LESSON 6 THE SINGING LESSON 歌唱课

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^[1] 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^[2] 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^[3],

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^[4] 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 fi xed her eyes.

The people that stood below

She knew but little about;

And this tale has a moral^[5], I know,

If you’ll try and fi nd 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·殷吉洛（1830—1897）出生于英国林肯郡波士顿。1863年，她的《诗集》出版，迅速奠定了她作为一名女诗人的声望。此后，她陆续出版了其他文集，她最受赞赏的诗歌包括《七子之歌》和《林肯郡岸边的冲天浪涛》。她也写了一些成功的小说，其中，《告别斯凯林格岛》最为著名。除此之外，《对一个孩子讲述的故事》、《累赘的人》、《可怜的马特》、《故事研究》和《莫泊莎仙女》也都流传甚广。殷吉洛女士居住在英国伦敦，她一生中的大部分时间都致力于慈善事业。

1.一只夜莺，出了丑，

她唱跑调了几个音符。

她的心儿，都要碎了，

连忙藏在月亮看不见的地方。

她拧着自己的爪子，可怜的小东西，

她是如此骄傲，所以她不敢哭。

她偷偷把小脑袋埋在翅膀下，

假装自己睡着了。

2.一只云雀和一只画眉，

手牵着手，晃悠悠地飞了过来；

夜莺能感觉到自己羞红了脸，

虽然羽毛遮住了她的脸蛋。

她知道，他们听到了自己的歌，

感觉到他们窃笑嘲讽；

这个尴尬时刻为什么这么漫长？她想，

要是能嗖的一下一年过去，那就好了。

3.“亲爱的夜莺！”鸽子咕咕地唤她，

“亲爱的夜莺！你在干嘛呢？

你这么美丽、这么可爱，

为什么要装得像只呆头鹅？

别埋头郁闷，远离我们的视线，

好像你是一只普通的、可笑的家禽；

你身上满是喜悦与欢乐，

别把自己藏得像只猫头鹰。

4.“想想那些你曾做到的，

思忖那些你有能力做到的。

从你这样的鸟儿嘴里唱出的

错误音符，真是太有趣了。

挺起你骄傲的小头冠，

张开你生来就适合唱歌的小嘴。

其他鸟儿需要尽最大努力才能做到的，

对你来说，就像说话那么简单！”

5.夜莺羞涩地

从翅膀下抬起头。

她深深地看了鸽子一眼，

然后，开始歌唱。

从来没有一只鸟儿，能唱出这样的歌声。

那个夜晚，神圣般的平静，

人们站在草地上

倾听这美妙的旋律。

6.夜莺并不在意有谁在听，

她只朝着天空歌唱。

她仰望那高远的天空，

那是她的声音传达到的地方。

站在下面的人们

她知道，但并不在意。

是的，这个故事富含寓意，

只要你愿意寻找，你就能发现。

---

【注释】

[1] Sauntering, wandering idly, strolling.

[2] Snicker, to laugh in a half-suppressed manner.

[3] Crest, a tuft growing on an animal’s head.

[4] Divinely, in a supreme degree.

[5] Moral, the practical lesson which anything is fi tted to teach.