12 Mother Magpie’s Mischief

CHAPTER 12 Mother Magpie's Mischief Old Mother Magpie was just about the busiest creature in the forest. But there is a difference between being busy and working hard. You can be very busy but not hardworking at all. This was the case with Mother Magpie. She was into everybody's business but her own. She was here, there, and everywhere, but never in her own nest. She knew what everyone else was doing. And she had words of advice for every bird and beast in the

第十二章喜鹊妈妈的恶作剧老喜鹊妈妈几乎是森林里最忙碌的动物。 但是忙碌和努力工作是有区别的。 你可以很忙，但一点也不努力。 这就是喜鹊妈妈的情况。 她管别人的事，唯独不管自己的事。 她在这里，在那里，到处都是，但从来没有在她自己的巢里。 她知道其他人在做什么。 她对世界上所有的鸟兽都有忠告

forest. One day Mother Magpie flew up to the top of the oak tree where old Parson Too- Whit lived. She told him exactly how awful everyone in the forest was. "You ought to scold all the badly behaving creatures in next Sunday's sermon," she said. Then she left the old gentleman in a dazed and confused state and peeped into Mrs. Oriole's nest. Mother Magpie chattered so much to Mrs. Oriole that she was more bewildered than if a terrible wind had shook her. "Believe me, my dear," Mother Magpie cheeped, "this is no way to build a nest. It swings in the air like an empty stocking. I never built a nest like this one, and I never had a single problem with my nests. You complain of a headache whenever I visit. It's on account of the way your nest swings in

森林。一天，喜鹊妈妈飞到老牧师太怀特住的橡树顶上。 她确切地告诉他森林里的每个人都是多么可怕。 “下星期天布道时，你应该把所有行为不端的动物都骂一顿，”她说。 然后，她离开了茫然不知所措的老绅士，往金莺夫人的巢里窥视。 喜鹊妈妈跟金莺太太叽叽喳喳地说个不停，弄得她不知所措，就像被一阵可怕的风吹动了一样。 “相信我，亲爱的，”喜鹊妈妈叽叽喳喳地说，“这不是筑巢的办法。 它像一只空袜子一样在空中摇摆。 我从来没有建过这样的巢，我的巢也从来没有出过任何问题。 每次我来看你，你都说头疼。 这是由于你的巢摆动的方式

the air, I do declare," Mother Magpie told her as she puffed out her chest. "Orioles always build their nests this way," Mrs. Oriole softly said. Mother Magpie made her feel shy. "Fiddlesticks!" said Mother Magpie. "You'll never learn if you never try. Just ask Dr. Kite— he agrees with me. Have you ever been to any of Dr. Kite's lectures?" "No. I can't leave my eggs," Mrs. Oriole explained. "Nonsense! Let your husband sit on the eggs," Mother Magpie advised. "He should sit on them half the time to give you a chance to move around and exercise. My husband does this for me. I shall have to speak to yours," Mother Magpie said. "Oh, please do not," said Mrs. Oriole. "We'll see about that," Mother Magpie said, and flew off in a huff.

我敢说，是空气。”喜鹊妈妈一边挺起胸膛一边对她说。 “金莺总是这样筑巢的，”金莺太太轻声说。 喜鹊妈妈让她感到害羞。 “胡说！”喜鹊妈妈说。 “如果你不尝试，你永远学不会。” 问问凯特医生就知道了，他同意我的看法。 你有没有去过任何一个。 风筝的讲座?”“没有。我不能离开我的蛋，”金莺太太解释道。 “胡说八道!让你的丈夫坐在蛋上，”喜鹊妈妈建议道。 “他应该有一半的时间坐在椅子上，让你有机会四处走动和锻炼。 这是我丈夫为我做的。 我得跟你的孩子谈谈，”喜鹊妈妈说。 “哦，请不要，”金莺太太说。 “我们走着瞧吧，”喜鹊妈妈说着，气呼呼地飞走了。

Later that day, when Tommy Oriole returned to the nest, he was very upset. "Have you been gossiping about me, your husband, to Mother Magpie?" he asked Mrs. Oriole. "She simply will not leave me be," Mrs. Oriole declared. "I don't say a word and she insists on giving me advice. She thinks you should mind the eggs half the time so I can move around and exercise. Not really a bad idea, if you think about it," Mrs. Oriole dared to say. "Tell her to mind her own business," Tommy Oriole said. "I am a society bird, and you must learn to live with that, dear wife. Be glad that you have a brilliant and handsome husband, able to sing like an angel. I must attend concerts and spend time around the forest. I cannot simply stay in the nest and warm the eggs. I have very

那天晚些时候，当金莺汤米回到鸟巢时，他非常沮丧。 “你一直在对喜鹊妈妈说我——你丈夫的闲话吗？”他问金莺太太。 “她就是不会丢下我不管，”奥利尔太太说。 我什么也没说，她坚持要给我建议。 她认为你应该有一半的时间照顾鸡蛋，这样我就可以四处走动，锻炼身体。 如果你仔细想想，这主意倒不坏。”金莺太太大胆地说。 “叫她少管闲事，”汤米·奥里奥尔说。 “我是一只善于交际的鸟，你必须学会接受这一点，亲爱的妻子。 庆幸你有一个才华横溢、英俊潇洒、能像天使一样歌唱的丈夫。 我必须去听音乐会，在森林里消磨时间。 我不能只是呆在窝里给蛋加热。 我有很多

important business," Tommy explained. Now, Tommy Oriole was very much annoyed with Mother Magpie for butting into his nest life. After all, Mrs. Oriole had never complained about him before Mother Magpie brought him to her attention. Meanwhile, Mother Magpie was off minding someone else's business. She went down to Water-Dock Lane to visit the old music teacher, Dr. Bullfrog. The poor old doctor was a simple creature, good and kind. He had led the forest choir for as long as anyone could remember. Lately, however, the forest was no longer a simple place to live. How had the forest changed? Forest animals had always been polite and respectful. But just recently, a number of young and rowdy creatures had tried to interrupt Dr. Bullfrog's forest choir concerts! That wasn't all. Some of the young rascals

汤米解释说。 现在，金莺汤米对喜鹊妈妈干涉他的巢生活感到非常恼火。 毕竟，在喜鹊妈妈把他介绍给她之前，金莺太太从来没有抱怨过他。 与此同时，喜鹊妈妈去管别人的事了。 她到水码头巷去拜访她的老音乐老师。 牛蛙。可怜的老医生是个单纯的人，善良善良。 从人们记事起，他就一直领导着森林合唱团。 然而，最近，森林不再是一个简单的生活场所。 森林发生了怎样的变化？ 森林里的动物一向彬彬有礼，恭敬有礼。 但就在最近，一些年轻而吵闹的生物试图打断他。 牛蛙森林唱诗班音乐会！这还不是全部。 一些小流氓

had begun gossiping about the good doctor. They made fun of the way he sang in his deep, double bass voice. They refused to be part of the choir, or even go to the concerts. They wanted a new choir leader who would play different and new sorts of music. Dr. Bullfrog knew nothing about this. He simply went about his business and prepared for the next forest choir concert. That is, until Mother Magpie came to visit. "Well, Dr. Bullfrog, I hope you know that I think your music is simply wonderful. Young people today know nothing about music! They have no respect for our age group and the way we do things. I think your teaching and singing have never been better. Honestly, these young folks never listen to reasonable folks," Mother Magpie chattered on. Dr. Bullfrog cleared his throat and said. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, ma'am."

已经开始议论这位好医生了。 他们取笑他用低沉的低音唱歌的方式。 他们拒绝加入唱诗班，甚至拒绝去听音乐会。 他们想要一个新的唱诗班领班来演奏不同的、新的音乐。 牛蛙医生对此一无所知。 他只是做自己的事，为下一次森林合唱团音乐会做准备。 直到喜鹊妈妈来拜访。 “好吧，牛蛙博士，我希望你知道，我认为你的音乐简直太棒了。 现在的年轻人对音乐一无所知！他们不尊重我们这个年龄段的人，不尊重我们做事的方式。 我认为你的教学和歌唱从来没有这么好过。 说实在的，这些年轻人从来不听那些讲道理的人的话。”喜鹊妈妈喋喋不休地说。 牛蛙医生清了清嗓子说。 “恐怕我不明白你的意思，太太。”