either trickle fancied murmur reflecte
glossy entered shepherd chestnuts command
1. Little Roy led his sheep down to pasture, And his cows, by the side of the brook;
But his cows never drank any water,
And his sheep never needed a crook.
2. For the pasture was gay as a garden,
And it glowed with a flowery red;
But the meadows had never a grass blade, And the brooklet—it slept in its bed:
3. And it lay without sparkle or murmur,
Nor reflected the blue of the skies;
But the music was made by the shepherd, And the sparkle was all in his eyes.
4. Oh, he sang like a bird in the summer!
And, if sometimes you fancied a bleat, That, too, was the voice of the shepherd,
And not of the lambs at his feet.
5. And the glossy brown cows were so gentle That they moved at the touch of his hand
O’er the wonderful, rosy-red meadow,
And they stood at the word of command. 6. So he led all his sheep to the pasture,
And his cows, by the side of the brook; Though it rained, yet the rain never pattered
O’er the beautiful way that they took.
7. And it wasn’t in Fairyland either,
But a house in the midst of the town,
Where Roy, as he looked from the window, Saw the silvery drops trickle down.
8. For his pasture was only a table,
With its cover so flowery fair,
And his brooklet was just a green ribbon, That his sister had lost from her hair.
9. And his cows were but glossy horse-chestnuts, That had grown on his grandfather’s tree;
And his sheep only snowy-white pebbles,
He had brought from the shore of the sea.
10. And at length when the shepherd was weary,And had taken his milk and his bread,
And his mother had kissed him and tucked him, And had bid him “good night” in his bed;
11. Then there entered his big brother Walter,While the shepherd was soundly asleep,
And he cut up the cows into baskets,
And to jackstones turned all of the sheep.
( Emily S. Oakey )
【中文阅读】
1. 小罗伊赶着羊群来到牧场,将牛群驱赶到小溪边;
牛群不需在溪边喝水,
羊群也不需他挥舞牧鞭。
2. 牧场像花园一样绚丽多彩
散发着亮丽的红色光芒。
可这片土地却寸草不生,
小溪也只在自己的温床上静静流淌。
3. 它既不闪闪发光,也不喃喃低语,更不会折射出晴空的湛蓝;
小牧童哼起欢快的歌谣,
眼中闪烁着迷人的光芒。
4. 哇,他就像夏日的小鸟在快唱!
假如你恍若听到咩咩的声音,那一定是牧童在欢唱,
而非他脚边的小羊羔。
5. 油亮闪亮的棕色母牛多么温顺,在牧童的轻抚下,
牛群漫步在玫瑰红的欢乐草地上,主人一声令下便让它们停下。
6. 他就这样领着牛羊,
在小溪边游荡;
尽管天开始下雨,
可雨滴并不似往日美丽的模样啪嗒啪嗒洒落下来。
7. 这里并不是什么仙境乐园,只不过是镇上一处屋舍,罗伊从这里还能看到
窗外倾泻而下的闪光雨滴。
8. 他的牧场也不过是一张桌子,
上面铺满各色花瓣;
那潺潺小溪
只是妹妹头上掉落的一条绿色丝带。
9. 温顺的牛群
是从祖父种植的七叶树上采来的光滑叶片;可爱的羊群
也不过是用海边拣的雪白鹅卵石来充当。
10. 牧童终于厌倦了这个游戏,
喝光牛奶、吃完面包之后,
妈妈令他上床睡觉,亲吻了他,轻轻道声“晚安”。
11. 就在牧童酣睡之际,
大哥沃尔特走了进来,
他将撕碎的牛群扔进篮子,用小石子取代了罗伊的羊群。
(爱米莉·奥凯)