第14章 THE CUCKOO 布谷鸟

Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove!

Thou messenger of spring!

Now Heaven repairs thy rural seat,

And woods thy welcome sing.

What time the daisy decks the green,

Thy certain voice we hear;

Hast thou a star to guide thy path,

Or mark the rolling year?

Delightful visitant! with thee

I hail the time of flowers,

And hear the sound of music sweet

From birds among the bowers.

The school-boy, wandering through the wood

To pluck the primrose gay,

Starts, thy curious voice to hear,

And imitates thy lay.

What time the pea puts on the bloom,

Thou fliest the vocal vale,

An annual guest, in other lands

Another spring to hail.

Sweet bird!

thy bower is ever green,

Thy sky is ever clear;

Thou hast no sorrow in thy song;

No winter in thy year.

Oh! could I fly,

I'd fly with thee;

We'd make, with joyful wing,

Our annual visit o'er the globe,

Companions of the spring.

—Michael Bruce

Pronunciation

beau'-te-ous cer'-tain wan'-der-ing prim'-rose

mes'-sen-ger de-light'-ful im'-i-tates cu'-ri-ous

re-pairs' vis'-it-ant an'-nu-al com-pan'-ions

Dictation

The European cuckoo, like the swallow, is a bird of passage. It visits the British Islands in April, and leaves about the beginning of July. It builds no nest, but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, preferring that of the hedge sparrow.

The American cuckoo is a different bird. It builds a nest, and rears its own young.

冰雹，树林里的不速之客！

你是春天的使者！

如今上帝已经修缮了你乡村的家，

森林也为你唱起了欢迎之歌。

雏菊何时变绿，

我们听到了你的声音；

你是一颗星星，指引自己的道路，

还是叫醒来年？

你的到来让我欢喜不已，

你的到来可以让我享受花的海洋，

听到花丛中的鸟儿

甜蜜的歌唱。

男学生在树林里漫步

摘下报春花，

听到模仿你的声音，

你会好奇不已。

豌豆何时开花，

你越过满是歌声的山谷，

其他地方一年来一次的客人，

又一个春天在招手。

甜美的鸟儿，

你的停歇处更加绿意葱葱，

你飞过的天空更加清澈透明；

你的歌声里没有悲伤，

你的世界里没有冬天。

哎呀！我可以飞翔，

我可以跟你一起飞翔；

我们都有欢快的翅膀，

我们一年光顾地球一次，

我们是春天的同伴。

——米歇尔·布鲁斯