013 新的马夫

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We arrived home from our trip to visit the squire's friends a few days later

几天后，我们拜访完乡绅的朋友们，回到了家。

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John was waiting at the stable to help James settle Ginger and me back into our stalls

约翰在马厩等着，帮詹姆斯把金杰和我安顿回各自的马厩。

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He was glad to hear that James had done well with the driving

他很高兴听说詹姆斯驾车表现很好。

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That meant James would soon be ready to go to his new job

这意味着詹姆斯很快就能去新工作了。

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" I wonder who's going to take my job here," James said

“不知道谁会接替我的工作。”詹姆斯说。

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" It's already been decided," John told him

“已经定了。”约翰告诉他。

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" Little Joe Green will be coming in to start tomorrow."

“小乔·格林明天就来上班。”

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" Little Joe!" James exclaimed." But he's only a child!"

“小乔！”詹姆斯惊叫道，“可他还是个孩子啊！”

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" He's fourteen and a half," John said

“他十四岁半了。”约翰说。

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" And he may be small, but he's quick and kindhearted and eager to learn

“他虽然个头小，但机灵善良，又肯学。

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That's why I've agreed to give him a chance for six weeks

所以我同意给他六周的试用期。

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If he does well in that time, he'll get the job

如果他这段时间表现好，就能得到这份工作。

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He's starting right away so you can help me teach him what to do."

他马上就开始，这样你可以帮我们教他该做什么。

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The next day Little Joe arrived at the stable bright and early

第二天，小乔一大清早就来到了马厩。

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He was just as young and small as John and James had said

他正如约翰和詹姆斯所说的那样年轻矮小。

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And it was plain to see that he didn't know anything at all about working in a stable

而且一眼就能看出，他对马厩的工作一无所知。

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But he was ready and willing to learn everything he could

但他已准备好并且愿意尽他所能去学习一切。

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He always had a cheerful expression on his face and a kind word for us horses

他脸上总是挂着愉快的表情，对我们马儿说话也很友善。

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He liked to whistle while he worked, and I enjoyed listening to his happy tunes

他喜欢一边干活一边吹口哨，我也很享受听他那些欢快的曲子。

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Little Joe soon learned how to sweep the stable, to bring in hay and straw, and to clean the harness

小乔很快就学会了打扫马厩、搬运干草和稻草，还有清洁马具。

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He was always quick to offer to help with anything that needed to be done, from cleaning out the stalls to polishing the carriage

他总是很快就主动帮忙做任何需要做的事，从清扫马厩到擦亮马车。

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And he never complained, even when the work was hard or dull

而且他从不抱怨，即使活儿很辛苦或枯燥。

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James seemed pleased with the new boy's progress

詹姆斯似乎对这个新来的男孩的进步感到满意。

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After a while he decided it was time to teach him how to groom a horse

过了些时候，他决定该教他如何刷马了。

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" You're a little too short to do much good with Black Beauty or Ginger

“你个头太矮，刷黑骏马或金吉还不太行。

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I'm afraid you can't even reach halfway up their sides," James said with a chuckle

恐怕你连它们身体的一半高都够不着，”詹姆斯笑着说。

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" I'll have to teach you on Merrylegs

“我得用梅里莱格来教你。

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In fact I'm going to put you in charge of taking full care of Merrylegs from now on, with John keeping an eye on you, of course

实际上，从现在起我打算让你全面负责照料梅里莱格，当然，约翰会盯着你的。

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Merrylegs has always been a special favorite of mine, so you'd better do a good job."

梅里莱格一直是我特别喜欢的一匹马，所以你最好干得漂漂亮亮的。”

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" Oh, I will, sir!" Little Joe said eagerly." Thank you, sir!"

“哦，我一定会的，先生！”小乔急切地说。“谢谢您，先生！”

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At first Merrylegs wasn't very pleased about this new plan

起初，梅里莱格对这个新安排不太高兴。

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I heard him grumble more than once about being handled by a boy who knew nothing

我不止一次听到他抱怨，说自己被一个什么都不懂的孩子照料。

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But Little Joe did his best to do everything right

但小乔尽最大努力把每件事都做好。

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By the end of the second week, the pony was complaining much less

到了第二周快结束，小马的抱怨少多了。

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He even told me he thought the boy might turn out okay after all!

他甚至告诉我，他觉得那孩子最终可能会挺不错！

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At last the day arrived for James to leave for his new job

詹姆斯去新工作的日子终于到了。

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Everyone was very sad to see him go

看到他离开，大家都很伤心。

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Even James himself looked sad when he came to the stable for the last time

就连詹姆斯自己最后一次来马厩时，看起来也很伤感。

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" I'm excited about my new job, of course," he told John with a sigh

"我对新工作当然很兴奋，"他叹了口气对约翰说。

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" But I can't stop thinking about everything I'll be leaving behind here

"但我忍不住去想留在这里的一切。

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I'll miss you and the squire and everyone else here too

我会想念你，还有乡绅，以及这里的每一个人。

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Then there are the horses, and my good little Merrylegs — what will I do without them?"

还有这些马，还有我的好小梅里莱格——没有他们我该怎么办？"

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" It's very hard on all of us to see you go, James," John told him

"看到你走，我们大家都很难受，詹姆斯，"约翰对他说。

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" Especially on me. You've been such a help to me for the past few years

"尤其是我。过去这几年，你帮了我这么大的忙。

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So I don't blame you for being sad. In fact, I'd be disappointed if you weren't."

所以我不怪你难过。其实，你要是不难过，我反倒会失望。"

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James smiled at that

詹姆斯听了这话微微一笑。

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" Cheer up though," John went on

"不过，打起精神来，"约翰接着说。

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" You're a fine worker, and you'll soon make friends at your new place."

"你是个好员工，到了新地方很快会交到朋友的。"

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" Thanks for everything," James said." I'll miss you."

"谢谢你做的一切，"詹姆斯说。"我会想你的。"

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Then he walked around the stable and gave us all a few more pats and scratches

然后，他在马厩里走了一圈，又给了我们每人几下轻拍和抚摸。

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A moment later he was gone

片刻之后，他离开了。

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We all missed him a lot over the next week or two, but no one missed him more than Merrylegs

接下来一两个星期，我们都很想念他，但谁也没梅里莱格想得那么厉害。

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The pony pined after James so much that he stopped eating for a few days

小马太想念詹姆斯了，有好几天都不吃东西。

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John decided the best way to cheer him up was to give him more exercise

约翰认定，让他振作起来的最好办法是让他多活动。

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So the next few times he took me out, he brought Merrylegs along with us on a lead

所以接下来几次带我出去时，他用缰绳带上梅里莱格和我们一起。

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The little pony trotted and galloped along by my side, and that did the trick

小马在我身旁小跑、飞奔，这招还真管用。

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Before long Merrylegs was just as playful and cheerful as ever

没过多久，梅里莱格就又是一副活泼欢快的样子了。