35 THE FIRST SWIM

CHAPTER 35 THE FIRST SWIM "Good afternoon, you two!" said Loudwing as she waddled into the garden. "Remember me, Brightbill?" "Loudwing! Loudwing!" "Very good!" The old goose giggled. "Now, Roz, do you know what tomorrow is? Tomorrow is Swimming Day! The day when all the parents take their goslings out on the pond for the first time. And you simply must bring Brightbill." "Swim! Swim!" said the gosling, shaking his tail feathers. "Brightbill can go," said Roz, "but I cannot swim. I cannot go on the pond with him. I will not be able to protect him." "Who'd have thought a big thing like you would be afraid of a little water?" Loudwing laughed. "Well, don't you worry about Brightbill; he'll be safe in the flock. And he's going to have so much fun swimming

第三十五章第一次游泳“下午好，你们两个！”大鸣翼摇摇摆摆地走进花园时说。 “记得我吗，布莱特比尔？”“Loudwing !Loudwing !”“很好!”老鹅咯咯地笑。 “现在，罗兹，你知道明天是什么日子吗？ 明天是游泳日！这一天所有的父母第一次带着他们的小鹅到池塘里去。 你一定要把布莱特比尔带来。” “游泳!游吧！”小鹅说着，摇着尾巴上的羽毛。 “布莱特比尔会走，”罗兹说，“但我不会游泳。 我不能和他一起去池塘。 我就不能保护他了。” “谁能想到像你这么大的东西会害怕一点点水呢？”Loudwing笑了。 “好吧，你不用担心布莱特比尔；他在鸟群里是安全的。 他会有很多游泳的乐趣

with the other goslings! We begin at sunrise, so don't be late! See you in the morning!" And with that, the goose plopped into the water and glided away. "Swim! Swim!" said the gosling. "Yes, Brightbill," said the robot, staring at the pond. "Swim, swim." Early the next morning, peeps and honks and splashes began echoing across the calm water. Roz and Brightbill followed a trail through the fog and over to a beach that was crawling with fluffy goslings and proud parents. Roz took a few steps into the water, and her Survival Instincts immediately flared up. The robot's computer brain knew that if water got inside her body, it could do serious damage. And so as the other parents began swimming across the pond, Roz stood safely in the shallows and watched. Brightbill ran up and down the beach with the other goslings, peeping and laughing and pretending to be afraid of the tiny waves. When one wave finally pulled him in, he felt his body floating on top of the water. A big smile appeared on the gosling's face. Clearly, Brightbill was designed to swim.

和其他小鹅一起！我们日出就出发，别迟到了！明天早上见！”说完，那只鹅扑通一声跳进水里，滑走了。 “游泳!游呀！”小鹅说。 “是的，布莱特比尔，”机器人盯着池塘说。 “游泳,游泳。”第二天一大早，吱吱声、喇叭声和水花声开始在平静的水面上回荡。 罗兹和布莱特比尔沿着一条穿过雾的小路走到海滩上，那里爬满了毛茸茸的小鹅和自豪的父母。 罗兹在水里走了几步，她的生存本能立刻爆发了。 机器人的计算机大脑知道，如果水进入她的身体，可能会造成严重的伤害。 因此，当其他父母开始游过池塘时，罗兹安全地站在浅滩上看着。 布莱特比尔和其他小鹅在海滩上跑来跑去，偷窥着，笑着，假装害怕微小的海浪。 当一个浪头终于把他卷进去时，他感到自己的身体浮在水面上。 小鹅的脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。 显然，布莱特比尔天生就是会游泳的。

"Very good, Brightbill!" said Loudwing as she floated past. "You're a natural!" "Yes, Brightbill, you are a natural!" said Roz, trying to sound like a good mother. Loudwing rounded up all the goslings and gave them a quick swimming lesson. "Remember, everyone, paddle your feet evenly to swim in a straight line. Paddle with your right foot to go left, and paddle with your left foot to go right. Try it out and join the rest of us when you're ready. Happy Swimming Day!" Loudwing and the other adult geese calmly glided toward the center of the pond. A jumble of goslings tried to keep up with them. The youngsters jostled and splashed and peeped with excitement, and gradually they paddled in the direction of their parents. Only Brightbill lagged behind. "Mama swim?" Roz pointed to the flock. "I cannot swim. Go have fun with the other geese. You will be safe with them."

“很好，布莱特比尔！”响亮翼飘过去时说。 “你真有天赋！”“是的，布莱特比尔，你是天生的！”罗兹说，努力让自己听起来像个好母亲。 响亮的翅膀把所有的小鹅聚集在一起，给它们上了一堂快速的游泳课。 “记住，每个人都要均匀地划水，游一条直线。 用右脚划向左边，用左脚划向右边。 试一试，准备好了就加入我们。 游泳日快乐！”旺翼和其他成年鹅平静地向池塘中央滑翔。 一群小鹅试图跟上他们。 孩子们兴奋地互相推搡、泼水、偷看，渐渐地他们朝父母的方向划去。 只有布莱特比尔落在后面。 “妈妈游泳吗?”罗兹指着羊群。 “我不会游泳。去和其他鹅玩吧。 你和他们在一起会很安全的。”

The gosling took a deep breath. Then he shook his tail feathers and paddled his feet and set out on his very first swim. He drifted too far to the left. Then he drifted too far to the right. But his feet just kept paddling until he caught up to the other goslings. Roz spent the morning watching her son swim around and around the pond. And as she watched him, she felt something like gratitude. Thanks to Brightbill, the robot now had friends and shelter and help. Thanks to Brightbill, the robot had become better at surviving. In a way, Roz needed Brightbill as much as Brightbill needed Roz. Which was precisely why she felt such concern when the mood on the pond suddenly changed. One moment everything was tranquil, and the next moment the geese were in a panic. Something was violently sloshing through the group. It was Rockmouth, the giant, toothy pike. The fish had been a problem in the pond for as long as anyone could remember, but he'd never attacked goslings before. All the parents immediately went to protect their young—all the parents except Roz. The robot could only stand in the shallows and watch as her son left the other geese behind and desperately swam toward

小鹅深吸了一口气。 然后他摇了摇尾羽，划了划脚，开始了他的第一次游泳。 他太偏左了。 然后他又偏右了。 但他的脚一直在划水，直到他赶上了其他小鹅。 罗兹整个上午都在看着儿子在池塘里游来游去。 当她看着他的时候，她有一种感激之情。 多亏了Brightbill，这个机器人现在有了朋友、庇护所和帮助。 多亏了Brightbill，机器人的生存能力变得更好了。 在某种程度上，罗兹需要布莱特比尔就像布莱特比尔需要罗兹一样。 正因为如此，当池塘上的气氛突然发生变化时，她才会如此担心。 这一刻一切还很平静，下一刻鹅群就惊慌失措了。 有什么东西在人群中剧烈地晃动。 那是岩嘴，一种巨大的长牙梭子鱼。 从人们记事起，这条鱼就一直是池塘里的一个问题，但它以前从未袭击过小鹅。 所有的父母都立刻去保护他们的孩子——除了罗兹。 机器人只能站在浅滩上，看着她的儿子把其他鹅抛在身后，拼命地游过去

his mother. "Swim to me, Brightbill! Quickly!" The gosling kicked as fast as he could. But alone on the water, he made an easy target. The pond rippled as Rockmouth slashed below the surface. "Mama! Help!" squeaked Brightbill. The robot was terribly conflicted. Part of her knew she had to help her son, but another part knew she had to stay out of deep water. Her body lurched forward and then backward, again and again, as she struggled to make a decision. And then Loudwing came to the rescue. "Rockmouth, don't you dare harm that little darling!" The old goose fluttered over and splashed down right on top of the fish. "Leave… him… alone!" She pecked and kicked and beat her wings against the fish until he surrendered to the murky depths of the pond. Loudwing escorted Brightbill back to the beach, and a minute later the gosling was in his mother's arms, safe and sound. "Rockmouth isn't as dangerous as he seems," said the goose, out of breath. "But I think that's enough swimming for one day."

他的母亲。“游到我这儿来，布莱特比尔！”快!”小鹅以最快的速度踢着。 但独自在水面上，他很容易成为目标。 罗克茅斯在水面下划破水面，池塘泛起涟漪。 “妈妈!救命！”布莱特比尔尖叫道。 机器人非常矛盾。 一方面，她知道她必须帮助她的儿子，但另一方面，她知道她必须远离深水。 她的身体踉跄着向前，然后向后，一次又一次，她挣扎着做出决定。 然后大声的翅膀来救我了。 “岩嘴，你敢伤害那个小宝贝！”那只老鹅扑扇着翅膀飞过来，正好落在鱼的身上。 “别……碰……他！”她又啄又踢，用翅膀拍打着鱼，直到它屈服于阴暗的池塘深处。 响亮翼护送布莱特比尔回到海滩，一分钟后，小鹅安然无恙地躺在妈妈的怀里。 “岩嘴并不像看上去那么危险。”母鹅上气不接下气地说。 “但我觉得今天游得够多了。”