022 神秘纸条

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Ten years passed, and we were still living in the place we called New Switzerland

十年过去了，我们仍然住在这个我们称之为新瑞士的地方。

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We built a watch tower on an island in the bay and added two cannons

我们在海湾的一个小岛上建了一座瞭望塔，还添置了两门大炮。

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We made many improvements at Rockburg

我们对岩堡做了许多改进。

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The swamp, cleared and drained, was now a large lake

那片沼泽地经过清理排水，现在变成了一个大湖。

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Beneath the trees, old Hurry, the ostrich, walked at a dignified pace

在树下，那只名叫老飞毛腿的鸵鸟，迈着庄重的步伐行走着。

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My boys retained their love of animals

我的孩子们依旧保持着对动物的喜爱。

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They now had a beautiful white cow, a bull, and two new donkeys

他们现在有一头漂亮的白母牛、一头公牛和两头新来的驴。

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Jack had a descendant of Fangs the jackal. He named it Coco

杰克有了一只胡狼方斯的后代，他给它起名叫可可。

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The boys were fine, handsome fellows

孩子们都已长成英俊出色的小伙子。

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Fritz, now 25, was very strong and high-spirited

弗里茨如今二十五岁，非常强壮且精力充沛。

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Ernest, 23, was still calm and studious

23岁的恩斯特依然沉着好学。

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Jack, 21, was known for his agility and sense of humor

21岁的杰克以敏捷和幽默感著称。

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And Franz, 18, was a lively youth

18岁的弗朗茨是个活泼的少年。

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My older sons often went away on expeditions by themselves

我年长的几个儿子常常独自外出探险。

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One evening I realized Fritz had been away all day

一天傍晚，我意识到弗里茨一整天都不在。

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Anxious to see him return, I went to our watch tower with Ernest and Jack

我急切盼他归来，便和恩斯特、杰克一同去了瞭望塔。

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When we finally spotted Fritz's kayak, it was moving very slowly

我们终于发现弗里茨的独木舟时，它正缓慢移动。

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" Welcome back from wherever you've been!" I cried when he landed

“欢迎回来，不管你去哪儿了！”他靠岸时我喊道。

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" You seem to have a lot of cargo there."

“你好像带了不少货物。”

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" Yes, and my trip has led to discoveries that will tempt us to go out again," he replied

“是的，而且我的旅途有所发现，会吸引我们再去的。”他回答。

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Ernest and Jack helped Fritz unload the kayak

欧内斯特和杰克帮弗里茨从皮划艇上卸货。

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After supper Fritz told us of his adventures

晚饭后，弗里茨向我们讲述了他的冒险经历。

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" I paddled for a long time until I came to another bay," he said

“我划了很久，直到来到另一个海湾，”他说。

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" The water was as clear as crystal. I could see beds of oysters

“水清澈如水晶，我能看到成片的牡蛎。

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I brought up several clusters and left them on the beach while I went back for more

我捞起几串，留在海滩上，然后回去取更多。

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When I returned, the shells had opened a bit, and I think I found some pearls."

当我回来时，贝壳微微张开，我想我找到了一些珍珠。”

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He held out his hand to show us

他伸出手给我们看。

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" Those are pearls indeed!" I said

“确实是珍珠！”我说。

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" And they may prove a source of wealth if we are ever rescued."

“如果我们得救，它们可能成为财富来源。”

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" After I gathered my oysters," Fritz continued," I crossed Pearl Bay, as I named it

“收集完牡蛎后，”弗里茨继续说，“我穿过了我命名的珍珠湾。”

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There I saw thousands of seabirds

我在那里看到了成千上万的海鸟。

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They must have thought I was invading their territory

它们一定以为我在入侵它们的领地。

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The next thing I knew, they were attacking me."

接着我就遭到它们攻击了。

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" What did you do?" asked my wife

“你做了什么？”我妻子问。

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" I waved my paddle over my head and managed to hit an albatross!

“我高举船桨挥舞，总算打中了一只信天翁！

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It fell into the water, and the other birds flew away

它掉进水里，其他鸟儿就飞走了。

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And then — well, I guess that's the end of my story."

然后——嗯，我的故事恐怕就到这里了。”

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The next morning Fritz drew me aside because he had more to tell me

第二天早上，弗里茨把我拉到一旁，因为他还有话要告诉我。

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" There was something extraordinary about that albatross," he said

“那只信天翁有点不同寻常，”他说。

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" I lifted it onto my kayak and found a rag around one leg

“我把它提上皮艇，发现它的一条腿上缠着一块布。

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When I removed the rag, I was amazed to see words written on it."

当我取下布条时，惊讶地发现上面写着字。”

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" What did they say?" I asked

“上面写的什么？”我问道。

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"'Save an unfortunate Englishwoman from the smoking rock.'"

“‘救救一个被困在冒烟岩石上的不幸英国女人。’”

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" What!" I cried in astonishment

“什么！”我惊叫起来。

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" Another human being is here in this lonely place?"

“这个荒凉的地方还有别的人？”

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" The bird was beginning to show signs of life," Fritz continued

“那鸟儿开始有了生命迹象，”弗里茨继续说道。

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" So I had to decide what to do

“所以我得决定该怎么做。

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I quickly tore a strip from my handkerchief and wrote,' Do not despair! Help is near!'"

我赶紧从手帕上撕下一条布，写下：‘不要绝望！救援就在附近！’”

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Fritz carefully tied his message around one of the bird's legs

弗里茨小心地把他写的字条系在鸟儿的一条腿上。

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Then he devoted himself to reviving the bird

然后他便专心救醒那只鸟。

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After drinking some water, it suddenly took off and headed west

喝了些水后，它突然起飞，径直朝西边飞去。

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" I lost sight of it," said Fritz

“我看不见它了，”弗里茨说。

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" But I keep wondering: Will my note ever reach this Englishwoman?

“但我止不住惦记：我的字条真能送到那位英国女士手中吗？

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Will I be able to find her and save her?"

我能找到她，把她救出来吗？”

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" You were wise to keep this part of your story from the others," I said

“你没把这件事告诉其他人，这样做很明智，”我说。

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" Until we know more, we must not excite them

“在了解更多情况之前，绝不能让他们激动起来。

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It's possible that those words were written long ago

那些字可能是在很久以前写的。

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By now the unhappy woman may have died

那位不幸的女子说不定现在已经去世了。

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The ' smoking rock ' must be a volcano, and there are none here."

‘冒烟的岩石’只可能是火山，而这里根本没有。”

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Fritz, however, refused to be discouraged

然而，弗里茨不肯灰心。

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It was obvious he hoped that he could rescue this woman

显然，他期盼着自己能救出这位女子。

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In fact, I was just as excited as he was

其实，我内心的激动不亚于他。

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But I felt it wise to contain my excitement

但我感觉，克制这份激动才是明智之举。

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After some discussion we decided that Fritz should go in search of the Englishwoman

商量一番后，我们决定，让弗里茨去寻找那位英国女士。

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He would need to modify his kayak to carry two people

他需要改装他的皮划艇，以便搭载两个人。

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And he would need enough food in case he was away for a long time

而且他还得备足食物，以防外出时间太长。

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Impatient as he was to leave, Fritz knew he must take some time to prepare

尽管弗里茨急着出发，他也明白必须花些时间做好准备。

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We returned to the house and saw the other boys busily opening oysters

我们回到屋里，看见其他男孩正忙着撬开牡蛎。

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They were very excited

他们激动极了。

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" Look, Father!" said Franz." I found a pearl!"

“看呀，爸爸！”弗朗茨说，“我找到一颗珍珠！”

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" Let's establish a pearl fishery at once!" said Jack

“我们这就开个采珠场吧！”杰克说。

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" If we built a hut at Pearl Bay, we could harvest oysters on a regular basis," Ernest pointed out

“如果我们能在珍珠湾搭个小屋，就可以定期采牡蛎了，”欧内斯特指出。

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" Let's take the sailboat to Pearl Bay," I said

“我们坐帆船去珍珠湾吧，”我说。

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Fritz winked at me and then remarked in an innocent tone," I've been thinking of adding another seat to the kayak in case someone ever needs a ride."

弗里茨朝我使了个眼色，接着若无其事地随口提议：“我一直在考虑，给皮划艇加个座位，万一有人需要搭船呢。”