49 THE FLIER

CHAPTER 49 THE FLIER With coaching from his mother, Brightbill was becoming a truly exceptional flier. He wasn't the biggest or the strongest, but he was the smartest. You see, he and his mother had started studying the flying techniques of other birds. They'd sit for hours and watch how hawks and owls and sparrows and vultures moved through the air. Then they'd go up to the grassy ridge and Brightbill would practice what he'd learned. Soon, he was diving and swooping and darting and soaring around the island. The adult geese frowned at his flying tricks, but the goslings thought he was amazing. Each morning, a gaggle of them would wait on the water for Brightbill to lead them into the sky. And then a few hours later he'd return home to Roz, shaking his tail feathers and honking about his latest airborne adventures.

第四十九章飞行员在母亲的指导下，布莱特比尔成为了一名真正杰出的飞行员。 他不是最大的，也不是最强的，但他是最聪明的。 你看，他和他的母亲已经开始研究其他鸟类的飞行技术。 他们一坐就是几个小时，观察老鹰、猫头鹰、麻雀和秃鹫如何在空中飞行。 然后他们会走到长满草的山脊上，布莱特比尔会练习他学到的东西。 很快，他就在岛上潜水、俯冲、飞奔、翱翔。 成年鹅对他的飞行技巧皱眉，但小鹅认为他很神奇。 每天早上，它们会在水面上等待布莱特比尔带它们飞向天空。 几个小时后，他就会回到罗兹的家，摇着尾羽，鸣叫着他最近的空中冒险。

"Mama! The other goslings didn't know that warm air rises. So I found an updraft and we spent the afternoon circling around and around and hardly flapped our wings at all!" "Mama! Did you see that lightning storm today? We knew there was trouble when the wind started blowing from the north, so we flew down to some shrubs and waited for the storm to pass." "Mama! We just tried to fly in formation! We all took turns at the point, but everyone liked following me the best, so I led most of the time."

“妈妈!其他小鹅不知道暖空气会上升。 所以我发现了一股上升气流，我们整个下午都在不停地盘旋，几乎没有拍打翅膀！”“妈妈!你看到今天的雷雨了吗？ 当风开始从北方吹来的时候，我们知道有麻烦了，所以我们飞到灌木丛里，等待暴风雨过去。” “妈妈!我们只是试着编队飞行！我们轮流上场，但每个人都最喜欢跟着我，所以大部分时间都是我带队。”