013 新楼梯

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We had made many improvements to our homes at Falconhurst and Tentholm

我们已经对我们在猎鹰林和帐篷村的住所做了很多改进。

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But there was one more improvement that my wife wanted us to make at Falconhurst

但还有一项改进是妻子希望我们在猎鹰林做的。

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" I think that our nest in the tree is perfect," she said

“我觉得我们树上的巢已经很完美了，”她说。

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" But I'd like to be able to reach it without climbing that dreadful ladder

“不过我希望不用爬那架吓人的梯子就能上去。

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Can you build a flight of steps?"

你们能搭一段台阶吗？”

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" We might be able to build a staircase inside the trunk of the tree," I replied

“我们也许可以在树干里面建一个楼梯，”我回答。

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" I've often suspected that the trunk is hollow

“我经常怀疑树干是空心的。

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Didn't you say that you've noticed bees coming from a hole in the tree?"

你不是说过你注意到有蜜蜂从树上的一个洞里出来吗？”

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Before my wife could reply, little Franz piped up

我妻子还没来得及回答，小弗兰兹就尖声说起来。

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" Oh yes! I went to look at them, and one stung me

“哦，是的！我去看它们，一只蜇了我一下。

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I almost cried but I didn't."

“我差点哭了，但我忍住了。”

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" Brave boy!" I said." Let's see if the tree is really hollow."

“勇敢的孩子！”我说，“我们来看看这棵树是不是真的空心。”

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Led by Jack, the boys were soon peeping into the hole

在杰克的带领下，孩子们很快就往树洞里张望。

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They tapped the tree to see if it sounded hollow

他们敲了敲树干，听听声音是否空洞。

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In their eagerness they forgot who lived in the tree

他们太兴奋，一时忘了谁住在这棵树里。

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The bees, disturbed by all this activity, swarmed out and attacked the boys

蜜蜂被这些动静惊扰，蜂拥而出，攻击孩子们。

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" Ow! Ow! Ow!" cried Jack

“哎呦！哎呦！哎呦！”杰克大叫。

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" Nasty bees!" said Fritz as he tried to swat them away

“讨厌的蜜蜂！”弗里茨一边说，一边试图拍走它们。

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My wife and I pulled the boys away from the angry bees

我和妻子把孩子们从愤怒的蜜蜂那里拉开。

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They had all been stung on their hands and faces

他们的手和脸上都被蜇了。

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Before we built a staircase, we removed the bees to a new nesting place in a large gourd

在修建楼梯之前，我们把蜜蜂移到了一个大葫芦里的新巢。

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We made good use of the honey and wax that they left behind in the tree

我们充分利用了它们在树里留下的蜂蜜和蜂蜡。

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Then we began working on the stairs

然后我们开始修建楼梯。

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At the base of the tree, we made an opening for a door

在树根处，我们开了一个门洞。

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We attached a door we'd taken earlier from the captain's cabin

我们装上了一扇之前从船长舱里取来的门。

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Next we cleared out the rotted wood from the center of the trunk and put up a stout sapling to provide a center pole

接下来，我们清除了树干中心的腐烂木材，并竖起一根粗壮的小树作为中心支柱。

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With planks from the wreck, we then fashioned steps

然后，我们用沉船上的木板制作了台阶。

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As we worked, we cut windows in the trunk for light and air

我们一边工作，一边在树干上开窗户，以便采光和通风。

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When we reached the top of the center pole, we added another sapling to reach the floor of our home above

当我们达到中心支柱的顶端时，我们又加了一根小树，以便够到上方我们家的地板。

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We even included two handrails!

我们甚至装上了两个扶手！

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This task took us a whole month, during which we also had to care for our animals

这项工作花了我们整整一个月的时间，期间我们还得照料动物。

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By now several of the goats and sheep had produced offspring

这时，好几只山羊和绵羊都生了小羊。

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To keep these frisky youngsters from straying, we tied bells around their necks

为了不让这些活泼的小家伙走丢，我们在它们脖子上系了铃铛。

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Juno produced a fine litter of puppies

朱诺生了一窝可爱的小狗。

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Jack introduced his little jackal, Fangs, to the litter, and, to his delight, Juno adopted the wild dog

杰克把他的小胡狼“尖牙”介绍给这窝小狗，令他高兴的是，朱诺收养了这只小野兽。

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The other pets were also flourishing and learning new tasks

其他的宠物也都茁壮成长，并在学习新的本领。

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After giving us much trouble, Storm, the buffalo, was now capable of carrying both people and things

在让我们头疼了很久之后，水牛“风暴”现在终于能驮人驮东西了。

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Fritz was so busy teaching his eagle, Pounce, to hunt live prey that he gave Knips to Ernest

弗里茨忙于教他的鹰“扑猎”捕捉活猎物，于是把尼普斯送给了欧内斯特。

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Knips was not allowed to remain idle, as Ernest decided that he should be taught to do something useful

欧内斯特不让尼普斯闲着，他决定应该教它做些有用的事。

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He and Jack made a small basket that fit on the monkey's back

他和杰克做了一个能放在猴子背上的小篮子。

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Then Ernest taught Knips to climb coconut and other tall trees and to bring down the fruit in the basket

接着，欧内斯特教尼克普斯爬椰子树和其他高树，并用篮子把果实运下来。

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Jack tried to teach Fangs to retrieve, but the jackal kept eating everything it caught

杰克试着教方斯把东西叼回来，但这只豺狼总把抓到的东西吃掉。

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Meanwhile I was determined to have some waterproof boots before the start of the rainy season

与此同时，我下定决心要在雨季开始前拥有几双防水靴。

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To make a mold, I filled a pair of socks with sand and coated them with a thin layer of clay

为了制作模具，我用沙子填满一双袜子，并在外面涂上一层薄黏土。

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Then I brushed on several layers of rubber

然后我涂刷上好几层橡胶。

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When that had dried, I broke the mold and added some buffalo-hide soles

等它干透后，我打碎模具，并加上了几层水牛皮鞋底。

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" These are wonderful!" said Fritz as he tried on my boots

“太棒了！”弗里茨一边试穿我的靴子一边说。

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" Can you make me a pair?"

“你能给我做一双吗？”

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" Me too!" cried all the other boys

“我也要！”其他所有男孩都喊道。

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I was delighted to fill their orders, and soon everyone in the family had a pair of comfortable, durable waterproof boots

我很高兴接下他们的订单，很快家里每个人都拥有了一双舒适耐穿的防水靴。

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The boys had long been complaining about having to walk to the stream and bring back heavy buckets of water

男孩们一直在抱怨，要走到溪边再把沉重的水桶提回来。

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So our next job was to build a dam with a series of pipes to carry the water to Falconhurst

所以，我们的下一项工作是修建一座水坝，并用一系列管道把水引到鹰巢。

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One day, as we were finishing this task, we were startled by the roaring or bellowing of a wild beast

一天，我们快完工时，被一头野兽的咆哮或吼叫声吓了一大跳。

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The sound was so strange that I couldn't imagine what animal had made it

那声音如此怪异，我无法想象是什么动物发出来的。

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" Perhaps it's a lion," offered Jack

“也许是狮子，”杰克猜测道。

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" No, a gorilla," said Fritz

“不对，是大猩猩，”弗里茨说。

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" More likely a hyena," said Ernest

“更可能是鬣狗，”欧内斯特说。

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" Whatever it is," I said," we must be ready when it arrives

“不管是什么，”我说，“等它到来时，我们必须做好准备。

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All of you, hurry to the nest while I secure the door."

你们所有人，赶紧到树屋上去，我来把门关好。”

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I left the dogs outside to protect our animals, closed the door, and joined my family

我把狗留在外面保护我们的牲畜，关上门，然后和家人会合。

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Every eye was on watch. Every gun was loaded

所有人都警惕地盯着外面，每一把枪都装好了弹药。

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The dreadful sound came nearer

那可怕的声音越来越近了。