011 旅馆里的日子

旁白 neutral

The day arrived to start our journey to visit the squire's friends

前往拜访乡绅朋友的日子到了。

旁白 neutral

John and James hitched Ginger and me to the carriage

约翰和詹姆斯把金杰和我套上了马车。

旁白 neutral

Then James drove us to the front doors of the house where the squire and his wife were waiting

然后詹姆斯驾着我们来到房子前门，乡绅和他的妻子正在那里等候。

旁白 neutral

They got in, and we were off

他们上了车，我们就出发了。

旁白 neutral

We were on the road all day

我们一整天都在路上。

旁白 neutral

There were some steep hills along the way, but James drove very carefully

路上有些陡峭的山丘，但詹姆斯驾驶得非常小心。

旁白 neutral

And he always kept us on the smoothest part of the road

而且他总是让我们走在道路最平坦的地方。

旁白 neutral

If the uphill was long, he turned the carriage to the side to let us rest for a moment

如果上坡很长，他就把马车转向路边，让我们休息一会儿。

旁白 neutral

Ginger and I were grateful for his thoughtfulness. It made our job easier

金杰和我很感激他的体贴。这让我们的活儿轻松了不少。

旁白 neutral

Just as the sun was going down, we reached a town

就在太阳落山的时候，我们到达了一个小镇。

旁白 neutral

" We'll stop here for the night," the squire said

“我们今晚就停在这里过夜，”乡绅说道。

旁白 neutral

" Take us to the hotel, please, James."

“詹姆斯，麻烦送我们去旅馆。”

旁白 neutral

" Yes, sir," James said

“好的，先生，”詹姆斯应道。

旁白 neutral

He drove us through the streets and beneath an archway that led into the courtyard of a large hotel

他驾着车穿过街道，经过一道拱门，进入了一家大旅馆的庭院。

旁白 neutral

We left the squire and his wife at the entrance, and then continued on to the stables at the back

我们在入口处让乡绅夫妇下了车，然后继续往后面的马厩走去。

旁白 neutral

A stable worker was waiting for us. He was a little old man with a crooked leg

一位马厩工人正等着我们。他是个身材瘦小的老人，有一条腿是瘸的。

旁白 neutral

But the leg didn't seem to bother him much

不过，那条腿似乎没给他造成多大困扰。

旁白 neutral

He was as active and lively as could be, rushing out to help James unhitch us

他动作麻利、精神十足，快步跑出来帮詹姆斯给我们卸套。

旁白 neutral

" What a beauty you are," he told me in a friendly voice

“你可真是个漂亮的家伙，”他友好地对我说。

旁白 neutral

Let's get you cleaned up so you can rest, all right?"

让我来把你刷洗干净，好让你休息一下，好吗？”

旁白 neutral

He led me into the stable

他领我进了马厩。

旁白 neutral

There were a number of stalls in there, with horses standing in several of them

里面有许多隔栏，有几个隔栏里站着马。

旁白 neutral

Another worker brought Ginger in

另一个工人把金洁带了进来。

旁白 neutral

He began to groom her while the little old man worked on me

他开始为金洁刷毛，而那位小个子老人则照料着我。

旁白 neutral

James watched them both carefully

詹姆斯仔细地看着他们俩。

旁白 neutral

I have never been groomed as lightly and expertly as I was by that little old man

我从未被像那位小个子老人那样轻柔又熟练地梳理过。

旁白 neutral

When he finished, James ran his hands over me

等他完成后，詹姆斯用手掌抚过我全身。

旁白 neutral

" Wow," he said

“哇，”他说。

旁白 neutral

" I thought I was fast at grooming a horse, and my boss John even faster

“我还以为我刷马算快的了，我的老板约翰更快。

旁白 neutral

But you put us both to shame!"

可你让我们俩都自愧不如啊！”

旁白 neutral

" Practice makes perfect," the old man said with a chuckle

"熟能生巧嘛，"老人轻声笑着说了。

旁白 neutral

" And I've had plenty of practice. I've been doing this for forty years!"

"我这手艺可是练出来的。我都干了四十年了！"

旁白 neutral

" Forty years?" James said, sounding impressed." That's a long time."

"四十年？"詹姆斯语带钦佩地说。"那可真不短。"

旁白 neutral

" Yes, indeed," the old man agreed." I started at age twelve

"是啊，没错，"老人表示同意。"我十二岁就开始了。

旁白 neutral

I've always been small, so I was a jockey for a while

我一直个头不大，所以当过一阵子骑师。

旁白 neutral

But one day I was riding in a race when my horse slipped

可有一天，我在比赛时，马失蹄了。

旁白 neutral

I came off and broke my knee, and after that I couldn't ride anymore

我摔下来，膝盖碎了，那之后，我就再也不能骑马了。

旁白 neutral

But I couldn't live without horses, so I got a job at this hotel."

但我离不开马，所以就来了这家旅馆谋生。"

旁白 neutral

" I can see that you do a good job here," James said

"我看得出，您在这儿干得很出色，"詹姆斯说。

旁白 neutral

" Thank you, my boy," the old man said

"谢谢你，我的孩子，"老人说。

旁白 neutral

" I enjoy it, especially when I get the chance to handle an animal like this one."

“我乐在其中，尤其是有机会照料像这样一匹马的时候。”

旁白 neutral

He patted me

他拍了拍我。

旁白 neutral

" If you let me handle a horse for a few minutes, I can always tell you what sort of treatment he's had

“只要你让我照料一匹马几分钟，我总能告诉你他受过什么样的对待。

旁白 neutral

And I can tell this black horse of yours is well-bred and was treated kindly."

我能看出你们这匹黑马血统优良，而且一直受到善待。”

旁白 neutral

After that the old man put me in a stall and fed me

之后，老人把我牵进一间马厩，给我喂了食。

旁白 neutral

Ginger was in the stall beside me, and we were both glad to have a rest after our long day on the road

金格尔在我旁边的隔间里，在长途跋涉一整天后，我们都很高兴能休息一下。

旁白 neutral

Later that evening a different worker came in to give us more hay and water

那天晚上晚些时候，另一位工人进来给我们添了些干草和水。

旁白 neutral

Horses stood in every stall by now, and he was busy taking care of us all

现在每间马厩都站着马，他正忙着照看我们所有马。

旁白 neutral

Then a young man wandered in. He was smoking a pipe

这时，一个年轻人溜达了进来。他正抽着烟斗。

旁白 neutral

" Hello, Fowler," the worker greeted him." Could you do me a favor?"

“你好，福勒，”工人跟他打招呼。“能帮我个忙吗？”

旁白 neutral

" Sure, what is it?" The young man let out a puff of smoke from his pipe

“当然，什么事？”年轻人从烟斗里吐出一口烟。

旁白 neutral

" Climb up into the loft and toss down some more hay," the worker said

“爬到干草棚上去，再扔些干草下来，”工人说。

旁白 neutral

" But be sure to set down your pipe first."

“但你一定要先把烟斗放下。”

旁白 neutral

" All right." The young man hurried off out of sight

“好的。”年轻人匆匆走开，不见了踪影。

旁白 neutral

Just then James came into the stable to check on Ginger and me

就在这时，詹姆斯走进马厩来看望金格尔和我。

旁白 neutral

" Everything looks fine here," he said, giving us each a pat

“这里看起来一切都好，”他说着，拍了拍我们俩。

旁白 neutral

" Get some rest, and I'll see you in the morning."

“好好休息，我明早来看你们。”

旁白 neutral

Shortly after he left, the stable went dark and quiet for the night

他离开后不久，马厩便暗了下来，安静地进入了夜晚。

旁白 neutral

I ate a little more hay, and then drifted off to sleep

我又吃了点干草，然后昏昏沉沉地睡着了。

旁白 neutral

I awoke sometime later, feeling strangely uncomfortable

不知过了多久，我醒了过来，感到一种奇怪的不舒服。

旁白 neutral

At first I wasn't sure why

起初我不确定是为什么。

旁白 neutral

I stood, coughing. A moment later Ginger coughed too

我站起来，咳嗽着。不一会儿，金格尔也咳了起来。

旁白 neutral

The air was thick with smoke, and a crackling sound came from the loft overhead

空气里弥漫着浓烟，头顶的干草棚传来噼噼啪啪的声响。

旁白 neutral

Suddenly there was a cry from somewhere outside: " Fire!"

突然，外面传来一声喊叫：“着火啦！”