008 风暴中的危险

旁白 neutral

One late autumn day, John hitched me to the high-wheeled cart

深秋的一天，约翰把我套上高轮马车。

旁白 neutral

Then he and the squire climbed in and we drove out through the gate

然后他和乡绅上了车，我们驶出了大门。

旁白 neutral

The squire had to go to a certain town on business

乡绅必须去某个镇上办事。

旁白 neutral

The town was several hours away, but I didn't mind the work

那镇子有几小时的路程，但我并不介意这份差事。

旁白 neutral

The cart was light and easy to pull, and the weather was brisk and cool

马车又轻又好拉，天气也清爽凉快。

旁白 neutral

It had rained a lot recently, so there were puddles everywhere

最近下了很多雨，所以到处是水坑。

旁白 neutral

The wind blew fallen leaves across the road in colorful showers

风把落叶吹得五颜六色，像阵雨般飘过路面。

旁白 neutral

Soon we reached the first toll bridge

很快，我们到了第一座收费桥。

旁白 neutral

The river was high because of all the rain

河水因为连日大雨涨得很高。

旁白 neutral

The flat wooden bridge was just a few inches above the water

那座平坦的木桥离水面只有几英寸。

旁白 neutral

The toll keeper stepped out of his hut

收费站管理员从小屋里走了出来。

旁白 neutral

" The river's still rising," he told the squire and John

“河水还在上涨，”他对乡绅和约翰说。

旁白 neutral

" I'm afraid it could be a bad night."

“恐怕今晚会很难熬。”

旁白 neutral

The squire looked out at the bridge

乡绅朝桥那边望去。

旁白 neutral

" Your bridge has strong rails on both sides," he said

“你的桥两边都有结实的栏杆，”他说。

旁白 neutral

" I doubt you'll have any trouble here. But we'll be careful."

“我觉得你这里不会有什么麻烦。不过我们会小心的。”

旁白 neutral

We crossed the bridge and continued on our way

我们过了桥，继续赶路。

旁白 neutral

When we reached the town, John took me to a local stable to rest and eat while the squire went to take care of his business

到达镇上后，约翰把我带到当地的一个马厩休息吃东西，乡绅则去处理他的事务。

旁白 neutral

By the time the squire reappeared, it was late afternoon. We started for home

等乡绅再次出现时，已经是下午晚些时候了。我们启程回家。

旁白 neutral

" The wind is getting worse," John said as we drove out of town

“风越来越大了，”约翰在我们驶出镇子时说道。

旁白 neutral

" I don't think we've ever been out in such a terrible storm!"

“我觉着我们从来没有在这么可怕的暴风雨里出过门！”

旁白 neutral

The road passed some fields and then entered a forest

大路经过几片田野，然后进入了一片森林。

旁白 neutral

The wind whipped the tree branches around overhead, making me a little nervous

风把头顶的树枝吹得来回摇晃，让我有点儿紧张。

旁白 neutral

The squire also sounded nervous as he spoke

乡绅说话时，也听上去很紧张。

旁白 neutral

" I wish we were out of this forest," he said

“真希望我们已经走出这片林子了，”他说。

旁白 neutral

" Me too," John agreed." I hope none of these branches fall on us."

“我也是，”约翰附和道，“但愿不会有树枝掉到咱们身上。”

旁白 neutral

Just as he spoke, there was a loud crack above us

话音刚落，我们头顶就传来咔嚓一声巨响。

旁白 neutral

A second later a large limb crashed down onto the road ahead, blocking our way

一秒钟后，一根大树枝轰隆砸在前头的路上，挡住了去路。

旁白 neutral

The noise and surprise startled me terribly. I stopped short and trembled

那声响和突如其来的惊吓把我吓坏了。我猛地停住，浑身直抖。

旁白 neutral

Many horses would have spun around and run away

换作很多马，早就掉头跑掉了。

旁白 neutral

But I had learned not to do that, and so I stood as still as I could

但我已经学会不那样做了，所以尽我所能站得稳稳的。

旁白 neutral

John jumped out and hurried to my head

约翰跳下车，急忙赶到我头旁。

旁白 neutral

" Good boy," he said." It's okay, there's nothing to fear. It missed us."

“好孩子，”他说。“没事的，没什么好怕的。它没砸到我们。”

旁白 neutral

" Yes, but barely," the squire said

“是啊，就差一点儿，”乡绅说。

旁白 neutral

" And now we can't go on. What should we do?"

“现在我们没法往前走了。该怎么办？”

旁白 neutral

They decided we would have to go back to the last crossroads and take a different way home

他们决定我们得返回到上一个岔路口，换条路回家。

旁白 neutral

We did just that, but it took a long time

我们就这样做了，但花了很长时间。

旁白 neutral

By the time we reached the toll bridge again, it was almost dark

等我们再次到达收费桥时，天色几乎全暗了。

旁白 neutral

We approached the bridge at a steady walk

我们踏着稳健的步伐向桥靠近。

旁白 neutral

But as soon as my feet touched the wooden boards, I stopped short

但我的蹄子一碰到木板，我就猛地停下了。

旁白 neutral

I could feel that there was something different about the bridge

我能感觉到这座桥有些不对劲。

旁白 neutral

Something was wrong

有什么地方出了问题。

旁白 neutral

" Go on, Beauty," called the squire

"走吧，骏马，" 乡绅喊道。

旁白 neutral

He flicked the whip lightly to urge me forward

他轻轻抖了抖鞭子，催我往前走。

旁白 neutral

But the bridge felt so strange, I stayed where I was

可桥的感觉太奇怪了，我待在原地没动。

旁白 neutral

The squire flicked the whip again

乡绅又抖了一下鞭子。

旁白 neutral

It stung me a little harder this time, making me jump in place

这次抽得有点疼，让我在原地跳了一下。

旁白 neutral

Still I didn't dare take a step farther onto the bridge

我还是不敢再往桥上迈一步。

旁白 neutral

" Wait, sir," John said." Maybe there's something wrong."

"等等，先生，" 约翰说，"也许真有什么不对劲。"

旁白 neutral

He jumped out of the cart and walked up to my head

他跳下马车，走到我的头旁边。

旁白 neutral

" What's the matter, Beauty?" he asked in his soothing way." Come on, let's go."

"怎么了，骏马？" 他用安抚的语气问道，"来吧，我们走。"

旁白 neutral

At that moment the toll keeper burst out of his hut on the far side of the river

就在这时，收费站管理员从河对岸的小屋里冲了出来。

旁白 neutral

He waved a light around over his head and let out a shout

他把一盏灯在头顶上方挥舞着，大喊了一声。

旁白 neutral

" Stop, stop!" he cried." The bridge is broken in the middle

"停下，停下！" 他喊道，"桥中间断了。

旁白 neutral

If you try to cross, you'll end up in the river!"

你们要是试着过桥，会掉进河里的！"

旁白 neutral

" Oh my!" the squire exclaimed." What a close call!"

"哦，天哪！" 乡绅惊呼道，"好险啊！"

旁白 neutral

" Good boy," John murmured to me

"好孩子，" 约翰低声对我说。

旁白 neutral

He took me by the bridle and gently turned me around

他牵住我的笼头，轻轻地把我调转了方向。

旁白 neutral

Then he climbed back into the cart, and we continued down the river to the next bridge

然后他爬回马车，我们沿着河边继续前行，去往下一座桥。

旁白 neutral

It was built much higher over the water, and we crossed safely

那座桥建得高出水面很多，我们安全地过了河。

旁白 neutral

When we finally arrived home, it was well after dark

当我们终于到家时，天早已黑透了。

旁白 neutral

We found the mistress waiting up for us despite the late hour

我们发现女主人尽管时间已晚，还没睡在等我们。

旁白 neutral

" Are you safe?" she cried, hurrying out to greet us." I was so worried!"

"你们没事吧？" 她喊着，急忙跑出来迎接我们，"我都担心死了！"

旁白 neutral

" Yes, my dear," the squire said

"没事，亲爱的，" 乡绅说道。

旁白 neutral

" We are safe. But only thanks to our fine Black Beauty

"我们平安无事。但这全靠我们这匹出色的黑骏马。

旁白 neutral

If he hadn't been wiser than John and me, we all would have been swept into the river and drowned."

要不是他比约翰和我都更明智，我们全都会被卷进河里淹死了。"

旁白 neutral

He went into the house so I couldn't hear any more of what he said

他走进了屋子，所以后面的话我就听不到了。

旁白 neutral

But I was so tired after the long journey, I didn't mind

但长途跋涉后我实在太累了，也就没在意。

旁白 neutral

John took me to the stable and unhitched me

约翰把我带到马厩，解下了我的挽具。

旁白 neutral

Then he gave me a warm mash with lots of extra carrots, along with extra pats and praise

然后他给了我一盆热的糊糊，加了好多额外的胡萝卜，还一边多拍了我几下，多夸了我几句。