Two little boys sat on the fence whittling arrows one fine day.
在一个晴朗的日子里，两个小男孩坐在篱笆上削箭。
Said one little boy to the other little boy,—“Let’s do something jolly.” “All right.
一个小男孩对另一个小男孩说:- “我们做点开心的事吧。” “好吧。
What will we do?” “Run off to the woods and be hunters.” “What can we hunt?”
我们该怎么办呢?” “跑到树林里去当猎人吧。” “我们能捕猎什么?”
“Bears and foxes.” “Mullin says there ain’t any round here.”
“熊和狐狸。” “穆林说这附近没有。”
“Well, we can shoot squirrels and snare woodchucks.”
“嗯，我们可以打松鼠，诱捕土拨鼠。”
“Haven’t got any guns and trap.”
“我没有枪和夹子。”
“We’ve got our bows, and I found an old trap behind the barn.” “What will we eat?”
“我们有弓，我在谷仓后面发现了一个旧陷阱。”“我们吃什么呢?”
“Here’s our lunch; and when that’s gone we can roast the squirrels and cook the fish on a stick.
“这是我们的午餐;等它没了，我们可以烤松鼠，用棍子烤鱼。
I know how.” “Where will you get the fire?”
我知道怎么做。” “你从哪儿弄到火呢?”
“Got matches in my pocket.” “I’ve got a lot of things we could use.
“我口袋里有火柴。” “我有很多东西可以用。
Let’s see.”And as if satisfied at last, cautious Billy displayed his treasures, while bold Tommy did the same.
让我们看看。” 谨慎的比利似乎终于满意了，他展示了他的宝贝，而大胆的汤米也这样做了。
Besides the two knives there were strings, nails, matches, a piece of putty, fish-hooks, and two very dirty handkerchiefs.
除了两把刀之外，还有绳子、钉子、火柴、一块油灰、鱼钩和两条很脏的手帕。
“There, sir, that’s a first-rate fit-out for hunters; and with the jolly basket of lunch Mrs.
“瞧，先生，这是猎人们的一流装备;拿着快乐的午餐篮子。
Mullin gave us, we can get on tip-top for two or three days,” said Tommy, eager to be off.
“穆林给了我们，我们可以在山顶上呆上两三天，”汤米说，急于离开。
“Where shall we sleep?” asked Billy, who liked to be comfortable both night and day.
“我们睡在哪儿呢?”比利问，他喜欢白天黑夜都舒服。
“Oh, up in trees or on beds of leaves, like the fellows in our books.
“哦，就像我们书里的人物一样，在树上或树叶的床上。
If you are afraid, stay at home; I’m going to have no end of a good time.” And Tommy crammed4 the things back into his pockets as if there were no time to lose.
如果你害怕，就呆在家里;我要玩个没完没了。”汤米把东西塞回口袋里，好像没有时间可以浪费似的。
“Pooh! I ain’t afraid.
“呸!我不害怕。
Come on!” And jumping down Billy caught up his rod, rather ashamed of his many questions.
来吧!”比利跳了下来，拿起他的棒子，对他的许多问题感到很惭愧。
No one was looking at them, and they might have walked quietly off; but that the “running away” might be all right, both raced down the road, tumbled over a wall, and dashed into the woods as if a whole tribe of wild Indians were after them.
没有人看他们，他们本来可以悄悄地走开的;但为了“逃跑”也许没什么大不了的，他们俩沿着大路狂奔，翻过一堵墙，冲进树林里，好像有一整个印第安野人部落在追着他们似的。
“Do you know the way?” panted Billy, when at last they stopped for breath.
“你认识路吗?”当他们终于停下来喘口气时，比利喘着气说。
“Yes, it winds right up the mountain; but we’d better not keep to it, or some one will see us and take us back.
“是的，它一直蜿蜒上山;但我们最好不要守着它，否则有人会看到我们，把我们带回去。
We are going to be real hunters and have adventures; so we must get lost, and find our way by the sun and the stars,” answered Tommy, who had read so many Boys’ Books his little head was a jumble of Texan Rangers, African Explorers, and Buffalo7 Bills; and he burned to outdo them all.
我们要做真正的猎人，去冒险;所以我们一定是迷路了，得靠太阳和星星来找路，”汤米回答说。他读了那么多男孩的书，他的小脑袋里都是得克萨斯游骑兵队、非洲探险者队和水牛队的书;他渴望超越他们所有人。
“What will our mothers say if we really get lost?” asked Billy, always ready with a question.
“如果我们真的迷路了，妈妈会怎么说?”比利问，总是准备好一个问题。
“Mine won’t fuss.
“我的不会大惊小怪的。
She lets me do what I like.”
That was true; for Tommy’s poor mamma was tired of trying to keep the lively little fellow in order, and had got used to seeing him come out of all his scrapes without much harm.
她让我做我喜欢做的事。” 这倒是真的;因为托米可怜的妈妈已经厌倦了让这个活泼的小家伙乖乖听话，而且已经习惯了看着他毫发无伤地走出困境。
“Mine will be scared; she’s always afraid I’m going to get hurt, so I’m careful.
“我的会害怕;她总是害怕我会受伤，所以我很小心。
But I guess I’ll risk it, and have some fun to tell about when we go home,” said Billy, trudging8 after Captain Tommy, who always took the lead.
但我想我还是要冒一下险，回家后再找点乐子讲给大家听。”比利一边说，一边吃力地跟在总是走在前面的汤米上尉后面。
These eleven-year-old boys were staying with their mothers at a farm-house up among the mountains; and having got tired of the tame bears, the big barn, the trout brook, the thirty colts at pasture, and the society of the few little girls and younger boys at the hotel near by, these fine fellows longed to break loose and “rough it in the bush,” as the hunters did in their favorite stories.
这些11岁的男孩和他们的母亲住在山上的一所农舍里;在厌倦了温顺的熊、大谷仓、鳟鱼小溪、牧场上的三十匹小马，以及附近旅馆里几个小女孩和小男孩的陪伴之后，这些优秀的小伙子们渴望挣脱束缚，像他们最喜欢的故事里的猎人那样，“在灌木丛中闯荡”。
Away they went, deeper and deeper into the great forest that covered the side of the mountain.
他们走了，越走越深，深入到覆盖在山边的大森林里。
A pleasant place that August day; for it was cool and green, with many brooks splashing over the rocks, or lying in brown pools under the ferns.
八月的一天，一个令人愉快的地方;因为那里又凉又绿，有许多小溪在岩石上溅起水花，或是在蕨类植物下的棕色水潭里流淌。
Squirrels chattered and raced in the tall pines; now and then a gray rabbit skipped out of sight among the brakes, or a strange bird flew by.
松鼠们叽叽喳喳地在高大的松树间奔跑;不时有一只灰兔子从刹车间跳出来，或者有一只奇怪的鸟飞过。
Here and there blackberries grew in the open places, sassafras bushes were plentiful, and black-birch bark was ready for chewing.
空旷的地方到处都长着黑莓，
茂盛，黑桦树的树皮可以嚼了。
“Don’t you call this nice?” asked Tommy, pausing at last in a little dell where a noisy brook came tumbling down the mountain side, and the pines sung overhead.
“你不觉得这很好吗?”汤米问，最后在一个小山谷里停了下来，一条喧闹的小溪从山坡上淌下来，松树在头顶上歌唱。
“Yes; but I’m awful hungry.
“是的;但是我很饿。
Let’s rest and eat our lunch,” said Billy, sitting down on a cushion of moss
让我们休息一下，吃午饭吧，”比利说着，坐在一层苔藓垫子上。
“You always want to be stuffing and resting,” answered sturdy Tommy, who liked to be moving all the time.
“你总是想要吃东西和休息，”健壮的汤米回答说，他喜欢一直移动。
He took the fishing-basket, which hung over his shoulder by a strap, and opened it carefully; for good Mrs.
他拿起挎在肩上的鱼筐，小心翼翼地打开;为了好夫人。
Mullin had packed a nice lunch of bread and butter, cake and peaches, with a bottle of milk, and two large pickles slipped in on the sly to please the boys.
穆林准备了一份美味的午餐，有面包、黄油、蛋糕和桃子，还有一瓶牛奶，为了让孩子们高兴，他偷偷地放了两个大泡菜进来。
Tommy’s face grew very sober as he looked in, for all he saw was a box of worms for bait and an old jacket.
汤米往里看时，脸上的表情变得非常严肃，因为他看到的只是一盒当诱饵的虫子和一件旧夹克。
“By George! we’ve got the wrong basket.
“乔治!我们拿错篮子了。
This is Mullin’s, and he’s gone off with our prog.
这是穆林的，他跟我们走了。
Won’t he be mad?”“Not as mad as I am.
他不会发疯吗?” “没有我疯。
Why didn’t you look?
你为什么不看?
You are always in such a hurry to start.
你总是那么急着出发。
What shall we do now without anything to eat?” whined Billy; for losing his lunch was a dreadful blow to him.
没有东西吃，我们现在该怎么办呢?比利抱怨道;因为失去午餐对他来说是一个可怕的打击。
“We shall have to catch some fish and eat blackberries.
“我们必须抓一些鱼，吃黑莓。
Which will you do, old cry-baby?” said Tommy, laughing at the other boy’s dismal19 face.
你会怎么做，老爱哭鬼?汤米笑着说，看着另一个男孩忧郁的脸。
“I’ll fish; I’m so tired I can’t go scratching round after berries.
“我的鱼;我太累了，不能到处抓浆果了。
I don’t love ’em either.” And Billy began to fix his line and bait his hook.
我也不爱他们。”比利开始修鱼线，给鱼钩上饵。
“Lucky we got the worms; you can eat ’em if you can’t wait for fish,” said Tommy, bustling about to empty the basket and pile up their few possessions in a heap.
“幸运的是我们找到了虫子;如果你等不及吃鱼的话，你可以吃掉它们，”汤米说，忙着清空篮子，把他们所剩无几的东西堆成一堆。
“There’s a quiet pool below here, you go and fish there.
“下面有一个安静的池塘，你可以去那里钓鱼。
I’ll pick the berries, and then show you how to get dinner in the woods.
我去摘浆果，然后告诉你怎么在树林里吃晚饭。
This is our camp; so fly round and do your best.”
这是我们的营地;所以飞起来，尽你最大的努力。”
Then Tommy ran off to a place near by where he had seen the berries, while Billy found a comfortable nook by the pool, and sat scowling at the water so crossly, it was a wonder any trout came to his hook.
然后汤米跑到附近他看到浆果的地方，比利在池塘边找了一个舒适的角落，怒气冲冲地皱着眉头坐在那里，鳟鱼竟然会游到他的鱼钩上，真是个奇迹。
But the fat worms tempted several small ones, and he cheered up at the prospect of food.
但是这些肥虫吸引了几条小虫，一想到有食物吃，他就高兴起来。
Tommy whistled while he picked, and in half an hour came back with two quarts of nice berries and an armful of dry sticks for the fire.
汤米一边摘，一边吹着口哨，半个小时后，他带着两夸脱的浆果和一把用来生火的干树枝回来了。
“We’ll have a jolly dinner, after all,” he said, as the flames went crackling up, and the dry leaves made a pleasant smell.
“不管怎么说，我们会吃一顿愉快的晚餐。”他说，这时火焰噼啪作响，干树叶散发出一股令人愉快的气味。
“Got four, but don’t see how we’ll ever cook ’em; no frying-pan,” grumbled Billy, throwing down the four little trout, which he had half cleaned.
“有四个，但不知道怎么才能把它们煮熟。没有煎锅，”比利嘟囔着，把洗了一半的四条小鳟鱼扔了下去。
“Don’t want any.
“我不想要。
Broil ’em on the coals, or toast ’em on a forked stick.
把它们放在炭火上烤，或者放在有叉的棍子上烤。
I’ll show you how,” said cheerful Tommy, whittling away, and feeding his fire as much like a real hunter as a small boy could be.
我来告诉你怎么做，”汤米兴致勃勃地说，一边削着木头，一边像个小男孩一样给火添柴。
While he worked, Billy ate berries and sighed for bread and butter.
比利一边干活，一边吃着浆果，渴望着面包和黄油。
At last, after much trouble, two of the trout were half cooked and eagerly eaten by the hungry boys.
最后，经过一番周折，两条鳟鱼煮了一半，被饥饿的孩子们狼吞虎咽地吃掉了。
But they were very different from the nice brown ones Mrs.
但是它们和那些漂亮的棕色的大不相同。
Mullin gave them; for in spite of Tommy’s struggles they would fall in the ashes, and there was no salt to eat with them.
穆林给了他们;因为不管托米怎样挣扎，它们还是会化为灰烬，而且没有盐可以和它们一起吃。
By the time the last were toasted, the young hunters were so hungry they could have eaten anything, and not a berry was left.
当最后一颗浆果被烤熟的时候，年轻的猎人饿得什么都可以吃，一个浆果也没有剩下。
“I set the trap down there, for I saw a hole among the vines, and I shouldn’t wonder if we got a rabbit or something,” said Tommy, when the last bone was polished.
当最后一根骨头被擦亮后，汤米说:“我把捕兔器放在那里，因为我看到藤蔓中间有一个洞，我不会怀疑我们会不会抓到一只兔子或什么东西。”
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