20180825 稻草人的梦想 The Scarecrow Who Wanted to Be a Man - 斯蛋Stan朗读

英音朗读者 | 为孤独正名

The Scarecrow Who Wanted to Be a Man

稻草人的梦想

By Ken Copper

【英】肯·科珀

Once there was a scarecrow (稻草人) who stood all summer long in Farmer Smith’s cornfield (玉米地) and waved his arms in the wind to scare away the crows. He did a good job of it, too. He kept those great, black birds from swooping (猛冲) down out of the sky and eating the corn before it could grow.

从前, 有个稻草人, 他在农民史密斯家的玉米地里站了整整一个夏天, 在风中挥舞着胳膊把乌鸦吓跑。他的活儿干得很不错, 阻止了那些又大又黑的鸟从空中俯冲下来, 在玉米长成之前就把它吃掉。

But he was not very comfortable and not at all happy. Since he was tied to a fence post (围栏杆) he could never lie down at night, nor go into the house to cool himself in the heat of the day. Neither could he look up and watch the white clouds sailing through the sky, for his slouch (下垂的) hat was pulled too far down on his forehead.

可是, 他不太舒服, 一点也不快乐。因为他被绑在栅栏柱上, 晚上根本没法躺下, 在炙热的白天, 也没法进屋凉快一下。他也没法看白云在天空中轻快地飘过, 因为他前额上的宽边软帽压得很低。

Also he was very lonely standing by himself in the wide outdoors with no one to talk to but the birds that he shooed away (赶走) and occasionally a cottontail rabbit (白尾灰兔) that took a short-cut through the field.

不仅如此, 他独自一人站在空旷的野外还非常孤单寂寞, 除了被他赶走的鸟儿和偶尔从田里抄近路的棉尾兔, 没人跟他说话。

Every day he watched the farmer and his hired man working in the fields. He saw them stride (大步走) to and fro as they pleased, sowing or reaping (播种、收割). They did not have to stand still because they were not tied to posts. They laughed and called to each other. They were free to come and go as they pleased.

他每天看着农民和雇工在田地里劳作, 他看到他们随心所欲地在田地里大踏步地走来走去, 又是播种又是收割, 因为没被绑在栅栏柱上, 所以不用一动不动地站着。他们有说有笑, 你呼我唤, 来去自由。

“How I should like to be a real man instead of a make-believe one!” thought the poor scarecrow. “How I should like to be free! Then I should give up this lonely life and go about making friends.”

“我要是不做假人, 做个真人有多好!”可怜的稻草人想, “我多么想自由自在!这样, 我就可以摆脱这孤独的生活, 到处走动, 结交四方朋友了。”

Just then a tramp (流浪者) dressed in tattered (破烂的) clothes came by. He sat down to rest on a stile (台阶) not far from the scarecrow.

就在这时, 一个衣衫褴褛的流浪汉路过, 坐在离稻草人不远的台阶上休息。

“Oh, Mr. Vagabond (流浪者)!” cried the scarecrow. “You’re just the one I want to see! I want to ask a question if I may.”

“哦, 流浪汉先生!”稻草人喊道, “我正想见你呢!我可不可以问你一个问题？”

“Ask what you like, ”said the tramp, “but I can’t promise to give you the answer.”

“随便问吧, ”流浪汉回答, “不过我不一定能答得上来呢。”

“I want to know what makes a man,” said the scarecrow. “I’m tired of being just an old coat stuffed with straw (稻草). I want to be real and friendly and feel like the men that work in the field.”

“我想知道怎么才能变成一个人, ”稻草人问道, “我厌倦了只做一个披着旧衣服填满稻草的人, 我想变成一个友好的真人, 就像在地里干活的人一样。”

“Ah,” sighed the tramp, “there is only one thing that can make you a man, and that is money jingling in your pockets.”

“啊, ”流浪汉幽幽长叹, “只有一样东西能把你变成人, 那就是你口袋里得有叮当作响的钱。”

“How do I get money to jingle in my pocket?” asked the scarecrow.

“我怎么才能搞到在口袋里叮当作响的钱呢？”

“That is something I can’t tell you,” sighed the tramp. “I don’t know how to get it myself, not without working for it.”

“我可给不了你这个答案, ”流浪汉叹息道, “我自己还不知道怎么不工作就能搞到钱呢。”

“You mean you have no money in your own pockets?” asked the scarecrow.

“你是说你口袋里没钱吗？”稻草人问道。

The tramp shook his head.

流浪汉点了点头。

“But surely you are a man,” said the scarecrow in surprise.

“不过你肯定是人吧。”稻草人惊奇地问。

“No, I am only half a man.” And the tramp walked away hanging his head in shame.

“不, 我只能算是半个人。”流浪汉羞愧地低下头, 走开了。

“How can I get money in my pockets?” wondered the scarecrow. “I have worked hard, but still I have no money.”

“我怎么才能让口袋里有钱呢？”稻草人纳闷, “我工作很努力, 可我还是没有钱呐。”

Just then the farmer’s boy came by. The scarecrow tried to speak to him, but the boy was muttering (咕哝) so that he did not hear. He was saying over and over to himself, “Where shall I hide it? I have the money for our school picnic. I want to go down to the stream to swim and I want to hide the money where no one could possibly find it.”

正在这时, 农夫的儿子路过。稻草人想跟他说话, 可是男孩正在低声嘟囔着什么, 所以没听见稻草人的话。男孩在反反复复地问自己：“我拿着学校野餐的钱, 现在我要去小河里游泳, 我要把钱放在谁也找不到的地方, 我把钱藏到哪里好呢？”

Then he looked up and seeing the scarecrow, said, “I know. I’ll hide it in your pockets, old fellow!” So he thrust a handful of money into the scarecrow’s pockets and ran toward the stream where the boys were calling.

他抬头一看, 看到了稻草人, 便说道：“我知道了, 我就把钱放在你的口袋里, 亲爱的伙计!”于是他把一把钱塞进了稻草人的口袋, 然后向小河边跑去, 男孩子们正在那里叫他呢。

The scarecrow had not heard all the boy said because he had not talked very loud, but the scarecrow thought he was being paid for his many days of labor in the field.

因为男孩说话声音小, 稻草人根本没听到, 还以为是他这么多天来在地里的劳作有了报酬。

He jingled the money happily. “Now I am a man,” he cried, and he felt his back stiffen so that he could climb down from the fence post.

他快乐地把口袋里的钱弄得叮当作响, “我现在变成人啦, ”他喊道, 觉得自己的腰杆挺直了, 于是从栅栏柱上爬了下来。

Off he went toward the town singing a happy song. But when he got to town, no one would speak to him. People passed him by without so much as a “How-do-you-do.” They didn’t even seem to see him.

他往城里走去, 一路欢歌。可是等他进了城以后, 谁都不跟他说话, 人们从他身旁经过连“你好”都不说, 他们甚至连看都不看他一眼。

The scarecrow was very sad. “Perhaps it’s my clothes,” he said. “I had better get some new ones.” So he went into a store and bought a new suit and a new hat. They were very becoming (合身的) and he was proud to walk out onto the street all dressed up in his Sunday best. But still no one paid a bit of attention to him.

稻草人非常难过, “也许是我穿的衣服不对吧, ”他自言自语, “我最好换件新衣裳。”于是他进了一家商店, 买了件非常好看的新套装和一顶新帽子。衣服非常合身, 他穿上自己最漂亮的衣服走到街上, 觉得非常得意。可是还是没有人注意他。

“I’m afraid money doesn’t make a man,” sighed the scarecrow.

“恐怕钱并不能把我变成人。”稻草人幽幽长叹道。

Just then, a little girl ran out into the street. She ran right in front of an automobile. She would have been run over if the scarecrow had not darted (冲) out into the street after her. He picked her up just in time and carried her to the sidewalk in safety.

就在这时, 一个小姑娘跑到街上, 她径直跑到一辆汽车的前面, 如果稻草人没有跟着她冲到路中央, 她一定会被汽车碾过去。就在车到跟前的时候, 稻草人及时救了她, 把她抱到人行道上, 使她转危为安。

The people on the curb (路边) who had seen the scarecrow risk his own life to save the child, began to cheer. The mother of the little girl came running out of her house with tears streaming down her cheeks and thanked him.

路边目睹稻草人舍身救人的人们开始欢呼。小女孩的母亲从家里跑出来, 泪流满面地对他连连称谢。

All at once the scarecrow felt warm and glowing inside. He looked down at his hands and feet and saw they were no longer made of straw but were of flesh and blood. He heard the crowd say, “It takes a brave heart to make a man.”

突然, 稻草人一下子觉得心里暖洋洋, 热乎乎的。他低头看了看自己的手和脚, 发现自己的手脚不再是稻草做的, 而是血肉铸成的。他听到人群在说：“有了勇敢的心灵, 才能成为真正的人。”

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