002 开始训练

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I was almost four years old when Farmer Grey brought another man to see me

我差不多四岁时，格雷农夫带着另一个人来看我。

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It was Squire Gordon

那是戈登乡绅。

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" What a fine-looking horse," the squire said, gazing at me

“多漂亮的马啊，”乡绅看着我说。

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Indeed I was growing up to be very handsome

确实，我越长越英俊了。

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I was jet-black except for one white hoof and a white star on my forehead

我通体乌黑，只有一只白蹄和额头上的一颗白星。

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" I'll start training him soon," Farmer Grey said

“我很快会开始训练他，”格雷农夫说。

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" I like to let horses grow up before I ride them

“我喜欢让马儿长大一些再骑。

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Boys should not work like men."

男孩子不应该像成人一样干活。”

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Squire Gordon chuckled, and then looked into my eyes

戈登乡绅轻声笑了笑，然后凝视着我的眼睛。

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He gently opened my mouth to examine my teeth, and ran his hands up and down my legs

他轻轻掰开我的嘴检查牙齿，又用手上下抚摸着我的腿。

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" May I see how he moves?" he asked

“我能看看它怎么走吗？”他问道。

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" Of course," Farmer Grey replied

“当然可以，”格雷农夫回答。

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I walked, trotted, and cantered while the two men watched

我走了起来，小跑，然后慢跑，两位男士在旁边观看。

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When I finished, the squire looked pleased

我展示完后，乡绅看起来很满意。

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" Please call me when he's trained," he said

“等它训练好了，请打电话给我，”他说。

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" This horse is exactly what I'm looking for."

“这匹马正是我想要的。”

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The next day I began my training

第二天，我开始了训练。

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I already knew how to do lots of things

我已经会做很多事情了。

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I could wear a halter and walk calmly beside a human

我可以戴上笼头，平静地走在人类身旁。

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I could pick up my feet nicely so my hooves could be trimmed

我可以乖乖地抬起蹄子，好让人修剪马蹄。

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But now I found there was much more to learn!

但现在我发现要学的东西还多着呢！

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First came the bridle, which looked a little like a halter

先来的是笼头，看起来有点像缰绳。

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But there was one big difference: the bit

但有一个很大的不同：衔铁。

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That was a piece of metal attached to the leather straps

那是一块连在皮条上的金属。

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Imagine my surprise when Farmer Grey put the bit into my mouth!

你能想象当格雷农夫把衔铁放进我嘴里时，我有多惊讶吗！

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I tried to spit it right back out

我马上就想把它吐出来。

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But Farmer Grey used kind words and some grain to convince me not to do so

但格雷好言相劝，还用一些谷物让我接受了它。

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Still, having the bit in my mouth was a very strange feeling

不过，嘴里含着衔铁的感觉还是很奇怪。

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I did not like it at all!

我一点也不喜欢！

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Next Farmer Grey set a saddle gently on my back

接下来，格雷农夫轻轻地在我背上放了一个马鞍。

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There was a strap that he fastened under my body to hold the saddle in place

他还在我肚子下面系了一根带子，把马鞍固定住。

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I didn't mind that too much — especially when he gave me more grain

我倒不怎么介意——尤其是他还会多给我一些谷物。

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After that Farmer Grey saddled and bridled me every day and led me around

从那以后，格雷农夫每天都给我备上鞍、套上笼头，牵着我到处走走。

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He also gave me extra grain, along with lots of pats and kind words

他还额外给我谷物，并且不停地拍拍我，说些鼓励的话。

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Before long I looked forward to my training sessions

没过多久，我就开始期待训练了。

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Then one day Farmer Grey lifted himself into the saddle and sat on my back

然后有一天，格雷农夫翻身坐上了马鞍，骑在了我的背上。

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It felt strange, but I could hear his voice talking to me from up there, so I wasn't afraid

感觉怪怪的，但我能听到他从上面传来的说话声，所以我并不害怕。

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Soon Farmer Grey was riding me around the farm every day

很快，格雷农夫每天都骑着我在农场里转。

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Then he brought out a driving harness

接着，他拿出了一副驾车用的挽具。

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My mother and the other adult horses wore this harness whenever they were hooked to a cart or carriage

我妈妈和其他成年的马在被套上货车或马车时，都会佩戴这种挽具。

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The harness had a stiff, heavy collar and a bridle with two squares of leather, called blinkers, attached to it

马具有一个又硬又重的轭，还有一副笼头，上面连着两块方形的皮革，叫做眼罩。

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With the blinkers on, I could see straight ahead, but not to the sides

戴上眼罩后，我只能直视前方，却看不到两边。

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More harness pieces crossed my body, and a stiff strap went under my tail

更多的马具部件绕过我的身体，还有一条硬邦邦的皮带勒在我的尾巴下面。

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The tail strap was called a crupper, and I liked it even less than the bit

那条尾巴上的皮带叫做尾鞦，我对它的厌恶甚至超过了衔铁。

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The first time Farmer Grey put the crupper on me, I felt like kicking

格雷农夫第一次给我戴上尾鞦时，我真想尥蹶子。

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But my mother had taught me well, and I kept my feet on the ground

但我的母亲把我教得很好，所以我管住了自己的蹄子。

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I almost forgot to mention one more part of my training

我差点忘了提我训练的另一部分。

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My master sent me to a nearby farm for a couple of weeks

我的主人把我送到附近的一个农场待了几周。

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I was put out in a field with some sheep and cows

我被放开到一片牧场上，和几只绵羊、几头奶牛待在一起。

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There was plenty of delicious grass, so I started to eat

那里有很多美味的青草，于是我开始吃了起来。

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Then I heard a roar in the distance

接着，我听到远处传来一声咆哮。

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Seconds later a huge, noisy black monster rushed into view!

几秒钟后，一个巨大、吵闹的黑色怪物冲进了视野！

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It terrified me so much that I galloped to the far end of the field

它把我吓坏了，我飞奔到了牧场的另一头。

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To my surprise, though, the sheep and cows didn't react at all!

不过，令我惊讶的是，那些绵羊和奶牛竟然毫无反应！

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I soon found out that the monster was called a train

我很快就发现，那个怪物叫做火车。

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And I learned why none of the other animals seemed to notice the noise

我也明白了为什么其他动物似乎都对那噪音毫不在意。

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Trains raced past that field several times every day

每天，火车都会从那片牧场旁疾驰而过好几次。

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At first I ran away each time

起初，我每次都会跑开。

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Then I stopped running and just lifted my head to watch

后来，我不再跑了，只是抬起头看着。

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Finally I got used to the trains, just as I'd grown used to the bit, the saddle, the harness, and even the crupper

最终，我习惯了火车，就像我已经习惯了衔铁、马鞍、马具，甚至是尾鞦一样。

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I returned home, and Farmer Grey started hooking me to a cart and driving me around the neighborhood

我回到了家，格雷农夫开始把我套在一辆马车上，赶着我在附近转悠。

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He usually hitched my mother beside me

他通常把我母亲套在我旁边。

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She was a good, calm horse who helped to teach me what to do

她是一匹优秀、沉稳的马，帮着我教我该怎么做。

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" You're learning fast, my son," she told me

“你学得很快，我的孩子，”她对我说。

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" I'm glad because the better you behave, the better humans will treat you."

“我很高兴，因为你表现得越好，人类就会对你越好。”

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" What do you mean?" I asked her

“你这话是什么意思？”我问她。

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" Farmer Grey always treats all the horses well."

“格雷农夫对所有的马一直都很好的啊。”

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" Yes," she agreed." But other humans aren't always as kind as our master."

“是的，”她同意道。“但别的人并不总是像咱们主人一样善良。”

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I wasn't sure why I should worry about what other humans were like

我不太明白，为什么我要担心别人是什么样子。

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But later I would find out more about that

但后来，我对这件事有了更多的了解。