LESSON 16 BIRD FRIENDS 鳥類和人類是朋友

1.I once knew a man who was rich in his love for birds, and in their love for him.He lived in the midst of a grove full of all kinds of trees.He had no wife or children in his home.

2.He was an old man with gray beard, blue and kind eyes, and a voice that the birds loved; and this was the way he made them his friends.

3.While he was at work with a rake on his nice walks in the grove, the birds came close to him to pick up the worms in the fresh earth he dug up.At fi rst, they kept a rod or two from him, but they soon found he was a kind man, and would not hurt them, but liked to have them near him.

4.They knew this by his kind eyes and voice, which tell what is in the heart.So, day by day their faith in his love grew in them.

5.They came close to the rake.They would hop on top of it, to be fi rst at the worm.They would turn up their eyes into his when he spoke to them, as if they said, “He is a kind man; he loves us; we need not fear him.”

6.All the birds of the grove were soon his fast friends.They were on the watch for him, and would fl y down from the green tree tops to greet him with their chirp.

7.When he had no work on the walks to do with his rake or his hoe, he took crusts of bread with him, and dropped the crumbs on the ground.Down they would dart on his head and feet to catch them as they fell from his hand.

8.He showed me how they loved him.He put a crust of bread in his mouth, with one end of it out of his lips.Down they came like bees at a fl ower, and fl ew off with it crumb by crumb.

9.When they thought he slept too long in the morning, they would fl y in and sit on the bedpost, and call him up with their chirp.

10.They went with him to church, and while he said his prayers and sang his hymns in it, they sat in the trees, and sang their praises to the same good God who cares for them as he does for us.

11.Thus the love and trust of birds were a joy to him all his life long; and such love and trust no boy or girl can fail to win with the same kind heart, voice, and eye that he had.

(Adapted from Elihu Burritt)

【中文閱讀】

1.我曾經認識一個朋友，他特別喜歡鳥，鳥也特別喜歡他。他住在一片茂密的小樹林里，家中既無妻子也無孩子。

2.他是一位和藹善良的老人，長著灰白色的胡子，有一雙藍色的眼睛和所有小鳥都喜歡的聲音。正是因為這個原因，他和小鳥成了朋友。

3.當他在美麗的林中小路上用耙子干活時，小鳥都會飛到他身邊，從他剛剛挖出的新鮮泥土里找蟲子吃。起初，小鳥跟他保持一定的距離，足有一兩根竿子那么遠，但它們很快就發現，這是一個友好和藹的老人，不但不會傷害它們，而且喜歡它們靠近自己。

4.通過老人和藹的眼神和溫柔的聲音，它們了解了他的心聲。所以，一天天地，小鳥越來越相信老人對自己的愛是與日俱增的。

5.它們慢慢地靠近耙子，跳到耙子頂上爭先恐后地搶蟲子吃。當老人跟它們說話時，它們就轉動小眼珠看他，好像在說：“這是一個善良的人，他喜歡我們，我們不必害怕。”

6.很快，小樹林里所有的小鳥都成了老人的朋友。小鳥或在枝頭上觀看他，或從枝繁葉茂的樹上飛下來，嘰嘰喳喳地和他打招呼。

7.當他不用耙子和鋤頭干活時，他就帶著面包屑來到林間小路上，把面包屑撒向路面。當面包屑從他手中滑落的剎那，小鳥紛紛從天而降地撲向他，搶著吃食。

8.老人用行動向我表明了小鳥有多么喜歡他：他將一塊面包的一端放進嘴里，讓另一端露在外邊。結果，小鳥像蜜蜂撲花一樣飛向老人，將露在他嘴邊的面包一片一片地啄走了。

9.清晨，當小鳥認為老人在睡懶覺時，會飛進屋里，站在床柱上，嘰嘰喳喳地叫醒他。

10.小鳥還會跟老人一起去教堂。當老人在教堂里念誦祈禱詞、唱誦贊美詩時，小鳥就站在樹上，向既愛我們也眷顧小鳥的慈祥的上帝唱誦贊美歌。

11.因此，對老人來說，小鳥對他的愛和信任是他終生的喜悅；并且，所有男孩或女孩，只要有他所擁有的善良的心、溫柔的聲音以及和藹的眼神，都能夠贏得這種愛和信任。

（伊萊休·波利特）