6.骑鹅旅行记（节选）

6 Travels on a Goose (excerpt)

1. The boy couldn't believe that he would become a little fox fairy.

2. "This is probably a dream, an illusion!"

3. he thought, "I'm sure I'll turn into a man again in a little while."

4. He stood in front of the mirror and closed his eyes, and opened them only after several minutes.

5. At that time, he thought the strange appearance must have disappeared.

6. But the strange appearance did not disappear, he was still as small as before.

7. In other ways, he looked exactly the same as before.

8. His yellowish hair, the freckles on his nose, the patches on his leather pants and socks were exactly the same as before, only they had become small and tiny.

9. He found that just standing and waiting like that was not going to help, and something else had to be thought of.

10. He thought the smartest thing to do was to go to the little fox fairy to make peace.

11. He suddenly remembered that he had heard his mother say that the little fox fairy usually lived in the cowshed.

12. He immediately decided to go there to see if he could find the little fox fairy.

13. Fortunately, the door of the room was half open, otherwise he could not reach the lock to open the door, and now he ran out without encountering any obstacles.

14. There was a sparrow hopping around on the floor outside the porch.

15. As soon as he saw the boy, he called out: "Kirk, Kirk, look at Nils the Goose Boy!

16. Look at the little man with the big thumb!

17. Look at the little man with the big thumb, Niels Hauergesund!"

18. The geese and chickens in the yard immediately turned their heads to stare at the boy and made an unbearable clucking sound.

19. "Cackling," cried the rooster, "he deserves it, cackling, he has pulled my crown!"

20. But the strangest thing was that the boy understood what they said.

21. He was so amazed that he stood motionless on the steps and listened.

22. "It's probably because I've become a little fox fairy

23. He said to himself, "It must be because of this that I understood what the beast said."

24.Those chickens cried endlessly, "He deserved it! He deserved it ......" He could not stand it, picked up a stone and threw it at them, and cursed: "Shut up!

25. you group of rabble but he did not think, he is no longer the same, chicken Cuckoo, you deserve it! Gu Gu Gu, you deserve it!

26. The boy tried to get away from them, but the chickens were chasing after him and squawking so loudly that they were deafening him.

27. He couldn't have slipped away if the cat he kept at home hadn't walked out.

28. As soon as the chickens saw the cat, they stopped talking and pretended to concentrate on the ground, digging up worms to eat.

29. ran to the cat.

30. "Dear cat," he said, "are not you familiar with all the nooks and crannies and dark holes in the yard?

31. Please tell me, where can I find the little fox fairy?

32. the cat did not immediately sit back down, put the tail carefully in front of the legs coiled into a circle, two eyes on the boy.

33. It was a big black cat with a white spot under its neck.

34. His fur was smooth and shining in the sun.

35. His paws were contracted and his gray eyes were narrowed into a H slit, a very gentle look.

36. "I know where the little fox fairy lives," he whispered, "but that's not the same as saying I'm willing to tell you."

37. "Dear cat, you have to help me out!"

38. the boy said, "Don't you see what he's turned me into?"

39. The cat opened his eyes slightly, and a cold light shot out of them.

40. He chanted scripture proudly for a while before saying, "Want my help?

41. is it because you often pull my tail?"

42. At this point the boy became irritated.

43. He had completely forgotten how weak and powerless he was now.

44. "What's the matter?

45. I want to pull your tail!"

46. he said and lunged at the cat.

47. In a flash, the cat changed and the boy could hardly believe that he was the same animal as before.

48. His hair stood up all over his body, arched his back, straightened his legs, grabbed the ground with all four feet, his tail became thick and short, his ears pointed backwards, his mouth hissed, and his wide eyes sparked with fire.

49. The boy did not show weakness to the cat, but pressed forward a step.

50. Then the cat suddenly leaped straight at him, threw him to the ground, jumped on top of him, pressed its front paws against his chest, and opened its mouth wide at his throat.

51. The boy felt the cat's claws pierce his skin through his undershirt and shirt, and its sharp canine teeth touched his throat.

52. He cried out desperately for help.

53. but none came. He concluded that the moment of his death had come.

54. At that moment, he felt the cat withdraw its claws again and let go of his throat.

55. "Well," said the cat, "that's enough, for the sake of the mistress, I'll spare you this time.

56. I just want you to know who is the best between us now."

57. said the cat walked away, looking as gentle and kind as when he came. 58. the boy was so ashamed that he could not even say a word, and rushed to the barn to find the little fox fairy.

59. There were only three cows in the barn. But when the boy went in, it was roaring and chaos, and it sounded like at least thirty head.

60. Come here," said the cow named May Rose, "and I'll give you a hoof so you can never forget!

61. "Come here you," said the cow named Golden Lily, "and I'll make you dance on my horns."

62. "Come here, and I'll make you taste the same way you used to beat me with your wooden shoe last summer!"

63. The cow named Star roared.

64. "Come here, you once put a hornet in my ear, and now I want revenge!"

65. The golden lily shouted.

66. May Rose, the oldest and wisest of them all, was now the most angry. 67. "Come here," she said, "you deserve retribution for all you have done.

68. many times you have jerked the little stool under your mother's legs where she sat when she milked, many times you have stretched out your foot and tripped your mother as she walked by with her milk pail, and many times you have been so angry that she stood here in tears!

69. The boy wanted to tell them that he had been bad to them in the past and now he regretted it. Just tell him where the little fox fairy was, and he would never make trouble again.

70. but the cows wouldn't even listen to him.

71. They were making so much noise that he was really worried that one of the cows might break the reins, so he thought it would be better to slip away before it was too late.

72. He walked out of the barn with his head hanging in despair.

73. There would be no one in the yard to help him look for the little fox fairy, which he could understand. 74. In this case, even if he found the little fox fairy, it might not be of much use.

75. He climbed up to the thick stone fence full of thorns and blackberry vines climbing the edge, and sat there looking around his home.

76. It was a small white house with stone walls and wood for supports.

77. The other attached houses were also small, and the plowed field was so narrow that even a horse could barely roll on it.

78. but the place, however small and poor, was good enough for him. 79. he could not ask for better shelter now than a hole in the ground in the cowshed.

80. It was a beautiful day. The canals were flowing, the trees were full of shoots, and the birds were singing in their ears.

81. and he sat there very sad, nothing could arouse his interest anymore.

82. He had never seen the sky as blue as this.

83. The migratory birds have all returned.

84. They had flown from overseas, crossed the Baltic Sea straight to Smigelhok, and were flying north.

85. There were many kinds of birds, but he didn't know any other birds, only the geese in a "human" formation.

86. A few flocks of geese had already flown past.

87. They flew very high, but their cries could still be heard: "Now fly to the mountains, now fly to the mountains."

88. When the geese saw the domestic geese roaming in the yard, they flew low toward the earth while shouting, "Come with us!

89. Come with us!

90. Now fly to the high mountains."

91. The house geese could not help but lift up their heads and listen to the call of the geese.

92. They replied, "We live well here!

93. we are living well here!"

94. As said before, it was an exceptionally clear day, with fresh air and spring breeze, and it was a real pleasure to fly at this time.

95. As a flock of geese flew by, the house geese were getting more and more moved.

96. A few of them flapped their wings and jumped at the chance, but an old mother goose always said, "Don't be silly!

97. You will surely be frozen and hungry.

98. The call of the geese made a young male goose really move.

99. "Come over one more time and I'll fly away after them.

99." he said.

100. And there really came another flock of geese, and they called as usual.

101. The young male goose replied, "Wait a minute!

102. Wait a minute!

103. I'll come."

104. He opened his wings and flew towards the sky.

105. But he was not used to flying, so he fell to the ground again.

106. The geese still heard his call.

107. They turned around and flew slowly back toward the sky to see if he was really going to follow.

108. "Wait a minute!

109. Wait a minute!"

110. He called out while making a new attempt.

111. The boy sat on the fence and heard it all.

112. "If this big male goose flies away, it is a great loss," he thought, 113. "The parents will be sad when they come back from church and find that the male is gone."

114. As he thought this, he forgot again how weak and powerless he was.

115. He jumped off the wall at once, ran into the flock, and wrapped his arms around the neck of the male goose.

116. "Don't you ever fly away!"

117. he shouted.

118. precisely at this moment, the male goose learned how to rise up in the air.

119. He could not shake off the boy before he flew into the sky.

120. The male goose flew so fast that the boy felt dizzy.

121. By the time he thought he should let go of the male goose's neck, he had already reached high altitude.

122. If he let go now, he would surely fall to the ground and die.

123. To be comfortable, the only thing he could do was to try to climb on the back of the goose. 124. he spent a lot of effort to finally climb up.

125. However, to sit firmly on the smooth ridge between the wings is not an easy task, not to mention that the wings are still flapping.

126. In order not to slip, he had to use both hands to hold on to the feathers of the male goose.