001 黑骏马的第一个家

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What is it like to be a horse?

做一匹马是什么感觉呢？

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I can tell you because I've been one all my life. And what a life it has been!

我可以告诉你，因为我这一辈子都是马。而且，这是多么精彩的一生啊！

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The first thing I remember is the field where I was born

我能记起的第一件事，就是我出生的那片田野。

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It had plenty of grass, a pond, and trees for shade

那里有充足的青草、一个池塘，还有可以遮荫的树木。

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There was a shed at one end where we could stand when it was cold

田野的一头有个棚子，天冷的时候我们可以待在那里。

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Outside the fence lay more fields, a stream, and our master's house

栅栏外，是更多的田野、一条小溪，还有我们主人的房子。

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My mother's name was Duchess, and she was a favorite of the master because of her sweet nature

我妈妈名叫女公爵，因为她性情温顺，深得主人喜爱。

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Whenever she saw him, she would neigh and trot over to greet him

每当她看到他，就会嘶鸣着，小跑过去迎接他。

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There were other mares and foals in the field as well

田野里还有其他的母马和小马驹。

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I ran and played with the other males

我常和其他的小公马一起奔跑玩耍。

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These colts were all older and bigger than me

这些小马都比我年长，个头也比我大。

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Sometimes their play turned rough, with lots of kicking and biting

有时它们玩闹起来会变得很粗野，又踢又咬。

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One day my mother called me away from them

有一天，妈妈把我从它们身边叫开了。

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" I hope you will grow up gentle and kind," she told me

“我希望你长大后温和又善良，”她对我说。

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" I do not want you to bite or kick, even in play

“我不希望你咬或者踢，哪怕是在玩耍中。

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You should always be good, and do your work as well as you can."

你应该永远做个好孩子，并且尽力做好你该做的事。”

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I never forgot this advice from my mother

我从未忘记妈妈给我的这个忠告。

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Our master's name was Farmer Grey

我们主人的名字叫农夫格雷。

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He always had kind words and pats for all the horses

他总是对所有马儿说着温和的话语，并拍拍它们。

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He was kind and fair to his workers as well

他对待雇工们也同样和善、公正。

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One of those workers was a boy named Dick

其中一个工人是个名叫迪克的男孩。

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Sometimes, after Dick finished his work, he came into our field to pick berries

有时，迪克干完活后，会到我们的牧场来采浆果。

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And sometimes that wasn't the only thing he did

而有时候，他做的可不止这些。

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" Hey, you!" he yelled at us one day

“嘿，你们！”有一天他朝我们喊道。

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I was grazing nearby with the other colts

我当时正和其它小马在附近吃草。

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We all looked up at the sound of his voice

听到他的声音，我们都抬起了头。

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One of the bigger colts took a step toward him

一匹个头大些的小马朝他迈了一步。

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I could tell the colt was hoping for a treat like the ones Farmer Grey often brought us

我看得出来，那匹小马是希望能得到像农夫格雷常带给我们的那种零食。

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" Go on!" Dick shouted." I want to see you run!"

“快跑！”迪克喊道，“我想看你们跑起来！”

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Then he threw a stick at the big colt! It hit him hard on the chest

接着，他朝那匹大个子小马扔了一根棍子！棍子重重地砸在了它的胸口。

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The colt was so surprised that he snorted, whirled around, and kicked up his heels

小公马大吃一惊，打了个响鼻，猛地转过身，尥起了蹶子。

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Then he galloped off toward the mares, who were grazing at the other end of the field

然后他朝田野另一头正在吃草的母马们跑去。

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That made the rest of us run too. Behind us I heard Dick laughing loudly

这让我们其余的马也跟着跑了起来。我听到身后迪克在哈哈大笑。

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After that Dick often hurled sticks and stones at us to make us run

从那以后，迪克就经常向我们扔棍子和石头，好让我们跑起来。

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Once we understood his game, we stayed far enough away so he couldn't hit us

我们一明白他的把戏，就躲得远远的，这样他就打不到我们了。

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But once in a while a stone would hit me, and it hurt

但偶尔还是会有石头打中我，很疼。

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None of us liked that boy very much

我们全都不太喜欢那个男孩。

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One day Dick began his game as usual

一天，迪克像往常一样开始了他的恶作剧。

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But he didn't know that Farmer Grey was in the next field

但他不知道农夫格雷就在旁边的田里。

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When our master saw what was going on, he rushed over and grabbed Dick by the arm

主人看到发生的事，冲过去一把抓住了迪克的胳膊。

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" Bad boy!" he scolded Dick sternly

“坏小子！”他严厉地斥责迪克。

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" I can tell this is not the first time you've chased the colts

我看得出来，这不是你第一次追赶小马们了。

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But it will be the last time. You're fired!"

但这将是最后一次。你被解雇了！”

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That was the last time we saw Dick

那是我们最后一次见到迪克。

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Other than Dick's visits, most of our days were quiet and pleasant

除了迪克的骚扰，我们大部分日子都过得宁静而愉快。

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Yet there was one other incident that I have never forgotten

然而，还有另一件事我至今难以忘怀。

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I was grazing in the field with the other colts

当时我正和其它小马在田野里吃草。

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We all looked up when we heard dogs howling in the distance

听到远处传来猎犬的嚎叫声，我们都抬起了头。

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The oldest colt pricked his ears and listened

最年长的小马竖起耳朵仔细听。

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" Those are the hounds!" he said, cantering over to the fence

“是猎犬！”他说着，慢跑到围栏旁边。

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The rest of us followed

我们其余的都跟了过去。

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" What's happening?" I asked my mother, who stood there, looking out

“发生什么事了？”我问站在那儿向外望的妈妈。

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" It's the hunt," she told me

“是狩猎，”她告诉我。

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" Humans sometimes chase rabbits and foxes on horseback

“人类有时会骑在马上追赶兔子和狐狸。

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The hounds help them follow the trail."

猎犬帮他们追踪气味。”

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We all watched as the hunters came into sight

我们都看着猎人们出现在视野中。

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The hounds came first, racing after a speedy rabbit

猎犬跑在最前面，紧追着一只敏捷的兔子。

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Next came a group of riders

接着来了一群骑手。

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The rabbit scampered down the hill and leaped across the stream

兔子连跑带跳地冲下山坡，跃过小溪。

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The hounds followed

猎犬紧随其后。

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Most of the horses jumped the stream easily

大多数马都轻松跳过了小溪。

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But one slipped on the grass and fell down

但其中一匹马在草地上滑倒了。

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His rider, a handsome young man, was flung off

马背上的骑手是个英俊的年轻人，被甩了出去。

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He landed hard and lay still on the grass

他重重地摔在地上，躺在草地上不动了。

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The others returned to check on him

其他人返回来查看他的情况。

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But he never got up, and finally they carried him away

但他再也没能站起来，最终他们把他抬走了。

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Later we heard that the fallen rider was George Gordon

后来我们听说，坠马的是乔治·戈登。

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He was the only son of Squire Gordon, the richest man in the area

他是乡绅戈登的独子，戈登是这一带最富有的人。

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George had broken his neck and died in the fall

乔治摔断了脖子，坠马而死。

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When my mother heard the news, she looked sad

妈妈听到这消息时，神情悲伤。

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" I don't understand why people are so interested in hunting," she said

“我不明白人类为什么对狩猎这么感兴趣，”她说。

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" Then again we're only horses

“不过，我们毕竟只是马。

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Who expects us to understand the ways of humans?"

谁会指望我们理解人类的行为呢？”

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I didn't know the answer to that

我也不知道这个问题的答案。

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But soon I would learn more about the mysterious ways of humans, when I left that pleasant field behind forever

但很快，当我永远离开那片愉快的田野时，我就会更多地了解人类神秘的行为了。