LESSON 14 THE LITTLE BIRD’S SONG 小鳥之歌

1.A little bird, with feathers brown,

Sat singing on a tree;

The song was very soft and low,

But sweet as it could be.

2.The people who were passing by,

Looked up to see the bird

That made the sweetest melody

That ever they had heard.

3.But all the bright eyes looked in vain;

Birdie was very small,

And with his modest, dark-brown coat,

He made no show at all.

4.“Why, father,” little Gracie said,

“Where can the birdie be?

If I could sing a song like that,

I’d sit where folks could see.”

5.“I hope my little girl will learn

A lesson from the bird,

And try to do what good she can,

Not to be seen or heard.”

6.“This birdie is content to sit

Unnoticed on the way,

And sweetly sing his Maker’s praise

From dawn to close of day.”

7.“So live, my child, all through your life,

That, be it short or long,

Though others may forget your looks,

They’ll not forget your song.”

【中文閱讀】

1.一只小鳥，長著棕色羽毛，

坐在枝頭吟唱；

歌聲溫柔輕細，

但卻如此清脆悅耳。

2.樹下路過的人們，

仰頭觀望小鳥，

這是他們聽到的，

最美妙的旋律。

3.但眾人明眼皆徒勞，

因為鳥兒實在太小，

再加上它穿著一件樸實的棕色外套，

根本就無法看見。

4.“哦，爸爸，”小格莉絲問道，

“小鳥會在哪里呢？

如果我歌唱得跟它一樣好聽，

我一定會坐在人們看得見的地方。”

5.“我希望我的乖女兒

會從小鳥那里學到東西。

努力做到最好，

卻不求別人看見或聽到。”

6.“小鳥知足地坐在

不引人注目的地方，

甜美地唱著上帝之歌，

從黎明直到日落。”

7.“我的孩子，生命本該如此度過，

無論短暫或久遠；

盡管人們會忘記你的容貌，

但不會忘記你的歌聲。”