Ch9-Corn Bread and Molasses

CHAPTER NINE Corn Bread and Molasses "Turn around slowly," Jack said to Annie. Clutching the water jugs, Jack and Annie turned around and started back the way they'd come. They tried not to make noise, but sticks and branches cracked and snapped. The growl came again. Louder. "Forget slow!" said Jack. "Run!"

第九章玉米面包和糖蜜“慢慢转过身来，”杰克对安妮说。 杰克和安妮抓着水壶，转身往回走。 他们尽量不发出声音，但树枝和树枝噼啪作响。 咆哮声又来了。响亮。 “慢慢忘掉吧！”杰克说。“快跑!”

Annie bolted ahead through the brush. Jack ran after her. His heart pounded. Brambles and vines blocked their way. Thorns snagged their clothes. They ran as fast as they could, not knowing if all the breathing and thrashing sounds were coming from them—or from the beast chasing them. They burst into the clearing. Jack looked back. He didn't see a wolf or wildcat, but he wasn't ready to stop yet. "Keep going!" he cried. Jack and Annie tore across the scrubby clearing. Finally they came to the cabin. Sam was standing by the woodpile, swinging the ax! He gracefully split a log in two. He looked up at Jack and Annie and smiled. "How do?" he said. Jack and Annie laughed as they tried to catch their breath. For some reason, Jack felt safe now, with Sam. "Fine!" he said. "Fine, fine, fine!" "How do you do?" said Annie. "Why are you splitting wood?" "I said to myself, I ain't going to lie in bed forever," said Sam. "My headache stopped as soon as I started my chores. I figured the two of you had left."

安妮飞快地跑在前面，穿过灌木丛。 杰克跟在她后面。他的心怦怦直跳。 荆棘和藤蔓挡住了他们的去路。 荆棘把他们的衣服刺破了。 他们以最快的速度奔跑，不知道所有的呼吸声和拍打声是来自他们自己，还是来自追逐他们的野兽。 他们冲进空地。 杰克回头看了看。他没有看到狼或野猫，但他还没有准备停下来。 “继续走！”杰克和安妮飞快地穿过那片灌木丛生的空地。 最后他们来到了小木屋。 山姆站在柴堆旁边，挥舞着斧头！他优雅地把一根木头劈成两半。 他抬头看着杰克和安妮，笑了。 “你好？”他说。杰克和安妮笑了，努力喘着气。 出于某种原因，杰克现在和萨姆在一起感到安全了。 “很好！”他说。“好，好，好！”“你好！”安妮说。 “你为什么劈柴？”“我对自己说，我不会永远躺在床上，”萨姆说。 “我一开始做家务，头痛就不疼了。 我还以为你们两个已经走了呢。”

"Oh, no, we tried to do your chores," said Jack. "But—" "We were headed to the spring to get water and we heard a growl," said Annie. "Like a wolf," said Jack. "Or a wildcat," Annie said. "So we ran," said Jack. Annie held up a jug. "No water. Sorry." "No milk, either," said Jack. "No split wood," said Annie. "No corn bread," said Jack. Sam gave them a big grin. "Don't worry. I took care of milking the cow, and I found water in the rain bucket. The corn bread's baking now." "Wow," said Annie. "That's amazing," said Jack. Now that Sam was better, he wondered if he could lead them to the president. "Do you still have time to help us find Abraham Lincoln?" he asked. "Sure," said Sam. "I gave you my word." "Great. Do you think he's still riding his horse in the country?" said Jack. "Nope. He's not riding anymore," said Sam. "But I guarantee you he's around here."

“哦，不，我们试着帮你做家务，”杰克说。 “但是——”“我们正要去泉水那儿取水，然后听到了一声咆哮，”安妮说。 “像狼一样，”杰克说。“或者一只野猫，”安妮说。 “所以我们就跑了，”杰克说。安妮举起一个罐子。 “没有水。抱歉。”“也没有牛奶，”杰克说。 “没有劈开的木头，”安妮说。 “没有玉米面包，”杰克说。 萨姆给了他们一个大大的笑容。“别担心。 我负责挤牛奶，我在雨桶里找到了水。 玉米面包正在烤呢。” “哇，”安妮说。“太不可思议了，”杰克说。 现在萨姆好些了，他想知道自己能否带领他们去见总统。 “你还有时间帮我们找到亚伯拉罕·林肯吗？”他问。 “当然，”萨姆说。“我向你保证过。” “好了。你认为他还在乡下骑马吗？”杰克说。 “不。他不再骑马了，”萨姆说。 “但我向你保证他就在附近。”

"Like where?" said Jack. "Don't worry. I'll introduce you to him very soon," said Sam. "Let's go inside first." Sam stuck his ax in a log. He picked up an armload of wood and headed into the cabin. As Jack and Annie followed, Jack glanced at the sky. The sun would be going down soon. Inside, Sam put more wood on the fire. Then he lit two oil lamps. "Would you like to have some corn bread with butter and molasses?" he asked. "Oh… wow…" Jack didn't know what to say. He was desperate to look for Abraham Lincoln, but he was also very hungry. "I'd love it!" said Annie. "Me too," said Jack, relieved. "We'll eat fast. And then we can look for Abraham Lincoln, okay?" "Yes indeed. But first, you-all sit down," said Sam. Jack and Annie sat on small tree stumps that served as stools. Sam lifted the lid on a pot hanging over the fire. The delicious smell of corn bread filled the air.

“比如在哪儿？”杰克问。“别担心。 我很快就会把你介绍给他，”萨姆说。 “我们先进去吧。”萨姆把他的斧头插在一根圆木上。 他抱起一堆木头，朝小屋走去。 杰克和安妮跟在后面，杰克看了看天空。 太阳很快就要落山了。 在屋里，萨姆往火上添了些木头。 然后他点燃了两盏油灯。 “你想要一些加黄油和糖蜜的玉米面包吗？”他问。 “哦……哇……”杰克不知道该说什么。 他不顾一切地寻找亚伯拉罕·林肯，但他也很饿。 “我很乐意！”安妮说。 “我也是。”杰克说，松了一口气。 “我们会吃得很快。然后我们再去找亚伯拉罕·林肯，好吗？”“是的。 但首先，你们都坐下，”萨姆说。 杰克和安妮坐在当凳子用的小树桩上。 萨姆掀开挂在火上的锅盖。 空气中弥漫着玉米面包的香味。

Sam moved the pot to the wood table. Then he sliced pieces of steaming bread and put them on wooden plates. He smeared butter and dark molasses over the bread and ladled milk from the pail into wooden cups. Jack sipped the sweet milk and ate the hot, buttery corn bread. "Yum," he said. He thought it might be the best meal he'd ever had.

萨姆把锅搬到木桌上。 然后他把热气腾腾的面包切成片，放在木盘上。 他在面包上涂上黄油和深色糖蜜，把桶里的牛奶舀到木杯里。 杰克啜饮着香甜的牛奶，吃着热的、涂着黄油的玉米面包。 “好极了，”他说。他想这可能是他吃过的最好的一顿饭。

"You really worked hard after we left," Annie said to Sam. "I like to make things nice for Sarah for when she gets home from school," the boy said. "Do you ever go to school?" asked Jack, his mouth full. Sam nodded. "Since Pa left, I stay here to watch over things and do chores. But Sarah comes home and shares what she's learned. I do homework and everything." "Have you lived here a long time?" Jack asked, looking around at the crude cabin. "A few years," said Sam. "We came from Kentucky. Pa and I cut our cabin out of the wilderness. We chopped down trees to make a road. We rolled fifty logs to this site and put up these walls. Did it all by hand and all without nails." "Whoa," said Jack. It sounded like work for the strongest men, he thought, but Sam couldn't have been more than seven or eight at the time. "We did as best we could with the furniture," Sam said with a laugh. "Someday we'll do better."

安妮对萨姆说：“我们离开后，你真的很努力。” “我喜欢为萨拉做些漂亮的东西，为她从学校回家准备。”男孩说。 “你上过学吗？”杰克问，嘴里塞满了东西。 山姆点点头。“爸爸走了以后，我就留在这里看家，做家务。 但莎拉回到家，分享了她学到的东西。 我做作业和其他事情。” “你在这儿住很久了吗？”杰克问，环顾了一下简陋的船舱。 “几年，”萨姆说。“我们来自肯塔基州。 爸爸和我在荒野中建起了我们的小屋。 我们砍倒树木修路。 我们把50根原木搬到这里，筑起了这些墙。 全是手工做的，没有钉子。” “哇，”杰克说。这听起来像是最强壮的人干的活儿，他想，但山姆当时不可能超过七八岁。 “我们在家具上尽了最大的努力，”萨姆笑着说。 “总有一天我们会做得更好。”