020 暴风雨

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We followed Fritz as fast as possible

我们尽可能快地跟着弗里茨。

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But no matter how quickly Jack and I paddled the canoe, we couldn't keep up with the kayak

可不论我和杰克划得多快，独木舟都追不上那艘皮艇。

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" Faster!" cried Ernest." We have to catch him!"

“再快点！”欧内斯特喊道，“我们得追上他！”

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We soon arrived outside Safety Bay and passed the rocks that had trapped the wreck

我们很快到了安全湾外，划过困住沉船的那些礁石。

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Although we looked in every direction, we saw no sign of Fritz

我们四处张望，却完全不见弗里茨的踪影。

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Then we heard a pistol shot

这时，一声枪响传来。

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" Do you think that's Fritz?" asked Jack

“那会是弗里茨吗？”杰克问。

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I fired a shot, which was immediately answered by another shot

我开了一枪，立刻得到另一声枪响的回应。

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We steered in the direction of the sound and soon saw Fritz

我们循声驶去，很快就看到了弗里茨。

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His kayak darted from behind a point of land, and he paddled over to our canoe, relieved to see us

他的皮艇从一处岬角后飞驰而出，他划向我们这边，见到我们后明显松了口气。

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" I didn't intend to pass out of sight, Father," he apologized

“我不是故意要离开你的视线，爸爸，”他道歉说。

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" But once in the water, I was carried along and couldn't help myself

“可一到了水里，我就被冲走了，根本控制不住自己。

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Then I saw some strange animals that I thought were walruses and — "

然后我看见一些奇怪的动物，以为是海象，结果——”

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" Walruses!" said Ernest." I thought they lived in the Arctic."

“海象！”欧内斯特说，“我还以为它们只生活在北极呢。”

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" I gave chase, but I couldn't catch them — whatever they were."

“我追了上去，可没追上——不管它们是什么东西。”

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" You're safe and that is what's important," I said

“你没事，这才是最重要的，”我说。

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I wanted us to all travel together

我本来想大家一起走的。

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But Fritz was eager to go ahead and announce our arrival to Mother

可弗里茨急着要先走，好向妈妈通报我们回来了。

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He was soon skimming over the water while we followed at a slower pace

他很快就在水面上飞驰起来，我们则不紧不慢地跟在后面。

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Meanwhile black clouds were gathering above us

这时，乌云正在我们头顶聚集。

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Fritz was out of sight and beyond our reach

弗里茨已从视线中消失，我们也无法追上他。

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We fastened on our life preservers and tied ourselves to the canoe so that we wouldn't be washed overboard

我们穿好救生衣，又把自己绑在独木舟上，以防被冲落水中。

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Fearful gusts of wind lashed the ocean into foam

阵阵狂风将海面抽打得白浪翻腾。

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Sheets of rain washed over us while lightning flashed

倾盆大雨浇在我们身上，闪电不住地劈下。

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But the storm swept on its way, and it was over as quickly as it had begun

可风暴一路向前疾扫，来得突然，去得也快。

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Both Ernest and Jack had faced the danger with great courage

欧内斯特和杰克都以极大的勇气面对了险境。

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I was proud of them

我为他们感到骄傲。

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I had never lost hope for us, but I feared that Fritz had drowned

我从未对我们失去信心，却担心弗里茨已经溺水。

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With a heavy heart, I paddled into Safety Bay

我心情沉重地划进安全湾。

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" Look! It's Fritz!" cried Jack

“看！是弗里茨！”杰克喊道。

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There on shore were Fritz, Mother, and little Franz

岸边站着弗里茨、妈妈和小弗朗茨。

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Kneeling in prayer, they did not notice us until we shouted

他们正跪着祈祷，直到我们大声呼喊才注意到我们。

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" You're safe!" cried Franz. He ran to greet us as we pulled the canoe onshore

“你们平安无事！”弗朗茨喊道。他把独木舟拉上岸，朝我们跑来迎接。

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" Yes," I said." Everyone is safe and we are thankful for that."

“是的，”我说道。“每个人都平安，我们为此心存感激。”

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Returning joyfully to Rockburg, we exchanged our drenched garments for warm, dry clothes

我们欢欢喜喜地回到岩石堡，把湿透的衣服换成了温暖干爽的衣裳。

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Seated at a good meal, we talked about the storm

大家围坐着享用美餐，一边谈论着那场暴风雨。

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It was obvious that it had caused a lot of damage at Rockburg

很明显，它给岩石堡造成了不小的毁坏。

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The next day we discovered that the storm had partly destroyed our bridge

第二天我们发现，暴风雨把我们桥的一部分冲坏了。

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We were kept busy repairing that for quite some time

修缮那座桥让我们忙碌了好一阵子。

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Then it was the fishing season again

然后，捕鱼的季节又到了。

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Our storage room was soon stocked with large quantities of herring and sturgeon

我们的储藏室很快就堆满了大量的鲱鱼和鲟鱼。

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Many quiet days passed after that, and I noticed that my sons were bored

之后许多平静的日子过去了，我注意到儿子们有些无聊。

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Fritz proposed that the boys go away for a few days on an expedition

弗里茨提议，让孩子们出去远征几天。

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Ernest, as usual, preferred to remain with my wife and me

欧内斯特像往常一样，更愿意留在我和妻子身边。

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Just as they were ready to start, I noticed Jack slipping some pigeons into a basket

就在他们准备出发时，我注意到杰克正把几只鸽子偷偷塞进篮子里。

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Then he hid the basket under some packages in the cart

然后他把篮子藏在了车上的包裹下面。

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" Jack is probably afraid the boys won't find anything to eat on their expedition," I said to my wife

“杰克可能是怕他们远征时找不到东西吃，”我对妻子说。

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She smiled." He might prefer to go hungry rather than eat a tough, old pigeon."

她笑了。“他或许宁愿饿着，也不愿吃又老又韧的鸽子。”

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The three boys started off in high spirits

三个男孩兴高采烈地出发了。

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Storm and Grumble pulled the cart as usual, ridden by Fritz and little Franz, while Jack dashed ahead on Hurry the ostrich

暴风和牢骚像往常一样拉着车，弗里茨和小弗朗茨坐在上面，而杰克则骑着鸵鸟匆匆冲在前面。

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That evening we sat on the porch at Rockburg, wondering what the boys were doing

那天晚上，我们坐在岩石堡的门廊上，想着孩子们在做什么。

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" We might have news of them soon," said Ernest, looking rather mysterious

“我们可能很快就会有他们的消息了，”欧内斯特说，样子颇为神秘。

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Just then a pigeon landed on the porch railing

就在这时，一只鸽子落在了门廊的栏杆上。

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" What is that tied to its leg?" asked my wife

“绑在它腿上的是什么？”妻子问。

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Ernest went over to the pigeon and brought back a scrap of paper

欧内斯特走向鸽子，带回了一张小纸片。

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" It's the very latest news," he said, handing me the note

“这是最新的消息，”他说着，把纸条递给我。

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Dear Parents and Ernest, We have reached Woodlands

亲爱的父母和欧内斯特，我们已经到达了林地。

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At Wood Lake we captured three young black swans

在森林湖，我们捕获了三只幼年的黑天鹅。

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Won't they look fine floating on Safety Bay?

它们在安全湾水面上游动，看起来一定很美吧？

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Love to all. Fritz

爱你们的。 弗里茨

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The next morning we sent a message back with the pigeon

第二天早上，我们用鸽子带回了一条回信。

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And every evening we received another message describing that day's adventures

之后的每个傍晚，我们都会收到另一条描述当天冒险经历的消息。

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Usually Fritz wrote about the animals they saw, but one night his message was truly alarming

通常，弗里茨会写他们见到的动物，但有一天晚上，他的消息着实令人担忧。

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Dear Parents and Ernest, Today we visited the Gap

亲爱的父母和欧内斯特，今天我们去了峡谷。

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The bamboo fence has been completely broken down!

竹栅栏已经彻底被毁坏了！

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The fields have been trampled, and we've seen huge footprints

田地遭到了践踏，我们还看到了巨大的脚印。

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Come to us, Father

来我们这儿吧，父亲。

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We are safe right now, but feel we are no match for this unknown danger

我们现在是安全的，但感觉无法应对这未知的危险。

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Fritz

弗里茨