LESSON 6 THE SINGING LESSON 歌唱課

Jean Ingelow (b.1830, d.1897) was born at Boston, Lincolnshire, England.Her fame as a poetess was at once established upon the publication of her “Poems” in 1863; since which time several other volumes have appeared.The most generally admired of her poems are “Songs of Seven” and “The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire,” She has also written several successful novels, of which, “Off the Skelligs” is the most popular.“Stories Told to a Child,” “The Cumberers,” “Poor Mat,” “Studies for Stories,” and “Mopsa, the Fairy” are also well known.Miss Ingelow resided in London, England, and spent much of her time in deeds of charity.

1.A nightingale made a mistake;

She sang a few notes out of tune:

Her heart was ready to break,

And she hid away from the moon.

She wrung her claws, poor thing,

But was far too proud to weep;

She tucked her head under her wing,

And pretended to be asleep.

2.A lark, arm in arm with a thrush,

Came sauntering^[1] up to the place;

The nightingale felt herself blush,

Though feathers hid her face;

She knew they had heard her song,

She felt them snicker^[2] and sneer;

She thought that life was too long,

And wished she could skip a year.

3.“O nightingale!” cooed a dove;

“O nightingale! what’s the use?

You bird of beauty and love,

Why behave like a goose?

Don’t sulk away from our sight,

Like a common, contemptible fowl;

You bird of joy and delight,

Why behave like an owl?

4.“Only think of all you have done;

Only think of all you can do;

A false note is really fun

From such a bird as you!

Lift up your proud little crest^[3],

Open your musical beak;

Other birds have to do their best,

You need only to speak!”

5.The nightingale shyly took

Her head from under her wing,

And, giving the dove a look,

Straightway began to sing.

There was never a bird could pass;

The night was divinely^[4] calm;

And the people stood on the grass

To hear that wonderful psalm.

6.The nightingale did not care,

She only sang to the skies;

Her song ascended there,

And there she fi xed her eyes.

The people that stood below

She knew but little about;

And this tale has a moral^[5], I know,

If you’ll try and fi nd it out.

NOTE.—The nightingale is a small bird, about six inches in length, with a coat of dark-brown feathers above and of grayish-white beneath.Its voice is astonishingly strong and sweet, and, when wild, it usually sings throughout the evening and night from April to the middle of summer.The bird is common in Europe, but is not found in America.

【中文閱讀】

吉恩·殷吉洛（1830—1897）出生于英國林肯郡波士頓。1863年，她的《詩集》出版，迅速奠定了她作為一名女詩人的聲望。此后，她陸續出版了其他文集，她最受贊賞的詩歌包括《七子之歌》和《林肯郡岸邊的沖天浪濤》。她也寫了一些成功的小說，其中，《告別斯凱林格島》最為著名。除此之外，《對一個孩子講述的故事》、《累贅的人》、《可憐的馬特》、《故事研究》和《莫泊莎仙女》也都流傳甚廣。殷吉洛女士居住在英國倫敦，她一生中的大部分時間都致力于慈善事業。

1.一只夜鶯，出了丑，

她唱跑調了幾個音符。

她的心兒，都要碎了，

連忙藏在月亮看不見的地方。

她擰著自己的爪子，可憐的小東西，

她是如此驕傲，所以她不敢哭。

她偷偷把小腦袋埋在翅膀下，

假裝自己睡著了。

2.一只云雀和一只畫眉，

手牽著手，晃悠悠地飛了過來；

夜鶯能感覺到自己羞紅了臉，

雖然羽毛遮住了她的臉蛋。

她知道，他們聽到了自己的歌，

感覺到他們竊笑嘲諷；

這個尷尬時刻為什么這么漫長？她想，

要是能嗖的一下一年過去，那就好了。

3.“親愛的夜鶯！”鴿子咕咕地喚她，

“親愛的夜鶯！你在干嘛呢？

你這么美麗、這么可愛，

為什么要裝得像只呆頭鵝？

別埋頭郁悶，遠離我們的視線，

好像你是一只普通的、可笑的家禽；

你身上滿是喜悅與歡樂，

別把自己藏得像只貓頭鷹。

4.“想想那些你曾做到的，

思忖那些你有能力做到的。

從你這樣的鳥兒嘴里唱出的

錯誤音符，真是太有趣了。

挺起你驕傲的小頭冠，

張開你生來就適合唱歌的小嘴。

其他鳥兒需要盡最大努力才能做到的，

對你來說，就像說話那么簡單！”

5.夜鶯羞澀地

從翅膀下抬起頭。

她深深地看了鴿子一眼，

然后，開始歌唱。

從來沒有一只鳥兒，能唱出這樣的歌聲。

那個夜晚，神圣般的平靜，

人們站在草地上

傾聽這美妙的旋律。

6.夜鶯并不在意有誰在聽，

她只朝著天空歌唱。

她仰望那高遠的天空，

那是她的聲音傳達到的地方。

站在下面的人們

她知道，但并不在意。

是的，這個故事富含寓意，

只要你愿意尋找，你就能發現。

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【注釋】

[1] Sauntering, wandering idly, strolling.

[2] Snicker, to laugh in a half-suppressed manner.

[3] Crest, a tuft growing on an animal’s head.

[4] Divinely, in a supreme degree.

[5] Moral, the practical lesson which anything is fi tted to teach.