第4章 THE CHILD AND THE BIRD 小朋友与小鸟儿

Little bird, little bird, come to me!

I have a clean cage all ready for thee;

Many bright flowers I'll bring to you,

And fresh, ripe cherries, all wet with dew.—

“Thanks, little maiden, for all thy care,

But I dearly love the dear, cool air;

And my snug little nest in the old oak tree

Is better than golden cage for me!”—

Little bird, little bird, where wilt thou go

When all the fields are buried in snow?

The ice will cover the old oak tree;

Little bird, little bird, stay with me! —

“Nay, little maiden, away I'll fly

To greener fields and a warmer sky:

When Spring comes back with cheerful rain

My joyful song you will hear again.”—

Little bird, little bird, who will guide thee

Over the hills and over the sea?

Foolish one, come with me to stay;

If you don't, I am sure you will lose your way.—

“Ah, no, little maiden! I will fly

Over the hills and over the sea:

I am free as the morning air,

To drink the sunshine everywhere!”

Questions

What does the little bird like better than a pretty cage? Where does the bird go in winter? When does it come back again? Why does it not lose its way?

Pronunciation

lit'-tle maid'-en bur'-ied warm'-er fool'-ish

read'-y dear'-ly cov'-er cheer'-ful morn'-ing

flow'-ers bet'-ter a-way' joy'-ful sun'-shine

cher'-ries gold'-en green'-er o'-ver ev'-er-y-where

Write

clean fields rain drink

bright thanks spring guides

小鸟儿，小鸟儿，到我身边来！

我已为你准备好干净的笼子，

给你带来了许多漂亮的花，

还有刚刚摘下带着露珠的新鲜、熟透的樱桃。

“谢谢你，小姑娘，为我准备好一切，

但是我如此热爱珍贵凉爽的空气，

比起为我准备的金窝

更喜欢老橡树上我那舒适的小窝。”

白雪覆盖大地时，

小鸟儿，小鸟儿，你要到哪里去？

寒冰包裹老橡树，

小鸟儿，小鸟儿，留在我身边吧！

“不，小姑娘，我还是要飞走，

飞向温暖葱绿的地方。

当淅淅沥沥的春雨下起时，

你又会听到我欢快的歌声。”

小鸟儿，小鸟儿，谁带着你

越过高山，越过大海呢？

别傻了，留下来陪我吧，

否则，我保证你会迷路的。

“哦，不，小姑娘。我会

越过高山，越过大海。

我像清晨的空气一样自由，

可以到处吮吸阳光！”