15 A Bird Talks to Me

Chapter 15 IN WHICH A Bird Talks to Me The sun is just hitting the tops of the trees when I find a well-marked trail to the big falls and take off along it. I hear the cry of a goshawk and look up. Recognizing the female by her great size, I stop running to admire the silver gray body streaking through the sky. She is carrying a rabbit home to her nestlings in her taloned feet. I keep her in view as I follow her toward the falls. Suddenly she screams the alarm cry of the goshawk. Her mate appears in the sky, seemingly coming from nowhere, and dives straight down at me. I must be near the nest. I am. High in the spruce tree in front of me is a large nest of sticks and—climbing up toward it— Alice.

第十五章 一只鸟儿对我说话 太阳刚照到树梢的时候，我找到了一条通往大瀑布、标记清晰的小路，便顺着小路出发了 我听见一声苍鹰的鸣叫，抬头望去 我认出这是雌苍鹰，因为它体型硕大，我停下脚步，欣赏它银灰色的身躯划过天空 它利爪抓着一只兔子，正要带回巢喂幼鹰 我一直盯着它，跟着它往瀑布方向走 突然，它发出了苍鹰的警报尖叫 它的配偶出现在天空，仿佛凭空出现，直直朝着我俯冲下来 我一定是离巢穴很近了 确实没错 我前方的云杉高处，有一个用树枝搭成的大巢，还有正往巢上爬的——爱丽丝

There she is. Her yellow hair sticks straight up as she lifts a wiry leg and places it on a limb. The female goshawk climbs, positions herself above Alice, and dives. "Alice!" I yell. "Duck." With her wings snapping to gain speed, the great bird aims for Alice, who ducks her head just in time. The female shoots over the treetops, turns, and comes screaming back. The gleaming scimitars that are her talons slice the air just above Alice's head. "Alice," I shout again. "Get down here." "Sam!" She looks down and laughs happily. "You're going to get hurt!" I holler angrily. "She can't hit me," Alice answers and leans out to see me better. "There're too many limbs." The spruce tree is densely limbed and needled, but what Alice doesn't know is that a goshawk can maneuver a maze. The frantic hawk speeds upward and, catching a downdraft, hurtles herself at Alice again. "Here she comes!"

她就在那儿 她抬起纤细的腿放到树枝上，黄色的头发直直翘了起来 雌苍鹰飞上高空，来到爱丽丝头顶，接着俯冲下来 “爱丽丝！” 我大喊道 “快低头” 这只大鸟振翅加速冲向爱丽丝，爱丽丝刚好及时低下头 雌鹰擦过树顶飞开，转过身，尖叫着又冲了回来 它那如闪亮弯刀般的利爪，刚好在爱丽丝头顶上方划开空气 “爱丽丝”，我又大喊一声 “快下来” “山姆！” 她低头往下看，开心地笑了 “你会受伤的！” 我愤怒地大喊 “它伤不到我的”，爱丽丝回答，接着探出身子想更清楚地看见我 “这儿树枝太多啦” 云杉长着密密麻麻的树枝和松针，但爱丽丝不知道，苍鹰能在迷宫里灵活穿行 狂躁的雌鹰加速向上，借着一股下沉气流，再次朝爱丽丝猛冲过来 “它冲过来啦！”

Alice pulls a limb across her body. The hawk dodges it and flies off. Once more Alice leans out to look down at me. "Sam, hi. I knew you'd find me." "Alice, get down here. That bird is dangerous." "I'm okay. I won't let her hit me." She brandishes a spruce branch to show me how she fends the bird off. "Please." "Not yet." She climbs higher. The female screams an alarm which is answered by the tercel, who instantly appears and dive-bombs Alice. Three crows hear the alarm and fly out of the woods to harass the goshawks. Cawing frantically, the crows pursue. To them, any bird of prey must be harassed, but goshawks must be unmercifully bedeviled. They caw without letup. The tercel ignores them and climbs, it seems to me, into the very stratosphere. Somewhere out of sight he turns and conies into view, plunging straight down at my sister. She flattens herself her against the tree. This is crazy. "Come down, Alice!"

爱丽丝拽过一根树枝挡在身前 苍鹰躲开树枝飞了开去 爱丽丝再次探出身子低头看我 “山姆，嗨 我就知道你会找到我的” “爱丽丝，快下来 那只鸟很危险” “我没事 我不会让它伤到我的” 她挥舞着一根云杉枝，给我看她如何挡开苍鹰 “求你快下来” “还不行” 她爬得更高了 雌鹰发出警报，雄鹰应声而来，立刻对爱丽丝发起俯冲攻击 三只乌鸦听见警报，飞出树林骚扰苍鹰夫妇 乌鸦疯狂地呱呱叫着，一路紧追不舍 在乌鸦看来，所有猛禽都该被骚扰，而苍鹰更要被狠狠捉弄 它们一刻不停地呱呱叫着 雄鹰不理会它们，只顾往高处飞，在我看来它都快飞到平流层了 它在看不见的地方转弯，接着重新出现在视野里，直直朝着我妹妹俯冲下来 她把身体紧紧贴在树干上 这太疯狂了 “快下来，爱丽丝！”

"No." Concerned now, I take a running start, jump, grab the first limb of the spruce, and find myself kicking wildly to fend off the female goshawk. Alice climbs higher. I climb after her. The red eyes of the tercel flash as he comes at me. I pull down a branch. He veers, screams, and speeds off. After wiping spruce dust out of my eyes, I look up to see Alice practically in the nest. "Sam, come look at the babies." I can't believe what she's doing. Miss Turner told her what happened to people who went near goshawk nests. "Get down before you're knocked down," I shout and climb faster. Alice doesn't come down. I can barely see her for the dense limbs, but I do see the parent goshawks. They scream and dive, but do not hit her. I watch and wait, not daring to climb any higher. The limbs that hold the nest are too small to support both Alice and me. The nestlings call their wheezy notes. The parents swoop. Finally, Alice starts down, and I lower

“不要” 这下我慌了，助跑后纵身一跃，抓住云杉的第一根树枝，一边疯狂踢腿，一边挡开雌苍鹰 爱丽丝爬得更高了 我跟着她往上爬 雄鹰朝我冲来，红色的眼睛凶光闪闪 我扯下一根树枝 它猛地转弯，尖叫着飞开了 擦掉眼睛里的松屑后，我抬头看见爱丽丝几乎已经到巢穴了 “山姆，快来看小鹰宝宝呀” 我不敢相信她居然做出这种事 特纳小姐告诉过她，靠近苍鹰巢穴的人会遇上什么事 “快下来，不然会被撞下去的”，我大喊着爬得更快了 爱丽丝不肯下来 浓密的树枝挡得我几乎看不见她，但我清楚看到了苍鹰夫妇 它们尖叫着俯冲，但没有撞到她 我在下面看着等待，不敢再往上爬了 托着巢穴的树枝太细，撑不住我和爱丽丝两个人 幼鹰发出沙哑的叫声 苍鹰父母不断俯冲 终于，爱丽丝开始往下爬，我也把身子

myself on the ladder of limbs, looking up as I go to make sure she's coming. Through the needles, I see three baby goshawks peering over the side of the nest. Their mouths are open in fury. The tercel circles the tree and grows calmer as we descend. I drop to the ground, followed by Alice. The female alights on the top of a dead tree, panting from fatigue and fear. Her beak is open, her tongue thrust out. She lowers her wings to attack again. What courage. I pull Alice across the clearing into the shelter of the forest understory. Out of breath, we stop and look at each other. "Where have you been?" she asks. "Where have I been? Alice—!" What can I say? "You've got a cut on your head," is all I can think of, so I say it. Taking out some leaves of the horse sorrel I had picked for last night's meal, I wipe away the blood. The Iroquois Indians used the leaves and roots of this plant to stop bleeding and purify cuts. The bleeding does stop.

顺着枝桠搭成的梯子往下挪，一边爬一边抬头确认她跟下来了 透过松针，我看见三只小苍鹰从巢边探出头张望 它们愤怒地大张着嘴巴 我们往下走的时候，雄鹰绕着树盘旋，情绪慢慢平静下来 我落到地面，爱丽丝跟在我身后也下来了 雌鹰落在枯树顶端，又累又怕，不停地喘着气 它张开喙，吐出舌头 它张开翅膀，准备再次发动攻击 真是勇气可嘉 我拉着爱丽丝穿过空地，躲进林下层的遮蔽里 我们喘着气停下，看着彼此 “你刚才去哪儿了？” 她问道 “我去哪儿了？ 爱丽丝啊！” 我还能说什么呢？ “你头上破了个口子”，我只能想到这句话，于是说了出来 我掏出昨天准备晚餐时摘的酸模叶，擦掉了血迹 易洛魁印第安人会用这种植物的叶和根止血、清理伤口 血真的止住了

"You look like a war veteran," I say, throwing my arms around both her and her pack. "Be careful," she says, pulling away. The goshawks have located us and are circling above the trees. I take Alice's hand and pull her to the edge of the escarpment, where I had seen a ledge about ten feet down. I scramble to it and reach up to help her. She slides to my side. We find ourselves on a ledge under an overhang. I push Alice far under it. "Get back there where the birds can't see you," I say, urging her deeper into the cavelike shelter. "Be careful," she snaps. "You're jabbing the baby." "What are you talking about?" Taking off her pack she opens it and gently lifts a screaming, fighting baby goshawk. "What are you doing with that?" I shout. "Sam, don't be mad." The fierce nestling clenches her talons on air. "I got her for you. When I read your note saying Frightful had been confiscated, I cried. Then I remembered the goshawks Miss Turner had told us about. So I got you one."

“你看上去就像个退伍老兵呀，”我说着，张开胳膊抱住了她和她的背包。 “小心点，”她一边说一边挣开我。 苍鹰已经找到我们了，正在树梢上方盘旋。 我拉着爱丽丝的手，把她拽到悬崖边，我之前看到这儿往下十英尺左右有一处岩台。 我先爬了下去，再伸出手拉她。 她滑到了我身边。 我们发现自己待在悬崖凸块下方的岩台上。 我把爱丽丝往岩台深处推。 “躲到里面去，让鸟儿看不到你，”我边说边催她往这个洞穴一样的藏身处走得更深些。 “小心点，”她厉声说。 “你戳到宝宝了。” “你在说什么呀？” 她放下背包打开，轻轻抱出一只又尖叫又扑腾的苍鹰宝宝。 “你带这只小鹰做什么呀？” 我大声喊道。 “山姆，别生气呀。” 这只凶悍的雏鸟在空中攥紧了爪子。 “我是给你带的呀。” 我看到你留的纸条说法拉芙被没收了，我都哭了。 然后我想起特纳小姐跟我们说过的苍鹰。 所以我就给你弄了一只。