MOUNTAIN-LAUREL and MAIDENHAIR
山间月桂与铁线蕨
（下篇）
作者：路易莎·梅·奥尔科特（Louisa May Alcott）
——美国女作家，代表作《小妇人》
1、
Unconsciously the girl grew to feel not only the beauty but the value of these quiet hours, to find a new peace, refreshment, and happiness, bubbling up in her heart as naturally as the brook gushed out among the mossy rocks, and went singing away through hay-fields and gardens, and by dusty roads, till it met the river and rolled on to the sea. Something dimly stirred in her, and the healing spirit that haunts such spots did its sweet ministering till the innocent soul began to see that life was not perfect without labor as well as love, duty as well as happiness, and that true contentment came from within, not from without.
gushed [ɡʌʃt] v. 涌出；喷出
contentment [kənˈtentmənt] n. 满足；知足
2、
On the evening we speak of, she went to wait for Becky, who would join her as soon as the after-supper chores were done. In the little cave which held a few books, a dipper, and a birch-bark basket for berries, Emily kept a sketching block and a box of pencils, and often amused herself by trying to catch some of the lovely scenes before her. These efforts usually ended in a humbler attempt, and a good study of an oak-tree, a bit of rock, or a clump of ferns was the result. This evening the sunset was so beautiful she could not draw, and remembering that somewhere in Becky's scrap-book there was a fine description of such an hour by some poet, she pulled out the shabby old volume, and began to turn over the leaves.
chores [tʃɔːrz] n. 家务杂活
dipper [ˈdɪpər] n. 长柄勺
birch-bark [bɜːrtʃ bɑːrk] adj. 桦树皮的
clump [klʌmp] n. 丛簇
scrap-book [ˈskræp bʊk] 剪贴簿
3、
She had never cared to look at it but once, having read all the best of its contents in more attractive volumes, so Becky kept it tucked away in the farther corner of her rustic closet, and evidently thought it a safe place to conceal a certain little secret which Emily now discovered. As she turned the stiff pages filled with all sorts of verses, good, bad, and indifferent, a sheet of paper appeared on which was scribbled these lines in school-girl handwriting:—
MOUNTAIN-LAUREL
My bonnie flower, with truest joy
Thy welcome face I see,
The world grows brighter to my eyes,
And summer comes with thee.
My solitude now finds a friend,
And after each hard day,
I in my mountain garden walk,
To rest, or sing, or pray.
All down the rocky slope is spread
Thy veil of rosy snow,
And in the valley by the brook,
Thy deeper blossoms grow.
The barren wilderness grows fair,
Such beauty dost thou give;
And human eyes and Nature's heart
Rejoice that thou dost live.
Each year I wait thy coming, dear,
Each year I love thee more,
For life grows hard, and much I need
Thy honey for my store.
So, like a hungry bee, I sip
Sweet lessons from thy cup,
And sitting at a flower's feet,
My soul learns to look up.
No laurels shall I ever win,
No splendid blossoms bear,
But gratefully receive and use
God's blessed sun and air;
And, blooming where my lot is cast
Grow happy and content,
Making some barren spot more fair,
For a humble life well spent.
rustic [ˈrʌstɪk] adj. 乡村风格的；质朴的
scribbled [ˈskrɪbld] v. 潦草书写
bonnie [ˈbɒni] adj. 美丽的（苏格兰方言）
solitude [ˈsɒlɪtjuːd] n. 孤独
brook 溪
barren [ˈbærən] adj. 贫瘠的
dost：do的第二人称单数形式
lot [lɒt] n. 命运（古语）
4、
"She wrote it herself! I can't believe it!" said Emily, as she put down the paper, looking rather startled, for she did believe it, and felt as if she had suddenly looked into a fellow-creature's heart. "I thought her just an ordinary girl, and here she is a poet, writing verses that make me want to cry! I don't suppose they are very good, but they seem to come right out of her heart, and touch me with the longing and the patience or the piety in them. Well, I am surprised!" and Emily read the lines again, seeing the faults more plainly than before, but still feeling that the girl put herself into them, vainly trying to express what the wild flower was to her in the loneliness which comes to those who have a little spark of the divine fire burning in their souls.
"Shall I tell her I've found it out? I must! and see if I can't get her verses printed. Of course she has more tucked away somewhere. That is what she hums to herself when she's at work, and won't tell me about when I ask. Sly thing! to be so bashful and hide her gift. I'll tease her a bit and see what she says. Oh dear, I wish I could do it! Perhaps she'll be famous some day, and then I'll have the glory of discovering her."
startled [ˈstɑːrtld] adj. 吃惊的
piety [ˈpaɪəti] n. 虔诚
divine fire [dɪˈvaɪn ˈfaɪər] 神圣的火花（比喻天赋）
bashful [ˈbæʃfl] adj. 害羞的
vainly [ˈveɪnli] adv. 徒劳地
hums [hʌmz] v. 哼唱
5、
With that consolation Emily turned over the pages of the ledger and found several more bits of verse, some very good for an untaught girl, others very faulty, but all having a certain strength of feeling and simplicity of language unusual in the effusions of young maidens at the sentimental age.
Emily had a girlish admiration for talent of any kind, and being fond of poetry, was especially pleased to find that her humble friend possessed the power of writing it. Of course she exaggerated Becky's talent, and as she waited for her, felt sure that she had discovered a feminine Burns among the New Hampshire hills, for all the verses were about natural and homely objects, touched into beauty by sweet words or tender sentiment. She had time to build a splendid castle in the air and settle Becky in it with a crown of glory on her head, before the quiet figure in a faded sunbonnet came slowly up the slope with the glow of sunset on a tired but tranquil face.
consolation [ˌkɒnsəˈleɪʃn] n. 安慰
effusions [ɪˈfjuːʒənz] n. (情感)流露
tranquil [ˈtræŋkwɪl] adj. 宁静的
sunbonnet [ˈsʌnbɒnɪt] n. 遮阳帽
ledger [ˈledʒər] n. 账本（此处指剪贴簿）
feminine Burns [ˈfemənɪn bɜːnz] 女版彭斯（苏格兰诗人）
6、
"Sit here and have a good rest, while I talk to you," said Emily, eager to act the somewhat dramatic scene she had planned. Becky sunk upon the red cushion prepared for her, and sat looking down at the animated speaker, as Emily, perched on a mossy stone before her, began the performance.
"Becky, did you ever hear of the Goodale children? They lived in the country and wrote poetry and grew to be famous."
"Oh yes, I've read their poems and like 'em very much. Do you know 'em?" and Becky looked interested at once.
"No, but I once met a girl who was something like them, only she didn't have such an easy time as they did, with a father to help, and a nice Sky-farm, and good luck generally. I've tried to write verses myself, but I always get into a muddle, and give it up. This makes me interested in other girls who can do it, and I want to help my friend. I'm sure she has talent, and I'd so like to give her a lift in some way. Let me read you a piece of hers and see what you think of it."