第7章 THE SEA-GULL 海鸥
O the white sea-gull, the wild sea-gull,
A joyful bird is he,
As he lies like a cradled thing at rest
In the arms of a sunny sea!
The little waves rock to and fro,
And the white gull lies asleep,
As the fisher's bark, with breeze and tide,
Goes merrily over the deep.
The ship, with her fair sails set, goes by,
And her people stand to note
How the sea-gull sits on the rocking waves,
As if in an anchored boat.
The sea is fresh, the sea is fair,
And the sky calm over head,
And the sea-gull lies on the deep deep sea.
Like a king in his royal bed!
O the white sea-gull, the bold sea-gull,
A joyful bird is he,
Throned, like a king, in calm repose,
On the breast of the heaving sea!
The waves leap up, the wild wind blows,
And the gulls together crowd,
And wheel about, and madly scream
To the deep sea roaring loud:
And let the sea roar ever so loud,
And the wind pipe ever so high,
With a wilder joy the bold sea-gull
Sendeth forth a wilder cry; —
For the sea-gull he is a daring bird,
And he loves with the storm to sail;
To ride in the strength of the billowy sea
And to breast the driving gale!
The little boat she is tossed about
Like a sea-weed, to and fro;
The tall ship reels like a drunken man.
As the gusty tempests blow;
But the sea-gull laughs at the fear of man,
And sails, in a wild delight,
On the torn-up breast of the night-black sea,
Like a foam-cloud, calm and white.
The waves may rage, and the winds may roar
But he fears not wreck, nor need;
For he rides the sea, in its stormy strength.
As a strong man rides his steed.
O the white sea-gull, the bold sea-gull,
He makes on the shore his nest,
And he tries what the inland fields may be;
But he loveth the sea the best!
And away from land, a thousand leagues,
He goes ‘mid surging foam; —
What matter to him is land or shore,
For the sea is his truest home!
And away to the North among ice-rocks stern,
And amid the frozen snow,
To a sea that is lone and desolate,
Will the wanton sea-gull go.
For he careth not for the winter wild,
Nor those desert regions chill;
In the midst of the cold, as on calm blue seas,
The sea-gull hath his will!
And the dead whale lies on the northern shores
And the seal, and the sea-horse grim;
And the death of the great sea-creatures makes
A full merry feast for him.
O the wild sea-gull, the bold sea-gull,
As he screams in his wheeling flight,
As he sits on the waves in storm or calm,
All cometh to him aright!
All cometh to him as he liketh best,
Nor any his will gainsay!
And he rides on the waves like a bold young king
That was crowned but yesterday!
—Mary Howitt
Questions
What do the people in the ship stand to note? What is the sea-gull like, when the sea and sky are calm? What do the gulls do when the wild wind blows? Where do they make their nests? What food do they find in the cold North?
Pronunciation
mer'ri-ly bil'-low-y des'o-late north'-ern
an'-chored drun'-ken wan'-ton gain-say’
re-pose' thou'-sand re'-gions yes'-ter-day
Dictation
These web-footed marine birds are dispersed over every quarter of the world, and in some parts are met with at certain seasons in vast multitudes.
The species which frequents the Arctic regions is the ivory gull; so called from its white plumage, which rivals in pureness of colour new-fallen snow.
通体雪白，性格狂野，
它是一只愉快的鸟儿，
它仿佛婴儿一般，
躺在和煦的大海的怀抱里！
小海浪来回敲打着岩石，
白色的海鸥趴在上面酣睡，
伴随着海风和潮汐，
渔夫驾着帆船欢快地朝深海驶去。
帆船在渔夫的掌舵下前行，
船员们注意到
海鸥停靠在惊涛骇浪上，
犹如矗立在抛锚的船上。
海上空气新鲜，大海美丽异常，
天空无比静谧，
海鸥停靠在大海深处，
宛如国王躺在富丽堂皇的床上。
白色的海鸥，无畏的海鸥；
它是一只愉快的鸟儿，
好像加冕的国王，
安静地躺在波浪起伏的大海上！
波浪上下起伏，暴风肆虐，
海鸥聚集在一起，
在怒吼的大海深处，
发狂地尖叫。
大海的咆哮震耳欲聋，
强劲的海风高耸入云，
无畏的海鸥疯狂地吼着
带着野蛮的愉悦；
它是一只大无畏的海鸥，
它喜欢在暴风中飞行；
拼尽力气飞翔在疾风的海上，
与暴风英勇搏斗！
仿佛扔在船上的海草，
海鸥来回地乱飞，
大风猛烈地吹着，
高耸的船只如同酒鬼般摇晃；
海鸥带着疯狂的欣喜飞翔，
嘲讽着人类的恐惧，
翱翔在漆黑的大海之上，
宛如泛起泡沫的云朵，静谧苍白。
巨浪会愤怒，暴风会咆哮，
但他不害怕也不需要害怕；
好像一个力大无比的人在奔跑。
他拼尽力气，遨游在大海上，
白色的海鸥，无畏的海鸥，
他在海滨搭窝，
他向内陆飞翔，
不过他最爱的还是大海！
远离大陆上百公里，
他翱翔在大海上；
无论是内陆还是海滨，
大海才是它真正的家！
朝着遍布冰山的北极飞翔，
那里到处是冻住的积雪，
嬉笑打闹的海鸥，
即刻朝蛮荒之地飞翔。
因为它不怕寒冷，
也不怕蛮荒之地的严寒；
在冰封之地，如同在幽深的蓝色海洋之上
海鸥有坚强的毅力！
鲸鱼的尸体躺在北部海滨，
海豹、海马面露狰狞；
巨大深海生物的尸体
对它们来说是一顿可口的美餐。
狂野的海鸥，无畏的海鸥，
扑扇着翅膀怒吼着；
在此起彼伏的海浪上歇脚，
安静地看着眼前所发生的一切。
它喜欢这里发生的一切！
它一言不发，
仿佛一位年轻、无畏的国王在海浪上前行，
它戴着王冠，但却已是往事！
——玛丽·豪伊特