LESSON 16 BIRD FRIENDS 鸟类和人类是朋友

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)

【中文阅读】

1.我曾经认识一个朋友，他特别喜欢鸟，鸟也特别喜欢他。他住在一片茂密的小树林里，家中既无妻子也无孩子。

2.他是一位和蔼善良的老人，长着灰白色的胡子，有一双蓝色的眼睛和所有小鸟都喜欢的声音。正是因为这个原因，他和小鸟成了朋友。

3.当他在美丽的林中小路上用耙子干活时，小鸟都会飞到他身边，从他刚刚挖出的新鲜泥土里找虫子吃。起初，小鸟跟他保持一定的距离，足有一两根竿子那么远，但它们很快就发现，这是一个友好和蔼的老人，不但不会伤害它们，而且喜欢它们靠近自己。

4.通过老人和蔼的眼神和温柔的声音，它们了解了他的心声。所以，一天天地，小鸟越来越相信老人对自己的爱是与日俱增的。

5.它们慢慢地靠近耙子，跳到耙子顶上争先恐后地抢虫子吃。当老人跟它们说话时，它们就转动小眼珠看他，好像在说：“这是一个善良的人，他喜欢我们，我们不必害怕。”

6.很快，小树林里所有的小鸟都成了老人的朋友。小鸟或在枝头上观看他，或从枝繁叶茂的树上飞下来，叽叽喳喳地和他打招呼。

7.当他不用耙子和锄头干活时，他就带着面包屑来到林间小路上，把面包屑撒向路面。当面包屑从他手中滑落的刹那，小鸟纷纷从天而降地扑向他，抢着吃食。

8.老人用行动向我表明了小鸟有多么喜欢他：他将一块面包的一端放进嘴里，让另一端露在外边。结果，小鸟像蜜蜂扑花一样飞向老人，将露在他嘴边的面包一片一片地啄走了。

9.清晨，当小鸟认为老人在睡懒觉时，会飞进屋里，站在床柱上，叽叽喳喳地叫醒他。

10.小鸟还会跟老人一起去教堂。当老人在教堂里念诵祈祷词、唱诵赞美诗时，小鸟就站在树上，向既爱我们也眷顾小鸟的慈祥的上帝唱诵赞美歌。

11.因此，对老人来说，小鸟对他的爱和信任是他终生的喜悦；并且，所有男孩或女孩，只要有他所拥有的善良的心、温柔的声音以及和蔼的眼神，都能够赢得这种爱和信任。

（伊莱休·波利特）