28 THE OLD GOOSE

CHAPTER 28 THE OLD GOOSE Ordinarily, the forest animals would have run away from the monster. But they were awfully curious why she was carrying a hatchling on her shoulder. And once Roz explained the situation, the animals actually tried to help. A frog pointed Roz up to the squirrels. A squirrel recommended that she speak with the magpies. And then a magpie sent them over to the beaver pond. The ground grew soggier, the grass grew taller, and soon the robot and the gosling were looking across a wide, murky pond. Dragonflies buzzed through the reeds. Turtles sunned themselves on a log. Schools of small fish gathered in the shadows. And there, floating in the center of the pond, was an old gray goose. "A very good morning to you!" the robot's friendly voice boomed over the water. "I have an adorable little gosling with me!"

第二十八章老鹅一般来说，森林里的动物会从怪物面前跑开。 但他们非常好奇，为什么她的肩膀上背着一只刚孵化的幼崽。 一旦罗兹解释了情况，动物们就会伸出援手。 一只青蛙指给罗兹看松鼠。 一只松鼠建议她和喜鹊谈谈。 然后一只喜鹊把它们送到海狸池塘。 地面变得越来越潮湿，草也长得越来越高，很快，机器人和小鹅就看到了一个又宽又暗的池塘。 蜻蜓在芦苇丛中嗡嗡作响。 海龟在圆木上晒太阳。 成群的小鱼聚集在阴影里。 在池塘的中央，漂着一只老灰鹅。 “早上好！”机器人友好的声音响彻水面。 “我有一只可爱的小鹅！”

The goose just stared. "I am in great need of your assistance!" said Roz. "Actually, the gosling is in need of your assistance!" The goose didn't move. "Food!" peeped the gosling. "Food! Food!" That tiny voice was more than the old goose could bear, and she began gliding across the pond and squawking to the robot, "What are you doing with that hungry hatchling? Where are his parents?" "There was a terrible accident," said Roz. "It was my fault. This gosling is the only survivor." "If there was a terrible accident, why does your voice sound so cheerful?" The goose flapped her wings. "Are you sure you didn't eat his parents?" "I am sure I did not eat his parents," said Roz, returning to her normal voice. "I do not eat anything, including parents." The goose squinted at the robot. Then she said, "Do

母鹅只是盯着看。“我非常需要你的帮助！”罗兹说。 “事实上，小鹅需要你的帮助！”母鹅没有动。 “食物！”小鹅偷窥着。 “食物!食物!”那细小的声音让老鹅听不下去了，她开始滑过池塘，对机器人尖声叫道：“你对那只饥饿的小鹅在做什么？” 他的父母呢？”“发生了一场可怕的事故，”罗兹说。 “这是我的错。这只小鹅是唯一的幸存者。” “如果发生了可怕的事故，为什么你的声音听起来这么高兴？”母鹅拍打着翅膀。 “你确定你没有吃掉他的父母吗？”“我肯定我没有吃他的父母，”罗兹说，恢复了她正常的声音。 “我不吃任何东西，包括父母。” 母鹅眯着眼睛看着机器人。 然后她说：“去吧

you know who his parents were?" "I do not know." "Well, they must have belonged to one of the other flocks on the island, because nobody in my flock is missing." "Will you take the gosling?" "I most certainly will not!" squawked the goose. "I can't take in every orphan I see! You say this is your fault? It seems to me that it's up to you to make things right." "Mama! Mama!" peeped the gosling. "I have tried to tell him that I am not his mother," said the robot. "But he does not understand." "Well, you'll have to act like his mother if you want him to survive." There was that word again—act. Very slowly, the robot was learning to act friendly. Maybe she could learn to act motherly as well. "You do want him to survive, don't you?" said the goose. "Yes, I do want him to survive," said the robot. "But I do not know how to act like a mother." "Oh, it's nothing, you just have to provide the gosling with food and water and shelter, make him

你知道他的父母是谁吗？”“我不知道。” “嗯，它们一定是属于岛上其他鸟群的，因为我的鸟群里没有一个人失踪。” “你愿意带走这只小鹅吗？”“我绝对不会！”母鹅尖声说。 “我不可能收留每一个我看到的孤儿！”你说这是你的错？ 在我看来，该由你来纠正错误了。” “妈妈!妈妈！”小鹅偷偷地说。 “我试着告诉他，我不是他的母亲，”机器人说。 “但他不明白。” “嗯，如果你想让他活下来，你就得像他妈妈一样。” 还有“再次行动”这个词。 慢慢地，机器人学会了友好地行动。 也许她也可以学着表现得像个母亲。 “你希望他活下来，是吗？”母鹅说。 “是的，我希望他能活下来，”机器人说。 “但我不知道如何表现得像一个母亲。” “哦，没什么，你只需要给小鹅提供食物、水和住所，让他。

feel loved but don't pamper him too much, keep him away from danger, and make sure he learns to walk and talk and swim and fly and get along with others and look after himself. And that's really all there is to motherhood!" The robot just stared. "Mama! Food!" said the gosling. "Now would probably be a good time to feed your son," said the goose. "Yes, of course!" said the robot. "What should I feed him?" "Give him some mashed-up grass. And if a few insects get in there, all the better." Roz tore several blades of grass from the ground. She mashed them into a ball and then dropped the ball into the nest. The gosling shook his tail feathers and chewed his very first bites of food. "By the way, my name is Loudwing," said the goose. "Everyone already knows your name, Roz. But what's the gosling's name?" "I do not know." The robot looked at her adopted son. "What is your name, gosling?" "He can't name himself!" squawked Loudwing. And then, with a loud burst of wingbeats, the goose

感受被爱的感觉，但不要太溺爱他，让他远离危险，确保他学会走路、说话、游泳、飞行、与他人相处并照顾好自己。 这就是做母亲的全部意义！”机器人只是盯着看。 “妈妈!吃的！”小鹅说。 “现在可能是喂你儿子的好时机，”母鹅说。 “是的，当然！”机器人说。 “我应该喂他什么？”“给他一些捣碎的草。 如果能有几只昆虫进去，那就更好了。” 罗兹从地上扯下几片草叶。 她把它们捣碎成一个球，然后把球扔进巢里。 小鹅摇着尾羽，咀嚼着第一口食物。 “顺便说一下，我的名字叫大鸣翼。”母鹅说。 “每个人都知道你的名字，罗兹。 那小鹅叫什么名字？”“我不知道。” 机器人看着她的养子。 “小鹅，你叫什么名字？”“他连自己的名字都叫不出来！” 然后，随着一声响亮的振翅声，那只鹅

fluttered up from the pond and landed right on Roz's head. Water streamed down the robot's dusty body as Loudwing leaned over the nest. "Oh dear, he certainly is a tiny thing," said Loudwing. "He must be a runt. I'll warn you, Roz— runts usually don't last very long. And with you for a mother, it'll take a miracle for him to survive. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. However, the gosling still deserves a name. Let's see here. His bill is an unusually bright color. It's actually quite lovely. If I were his mother, I'd call him Brightbill, but you're his mother, so it's up to you." "His name will be Brightbill," said Roz as the goose fluttered back to the water. "And we will live by this pond, where he can be around other geese. I will find us a sturdy tree nearby." "You will do no such thing!" The goose flapped her wings. "A tree is no place for a gosling! Brightbill needs to live on the ground, like a normal goose." Loudwing sized up the robot. "I suppose you two will need a rather large home. You'd better speak with Mr. Beaver. He can build anything. He's a little gruff at times, but if you're extra friendly, I'm sure he'll help you out. And if he gives you trouble,

从池塘里飞起来，正好落在罗兹的头上。 水顺着机器人满是灰尘的身体流了下来，“响翼”俯身趴在鸟巢上。 “哦，天哪，他真是个小东西。” “他一定是个矮子。我警告你，罗兹，矮子通常活不了多久。 有你这样的母亲，只有奇迹才能让他活下来。 对不起，但这是事实。 然而，这只小鹅仍然值得一个名字。 让我们看看这里。他的喙颜色异常鲜艳。 它其实很可爱。 如果我是他的母亲，我会叫他布莱特比尔，但你是他的母亲，所以这取决于你。” “他的名字叫布莱特比尔，”当鹅拍打着翅膀回到水里时，罗兹说。 “我们就住在池塘边，他可以和其他鹅在一起。 我会在附近找一棵结实的树。” “你不能这么做！”母鹅拍打着翅膀。 “树不是小鹅待的地方！”Brightbill需要像一只正常的鹅一样生活在地面上。” Loudwing测量了机器人的尺寸。 “我想你们俩需要一个相当大的房子。 你最好和比弗先生谈谈。 他什么都能造。他有时有点粗暴，但如果你特别友好，我相信他会帮助你的。 如果他给你添麻烦

remind him that he owes me a favor."

提醒他，他欠我一个人情。”