介绍:
Walden [ˈwɔldən] (Issue 145)
12. Brute Neighbors (4)
[10] A phoebe[ˈfiːbɪ] soon built in my shed, and a robin for protection in a pine which grew against the house. In June the partridge (Tetrao umbellus), which is so shy a bird, led her brood past my windows, from the woods in the rear to the front of my house, clucking and calling to them like a hen, and in all her behavior proving herself the hen of the woods. The young suddenly disperse on your approach, at a signal from the mother, as if a whirlwind had swept them away, and they so exactly resemble the dried leaves and twigs that many a traveler has placed his foot in the midst of a brood, and heard the whir of the old bird as she flew off, and her anxious calls and mewing, or seen her trail her wings to attract his attention, without suspecting their neighborhood. The parent will sometimes roll and spin round before you in such a dishabille[ˌdɪsəˈbiːl], that you cannot, for a few moments, detect what kind of creature it is. The young squat[skwɒt] still and flat, often running their heads under a leaf, and mind only their mother's directions given from a distance, nor will your approach make them run again and betray themselves. You may even tread[tred] on them, or have your eyes on them for a minute, without discovering them. I have held them in my open hand at such a time, and still their only care, obedient[əˈbiːdɪənt] to their mother and their instinct, was to squat there without fear or trembling. So perfect is this instinct, that once, when I had laid them on the leaves again, and one accidentally fell on its side, it was found with the rest in exactly the same position ten minutes afterward. They are not callow[ˈkæləʊ] like the young of most birds, but more perfectly developed and precocious[prɪˈkəʊʃəs] even than chickens. The remarkably adult yet innocent expression of their open and serene[sɪˈriːn] eyes is very memorable. All intelligence seems reflected in them. They suggest not merely the purity of infancy, but a wisdom clarified by experience. Such an eye was not born when the bird was, but is coeval[kəʊˈiːvəl] with the sky it reflects. The woods do not yield another such a gem. The traveller does not often look into such a limpid[ˈlɪmpɪd] well. The ignorant or reckless sportsman often shoots the parent at such a time, and leaves these innocents to fall a prey to some prowling beast or bird, or gradually mingle with the decaying leaves which they so much resemble. It is said that when hatched by a hen they will directly disperse[dɪˈspɜːs] on some alarm, and so are lost, for they never hear the mother's call which gathers them again. These were my hens and chickens.
一只燕子到我的棚子安家了，还有一只知更鸟在紧贴我房后的一株松树上寻找保护。六月里，那松鸡（学名Tetrao umbellus)，是那样害羞的一种鸟，领着她的一窝松鸡崽儿经过了我的窗户，从森林的后方来到我的房前，对她的雏儿们咯咯并召唤它们，如同一只母鸡，她那所有的做派都证明她自己是林中的母鸡。当你接近那些松鸡雏儿，随着妈妈的一声令下，很快就散开，就像一阵旋风卷走了它们，而它们是如此像这枯枝和败叶，以至于好多旅人已经把脚插在一窝雏儿中间，也听得老鸟儿飞走的扑愣和她焦急的召唤和咪咪，或看着她拖着翅膀吸引他注意，就是怀疑不到周围。那当妈的有时在你眼前翻滚旋转[zhuǎn]如此忙乱，你有那么一小会儿都辨别不出是什么生禽。而雏儿们静静扁扁地蹲着，经常是头埋在一片叶子下，只听远处母亲的指令，你的接近也不会吓得它们再次跑和暴露自己。你甚至都踩上了它们，或盯上了它们一会儿，可就是发现不了它们。在这样的一个时刻，我曾经把它们放在我摊开的手掌，它们仍然仅在乎服从它们母亲和直觉，就蹲在那里不怕也不抖。这直觉是如此完美，一次我把它们再次放到叶子上，一只意外地一落地就侧翻了，而它就那么侧翻着和其余的兄弟姊妹在那里足足有十分钟。它们不是羽毛未丰的像大多数小时候的鸟儿，而是更加完善地发展和珍贵甚至超过小鸡。它们那大睁的清澈的眼睛显著地成熟也包含着纯真特别令人难忘。那里面仿佛闪烁着所有的聪慧。它们不光是让我们想起婴儿的纯洁，也显示出一种由/经验澄明的智慧。这样的眼睛简直不属于鸟儿自己，是属于它映射的天空。森林，还从没产出过这么好的珍珠。那旅人也难得看入这口井的清澄。那无知或鲁莽的猎人，经常在这一时期射杀那母亲，撇下这些无辜的小家伙落入某个潜行野兽或鸟的口中，或混入了和它们是如此相像的那些衰败的叶子。据说，一旦被妈妈孵出来，它们就只听到某种警告直接散开，就这样失踪了，因为它们再也听不到母亲唤它们回来重新聚集的号令。它们都曾是我的母鸡们和小鸡们。
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