Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 ABOUT THREE MONTHS LATER SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 1888 PRAIRIE CREEK, DAKOTA TERRITORY AFTERNOON The snow had melted, and the prairie was slowly sprouting back to life. Bright green shoots pushed

第二十章大约三个月后1888年4月29日星期日达科他领地大草原溪下午雪已经融化，大草原慢慢恢复生机。 嫩绿的嫩芽

up through the brown grass. Enormous flocks of geese and ducks flapped across the blue sky. The winter was over. The birds were back. John and the guys had returned to school at the end of March. And now, on this bright and warm day in April, here they were at the creek. They'd come for King Rattler. John had brought Pa's rifle this time. Rex clutched his ax, and Sven was ready with his stick. Peter had found a dead rabbit, half-eaten by a fox. That was the bait. "King Rattler could attack from any direction," Rex reminded them, his voice strong but still raspy from months of coughing. He'd caught a bad case of pneumonia after the blizzard, and looked too skinny and frail. They were all still healing. Sven lost two toes from frostbite and was walking with a cane. Peter had lost a pinky. "I never liked that finger anyway," he swore.

穿过棕色的草地。 一大群鹅和鸭拍打着翅膀飞过蓝天。 冬天过去了。鸟儿回来了。 约翰和同学们在三月底回到学校。 现在，在这个晴朗温暖的四月天，他们来到了小溪边。 他们是来找拉特勒国王的。 约翰这次带来了爸爸的来复枪。 雷克斯握着他的斧头，斯文也准备好了他的棍子。 彼得发现了一只被狐狸吃了一半的死兔子。 那是诱饵。“响尾蛇王可以从任何方向进攻，”雷克斯提醒他们，他的声音很有力，但由于几个月的咳嗽，他的声音仍然沙哑。 暴风雪过后，他得了一场严重的肺炎，看上去又瘦又虚弱。 他们都还在康复中。 斯文因冻伤失去了两个脚趾，走路时拄着拐杖。 彼得失去了一只小指。“反正我也不喜欢那根手指。”他咒骂道。

John's feet had been so badly frostbitten that he nearly lost them — his hands, too. His feet had swelled up like balloons. The skin on his hands and feet turned black, like meat left too long on the fire. The pain was so terrible that he couldn't move. For days he was in bed, soaked in sweat and trying not to cry. But Ma kept telling him that the pain was good news, that it meant blood was starting to flow again, that his hands and feet were coming back to life. She kept dosing John with Brown's Bitters and gently rubbing his skin with some cream that smelled like rotten apples. Slowly the black skin peeled away. Underneath was brand-new skin — soft and pink. "Your feet look like piglets!" Franny had shrieked happily. John stared at his bright pink feet and realized Franny was right. He started to laugh, and Ma and Pa did, too. And after that, some of the gloom cleared from the soddy.

约翰的脚被严重冻伤，几乎失去了它们——还有他的手。 他的脚肿得像气球一样。 他手脚上的皮肤都变黑了，就像肉在火上烤得太久了。 痛得他动弹不得。 一连几天，他躺在床上，浑身是汗，强忍着不哭出来。 但妈妈一直告诉他，疼痛是好消息，这意味着血液又开始流动了，他的手和脚又恢复了活力。 她不停地给约翰服用布朗苦药，并用一些闻起来像烂苹果的药膏轻轻地擦他的皮肤。 黑色的皮慢慢地剥落了。 下面是崭新的皮肤——柔软而粉红。 “你的脚看起来像小猪！”弗兰尼高兴地尖叫着。 约翰盯着自己亮粉红色的脚，意识到弗兰妮是对的。 他笑了起来，爸爸妈妈也笑了。 在那之后，酒吧里的阴霾消散了一些。

It helped that people from town kept coming to visit them. They brought food, precious jars of berry jam and baskets of eggs from their cellars. Myra visited and gave John a scarf she had knitted herself. Mr. Lowry came, and told them what happened to him after the horse bolted with the sled. He'd made it back into the schoolhouse and had burned the desks to stay warm through the night. Miss Ruell stopped by a few times. Of course John had to tell her about those long poems she'd made them memorize, how they helped John and the guys stay awake in the haystack. Miss Ruell flashed a smile, big and bright. By then, John had heard the big news: Miss Ruell was getting married. She would be leaving Dakota this summer and moving to Montana. John would miss her. He knew the guys would, too. Even Peter. "I hear she's invited the whole town to the wedding," Rex said now. "It's going to be at the

镇上的人不断地来看他们，这对他们很有帮助。 他们带来了食物，几罐珍贵的浆果酱和几筐地窖里的鸡蛋。 迈拉来看约翰，送给他一条她自己织的围巾。 罗瑞先生来了，告诉他们马挣脱雪橇后他发生了什么事。 他成功地回到了校舍，烧掉了课桌来取暖。 鲁埃尔小姐来过几次。 当然，约翰必须告诉她她让他们背的那些长诗，以及它们是如何帮助约翰和同伴们在干草堆里保持清醒的。 鲁埃尔小姐闪过一个灿烂灿烂的微笑。 那时，约翰已经听到了一个重大消息：鲁埃尔小姐要结婚了。 今年夏天，她将离开达科塔州，搬到蒙大拿州。 约翰会想念她的。他知道其他人也会的。 即使彼得。“我听说她邀请了全镇的人来参加婚礼，”雷克斯说。 “它将在

schoolhouse." "What should we get her for a present?" Sven asked. They were stumped. "I know!" Rex said, his eyes lighting up. "King Rattler's rattle!" They all grinned. Rex was a genius! Who wouldn't want a huge snake rattle as a wedding gift? They argued about what food would be best for the wedding: chokeberry pie or molasses cake. They swore they wouldn't wear their itchy church clothes but thought they might have to. They hoped Miss Ruell's man would wear his cowboy hat. And then there was a rustling sound in the bushes. "Shhhh!" Rex said. They all jumped up. John gripped Pa's gun. Rex raised his ax. Sven held up his cane. Peter looked ready to pounce.

校舍。”“我们应该给她买什么礼物呢？”斯文问道。 他们被难住了。“我知道!”雷克斯说，眼睛一亮。 “响尾蛇王的响尾蛇！”他们都笑了。 雷克斯是个天才！谁不想要一个巨大的蛇摇铃作为结婚礼物呢？ 他们争论婚礼上吃什么最好：是樱桃派还是糖蜜蛋糕。 他们发誓不会穿教会穿的让人发痒的衣服，但又觉得可能不得不穿。 她们希望鲁埃尔小姐的丈夫能戴上他的牛仔帽。 然后灌木丛中传来了沙沙的声音。 “嘘!”雷克斯说。他们都跳了起来。 约翰抓住爸爸的枪。雷克斯举起斧头。 斯文举起手杖。彼得看上去准备猛扑过去。

It was time to finally kill King Rattler!

是时候杀死响尾蛇国王了！