LESSON 6

THE SINGING LESSON

唱歌课

Jean Ingelow (b. 1830, d.1897) was born at Boston, Lincolnshire, England. Her fame as a poetess was at once established upon the publication of her “Poems” in 1863; since which time several other volumes have appeared. The most generally admired of her poems are “Songs of Seven” and “The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire,” She has also written several successful novels, of which, “Off the Skelligs” is the most popular. “Stories Told to a Child,” “The Cumberers,” “Poor Mat,” “Studies for Stories,” and “Mopsa, the Fairy” are also well known. Miss Ingelow resided in London, England, and spent much of her time in deeds of charity.

1. A nightingale made a mistake;

She sang a few notes out of tune:

Her heart was ready to break,

And she hid away from the moon.

She wrung her claws, poor thing,

But was far too proud to weep;

She tucked her head under her wing,

And pretended to be asleep.

2. A lark, arm in arm with a thrush,

Came sauntering up to the place;

The nightingale felt herself blush,

Though feathers hid her face;

She knew they had heard her song,

She felt them snicker and sneer;

She thought that life was too long,

And wished she could skip a year.

3. “O nightingale!” cooed a dove;

“O nightingale! what’s the use?

You bird of beauty and love,

Why behave like a goose?

Don’t sulk away from our sight,

Like a common, contemptible fowl;

You bird of joy and delight,

Why behave like an owl?

4. “Only think of all you have done;

Only think of all you can do;

A false note is really fun

From such a bird as you!

Lift up your proud little crest ,

Open your musical beak;

Other birds have to do their best,

You need only to speak!”

5. The nightingale shyly took

Her head from under her wing,

And, giving the dove a look,

Straightway began to sing.

There was never a bird could pass;

The night was divinely calm;

And the people stood on the grass

To hear that wonderful psalm.

6. The nightingale did not care,

She only sang to the skies;

Her song ascended there,

And there she fixed her eyes.

The people that stood below

She knew but little about;

And this tale has a moral , I know, If you’ll try and find it out.

NOTE.—The nightingale is a small bird, about six inches in length, with a coat of dark-brown feathers above and of grayish, white beneath. Its voice is astonishingly strong and sweet, and, when wild, it usually sings throughout the evening and night from April to the middle of summer. The bird is common in Europe, but is not found in America.

【中文阅读】

吉恩·英吉箩（1830～1897）生于英格兰林肯郡波士顿。1863年，她的《诗集》甫经推出，随即奠定了她的诗人声望。此后，她陆续出版了其他选集。最为世人推崇当为她的《七曲颂歌》以及《林肯郡海边的浪涛》。她也发表过数篇小说，获得声誉。其中《告别斯凯林斯》最为著名，《对一个孩子讲述的故事》、《累赘的人》、《可怜的垫子》、《故事剖析》以及《玛泊桑仙女》亦皆为世人熟知。吉恩·英吉箩居住在英国伦敦，一生大多时间致力慈善事业。

1．一只夜莺，露了丑，

刚开口唱歌，就跑了调，

它的心儿，就要碎了，

连忙赶紧，躲开月亮。

不小心还扭了脚，这可怜家伙，

是否太过骄傲，大哭一场，

反正，它将头蜷缩翼翅下，

装模作样地睡着了。

2．云雀和画眉，肩并肩，

蹒跚走过来，查看究竟，

夜莺捂住，羞红的脸，

虽然羽毛遮住，心中胆怯，

它知道，鸟儿听见自己歌唱，

叽喳嘲笑，犹如芒刺，

它讨厌憎恨，时光漫长，

一年眨眼过去，该有多棒！

3．“哦，夜莺”，一只鸽子咕咕叫，

“有什么大事不得了？

你那么漂亮，又可爱，

何必，像那些粗鄙家鹅？

别躲在旮旯里，生闷气，

也不要小鸡肚肠，没度量，

你应该，开心更快乐，

为什么，不学学猫头鹰？

4．“只要想一想，你所做的，

再思忖看看，你能做的，

唱错了调，无关紧要，

权当有趣，一笑别过。

耸起你，那骄傲鸟冠，

打开你，美丽的喙角，

鸟儿们，竭力帮助你，

不妨，亮开歌喉再唱歌。”

5．夜莺，羞愧地，

从翼翅里，抬起头，

感激中，看了鸽子一眼，

蓦然间，亮开嗓门，

鸟儿，纷纷飞来驻足，

夜晚，霎时庄严静穆，

草地上，人群安静伫立，

聆听那，质朴无华的圣歌。

6．夜莺，不再害怕，

它的歌声，渐次上扬回旋，

它的目光，悠然攀升，

伴随着，响彻入云骄傲，

歌声拂过，娴静无边夜色。

夜莺，或许茫然不知，

这篇故事，包含人生箴言，

只要尝试，奇迹不难发现。