81:塞蕾娜(4)

Toward the end of the afternoon, Serena rousedherself, looked at her surroundings, 下午快要过去的时候,塞蕾娜完全苏醒过来,朝四周看了看,

had a bite to eat, took a bath, then walked out of thewater and stood for a long while preening herfeathers.

吃了点东西,洗了个澡,然后从水中走出,站在那里花了好长时间梳理她的羽

She felt distinctly better.

她感觉有了好转。

And when her feathers were all smoothed out,

当她的羽全被梳理得光滑如初时,

she looked extremely beautiful--stately, serene, graceful, and very feminine.

她的样子美极了--庄重,娴静,高雅,分外娇柔。

Louis trembled when he saw how truly lovely she was.

当路易斯看到她真的那么可时,全身都颤抖起来了。

He was again tempted to swim over and say ko-hoh and see if she remembered him.

他又想游过去对她说 ‘吭—嗬’,看她是否还记得他了。

But he had a better idea. "There is no hurry," he thought. "She's not going to leave Philadelphiatonight.

可他有了一个更好的主意。“别急,”他想。“反正她今晚也不会离开费城的。

I will go to my job, and when I get back from work, I shall abide near her all through the night.

我要去做我的工作了,等我回来时,我将整夜地在她身边守候。

Just at daylight, I'll awaken her with a song of love and desire.

天一亮,我就用我的情歌把她唤醒。

She will be drowsy; the sound of my trumpet will enter her sleepy brain and overcome herwith emotion.

她那时刚好半醒;我的小号声将深入她睡意朦胧的大脑,用激情把她征服。

My trumpet will be the first sound she hears. I will be irresistible.

我的小号声将是她醒来后听到的第一种声音。我将是难以抗拒的。

I will be the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes, and she will love me from thatmoment on."

我将是她睁开眼后见到的第一只鸟儿,她从那一刻起就会上我的。”

Louis was well satisfied with his plan and began to make preparations.

路易斯对他的计划很满意,便开始着手准备了。

He swam ashore, removed his things, hid them under a bush, then returned to the water,where he fed and bathed.

他游向岸边,摘下他的东西,藏到一丛灌木的后面,然后又回到水中,吃了点饭,洗了个澡。

Then he fixed his feathers carefully.

接着他又仔细地梳理了自己的羽

He wanted to look his best next morning, when the meeting was to take place.

他想要在明早见到她时让自己的样子显得最帅。

He drifted around for a while,

他在水中转了一会儿,

thinking of all the songs he liked and trying to decide which one to play to wake Serena in themorning.

想着他喜欢的所有歌曲,想挑出一首可以在早晨吹给塞蕾娜听的歌。

He finally decided to play "Beautiful Dreamer, Wake Unto Me."

最后他决定吹奏那首“梦中的美人,为我醒来吧”。

He had always loved that song. It was sad and sweet.

他一直着这首歌。它的旋律忧伤而又甜美。

"She will be a beautiful dreamer," thought Louis, "and she will wake unto me.

“她就是一个梦中的美人,”路易斯想,“她将会为我醒来。

The song fits the situation perfectly."

这首歌真是太合适不过了。”

He was determined to play the song better than he had ever played it before.

他决定把这首歌吹得比以往任何时候都好。

It was one of his best numbers. He really knew how to play it awfully well.

这是他吹得最好的曲子之一。他的确知道怎么才能把它吹得非常好。

Once, when he played it at one of his Sunday concerts,

有一次,当他在他的一个星期日音乐会上吹奏它时,

a music critic from a Philadelphia newspaper heard him, and next morning the paper said:

费城一家报纸的某个乐评家听到了他的吹奏,便在第二天早晨的报纸上说:

"Some of his notes are like jewels held up to the light.

“他吹出的某些旋律就像被举到灯光下的宝石。

The emotion he transmits is clean and pure and sustained."

他所传达出来的激情是无暇纯粹的,绵绵不绝的。”

Louis had memorized that statement. He was proud of it.

路易斯记住了这句评论。他为此而骄傲。

Now he was anxious for morning to come, but he still had his job at the nightclub to go to.

现在他在焦急地等着早晨的来临,可他还有夜总会的工作要做呢。

He knew the night would be long and that he wouldn't be able to sleep.

他知道这一夜会很长,他也不能入睡。