The Hunting Trip

The Hunting Trip. Written by Catherine Follett. Illustrated by John Kastner. Focus Question. How would you describe the relationship between Jose and his father? How do you know?

打猎之旅。 凯瑟琳·福利特 撰文。 约翰·卡斯特纳 绘图。 思考问题。 你会怎么形容何塞和他父亲的关系？ 你是从哪里看出来的？

José scurried up a makeshift ladder which was nothing more than strips of scrap wood nailed to the trunk of the ancient oak. He pulled himself onto the flimsy sheet of plywood that served as the floor of the tree stand. He gently set his rifle down and took a seat in one of the two aluminum folding chairs while his father slowly followed him.

何塞爬上了一架临时梯子——其实就是几块碎木板钉在古老橡树的树干上做成的。 他爬上了树架那块薄薄的胶合板平台。 他轻轻放下步枪，坐到两把铝制折叠椅中的一把上，他的父亲慢慢跟了上来。

José noticed that his father was slightly out of breath when he reached the top, stopping to pull a thermos of steaming coffee from his deep jacket pocket and grimacing as he swallowed. José felt his own chest constricting and realized he had been holding his breath for some time. He recalled his father's advice about nerves. Deep breaths work better than you think. He drew a big lungful of air. His father heard him exhaling. You nervous? he asked. No, well, a little, Jose admitted. "'Just remember that we're the only ones out here for miles. I'd be the only one to see you if you did anything embarrassing, and I've seen you do plenty of embarrassing things,' his father chuckled. "'I know,' Jose said. He took another deep breath, tasting the freshness of the woods around them, watching the veil vapor cloud materialize in front of his face. But he still clutched the barrel of his rifle so tightly that his fingers grew numb.

何塞注意到父亲爬到树顶时微微喘着气，父亲停下来，从厚厚的夹克口袋掏出一个装着热咖啡的保温瓶，皱着眉喝了一口。 何塞感觉自己胸口发紧，才发现自己已经屏住呼吸好一会儿了。 他想起父亲关于缓解紧张的建议。 深呼吸比你想象的管用多了。 于是他深深吸了一大口气。 父亲听到了他呼气的声音。 你紧张吗？ 他问道。 不，嗯，有一点，何塞承认。 记住了，这周围好几英里都只有我们俩。 就算你做了什么尴尬事，也只有我能看见，而且我早就见过你做好多尴尬事啦，父亲笑着说。 我知道，何塞说。 他又深吸一口气，尝到了周围树林清新的气息，看着一团白雾在他面前缓缓凝成。 但他还是紧紧攥着步枪枪管，手指都攥得发麻了。

He regretted being so anxious, unable to truly enjoy the beauty of the forest around them. The open meadow below the tree stand was dim and frosty on this early November morning. Now that we are set in our place, we'll need to wait quietly for about half an hour before the animals forget we're here. Until then, we probably won't see a thing, Jose's father explained.

他后悔自己太紧张，没办法好好享受周围森林的美景。 十一月初的这个清晨，树架下方的开阔草甸光线昏暗，还覆着薄霜。 现在我们都就位了，得安静等半小时，等动物们忘了我们在这里之后， 在那之前，我们大概率什么都看不到，何塞的父亲解释说。

remaining still for half an hour dragged on forever, and as his father had promised, they saw nothing. But just as the minute hand of Jose's watch seemed about to give up and freeze altogether, he heard a rustle, a squirrel. Soon he heard other creatures, Crows and ravens flapped overhead, cawing and croaking, leaving José wondering whether the bird's breath also left little clouds in the air. Three or four rabbits browsed among the leaf litter underneath the tree stand. Suddenly, José and his father heard the sharp footfalls of their approaching quarry. – the white -tailed deer. All the hunting advice Jose's father had ever given him began to rush through Jose's head. Don't ever shoot unless you're absolutely sure you see antlers. We don't want to kill a doe, and we certainly don't want to kill another hunter. If you can't see more than half the deer's body at one time, you're too far away and there are too many trees and bushes between you and it. Aim just ahead of where you want to hit, because deer move when you least expect them.

一动不动待半小时感觉漫长得像过了一辈子，而且就像父亲说的，他们一开始什么都没看到。 可就在何塞手表的分针仿佛都快要冻住不动的时候，他听到了沙沙声，是一只松鼠。 很快他又听到其他动物的动静：乌鸦和渡鸦扑着翅膀从头顶飞过，哇哇叫个不停，何塞忍不住好奇，鸟儿呼出气会不会也在空中留下小雾团呢。 三四只兔子在树架下方的落叶堆里觅食。 突然，何塞和父亲听到他们要猎的动物越来越近的清晰脚步声。 ——是白尾鹿。 父亲教过他的所有打猎技巧一下子全都涌进何塞的脑海。 除非你百分百确定看到鹿角，否则绝对不要开枪。 我们不打母鹿，当然更不会误伤到其他猎人。 如果你一次都看不到鹿一半以上的身子，就说明距离太远，你和鹿之间又太多树木灌丛挡住了。 准星要对准你想打中的位置靠前一点，因为鹿总会在你意想不到的时候动起来。

As if fulfilling a checklist in Jose's brain, a buck stepped smoothly into view. It definitely had antlers, it was in plain view, and Jose aimed his rifle just ahead of its chest. The buck was big and sleek, with soft brown eyes and a white rump under its flicking tail. Jose marked it in his crosshairs, feeling the trigger underneath his finger. Jose, his father said, not even whispering as he pointed his chin toward the buck, go ahead. No, Jose said out loud, lowering his rifle. The deer surely heard him, for it swiveled its ears around until all of its senses focused on the tree stand, alert and confused, before it jogged away. Are you angry with me ? Jose asked his father. No, Jose, I'm not , he replied. In fact, I did the very same thing the first time I went out hunting with my father. Jose felt relieved. Really ? he said.

就好像何塞在脑子里核对完清单一样，一只公鹿稳稳地走出来，进入了视野。 它确实长着鹿角，整个身子清晰可见，何塞就把步枪准星对准了它胸口靠前一点的位置。 这只公鹿高大健壮，有着温柔的棕色眼睛和甩动尾巴下的白色臀部。 何塞把它锁定在准星里，手指已经碰到了扳机。 何塞，父亲开口说，声音不大，抬抬下巴示意那只公鹿，动手吧。 不，何塞出声说，放下了步枪。 那只鹿肯定听到了声音，它转了转耳朵，所有感官都对准了树架，警觉又困惑，然后快步跑走了。 你生我的气吗？ 何塞问父亲。 不，何塞，我不生气，他回答。 其实啊，我第一次跟我父亲出来打猎的时候，也做了一模一样的事。 何松了一口气。 真的吗？ 他说道。