035 我的最后家园

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A few miles down the road, Willie and his grandfather brought me to a halt in front of a pretty cottage

沿着路走了几英里，威利和他的祖父让我停在一座漂亮的小屋前。

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The farmer went to the door while Willie stayed with me

农夫走向门口，威利则陪着我。

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Three ladies came out of the house

三位女士从屋里走了出来。

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One was tall and pale and wrapped in a shawl

一位身材高挑、面色苍白，裹着披肩。

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She was leaning on the arm of a younger lady with dark eyes and a cheerful face

她挽着一位年轻女士的手臂，那位女士黑眼睛，面容愉快。

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The third lady was tall with a kind smile

第三位女士个子高高的，面带和蔼的笑容。

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They all came over to see me

她们都过来看我。

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The cheerful younger lady, whose name was Miss Ellen, seemed to take to me right away

那位愉快的年轻女士叫艾伦小姐，似乎一下子就喜欢上了我。

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" He has a good face," she said, giving me a pat." I like him already!"

“他长得一副好面相，”她说着，拍了拍我，“我已经喜欢上他了！”

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The tall, pale lady, Miss Lavinia, glanced at my knees

高个子、面色苍白的拉维尼亚小姐瞥了一眼我的膝盖。

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" I don't know," she said

“我不知道，” 她说。

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" I'd always be nervous riding behind a horse that's fallen down before."

“骑在一匹曾经摔倒过的马后面，我总会感到紧张。”

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" Many fine horses have scars on their knees, thanks to careless drivers," the farmer said

“许多好马膝盖上都有伤疤，这都怪粗心的车夫，” 农夫说。

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" I suspect that's what happened to this horse

“我怀疑这匹马就是这样。

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But I don't blame you for being cautious

但我不怪你谨慎。

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If you like, you can take him on trial for a while and see what your coachman thinks of him."

如果你愿意，可以先试用他一段时间，看看你的车夫觉得他怎么样。”

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The tall lady, Miss Blomefield, nodded

那位高个子女士，布洛姆菲尔德小姐，点了点头。

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" You've never steered us wrong on a horse yet," she told the farmer

“你在马的事情上从来没让我们上过当，” 她对农夫说。

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" If my sisters agree, we'll gladly give him a try."

“如果我的姐妹们同意，我们很乐意试试他。”

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The next day a handsome young man arrived to pick me up

第二天，一位英俊的年轻人来接我。

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At first he looked pleased. Then he saw my knees and his expression changed

起初他看起来很高兴。然后他看到了我的膝盖，表情就变了。

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" I didn't think you'd recommend a blemished horse to the ladies, sir," he told the farmer

“先生，我没想到你会向女士们推荐一匹有瑕疵的马，”他对农夫说。

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" I know you're a good judge of horses, young man," the farmer replied

“我知道你很会相马，年轻人，”农夫回答说。

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" Just give him a fair trial

“就给他一次公平的试骑吧。

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I think you'll see that he's the safest horse you could want for your ladies."

我想你会发现，他是你能为你的女士们找到的最稳当的马了。”

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The young man agreed and led me back to the ladies' home

年轻人同意了，牵着我回到女士们的家。

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I was put into a comfortable stall. The young man fed me and left me to rest

我被安置在一个舒适的马厩里。年轻人喂了我，就让我休息了。

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The next day, after I'd finished my breakfast, he took me out of my stall and started to groom me

第二天，我吃完早餐后，他把我从马厩里牵出来，开始给我刷毛。

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He pushed aside my forelock to brush my face, and then stopped

他拨开我前额的鬃毛要刷我的脸，然后停住了。

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" That looks just like the star Black Beauty had," he murmured

“这看起来就像黑骏马额头上的那块星斑啊，”他喃喃自语道。

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" This horse is about the same height too. I wonder where old Beauty is now."

“这匹马差不多也是这个高度。不知道老黑骏马现在在哪儿。”

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He continued with his grooming

他继续梳理着我的毛发。

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Soon he came to the little knot I'd had in my neck for years

很快，他摸到了我脖子上那个多年的小结块。

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The groom looked startled

这个马夫看起来吃了一惊。

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He began to look me over carefully, talking to himself all the while

他开始仔细地打量我，一边不停地自言自语。

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" White star, one white foot, this little knot just in that spot..

“白色的星斑，一只白蹄，这个小结块正好在那个位置……

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I can't believe it, here's the little patch of white hair on his back too!

真不敢相信，它背上也有一小撮白毛！

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Oh Beauty, it is you! Black Beauty, do you remember me?

哦，骏马，真的是你！黑骏马，你还记得我吗？

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It's Joe, Little Joe Green!"

我是乔，小乔·格林！”

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He began patting me all over, laughing with delight

他开始高兴地笑着，拍遍了我的全身。

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I can't say I would have recognized him, all grown up as he was

说实话，看到他长得这么高大，我差点没认出来。

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I put my nose up to him to show him that I knew we were friends

我把鼻子凑近他，让他知道，我认出了我们是老朋友。

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" Give you a fair trial!" Little Joe exclaimed with a laugh

“给你一个公平的试用机会！”小乔大笑着说道。

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" I should think so! I wonder who ruined your knees, my old Beauty

“那当然了！我真想知道是谁弄伤了你的膝盖，我的老‘美颜’。

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You must have had some hard times somewhere along the way

这一路走来，你一定吃了不少苦头。

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But you'll have only the best from now on if I have anything to do with it!

但只要我能做主，从今往后，你一定能过上最好的日子！

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I only wish John Manly were here to see you."

我真希望约翰·曼利也能在这儿看看你。”

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That afternoon Little Joe harnessed me and brought me to the house

那天下午，小乔给我套上挽具，把我带到了主屋前。

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Miss Ellen came out to try me, with Little Joe riding along

艾伦小姐出来试骑，小乔则坐在车上陪着。

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She was a good driver and seemed pleased with my paces

她驾车技术很好，而且似乎对我的步态很满意。

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Little Joe told her that he was sure I was Squire Gordon's old Black Beauty

小乔告诉她，他确信我就是戈登乡绅当年的那匹“黑骏马”。

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When we returned, Miss Ellen told her sisters all about it

我们回来后，艾伦小姐把这一切都告诉了她的姐妹们。

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" I'll write to Mrs. Gordon right away and let her know her favorite horse has come to us," she said

她说：“我这就给戈登太太写信，让她知道，她最心爱的马到我们这儿来了。”

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" She'll be so happy to hear it!"

“她知道了一定会非常高兴的！”

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The sisters drove me every day for the next week

接下来的一周，姐妹们每天都驾着我出门。

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Even Miss Lavinia finally found the courage to ride along with the others

就连拉维尼娅小姐，也终于鼓起勇气，和别人一起坐车了。

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They decided to keep me and call me by my old name of Black Beauty

她们决定留下我，还用我的老名字“黑骏马”来称呼我。

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That was a year ago, and I'm still with them and as happy as I've ever been

那已经是一年前的事了。直到现在，我还和她们在一起，过着从未有过的幸福生活。

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Little Joe and the ladies treat me kindly

小乔和几位女士都对我很好。

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My work is easy and pleasant, and my strength and spirits are back

我的活儿既轻松又愉快，我的力气和精神也都恢复了。

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Willie and his grandfather come to visit often, and the ladies have promised never to sell me

威利和他祖父经常来看望我，而且女士们已经承诺，永远不会卖掉我。

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And so this is where my story ends. My troubles are all over, and I am at home

于是，我的故事就在这里结束。我所有的苦难都过去了，我终于回到了家。

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Often, before I am quite awake, I imagine that I am still in the orchard at Birtwick Park, standing with my old friends under the apple trees

常常，在我还未完全清醒之际，我还以为自己仍在伯特威克庄园的果园里，和我的老朋友们一起站在苹果树下。