The Trumpet of the Swan (Excerpt)《吹小号的天鹅》（节选）

E. B. White

埃尔温·布鲁克斯·怀特（1899年7月11日—1985年10月1日），美国当代著名散文家、评论家，以散文名世，其文风冷峻清丽，辛辣幽默，自成一格。怀特生于纽约蒙特弗农，毕业于康奈尔大学。作为《纽约客》的主要撰稿人，怀特一手奠定了影响深远的《纽约客》的文风。怀特对这个世界上的一切都充满关爱，他的道德与他的文章一样山高水长。除了他终生挚爱的随笔之外，他还为孩子们写了三本文学经典——《斯图尔特鼠小弟》（又译为《精灵鼠小弟》）、《夏洛的网》与《吹小号的天鹅》，这些作品同样受到了儿童与成人的喜爱。

《吹小号的天鹅》讲述了一只生下来就有不能发声这一致命缺陷的天鹅，克服种种困难和命运抗争并获得成功的故事。这只天鹅叫路易斯。为了说出自己的想法，路易斯学会了在石板上写字，可是其他天鹅是不识字的，路易斯还是没办法向它心爱的雌天鹅——塞蕾娜倾诉衷肠。为了帮助路易斯，天鹅爸爸从乐器店里偷来了小号，路易斯练了一遍又一遍，终于用小号吹出了心底深处的歌，乐声不仅打动了塞蕾娜，也赢得了人们的尊敬与赞赏。生活的道路，在路易斯眼前，越来越宽广。这是一个关于爱与成长的动人故事。

Walking back to camp through theswamp， Sam wondered whether to tell hisfather what he had seen. “I know one thing，” he said to himself.“ I'm going backto that little pond again tomorrow. And I'dlike to go alone. If I tell my father what Isaw today， he will want to go with me. Imnot sure that's a very good idea.”

Sam was eleven. His last name wasBeaver. He was strong for his age and hadblack hair and dark eyes like an Indian.Sam walked like an Indian， too， puttingone foot straight in front of the other andmaking very little noise. The swamp through which he was traveling was a wildplace. There was no trail， and it was boggyunderfoot， which made walking difficult.

Every four or five minutes， Sam tookhis compass out of his pocket and checkedhis course to make sure he was headed ina westerly direction. Canada is a big place.Much of it is a wilderness. To get lost inthe woods and swamps of western Canadawould be a serious matter. As he trudged（跋涉） on， the boy's mind was full of thewonder of what he had seen. Not manypeople in the world have seen the nest of aTrumpeter Swan.

Sam had found one on the lonelypond on this day in spring. He had seenthe two great white birds with their longwhite necks and black bills. Nothing hehad ever seen before in all his life hadmade him feel quite the way he felt， onthat wild little pond， in the presence ofthose two enormous swans. They were somuch bigger than any bird he had everseen before. The nest was also big with anumber of sticks and grasses. The femalewas sitting on eggs; the male glided slowlyback and forth， guarding her.

When Sam reached camp， tired andhungry， he found his father frying a coupleof fish for lunch.“ Where have you been？”asked Mr Beaver. “Exploring，” repliedSam， “I walked over to a pond about a mile and a half from here. It's the one wesee from the air as we're coming in. It isntmuch of a place—nowhere near as big asthis lake were on.”“ Did you see anythingover there？” asked his father.“ Well，” saidSam， “it's a swampy pond with a lot ofreeds and cattails （香蒲）. I dont think itwould be any good for fishing. And it'shard to get to; you have to cross a swamp.”“See anything？” repeated Mr Beaver. “Isaw a muskrat （麝鼠），” said Sam，“ and afew Red?winged Blackbirds.” Mr Beaverlooked up from the wood stove， where thefish were sizzling in a pan.

“Sam，” he said，“ I know you like togo exploring. But don't forget these woodsand marshes are not like the countryaround home in Montana. If you ever goover to that pond again， be careful youdon't get lost. I don't like you crossingswamps. They're treacherous. You couldstep into a soggy place and get boggeddown， and there wouldn't be anybody topull you out.”“ I'll be careful，” said Sam.

Reading Check

1. What did Sam see on the pond？

2. What did Sam's father warn him about？