8 Learning to Ride

CHAPTER 8 Learning to Ride The Earl of Dorincourt had the chance to wear his grim smile many times as the days passed. The more time he spent with Cedric, the more often he smiled. Sometimes his smile didn't even seem that grim. On the morning Cedric learned to ride his pony, the earl was so pleased, he almost forgot about his gout. Wilkins, the groom, had brought out the fine brown pony, and the earl had found a seat near his window so he could watch. This was Cedric's very first

第八章学会骑马随着时间的流逝，多林考特伯爵有机会多次露出他那狰狞的笑容。 他和塞德里克在一起的时间越长，他就越爱笑。 有时他的笑容甚至不显得那么冷酷。 在塞德里克学会骑小马的那天早上，伯爵非常高兴，几乎忘记了自己的痛风。 马夫威尔金斯牵出了那匹漂亮的棕色小马，伯爵在他靠窗的地方找了个座位，这样他就可以观看了。 这是塞德里克的第一次

riding lesson. The earl wondered if the boy would be scared and—like most children— start to cry. But Cedric did no such thing. He had never been on a pony before, and he was very excited. The groom had him sit in the saddle by himself. Then he slowly led the pony in front of the window so the earl could see. After a few minutes, Cedric spoke up to his grandfather. "Can't I go by myself?" he asked. "And can't I go faster? I want to trot and canter." "Do you think you could?" asked the earl. "I would like to try," said Cedric. "Then let him trot," the earl told Wilkins. The next few minutes were exciting. Cedric learned that trotting on the pony wasn't as easy as it looked. The faster the pony trotted, the harder it was. "It j-jolts a g-goo-good deal—does-doesn't

骑的教训。伯爵想知道这个男孩是否会像大多数孩子一样害怕，开始哭泣。 但塞德里克没有这么做。 他以前从来没有骑过小马，他非常兴奋。 马夫让他自己坐在马鞍上。 然后他慢慢地牵着小马走到窗前，这样伯爵就能看到了。 几分钟后，塞德里克对他的祖父说话了。 “我不能自己去吗？”他问。 “我不能走快一点吗？”我想小跑和慢跑。” “你认为你可以吗？”伯爵问。 “我想试试。”塞德里克说。 “那就让他小跑吧，”伯爵对威尔金斯说。 接下来的几分钟是激动人心的。 塞德里克知道骑着小马小跑并不像看上去那么容易。 小马跑得越快，越难跑。 “这是一笔很好的交易——有——没有

it?" he said. The earl watched him bounce past. Cedric's cheeks grew bright red. He looked like he was out of breath. But he held on, and he kept going. Then Cedric and Wilkins rode off into the trees. When they came back, the boy's cheeks were even redder. And his hat was missing. "What happened to your hat?" called the earl. Wilkins answered for him. "It fell off, your lordship. He wouldn't let me stop to pick it up." "Ready to get off?" the earl asked the boy. "It jolts you more than you think it will," admitted Cedric. "And it tires you a little, too. But I don't want to get off. I want to learn how to trot and canter faster. As soon as I catch my breath, I want to go back for the hat."

它？”他说。伯爵看着他蹦蹦跳跳地走过。 塞德里克的脸涨得通红。 他看起来上气不接下气。 但他坚持住了，继续前进。 然后塞德里克和威尔金斯骑马进了树林。 当他们回来时，男孩的脸颊更红了。 他的帽子不见了。“你的帽子怎么了？”伯爵叫道。 威尔金斯替他回答。“老爷，它掉下来了。 他不让我停下来捡。” “准备好下船了吗？”伯爵问男孩。 “它对你的震动比你想象的要大。”塞德里克承认道。 “你也有点累了。 但我不想下车。 我想学习如何小跑和跑得更快。 我一缓过气来，就想回去拿帽子。”

The boy was brave and determined, and the earl was impressed. He watched as Cedric and Wilkins trotted back into the trees. This time when they returned, they were riding much faster. And Wilkins had the lost hat. Cedric's hair was flying in the wind. "There," he said as he came to a stop under his grandfather's window. He was out of breath. "I cantered! I stayed on!" Cedric, Wilkins, and the pony were good friends after that. Almost every day they rode out together around the town. The children in the cottages would run out to wave to little Lord Fauntleroy. Cedric always shouted good morning and waved back. Once, Cedric insisted on stopping at the village school. He noticed a boy who had hurt his leg, and he wanted the boy to ride home on his pony instead of having to walk.

这个男孩勇敢而坚定，伯爵对他印象深刻。 他看着塞德里克和威尔金斯小跑着回到树林里。 这次他们回来的时候，骑得快多了。 威尔金斯丢了那顶帽子。 塞德里克的头发在风中飞舞。 “在那儿，”他在祖父的窗户下停了下来，说道。 他上气不接下气。“我慢跑!我留下来了！”从那以后，塞德里克、威尔金斯和小马成了好朋友。 他们几乎每天都骑马绕着镇子转。 村舍里的孩子们会跑出来向小方特勒罗伊勋爵挥手。 塞德里克总是喊着早上好，向他挥手致意。 有一次，塞德里克坚持要去村里的学校。 他注意到一个男孩的腿受伤了，他想让这个男孩骑着他的小马回家，而不是走路。

When they reached the boy's cottage, his mother came out to greet Cedric. Cedric whipped off his cap and waved. "I've brought your son home, ma'am," he said. "His leg was hurting him. I don't think that stick is enough for him to lean on. I'm going to ask my grandfather to buy a pair of crutches for him." When the earl heard about this, he wasn't angry. He was amused. A few days later, he even took Cedric to the boy's house in his carriage. Cedric leaped out to deliver the crutches, as promised. When the boy's mother answered the door, he said, "My grandfather's compliments. If you please, these are for your boy. We hope he will get better." Back in the carriage, he told the earl what he had said. "I said they were your compliments," he explained. "You didn't tell

当他们到达男孩的小屋时，他的母亲出来迎接塞德里克。 塞德里克摘下帽子，挥了挥手。 “我把你儿子带回家了，夫人，”他说。 “他的腿疼。我认为那根棍子不足以让他依靠。 我要让我爷爷给他买一副拐杖。” 当伯爵听到这件事时，他并不生气。 他被逗乐了。几天后，他甚至用马车把塞德里克带到男孩的家里。 塞德里克跳了出来，照他说的去送拐杖。 当男孩的母亲去开门时，他说：“我爷爷的问候。 劳驾，这些是给你儿子的。 我们希望他会好起来。” 回到马车里，他把自己的话告诉了伯爵。 “我说那是你的赞美，”他解释说。 “你没说

me to say that, but I thought you forgot. That was the right thing to say, wasn't it?" The earl laughed, but he didn't say that it wasn't. Cedric also saw Dearest every day. Mostly, he was happy. But there was one thing that puzzled him. He thought about it a lot— even though he didn't talk about it to the earl or to Dearest. He thought it was strange that Dearest and his grandfather never seemed to meet. When the carriage stopped at Court Lodge, the earl never got out to greet her. On the rare Sundays when the earl went to church, Cedric always ended up speaking with his mother alone. And yet, fruit and flowers were sent to the lodge from the castle every day. And soon after the first Sunday, when Dearest had walked to church, the earl gave her a present.

我很想这么说，但我以为你忘了。 这话说得对，不是吗？”伯爵笑了，但他并没有说它不是。 塞德里克也每天见到最亲爱的。 总的来说，他很开心。但有一件事使他迷惑不解。 他想了很多——尽管他没有对伯爵或最亲爱的人说。 他觉得很奇怪，最亲爱的和他的祖父似乎从来没有见过面。 马车在府邸停了下来，伯爵始终没有下车迎接她。 在伯爵难得的礼拜天去教堂的时候，塞德里克最后总是和他母亲单独交谈。 然而，每天都有水果和鲜花从城堡送到小屋。 第一个星期天过后不久，当最亲爱的人步行去教堂时，伯爵送给她一份礼物。