Meeting Father in Plymouth

Meeting Father in Plymouth, written by Amy Webber. Illustrated by Marcy Ramsey.

《普利茅斯寻父》 艾米·韦伯 著 玛西·拉姆齐 绘

Young, yet mature for her seven years, Sarah hurriedly walked onto the handmaid. The ship would take her and her family across the ocean to meet their father in a settlement called Plymouth Colony.

七岁的萨拉年纪虽小，却比同龄人懂事，她匆匆走上了“侍女号” 这艘船将载着她和家人漂洋过海，前往普利茅斯殖民地定居点和父亲团聚

Hand in hand, she walked with her mother and four brothers onto the ship. Sarah thought about her father. He had made the ocean trip in March. It was now August, and she could not wait to see him. Sarah knew the journey would be long. Plymouth Colony was far away. It was on the other side of the ocean. Her mother said it would take the ship almost 12 weeks to get there. Sarah's father had left England with other planters or men who worked with crops. They sailed to Plymouth on a ship called the Lion. Sarah and her family were Puritans. They sailed to Plymouth hoping to be free to follow their religion. In England, they did not support many of the king's decisions, so the king did not support them. So they had left England to stay in Holland until they could make the journey to Plymouth.

她牵着妈妈，和四个兄弟一起走上了船 萨拉一路上都在想念爸爸 爸爸早在三月就动身出发了 现在已经八月了，她迫不及待想见到爸爸 萨拉知道这趟旅程会很长 普利茅斯殖民地很远很远 它在大海的另一头 妈妈说船差不多要航行十二周才能到那儿 萨拉的爸爸和其他种植户——也就是种庄稼的农夫一起离开了英国 他们乘坐一艘名叫“狮子号”的船前往普利茅斯 萨拉一家都是清教徒 他们航行去普利茅斯，是希望能自由信奉自己的宗教 在英国，他们不认同国王的很多决定，所以国王也不支持他们 所以他们离开英国，先去荷兰定居，直到攒够路费才出发来普利茅斯

What will Plymouth be like? Will it be like living in England? asked Sarah's brother John. I hope so, answered Sarah. Just like her brother, she wanted life in Plymouth to be much the same as life in England. Sarah was sad to leave her friends Jane and Anne. She hoped she would make new friends in Plymouth, even though she had heard that only a few children lived there.

普利茅斯会是什么样子呀？ 会和住在英国一样吗？ 萨拉的弟弟约翰问道 我也希望是这样，萨拉回答说 和弟弟一样，她也希望普利茅斯的生活和英国没什么区别 要离开好朋友简和安妮，萨拉很难过 虽然她听说那儿只有很少小朋友，可她还是希望能在普利茅斯交到新朋友

Sarah crawled into her bunk bed next to her mother. It was cramped and dark. She closed her eyes and dreamed of seeing her father again. For more than eighty nights she closed her eyes and on eighty mornings opened them to see nothing but the sea. Then, on the morning of October 29th, she opened them to a loud cry. Land ho! Sarah jumped up and tugged excitedly on her mother's arm. Mother! Mother! We are here! We are here! She cried. Sarah leaped out of her bed and charged out onto the ship's deck. Her brothers were on her heels. everyone was eager to see the new land and most eager to see their father.

萨拉爬进挨着妈妈的卧铺 卧铺里又挤又黑 她闭上眼睛，梦到自己见到了爸爸 八十多个夜晚过去了，每天清晨睁眼，看到的除了大海还是大海 直到十月二十九日的清晨，她一睁眼就听到一声大喊 看到陆地啦！ 萨拉一下子跳起来，兴奋地拽着妈妈的胳膊 妈妈！ 妈妈！ 我们到啦！ 我们到啦！ 她大喊着 萨拉蹦下床，冲到了轮船甲板上 弟弟们紧紧跟在她身后 所有人都盼着看见这片新大陆，而萨拉最盼着见到爸爸

Soon, the ship reached the rocky coast and pulled up to a dock in a small harbor at the edge of the settlement. Sarah stood on her tiptoes, looking over the ship's side, searching the dock for her father. Her mother and brothers gathered their few belongings. Everyone on the Handmaid was tired from the journey, but they were all happy to be off ocean and even more excited to join their loved ones.

很快，船就开到了岩石遍布的海岸，停在了定居点边缘小港湾的码头边 萨拉踮起脚尖，顺着船舷望出去，在码台上找爸爸 妈妈和弟弟们收拾好了为数不多的行李 “侍女号”上的所有人都被旅程折腾得很累，可大家都很高兴终于靠岸，能和亲人团聚更是让他们兴奋不已