚决地摇着头。

“好吧，5美元、10美元、20美元。”每一次哈瑞都不断地摇头。

“不，先生，你给我1000美元我也不会让你取走我的眼睛的。没有了眼睛我怎么办？我将再也看不见妈妈，看不见花，也看不见马了，什么也看不见了。”哈瑞补充着，越来越激动起来。

“我给你2000美元。”本叔叔继续说着，从他的口袋里掏出一卷支票。哈瑞站得远远的，大声喊着他永远也不会做这样的事。

“那么好吧，”本叔叔说。他此时神情十分严肃，一边在本子上写着什么，一边说：“我不能给你高过2000美元的价格，所以我只能放弃你的眼睛了。但是，”他又说道，“我要告诉你我要怎么做，如果你让我把这瓶子里的东西滴几滴到你耳朵里的话，我会给你20美元。你并不会觉得疼，但却会让你变聋。你知道我想做一个关于耳聋的实验。快，现在就做决定。这里的20美元是给你的。”

“把我变聋！”哈瑞已经快气疯了，他看也不看摆在桌子上的那些金币，大声喊道，“我想你也不会那么做的，如果我聋了，我就再也听不见了，不是吗？”

“可能吧。”本叔叔说。

当然了，哈瑞再次拒绝了，他说：“不，3000美元也不行。”

本叔叔在本子上又记下了一条。之后又出更高的价要“哈瑞的右手”，然后是“左手”、“双手”、“双脚”、“鼻子”，最后出价10万要他的“妈妈”。

哈瑞拒绝了所有这些提议，他的眼睛闪着光，不停地表达着他的震惊和愤怒。最后本叔叔说他必须放弃他的实验，因为哈瑞的价格实在是太高了。

“哈！哈！”哈瑞高兴地笑了，他架着胳膊，样子似乎在说，“我倒要看看谁能买得起！”

“天哪，哈瑞，来看这儿！”本叔叔对着笔记本里面看着，“这有一大笔钱呢！”他把所有的数目加起来，一共是32000美元。

“现在，哈瑞，”本叔叔说，“你不觉得放弃这么多钱太蠢了吗？”

“不，先生，我不要。”哈瑞坚决地说。

“那么，”本叔叔说，“你说你很穷，但你又不肯拿你所有的来换取32000美元，这是怎么回事呢？”

哈瑞并不知道该怎么回答。他涨红了脸，泪水滑下了脸颊，他用胖乎乎的胳膊搂住妈妈的脖子。“妈妈，”他耳语着，“上帝实在是太好了，他让我们每个人都那么富有。”

HARRY'S RICHES

One day, our little Harry spent the morning with his young playmate, Johnny Crane, who lived in a fine house, and on Sundays rode to church in the grandest carriage to be seen in all the country round.

When Harry returned home, he said,“Mother, Johnny has money in both pockets!”

“Has he, dear?”

“Yes, ma'am; and he says he could get ever so much more if he wanted it.”

“Well, now, that's very pleasant for him,”I returned, cheerfully, as a reply was plainly expected.“Very pleasant; don't you think so?”

“Yes, ma'am; only—”

“Only what, Harry?”

“Why, he has a big popgun, and a watch, and a hobbyhorse, and lots of things.”And Harry looked up at my face with a disconsolate stare.

“Well, my boy, what of that?”

“Nothing, mother,”and the telltale tears sprang to his eyes,“only I guess we are very poor, aren't we?”

“No, indeed, Harry, we are very far from being poor. We are not so rich as Mr. Crane's family, if that is what you mean.”

“O mother!”insisted the little fellow,“I do think we are very poor; anyhow, I am!”

“O Harry!”I exclaimed, reproachfully.

“Yes, ma’am I am,”he sobbed;“I have scarcely any thing—I mean anything that's worth money—except things to eat and wear, and I'd have to have them anyway.”

“Have to have them?”I echoed, at the same time laying my sewing upon the table, so that I might reason with him on that point;“do you not know, my son—”

Just then Uncle Ben looked up from the paper he had been reading:“Harry,”said he,“I want to find out something about eyes; so, if you will let me have yours, I will give you a dollar apiece for them.”

“For my eyes!”exclaimed Harry, very much astonished.

“Yes,”resumed Uncle Ben, quietly,“for your eyes. I will give you chloroform, so it will not hurt you in the least, and you shall have a beautiful glass pair for nothing, to wear in their place. Come, a dollar apiece, cash down! What do you say? I will take them out as quick as a wink.”

“Give you my eyes, uncle!”cried Harry, looking wild at the very thought,“I think not.”And the startled little fellow shook his head defiantly.

“Well, five, ten, twenty dollars, then.”Harry shook his head at every offer.

“No, sir! I wouldn't let you have them for a thousand dollars! What could I do without my eyes? I couldn't see mother, nor the baby, nor the flowers, nor the horses, nor anything,”added Harry, growing warmer and warmer.

“I will give you two thousand,”urged Uncle Ben, taking a roll of bank notes out of his pocket. Harry, standing at a respectful distance, shouted that he never would do any such thing.

“Very well,”continued the uncle, with a serious air, at the same time writing something in his notebook,“I can't afford to give you more than two thousand dollars, so I shall have to do without your eyes; but,”he added,“I will tell you what I will do, I will give you twenty dollars if you will let me put a few drops from this bottle in your ears. It will not hurt, but it will make you deaf. I want to try some experiments with deafness, you see. Come quickly, now! Here are the twenty dollars all ready for you.”

“Make me deaf!”shouted Harry, without even looking at the gold pieces temptingly displayed upon the table.“I guess you will not do that, either. Why, I couldn't hear a single word if I were deaf, could I?”

“Probably not,”replied Uncle Ben. So, of course, Harry refused again. He would never give up his hearing, he said,“no, not for three thousand dollars.”

Uncle Ben made another note in his book, and then came out with large bids for“a right arm,”then“left arm,”“hands,”“feet,”“nose,”finally ending with an offer of ten thousand dollars for“mother,”and five thousand for“the baby.”

To all of these offers Harry shook his head, his eyes flashing, and exclamations of surprise and indignation bursting from his lips. At last, Uncle Ben said he must give up his experiments, for Harry's prices were entirely too high.

“Ha! ha!”laughed the boy, exultingly, and he folded his dimpled arms and looked as if to say,“I'd like to see the man who could pay them!”

“Why, Harry, look here!”exclaimed Uncle Ben, peeping into his notebook,“here is a big addition sum, I tell you!”He added the numbers, and they amounted to thirty two thousand dollars.

“There, Harry,”said Uncle Ben,“don't you think you are foolish not to accept some of my offers?”“No, sir, I don't,”answered Harry, resolutely.“Then,”said Uncle Ben,“you talk of being poor, and by your own showing you have treasures for which you will not take thirty two thousand dollars. What do you say to that?”

Harry didn't know exactly what to say. So he blushed for a second, and just then tears came rolling down his cheeks, and he threw his chubby arms around my neck.“Mother,”he whispered,“isn't God good to make everybody so rich?”

第7课　一幕家庭场面

他几乎毫无察觉，时间的大潮不知不觉地载着他漂离了家的港湾，来到了人生的茫茫大海。所有的欢乐、机遇、感情都将从身边溜过，埋葬在无情往事的深深阴影中。除了插上梦的翅膀，否则没有人能够接近。

他几乎毫不思索，当斜靠在母亲的膝部，求助地看着她，热切地希望那些不切实际的愿望能够得以实现，或是为某些深切的哀痛而寻求安慰时，他将再也找不到人如此分担自己的忧愁，支持自己的愿望。

他几乎毫无意识，总是细心照顾自己，总是用微笑驱散自己悲伤的好姐姐雷尼也将很快离他很远很远了。轻柔地载着自己的时间大潮会很快让姐姐越漂越远，消失在人生的滚滚浪涌之中。

然而现在，你还在那儿。炉火的光亮若隐若现地映在他温馨家庭的墙壁上。父亲的大摇椅和往常一样搁在烟囱旁边的角落里，父亲的头已染上了一丝灰白，向后靠在摇椅橡木的顶端。母亲坐在父亲的对面，身子瘦削，脸上带着快乐温顺的神情；当她用温柔的声音谆谆告诫你未来所要注意的事时，她的胳膊也许正搭在你的肩膀上。

猫正在火炉边打着呼噜，查理死时就在那儿嘀嗒作响的挂钟还在壁炉上方单调无聊地响着。堆满书籍作品的那张大桌子矗立在屋子中间，似乎就在等亮起的晚灯再度照亮书中记载的那许多故事和轶闻。

镜子不时捕捉到几点摇曳的火光，顽皮地把它反射到天花板上，看起来变幻莫测。镜子下方的小架子上放着一本厚厚的大书，那是家族《圣经》，饱含着对你那些新英格兰祖先们的敬意。《圣经》呈四方形，很是厚重，还附有沉甸甸的银制搭扣。你常常使劲摁开那搭扣，去看一看中间那些古老奇异的图画，研究一下《圣约》中间那几页精致镶边的家族历史。

这里记载着生辰——你父亲和你母亲的。他们的出生年月现在看起来那么久远，甚至你自己的都要追溯到相当早以前了。下面记载着婚姻——目前只有一宗；你母亲的名字在你看来是那么奇怪：除了溺爱你的母亲，实在难以想象她成为别的什么人。

最后记载着死亡——只有一个。可怜的查理！是怎么记述的呢？——“查理·亨利，死于4岁。”你清楚知道它是如何记述的，你常常翻看这一页，这样好像就可以和小查理碰面了，虽然仅仅是通过翻开一页纪录。

看着那页纪录的时候，你的脑海中不时闪过一丝模糊阴暗的恐惧，害怕不久以后自己的名字也会在那里出现。你试图忘记这个念头，就像它并不真正是自己的名字一样。你装出一副轻视这个念头的样子，就像轻视一个你并不想认识却假装与你熟识的孩子。

真是奇怪，你母亲却向来对此毫无畏惧。甚至现在，你就站在她的身边，屋子里的暮色渐渐浓重起来，她那低低的、悦耳的声音还在你耳畔轻轻响起，告诉你她将不能在你身边了——是时候了，你必须依靠自己的判断前行，在这个世界里奋力拚搏，儿时的伙伴们不能再帮助你了。

母亲细致的指尖正温柔地拨弄你额头上的卷发，你坚定地望着壁炉里熊熊燃烧的火焰，心里涌上一丝骄傲，更多的则是焦虑不安。就要去外面的世界奋斗了，这当然值得自豪，可是却要依靠自己独力拼搏，这是不安的原因。童年的生活是如此平静，但现在青年时期第一个焦虑不安的念头已迅速占据整个脑海。

查理叹息，查理死亡时就在嘀嗒作响的那个老钟仍然在壁炉上方不知疲倦地走着，指针指向了午夜。炉火投下的阴影也变得越来越黯淡。就这样了，就像钟摆的晃动，就像地上渐渐淡去的影子，我的家，儿时的家，渐渐地离我远去了，永远而去了。

（多纳德·格兰特·米切尔）

多纳德·格兰特·米切尔，出生于1822年，这位广受欢迎的美国作家生于康涅狄格州的挪利其，1841年毕业于耶鲁大学。1844年米切尔徒步环游了英国，随后在欧洲大陆度过了一段日子。回国不久，他于1847年发表了自己第一部作品《新拾集的落穗》，又名《欧洲大陆古老原野里的新收获》。1848年再度访问欧洲，回来后出版了《巴特的夏天》。米切尔还曾为《纽约人杂志》、《亚特兰大月刊》和一些农业期刊写稿。其代表作品有1850年出版的《单身汉狂想曲》和1851年出版的《梦幻人生》。除此之外，他还写了《我的埃奇伍德农场》、《埃奇伍德的雨季》、小说《约翰斯医生》以及《农业研究》等其他一些作品。他是位非常有趣的作家。1853年担任美国驻威尼斯领事，此后一直居住在那里。本文选自《梦幻人生》。

A HOME SCENE

Little does the boy know, as the tide of years drifts by, floating him out insensibly from the harbor of his home, upon the great sea of life,—what joys, what opportunities, what affections, are slipping from him into the shades of that inexorable Past, where no man can go, save on the wings of his dreams.

Little does he think, as he leans upon the lap of his mother, with his eye turned to her, in some earnest pleading for a fancied pleasure of the hour, or in some important story of his griefs, that such sharing of his sorrows, and such sympathy with his wishes, he will find nowhere again.

Little does he imagine that the fond sister Nelly, ever thoughtful of his pleasures, ever smiling away his griefs, will soon be beyond the reach of either; and that the waves of the years which come rocking so gently under him will soon toss her far away, upon the great swell of life.

But now, you are there. The fire light glimmers upon the walls of your cherished home. The big chair of your father is drawn to its wonted corner by the chimney side; his head, just touched with gray, lies back upon its oaken top. Opposite sits your mother: her figure is thin, her look cheerful, yet subdued;—her arm perhaps resting on your shoulder, as she talks to you in tones of tender admonition, of the days that are to come.

The cat is purring on the hearth; the clock that ticked so plainly when Charlie died is ticking on the mantel still. The great table in the middle of the room, with its books and work, waits only for the lighting of the evening lamp, to see a return to its stores of embroidery and of story.

Upon a little stand under the mirror, which catches now and then a flicker of the fire light, and makes it play, as if in wanton, upon the ceiling, lies that big book, reverenced of your New England parents—the Family Bible. It is a ponderous, square volume, with heavy silver clasps, that you have often pressed open for a look at its quaint, old pictures, for a study of those prettily bordered pages, which lie between the Testaments, and which hold the Family Record.

There are the Births;—your father's and your mother's; it seems as if they were born a long time ago; and even your own date of birth appears an almost incredible distance back. Then there are the Marriages;—only one as yet; and your mother's name looks oddly to you: it is hard to think of her as anyone else than your doting parent.

Last of all come the Deaths;—only one. Poor Charlie! How it looks!—“ Died, 12 September, 18—, Charles Henry, aged four years.”You know just how it looks. You have turned to it often; there you seem to be joined to him, though only by the turning of a leaf.

And over your thoughts, as you look at that page of the Record, there sometimes wanders a vague, shadowy fear, which will come,—that your own name may soon be there. You try to drop the notion, as if it were not fairly your own; you affect to slight it, as you would slight a boy who presumed on your acquaintance, but whom you have no desire to know.

Yet your mother—how strange it is!—has no fears of such dark fancies. Even now, as you stand beside her, and as the twilight deepens in the room, her low, silvery voice is stealing upon your ear, telling you that she can not be long with you;—that the time is coming, when you must be guided by your own judgment, and struggle with the world unaided by the friends of your boyhood.

There is a little pride, and a great deal more of anxiety, in your thoughts now, as you look steadfastly into the home blaze, while those delicate fingers, so tender of your happiness, play with the locks upon your brow. To struggle with the world,—that is a proud thing; to struggle alone,—there lies the doubt! Then crowds in swift upon the calm of boyhood the first anxious thought of youth.

The hands of the old clock upon the mantel that ticked off the hours when Charlie sighed and when Charlie died, draw on toward midnight. The shadows that the fireflame makes grow dimmer and dimmer. And thus it is, that Home,—boy home, passes away forever,—like the swaying of a pendulum,—like the fading of a shadow on the floor.

（Donald Grant Mitchell）

第8课　一幅人类生活的风景画

从外形上，约翰逊体态笨重，举止笨拙；从仪态上，他为人粗鄙，傲慢；但是他的学识和能力让很多显赫的人都争相和他交往。

奥比达，阿比尼西那的儿子，一大清早就离开了旅店，开始了他穿越印度斯坦高原的旅程。休息之后，他感到神清气爽、精力旺盛，他感到充满了希望，他被欲望所激励，他轻快的走过山谷，看到自己的面前渐渐出现了山峰。

当他一路行进的时候，他听到了这个乐园里鸟儿悦耳的晨歌。他感到最后一阵柔和的晨风迎面吹来，时不时地还会有香树林中的露珠洒在他的身上。他有时会注视那高耸的橡树，那是山丘上的君主；有时候他会闻到撄草花的香气，那是春天的长女；他的感官得到了享受和满足，而他的心是那样无忧无虑。

他继续往前走，直到太阳升到他的头顶，越来越高的温度让他感到精力衰竭。所以他就停下来审视四周，以期找到一条更怡人的道路。他看到在他的右手边，有一个树林似乎在以它的荫凉发出到此一游的邀请。他走进去，发现那儿又凉快又清新，环境宜人，让人不忍离去，但是他没有忘记他这次旅行的目的地，所以他找到了一条路旁开着小花的路，看起来似乎和大道是同方向的，而且他很高兴地看到，通过这件事，他找到了折中乐趣和事务的方法，这样它既能享受勤奋的成果，又不用忍受其中的劳累。

所以，他继续向前走了一段时间。他赶路的热情丝毫没有减损，就除了有时候，因为炎热而躲在树阴下的小鸟的叫声会诱使他停下脚步，或者有时候，他会摘下河岸两边的小花或树枝上的果实以自娱自乐一下。最后那绿色小道的地势慢慢下降了，并且在山丘和灌木丛中蜿蜒而去，一路上只见清泉生凉，水瀑呜咽。

奥比达在这里停留了一会儿，考虑离开那熟悉的普通大道是不是还很安全，但想到现在正是酷热淫威最盛的时候，他决定还是走新的道路。他想这路应该只是根据地形的变化转一些弯，最终它还是要和普通大道会合的。

就这样平息他的忧虑之后，他又重新上路了，尽管他怀疑自己好像并没有向前行进。这种不安的心情促使他不放过任何一个新鲜事物，并且一有什么能让他感到安慰和愉悦的念头，就立刻照着这个念头去做。他倾听每一个回声，攀登每一座山丘来重新鸟瞰地形，他碰到每一个瀑布都会折过去看一眼，他发现一条潺潺流动的小河经过树林，灌溉大片的土地，并且有着无数的弯弯曲曲，他很高兴的沿着这条小河走。

欢乐的时光很快不知不觉地过去了，他这样七转八弯地走下来，弄得他自己也记不清走过的路了，他不知道下一步应该走向哪里。他沉思而困惑地站在那里，因为害怕走错路而不敢再向前走，但是他明白闲逛的时候已经过去了，现在该正正经经地赶路了。正当他犹豫不决，非常苦恼的时候，天空上开始布满了云朵，白天就要过去了，他不由得感到一阵气急攻心。

他面临的危险让他对他愚蠢的行为进行了一次快速而痛苦的检讨。他现在明白了为什么贪图安逸会导致幸福的丧失。他为自己的娇气和急躁感到悲痛，是它们促使他在那个树林中寻找庇佑，他也嘲笑自己为了小小的好奇心就在细枝末节上纠缠不清。当他在这样反省的时候，天色变得更暗了，一声响雷打断了他的沉思。

他现在决定去做一件他力所能及的事：按照原路返回，同时找找看有没有从树林通向平原的出口。他全身伏倒在地，把自己的生命托付给大自然的主宰。他爬起来的时候心中充满自信和平静。他把他的刀紧紧地握在手中，因为沙漠里的野兽的已经出动了，到处都是充满了愤怒和恐惧，蹂躏和死亡的含糊的吼叫。恐惧、黑暗和孤独包围着他；狂风在林间吼叫，洪流从山上滚滚而下。

就这样无助而沮丧，他在野树林中穿行，不知道自己在走向何方，也不知道随着时间的流逝，他是在走向安全之地，还是在走向毁灭。最终，不是恐惧，而是疲劳，使他承受不了了。他的呼吸开始变得短促，他的膝盖开始颤抖，就在他将要倒下，想要听天由命的时候，他看到，一点蜡烛的微光透过荆棘传过来。他向那点微光走去，发现那来自于一个隐士的小屋，他谦卑地叫门，得到了进屋的允许。那个老人在他面前放下储藏的食物，奥比达带着感激之情，狼吞虎咽地吃完了。

当那些食物都吃完了，隐士发话了：“告诉我，你是怎么来到这里的呢，我在这荒郊野林住了20年了，还从来没有见过有人经过。”奥比达详细叙述了他旅途中的遭遇，没有任何隐瞒和掩饰。

“孩子，”那个隐士说道，“让今天的错误和愚蠢、危险和侥幸，都深深地镌刻在你的心中。记住，我的孩子，人的一生就是一天的旅行。我们早上起来的时候精力旺盛，充满期望，就像是在我们年轻的时候；我们带着信念和希望出发，那时我们是欢乐而勤奋的，我们会在通向栖息之所的正统直道上走上一会儿。但是过了一段时间，我们就会不甘平淡，重拾热情，然后努力着想要减轻一点我们的职责，期望着能够更轻松到达我们的目的地。”

“然后我们变得松懈了，我们决心不再为远处的罪恶行径而恐惧，我们觉得自己能洁身自好，在世事茫茫中保持不变，所以我们就开始冒险靠近我们以前决心点滴不沾的东西。这样我们就走进了安逸的树阴里，开始在安全的阴凉处歇息。就是在这里我们的心被软化麻痹了，我们渐渐失去了警觉性，然后很自然地就会问：是不是非要继续前进，难道我们就不能稍稍把目光落在欢乐的乐园一会儿吗？我们小心翼翼的犹豫不决地接近那个乐园。我们走进去，但是依然感到胆怯和发抖，我们总是希望我们能在不偏离美德之路的前提下穿越这个乐园，我们时不时也会见到那条美德之路在我们面前出现，而且我们会对自己说：总有一天会回到那条路上去的。

“但是诱惑接踵而至，一次的屈服就为第二次打下了基础。时间一长，我们就会失去天真的快乐，只会用物质的享受平息我们的不安。逐渐地，我们忘了我们的天性，放弃了我们惟一可以理智的追求的目标。我们事务缠身，花天酒地，在反复无常的迷宫中徘徊，一直到年迈的黑暗开始侵蚀我们，疾病和忧虑让我们步履维艰。然后我们回首一生，感到惊恐，感到悲痛，感到悔恨。我们会希望，尽管通常是徒劳的希望，我们从来不曾放弃美德之路。

“真正幸福的人，我的孩子，是那些能吸取教训，却从不绝望的人；是那些尽管明白光阴已经虚度，青春已经挥霍，却依然坚持还有努力可以付诸实施的人；是那些相信悔过总是不至于绝望，真诚的努力总能得到帮助的人；是那些坚信浪子回头金不换的人。去吧，我的孩子，去休息吧，当早晨的铃声又响起的时候，你就可以开始你新的旅程和人生。”

（萨缪尔·约翰逊）

萨缪尔·约翰逊（1709～1784），出生于英国斯坦福德郡的里兹福德。他的父亲是一个书商和文具商。1728年他进入牛津的派姆布瑞克学院，但是贫穷迫使他念完第三年就退学了。1737年，即在他结婚后不久，他开设了一个私人学校，但是只收到了3个学生，其中的一个叫大卫·盖瑞克，后来他成了著名的演员。1737年，他搬到了伦敦，他的余生的大部分时间都在这里度过。在他无数的文学作品中最著名的是他的《字典》，那是第一部真正的用英语写的字典。诗歌《人类愿望的空虚》、《漫游者》、《英国诗人的生活》以及他编写的莎士比亚著作也是很有名的作品。1762年他被授予300英镑的年金。

A PICTURE OF HUMAN LIFE

In person, Johnson was heavy and awkward; in manner, boorish and overbearing; but his learning and his great powers caused his company to be sought by many eminent men.

Obidah, the son of Abnesina, left the caravansary early in the morning, and pursued his journey through the plains of Hindostan. He was fresh and vigorous with rest; he was animated with hope; he was incited by desire; he walked swiftly forward over the valleys, and saw the hills gradually rising before him.

As he passed along, his ears were delighted with the morning song of the bird of paradise; he was fanned by the last flutters of the sinking breeze, and sprinkled with dew by groves of spices; he sometimes contemplated towering height of the oak, monarch of the hills; and sometimes caught the gentle fragrance of the primrose, eldest daughter of the spring; all his senses were gratified, and all care was banished from his heart.

Thus he went on, till the sun approached his meridian, and the increasing heat preyed upon his strength; he then looked round about him for some more commodious path. He saw, on his right hand, a grove that seemed to wave its shades as a sign of invitation; he entered it, and found the coolness and verdure irresistibly pleasant. He did not, however, forget whither he was traveling, but found a narrow way, bordered with flowers, which appeared to have the same direction with the main road, and was pleased, that, by this happy experiment, he had found means to unite pleasure with business, and to gain the rewards of diligence without suffering its fatigues.

He, therefore, still continued to walk for a time, without the least remission of his ardor, except that he was sometimes tempted to stop by the music of the birds, which the heat had assembled in the shade, and sometimes amused himself with picking the flowers that covered the banks on each side, or the fruits that hung upon the branches. At last, the green path began to decline from its first tendency, and to wind among the hills and thickets, cooled with fountains, and murmuring with waterfalls.

Here Obidah paused for a time, and began to consider whether it was longer safe to forsake the known and common track; but, remembering that the heat was now in its greatest violence, and that the plain was dusty and uneven, he resolved to pursue the new path, which he supposed only to make a few meanders, in compliance with the garieties of the ground, and to end at last in the common road.

Having thus calmed his solicitude, he renewed his pace, though he suspected he was not gaining ground. This uneasiness of his mind inclined him to lay hold on every new object, and give way to every sensation that might soothe or divert him. He listened to every echo, he mounted every hill for a fresh prospect, he turned aside to every cascade, and pleased himself with tracing the course of a gentle river that rolled among the trees, and watered a large region, with innumerable circumvolutions.

In these amusements, the hours passed away uncounted; his deviations had perplexed his memory, and he knew not toward what point to travel. He stood pensive and confused, afraid to go forward lest he should go wrong, yet conscious that the time of loitering was now past. While he was thus tortured with uncertainty, the sky was overspread with clouds, the day vanished from before him, and a sudden tempest gathered round his head.

He was now roused by his danger to a quick and painful remembrance of his folly; he now saw how happiness is lost when ease is consulted; he lamented the unmanly impatience that prompted him to seek shelter in the grove, and despised the petty curiosity that led him on from trifle to trifle. While he was thus reflecting, the air grew blacker and a clap of thunder broke his meditation.

He now resolved to do what remained yet in his power; to tread back the ground which he had passed, and try to find some issue where the wood might open into the plain. He prostrated himself upon the ground, and commended his life to the Lord of nature. He rose with confidence and tranquillity, and pressed on with his saber in his hand; for the beasts of the desert were in motion, and on every hand were heard the mingled howls of rage, and fear, and ravage, and expiration; all the horrors of darkness and solitude surrounded him; the winds roared in the woods, and the torrents tumbled from the hills.

Thus, forlorn and distressed, he wandered through the wild without knowing whither he was going or whether he was every moment drawing nearer to safety or to destruction. At length, not fear but labor began to overcome him; his breath grew short, and his knees trembled, and he was on the point of lying down, in resignation to his fate, when he beheld, through the brambles, the glimmer of a taper. He advanced toward the light, and finding that it proceeded from the cottage of a hermit, he called humbly at the door, and obtained admission. The old man set before him such provisions as he had collected for himself, on which Obidah fed with eagerness and gratitude.

When the repast was over,“Tell me,”said the hermit,“by what chance thou hast been brought hither; I have been now twenty years an inhabitant of this wilderness, in which I never saw a man before.”Obidah then related the occurrences of his journey, without any concealment or palliation.

“Son,”said the hermit,“let the errors and follies, the dangers and escapes, of this day, sink deep into your heart. Remember, my son, that human life is the journey of a day. We rise in the morning of youth, full of vigor, and full of expectation; we set forward with spirit and hope, with gayety and with diligence, and travel on awhile in the straight road of piety toward the mansions of rest. In a short time we remit our fervor, and endeavor to find some mitigation of our duty, and some more easy means of obtaining the same end.

“We then relax our vigor, and resolve no longer to be terrified with crimes at a distance, but rely upon our own constancy, and venture to approach what we resolve never to touch. We thus enter the bowers of ease, and repose in the shades of security. Here the heart softens, and vigilance subsides; we are then willing to inquire whether another advance can not be made, and whether we may not at least turn our eyes upon the gardens of pleasure. We approach them with scruple and hesitation; we enter them, but enter timorous and trembling, and always hope to pass through them without losing the road of virtue, which we for a while keep in our sight, and to which we propose to return.

“But temptation succeeds temptation, and one compliance prepares us for another; we, in time, lose the happiness of innocence, and solace our disquiet with sensual gratifications. By degrees we let fall the remembrance of our original intention, and quit the only adequate object of rational desire. We entangle ourselves in business, immerge ourselves in luxury, and rove through the labyrinths of inconstancy till the darkness of old age begins to invade us, and disease and anxiety obstruct our way. We then look back upon our lives with horror, with sorrow, and with repentance; and wish, but too often vainly wish, that we had not forsaken the paths of virtue.

“Happy are they, my son, who shall learn, from thy example, not to despair, but shall remember that though the day is past, and their strength is wasted, there yet remains one effort to be made; that reformation is never hopeless, nor sincere endeavors ever unassisted; that the wanderer may at length return after all his errors; and that he who implores strength and courage from above, shall find danger and difficulty give way before him. Go now, my son, to thy repose: commit thyself to the care of Omnipotence; and when the morning calls again to toil, begin anew thy journey and thy life.”

（Samuel Johnson）

第9课　生活的计划

奥尔马，哈萨姆的儿子，到了75岁生日的时候，他的三个宠臣哈里发都带来金银财宝前来祝贺拜寿。人们也为他祝寿，他走到哪里，哪里就有人向他山呼“万岁，万岁，万万岁！”

天下没有不散的筵席，欢乐也终将为悲伤替代。灯火通明也终将把灯油烧干；香气四溢的花朵也不可能百日红艳——它们终有一天会枯萎凋谢。已经是老人的奥马尔现在是油枯灯干，精力也是当年不再了。他头顶上的皱纹渐渐取代了当初那满是生机的面容，年轻时英俊的面孔现在被风霜的印迹所替代，曾经强有力的手现在却变得几乎无缚鸡之力，而他那争霸四方的强有力的脚现在已经是步履蹒跚。他信任这些哈里发，把自己的钥匙交给了他们，把机密的大印交给了他们。权力与欲望对他来说已经没有什么吸引力了，他所希望得到的只是把聪明与才智转化为感激的仁慈与宽怀。

但奥马尔是一个重道的明君，他的才智没有因为他的年迈体弱而减弱。在他的议事厅里，坐满了贵宾，他们都希望老奥马尔能够面授机宜，传授给他们一些知识和经验。他们对奥马尔都充满了崇敬之情。加勒伯，埃及总督的儿子，每天都早早地来到议事厅，很晚才退下休息。他年轻、英俊、善于雄辩。奥马尔欣赏他的才智，喜欢他的温顺与机敏。

“请您告诉我，”加勒伯说，“许多国家都能够听到您的声音，您的智慧为亚洲最远的国家所知。请您告诉我，我如何才能够像奥马尔您那样充满智慧，那样稳健、博学，而且为人世所敬仰呢？告诉我您获得并保持权力的艺术，现在您已经把权力都交给了哈里发们，也许这些东西对您来说已经不再有什么用的了，把您的这些秘密告诉我，并教给我如何才能像您那样拥有一切，把您所知道的一切都教给我，把您的计划都告诉我，好吗？”

“年轻人，”奥马尔说，“制定计划是没有用处的。当我20岁第一次环顾世界时，我对人类的各种不同条件进行了观察。当我独自一人的时候，我站在一棵枝叶盖在我头顶上的雪松下边，对自己说：‘一个人有70岁的光景，我现在需要安排我50年的生活时间。

“我将分配出10年的时间来获得知识，丰富自己的头脑，另外再分配出10年的时间到国外去旅游。我将是一个博学的人，因此我应当受到尊敬和爱戴。每个城市都将因为我的到达而欢呼，而且每个学生将寻求我的友谊。在这20年里，我将要这样度过，我将会变得很忙碌；我将收集、积累无穷无尽的知识财富，我将找到生活中的每一种乐趣，我也将永远都不会苦恼，永远都不会疲倦。

“当然，我将不会偏离生活的足迹与轨道，但是我将尽自己最大的努力寻找世界上最美丽、漂亮的姑娘。我要寻找一位美丽如仙、聪明如山鲁佐德山鲁佐德，巴格达一位美丽、聪明、充满智慧的姑娘，她擅长讲故事。据称，她讲故事的方式非常巧妙，最终把一个爱情上受到伤害的哈里发从杀害每一个与他过夜的姑娘变成一个温顺善良的哈里发。那样的姑娘，并与她结婚。她将陪伴我在巴格达巴格达，位于西亚底格里斯河上的一座城市。公元9世纪时，巴格达是穆斯林国家最大的学术中心。的郊区度过我快乐的20年，采购我想采购的东西，享受我所能享受的一切，享受一切创造的美感和快乐。

“然后，在最后的10年里，我将隐居在乡村地区，过着我的隐居生活，思考人生，静静地躺在我的安乐床上。我的一生都将这样度过：我将永远都不会依赖于王子的微笑而生存，我也不会暴露在虚假的空中宫廷里，我不去渴望公众对我的尊崇，或者拿国家的事情来搅乱我安静的生活。这就是我的生活目标与规划，我非常真实地把它保存在我的记忆里。

“我确定我生活的第一个10年目标是用来掌握知识，我也不知道我是如何设计的。我既没有可以看得见的障碍，或者可以守护的热情来实现我的这一目标。我把寻求知识看作是最为崇高的事业，也是最为有趣的事情。然而，时间一天接一天地偷偷溜走了，一月接一月地过去了。终于有一天，前10年的第7个年头，我发现了这一点，回过头来一看，我什么也没有留下，留下的只是遗憾。

“现在，我推迟了我旅游的行程安排，因为有如此多的东西需要学习，我为什么要到国外去呢？我把自己禁闭了4年，学习了帝国的法律。然而我的名声传到了法官那里，他们发现我能够解决许多疑难问题，我被视为哈里发的栋梁之柱。人们开始倾听我的话语，关注我的行踪。人们信任地向我咨询，到处赞扬我、歌颂我，我成了人们关注的焦点和学习的典范。

“到这个时候，我仍然希望远游他国。我多次听到旅游学家们关于其他国家的风土人情、山川异景，内心实在向往，我也曾经多次请求解除我的职务，这样我就可以满足我心仪已久的愿望，到他国去旅游，欣赏其异乡情调。但是我的存在总是不能缺少的，而所有的一切繁忙之事总是源源不断地向我涌来，我无法离开。有时，我害怕被人指责，怕别人说我忘恩负义，不知道感恩戴德。但我还是希望能够旅游，因此，我不把自己局限在婚姻的束缚里。

“等到我50岁的时候，我开始怀疑我旅游的时间已经过去；并且想到我最好幸福地生活在甜蜜的家庭生活里，并放纵自己享受美满的家庭生活。但到了50岁的人是很难再找到一个美丽如天仙、聪明如山鲁佐德那样的姑娘的。我询问、拒绝、咨询、考虑，直到62岁的时候，我为自己这么大一把年纪还想结婚而感到羞愧。到这个时候，我什么也没有留下，什么也没有，只有隐居下来。然而，我从来没能找到一个合适的时间去隐居，直到后来，疾病把我从为公众服务的位置上赶了下来。

“这就是我的计划，这也是我生活计划的结果。为了满足自己对知识的渴求，我浪费了提高、完善自己的时间；为了满足自己无穷尽的欲望，希望看到许多国家，到他国去旅游，我却一辈子居住在同一个城市里；为了达到一种最神圣而崇高的爱情生活，我却孑然一身，独自一个人生活了一辈子；为了能够隐居生活，思考人生的真谛，我却将伴随着巴格达的高墙到终老。”

（塞缪尔·约翰逊）

SCHEMES OF LIFE OFTEN ILLUSORY

Omar, the son of Hassan, had passed seventy five years in honor and prosperity. The favor of three successive caliphs had filled his house with gold and silver; and whenever he appeared, the benedictions of the people proclaimed his passage.

Terrestrial happiness is of short continuance, The brightness of the flame is wasting its fuel; the fragrant flower is passing away in its own odors. The vigor of Omar began to fail; the curls of beauty fell from his head; strength departed from his hands, and agility from his feet. He gave back to the caliph the keys of trust, and the seals of secrecy; and sought no other pleasure for the remainder of life than the converse of the wise and the gratitude of the good.

The powers of his mind were yet unimpaired. His chamber was filled by visitants, eager to catch the dictates of experience, and officious to pay the tribute of admiration. Caleb, the son of the viceroy of Egypt, entered every day early, and retired late. He was beautiful and eloquent; Omar admired his wit, and loved his docility.

“Tell me,“ said Caleb, ”thou to whose voice nations have listened, and whose wisdom is known to the extremities of Asia, tell me, how I may resemble Omar the prudent? The arts by which thou hast gained power and preserved it, are to thee no longer necessary or useful; impart to me the secret of thy conduct, and teach me the plan upon which thy wisdom has built thy fortune.”

“Young man,“ said Omar, ”it is of little use to form plans of life. When I took my first survey of the world, in my twentieth year, having considered the various conditions of mankind, in the hour of solitude I said thus to myself, leaning against a cedar which spread its branches over my head: ‘Seventy years are allowed to man; I have yet fifty remaining.

“ ‘Ten years I will allot to the attainment of knowledge, and ten I will pass in foreign countries; I shall be learned, and therefore I shall be honored; every city will shout at my arrival, and every student will solicit my friendship. Twenty years thus passed will store my mind with images which I shall be busy through the rest of my life in combining and comparing. I shall revel in inexhaustible accumulations of intellectual riches; I shall find new pleasures for every moment, and shall never more be weary of myself.

“ ‘I will not, however, deviate too far from the beaten track of life; but will try what can be found in female delicacy. I will marry a wife as beautiful as the houries, and wise as Zobeide; and with her I will live twenty years within the suburbs of Bagdad, in every pleasure that wealth can purchase, and fancy can invent.

“ ‘I will then retire to a rural dwelling, pass my days in obscurity and contemplation; and lie silently down on the bed of death. Through my life it shall be my settled resolution, that I will never depend on the smile of princes; that I will never stand exposed to the artifices of courts; I will never pant for public honors, nor disturb my quiet with the affairs of state.’ Such was my scheme of life, which I impressed indelibly upon my memory.

“The first part of my ensuing time was to be spent in search of knowledge, and I know not how I was diverted from my design. I had no visible impediments without, nor any ungovernable passion within. I regarded knowledge as the highest honor, and the most engaging pleasure; yet day stole upon day, and month glided after month, till I found that seven years of the first ten had vanished, and left nothing behind them.

“I now postponed my purpose of traveling; for why should I go abroad, while so much remained to be learned at home? I immured myself for four years, and studied the laws of the empire. The fame of my skill reached the judges: I was found able to speak upon doubtful questions, and I was commanded to stand at the footstool of the caliph. I was heard with attention; I was consulted with confidence, and the love of praise fastened on my heart.

“I still wished to see distant countries; listened with rapture to the relations of travelers, and resolved some time to ask my dismission, that I might feast my soul with novelty; but my presence was always necessary, and the stream of business hurried me along. Sometimes, I was afraid lest I should be charged with ingratitude; but I still proposed to travel, and therefore would not confine myself by marriage.

“In my fiftieth year, I began to suspect that the time of my traveling was past; and thought it best to lay hold on the felicity yet in my power, and indulge myself in domestic pleasures. But, at fifty, no man easily finds a woman beautiful as the houries, and wise as Zobeide. I inquired and rejected, consulted and deliberated, till the sixty second year made me ashamed of wishing to marry. I had now nothing left but retirement; and for retirement I never found a time, till disease forced me from public employment.

“Such was my scheme, and such has been its consequence. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, I trifled away the years of improvement; with a restless desire of seeing different countries, I have always resided in the same city; with the highest expectation of connubial felicity, I have lived unmarried; and with an unalterable resolution of contemplative retirement, I am going to die within the walls of Bagdad.”

（Samuel Johnson）

第10课　哲学家

距小谷仓的那座屋子不远处，生长着一片茂密的树林。在这片树林中间，一座低矮的建筑依稀可见，那是一座由木材盖成的小楼房。楼房的形状像是一个立方体，房顶从各个侧面向中间的顶点聚拢。房顶上安装了一个风向标，其形状好像一条鱼，又好像一只鸟。这座小楼房其实是位于乡间的一座供奉卡德摩斯的神殿。神殿的一切事务归一个名叫查布的牧师负责。他是一位面色红润身体健康的胖老头儿，个子很矮，脸上的血管儿就像是溪流那样曲曲折折，鼓了起来。一双蓝眼睛向外鼓起，一头毛茸茸的头发就像西班牙猎狗的皮毛一样。他可以说是一个在各方面都非常快乐的人。他非常向往优裕的生活，但有时候穿衣服却非常懒散，因为人们看见他的衣服上面经常是星星点点的，就像星空一样。除此之外，他脖子上还扎着一个大得出奇的领结。他的脖子有点儿过短，因此领结扎在脖子上的时候，就好像是他把自己的下巴放到碗里似的。他的胡子呈灰白色。如果天气好的话，他每周刮两次胡子。

查布先生是继苏格拉底之后的又一位哲学家。他是从绿宝石岛（即爱尔兰岛）迁到美国的移民，因为不堪忍受自己国家的社会动荡——人们有时候这么含蓄地指代爱尔兰长期遭受的苦难——他才移民到美国的。但是，虽然历经沧桑，这位老人还是丝毫也没有丢掉他乐善好施的本性。他前半生的日子过得非常宽裕。直到1798年，爱尔兰人的起义激起了他强烈的爱国主义热情，驱使这位精力充沛的英雄投入到斗争的洪流中。尽管他热爱和平，但是他仍然操起长矛，为捍卫自己的原则而战。不幸的是，斗争失败了，他的房子被烧毁，马匹和猎犬（据大家所说，他绝对可以称得上是一位艾克塔昂）被“充为国有”。他不得不四处逃亡，最后来到美国，决没有丝毫向英王室屈服的意思。

到了美国以后，他经历了极其坎坷的命运，经常四处漂泊，直到有一天，他来到了小谷仓，并把这里作为自己舒适的港湾。

查布先生是一非常出色的学者，专门致力于对古代作品的研究。他构想的共和主义与古希腊的共和主义有些类似。他从未读过康士坦丁大帝以后历代作家的政治性作品，甚至连报纸也从未读过。因此，与其说他与卡索里勋爵生活在同一个时代，倒不如说他是艾斯克耐兹同一时代的人。他一直这样做学问，直到有一天发生了他一生中划时代的事件，他才终于从时代错误的梦中清醒了过来。然而，这个重大事件只是让他隐隐约约地意识到了当代社会的情况。很快，他又回复到对修昔底德和李维的研究中去了。美国革命在他的大脑中只留下了非常模糊的印象，就像是大多数读者对布鲁图的英勇行为了解甚少一样。

这位老人非常喜欢阅读对开本的学术性著作。很长时间以来，他就强烈要求玛丽维泽尔再增加一些文学作品，并为图书馆详细论述古代作家作品对于修身养性的重要意义。弗兰克最后在辩论中表示退让，部分原因在于满足这位牧师的要求，部分原因是由于牧师的提议本身激起了他丰富的联想。因此，这件事情应该全部归功于查布牧师。这件事情一经确定下来，他马上就乘船到北方进行探索。我相信，那次航行，他最远的地方曾经到过波士顿。他当然是抱着非常好奇的心理去完成他的伟大使命。通过努力，他最后竟然搜集到了一些非常有名的由埃尔泽维尔斯印刷的书籍，以及只有查布先生才可能愿意阅读的许多其他古代作品。

那年冬末，这批书籍终于运到了小谷仓。那批书籍是牧师远途跋涉归来之后才运抵小谷仓的。在书籍运抵之前，这位身材矮小的牧师校长经常忐忑不安地扭着身子走来走去，几乎不能安然入睡。据说，看见了自己长期梦寐以求的宝贵书籍，他彻底陶醉了。远在这些书籍到达之前，查布先生就已经做好了储放它们的充分准备。书籍到达以后，他花费了整整一周时间，把它们分门别类地放置到了各自合适的位置上。有材料证实说，在那段时期，他足足把它们的摆放位置调换了至少7次。大家都在纳闷，这位老人在这段时间究竟忙些什么。但是，他们后来发现，这位老人正在设法按照人类科学对这些书进行精确的分类，并把它们分发给人们去阅读。但不幸的是，由于他分出的几个门类中连一本书也没有，所以他的这种努力最后彻底失败了。

这件事情过去以后，他每天晚上都很有规律地去图书馆读书。弗兰克·玛丽维泽尔在这方面的想象力不亚于这位牧师。曾经有一小段时期，他也花费时间去阅读一些深奥的书籍。因此，每天晚饭后，他们俩喝过茶以后就离开了家，到图书馆去读书。如果不是一次意外的发现，他们说不定会在整个冬天都一直那样持续下去。

纳德很少与这两位信仰科学的人一道探讨哲学问题。人们茶余饭后都在小声议论，说那位牧师正在非常郑重地给弗兰克讲授古代哲学课程。因为那一段时期，人们发觉玛丽维泽尔在大谈旧学园和新学园的问题。但是，在一个非常沉闷的暴风雪之夜，风雪吹打着屋子的百叶窗和门，持续发出巨大的声响。纳德在客厅里等候这两位哲学家直到午夜，最后实在忍耐不住，就开始往他们读书的房间走去。他怀疑他们两个人正在埋头学习。但是，当他走进图书馆时，他发现他们照明用的两支蜡烛仍在烛台上燃烧，蜡烛芯很长，未经修剪。火苗已经非常微弱，几乎只剩下最后的余烬。只见那位牧师坐在扶手椅子上，趴在桌子上睡得正酣。他的双手下面放着杰里米·泰勒所写的《道德准则》一书。在他对面的另一只椅子上，弗兰克正趴在蒙田的对开本作品上睡得正酣。桌子上放着一个石制的大水罐，里面盛着残剩的威士忌酒，现在已经变得冰凉了。听到纳德走到自己身边的脚步声，弗兰克猛然站了起来。从那个时候起，他几乎彻底与图书馆断绝了关系。然而，查布先生并没有轻而易举地放弃他幽默的生活方式，仍然渴望与他穿皮衣的朋友们交往。

（约翰·P·肯尼迪）

约翰·P·肯尼迪（1795～1870年），生于巴尔的摩，毕业于巴尔的摩学院，卒于巴尔的摩。美国杰出政治家和文学家。他曾在自己出生地马里兰州的立法机构工作过几年时间，并担任过三届众议院议员职务。在菲尔莫尔担任美国总统期间，肯尼迪曾担任海军部长之职。他曾经积极派遣著名的日本远征部队，并派遣凯恩博士率领探险队，寻找失踪的约翰·弗兰克林爵士。肯尼迪先生著有几部小说，并写有大量的政治体裁或其他体裁的随笔。他的作品通俗易懂，格调清新。以下内容节选自他所著的《小谷仓》一书。《小谷仓》简单记述了早期生活在弗吉尼亚州的人们的生活。

THE PHILOSOPHER

From the house at Swallow Barn there is to be seen, at no great distance, a clump of trees, and in the midst of these a humble building is discernible, that seems to court the shade in which it is modestly embowered. It is an old structure built of logs. Its figure is a cube, with a roof rising from all sides to a point, and surmounted by a wooden weathercock, which somewhat resembles a fish and somewhat a fowl.

This little edifice is a rustic shrine devoted to Cadmus, and is under the dominion of parson Chub. He is a plump, rosy old gentleman, rather short and thickset, with the blood vessels meandering over his face like rivulets, —a pair of prominent blue eyes, and a head of silky hair not unlike the covering of a white spaniel. He may be said to be a man of jolly dimensions, with an evident taste for good living, sometimes sloven in his attire, for his coat—which is not of the newest—is decorated with sundry spots that are scattered over it in constellations. Besides this, he wears an immense cravat, which, as it is wreathed around his short neck, forms a bowl beneath his chin, and—as Ned says—gives the parson's head the appearance of that of John the Baptist upon a charger, as it is sometimes represented in the children's picture books. His beard is grizzled with silver stubble, which the parson reaps about twice a week—if the weather be fair.

Mr. Chub is a philosopher after the order of Socrates. He was an emigrant from the Emerald Isle, where he suffered much tribulation in the disturbances, as they are mildly called, of his much enduring country. But the old gentleman has weathered the storm without losing a jot of that broad, healthy benevolence with which Nature has enveloped his heart, and whose ensign she has hoisted in his face. The early part of his life had been easy and prosperous, until the rebellion of 1798 stimulated his republicanism into a fever, and drove the full blooded hero headlong into a quarrel, and put him, in spite of his peaceful profession, to standing by his pike in behalf of his principles. By this unhappy boiling over of the caldron of his valor, he fell under the ban of the ministers, and tested his share of government mercy. His house was burnt over his head, his horses and hounds（for, by all accounts, he was a perfect Actaeon）were“confiscate to the state,”and he was forced to fly. This brought him to America in no very compromising mood with royalty.

Here his fortunes appear to have been various, and he was tossed to and fro by the battledoor of fate, until he found a snug harbor at Swallow Barn; where, some years ago, he sat down in that quiet repose which a worried and badgered patriot is best fitted to enjoy.

He is a good scholar, and, having confined his readings entirely to the learning of the ancients, his republicanism is somewhat after the Grecian mold. He has never read any politics of later date than the time of the Emperor Constantine, not even a newspaper,—so that he may be said to have been contemporary with AEschines rather than Lord Castlereagh—until that eventful epoch of his life when his blazing rooftree awakened him from his anachronistical dream. This notable interruption, however, gave him but a feeble insight into the moderns, and he soon relapsed to Thucydides and Livy, with some such glimmerings of the American Revolution upon his remembrance as most readers have of the exploits of the first Brutus.

The old gentleman had a learned passion for folios. He had been a long time urging Meriwether to make some additions to his collections of literature, and descanted upon the value of some of the ancient authors as foundations, both moral and physical, to the library. Frank gave way to the argument, partly to gratify the parson, and partly from the proposition itself having a smack that touched his fancy. The matter was therefore committed entirely to Mr. Chub, who forthwith set out on a voyage of exploration to the north. I believe he got as far as Boston. He certainly contrived to execute his commission with a curious felicity. Some famous Elzevirs were picked up, and many other antiques that nobody but Mr. Chub would ever think of opening.

The cargo arrived at Swallow Burn in the dead of winter. During the interval between the parson's return from his expedition and the coming of the books, the reverend little schoolmaster was in a remarkably unquiet state of body, which almost prevented him from sleeping: and it is said that the sight of the long expected treasures had the happiest effect upon him. There was ample accommodation for this new acquisition of ancient wisdom provided before its arrival, and Mr. Chub now spent a whole week in arranging the volumes on their proper shelves, having, as report affirms, altered the arrangement at least seven times during that period. Everybody wondered what the old gentleman was at, all this time; but it was discovered afterwards, that he was endeavoring to effect a distribution of the works according to a minute division of human science, which entirely failed, owing to the unlucky accident of several of his departments being without any volumes.

After this matter was settled, he regularly spent his evenings in the library. Frank Meriwether was hardly behind the parson in this fancy, and took, for a short time, to abstruse reading. They both consequently deserted the little family circle every evening after tea, and might have continued to do so all the winter but for a discovery made by Hazard.

Ned had seldom joined the two votaries of science in their philosophical retirement, and it was whispered in the family that the parson was giving Frank a quiet course of lectures in the ancient philosophy, for Meriwether was known to talk a great deal, about that time, of the old and new Academicians. But it happened upon one dreary winter night, during a tremendous snowstorm, which was banging the shutters and doors of the house so as to keep up a continual uproar, that Ned, having waited in the parlor for the philosophers until midnight, set out to invade their retreat—not doubting that he should find them deep in study. When he entered the library, both candles were burning in their sockets, with long, untrimmed wicks; the fire was reduced to its last embers, and, in an armchair on one side of the table, the parson was discovered in a sound sleep over Jeremy Taylor's“Ductor Dubitantium,”whilst Frank, in another chair on the opposite side, was snoring over a folio edition of Montaigne. And upon the table stood a small stone pitcher, containing a residuum of whisky punch, now grown cold. Frank started up in great consternation upon hearing Ned's footstep beside him, and, from that time, almost entirely deserted the library. Mr. Chub, however, was not so easily drawn away from the career of his humor, and still shows his hankering after his leather coated friends.

（John P. Kennedy）

第11课　保持心情愉快

每个时代的作家都曾试图表明快乐在于我们本身，而不在于为我们提供娱乐的物体。如果让一个人的心灵感到愉悦，那么每种东西都将能够让他娱乐。这样一来，人们将几乎没有痛苦可言了。假设每一个事件都要接受我们的检阅，就像是人们列队行进接受检阅一样。有的人可能感到很尴尬，有的人可能衣着不得体，但是在这种情况下，除了傻子之外没有人会冲着主持仪式的人勃然大怒。

我记得自己曾经在弗兰德斯欧洲西北部一块历史上有名的地区，曾经是荷兰领土。包括现在法国北部的部分地区、比利时西部地区和北海沿岸荷兰西南部的部分地带。几个世纪以来，作为一个服装业中心，它一直享有实际的独立权，并且十分繁荣。低地国家的哈布斯堡战争导致了这一地区的最终分裂，并在两次世界大战中都遭受严重损失。的一个要塞见到过一个奴隶。他看起来对自己所处的环境丝毫不感到痛苦。他身体残废了，并且身上还拴着一条铁锁链，被迫从天亮干活一直干到天黑。他被法庭判处终生这样生活下去。然而，尽管他的处境看起来这么悲惨，他还能有心情唱歌。如果不是他残缺一条腿的话，他甚至还要跳舞。看上去，他简直就是那个要塞最愉快和最幸福的人了。这里竟然生活着这么一位实际的哲学家！一种令人愉快的制度教会了人们一种哲学。尽管表面上看他缺乏智慧，然而他却是真正智慧的人。没有哪本书或哪种教育帮助他清醒地意识到自己所处的乐园，但是每一种东西却都给他提供了欢乐的机会。尽管有些人凭他没有知觉而认为他是一个傻子，但是他这种痴人其实是值得哲学家学习。

如果有些人能够像这个奴隶一样，把自己置身于一个所有事物都让自己感到愉快的环境中，那么他们将发现，自己对身边所发生的每一件事都会怀有好心情。最为不幸的事件，无论是对自己来说还是对别人来说，都不能再给他们带来新的苦恼。世界对于他们来说，将是一个大剧场。不过，这个剧场里上演的都是喜剧。剧中人物所表现的英雄主义或渴望实现的远大抱负看上去只会使剧情更加荒谬，从而使剧本的幽默感更加强烈。总而言之，他们对自己的痛苦和别人对自己的抱怨将漠然视之。犹如承办丧礼的人虽然穿着一身黑衣，但是在葬礼上却丝毫不感到痛苦。这两者是同样的道理。

在我知道的所有人当中，有一位非常有名的红衣主教，名叫德·里兹红衣主教德·里兹：让·弗兰克斯·保罗·德·冈德（1614～1679）领导了反对朱尔斯·马萨林的宗教运动。朱尔斯·马萨林（1602～1661）是一名意大利裔法国红衣主教，作为国王路易十四未成年时期的教师和重要神职人员，具有强大的政治影响。德·里兹反对他的运动在法国引发了一场长达四至五年的战争。战争平息以后，路易十四登上了法国王位的宝座，马萨林重新获得了权力，并把红衣主教德·里兹关进了监狱。他就是一个虽然身处困境却仍能感到非常幸福的人。当他时运最不济的时候，他落入了他的死敌——红衣主教马萨林——之手，并被关押在法国北部城市瓦朗谢纳的一座监狱里。他从来没有试图利用智慧和哲学思想来加剧自己的痛苦，因为他对所谓的智慧和哲学思想从来都是嗤之以鼻。相反，他仅仅是对自己和迫害他的那些人加以嘲笑，好像是对自己所处的新环境非常知足。在那座痛苦的牢房里，尽管他无法娱乐，甚至生活不便，并且几乎断绝了与所有朋友的来往，但是他仍然保持着非常愉快的心情。他对敌人视而不见，肆意嘲笑敌人，并且与狱卒打诨逗趣，甚至在狱中记录下了狱卒们的生活。

大凡妄自尊大者，他们所谓的智慧只会教他在遭遇厄运之时变得顽固或者闷闷不乐。而这个红衣主教的做法却告诉我们，在最感痛苦的时候，我们要学会保持愉快的心情。至于我们愉快的心情是否会被别人理解为感情麻木或白痴，这并不重要——这是我们自己的幸福。只有傻子才会根据世人如何看待自己来判断自己对生活的满意程度。

在我所遇到的人中，生活得最为幸福的是那些性情温和而令人愉快的人。这些人宁肯伤害自己也不愿意伤害他人。无论这样的一个人在什么时候陷入痛苦之中，他都会称之为“看到了生活的真实面目”。如果他的头部被别人打破了，或者他被别人骗取了钱财，他会通过模仿某一个爱尔兰人的方言或模仿其他更为时髦的黑话来安慰自己。无论发生了多么不顺心的事情，他都不可能感到痛苦。他从不把金钱放在眼里，他的父亲不得不亲自理财，以至于朋友们后来向他告贷都是毫无结果。这位老人临终之前，全家人（狄克也在这些人中间）都守候在这位老财迷的病床前。

“我把所有的房产都留给我的二儿子安德鲁，并期望他能做到勤俭朴素。”这位奄奄一息的老人说。

安德鲁极其悲伤地（在这种情况下，他说话一向都是这样）向上天祈祷父亲能够健康长寿，生活幸福。

“我建议我的三儿子西蒙在我死后归他二哥照看。为此，我将再留给他4000英镑。”

“啊，父亲！”西蒙（极其痛苦，这是肯定的）高声说，“愿上天保佑你健康长寿，生活幸福！”

最后，老人转向可怜的狄克说：“至于你，你一向是一个行为放荡之人；你永远不会有所作为；你永远不会发财，我只留给你一个先令，你去买一条缰绳吧！”

“啊，父亲！”狄克平静地说，“愿上天保佑你健康长寿，生活幸福！”

（奥利弗·戈德史密斯）

奥利弗·戈德史密斯（1728～1774年），英国天才作家，行为古怪，祖籍爱尔兰，其父亲是一位非常贫穷的副牧师。戈德史密斯曾先后在爱尔兰的都柏林和爱丁堡以及荷兰莱顿等3座城市的几所私立预科学校学习。作为一名学生，他非常懒惰，不热爱学习，而且不遵守学校纪律，经常惹老师生气。但是，他为人非常慷慨，做事不顾后果并且热爱体育运动，这一切都使得他非常讨同学们的喜欢。他曾经有一段时期在欧洲大陆漫游，常常身无分文，生活在贫困之中。1756年，他返回英国，很快就搬进了他在伦敦的寓所。在那里，他结识了几名非常杰出的人并与他们建立了友谊。在这些人当中，有约翰逊、乔舒亚·雷诺爵士等。他在1764年出版了自己的诗作——《旅行者》。紧接着，他又在1766年出版了小说——《威克菲尔德的牧师》。他的作品几乎涵盖了所有文学体裁，并且文笔优美，语言朴实流畅。《旅行者》和《荒村》等诗作确立了戈德史密斯在英国诗坛上的地位。作为一名剧作家，他的代表作是悲剧《委曲求全》；作为讽刺作家，他的代表作是《世界公民》；作为小说家，他的代表作品是《威克菲尔德的牧师》。在其晚年时代，戈德史密斯的作品为他带来了不少经济收入。但是，由于他晚年参与赌博活动，为人慷慨无度而且生活铺张浪费等等，这一切都使他经常处于经济拮据状态。他死的时候，还负债累累，被葬在威斯敏斯特教堂。

ON HAPPINESS OF TEMPER

Writers of every age have endeavored to show that pleasure is in us, and not in the objects offered for our amusement. If the soul be happily disposed, everything becomes capable of affording entertainment, and distress will almost want a name. Every occurrence passes in review, like the figures of a procession; some may be awkward, others ill dressed, but none but a fool is on that account enraged with the master of ceremonies.

I remember to have once seen a slave, in a fortification in Flanders, who appeared no way touched with his situation. He was maimed, deformed, and chained; obliged to toil from the appearance of day till nightfall, and condemned to this for life; yet, with all these circumstances of apparent wretchedness, he sang, would have danced, but that he wanted a leg, and appeared the merriest, happiest man of all the garrison. What a practical philosopher was here! A happy constitution supplied philosophy, and though seemingly destitute of wisdom he was really wise. No reading or study had contributed to disenchant the fairyland around him. Everything furnished him with an opportunity of mirth; and though some thought him, from his insensibility, a fool, he was such an idiot as philosophers should wish to imitate.

They who, like that slave, can place themselves all that side of the world in which everything appears in a pleasant light, will find something in every occurrence to excite their good humor. The most calamitous events, either to themselves or others, can bring no new affliction; the world is to them a theater, in which only comedies are acted. All the bustle of heroism, or the aspirations of ambition, seem only to heighten the absurdity of the scene, and make the humor more poignant. They feel, in short, as little anguish at their own distress, or the complaints of others, as the undertaker, though dressed in black, feels sorrow at a funeral.

Of all the men I ever read of, the famous Cardinal de Retz possessed this happiness in the highest degree. When fortune wore her angriest look, and he fell into the power of Cardinal Mazarin, his most deadly enemy,（being confined a close prisoner in the castle of Valenciennes,）he never attempted to support his distress by wisdom or philosophy, for he pretended to neither. He only laughed at himself’ and his persecutor, and seemed infinitely pleased at his new situation. In this mansion of distress, though denied all amusements, and even the conveniences of life, and entirely cut off from all intercourse with his friends, he still retained his good humor, laughed at the little spite of his enemies, and carried the jest so far as to write the life of his jailer.

All that the wisdom of the proud can teach, is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes. The Cardinal's example will teach us to be good humored in circumstances of the highest affliction. It matters not whether our good humor be construed by others into insensibility or idiotism,—it is happiness to ourselves; and none but a fool could measure his satisfaction by what the world thinks of it.

The happiest fellow I ever knew, was of the number of those good natured creatures that are said to do no harm to anybody but themselves. Whenever he fell into any misery, he called it“seeing life,”If his head was broken by a chairman, or his pocket picked by a sharper, he comforted himself by imitating the Hibernian dialect of the one, or the more fashionable cant of the other. Nothing came amiss to him. His inattention to money matters had concerned his father to such a degree that all intercession of friends was fruitless. The old gentleman was on his deathbed. The whole family（and Dick among the number）gathered around him.

“I leave my second son, Andrew,”said the expiring miser,“my whole estate, and desire him to be frugal.”Andrew, in a sorrowful tone（as is usual on such occasions）, prayed heaven to prolong his life and health to enjoy it himself.“I recommend Simon, my third son, to the care of his elder brother, and leave him, besides, four thousand pounds.”“Ah, father!”cried Simon（in great affliction, to be sure）,“may heaven give you life and health to enjoy it yourself!”At last, turning to poor Dick:“As for you, you have always been a sad dog; you'll never come to good; you'll never be rich; I leave you a shilling to buy a halter.”“Ah, father!”cries Dick, without any emotion,“may heaven give you life and health to enjoy it yourself!”

（Oliver Goldsmith）

第12课　新年

新年的第一天早晨，天气很好，爱德华迅速穿好衣服，起了床，洗了脸。他想第一个去给人们拜年。他先是跑到各个房间，对家人说了“新年好”，然后又跑到街上对每一个他见到的人道“新年好”。

回家后，他父亲给了他2美元的新币。

爱德华高兴极了。他在书店曾看到过一些非常精美的书，他早就想买了。于是，他便兴高采烈地离开了家去买书。

来到街上，他碰到一家德国人——父亲，母亲，还有三个冻得发抖的孩子。

“新年快乐！”爱德华喜气洋洋地说。那人却对他摇了摇头。

“你不是这里的人吗？”爱德华问。那人又摇了摇头，很显然他是听不懂爱德华的话。

接着，这个人拍了拍他的嘴，又指了指他的孩子，好像在说，这几个孩子已经有好几天没有吃东西了。爱德华很快就明白了是怎么回事。他毫不犹豫地取出了手中的钱，一枚给了那个男人，另一枚给了他的妻子。

他们感动得热泪盈眶,用自己的语言说着什么。毫无疑问他们是在说：“我们太感激你了，我们会永远记得你是我们的恩人。”

爱德华回到家。父亲问他买了什么书，爱德华不好意思地低下了头，说：“我没有买书。”接着解释说：“我把钱给了几个穷人。他们又饥又饿，太可怜了。”

“我可以等到下一年再买书。对了，你知道他们接到钱时有多高兴吗？”

“孩子，”父亲说，“这里有许多书，我把它们送给你，作为对你做好事的奖励。”

“我看到你把钱给了那个可怜的德国人了，一个小男孩能这样给予别人，真的是很可贵的。”

“如果你能时刻准备帮助那些穷人以及那些无助的人们，你以后每年都会很幸福的。”

THE NEW YEAR

One pleasant New year morning, Edward rose, and washed and dressed himself in haste. He wanted to be first to wish a happy New Year.

He looked in every room, and shouted the words of welcome. He ran into the street, to repeat them to those he might meet.

When he came back, his father gave him two bright, new silver dollars.

His face lighted up as he took them. He had wished for a long time to buy some pretty books that he had seen at the bookstore.

He left the house with a light heart, intending to buy the books.

As he ran down the street, he saw a poor German family, the father, mother, and three children shivering with cold.

“I wish you a happy New Year,”said Edward, as he was gayly passing on. The man shook his head.

“You do not belong to this country,”said Edward. The man again shook his head, for he could not understand or speak our language.

But he pointed to his mouth, and to the children, as if to say,“These little ones have had nothing to eat for a long time.”

Edward quickly understood that these poor people were in distress. He took out his dollars, and gave one to the man, and the other to his wife.

How their eyes sparkled with gratitude! They said something in their language, which doubtless meant,“We thank you a thousand times, and will remember you in our prayers.”

When Edward came home, his father asked what books he had bought. He hung his head a moment, but quickly looked up.

“I have bought no books,”said he,“I gave my money to some poor people, who seemed to be very hungry and wretched. ”

“I think I can wait for my books till next New Year. Oh, if you had seen how glad they were to receive the money!”

“My dear boy;”said his father,“here is a whole bundle of books. I give them to you, more as a reward for your goodness of heart than as a New year gift.”

“I saw you give the money to the poor German family. It was no small sum for a little boy to give cheerfully. ”

“Be thus ever ready to help the poor, and wretched, and distressed; and every year of your life will be to you a happy New Year.”

是谁造的星星

“妈妈，蓝蓝的天上那美丽的星星是谁造的呀？又是谁造的月亮，让它在高高的天上发光的呢？”

“上帝，孩子，是最神圣的上帝呀。他用自己的力量，创造了太阳，创造了万物。”

“他让你的小脚走路，让你闪烁的眼睛看得见东西，让你那张不停的嘴巴去说话，还让你的腿和胳膊能活动自如。”

“他让世界上的花到处绽放，有紫罗兰，还有玫瑰。它们让世界充满了芬芳。”

“我们的希望都要靠上帝帮忙，他无时无刻不在引导我们前进的方向。他时刻关注着我们，在危险的时刻，会赐予我们力量。”

“我亲爱的孩子，你要用一颗诚挚的心对他感恩致意。他是你最好的朋友，每天都围绕在你身旁。”

“无论时空怎么转变，我们都离不开他，无论什么年代，无论什么季节，他总是我们生命的先导，我们最敬爱的朋友。

恼怒的妻子

玛丽亚·埃奇沃思（1769～1849），生于英格兰伯克郡里丁附近。1782年随父全家迁至爱尔兰埃奇沃思镇，住在自己的房子里，除了偶尔短暂地访问一下英格兰、苏格兰或法国，她其余的一生都在这里度过。其父担负了她主要的教育职责，而且他们共同完成了许多文学作品如《论实际教育》、《父母的助手》等。埃奇沃思小姐的小说故事是她独立完成的。她也因此而扬名。其中最著名的是《克拉伦特堡》、《道德故事》、《时髦生活的故事》、《弗兰克》、《时髦的葛莉谢达》、《海伦》等等。她善于逼真地勾画人物，其作品充满了智慧和真实的幽默。

博林布鲁克太太：我真想知道我今天早上到底怎么啦，亲爱的，你干嘛一个人霸占着报纸？

博林布鲁克先生：亲爱的，给你吧，我已经看完了。

博林布鲁克太太：你看完了才给我？！真是太谢谢你了！我可不喜欢陈旧的新闻。报纸上有什么消息吗？我可不愿意一条条地去找，太麻烦啦。

博林布鲁克先生：的确有，亲爱的。我们的两位朋友结婚了。

博林布鲁克太太：谁啊？谁啊？

博林布鲁克先生：你的朋友奈特比寡妇和她小叔子约翰奈特比结婚啦。

博林布鲁克太太：奈特比太太？哦，天哪！你干嘛告诉我！

博林布鲁克先生：因为你问了啊，亲爱的。

博林布鲁克太太：可如果能亲自读到这个消息比这让人开心一百倍呢！从别人嘴里得知就一点没有惊喜了。那么，另一个是谁呢？

博林布鲁克先生：亲爱的，我不说啦，把惊喜留给你自己看吧。

博林布鲁克太太：可你知道我找不到。亲爱的，你真吊胃口！求求你告诉我吧。

博林布鲁克先生：我们的朋友格兰比。

博林布鲁克太太：格兰比先生？天哪！你干嘛不让我猜猜看？我一定立刻就能猜到是他的。可你为什么称他是我们的朋友？我肯定他可不是我的朋友，从来都不是。你记得的，我第一眼见他就讨厌他。他可不是我的朋友！

博林布鲁克先生：那可真是太遗憾了，亲爱的。但我还是希望你能去看看格兰比太太。

博林布鲁克太太：我才不去呢，亲爱的。她是谁？

博林布鲁克先生：库克小姐。

博林布鲁克太太：库克？可有那么多库克，你就不能说说清楚她到底是哪个？她没有教名吗？

博林布鲁克先生：我想大概是艾玛，对，是艾玛。

博林布鲁克太太：艾玛·库克？不，不可能是我的朋友艾玛·库克，我肯定她打算当老处女。

博林布鲁克先生：我觉得这位小姐看起来，是会个好太太呢！

博林布鲁克太太：也许是吧。我肯定我永远不会去见她的。亲爱的，说实话，你怎么见了她这么多次？

博林布鲁克先生：亲爱的，我没怎么见过她啊。她结婚前我们只见过两三次面。

博林布鲁克太太：亲爱的，那你怎么判定她会是个好太太？我肯定只见过两三次面，你不可能对她作出这样的判断的，何况还是在结婚前。

博林布鲁克先生：的确如此啊，亲爱的，那只不过是客观观察而已。

博林布鲁克太太：我太了解这句赞扬是什么意思了，谢谢你，我亲爱的。我承认我能忍受比讽刺更糟的东西！

博林布鲁克先生：讽刺？亲爱的，我百分之百地真心真意。

博林布鲁克太太：是啊，是啊，真心真意！所以我理解了啊！可能我理解力天生就迟钝，但我的感觉可敏锐得很！我都领悟了。的确，从婚前根本就不可能评判一个女人，或猜测她会是什么样的妻子。我想你在从经验出发吧。你自己失望了，对你的决定后悔了是不是？

博林布鲁克先生：亲爱的！我说了什么类似这样的话吗？我的话里一点没有这种意思。我说话时根本没有想到你！

博林布鲁克太太：当然啦，你现在从不想起我！我完全相信你根本没想到我！

博林布鲁克先生：但我的意思只是想证明我不可能觉得你不好，亲爱的。

博林布鲁克太太：但与其你根本不想起我，我宁愿你想起我觉得我不好。

博林布鲁克先生：那好吧，亲爱的。如果这样让你高兴，我就算觉得你不好也会想起你。

博林布鲁克太太：你在嘲笑我吗？如果这样的话我真是太悲惨了。男人从不嘲笑他爱的女人。只要对我还有一丝爱慕，你就不会把我当成嘲笑的对象！嘲笑和爱情是不相容的，是根本对立的！可我已经尽最大努力去使你开心，结果却徒劳无功。我知道我不是个好妻子。格兰比太太，高兴去吧！

博林布鲁克先生：我真诚的希望她和我的朋友在一起能快乐高兴！但我的快乐是取决于你的啊，我亲爱的。所以就算不是为了你自己，为了我，请冷静点，不要胡思乱想来折磨自己吧。

博林布鲁克太太：我真想知道这个格兰比太太是否真的是艾玛·库克小姐。我会直接去见她，我必须见见她。

博林布鲁克先生：我打心眼里高兴，亲爱的。你去看望他的妻子，我的朋友格兰比一定会十分高兴。

博林布鲁克太太：我告诉你，亲爱的，我可不是为了让他或让你高兴才去的，我必须满足自己的好奇心。

生存还是毁灭

威廉·莎士比亚（1564～1616年），英国文艺复兴时期伟大诗人和戏剧家。马克思把莎士比亚和古希腊悲剧诗人埃斯库罗斯看作是“世界上迄今为止两个最伟大的天才戏剧家”。

莎士比亚生于英国中部艾汶河畔的斯特拉夫镇的一个富裕市民家庭，幼年进入文法学校学习，接触到欧洲古代诗歌和戏剧。后因家庭破产而辍学，靠自学获得了丰富的学识。20多岁的时候，莎士比亚到伦敦谋生，不久以后，成为剧团的演员和股东。1590年左右，莎士比亚开始进行剧本创作。在以后的20多年中，他以饱满的热情勤奋创作，创作出了37个剧本，2首长诗，和154首十四行诗。他晚年归居故里，于1616年4月23日去世。

莎士比亚的戏剧作品可分为四类：历史剧、喜剧、悲剧和传奇剧。他的主要作品包括：历史剧《亨利六世》、《理查三世》、《亨利四世》；喜剧《仲夏夜之梦》、《威尼斯商人》、《第十二夜》；悲剧包括《罗米欧与朱丽叶》、《哈姆雷特》、《奥赛罗》、《李尔王》、《麦克白斯》；传奇剧《辛白林》、《暴风雨》等。

生存还是毁灭，这是一个值得考虑的问题：默默忍受命运暴虐的毒箭，或者是挺身反抗人世的无涯苦难，通过斗争把它们扫清，这两种行为，哪一种行为更高贵？死去了，睡着了，什么都完了；如果是在这种睡眠之中，我们心头的创伤，以及其他无数血肉之躯所不能避免的打击，都可以从此消失，那正是我们求之不得的结局。死去了，睡着了，睡着了也许还会做梦。嗯，阻碍就在这儿。因为当我们摆脱了这个朽腐的皮囊之后，在那死去的睡眼里，究竟将要做些什么梦，那不能不使我们踌躇顾虑。人们甘心久困于患难之中，也就是为了这个缘故；谁愿意忍受人世的鞭鞑和讥嘲、压迫者的凌辱、傲慢者的冷眼、被轻蔑的爱情的惨痛、法律的迁延、官吏的横暴和费尽千辛万苦所换来的小人的鄙视，要是他只要用一柄小小的刀子，就可以清算他自己的一生？谁愿意背负如此沉重的担子，在烦劳的生命压迫下呻吟流汗？倘不是因为惧怕不可知的死后事，惧怕那从来不曾有一个旅人回来过的神秘之国，是它迷惑了我们的意志，使我们宁愿忍受眼前的折磨，不敢向我们所不知道的痛苦飞去？这样，重重的顾虑使我们全变成了懦夫，决心的赤热的光彩，被审慎的思维盖上了一层灰色，伟大的事业在这种考虑之下，也会逆流而退，失去了行动的意义。不，美丽的奥菲利娅！——女神，在你的祈祷之中，不要忘记替我忏悔我的罪孽。

华盛顿致悼词

亨利·李将军，美国弗吉尼亚州非常有名望李氏家庭的一个成员，他于1756年出生于弗吉尼亚州的威斯特摩兰县，于1818年在乔治亚州坎伯兰岛去世。在18岁的时候，李毕业于美国普林斯顿大学。1777年，李率领一个骑兵团加入了爱国军，在爱国军里，他非常忠诚于美国大陆军，打了许多胜仗，直到美国独立战争快结束的时候。李将军以其英勇善战、讲究战术、快速敏捷而闻名，他也因此而被誉为“快马哈里”。他与华盛顿将军和格林尼将军私交甚好。1786年，李将军被任命为弗吉尼亚州的代表出席国会会议。在1788年在弗吉尼亚州召开的会议上，他还积极为起草《美国宪法》而努力。1794年，宾夕法尼亚州爆发“威士忌叛乱”，美国总统派李将军率军前往镇压这次暴乱，李到达以后，这次暴乱没有抵抗就被平息了。1799年，李将军再次当选为弗吉尼亚州议员。在美国总统华盛顿去世的时候，美国国会任命由李将军致悼词，表达对这位伟大的人物的缅怀与哀思之情。本文节选自该悼词的结尾部分。

又有谁能够忘记布兰迪维因谷，日耳曼敦战场，或者是蒙默思平原呢？任何一个地方都展现出任何一种困难与障碍，都有数不清的流氓军队围追堵截，他作为整个殖民地的主人，减缓着我们承担的苦痛，最大限度地为我们争取更多的权力，极力支持我们的步履蹒跚、却又坚定的共和国事业。难道还有必要让我来向各位列举他作为星星之火，燎原于北美大陆的事例吗？难道还有必要让我来赞扬我们的萨拉托加英雄吗？或者可与萨拉托加同日而语的卡罗莱纳战例吗？不，这一切都没有必要。我们的华盛顿并不需要虚假的光荣与荣耀。对盖茨将军，对格林尼将军，他都毫不保留地对于他们的英雄伟绩给予赞誉和褒奖。而且萨拉托加战役和犹他战役的将领们都能够在很长的时间内受到一个伟大民族的一个最受人崇敬与爱戴的人的尊敬。

在自己的轨道上运行，他却向他最远的卫星散发出光和热。而且在他力所能力的范围内，把他物质和精神上的力量结合起来，带着一种不可抗拒的力量，他沿着自己的道路，一路走来。他同情那些愚蠢的人，蔑视那些有恶习的人，使那些背信弃义之徒见他而惊恐，使那些悲观失望的人精神振奋、士气大增，直到幸运的那一刻来临，也就是英勇无敌、所向披靡的部队联合起来组成一支行之有效、宽宏大度的盟军部队的时候。在那个时候，他率领着这支军队打败了英国殖民军队，促使英国征服印度的征服者康华利的投降；他也从此结束了长期而辉煌的军旅生涯，也就是他的最后一次对英国殖民军队的战役结束了英国的殖民统治，从而促成了我们这个伟大民族的诞生。

在战场上，他冲锋陷阵，一直在战争的最前线。在和平年代，他一心为我们的民族谋福利，从而也使得他赢得了他的人民的心，成为人民最爱戴的伟大领袖。他就是华盛顿。尽管如此，他却不比哪一个人更谦逊，有更加令人羡慕的私人生活。他虔诚尽责，公正无私，正直诚实，朴实无华，自我节制，态度温和，诚挚诚恳，始终如一，尊严高贵，指挥若定。他是人们学习的榜样，对于他周围的人，他又是一个值得效仿的楷模，他的品质与道德永远都将激励着人们学习，永远都不会褪色。

对于他的同辈，他谦逊俯就；对于他的下辈，他和蔼可亲；而对于他所施爱之物，他却展现出世人少有的耐心与温柔。正义因为他而得到伸张、邪恶因为他而颤抖，而美德始终在他身边。他个人性格的纯洁与质朴使得他在公共场合得到了展现与发扬光大。

他的晚年与他一生的历程相谐和。尽管他承受着极端的痛苦，但是，我们却听不到他的悲观叹气，也听不到他的呻吟之声，这些不是他的性格，也都远遁而去。他不受打扰，不受谴责，平静地闭上了他的那双眼睛，也结束了光辉的一生。而这正是美国人的损失之所在！这就是我们整个国家沉痛悼念的人，我们伟大的领袖——乔治·华盛顿。

对一个杀人犯审判的演讲(1)

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(1) 本文节选自丹尼尔·韦伯斯特对约翰·F·柯拿普谋杀怀特先生一案审判的演讲。怀特先生是一个非常富有、受人尊敬的马萨诸塞州塞伦公民。在这次审判中，有四个参与谋杀的嫌疑犯被逮捕。其中一个坦白了整个犯罪的详细过程，同时也把其他的几个人供了出来，但是后来，在法庭上他却不愿承认他说出的这些话。坦白整个谋杀过程的这个人事实上就是杀人犯，后来他也自杀了。韦伯斯特的演讲就是要把另外的几个参与谋划之人绳之以法。最后，约翰·F·柯拿普被判为主犯，其他的两个人被判为从犯。

丹尼尔·韦伯斯特

作为一个公民，我认为关押在狱的犯人是有罪的，但是，我却不带有任何偏见，我也不会有丝毫的侮辱或不公正。但这些都不能使我对这种深得罪恶的昭然于世和惩罚漠不关心，冷眼旁观。我也同许多关心此案的人一样非常焦虑地等待着判决的结果，等待着对那些染指或者插手参与执行这次午夜谋杀的杀人犯的判决，使他们对他们令人发指的犯罪行为负责，使正义得到伸张，如果这样的话，我才能感到欣慰。

这是一个非常令人发指的案件。从某种程度上讲，它可以说是史无前例的，当然，对于新英格兰历史来说也是前所未有的事情。这次血腥谋杀案不是因为一时头脑发昏，无法控制自己的愤怒而发生的恶性案件。参与犯罪的人不是因为他们抵挡不住诱惑，狮子的野性暂时占了上风，而美德与冷静的头脑被征服，从而犯下了这种罪行。他们杀人也不是处于报复的因素，或是长期以来的宿怨与仇恨而导致发生的结果。这是一次冷静沉着、老谋深算、以金钱为目的的谋杀案。它的整个起因就是“雇主与雇佣的关系，你帮我办事，我就给你钱，而不是报仇”，它就是金钱与生命的关系，就是按多少盎司鲜红的血付出多少枚银币的可耻交易。

一个老人，一个在这个世界上没有敌人的老人，在他自己的家里，躺在自己的床上，成了仅仅是为了钱而毫无人性的谋杀案的牺牲品。这向画家和诗人提供了一个十分新鲜的素材，如果他们愿意，他们就能够描绘出一个杀人犯的画像。这是一个前所未有的模特，就在新英格兰社会当中，有这么一个范例！他不要把这个杀人犯描绘成一个摩洛神严酷的面容：眉头因为复仇而紧皱，面容因为仇恨而涨得紫红，眼睛由于怨恨而冒出青紫色的火焰。他应当把他描绘成这样的形象：一个道貌岸然、面部表情和善、冷酷的魔鬼。他静静地躺在床上，而不是在行凶杀人；他是一个丧失了人性，有魔鬼一样的本性、自甘堕落的魔鬼，正在展示着自己罪恶本性的撒旦形象。

整个谋杀操作是在沉着、冷静的状态下进行就，就如同邪恶、残酷的预谋的那样。到目前为止，当时的情景已经一览无遗地展现在我们面前。注定要被杀害的受害者深深地沉入了梦乡，在自己的房间里，一个健康的老人，他正进入香甜的睡梦——就是这香甜之梦一下子使老人沉入了梦乡。杀人犯按照预谋，破窗而入，首先进入到没人居住的房间。在朦胧月光的指引下，他蹑手蹑脚，悄无声息地走过大厅，沿着向上延伸的楼梯走上楼去，来到老人卧室门口。在卧室门口，他轻轻地、无声地转动着门锁，直到把它打开。他走进卧室，凝视着眼前那可怜的受害人。月光偷偷地从门外溜了进来，这位无辜的受害者下意识地翻了个身，使脸背对着月光和凶手，从而使月光照在他灰白的头发和太阳穴上，向凶手展示哪里可以下手。凶手向老人猛击过去！这一击是致命的，老人一下子昏死了过去，没有丝毫挣扎，没有一点点的动作，从安静的沉睡转入到死亡，而这一切都发生在转瞬之间！

凶手为了确保老人必死无疑，尽管老人已经死去，他还是手持匕首，朝着老人就是乱刺一通。凶手甚至举起老人的胳臂，以便他能够准确无误地把匕首刺进老人的心脏，然后，再把胳臂放回到鲜血涌出的胸膛！为了验证确保老人的死去，他把罪恶的手伸向老人的脉搏！他要去感受它，以确保老的人脉搏不再跳动！所有这些都完成了！使命结束了！整个谋杀就是这样发生的，历历在目，如我们亲眼所见。然后，凶手就离开了，悄无声息地来到窗户旁边，如同来时一样从里面穿出来，然后就逃走了。他犯下了谋杀的罪恶，没有人目击这一切，没有声音能够听得到。

啊！先生们，他错了，他犯了一个致命的错误！法网恢恢，疏而不漏，这样的秘密最终都会被发现的。只要存在罪恶，没有隐蔽的地方，没有什么角落是上帝不能到达的，万能的主无处不在！更不用说月光通过所有的掩饰，目击了整个的作案过程！如此罪恶的秘密从来不会逃过人们的侦察。一般来讲，凶手也许能够逃脱，这是真的。但是，上帝不会让那些残忍的杀人犯逃脱法律的制裁，任何罪恶的阴谋都会被揭穿，特别是像这样的案件，这样引起公愤、引人注目的案件，人们必须、也能够揭穿事实真相的，只是时间的早晚而已。成千上万只眼睛都在盯着，搜索着那个凶手，把与时间、地点相关的每件事、每一个人，每一种情况结合起来。上万只耳朵竖了起来，听着每一声低语；上万个脑袋思索起来，对谋杀现场的场景进行综合分析，随时都有可能揭穿事实的真相。

同时，那个杀人的凶手却也不能保守住自己的秘密。秘密是保守不住的，他无法欺骗自己的良心，他无法战胜良心要求说出真相的决心。他在良心的折磨下痛苦地生活着，人的本性再次显示出了它强大的力量，因为它不是因此而存在的。良心与本性也在遭受着痛苦的折磨。现在凶手的秘密把凶手掌握在手心之中，控制着他，就如同罪恶的心灵一样，它征服了他。他感到了心脏在跳动，一直跳到了喉咙，要求他把事情的真相公布于众。这使他感觉到整个世界的目光都在看他，看他那张苍白的脸，看他那躲闪的眼，读出他内心的秘密，它成了他的主人。它暴露了他的一切，使他失去了勇气，征服了他的精明与谨慎。对他的怀疑使他尴尬难堪，所有这一切都缠绕着他，使他难于呼吸视听，而致命的秘密仍然挣扎着要出来透一口气，要让大家知道所有的一切。它必须坦白，也将坦白；除了自杀之外，他别无选择，只有这样他才能躲过一切，然而，他错了，自杀也是坦白，最无奈的一种坦白方式。

——丹尼尔·韦伯斯特

南卡莱罗纳

罗伯特·杨·海恩（1791～1840年），生于南卡罗莱纳州科莱顿区，在查尔斯顿学习法律并从事律师职业。他很早就当选州议员，曾历任南卡罗莱纳州议会众院议长，州司法部长。31岁当选美国参议院议员。1832～1833年担任南卡罗莱纳州州长，这一时期正值美国各州对联邦的法律“拒不执行”风波。海恩是一个思路清晰的雄辩家，他是美国“州权”的坚定倡导者。在参院他激烈地反对1823年关税法案；这场斗争引发了1830年他与丹尼尔·韦伯斯特的著名辩论。下面这篇短文节选自他在这次争论中的一次演讲。

总统先生，如果有哪一个州在对联邦的一贯支持、无私奉献、热情拥护上能经得起其他任何州的挑战话，它就是南卡罗莱纳州。阁下，从独立革命直到现在，没有哪一次她不是愉快地作出自己的牺牲，不论牺牲有多大，在为国家服务的时候，她没有哪一次有过犹豫。

在你强盛的时候她是你的一员，在你危难的时刻她更忠诚地与你站在一起。无论她自身的情况怎样，尽管被剥夺了资源，被不同派别分割，被重重困难包围，国家的呼唤对她来说就是上帝的声音。内部纷争在这一刻会停止，每一个人会立即成为亲密的兄弟，我们总是能看到卡罗莱纳的儿女们聚集到宗庙，向他们共同国家的圣龛献上自己的忠诚。

南方在独立战争中有什么作为？先生，我尊敬新英格兰在那场伟大斗争中的作为。但光荣同样属于她，我认为南方至少应该得到同样的尊敬。世界历史上没有出现过比独立战争中卡罗莱纳的辉格党人更英勇高贵的品质，没有人比他们遭受过更可怕的灾难，没有人比他们更有韧性，更具有英雄主义品质。整个州，从西部的高山到东部的大海，被如潮水般的敌人践踏。工业的成果被敌人毁灭或消费了。

卡罗莱纳的平原浸透了自己儿女的鲜血。曾经安居乐业的地方变成了焦土。失去家园的人们被迫进入险恶的沼泽，但自由的精神在她的儿子们如萨姆特斯和马里昂的战斗中保存了下来。卡罗莱纳向人们证明，她的土地虽然被践踏，但人民的意志是不可战胜的。

马萨诸诸塞和南卡罗莱纳

丹尼尔·韦伯斯特（1782～1852年），美国杰出的政治家和演讲者。生于新罕布什尔州的萨利斯伯里。他的父亲艾伯尼泽尔·韦伯斯特是早期移民，参加过法国战争独立战争，是一位正直和有才干的人。丹尼尔青年时期的教育很普通，后来考入塞缪尔·伍德神父的博斯卡温学院学习，1801年毕业于达特茅斯。丹尼尔少年时期曾在菲利浦学院学习过三个月，他在那里是出名的一个好学生，他是那么的与众不同以至于他从不敢在全班人面前讲话。为了改善自己的经济状况，他在大学期间及毕业后的做过一段时间老师。1805年他在波士顿获得律师执业资格。此后的11年他在他的故乡新罕布什尔州从事律师职业。1812年他当选国会众议院议员，并很快成为众院的领导人之一。1816年他搬到了波士顿。1827年当选为参院议员，并连任12年之久。1841年他出任国务卿，之后不久便成功地与英国签订著名的《阿什伯顿条约》，确定了美国的北方边界。1845年他重回到参议院，1850年再次出任国务卿，任职直到去世。他死于他在马萨诸塞州马什菲尔德的乡间住所。

这位尊敬的先生对南卡莱罗纳州的风格和革命功绩的颂扬引起了我内心的共鸣。我对南卡罗莱纳州所拥有的任何高贵品质表示尊敬，我不认为我的尊敬逊于这位先生。我认为我也部分地享有这种荣誉，我为她的伟大名字感到骄傲；我认为这些荣誉属于国人，每一位美国人——劳伦斯、路特莱奇、皮克尼斯、萨姆特斯、马里昂——每一个美国人——他们的声望和他们的才能和爱国精神一样，是不能划定在某个州的界限之内的。

在他们那个时代，他们效忠于这个国家，整个国家，他们是整个国家的财富。这位先生的名字同样令人肃然起敬，但假如他睁开眼睛第一眼看到的是马萨诸塞，而不是南卡罗莱纳，他是否认为我不会对他的爱国精神，对他遭受过的苦难心怀同样的感激呢？他这样大张旗鼓地向我们展示南卡莱罗纳的那些闪亮的名字，是为了使我的心中盟生嫉妒吗？不，我心中不断增长只有感激和快乐。如果上帝给了我一点点成为圣人的品质，我将心存感激，我相信我没有任何让天使堕落的品质。

先生们，如果你们发现我在参院或在其他地方嘲笑这些社会功绩，只是因为它没有发生在我自己的州界之内或我的邻里。如果我因为任何原因拒绝向伟大的爱国主义精神，对自由和国家的无私奉献表示敬意；如果我看到了任何一个南方人非凡的能力和品德，而我受到地方偏见和妒意的驱动，对他公正的品德和公正声誉有任何一丝诋毁的话，那就让我的舌头烂掉吧！

议长先生，我就不再对马萨诸塞进行歌颂了。她不需要这些。她站在那里，你们看一看她，自己判断。想一想她的历史，世人都心如明镜。至少对她的过去是肯定的。波士顿、康科德、莱克星顿和邦克山，它们将永久载入史册。先生们，在哪里发出了美国自由的第一声响，她的青年在这里成长壮大，它今天强大的壮年的身体里仍流淌着祖先自由的血液。如果争执和分裂会伤害到她，如果党派斗争和野心会撕裂她，如果有益的限制的不安会使她与联邦分离（虽然她只为联邦而存在），她将在最终站在它成长的摇篮旁，用她所有力量向聚集在她周围的朋友们伸出双臂，她将倒在，如果必须倒下，倒在她辉煌历史最自豪的纪念碑旁，倒在它最初诞生的地方。

战争

查尔斯·萨姆纳（1811～1874年），出生于波士顿。他在波士顿的拉丁语学校里学习了拉丁语，19岁从哈佛大学毕业。在哈佛大学学习期间，萨姆纳专门攻读法律专业。1834年，他获得了律师资格。从事这一职业以后，萨姆纳很快就崭露头角，连续几年在坎布里奇讲授法律课程，编写了几本非常权威的法律课本。其实，如果他当时提出要求的话，他完全能够在他所任教的那所法律学校获得教授之职。1845年7月4日，萨姆纳在波士顿的市政府会议厅里为该市的权威人士们做了一场名为《世界各国真正的庄严》的演讲。这是一篇非常有名的演讲。在演讲中，他表明了自己强烈反对各国之间发生战争的坚定态度。1851年，萨姆纳当选为美国参议院议员。从那时起，直到去世前，他一直担任参议院议员之职。在他的一生当中，无论是作为一名法理学家、政治家、演说家，还是作为一名学识渊博的作家，萨姆纳先生都受到了美国人极高的评价。在外表上，萨姆纳先生气质高雅，仪表堂堂。走在波士顿大街上，他高贵的外表通常会引起行人们驻足良久，称羡不已。

我现在无需详细评述战争给人类造成的破坏以及战争的残酷无情。翻开史书，战争的后果犹如可怕的流星之光，划破了死寂的夜空，强烈地照射在我们每个人的脸上。我们发现战争加速了田园的荒废，导致了生灵涂炭。战争使城镇遭到洗劫，领土被掠夺，家园被毁弃。我们还发现，战争使人们在生活中珍惜的所有美丽的理想顷刻间化为苦恼和伤痛。我们的灵魂被亲人们的痛苦呻吟深深刺痛。我们的父母双亲、兄弟姐妹、妻子儿女等就在这痛苦的呻吟声中死去，拒绝接受他人的抚慰。我们的双眼最后停留在一处仙境上。在这里，富足的造物主敞开她博爱的胸怀，向人们展示出一派锦绣山河，辽阔无比，足以供天下苍生尽情享受生活的乐趣。也许是出于其微妙而好奇的心理，就像是阿拉伯神话中的那一块具有神奇魔力的地毯一样，收缩起来的目的，是仅仅供少数几个人使用，如果扩大开来，就可以让无以数计的人在上面行走。这里，在明媚的阳光下——犹如奥斯特利茨或布埃纳维斯塔的阳光一样——在大自然宁静和谐的气氛中，在和平的安息日里，我们看到了成群的兄弟们正在互相厮杀。他们同是上帝的子民，同是人类幸福的继承者，然而却在一场激烈的战斗中一起苦苦挣扎。他们的精神因为疯狂而沉沦。他们手中操持着杀人武器，想方设法要剥夺自己兄弟们的生命，虽然他们的这些兄弟们从未伤及他们或者他们的家族。人类对自身的浩劫风行一时，甚嚣尘上。他们在混战中流血，鲜血浸透了地面。空气中充满了他们混战中发出的呐喊。战马与骑士横尸沙场。我们惊恐万分，不仅要问，人类为什么要进行如此可恨的战争？这个问题的答案虽然有些令人沮丧，却切中要害，一语道破天机。人类之所以无休止地进行争战，是因为战争才是各国之间决定争端的既定手段。

场景发生了变化。我们的目光转向浩瀚的大海。天际处，只见有两艘航船互相向对方靠近。船上的白色风帆被强劲的海风完全张开。这两艘船建造得富丽堂皇，人类所有的艺术成就通过它们优雅的外表得到了淋漓尽致的体现。从这两艘船的建造尺寸来看，它们犹如漂浮在大海上的两座小岛，轻盈而灵秀。每艘船上都有大批船员，他们的装备昂贵而又舒适，舒服地在船舱里休息。按道理讲，这两艘航船历经长途跋涉，船员们一定会因为意外地在茫茫大海上遇见对方而感到高兴万分，进而向对方伸出友谊之手，表达不完自己的热情。他们理应通过桅顶上悬挂的旗帜理应向对方传达友好的信号；兴奋的海员们理应簇拥在一起，扶着船上的绳索，甚至是扶着桁端，友好地互相凝视对方的面颊。两艘船上的海员们的欢呼声一定会响彻云霄。他们的语言虽然不通，却并不阻碍他们表达那难以克制的激动心情。然而，事实上却不是像人们想象的这样。他们到了一起，并不像是见到了兄弟，见到了朋友，也不像是在公海上见到了旅客，他们像是见到了对方竟像是见到自己的敌人一样。

设计精美、仪态万方的船只现在开始发怒了。海员们开始搬弄船上致命的武器。宽阔的甲板上、高高的船桅上，到处都大口大口地喷吐着火枪的火舌。船员们在船侧向对方开炮射击。致命的炮弹冲出炮筒时，火光冲天，炮声震耳欲聋。他们虽然一路上孤孤单单，在渺无人烟的茫茫大海上长途航行，逃脱了恶风巨浪的劫难——他们虽然逃脱了飓风的伤害——为了照顾他们，暴风雨和大海也暂时中断了它们之间不可调和的争斗——现在，他们最终因为互相厮杀而惨死在对方的手下。我们发现，两艘船上的场面是同样的令人感到恐怖。只见甲板染红了鲜血。圣·巴塞洛缪日事件和西西里岛晚祷事件中的杀人凶手，在史密斯费尔德的火光中，好像是突然之间又重新复活，寻思着如何再行大肆杀戮。每艘船现在好像是都变成了会游动的高尔高沙（耶稣受难地）。最后，在海面上曾经显得是何等的壮观，曾经是何等的庄严华贵，曾经建造得是何等的富丽堂皇的两艘船，现在却被残酷的炮弹击打得支离破碎。桅杆在风中摇摇欲倒，船帆破烂不堪。激战后，这两艘船漂浮在海面上，完全成了无法驾驭的残骸，随着变化莫测的波浪在海面上翻滚。现在，只有海浪出现短暂平息的时候，它们才可能找到一丝安全。令人感到诧异的是，这场不可思议而又不同寻常的战斗发生在远离他们双方的国家和家园的大海上，那里既没有他们各自的国家，也没有他们各自的家园。那么，他们之间为什么还要进行这样一场灾难性的决斗呢？这里，还是那个虽然听起来令人沮丧，但是却切中要害、一语道破天机的答案：战争是各国之间断定孰是孰非的既定手段。

上帝是伟大和慈善的

我知道上帝创造了太阳，

使白天充满了光明；

他还让群星，

闪耀在夜空。

他创造了高耸入云、十分

陡峭的山；

他创造了湖泊和大海

是如此的宽广和深不可测

他创造了宽阔的河流

它们从森林和山谷中穿过。

他创造了细细的小溪

让其从小山和溪谷中流淌。

他创造了每天都唱

着甜美歌儿的小鸟

他创造了春天的百花

那么亮丽，那么茂盛，那么鲜艳。

他创造了所有这一切

也创造了你和我

噢，让我们感谢他，

为他的伟大和慈善。

孩子的圣歌上帝把我的生命变成一点点亮光，在世界的每个地方，不论我走到那里，都会把周围照亮。上帝把我的生命变成一朵小花，我要把快乐和所有人分享，虽然地方很小，我也要让周围充满芬芳。上帝把我的生命变成一支赞歌，我要抚平人们的悲伤，让人们充满力量，让自己感受到人生的希望。上帝把我的生命变成一首充满善良赞美和忠诚的赞美诗，他以所有神奇的方式，让这首诗万世流芳。过安息日

加德纳·斯普林（1785～1873年），其父亲塞缪尔·斯普林是一位神学博士，曾在马萨诸塞州纽伯里波特的公理教会担任牧师40余年。他本人毕业于耶鲁大学，1805年曾代表他所在的班在耶鲁大学的毕业典礼上作告别演说。他曾经对法学进行过一段时期的学习，然后去了百慕大，并在那里从事了近2年的教学工作；从百慕大回来以后，他完成了法律专业的学习，并花费了一年多的时间将自己的法律专业付诸实践。1810年，他在安杜佛完成了对神学的学习，并被任命为纽约市布利克教堂的牧师。此后，他一直在这个职务上工作，直到去世为止。他曾被当选为达特茅斯学院的院长和汉密尔顿大学的校长，但是这两个职务都被他一一谢绝了。他的作品包括将近20本8开本的著作，曾几度再版；其中，有些作品还被译成了其他语言，并在欧洲再版。作为一名布道者，斯普林博士具有非常突出的辩论才能并且一向精力充沛。

过安息日是遵守所有宗教道德的基础。道德由各种准则形成。如果人们放松了对各种道义准则的遵守，那么，他们也不可能长时间地遵守道德。当一个人把履行宗教义务忘得一干二净的时候，那么将没有人能够保证自己遵守道德，没有哪个做父母的能保证自己的孩子们遵守道德。

如果你能诱导一个团体对基督教经文的真实性和确实性产生质疑，让他们对宗教的实质以及履行宗教义务表示怀疑；如果在你的诱导下，他们对世间是否存在美德和罪恶，人在去世后是否要接受一种永恒的力量的审判，或者宇宙间是否存在上帝等一系列问题犹疑不定，踌躇不决，那么你已经冲破了美德的屏障，提起了围堵不仁不义和罪恶累累这股洪水的大门。我更无需说，人们如果这样做，他们将不能再平静而幸福地生活。维持人类社会健康发展的任何仁义道德或法律条文都将失去约束力量。招摇撞骗和背信弃义将取代人与人之间的互相信任；正义的法庭将成为贪污受贿和颠倒是非的场所。贪得无厌、滥作伪证、狼子野心以及打击报复等将在这个世界招摇过市，与其说是文明教化的我们在这个世界上生活，倒不如说是野兽在我们人世间恣意横行。

如果有一种制度能够阻止人类堕落，在我们轻率而任性的大脑中充当盾牌以便保护人类的美德，那么这种制度就是安息日。在美德与邪恶之间激烈的较量中，尽管人们从灵魂深处抵制不住邪恶的诱惑和影响，但无论如何他们仍然在坚持过安息日的制度。尽管美德的力量受到邪恶的巨大挑战，但美德仍然受到人们的推崇，从而在人们的生活中维持下来。我们如今从事的一个主要职业就是要突出阐明美德的重要标准。在那些坚持信仰上帝的国家，你会发现那些国家每一周都坚持过安息日，目的是要人们熟悉了解最高的道德标准。在这样的保护下，结果只有一个，这就是人们一定能够认知和感觉道德的力量。

也许我们不能立即见识这种每周举行一次的仪式所产生的效果。但是，就像大多数道德行为一样，这种仪式对人们的思想所产生的影响非常缓慢。这种仪式一定会对人们的思想产生影响，并逐渐削弱放荡和邪恶的念头，打破它们对人们思想的束缚。没有哪个恶人会在乎安息日，没有哪个堕落的家庭会在乎安息人，也没有哪个邪恶的团体会在乎安息日。在安息日——这个值得永远纪念的日子——进行神圣的休息，是保证人们远离邪恶的一道屏障。人们往往在越过这道屏障之后成为罪大恶极之人。威廉·布莱克斯通爵士(1)在他所著的《英国法律评论》中说：“对安息日的亵渎往往导致人们道德的伦落。”王室法庭首席法官马修·黑尔爵士(2)也认为：“在那些被宣判死刑的人中，他们绝大多数人都表示忏悔，承认自己的邪恶行为源于对参加安息日的仪式的疏忽，并且在那天做了不道德的事情。”

我们国家这么多的监狱也许能告诉我们，它们关押的罪犯当中，很少有人在锒铛入狱之前没有打破安息日的禁忌。你可以制定法律，抑制人们的不道德行为，但是，对于保护人们的切身利益来说，安息日神秘而无形的力量却要比曾经颁布的任何刑法都更具有约束力。把美德比作一座庙宇，那么安息日就是保持这座庙宇永不坍塌的拱架。无论它的外观遭到怎样的破坏，但只要根基结实，它就能够经得起任何形式的剧烈震动。

过安息日对于保证国家的繁荣昌盛来说也具有非常重要的影响。上帝说过：“我将尊重那些对我表示尊重的人。”通常，一个一贯不守安息日的人很少会在事业上保持长盛不衰。一个不守安息日的团体永远不会生活得很幸福或取得繁荣昌盛。是否守安息日，潜移默化之中对于人们的现实生活来说具有多种多样的影响，守安息日能够促进人们发扬美德，维持良好和谐的社会秩序，能够使贫穷者不再忍受饥饿之苦，能够使卑鄙无耻的人弃恶从善，能够给人以自尊，让一个人的性格变得更加美好，能够让人在行为方式上做到谦恭礼让，能够一视同仁地把富人和穷人聚拢在一个屋子里进行祈祷，能够静化和加深人们之间的社会感情，让家庭成为吸引人们的中心和给人以智慧、舒适和幸福的源泉。就像它自己描述的那样：“安息日保佑人们的现实生活以及未来的生活”，只要人们重视“请牢记安息日，神圣地对待它吧”这条教导，人们在生活中就一定会有自己的希望，相信自己最终能够进入天堂。

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(1) 威廉·布莱克斯通爵士：1723～1780年，英国法官和教育家，出生于一个伦敦的绸商家庭。他因著有《英国法律评论》一书（1765～1769年）而闻名于世。这本法律评论是对英国总体法律最为全面的独家论述。这本法律评论目前正被英国和美国的学生作为教材广泛使用。他曾经因一次执法不当而辞去法官职务，但是后来却赢得了法律界最高的荣誉。

(2) 马修·黑尔爵士：1609～1676年，英国法学家，提倡复辟运动，1660年担任财政总长，1671～1676年担任王室法庭首席法官，是英国习惯法（不成文法）方面的知名学者。