23 鸟的天堂

Lesson Twenty-three

Birds’ Paradise

1. We had supper. The heat had subsided.

2. The sun had gone down behind the hills, leaving its glorious glow on the horizon, on top of the hills and on tips of the trees.

3. We went along a gravel path for some distance and soon got to the river.

4. We found a couple of small boats under two tall trees along the river.

5. We jumped into one of them one after another.

6. A friend unfastened the rope and pushed off the boat with a bamboo pole, and the boat moved slowly toward the middle of the river.

7. The river was wide, the whitish water was undisturbed

8. and the boat was floating on its smoothly.

9. The three oars were paddling in the water with regular rhythm.

10. The river narrowed at one point.

11. Clusters of tree leaves,

12. leaves with lovely greenness, reached out over the water.

13. They were many exuberant banyan trees, but their trunks were invisible.

14. As soon as I said they were “many” banyan trees, I was corrected by my friends.

15. One of them said it was only one, and another said there were two.

16. I had seen many big banyans before, but it was the first time I had seen a banyan as big as this one.

17. Our boat was nearing the tree,

18. and I was able to see at close hand what it looked like: it was a huge tree, with numerous branches out

19. of which roots grew and many of them drooped to the ground and dug into the earth.

20. Some branches hung down to the water, looking from a distance like a big tree lying buoyant on top of it.

21. This was the season when trees were thick with dense branches and leaves. It looked as though the banyan was trying to show to us all of its exuberance.

22. It’s so heavy with leaves in clusters, one piling on top of another, leaving hardly any space in between.

23. The emerald green shimmered in front of our eyes, as if in every leaf there was a new life pulsating there.

24. What beautiful trees of southern China.

25. Our boat slowed to a halt under the tree and stopped there for a moment.

26. We did not get off to the bank as it was wet there.

27. My friends said the tree was a “paradise” for the birds’; many birds had nested in it and peasants would not allow anyone to catch them.

28. I seemed to have heard the sound of some birds flapping their wings, but when I turned to look I could not see any one there.

29. Instead there were numerous roots standing on the ground like wood stakes.

30. The ground was wet, probably washed by the tides.

31. “Birds’ Paradise”, but there were no birds in it, I wondered.

32. Our boat, poled by a friend, moved on and glided toward the middle of the river.

33. The next day, we rowed to a friend’s hometown.

34. It’s a place with mountains and towers.

35. From school, we passed the Bird’s Paradise.

36. It was in the morning.

37. The sun was shining on the water, and in the treetops, everything seemed brighter.

38. We moored the boat under the tree for another moment.

39. At first the surroundings were silent.

40. Then suddenly there was a bird call.

41. As soon as we clapped our hands, we saw a big bird flying.

42. And then the second, the third.

43. As we continued to clap our hands, the trees became lively. There were birds everywhere and bird shadows everywhere.

44. Some of them are big, small, flowered and black. Some of them are standing on the branches, some are flying, some are flapping their wings.

45. I watched attentively. My eyes were overwhelmed. I can’t see all of them clearly at once. When I saw this one clearly, I missed the other; when I saw that one, and the other flew again.

46. A thrush flew out, frightened by our applause, flew into the foliage again, stood on a twig and cried excitedly, the song was really good.

47. As the boat rowed toward the countryside under the tower, I looked back at the lush banyan trees that had been left behind.

48. I feel a little bit nostalgic.

49. It was my eyes that cheated me yesterday that “Bird’s Paradise” was indeed bird’s paradise!