004 适应新生活

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In some ways life at Birtwick Park was a lot like life at Farmer Grey's

在某些方面，伯威克庄园的生活和农夫格雷家很相似。

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The people were kind, and I had plenty to eat and drink

这里的人很和善，我也有充足的食物和水。

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I was frequently ridden and hitched to the carriage

我经常被骑乘，也被套上马车。

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But in other ways, things were different

但在其他方面，情况就不同了。

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For one thing, I wasn't hitched beside my mother anymore

首先，我不再和我的母亲并排拉车了。

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My new partner was Ginger, the tall chestnut mare

我的新伙伴是金吉，那匹高大的栗色母马。

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The first time we were hitched together, I couldn't help being worried

我们第一次被套在一起时，我不由自主地感到担心。

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What if we didn't get along?

要是我们合不来怎么办？

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What if she wouldn't pull her share of the weight?

要是她不肯出她自己那份力怎么办？

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As soon as we got started, I felt much better

我们一出发，我就感觉好多了。

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Ginger was an honest worker

金吉干活很实在。

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She did her full share of the work, even while going uphill

她每次都完成了自己的那份工作，即使是在上坡的时候。

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In fact, we made a good team!

事实上，我们配合得很好！

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At first she didn't have much to say to me

起初她不太跟我说话。

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But after we'd been out together a few times, we started to become friends

但是我们一同外出几次后，开始交起了朋友。

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Merrylegs and I were friends from the first day I arrived

欢蹄和我从我来的第一天起就是朋友了。

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He was so cheerful, friendly, and sociable that he made me feel right at home

他那么快乐、友好、合群，让我很快就有了家的感觉。

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The squire's daughters, Jessie and Flora, came to visit him almost every day

乡绅的女儿们，杰西和弗洛拉，几乎每天都来看望他。

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They loved to ride him around the orchard or take him driving

她们喜欢骑着他在果园里兜风，或者让他拉车。

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There were also two other horses on the estate

庄园里还有另外两匹马。

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They lived in a different part of the stable, but sometimes we all grazed together in the orchard

它们住在马厩的另一部分，但有时我们都一起在果园里吃草。

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The first horse was called Justice

第一匹马叫贾斯蒂斯。

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He was a sturdy horse who was used for riding and driving

它是一匹结实的马，被用于骑乘和拉车。

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The second was Sir Oliver, an elderly brown horse

第二匹是奥利弗勋爵，一匹年迈的棕色马。

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He was too old to work much anymore

它太老了，不能再干太多活了。

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But he was so gentle and reliable that the squire sometimes used him to carry one of his daughters when the whole family rode together

但它非常温顺可靠，乡绅有时在全家一起骑行时，用它驮着他的一个女儿。

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Sir Oliver was just as careful with the little girls as Merrylegs himself

奥利弗勋爵对这些小女孩的细心程度，和欢蹄一样。

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As I said, I got to know these two when all the horses were put out together in the old orchard

正如我说的，当所有的马都被放到老果园里时，我认识了这两匹马。

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Sadly, though, this didn't happen nearly often enough for me

可惜的是，对我来说，这种事发生的次数远远不够。

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That was the biggest change of all in my life at Birtwick Park

这是我在伯威克庄园生活中最大的变化。

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For my first four years, I got to run and play as much as I liked in my pleasant field

在我生命的头四年里，我可以在舒适的田野里随心所欲地尽情奔跑和玩耍。

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But now I spent most of my time standing in my stall

但现在，我大部分时间都站在自己的马栏里。

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It was large and airy, but it was still boring compared to that big, grassy field

它虽然宽敞通风，但与那片广阔的草地田野相比，还是无聊得很。

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I only got to go out in the orchard once a week or so

我大概每周只能去一次果园外面。

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I don't mean to complain. James, John, and the squire treated me very well

我倒不是想抱怨。詹姆斯、约翰和乡绅都待我非常好。

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But I was a young horse with a lot of energy and spirit

但我是一匹年轻力壮、充满活力的马。

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I was used to being able to gallop around whenever I felt the urge

我习惯了只要一有冲动就能随时到处飞奔。

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Now I had to stay still and behave myself no matter how much energy I had

现在，不管我精力有多旺盛，都必须安静地待着，规规矩矩。

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It was very difficult sometimes!

这有时候真的很难！

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John was usually the one to exercise me when the squire didn't need me himself

乡绅自己不用我的时候，通常是约翰来带我出去活动。

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One day when he saddled me up, I was feeling extra lively

一天，他给我备鞍时，我感觉格外有精神。

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I hadn't had much exercise that week, and it was almost impossible to stay quiet

那一周我都没怎么活动，几乎没办法保持安静。

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I couldn't help prancing as soon as John mounted

约翰一骑上来，我就忍不住蹦蹦跳跳。

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" Steady, my boy," he said with a laugh

“稳着点，小伙子。”他笑着说。

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" Let's just get out of the stable yard, and then I'll let you trot, all right?"

“我们先出了马厩院子，然后我就让你小跑，行吗？”

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I was almost bursting out of my skin

我简直要按捺不住了。

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But I stayed at a prancing walk as he rode me out of the yard

但他骑着我出院子时，我还是保持着一种蹦跳似的慢步。

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Once we reached a quiet lane, he let me move into a brisk trot

一到安静的小路上，他就让我轻快地小跑起来。

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That was better!

这下好多了！

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I surged forward eagerly, and after a few miles, I felt much calmer

我急切地向前冲去，跑了几英里后，感觉平静多了。

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" There you go, Black Beauty." John gave me a pat as he brought me back to a walk

“这就对了，黑骏马。”约翰让我恢复慢步，轻轻拍了拍我。

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" I think you needed that."

“我想你需要这个。”

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He was right. I felt like a different horse, calm and content

他说得对。我感觉像换了一匹马，平静又满足。

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I was happy to walk along quietly as he turned us back toward home

当他调转方向带我回家时，我很乐意安静地走着。

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John kept talking to me as we rode. Or maybe he was talking to himself

我们骑马时，约翰一直在跟我说话。或许他是在自言自语。

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It's sometimes hard to tell with people

有时候人们的心思很难猜。

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Either way I pricked my ears to listen to his soothing voice

不管怎样，我都竖起耳朵听他令人安心的声音。

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" A spirited horse like you isn't meant to stand around without enough exercise," John said

“像你这样精力旺盛的马，不该缺少运动却总站着不动。”约翰说。

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" Some people might see you prancing around and think you're a nervous horse

“有些人看见你蹦蹦跳跳，可能会以为你是匹容易紧张的马。

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But I know that all you need is to move

但我知道，你只是需要活动活动。

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After all that's what horses were made to do."

毕竟，马生来就该是这样的。”

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Having to stand in my stall so much made me enjoy my time in the orchard even more

因为总得待在马厩里，我在果园的时光就更加愉快了。

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It was pleasant out there, with grass to nibble and shade from the old trees

那里很惬意，有青草可以啃，还有老树的荫凉。

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Usually all the horses were turned out together

通常所有的马会被一起放出来。

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That gave me a chance to get to know the others better

这让我有机会更好地了解其他伙伴。

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And I soon discovered that they had some amazing, though sad, stories to tell — especially Ginger

我很快发现，它们都有一些令人惊叹却又悲伤的故事要讲——特别是金吉。