009 调皮的男孩

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One day John Manly and I rode out to deliver a message for the squire

一天，约翰·曼利和我骑马去为乡绅送信。

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On our way home, we saw a teenage boy riding a stout black pony

回家路上，我们看见一个少年骑着一匹壮实的黑马驹。

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John and I watched as the boy rode the pony toward a gate near the road

约翰和我看着男孩策马朝路边的一扇门走去。

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On either side of the gate was a tall hedge

门的两侧是高大的树篱。

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" Is he crazy?" John murmured

“他疯了吗？”约翰咕哝道。

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" That gate is much too high for a pony that size to jump."

“那门太高了，这么小的马根本跳不过去。”

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The pony seemed to be thinking the same thing

小马仿佛也这么想。

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When he reached the gate, he veered off to the right and stopped

跑到门前时，它突然右转，停了下来。

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" Hey!" the boy shouted

“嘿！”男孩大喊。

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He spun the pony around and tried again

他调转马头，再次尝试。

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This time he thumped the pony's sides with his heels and gave him several cracks with his whip

这次他用脚后跟猛踢小马的两侧，还用鞭子抽了它好几下。

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But once again the pony refused the jump. Instead he darted off to the left

但小马还是不肯跳，反而猛地向左窜去。

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" You rotten little thing!" the boy cried

“你这讨厌的小东西！”男孩喊道。

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He still didn't notice John and me watching

他仍然没发现约翰和我在看着。

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The boy wheeled the pony around and aimed him at the gate once again, kicking as hard as he could and lashing him with the whip

男孩掉转马头，让它再次对准大门，使劲儿踢它，还不停用鞭子抽。

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The pony's ears were flat back against his head

小马的耳朵紧贴着脑袋向后抿着。

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This time the pony turned neither left nor right

这一次，小马既没往左也没往右转。

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He just stopped short, threw his head down, and bucked several times

它只是猛地停住，低下头，连尥了好几下蹶子。

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The boy tried to hang on. But the last buck sent him flying

男孩想竭力抓紧。可最后那一下尥蹶子直接把他甩飞了。

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He went right over the pony's shoulder, landing headfirst in the thorny hedge

他从小马肩头翻了过去，头朝下栽进满是尖刺的树篱里。

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" Ow!" he yelled, thrashing around." Stupid thorns!"

“哎哟！”他大叫着，扭动着身体。“讨厌的荆棘！”

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Meanwhile the pony spun around and galloped off, his reins dangling

与此同时，小马转过身飞奔而去，缰绳在后面晃来晃去的。

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John burst out laughing." That boy got what he deserved," he said

约翰忍不住大笑起来。“那小子真是活该。”他说。

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The boy heard him." Help!" he called

男孩听到了他的话。“救命！”他喊道。

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" Come help me out of these thorns so I can catch that rotten pony and teach him a lesson!"

“快来帮我从这些荆棘里出来，好让我抓住那匹讨厌的小马，好好教训它一顿！”

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" I think you're the one who needs the lesson, young man," John said

“我想，需要教训的是你吧，小伙子。”约翰说。

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" And those thorns seem to be giving you one

“而且，这些荆棘好像正在给你教训呢。

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Maybe next time you'll know better than to try to make your pony jump over such a high gate

也许下次你就会明白，不该试图让你的小马跳过这么高的大门。

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Or to use the whip so cruelly."

也不该那么残忍地用鞭子。”

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We rode off, with the boy's cries following us part of the way

我们骑马走开了，男孩的哭喊声跟了我们一路。

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When we reached the next intersection, John turned off to the right

到了下一个路口，约翰向右拐去。

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" I think we'd better stop by Farmer Bushby's house, Beauty," he said

“我想我们最好在布什比农夫家停一下，黑骏马，”他说。

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" That young man might be a liar as well as a bad rider

“那个年轻人可能不仅骑术糟糕，还爱撒谎。

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It might be better for that pony if we're there to tell his side of the story."

如果我们能在场替那匹小马说说他的遭遇，对他可能会好一些。”

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We rode up to a farmhouse

我们骑到了一座农舍前。

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A man was standing in the road looking back and forth with a worried expression

一个男人站在路上，面带忧色，四处张望。

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His wife was nearby, and she looked frightened too

他的妻子就在附近，看起来也很害怕。

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The black pony was grazing in the yard

那匹黑色的小马正在院子里吃草。

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He was still wearing his saddle, but he looked much more content without his rider

他身上还戴着马鞍，但没有了骑手，他看起来满足多了。

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" Hello, Mr. Manly," the farmer said when he saw us

“你好，曼利先生，”农夫看到我们时说。

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" Have you seen my boy anywhere? His pony just came home without him."

“你们在哪儿看到我儿子了吗？他的小马刚刚自己回家了，他不在上面。”

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" As a matter of fact, I have," John replied

“事实上，我看到了，”约翰回答。

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" And after seeing the way he rides, his pony is better off without him."

“而且，看到他骑马那副样子，那小马不跟着他反而更好。”

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" What do you mean?" the farmer asked

“你这话是什么意思？”农夫问道。

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" Well, sir, I saw your son whipping and kicking that good-looking pony to make him jump," John said

“是这样，先生，我看到你儿子为了让那匹漂亮的小马跳过去，不停地抽它、踢它，”约翰说。

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" But the pony knew better than to try to make it over a gate that was far too high for him

“但那小马很明白，那道门对它来说太高了，根本跳不过去。

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He finally kicked up his heels and tipped the young man into a thorn hedge

它最后尥起蹶子，把小伙子掀进了荆棘篱笆里。

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Your son wanted me to help him out

你儿子想让我帮他出来。

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But I could tell that the boy had no injuries aside from the scratches the thorns were giving him, and so I decided to leave him where he was

可我看得出来，那孩子除了被荆棘刮伤，没受什么真正的伤，所以就决定让他待在原地。

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I love horses, and it bothers me to see them treated badly."

我喜爱马，看到它们受虐待，我心里就难受。”

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The farmer's wife was crying by now." Oh, poor Bill!" she sobbed

这时，农夫的妻子哭了起来。“哦，可怜的比尔！”她抽泣着说。

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" We should go find him and help him."

“我们得去找他，帮帮他呀。”

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" I think I'd better go by myself, my dear," the farmer said with a sigh

“我想我还是一个人去吧，亲爱的，”农夫叹了口气说。

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" This is not the first time Bill has mistreated that pony, or the second either

“这已经不是比尔第一次虐待那匹小马了，也不是第二次。

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It's time to put a stop to it and teach him a lesson." He nodded toward John

是时候制止这种行为，让他吸取教训了。”他朝约翰点了点头。

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" Thank you for letting us know about this, Mr. Manly."

“谢谢你告诉我们这件事，曼利先生。”

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" You're welcome," John said." Good luck with your boy."

“不客气，”约翰说，“祝你那孩子能变好。”

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When we got home, James was there to remove my saddle and groom me

我们回到家时，詹姆斯在那儿，帮我卸下马鞍，梳理毛发。

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While they worked, John told him what had happened

他们忙活的时候，约翰把刚才的事告诉了詹姆斯。

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Soon the two of them were both chuckling

没过一会儿，他们俩都低声笑了起来。

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" I know the boy you mean," James said

“我知道你说的那个男孩，”詹姆斯说。

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" And you were right about his needing that lesson

“你说得对，他确实需要这个教训。

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He's always been careless about animals

他对动物一向漠不关心。

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Maybe this will teach him to treat them better."

也许这件事会让他学会更好地对待它们。”

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" I hope so," John replied." Only a coward is cruel to helpless animals

“希望如此吧，”约翰回答，“只有懦夫才会对无助的动物残忍。

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At least this coward is still only a boy

好在，这个懦夫还只是个孩子。

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If his father can get him to change his ways, there may be hope for him yet."

如果他父亲能让他改过，那他也许还有希望。”