LESSON 61

LITTLE GUSTAVA

小古斯塔瓦

1．Little Gustava^〔1〕 sits in the sun,

Safe in the porch, and the little drops run

From the icicles^〔2〕 under the eaves^〔3〕 so fast,

For the bright spring sun shines warm at last,

And glad is little Gustava.

2．She wears a quaint^〔4〕 little scarlet cap,

And a little green bowl she holds in her lap,

Filled with bread and milk to the brim,

And a wreath of marigolds^〔5〕 round the rim:

"Ha! ha!" laughs little Gustava.

3．Up comes her little gray, coaxing cat,

With her little pink nose, and she mews, "What's that?"

Gustava feeds her,—she begs for more,

And a little brown hen walks in at the door:

"Good day!" cries little Gustava.

4．She scatters crumbs for the little brown hen,

There comes a rush and a flutter, and then

Down fly her little white doves so sweet,

With their snowy wings and their crimson feet:

"Welcome!" cries little Gustava.

5．So dainty and eager they pick up the crumbs.

But who is this through the doorway comes?

Little Scotch terrier, little dog Rags,

Looks in her face, and his funny tail wags:

"Ha! ha!" laughs little Gustava.

6．"You want some breakfast, too?" and down

She sets her bowl on the brick floor brown,

And little dog Rags drinks up her milk,

While she strokes his shaggy locks, like silk:

"Dear Rags!" says little Gustava.

7．Waiting without stood sparrow and crow,

Cooling their feet in the melting snow.

"Won't you come in, good folk?" she cried,

But they were too bashful, and staid outside,

Though "Pray come in!" cried Gustava.

8．So the last she threw them, and knelt^〔6〕 on the mat,

With doves, and biddy^〔7〕, and dog, and cat.

And her mother came to the open house door:

"Dear little daughter, I bring you some more,

My merry little Gustava."

9．Kitty and terrier, biddy and doves,

All things harmless Gustava loves,

The shy, kind creatures ’t is joy to feed,

And, oh! her breakfast is sweet indeed

To happy little Gustava!

(Celia Thaxter)

【中文阅读】

1．小古斯塔瓦安然坐在阳光下，

她在门廊里，屋檐上冰柱悬挂，

水珠点点滴滴飞快落下来，

明亮的春日暖阳终于照耀户外，

小古斯塔瓦笑逐颜开。

2．她头戴别致的小红帽，

膝盖上托着一个绿碗很小巧，

面包和牛奶满到碗的边缘，

边上是一圈金盏花的图案，

“哈！哈！”小古斯塔瓦笑得欢。

3．她那会哄人的小灰猫来了，

抽动粉红色的鼻子，喵喵问道：“那是什么？”

古斯塔瓦喂它吃了一些，它想要更多，

一只棕色的小母鸡走进来在门前轻踱，

“日安！”小古斯塔瓦大声说。

4．她把面包渣儿撒向小母鸡，

它拍打翅膀飞奔而至，

接着引得可爱的小白鸽俯冲而来，

它们有深红色的脚，羽毛雪白，

“欢迎！”小古斯塔瓦欢呼起来。

5．它们急匆匆美滋滋地啄食碎面包，

可那又是谁来了，正穿过门道？

苏格兰短脚卷毛狗走了过来，

他有趣的尾巴摇摇摆摆，

“哈！哈！”小古斯塔瓦笑得好开怀。

6．“你也想吃点早餐吗？”

她把碗在褐色的砖地上放下，

小狗“抹布”喝光了她的牛奶，

她抓他蓬松的毛毛，像柔软的绸带，

“亲爱的抹布！”小古斯塔瓦语调轻快。

7．没人等待站着的麻雀和乌鸦，

它们在融化的雪里凉着脚丫。

“你们不进来吗，善良的居民？”她呼唤，

可是它们太害羞，宁愿留在外面，

“请进来吧！”古斯塔瓦还是大声喊。

8．最后她把所有食物都往外抛，

跪在垫子上陪着鸽子、小鸡、小狗和小猫，

打开屋门出来了她的妈妈，

“亲爱的小女儿，我再给你添一些吧，

我快乐的小古斯塔瓦。”

9．母鸡和鸽子，小狗和猫崽，

一切无害的动物古斯塔瓦都喜爱，

喂养害羞、善良的生物真是赏心乐事，

还有，噢，她的早餐确实太好吃，

向快乐的小古斯塔瓦致意！

（西莉亚·萨克斯特）

注释

〔1〕Gustava, a girl's name.

〔2〕Icicles, water frozen in long needle-like shapes.

〔3〕Eaves, the lower edges of a roof.

〔4〕Quaint, odd.

〔5〕Marigolds, a yel1ow flower.

〔6〕Knelt, bent on her knees.

〔7〕Biddy, chicken.